Bull
Run Run 2010
April
9
This
year I am running this race sans crew.
It will be a first at this race.
It is only a 50 miler, so I should be okay. Also, the aid stations are great here. My family and I spent this week in Florida,
and I got home early this afternoon. I
spent a couple hours packing and then ate dinner and drove up to Hemlock. I got my stuff and my cabin assignment. Most of the people in my cabin are new to
this race. It is a nice race for a first
time ultra, and I enjoy explaining the course to those who haven’t run it.
Somebody
in my cabin asks me when we should turn the lights off, and I say any time
works for me. It is only about 8:30pm,
but I then tell them that around 9:00pm would be good. I stop reading my magazines about 10 minutes
until 9pm, and I guess I fell asleep fairly soon because the next time I roll
over, the lights are off.
April
10
I
wake up to my alarm at 5:00am and head to the bathroom. After my morning constitutional, I head back
and start to get ready. I eat a bagel
and drink a pint of chocolate milk. The
low temperature this morning was predicted to be close to 40, but it feels a
little warmer than that. I decide that
just a single short sleeve t-shirt will work for the start of the race. At 6:10am I meet up with some of my
teammates, David Snipes and Stephanie Wilson.
We write our team name on our calves and upper arms. We are the “Alternate States”. Also, Chris Calfee shows up, and we fix him
up as well.
Just
before the start I see Dave Ferris, who I worked with at Quantico. He wasn’t a huge runner when I worked with
him, but now he is. He has run a 50km,
and this will be his first 50 miler. It
is good to see him after several years.
Mile
7.2 1:16:05 (10:34 avg./mile)
My
plan today is to start conservatively and then pick things up. However, I want to make sure that I have
plenty left for the last 15 miles. The
past two years, I have gone out a little fast and then ended up dragging myself
in at the end.
Mile
11.6 44:08 (10:02 avg./mile)
For
this first out and back section, it is all runnable
as it is flat. The mud is quite tame
even though it was a wet winter and early spring. I am just behind Gary Knipling at the turn
around. Frank Probst
is not far ahead of Gary. Zeke, the
other 66 year old, is just behind us at this point. Last year, Zeke and Frank beat me, and it
would be nice to return the favor this year.
So far, I am very comfortable with my pace. I drink a cup of Gatorade and grab several
potato chips.
Mile
16.6 56:09 (11:14 avg./mile)
Hemlock Overlook
On
our way back to Hemlock, which was the start, I manage to get ahead of
Gary. At this aid station, I have a drop
bag, and my main focus is to trade out my Camelbak
with the full one in my drop bag. I also
have a pint of Conquest, but in the process of changing out my Camelbak and taking off my shirt, I completely forget about
the Conquest until I am out of the aid station.
However, I must have made good time in the aid station as I pass Ed
Cacciapaglia in the aid station. Ed is
the fifth member of our team.
Mile
21.1 48:49 (10:51 avg./mile)
I
continue to run very conservatively and comfortably. The temperature has risen
some, but it is probably not more than 60 degrees or so. Just after passing through the soccer fields,
I catch up with David Snipes. We run
together for awhile, but not for long. I
come into this aid station feeling good still.
I grab a couple of sandwich quarters and a short stack of cookies.
Mile
26.1 55:42 (11:08 avg./mile)
Wolf Run Shoals
Once
again, I am maintaining a nice smooth pace of around 11 minutes per mile. Coming into this aid station, I pass Michelle
Harmon and Greg Loomis. They mention to
me that my bare back is looking a little pink.
So, at this aid station, I ask if they have some sunscreen. The nice aid station worker says yes, but she
has to get it out of the vehicle close by.
She comes back and is even kind enough to apply the sunscreen. It apparently does the trick as I end up not
getting burnt at all.
Mile
28.1 27:53 (13:56 avg./mile)
Fountainhead
It
is good to get out to this aid station because there is just one more aid
station before we begin revisiting the aid stations toward the finish. Just before I get to the aid station I see
Leigh Schmitt, the leader, coming towards me.
He looks great and appears to be really moving fast! I am feeling well, and the temperature isn’t
too warm. I feel like I have plenty of
life left in my legs. I refill my Camelbak, grab some cookies, and head out for the wonderful
white loop.
Mile
32.5 53:49 (12:14 avg./mile)
Do Loop (start)
The
white loop is about two miles long and comes nearly back to the Fountainhead
aid station before turning towards the Do Loop.
Once I get to the Do Loop, I feel like I can then start to push things a
little more. I am still trying to run
within myself at this point. At some
point, Snipes got back in front of me.
