The basic premise of this race is to run/walk/hobble/crawl as far as you can in 12 hours. Individuals and relay teams competed.
Before we get to my experience - let me say that this was a first class affair. Especially for the inaugural event. It was superbly set up. Ron at PCS did his homework and brought forth a really great event. The five mile loop was a perfect distance. It allowed the runners to get back to their rest area and supporters, on average, every hour. The course layout was really good as well. It was just challenging enough for the first 2 miles with some technical trail, a couple hill-climbs, and open space that you were engaged within minutes of starting each lap. The third mile was a solid transition from this challenge to the recovery section that consisted of the last two miles. A step stool was thoughtfully placed to get over the guardrail just below the finish line and a boulder field made it a true Pretzel City Sports event. Coming into the transition area you were greeted by music, cheers from participants and supporters, all the food you could eat, and smiles from every staff member. The mid-course gee-dunk stop at 2.6 miles was a veritable oasis at times and served to keep spirits up and cramps/dehydration away. During the entire event, the participants that I spoke with never had a single word negative regarding the event - everybody appeared to think it wonderfully put together.
On to the meat of the matter...
In eleven hours and fifty-five minutes, I completed 50 miles. Cool.
Starting out, I was feeling great! Came in and picked up my number with 8 minutes to go. Ron could not believe that I was "just getting here?" Yes Ron - I've got 12 hours to run... So 2 minutes and 4 seconds after everyone else got started I finally crossed the start line. Ticking off the miles at an average pace of 9:30 to 10 minutes (which is pretty quick for ultra trail running, apparently) I caught up and started passing the main body of runners within a couple miles.
There were times where we were on really nice single-track trail that forced me into line. Biding time until I could find a spot to pass this accomplished the crucial task of forcing me to slow down and letting my heart rate recover.
Cranking out the first loop served a nice warm-up. Taking only a minute or two at transition I moved into lap two. About half-way through the lap, I realized that my very forward running style (mostly on the balls of my feet) was starting to cause some hot spots, soft areas, and possibly blisters inside the extremely light and not-very cushioned Nike XC racing flats that I was wearing. Making adjustments mid-stride to how my foot was positioned inside the shoe as well as sitting back further for a more true mid-foot strike helped the shoe mold to my foot and cease the rubbing. Anytime I kicked a rock or root the shoe would jolt and it would take a hundred yards or so for everything to re-adjust and the burning to stop. Lap two finished quickly as I passed many more of the runners and started to lead my own sections of trail.
The third loop was mostly uneventful. Again, a nice steady, quick pace provided me with more time in the bank for later in the race where I knew that I would be slowing down and need that time. Early in the lap (mile 1.96 - I know this because it was just below the hill-crawl where the mile 2 marker was posted) I came around a very tight set of switchbacks on the waterway bottom and caught some kind of debris - a small tree-fall by the looks of the damage it did to my foot. My left foot hit this with some force causing a puncture wound the width of a pen in the side of the joint of my big toe. I didn't know the extent of damage at the time and surprisingly I was able to continue on without much pain. I finished out lap three just like the others - in about 50 minutes.
Loops four and five I started to learn to pick up my darn feet. After kicking debris and almost falling a dozen or more times it was about darn time. I got caught up with two very solid runners who kept me paced through the laps without giving too much thought to what we were doing. It always gives me pause to think how in every long event that I do how people come together on the trail and have easy conversation for many miles. It's really fun to experience.
Towards the middle of lap five I remember feeling my hip flexors getting "heavy." They had been working hard for over twenty miles at this point and the strain was getting to them. As CrossFitters we use these muscles explosively for all the Olympic Lifts as well as many of our hybrid movements. Mine are strong - but certainly not used to the repetitiveness of an 80 cadence for this many miles. Finishing lap 5 - I took a short break to change socks and decided to switch shoes as well to the more cushioned Mizuno's that I ran in so much last year.
Removing my right sock I was happy to see that the foot looked great! No swelling or blisters to note. My left foot was a different story...the tree-fall left its' mark and the whole toe was black, blue and purple. Thankfully, there were no blisters, all my toenails were still attached, and there was no other damage. Off to lap six!Lap six brought me to the marathon distance. Twenty-six miles 280 yards in four hours and forty-one minutes. Smile.
It also brought on some additional pains in the knee area. Nothing much though between that and the hip flexors I was slowing down.
Lap seven came and 50 kilometers (my very own birthday run this year) saw my clock at five hours and fifty minutes. I really needed to stop and slow down for a bit but determined I pressed on to the 33 mile mark to celebrate Erika's recent birthday in six hours and nineteen minutes. As you can see, with the early miles starting to take almost 20 minutes per - the trip was taking its toll on me.
Finishing out lap seven I grabbed some food - my first protein of the race, a burger - and headed out for another. At this point, I knew that 100k was out of the question. With 5 hours and 20 minutes to go in the race - fifty miles looked like a certainty. I decided to walk the bigger hills - shuffle the smaller ones - and run hard through the flats and downhills. On this lap, a young man of 47 from Maryland ran with me. He had paced his friend through six very hard and very fast initial laps. He decided an easy last lap would cap a nice 40 mile day so we spent a lot of time chatting as we jogged easy through the flats and walked the hills. My legs were lead and my left knee started to bug me by the end. Had I known the way the next two laps were going to go I would have stopped there. Maybe.
