2010 Year in Review

2010 Was a fun year. The first several races of 2010 were more, or less training runs where I did not race. A lot of it was build up for the Old Dominion 100. The highlight of my year was ironically also the lowlight. My DNF at the Leadville 100 was obviously disappointing, but at the same time I would never trade in the memories of my unforgetable week in Colorado.

I hoped to cap off 2010 by being competetive at the Hellgate 100k, but my brain had kind of checked out of running for the year after the JFK 50. Honestly, I pushed myself hard this year, and my body needed the rest. I've run over 3,000 miles this year, a goal I had set out to achieve on January 1, 2010. This past year I became a sponsored runner for the Sole Source and continued my partnership as a 2nd year member of the Brooks Inspire Daily group.

Highlights from 2010

Promise Land 50k- 5:51, big PR on a day I didn't "race". Will aim for sub 5:30 next year if I run.

Capon Valley 50k- 4:48, would have been another top 10, had I not gotten lost. Still, this run reminded me how I can do relatively well even when I run 2 miles further than everyone else.

Old Dominion 100- 21:52, 9th place (was 4th through 100k). Good to PR on a super hot day and tough course.

Skyline Challenge 50k- 5:16, 3rd place, only 5 weeks after 100 miler

Great Eastern Endurance Run 50k- 4:55, 3rd place

JFK 50 Miler- 7:35, 63rd out of 1038. New 50 mile PR (previously 7:57)

Another Autumn in Boonsboro- JFK 50...again!

For five of the last six years I have found myself in southern Maryland at the start of the JFK 50 miler. Although I dislike the actual race course, there's a clear emotional connection that I will admittedly always have of the JFK 50. It's been a constant in a life that has been inconsistent and it always brings me back to that chilled fall morning of 2004 when I toed the line of the first race I had ever run.

Most years there's an anticipation months and weeks before JFK, but this year I hardly gave the race a second thought. In truth, I really had no desire to be running that weekend, or running JFK for that matter. Still, I made the all too familiar trip to Boonsboro, packed my race items in about 10 minutes, and wound up at the starting line for the fifth time.

The race summary is short. The weather was perfect all day with morning temps in the high 30's and rising to nearly 60 by noon. I ran conservative in the early miles and made up time on the Appalachian Trail. I was the 124th runner entering the trails at mile 2.5. I entered Gathland at mile 9.3 with ultra phenom Jill Perry, and had a chance to talk briefly with her which was really cool. By the time I arrived at Weverton Cliffs I had moved up a drastic 50 spots by mile 15.5. I suppose all my trail running has it's advantages, right?

However, the C&O Canal towpath is what makes or breaks your race. If you go out too hard in the mountains you will fizzle out on the towpath. JFK is a notoriously good course for fast marathoners as it is mostly flat from miles 16-42, and then becomes rolling paved roads for the final 8 miles. My goal was to complete the 26.3 mile "towpath marathon" in under four hours. In fact, I managed a respectable 3:49 split for the first 26.2 miles of JFK, and exceeded my goals by running the towpath in 3:50. There's not much to explain about the towpath other than it is flat, sometimes scenic, and often monotonous. It's really mostly a mental game to keep your legs moving. Other than the time at aid stations, I was fairly pleased to be running 8:00-8:30 miles most of the day.

The monotony was also broken up by running with Dave Miller, a fast marathoner, from the Reston Runners, and the goal of chasing down my buddy James Brennan. James was on my 5 person team, and all day he had been about 2-3 minutes ahead of me at the aid stations (James rocked it and finished in 7:24). As the miles clicked away I ended up setting a 50k PR of 4:30, and was pleasantly surprised to have a lot of gas in the tank beyond 35 and 40 miles. A regular schedule of a gel, salt, and soda every 20-30 minutes worked wonders on my energy levels, and I never once felt tired, sleepy, or cramped. The fatigue of literally running non stop for 42 miles really hit once I got off the towpath and back on to paved roads. This was a challenge, and my paced dropped considerably trying to run small hills and into a pretty solid head wind.

The last 8 miles of JFK are always tough. I ended up walking about a half dozen short climbs, but ran everything else. In the end I ran up to the finish line and was pleased to be done in 7 hours and 35 minutes. 62nd overall out of 1100 starters and 1014 finishers. As JFK has become an extremely competitive event, the times are only getting faster and faster. It was a 20 minute personal best in the 50 mile distance, and a 57 minute personal best at JFK. It was a day that I felt couldn't have gone too much better, and it was an encouraging reminder of how far I have come since my first JFK in 2004. Six years ago I finished this race in 10:39. I would have never guessed that half a decade later I would complete the same event three hours faster.

Much thanks to the Reston Runners support crew, and the Jim Team. Ultramarathon number 55 is in the books!

