Mid Maryland 50K

A nice local winter event is the Mid Maryland 50K. It is entirely within Rockburn Branch park, and consists of 5 loops, 10K each. The race has a solo ultra division, and a relay division which allows a team of 2 to 5 runners.

I'm familiar with the trails, since I run at Rockburn and over to Patapsco Valley State Park all the time. The trails are runnable, with a few roots and rocks along the way, and a minor hill or three. The big issue was thawing - for the first loop, the ground was solid. After a few more loops and sun, it tends to get a bit sloppy and muddy. Particularly the section roughly 2 mi into the loop, over by the neighborhood between Kerger Rd and Talbots Landing. The course passes through a field and by some historic farm building, and that section tends to mud out.

Nevertheless, this is a fun event and what is trail running if you don't have a stream crossing or mud to deal with? ;)

The start/finish passes through a pavilion where aid is setup and I stopped briefly each time to eat/drink and top of my bottle.

I knew lots of people at the event, running it, running on a relay team, or just spectating, so it is a great low key early year event. My friend Mikhail took this awesome pic of me. 

I think next year I'll volunteer at it or look to be part of a relay team. The event is great, it is just that there are some other ones around the same time (plus or minus a week) so next year I want to check out something different.

I was freezing afterwards so after chatting and hanging around a while, I zipped out for a nice cafe mocha at Starbucks.

Mid Maryland 50K 2015

Eugene Bruckert

Several of us signed up for this very low key event nearby in Delaware. This event was a "fat ass" race, which is the designation for the kind of race with no fee, no medals/t-shirts, and mostly self-supporting (as in: you bring the stuff you think you need and sometimes a bit extra to share. Some events of this nature send out a list ahead of time of what each runner should contribute). Note that it is not at all a reflection on quality - after all, what do you REALLY need at a race? A well marked course and a place to refuel is basically it. :)

I checked out the entrants list beforehand and saw that my friend Seth from FL had signed up! When I lived in Orlando, he was working on finishing off the 50 States marathon checklist. Now, he was working on the ultra version of that challenge, a 50K in every state - hence the interest in low cost (free) low key oddball timing events.

To minimize logistics, this event was a 5K loop you could run as many times as you wanted in the time limit. Obviously for a 50K you'd need to get 10 loops in... my goal at this early point in the year was a modest 8 laps.

That's what I did so I technically DNF'ed and am not listed in the results as far as I know. I went to check the results and the link doesn't pull anything up now. Hey, it was a fat ass event, it's fine.

The race itself started/stopped at a bunch of picnic tables. We runners claimed sections of the tables and benches to setup our stuff - drinks, chips, munchies, etc - and then we went to do our mileage. The group that traveled from MD included several others and loop events are always nice for sharing some time with others.

The route was runnable, minor roots and rocks with a slight hills over the distance. It was reasonably scenic as well, as we circled a small pond, Killen's Pond.

Check out the "circle of life" the birds made in the pond.

I stopped briefly at every lap before heading out again, and by the end of the 8th lap I decided not to grind out 2 more. On the way home we stopped at a great Italian place in Annapolis and I had some really delicious lasagna.

Overall it was fun, a great workout, and reasonably warm for mid January. A great way to start the year!

Eugene Bruckert

Rosaryville Veteran's Day 50K

I signed up for this event in 2012, but missed it due to a sprained ankle. This year I got sick for a few weeks in Oct so I made this my last race of the season. I was highly confident going in, because I ran the Patapsco Valley 50K two weeks ago and that course was harder.

Once again we lucked out with the weather. It was sunny and cool and couldn't have been any better!

I ran with my friend Amy, who was coming off an injured ankle suffered several months ago. Given that neither of us was in peak condition ;) we were really just looking forward to a nice gentle trail run in beautiful weather, so our plan was to just take it really easy and enjoy ourselves.

The event starts at a pavilion inside the park, follows a road out-and-back to the perimeter trail, and is then 3 counter-clockwise laps on the perimeter trail. I've run at Rosaryville dozens of times and have always measured the trail to be ~9.2 mi in length, so as we started the event some quick math told me this event would be a little shorter than 50K/31mi. My Garmin wound up with 29.3 mi, so 1.7 short (plus or minus whatever GPS inaccuracies that day) but that's fine. I think events have to work with the terrain they have and sometimes a ridiculous out-and-back or tiny loop just to make the distance works out is silly.

