Ice Age Trail 50K
i got up at around 5AM today and microwaved a bowl of potato soup. it’s not exactly the "breakfast of champions" but it’s pretty bland and i figured it would make a decent pre-race meal. i grabbed the gear that i had assembled the night before and got in my car to head to the Nordic trailhead in the Southern Kettle Moraine.
the 50 mile event started at 6AM and the runners were out on the first nine mile loop when i arrived at the trailhead. i picked up my race number, timing chip and t-shirt in time to meet up with my friend Jeff and watch the 50M leaders roll through the start/finish area. as race time approached, i positioned my gear duffel bag on the corner of a tarp so it would be easily accessible as the 50K route looped twice through the aid station.
At 8AM, the race director informally said "GO" and we were off. Initially, we looped around a half mile trail in the general area of the Nordic trailhead. Four of us took up the lead pack duties and ran back through the start area on our way to Bald Bluff. Not so long after leaving Nordic, it was down to myself and another guy that i had recognized from the 2006 Chicago 50K leading the way. The guy was much taller than me and honestly had the build of a weightlifter versus an ultramarathon runner. That being said, he had finished ahead of me in Chicago so before running through Aid Station 3 (AS3) with him I eased back on the pace and let him go.
Course Map – first 13 miles
i passed through Aid Station 3 (AS3) and confusion corner, i began winding my way up to AS8 which was decked out in a beach party theme. as i approached, the music of jimmy buffett was being played and the volunteers were decked out in Hawaiian shirts. from there, the trail gets steep on the way up to Bald Bluff. as i made my way up the bluff, i came to the realization that i was working way too hard too early into an ultra. i just didn’t have the legs to match how i wanted to run the race. i slowed to a walk and as i crested the bluff i was passed by another runner.
after cresting bald bluff i made my way down past Stone Elephant, which is a huge granite formation that had significance to the native population. a few other runners passed me in this section as i settled back into a more reasonable pace. i had a few quick conversations with them, which is customary in the ultra scene as most everyone is friendly. approaching AS9 at Horseriders Camp, the leader of the race had about 2 minutes on me. i grabbed a quick drink of water from the volunteers and did the 180 turn back onto the trail. as i left, i greeted my buddy jeff as he was on the way into AS9.
the run back to bald bluff was initially very social as we shared the trail with other competitors on their way out to AS9. it was great to say "morning" or "hello" to folks and hear their encouragement as i wasn’t real happy with how i was running. while continuing to run, i managed to remove my short sleeved nike dri-fit shirt i was wearing under my tank as i was plenty warm by that point in the race. honestly, that was quite a feat considering the terrain i was running on. i wrapped the shirt over the race belt that held my number and continued down the trail.
as i neared bald bluff, i could hear that jeff was coming up the trail and i shouted out a word of encouragement. he shouted back that he thought i was racing today…and i responded that i wised up. shortly thereafter my foot caught on a rock which sent me tumbling to the ground, landing on my left side. jeff ran by and made sure i was okay. i responded with the line "if you haven’t fallen, you’re not running hard enough" which got a laugh. the damage was minimal, only my right thumb was bleeding and i held it for awhile to get the blood to clot. after my thumb stopped bleeding, i grabbed my shirt and wiped off the dirt from my left arm. mind you i’m still running during this gyration, and trying to avoid falling again. i cautiously descended Bald Bluff and made my way back to AS8.
while passing through the aid station, i grabbed my first energy gel (Accel-Gel) and downed a cup of water. (nothing like the taste of well-water…ugh) by this point, i resigned myself to enjoying the day in the woods and not focusing on competing with other folks. non-runners may not understand this mindset but it is a legitimate way to approach the challenge of simply completing a 31 mile run in the woods.
i passed through AS3 and made my way back to the start/finish area. this section of the course is wonderful as the trail is covered in red pine needles and each side of you is lined with pine trees planted in perfect rows and columns. the terrain is also much more friendly as there aren’t as many rocks/roots to avoid.
i made my way into the start/finish area with 13 or so miles completed. i dropped off my spare shirt in my gear bag and picked up a water bottle and some energy gels which i stuffed into the back pocket of my shirt. i downed my second gel and chased it with a cup of water then headed off on the first of two 9 mile loops on the nordic trail.
