Mohican 50, 2013

Mohican 50 is the easiest ultra marathon I have ever run! 

I know many runners will not agree with this statement but this is how I truly feel about Mohican.  Most runners say that Mohican is a difficult race and that the course is hard with mostly technical trails and lots of hills.  I think it is a wonderful course.  Very runable, very scenic, with soft trails, well drained (no/very little mud), a real pleasure to run.  Hills?  Yes, there are hills…. but there are hills in almost every trail 50K.  I honestly find Mohican easier than the Buckeye trail and easier than just about any 50K I have run in Ohio.

I have run Mohican 50 three times now:  2010 (my first 50 miler), 2012 (my second 50 miler), 2013 (my 4th 50 miler).  All three times I finished under 10 hours.  My best race was last year. I finished 7th overall with 8:37 (see: http://drtrunning.blogspot.com/2012/06/mohican-50-2012.html)

I love the new (since 2011) course.  The 25 mile loop is perfect.  It is long enough not to be boring (if you want to see boring, try running a 5 mile loop – 50s for yo Momma, or even a 10 mile loop) but short enough to learn the course if you are running it 2 times (for 50 miles) or 4 times (for 100 miles).  After I get to the Covered Bridge aid station, I feel that the loop is almost over, even though I am in the middle of it.  I can visualize what happens next: A series of steep hills which I will walk, some flat parts that I will run.  Then I reach the top and turn left.  Two miles of beautiful runable and mostly downhill trails follow, that bring me to the last aid station.  From there it is 6 miles to the end, mostly downhill.  If this is my last loop, I will run these miles fast, knowing that “the end is near.”

I was planning to run the 100 mile race this year at Mohican, but, as the time for the race approached, I lost confidence in my ability to run 100 miles.  Why did that happen?

The year started well:

• Run for Regis 50K in January, I finished with the excellent time of 5:22 on a very muddy course (a heat wave caused all the snow to melt on race day, and turned into mud)
• Green Jewel 50K (March 2), a road race, went OK
• Buzzard 50K (March 23), inaugural trail race, 5:01
• Fools 50K (April 7), 5:17 on a rather warm day (we were not used to that)

Then, cracks started to appear:

• I did not show up for Forget the PR 50K (April 28) because the previous day I had run the Hermes 10 miler and my feet (and back) were hurting.
• 50s for Yo Momma (May 11) was a torture.  I finished the 50 miler in 11:18, fighting my desire to quit as early as 25 miles into the race.  That’s when I first started doubting that I can run 100 miles at Mohican.
• I had a bad training run at Mohican on May 26.  Attempting to run just one loop, I ran out of steam.  That left me thinking: “How can I run 100 miles if I have trouble finishing 23 miles on the same course?”
• Buckeye Buster 50K (June 1) was a disaster.  A hot day, indigestion, flies eating me alive… I lost my desire to run (how is that for an excuse?) and dropped out after 2 loops (20 miles).  This is my only DNF in many-many years and busted my confidence seriously.

Somewhere along the way I developed a pain in the heel/Achilles tendon on my left leg.  And my back felt stiff at times.  These “failures” and health issues shuttered my confidence. 

The way I saw it, I had two options for Mohican: 1) Struggle to finish 100 with lots of pain and suffering, 2) Enjoy the day by racing 50 miles.

I opted for #2.

Right before Mohican I went to a week-long 3d conference.  I was very busy and in one week I only ran two days, a total of 10 miles.  I came back on Tuesday before the race. I ran 5 miles on Wednesday and took the day off Thursday (I went to the pool for some water-stretching) and Friday (we drove to Mohican in the afternoon.)  So, I went to Mohican well-rested.

Friday was the pre-race meeting.  A chance to meet and socialize with fellow runners.  A new location this year, across the street from the campout.

A nice Mohican benefit: Free beer for two days!

I had a late dinner at the Mohican lodge and the next morning I was not hungry.  So I broke my routine of a good morning race breakfast and just drank water (I was thirsty) and ate an orange.