Great Eastern Endurance Run 50k

Saturday September 25th, 2010

It had been 4 years since I ran the GEER 50k hosted by the Charlottesville Running Company. I wanted to return to beautiful Sherando Lake and run some of my favorite local trails. There were some significant changes to the 50k course in 2007 so that it ran entirely different trails than the course I ran in '05 and '06. In fact, the course was very similar to the Bel Monte 50k course that is hosted by the same folks.

The race started at 6am. I was wearing a sleaveless flannel shirt and my Hawaiian boardshorts. One could say this was hardly the appropriate attire for such a race, but it reminded me not to take things too seriously. There were two races, a 50k and 100k, that had the same start and used the same trails until the 100k folks detoured at mile 22. At 6am it was still dark, so I had to use a headlamp. Myself and Sean Andrish broke away early to lead the runners down the dark road through the Sherando Lake recreation area. The lead 100k runners, Harland Peelle, and Eric Grossman were right on our heals as we made our way to the first section of single track.

Sean's pace was too fast for my comfort level and I backed off. My headlamp was also very low on battery power (I had not swapped fresh batteries since the Old Dominion 100 in June). With poor visibility I found myself stumbling over rocks and roots, as well as urging other runners to pass. It was around this time I followed Eric Grossman down what seemed like a very rocky trail. It didn't feel right, and behind us I saw headlamps continuing up the trail we missed. It turns out Eric mistook a dried out creek bed for the trail. No worries, but we did get passed by about 5 runners (a couple 50k guys, and a couple 100k).

I hit the first aid station at around sunrise(6:48am) and ditched the headlamp. I was thrilled to have full visibility of the trail, and have a beautiful sunrise to accompany it. However, I was already soaked with sweat, and it looked like it was going to be a warm day. Things were pretty mediocre early on. I ran well,felt good, wasn't getting passed, but I wasn't passing anyone either. I made sure to run well on the 2.5 mile section of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and was running what felt like 6:20-6:30 miles down the steep 3 mile gravel road to the Priest Vista aid station. This out and back would be the first place I could see runners, and figure out where exactly I stood in the race.

About a half mile from the aid station the first place 50k runner comes flying UP the mountain. Basically, I knew right then that I was not going to contend for the win. I was partially suprised Sean Andrish was not leading, but more surprised how far ahead the two 100k leaders were ahead of me. When I finally arrived at the aid station I was the 5th 50k runner, and there was no sign of Sean. Was he hurt? Did he miss a turn? On my way back up the mountain I finally saw Sean, and it turned out he had run several miles off course. At the top of the climb, returning back to the Blue Ridge Parkway I was passed by two more 100k runners. I thought to myself "Am I going that slow that these guys are doing my 50k pace for their 100k?". Afterall, these runners were going twice as far as me...and they were passing me!

That self monologue was enough for me to speed up and not only pass the 100k runners, but the two 50k runners ahead of me. By the time I reached the next aid station there wasn't a runner in sight behind me. However, it was still early and the temps were rising. On the big climb up to the Slacks Overlook (mile 19) I was starting to get gassed. My muscles were getting tight, and I found myself stopping to stretch more often than I would have liked. I had only eaten two gels, and a handful of M&M's, and a bonk seemed like it was looming around the corner. I popped two gels, a few S caps, ran the moderate climb to Torry Ridge, and held on for another grunt to the highest part of the course, Bald Mountain. It was here the 1st place 50k runner passed me on the second out and back of the course. Needless to say, he had about a 3 mile lead, and there was no way anyone was catching him. In the meantime my energy levels were going south, but I had yet to see the 2nd place runner. A minute from the Bald Mountain Aid station I see second place, and then I see nobody else, which meant I was in 3rd.

Knowing I was in 3rd charged me up pretty good. I took more salt, and another couple gels to get me through the rest of the race. From here I had 7 miles of downhill trails, followed by a flat paved mile to the finish. The 4th and 5th place runners were about 10 minutes back, and I knew I could hold them off as long as I didn't do anything stupid. The return route was blazing fast, and I was able to safely pass runners coming towards me. I was feeling good, and on the road to the finish I glanced over my shoulder one last time and not a single runner was in sight. I crossed the finish in 4:55, a 1 hour and 34 minute PR for the GEER course. 3rd Overall. I was only a minute behind 2nd place, and the winner cruised in one of the fastest GEER times ever of 4:16.

