Mohican 100 Mile Race Report - 2011

This was my first 100 mile race. I chose it because because it is 95% technical single track and hilly. It has had a 50% DNF rate over the 22 years it has been in existence and this year it had a 66% DNF rate, with numbers like that you know it's a quality event :). The race director, volunteers, participants, and aid station  fare were all top shelf. I'll be back to do this race over and over again!

Gear
=========
cw-x compression shorts
white brooks equilibrium short sleeve shirt
white brooks hat
white buff
Double Layer Wright Socks
Injinji Socks
New Balance MT101 shoes
Dirty Girl Gaiters

Fuel
====
Cytomax
Heed
36 gels: gu and hammer
Bananas, PB&J, Oranges, Watermelon, Potato Soup, Ramen Noodles, Pretzels

I didn't realize the start of this race would hit single track so fast and bottleneck when it did. If I'd known that I would have gone out fast to avoid being stuck behind people. The starting temperature was around 60F and it was extremely humid/foggy. I ran with Keith for awhile but let him go because I wanted to run conservatively and he was running a pace for a 50 mile race. The first loop went flying by. I met and chatted with a lot of great people. A couple of guys I met and ran with for about 20 miles,Jeff and Eric, had run the copper canyon ultramarathon with the Tarahumara last year and went to high school with Todd Crandell. I met another guy who was using the 100 mile race as a training run for the Hard Rock 100 who could have probably been a professional comedian - he had a one liner for everything and just kept rolling a steady stream of jokes and conversation. The Park Road 51 aid station was being operated by a friend of mine Stu Allen and he was doing a great job! They served heed,water, defizzed pop, hammer gels, bananas, oranges, watermelon, gummi bears, m&ms, potato chips, twizzlers, and more. The exit from this aid station was a steep downhill followed by some hard climbing and then onto some very beautiful rolling single track. In this section we passed several large boulders that made me wish I'd brought a crash pad and chalk bag. I gave them a quick feel and they were a nice strong pocketed sandstone.

After that the next aid station was the MTB parking aid station. It was packedwith lots of people who were crewing for their 100 milers so there was lots of cheering when you came out of the woods at this one. I suspect they were having a cheer loudest for the dorkiest looking runner contest in order to pass the time. I had them refill my hydration pack with heed while I ate half a PB&J and a banana and then took off.

The next part of the course was my favorite because it was very technical and beautiful containing both Lyon Falls and the Root Ladder ravine - some pics of the area here http://bit.ly/mlpE3Z. The next aid station was the covered bridge aid station which was excellent. They had more food than all the other aid stations. They knew how to refill hydration packs wicked fast. After leaving Covered Bridge aid station there was a redonkulous quad burning hill to climb to the Hickory Ridge Aid Station. This was another excellent aid station.

The last leg of the loop back to the start was rather evil. It ran past an area where you could see the starting area and into a small loop with the steepest hills on the course. This was a new section of the course and the reason they added 2 hours to the cutoff. It was brutal but I hope they keep it, it was a nice challenge.

Back at the starting point/aid station 1 I took off my shoes and socks and checked my feet: No blisters, no hot spots. I wanted to get an actual visual on my feet even though I felt no discomfort because a lot of the time I don't notice a blister when I get one and from what I've read and conversations I've had with other runners blistering can get bad enough to take you out of an ultra. I continued to do this every time I hit aid station 1 throughout the race.

The next noteworthy event was getting lost and picking up a bonus mile on the second loop. It was totally my fault. I followed 2 runners down a trail and didn't read the sign. then I realized we were heading north too soon into the second loop and told the guys we had to turn around. sure enough when we got back to the intersection it was clearly marked and our mistake. This loop simply repeated the first loop so I'll switch to some highlights of the second loop now.

When I got back to the area near Lyon Falls I crossed paths with a family on a short hike. The temperatures were in the mid 80's and the children looked about 4 and 6. they were crying and fussing and complaining about being hungry. I stopped and offered them 2 clif bars which they accepted. we chatted briefly about the race while the kids ate clif bars and within 2 minutes they transformed from meltdown posessed freakshows to happy little hikers. As I was leaving I heard the 4 yr old girl mention that they should carry a pack full of candy and run races - never to early to start recruiting :)

I ran alone for quite awhile after that. the next thing I remember was meeting a young guy named Ethan who was cramping. I explained to him what S caps were and why he should be eating lots of them and I gave him some. He was very grateful for the advice and the S caps. I hope it was enough to help him finish.

