All Fiesta no Siesta

Well its been four days now since the biggest race of the year for me and that would be, Flatrock 101k in Independence Ks, so its time to lay down a line or two about my experience.

     As you can see it is an out and back type course that follows the west side of Elk City Lake and for the 101k distance the challenge was to do two of these loops.  Prior to this race I have run two 25k's and one 50k here at Flatrock. The funny thing about this course is, every-time I ran it say, I will never run the next distance and then you find yourself doing exactly that. There is something about the beauty of the trails that just keep you coming back. I have run a few other Ultras including some 100's but this one ranks right up there with the best of them.  As Iron Will told me long ago about 101, he said it will beat you up like a hundo.  After this race is now in the books I understand exactly what he meant. From the knees down this week I have been just as sore as if I ran 100 miler. On to the race.
    It started out for all of us about 18 minutes late due to the lightening that was in the area that morning and the forecast all week said 100% chance of rain and the forecast was spot on. After waiting for the mandatory 30 minutes after a lightning strike we were off. This start was not unlike any other ultra I had started except for the fact that there were only 30 of us and I was the only person over 57 with me at now 60 years old. The from runners were off like a bang and a lot of the rest of us just kinda slogged along until we hit the wooded area and the real start of the race. I kept the pace slow and ran with a few folks for a while then gave up my spot to slow down and take inventory of myself both mentally and physically.  The one thing at this point of the race and for some time that kept going over and over in my head was, make sure you are not completely trashed at the halfway point.  I had seen before and heard from many runners that the second time you go out on the course is the hardest thing to make yourself do.
    The rain by now had continued to come down but never real hard, yet, at least until we reached 5 or so miles in. On the way out I remember running with Carol , Barbie, John, Shari, Dennis and Ryan.  I am not exactly sure how those all fit in but I ended up running with Ryan most of the time after about 10 miles.  We were together as we started to approach some of the deeper water crossings that really got us both worried. Taking it slow and making sure I did not pick up my feet to high because the current in the water crossings were starting to really push us around.
    Another one of the things that had worried me about this race was making sure I was staying fueled up. The great thing abut these ultras is the aid stations though and these were very well stocked with great food and friendly people. I was using my usual nutrition drink and supplementing stuff that looked good on the tables, I.E, bananas, oranges,nutella wraps, potatoes, pickles and a few nuts.
    We made it out to the turn around in one piece and  I felt real good so we didn't stay long before heading back to the start finish line.  By this time the only thing that really stuck out in our minds was the water crossings , everything else seemed to just take care of it's self, even the lightening strikes did't really bother me much. Most of the runners had conveyed to the race staff that it was imperative that they place ropes at all of the major water crossings if they wanted anyone but the front runner s to finish, so on the way back we saw a rope on one of the crossings,except it was one of the crossings that  me and Ryan thought was one of the easier creeks to cross but we were not complaining.
    By this point in the race Ryan had started to really slow and had started to say that his back was bothering him and we walked more than we were earlier.  This went on for a few more miles as we switched places back and forth leading a following until finally I got in front and kinda started to pull away.  I never really felt like I would not make the cutoff but I figured I might as well run while I had some energy and the crossings were still passable.
    Fast forward I made it back to the 30 mile start finish shelter/ aid station and  soon saw my son Matt.  That was a welcome site.  Matt had promised to be there and make sure I got back out and then join me for the final 15 mile journey in later that night. I got fueled up and changed my top shirt to my scuba gear long sleeve that would later prove to be the right choice in keeping me warm and dry under my "Frog Togg". I was off again, heading out for the next 15 miles most likely by myself since John and Shari had already taken off and are much stronger runners than I.

