We all quit x100 mentally and yet we find the will to press on ...

This would be my second 50-mile trail run, the first being the Mohican 50-miler last year where I almost bailed, mentally quit 100 times over, overcame challenges after challenge and yet placed overall in 9:28. I continue to have this idea that I can complete a 100-mile trail race but Ultra Endurance running ... it's just plain brutal on the body, much more so than mountain biking in this guy's humble opinion. Just try to coast downhill while running, I dare you. Nah, I triple dog dare you!! So naturally, this year I decided I would put not only one 50-mile trail race but make this a build year for trail running with the Burning River 50-mile race and then follow that up with a 100k trail race sometime after the Marji Gesik 100 in the fall.

The Burning River 100 & 50-mile race has been taking place in my backyard playground for 13 years. I chose this particular race because it is logistically simple for Angie to support me, the timing is such that I had time to ramp up my trail running, and of course, I am extremely familiar with trails that this race passes through. The race continues to grow and I believe they had record number participants for every race category, the 100-mile, the 50-mile, and the team relays. Racing the 50-mile distance one can choose between racing the front 50-miles or the back-50 miles so to add some experience to my bag'O tricks I decided to race the back 50-miles. The back 50-mile race starts at 6pm and the sun sets at 8:48pm, so that means I had to figure out the logistics of running at night. I did a few night runs and a few very early morning runs to acclimate and test some equipment. The headlamp I chose is the Petzl 350 lumens Core. The Core means it has a long-lasting lithium battery pack that will provide 7-hours in standard mode and 2-hours at max power. I checked out the light at one of my favorite LRS (Local Running Shop), Vertical Runner in Hudson, OH.  A few days later I also ended up having to purchase a new pair of running shoes, one week prior to the race, due to a couple of holes beginning to blow out the toebox of both left and right shoes. I have about 700-miles in these particular shows, 2019 Brooks Caldera, so I decided to also replace these shoes and not take the chance of having a major blowout during the race. Vertical Runner staff is super helpful and fortunately for me, they had everything in stock. Love these folks!!

Found something to do to occupy my mind. TdF for the Win!!

With my equipment set, the training put in (coach had me do some two-a-day runs ... ouch), my aid station bags loaded, my anal-retentive spreadsheet ... spreadsheet'd, I was all set to go. Here's the thing, the race started at 6pm ... so what the heck does one do with oneself all day long ... waiting ... so much waiting ... for the race start. Naturally, I did a handful of Googly searching and figured out that 1) I should reverse my meals leading up to the race meaning eat heavier in the morning and lighter as the day progresses and 2) don't just sit or lay around all day because you will hit the start line tired and lethargic.  I followed what I read but these two things lived rent-free in my head all Saturday before we left the house at 4:30pm to head to the race. I was texting friends, FaceBook messaging friends, and generally complaining and moaning all day long to my wife and anyone that would give me the time of day.

Race Course - Point to Point
Course: From Silver Springs Park to HiHo Brewery in Cuyahoga Falls
Elevation: ~4,000ft
Terrain: Mix of pavement, Towpath (crushed limestone), and mostly single track running trails
Aid Stations: 10 in total with four allowing Crew Access and one Drop Bag location

We arrived at 5pm and the parking was easy peasy, more so than we had thought it would be. Got parked, sprayed down with Tick and Bug spray, met up with my good friend Craig Spencer, also running the back 50-mile race, and his parents as we made our mile-long pilgrimage to the start line. The location was at Siler Springs park, a place I am familiar with from my days of cyclocross racing as this is where we would come to practice skills, techniques, and hold some race simulations. A very cool scene with runners coming in either finishing they relay leg, finishing the front 50-mile race, or making the turn-around for the 100-mile race. Many many familiar faces and good friends that I have seen in the past week on training runs and some that I have not seen in quite some time. Bob Liggett (this guy is awesome but I missed my opportunity to get a hug from him like I did during the Buckeye 50k last year!!), Helen and Gabriel Rodriguez were there helping out with the aid station. Craig's sister, Allison, was there, also a great trail runner and racer along with another great friend Dominic and his wife Angie. Both incredibly awesome friends. A few recent acquaintances from some a local running group that I hooked up with, such as Nick and Anthony, both phenomenal runners!!