My next encounter was a lady running the marathon version of the race. she was on the verge of tears and/or had been crying and was exhausted and sure she was lost. she had turned around and was going the wrong way because she thought she had missed a turn. I got her oriented and back on track and walked with her until she seemed ok.

At mile 53 I picked up my pacer, Andrew Harding. Andrew has been a great source of inspiration as I've learned about ultra running. It was great to have Andrew along. I don't know if I could have done this without him. On the third and 4th loops they altered the course to remove Lyon Falls and the Root Ladder from the course and add some less dangerous terrain. The whole 3rd loop went really well I thought. At Covered Bridge aid station they had ramen noodles and they tasted ridiculously awesome. I was starting to feel a little low coming into the aid station and those noodles were a huge boost! I felt like I was running strong until a few miles into the 4th and last loop and then I got tired, dizzy and had to stop and sit/sleep for 5 minutes. That helped a little and then I was able to continue on to the 1st aid station. Once I got there I drank about 24 oz of mountain dew, ate some soup, and then sat in a chair and slept for 10 minutes. What a difference! once I got up I was able to run again and felt much better. As we ran sometimes Andrew and I chatted but a lot of the time I was silent. We got a little lost on the 4th loop but only added a 1/2 mile. we back tracked and got back on course.  When we popped out at the fire station aid station another racer was pestering us because he thought we had just shorted a section of the course when in fact we had scored some bonus mileage. I wasn't think clearly and Andrew and Dave( a friend we met on the trail) talked to him and sorted it out fortunately, because in my state of diminished mental capacity I was trying to figure out if punching him or silently ignoring him would make him go away sooner.

I know Andrew said I looked strong the whole time but I sure didn't feel that way. I think I've found my second running super power,the first being stupidity, the ability to look strong right up until I collapse. It helped a lot towards the end when the sun came out. The last section of the course had the crazy climbs and one intense quad burning descent again. It isn't perfect and I know I'm missing stuff but I need to get this out there. The finish was awesome and the buckle is a really nice one. I think i'm really hooked on the 100s. In the last 4 miles I was already thinking about when I should do my next 100.

I'd like to thank Andrew for pacing me and Keith and Pete for crewing for me during and after finishing the race and helping me get my gear and drop bags after the race and packing up my tent and just being awesomely supportive the whole time.

Gnaw Bone 50 Mile Race Report 2010

This race is in Brown County State Park and is named for the nearby town of gnaw bone.  It's organized by runningfit.com. who also happens to organize the running group I joined sometime in February. This was my first 50 miler and so my primary goal was to finish. My secondary (unspoken) goal was to place in my age group(40-44). I've been racking up miles approaching the race and doing back to back 20 milers. a 30 miler followed the next day by a 20. basically tons of miles and lots of 100 mile weeks.  I considered running a 40 or 45 in preparation for the race but decided against it based on advice from friends. I really don't like tapering so the week before I brought my mileage down to 40 miles in the 7 days before the race and didn't run the day before the race.

Race Gear ...

Nathan Sports Proton Pack: 3L Bladder.

CW-X compression shorts.

Wright Double Layer Socks

Body Glide

New Balance MT100 shoes

Cytomax electrolyte drink powder

What I carried in my hydration pack ...

3L of Cytomax Electrolyte Drink1 Extra pair of socks

2 Packs of cytomax powder

Blister protection Band-aids

8 Endurolyte caps

2 Packs of clif blocks

4 GU Packs.

The week before the race it was pouring rain and there were even flood warnings for the area.  This set the stage for an extremely muddy race.  It was about 53 degrees at the start of the race which kicked off at 615 am. I only had about 15 minutes to chat with friends and size up the competition. There were a lot of young strong looking runners so I moved to the mid/rear of the pack feeling pretty outgunned and not wanting to get in their way. I was just here to survive my first 50 miler.