The 50 mile race started at 6am (the 100 mile race started at 5 am and the marathon at 8 am).  The weather was great, 50s in the morning warming to 80s (but cool inside the shaded trails).  There was a record of about 200 runners running the 50 miles this year, including many local running friends.  I was happy to see Clara Clemens a running friend from Indiana (we had met at the winter BT50K/Run for Regis races).  After a couple of failed attempts at 100 she was running (and successfully finished) the 50.

Here is a map of the course:

As Roy Heger said, don’t pay attention to this map, it will just confuse you.  The course consists of a long ~25 mile loop, which we run clockwise.  Each section (from aid station to aid station) has its own character. 

The first section (Mohican Adventures to Gorge Overlook Aid Station, 4.3 Miles) had a lot of hills.  Considering my low morale (I was not even sure I could finish 50 miles, even though I had an ambitious goal of 10 hours.) I started running conservatively and walked most of the hills in this section.  I remember following a lady with pink socks, and a guy with orange duct tape in his shoes.  It was his first 50 miler and he was walking the hills.

The second section (Gorge Overlook to Fire Tower Aid Station, 4.5 Miles) was a bit easier but it felt long at times, especially towards the end when it felt as if we were circling around the aid station.

The third section (Fire Tower to Covered Bridge, 6.2 miles the first time around – long loop -, or 2.6 miles – short loop), is one of the most beautiful sections, especially the “enchanted valley” of the long loop.  I took my time to enjoy the scenery in this section.

It was also in this section that I started passing some of the 100 mile runners, covering our one hour starting time difference.  Kali Price was one of the first 100 mile runners that I passed. I thought that she was injured, running so slow, but this was part of her race strategy, slow and steady, a strategy that gave her a 3rd place overall finish!  Some other 100 mile runners I remember passing: Ron Ross, and Paul Lefelhocz, both running a clever slow race.  It was also at this section that I heard someone coming from behind and following me. I glanced briefly and I thought it was a Japanese lady or man.  After running like that for a while, I let them pass me… and who do I see?  Sunita Sethia (seen here going down the steps by Lyons Falls):

I met Sunita at the Buckeye Buster 50K when she came from the back, to pass in the 2nd loop and finish first female in this race, her first 50K.  A similar thing happened at Mohican.  She started slower than me and passed me in this section and continued running strong, her first 50 mile race.

After the Pleasant Hill Dam, and while running on a gravel flat road, I lost my balance, fell really hard and skidded across the gravel, hurting my hands, feet, and chest, and slamming my brand new 3d camera on the ground (I was running holding a camera on my hands in the first loop).  I quickly got up, pretending that nothing happened… "Are you OK?"  “Yes, I am fine” I said to the runners around me. But I was bleeding and hurting, especially my chest when trying to breath deep or cough. (It is still hurting, a week after the race.)

Right after the Covered Bridge Aid Station I caught up with Sunita and the guy with the orange masking tape in his shoes.  The three of us ran most of the next section (Covered Bridge to Hickory Ridge, 5.5 Miles).  We passed quite a few 100 mile runners in this section, including Kimberly Durst and Anastasia Supergirl Rolek.  At the Hickory Ridge aid station I caught up with Martini Mike and Jennifer Yaros. They both seemed to be doing well.  Here is Jennifer at the Hickory Ridge aid station:

From Hickory Ridge to the Mohican Adventures is about 6 miles, and this completes the first loop.  I have mixed feelings about this section.  It reminds me of the Buckeye Trail with lots of rocks and tree roots.  It is easy in theory since it is mostly downhill, but, depending on your state of running at this point, this section can feel hard or easy. It felt hard and I walked most of it during my less-than-stellar training run a few weeks ago.  It felt OK (average) during this first loop.  It felt really easy and fast during the second loop both this year and last year.

