Second 50k of the year in the books - Run for Regis

This race marked my 2nd ultra-marathon of the year so far — AND IT’S ONLY JANUARY 13th! I’ve run this race three times now and I (we) had just as much fun this time as we did all the others, OK… that’s not entirely true – the first year I ran this I dropped out of the 50k at mile 19.x because I was F’n cold! It was 4deg F.! It’s safe to say – this was MUCH more fun!

I’ve still yet to “train” for anything, and it feels REALLY nice to have a 50k as my base now; but with O24 coming up in April (thinking about making this a 100miler) and BR100 in July (which is 100.9 miles), I’ve got to get off my ass and start logging some serious miles!

Since I Pr’d the Frosty 50k last weekend, going into this run I had absolutely ZERO expectations of finishing fast. My plan for this was just to enjoy it! I think I knew more than half of the runners and volunteers for this run — which just added to the experience.

Now, I didn’t know Regis, but from what I hear about him and how passionately those that did have the pleasure of knowing him talk about him – he sounded like an amazing man. WRFR benefits;

Regis Shivers Scholarship – awarded to a graduating high school runner as a college scholarship in honor of Regis Shivers.

and

Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher House – a non-profit corporation that provides lodging to patients and their family who are being treated at the Veterans Administration Medical Care Facilities in Cincinnati.

The weather was RE.DIC.U.LOUS. Like I said, the first year I ran this the temp. dropped to 4deg., last year I think it was 9-10deg. This year? 60+Deg!! It’s not often you get to run an Ultramarathon, mid January in Ohio wearing shorts!

Some of my OUTRUN family – love these guys!

and just for comparison —-

Close up – 2012

2013 – Closeup

These two were taken close to the same spot on the course…

2012 trail

2013 Trail

This “race” consists of two lollipop loops. The one loop is about 5miles long and the other about 8miles long. The 50k’ers start with the short loop then the long loop. We ran the short loop three times and the longer loop twice. I ran the first 5.5 (actually 6+) miles with my badass friend Mike and his wife Beth. It has been a while wince we’ve run together and we had a great time; running and talking the entire time — which actually got us a bit lost since we weren’t paying attention to the trail markers and just following the people in front of us. They took a wrong turn – so we did as well. I think this is what messed them up.

Which way do I go, which way do I go…

So we added a mile or so to what we were supposed to do… what’s a mile or so amongst friends, huh? The rest of the trail was simply awesome! Parts of it tho did bring back bad memories of the Running With Scissors Double Marathon I did a couple of months ago. A little muddy, very reminiscent of RWS.. not a fan of these conditions.

This course is quite a bit different from the 50k course I ran last weekend. Total elevation for that one was about 2500ft, no steps and small rolling hills. This one was just over 3300, but loaded with steps and hills.

I Kendell Lake

Just a few hills..

Gotta love steps!

Did I mention there were steps?

After finishing the first loop, I was on my own for the rest of the race. I tried to step it up a bit and would glance down at my watch and see low to mid 8:00/mile pace showing. I would then cut it back some because I knew I couldn’t keep that pace up for long. BAD MOVE. I think this gassed me and sucked a lot of the energy out of me. When I reached the Pine Hollow aid station it was nice to see familiar faces. I was first greeted by Sue, who paced me the last 20 miles at Burning River! What a nice surprise it was! I stood there and we chatted for a while, while I drank some coke and downed a few potato chips. Then I was off again. The next couple loops were pretty slow but it was a huge morale booster to see my kids at start/finish in between loops.

Jeremy, Emily and I – between about mile 18

My brother brought them up there for me. They hiked the trails while I ran. We timed it really well and just before heading out for my final 5.5 mile loop I got to see them again. I asked Jeremy and Emily if they’d like to run the last loop with me. I think Emily was a bit nervous about it since her longest run to date is just over 3.5miles, but Jeremy was all excited to get out and run during a race. He ran like a pro, right along side of me. Everyone we passed or that come upon us in the opposite direction the first thing out of his mouth was, “Good job!” I was so proud of him when we crossed the finish line together.

FINISHED!

Second 50k in as many weeks – This one’s stats? Official time – 7hrs 25min, 31.61 miles a new PR… for slowest 50k! Check out the data here.

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