Naked Bavarian 40 Miler - A Conflicted "Race" Report

March 6, 2016 Leesport, PA

The Naked Bavarian in its second year bills itself as "A back to the basics low fee trail run". With a registration fee of $30/$35, I think you'll be hard pressed to find another ultra with such a low rate per mile. I ran the 40 mile race, but 20 mile and Trail Marathon options are available as well. The event is put on by Überendurancesports (Stephan Weiss). I've run his Blues Cruise 50k, The Dirty German 50k and now The Naked Bavarian. Yes, Stephan is from Bavaria and his events are guaranteed to be fun and you're assured they're well run. Stephan is more of an event host than typical Race Director. He's quite approachable and present throughout the events. You can expect fun German music playing, good German food afterwards and if you get swag or any type of award, they're also all German themed.

Naked Bavarian, don't Google it at work...

The Naked Bavarian, like The Blues Cruise takes place at Blue Marsh Lake near Leesport, just outside of Reading Pennsylvania. Blue Marsh (actually Blue Marsh National Recreation Area)is a man made lake as a result of the damming of the Tulpehocken Creek. Blue Marsh was the name of the little town that existed there before eminent domain took it and flooded it in the interest of flood control. As you circumnavigate the lake, you see remnants of the old civilization; like abandoned roads and ruins of old structures. The place is hugely popular in the summer for swimming and sunbathing on the beaches and boating and fishing on the 1100 acre lake. Thirty-six miles of trails are popular as well, attracting hikers, runners and folks on horse back.

Forty miles seemed like a logical progression for me in my ramp up to running the C&O Canal 100 in a few weeks. The Naked Bavarian is a 20 mile lollipop course so for 40 miles, you get to enjoy it twice. I've run two other shorter trail races at Blue Marsh along with the Blues Cruise, so I remembered that the trails were pretty mellow/extremely runnable and elevation gain was just enough to keep you honest on pacing.

The weekend before the event, I came away from my Sunday run with a sore right knee. I tried running Tuesday and it was still pretty bad so I did the unthinkable and took time off. The day before the event I took Mollie and Mojo for a 6 mile jaunt on Blue Mountain, just to assess the state of my knee. My two four legged doctors deemed me fit to race. Had a nice 92nd birthday dinner with my Mom (Dad's 93rd is coming up in a few days) and went home to mix Tailwind bottles and that's when the wheels came off my planning...Janice got sick as hell.

As Saturday evening went on, her sniffing and coughing became non-stop. All night she coughed and sneezed. I can't remember the last time I saw her this sick. When I woke up to eat breakfast, I could feel the heat coming off of her, she had a pretty good fever. There was no way I was expecting her to come with me. She seemed so sick, I wondered even if I should go at all. I kissed Janice goodbye and left her in bed with Mojo and Mollie to hopefully sleep off the crud that had taken control. I've never run an ultra without support. Janice is my crew and she's the best. In the 40 miles, you pass through 10 aid stations and they were all accessible to crew. I had mixed enough bottles that if I needed, I could get a new one each time I saw her. That plan was now out the window.

Early morning at Blue Marsh, overcast and chilly.

I got to Blue Marsh nice and early and got a parking space very near the start/finish. One of the volunteers at registration confirmed that 40 mile runners did need to come completely to the start area before starting their second lap so I set up my Jeep as a drop bag/aid station. I would carry one bottle of Tailwind and revert back to relying heavily on ClifBar gels to get the calories I would need. In the handheld, I also carried ClifShot Electrolyte Hydration mix in handy single serving packets they gave me. I knew there would be water at the aid stations so I could mix my own and not rely on whatever they had. I could visit my Jeep after 20 miles to reload and do it all again.

It was pretty chilly at start time, my dashboard thermometer read 34°. I had on warm gloves and a long sleeve 2XU compression shirt on under my Clifbar t-shirt. With the temps expected to climb to the 40's, shorts were fine for the day. In between every thought, I was wondering how Janice was. I was hoping she was sleeping soundly and getting better. I saw speedy Clayton Bouchard at registration and I saw that his Wife and dogs were with him and again my thoughts went immediately to Janice sick at home. I ran into Tim Nash and Rick Martin, which was cool; they accused me of taking PEDs as I chomped down a salt tablet. Then I saw David and Ashley Lister and their dog and my thoughts went right back home to Janice and our dogs. I realized then that it was really bugging me that I was there without her. I had to keep telling myself that she'd be fine and that this was good practice as I was running the C&O Canal 100 crewless.