At the aid station at Mohican Adventures I spent some time to eat and change shoes.  Sue Angell (crewing for Pam Pickel) made me a delicious cheese sandwich which I thoroughly enjoyed (now I know what I want for BR100!) plus I ate some of my own food (nuts, cheese and potato chips), and some fruit from the aid station. 

Regarding shoes, I switched from the very lightweight New Balance MT110 to the more padded (I call them my “Hokas”) Brooks PureGrit. Changing shoes (and socks) was a great idea... It made my feet feel “like new” and the extra padding helped with the rough sections of the trail in the 2nd loop.

In this race for the first time I did not run with a GPS watch or GPS program in my phone. I did not want to know my time or pace or mileage is. I did not care.  I had decided to run as I felt like.  As I left the aid station I glanced at the time on my phone: 11:00.  So, with the break at this aid station it had taken me exactly 5 hours to complete the first loop.  Considering that the 2nd loop is shorter than the first, I thought that I had a chance, with some luck and if I could run the second loop strong, finish in 10 hours.

In the second loop we had to take the trail instead of the road for the first mile.  After that it was "dejavu all over again", except that there was more walking the second time around.  Sunita had moved ahead, so I ran most of the 2nd loop alone. At the first aid station I caught up with Bob Pokorny and shortly after that with Michael Schaffer.  Bob, running the 50, was having some leg cramping problems while Michael, running the 100, was looking fine (he was ahead of most of my other friends running 100 miles, which is part of his running strategy to run fast early on when he has the strength and slow down later.)

A lot of runners report going through "lows" during these longer races.  This happens to me too, but in this race I do not remember any lows of any significance.  I had minor indigestion which bothered me a bit, but did not slow me down. I am not sure what caused this. I avoided pop and Gatorade (which gave me indigestion in previous races this year) but ate quite a bit of fruit (orange and watermelon).  I have to experiment in this area.  Minor indigestion is OK but severe indigestion can be a huge problem. I experienced that during the Fools 50K race.  Not only I could not eat anything, I could not even drink water.

The two important aid stations for eating in this race, as I see it, are the Covered Bridge Aid Station and the Mohican Adventures Aid Station.  At Covered Bridge I had a nice turkey and cheese roll (no bread) and nuts/chips that I had carried with me on a plastic bag in my pocket from Mohican Adventures.  After Covered Bridge I took my time and walked the hills slowly, sipping water and eating the food I was carrying.

At the “top of the hill” I turned left for the two miles of beautiful runable trails.  At this section I passed facebook friend Kyle Fahrenkamp.  He recognized me and said that last year I also passed him in this section.  "History repeats itself" was my stoic response :)

I finally made it to the last aid station.  As I was taking my time drinking and eating fruit, I heard the aid station volunteer say “welcome back runner number 444”. I look and who do I see?  Joan Cottrill.  She grabs some water and quickly leaves the aid station.  I am sitting there speechless, thinking  “Did Joan just pass me?”  I do not want to sound sexist or anything like that… Women passing me is no big deal, but Joan is 51 years old with limited trail-running experience.  So, I am being passed by a relatively inexperienced 51 year old woman.  That’s a bit hard to digest.:)  She looked fresh and I had no doubt she would finish ahead of me… Oh well…. I did not really mind it, but I admit I was surprised but also happy for Joan running such a great race.

I finished my fruit, drank my water, filled my bottle, and started running again.  My pace was slow at first, but, gradually I started running faster.  At some point I caught a glimpse of Joan ahead of me.  My pace increased even more.  I caught up with Joan, passed her, and, with 3 miles left to go, I passed a couple more runners ahead.  At this point I was going really fast.  Not sure how fast but it felt as if I was flying in this last section fueled with energy and enthusiasm. I have read that the brain knows when 90% of the race is completed, resulting in faster pace.  This happens to me a lot, resulting in negative splits, and it is more pronounced since I started eating low-carb.