The first time I ran the GEER 50k in 2005 I ran a very respectable 6:45. The following year I came back and ran a 6:29. I had always been impressed with the runners who came in under six hours, and was simply in awe of the guys who could break the five hour mark. I believe the course might be faster than some of the older GEER 50k courses. Therefor, I can't compare my 4:55 with a time from previous years where it would have been close to a winning time. However, many folks who completed GEER will no doubt consider it one of the tougher 50k's in the area and deserve a big congrats on finishing a tough trail race. After my finish, I stayed and watched the remaining 50k finishers come in. It was inspiring watching so many men and women testing their limits for 7-10 hours and still finish with smiles.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Leadville 100 Race Report

"Race" Report

In short, the end result of my race was very disappointing. I dropped at 50 miles after having a relatively solid start, or so I perceived. My overall cardio seemed to be fairly comfortable at high altitude, and in fact I was capable of maintaining a pretty good pace early on, which may have been my undoing. If you want to know how I came to such a lousy ending, then by all means read on.

The 2010 Leadville Trail 100 started under a crystal clear canopy of stars. At 4am the starting gun fired, and the record number 800 runners began their way down the legendary 6th and Harrison route. My race started off frantically as I found myself barricaded from the crowd of runners, and thereby trying to work my way through the masses to the middle of the pack. In the melee to get to the start I lost a glove and was forced to dart off into the chilly 40 degree morning with just one glove on. Not the way I pictured starting the fabled Leadville 100.



The first few miles went by quick and I found myself talking with a few local runners about the race. In the heat of the moment I couldn’t believe I was running Leadville and really soaked up the crowds and atmosphere. Smooth roads soon gave way to single track trail as we made our long circumnavigation around Turquoise Lake. From this point to the first aid station there would be little room for passing. I decided to settle into a comfortable, and at times frustatingly slow pace with the peloton. At seven miles we could hear the front runners passing through the Tabor boat ramp, and within ten minutes we were there as well. As I continued to chat with fellow runners it was noted that we were on pace for a 20 hour race, which seemed oddly fast considering how much I felt like I was holding back.



The early miles of the race were easy, flat, and I felt absolutely no discomfort running at 10,500 ft. Other “flatlanders” were noting horrible headaches, being short of breath, and nausea, but I hadn’t felt any symptoms of high altitude sickness. All in all it seemed like I had a great day of running ahead. Meanwhile things were still very surreal as I looked back behind me and saw a mile long parade of headlamps around the lake. Between the firefly like train of lights, the clearest of morning skies, and the slight glow of sunrise being revealed, this was by far the most enchanting race start I have ever experienced.

I arrived at May Queen (1:58 elapsed at mile 13.5) and was making solid time, but again not pushing too hard. While this looks brisk on paper, I could have easily let myself get caught running closer to a 1:48-1:50 split, which would have only been ten minutes behind the leaders. Instead I was intent to sit back in 68th position with 700 plus runners still behind me. “Be smart, start slow, and kick after the halfway point”. That was my mindset in the early hours, but soon I found myself being more aggressive than necessary.

At 20 miles we climbed the semi-steep Hagerman Pass above 11,000 ft, but instead of feeling winded because of the altitude I was feeling strong and starting running the climbs. This push allowed me to pass a hearty number of runners, and no doubt placed me in the top 50 arriving at the fish hatchery (3:48 split at 24 miles). After the fish hatchery we made our way down four miles of open road that literally lives up to the Race Across the Sky name. The views of neighboring Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive, Colorado’s two highest mountains provided a distinct back drop that really added to the grandeur and enormous scope of the course. This was, however, where my race began to unravel.




For a good number of early miles I leapfrogged with Steven Baker, a really fast youngster also from Virginia. Between miles 25-35 we both noted having extremely heavy feeling legs, a feeling I know is not typical for me, or Steven. Given the moderate pace early, ease of the course thus far, it was clear that the dead feeling in my legs was far from normal. At any rate I made my best effort to jog the flat sections, but soon ended up walking the gentle hills and even downhills. Something was very wrong. My legs felt like they had already run 100 miles, I was getting passed by many runners, and we were just arriving at Half Moon (5:28 split at 32.5 miles).

After some solid calories I rebounded and was able to make an honest effort down to Twin Lakes at mile 40. It was here I prepped myself for several chilly river crossings and the notorious climb up to Hope Pass, elevation 12,600 ft. Although I dropped at mile 50, my race basically ended at mile 44. The climb to Hope Pass is long, steep, and seemingly endless. You climb forever through the woods, climb forever to the tree line, and still have a long trudge across the pass. At first I needed rest breaks every quarter mile, but soon it became every 100 feet and eventually every 20-30 feet. By the time I made it up and over the pass, I had been passed (the term pass was ironic on so many levels here) by 30-40 runners. Runners with trekking poles and those from high altitude made the climb look effortless.

Before Hope Pass I legitimately believed I had a shot at a 22-23 hour finish. I saw that time slip farther and farther away as the mountain kept climbing. When I got to Winfield, I was 1:15 slower than my goal and it took me 4 hours and 20 minutes to go ten freakin’ miles! My fifty mile split time of 11:15 was an indicator of an impossibly slow second half, and the sub 25 hour finish needed for the gold buckle was gone. At this point my will was still strong, but my legs were rendered useless. Quads shot, calves trashed, feet throbbing, and ham strings tight. While climbing and descending Hope Pass was certainly a massive feat in itself, I certainly don’t think it was enough to wreck my legs as much as they were.




