Well, we originally planned this camping trip ($3 visitor/camping fee on Forest Service land with no need for reservations for the win!) after I registered to run the 20K at MS50 with my running group, who were registered for the 20K, 50K, and even 50-mile distances. But four weeks before the race I hurt my knee (badly), then two nights before the race I had a major flare-up (hugely swollen and barely able to bend it, yet again), so there was no chance of me even walking the short 6 mile loop. Nevertheless, we packed ourselves up and headed down to Laurel, determined to have a fun day in the woods while supporting our friends, many of whom were running new distance records. So at 5am this morning when the racers began to arrive (and those who'd camped at the start/finish line began to stir in their tents), Jay and I pulled ourselves out of our sleeping bags to make coffee and help Lee get ready for her 50-mile bucket list day!
It wasn't long before we located the Mack Pack, tucked into the overly-heated Tahoe (as usual), filling their water bottles and stuffing their belt packs with Gu and "chemicals". Our long lost spin instructor (and my semi-recent Big Butts buddy) Amy arrived, and before we knew it, it was time for me to herd them all to the starting line (like a pack of cats who didn't want to get out of the warm bed)...
Robyn, Amy H and Lee (both aiming for 50-miles!), Jennifer Lynn (first 50K!), JP, Amy G, Katie, Mack, and Tiffany.
Jay and Wilson, overlooking the insanity of the starting line in the middle of nowhere.
Once the runners took off and sun came out, the kids extricated themselves from their sleeping bags and started tending to the fire (it was a COLD morning).
"Look Mama! I'm in a BOAT!"
The first loop is 12.5 miles, so we had a couple hours to eat breakfast and hang around camp before needing to set up our personal aid station for our runners.
View from the hammock.
Attacked!
Reading one of his new books (made me smile so to find him tucked in like this!)
I just thought he looked so handsome in the morning light...
JL was the first one to tear through the campground at 2:10, smiling the whole way and not stopping for anything!
Cora and James were ready to cheer in our runners as they refilled bottles and bags.
Lee and Amy weren't far behind, coming through at 2:20 (pretty fast for a 50-mile day, and Lee was a little worried, telling Amy she needed to reign it in a bit). They stayed long enough for us to help refill their water and reapply Vaseline to chafe spots they couldn't reach.
Around 2:40 the rest of the gang came through. Tiffany stopped at her planned 20K distance, but Amy G and Katie decided to head back out with Mack and JP "for a few more miles"...
(We didn't see any of them again until they came through after their second 12.5 mile loop)
In the meantime, we decided to take the kids for a walk around the pond and clean up all the trash we'd spied (dumped by campers/fishing folks).
(We filled that bag to the brim by the end. It made us happy, but also pretty sad that people would treat a primitive campground like that.)
JL came through as soon as we returned to camp (she maintained the exact same pace on loop 2 that she did on loop 1, which is incredible), but we had some time to kill before the rest of them came through, so we broke out the Rollerz game again. James is getting pretty good...
(Yes, we kept the campfire going ALL morning. It didn't warm up until after lunch.)
I had been anxiously watching the clock as we prepped lunch, wondering whether JL would be able to maintain her pace for the final 6-mile loop (
I crashed and burned on that loop a couple years ago, walking at least half of it because I was so sore and tired by that point). I'm glad I stayed near the finish line because she came cruising in with the biggest smile on her face at 5:28 (that's an average 10:30 pace for the entire 31.1 miles!) She was determined, and ready for this event (she ran a marathon in January and a marathon in February, and knew she could just roll with it and knock this out too), and she completely crushed her goal (and took her 2nd place female for the 50K!)
We fed JL and gave her a beer, watched our other groups head out for their 3rd laps (another long loop for Amy H and Lee, and the 6-mile loop for everyone else), then settled in to wait. Katie came through the finish around 7:20, then Amy G and JP, followed closely by Mack. I sure hope when I'm in my 70s that I can still just "feel like running a 50K"...
Shortly after Mack finished, our 50-milers came through (that makes 38 miles for them at this point - the furthest either of them had ever run).
Knowing they were heading out on their first "short" loop, but also knowing that 6 miles can take a REALLY long time when you have to walk a lot of it, we settled in with the Mack Pack for snacks and drinks (while the kids continued to run around and collect pine cones and play camp games and generally just enjoy being outside).
JP, JL, Amy G, Mack, and Katie (Tiffany had gone home when she finished her 20K at 9am, and Robyn, Amy H's friend from the coast, left shortly after she finished her 50K.) Meanwhile, things were going downhill for our super girls out on the trail... Amy H had thrown up once near the end of her 3rd long loop, but insisted she was OK to keep going. Turns out she wasn't though. After a couple more vomit episodes during that short loop and the realization that she couldn't keep anything down (not water, electrolytes, Gu, or food), she was getting severely dehydrated (and exhausted, and a bit loopy) and not even walking well anymore. She turned herself over to medical and they started an IV of fluids, and Jay and I pulled her from the race. She completed 44 miles. She was just 6 miles from her bucket list goal. As much as she hurt physically, I can guarantee you that she felt far worse emotionally. She's smiling here because she was trying to convince me (in my knee brace) to go out and walk the final 6 miles with her once the EMT took the needle out of her arm - you can see what he thought of that idea...
Poor thing was so cold after getting the fluids - the kids took turns keeping her warm while we waited for Lee (and her boyfriend Wilson) to cross the finish line. I know it was an extremely hard decision for her to end her race early today and I'm really proud of her for being responsible. Runners tend to get a little crazy about their goals, especially after putting months of training and sacrifice into preparing for a specific event. She'll have another chance at a 50-miler, and if I can be there in some way to support her, I will be.
And as we sat there watching the sun dip closer to the horizon, we spotted Wilson's red shirt coming out of the woods and we rushed to the finish line for victory photos, high-fives, tears, cheers, and smiles. How many people do you know, personally, who have completed such a feat? I can count two that I call my friends (and the other one did his first 50-miler here at this event the year I ran the 50K). Lee finished in 11 hours, well below the 12-hour cutoff. I'm so excited for her!
Her next bucket list goals? A century ride and an Ironman. And with her grit, I know she'll check those off too. Probably in 2017...
In the ultra marathon distances over 50K, you receive a belt buckle instead of a medal. I hope she wears it proudly! She says she'll never run the MS50 course again (she's been here many, many years, but I guess 50 miles of those trails today was enough to last the rest of her life), but I hope I can come back one of these years...