I was watching the mile markers for the bike trail go down 3, 2, 1, and then presumably zero at the end of the bike trail.  We still had a little bit to go to the finish (around half a mile?)  At this point I saw my friend Jeff Sanders (we first met and ran together at the 50s for Yo Momma) and another 50 mile runner. I passed them so fast that Jeff yelled “what’s the hurry?”  With half a mile to finish, I had no intention of slowing down.  My legs were on fire.  I kept looking behind to see if anyone is following me.  No one.  No one was ahead either.  I gave myself permission to relax and walk some sections on my way to the finish. 

To finish this year we had to run a long section of pavement behind a gas station, and then cross the road to go through a sewer water pipe, and then run a short section to the finish.  This is a bit anti-climactic, especially compared to last year’s finish, but that's OK. 

Here is my photo-finish picture (taken by Sunita):

After the finish I stayed around for while drinking water and taking pictures of other runners finishing.  Here are my results:

• Finish Time: 9:37
• Gender Placement: 15
• Age Placement: 2nd Masters (the guy finishing right ahead of me, Kirk Ridenour, who I met at the practice run, is also 53 years old and we both beat all 40 year olds, except for the guy who finished 3rd overall who is 42)
• Overall Placement: 21 / 200

(An interesting note about the female runners in this race:  It is unusual that 6 women finished ahead of me... These are great finishing times for female runners.  In previous years an under 10 hours finish would have resulted in one of the top 3 spots.  This year Joan finishing after me under 10 hours was 7th, which is surprising...)

Overall, even though my time was slower than last year by 50 minutes, I am pleased with the relatively even pace between the two loops (thanks mainly to the last fast 6 miles) and strong finish. It was a good run and it boosted my confidence for BR100 at the end of July. I am still nowhere near last year’s running fitness but I think I can do a decent job at Burning River this year.  I also believe I could have finished 100 miles in Mohican this year, but it would not have been very pretty. I really love this race, the course, the organization, the volunteers and the fellow runners, and I want to come back and run the 100 miles next year.

The day after the race I felt a bit like a train wreck but this was mostly due to the pain from the fall.  Thanks to delayed muscle soreness, my quads (and, for some reason, triceps) were hurting on Monday and Tuesday. I was planning to run on Tuesday but I was not in the mood. My first post-Mohican run was on Wednesday.

Next long race:  Buckeye Trail 50K.  Followed by Burning River 100.  Carbon copy of last year.

Towpath Marathon - 2012

Towpath Marathon – Oct 7, 2012

 

I have a long history of running Towpath, starting with my first ever race in 2002 (5K) to my first Marathon in 2004. So this was my 11th year of running a race in this event, and my 20th road marathon.

Towpath race history:

- 2002: 5K (my first race ever!) - 21:27

- 2003: Marathon Relay
- 2004: 3:55 - My first marathon!
- 2005: 3:45
- 2006: 3:36 (Course record that lasted for 5 years)
- 2007: 3:47 - Hot, hit the wall!
- 2008: 3:37
- 2009: Half Marathon (training for Athens), 1:32:16 (1/42 AG)
- 2010: Half Marathon (training for Athens), 1:33:45 (1/38 AG)
- 2011: 3:25 - Course PR, two weeks after Akron & 5 weeks into eating low carb.

This picture was taken at the finish of my first marathon in 2004:

My goal (formulated during the race!) was to finish under 3:36, which would make this my 2^nd fastest Towpath marathon.  I knew I had no chance for a course record, after running Akron hard last week and without any serious Marathon training.

The temperature in the morning of the race was low 40s. It stayed cloudy and cold for the entire race. For most people, this is perfect running weather. The course is flat and consists of crushed limestone and sections of asphalt. I think this is a slow course because of the lower friction. I was wearing long sleeves, and gloves. I carried a water bottle and my camera (and took pictures during the race). I ran in my NB Trail Minimus shoes.

I had my usual pre-race breakfast (eggs, salad with olive oil, cheese, nuts, lots of food about 1 1/2 hours from the start of the race). I did not eat anything during the race, other than two cups of Gatorade, and water.

