My son Tyler and I finished our first 50K Ultramarathon together! It was an incredible experience and without question, one of my favorite races ever!
Our race was the WC-50. It took place at the National Whitewater Training Center (http://usnwc.org/) just outside of Charlotte NC. It’s is one of the coolest places I’ve ever been. The facility is beautiful and there is so much to do. I would love to go back and really experience all that it has to offer. It sets out in the middle of nowhere. They have an awesome outfitter store, a great restaurant, huge outdoor beer garden, multiple rock climbing walls and some that are over large pools of water, just in case. You can also rent mountain bikes, climbing gear and kayaks. There are miles of mountain bike trails and running trails. And you can go white water rafting. They’re manmade rapids which are very impressive. It’s where the Olympic kayaking teams train.
This journey started months ago when Tyler said he wanted to do an Ultramarathon. Originally he wanted us to do the 50 miler there. I’m very glad that we adjusted our goal to the 50K. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed the 50 miler as much. So the months of training began. I was very committed and trained very hard. I knew it was going to be in the hills and on trails, so training in Florida was a challenge. I spent a lot of time doing long beach runs in the deep sand just to get my body used to the constant movement on the trails. In addition I did a lot of long runs (3-4 hours) running in the hills off of Skyline Drive in Jensen Beach. For those who don’t know, it’s the only hilly area around here. On one of those 3 hour runs, I spent the entire time in a torrential down-poor, soaking wet and running through deep puddles. I did long runs where I would start on the beach for an hour, run over the bridge to Skyline Drive and run the hills for an hour then run up the road to the trails and run an hour. It seemed like every run was in the 90’s with 90 percent humidity, except the rainy day. Because I had no idea how easy or hard the trail system would be in NC, Coach Carolyn suggested I make every run hard and stay off of the flat roads as much as possible. I still did some long road miles as well. But it was not my focus. After months of training, the day was almost here.
Carolyn found us a really nice Airbnb, a great townhome on a beautiful lake and only about 15 minutes from the Whitewater Training Center. We drove up on Thursday and our son Tyler, his wife Mackenzie and our granddaughter Hazel met us at the house. They live in Carrboro NC which is just a couple hours east of Charlotte. We hadn’t seen them since June, so it was really nice getting together again. Friday we drove over the training center to check it out and pick up our packets. After checking out the place and picking up our stuff, we walked over to the trail head. Tyler and I scooted into the woods and took off on a little run. Tyler had been training in the trails over by him so he was probably better suited for this area. We felt really good on the trails though. At that moment my confidence level improved greatly. I knew then that I could get this done. That evening was spent getting our gear all situated and having a nice dinner.
Tyler and I were up at 3:30. The plan was for him and me to head over before the girls, so they wouldn’t have to wake Hazel up so early. We didn’t feel like them being at the start was as important as them crewing us or being at the finish. I was a little nervous, but I’m a little nervous at the start of every race. So we were all set, had our gear all checked and ready to get this thing started. There was a lot of energy, it felt really good. Our race started at 6:00am, and we were off. The course was 3, 10ish mile loops. The first couple of hours we spent in the dark maneuvering through some pretty rugged trails. Sometimes it was hard to know if you were going up a hill or down. We had headlamps, but in the pitch black, it’s difficult to get your bearings. Both of us were feeling really good. The trails were single track mountain bike trails. So there were a lot of deep ruts and a lot of exposed roots. The route took us up some pretty big hills with a lot of switch backs, then down the other side with more switch backs. We were having a good time though. As we were finishing up the first loop we could see Carolyn, Mackenzie and Hazel waiting for us. We took a short break, refilled our hydration vests, got some more nutrition, made sure we were both feeling good and took off again. Tyler and I had said to each other “if we can get through loop 1 and into loop 2, we know we can finish.”
