First, I should should share the biggest news I have that is actually not running related. I am going to be a first time father this Summer! My wife Leigh and I are looking forward to an end of July, maybe early August baby. We are not finding out the gender of the baby but do have a few names in mind. We are thinking of something like Yiannis Kouros Carver for a boy and maybe Ann Trason Carver for a girl. Ha, just kidding but with a name like that they would have to grow up to be great runners right?
I was thinking about running Burning River again this year but it turns out the baby is due that weekend so I am not going to risk being in the middle of Cuyahoga Valley National Park in the dark when my wife goes into labor. I then thought okay maybe I will run the Mohican 100 in June before the baby comes, but we ended up buying a house. So between selling our current house and moving into the new one I figured I will probably be too busy to train hard enough for a 100 miler.
As far as running goes since my last post I have run and finished 5 races.. The races were the Moebius-Green Monster 50K, the Akron marathon, the Bigfoot 50K, the Green Jewel 50K, and the Buzzard Day
Moebius-Green Monster 50K (https://www.facebook.com/groups/339212692817823/)
I had finished the Burning River on August 2nd and had taken a nice break from running to recover when I heard about this race. My wife and I had taken a five day trip down to Florida a couple of days after BR100 and had a great time relaxing at the beach and by the pool. I don't think I ran for the first time until about two weeks after BR100, but I was itching for another race. I was on an incredible high from finishing my first 100 mile race and wanted another finish at any distance to keep it going.
I found the MGM50K (Moebius-Green Monster 50K) online and saw that it was close to home and very cheap. It was August 23rd and I decided I would just show up on race day, pay, and run. It was in Aurora, OH only about 45 minutes from my house so it was an easy drive in that morning. The race was being held at Sunny Lake Park, a beautiful park set on a 68 acre fishing lake.. The race was put on Stephen Godale, who at the time I was not familiar with, but turns out to be a local ultra running legend and a heck of a nice guy.
I showed up that morning paid my dues and got ready to run. There were a handful of area runners I recognized from other races and I looked forward to running and chatting with them. The course was five 10K loops around Sunny Lane Park on mostly dirt and grass trail combined with a little bit of gravel and asphalt path. I went out pretty fast on the first two loops and worked up quite a sweat. It was pretty warm out. On loop three I could really start to feel that I was not fully recovered from BR100. My hamstrings and glutes were burning and tightening up and I knew I was going to end up slowing down.
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| Moebius-Green Monster Loop |
I ended up walking a lot on loop 3 before I started to loosen up again. During my walk I started talking with another runner, who's name escapes me, that was taking it easy as well. On loop 4 I started running with a couple of guys I recognized by face from some other races. One was Michael Schaffer and the other I can't recall his name. They had both also run the BR100 and we discussed how we did not feel fully recovered yet. We discussed other races and all kinds of things. Early into loop 4 we got passed by the leader of the race, Michael Epp. He was really moving and ended up finishing in 4:35:37. He had also run BR100 (finishing 6th) and I was impressed at how well he moved.
On loop 5 Michael and I left the other runner behind and eventually Michael left me behind. After walking for a few minutes I caught a second wind and decided to go as hard as I could on the last three miles of the race. I passed few people as I moved pretty quickly along the trail and eventually came out of the woods and onto the asphalt all purpose trail that circled a big lake in the park. From there it was about a quarter mile around the lake to the pavilion where the finish was. I hustled in and finished at 6:16:15. I wanted to break 6 hours but I think not being 100% recovered kept me from that goal.
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| Runners Cooling Off |
Overall it was a great race. They were grilling at the finish and had a bunch of good food. I ate to my heart's content and watched as families enjoyed the warm weather. There kids on the playground, people fishing around the lake, and casual bikers, walkers, and runners all over the place. A handful of runners decided to cool down by wading into the lake and sitting in the shallow water. It was such a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Barring any unforeseen circumstances I will definitely be back this August to run this again. Maybe my wife will bring the new baby to park to watch me finish.
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| Hustling in for the Finish |
I don't run as many road races as I used to but still like to get a road marathon in every now and then. I had never run the Akron Marathon and had always heard great things about the race. I ended up on some kind of running emailing list and received and email that detailed "Blue Friday". Blue Friday was a Friday in November that indicated the opening of registration for the Akron full and half marathon. The word blue is in reference to a blue painted line that follows the entire marathon course. The email stated that race registration opened at midnight and the first five runners to register would get free entry into the race. I knew I could win one of the spots as I am a software developer by trade and have also signed up for a lot of races. the combined knowledge allowed me to leverage form auto-complete in my web browser as well as knowing exactly what to click. When midnight hit I think I was registered within 40 seconds. There was no indication if I was first to register or not but I was definitely one of the first five because the charge was $0.00. On top of getting a free entry the first 500 runners registered received a full color, hardcover book detailing the history of the Akron marathon.