Customized nameplates so naturally, went with the Team name.

I did my usual dynamic leg stretches and 8-minute easy warm-up to get the legs moving and then we all lined up at 6pm for the start. The National Anthem was sung while the flag was held by a veteran from the Air Force annnnnnd ... Take Your Mark, Get Set, GO!! There was a fairly small group of roughly 56 racers and I jumped to the front group with little effort and stuck with that group as we meandered our way along a grassy path and onto the paved bike and hike trail for the next 7-miles. I am not a fan of running pavement, ever, but I was happy that we would get the majority of the pavement running out of the way at the start. My legs felt extremely good and I trotted along with the front group maintaining a low Z2 HR and a cadence in the low 180s. Had some good conversation with the other 5-6 runners in our group, joking, and talking about the music the one runner was pumping out through his backpack. Normally this would bug the crap out of me, but for some reason, we all had a chill pace and the music was soothing. I kept my pace and after a few miles found myself running alone at the front of the race. This never happens for me, so I just went with it and enjoyed the solitude. My HR was coming up into Z3/4 so I tried hard to keep an eye on that and wanted to get it back down into Z2, that really didn't happen but I never felt like I was breathing all that heavy. The temps were up in the 80's at the start but also that the temps would come back down once the sun went down. Along the bike and hike, I got a chance to chat with a couple of running friends, Christen and JoNathan. Christan was doing her first 100 and JoNathan was pacing her and completed the Canal Corridor 100 just one week prior to this race. Impressive runners for sure and way out of my league. Had a good laugh because JoNathan was yelling at me to "Go for the Win!!". I knew full well that I would not be winning a 50-mile race, but I was very happy with my current pace and how the legs were quite happy chugging along. About 6.5 miles in I reached the first aid station, asked if I was required to stop at which I was told "nope" and I proceeded to finish the final 1/2 mile to FINALLY make my way to some dirt. Yippee!! My goal was to hit the dirt at under an hour and I nailed that goal by a few minutes. Super happy with that!

I "think" the issue is with the Vastus Medialus. #shrug

Unfortunately, and what continues to elude me, is that when I do these longer races sometimes I get this very odd pain in either my right or left quad and today was no different. It is a searing pain that worsens on descents. The same thing happened at the Mohican 50-mile race last year and that was the first time I ever experienced this pain. I do not know if this is just a weird form of cramping or some other issue. Regardless, I fought with this pain all the way to mile 16.8 when it really slowed up my pace and really had taken hold as my good friend Eric (looooooooong time friend and frankly one heck of a great guy!!) met me at a couple spots along the course. It was great seeing a familiar face but I was hurting so much at that point that I was likely not the most pleasant person to be around. The pain had slowed me up so much that one of the runners from the original pack of 5-6 caught me. Meh. We chatted for a bit, he was a super nice guy, and I found out that he was 27 or 28 years of age. I made it a point to tell him that I have 20+ years on him at which point some other runners who heard my comment informed me that age doesn't matter. While I generally agree with such a comment, 20-years is 20-years and he was running VERY strong. I was already content with 2nd place IF I could even hold onto that position. The runner informed me that he had not seen anyone from the original front group since mile six but I know full well that you just never know and you NEVER count out other racers. My plan was to keep moving and try to figure out how to rid myself of this pain I was experiencing.

Met up with Angie, Jess (holy crap my daughter came out to support me?!! THAT'S AWESOME!!) and my buddy Eric at the first Crew Access aid station at Pine Hollow, 16.8 miles into the race. Grabbed a new bottle, my Petzl headlamp, stopped at the aid station table of various food options (mmmm ... watermelon!!) and took off. As I wrapped around the corner Angie, Jess, and Eric had walked around the other side and saw me off with Angie making sure I had everything I needed and was ok to continue you. She's my rock ... so much more during these gnarly long trail races. As I made my way around the runner that has passed me, figure out his name is Jack, yelled out a "Good Luck" and "See you out there!" Good guy for sure and very much enjoyed our back and forth yo-yoing that we did throughout the entire race. The next time I would see my BFF (Angie in case you were unsure) would be at mile 29 at the Drop Bag location of Oak Hill and a sanctioned Crew Access point. That was my next big target, mentally, because if I could make it to that distance then all I had left would be 21-22 miles to complete the race. Funny how 21-22 miles seems totally feasible as the run mileage increases. I used to think a 10k was difficult. Perspective I suppose. Between then and now, there were two more aid stations so I should be good on fluids and food options.

