HAT Run 50k - My (D)DNF Race Report

(D)DNF - dēˈ·dēˈ·en·ef
verb
1. the act of not DNF'ing [DNF - abbrev. 'Did Not Finish']
2. to continue to the finish when you think you shouldn't
3. the opposite of DNF'ing 

It's been a challenging winter here in Central PA with weather tougher than we've seen in years. We had very cold temperatures which aren't a real big deal, but the frigid temps allowed the snow to stick around for what seemed like forever. Trails were clogged with snow and ice and road running was difficult and dangerous too. Those challenges weren't enough for me so two weeks prior to the HAT Run, I came down with a nasty cold which seemed to cycle from my head to my chest and back ,over and over again.  It might've been Bronchitis, I don't know, never went to the doc. What I do know is the accompanying coughing fits were unrelenting and nearly impossible to run through. So with all that said, it should be funny to note that a few years ago when a friend told me about the HAT Run, he said, "yeah, the thing about The HAT Run is that you have to be sure to stay in shape through the winter" (thanks Kyle). Considering the crappy preparation I had, I stepped up to the start line with a few hundred others with congested lungs and the absolute bare minimum winter training miles in my legs.

The HAT Run is one of those events where the venue doesn't have enough trail mileage so runners are required to do a couple laps to complete the 50k distance. No, that isn't my favorite format, but I needed a tune up event so I entered. This was the 26th running of the event and it's extremely popular. If you didn't sign up the day registration opened, you missed it. The race filled to capacity in no time. So because I registered that meant someone else didn't get in. I wasn't going to let a chest cold make me miss the start and waste a spot in the race. 

Janice and I had never been to Susquehanna State Park before. It's quite the pretty place, just north of Havre de Grace Maryland along The Susquehanna River near the mouth of The Chesapeake Bay. Coming down from Harrisburg Pennsylvania we entered Maryland via Lancaster County and crossed the river on The Conowingo Dam which is something else neither of us had ever seen. The park is full of hiking trails and seems a popular spot for mountain and road biking. Considering its position along the river, I'm sure it's a good spot for fishing and boating as well. There's some cool historical stuff there too, the Rock Run Historic Area with a working grist mill, the Carter-Archer Mansion, Jersey Toll House and the curious ruins of the Susquehanna Tidewater Canal. The start/finish was located adjacent to the Steppingstone Museum. Janice captured some great photos while waiting for me to appear out of the woods. 

 

Those stairs are part of the course.

Grist Mill

  



 

Remnants Of The Abandoned Susquehanna Tidewater Canal
&
Ruins of The Port Deposit Bridge Piers

It was chilly in the 30's when we arrived with a steady breeze that made it feel a good bit cooler. With the promise that the temperature would climb above 60, dressing in layers was key. The start format was interesting, set up like the typical cross country start with runners basically standing shoulder to shoulder and running to a chute to funnel everyone onto the course.

Fun Start

 

There's a short 3.6 mile starting lap using a park road then into an open field and eventually leading into the forest on single track. After that parade lap we returned back to the start/finish area to begin the first of two 13.7 mile laps. The course was mostly single track through the woods, but we also broke out into some wide open fields and I was surprised by the amount of actual paved park road that we used(one stretch was 2 miles).
 

Plenty of climbing, the course description said 9800';
my watch recorded 7128', but who's arguing?

A 200 Year Old Wall & A Wide Open Field Of Runners

After the wet winter, the water crossings were flowing strong and one of them was about knee deep. My feet were wet most of the day. Each lap had two well stocked aid stations which were essentially at the same location making it very easy for Janice to intercept me.

I started the race with a long sleeve shirt over a sleeveless shirt with arm warmers and light weight gloves. After the first out and back on the road, I tossed the long sleeve and later in the day the temperature came up so I ditched the arm warmers and gloves as well. I was carrying a single handheld Nathan bottle with GU Gels and GU Chomps in the pouch and I had salt tablets and GU Roctane Electrolyte Capsules in the pockets of my shorts. I started the race drinking GU Brew and switched to GU Roctane for the later mileage. Janice swapped out my empty bottle each time she saw me and had a supply of replacement gels as needed. I ate peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and drank Coke and Mountain Dew from the aid stations.



Still Smiling With The Susquehanna River In The Distance

Arriving At The Second Aid Station

Heading into the second aid station on the first lap, I was feeling good and I was holding my mile time just under 12 minutes (comfortable for me for this distance and terrain). Things seemed to be going well in spite of my occasional coughing spells. I left that aid station eating peanut butter & jelly and everything seemed fine until I got about 200' around the corner and I started to cough. This coughing fit was over the top, it was aggravating my gag reflex and I couldn't get it under control so I pulled off the trail out of the way. Unfortunately it didn't end till I barfed and now I felt like hell and the next mileage had some considerable climbs waiting for me and I couldn't stop coughing and gagging. I had now slowed to a crawl and now heading into the start/finish area to start lap #2 I knew I needed to drop out. I was honestly afraid that attempting a second lap would do some damage. I got to the chute and told Janice I couldn't keep going and the timers told me I needed to speak to the guy in the red jacket. I started to unpin my number and Janice said, "no, you can finish, you're beyond half way". I know my face had to show a look of horror. This wasn't just some, "I'm feeling sorry for myself" pity-party act, I sincerely felt like death. Just then the "guy in the red coat" asked, "are you sure? you know it's mostly down hill to the next aid station, why don't you run there and rethink this?" I had heard those, "it's all down hill from here" jokes before. At the Laurel Highlands there's a sign that says "You've reached the highest point of The Laurel Highlands HikingTrail, it's all down hill from here". He wasn't joking though, I could tell his encouragement was genuine. I guess he had seen runners who really needed to drop and somehow didn't class me in that same group. For some reason, his advice and Janice's loving encouragement was enough for me to pin my number back on and give it a shot. Janice also handed me my next bottle, which now had GU Roctane in it versus the mellower GU Brew I had been carrying.