    It was only about a mile or so in to the second loop that I caught up with them and started to follow them as we headed to the first aid station. I made sure that I got plenty of food in me and headed back out.  I started to get a little foggy now about what happened and the order in which it happened but I will try and explain best I can. I do remember running by my self now again and that the rain really started to pick up again.  It was a chore keeping my glasses from fogging up and clean enough for me to see out so I don;t trip and fall. By this time I think I might have been about a minute or two out ahead of John and Shari , as I do remember them coming into the next aid station just after I had set down.
    By now I remember crossing all of the high water areas by myself and hoping that I don't make a stupid move and get swept away.  I still felt real good physically I think mostly because I was not hot at all , it was just cool enough to be perfect for me. I do remember now that each time I crossed a water crossing I said I wonder what this will look like after dark?
    Now I remember coming into the last aid station before the turn and just as I was heading out I saw  Dennis and Candi, much to my amazement. It was a real weird feeling, something I had never witnessed before , two runners turned around on the trail coming back. before I got a word out, they started to tell me about the next water crossing and how Candi nearly got swept away and Candi said that was enough for her it was not worth the risk.  Dennis said " you can go look at it and see what you think but the rope they have does not reach all the way across the channel and it is rising fast".         So I went with them back to the sheller to tell John and Shari about the situation and then decided to go have look myself.  Dennis said the crossing was about a mile out so I figured I needed to see it before I turned in the towel. I was not back on the trail very long and I see Mindy coming towards me on the trail except I know that she has already made it out to the turn and was on her way back now.         That was very encouraging to me because I know she was alone like me and she  found a way so there must be a way thru this area.  Mindy says that the next crossing after you run out of rope the water gets a little shallower and it is ok to go continue in the water without a rope. Then Mindy says that the river crossing rope is up stream a bit and I have to look for it but it is there.  With all of that said I felt a little better knowing that they had ropes out and as long as the ropes stayed tied I would be fine.  It sure was comforting to see and talk to Mindy... thank you Mindy your the bomb!!!
    I make it back to the first crossing and the water is now balls deep which before it was thigh deep and I was praying all the time for it to stop raining so it would not get any deeper before I crossed it again.  I made it across and headed to the last major crossing that everyone was worried about since I guess some people never found the rope and crossed way earlier without it.  Well I made my way to the river crossing and started to look for the rope , it was no where to be found, but Mindy said look to the right so I tried to keep the blue paint marks on the trees in my site as I wandered up stream looking for the rope.  There is was finally  and it was a good rope, a little thicker than the others so far.  Crossing this river was interesting because it was now totally dark except for my headlight and I was alone. I figured I had no choice but to make it I had Matt waiting on me at the turn and I don't want to make him wait too long.
    I think I crossed a couple more bodies of water that did not exist earlier, I think it was the lake backing up into the woods and thank God someone was smart enough to put those blue blazes head high on some of the trees or I would still be out there.
    Made it back to the turn and Matt was waiting for me with my meatball sandwich that I asked for ... dang that was good. Well at this point I am pretty happy I have made it 45 miles but really worried about getting back with Matt and now Joshua who is the course sweep.  Yep that's right I was the last guy on the course out this far everyone else was either home or on the course ahead of me now.  The folks behind me decided to stop running and  live to fight another day.
    I think at this point I was one hour ahead of the cutoff for this aid station when we left to bring her home.  I felt good that there would be three of us but I knew I would be walking a lot due to the terrain and water and I knew that would kill the spirit of Matt and Joshua. As we started down the trail I told them that there was a little teaser coming up in about a mile.  It was one of those areas that flooded and it just looked freaky when you came up on it because nothing looked familiar at all and now the water was over my waist  and I think it was dang near to Josh's chest. I had to laugh as they both complained about the water being cold... I was like COLD, oh my, you guys ain't seen shit yet. So we made it thru that one and  back to the river crossing where the water was still just as high as earlier but not rising any more thank you Jesus. The river crossing almost got ole Joshua but he held on and made it across. Now we are on our way  to the bowl area that I tried to explain to them it was completely different that they can remember because it was washed out and we were crossing way down stream.  I think they started having fun, at least it sounded like it.

    It seemed that as the night passed and the running water sounds never gave up and the rain started again we all agreed that we were SICK of WATER... all kinds in all places.  Matt said that he was getting sleepy because the white noise he used to sleep by just happens to be running water... I had to laugh. Josh said that he was doing fine other than almost being swept away a couple times.... gotta remember Joshua is a little shorter than Matt and I and everything looked different to him I'm sure.  I sure want to thank you Joshua for your positive attitude during the night and all your positive vibes.
  I remember at some point an aid station had been blown over and the station was being ran out of the back of an SUV..  Thanks Angel for the awesome wraps and kind spirit. I know we had three guys out ahead of us abut 15 minutes but I never gave thought of giving chasew at this point.  I was now starting to get a little wore out and as I stepped up several times I fell back as Matt would stop me and give me a push back up.
    At this point in the race all I wanted to do was get out of the rain and get some dry clothes on and sit down.  I knew that they were serving breakfast for the finishers and anyone that was up at the time. We made it back after 22 and a half long hours of rain, torrents, lightening and mud all in one piece without barley a scratch.  I really kept God busy for the last 22 hours watching out for me and all of the runners.  It was a real comfort to see that finish line and the Race Directors both still waiting for the last guy to come in.  It was an amazing experience to say the least and my hats off to everyone that made it happen.  I also want to say thank you to the RD's for not stopping the race but instead to give us what we wanted... a hard ass run in dangerous conditions that's what i paid for and that is what I got!
    Hats off to everyone that laced um up and stood on the starting line because that takes alot of courage just to say  " I will".   I hope to give back to this group of runners again in the near future as I love the trail, race and everyone involved with it.

