A collection of race reports and other writings of and about ultrarunning, trail running, and other running related topics with a strong focus on the East Coast. The "Beast Coast" has a strong trail running community and some amazing events; this blog aims to showcase some of that.
As I begin this blog post we are quickly approaching the weekend of the Runderwear Festival of Running half marathon. Additionally, this Saturday is exactly 2 weeks out from my first 24 hour race! I am so excited and pumped to have an “in real life” race on my schedule and happening so soon.
I hope to use this weekend’s Runderwear Festival of Running virtual half marathon as a portion of my final weekend of training before rolling into taper mode until my 24 hour race. I’m excited to attempt to run a faster half marathon as it feels like it has been so long since I have pushed myself to run hard for any distance longer than up to a mile. Part two of my plan to use this half marathon as part of my final training weekend is to get out for at least a medium distance run the day after on what I expect to be either tired or sore legs. The thinking behind this is of course that at some point during the 24 hour race my legs will be tired so I want to be prepared and mentally ready to continue to move on those tired legs.
My pace goal for the half marathon is to run an average pace of 8:15 per mile. It’s not shooting for the stars or a PR for me, but my training for the last 5 months hasn’t been focused on speed; it’s been focused on building volume and endurance. Additionally, even if I thought a faster pace was within my reach, I don’t want to overextend myself with only 2 weeks to recover before the 24 hour race which has been my top running goal for the last couple years.
Based on my monthly mileage build up, I feel mentally and physically ready to run for 24 hours straight. I have built volume and endurance with this single race in mind. My last long run to prepare for it was 42 miles at what I considered a comfortable pace. Near the end of that run I wanted to test my legs and see what I had left at that point. I ran my forty-first mile in just a little over 7 minutes. This gave me a huge confidence booster for the 24 hour race. Now I just can’t wait to be on that starting line!
I’ve had the intention of beginning to write this 2020 running goals assessment blog for a week or two now. I’ve been thinking about it, but 2020 was anything but a typical year. How do I even attempt to objectively assess what progress I have made towards my goals when the very structure (organized races in this situation) pretty much ceased to exist. I’ve frequently heard this year described as a “dumpster fire” and I believe that many of the people using that term have good reason to do so. However, other than the cancelling of in person racing and virtual schooling for my children, I have skated by relatively unscathed by the major impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. I never even ran out of toilet paper. And for this I am extremely grateful (the whole unscathed thing, I wouldn’t have been that upset about the TP thing; I poop in the woods). Even so, how easy it would have been to just quit on 2020 and not attempt any of my running goals! But I couldn’t have that. I reassessed, recalibrated, and adapted my goals to the new situation.
An effect of this process was my outlook on races and running. Without races, I had to test my beliefs about my true motivation to run. Had I been running to train for races or did I truly enjoy the process of training as I have preached? This idea and method of assessing my running goals developed for me this past weekend during my long run. I wasn’t sure how to approach this blog post and I wanted to run for a few hours so I figured I’d give it some thought while I run. It seems that I come up with more creative ideas and am better at problem solving while running. The ideas usually seem genius to me while running, but too often when I get back home they’ve lost their spark or I’ve completely forgotten them. During this past weekend’s long run I listened to music (something I don’t do regularly while running). A meaningwave song by Akira the Don with excerpts of audio of Jordan Peterson speaking about the value of music came on. While listening to it and running, I realized that what he was saying about music is what I feel about running: the “patterns” I find in a single run or over the course of months of runs with varying tempos, the emotional highs and lows, and the delivery of a feeling of transcendence when everything falls into place and is as it “should” be.
“I think the most accessible form for most people is music.
And music to me is the most representational form of art because I think that the world is made out of patterns.
And we perceive some patterns as objects but fundamentally it’s patterns and what you want is all the patterns of the world to interact harmoniously in something where every element is related intelligibly to every other element.
And I think that when your life is in harmony that you can feel that.
When you’re dancing to beautiful music you’re acting that out.
The music is the music of the spheres and you’re participating in the patterning of your being in accordance with that structure and that gives you an intimation of transcendence.”
---- Jordan Peterson ----
Based on my thoughts and feelings during this run, I don’t think my overall view of running changed, but the value I put on organized races may have been altered. It’s been over a year since I’ve done it, but I think I still love racing. Maybe not for the competition factor as much anymore, but maybe even more so than before for the fact that organized races provide us an opportunity to run some really cool trails in beautiful areas without having to put almost any work in on the logistics side of how to pull it off.
So with that short introduction, or maybe it was a tangent, here’s my 2020 goals assessment....
2020 Goals:
Run at least one 24 hour event (scratched)
PR longest distance in a single run (>104.8 miles) (complete)
Complete my "Run Every Single Street" of Egg Harbor Township project (progressed)
Run at least one “last person standing” event (scratched)
Volunteer at a local race with my son (altered)
With pretty much all running events cancelled (including the 24 hour race I was registered for), goals 1 and 4 were scratched from the list. I can’t very well run a race if races aren’t happening. I had intended to get my longest distance run accomplished at the 24 hour event that was cancelled. Even with races cancelled, this was something I could still complete. I did so by going after an FKT longer than any race I had ever run, the Batona trail out and back (about 106 miles). It wasn’t that much farther than what had been my longest distance (104.8 miles). I had hoped to increase that distance PR by more than just a mile or two, but an FKT had been on my “to do” list for a while and it would complete one of my goals. I would be able to at least check one goal off of my list and maybe still leave room to improve my distance PR next year.