Always fun food options at Trail Races!!

<Tangent> Speaking of the food options at ultra-distance trail races, especially when you get into the 50+ mile range, it is just amaze-balls!! Sweet potatoes, chips, pickles, pickle juice, watermelon, espresso, pizza, pierogies, cookies, PB&Js, carmelized bananas w/ Nutella, (or just a spoon full of Nutella if you want), various gels, chicken & ramen noodles, Tailwind (which I don't use but tasted it and it's it was pretty good), water, bananas, grapes, oranges, ... and the list goes on. I partook in whatever struck me as looking good and that changed throughout the race. I was using my own custom Infint Nutrition mix (LOVE THESE FOLKS!!!!) along with some gels that I like to have on-hand, but I definitely had some sweet potatoes, cookies, pickles, lots of watermelons, potato chips ... and healthy (or not so healthy) doses of Coke (aka CRACK).
</Tangent>

Along the way, on the Wetmore trail, which was actually the dryest I have ever seen it, I was humming along with my headlamp on blazing up and down the trail, passing walkers, rocking the climbs and generally feeling like I was working my way through whatever that pain had been going on in my left quad when wouldn't you know it this runner came out of nowhere, stuck his leg out in front of me and I hit the deck, HARD, only to land on my one bottle of fluid thus exploding the cap off the top and spraying the contents of my beloved Infint Nutrition all over the trail and all over me. Son of a B****!! Ok ... perhaps I exaggerated that a hair ... as in ... there was no runner that stuck his legs out in front of me ... I just simply tripped on a root cuz ... that sh** happens when running in the dark and you are acclimating to the darkness. The whole bit about the bottle though ... truth. I was 2.5 miles away from the next aid station but definitely parched and I certainly did NOT need this to happen for multiple reasons. Pissed, yelling some colorful metaphors, and just generally angry with myself ... I brushed off the dirt/mud from my hands (cuz while the trail was dry when you mix dirt and water ... well ... you know what happens), put the lid back onto the now empty bottle, and got moving. No sense crying over spilled Infinit (see what I did there).

I reached the Robinson aid station at the bottom of Langes Run trail, filled up my hand bottle with water, snagged a pickle and some pickle juice, and was ready to get back at it. Of course, while I was there I heard one of the volunteers call out to a runner if they needed anything as they were passing the aid station in a distance. The familiar-sounding voice was Jack, the runner that I had been yo-yo-ing with and now the 1st place runner said he was fine and would be heading to the next aid station. Well ... I knew that was coming but had I not dumped my bottle contents I likely would have passed up this aid station. Meh. I also decided to do something that I never do and that was to grab a couple of Endurolytes. My thinking was that perhaps the pain I was experiencing with the left quad, that had mostly subsided, was some form of cramping along with the fact that I was feeling parched and likely hitting a point of dehydration so I wanted to try and control any potential future cramping. This came with a minor amount of bloating but soon wore off within the next 15-20 minutes.

Not my shoes, but I did have new shoes. Meh.

The next section was flat, mostly Towpath and Valley Bridle trails, and led to the bottom of the Plateau trail picnic area, a trail that I have run many times and was know quite well ... at least in the daylight. Much like mountain biking trails at night, running trails, even ones that you run all the time, just look different at night. A whole new trail and experience. The Valley Bridle trail, at least the section I had run the week leading up to the race, was dry but I had not run the entire section. My anticipation was that the trail would be bone dry ... that would be a negative. There was a good length of sloppy, sludge-like ... let's call it mud ... because we all know what is usually found on bridle trails and I care not to think about what I need to now wash off my running shoes. I was mentally struggling already with just wanting to get to the Drop Bag aid station at mile marker 29, so hitting this was not a welcome experience. Yes, I know ... its trail running and I need to just simply enjoy the experience, take anything that is thrown at me, and get through it. Just wasn't happy to be packing my shoes up with mud and having to slow down my pace. Once I made it through the bog of despair I got to a short road section that leads to my favorite farmers market, Szalay's, where I knew there was a water purifier they had recently added just outside of some bathrooms. I would not have needed to stop so soon, however that little mishap I had with my bottle apparently damaged the bottle so now with every stride I was slowly leaking the fluid out of the bottle. Craptastic. Decided to stop and fill the bottle back up, good thing I know the area, and proceeded to hit the Towpath that led to the next aid station. Along the way, I heard a rather loud and obnoxious radio blaring on what I had perceived to be a motorized vehicle due to its on-coming velocity only to find out it was a cyclist playing their radio. He kindly called out that he was Passing On The Left, and flew passed me. It got me to thinking that I had forgotten how fun night riding on the Towpath can be on these warm summer evenings. I am going to have to do that soon. It really is a blast, minus the blaring radio because honestly I just don't care to listen to other's people's music.

