April 13
It
is Friday afternoon, the day before the battle at Bull Run. Wait, I mean the day before the race at Bull
Run, a.k.a., The Bull Run Run. This
year, Martha, Nathan, and Amy are coming up to crew for me. The weather in Virginia has been colder than
usual so far in April, but things seem to be warming up some. The weather today is quite beautiful with
the mercury getting back up into the 60s—finally. The forecast for tomorrow has serious rain moving in late in the
afternoon. If I am quick (and lucky), I
might just finish without getting completely soaked.
Nathan
and I are sleeping in a bunkhouse, which is right at the start/finish
area. Martha and Amy have chosen to
sleep in a tent for their accommodations.
For the pre-race meal, Carrabba’s has done the cooking. I am told that it was the race director’s
(Bob Phillips’) idea, and it is one that we (me and my crew) really appreciate. If you aren’t familiar with Carrabba’s, they
are similar to the Olive Garden, only better.
Not only is the food outstanding in taste, but there is also more than
plenty for everyone in attendance. In
fact, some volunteers were begging us to eat more so there wouldn’t be too much
left over. The race is being directed
by someone new this year, and he is not the overly talkative showman that the
previous director was. Therefore, the
briefing is short and to the point—follow the blue streamers and pie plates,
any questions?
Nathan
and I settle into the bunkhouse, and the lights are turned off just before
9pm. There are about a dozen of us in
the section where we are staying. At
9:32pm, my cell phone rings, and it is Michelle Robey, who is going to be
flying back home tomorrow after spending their spring break week in Missouri. She wants the latest weather report for her
flight because she dreads flying. I
tell her that with any luck, they will beat the main storm into Virginia and so
they should be fine. Now, after that
interruption to my rest, I can now get back to sleep. Actually, this was my fault as she had called early today, but I
forgot to call her back.
April 14
My
alarm is set for 5:00am, and the race is scheduled to start at 6:15am. However, at 4:30am, someone else’s alarm
goes off. Then the guys in the other
side of the cabin decide to get up. So,
they are making noise, and we are now all awake so Fred Dummar decides to get
up at 4:40am and turn on the lights.
Not as if we were sleeping, but now we definitely aren’t sleeping
anymore. I get up to go to the bathroom
about 10 minutes later, and Nathan heads off to the tent and car to get our
breakfast. We both come back to the
cabin after our errands, and he has chocolate milk, orange juice, and a
cinnamon bun for me. Life is good, and
I hope my legs will let me run as good as I feel.
Mile 7.2
The
race starts right on time this year. I
like to get a fairly quick start in this race because the trail is narrow most
of the way. This course is almost all
on single-track trail, although it is never too technical. The trail rolls up and down hills, and I
push the downhills hard. I try to walk
the uphills. At this first aid station,
I am feeling good, and I am making good time.
However, it seems as if everyone else is also. David Snipes and Paul Arnett are in front of me, as is Frank
Probst. 10-minute miles might be a
little fast, but they are okay at this point.
At this aid station, my crew is waiting for me—well actually, Martha is
waiting with her camera to take my picture.
I don’t care about my picture, I just want some Conquest and to get back
on the trail.
Mile 11.6 40:25 (
For
some reason, I was thinking this was four miles as I was running. I didn’t study the mile splits yesterday,
and this is the first time in four years that the splits haven’t changed from
the previous year. Some years, the
course has to change slightly due to high water in different areas. I catch David and Paul just as we are coming
back into the aid station, and I think I can’t be going too fast because I am
right with them. At the time, I didn’t
realize that this was 4.4 miles and not just 4. Therefore, I still think that my pace is okay, but now looking
back at it, I was probably going a little too fast. My team this year is made up of Bethany Patterson, David Snipes,
Chris Calfee, Quatro Hubbard, and myself.
We are in the mixed division, and I think we have an outside shot at
placing if we all run well and finish, of course. So far, we are looking good.
Bethany and Chris are up near the front as Bethany is the leading
female. With David and I close together
and Quatro not too far behind, we have all gotten off to a good start.
Mile 16.6 51:24 (
The
main flat section between 7.2 and 11.6 miles is now behind me, so it is rolling
hills the rest of the way. This is good
as I will push the downhills and walk the uphills and hopefully keep my pace
under control. This section turns out quite
nicely, and my downhill running seems to be back where it should be. My right ankle is doing very well. I have had troubles with twisting it in the
past, and for most of the past two years I have taped it when I ran on
trails. However, I have not been taping
it lately, as it seems to be doing better.
As I approach the aid station, I catch Frank Probst. He is almost 64 years old, but can’t seem to
act like it yet. Gary Knipling, another
60-plus year old runner, seems to be taking it easier this year, as he has
never been ahead of me today. At the
aid station, I change out my Camelbak, drink half a pint of chocolate milk and
grab a bagel for the trail. I mention
to Martha that she should offer some chocolate milk to David Snipes at
Fountainhead aid station because I won’t drink all of the pints we brought with
us.
Mile 21.1 45:03 (
Leaving
the aid station, I seem to have left Frank.