It wasn't a lie, a lot of the mileage to the next aid station was downhill and I did start to feel better. I reached the aid station and I sat down a minute and ate an orange and it stayed down. I got another bottle from Janice and continued on. The pain and discomfort caused by all that coughing and the irritation it brought seemed to be gone or at least at a manageable minimum. There was a mellow two mile stretch of trail across open fields and two more easy miles of park road through the family camping area that seemed to allow me to really regroup. I was beginning to actually believe I could finish. I was actually believing that I was about to (D)DNF! Aside from the fear that those guys may have written down my number as having dropped, I was feeling ok.  

A Run In The Woods



The opening lap was intended to string us out, but the event allows 500 runners and much of the early mileage was like running in a conga line at a crowded shopping mall. It was nice that now that I was officially a straggler, my last miles were run mostly alone. That's my preference, especially when I'm struggling. I made a climb with a couple others and I felt like I had to continually apologize for my constant hacking and coughing. I was a real snot machine and now alone I could hack, cough and spit without encouraging anyone else's gag reflex.

I got to the last aid station and managed/survived the climbing after that and reached the fields leading to the finish with regained confidence. Janice of course was waiting for me and I met up with the "guy in the red coat" again who turned out to be Co-Race Director Tim Gavin. I'm forever thankful for their words that kept me going. Whether I had done damage or not, I had finished and it was because of the chemistry they created when trying to talk me out of sitting down and quitting.  

(D)DNF'ing

Now I Can Stop...



I had come to the HAT Run with two goals:

1. To finish

2. To not get lapped by the winners/leaders

While I'm not a huge fan of running laps, this is a top notch event bolstered by a rich community of area trail runners. I'm not fast so I'm used to finishing after awards ceremonies when most everyone has already packed up and gone. Sure I missed the awards this time too, but the party was still buzzing. Plenty of runners still mingled and the post race food and live music was killer. Crossing the finish line got you a sweet Hat Run running cap, pint glass, bottle opener and a cool embroidered towel. All that on top of the long sleeved Under Armour race shirt you got with your registration. If race stuff is your thing, these guys don't disappoint. I'll take a pint glass over another useless medal any day.

If you're looking for a tough little 50k, in an absolute beautiful place, run by true professionals, then this race is for you! 

 

The Muscle Milk Jeep



Our Jeep



Love This Photo

 

 

 

***Along with all the stuff listed below, I also ran with:

- Salomon XR Mission

- Suunto Ambit2 S

- Zensah Calf Sleeves

- Zensah Ankle Support (for my useless left ankle)

- Injinji Socks
- Headsweats Race Hat

- Under Armour Compression Shorts

- A favorite old pair of Asics running shorts (with pockets)





Running With My Best Friends

Those who know me well know that running is about solitude and meeting challenges on my own terms and by myself. It's about being able to look back over a boulder pile I just scrambled over or down a vista of a steep power-line cut or simply looking at my watch after a lunch hour 10k. Those are moments that are valuable to me and I don't typically share them with anyone. It's not that I'm selfish, it's about me being self conscious of my running. Running with someone else means they'll see how awkward a runner I am, they'll see that I don't even look like a runner and the worse thing ever, they'll hear my labored breathing(my worst fear). With others, I constantly feel like I'm running too slowly or I'm in the way or I'm running too fast or that the others will think it's a race. At races I avoid running in packs and if runners are carrying on a conversation, I'll avoid them by slowing or speeding up. At The Stone Mill 50 last November I simply stopped and let a couple of shirtless chatter-boxes pass me by. I ate a gel and gave them time to gain some ground on me before I proceeded. I love to run and that's the sole reason I do it, but I'm not very good at it and I need to concentrate on what I'm doing. You'll excuse me if I avoid your conversation about your wife and kids, the seltzer water machine you just got at Target, the car you're restoring, the fabulous Tri-bike you just bought or all your wonderful PR's. I've blabbered on about why I prefer to run alone, so why would I be writing about running with my best friends?

A year and a half ago Janice told me about a puppy she saw for adoption on Facebook. It was an adorable Black Lab and she wanted to go meet her at the rescue agency's event held at a nearby Pet Smart. We hadn't had a dog for seven years and I thought we would never be a dog household again.  I was quite surprised by the idea, but I loved it. Long story short, we went to the pet store and met Jezebel or Jessie as they were calling her and she of course was a sweetheart. Then we also met Mike, a scrawny little Border Collie mix who seemed to want nothing, but to be all over me. When he wasn't playing with me, he was wrestling with Jezebel. The two dogs played like they were puppies from the same litter.

The New Puppies - Mojo Is No Longer Scrawny & Little



She was six months and he was five months. A couple weeks later the nice lady from The Compassionate Hearts Animal Rescue was delivering our two new family members. We went to look at one and adopted two. They're now known as Mojo and Mollie and they love to run. Suddenly I have someone I enjoy running with.