Hawk 100 2015

Well the time has come to put to pen what has been in my head for some time now.  That is the story about my third 100 mile adventure of the year , actually in the time span of 8 months in 2015.
I really just want to talk about the race its self but there are some factors leading up to the actual race its self that I will include.
You know how there are those races that everybody else tells you that "you should run " well this was one of those ( Hawk 100).  When the year 20215 started I had already jumped into the 100 mile club by running the Pistol 100 in Tennessee, and it was one of those paved trail 100's.
   God forbid a dirt trail runner do  paved trail and call it a trail.  This is something I had to learn the hard way.  It seemed that as the days ticked off post Pistol 100 and I spoke of it I almost became less interested in telling anyone about it.  The truth of the matter is it was not as easy as you would think, I know there were no roots and rocks but dang man was there some rain.  There were times in the middle of the night that I spent dredging thru knee deep water to transverse the course. That was my way out now as I told people of my first 100 trail run on pavement that it was still pretty hard because of the rain , seemed to work.  The bottom line is a 100 miles on your feet no matter the terrain is still hard to finish, there are black dogs waiting for you on a paved course just like a dirt trail. 
That leads me into  my second 100 for the year PST 100 in Ottawa Kansas.  I had longed to do this one because of my experience at the Welda aid station  the year of the Blizzard.  There was something about it that I wanted to see if I could finish with  better time than Pistol, which was a slow 25:19:51.  It was the flat rail to trail course that everyone talks about being not really a trail either because you do not have to navigate any roots or rocks.  I can't win for loosing here with these trail 100's.
 PST was very flat and very straight butt too had it's own demons waiting for me. I did better there with a finish time of 23:42 I think. Yes it was a pr for me and I was pretty pumped but there was still that trail race that everybody told me about that I knew if I wanted to prove to myself that I was a true trail Ultra runner I must do.  That trail was Hawk 100 in Lawrence Kansas , put on by the Lawrence Trail Hawks. having already done the 50 mile race there I knew what it was all about and was eager in some weird kinda way to see if I had the Balls to sign up.
Ultra Sign up is such an enticing place to find yourself on lonely nights when you feels like you want to challenge yourself, so that day came and I signed  up for the hundo.  I honestly knew that if I could just transverse the course and not get hurt and make it to the finish line before they said go home I would be happy.  I had made no real predictions of the time it would take to finish but I initially thought it should be doable in about 27 or 28 hours. Hell it can't be that bad... right?  I later learned that it was every bit of as much of a challenge as anyone had ever touted it to be.
The training leading up to this 100 miler proved in the long run to be ok.  What I mean by that is, it was enough to survive but it might have been better, had I ran more on a weekly basis.  It was the thing that I always struggle with is the amount of time I can train during the week doing the type of work I do as  pest control specialist.  I find myself walking anywhere from 4 to 8 miles on any given day and some times I just don't want to do any more than that. Over the course of the year my weekly training average run distance was barely ever more than 35 miles . 
So now I am all trained up tapered down and ready to run.  I knew that a fast start would be a killer for me so i had a plan to run a little slower at the start and make sure I did not over due it early on.  In order to do that I needed someone like Brandy Holey to run with me for the first 50 miles to slow me down. I think I asked her if it would be alright if  I ran with her and she agreed.  There was a little bit of good for both of us in that first 50 miles as we had run together quite a bit over our running careers.  I knew her speed an I felt like it would be perfect for me.  
Next thing you know we are standing at the start line ready to take this race on with all we got or don't have.  As we got started and filtered out of the conga line I found myself with Brandy , John Knepper, Dean Russell, and Brandy Holey.  John wanted to run the first loop with us so he too would not run to fast and be able to finish strong on his first 50 miler, and he did just that.
  Dean knew he was a fast runner and also wanted to stay back with us and just put it on cruse control for the first 50 miles of his 100 miler. 
What I remember of the first 50 miles was not bad at all , it seemed to me to tick off rather quickly, I think we all had a good time running together. There were a couple times when I might have felt like I wanted to take off but was very glad I did not.  I really enjoyed the company of everybody in our little group. 
We had  all understood that at the 50 mile mark we would all go our separate ways since we each had our own pacers except for  Dean, and he started that he might just hang with me. I was planning on picking up Cody Cox at the 50 mile mark and Brandy would have Danny Loental for her third loop.  I was happy to have a pacer for the third loop because I was told that it would certainly be the hardest. One thing I will say for my inexperienced pacer, he did great, he took excellent care of me and kept my mind off the pain and the darkness as much as is possible. There was one bump in the road that I remember very well during the third loop though. It came at a point in the race when Dennis and Amanda had come along and we followed them for a while before they left us.  It was during the time together that I took a hard blow to the head from one of the overhanging tree limbs.  It was such a hard hit that both of my feet came completely off the ground and the first thing I thought of was, why am I awake I should be knocked out.  It was rather amazing that I could hit so hard and not be knocked out.  The time after the big head blow I do remember slowing down some but not really from that I was just worried about falling in the dark or tripping.  I had a good light and that never was an issue. Even though the third loop was my longest I was still very happy with the fact that the two things that I worry about some times were still in good shape after 65 miles, one being my nutrition and the other my feet.  I will admit that the rocks had started to take a toll on my feet as far as bruising and being sore but no blisters.  My plan for nutrition was to use U-Can for the entire race but I changes up plans after 50 miles and decided to go to food until the last 11 miles.  That proved to be the best thing I could have done for myself.  I never had a stomach issue and was able to go pee and eat very well without any great energy loss. 