I was also excited to run Akron because my father-in-law was running the half marathon. I was looking forward to having my wife and her mother there to cheer us on. I drove to Akron the day before the race and picked up my race packet. I was thrilled to find out that the full marathoners got an embroidered, zip up, Asics athletic jacket. It is one of the nicest pieces of swag I have ever gotten at a race.
The next day my wife and I drove to Akron and met up with her parents. The starting line was crowded and everyone was rearing to go. We started the race and I went out pretty quick. I was shooting for a PR of 4:06 or less but I really wanted to break the 4 hour mark if I could. I was moving very fast, for me at least, and clocked a 1:52:42 which put somewhere around 8:37 a mile. I was feeling great. The weather was warm and the temperature was on the rise on the race went on. I started to feel my legs getting tired around the 16 mile mark and knew I might be in trouble. I have run plenty of marathons but had never gone out that fast and it was catching up quick. In between miles 13.1 and 20.7 my pace had slowed to 9:45. This meant I had about 54 minutes to cover 5.5 miles if I was going to break 4 hours.
I moved on and started to get stomach issues around mile 22. I have never really had any stomach issues in any races so it was new to me. I kept slowing down to a walk to let my stomach settle and then I would start running again. Mile 25 came around a beating 4 hours was pretty much not going to happen. I saw a port-a-potty and had to stop. After about 10 minutes in there I emerged back onto the course with my stomach problems resolved. I took it easy all the way into the finish since I knew no records were getting broken. I ended up with a 4:18:15.
The marathon was really fun though. The finish is in the Akron Rubber Ducks' (minor league baseball team) stadium. The stands were full of spectators, family, and friends of runners cheering everyone in. They were running an Instagram feed on the jumbo-tron that you could submit pictures to. They also were interviewing the winners of the race on the field and broadcast it on the scoreboard and sound system. They interviewed a few runners who were running for charity and told some heart wrenching stories.
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| My father-in-law, Russ, and Me After the Race |
I joined my in-laws and wife in the stands and we ended up staying for quite a while just enjoying the festivities. My father-in-law Russ finished his first half marathon in decades in a solid 2:19:23. It was a great race and I will be running it again this year. The volunteers and spectators were amazing and I would recommend the race to anyone.
The Bigfoot 50K
I only ran one race in between the Akron Marathon (end of September) and the Bigfoot 50K (early December). It was the Cleveland Turkey Trot. I have run it 3 years in a row now in a full turkey costume and have had a great time. My wife walks the course and I usually jog back when I am finished running it and walk the last mile or two with her. It is a great way to start off Thanksgiving day. I at least feel a little better about pigging out that day.
Besides the Turkey Trot I was just doing my normal runs during the week and swimming laps once a week. I definitely slacked off a little bit leading up to the Bigfoot and knew it would end up being tougher because of my poor conditioning. I had talked my cousin Mike into running the race with me and knew that he had not been training very hard either. In fact I had to talk him into actually attempting to run it because he had called me and said he was just going to come cheer me on since he wasn't ready to run it. I told him I hadn't trained much either and that we should just go out and take it one loop at a time. The course is a permanently marked 10.4 mile loop that you run times for the 50K. I told him we would take it easy on the first and second loop and then just tough it out on loop three. Mike agreed to attempt the run and we met at the lodge Friday night before the race.
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| Bigfoot Finisher Award |
The weather forecast was calling for temperatures in the 40s which I was okay with for a december race, but it was also calling for rain. I think it ended up raining most of the night and into the morning so Mike and I knew we had to be ready to get wet. I brought a plastic bin with a lid to put extra clothes and stuff in and store at the drop bag area. I figured we might want to put on dry stuff in between loops.
The race started and we took off down the parking lot of the lodge and into the woods. Everything was drenched from the rain and our shoes were soaked in the first few minutes. As we went on through the hilly loop the mud just seemed to get worse and worse. It was probably the mussiest course I had ever been on. I don't think a Tough Mudder race could have held a candle to that mess. We eventually approach the large, steep hill that sits around mile five on the loop and climbed our way up to the street. the course runs for a little under a mile on the asphalt road before you hit the aid station. As soon as we were on the road and out of the woods the wind hit us hard. We were wet and the wind chilled us to the bone. Mike and I could not wait to get back in between the trees where the wind couldn't get to us and the air was warmer.