We run on the nearby trails on Blue Mountain, usually looping into the network of trails at Boyd Big Tree Preserve. They've been to the WHP/WITF Tower Site, they've climbed and descended the power line, through mud, across rocks and blow downs and the snow and ice of winter. I keep them on leashes to keep them safe and it keeps us together. Mollie is a brute, she gets her harness and leash on and she wants to bolt. For the first mile it's all about keeping my feet as Mollie drags Mojo and I across the rough terrain. Falling is part of trail running, you catch a toe on something and you become one with the ground. Falling with the dogs is funny, no sooner do I  realize I've tumbled into a heap and the two of them are licking my face. It's like having two loving four legged medics checking on me and hoping I'll get up.  Mojo is quite methodical about running, pacing himself and even looking at me funny if I'm running up hill faster than he is. He's a wise dog. After Mollie settles down, she tucks in next to Mojo and then it's like running behind a team of horses. The two actually run shoulder to shoulder. Once when running down a steep hill, a hiker stepped aside to let us pass. As we skidded on our way down the hill, she yelled "do they always run side by side like that?"

Shoulder To Shoulder - Mojo On My Right & Mollie On My Left



Most times when I go for a run, I have a workout in mind. When I take the dogs, it's not about a workout, it's about having a blast in the forest with my dogs. I read an article about running with your dog that said to stay in charge and keep it known that this is your run and not their time to play, sniff and explore. That's not my approach at all, we're out there for fun together. Sure we mostly run, but we may walk and if Mojo wants to stop and sniff, and as long as it's ok with Mollie it's ok with me. Our runs are never steady. Like I said we start off with the Mollie-Sprint/Drag. Then there's Mojo, sometimes he'll decide he's just done and he'll sit down on the trail usually requiring I leap over him, often causing him to come out of his harness. After replacing his harness and a pep talk we get back to running. I've gotten good at leaping these two. They'll literally skid to a stop to pee and with only a six foot leash, that's not enough space for me to stop so up and over I go. The longest we've run together is nine miles. We typically start at the top of Blue Mountain Parkway, so that means we usually return to the ridge via a rocky climb I call the rocky steps. On that route when we reach the intersection with the main trail we pass between a set of cairns and turn left. The dogs recognize this point and know the Jeep is only a mile away and the pace hastens immediately. That's kind of neat and really not a problem unless we start at The Boyd Big Tree parking lot at the bottom of the mountain. Then when we pass through those same rock cairns we need to turn right to return to the Jeep. Mojo sees those rock piles and thinks the Jeep is only a mile away so he protests and insists we go left. After some strong convincing to continue we eventually get on our way. It's pretty cool just how well they know the routes. If we get to a trail intersection where we may have a choice, they'll both look over their shoulders for guidance. If we're approaching an intersection where we always go the same way, they don't even bother, it's heads down and they charge on down the trail. Seeing other people is kind of funny. The most common result is cowering hikers and Mollie and Mojo ignore them and just power on by. Wildlife however is another story. Last summer we descended into Unger's Gap and I saw Momma Bear and her two cubs. Luckily they saw us and scurried before the dogs saw them. I haven't been so lucky with Turkeys, Squirrels and last week a Possum (in daylight). If Mollie sees an animal she thinks she can catch and play with it's off to the races and of course Mojo and I are attached. One night we entered a trail off the power line cut and my headlamp picked up numerous sets of Deer eyes on both sides of the trail and the dogs saw them too. Their pace slowed briefly and I wondered what would happen. It seemed when they were happy these Deer were just like the ones in our backyard, we were back to running again without incident.

Mollie & Mojo After Our First Ever Trail Run (Ignoring The Water Bowl)



When we get back to the Jeep, oddly they never want to drink, they're done and just want to go home. Mojo leaps into the back seat and Mollie insists I pick her up and put her in. The Jeep interior is hardly fit for humans unless you're the driver, currently it's covered in muddy paw prints and slobber(theirs). I wouldn't have it any other way. I love to run, but I care so little about being a "runner"; heck I can't even spell PR and guess what, neither can Mojo or Mollie.

Stone Mill 50 Race Report - A Fun Finish For A Fresh Start

I had been having a fun year of running. The high point was surviving The Laurel Highlands Ultra in June - 70.5 miles in 19:34 - there's something about finishing cross-eyed and hallucinating at 1:05am that can leave you on a high spot. I was stoked, training was going well and I even won my age group in a short race in August. Then September rolled around and without warning, the wheels came off. When you're running an ultra you're wise to be able to recognize a rough patch as just that and you push through it. Don't let it stop you. Somehow I failed to recognize September as a rough patch and I let it stop me. I let a whole lot of things that come with running bother me and I let that frustration stop me. I scratched from 3 races and completely stopped running. I had no real idea why, but that made sense to me at the time considering I have no real idea why I run in the first place. For about 3 weeks I sat on the sofa eating chips and drinking cans of Coke 3 at a time. I was having a blast, just me and the dogs chilling and eating chips. Taking naps was also a newly learned skill. Along with building a lovely waist line, I was reaching new heights of annoying Janice. I came to learn that she cherished those days when I'd disappear for 4 hours to run in the forest. Oh well, I'd just need to learn better ways of keeping my non-running self out of her way so she could still enjoy her "me time".

