Pisgah 50k 2004

Pisgah 50k 2004


History

Until last year, the Pisgah 50k was the only trail 50k in New England. While the trail race is scene in New England is very strong, there are few trail ultras in this part of the country: the Pisgah race, and the Vermont 50 and 100 mile races, as well as a new 50k run in conjunction with the 50 miler. I’ve been racing the Pisgah races for 4 years. I started with the 23k race, and moved on to my first 50k in 2001. I won the race that year, beating a strong field including Dave Dunham and Leigh Schmitt, and broke the course record in the process. That year, I feared the distance, and trained hard to make sure I would be able to have a strong race. I made sure to taper well, and was very specific about my race-day preparations. The next two years, I didn’t show enough respect for the race, and ended up second. In 2002, I was beaten by Dave Mackey, who has won the JFK 50 mile and placed 2nd in this year’s Western States 100 mile. Last year, Dave Herr caught me at about 2 hours into the race and went on to beat me by 5 minutes. To add insult to injury, I lost both of my course records last year. Earlier this summer, Dave Herr had placed 2nd at the Mt. Toby trail race in a time not far behind Paul Low’s former course record. I was a distant third in that race. After the race he stated that he planned on running the 50k at Pisgah. Compared to other trail 50k races, Pisgah is a difficult course, with over 5000ft of climbing on mostly technical singletrack.

Preparation

The one consistent factor in 2002 and 2003 was the fact that I had woken up late the morning of the race and had barely made the start. As a result of this, my breakfast was not as large as it should have been. While most people eat during a 50k, I prepared to use the Camel Method, which consists of eating an obscene amount of food and drink the night before and the morning of the race. From doing long runs of 2 hours or more, I know that I can run hard for 2 to 2:30 without any extra calories. Since Pisgah is about 4 hours, I figure I need an extra 1500 calories to avoid running out of fuel (1000 calories per hour). Using the Camel Method, I ate three Cliff bars and a molasses cookie the morning of the race, and drank one large water bottle of very sweet ice tea and another large water bottle of Gatorade. I felt like I had enough in me to run for 5 hours.

The race

I actually woke up on time the morning of the race, and was very well rested. An analysis of my running log by Dave Dunham had led to the suggestion that I might want to taper a bit more for some of my races. This advice worked for me at Escarpment, so I backed off my training prior to Pisgah and my legs felt very fresh on race morning. I took route 2 to route 63 in NH, and got to the race quite early due to my vigorous driving. Although the weather was perfect, 50’s and very dry, the day before was anything but dry. It had rained 3 inches and the people who had marked the course stated that they had never seen the trail so wet, with standing water on several sections. After I heard that, I figured that breaking the course record was out the window, and was worried even more about racing Dave Herr. The first time Dave beat me was at a very muddy 20 mile trail race where he just plowed through knee deep ponds with a horse-like stride. As I was warming up, I thought that it might actually be cold enough to wear a shirt, but eventually I decided I’d be warm enough once we got in the woods.

The race got off to a pedestrian start, and Dave and I found ourselves running easily in 2nd and 3rd place overall, including all the 23k runners. We almost caught up to the lead pair on the first big hill before the courses split. When we got to the singletrack, Dave let me take the lead. We talked about our training for a while, and I asked him if the pace was good. He was content to let me lead. Last year, I had started out quite quickly, but Dave caught me around 2:30 into the race and put 5 minutes on me in the last 1:15. I was trying to learn from my mistakes this year. We actually got to the first aid station before they had a chance to set up, which is not the first time this has happened to me. As it was only 33 minutes into the race and I still had water sloshing in my stomach, it wasn’t a problem. Dave had a water bottle and wasn’t looking to stop either. I was actually a little worried that I had eaten my last Cliff bar too late, as I could still taste the peanut butter at this point in the race.

As the trail switched back and forth between singletrack and carriage roads, Dave would either run behind me or directly alongside. It felt more like a training run, which is how is should be in the first hour of an almost four hour run. The trail was quite wet, but still very runable. There were some sections that were pretty swamped, but we just picked our way around them as best we could. It didn’t seem like we were running all that fast, but when we got to the second aid station in 59 minutes, I seemed to think that we were making good time. Right after this aid station, you have to climb a Mt. Washington-like hill for about a half mile. Dave and I ran side by side, and I was pleased at how comfortable I felt. At Mt. Toby in August Dave had put the hurt on me on the steep hills. On the single track following the big hill, Dave went down on some slick mud, and I suggested that we take a bathroom break. I actually stopped my watch reflexively while emptying out some unused Gatorade.

Dave took the lead at this point, and I settled in a few strides back to I could see the trail better. After a few minutes it seemed as though he was either pushing the pace, or I was slowing a bit. I decided that whichever it was, it was too early to be straining. Fortunately, Dave seemed to back off the pace after about 15 minutes. As we began to run into more and more ponds on the trail, the lead switched back and forth as we tried to find the best path around the water hazards. On one long downhill at about 1:45 into the race, Dave disappeared in back of me. I stopped when I realized he was not behind me, and called his name. He called back, but I couldn’t hear exactly what he said. I was pretty sure he was taking a bathroom break and wanted some privacy, but was also worried that he could be hurt. After waiting about 20 seconds, I decided to continue on at an easy pace. I expected that Dave would soon catch up.

When I got to the third aid station at about 2:02, I once again felt that I was running pretty quickly considering the conditions. My race plan was to start to run harder at this point, but I was worried about fading over the tough last few miles like I did last year. As I climbed Mt Pisgah, which is the longest climb of the race, I ran hard but under control. Dave had reeled me in on this climb last year, but I couldn’t spot him this year. It was a good feeling to get that climb over with and head downhill to the Kilburn pond loop. I hit the next aid station at 2:27 and dove into the loop. This section was extremely wet. On the downhills and uphills, the trail was a stream. Since my shoes seemed to dry out pretty quickly, I was still trying to avoid running through the deeper sections. The Kilburn loop is a tough section in that you have to run downhill on one side of Kilburn pond, then run uphill on the other side back to your starting point. It took me 14 minutes to get to the end of the pond, and 23 minutes to get back to the aid station.

I was a bit troubled by the lack of Coke at the Kilburn pond aid station. They usually have it, and I was expecting the jolt of sugar and caffeine to keep me going over the last miles. I had to settle for Gatorade as I hit the aid station the second time at 3:04. At this point, I figured it would probably take me 45 minutes to get to the finish, although this was just a guess.

This last section of the course is extremely tough. You actually climb to the highest point in the race during the last miles. The hills are not too steep, but they go on and on. You keep expecting the final downhill out of the woods, and you get another uphill instead. My energy levels were relatively good at this point, but my legs were beat up by all of the roots and rocks. Mentally, I was exhausted from trying to pick my way through wet singletrack for three hours. I just wanted to get out of the woods.

At about 3:25 I realized I might have a good time going, not just good for a wet day. I knew I would be annoyed if I missed the course record by less than a minute and had something left, so I picked up the pace. By 3:32 I knew it was going to be close and was actually irritated. I was going to have to hammer the last downhill dirt road section, and my legs were going to take a beating. I gritted my teeth and tried to ignore the searing pain in my quads. On the last paved uphill, my left quad almost cramped. I must have run that last mile in about 6 minutes. When I came around the last corner, the older gentleman in charge of putting up the finish tape struggled to get the tape across the chute before I sprinted in. My time was 3:44:37, about 50 seconds under the course record. Dave had stomach problems during the race, and struggled over the last 6 miles. Now I can look forward to only running the 23k next year to reclaim that course record!

Ben