The aid stations were fantastic - there were two, one each time the trail crossed a park road, which were conveniently about halfway around the perimeter from each other - and the whole event went well, if slower than either of us could have done normally. But as a final trail race for 2014, it was ideal.

A race photographer took this awesome picture of me on the course.

I'm not sure I'll do this event next year, because it is scheduled around some other races I have my eye on. One of those is Stone Mill; I'm actually in it this year but there is no way I can finish it (and enjoy myself) so I won't start. Another race that I am interested in is Mountain Masochist. Both are 50 milers so they would be a step up.

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/629181190

Patapsco Valley 50K

I went into this event slightly injured and undertrained due to illness, so I didn't have many expectations. On the other hand I was feeling optimistic because this is effectively my home course - I run the trails here all the time. And I was determined not to DNF. I figured if I could get to the start again (first 20/21 mi were a loop that came back to the start) and was feeling OK, I could definitely hike the remaining 10/11 mi.

The race started early - 6 am - so the initial hour or so required headlamps. It was kinda fun starting out, one dispersed mass of 120 runners and their headlamps, heading up an immediate climb.

At 5 mi in to the event it was light enough out to turn off the headlamp.

Already the crowd had thinned out quite a bit, and for the next bit it was me running in between two small groups of friends. I kept running to catch up and then falling behind because of temperature issues - I had a short sleeve shirt and a thin jacket on, but I found that I was too cold in the shirt (I could have used gloves) and too warm in the jacket. So I kept stopping to take off my vest and jacket over and over.

Right after the Buzzards Rock viewpoint (pic above) was the 2nd aid station at the Hilltop parking area. My friend Carrie was helping out - she also helped at registration - and we chatted for a bit before she reminded me I tend to dawdle at aid stations.

Leaving aid station 2 the course followed Sawmill Branch, turning south along the river to the short rock scramble. I happened to run near a young woman, Aubrey, who told me this was her first 50K. Nice! Kinda tough for a first 50K but I didn't mention that to her.

At the rock scramble I stopped to take a pic and she offered to take one of me:

That's me in my Crazies running shirt, with my jacket wrapped around my waist (still was juggling being too warm/cool but soon enough I was fine in just the shirt), and bib number 7, not 1 - the number folded slightly and at many aid stations I had to correct someone that said "bib number 1, check"!

I made it back to the start area at mi 20/21 with about 30 mins to spare for the 6 hour cutoff. I was feeling tired and wearing down, but my foot felt OK so I continued. Besides, the weather was perfect and I had another 4.5 hours to do the next 10/11 mi, which I was positive I could do. I changed at my car real quick (swapped shorts for the tights, dropped the jacket) and headed out.

The second time doing the big orange trail climb was tough, especially at the top when another runner popped out and asked for directions. I knew he was a mile from finishing and I had another 10 to go. All I wanted to do was finish, no time goal, so I kept on.

Somewhere around mile 25 my slow run turned into a hike/fast walk. In my haste to leave the start area, I forgot to top off my bottles. I was low on water but I knew I could make it to the aid station at mi 27. Right before reaching the aid station, I drained my last bottle but was able to refill it minutes later. I chatted with Laura for a bit before heading out. We both agreed that I could easily do the next 4 mi in just over an hour... which seemed odd and not quite right. While half-walking half-running down the blue trail I realized we both shorted me 1 hour of time - I actually had just over 2 hours to make it. Whew, haha, that would be no problem.

Being familiar with the course had one downside - I knew the trail the race would take to the finish included the orange Ridge trail, one of the tougher ones, especially at mi ~30 of an event. It isn't too bad really, but it is narrow with lots of ups and downs, and popular with mountain bikers. I was tired for this section I don't remember seeing one of my favorite landmarks along it - a large rock in the middle of the trail with an orange blaze mark on it. I nicknamed it "the troll" and I'm sure it is there still, I probably just was a little out of it when I went by.

I was so happy to see the finish line I picked it up slightly and grinned from ear to ear. It was a fun event and I'd like to do it again next year. My Garmin shows 8:50 moving time, 9:09 elapsed, and 32.5 mi.

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/619863526

Rick O'Donnell Trail Run

A sizable number of Patapsco Trail Junkies showed up for the Rick O'Donnell trail run in Greenbrier State Park.