After an hour sitting, drinking, and eating at Winfield I got up and attempted to jog. The legs were non responsive and by now it looked as if my body would not allow me to return back over the daunting climb up Hope Pass. At this rate I risked being at above 12,000 in the dark, without my warm clothes, and probably missing the cut-off at mile Twin Lakes II (mile 60). The horrible reality was that my day was over, and my quest to finish the Leadville 100 fell miserably short. However, I never once questioned my decision to drop. My legs simply did not have enough to make it to mile 60, no less the finish line.

Things I learned at Leadville

1.Altitude not only effects cardiovascular performance, but also muscular recovery. Although my breathing was surprisingly efficient above 10k ft, lack of oxygen to my muscles (and lactic acid build up as a result) made my legs worthless after 25 miles and almost non functional at 50 miles. Two days post race the lactic acid is gone, and my legs feel good again. Go figure.

2.Trekking poles are priceless. I saw many runners with these going up Hope Pass. After using hiking sticks to climb Mt. Elbert the day after running 50 miles at Leadville I realized the value. Mt. Elbert is a tougher, longer, steeper climb than Hope Pass, and I hammered through it almost nonstop with tired legs. The use of trekking poles takes a TON of weight off the legs on not only the climbs, but descents. I believe if I had used these at Leadville this race report may sound drastically different. It’s almost unbelievable how much energy is saved with poles.

3.In further retrospect I sincerely don’t believe I ran too hard. However, my nutrition was shaky at best. I consumed plenty of water and salt, gels every now and then, but was in a serious deficit which probably made climbs much tougher than they needed to be. I focused too much on drinking, and not enough on eating. The fact that I had only lost 2.3 lbs at 50 miles was a bit misleading in terms of caloric intake.

4.Three to four weeks at altitude is essential for running well at Leadville. This means living at 10,000 ft and not just hanging out in Denver at 6,000 ft. Obviously, because of work, this is not realistic for most people and definitely not realistic for me. Where can I find one of those altitude tents?

5. Pacers are allowed to carry the racer’s gear. This is usually not allowed, but Leadville is okay with. I wish I knew because I had offers for a pacer, but declined. Lesson learned.

Skyline Challenge 50k

July 10th, 2010
Start time: 6:00am

The Skyline Challenge 50k is a 31.4 mile trail race held in Gore, VA. It's located very close to the Virginia/West Virginia border near Winchester, VA. This was the second running of the event, but in a different location than it's innaugural run.

Recap: I drove up to Gore, VA with my fellow Harrisonburg friend Natalie Kennedy the night before the race. We drove 2 hours through pouring rain, fog, and more pouring rain. It became clear that tommorow's race was going to be wet and muddy, but perhaps a bit cooler than the 100 degree temps we had the previous week.

After arriving at the Cove Campground in Gore we had the park attendants pull up the doppler radar, which showed a massive green blob of rain hovering over the area until morning. Being the tough, rugged, athletes we are, Natalie and I opted to book a room at the local Marriott instead. A few Marriott mess ups later, we found ourselves in a large luxury suite complete with flat screen HD tv's and two private rooms for just $80. Yeah, we were roughing it.

After perhaps the best pre-50k night's sleep ever, I woke up at 4am to a dark rainy morning. At 5:15am I grabbed my #5 bib and waited around for the start.

The Numbers: I have an uncanny way of finishing races very close to my bib number. This is all coincidence since my bib number, which is usually low, is based purely on an alphabetical system. Thus my last name Bailey usually ends up with a low bib. A guy like Sean Andrish, however, would have a low bib either way due to having a low seeding, and a last name that starts with A.

Anyway, with bib #5, I made my impromptu goal a top five finish. Was this a bit too optimistic just 5 weeks "recovered" from a 100 mile race? Read on to find out.

After a quick prayer the race started promptly at 6:02am and all 127 runners were off. With overcast skies, rain, and fog, it was still considerably dark out for a 6am start. I started off fairly conservative and felt no need to chase down the 10 or so runners ahead of me. However, about a half mile down the first road I caught up with the lead runners who were all surprisingly just standing around in bewilderment. Apparently, the frontrunners had missed a turn? A few moments later the remaining 120+ runners joined up with us, thus creating a mass of runners once again clumped together. As runners began to figure out the course markings, all the of lead runners found themselves behind the back of the pack runners. I went from being in the top 10 to virtually last place in a matter of seconds. Yowza! This was the most bizarre start to a race I have ever run.

