Stone Cat 50 Miler - Race Report

How does one succinctly articulate a race report that covers 50 miles (4 loops of 12.5 miles of trail) and 10 hours, 37 minutes, 55 seconds?  I guess we’re going to find out…..

Pre-Race:

Stone Cat starts in the dark, so all the cool kids were wearing head lamps.  Pretty awesome sight –

We had great weather from the beginning until the end, which found most runners in shorts, long sleeves, and gloves.  No chip timing and no dramatic start of the race.  A simple “GO!” did the trick.

Loop 1:

The first loop started out very slowly.  There was an immediate bottleneck of runners as we all found our footing on a single track trail.  Pitch dark.  I was immediately grateful that Scott had advised me to practice running trails in the dark, because it was far less intimidating on race day.  I was laser focused to avoid falling and to keep Scott in my sight. 

As the bottleneck lessened and we approached some double track trails and hills, the crowds thinned and we were able to fall into our pace.  It was still dark-ish, but getting lighter every minute.  Still, I was focused on footing and trying to find a good pace to settle into.  We struggled with pace most of the first loop, trying to reign in the 10’s and replace them with 12’s.  12’s were the goal; 10’s had no business crashing my Stone Cat party!



Garmin died at just shy 44 miles - not bad!

Pulling into the first check point to finish Loop 1 found me at 2:17.  I honestly did not have a particular time goal, but seeing this time left me ecstatic.  I had been terrified of not meeting the cutoff which would average out to 3 hours per loop.  But at the same time, I knew some of the faster miles were likely going to catch up with me.  Took a deep breath and started Loop 2…



Loop 2:

Surprisingly, Loop 2 felt the hardest for me.  I think that had to do with my own expectations.  I thought Loop 3 would be my hardest loop, so when Loop 2 surprised me with the feeling that it would never end….well, it started to grate on me.  Along with the faster miles in Loop 1, I was also dealing with a bout of nausea since almost the beginning.  I knew I couldn’t succumb to it (aka not eat) because that would’ve been my ticket to a DNF.  For sure.  So, I sucked it up, tried to take less GU and settled on more real food, like my pre-made jelly sandwiches.  That seemed to work, since I did finally finish Loop 2.  And without allowing myself to think about the miles ahead, I grabbed what I needed from my drop box and headed back out for Loop 3.

Loop 3:

After 2 loops of feeling nauseous, a couple handfuls of saltines and some Coke finally settled my stomach.  The 2 fuel/aid stations in the woods were at approximately miles 4 and 7-ish.  A final station was set up at the school, where we checked in at the completion of each loop.  The volunteers were fantastic!  They had the music cranked, were dressed up as clowns, and, as runners, knew how to support us.  As we approached each aid station, someone was already asking, “What can I fill your bottle with?” or “What do you need for food?”.  At one of the aid stations, they were cooking grill cheese sandwiches and pushing them like they were gold.  I’ve gotten through 46 years without having eaten a grilled cheese sandwich; I wasn’t starting now.  But I digress….

Heading into the school checkpoint, I experienced a minor personal celebration, “Scott, the next time we run this field, we’re DONE!”  I definitely took a bit more time at this last transition.  Grabbing one more jelly sandwich square, a handful of mini 3 Muskateer bars (thank you leftover Halloween candy!), and my headlamp (my safety net), we set off on our last loop.  OUR LAST LOOP!!!!

Loop 4 - The Victory Lap:

The fourth loop was fondly referred to throughout the day as “The Victory Lap” and victorious it was.  As happy as I was to be into the last loop, I was feeling the effects of….everything!  Fueling had been funky, pace had been wonky, and I found myself completely on auto-pilot by mile 45.  We continued to walk all hills, but we also walked a bit more in between hills as well.  Whatever I had to do to finish this thing.

Friends Dave & Linda appeared out of nowhere to snap this shot at mile ~44

At the last aid station (mile 45), one of the volunteers asked me in a sarcastic/funny tone, “What’s the headlamp for?”  I answered, “First time….”  He responded while pointing to his watch, “You’ve got no worries”.  It’s amazing how a short exchange like that was so helpful at that point in the day.

Somewhere in the 40’s, a girl we had been leap-frogging with for a bit, finally passed us for good.  But not before complimenting us, “You guys are such a great team.  I’ve watched you and it’s really cool”.  Wow, what a great thing to say and for me such a great thing to hear that, after 22 years of marriage, we ARE such a great team and that other people observe that. 

Finish:

Nothing but smiles and tears.  Not in any particular order :)

Post-Race:

Some questions I’ve received since completing this amazing race –

Would you do it again?  Absolutely; not sure when, but would love to improve upon my pace and my fueling.  And now that I have a “first time” under my belt, of course it would be cool to set a time goal.

Did you get bored?  I really didn’t.  I got tired – really tired.  But I was lucky to have Scott there every step of the way, got to see other friends sporadically on the course, and actually do OK with being quiet.  In fact, Scott and I really didn’t talk much. 

What did you eat/drink?  Jelly sandwich squares really worked for me.  Other than mini 3 Muskateer bars, some chocolate chip cookies, and saltines, I didn’t eat very much at all.  Of course, I took a handful of GU over the course, but due to the nausea, didn’t take as many as I normally would have.  Drinking was much easier.  I stayed with my tried and true grape Gatorade.  Later at the aid stations, I thoroughly enjoyed the Coke.  The aid station at mile 45 served ginger ale – for some reason, that was like dessert for me J  I never broke open my pretzels or my chicken soup or potatoes.  My homemade peanut butter cracker sandwiches were just too dry (note to self for next time).  I took one salt tablet just for insurance.

Did you eat like 4 pizzas when you finished?  Not a chance.  As proven during the race, my stomach was not all that happy.  Even after a marathon, I usually have to force myself to eat something.  And at that, I usually wait too long and then feel lousy.  It’s taken me a few days to eat normal again.

How do your legs feel?  My whole body hurt that night.  My legs – from carrying me 50 miles.  My back – from leaning forward on the hills.  My shoulders – from carrying my water bottle.  My compression tights and I have been inseparable for the first few days post-race, but I’m definitely feeling better the last couple of days.  Still feel a tiredness, but I don’t think it’s all race related.  Sunsets at 4:30ish are more exhausting than running 50 miles!

I’ll leave you with some post-race pictures –

Hmmm, I wonder what’s next…..but for now, thank you for your interest in my adventure and all your encouragement!!