Thirty years ago I finished my first ultramarathon. My July 1991 run was the Deadwood Trail Ultra 50, which I finished in 12 hours and twenty minutes. A few days ago, I finished my most recent ultra at Norris Dam. These two ultras split my time roughly in thirds; thirty years before ultras, thirty years with them, and another 30 yet to come.
Defining
an ultramarathon is easy, running any distance over the 26.2 miles of the
marathon counts. Defining an ultrarunner is harder. It should simply be anyone
who can run an ultra, but as with many things, looking closely complicates
things. Does the ultra have to be in a race, or can it be done on a “casual”
run with friends? Do you have to finish your planned run/race, or can a long
run with a bail out or DNF count? And finally, how long does your ultra status
last? Are you always an ultrarunner, even far into retirement from those distances?
Though
I race infrequently, all my ultras have been in trail races. I’ve occasionally
gone over 26.2 miles in training, but those efforts have been run/hike trips,
usually done as training runs for an organized race. I also failed to finish my
first ultra, stopping 44 miles in at the last aid station, broken by the day’s
effort in the heat and broiling sun. I didn’t consider that an ultra. It was at
that time my longest day ever travelled on foot, but it wasn’t the finish that
I would achieve the next year at Deadwood. link
Since
then, I’ve run ultras sporadically, with some 50K finishes, and a few others at
40 and 50 miles. I’ve been prone to knee issues, especially IT Band Syndrome
and Tendonitis, that have limited my ability to race. But I’ve still been able
to hike long distance without aggravating my knee problems. Because of those
issues I switched my interest to races utilizing a lot of hiking and elevation
gain. Luckily I found the Barkley Marathons, held just an hour away, as the
perfect combination of ultra distance intensity with climbing and cross country
route finding. For the last few years, the Barkley has been my only ultra. But
there is one trouble with the Barkley; it is almost impossible to complete.
There have been only 15 finishers since 1986.
When
I realized that my ultra career covered 30 years, I was also faced with the
fact that I hadn’t completed an ultra since 2016’s Rough Trail 50K. At 63, I
also knew that my window for being able to finish would close soon, if it
hadn’t closed already. I’d begun to wonder if I still made the grade. Was there
a way for me to fit in an ultra finish?
I
had run the 25K trail race at Norris Dam five times since 2013, had always
enjoyed the course, and run well. Norris also has a 50K option and I thought
I’d target that race to try to bring my ultra credibility back up to snuff. The
Norris 50K is two laps of the 25K course with a 4 hour cutoff at 25K, and an
overall 9 hour cutoff. My 25K times had ranged from 2:55 to 3:28, so I thought
even backing off of my 25K pace I could make the 4 hour cut off, and then have
some extra time on the second lap. My goal would just be to finish, and to be
able to again establish myself as an ultra runner.
Through
summer and early fall I trained for sweeping the Barkley Fall Classic, mostly
with Ron who would also sweep. Even though I’m not even racing BFC, it is
difficult enough that I need to train for the climbing, and to be ready for the
unpredictable things that occur when an inexperienced field meets a difficult
course. Those runs were similar to early season Barkley training; Armes Gap
repeats, some out and back runs to the Garden Spot, and trail runs in the Smokies.
Once
the BFC was past I did some longer runs in the Smokies with Run (a max of a 23
mile loop from Ace Gap) and some solo runs (my 17 and 20 mile Smokies regulars)
to avoid any Frozen Head burn out. I’d also done Norris’s 12 mile loop in training
just to get more familiar with the current conditions. On these runs I focused on
being able to run rather than walk, knowing that was the way to ensure I’d make
the race cut offs. I’d cranked up my daily greenway run at home to 8 miles and
began to track my times, just to keep myself motivated enough to push those
runs through the heat of the summer.
I
felt prepared, I’d no recent knee issues and had a good solid base. I knew I’d
need to run 4 mph for the first loop and just over 3 mph on the second to make
the race cutoffs. But with no ultra finishes in the last 5 years, my real
question is what would happen if my knee acted up and I needed to hobble on
into the finish?
Race
day was cold, but dry and clear. The leaves were reaching peak colors, but hadn’t
fallen enough to make the footing difficult. I tried to settle into the back of
the pack at the start, but it seemed we were moving swiftly, and running some
of the short uphills that I knew I’d walk on lap 2. I ran a bit with Ranger
Lydia until she got nervous about the cutoffs and pulled away just after the
picnic table. I’d thought I might be going too fast, and then got nervous
thinking that something that seemed too fast to me might really be too slow.
