Frosty 50K Report

We made our way down to the start about 10min before the race began. It was freezing, yet Brad S. was wearing a singlet and Kirby, Sean, and Brad B. were wearing shorts. They were not the only ones dressed like it was 40+ degrees versus the 20ish that it really was... there were quite a few people wearing singlets and shorts only! I have no idea how they were doing it, I couldn't feel my feet nor hands (and I was wearing two pairs of socks and magic gloves... and quite a few more layers). We lined up, the bugle sounded, and the race began.

Kirby and Brad S. took off with the leaders. Sean, Rita, and I ran together for a bit, until Rita pulled ahead of us around mile 2. The first 7 miles of the course were pretty uneventful... there were hills at about 1.5 and 6 miles... the ground was still frozen... the people at the aid stations were cheerful (I just want to go ahead and thank them again because they must have been freezing!). Shortly after mile 7, we hit a "stream crossing". Yes, there was a small stream running across the path. There was no going around it... the rocks in the middle looked slippery and sharp... for a brief moment, I convinced myself that my eyes were playing tricks on me and it was really shallow... no such luck, it was at least ankle deep. Oh well, steeplechase and 50K, that's two races for the price of one!

We came to the first turn-around shortly thereafter. I did like the out-and-back nature of the course because it allowed us to cheer for our teammates... everyone looked good at the "quarter of the way done" point. Then, I saw a snowflake... and then another... and then another. By 10 or so miles (at least for me and by my count), it started really snowing. It was pretty, but the wind had definitely picked up and it felt colder. A while later we saw Kirby, already on the second loop... and he had no shirt on... it made me cold just to look at him! The aid station at the turn-around had a lot of good snacks... like real peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, and pretzels, and M&M's... yummmm. By this time the snow had stopped, but it was still windy and cold.

Back out again for the second lap... more of the same... pretty uneventful. Sean and I got to talking to this one guy who was just out for a run (I never did get his name... but I made a new friend... and he might do the 50K next year!). Saw Brad S., who was looking strong, and Kirby, who had put his shirt back on. Rita was looking chipper, and like she could run another 50K, and Brad B. was still passing people! The stream was just as cold the third time around... and the fourth!

The guy at the turnaround laughed when I sang "3/4 of the way done, 3/4 of the way done, 3/4 of the way done... wahooo!" And yes, I was totally picturing the pie diagrams that they use in math textbooks to explain fractions to little kids... I had decided to make mine funfetti! On and on and on... the hill was definitely more painful this time around. Finally got to the final aid station, where you could kind of see the finish. I figured Brad S. and Kirby were done by now, and I definitely wished I was them. With two miles to go, you could see the finish, which was a very welcome site. There were still quite a few bends left... plus a hill... and finally you turned the corner, and the finish line was right there!

I heard Brad and Sean cheering as I stumbled across the line yelling my number (my fingers weren't working well enough to unzipper my jacket)... and saw Rita shortly thereafter (she had gone to get her car). After a round of "We made it we made it we made it wahooo!", we got some water... and PB&J... and muffins... and M&M's... and, well, you get the point! It was a good race... not half bad... or even a tenth bad... this coming from a person that swore they would never run over 26.2 miles less than 6 weeks ago! CONGRATS EVERYONE!!! #20