Our group was planning on distances from 2 loops to 6 loops (50K) to however many would fit into 8 hours. I was thinking about 4 or 5, depending on how it was going. I really wanted to do 6 but knew my training wasn't exactly up to supporting that ;) at least, not in an enjoyable fashion. I had run a marathon a few weeks ago but caught a minor flu/cold (thanks a lot, open office floorplan) and fell a bit off my schedule.

This event featured a 5.22 mi loop that runners could either do once, or as many times as they could in 8 hours. The first loop was pretty crowded, but that's because 75% of the runners just did one loop. For loops 2+, it was nearly empty!

I started running with Gretchen, a fellow PTJ member, and I mentioned that I thought it was pretty suspect that a trail could be measured to 2/100 ths of a mile accuracy. That's just... beyond belief. I think there is a deeper symbolism - perhaps Rick O'Donnell, who the race is a memorial for, was born on May 22 or something along those lines.

The initial path led along a paved trail, then over grass, then onto a nice flat single track. I thought to myself, this is going to be fantastic, but then we hit some loose, small rocks. And this terrain dominated the rest of the loop.

The trail wound around, and every turn was very well marked. We hit a few rollers and then a major climb which is obvious from my GPS elevation data. Gretchen and I were together until this point, where she climbed the hill in a faster gear than I climbed the hill. ;)

Soon she was out of sight but that was fine; everybody needs to run their race and I was being careful due to my ankle, and getting over the final few days of being sick.

The trail was well forested, so there never really was a good view of the surrounding area. We circled a lake, but could only see it near the start/stop/aid station. The weather was pretty good, just a bit on the warm side but not too bad, and I just concentrated on footing while running along and enjoying the event.

The single aid station was phenomenal. It had everything: 5 flavors of Pringles, small potatoes, watermelon, Swedish fish, gel and protein bars, salt, gatorade and water, tons of snacks (red licorice, M&Ms, pretzels), quartered PB&J sandwiches, pickles, etc. I mentioned the pickles and a volunteered offered to pour me some of the juice - I've read pickle juice is a great fuel for ultras, but I declined since I've never tried it and figured the middle of an event is not the place to start. People were also cooking burgers for finishers - remember this was a timed event so people could stop whenever they wanted and therefore would want food throughout the event. I should have taken a picture of the tables they set up, I had a mental checklist and everything was there and then some when I scanned over it.

On my loop 3 I caught up to a fellow runner and we chatted a bit - she is in an event I'm signed up for as well that is coming up in November. I also caught up to Chris, who was in PTJ as well but I never met him in person until earlier that morning. I had a burst of energy and eventually pulled away.

At the aid station I had to take a shoe off and remove a small rock, which somehow got in there even though I had my Dirty Girl gaiters on.

Loop 4 was tough. (See Garmin info; I took a lap split at the aid station and I was dragging along on loop 4 compared to loops 1-3). My legs were a bit stiff, and I started stumbling on roots and rocks. I caught myself from falling 2 or 3 times before the big mid-loop climb. About this time I decided I would just do 4 loops since I didn't want to trip and/or pull a muscle catching a fall, all of which seemed more likely since I was getting tired and my calf was stiffening up a bit.

Some of the trickiest terrain was near the end, coming off the red trail onto orange (which fed into the paved trail section leading by the lake). It was downhill with roots and rocks, so I was extra careful. I didn't want to do 19 mi and then twist my ankle right at the end! Fortunately I didn't and when I reached the aid station I told the timer I was going to stop.

After resting for ~30 mins or so, drinking some chocolate milk and munching some food, I made my way up to the parking lot. I was hoping to see some others while waiting there but I decided to go before getting too tired (I drove myself in the morning, since I didn't know how many loops I was going to do).

Later, I was happy to NOT have a headache. Often after a long training run or race, I get home and have a dull headache in the evening. I figured it was due to dehydration but even after drinking tons during a run, I would still get them. After reading and searching, I saw somebody ask this question on the Trail and Ultra Running Facebook group - and the general consensus was: headache due to low electrolytes. Aha, that makes a lot of sense. Up until recently I was using a pack with a reservoir, which I would fill with water. So even with eating/drinking salty stuff at aid stations, I could see getting low on electrolytes. At last week's Dam Half, I tried Nuun tablets in the bottles. Unfortunately I still got a headache but that was likely due to only using 1 tablet per bottle when I should have used 2 (new pack has 20 oz bottles).