For the next few minutes I picked my way past the back of the pack, the middle of the pack, and then closer to the front. I honestly tried to pass people as carefully as possible, and admittedly knew it must have looked weird for the last place runner to come frantically blasting through the field. Soon enough the craziness of the first mile passed, and I found myself with the obstacle of climbing several miles of steep, 18% grade, muddy trails. The footing was so slick that I literally had to grab branches and small shrubs to keep myself from sliding back down the mountain. I can't imagine what these climbs must have been like for the last place runners after hundreds of feet had already mushed up the surface.

After the mud there was some more climbing, less steep, much more runnable, and traction friendly. Once we hit the Tuscarora Trail is was go time! The trail was rocky, but not nearly like the debris fields that are the Massanutten trails. I made good time here and passed a few folks, ran by the fog blockaded overlooks, and made my way to the steep half mile powerline aid station (mile 9ish). This short out and back spur gave me the first view of the runners about 5 minutes ahead of me and the runners 5 minutes behind. I counted about six runners ahead, including elite female Eva Pastalkova, and ultra legend Courtney Campbell. Unfortunately, I didn't know if there were others even furthur ahead that had already gone through. At this point, I presumed I might have been somwhere between 10-15th place. I had no idea, and just decided to run my own pace and not worry about my placement. On my way out of aid station I saw my friend and local speedster Andrew Jenner just a minute or two back, and buddies Tom Syre and Joe Parker about 4 minutes back and gave them a quick shout out.

Once I got back to the main trail I was again back to some quick ridgeline running. Andrew Jenner caught up to me and followed me down some steep and slippery switchbacks down the mountain. There were about a half dozen blow downs that broke up any fast running and were a little tricky to navigate around. However, after the switchbacks ended it was a few miles a fast downhill followed by 8 miles of rolling roads. On the road section my buddy Andrew passed me and it seemed like he was really hitting a groove. I still managed to catch up to Eva Pastalkova and enjoyed sharing some good conversation with her until the course turn around at mile 17. Eva recently moved to Virginia, and has taken the east coast ultra community by storm. Knowing how strong of a runner she was, I was pretty content to just follow her lead and maintain the pace.

Just before the turn around, race director Brad Hinton, drove by and said me and Eva were the 5th and 6th place runners. Surely that wasn't correct? As we neared the turn around we still hadn't seen any other runners. I had expected to see the first runners well before then, but low and behold they were just minutes from the aid station when they passed us. This is the moment my competitive juices clicked and I shifted into a second gear. I pulled away from Eva at the turn around and pursued the leaders. The long road section, much of which was downhill before, was now going to be uphill on the way back. I resolved to just put my head down and keep moving forward.

Retracing the course wasn't really fun, but I got to see every other runner in the race, and gave shouts of encouragement whenever I could. The energy from seeing the other runners was enough to get me running all of the uphill back to those notoriously steep switchbacks that we came down 10 miles ago. On the way up the big climb back to the ridgeline I caught up with Courtney Campbell(which is a guy). Courtney was one of the most dominant utlrarunners in the country from 1995-2004, and it was really an honor to get a chance to chat with him for a bit as we headed up the switchbacks. Courtney semi-jokingly said he was "a shell of his former self", to which I replied "the shell of your former self is still ahead of me!". He's not as fast as he was in his prime, but at age 45 the guy can still fly. Once we hit the top of the climb and were back on ridgeline Courtney took off, and I was sure I wouldn't see him again. Still, I regrouped and pushed the pace, eventually catching up to and passing my friend Andrew who was going through a bit of a rough patch.

I kept the good tempo going and made my way back to the powerline section which was now fully visable without the fog. Man it looked way steeper than in the morning when you couln't see ALL the way to the aid station. Surprisingly, I had caught up to Courtney and when we left the final aid station together there was nobody in sight. Just before reaching the Tuscarora one last time we saw John Hayward moving quick, and he was only a few minutes behind us. This was enough motivation for me and Courtney to run some sub 7 minute miles in the last 4 downhill miles of the race and ensure our position, and his Master's win. As we neared the finish I asked if Courtney was ok with finishing together and he politely obliged. I will admit that I got a little worried that he was going to drop me near the end since he is such a fast downhill runner, and I'm still working on it.

That being said, we hit the last mile of flat road to the finish and casually jogged it in holding hands as we crossed the finish in a time of 5:16. It was very classy of Courtney to share a 3rd place overall finish with a much younger runner like myself, and he still won the Master's division. To be fair, in his prime, Courtney would have finished thirty to forty minutes ahead of me. John Hayward, who chased us most of the day had a terrific run and finished just six minutes behind us despite starting a few minutes late. First place had a time of 4:55, and second place was Brian Greeley in 5:08.