We ended up next to a runner named Ethan on the road. He and I chatted for a little bit and he told me that it was his first ultra. He asked me for advice and simply told him to keep moving forward. To walk if he had to but that he would make it. I moved on ahead of Ethan and hoped he would have a strong finish. I didn't know if I would see Ethan again but funny enough I ran into him at a race four months later (Green Jewel 50K). We randomly started talking on the course and after a few minutes realized we had talked four months earlier on the road in Salt Fork. I will talk more about it when I write about Green Jewel.
Eventually we made it through the aid station and back in to the woods for the last part of the loop. The mud continued and we arrived back at the lodge wet and chilly. I decided not to change clothes and was ready to head back out for the second loop right away. Mike was hurting a little and wanted a break. I was worried he wasn't going to head out for a second loop so I didn't rush him. We spent longer at the lodge than I really wanted to but finally he agreed to go out on another loop. We headed out down the parking lot and back into the woods.
On this loop I could tell Mike was fatigued. I would slow down and wait for him to catch up. Eventually he told me that it would be his last loop and for me to go on ahead. I appreciated him telling me to go ahead. Unless you promised to stick with someone or are concerned with your safety I don't believe you should hold someone back in a race. I told Mike thanks and good luck with the rest of the loop and took off ahead.
The mud on the course was thick. It was slippery at some places and at other places it was hard to keep it from sucking a shoe right off of your foot. I approached the giant hill before the road portion of the loop and climbed to the top. I was back out on the road and freezing again. I scooted through the aid station and then back into the warmth of the woods. The back end of the loop was my favorite as it has a lot of downhill segments. Of course they were a little tricky with all of the mud so I did not cover them as fast as I wanted to.
I finished up my second loop and grabbed some Heed and food and trudged out for my third. The Salt Fork course isn't actually a true loop. It starts with a mile to mile and a half section of trail that leads to the loop. This means runners are going in both directions on that portion of the trail. About a mile into the third loop I saw Mike coming back the other way. He told me he was definitely done and that his legs were dead. I told him good job and he wished me luck for the rest of the race.
I kept on moving and with a few miles to go it started to pour rain. I figured of course how else would an insanely muddy and wet race end? Naturally, with a ton of rain. I will have to admit that although the mud made it tough it was also fun. When you get dirty right off the bat in a race you tend to just let it go. You don't even really think about and that sort of let's you enjoy the rest of the race without worry about trying to avid the mud or water. You can go splashing through the puddles, embrace the stream crossings, and go sprinting down the muddy hills and feel like a kid just having a good ole time.
The third loop was almost over and I climbed the long hill out of the woods and emerged onto the lodge parking lot. I sprinted it in for a very speedy 7:55:56 finish. Pretty sure it was my slowest 50K finish ever but it didn't matter. I had a great time, in relatively warm weather considering it was December, and got another race under the belt. It felt good.
Green Jewel 50K
I had always been interested in running the Green Jewel 50K but was always out of town during it. I usually am down at the Ohio High School State Wrestling Tournament during the weekend of the race. This year the state tournament was a few weeks later than normal and I finally had a chance to sign up for the race.
I knew the Green Jewel was a fast race and I was looking to clock a good time. The race starts in Lakewood at the Scenic Park Picnic Area. The picnic area is seated on the Rocky River and contains a marina. Boats use the river to access Lake Erie. The race is an end to end course and finishes at the Oak Grove Picnic area in Brecksville. The race provides two charter buses to bus you from the finish to the start line. This allows you to drop your car off at the finish in the morning so it is there when you are done with the race. The course follows the asphalt, all-purpose trail through the Rocky River, Mill Stream Run, and Brecksville reservation of the Cleveland Metro Parks.
The course is super flat until about the 25 mile mark where it gets hilly as you get into Brecksville, but the last mile is pretty much all downhill. This makes for a very fast course with great footing. I was hoping for a PR and planned to go out fast. The weather forecast was definitely not the greatest. It was freezing temperatures with tons of ice on the course. I figured the ice was going to be the only thing that would keep me from running a great race.
The charter bus pulled into the scenic park picnic area about a half hour before the start of the race. Most of us stayed on the bus as long as we could to keep warm. With about 7 minutes until the start of the race we began filing off of the bus toward the start line. It was very cold, in the 20's or maybe even colder if I recall correctly. We had been warned by the race directors about the ice on the course and I was starting to think I should have worn some sort of spiked shoe.