Thankfully I didn't have much time to dwell on it and after a brief welcome from Stephan, we were off. The first miles passed quickly and it really wasn't until after the climb at 10 miles that I settled into a comfortable sustainable pace. While the early (and late) miles in the stem of the lollipop have numerous nagging hills, the course offers one sizable climb up the back side of what used to be the Mt. Heidelberg Ski Slope. I ran through the initial two aid stations, but stopped at the third to top off my Tailwind with clear water and I ate an orange slice. I forced myself to drink most of it before reaching the next aid station so I got clear water and mixed ClifShot Hydration in my bottle and repeated that at the aid station 3.5 miles from the start/finish. Staying disciplined with taking in salt, GU Electrolyte Capsules and ClifShot gels my nutrition went pretty well on the first lap.

I was running up the road towards the start/finish and I heard my name and I turned to see Leon Lutz and his daughters out "cheering on the tribe" as he says. Just a kind exchange with the likes of Leon was the perfect thing to lift my spirits. Seeing him also changed my mind about missing my best friend who was home coughing and wheezing. From that point forward, if I had a thought about her I wondered what she would be doing if she were with me. When I saw friends along the way, like Clayton, Tim, David, Ashley and Rick, I used it as a positive lift. Thankfully my brain had turned around.

Moving along on lap #2*

When I run an ultra, I do exactly that; I run it and I don't consider it a race. Sure, afterwards I'll look to see how I shook out amongst the other runners, but to me an ultra is really nothing more than an extremely long training run with clock timing. This time was different for a couple reasons. First, the race director had sent an email that said to check the ultrasignup.com list to make sure we were on it. I checked and I noticed something on the page I had never seen before; ultrasignup assigns a "Target" finishing time for each registered runner and I got 9:05. I thought, wait a minute I can cover 40 miles in less than 9 hours so I left the start with a chip on my shoulder. Second, throughout the first lap and into the second, I noticed I was basically running with the same runners. This happens at every event, but as the second visit to the climb at 30 miles drew closer I began to wonder if I could go faster and get away from them. So now I had my second motivation to go faster. There was a climb in a farmer's field just before the ski slope and I decided to see if I could open a gap on them. I did and I was able to maintain it. I actually felt like I was racing. As I got closer to the finish, fatigue was taking it's toll and I consciously thought about doing just enough to maintain the gap, but not too much to implode. I beat the hell out of that 9:05 projected target and I outran some folks who I'm sure didn't even notice, much less care. (I hope they didn't notice anyway as I probably looked pretty foolish racing for 50somethingth place)

41.4 miles...ya' gotta' keep smiling*

All in all it was a good day on the trails for me. It took 10 miles, but I eventually slipped into a pace I could maintain and even though I slowed toward the finish, I escaped without a catastrophic visit from the pain monster. The hills just before and after the start/finish seemed to take a bigger toll than the bigger climb at the ski slope. The rest of the course is a pleasant site seeing trip around the lake with well stocked aid stations manned by worthy volunteers. Like at The Dirty German and The Blues Cruise, the majority of the volunteers are from the Reading based Pagoda Pacers Running Club. They're definitely a class act. My Plan B nutrition plan went well until I realized on the second lap that I had no more ClifShot electrolyte mix in my handheld (I found it later on the ground behind the Jeep, right where I had dropped it). I drank Gatorade the rest of the way and ate orange slices at the aid stations and I was fine. (Note: I also resisted the yummy Great Lakes Brewing Sampler at the aid station at the base of the ski slope descent.)

That magical aid station at the base of the ski slope*

The temperature got up in the 40's and when the sun was shining it was a beautiful day to be on the trail and it was pretty cool to see so many members of the "tribe" out enjoying it too.  I highly recommend this low/no frills race, I give it an A+ the whole way around.

Other stuff I used:

Altra Lone Peak 2.0

Superfeet Insoles

Injinji Trail 2.0

Zensah Calf Sleeves

Pearl Izumi running shorts

ClifBar Trucker Hat & HeadSweats ClifBar Visor - thanks for the cool stuff ClifBar

SportHill lightweight gloves (2nd lap)

Nathan Performance Quick Draw Plus

Suunto Ambit3 Peak HR

Stephan said, "ya ya and it really works! When the weather's nice the

pretty lady comes out and when the weather's bad the man comes out."

For those wondering, I got home and even though the dogs kept a close eye on her, Janice wasn't any better; in fact she missed work Monday. As I write this she's starting to feel better.

Next up for me on my Ultra of the Month membership is the C&O Canal 100 in Knoxville Maryland. I'm returning to avenge my 2014 DNF.

*Photo note: No Janice not only meant no crew, it meant no fun photos, as she's our family photographer. Huge thank you to Christopher Hand and Caroline for kindly lending their photographs.