One Sunday, Janice went somewhere to do something with some girls from her softball team and I started to feel like my lard ass was sinking a little extra deep in the sofa that day. The dogs were sleeping off whatever container of snacks we had polished off and I realized I needed to run. It was that simple, I needed to run. I got off my butt and went for a run - did a lot of walking as the climbs on Blue Mountain hadn't taken off the same days I had, but it was a run just the same. The next day I was right back at it, in fact I ran every day for the next 20 days straight. Over the next 32 days, I ran 31 times. Some of those runs were awful, but for some reason I was running again. I got back to running with Mojo and Mollie too! I even found a couple of short trail races to hop in for fun, got my butt kicked like always, but they were fun.


Somehow when I was going through my "I'm done with running" period I had forgotten to tell the nice folks of the Montgomery County Road Runners Club that I wouldn't be at the start line for their Stone Mill 50 miler in November. After all, the conflict with the date of that race was one of the stressors that sent me spinning out of running, how could I have forgotten to ditch this race too? Now here I was running again. Sure I was carrying a bunch of extra pounds and I hadn't done any much needed long runs, but what could go wrong? The date seemed to be opening back up so who cared if a slow 15 miles was my longest run in many weeks? Yep, I burned some Hilton Honors points and just like that we had lodging and a November 50 miler was back on my calendar.



We packed up the Jeep and left Cody home to take care of Mojo and Mollie. After a short fight with DC Metro traffic we were at Fleet Feet Gaithersburg picking up my race number. Pretty cool timing as we ran into Janice's co-worker Matt Sinopoli and his friend Gene Gignac who were also running the next day. My only real concern at that point was if Matt would leave any finish line food for me. After a tasty dinner and brews at The Dog Fish Head Alehouse, we were off to the Hilton for some much needed sleep before the 6am start.

Pre-race prep at Dog Fish Head Alehouse



The morning went fast, the over-night rain stopped and after announcing some cool stats on what states runners came from (35 from PA), the race director said a very unceremonious "go".

One last headlamp adjustment.



Heading out to the 2.? mile turn around I heard guys talking behind me, put 2 and 2 together and soon realized I was somehow running in front of a Western PA contingent, Ben Mazur, Adam McGinnis and Todd Lewis - runners I spent the day leap frogging with during Laurel Highlands. A three man freight train.

Adam McGinnis, Ben Mazur

 

and Todd Lewis 

The Western PA Limited

It was dark so I wasn't looking at my watch, but I kept hearing comments about our average pace and although I felt fine, I knew I was going too fast. I think Todd was immediately behind me and I felt like I was running from a speeding car - these guys were going good, too good for me to maintain. Finally the sun was coming up so I used wanting to take my headlamp off as an excuse to pull off at the top of a small hill. Phew! As they flew past I thought, "now I can slow down and run my pace". 

Well that all sounds good, but I got caught right back up in the excitement of the race. I was hitting aid stations ahead of schedule causing Janice to miss me at the first one(no big deal) and I had to wait for her at the next(I needed to get rid of a shirt and my headlamp). Waiting a few minutes helped, it seemed to calm me some and drop me into a pack of runners closer to the pace I needed...or so I thought. I had told Niece and Nephew Heather and Jim they may be able to see me at the aid station near the Potomac at 11:00am and then 11:45am at the Stone Mill. I hit the marathon mark well under five hours and now I had just come through the 29 mile Stone Mill aid station just before 11 and was on my way 45 minutes ahead of my planned pace. There would be no way I could survive this pace.

Towing two shirtless guys into an aid station - they sure talked a lot.



Most of the aid stations were only a few miles apart so I chose to run with just a hand held.
Janice refueled me at each aid station with a full bottle and made sure I took two bottles when the next stop would be further than the others(some had 6+ mile gaps between them and in the later miles I was sucking down the liquid). I stuck to my schedule of a gel and an Endurolyte every hour and I used buffered salt tablets twice in the 50 miles(result=zero cramping). At the aid stations I made sure to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwich quarters and a piece of banana here and there - I drank a lot of Coke and Mountain Dew too.

Matt - Chocolate Chip Cookie Connoisseur & Gene - Refueling with Gatorade

I took a few extra moments at the Stone Mill aid station and trotted up the next couple of
ascents at a very easy(slow) pace and I was encouraged by hitting the 50k mark in about 5:50 - that was much closer to where I wanted/needed to be. Unfortunately it became quickly evident that I was not slowing down by choice anymore, fatigue was ruling at this point. I had hoped to finish at 10 hours or 4:00pm and at a later aid station I told Janice that goal was falling seriously out of possibility. I had 7 miles to go and it was 2:30, my pace had slowed considerably and I explained that I felt I was going to miss that mark. I was pushing hard, but I didn't have much left. I knew it was slipping away, but I felt I could really know how much time I could salvage when I got to the aid station at 48 miles. Much of the day, my trusty Suunto Ambit2 S watch hadn't been jiving with the aid station distances so I was relying on what the volunteers or signs listed as the distance. Well, I reached that aid station and I heard a volunteer say "you're doing great, just 3 more miles". Me and two other runners quickly asked, "what mile is this?" and "just about 47" was what we got. The race web site had labeled this last aid station as being at 48 mile and I know it's just a mile and I was going to miss 4:00pm whether it was 2 or 3, but to me that announcement was crushing. I was managing my physical and mental fatigue based completely on having 2 miles to go at that point. Fatigue totally took over and my next 3 miles were a mess.