The race started and we made our way along the first part of the course. We ended up on the metro parks path and started to hit intermittent patches of ice along the way. It was slick enough to slow a lot of us down but I was still moving at a decent pace. At about 5 or 6 miles into the race we ended up next to Big Met Golf Course. As we ran along the golf course I saw a guy wearing a Bigfoot 50K and I decided to ask him if he ran it. He said yeah and we started talking. A few minutes into the conversation he realized that he had talked to me once before. He talked to me at the Bigfoot 50K. His name was Ethan and the Bigfoot was his first 50K. We had talked during a walking break on the first lap of the Bigfoot race.
Ethan and I continued talking for the next several miles. We discovered that we were both running the same 100K race the weekend in Hinckley, OH. We talked a lot about running and other things. Ethan was still in high school which I thought was pretty cool. Although I was a good athlete in high school I could not have imagined running 31 miles on a Saturday morning in the freezing cold at that age. Ethan decided he wanted to try and stick together for the remainder of the race and I told him I was okay with that.
We kept running and the ice just seemed to be getting worse. There were long stretches of supe slippery ice that looked like a Zamboni had run right over it. People were falling left and right. I think a few people had to drop out of the race because of injuries sustained from falling. I had quite a few close calls but managed stay on my feet the entire time. A lot of the aid station workers told us the second half of the course was not icy at all. Everyone looked forward to that.
As we got further into the race the sweat on my layers of clothing started to build up. Being wet made me very cold. I planned on this happening and brought a drop bag with extra clothes that would be available to me at the halfway point. I told Ethan when we got to that aid station I was going to change clothes and it might take me a few minutes. He was good with that and not too long after that we crossed over Bagley Road and into the Mill Stream Run Reservation. The halfway aid station was about a mile past Bagley across the street from Wallace Lake. It was actually a little short of halfway at around 14.75 miles in.
We got to the aid station and I found my drop bag. I stripped all of my layers off and was shirtless in the freezing cold wind. There were quite a few people around who thought I was crazy but once I got my dry clothes on it was worth it. I immediately started to warm up and was happy about the decision. Ethan waited as I changed and when I was ready we started running again down the path. I could tell that Ethan was starting to tire and I was feeling good. I figured he would start to fall behind soon.
The Mill Stream Run reservation was a place I was very familiar with. I had done countless runs there on the pavement and on the dirt bridal trails. I still run there often except I tend to hit up the mountain bike trails more than the bridal trials now. The reservation covers the cities of Berea, Strongsville, and some of Brecksville. Once you start to get into Brecksville there is a lot more uphill running. Everything before that is pretty flat and easy.
Around 18 miles or so I left Ethan behind and kept moving forward. I was really good and did not want to slow down until I absolutely had to. As I got closer to Brecksville I started to hit some hills. I was getting close to the mile 26 aid station and had to climb one of the longer hills on the course. I made it to the aid station and ate some food and got moving again. I hit the 28 mile mark and decided to give my wife a call. I like to check in with her periodically during races and since I had been running with Ethan most of the time I didn't get a chance earlier. I let her know it was going well and that I had about three miles to go and would see her soon.
I did a little bit of walking in between 28 and 29 miles and quickly realized I was still on pace for a PR 50K. I started running again and decided I was gong to run all the way through the finish. A volunteer on the side of the road let us know we were to stay on the road all the way to the finish. It was a pleasant surprise to find out we were able to stay on the road, which was plowed and salted, instead of the all-purpose trail that was covered in ice.
The last mile of the race was a complete decline and I started to pick up the pace. My PR was somewhere around 5 hours and 37 minutes and I was getting close to that time. I ran the last mile as hard as I could and finally entered the picnic area where the finish was. I clocked about an 8:59 last mile and sprinted past the finish line. A volunteer congratulated me and I manage to squeeze out a"Thank you" in between my heavy breaths. As I caught my breath I walked over to the pavillion to get my medal and some food.
I walked into the pavilion and was handed my medal along with a "Congratulations" by a volunteer. I made may way to a food tent where Kelly Dickerson, a long time race volunteer and worker, was serving up some delicious chili. I had a few bowls and gave my wife a call. I went to my car and grabbed some dry clothes to change into. I changed in the bathroom and as I was walking to my car I saw Ethan finishing up the race. I walked over to the finish line and cheered him in. His girlfriend and one of her friends were also there cheering him on. I was impressed with him. It was his second 50K finish and he hadn't even graduated high school yet. We took a picture together and exchanged numbers so we could text each other about the Buzzard Day 100K we were both running the next weekend. I got in my car and was looking forward to getting home and warming up with a hot shower. It was a great race and getting a PR at 5:34:50 felt good.
