The Barefoot Running Book - Jason Robillard [60]
We passed a few people before the trail head, where we were funneled into a single file line. Rich fell in behind me with maybe eight or ten people behind us. Almost immediately a light rain began. We had emergency rain ponchos, but I decided not to use mine right away.
The course started with a boardwalk over a swampy area, then a root-filled rocky hill followed by another and another—a pattern that would repeat itself throughout the race.
We did get a quick reprieve from the rockiness when going through the “Crooked Lake Commune” campground where other runners and crew cheered us enthusiastically while awaiting later race starts. It was a cool feeling.
A soon as we exited the campground, it began to pour. My precious GAP sweatshirt was absorbing water, but the other two layers kept me warm. Then, almost as soon as it began, it stopped. That would be the extent of the rain for the remainder of the race.
The first leg was slow—about half of the time was spent walking as the trail was not conducive to passing at this point. I relaxed and just focused on warming up. The earlier rain had left the downhill sections especially slippery with some runners slipping and sliding repeatedly. The smooth soles of the Vibrams provided poor traction, but I was able to avoid unnecessary slipping and falling because of good form. There’s a definite advantage to running with your weight under your center of gravity.
After about 45 minutes or so, we hit the first aid station. It was a zoo with nearly every runner and their corresponding crews fighting for supplies. My crew was eagerly awaiting our arrival, but there was considerable confusion as each member tried to accomplish the tasks I had given them. I swapped the water bottle from my handheld for a full bottle and guzzled about two cups of a Ben and Jerry’s Cookies and Cream/milk concoction. I decided to save the clothes and sock change until the next aid station. Rich refilled his water bottle, and then we were off. While the stop took a bit longer than planned, the crew learned and adjusted accordingly.
The second leg started with rugged terrain featuring lots of hills and roots. Rich was still behind me, but starting to look a bit tired based on my pace. I was running at about a 20 hour pace at the 12-mile point. The crowd thinned out a bit, but I didn’t do too much passing. I took my last Succeed electrolyte tablet as the sun was beginning to rise.
I was starting to get warm, so it was a relief to get to the second aid station where I ditched the sweatshirt and hat, swapped my water bottle, and replaced my stash of electrolytes. Sitting on a chair, I pulled off my socks. The Injinjis were pretty wet but my feet looked good. I doused them with powder, put on fresh socks, and slipped into the Vibrams. The last task was to reapply Sportslick lube to my groin/thigh area. The tube was freezing cold and hard as a rock but I managed to coax some out, handed the tube back to Jason, and asked him to keep it warm. Rich and I left this aid station in pretty good time. It seemed as if the crew was a little more organized.
The next section was about two and a half miles. I didn’t know it at the time, but crew access here was tough. During this leg we passed a few runners though Rich seemed to be slowing down a little just as I was warming up. I made the decision to start pulling away knowing that building a good time-padding now would be critical for the second half of the race. My pre-race strategy called for as much running as possible for as long as possible.
In Burning River, I tried using a run/walk ratio of four to one which ultimately put me too close to the cutoff time. This time I used a race strategy given to me by Jeremiah Cataldo, an ultrarunning friend who had recently finished his first 100-miler—the Mohican. His strategy was simple: run as long as you can, only walk the up hills.
This next section was relatively smooth with fewer rolling hills as I settled into a comfortable pace. Soon there were several runners between Rich and myself. When I