Goal number 5 could have been scratched altogether for the same reason as goals 1 and 4, but I decided to alter it a bit and complete an adjusted goal. Rather than volunteering at a local race with my son as I had intended, we helped out with a couple organized clean ups along a multi use path that I run on occasionally. It wasn’t as much fun as I had expected volunteering at a trail race with my son would have been, but again I was forced to adapt to the situation. Rather than just give up and do nothing, I wanted to do something. I thought this was a good compromise that would still benefit the running community in my area.
Last is goal number 3, to complete my “Run Every Single Street” of Egg Harbor Township project. This goal is the only one that was not impacted due to COVID-19 restrictions. Yet I still didn’t complete it. I’ve made quite a bit of progress as I am at almost 50% complete, but that’s only about the halfway point. Why didn’t I complete this one? The main reason is because of the self imposed rules or restrictions I have put on myself and the manner in which I intend to complete this project. When I started, I had planned to drive to starting points to run new streets once I surpassed the 25% complete threshold. Well, 25% came and went and I continued starting all of my runs to reach new streets from home. This of course adds lots of miles as I am “rerunning” the same roads to reach new roads. Is this the right way to do it? Is it the wrong way? I guess that’s part of what intrigued me with these every single street projects.The rules are up to you. Could I have finished by now if I had been driving to new starting points? Maybe. But I’d still like to see how close I can get to 100% before resorting to that option.
So that was my running review of 2020. Definitely not the year I had hoped for, but I think that goes for everyone. I still got to run plenty of miles and achieved an FKT that I hadn’t even planned to go after so it’s not like it was all bad. I hope everyone else isn’t too disappointed with how their 2020 turned out and that they were able to find some silver linings somewhere along the way. Cheers to all, happy new year and here’s to hoping that all of your running dreams come true in 2021!
Disclaimer: I received a Runderwear Men’s Running Base Layer and Neck Warmer to review as part of being a Runderwear Ambassador.
I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it several times in this blog in the past, and I am sure I have made the statement multiple times on social media posts: I prefer hot weather running over cold weather running. I think I’m more of a minority amongst runners with this preference, but given the option of running in swamp ass, hot and humid conditions versus bitterly cold freezing temperatures, I’ll choose the swamp ass every time. With that said, maintaining my motivation and desire to run over the course of colder winter temperatures and shorter daylight hours becomes quite a challenge for me at times. Which makes the winter running gear I use an even more important factor in whether I stick to my training plans.
I received two winter running gear items from Runderwear: the Men’s Running Base Layer and a Neck Warmer. I tested both this past holiday weekend while running trails at Hartshorne Woods and Huber Woods in Monmouth County, NJ. Conditions were mild for late November with daily highs ranging from 55-62 F. I planned to be out for some longer days (an 18 miler and a 10 miler) on the trails, so I wanted to wear something that would keep me warm during the cooler part of the day and not make me feel overheated during the warmer part of the day. I went out wearing only the Runderwear Men’s Running Base Layer and a Neck Warmer above a pair of shorts. It turned out to be the perfect compromise for warmth and comfort throughout the varying temperatures of the day.
Men’s Running Base Layer The Men’s Running Base Layer was designed for cold weather running with its moisture wicking fabric to keep you dry and warm in cold conditions. The fabric provides dynamic heat control with its mesh panels that contain micro perforations that increase breathability which assists with moisture (sweat) removal from your skin helping to keep your core temperature stabilized. The shirt design, like their underwear, is completely seamless and label-free further reducing any risk of chafing. All keeping in line with Runderwear’s chafe-free guarantee.
There’s not a lot of print on it, but the print that is there is hyper reflective. I found this out as I was making the short run back from the county park to the house as it got dark. I was regretting not bringing my headlamp as I ran on the side of a road with an extremely narrow shoulder, thinking what a terrible choice it was to wear a nearly all black long sleeve. I got nervous every time I saw a set of headlights, but noticed the reflection of the Runderwear logo and print on the front of my base layer which provided a bit of comfort.
The last feature of the running base layer that really stood out to me while testing it out was the foldable sleeve ends. The sleeve ends are designed to fold out and over your hands providing built mittens at the end of your shirt sleeves. It wasn’t cold enough that I needed mittens, but I thought the feature was super ingenious, convenient, and well thought out. It’s a well designed feature as the extra material at the end of the sleeves doesn’t feel bulky and is barely even noticeable until unfolded over your hands. I could see this feature being extremely handy for those cooler days when it’s too cold for bare hands, but warm enough that your hands get sweaty when you put gloves on. I’ve had those days where it feels like I’m constantly putting on and taking off my gloves.
Neck Warmer The Runderwear Neck Warmer is on par with that other really popular neck warmer/face covering company that rhymes with “fluff”. It’s comfortable, breathable, and multifunctional. It can be worn as a bandana, head covering, face covering, or as a neck warmer, obviously. What sets it apart from that other popular band? Not a whole lot other than competitive pricing at only $5 a piece. That and the color perfectly matches other Runderwear attire. So if coordinated running outfits tickle your fancy, this neck warmer just might be your jam.
The neck warmer was especially useful for me as a face covering when passing others on the trail. With New Jersey’s mandatory face covering policy when social distancing can not be maintained (such as on a narrow trail), the face covering was perfect. I could wear it around my neck as a neck warmer and simply slide it up over my mouth and nose when I passed other trail users.