Buzzard Day
The inaugural Buzzard Day Trail Race was held three years ago in March of 2013. The race runs through the Hinckley Reservation, part of the Cleveland Area Metroparks. Buzzard Day occurs on March 15 each year as the residents of Hinckley await the return of the buzzards to the reservation. The buzzards are Turkey Vultures and have become sort of a mascot for the city. Roy Heger, a local ultra running legend, had been trying to get a permit for the race for a long time. In 2013 the permit finally came through and Roy was able to hold his race on the weekend after Buzzard weekend in the reservation. I guess the city thought that having a race in the park the same weekend would be too crowded or something.
That year 25K and 50K distances were offered. The course was a 7.8 mile loop that took you all around the reservation and through Whipps Ledges, a beautiful section of rock ledges in the middle of the woods. The ledges are used for repelling, have carvings that hundreds of years old, and even boast a cave that was used as part of the Underground Railroad. The cave has since been cemented in as people would squeeze in through the small opening and get stuck inside. The weather that year was cold, around 23 degrees, and the ground was snow covered, but footing was surprisingly good.
In 2014 the race offered distances of 25K, 50K, and 100K and the loop was expanded to 15.5 miles. The 15.5 mile loop, I thought, was way better than the small loop for the year before. It allowed you to see more of the park and experience a lot of different trails. I signed up for the 100K that year and was set to run the four loops. It was again cold, in the 20's and 30's throughout the day and the course was icy, and snow covered. With around 5 miles to go on my third loop, I was tired, cold, and hungry. The thought of having to run another 15.5 miles in the dark and cold was not very appealing to me. I began to talk myself out of a fourth loop. When I came in Roy and other tried to talk me into going back out but I ultimately decided to call it quits.
I regretted not finishing the race and swore to come back with a vengeance in 2015. I eventually signed up for the 100K and had to get ready for the race. The Winter season was one of the most brutal we have had in Cleveland ever. Massive amounts of snow and extremely low temperatures made it very hard to get good training in outside. Running on trails that had several feet of snow on them was near impossible. Trying to run on asphalt paths in the parks was also useless since they were covered in large, very slick sections of ice.
I ran when I could outside often wearing several layers of clothing paired with a neoprene face mask and two sets of gloves. There were some days where I could not motivate myself to get out there in the cold and I would run on the treadmill in the gym located in the office where I work. Some days I was so discouraged by the weather I would not even run. So my training was not where I had hoped it would be when I showed up on race day.
The 2015 course was set to be a 7.8 mile loop that was run eight times for the 100K, four times for the 50K, and two times for the 25K (a distance added a few weeks before the race). Unfortunately the temperature rose rapidly during the week and melted a ton snowing the park were the race was biding held. The extra water turned what was supposed to be a small stream crossing into a raging 30 foot rapid crossing that gushed super cold water. In the interest of safety the race director cut the course short to avoid the raging waters.
The course ended up being a 5.2 mile out and back course. So 2.6 miles out and 2.6 miles back in on the same section of trail. The short section also happened to contain some of the bigger climbs from the 7.8 mile loop. It was icy and muddy and some the sections did not have the greatest footing.
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| The Short 2.6 Mile Out and Back |
There were only about 12 people running the 100K and the start was very early in the morning. We gathered in the lodge that was located next to the start line and the race director gave his speech describing the course and weather conditions. After talking for a while he mentioned the fact that less than half of us would finish the entire 100K. He went on and said that if we wanted to we could drop down to the 50K distance at any time and get a finisher's award.
Ethan, the runner I mentioned above in the Green Jewel 50K, was also running the 100K. he and his girlfriend had driven in that morning. I asked Ethan if he had a headlamp or any kind of light and he told me he did not. Luckily I had an extra headlamp I had purchased for the 2014 Burning River 100. I bought it in case my pacers needed a headlamp and two of them did so it was worth the investment. Now I was able to lend it to Ethan so it made the purchase even more worthwhile. I told Ethan he would need it for the first hour most likely and he thanked me.