We ran the outer most Plateau Trail.

After only a few miles of Towpath running, and a bit of walking to rest the legs, I got my way to the next aid station at the Valley Picnic TH, filled my bottle up with water since it had mostly either leaked out or thru my drinking the fluid, grabbed a few small bites to eat, and headed on up the gravel climb that leads to the Plateau trail and the 29-mile marker where my wife and drop bag would be situated. Other than the initial climb, the Plateau trail is fairly flat-ish with some small rollers. The trail ebbs & flows with some straight sections through pine trees, one of my favorite sections, to the passing of a couple different small ponds along the way. Passed quite a few runners on this trail and of course, I always cheer them on and provide some encouragement, especially for those with the yellow race bib because those folks are the 100-milers. #respect It was a mear 4.5 miles from aid station to aid station so I knew this section would not take too long to cover and eventually I made it to the drop bag location where my wife and daughter (much to my surprise) were waiting for me with my bags in hand. Angie could tell I was frustrated, tired, a hot mess, and at one point I told her I was done and ready to drop out. My leg was still bothering me, although not at bad as it had been when the pain first came on, and my IT Band on my left leg was beginning to moan a bit and give me some grief and concern that it could crop up to be a full-on battle thus forcing me to walk the remaining 22-ish miles .... definitely NOT something I was willing to do just to finish a race. I came to run ... not walk. Angie already had my bottle ready to go, and I dug through the bags for any other items I wanted to carry with me. My head was all over the place and it showed thru my body language and facial expressions. I stopped over by the food that the aid station was offering and ... YES ... they had some sweet potatoes and also these great looking oatmeal cookies and chocolate chip cookies. I saw a half chocolate chip cookie and snagged that thinking, well ... it's just a half so that should be fine as far as calories. LOL ... then I looked back at the oatmeal cookies and was like ... screw it ... I'm hungry and I want that damn cookie ... so I grabbed it, proceeded to eat it, dropped part of it on the ground ... yup ... picked it back up off the ground and polished it off. Tasted darn good!! I managed a smile, a kiss to my wife, and a thank you to my daughter and the volunteers before heading up the gravel road, which leads to a short paved road section, and then back onto blissful trails (Furnace Run trail leading to the CVNP covered bridge).

At this point, I was 29-miles into the race and this was a HUGE mental win for me! I have run the next few sections time and time again so I was fully aware of what I was in for, where I could push, and where I would need to be patient and take my time on some of the descents in order to preserve my body and allow me to have some strength for the final miles. Over the next few miles, I would pass runners and get passed by runners. From here on in is where I would see runners coming up from behind and my first thought was always ... crap ... there goes another position because I just don't have the strength to fight them off at this point. I was fully prepared, and mentally ok, with stronger back-50 mile racers to pass me. Funny thing is that none of the racers that passed me were back-50 racers. They were all Relay racers and that was clear because they were required to wear a bib on the back of their shirts that said "Relay". What was super motivating and encouraging for me is that I was able to minimize the length of time that the relay racers would get passed me because on more than a few occasions I was able to regain my position ahead of them, usually when the trail turned up. I wasn't taxing myself to prove a point either, I was simply maintaining the pace that was comfortable for me and I am very comfortable climbing and on the flats. The descents are where I had to be careful and slow down such that I did not piss-off my IT Band discomfort or have that gnarly quadricep pain take control of me again like it had early on in the race. At one point during this section, I was literally one mile from my home and while I had that thought pass through my brain ... I never once considered bailing. No way, no how.