The Dirty German 50k - Redemption Run

May 18, 2014

Last year - The Dirty German 50k - 2013 - I arrived sick to the start line after very little sleep, rolled my ankle/fell around mile 8 and went off course following another runner up a wrong hill on the 2nd lap. My goals this year were to right those three wrongs.

2014 was off to a lame start for me - after difficult training conditions through the winter, March saw a weak finish at the HAT Run 50k and April delivered my first DNF when I packed it in after only 64 miles of the C&O Canal 100. I run these races for fun and that's it. I love to run and I train enough that I can beat cutoff times and finish. Not finishing last month felt like absolute crap. Last year The Dirty German served as a tune up for The Laurel Highlands Ultra and this year too, but to say I came to this event in need of some reaffirmation is very much an understatement.

Lasagna for supper and early to bed, meant I felt great rolling out at 3:45am for breakfast. I drove to Philly this year, last year I rode along in the passenger seat falling in and out of sleep in a cold sweat most of the way. Pinned on my number and feeling great for the start, Goal #1 was in the bag.

I ran into Tim Nash while we were picking up our race packets, we exchanged pre-race "how ya' doings?" and we were on our way. Oddly I saw Tim a short time later hustling down the sidewalk still wearing the blue jeans I saw him in earlier and carrying his race packet. I jokingly asked him if he was running in those jeans, only to learn that he was freaking out because he couldn't find where his buddy had moved the car. I assured him he had plenty of time till the start as he ran off searching. The same thing happened to me last year when Janice had to move the car. Thankfully my anxiety was brief as she had just moved across the street and I found her quickly. Tim said he had already been down and back in both directions with no luck. [parking at this event is a little challenging as it's along the street and not in the park, but I didn't see any cars parked too far from the start/finish - I've seen worse parking setups]



Just before the start I caught up with Rick Martin from Hummlestown, this was his first 50k and he was a bundle of excitement/anxiety to get the show on the road. Saw Tim again too and this time he was dressed to run and his heart rate was back to normal, he had obviously found the car. Off we went across the damp park lawn, crossed the Pennypack Creek by bridge and made a quick U-turn onto the trail and into the woods. Rick had said he wished he had thought to pack a drop bag in case he wanted dry socks after the first lap. I told him, I remembered a big puddle from last year, but other than that I couldn't remember water on the trail. We were quickly greeted by mud and water, much of it difficult/impossible to avoid and now I felt pretty stupid about giving out bad info.

Off to an easy start with Rick Martin (#307) leading the way.



For the entire first mile, I ran just a couple hundred feet behind Rick and Tim, keeping them in sight, but at the same time hoping I'd slow down not wanting to try to match their much faster pace. At 1.5 miles, my worries of keeping up with them were put aside as I caught a toe on something and found myself bouncing onto my ass after banging both of my knees on rocks. My left knee especially hurt and I came away with both bleeding. So Goal #2 of not falling was now off the list. [Note: I did not hit my head - Janice claims that I'm so uncoordinated that every time I fall I hit my head - when I got to my feet this time I actually mumbled out loud, "cool, I didn't hit my head"]

Notice the color coordinated red trim on my shorts.



The fall didn't take me out of the race, if anything it gave me the opportunity to collect myself and settle into a sustainable pace. I consider this an easy course so I planned to run the easy sections aggressively and "manage" through the tougher sections. We had plenty of rain the days leading up to the event and the trail was quite muddy and a stream that last year was barely ankle deep was up to your shorts if you didn't use the stepping stones. [Note: I typically just plow right through water avoiding stepping stones for fear of slipping and falling - on lap #2 I saw a woman do just that - she was tip toeing the stepping stones and soon found herself sitting on the stream bed, soaked.] That ice cold water felt great on my aching knees and it also did a nice job of washing the blood out of my white calf sleeves. I came to the intersection where I missed the turn last year and recognized it immediately, thinking to myself "remember this on the second lap" - I did, and Goal #3 of not getting lost was achieved. (For those counting, yes I achieved 2 of my 3 goals)

 

The aid stations at this event are great and it's definitely because of the people/volunteers. It seems they're all runners so they know your needs and they know how to talk to you. My hat's off to The Pagoda Pacers![you'll find the aid stations at the Blues Cruise 50k in October manned by those same great folks]

Chomping down a gel coming into to an aid station.





Pre-race anxiety gone - Tim Nash on cruise control.