Upon completion of my third loop I changed pacers and Matt my youngest son came on board to take care of me.  By the time I was back on the trail with Matt I think we had about 2 1/2 hours to daylight.  I forgot to mention that at the 50 mile mark Dean had decided to drop due to foot issues and was no longer running with us.  I felt bad for him but I knew that he knew what he could handle and it was his choice. 
Matt and I made our way out on the blue course and I remember running pretty good on that part.  I had told myself that running when I could was something I must do and when I came to a hill I would just walk.  The good thing was that Matt never pushed me or complained that I was walking to much, even though I ran more on the final loop than I did with Cody. I remember getting to the West End Park Road  aid station and decided to give my U Can another try and see if it would give me some energy to finish strong.  I will say that all of the food at the aid stations made all the difference in the world in my race , hats off to all of the volunteers that made that possible, you guys rock. 
So we left the second to last aid station on my last loop and felt pretty good considering that the feet were a little banged up. It was when we got to the Lands end aid station that my race took a very different turn for the better, believe it or not. Up to that point it was that part of the course that I actually dreaded the most  and so wanted not to run the last bit of mileage to the finish from there on white. I found myself sitting down for a bit gathering my thoughts and watching others come and go from behind me. It was then that a runner who I had not see all day and his pacer came into the aid station and did not stop.  It hit me in a funny way, I first thought, where did this guy come from and then I thought how in the hell is he not stopping to rest? But then in a matter of seconds I looked at Matt and said, " I am going to catch that guy and pass him".  I think Matt looked at me kinda funny and said , " yea right".  I think at that time there was that old man  or father vs son attitude in me that said , " I'm gonna show this kid what I got in me", so we took off.  I never once felt like it was not possible for me to catch him but I just wanted to make sure if I did that I could hold the lead all the way in.  I had never run at this pace in a trail race before at least that is what Matt told me after the race.  The time and distance it took me to catch him is a little sketchy but it came and I saw an opportunity to make the pass.  I got right on the tail of the  runners and the pacer said " do you want to pass", I instantly thought " hell yes" I feel great.  It was at that point that I sensed that I had made a challenge to myself to finish this bitch with everything I had or die trying. Up to this point I had never had the opportunity to pass people with such power and agility this late in a race, it was the most amazing thing I have ever been apart of in my life.  It seemed that the further I ran the stronger I felt.  I am not sure if it was because I could hear Matt back three saying he was getting hot and was a little out of breath or that I was just having so much fun I just did not want to stop. It was then that Matt reminded me that there were two guys out front of us that I might have an opportunity to catch that I was behind most of the race.  As I kept dodging the branches and bounding over the rocks like a gazelle I envisioned what it was going to be like when I caught up with those two and made my attempt to pass them.  I first wondered if I could, or would I run out of trail before I caught them.  Well  the first runner was in our sights now and he was walking, Matt let me know the status of him and I made pursuit.  I think at this point it had become a game for me and I was  trying to push myself even harder as I drew on the energy it gave me to catch them. I came  up on Dennis first and figured that as he saw me he might take off and run some ,but to my amazement there was no run left in him, and I passed him and never looked back.  Matt and I both knew that the only other runner that I had not seen the whole race was Andrew and I most likely would not see him .  But it was at that moment that Matt said there he is..  I said.. did he see us yet?  Matt said oh yes he  sees us, he too was walking now, I think there was about a mile and a half left in the race when we passed him and he and his pacer looked pretty rough.  Later did I find out that his pacer was having some issues and he was walking with her. I continued to run fairly hard thinking that the only person that might try to catch me would be the first guy for maybe even Andrew.  But to my surprise none of them came to hard on me at the end and when I crossed the finish line I felt like a million bucks.  It was not that I was glad it was over but that I had just ran my ass off for the last 3 miles and finished this 100 miler strong as hell and was super excited about it.  At the end of the day it showed me that the mind can make the body do things that you never imagined even possible, and when those times come , and they will , get on board and run with the wind and enjoy every minute of it.
I  want to thank all of the runners out there that gave me a chance to prove something to myself, and all of the people that took excellent care of me thru out the race and my pacers who were two of the best I have ever had an opportunity to run with.  At this point in my life I need to re evaluate my running and see what the year 2016 will hold, I do know that an International Marathon will happen in Guam in April 2016 and I want to run Flatrock 101, and Silver Rush In Leadville.  All of that is if God is willing to carry me all the way as he lines my path with friends and family to cover my ass when I get out of control and help me with my filter too. God Bless everyone that reads  this cause I know I am a terrible writer. 