On lap nine, I made it about one-half of a mile before I was forced to walk. Every now and again, on a flat smooth section of the trail, I would attempt to put some hitch in my giddy-up to no avail. My ankles were locked into a flat footed position, my knees would only bend about 15 degrees and I had to violently swing my hips to shuffle my legs forward at all. I probably looked like a funky shuffling person with two legs in full cast. With all my will I tried. Biting my lip and putting every ounce of energy into it I tried. No go. Humbled, I decided that this was now for pride and I walked. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. I walked. And walked. For three fifths of the lap, I walked with Jerry from Maryland who at 78 years old walked seven full laps of this race. I was proud to finish his seventh lap with him.
Convinced that there was no pride in stopping at 45 miles with two hours and 20 minutes left I shuffled out of transition ready to take on my final centimeter of full dilation.
Another young man - feeling slightly better than I - came alongside and joined me for the final brutal lap. I was feeling okay for a bit - through mile one and almost two. Coming down the waterway into where I met the tree in lap three I realized that I was completely shot. I could put no real pressure on my left leg as my knee was inflamed and in deep pain. I could only do so much with my right as the ankle was in a locked position and pain shot through the top of my foot arch. Mike went on and I stumbled up the hill-crawl and through the mine-field at the mile two marker.
It was at this point that I turned into a peg-legged pirate with a non-functioning hip. Thinking I had enough time I slowly dragged my left leg through the forest. My mile times fell close to thirty minutes per and I felt every inch of it.
Coming to the 2.6 mile rest-stop for the last time I had the opportunity to thank Greg for all the help and support. He is one of the local Pagoda Pacers who routinely runs ultra's in his late 40's completing prestigious events such as the MMT 100 miler in terriffic times.
Shuffling away from the moment of rest I started to notice that all the time I thought I had was very quickly slipping away and if I didn't speed up and get these last two and a half miles done in, what was at this point, record time - that I wouldn't finish within the allotted time!
So I pushed - okay, drug - as quickly as I could. Careful not to trip, fall, or otherwise maim my already battered body. Runner after runner passed on their way to 50, 60, 65, and 70 miles. Each and every one taking a moment to ensure that I was okay. Yes, I'm okay. Stupid. But I'll make it. Run fast! You're kicking ass!
Let me take a second to pause here to tell you how extremely happy you become for the accomplishments of others when the clock is counting down and you've had the opportunity to experience the joy, pain, camaraderie, and elation that comes with such an event.
Crawling over the guard-rail for the last time - in the dark, with a coolness descending over the mountain, shirt-less with 9 hash-marks boldly emblazoned upon my chest - a good Samaritan blocked the road with their SUV while another in the car behind cheered me across the twenty foot of macadam that took a solid thirty seconds to accomplish. This was it. One last climb up the hundred feet of boulder field. There was no way I could drag my leg up this and keep my balance. So, I shifted front and from somewhere deep within gears turned and my left knee bent just enough to get underneath. Gritting teeth and sucking wind, one foot fell in front of the other. Mere inches. Ten minutes to go. Up and up. There, one last step and back on the trail. One large log in the way. Sneak your foot through the opening - it'll slide on the dirt. There it is. Okay - let's go. One hundred feet left.
Coming out of the trees I was met by a group of runners who had recognized me. Great job! You're almost there! Six minutes left! 50 miles? Wow. Awesome work!
The grass felt nice. Soft. My foot slid over it well. Coming into the finish the clock churning away. And there was Ron and his crew. Number 59. Done. How many laps? 10? Key the mic - Mike Kizis from Ephrata - 50 miles! Don't believe it? Check the hash-marks on his chest!
Cheering. Laughter. Congrats all around. Smiles.
Thanks, everyone. Mind if I sleep here tonight?
*****
Post Script: (Wow, I look drugged!) That was it. I got to watch as a few runners blazed their way back- finishing 100k is just under the 12 hour mark. The celebration continued. Winners were awarded. Several took home awards of 70 miles. The winner - 72.6 miles total. That was just awesome.
I ate. Shared a few laughs and patted many backs. There were not that many of us left. Over half of the starters called it quits after the 50k. We were a select group and that felt good.
After a solid hour's rest, I hobbled over to the Jeep for the inevitable drive home. Getting out of town and home was interesting to say the least - mostly using my right leg to work the clutch as it was so painful to use the left. I slid out of the driver seat and shuffled inside. A hot shower to wash off the dirt and it was off to bed. Two Advil PM to knock down some of the inflammation and help me sleep through. There was no comfortable position that did not put pressure on my right foot or left knee. But that did not matter for long - I don't remember much else.
Eight solid hours later I awoke to the sun shining through my window. Surprisingly, I was practically out of bed before I realized that I should be taking it a bit slower! A few test steps and some leg bends I found myself relatively intact and functioning. It'll be a few days before I'm back up to moving without pain for sure. However, the recovery may not be as bad as I feared.
The level to which humans will push themselves in the pursuit of - whatever this was - is obviously boundless. Why I left the beach to participate I will never know. But I am happy that I did and can now claim a true 50 mile day, on my feet alone. Don't expect to hear much of it though - I am proud, but there is something to be said for humility.
Next time, know that I'd definitely choose to follow the CrossFit Endurance prescription for at least 2 - 3 months prior. Not just CF alone - it was just too much.
Thanks again to all my family and friends for the support through the day from afar and to all the other participants and race volunteers for the support at the event. It was a truly magnificent experience.
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