Tag: 50 miler

Good Sandwiches Bad

Guess it is time to get this recent race recollection post out of the way. In my ultra career I have definitely had my ups and my downs. Some races have just been a struggle to make it to the starting lines and others just seemed to go smoothly from start to finish. This is likely the nature of the beast so to speak as this is one of those hobbies that takes a significant amount of commitment long before the race actually begins and that is just the event elements, throw in the rest of life and things get tricky. My recent 50 mile ultra run at Farmdale falls into the struggle category and one riddled with bad luck.

Farmdale 50 mile Trail Run October 2024

For the summary, I’ve said two things went right the entire race. One is I managed to get up on time (5:00am start time) and secondly, I did manage to successfully cross the finish line – everything else in between was a study in suffering and Murphy’s Law. If you really want the details, feel free to hit the jump. Note, if you are considering getting into ultra-running, I’d recommend not letting yourself be tainted by this particular experience ha.

Continue reading Good Sandwiches Bad

The Pain Cave Taj Mahal

Well, crap, I might as well get this post out of the way while I’m lying here still trying to recover. A little over a week ago, I embarked on my 2nd attempt at the 100K ultra distance. This was billed as the redemption year having failed to get this distance checked off last October (link here). For a year that bitter pill hung in my throat and was right there every time I thought about missing a training run or even cutting one short. I knew I needed to be better prepared and more importantly, a better strategy to keep from losing my feet per the last experience.

Farmdale Trail Run 50M 2023

I know some of you are just curious about the results, so I’ll go ahead and reveal that and get you back on the road. Results: same place, same event, same disappointing results. Once again, fought my way through 50 miles for my third buckle in three years, but opted out of the bonus loop to officially reach the 100K goal. For those of you who want the tortured details, feel free to hit the jump, the rest – see you again next year, same place, same event and hopefully better results!

Continue reading The Pain Cave Taj Mahal

Tuck It or Man Up

I’ve been posting a lot about checking items off of a list lately, but today’s post is not about birds. Nope, we are going to cover another one of my precious lists – this time it is another notch on the life list. I was a bit tardy on my last notch thanks to the dreaded Heat Miser inflicting a heavy toll. The goal was to get the 50K trail ultra prior to my retirement – a gift to myself, if you will, while I still had full medical coverage ha! You already know how that first attempt went (link here). Add in the pandemic and it took two years to wipe that blemish off my record. Missed the time goal, but at least got it crossed off. That brings us to the other running entry on the life list – the 50 miler by 55. With everything shifted a year thanks to the worldwide shutdown it was getting pretty tight – it was this year or be late AGAIN.

Farmdale Ultra Marathon 50 Mile Trail Run, East Peoria, IL on October 9th, 2021

Opted to go with the Farmdale Ultra again – same place where I ended up getting my first 50K out of the way (link here). The cool October weather takes most of the heat concern out of the equation and I knew (well I thought I knew) the route like the back of my hand. By the way, the irony isn’t lost as I make a post on a run now sponsored by a running organization that goes by “No One Cares You Run Ultras”.

Farmdale Ultra Marathon 50 Mile Trail Run, East Peoria, IL on October 9th, 2021

Hit the jump to see how this latest life list endeavor turned out!

Continue reading Tuck It or Man Up