Prairie Spirit Trails 50 mi & 50k

Got my fix,

I knew from the first time I saw the trail, if I ever wanted to run a long one this would be the place.  Well I never imagined it would be so soon. It happened, that the first time I saw Prairie Spirit Trails was while I was volunteering with the Trail Nerds. Bad Ben Holmes, RD of the Trail Nerds asked if I would like to help out at the PST 100 & 50 mile race they were going to run in March of this year. Ben said that as a newbie to the sport of trail running it would be great to see how long distance runners manage themselves, to endure such a distance race.  I thought, great, I’ll jump in and get some good “hands on training” from the ones actually running the race. It was a great time and as many of you know it was a race of a lifetime for most if not all runners, crew & volunteers.

I had the opportunity to meet some new folks at the 100 miler in March; some of whom I still am in contact with. One in particular was Mark Berry from Nebraska. Mark was one of the front runners in the 100 mile race and I was able to witness him and others as they made their way thru our aid station in Welda. I watched him and others as they ate dressed and undressed at our station. All the while I am making mental note of the things they are doing so I might learn all I can.

 As the days and months ticked off I had some correspondence with Mark from time to time as we continued to share running interests. I had run a few races this year and decided that I would run the Flatrock 25k and then make Prairie Spirit my first 50k.  Sounded like a plan … at least that was what I thought. Then on or about the 7^th of October I got this message from Mark saying….” hey Bob, looks like you should be running the 50 miler instead of the 50k, I think you’re ready for it” Mark said. At first I thought wow, what a compliment from Mark, but then I got to thinking, I have never ran any further than 26 miles.  I guess all I needed was to hear someone say “you can do it” because, I gave it a little more thought and I said “Hell yes” if Mark wants me to run with him I’ll be honored, and will be able to witness technique from a seasoned runner. It’s now so close to the race day that any last minute thoughts of how I should train, are out the window. I figured that I had run a lot of hills up here in Wyco and it should be cool, so I started planning my nutrition.

It worked out that I volunteered at the Heartland 100 soon after that decision and got to see Mark one more time before our race. It was good timing also to see more of these crazy people putting themselves thru self educed pain and suffering for a buckle. It worked out that day at Heartland that Ryan Knapp was putting in some time with us at the aid station, ( he was the best), before he went on to pace a runner.  While we were there I watched Ryan get some nutrition ready for his runner and it looked like a product I read about a couple weeks before the race so I asked him.  Ryan what is that?  “It’s Generation UCAN”.  Ryan explained to me the benefits and I was again intrigued.  I now had the last piece of the puzzle for me to go to Prairie Spirit and run with Mark.

Race day had arrived and my son Matt had said that he would run the last leg of the race with me as my pacer. It would be his longest distance also to date. Matt had only run, one other trail race in his life, and that was Flatrock 25k with me a couple weeks prior. So I was going from 26 miles to 50 miles and Matt was going from 15 miles to 23 miles.

Now the race:  The horn sounded and Eric sent us on our way.  The way was a little different than what I expected but it was not a big deal, just a little out and back before we ran south towards Garnett. Mark and I were side by side running and talking and getting to know each other a little bit better as we exchanged stories of family and self. That is one of the things I like most about running with someone is the talking, and how it helps time fly. Talking also is the perfect barometer for pace. Mark had the pace down to a weird science, that is walking running pace, and we were knocking out the miles as we headed south.  The temperature was perfect for both of us since we don’t like heat.  The course is very straight and smooth, which is something I am not familiar with running at Wyco, but it was a pleasant change.  The race jitters were gone and I seemed to be feeling good, and not slowing us down at this point. We reached the first manned aid station and I grabbed some more water and Heed and we were on our way.  I had learned from doing the aid stations in the past that S-caps were great for leg cramps, and I had started to feel the need for some already.  Fortunately I had put some in my vest and started to pop a few.  I was thinking that if my legs cramp up on me this early I’ll suck at this and that can’t happen today.

