I headed into Sunday’s USATF 50 Mile Road National
Championship, hosted by the Tussey Mountainback 50 miler with hesitant
excitement. Last year, when I was 39.5
years old, I ran a 22 minute PR at the 50 mile distance in 6hr11min. I was pretty stoked with that effort, as I
ran with Brian Rusiecki for the majority of the race, only to stumble with
about 12 miles to go. Leading up to that
race, I had spent the majority of my time training for the Grindstone 100 miler
with many hilly runs and hill repeats, yet a lack of mental fortitude forced me
to quit at 1:00am after only 7 hours of running. This year, I would be vying for my first Masters
Championship, so needless to say my training differed quite a bit. I spent many a morning doing track workouts
under the lights at Ursinus College and tempo runs on the Schuylkill RiverTrail dodging deer and fallen branches.
Although my training would predict a faster time than last year, a
mid-week cold would threaten my appearance on the start line.
For once, I decided to attend the pre-race dinner and it
turned out to be a pretty fun event. As
it turned out, my wife and I found a seat at a talent-filled table which
included Zach Bitter (last years champion), Cassie Scallon (female runner
extraordinaire), Matt Flaherty (king of the stache) and his father, DavidRiddle (no introduction needed), and a couple other fellows. Conversation was somewhat lacking for I think
everybody was nervous about the event that would take place the following
morning. After a rather long, but
interesting speech/question-answer period by Zach Bitter and a very spirited
“pep-talk” by Harry Groves, a legend of Penn State cross country, the room
emptied quickly. I stuck around to talk
with Anna Piskorska and Mike Reddy (good friends and occasional running
partners) and was able to have a nice reunion with an old friend, Carroll Pope,
from San Marcos, CA, who was attempting his first 50 miler.
Our alarm went off at 5am.
When I say our, I mean my wife/crew and I. After getting ready, we headed out to the foot
of the slopes at the infamous Tussey Mountain Ski Resort. I tried to make a pretty simple nutrition
plan to simplify my aid station “stops”.
I would start with 1 bottle of Vitargo S2 for the first 2
legs and would get a replenished bottle every leg. In addition, I would take the occasional
S-CAP, as Vitargo lacks any electrolyte replacement.
So, promptly at 7am, we headed off toward the first climb.
I settled into a rather pedestrian pace with Jason Bryant, my main Masters competition, and stayed a few yards or so behind the trio of Zach, Matt, and David. Toward the top of the climb, Scott Hilditch would catch us. Scott is another young, inexperienced ultrarunner with a 4:07 mile PR that he set in high school. I joined up with Scott very shortly after we started the descent on leg 2 and we chatted for awhile.
So, promptly at 7am, we headed off toward the first climb.
I settled into a rather pedestrian pace with Jason Bryant, my main Masters competition, and stayed a few yards or so behind the trio of Zach, Matt, and David. Toward the top of the climb, Scott Hilditch would catch us. Scott is another young, inexperienced ultrarunner with a 4:07 mile PR that he set in high school. I joined up with Scott very shortly after we started the descent on leg 2 and we chatted for awhile.
I noticed that he wasn’t carrying any fluid,
which would later plague him at about the 50K mark. Soon enough, Cassie Scallon joined us heading
out of leg 2 and we had a trio of our own.
We reached the dam in 1:17ish (11 miles). This was a tad slower than last year, seeing
as I made it there in 1:13 in 2012.
Over the next 2 legs, Scott and I would see-saw back and forth. When there was a climb, he would pull away slightly. On a flat or descent, I would close the gap.
We exited the aid station at mile 20 as quickly as we had
entered. I didn’t get any updates on the
front-runners, as I knew they were out of my league. My concern was behind me and I wanted to keep
pressing as long as I could.
The next 3 legs were new territory for me, as the course had
changed from the previous 13 or so years.
We would start with a very mild ½ paved road stretch, followed by a
rather challenging 3.5 mile ascent with over 1300 feet of elevation gain. My pre-race plan was to ease into the ascent
by backing off on the short paved portion.
Scott put about 100 yards on me before the climb. I made sure to keep that distance throughout
the whole climb while watching my altimeter click off the elevation. Soon enough I crested the hill about 30-40
seconds in tow of Scott.