Course Map – nine mile loop repeated twice for the final 18 miles
the first part of the 9 mile loop was very run-able but the challenge is we had a five mile stretch in between the aid station at the start-finish area and AS1. as i made my way around the loop there was a long stretch of roller coaster hills that really pounded my already tired quads even further. i’d run up the hills as far as my momentum would carry me then walk over the crest beginning to run as i made my way back down the hill. this roller coaster section continued for maybe 2 miles then the course wound back into a pine forest on the approach to AS1.
at the aid station, i got a refill on my water bottle and headed back onto the trail. the worst was behind me in terms of terrain, but i would have to negotiate the roller coaster section one more time before finishing. from time to time, other competitors would pass me. some were participating in the relay division and seemed almost apologetic for passing. i rolled past AS3 and made my way back into the start/finish area.
approaching the start/finish, two spectators were offering encouragement. as i passed by, one said to me "you look so strong." i replied thank you and grinned as small words of encouragement can go a long way. i grabbed two more gels and a water bottle filled with de-fizzed coca-cola…my personal favorite.
as i made my way through the second 9 mile loop, i slowly drank the soda and honestly began to feel much better. the marketing whizzes at coca-cola should really work on marketing a non-carbonated version for endurance races…the stuff is magic.
while running downhill through the roller coaster section of the loop, my left quad cramped up which immediately brought me to a walk. after a minute of walking, it released and i was able to bring the pace back up to a shuffle. i rationed my soda as best as i could and had plenty of opportunity to socialize with other runners who were running their first loop.
at AS1, i drank a bit of water and poured the rest on my face which was refreshing. the volunteers also refilled my water bottle with an off brand cola that wasn’t de-fizzed. as grateful as i was for the additional fuel, as soon as i started to run the bottle foamed over. regardless, i made my way through the pine forest section to AS3.
i grabbed a quick swig of water at AS3 and looked at my watch to see that i had 15 minutes to get to the finish line if i wanted to get under 5 hours. i got myself moving and pushed through the last 1.5 miles as fast as i could move myself. i could hear that i was approaching the finish line from hearing peoples voices and a quick glance at my watch told me i was running short on time. i finally emerged from the woods and stared at the finish line clock that read 4:59:40-something. i mustered what little was left in the tank and was able to still read 4:59:50-something on the clock as the timing mat beeped from my timing chip.
my official time was 4:59:57; good for 19th out of 128 finishers. for the men’s 30-39 age group, i was 9th out of 24. overall, i managed an average pace of 9:40 per mile.
i got the chance to talk with jeff who had finished about a mile ahead of me and managed 2nd in his age group. jeff’s come a long way in a short amount of time. when we both worked at the same employer, he was just a lunchtime jogger. it seems that he got interested in marathoning after listening to some stories i’d shared in the locker room. since then, he’s knocked out a number of solid marathons nearly all of which were boston qualifiers.
after chatting for awhile, i sheepishly approached the first aid station and asked that they clean up my thumb. i did my best british voice and declared "tis only a flesh wound" which quotes a monty python movie i’d seen. to add to the humility of getting a cut on my thumb bandaged, the event photographer snapped a bunch of photos. the guy helping me out said he didn’t mind much as folks like me were actually trained to complete an event like this. he went on to say that later in the day they were expecting to have more significant work to help out the folks at the back of the pack.
so that is the end of my story about my sixth ultramarathon effort. it served to remind me that that the tortoise does indeed fare better than the hare. even though i didn’t come through with my best effort, it was a great day to spend out in the woods.
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