Race Results & Training

Muddy Trails

The trip up to NY to race the NF50 Bear Mtn course was a success.  Despite some faulty mileage and tight cutoffs I was able to run a negative split for the last 6-7 miles finishing in 12:46:06.  The course itself was a muddy sloppy mess, with no less than 20 river/stream crossings.  I started out pretty slow and almost dead last for the first 5 miles.  I had decided to take it easy out of the gate which ended up being a mistake as the next 5 miles were barely runnable due to the conditions.  This left me dangerously close to first cutoff, making it by a mere 15 minutes.  For the rest of the race i was forced to push the pace to insure I was not going to DNF from a missed cutoff, which would've been a first for me.

Lot's of Mud

At about mile 40ish I was bombing a descent and caught a toe and ended up careening off the trail into a tree.  Trees are pretty stubborn and generally speaking unwillingly to move out of your way.  The tree I hit was no exception.  I was able to contort my body at the last moment so as to avoid a direct hit and let my left shoulder and forearm bare the brunt of the force.  Needless to say I ended up on my back/side in a muddy sloppy mess.  Too tired to get up I just laid in about 6 inches of watery muddy sludge.  Several runners stopped and asked me if I was ok or if I needed a hand, I told them "no, I'm just resting and will be just fine...see you at the finish".

Beautiful morning photo from the trail

Despite the fact that most of the course was challenging to run there were some really beautiful vistas that I stopped to snap a few pics.  The volunteers were great as well.  About mid way through the race I ran into a Death Race acquaintance, Olaf, who was limping down the trail.  He had injured his ankle or foot and was simply trying to get to the next aid station to DNF.  Olaf actually has won at least one or perhaps two Death Race's.  He's a hard core tough dude, so I was surprised to see him bow out of the race.  Always a bummer to see good athletes get injured and having to DNF.

Volunteers cheering on the racers

Late in the race I got really focused on making certain that I was going to come in under 13 hours.  The final cutoff was 14 hours, so I had plenty of time that I built up after the first cutoff.  It was interesting seeing that people had crew and pacers for a race with only a 50 mile distance...but they were there.   Having a crew in a 100 mile race is important.  The extra 50 miles makes a big difference and having a crew is a luxury and dramatically improves the likelihood of finishing.

It's all about finishing!!

I'm less than a week out now from the Big Horn 100 in Sheridan Wyoming.  It's a mountain course that I have never seen, in fact I've never been to Wyoming...it's a first.  Francisco and I are going to see if we can tackle an early season 100 miler.   As a build up to this race it's important to build a good base, which was the intent of doing the NF50 at Bear Mountain.  Since that race I have been training heavy, averaging 188-189 pounds.  Today I weighed in at 184 pounds en route to 180 pounds come race day, June 20th at 11AM.  My mileage over the past 6-8 weeks has been consistently around 40 miles per week along with solid core work outs.  Some weeks have reached 50 miles.  This is fairly typical mileage for me entering a 100 miler.  Always and ever anxious as I approach a 100 mile run.  Rest, nutrition, hydration and state of mind will carry the day.


All is good.......Cheers!!