I started to hear traffic and soon enough was I popping out of the woods onto the sidewalk we crossed in the morning darkness. I knew the High School and the finish line was close. After a short run along the street a nice volunteer directed me back into a forested area and I could see steep hills looming and before long I was looking up at the finish banner, but it was perpendicular to where I was. I heard Janice and others yelling my name. It was sort of confusing about how to get to the finish, but soon I heard the race director yell, "run to me" which meant run straight up a steep grassy hill. It was maybe only 40 yards up, but it was enough to bring flashbacks of running hill drills in football. I muttered some expletive to myself, but just had to laugh at that hill. As the exclamation point at the end of 50 miles it was easy to resolve to walk that last short distance.

Coming out of the woods one last time.

 



Crossing the line I was greeted by a volunteer with wire cutters to cut off my timing tag. When I explained it wasn't on my shoe it was in my pocket, the gentlemen doing the timing simply said, "not good" with a cross look - oops. I tried to explain that I expected to need to change my shoes, but that fell on deaf ears - didn't matter, I soon saw Janice and quickly recognized Heather and Jim who live in Virginia not too far from Gaithersburg. What a very cool surprise, having them at the finish. I hadn't seen them since the Goretex 50 Mile at the DC North Face Endurance Challenge in June 2012. I now knew who those other voices were yelling my name when I was at the base of that nasty hill.



The next day I read an article that said 80% of runners go out too fast at the start of races, so at least I've got company. The Stone Mill 50 offers an easy course. With nothing more than rolling little hills and nothing technical, "easy" is the only label I can give it. Heck, we ran more than a mile on a suburban sidewalk and 3 miles on the flat C&O Canal towpath. The 2 trails the race uses snake through suburbia, one minute we were hearing loud sirens nearby and around the next turn we were greeted by a beautiful buck. Hunters were there too, decked out in full camo carrying their bows on the hunt for Bambi with a couple hundred crazies running through their hunting ground. I was surprised by the amount of water crossings - my feet were wet much of the day. I saw a helmeted woman on horseback, but I also ran through a Starbuck's parking lot. The Seneca Creek and Muddy Branch Trails are beautiful and their gentleness will tempt you to run outside of your ability - take it from me, DON'T DO IT! After all, it is still 50 miles long. All in all, I'm happy with my finish, I got in with a 10:34ish - 89th of 179 male finishers & 115th of 252 overall finishers. 

The biggest deal? >>> I beat sundown and as Jim said, "in November that's hard to do".

Janice found fun while chasing me from aid station to aid station.



I now have completed 2 of the 3 events I found interesting when I first learned about ultra trail running. The Laurel Highlands and The Stone Mill 50 both caught my eye because of their closeness to home. I remember reading The Stone Mill site thinking the drawing of the old mill was very cool and I thought it had to be a fun event because it seemed to sell out in a hurry. Of course, just like Laurel Highlands, at the time I was confident I'd never enter such an insane endeavor. The third event that caught my eye? The 3rd was the JFK 50 and I've accepted I'll never run it and that's ok, I'm having more fun than all those miles on the towpath could ever provide.



On The Rocks Trail 30k - Cyclops Race Report

When I was in my late 20's an optometrist told me he saw tiny cataracts in my eyes. He told me not to worry then, but I'd need to attend to them in about 25 years. Well, here I am 20+ years later and the cataracts had grown to a point where they had to be dealt with. In May I had the surgery done on my left eye. Dr. Ernst of Schein, Ernst Eye Associates performed the procedure and the surgery and recovery went so smoothly and the results were so amazing, I couldn't wait to have my right eye fixed. I had my right eye scheduled for the beginning of this month and Janice's first question was if I'd be fit to participate in the two events I had scheduled the same month. I reminded her how smoothly the first process went and assured her I'd be fine. Famous last words...

Long story short, there was a minor complication with my right eye which kept me on the table a bit longer, but more critically it evolved into a rough patch in the recovery.

Two days after surgery was Janice's family reunion weekend which meant our annual participation in the Chiques Challenge. This was the third year for the light hearted event and unfortunately due to injury our team of five was dwindled to three. Yep, it was the slow old guy with Niece Becky and her boyfriend Grant. A couple of twenty-something speedsters who can clip off a 3:30 marathon. My only goal was to see how close I could stay with them during the 4.3 mile run so as not to make them wait for me on the 2+ mile kayak stage. No matter what, we finish as a team and in numerical order by bib. (pretty serious event!) I held my mile time under 8 minutes and hit the water just a coupla-three minutes behind them. We had a blast, finished together and I went to watch Janice's co-ed softball team play two games before heading off to eat too much at the family reunion. Sunday was spent in a camp chair watching The Ridgerunners play five more games and take 2nd in their end-of-season playoff. All was good, I had a new lens in my right eye and I had a great weekend.

Monday told a different story. I awoke with a cloud over my eye accompanied by an annoying irritation. I was raised that if I could walk I went to school and I now typically wait till the grim reaper is ringing the doorbell before I call a doctor. I couldn't see through the soup on my right eye and the irritation wasn't to be ignored so I pulled the trigger and called the doctor. As a result of the complication during surgery, pressure had built in my eye. After two doctor visits and no running I was beginning to wonder if my assurance that I'd be fine for the On The Rocks 30k was pre-mature. I had one more appointment scheduled for Friday, but I couldn't take it anymore so I went for a run on Thursday. It was just my typical lunch hour 10k, but this time with no useful vision in my right eye. As I completed the first mile, suddenly I noticed I was seeing better. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, but something had changed. I closed my left eye and I could actually see with my right eye. As the miles went by my vision seemed to get clearer. When I got back to the office I was reading everything I could using just my right eye. I was encouraged and decided that unless the doc said no, I would be at the start line on Saturday.