Janice met me at or near each of the aid stations to swap handhelds(by now she's a pro at crewing and getting me through races - at this event she was so laid back about it she bordered on nonchalant). I carried a Nathan Quick Draw Plus with GU Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Drink and GU Roctane Energy Gels in the pouch. I had salt tablets and GU Electrolyte Capsules in my pockets. I ate a peanut butter & jelly sandwich once and drank a bunch of Coca-Cola and Mountain Dew at the aid stations. I think I maintained my nutrition pretty well, sticking to my hourly gel/electrolyte capsule dose and salt tablets on the off half hour. A huge meal Saturday night and a good breakfast helped to avoid glycogen debt which I'm pretty sure ended my day early at the C&O Canal 100.  At about 27 miles, I was going pretty good when I felt that tell tale pre-cramp twinge in my right inner thigh so I backed off a bit and ate salt. When you feel the twinge you're usually too late to battle it with salt, but it seemed to subside and I was even able to pick my pace back up (just in time for the nagging little hills just before the finish).



Perry the social runner! :-)





I've said before that I'm a loner when running and that running with others actually messes with my head, but this day was different. There was a young guy who I learned his name was Ethan who passed me so many times we lost count. With Janice's help I was going through aid stations faster than him so he'd spend much of the next section catching back up to me only to do it again at the next aid station and that continued all day. In fact with about 2 miles to go, I sensed a runner behind me on a tight single track section and I soon heard, "I'm baa-ack" and yep Ethan again had caught back up. (When our day-long game of leap frog was over I ended up finishing about 30 seconds behind him). For a good distance I was running with a small bunch (4 or 5) runners (including Ethan) and the chatter amongst these nut jobs was actually fun. Joking and cutting up and I actually enjoyed running with them. They weren't going on about their freakin' PR's or having some innocuous mundane conversation that belongs on the phone or at a Starbucks and not on a trail. They seemed comfortable with spending extra time at the final aid station and I lost contact with them there(except of course for ever-present Ethan). So take note, Perry the anti-social runner made a huge break through and enjoyed the company of strangers while running.

Coming in for the finish (the head above the clock is ever-present Ethan)



Coming into the finish, there was a pretty big crowd there yelling and cheering. I couldn't pick out Janice anywhere and I was concerned she hadn't been able to find parking because of all the people in the park. Over the accordion player's polka(who I'm really bummed I didn't get my photo with) I heard Janice's voice. I also heard another familiar voice and I was pleasantly surprised to spot Janice and her sister Debbie <pretty darned cool> who lives very nearby the park cheering me on as I arrived at the finish chute. I couldn't have been happier with this finish, yes it's an easy course, but most importantly I kept myself on the edge and managed it for the distance. I didn't blow up and I didn't phone it in. I finished something like 25 minutes faster than last year, being the quickest I've run that distance and that helped to deliver some much needed reaffirmation that I might actually be a runner.

This course is perfect for the first timer or for someone who's looking for a fast training run. Elevation gain is minimal and it's 100% runnable. There's single track, double-track and water crossings. There may be a bit more pavement than you'd expect in a trail run, but sometimes you need it to simply to piece together otherwise disconnected trails. This year it was quite wet and muddy. I wore Salomon Speedcross 3's that I'm breaking in and was afraid they'd be overkill, but with the sloppy conditions they were perfect. The Dirty German offers three distances, 25k(1 lap), 50k(2 laps) and 50 miles (3 laps+). This year the race director Stephan Weiss decided on a 30 minute staggered start with the 50 milers going off first, then 50k and 25k last. While that may have caused headaches for race workers and timing, the decision got a thumbs up from me as it ensured less crowded trails. (I must say I was impressed to be caught by the 25k leaders near the end of my first lap - they were absolutely flying) Penny Pack Park is funny that's it's situated within an urban environment and it comes with everything an urban park/trail would have - fishermen, horseback riders, girls hanging out drinking a Miller Lite 30 pack in the middle of the day, the smell of wafting marijuana smoke, randomly discarded clothing and this year there was even a skull and a portion of spine of some sort of animal as a trail-trip-hazard. You're running through beautiful forest, but at times hearing horns blowing and sirens responding. The position of the park does make it easy to get to and easy for those who may come with you to find their way to aid stations if they so desire. The finish line food was tasty(I had yummy German Potato Salad and Brat Wurst w/sour kraut) and the finisher swag included a beer glass, bar towel and choice of a running cap or backpack(I got a hat last year so this year I went home with a backpack - sweet!). The only negative on the day: last year I wore a Garmin 310XT and this year I used the Suunto Ambit2 S and I was disappointed to see both GPS watches measured the 50k course as short(30.14 miles), in fact without getting lost, this year was a half mile shorter than last.

>Next up, The Laurel Highlands Ultra next month and then I'll take a break before running The Susquehanna Super Hike in September and the Oil Creek 100 in October.<