All in all, I’m very impressed with the Runderwear winter running gear after my initial weekend test runs. Although they started as a company specializing in running underwear, they have expanded and made other high quality running attire. I was already sold on their blister free socks and chafe-free underwear, but now I’m a fan of their winter running attire as well.
I've been running at the Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve for a little over 5 years now and have easily put in hundreds of trail miles there. Just this past summer I feel like I've finally found the ideal trail route there, in my opinion. I thought I had the best route already figured out a while back, but it included an out and back along a power line cut that I never really cared for because A: it's and out and back and B: it is one of the few sections that is in full sun. This updated route omits that power line out and back and adds a small trail loop at the beginning on a less traveled trail that I had always overlooked.
EHT Nature Reserve Grand Tour Route Overview/Walkthrough
From the Zion Rd. parking lot you’ll hop on the Upper Trail and head out towards the right beginning a loop around the lake in a counter clockwise direction. You won’t be on that trail long though. Pretty much as soon as you see the lake from the top of the sledding hill (a little past 0.1 mile) you’ll see the woods trail cut off to your right into the woods. Follow those orange markers.
This trail will take you through the most heavily wooded area of the reserve. At about 0.25 mile the trail forks. Stay right for a little jog through the woods back towards Zion Rd. You’ll run with Zion Rd. in sight for a short while (I promise this is the most road you’ll see for the entire route) and then the trail will turn left and merge with what feels like a fire road at about the 0.45 mile mark. Follow this straight away through the woods until you come to a “T” at about 0.7 miles. Make a right there then keep your eyes peeled for trail markers so you don’t miss the next left otherwise you will end up in a storm retention basin if you stay straight on that trail.
The Woods Trail will lead you back towards the lake, but just before you reach it the trail will turn back in a north east direction into the woods again. Follow the orange markers until you are almost at the powerline cut (about 1.6 miles). At this point you will follow a very short trail across the powerline cut to pick up the 0.7 mile trail on the other side. At the halfway point of this section you’ll see Bayside Rd. as the trail turns and begins to make its way back towards the powerline cut.
You’ll then follow the powerline cut along the wood edge until you see the concrete tubes. At that point the trail cuts back into the woods for a bit and you’ll be back on the Upper Trail. Follow this past the concrete tubes and enjoy the artwork of New Jersey’s natural areas. Then enjoy the view of the lake to your left from the Upper Trail.
The trail will cut left at about 2.9 miles. Make the left, but before the trail reenters the woods, cut right and continue to follow the powerline cut just a bit further along the wood edge. At 3.0 miles a short “unofficial” trail will be on your left. Take that to hop on the “Smart Trail” loop and run that counter clockwise. This will take you back to the Upper Trail which you can follow past the Schoolhouse Rd. parking area. Follow this through the woods and you’re almost back to the Zion Rd. parking lot!
You could bail here if you want, but you would miss out on the Lake Trail portion of the Grand Tour. You don’t want that, so make a hard left and enjoy the shade between here and the gazebo. Hang right there and follow the narrow trail along the Phragmites at the water’s edge. Once it opens up, you’ll have to deal with full sun for a short while. Some sections are pretty sandy around the north edge of the lake so if you plan on a high mileage day, gaiters aren’t a bad idea.
Circle the lake and head to the far northeast corner. There you’ll find the steepest climb of the entire route and at the top is the Upper Trail. Hop on it and take a right. Follow this trail until about the 4.75 mile mark when you see a second bench overlooking the lake. A short connector trail is off to the right just after that bench. Follow that heading down the slate stairs to get back on the Lake Trail. Follow that passing the sledding hill again (this time from the bottom) the last quarter mile back to the Zion Rd. lot. Congrats! You completed the Grand Tour of the EHT Nature Reserve. You have now seen nearly all trails and areas of the reserve!
If you live in or around EHT and enjoy trail running, I highly recommend this route. It's a great area for runners new to the trails as it is all nontechnical and runnable. The route is about 5 miles and pretty much showcases all areas the Nature Reserve has to offer without any out and backs or retracing your steps at all. The main reason I run the majority of my trail miles at the EHT Nature Reserve is simply because they are the closest trails to home for me. I used to get a bit annoyed at running short loops to get any decent mileage there. Now with a 5 mile route without any out and backs or repeated loops, I feel like I have the perfect distance to run loops for long trail runs. From dusty, sandy trails overlooking the lake to shady trails with your footfalls cushioned by a layer of pine needles, the EHT Nature Reserve offers a diverse trail network within a relatively small area.
Of course there are many other variations of loops and routes you can create and adjust to your liking on the trails there. So get out and enjoy!
Update! The owner of High Desert Drop Bags recently contacted me to share this limited time discount code with all of my readers. Use code "BCTR-21" to receive 20% off of your order. Offer is valid 9/2/21 - 10/1/21.
I received a High Desert Drop Bag (Ditty Drop Bag) as a part of a swag package included with my entry to the inaugural Mines of Spain 100 mile trail race in October 2017. Since then it has become my “go to” and favorite drop bag I’ve used at any ultramarathon. It’s durable, keeps my gear dry, and cleans up easily after a day of getting tossed around and thrown in the dirt.