Notice where Towpath Village is located. So close to home ...

I proceeded to follow the arrows onto the all-to-familiar climb up the Buckeye Trail to O'Neil Woods TH which I probably run 2-3 times every couple of weeks. I love these trails and have become so familiar with them I probably could have turned off my headlamp and run blindfolded. I know all the roots, the rocks, the climbs, the descents, the twists, and turns ... yup ... pretty much my backyard. Along the way, I crossed paths with Jack again. Somehow I caught him along the trails and so we chatted a bit at how we were both on cruise control at this point, 35-36-miles into the race, and just wanted to finish strong and not crawling on our hands and knees begging for mercy. We popped out onto a paved road and Jack gapped me by maybe 500 ft and we remained that way until the next aid station at the Botzum TH. As I approached the aid station I saw my wife and daughter ready to hand me my next bottle of fluid but ... no Jack. My assumption is that he simply ran through the aid station and kept on motoring. He's a strong runner, no doubt about it. Chatted with my wife as she asked how my IT Band and legs were feeling in general, to which I replied ... not horrible but I need to keep moving and not stop too long. Grabbed some tasty goodies from the aid station, thanked the volunteers, and I was off onto the Towpath for roughly 3-miles before headed back onto the single track heading towards the Nature Realm and Sandrun Parkway trails.

At this point, I knew I was not going to see Jack again but that honestly did not concern me one bit. I was feeling pretty good, moving well, running the trails well, and wanted to focus on nothing else. Other than perhaps what goodies I would get to get after running 50-miles. Cuz ... you know ... I LOVE pizza and meatball subs but only ever allow myself to indulge after big efforts. The buckeye trail turns into some well-groomed Nature Realm trails, I believe Seneca Trail, before heading back onto Mingo trail (one of my favorites) and then Dogwood Trail. I know there was an aid station along the way on the Dogwood Trail, but I honestly do not recall much about it. Most likely due to just being tired because the volunteers were simply awesome at EVERY SINGLE aid station.  Along the way, I had caught another runner, doing the relay race, as the trail has some rather punchy climbs through these sections and those were good opportunities to get a mental break and chat a bit. We both found a comfortable pace running the flatter sections and walking some of the steeper pitches. I started to feel better so began to run the climbs and found myself passing her when she called out for me to go ahead and carry on. She seemed to be doing well and happy to carry on at her own pace and at that point in the race that is exactly how I felt as well. I needed to manage any discomfort I was experiencing and go at a pace that felt best to me. Crossing over Portage Path road I knew of the climbing involved in the first mile or so of the Parcours Trail, so was fully prepared for some walking up the climbs. Honestly surprised myself at how much of those climbs I actually ran, albeit slowly, so I made quick work of this section before descending back down to cross over Merriman road and begin another Towpath grind to the Merriman aid station. I ran this section for the most part but definitely found myself walking on and off. Mentally I was tired, I mean ... it was around 2am Sunday at this point (best guess) and I had been running since 6pm Saturday. Not something I do on a regular basis. LOL

As I jogged my way over to the Merrima aid station I saw, yet again, my wife and daughter waiting for me. This would be the last Crew Access location where I would see them before reaching the finish line. Man .. I had to say that mentally this was huge for me. Angie handed me my last bottle, I snagged something tasty, can't recall what, from the aid station, told Angie and Jess that I would see them in a bit at the finish and oh ... this will probably take me over an hour to finish the last few miles so ... don't expect me to blast through this section. Ha! Funny thing is that I left that aid station around 8:35 hours into the race and I finished in 9:19 ... so ... I guess I did much better than anticipated. Cool.

Ok, they seemed much more daunting at 47-ish miles.

Headed out onto a mile or so of road running and headed back into some trails that I have never run before in the Cascade Park (the Chuckery Trail) and Gorge Metropark (the Highbridge Trail). Very cool trails and ... WHAT THE FRACK?!?! Who placed these super steep monstrous stairs in the middle of the trails!! Actually, the stairs were pretty cool but climbing them was more painful than I thought they would be when I initially saw them. Made me quickly realize just how torched my legs actually were at the moment and if I had been attempting 100-miles ... cripes!! God Bless all those 100-milers for sure. After tackling the stairs, I believe I was then running through the Gorge Metroparks and all I recall was hearing this beautiful sound of rushing water and what I can only assume to be very cool waterfalls. I couldn't see anything other than where my headlamp was directed but the sound was just amazing. I really need to go back and run those trails because in looking at a map there are more trails to be explored in that area. The trail turns into what feels like a service road that follows some power lines before dumping out onto Front Street for the final stretch to HiHo Brewery where the finish line lay ahead. I ran and walked the climb and was pleasantly surprised by my buddy Eric that met me near the top of the climb for the final half-mile stretch to the finish line. That was very cool for him to run the finish with me!!