I wanted to return Rocky Ridge County Park because last year it was announced that this year would be run in the opposite direction essentially making it a different race. The York Road Runners Club with Scott Newcomer as race director put on a good race. It's also a fund raiser for the nearby Margaret E. Moul Cerebral Palsy Home. The event offers a 5k Walk, a 10k and a 15k and 30k. The 15k & 30k runners start together on the same route, the 30kers simply get to do the loop twice. Scott Newcomer's a trail and ultra runner and he lists the course difficulty as a 6 or 7 out of 10 because of the running surfaces and the elevation gain . On The Rocks Trail Run is an appropriate name as it has a few portions where you pop out of the woods onto a gravel path, but the majority of the course is typical Pennsylvania rocky technical trail. Throw in 3,000'+ of climbing over the 30k and it adds up to a tough day.

Running with folks who are doing half as much, I have to keep an eye on my pace from the start to avoid getting sucked into their quicker pace. This year we took off heading west with a good bit of downhill to get us started. In short order though we were winding through the rocks to climb our first nagging hills. I felt good, saw Janice at a road crossing and seemed to be managing my pace and nutrition/hydration just fine. My Suunto Ambit2 S said I was slightly ahead of last year's pace enough to make me happy, but not too fast to make me concerned.

 

 

 

 

 

At the 7 mile mark there was an aid station and a bit of a downhill which lead to a long climb which lead you to the final climb before the start/finish area. Those two climbs slowed me and I was disappointed when my pace seemed identical to last year's. Those climbs also emptied my handheld so I was now wondering if I would see Janice with my other bottle or would I need to go to the refreshment pavilion to refill. Seeing an aid station canopy on the power line crossing before the start of the second loop filled me with positive energy and I passed another runner as we finished the climb into the start/finish.

 

 

I got to refill my bottle, smile for Janice and her ever-present camera and I started lap two with a new found energy. Before I knew it I was back on the opening downhill and feeling and going good again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FACE PLANT!...mmmph...

 

Yep, I stepped on a loose rock that rolled under my right foot and quickly I found my head and chest making intimate contact with the earth. I didn't roll, it was more of a chest skid and after hitting my head I was definitely seeing stars when I got back up on two feet. I found my visor promptly, but my handheld flew a bit further and happily the runner I had just passed eventually came along and lent another set of eyes and found my bottle. She offered her concern and I seriously contemplated walking back to the start finish which was not far at all at his point. I thanked her, but assured her she shouldn't waste anymore time helping me and she was off down the trail. My head hurt, my chest hurt and I was now realizing my right arm had slid though a patch of stinging nettles and it was on fire from their venom so...I did the logical thing and decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and got going again - break time was over.

 

A fast limp turned into a walk and soon I was back to running. Somehow I had drank my entire bottle shortly after the spill and I was jones'ing for the next aid station. I eventually got my act together, re-caught the woman from the crash site and actually caught and passed a few others as well - very uncharacteristic of me, I'm typically the caught, not the catcher. I came upon a runner sitting on a rock complaining of immense cramping - I felt like a street corner drug pusher giving him an electrolyte tablet. Youngsters working the next aid stations stared at me in wonder - Janice was at the southern observation deck waiting with a handheld full of Nuun and she gave me that same look - I really didn't know just how much I was covered head to toe with dirt from my downhill chest skid.

 

Before I knew it I was leaving that last 14 mile aid station and heading towards the final climbing. Suddenly a runner appeared out of nowhere hot on my heals and I thought, "where the heck did you come from?". In an event like this you come to learn where other runners are around you, you have a loose inventory in your head and this guy was not on my list. It seemed to anger me, this guy was going to pass me and I didn't want that after fighting for the meager position I had established. His pursuit lit a fire in me and not only did I run him off my heals, but my new found energy/pace had me passing other runners in those final miles(also very uncharacteristic of me).

 

 

Covered in dirt and with my bib number flapping, I crossed the finish line with a 5 minute improvement on my time from last year and I successfully defended my 50-59 age group win as well. I was even happier to find out that this year there were actually others in that age group (last year I won as the only old guy - kinda' left-handed).

 

 

Great/tough race at a beautiful park supporting a wonderful program - go run this race next year folks!

 

Today my ribs hurt to the point that an easy run is tough, but the good news is that my post eye surgery recovery seems to have begun in earnest. Not to worry, I'm sure I'll be able to take deep breathes and I'll have brilliant vision when it comes time to run The Susquehanna Super & Ultra Trail Run next month.

 

No, none of those runners are me...just another cool

photo Janice snapped while patiently waiting for me to finish.