Loop 2, here we go. We were still feeling really good. We kept checking in with each other and we were both doing great. Definitely a slower pace than either of us had anticipated. But we were ok with that. Our goal was to finish and not get hurt. I took a few good stumbles when my toe would catch a root that you couldn’t see. I was very excited that I was feeling so good and my body was holding up just fine. The weather was on our side also. Temperatures were in the low 70’s and not much humidity and overcast. I had hoped that all of the training in the extreme heat and humidity would somehow help and it was. As we finished up loop 2 the sun came out but for me, the temperature was still fine, I felt great. It was nice seeing our awesome crew waiting to greet us and help us restock.
Loop 3 was upon us, let’s get this done! I had hoped that the miles would click by a little quicker on loop 3, but they didn’t. We both were still feeling pretty good. My IT bands were hurting but overall, good. The canopy of the forest was thick which made for some good shade. The only problem was, as the light beams came through, it made it difficult to see anything amongst the leaves. So I took a pretty big fall as my toe caught a root. I kept stumbling, which at this point was pissing me off and taking a lot of energy. Every stumble took so much out of me just to stay upright. I just couldn’t see the little roots poking up through the leaves. Because of the switch backs, you had to pass one aid station at mile 7 and run another half mile before you circled back by it. As we were passing by that aid station, one of the volunteers said “You guys gotta really hump it! This station closes in 4 minutes so get moving!” So we ran as hard as we could to get to that aid station. We made it on time and were able to fuel up and restock. At that point they said, “You gotta get out here because the next aid station is closing and it’s 4 miles away!” We took off from their scratching our heads wondering what the urgency was to get there at a certain time. Now we started wondering if there was a cutoff time for the aid stations. If we didn’t make it, would we be disqualified? We knew they were writing down bib numbers and we saw them turn one runner away at the last stop because he didn’t make it. Now we’re getting worried. Tyler didn’t think he could make the stop in time and told me to go for it. I took off running as hard as I could. My goal was to make the cut off and plead our case and convince them Tyler was right behind me. By this time everyone at the stations knows you because it’s your third pass. On one of the switch backs at the top of a hill, I see Tyler. I’m only about a half mile from the aid station, but he’s technically about a mile behind me because he has to go back down the hill and back up again. He says he’s out of water and is going to walk it in. I offered up my water and he decides to stick it out and finish, even if he gets disqualified. I felt so bad for him. The thought of him coming so far and not getting a medal was tough to think about. We parted and both took off our separate directions. I only had about a mile to the finish. The aid station was gone, they had packed up and left a pile of ice behind. One of the runners we had passed was doing the 50 miler and decided to drop out with only 5 miles to go. He said it was his 4th attempt and it was his 40th birthday. He had never been able to make it past mile 45. He offered up his extra water which I gladly took, thanked him, wished him a happy birthday and ran on.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I came into the finish area. But I was greeted with a bunch of people cheering me on. I could see Carolyn, Mackenzie and Hazel down at the finish arch. As I ran through the finish, a medal was placed around my neck. I had finished and no disqualification! It was an incredibly happy moment. I told Mackenzie and Carolyn about Tyler and that he thinks he’s disqualified. They ran out with Hazel and waited for him so they could tell him he was still in it. I went up to the beer garden and collected my free beer, best beer ever, and looked out across the field to look for Tyler. Shortly after, I could see him. Mackenzie, Hazel and Carolyn came running back to the finish so we could cheer him on together. He came through the finish area with a bunch of cheers and finished strong and a medal was placed around his neck! I was incredibly proud of him for finishing. We hugged, took some finisher photos, laughed about all of the chaffing and hobbled away with our medals draped around our necks.
This race was the best race experiences of my life. All of the ultramarathon runners I had met prior, kept telling me it was all in my head.I had a lot of concerns going into it, only because I didn’t know if the training I had done was good enough to get me to the finish. Fortunately I felt well trained and my body held up just fine. I actually felt better trained for this than any race I’ve done in the past. So the hard work paid off and I would do it again. I will do another one in the future and hopefully I’ll have the chance to run with Tyler. If you’re considering doing one, pick a great venue because that made a big difference, it was beautiful. Train hard and most important, have fun.
Stay safe, happy and healthy, we’ll see you out there!
Edgar
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