After DNF'ing this summer at Lunar Trek this summer, I waited three months, but I finally have an ultra-finish under my belt. Not as fast or easy as I would have liked, but I did it, and I feel a lot better about running and my future in running ultras.
Pre-Race
Before the race I had a couple of concerns: First, the bruised forefoot from a few weeks ago had never really healed, and was bound to start hurting at some point during the race. Second, while I had a few big mileage weeks, I hadn't completed many runs of 20+ miles, so I wasn't sure if I could hang in at a running pace for a full 31 miles.
Kristin and I made the trip to Independence the night before with Christy Craig and Dave Higgins. Christy was running the race and Dave and Kristin would be our crew. Alarm went off at 6am for the 730 AM start, I was up and ready to go quickly. I wore my New Balance 790s a lightweight shoe that I like, and added some gel cushions to the forefoot to protect my bruise. The gel cushions were the type made to fit in women's high heels, where a lot of pressure is exerted on the toe area. My race would be riding on the success of women's dress shoe accessories.....
7:30 AM start
Normal start with more than 40 runners beginning the race on about a quarter mile of paved road before running into the woods. I maneuvered myself into a mid-pack position, and planned on sitting there for the first part of the race. Once into the woods, the trail soon showed off it's reputation, with a steep climb only a few hundred feet in. The hill was completely covered in slick rocks, wet with rain and dew from last night. We had missed the pre-race briefing, but would later learn the race director added an hour to all the cutoffs, as he knew the course would be in especially rough condition today. The runners in front of me started to walk on the slick rocks, but I went around them and ran on, albeit cautious of the slick course. At this point I just tried to hold on to a reasonable pace, but learned that many of the slopes were not runnable on this course.
4 Mile Aid-9.5 Mile Aid
Between the 4 mile and 9.5 mile aid station I ran with several other runners, one of which was an endurance coach named Jim from Texas who ran nearly the entire 5 miles with me. This section of the course was again wet and slick, so it was good to have some company for the run. I made it into the aid station at a little under 2 hours, where the best crew of the day, Kristin and Dave (thanks guys), hooked me up with some gels, water, and good support, and I was on my way.
9.5 Mile Aid - Turnaround
This section of the course was actually the most difficult in places, but also offered some of the best views. One section was "the waterfall" which was a half circle waterfall tucked into a hill.. unfortunately the trail went through the basin of the waterfall, meaning having to scale more slick rocks. Also there were a lot of heart-rate spiking climbs. Fun stuff. With about two miles left till the turn around my foot started hurting. I had expected pain, but this was a toe pain, different than I expected. I limped into the aid station at the turnaround, glad to be half done a little over 3 hours into the race.
At the aid station I removed my shoe, which showed the women's gel insert had pushed up too far into the toe box and tore my big toe, as well as the fourth toe on my right foot open. I sat down at the aid station, where the volunteers had nothing but duct tape that would adequately fix my foot. I left the aid station, knowing that without the gel inserts, my forefoot problem would keep my pace slow.
Turnaround to 9.5 Aid Station
This section of course was actually quite easy, only because I ran as slow as possible, limping to protect my feet from pain. My foot started hurting here and I would limp for the rest of the race. No one passed me during this section (although several passed me at the aid station while I was fixing my foot). At the aid station Dave and Kristin helped me change shoes into the Adidas Kanadias that I have a love-hate relationship with. I left the aid station with Kristin threatening to tell my mother that I had used duct tape to fix my toe.
9.5 to Finish
For the last 9.5 miles I just did whatever I could, running when I could, which was quite a bit, but also walking quite a bit too. The rocks were torture on my feet, but I kept moving as I could, at one point running an impressive split for 400M, only because I was chased by a wasp.
There was one place on the course that I was dreading because I wasn't sure if I could climb back up through a slit in the rock with 25 miles on my legs. Luckily, this sections wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be and I made it through, largely unscathed. I passed another runner who looked to be in much worse shape than I was, offered him what I could before continuing. I was relieved to finally be see the pavement for the final run into the finish line, time 7:22, in 20th place.
I am extremely happy to have my first ultra out of the way, and I'm ready to start working on speed. I have a few ideas on how to do that, the first of which is trying an easier course! I'll post pictures later, but overall, I have to thank my crew and everyone who helped me through that day!