He was in the aid station when I arrived and a quick
exchange of my bottle with my wife and then I was off. He quickly followed….for about 200
yards….abruptly stopped…and depleted his stomach contents on the beautiful
scenery. That would be the last that I
would see of him, until I was drinking beer at the post-race festivities.
What goes up, must go down.
The descent over the next 2 legs would do a number to my legs. I started to feel some early signs of
dehydration as some cramping started in my right calf. In addition to that, the small rocks started
to jab the underside of my foot, which was a bit uncomfortable. So at the mile 28 aid station, I made the
switch to my Hoka’s. (SIDE NOTE: I don’t think I will ever really go back to
the Montrail Masochist).
The Hoka’s breathed new life into my feet. Unfortunately, they didn’t do much for my
already damaged legs. Continuing with
the descent, I would get passed by a guy named Jason Baer and Cassie Scallon (the
eventual women’s champion). I tried to
go with them, but the pain in my legs was too much.
I reached mile 30 at ~3:45, 15 minutes slower than last year
and realized it would be a struggle to the finish. As I turned up the road for leg 9, I saw
Jason up ahead….walking. I tried to use
that to motivate me and give chase, but my legs didn’t want to respond as much
as I wanted them to. Rather slowly I
made it to the mile 35 aid station at Penn Roosevelt Park.
I took my only potty break (#1) and realized the extent of
my dehydration. I made a pact with
myself to drink some more water and take more S-caps. My nutrition seemed pretty dead on, but the
pre-race illness left me somewhat empty.
I stuck to Vitargo S2 for the entire race, and probably went through at
least 9-10 bottles! Not once did I
desire any solid food, however, I did take ½ a Clif Shot gel for the
caffeine. It was at this point, that I noticed
Jason Bryant walking around, as he had dropped early with a recurring injury (or
so I heard). That boosted my confidence,
as he was my only known threat for the Masters Championship. Additionally, my amazing wife informed me
that David Riddle dropped. I was now the
4th place male with 3rd place in my sights! Unfortunately, my elation wouldn’t last, as
Scott Dunlap entered the scene.
I had never met Scotty D., but have come across his blog
several times. I knew that he was a strong athlete, but
wouldn’t consider him a threat under normal circumstances. However, this race was everything but normal.
My legs are done. I am dehydrated and cramping. Shit!
My legs are done. I am dehydrated and cramping. Shit!
I climbed strong, knowing that that didn’t affect my cramps
so much. I started the descent down to
the river and soon enough Scott closed the gap.
Fortunately for me, he didn’t make the pass, but started a
conversation. The pain started to
subside from my legs as we progressed toward the lake.
As we hit the road around mile 40, I mentioned to Scott that
David dropped and that the top master was only 10 minutes up. He was somewhat surprised as he thought I was
top master. I informed him that I was
joking. It would have been a good ploy,
but I wouldn’t have felt right being dishonest.
We quickly made it into the Coyler Lake aid station. A quick exchange of my bottle and I was off
for the last long climb of the day. I
made sure to make it quick so that Scott wouldn’t latch on. As it would turn out, I put about 4-5 minutes
on him by the end of the leg, running the entire way, even up the steep
climb! Well, it was a running motion,
anyway. I could have probably walked
much faster, but I had to give it every ounce of effort that I could, as I saw
Jason walking up ahead.
I crested the hill and began to pick up the pace heading
into the next aid station.
No more than 2 minutes later, Scott would enter the scene and finish with a 25 min PR! After he caught his breath, I congratulated him on a well fought race.
The best part, of course, is the post-race refreshments at the Pavilion. You can't beat a nice cold beer after 50 miles of pain!
Congratulations to everybody, runners/crew/volunteers, on another successful race. I am already looking forward to returning in 2014!
Most of all, thank you to my beautiful wife for supporting me in all the stupid stuff that I do!
WHAT I USE:
Muscle Fuel: Vitargo S2 (1:1 mix of unsweetened and tropical)
Electrolytes: Succeed S-CAPS
Shoes: Montrail Mountain Masochist, then Hoka One One Evo Stinson
Socks: Balega
Shorts: Pearl Izumi Compression Shorts
Shirt: Race-Ready
Altimeter: High Gear Axiomax
Garmin: 310XT
Post-race beer: Pale Ale, I forget which one it was
