Mississippi Trail 50 (50 mile, 50k, and 20k)
Laurel, MS
http://ms50.com/2014/Results/MS50201450Mp.pdf
I've never done a race report, but figured I'd give it a shot since it was such a big achievement for me. So sorry if this drags on too much..I've been wanting to run a 50 miler since I ran my first marathon.. it just amazed me that people could run that far..still does.
This past weekend, 3/1, I completed my first 50 mile race!
I didn’t have a set training plan going into this. I came off a long layoff of running in December (about 4-5 months with very little running, no more than 20mpw). I signed up for a half-marathon the first week of December with very little training. That went well, so I signed up for a marathon second week of January. That went okay, so I signed up for the 50k for this race..giving me 8 wks to prepare. Well, about a month before the race I decided to go to the race trails to see if I could gut it out and run a 50k. Sure enough I did it (5:47), so that night I emailed the race director and asked if I could switch to the 50 miler. Boy, I did not realize what I was getting myself into..My training between the marathon and 50 miler consisted of mostly 50+mpw with a max of 68mpw, with lots of back to back long runs on Saturday and Sunday. Longest run before was a 50k. Luckily, I did not get any overuse injuries during this time. Leading up to the race I felt okay about my training. This race has a 12 hr cutoff, so that was my only goal..finish before 12hrs. I knew I’d be cutting it close.
Course:
Pretty flat for a trail ultra..the 50 mile course had about 1,500-2,000 ft elevation gain. Still more than I’m used to though. The 50 mile course consisted of three laps of a 12.5 mile loop and two laps of a 10k loop. Nothing technical at all, mostly fire roads, pine straw covered trails, fair share of muddy areas, and a good bit of water crossings. My strategy was to try to run each 12.5 mile loop in 2:30 and each 10k loop in 1:30. This would put me at about 10:30 finish time…but like I said my only intention was to finish before 12hrs. My thought was if I could keep to this strategy as long as possible, even if I completely bonked toward the end I could still walk and finish before cutoff.
Night before race:
I showed up to pick up my race packet/race dinner about 30 minutes before they closed up shop. I got a big plate of pasta and sat down to eat. A couple asked if they could sit next to me. We introduced ourselves and the husband started asking me a little of my running background, race strategy, nutrition plan etc. I wish I remembered his name. He was probably mid to late 50s from Louisiana. Him and his wife were working the only aid station on the 10k loop..his wife said, “we better see you twice tomorrow!” I’m terrible with names, but I came to find out later on from another runner that this guy is hardcore..he’s run Mont Blanc, Western States, and several other 100s. I already felt like a huge newb being there, this just added to it. It felt awesome being around runners like this, but I wasn’t sure if I belonged.
Race day:
Race started at 6am. Alarm was set for 4am, but of course I was up at 3am just watching the clock..scared of oversleeping. I went through my drop bag making sure I had everything (extra socks, shoes, gels, ginger candy, S caps, bodyglide, etc). Going into this race my plan was to run very slow, walk all the up hills, take a gel every 30 mins (as long as I could stomach it), take a S cap every hour, drink 22oz of water every 2-4 miles, eat solids early as much as possible at the aid stations. The forecast was high 73 low 52, mostly sunny. All my training had been done in 20 to 50 degree weather, so this made me a little nervous.
Lining up for the race I tried to get near the back. They had the 50 miler and 50k starting at 6am (20k started at 8am) so I knew the 50k runners would be going much faster than I needed. Sure enough as the race started, people were passing me going out fast. I slowly crept to the back. I was amazed at how friendly everyone was during the race. I met several people, probably 20 or so total during the race, most of which were from out of state..which is pretty cool. I ran the first 25 miles and felt great, no problems at all. My third 12.5 mile loop is when it started hurting. At this point in the race, there was no one really near me, maybe the occasional runner every 10 minutes. The 50k runners only had to run 2 big loops, so it was down to mostly 50 milers on the big loop..it was very spaced out at this point in the race. It was getting pretty hot at this point too. The crew chiefs at the aid stations were being very cautious checking on runners when they came through on this third lap. I found out after the race, two people were pulled off the course by an ambulance due to dehydration. I never felt any signs of dehydration. I just kept to my hydration plan, water, S caps, and heed.
At mile 35 I got a burst of energy out of nowhere. I felt pretty good from mile 35 until 37.5 when I got back to the start/finish line. At this point, I finally got to see my family for the first time. They drove down the day of the race, and got lost a few times on the way down. There were probably a hundred runners near the start/finish celebrating their 20k and 50k races. All eating red beans and rice, some drinking beer, laughing, just having a good ole time. I still had to run 12.5 more miles…
My first 10k loop started okay. The aid station on this loop was at mile 2, so you had little over 4 miles to run back to the start/finish. I started my first 10k loop. I ran the first mile, but I was running out of energy fast…I didn’t see one person this first mile. I walked/ran the second mile..the second mile was all pretty much a straight line. You could actually see the aid station from pretty far away. I could see 10 or so runners way out in front of me..all of them walking. So this made me feel a little better. When I got to the aid station, the couple from the night before was there cheering me on! They said I looked great and was making good time to finish before cutoff. I grabbed some oranges, heed, and water and got back to the trails. The next 4 miles were all walk 5 mins, run 5mins.
I finally got back to the start/finish. At this point I really could not imagine going another 6 miles..it just didn’t seem possible. My feet were numb, my calves felt like they had just ripped off of my bones, my shoulders felt like jello from carrying water bottles all day. I filled up my water bottles, grabbed some gummy bears, gave the family hugs, then hit the trails. I was determined to not let myself even think quitting was an option. I had already run 43.7 miles, what’s another 6..even if I had to walk. Well, that’s what I did. I walked the ENTIRE last lap. I literally did not have anything left to run. But I was doing more of a “power walk”, pumping arms and all. I was able to walk at about a 15min. pace. The entire loop I was crunching numbers in my head making sure I could finish before 12 hrs. I started the last lap at about 9:30 race time, so this gave me 2:30 hrs to go 10k. I just kept on walking. I did not let myself think about pain, instead I tried to focus on how big of an achievement this would be for me, on how hard I have worked to get to this point. I thought, “gosh, if I can do this..I can literally do anything I set my mind to.” This entire lap I did not see anyone besides the aid station crew, who was starting to take down the aid station.
I finally got the 2 mile left point, then the 1 mile left point. I tried to wobble/run a little. Then I finally got a glimpse of the finish line. I literally felt like crying, I had so many emotions going through my head at this point. I ran the last 100yrds or so! There were probably 20-30 people at the finish line at this point and they were all cheering my name!
My official finish time is 11:06:26. I got 47th out of 79. There were 160 people signed up for the 50 miler, and only 79 finishers!
Loop 1: 2:18:12 (12.5 miles)
Loop 2: 2:38:48 (25 miles)
Loop 3: 3:00:10 (37.5 miles)
Loop 4: 1:31:06 (43.7 miles)
Loop 5: 1:38:09 (50 miles)
These are the only photos I have at the moment:
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