But
at the 6.5 mile Aid 1 (John Storey) I arrived in 1:17, about 20 minutes under
cut off pace. I knew I needed to run as much as possible to keep ahead of the
cutoffs, but also needed to balance that with getting tired on the short
climbs. Luckily the course is super easy to Aid 2 (Brian Gagus), just a gentle
climb up Eli 9, then long gradual downhills. The sorting was about done, so I
just tried to keep up an easy run. I lost a little time pulling off course for
a bathroom break, but that stop was well worth it.
Between
Aid 2 and 3 (Brian again) the course is a side loop over Observation Point and
Reservoir Hill. With the climb I was able to make up a few places, and really
enjoyed the fun trail on the ridges. I passed one bonked runner and stopped
briefly to fill his water cup. At Aid 3 I’d made up a few more minutes. From
Aid 3 we climbed Ridgecrest which allowed me to pick up few more spots, though
I knew now that I’d be well under the 4 hour cut ff for lap 1. Things were
going well. Descending the old road down from Highpoint, I tripped on something,
and knew I was going down. I got an arm out, tucked my shoulder, and rolled
through it. With perfect form I rolled back on my feet, and with just a bit of
the spins kept running. I hadn’t made much noise and the guy just 10 feet ahead
was now still only about 12 feet ahead. My elbow was a bit sore, but I’ll take
it.
I
was into the turnaround in 3:25, just ahead of my hoped for window of 3:30-3:45.
I was out of the aid station quickly and was passed while descending the
stairs by two guys I’d passed at the aid station. I wouldn’t see another runner
until I was almost back to Aid 3.
Though
my only goal going into the race was to finish, I’d been doing well enough to
reevaluate my goals. I knew I needed to keep running as much as I could, and
thought my original target pace of 1:37 to Aid 1 might be a good target for the
second lap. Surely I shouldn’t have to give up more than 20 minutes over 6.5
miles? I backed off the pace a bit, and walked anything either steep or up, but
otherwise kept moving well. I’d neglected to drink enough going to Aid 1 on lap
1, but had done a good job of eating and drinking since then.
I
got to Aid 1 just a bit ahead of schedule and was feeling optimistic with the
easy part of the course just ahead. This section put me over the distance of my
longest training run, but I was still able to motor along. John had told me
there were ~7 runners behind and I wanted to keep ahead if I could. Doug (race
director) was visiting Brian at Aid 2 when I arrived. I’m not exactly sure what
my split was here, but I thought then I’d break 8 hours without a major
meltdown, and could go even further under if I was lucky. I ran the Aid 2-3
section probably very similarly to lap one, conservative on the climbs, but
steady running on the rest. It was such a beautiful day that I felt lucky just
to cruising along. My food and water were doing well, clothes were comfy, and
knees and feet were holding up great.
Coming
into Aid 3 again I was again revising my goals. Bettering my last 50K time of
7:40 at Rough Trail (it was actually 7:32) seemed likely, and sub 7 hours
wasn’t out of the question. Just before Aid 3 I caught another runner. He
seemed a bit out of it, went through the aid without fueling, and jogged up the
road.
I
got a last bit of food from Brian and headed out. I walked all of the Ridgecrest
climb, but still passed the other runner early on. Surprisingly, I still felt
strong both climbing and pushing on the gentler sections. I ran most of the
upper section except the crown of High Point. Sub 7 looked out of the question,
but sub 4 for the second lap was in range. I even managed to miss whatever I’d
tripped over on lap 1 on this lap. About halfway down I got some early twinges
from my left knee. The message was that it was still going function for the
rest of the race, but that it wasn’t too happy about it. It wasn’t much further
to the park gate, and once past it, the steep descending was over, and my knee
was fine.
I
was surprised to be running easily on the park road into the finish. So much of
my “running” has been run/walk lately that the race must be the most uninterrupted
run miles I’ve done in ages. My final time was 7:12, a 3:47 split for lap 2, so
much for worrying about the 5 hour cut off!
Doug,
Rebecca, and Michael were all at the finish and I gave them the huge thanks
they deserved, the race has always been once of favorites, and I was really
glad to be able to make it my return to (finishing) ultras.