Some Quick Stats:
Front Identification Panel
Water resistant 400 denier nylon packcloth
#8 nylon coil zipper for easy access as well as security
1/2" nylon webbing carry loop
Available in four easy-to-see colors
List price: $22.00 Plus shipping
Weight: 3.7 oz
Dimensions: 13.75 in × 16.75 in × 1 in
The Ditty Drop Bag is the smallest size drop bag offered by High Desert Drop Bags (Bishop, CA). They offer two larger size drop bags: The Dirt Bag (18.5 in x 19.5 in, 21 liters) and The Ultra (28.25 in x 19.5 in, 39 liters). Even though it is the smallest drop bag they offer, I have found the Ditty Drop Bag has plenty of room for everything I have wanted waiting for me at an aid station. I most recently used it at the Blackwell aid station (mile 80) of the 2019 Eastern States 100. For that race I easily fit all of the following in my Ditty Drop Bag.
In addition to the Ditty Drop Bag’s tolerance for rough handling without showing any signs of wear after a couple years of use, the other feature that stands out to me about this drop bag is the identification panel. It’s an aspect of the bag that may seem like a big fat nothing burger. At first take that was my thought about it as well. After using it a few times though, I realized how handy it was and how much more convenient and dependable it was than my previous methods of labeling my drop bags. In the past, I had attached some type of paper tag with all of my pertinent information to my makeshift drop bag with safety pins. To waterproof my homemade tag, I would seal it in box tape. This worked fine, but was a bit cumbersome and I always worried about the tag getting caught on something and ripped off or being made unreadable from rain seeping through my waterproofing. My other drop bag method was to just use a large Ziploc bag. This was super easy and completely waterproof, but I always worried about the bag tearing and losing some of my goods. The High Desert Drop Bag identification panel resolves all of these concerns. Now I just slap some duct tape on the panel and write my info on with a sharpie. Quick, easy, and no worries!
For me, High Desert Drop Bags have set the standard for other drop bags. No other bag I’ve used has worked as well or as conveniently as a drop bag than the Ditty Drop Bag. If you’re frustrated or even just kinda irked about a few issues your drop bag has caused you, I would recommend at least looking at what High Desert Drop Bags has to offer.
It’s been a little over a week since Eastern States (ES) 100 as I begin to write this and now that my sodden, pungent clothing and gear has been cleaned and the wounds are for the most part healed I am beginning to have a greater appreciation for how my day there played out. I went in with a single goal that I thought was well within reach given the year I had thus far. The goal was simple, finish in less time than it took me in 2017 (27:17:24). This would also ensure a faster cumulative time for the 2019 Pennsylvania Triple Crown Series over my 2017 time for the series (47:47:36). Since I had finished both Worlds End 100k and Hyner 50k faster in 2019 than 2017, this goal seemed well within reach. However, the uncertainty of the 100 mile distance and how things can go south at any point was a constant concern for me. Excessive worrying about the potential for things to fall apart may be what ultimately led to me failing to reach my goal.
Pretty early in the race. Photo credit: Joseph Hess
For about two weeks leading up to the race I was feeling extremely anxious, more so and for a longer period before the race than I have ever experienced in any other lead up to a race. Adding to my trepidation was a work trip that I had scheduled for the week just before race weekend. I would be flying back to Philadelphia Friday around noon, then getting picked up by my wife to make the remainder of the drive to Little Pine State Park. I packed my two drop bags and everything I would need at the start the weekend before the race then worried all week hoping I hadn’t forgotten anything. By the time the work week was over and I was picking up my bib at registration the relief I was expecting didn’t wash over me. I had my stuff ready a week prior, managed to get there without any flight delays interfering with my travel plans, and now all I had to do was run 103 miles on the rugged trails of the PA Wilds. I guess there was still good reason to have a fair amount of nervous excitement.
Lower Pine Bottom AS, Mile 17.8
Thankfully, I managed to get a pretty solid night’s sleep before the 5am start, but at the starting line the jitters were still present. I did my best to deal with them in hopes that they would subside once I got on the trail and put a few miles behind me. Everything went well for the first 50k or so. I knew what pace I had to keep to meet my goal and I was staying ahead of that pace and feeling comfortable doing it. The climbs didn’t seem as bad as I had remembered and my quads were handling them well. It almost seemed like it was too easy this trip around Pine Creek. It was shortly after AS5 (Happy Dutchman) that I got hit with my first blow when I realized my watch had led me astray. The actual mileage at AS5 is 31.6. My watch, which has otherwise always been reliable and pretty accurate, was reporting that I had covered a little over 36 miles. I was focusing on only getting aid station to aid station so I was mostly just using my total mileage to see how much farther to the next aid station. When the signage at AS5 showed the mileage to the next AS as 6.9 and I used the inaccurate information on my watch that would put me at about 43 miles total. That was a significant mile marker as it is the second crewed AS, Hyner Run. I got excited that I would get to see my wife and boys again and it felt so soon since I had just seen them at the first crewed aid station. Mileage and the next aid station came up in conversation with a couple other runners and when their watches synced I realized mine was off and there was one more AS between us and the next crewed AS. It was a bit shocking at the time, but I tried to comfort myself by saying I was happy to find out early how far my watch was off rather than later. However, later in the race while talking to one of the other runners that helped me realize my error, he would tell me that my face showed a bit of a soul crushed reaction when I realized it was my watch that was off.