He beat Gary and me last year, and it would be nice to finish in front
of him this time. I continue to push
the pace on the downhills, and this section started with a good deal of
downhill coming from Hemlock back down to the river. At the aid station, I only take some Conquest. It is nice so far with cloudy skies and the
temperature remaining in the 50s.
Mile 26.1 48:41 (
Once
again, I don’t remember exactly how far each section is. For some reason, I was thinking that this section
was 4.5 miles, which would mean that my 48 minutes is reasonable (i.e., not
going too fast at this point in the race).
However, if it is 5 miles, which it is, then I am again below 10-minute
miles, and that is probably a little quick.
My legs are starting to get a little tired. Otherwise, I am still feeling pretty good.
Mile 28.1 24:13 (
Getting
to Fountainhead is really good for my morale because I am definitely well past
halfway. I took the two miles into this
section easy so I ensure I have something left for later. My crew is at this aid station, and I down a
pint of chocolate milk and head back out onto the trail after trading out my
Camelbak again.
Mile 32.5 52:38 (
Going
out from Fountainhead, we do the white trail and then we proceed out to the Do
Loop. The white trail is just an extra
two-mile loop that isn’t good for anything.
As I near the end of the white loop, Frank Probst comes back by me. Soon after passing me, he takes a fall, but
bounces back up unharmed. On this
section, the rain begins. It is still
before noon, so I am surprised it is already raining. I don’t think this is a good sign for the rest of the
afternoon. I was hoping to be well on
my way back before the rain started. My
pace is still going well at this point.
Mile 35.5 36:22 (
At
the start of this section, I didn’t feel very well. The legs are really getting tired, and I am trying to eat as much
as possible. I didn’t see much that
looked good so less than a mile into the loop I eat another Access Bar. This helps me some, and my stomach decides
not to go south. As I am finishing up
this section, I am starting to realize that Gary Knipling still hasn’t gotten
to the start of the Do Loop yet. As I
enter the aid station, Tom Corris is there, and I ask him if he has seen
Gary. Right then Gary comes into the
aid station, but he is coming the other way, so he is three miles behind
me. We exchange handshakes and greetings,
and I mention that it looks like I won’t have him pushing me into the finish
this year. However, right with me is
John Dodds, so maybe he will give me a run for my money. I was really surprised with my time on the
Do Loop since I didn’t feel well for the first half of it. I begin to think that maybe I still have a
chance at a sub-nine-hour finish.
Mile 37.9 31:02 (
This
section back to Fountainhead is a struggle as I am really tired, but I can’t
start really pushing it to the finish because there is too far left. So, I mark my time and try to just stay
smooth without pushing hard. I am again
pleased with my time into this section.
Now, I will need to pick it up to 11-minute miles to have a chance at
9-hours. I meet my crew again, down
another pint of chocolate milk, and grab a bagel for the trail. I have two miles to Wolf Run Shoals, then
about 10 miles to the finish. The rain
has yet to amount to much as it continues to sprinkle lightly. The trail is still dry and most people are
making great time. Before heading out
of the aid station, I trade out my Camelbak for the last time in this race.
Mile 39.9 27:22 (
I
make an effort on this section to pick up the pace, but my time says I am
moving slow. This is really
disappointing and the extra effort has left me with much less energy. I was thinking about an ice cream sandwich
at this aid station, but instead decide to keep pushing ahead. John Dodds is still behind me, but he is not
far behind.
Mile 44.9 55:19 (
Surprisingly,
I am still moving very well. The nice
rolling hills on this last section must have helped me keep my momentum going
forward. It is also motivating to meet
all of the slower runners still heading outbound. At one point, I think that John is coming up on me, so I hold him
off for an uphill and downhill before stopping to take a leak. When I do, I am surprised to find out it
isn’t John after all, but rather some other runner. As I come into the Marina, Craig Penrose is helping to stop
traffic for runners crossing the road.
At the aid station, I grab two cokes and do a quick calculation to realize
I can still make nine hours if I can run 10-minute miles coming into the
finish.
Mile 50.4
I
can’t quite run 10-minute miles, but I still have enough left in my tired legs
to pass many runners who had passed me earlier in the race. I manage to keep John Dodds behind me and feel
not half bad as I finish.
Official
Finishing Time
68th out of 336
starters (301 finishers)
This is a really great time
for me. As a matter of fact, it is a
personal best at this race! Now, I am
hoping that the rest of my team comes in strong. I see that Bethany ended up third woman in a gutsy performance
and a great time at 7:54. Chris Calfee
seems to have faded a little but still runs a sub-9 and comes in at 8:47. I then head to the showers after getting an
ice-cold can of Coke from my crew.
After my shower, I go back
out to the finish line in time to see both Quatro and Dave finish. Q ends up slightly ahead of Snipes, but both
are under 10 hours. I think our team
has done extremely well, and if we place that would be really nice. A couple of hours later, we find out that we
have indeed placed second in the mixed division! In the end, everything turns out wonderful. I get a personal best, the team takes second
place, and the serious rain holds off until after the race.
Now I have a quick turn
around as I am running the Promise Land 50k in two weeks. Until then,
Never stop running,
Darin
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