My finish time was 9:19:44 which means it was 3:19am Sunday morning. As I ran across the finish line, the volunteer handing out medals grabbed a 100-mile finisher medal and said "Congratulations!! Great job on a sub-24 hour finish!!" and I was like ... ummm ... thanks but nope. I am a back 50-mile finished, so that took a little wind out of my sail. Of course, he quickly followed that up with "Well then ... "Well, then an even bigger congratulations because you are the first back-50-mile finisher!!". To which I responded, "Say what?!! There is no way I beat Jack, the guy that had been yo-yoing with the entire race". The volunteer confirmed it, I won the back-50-mile race.

HOLY CRAP!!

It wasn't until all of the results were posted that I believe I passed Jack at the Botzum aid station where he likely took a bit of a longer break before the final push to the end. His pacing was still very strong and the last section, between timing strips, was only a difference of 1-minute where I was 1-minute faster. Additionally, what stood out to me in my results was my pacing between the timing strips. The first timing strip showed the fact that there were 7-miles of flat pavement followed by some smooth trails to start the race @ an 8:50 pace. The second timing strip showed where I really struggled with pacing when I was dealing with the left-quad pain, which I believe was my Vascular Medialis acting up (already have an appt. with my favorite PT to check things out at Ohio Sports Chiropractic) @ an 11:52 pace. As I began to work through the pain and it began to subside, you can see my pace beginning to pick-up at the third timing strip with an 11:32/mile pace. Finally, from the third timing strip to the finish line my pace continued to pick up at an 11:04 pace. This could be a combination of things like some flatter sections on the Towpath and when closing in on the finish line, however in and out of the Sandrun Metroparks there are quite a few steep climbs, so it definitely was not nearly as flat as the start of the race and we are late into the miles at that point. All that to say that I think it is quite a positive thing that I was able to regain composure after the quad-pain, figure things out, and motor on to the finish line.

What did I learn through this experience? Well, my goal is ALWAYS to just finish, so with that:

• Goal #1 (finish) - Done and dusted!

• Goal #2 (experience night running) - If I take on a 100-mile or even a 100k trail race, then I had better expect to run in the dark. At first, I didn't enjoy it at all, I would say for the first couple of hours. All I was doing was focusing on the light beam ahead of me but I enjoy looking at the surrounding area while running. What I did forget about were all of the wonderful sounds around me so I turned down the music and began to listen to the nighttime wildlife and just take it all in. THAT is when the nighttime running got fun! In the end, I really enjoyed night running, I just needed to "look" at it with a different perspective. I would say I figured it out and achieved this goal.

• Goal #3 (have fun) - THis is always a goal an while there are certainly times when I hit a mental low, between miles 20-29, I figured things out, stopped any negative thinking, and just enjoyed the run. Mostly it was after I managed to work through the quad-pain and understood how to manage it.

For me, I think that last point is key for these races and likely and race but more so for trail running. There are going to be these "ghost pains" that crop up now and then. Hopefully, they do not show their ugly head, but when they do it is all about how you deal with and manage the pain or whatever the issue is that crops up. I could have stopped when the pain initially came on. I could have succumbed to the pain and said this is too much, this is stupid, I give up. Now, there will likely be times when that is the smart thing to do, when you cannot figure it out, or when there truly is a problem, but you have to be willing to think through it and make sure you have tried everything you have. You never want to push through pains or issues that will put your health at risk or put yourself in danger, that is for sure, but it is amazing at how the body can rally for you when you just slow down, maybe take an Endurolyte pill or an IB Profin, and think about what the problem could be. To be perfectly transparent, I was VERY close to throwing in the towel. The quad-pain was absolutely searing!! However, when I slowed down on the descents, figured out I could run the flats and climbs, and then took a couple IB Profin and a couple Endurolytes and gave it time, I managed to figure it out, complete the race, and incredibly win the race!! What you will NOT see in my list of goals is "to win the race" or to place top-5 or top-10. Absolutely I am excited about winning, BUT winning is NEVER my goal. Perhaps that is not the right mindset, but I just enjoy the long-haul and these really big challenges. That is where I get my enjoyment from and of course sharing the experience with like-minded folks out on the trail, with my family, and with my friends.