 

 

I started the race with facebook friends: Dawn, Kimberly, Michael, Joe, Kellie. My first two miles were the slowest of the race for me. I was, at this point, behind people who finished over 4 hours! But then I picked up the pace and settled at 8 min/miles (give or take a few seconds). My quads started hurting around mile 10 (from the fast downhill miles in Akron last week). I was wondering how can I possibly do well with this pain, but I ignored it and eventually it went away :)

The course goes South (towards Akron), turns around (mile 8?) then passes through Boston (the finish, around mile 16+) then continues north until Station road, then turns around to finish at Boston.  With this arrangement I got to see the runners in front and behind me and take pictures in two occasions.  We run often at the Towpath so the course is very familiar to me.

 

 

As I reached Highland Road, with two miles to go, I tried to figure out if I had a chance to beat 3:30.  Somehow I thought I did, if I ran fast enough, so I started running as fast a possible.  These two miles were the fastest of the race.  I passed several runners in this stretch.  Pat Dooley took a picture of me (at the top of the page) near the finish.  I am running faster than 7 min miles at this point.

My mile splits tell the story of the race:

Miles 1-3 (warm-up): 8:19, 8:16, 8:08
Miles 4-11: 7:56, 7:58, 7:54, 7:59, 7:59, 7:57, 8:00, 7:58
Miles 12-17: 8:03, 8:12, 8:05, 8:09, 8:05, 8:09,
Miles 18-23: 8:05, 8:19, 8:07, 8:09, 8:01, 8:05
Miles 24-26: 7:56, 7:39, 7:27, 6.58 (for the last 0.4 by Garmin)

Final Time 3:31:18

 

 

Not a marathon PR, not a course record, but a strong performance for running one week after Akron. I am especially pleased with the even splits and strong finish.

After the race I stayed around to take pictures of friends finishing.  I then met Liz at the beer tend.  I was cold and it had started to rain, so we went home a bit earlier than usual.

 

Liz ran the 10K with a PR: 50:45, finishing 2nd in her age group!  Her previous PR was 52:10, same race, two years ago. She was hoping to "break" 50 minutes but it did not happen. But, she is the only one that came home with an award (a nice print).

I am looking forward to next year, for my 12th Towpath race!

Akron Marathon - 2012

Akron Marathon – September 29, 2012

 

 

This was my 5^th continuous year running the Akron marathon:

- 2008: 3:29 (course record)
- 2009: 3:38 (training for Athens marathon so I took it relatively easy)
- 2010: 3:34 (also training for Athens)
- 2011: 3:34 (a few weeks into eating low-carb, I was pleased with the strong finish)

This picture is from the finish of my 2008 (first) Akron Marathon:

For my 5 year record, I was awarded the 5 year commemorative pin at a ceremony at the Expo on Friday.

 

 

 

It turned out to be a a great day to run a marathon! Starting temperatures were in the low 40s... Cloudy. I ran with a long sleeve shirt and was fine.  The sun came out later to enjoy the after-race activities.

Nutrition info: the morning of the race I had a large plate of breakfast (2 eggs, salad, olive oil, cheese, nuts, maybe 800 calories, 90% fat). I ate nothing else during the race, or right after. I just had water. (OK, a beer after the race :))

My goal was under 3:40. This race comes only 2 weeks after running Youngstown 50K. I did not really train for a marathon and I was even thinking of switching it to the half. Also, I was running the Towpath Marathon next week and I wanted to have something left for that too. So my goal was rather conservative. 

I lined up close to the 3:40 pacing team.  Akron starts exactly at 7:00 pm, and it is dark. It was nice to see some of my friends at the start.  Here is Jamie, pacing the 3:45 group.  And Marty Butler and his 3 brothers, running the relay.

 

 

The course was slightly different this year.  It felt a bit easier, overall.  I took a picture of the clock at the half, and, after figuring out the difference between the clock and chip time, it turns out that my time in the first half was almost identical to the time in the second half (a difference of only 10 seconds, 2^nd half was actually faster).  This is really unusual, especially in Akron where the 2^nd half is harder with some steep hills.