With that minor mishap out of the way early, the rest of the daylight hours of the race rolled by pretty pleasantly for the most part. I don’t know if it was due to the low temperatures we had on race day or just my misconstrued recollection of the course, but my second time running ES I was shocked by how much of the course felt runnable. The majority of my memories of the ES course was super technical descents intermixed with steep, rocky climbs. This time though,outside of two big early climbs (just before AS1, Ramsey Rd. and just after AS3, Lower Pine Bottom) the bulk of the first half of the course was feeling runnable. And I was running the bulk of it and staying on my target pace even after I adjusted for my watch’s misinformation without feeling like I was pushing myself even near the point where I thought a blow up was a possibility.
Another AS stop.
A second mishap started emerging or at least giving indications of larger problems about the same time as when my watch mishap was discovered. This mishap began with some slight discomfort around the bottom elastic of my hydration vest. I was wearing the same vest and same shirt that I have worn for 100ks and 100 milers in the past with only minor chafing issues, but this time around those minor chafing issues became exasperated and caused major chafing that was never resolved no matter how much or what kind of lube I threw at it. Since the equipment and clothing was the same, the only explanation I can come up with is that I was carrying more weight in the vest than I had ever packed before. I had trained with Science in Sport (SIS) gels all season and wanted to use them for the race so I packed 10 in my vest at the start and had 10 replacements in each of my drop bags. Also, I wasn’t positive gels would be available at every AS. Ten gels may not sound like much additional weight, but SIS gels are roughly about twice the volume of standard energy gels making a bit bulkier to carry and nearly doubling the weight. The best guess I have at this point is that the extra weight/volume in the vest made it fit and move differently than any time I’ve worn it in the past. Ultimately leading to some terribly painful chafing. I like to think I’m not one to complain about the little stuff, but this turned into a steady distracting pain from about the halfway point to the finish. I also like to think I’m not one to blame equipment for my failures, but in this situation the equipment had a major impact on my focus and overall mindset. I never thought about quitting because my sides had been rubbed raw by my pack, but the pain constantly pulled my focus off of running and moving efficiently to just thinking about taking this pack off as soon as possible.
The worst of my chafing.
The watch incident and the chafing issue are the only two concrete items I can point to that led to me falling off of my target pace, neither of which I truly deem responsible. I was ahead of my intended pace for a 27 hour finish at AS9, Halfway House (54.7 miles), but somewhere between there and AS14, Blackwell (80.3 miles) where I was picking up a pacer and had my next time goal calculated I was well over an hour behind where I wanted to be. It was strange because I never felt completely exhausted, but had this strange feeling of never feeling like I was pushing myself to the limit and always running overly safe without getting out of my comfort zone. In retrospect, it seems like I was so concerned about blowing up that I never pushed to my full potential for the day. Usually with hundred milers I feel like I get into some kind of singular focus and survival mentality, only concentrating on getting to the finish as quickly as possible. For whatever reason, that switch never got flipped this time.
A power hug from my youngest!
Even with my time goal out of reach and twenty some miles to go, I was excited to pick up a pacer at Blackwell. It was my first time using a pacer. It wasn’t the situation I had envisioned of being on pace and having my pacer push me to the finish ahead of pace, but he was able to up my morale and that of the couple other runners I had spent the majority of the night with. I will admit, we had a bit of a pity party on the trail overnight and it likely would have continued the rest of dark early morning hours if we were not joined by a pacer. With a bit of fresh energy provided by our pacer, Kurt Foster, we picked our pace up for the respectable climb out of Blackwell. Kurt continued to push our pace for the remainder of the race, reminding us every time the trail was runnable. With my time goal a lost cause, he kept me from basically giving up and walking it in, pushing me to earn a finish time that I could be proud of.
At AS11, Slate Run, 63.8 miles.
We grinded our way in the dark to the next AS, Skytop. It was a little tough mentally to leave this one because the crew there was so accommodating and we knew the stretch to the next AS was one of the longer ones of the race. Without getting too comfortable, we ushered ourselves out and pushed on. Thanks to Kurt, our pass through the second to last AS, Barrens, was one of our fastest. We refilled bottles, grabbed food, and were out in probably 1-2 minutes. We were as fast if not fastest passing through Hacketts, the final AS. With only about four miles left, not much was needed and the excitement to finish was peaking, at least I thought.
At packet pick up.
Shortly after leaving Hacketts near the top of the final climb of the course we heard a runner coming up behind us quick. Kurt turned to me and said something along the lines of “you don’t wanna get passed just a couple miles from the finish.” I replied by saying that I wasn’t sure if I have anything left. Then Kurt said something that finally lit a spark at the time. He basically said even if I attempted to outrun him for the last two miles and still got passed, then I could just walk it in and still get the same result even if I hadn’t made the effort. For whatever reason, at the time that got me to dig and give it my best effort to stay in front of this other runner. That’s when things finally started to become fun again. I was moving and feeling good. Before I knew it, I caught sight of a runner ahead of me. We passed him. Now things were getting really exciting for the finish and the final gnarly descent of the course. In the last two miles or so, we passed four runners. It amazed me that we were so close to these other runners and without that little spark provided by Kurt, I would have contentedly shuffled in to the finish after them.
My 2019 finish!