 I think it was somewhere around mile 18 that Mark made mention that his legs were trashed.  I thought oh no… I hope this is just a little bump in the road. The thing we both now realized was that running a 50 miler two weeks after a sub 24 hour 100 miler might be something that, one should not do. That is exactly what Mark had done.  I know that Mark had made some last minute changes in his schedule to run both races and most likely never really gave it any deep thought as to the amount of demand he was putting on his body in such a short time. Mark loves this stuff and really puts his whole heart into it; I wanted the pain to go away for him.  As we proceeded to the next station Mark was very upbeat but still in a state of disbelief about his legs not being there when he wanted them the most. We had for the most part, stayed on course with our routine of running and walking, to keep close to our pace. I know now as we are running that I find myself just in front of Mark as he deals with the legs that are “trashed”.

We finally reach the turnaround and get some much needed fuel and water, some pictures and I meet up with Matt, my son and my wife Cathy.  Mark’s wife is there too. I tried to figure out how long it will take us to get back to Ottawa so my wife could meet us.  I figured that it would be considerably slower than coming down so I said 4 ½ hours to 5 hours.  Little did I know we would beat those times going back and Cathy would not be there when we arrive.  We got everything we wanted and said good bye and we were off.  We had not gone 50 feet and Mark was not with us.  I thought oh shit, slow down Bob; you started out way to fast.  But as we looked back Mark said, “Don’t worry about me, you guys just go, I’ll be ok, legs are slow now”. First thing I thought was he will catch up and it will be all good, but as we continued to run I saw that it was not going to happen today. Just that short time at the aid station made my feet really hurt.  I was thinking that if they keep up I will have to really slow down myself.  But as we clicked off the miles the foot pain seemed to subside.  I figure now that it must have just been from standing around and once I got going again it was all good. Matt was now wearing my Garmin and directing me when to run and walk, it was a little uncomfortable without Mark now. I had really wanted for Mark to get to know my son during this run but that was not in the cards today. And besides that I would not even be running this race if it were not for Mark.  He was the one that encouraged me to do this, and it sucked, him not being with us.  So now it is all in our hands to get this race done.  The first thing Matt tells me is that he thought I would be wore out when I made it to the turn, and he was surprised to see that I was in decent shape and not complaining yet.

 We kept doing the things that Mark had told me about running a race like this and the miles started to tick off.  As we made it thru the aid stations we passed a couple people and that was kind of crazy. Matt had brought his little speaker for his I pod and we were now jamming to some music.  I remember complaing about the music because he downloaded the music that was not from the original artist and it did not sound the same; Matt said,” To bad, it’s cheaper that way”.  Matt started doing something that was driving me crazy and I told him to stop telling me how many miles we had run.  I really just wanted to know certain things, and I would ask for information when I wanted it. Boy I sound like a real prick don’t I?  I do remember though when he told me we only had 13 miles to go and that was just a little half Mary… and I thought oh, that isn’t anything, just 13 miles, we do that all day. We then made it to the last aid station and Justin was there.  I knew we had this thing beat by now and felt pretty good.  My legs were tight but not cramping up on me.  I never sat down at any of the aid stations and I did not want to start now.  Justin said hey Bob you guys want a shot? I thought well, he just ran a 100 miler and maybe it will be like a pain reliever and I said why not.  Matt and I had the single shot of Bourbon and we are on our way once again. My son Matt was really enjoying being the watch keeper and directing me when to run I think, but got a little upset with me when I asked for longer walk beaks.  I was now really looking forward to the end and I started to ask how many more miles?  Matt then said about 2 more now; I said you mean I just ran 48 miles? He said yep.  It was about that time that I looked up and could see the “Loves” tower.  That single beacon in the horizon was all it took for me to say… “We got this thing beat Matt”.  I felt great now; we were going to run a little bit faster as I had some renewed strength.  We made it under the I-35 Bridge and made the last turn up toward Celebration hall.  I could hear the horns and cow bells ringing as we turned on to the last drive. With much pleasure I ran thru the finish line to be greeted by Eric and a handful of onlookers and supporters. I had told my wife we would be back later and she was still out in town but that was my fault and I don’t blame her.  We got some pictures taken had some water, chili, a cold beer, and waited for Mark to come in.  I was worried about him since we had not seen him for so long.  I did end up seeing his wife and she insured me that he was fine and was about to come in any minute.  Not long after that we rang the bells for Mark and greeted him as he crossed the finish line. I remember him saying, “That sucked”.  I was so glad to see he made it.