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Posted By Blogger to Perry's Trails at 8/20/2013 06:08:00 PM

Laurel Highlands Ultra Race Report - Running With/From The Old Man Of The Mountain

Growing up in Central PA, the land of Park Barner, I have known the word "ultra-marathon" since my youth. I remember my Dad pointing out Mr. Barner in the grocery store one time . Back then the idea meant nothing to me. I had no clue. Fast forward to 2008 and Karl Meltzer's Appalachian Trail
attempt and that "ultra-marathon" word came back to me. At that time I started reading all I could about trail and ultra running and of course I stumbled upon the 70.5 mile Laurel Highlands Ultra. Back then I was loving backpacking taking an annual section hike on The AT, about 100 miles in 6 or 7 days. I thought, certainly The Laurel Highlands Trail sounds beautiful, but who would be insane enough to cover it end to end in one day. I had only thru-hiked one trail and that was the 31ish mile West Rim Trail and I did it leisurely over a weekend. My backpacking was evolving into something
strange, I'd finish each day in my tent wishing I had gone further. It came to a head when I
hiked The AT section from The Delaware Water Gap to Bear Mountain and I had miscalculated
everything and finished a day early (no I didn't figure it out, it was pointed out to me over the
phone by Janice as she told me which hotel to check into so she could come retrieve me the next
day) That was 2009 and in 2010 I ran my first ultra length trail race (The 28.4mi Susquehanna
Super Hike & Ultra Trail Run), I hadn't even run a marathon yet, but I was hooked. So here it is
2013 and I have run a few 50k's, a couple 50 milers and I was looking for something a little
longer that wouldn't conflict with Janice's softball tournament held annually on the first weekend in June. Well there it was, the historic Laurel Highlands Ultra; the second weekend in June and in Pennsylvania. Who was insane enough to try to cover it all in one day? Me.

 

Janice checking out The Youghiogheny River.

 

The falls in Ohiopyle, PA.

The race starts in beautiful Ohiopyle, PA. A haven for outdoor play. The raging white
water is the main lure, but the lands surrounding the roaring Youghiogheny offer endless
possibilities for outdoor fun. If you haven't visited, you need to. Stop at Wilderness Voyageurs
and arrange a white water trip. I recommend shooting the rapids in a "Duck", it's a hoot! You'll have a blast. We found a place to stay at the nearby Lodge At Chalk Hill, an old motel that was being refurbished even during our visit. Our room had a brand new TV, fridge, microwave and toilet. For 80 bucks a night, it was exactly what we needed. Right next door is the Christian W. Klay Winery, perfect for a pre-dinner wine tasting. The weather was pretty crappy or we may have returned to see the live band later. Looked like a good time. Hidden back a country road was Fabrizi's Restaurant which made for a perfect fueling place. I highly recommend finding it and eating there. We made a quick trip to Ohiopyle to play tourist and check out the rapids and the falls and then it was back to the lodge to pack up hydration vests before trying to get some sleep.

At The Lodge at Chalk Hill. That deck overlooked a small lake.

A new visitor center is being built in Ohiopyle on the location used as the start line. That made
for minor parking mayhem, but it was no big deal considering the 70.5 mile field is limited to
130 runners and there were only a few relay runners starting at the same time. Janice was perched
up on an observation deck meant for viewing the waterfalls and I was positioned near the back of
the pack determined to not get in the way of the fast folks. There was a brief prayer said and the
next word was "Go".

As I took my first step and I realized I hadn't taken allergy medicine or Ibuprofen. Janice said
the Jeep was unlocked so I stopped and gobbled it down. I was now the absolute last runner out of
Ohiopyle. No big deal, I had all day to establish a position/catch up. Little did I know I was
about to get caught behind a traffic jam when the trail kicked up just past the guide shop. I was
behind guys who were talking about where to get breakfast after thy finished at 3am and another
couple who wondered if they'd make the time cutoff at the first check point. I'm not fast, but I
knew I didn't want to be starting this way. (mistake)

5:30am start...at the back of the pack.

I had done some homework on this trail, but I never found a worthy elevation profile. Elevation
gain is very important to this old guy's planning. I knew there were 2 small climbs followed by a
much larger climb all in the early miles. I thought I was prepared for these hills and I felt ok
even as I charged up the big climb. The big climb ended up being longer than I expected and I
needed to back off on my pace before the top. There was an aid station at 11.6 miles. I have 2
Nathan hydration vests and Janice was prepared to swap out my empty for a full one at the check
points. She stood ready with a full pack at that aid station and I told her I'd hang to the one I
had till the checkpoint. With 2 miles left to the checkpoint, my bag went dry.(mistake) I had
hoped to reach the first checkpoint (19.6mi) in four hours and I arrived about a half hour late,
but I was still ahead of the cutoff and I felt fine.

My job on the day was easy, all I had to do was follow a well blazed trail with every mile marked with a cement pillar for 70 miles. Janice on the other hand had to find her way up and over the Laurel Highlands Mountains. Janice had her GPS with her, but we were relying heavily on the locations I had saved to the mapping software in my phone. (mistake) The remote region provided no cell signal in most places and roaming in all the others, draining the batteries in no time at all. No problem, we have one of those power inverters you plug in your cigarette lighter and it provides A/C power, so she could charge batteries right? Well that inverter decided to die a smoky death as Janice was now also running out of gas because I hadn't filled the tank (mistake) after the trip from Harrisburg. Needless to say when I met up with her at the second checkpoint (32.3mi), she had the most sour look on her face and I knew the day had become a nightmare for her.

 

 

Arriving at Checkpoint #1.