The section coming into this aid station starts to look a lot like the
Do Loop—plenty of short ups and downs that are relatively steep. I keep looking for the next up that looks
like it will take me to the aid station, but I go through several bends in the
trail before I finally recognize the last uphill to the aid station. At this aid station, there is pizza, so I
grab a slice of pepperoni and decide to start drinking Coke. I find the Coke helps my breathing some. I am noticing my breathing more than usual
today because of the thickness of the pollen in the air.
Mile
35.5 39:22 (13:07 avg./mile)
Do Loop (end)
My
legs are still feeling well, and with a little Coke in my system, I am ready to
run. I start running on the downhill
portion, but before I get far, I take a fall.
The fall isn’t too bad, but I scrape up my right leg pretty well. The do loop is an interesting aspect of this
race. This part of the course is remote
from everything, but somehow there are two old, rusting cars far from any
roads. One of them is a Nash Rambler, and
I have a tradition of relieving myself on the Rambler as a way of preserving
it. However, this year someone accuses
me of desecrating it. Moving on, I make
my way into the aid station, but my legs are starting to cramp a little, but I
hope this is just because of the short steep hills in this section. At this aid station, I eat another wonderful
piece of pizza, and then here comes Gary Knipling into the aid station. In the past couple of years at this point,
Gary would be coming into the aid station for the first time. However, this year he is coming in the second
time, so he is now even with me! I drink
another small cup of Coke and head out of the aid station with Gary.
Mile
37.9 28:39 (11:56 avg./mile)
Fountainhead
I
run with Gary down the first hill thinking that we might have to repeat our
duel from 2006. However, I soon decide
to pass him and see if I can’t open things up a bit. My legs are still feeling good, and I am able
to push the pace enough to leave Gary behind for now. I soon come up to David Snipes again, and I
pass him as well. Now, it is a question
of whether I can hold this surge to the end of the race. When I come into this aid station, I talk to John
Dodds some and mention that Gary is looking good today. I grab some cookies, potato chips, and drink
another small cup of Coke before heading down the trail.
Mile
39.9 26:22 (13:11 avg./mile)
Wolf Run Shoals
This
little two mile section always seems to take a little longer than it
should. I was moving well, and moving
away from Gary and Snipes, but the time is still not fast. Anyway, I quickly grab another cup of Coke
and some cookies, and I am off to the final aid station. My legs are starting to cramp a little more,
but I think I can hold on to the finish.
Mile
44.9 55:35 (11:07 avg./mile)
Bull Run Marina
There
is a pack of us leaving Wolf Run Shoals together. Initially, I am content to stay with them, and
all four of us are moving well, but then one of us decides to push things on an
uphill, and the train falls apart. Also,
just about a mile out of the aid station, I spot Frank up ahead. It takes less than half of a mile to catch
and pass him. Now I am really motivated
to push this thing to the finish. My
energy level at this point is very good, but my legs are cramping a little more—nothing
too bad, but enough to get my attention.
I continue to push, though, because I want to stay in front of everyone
I have passed. At this last aid station,
I am hurting as my legs are screaming. I
tell Jeff Reed to let me know when he sees Frank coming up the hill. I don’t want Frank to see me if I can avoid
it. Meanwhile, I am stuffing myself with
anything and everything. I eat a donut
and a pile of chips, while I am drinking two cups of Coke. On my second cup of Coke, Jeff calls out the
Frank sighting, and I down the rest of the cup and trudge out of the aid
station.
Mile
50.4 1:10:20 (12:47 avg./mile) FINISH!
Leaving
the aid station, my legs are very sluggish.
However, now it is simply mind over matter—if I don’t mind, the pain won’t
matter. I walk when I have to, but
otherwise I keep slugging forward. I get
to the soccer fields, and I am able to run okay through them. On the other side, after getting back into
the woods, I roll my right ankle for the second time today. This one really hurts, and I also fall down
picking a small tree to cushion my fall.
Despite the pain, I force myself to get up quickly as I am motivated by
Frank, Gary, or Snipes coming up behind me.
I keep telling myself to just hold things together and finish. Finally, I get to the turn, and then it is
just up the hill and a run to the finish.
I have managed to mostly hold things together, and more importantly, I
have stayed ahead of the people I passed the last 15 miles.
Official
Finishing Time 9:42:53
115th
out of 336 starters (313 finishers)
My time is
not spectacular, but I am very satisfied with the effort. The weather was excellent, but warm weather
in the spring is always tougher to deal with.
Gary and Snipes finish just under 10 hours, and Frank is right behind
them also under 10 hours.
The next race
in my plans is Kettle Moraine in Wisconsin the first weekend in June. I plan on flying myself and my crew up for
that one. So, I have eight weeks to
recover, train hard, and then taper.
This is my only planned 100 miler this year, so I want to make it a good
one. Until then…
Never stop
running,
Darin
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