I crossed the finish line at 28:46:52, a full hour and almost 47 minutes after when I had intended to finish. At the beginning of this report I wrote that I failed. I may come off sounding like a bit of a jerk or a real pessimist by saying that I wasn’t entirely pleased with this finish. It’s easy to say that any 100 miler finish, especially a tough 100 mile course like ES, is something you should be proud of. However, after assessing how my legs felt during that last steep downhill this year compared to two years ago, I knew I had more left in me at the finish this year. In 2017 I was desperately bouncing from tree to tree to keep from going into an out of control tumble down the incline. This time, although my quads were screaming, I was bombing the downhill mostly in control. The fact that the spark to push harder earlier never happened is what I was really disappointed about. The “what if”s were what bothered me. After a few weeks to digest it all, I still can’t say that I’m not a bit disappointed that this final piece of my PA Triple Crown Series goal didn’t fall into place like I had hoped, but I can say that I am proud of the finish and to have completed the full series for a second time.
Even though everyone had told me he wasn’t that far ahead and that I could catch him, I was not prepared for the kick at the finish. Honestly, what are the odds that in a four plus hour race it will come down to who has a faster kick for the last quarter mile. The chances are pretty slim, but it happened. It was the type of ultra finish I had dreamed of witnessing and to have been more than just a spectator to it and to have had the honor to share it with the caliber of athlete that I did left me downright giddy for weeks. This is my story of the inaugural Rat Race 50k!
The Rat Race trail runs have been an annual event for awhile; I only became aware of them last year. I ran it for the first time last year, opting for the longest distance offered, the 20k. This year the RD decided to offer a 50k option. I happily partook. In the past, both the 10k and 20k distances used the same 10k loop to reach their total distance. Until arriving at the race, I was expecting this to be the case with the newly offered 50k distance. To my surprise and satisfaction the RD had altered the course a bit for the 50k runners. Rather than five laps of the 10k loop, he added a longer 20k loop which was then followed up with three laps around the original 10k course. If you want a more in depth description of the 10k loop, go to my race report from last year on the 20k. As happy as I was to hear that I wouldn’t be running five laps of the 10k course, the added 20k loop to start was not 20k of completely fresh trail. In fact, about half of the large loop was the same trail as the 10k loop (see Strava map). And all of the added distance to the large loop was either fire road or powerline cuts, no new single track. I’m not trying to complain here, just making it clear that the 50k is for the most part achieved by running the 10k course five times.
With this being my first race of the year, my primary goals were to test out my fitness level, get adapted to those pre race jitters before my “A” races, and have some fun of course. If everything went well, I hoped to set a new 50k PR (4:54:29) for myself as well. Why did I have such high hopes for my first race of the year? I went about training over winter completely differently in this past offseason than I have since I started running ultramarathons. I got myself a gym membership and started building up my mileage and doing some speedwork on the treadmill in January after light mileage in November and December. I’ve found that I enjoy a couple months of lower mileage to allow the body to recover and to avoid burnout after heavy training and racing. This year I increased mileage and intensity more quickly with access to the treadmill. I wasn’t sure how well all of the treadmill miles would transfer to trail running, but I was excited to find out and hoped for the best results, a 50k PR.
All set, ready to race!
The week before the race the timing company sent out an email with a link to the entrants list. I scanned it to see if anyone I knew would be running the 50k. I didn’t see any names I recognized except for Rich Riopel. If you’re not familiar with who Rich is, in short, he is one of the best ultrarunners to come out of NJ. He has qualified for and represented the USA multiple years on the 24 Hour National Team to compete at the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) 24 Hour World Championship. If you want more evidence that he is an accomplished ultrarunner, just look at his Ultrasignup results. Why am I giving you all of this information about Rich? Well, he is a main character in my race report.
As we all took off from the start the course started off following the same unpaved road that the 10k loop starts on. I was following Rich and one other runner when early on, probably a quarter to half mile from the start, Rich hops of to the side and begins retying a shoelace. I passed him at that point and expected to see him passing me within a couple minutes. To my surprise, I ran with the other lead runner for a couple miles at what felt like a pace that I could maintain for the entire 50k and there was no sign of Rich. We were doing around eight minute miles and it was feeling good so I tried to maintain it knowing that the 10k loop was more technical than what I was running on this bigger loop. Other than some sandy sections, and even those were runnable, it was all easily runnable. I figured to meet my goal I only had to average 8:30 miles so I was trying to bank some time for the loops around the 10k course which I figured would be a bit slower paced. The 10k loop was a bit more wet than it had been last year and the wet spots were a bit sloppier and more treacherous than I recalled. Regardless, I made it around the large 20k loop and back to the start/finish at about 1:34 with only another 30k to run.
Starting my first of three loops around the 10k course, I began to wonder what the heck happened to Rich. Did he drop? Was he just here for a fun run and jiking this 50k? These questions were answered about two miles later when he passed me just a bit before hopping on to the start of the single track portion of the course. I tried to keep up with for him a bit and soon realized he was in no way jiking this thing. With the curvy, heavily vegetated trails it didn’t take too long before he was out of sight. I was shocked to see him again just a couple miles later making his way back onto the trail. I assume he must have made a pit stop and he hopped back on to the trail just behind me. Having him right behind me and knowing that we were in the first and second at about the halfway point of the race lit a bit of a fire under me and I pushed a bit harder than I probably otherwise would have. We ran within a couple paces of each other for about a mile until the course pops off from the single track to a short unpaved road section again. At that point Rich cranked it up a bit and pulled ahead. I tried to give chase and kept him from pulling out of sight on the unpaved road section, but shortly after being back on the single track he was gone again.