For this run, I used 1 scoop of Tailwind in each bottle. The recommended amount is twice that, but I find that much Tailwind concentration gives me a stomach cramp - perhaps this is something to get used to. Anyway, drinking all of both bottles plus having some extra salt at the aid station (Pringles, pretzels, salt on a watermelon slice), and I had no headache. I'll be sure to keep trying various combos of electolyte supplements to nail this issue. For example, next training run I'll try two Nuun tablets per bottle, etc.

Anyway, it went well and I think most of us would be happy to return to the event next year. It was low key and well supported and not too far away. The trail was challenging with one large climb halfway through the loop, an opportunity to work on hiking speed. ;)

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/595955768

Dam Half

My friend Michael talked me into doing this event, largely because the premium was a hoodie. A small group planned to do it, but for various reasons (work conflicts, injuries) it was just Michael and me.

The event was about 60 miles outside Harrisburg, PA, which would have meant a really early wakeup call for a drive up that morning. Or, getting a nearby hotel. Fortunately, our friend Matt's mom lived nearby and let us stay over the night before. Nothing like saving a little money and avoiding a super long day of driving the morning of the event!

We arrived at R. B. Winters park in time to see the marathoners start at 7:00 am. Our race was at 8:00 am so we had plenty of time to pick up our hoodie, bib number, eat a little bit, and gear up.

For me, this was my first event using my new UltraSpire Kinetic pack, which I intend to replace my trusty Nathan with. The Nathan is a great pack, but it is a reservoir/bladder system which has some advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include ease of drinking - the tube is easy to use while running. Meanwhile, the Kinetic holds two bottles, which are harder to get to while on the move. I usually need to slow up to get and replace a bottle.

For that disadvantage, a bottle system has a lot of great advantages. Bottles are easier to top off during an event. Bottles are easier to clean; bottles can also hold different liquids (one plain water, one sports drink - the reservoir can be cleaned but I still don't want to put sports drink into the reservoir). Bottles are easier to leave in drop bags for mid-race replacements. And the big reason I want to switch to bottles - they don't freeze. Last winter, I had the drink tube on my Nathan freeze solid 3-4 times, twice at events, twice on training runs. That's not fun to deal with! What I had to do is redo my outer jacket, putting it over the pack. Eventually, the extra layer helps melts the tube and I can drink again... this takes about 30-45 mins though.

Anyway, Michael and I lined up with about 330 other half marathoners and started off at 8:00 am. It was crowded for the first bit, like most trail events, but this race stayed that way for a solid 5 miles. We ran a small loop past the start, then popped out on a road and went right into a trail - so the usual bottleneck/funnel effect took hold.

The forest was fantastic, and the trail was extra-thin. Trail runners talk about single-track... this was more like half-track. Still, there was good footing and a fair amount of rocks. Michael and I settled into the pace the people around us were running - given the thinness of the trail it was pretty much impossible to pass. To be fair, we were moving along about the pace I'd have run anyway. It just felt a little crowded at times - I like a little more space between me and the runners in front of me and behind me.

The first climb was a line of people stretching out of sight:

We marched up a long time... and as I would find out later, this was the small climb. ;) Now the one drawback was the conga line also walked down the other side - I'm not the fastest descender, but usually I can move a little faster than walking down a hill.

This course was well marked, insanely so. Plus, it was uncomplicated as the basic shape was a rectangle so aside from a few small turns (the F1 racing term "chicane" comes to mind) it was basically run straight for a few miles, take a 90 degree turn and repeat. But the course had ribbons all over the place, even after turns when there was no other trail that forked in to get lost on. Anybody concerned about navigation would be fine here as the only way to get lost was to embark on some serious bushwhacking.

The first aid station was around mile 5, and this was an opportunity to leap frog some people in the race line. We had spread out a little bit by this point, but it is always good to be quick through a station. After grabbing some pretzels, cookies, and a bit to drink, we headed off.

Right after this aid station were two bigger climbs, and a few people were stopping to rest midway. I snapped another pic.

This climb, like the previous one and next one, was straight up and straight down. Literally, there was no switchback or anything, just up and then down. Maybe that's one way to keep mountain bikes and horses off the trails!

The next aid station was mile 8, with 2 climbs since mile 5. At this point the trail widened out into a double track with clear ruts for an occasional truck. It was a gradual uphill through the woods and we walked a bit before picking it up again and running. By this point the field had spread out so no more conga line of runners, which was nice. We ran through more pine forest, by a stream; this section was scenic, peaceful, and relatively easy.