At the end of the day I was glad that Mark had pushed me to step up to the 50 miler and running the first part with him and the last part with Matt must have been how it was meant to be.  I will accept that fate and learn from all we endured that day. The distance to me was just right, to test my body and mind, hell maybe someday I’ll tackle a 100 miler who knows.

Thanks to everyone there, in whatever role you found yourself in, I enjoyed it all.

Nutrition:

Breakfast;   “breakfast on the go” nuts and oatmeal mix

1 cup of coffee.

2 servings of Generation UCAN Pomegranate & Blueberry mix, with water.

During the race;

5, S-caps, 40 oz’s of Heed, 40 oz of water,

 2 gels, 1 banana,

 1 Pro Bar peanut butter chocolate chip flavor.

 2 servings of Generation UCAN Pomegranate & Blueberry mix, with water

1 small single shot of Bourbon. 

Flatrock 2013

It all began nearly 9 months ago when I got my introduction into trails at Psycho Wyco 10 mile distance.

That was the first time I heard someone mention the name “Flatrock”.  At that time it was a mere word, that I had no understanding of, or concern with, I was still concentrating on making it around the lake for the first time.  At that point I had yet to go the distance around the lake all at one time.  I had run the road several times, but never ventured very far on the trails. That being said my trail adventures had begun.  I spent the next 8 months chasing the runners in every event I could think to do, I was well on my way to becoming a real “Nerd”. 

Then it started, I figured out that I needed to plan the later part of my year and see what I could possibly accomplish.  That was when I thought… hey, I can try to get into the “Flatrock” event.  So I looked it up and low and behold it was already sold out.  Part of me said it was a good thing because I had no business trying to run such a thing in the first place. But then I got an email from Eric, the “King”.  It was something like this, there was now some openings and if I still wanted, come on in, and get some. I thought to myself what the hell, I have been holding my own on the trails around here in KC, and I’ll go down there and open a can of whoop ass and see how it goes.

Mean while back in my life at home my youngest son Matt had made his way thru 6 years in the Navy and was scheduled to come home soon. I immediately thought, Ill make him like trails like I do, that will be easy. I first started with inviting him to join me on a training run at Wyco.  That went better than I expected and he seemed to enjoy the trails. We ran a few times out there and some road runs at the college and then I told him I had a run at Perry in a few weeks and I would like him to run with me.  He said I’ll let you know.  Then I proceeded to tell him that I also had this run at Flatrock and he could come down with his mom and watch me cross the finish line (what excitement).  It was not long after a couple more training runs that Matt said; I’m going to sign up and run the Flatrock with you.  I said have you ever run 15 miles? He said no, I said ok, this will very hard, but your young, you should be ok.

Now the race was scheduled to go off in the morning and we are in the hotel in Coffeyville looking at the weather report.  It looks like rain in the morning for sure; I said that’s good at least it won’t be hot.  I had had a couple close calls with the heat this summer, running, and had become very leery of the heat. I told Matt and my wife we should be at the start location by 7:45 in the morning and we will have plenty of time to get things set up.  We left the hotel and off in the distance we could see the lighting and the rain started to fall a little.  My first thought was boy, I am glad I am not the “King” Eric, this morning, having to make a call on the weather, for safety sake. But then just as we arrived, a little bit early, we could see in the distance a flashing light of a truck or car was on the road.  It just happened to be right after 7:30 when the 50k runners would have started.  Well they started and here they come.  I wish I had not been driving so I could have gotten pictures of the smiling faces of the runners as they passed by our car.  The one that I easily saw was Dave Everhart; I then realized that this was truly going to be and “Epic” event.  Not even the weather can stop these types of people I find myself with today, they are hard core, and love it.  I wanted to get me some of that, so we proceeded to the start area and waited out our turn.

It was almost like waiting for our turn on the big thrill ride at the amusement park with everyone all excited about what would happen and how they would enjoy the run. As Eric the “King” walked us up to the start line I felt some real butterflies about what was awaiting us.  This course was such that there really wasn't even a glimpse of the trails until you got on the trails.  So we had no Idea of how difficult it would be.  I still felt great because I had been training real hard back home and I felt like these “wheels” were going to roll.