Finish line pic w/ my family and peeps!!

Now for the true heroes!! First and foremost, to our good, gracious, and merciful Lord. Without, Jesus by my side every step of the way I could NEVER do what He gives me the strength to do. My family and I are extremely blessed to live the lives that we live and I will never be able to thank Him enough and all I can do is to give back, be a guiding light for Him, pray, and continue to show my love for Him.

My wife for being the rock by my side, placed there by God himself, with her never-ending love, guidance, incredible humor, respect, and relentless support in these adventures I take on year-in and year-out. None of this and I mean absolutely none of this would be possible w/o her by my side every single day. Angie also had the announcer call out the fact that it was our Anniversary!! We were bonded in Holy Matrimony on July 28th, 2008, 12-years of blissful marriage!! I love you to London and back. 

My Daughter, for being such an incredible kid, for making me a proud papa every day with growing up to be such a beautiful and respectful lady, and for surprising the crap out of me by showing up and supporting me throughout the wee hours of the night. You are the absolute best-est!!!!

For my good friends Eric and Dominic!! Eric came out, actually on parts of the course here and there, to support me, encourage me, and ran the last half-mile or so with me to the finish line. I have known Eric for a lifetime and he is just a very giving and generous human being. Dominic has been a great friend for several years and is such a humble, hard-worker, very talented athlete, and a downright great guy. I had the chance to do a couple of training runs with him leading up to the race and he was there at the finish line cheering on everyone and helping out with anyone that needed help. Thank you guys. You both mean the world to me!!

Thank you Rick Riley and Jen Carlin for the support!!

Lastly, a couple of great running friends that came to my rescue when it came to being fully prepared for the race. Up until race week, the humidity had been off the charts and with that came a TON of mosquitoes and black flies. The blacks flies would hit you in swarms as soon as you got onto the trails. It was just miserable. I reached out to some running groups for suggestions and I received a lot of great feedback. Two particular folks were Jen Carlin and Rick Riley who both provided me with some flypaper strips to add to the top of my running hat for catching the little buggers and keeping them off me and reduce their annoyance throughout the race. I did not end up needing it because once the humidity backed off the bugs were no longer a major issue. Regardless, THANK YOU!! Here are some of the other helpful tips I received that may come in handy:

Huh ... who knew?

• Garlic - eat garlic as it will help ward off the bugs via the smell that basically will emit off your body. I love garlic, however, the side effects of breath ... well ... I need to taper my usage. ;-)
• Bug Spray - I use a couple different sprays, a Lemon Eucalyptus spray and a specific spray for ticks. Angie discovered these and I swear by them although admittedly they did not do much with keeping the black flies away. Tenacious little jerks.
• Bug Wipes - the single-use OFF wipes are great for re-applying after you sweat off the bug sprays over time. They are easy to carry or place in a drop bag and apply throughout a long run.
• Flypaper - safety pin it to your hat so as to now destroy the hat and this will actually catch many of the bugs and trap them. Several friends recommended the Tred Not Dearfly Patches.
• Dryer sheet - something about running with a dryer sheet attached to your hat or the back of your shirt where the dryer sheet will help ward off the pesky lil'buggers.

Special thanks to our Rescue Racing sponsors because w/o out them I would be like a snail dragging my sorry butt over the finish line but instead I have fueled from start to finish!! Thank you to Christopher Bean Coffee for fueling my mornings and getting me ampt'd up and ready to rock and roll! Thank you Infinit Nutrition for your custom blends that keep me fueled all day (and night) long with no big sugar highs or lows and provide me the kick when I need it!! Finally, big props to Chamois Butt'r for their GoStik that keeps my toes in good shape, preventing blisters from painful running, and give me the comfort knowing that my feet won't explode on me during trail races. Great stuff!!