Run Toto Run 50k Race Report

Run Toto Run 50k Race Report

2/12/2011

            I had been looking forward to this race since last year when I finished 2^nd with a time of 4:42.  The race is held in Wyandotte County Park, Kansas City, Kansas and unlike what you think of Kansas it is not flat.   The course is mainly single track bridal trails with 14,000ft+ change in elevation, according to several reports I have read.  My goal for the race this year was to be competitive and if the trail allowed to run sub 4:30.  Kim, my wife, and I decided to also turn this into a mini vacation by staying at the Great Wolf Lodge and in addition to bringing our son Kenyan we also brought our nephews, JD and Connor and niece Abbie, Kim’s mother also came along.  Friday night we ate dinner and enjoyed conversation and a couple beverages with a group of fellow SLUGs at Yardhouse.  Upon returning from dinner I laid out all my gear for the race and realized I had forgotten my bottle of EFS, my main source of planned calories.  Luckily I had packed a 3 Stinger Honey waffles, some ShotBlocks and a couple GUs.  However, now I had the dilemma of rethinking my caloric intake during the race.

Saturday morning Kim drove me to the course, allowing the kids to sleep in.  The temperature was in the mid 20’s and several inches of snow still covered the ground.  Warming up I attempted to run over a section of the course to develop a plan of how to efficiently make my way through the snow.  The planned race strategy was to attach myself to the lead group, which I figured would include Ivan Marsh and Trey Vernon, and allow them to set the pace for the first loop.  However, when Ben and Sophia sounded the starting gun I quickly found myself alone out front.  Ivan, would eventually make his way up to me and we would alternate the lead throughout the 1^st loop, neither of us wanting to control the pace.  Ivan is a beast on the hills and completely dominated me going uphill.  We completed the first loop in a little over 1:26, would have been faster had I not missed a turn just prior to the Dam.  At the start/finish aid station I quickly switched out bottles of nuun, grabbed a wafer and was back on the trail.  When I glanced back heading up the first hill I did not see Ivan, but knew I needed to push to extend a gap. I would not see Ivan after the aid station.

           

Trail conditions improved slightly, on the 2^nd loop, after having nearly 500 participants trod over the course.  However, some sections were beginning to become soft and when I would push off the snow would compact on one side of the foot and remain stiff on the other, causing me to run with arms in more of a swimming motion.  The biggest obstacle of the 2^nd loop however would be weaving my way through the conga line of 10 milers that began their race an hour after the start of the 50k and 20 mile.  Many of them would politely move to the side of the trail, some did not have an opportunity as the trail was very narrow and still others with their headphones had no clue I was coming up behind them.  At the base of the Dam I decided just to move to the left of the line and push through the unpacked snow.  This was very exhausting and I was sure Ivan or Trey would be chasing me down quickly.  I completed the 2^nd loop in 1:29, made another bottle switch and asked for a GU at the aid station, when I could not find one I quickly headed back onto the course.

            Once on the trail, for loop 3, I consumed another wafer and tried a ShotBlock, but they were still a little frozen.  I could sense I needed calories and with the rising temps was going through water at a much faster rate, running out half way between aid stations.  My confidence was waning and began to wonder when the chasers would arrive.  At the “Triangle” aid station I had my bottle refilled and grabbed some pretzels and oranges.  I would do the same upon exiting the triangle, shoveling 6-7 pretzels into my mouth.  I quickly found myself out of water, so I began scooping up fresh snow from the side of the trail.  By the Dam Hill aid station the ShotBlocks had thawed and I was able to get a couple down and refuel. At this point my quads were beginning to cramp and I had to focus on form more and more. Knowing that the chase pack was still out of site I calculated what it would take for someone to catch up to me.  I approximated a 5 minute lead, so that meant they would have to run a minimum of 1 minute/mile quicker than me to the finish. My confidence began to rebuild, but each uphill I had to remind myself that the chasers also had to climb that hill.  I completed the 3^rd lap in 1:35 for a total time of 4:31, slightly off my goal but I was pleased.  Anyways, had I not missed a turn or had not forgotten my EFS at home, I would have easily achieved that goal.  How could I not be excited? This was my first 50k victory and my third consecutive ultra win, I was pumped and Kim and Kenyan were at the finish line to celebrate with me.

 

            I hung out for awhile at the finish line packing up my stuff and talking to finishers as they came in.  I would spend the rest of the day trying to assist Kim in watching the kids at the waterpark, however I’m not sure I was much help as I was not moving very quickly.  It was a good day.  I want to thank Ben and Sophia for another great event, I hope to do it again, Tim Bradley, at Big River Running for helping me with my training, and my wife for all of her patience.