The 50K and 50 Mile racers started together and shared the first portion of the course.  The trail was extremely muddy with sections which were also clearly heavily used by horses. within the first mile everyones shoes were soaked and full of mud. some people lost shoes sucked off their feet by the mud and had to stop and dig them out.  Some sections of the course weren't even trail at all just bushwacking from one marker to the next. I'm not sure how many times I crossed streams, at least 10.  My feet and everyone else's were soaked the entire 50 miles. The MT100 shoes drained fast and the wright socks did a great job of wicking water. I didn't get a single blister or hot spot.  I went out planning to hold my pace between 10 and 11 minutes per mile for the first 30

miles. this was tricky because the course varied between deep mud, stream, dirt road, single track, and sections where I really wished I had a machete and crampons. I varied my pace between 7 minute miles bombing down good trail sections and 20 minute miles thrashing through rough patches and up steep hills. I ate about 2 GUs per hour on the run and fig newtons and PB&J every time I hit an aid station. I drank 3 liters of cytomax in the first 25 miles and then refilled my hydration pack at an aid station and added more powdered

cytomax. I was also drinking water at the aid stations the whole time so I know I drank at least 6 liters of cytomax and maybe another liter of water.  This part of the run I just enjoy myself and chatted with other runners I met along the way.  There is something very beautiful about running through the woods with a group of people who love it as much as you do and it energizes me to run with people who i know love it as much as I do even if we're not talking. I'm not really sure I said that well, but oh well there it is.

I managed to hit mile 30 at about a 10:40 pace. Somewhere around that time  a girl at an aid station told me I was in 5th place! and that the leader was 30 minutes in front of me. I was shocked. I knew I had been passing quite a few people but wasn't really counting or looking closely at them because I was just focusing on footing, the beautiful scenery, and conversations. I then realized I could place in the top 5 in my age group or maybe even win my age group! This news inspired me to run harder. but in reality I was unable to negative split as planned. I poured way more effort the last 20 but my final average pace was 10:52. I caught up to and ran with a

friend I met running a few weeks ago. we ran for maybe 5 miles but then he had to stop and slow down because of GI issues.  There were now only 3 in front of me. I caught the next runner a guy in his 30's he had the 1000 mile stare thing going on. I said good job and asked if he was ok but he didn't respond. he was running at a

9:00 pace so I figured he must be and I passed and moved on. I caught the next runner about 12 miles out from the finish. He looked to be in his 20's and fit enough for the cover of runner's world.  This guy looked like a runner! but he must have gone out to fast or made a fueling or hydration error because he had slowed to the point where I could catch him. My presence seemed to rally him and he picked it up and ran with me. Looking at

him I knew if we got to the final mile he would outkick me for sure but I didn't care at this point I was starting to feel some discomfort in my quads and just wanted to finish.   we had a moments hesitation together when we

weren't sure about the trail marking and then we ran together for an indeterminate length of time. I led and talked and I thought we were having a conversation but then he was gone and in retrospect I'm not sure when he

dropped off or how long I talked to no one.  I caught the leader at about 8 miles out I think. I really should have paid more attention to my numbers but I think it was 8. this guy was also in his 20s. I said good job as I passed and asked who was in front of us. He said, "No one, it's all you". I said thanks and kicked harder. the next 8 miles I passed a lot of people who were straggling in from the 50K or the relay races and just kept going as hard as I could. There was one last massive hill with no trail at all! all bushwacking! I had to pee really bad and knew I couldn't make it the last 1.5 miles so I ran over behind some bushes and went. I looked backup the hill and  when I did I saw the 2nd place 50 miler flying down the hill.  I took off and just hammered as hard as I could. I ran a mile at about 6:40 pace in terrible pain on wasted legs. my lungs and legs were on fire and I was cursing myself for being so stupid. I hadn't come to win this race but to lose it in the last 1.5 miles would be such a shame.  When he pulled up alongside me I felt totally crushed. I knew I couldn't hold off a young runner like that for a quarter of a mile. I looked over and gasped out a "good job" and then a wave of relief washed over me!!! this wasn't a 50 miler this guy was running the relay( a different race) who I had mistaken for my competitor! I let him go and washed in a creek about an eighth of a mile from the finish so I wouldn't look so muddy

when I crossed the finish line(pretty silly in retrospect). I ran across the finish line in a daze  After I finished I had a good laugh with the relayer over my mistake and chatted with some other really nice people.

I won a really cool bag from runningfit.com and had a great time. The volunteers

and runningfit did an awesome job putting on the race. there was always plenty

of food,water and gu.  aid stations were plentiful. I'll definitely be back

to run this race again! The results are here 

http://www.dwdgnawbone.com/results/05_15_2010_50m_age.htm