Battle wounds.
Going out for my second to last lap and knowing he wasn’t that far ahead I tried to push harder and earlier than I had intended. I could see him in the distance on the long straight fire road sections that start the loop, but as soon as we reached the single track again there was no sign of him. I tried to maintain my pace hoping that he may slow down and I’d have a chance to run with him again, but my other motivation to keep a good pace during this lap was completely unrelated to my race goals. My wife was running the 10k and with the staggered timing of the start times of the multiple distances if I had any chance to see my wife on the course it was during this lap. I was pushing hard during this lap in hopes I would get to see her and give a few words of encouragement. It was the first race she had run in a long time, her first trail race ever, and the first race we had run together in an even looonger time. It was great motivation for me to push, even more than chasing after first place at the moment, but to no avail. I wouldn’t see her until passing through the start/finish area for the final time. As I passed through the last time I was surprised at how encouraging the few people hanging out were. They were excitedly telling me that first place wasn’t far ahead and that I could catch him. One person even said he was only ahead by maybe a couple minutes. With that information and knowing it was my final lap, I ate my last Honey Stinger gel (I believe my sixth of the day) and pushed as hard as I could for the last easily runnable section of the course before the single track. I thought to myself that maybe I’d catch a glimpse of him on the long straight road, but nope. I held on to a bit of hope running the single track, but by the halfway point with only about three miles to go I had pretty much lost hope and started comforting myself by focusing on the positives. I was going to be able to pretty much cruise into a second place finish. I was going to set a new 50k PR with a finish time of easily under 4:30. From then on, my main motivation to not totally just coast in was to improve my PR by as much as possible and hang on to second place. I had lost all hope of catching up to first.
That is until about a half mile from the finish when I heard some grunting and heavy breathing from behind me. It was just before the little wetland section of the course around the lake where there’s a couple of single log pathways for water crossings. Basically a section that is unrunnable. I looked back initially thinking it was probably a 20k runner sprinting it in to the finish. I was shocked to see Rich behind me with a full head of steam sprinting to catch up to me. Shock quickly turned to a mixture of fear, confusion, and panic. I would have to run this unrunnable section and then sprint the last quarter mile or so if I wanted to have a shot at first which just a few seconds ago I had already thought a completely lost cause. I tried my best to get across the logs quickly without falling and then going into any kind of a sprint that I had left. It wasn’t long after that the wet section that the trail widens then a quick left up a little hill and about a 100 yard dash across a grass field to the finish line. It was just before the left turn that Rich passed me. At that point I knew that I would have to give it everything to have any chance of keeping up with him. I was mentally committed, but my body wasn’t. My tired legs showed themselves as I tried to sprint up the little hill only to catch a toe, go down and skid on one knee for a bit before pushing myself back up onto my feet with both hands. It felt like only a second, but by the time I was back on my feet I knew I didn’t have a chance of catching him. He only had a few paces on me but I was moving like I had just run a 50k and he was moving like he was finishing a 5k.
I was proud enough to at least continue to run it in as hard as I could even when I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch him. And amazingly, from the point just after my fall to the finish line was all caught on video by a spectator. In the end I finished in 4:15:24 just 10 seconds behind Rich. After congratulating one another on a ridiculously exciting ultra finish, I had to find out how it came to be. As it turned out, Rich had missed a turn about a mile from the finish and did an extra half mile or so. Sometime during that extra out and back he did, I unknowingly passed him. In retrospect, I can’t be disappointed with how the day turned out. I improved my 50k PR by almost 40 minutes! I raced a world class ultrarunner for much of a 50k to finish only 10 seconds behind him after a sprint to the finish. I mean, I could be super disappointed that I didn’t manage to sneak in with first place, but that wouldn’t be as much fun so I’ll stick with what has worked best for me in the broader scope of ultrarunning and be happy about all the positives.
"Disclaimer: I received a pair of CEP 3.0 Tall Compression Socks to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"
When my CEP 3.0 tall compression socks arrived in the mail I was excited to try them out to see if they lived up to the hype I’ve heard. When I say hype, I don’t specifically mean just CEP compression socks, but the running benefits of compression socks in general. I see them being worn by many ultrarunners and shorter distance runners and have heard many runners rave about them. My experience with them is limited. I’ve only worn a single pair for a couple days immediately following my first 100 mile race. Maybe they helped with recovery a bit, but it is hard to say as it was still somewhat painful and a bit rough on my body as a whole. Although, if the recovery from my first 100 miler didn’t hurt to a certain degree, in my opinion I would say I probably did something wrong for it.
My first reaction to my new CEP 3.0 tall compression socks was eagerness to get outside and run a hard paced 10 miler. The fact that this was my first non-treadmill run in awhile and the weather had finally warmed enough to be comfortable to run in shorts in early March may have contributed to my zest to get out and run on this particular occasion. My second impression of these new socks was “Dang! These things are really tough to put on!” Well that ten miler went really well, even earning some Strava Best Effort medals (https://strava.app.link/dGqJLCdEjV)! Everything felt great for the entire ten, including my feet and calves. And after a few more trial runs, managing to put the socks on became much easier with a little practice and learned technique.
