Holiday Lake 50k 2021 - Ice, Ice, Baby

Some of my fondest ultra memories aren't when the weather and running conditions are the best, but when they are the worst. While it can certainly be pleasant to breeze through a race on a sunny 60 degree day, something about grunting through challenging race conditions always made an ultra feel just a little more ultra. It felt old school. And surprisingly, I had fun. Maybe it's the same reason a good beer tastes so much better after a 50 miler, than a 5k is the fact that we did so much more to earn that quenched thirst. Holiday Lake 2021, covid edition, was no exception. There was freezing rain nearly the entire time, my body was glittered with chunks of ice from my head to my feet, the trails were muddy (understatement of the year), and some of the more exposed wind blown parts of the course were close to unrunnable as the entire surface had become a single sheet of ice. While that sounds terrible, there was a beauty in it. The trees, adorned in ice, glistened and bowed like acknowledging the royal family. The forests were a mix of the greys and brown of the trees, leaves, and mud, along with the white of winter. Every now and then you'd hear the crackle of a branch collapsing under the weight of the ice and crashing to the ground. It was a reminder of why I had spent so much of the past two decades out in nature, and out on trails like these on days like this. I woke up at 2:30am. It was the earliest I can recall for anything in a very long time. It took almost two hours to cautiously drive 78 miles to the race from Richmond, though the roads turned out to be mostly in good shape, aside from a few back roads closer to the race. The race itself was much smaller than anticipated, thanks to the forcast changing the minds of almost half the registered entrants. My 6:34am starting wave only had a dozen or so runners. The rest of the day was VERY socially distanced with moments when I couldn't see another human in front of me, or behind. I was slow, walked way too much, and plodded along as much as expected from someone who only runs 10 miles per week tops. But, I kept moving. The cold is a great motivator for relentless forward progress, especially during the moments when you can't feel your feet, hands, or face. My finish time was my slowest Holiday Lake ever, and nearly the same time as my 50 mile PR, but all things considered in these most unique times, I was just happy to be at an organized, non virtual running event. I do miss the jovial banter and miles of story telling and catching up with old friends, but hopefully, the time for that is on a not too far off horizon. Lastly, a special thank you for all the volunteers who spents hours in the freezing cold to support us. Last weekend I was on the flip side as the volunteer, and I can tell you, in inclimate weather, it's always tougher on the volunteers.

Holiday Lake 2021 - Ultra number 111. I have now surpassed over 10,000 km of exclusively ultra race mileage and have run at least one ultra for 18 straight years.