Eventually we lined up outside and the race started. The air temperature was around 40 degrees at the start and reached a high of 50 degrees. We left the lodge and turned right down the parking lot and then hung another sharp right onto the bridal trail. It was quickly obvious that the trail would consist of water, mud, and ice. The first mile or so was riddled with small trenches that the water from the melting snow and ice had carved out. Foot placement was important so as not to roll an ankle or fall due to the trenches and ice. We moved along the trail guided by the light of our bouncing headlamps and eventually passed the Brooklyn Exchange Cabin. Once passed the cabin we crossed a road and continued on about another mile of bridal trail full of rolling hills.
Before I knew it we had hit a strip of yellow caution tape and I think an orange cone and were turning around to head back the other way. By that point I already knew that I was most likely dropping to the 50K distance. The ice really slowed me down and I was just not "feeling it" that day. The short stretch of trail that made up the course was one of the hillier parts of the Hinckley Reservation and I knew it would start to take its toll on my legs.
Once back past the Exchange Cabin we hit a very long uphill climb. I wasn't super steep just long. The thought of climbing that hill 12 times was enough to make my decision final about only running 50K. By time I made it back to the lodge the sun was on the rise and I put away my headlamp. I got some food and a drink and made my way out for another 5.2 miles.
One thing you get to see on a short out and back course that you don't with longer loops is the faster runners. On a course as short as this one I was faster runners were constantly passing by. The leaders of 100K were moving smoothly and seemed to be in great shape. I later found out that two of the top finishers in the 100k, David Peterman and Dustin Smith, were signed up for the Grandslam of 200s. The Grandslam of 200s consists of
The Buzzard day race also offered 50K and 25K distances so I was able to see the leaders of both of those races quite a few times as well. The 50K started two hours after we started and the 25K started an hour after that. The 50K leader, Tim Edwards, ran strong the whole time but was significantly slower that the 100k leader, Dustin Smith. For comparison Edwards ran a 5:29:21 in the 50K while Smith ran a 9:53:17 in the 100K. That is two 4:56:38 50K races back to back. Don't get me wrong, Edwards time was still impressive considering the course conditions. The 25K leader, Matt Lipsey was truly impressive with a time of 1:46:24. I had to laugh when I heard one runner refer to him as Captain America, in reference to his red, white, and blue running shorts. Whenever he came by me I kept wondering how he was not slipping and falling at the speed he was going.
As I moved along in the race Ethan had fallen behind me but we would pass each other often and give words of encouragement and talk about how we were most likely dropping to the 50K distance. During my sixth and final outing I received a call from my wife asking how I was doing. I told her I was just going to do the 50K and was on my last lap. She was on her way out with her parents to cheer me on. She was a little surprised I was cutting the race short but understood and said she would see me at the finish line. On my way in I passed Ethan as he was heading out for his final lap. He had a rolled up poster board stuffed in his camel back. I was curious about this and asked what it was. He said "Oh I am going to ask my girlfriend to prom when I finish." Apparently finding clever ways to ask a girl to prom is "a thing" now. I did not know that and my wife had to explain it to me. I have to admit it made me feel a little old.
I jogged around the small lake in front of the lodge were the finishing line was and could see my wife and her parents in the distance. I was looking forward to finishing, warming up in the lodge, and getting some food to eat. I trotted in to the cheers of my family and gave my wife a kiss. We went into the lodge, which smelled of chili and feet, and found some seats to relax in. Roy, the reace director handed me a medal and thanked him fora good race. There was plenty of chili and other food to eat and I chowed down. I used a Styrofoam bowl for my chili, even though they had given out nice chili bowls adorned in the race logo with a matching spoon.
As we sat there we watched the 50K winner get his a award, as well as the 50K female winner and grand masters winner. It was nice to sit around and watch other runners joking and having a good time. Eventually my wife and in-laws left and I hung out to watch Ethan finish up his 50K. As I waited I talked with one of the volunteers, Michael Kazar. I had run into Michael several times both as a volunteer and runner. He is a great guy and will go out of his way to help with anything. After I left that day I heard he even ran a few laps with one of the 100K runners just to help keep her going. We talked about running, family, and many other things as I waited on Ethan to come in.
I saw Ethan's girlfriend and a friend of hers get out of their car and walked toward the finish and knew that Ethan must not be too far off. Eventually I saw him running toward the finish, white poster board in hand. After he had finished and talked with his girlfriend for a while I walked over and congratulated him. His girlfriend said yes to his request to go the prom and I told them to havea good time. There were still several runners still on the course but I was ready to go. I got in my car and headed home. It was a fun day and of course looking back I wish I would have stuck it out for the 100K. One of these days I will finish that distance.