After a few more weeks and test runs, it was time for the real test: wearing my CEP compression socks for my first race of the season, Rat Race 50k. I figured if 31 miles of trails with a few stretches of semi technical terrain went well wearing CEP socks, I would be a convert as well. I'm happy to report that the race went wonderfully (improving my 50k PR from 4:54:29 to 4:15:24) and the socks performed beautifully (race report). My greatest concerns when trying new socks for long runs is comfort and blister prevention. I was relieved to find CEP compression socks kept my feet feeling good for the whole distance and I went home without a single blister. I’m not naive enough to credit any pair of socks for a nearly 40 minute improvement in my 50K PR nor am I too bashful to claim that it was my hard work that was the primary factor that made that degree of improvement possible. However, I am willing to admit that a quality pair of socks never hurts the cause and if a placebo effect improves my performance, I’ll take it.
So that is just my anecdotal experience with CEP compression socks, but as a skeptic I always ask what the research shows when I hear anecdotal evidence. Many claims are made by companies selling the socks: improved blood flow, reduced swelling, muscle stabilization, and decreased recovery time among others. All sound like great benefits, but does the research support these claims? Armstrong et al. (2015) found in a randomized, replicated study that the wearing of compression socks for 48 hours immediately after running a marathon reduced recovery time. This conclusion was reached based on the data showing a significant difference in the amount of time it took for participants to reach exhaustion during a controlled, incline treadmill run two weeks before and after running a marathon. The time until exhaustion for the treadmill run after the marathon for the group of runners wearing placebo socks decreased by 3.4% while the time increased for the compression sock group by 2.6%. A similar study performed by Kemmler et al. (2009) came to similar conclusions, finding that running performance was significantly improved by calf muscle compression.
If I haven’t sold you on them yet (not that I’m trying to), here are three quick points that may close the deal:
They look and feel good (at a very minimum cover bad calf tattoos)
Six Month Guarantee: 150-200 wears before compression lessens
Thirty Day Return Policy: No questions asked money back guarantee
If you would like to try out a pair of CEP compression socks for yourself, they are available on Amazon. The 3.0 socks I tested are currently available for $59.95. If you want to give just the calf sleeves without the socks a try, they are available for $39.95.
It's not everyday you get to run trails with Rich Riopel, some NJ ultrarunning pride showing here.
Works Cited:
Armstrong, S.A., E.S. Till, S.R. Maloney, and G.A Harris. 2015. Compression Socks and Functional Recovery Following Marathon Running: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 29(2):528-533.
Kemmler, W., S. Stengel, C. Kockritz, J. Mayhew, A. Wassermann, and J. Zapf. 2009. Effect of Compression Stockings on Running Performance in Men Runners. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 23(1):101-105.
Just this morning I finished what will probably be my last long run (24 miles on the treadmill) prior to my first race of the year, the Rat Race 50k. It felt good for having not run much in the last week due to work obligations and some family celebrations. I know a whole lot of people will disagree with my opinion, but it wasn’t that bad doing a long run on the treadmill. Especially since I have a pretty solid spotify playlist prepared just for such occasions. The other benefit of long runs on the treadmill is the ability to set the pace and stick to it mindlessly, which is what I had planned for this run. I ran the first 18 miles at my target race pace for the NJ Novo Nordisk Marathon, (8:30/mile) which would be under my marathon PR by less than a minute. After that I increased my pace slightly until the last 2 miles when I ran sub 8 minute miles. Being able to run 22 miles at my target pace without feeling like I was struggling at all and then being able to pick up my pace a bit at the end is a huge confidence booster for my PR goal at the NJ marathon. However, I still have my doubts about whether I’ll actually pull it off. Not because I don’t think the fitness or ability will be there, but because the Hyner 50k is the weekend before. And not just because the Hyner is a tough 50k with some big climbs, but because now that I’m committed to running the PA Triple Crown Series all three of those races (which begin with Hyner 50k) are my “A” races for the year. This means that I intend to not hold anything back at Hyner and if it goes well and there’s nothing left in the tank at the finish, I likely won’t be fully recovered after one week when I go for the marathon PR. Whether I blame poor planning or just myself for making stupid decisions doesn’t really matter because I’m not changing my plans regardless of how dumb they may be. The way I see it is if I do run a good time at Hyner and still hit my marathon PR goal it will just be that much more impressive. Additionally, it will likely motivate me to go for another marathon PR soon after in hopes that I could surely run a better time on fresh legs.
Before I wrap this up, just a side note, or more so a bit of a humorous story. One of the earlier mentioned family celebrations was a trip to Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos of PA. While this trip took some time away from what would have been dedicated training time, I still got on a treadmill to run at the Great Wolf Lodge resort. While it wasn’t a great work out or run, it was a pretty entertaining one. The fitness room is small even by hotel fitness room standards. And one of the three walls is made of glass windows along a busy hallway. This hallway is a pretty high traffic area between the water park, arcade, and a wing of the hotel rooms. Never before have I had more ice cream eating children stopping to stare at me running on a treadmill than during this treadmill run at Great Wolf Lodge. I’m not complaining about this. I actually found it pretty humorous at the time and still do. It was somewhat surreal as I kind of felt like I was an attraction at the resort with all of the attention I was getting. If you’re ever at a Great Wolf Lodge don’t totally blow off your work out if the weather is crappy, you’re slightly drunk, or just feeling exhausted. Find the fitness room and run some miles on the treadmill. It will entertain the kids roaming the halls and if you’re like me you’ll get a few chuckles from their fascination.