The Skyline Challenge 50k is a very good run. It is well organized and the post race atmosphere/food was terrific. There is a big lake you can swim in after the run, and plenty of space to camp. The course is tougher than it looks on paper, containing about 6,000 feet of vertical, technical trail, steep climbs, but also some quick road sections. The "thrify fifty" option costs only $20, and is well worth it to run this beautiful course. Thanks to James and Brad Hinton, Athletic Equation, and all the volunteers on a great event. I hope to be back soon!

Great job local runners and friends!

Andrew Jenner 5:33 6th overall
Joe Parker 5:44 11th overall
Tom Syre 6:29 top 25
Natalie Kennedy 8:13

Old Dominion 100

June 5th-6th, 2010.

The 32nd Old Dominion 100 Mile Endurance Run began at 4am this past saturday morning at the Shenandoah Valley fairgrounds. 55 runners embarked on a day of 90 degree temps, high humidity, and swampy evening conditions. This event, years removed from the days of 100+ runners, seems to be regaining strength in the wake of "politics" and the increasingly popular Massanutten Mountain Trails. Sadly, in previous years there have been as few as 25 entrants to this race. Old Dominion is the 2nd oldest 100 mile foot race in the country and only the famed Western States 100 is older. Due to not getting into MMT this year, the rich history of Old Dominion, and being home turf, I decided in mid May to enter.

The first fifty miles of this race are fast. There are only a few major climbs, lots of road, and only a couple rolling hills. In a little over an hour I reached the top of Woodstock Gap, still very much in the dark, and followed by dozens of headlamps in the distance. We arrived at the first crew access point, mile 19.6, and I commented that the time was really flying by. I hit my marathon split in 4:10, and my 50k in 4:55. I spent most of the morning running with Abran Moore who was on his 3rd attempt after two DNF's at earning his coveted sterling silver buckle. Abran went on to run a very strong second half and finished in 20:12, finally earning his buckle! 5 hours 8 minutes into the run, I pulled into the Four Points aid station at mile 32.5. When I arrived, the drop bags had not arrived yet. Without a crew, I had no access to my gels, second water bottle, and s caps. This was the only time I can say I was concerned about logistics. Thankfully, an awesome volunteer let me borrow a water bottle and salt caps. During the morning I also ran back and fourth with Montrail runner, and eventual female winner (19:54), Sabrina Moran until she took off for good around mile 35.

All in all, the early miles went as expected. Things felt easy, runners were still social and upbeat, but that is to be expected before the miles strip it away. Despite muggy conditions early on, I maintained a pretty solid pace and wasn't too far out of reach of leaders Bobby Gill and David Ruttum through Four Points II, the 47.7 mile aid station. The time keepers said I was just 8 minutes back of Moran, and closing the gap on Brad Hinton. After crossing the 50 mile point of the race in a fairly relaxed time of 8:38 it was obvious that we were now entering the hottest, and most exposed part of the day. It was around a road climb at mile 52 where I caught and passed a struggling Hinton. Brad was last year's second place finisher, however, this was not one of his good days and he would drop at the next aid station. Meanwhile, sparse flagging over Moreland gap road caused me some confusion and I chose to run back a half mile on the course only to realize I was going the correct way. One bonus mile for the day.

Entering Edinburg Gap (mile 56) I was in 4th place and still feeling strong despite the conditions. I realistically wanted to make a run for a top 3, but knew the three folks ahead of me were all legit runners who could maintain their pace. I also had hopes for a sub 20 hour finish, which would require an 11 hour 22 minute second half over tougher terrain. As I changed socks, I noticed I was developing some problamatic blisters on my left foot, which may have been a result of wearing Brooks ST4 racing flats for 56 miles. I decided to swap into my half size larger Nike Pegasus, and wore them for the remainder of the race. The steep climb up the ATV trail was challenging yet went by quick. Ironically, it was the smooth downhill off the mountain that gave my feet the most issues as my beat up toes painfully hit the toebox on the downward grade. Hesitantly, I opted to walk sections of the downhill which I would have otherwise hammered hard. Through mile 60, I was still in 4th place overall, but the downhill walking provided opportunity for three runners to pass me, including my buddy Abran.

At the Little Fort aid station, mile 64.25, I was welcome by my old friends Mr. and Mrs. Pugh. Their son introduced me to ultras in 2004, and they have managed the Little Fort aid station at OD for over a decade. Little Fort may very well be the best aid station on the entire course, and it is where I decided to get my left foot patched up. Leaving Little Fort, I renewed my running,thankfully with less discomfort than before. It was just a short jog up the road to a sign that said "65 miles, go right, 93 miles, go left". I think at that moment it hit me just how rediculously far running 100 miles is. I had run 65 miles and still had 35 to go. During miles 65-75 I repeated a part of the morning road section and indulged in some fast trails leading into the 75 mile Elizabeth Furnace aid area.