Here we are going over the start at around mile 11, and a picture from the Towpath section, with Brenda running ahead of me:

 

 

I was expecting to start slowing around mile 17-20, but this never happened.  My last 2 miles were the fastest of the race, 7:27, 7:34.  My last 0.38 miles (last stretch on Main Street, which is flat) was at 6:35 pace!  This fast downhill running took at toll at my quads (they were hurting the next day).

My time: 3:34:27 (8:11 pace) - 19/104 in my age group. 212/1546 OA.  Far from a PR, but my 2nd best time in Akron.

After the race, we sat at the field area (something new this year), and enjoyed the sun, the band, and the 2 free beers:

Liz ran the half: 1:53:48 (near 4 minute PR).  She was happy about that!

Akron is a great marathon. Well-supported, good swag.  I look forward to next year!

Youngstown 50K - 2012

Youngstown 50K – Sept 15, 2012

I ran the 25K of this race last year and I had a good time, so I decided to tackle the 50K this year.

The week before the race I was feeling a bit out of shape. One week earlier I barely finished a 14 mile run and then felt beaten up! So, I was not sure how this race would go. I had a feeling that things would not go well.... But, I was wrong :)

100 runners showed up at the start, including some of the "usual suspects":

 

The temperature was 52F in the morning and sunny, rising to 70F high, perfect running weather! The race started at 8 am. Here is a picture from the start:

The course is challenging with several very steep hills and quite irregular ground (lots of rocks). I wore the MB 110 shoes that I had in the first 40 miles of Burning River and had my usual low-carb egg breakfast in the morning.

I started the race rather fast but kept going without problems. I was chasing and was being chased by some guys (some of them running the 25K), so I was running faster than I would, if I had been running alone. 

My time at the half (25K) was 2:22, which is actually 4 minutes faster than my 25K time from last year! At the 25K mark I was in 8th place. My time in the second half was 2:28, 6 minutes slower than the first, but it is not fair to compare the two halves, because the course is different and the first 25K is faster than the 2nd, thanks to a long road stretch.  (BTW, my time in this mile of road was 7:40, both times.  That's fast!)

Here are some highlights from the course:  A long metal staircase near the start, a historical building, long wooden stairways in an area that reminded me of the Ledges.  The topography of this course varies a lot!

 

 

Early in the last loop I passed 2 runners away and then, nothing. No one passed me, I did not pass anyone. I was thinking, this is the race where nothing happened. I cannot even write a decent report.

In the last 4 miles I realized that there is no one behind to challenge me, and no one in front that I could catch, but I still pushed hard, racing mainly against the clock, and finished strong.

This photofinish picture was actually staged two hours later :)

 

 

Final time: 4:51 (This is my second fastest 50K trail race).  Placement: 3rd overall!!! (This is the first time I have placed at the top 3 in any race!)

Considering the difficulty of the course, this appears to be one of my best races in 2012!

After the race I stayed to watch other runners finish, had a couple of beers (nice touch by the race organizers :)), ate, and enjoyed the sun (beautiful weather) and company of other runners.

I then went to the nearby Gardens and took 3d pictures of flowers. The admission was free and my pictures turned out well (one of them won an Honorable Mention in an International 3d Exhibition!)

 

 

 

 

Overall, a great day!  Good challenging course, good race organization, good food, good friends.  This is a race to run again and again!

Moebius 50K - 2012

Moebius 50K – Aug. 25, 2012

 

 

This was a new race for me.  I signed up after I saw my facebook friends talking about it.  It looked like a good local race to run, a month after Burning River 100.  

This is the 2nd year for this race. The race director is a local runner (well-known and highly respected in the running community), Steven Godale, who lives nearby and treats this race and course as his baby. He created two trails and even mows the lawn in some parts of the course. He hand-mades medals by painting a piece of wood, very original.