After another road section and aid station (or maybe two, I forget) we walked up a road to the big climb on the event: a hill/trail named "Stairway to Heaven". It was a monster climb, twice as big as the previous ones, straight up with no switchbacks, and at the top there was a small boulder field to cross!

The steepness and length of this climb aren't apparent in the picture. ;)

I needed some careful footing over this section!

Once past the boulders, it was a nice downhill back to the finish. The food spread at the finish included some great barbecue, pizza, and birch beer/root beer/cream soda.

We had a great time - the volunteers were great and the course was scenic and challenging. We're already talking about going back next year for the full, which is sure to be tough.

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/590774574

Gunpowder Keg

Gunpowder Keg is a low key "fat ass" style trail race put on by the Baltimore Road Runners Club (they have a trail race series in addition to lots of road races). The distances for this year's event were 25K and 50K (two loops). Since I needed to get some miles in, I figured why not drive out for this event; it was fun last year with a group, but it would just be me going this time. It cost a $5 donation to the park to enter the race, what a bargain!

It was hot and humid again, kinda weird since the summer wasn't too bad in this area, but we had a heat wave over the last week or two. Normally, the hottest week of the summer is in July or early August, not the first week of September.

Anyway, the race course was similar to last year's event, except it started differently: rather than bottleneck/funnel entering the trail from the parking lot, we ran down a paved path (the same paved path that is the finish), back up an old road, and then into the trail. The great advantage with this is the hill climb naturally spread out the field, avoiding the bottleneck.

I ran with a friend I hadn't seen in two or more years, Kim. In fact, I'm surprised she recognized me. It was fun to chat a bit and hear about other planned events. By the time we hit the first unmanned aid station (2-3 mi in), she dropped back and I pressed ahead.

I saw two women running ahead of me, dressed in matching Charm City Run outfits. Every time I got close to them, I'd slow up and take a picture, so I didn't actually catch up to them until after the 2nd aid station, near the bridge.

This section of the course was scenic, since the trail was right along the water. In fact, almost too close - one bad foot plant and you could also slide right into the river. So I ran carefully, making sure I didn't step into an eroded trail section and kept an eye on rocks.

I chatted with the two women - they asked me if I had done this event before, and I had the previous year. One asked if it was true about the bees, she had a friend that refused to come because of the bees last year.

I told her that was true. Last year, I was running along with a group and somebody ahead jumped on a log in the middle of the trail. Unfortunately, that stirred up a nest of yellowjackets (I'm not an insect expert but I'm pretty sure it wasn't bees) and we wound up running through a minor swarm. Out of 7-8 people running together, everybody got stung once, some more than that. I was stung once right on the kneecap. Later in the race, I was running with another woman when we came up to another nest. We could see them swarming like a cloud right over the trail. At this point, the trail was near the river and the woman looked at the swarm, looked at the river... and jumped in to walk around them. I followed her after thinking about it a few seconds. More stings avoided!

Anyway, I told the two woman this story, and in some unlucky timing, we literally hit a swarm 5 minutes after that, and I was stung on my left thigh. Everyone else was stung as well. Argh!

Later at the aid station at the bridge (the course looped back), I told them the bad news: we hadn't even gotten to the places the yellowjackets were last year. Fortunately, there were no more incidents for the rest of the race.

The route crossed York Rd, where there was another aid station. I chomped down a few snacks, refilled water, and continued. This section of the trail was scenic and shady, but also had some hills. Footing was tricky as the trail wandered close to the river as well.

By around mi 10, I was starting to feel the heat and humidity. There was a shallow stream crossing, and took the opportunity to splash water on myself, dip my hat into the water, and put it on. That kept my head cool for a few minutes and felt really good.

Back at the York Rd aid station, we just had 1 - 1.5 mi left to go. I knew there was a long gradual climb ahead, so it would be some work to get back to the finish. After doing that and getting to the paved trail the race started on, I noticed another modification - our path up was on a new trail that cut the switchbacks.

At the top the race officials/volunteers asked if I was going out for a second loop (i.e. doing the 50K). I probably said no too quickly, and they tore off the timing section of the bib.

I do like this event and the trails are nice. I'm just thinking that visiting in the fall/winter might be better, to avoid stings from yellowjackets.

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/584339501