 

At that point I was at about seven and a half hours. I was almost at the half way mark and still
under 8 hours so I assured her that I was still after a decent finishing time and I took off
(mistake). Back to that elevation profile I never really got a good look at. The hills between there and
the next checkpoint hit me hard. On the tiny little DCNR elevation profile image they looked like
little rollers, but in reality they were serious hills (for me anyway). The time added as I
neared the fourth check point (46.4mi) plus the look on Janice's face equaled this race just
wasn't worth it. I love running, but I consider it an extremely selfish act and if I get the hint
that my running is ruining someone else's day, I have a tough time continuing. Going home happy
is far more important than making it to any finish line. I knew what I had to do so when I
arrived at the checkpoint, I explained to Janice that if I wanted to drop out I had to do it at a
check point. All I had to do was unpin my number and we could go the hell home. I had just
traveled the last 14 miles at a snail's pace and she was having a crappy day, but she refused to
support my dropping out. She said, "if you feel good enough to continue, you need to finish".

I had a hot spot on my left foot so a volunteer gave me some duct tape and I was good to go. A funny thing happened at this checkpoint, I sat down on a metal folding chair (the kind you might see in a school or church) to take off my shoe and the chair sunk about six inches into the mud. (Oh well, I thought it was funny. Guess ya' had to be there) Janice made a plan to meet me with dry socks at the next checkpoint and I was back on the trail. I was in no way assured that I was doing the right thing by continuing.

 

Happy to have survived to another checkpoint.

 

Checking the aid station for something good to eat.

 

The trail leading to checkpoint #4 (57.1mi) was far more welcoming (with less hills) and I was back

to running consistently. As I arrived at that last checkpoint it was getting dark and with 13
more miles to go I again suggested calling it a day. Again, Janice was having none of it. At this
spot she had one of our camp chairs and I changed my socks. I started the day in Drymax and would finish the day in Darn Tough - seemed appropriate. I had gone all day in a pair of Salomon XR Mission shoes and the thought of changing into a dry pair of Mizuno's seemed like a good idea, but my feet were a bit swollen and the fit is different and they weren't going to work so the Salomon's went back on. I had run all day with GU Roctane in my hydration vest, but for the last section I had asked Janice to fill two Nathan bottles with NUUN. One bottle was in a handheld carrier and I stuffed other in the pocket on my vest. There was one more aid station at 62 miles, but crew didn't have access. My plan was that I could drink those bottles and still have a full hydration bag to get me down the mountain to the finish.

Off I went, 13 miles to go in the dark following the beam of my Black DiamondStorm headlamp. I
had never run this far in the dark and I was now running when I'm typically in bed falling asleep
to the news. I was concerned I'd meet the sleep monster everyone talks about, but instead running in th edarkness turned magical as I lit up the dense forest. I had been eating a gel on the hour and taking a Hammer Nutrtion Endurolyte electrolyte tablet(or two) on the half hour. GU Chomps and PowerBar Gel Blasts filled in the gaps in between. I ate whatever looked appetizing at the aid stations. I like peanut butter and jelly and I reached for what I thought I thought was PB&J and it turned out to be bologne and cheese. It was in the same container with peanut butter and jelly and I obviously didn't look close enough. Nope I didn't barf. In the last hours I just couldn't stomach anymore gels. I ate only one more between the last checkpoint and the finish.

Running in the dark I paced along with a woman in a Newton hat for a while until I had a clumsy
painful fall at about the 65 mile mark. After getting going again I fell in behind 3 guys who had
made a wrong turn. They were walking and I joined their walking parade on a little climb, but
after that the trail leveled out and I had promised myself (and Janice) that I was going to run wherever I could so I told them I was going to run. Two of them (a runner and his pacer) went with me, friendly guys from Ohio. They chuckled at me when I told them I was running this event because I wanted to go further than 50 miles. I was asked "why didn't ya' pick some easy 100k instead of this tough thing?" We caught back up to the woman in the Newton hat, she had had enough of the rock dance in the dark and was walking in hopes of finishing healthy. We all understood. Soon the lights of the finish line were glowing through the trees. The fellas with me were psyched to pick up the pace to the finish. I wanted to finish on my own so I let a little gap open and finished a few seconds behind them. I got to take in that "I did it feeling" and before I knew it the race director was reaching out his hand in congratulations and handing me the coolest wooden trophy with a "70" on it.

It's after 1am and the race director was there to greet me with a hand shake & huge smile.

I made a lot of mistakes with this race, but the biggest was that I didn't do thorough research
on this trail. I knew about the early ascents, but I thought it would be easy sailing after that. I've since learned that the LHHT climbs more than 11,000' and descends the same amount across it's 70 miles, sapping your energy on the way up and chewing up your quads and your toenails on the way down. I have since decided that LHHT really stands for Laurel Highlands "Humbling" Trail. I obviously read too many flowery blog posts about wonderful days on the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail with the beautiful ferns and sweet smelling Mountain Laurel. I should have checked those authors' finishing times. Well here's mine, it took me 19 hours 34 minutes and 23 seconds to reach the 70.5 mile finish line. The old man of the mountain who lives somewhere between Mile 34 and Mile 48 kicked my butt for not paying him the respect he deserves. I'll never go to an event without knowing everything I can and I'll always respect the mountain or the mountain will eat me.

All done & more than ready to be collected by an equally exhausted Janice. Now I could quit.

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Posted By Blogger to Perry's Trails at 6/18/2013 06:41:00 AM