 Matt was pumped and we both decided that at the half way point he would run his own race and see how it went.  Eric gave us a few of the usual thoughts and the biggest smile on his face as he said goodbye and have fun.  Little did I know how much fun I would have on this day. Soon we had made it to the end of the road and started to enter the trails.  Almost immediately the climb started as we got in the conga line up the trail. There were a few words but mostly just people trying to figure out how to find their way on the next twist and turn.  I like to think of these trail runs as amusement park rides and the car that I am riding in just happens to be my body, and I am the silly person holding on for dear life and laughing my ass off as we scurry up and down the hills. The rain was now pretty steady, but it really was sweet. I love running on the cool side.  Matt and I were talking about the cool rock formations and just in awe, of the spectacular views at most every turn. There were a lot of things that I did not really have to worry about since we were only running the 25k this morning, like water and s-caps.  I figured I most likely had enough water in me to make it to the half way point. I could clearly see now that these trails were everything they were touted to be and then some.  The views were movie quality and the trails were very well marked as we found our way almost to the turn around.  It was then that Matt said hey dad I’m going out ahead and see you at the turn around, I said cool see you then.  Now I was starting to lose some ground on the folks ahead of me but It didn’t really  matter at this point, I was having too much fun to worry about being right with someone all of the time. One thing about most of the trail systems here, was that you really could not see very far out ahead of you so when someone left you, they were out of sight in no time.

Then it came, the fast ones were making their way back after the turn around and one by one they went by as I said “great job, you look great” ,and they said the same.  I then was beginning to wonder if Matt was going to wait for me at the turn or just keep running.  Part of me wanted him to wait but that would not be fair to him, so I hoped to see him soon too.  Sure enough here he comes and he looks great.  He said something like it’s not far to the turnaround, good luck. I then knew that I would not see him again until the end of the race.  It was then that the rain had just turned the course into a mud bath.  I really don’t mind the mud, so I just kept plugging away down the trail.  I think there were a couple of people right behind me but I soon lost them in the twists and turns of the trail.  I was now all alone and not really feeling too bad.  My legs were tired but I still had good lungs and felt pretty strong.  This course does not have any real long hills that make you cuss just a lot of little ones that seem to never end at times.   Then as I figured that I was going to run the rest of the race by myself at about the 8 or 9 mile mark, a person came into view to my left.  It first appeared that the person was coming out of the woods after maybe taking a potty break, but soon I heard what happened.  The young lady I ran into was Megan Becker and she told me she had gotten turned around a little and ran into some barbed wire and turned around and ran into me.  It was at that point that I again had someone to run with and talk to. We both were there for our first time but Megan told me it was her first trail race in her life.  I said oh my God.  You are a “beast “for running this course.  Then we just kept talking about the course and how cool it was and how hard it was and how we loved to hate it and hated to love it or something like that.  Then we got to the point where we ran into another guy I had not seen on the course and he said he had run this race 8 or 9 times, and we were only about 1 ½ miles to the road.  I could almost feel the relief coming from Megan as she heard that.  We both were pretty well spent at this point and I had yet to think about how I was going to run the road when I got there.  I am not sure at this point if Megan had given it much thought either.

 So we made our way down the last hill and down on to the road.  The first thing I said to Megan was, hey, you’re in your element now (Megan told me earlier that she had run for about two years it was all road running), you should feel pretty good.  That was the wrong thing to say to her.  She shot off like a woman possessed with a tenacity of an Olympic runner.  I said to myself; let’s see how long she can keep this up.  I kept a close eye on the old Garmin and was freaking out when I looked at it the first time and we were running at a 7 minute pace.  I told Megan you know how fast we are running?  “SEVEN” that’s really fast, you’re killing me.  It seemed like she was in a zone now and there was no getting inside her head now.  If I wanted to run this race with her to the end, I had to man up and hammer down.  I kept saying that I was dying and she kept saying it’s not much further hang in there.  I really don’t know why I kept the same pace with her other than the fact that the little amusement park rider in me was having a blast and the wheels were screaming and had not come off yet so I decided to ride it out.  It seemed like an eternity down that road and so I looked down at the ground in front of me like had been for the last 14 some odd miles.  Then we turned onto the gravel and it seemed as if Megan hit the Nitrous button and blew me off the course as I finished a second or two behind her.  After we finished I told Megan what a race, and that was, like none I had ever ran in my life, she concurred.  I saw Matt at the finish line and got a few high fives from him a hand shake from the “King” and some pictures.  Then it was off to the food tent.  I think I had about three bowls of the chili and drank some coffee.  Damn that stuff felt so good and made me feel like a “King” myself.  My wife Cathy was still in the car since it was raining, and that was cool with me, I was just glad she wanted to come down.  She even took the day off from work to be there.

 I had done what I set out to do and my son had a great time also.  I met a few cool people and ran a race like   I had never run before.

I guess the only other thing I could say would be a big thanks to all of the people out there that crossed my path in the last 9 months and had offered little nuggets of info to me that made it all happen. I am hooked on this stuff and will continue to pursue my painful thrill rides until the wheels come off some day, but I don’t think that will be for a while, so I’ll see you out there.