The course consists of 5x 10K loops around a lake in Aurora.  One week before the race I did a training run in the actual course, two loops.  Here is a group picture from the training run, plus the course as it looks in a Google map:

The course is considered easy, but I realized during the training run that it is not as easy as I thought.  There is a variety of running surfaces, technical trails, grass, asphalt, including some very uneven areas.  The only easy thing about it is that there are not as many uphills as other trail races.

Considering the course, plus my legs and training which did not feel great, I set a goal of 5 hours (10 min/mile) pace for the race.

Here is a group picture with facebook friends (Zach, Gale, Dawn, Kristin) before the start of the race:

Here is the race director (Steven Godale) giving the last instructions, and a picture from the start line:

 

As the race started, I sprinted ahead to take a picture of the leading runners:  Vince Rucci, Michael Epp, Matt Shaheen.  So, for a brief moment, I was the leading runner in this race!!!! :)

 

Soon after I took this picture, a guy came from the back running really fast and passed everyone.  We looked at each other like "Who is that???".  And, "Does he know that this is a 50K?"  Because he was running as if it was a 5K!  Well, our questions were answered later when he lapped just about everyone in the course (some runners twice!) and finished first with an amazing course record time!

This race went differently than my other races. Normally, I start slow and have nearly even splits. But this time I started fast, trying to keep up with Connie Gardner (a celebrity in our area, ~17 hour finish in Burning River and top female in just about every local trail ultramarathon race), and finished slower, getting passed instead of passing other runners.

Because of the loop structure of the race, I got to see other runners, especially slower runners that I lapped.  Here are pictures of Kristin, and Dawn and Kimberly:
 

 

My time for the first loop: 53:52 (8:50 pace). By the end of the first loop I got passed by Connie Gardner plus 3 more runners. All of them, except for one, finished ahead of me.  I was in 7th place (overall) in this loop.

Second loop: 53:43 (8:48 pace). In this loop I lapped the first runner. These are 10K loops, so any time less than 1 hour is fine with me.  There was an aid station in the middle of the loop but I did not stop in these first 2 loops.  By the end of the loop I was in 9th place overall.

Third loop: 56:13 (9:13 pace). In this loop I got lapped by Verelle Wyatt who won the race with the amazing time of 3:21, a course record that should remain in the books for a long time.  I was very surprised to see him pass me so early, but now that I have seen his loop times, I see why.  His 3rd loop was his fastest with a time of 38:33 (Amazing!  My *road* 10K PR is 41:20).  I also got passed by two other runners, Jim Mann and Dan Hopper.

Fourth loop: 58:27 (9:35 pace). In this loop I passed Tyler James, a young guy who seemed to be struggling.

Fifth loop: 59:47 (9:48 pace). I managed to maintain my placement in the race during this loop (no one passed me, I did not pass anyone, other than the slower runners that I lapped). I enjoyed running this last loop and knowing that this was the LAST time I was going through the different areas (by now, the entire course was engraved in my memory). I used to dislike loop courses because of the temptation to drop out before the race is over.  Now, I do not mind them so much.  I actually like getting familiar with the course, loop after loop.

Final time: 4:42

This is a trail 50K PR for me, the previous being Buckeye Trail 50K with 4:55 in July. The BT50K is a harder course and the race director had predicted that I can run the Moebius course 10 minutes faster, which is about what happened.

Despite this good finishing time, I was 9th overall (out of 67 starters), not a good overall placement for me (I am used to finishing at the top 5-10%) which means that there were some fast runners running the race. I did finish first Grandmaster (over 50) and my award was a lawn chair :)

Here is Steven Godale, approaching the runners with a box that looked like pizza.  But, instead of pizza, we were offered the hand-made medals.  Because each medal is slightly different, we got to choose.  I think some runners would have preferred pizza :) but not me!

After the race, I stayed around to take pictures of friends finishing ("Wild" Bill Wagner is finishing in the picture below), enjoy the sunny & warm weather and eat (we had a picnic.)

 

 

Good food, good friends, good weather, fun times.  Well-organized race.  That's a race to repeat year after year!