What was I thinking? Run for 24 hours, they said. It'll be fun, they said. Well- it was fun in a kind of sadistic way.
This race is simple. There's a 1.52 mile trail that loops around a lake. There is wooden bridge across one end of the lake, and an earthen dam across the other end. You start at the end near the dam, and you run in circles, as many times as you can, for 24 hours. When it's over, they tally your laps and your final distance (based on where you left your banana with your # on it) if you were still out on the course, and voila!, you're finished. You get a t-shirt and a bucket full of memories. For the 22 lucky souls who managed 100+ miles, there's a belt buckle involved. They certainly earned it.
We finished getting our little spot ready before the race. A covered cot (someone said, "cool- you brought a coffin"), a canopy for shade, 2 chairs for sitting, a cooler for beverages, extra clothes for when it gets cooler at night, and an endless supply of various medical remedies for whatever may come up, or out.
There are only 275 participants allowed to register. The first year we showed up, we registered the day of the event. The last 3 years, it sells out in January. Everyone gathers around the dam, a big timer is set, and they blow a horn. Then the fun begins. Some people just walk the whole time. Some people run almost the whole time. Others leave after a while, some stay all 24 hours. There's a lot of folks who run a bunch a walk some too. That's the category I was in.
I ran the first 26 miles, then had to stop and rub vaseline & body glide on my foot. Already getting a hot spot- not a good thing. I ran most of the next 24 miles, but walked a couple laps too. I walked more than I physically needed to, but I was enjoying the company I was with at the time. There are so many amazing stores out there, and people from all different walks of life. The great thing is, they're all really down to earth and friendly. I am in awe of them. There was a really awesome masseuse there too. Free massages all 24 hours for anyone who wanted one. I hit her up for a leg massage somewhere in between 30 and 50 miles. 15 minutes of glorious love.
After I hit mile 50, I took a break. It had turned dark and was getting chilly outside. So I changed into my warmer clothes. Or I tried. It took me forever to try and put my running tights on. I think I almost took up residency in the large bathroom stall since I was in there so long. After changing, I got some stuff to eat, and put my feet up for a while. MR rolled off the cot for a few hours to let me sleep. After he got 19 miles in, he threw in the towel and spent the rest of the time sleeping, drinking, and visiting the food tent.
And let me tell you about the food tent. It is 3 long tables of glorious nourishment. They have everything. One table is just for drinks. Gatorade, Mt Dew, Pepsi, Ginger Ale, Coke, hot cocoa, coffee, etc. Then, there's a couple tables of snacks. A few of the things I remember are: gummy bears, peanut and plain m&m's, pretzels, candy corns, chips, pickles, oranges, bananas, cake- white and chocolate, grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza- pepperoni or cheese, and hamburgers. They also had soup. Chicken noodle or a bean/barley/lentil vegetarian number. Everything was delicious. I will say though, it made me burp a lot when I was running. Totally worth it.
Around 12:30, I felt rested enough to get back out on the trail. I pulled my skunk hat on, threw on a head lamp, and headed out. They had tied chem lights to the tree branches and posted them along the trail. So you shouldn't have lost your way in the dark. I will admit on my first go-around in the dark I almost went into a ditch because I was so busy looking for tree roots that I didn't look ahead to see that the trail turned a little. Lucky think I caught myself before I rolled into the troll lair under the ditch bridge. I'm used to running in the dark, but I'm not used to running for 6 hours in the dark on a trail with obstacles like tree roots, wash out areas, and sandy patches. There was a beautiful crescent moon that came up, but it wasn't enough light to help with the running in the dark bit. I had a couple of scares when I was running alone in the dark - couldn't see anyone else in front of me or behind me- and I heard my old friend chupakabra in the trees. He was following me and was going to devour me before I got a chance to meet my goal. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the same one that lives near my home, but his half-breed cousin that is more bear and less wildcat.
At 75 miles, or 50 laps, I met my goal, with time to spare. It was so satisfying!!! MR had woken up around the same time, so we spent the rest of the time walking together. The sun rise was beautiful. We managed 1-1/2 loops before the horn went off and we left our bananas in the dirt next to Mt. Hinson (the "hill" on the trail- which isn't a hill at all, but the most incline we got in one place).
Total miles was 78.22. Then we got to pack up. Which isn't easy to do when your body is done playing nice. But we managed. The hardest part was having to put the big rocks back that we'd borrowed to use as anchors for the canopy. And then we had to haul it all back to the car, which was probably 1/2 a mile away from the camp site. And bless his heart, MR had to drag it all in one trip. I didn't want to walk back for a 2nd trip either, but that was a lot of crap to haul up the hill to the car. I slept almost the whole way home.
Some photos from the event:
1- MR on the wooden bridge the night before the run.
2- Lilly pads in the lake (the blossoms opened up in the daytime- really pretty)
3-Sunset on the lake- you can see the tents/canopies set up on the dam in the distance
4- feet at 50 miles & ready for a shoe & sock change
6- MR & I on our final "banana lap"- I was tired, if you can't tell.
7- our bananas :-) ,,,,,, with the clouds reflecting in the lake.
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