Most people would agree that miles 75-86.5 are the toughest at Old Dominion. In short, I concur. Leaving mile 75 I started feeling queezy. Was it the hard pace through the first 100k? Was it the 30+ gels consumed? Who knows? All, I know is I couldn't stomach anything for the next 12 miles. Oddly enough, I managed to be very agressive up the notorious Sherman Gap climb and made it to the Veach East(mile 82) aid area in the waning minutes of daylight. From mile 82-86.5 I hit my lowest point. During the long climb out of Veach East I was running on fumes. I had now gone 3 hours without any calories, and my energy was completely gone. I took a few rest breaks up the mountain and got passed by two more non-bonking runners. I will admit that the 6.5 miles between mile 80 and 86.5 seemed like the longest I have ever run, or walked.

Leaving Veach Gap west, mile 86.5, my stomach starting coming around and I started laying down a few quick miles. Afterall, aside from sore hip flexors, my muscles still felt very good. The night section of the race felt surreal. The on and off rain throughout the evening made it feel like a sauna. With a headlamp on there was maybe 50-100 feet of visibility, and the fog was so dense you literally see the water vapor in the air. Lack of course flagging, perhaps a streamer every half mile, and the thick mist caused for more than a couple "oh crap, did I miss a turn?" moments. Though I lost a few minutes trying to figure out the intersections, I got lucky and came across Carter Weicking who thankfully was out remarking the course after we found out some locals were the culprits of the missing flagging.

At mile 93, I reached the top of Woodstock Gap for the last time. I could see the glow of the town lights below and it was a welcome site. I knew it was a mile of steep switchbacks down the mountain, and another couple miles of hilly country road, and three miles into the town of Woodstock. My stomach issues would linger for the remainder of the run, so I opted to just take it easy knowing that a silver buckle was now in the bag. From miles 80-100, I was only able to eat three gels, for a whopping 300 calories over the final 20 miles of the run. I made my way through empty town streets, the silence occasionally broken by the chirps of birds, or the grunts of local cows. Through the quiet night I patiently made my way back to the Shenandoah County fairgrounds,and completed the traditioned half mile lap around the horse track. I crossed the finish line at 1:52am with no spectators, no high fives, no fanfare, and no handshakes. I had run alone for nearly 50 miles of the race, and alone is how I finished. I made my way back to a friend's house for a shower, brushed my teeth, and hit the sack for a few hours of prescious sleep.

At 9am this morning we had our awards breakfast, and it was a great opportunity to share our great stories of the previous day's hardships, triumphs, and journeys. 100 mile races are a unique experience. You can never truly compare what your body and mind will go through in a 50k, or 50 miler with what takes place during 17-30 hours of constant forward motion. When I finished my first 100 miler in 2007 I could barely walk the few days after the event, and my legs and feet were swollen for days. This morning I woke up to find myself in amazingly good shape. There was obviously some minimal sorenss, but not much different than what I typically feal after a good effort at a 50k. My pre-race weight was 150 lbs, my post race weight was 146, thus a sign of good hydration and sodium managent during the day. I suffered only one small blister, one large blister on my big toe, and had a couple decent looking falls. Overall damage: not bad at all.

Thoughts on Old Dominion 100 as an event. I would classify race management as old school. Don't expect live updates, a slick website, or tons of race marketing. OD doesn't give out buckles for finishing under the cutoff like most 100 milers. However, if you do break 24 hours you will recieve one of the finest sterling silver buckles awarded at any ultra. That being said, they don't give out many buckles, and historically less than half the people who start the race will earn one. The race also boasts a drop out rate of nearly 50%. The OD course doesn't contain the rocky trails of MMT, the vertical climb of Grindstone, or the oxgyen deprivation of Leadville. It is truly 80% paved/dirt roads with about a dozen miles of gnarly trail, and a deceptive 14,000 feet of climb(the same as Leadville and Vermont). The course is significantly harder the second half, which leads to many folks going out too fast early and the June race date often results in very hot and humid conditions. For $135, which is cheaper than some 50 milers, I would recommend Old Dominion. The race itself and location are full of history,the volunteers amazing, and any Shenandoah area ultra runner should try experience this part of the valley.

-MB

What I Wear: Shoe Guide

New Balance 840 (11.6 oz) $85- These may have been my favorite trail shoe yet. Though listed at 11.6 ounces, they sure felt like they were closer to 10. These shoes had wonderful traction thanks to the cleat like design, and the low riding feel made me very confident running fast over rocky/uneven trails. I wore these when I wanted to bust out a fast 50k, or take on a challenging rock covered course. The range on this shoe had me PRing on the rocks of the Big Schloss 50k, to the roads and flat towpaths of the JFK 50. However, after 50 miles on the jagged Massanutten rocks, this shoe didn't quite provide enough protection (after 13 hours),and my feet started to hurt.The only other con is that the shoe started to lose its cushioning after "only" 7 ultramarathons and approx. 700 miles of training. Note: the 840 is no longer in production, otherwise I would keep wearing them.

New Balance MT100(7.8 oz) $75- Sorry,the picture wouldn't download. These shoes have been made famous by ultra stud/minimalists Kyle Skaggs and Tony Krupicka (crew-pitch-kuh). The shoe felt more cushioned, and more road friendly,than the previous NB 790. However, the shoe has retained a relatively agressive tread and a low to the ground feel. The lack of much of a tongue and racing flat design are intended to for efficient runners who want to go fast. Keep in mind that lack of weight means less rock protection. There are fewer overlays, and some people will find lateral transitions a bit sloshy. I wore this during a run on the rocky Massanutten mountain, and it did not grip well on the rocks. It was a bit sloppy for quick stride changes due to trail conditions. This will likely be a shoe people work up to running long in. For the right people, you could run 100 miles in it. I will personally be expecting this to function like a lighter shoe that performs like the 840 w/out the bulk. I hope to make this my go to 50k racer. Good for non rocky trails.


Brooks ASR 6(12.2 oz) $95- I had the priviledge of testing these for Brooks last spring. These are the trail version of the well like Adrenaline road shoe. Aside from more agressive treads, this still feels like a road shoe. I felt the heel was a bit clunky, and the shoe soaked up water way too much. It also felt a half size too big, and was not a good fit for narrow feet like mine. I would not recommend for very rocky trails. This would be an appropriate shoe for light trails and roads, but because of that why wouldn't I just opt to wear a lighter road shoe? For runners new to trails, these might just work.

Mizuno Wave Ascend 2 (12 ounces) $90- I put about 500 miles on these, including 21 straight hours during my run of the 71 mile Massanutten Trail Ring. This is a trail only shoe that does not feel good on roads, but is solid on everything else. The rock protection was great, and I only had one bad case of blisters during a 58+ mile run on a 90 degree day. Overall it drains well, can take a lot of rocky miles, but leave it at home for the street runs. This version has since been replaced the Ascend 3.

Montrail Mountain Masochist(10.8 oz) $90: This shoe is designed to take on conditions similar to the famed race. It's great for road to trail transitions, and will tackle some of the rougher stuff too. I actually dislike the design of the shoe. The tongue is too chunky, and the heel is far too high for a trail shoe. Although the heel cup was excellent at stabilizing, the thick heel made running on rocks very sketchy. This layout promotes a heel strike and off balance/ankle rolling feel. After cutting about a half inch off the heel, and pulling out the tongue padding(yes that sounds weird) the shoe was perfect. Note: too much stuffing in the tongue holds in water,thus making the shoe heavier. Cutting the heel and removing the padding allows for a more natural forefoot strike, and cuts several ounces off the weight. The gussetted tongue successfully kept debris out for the entirety of my last 50k trail run. During the same mountain 50k, the shoe felt solid all day. The only remainining issue was the heel cup cut up my heels on some of the steeper climbs. I had some pretty raw heels after the race that took a few days to heal (no pun intended).

Brooks Launch (9.3 oz) $90- haven't worn yet, but these will be my fast road shoes. I will use these for quick 10k tempo runs all the way to marathon, or even a non technical 50k/50 mile.

Nike MayFly (4.8 oz) $45- These feather weight shoes are designed for only 100k of use, but I have managed to go well beyond that. Like the Vibram 5 Fingers, people should build up the distance in these. Heavier runners will not do well with the non existent cushioning and zero support. At 155lbs, I can get away with it. I use this for indoor/outdoor track speed work, treadmills, and no more than 10 miles at a time on roads.

Brooks Racer ST4(8.6 oz) $85- This was my "go to" shoe for all things road. These are perfect for the marathon and shorter distances, but they were also just cushioned enough for me to run two 50 milers and one 50k trail run in them. Keep in mind that the 50 milers had very little rocky trail in them. I've put about 500 miles on these as well. Good for running fast, and running long.



Brooks Cascadia 5 (12oz) $90- a nice "green" upgrade of the award winning Scott Jurek designed trail shoe . This version has wider laces, and drains water more efficiently than other models. The liner also has a touch more cushion. The universal platform agian suites most feet and arch types. I put roughly 1,000 miles(and counting) on my Cascadia 3's. These shoes have run hundreds of miles through ice cold water, snow, sleet, mudd, rain, rocks, and whatever else you could throw at them. The Cascadia's are my shoe of choice for rocky 50k-100 mile events. Heck, they'll even feel good for a few hours on the roads if you like.

Brooks Ghost 2 (10.8 oz) $100- Good for very long road runs of marathon distance, or more. I would probably use these for non technical/road 50-100 milers, and 24 hour runs. They worked well for some track work outs, however they did feel a bit spungy, like there was too much cushion. A nice shoe for light and heavy framed runners with various arch types.