Mohican 100 Mile

Two down, two to go!

Yes, Mohican 100 is in the books and although it wasn’t my fastest 100 yet, it definitely had to be one of the most satisfying races I have done. Why? Let me tell you:

We left Barrie on Friday morning and headed over to Scott Garrett’s to pick him up. Joan hadn’t initially planned on coming as she was supposed to be working on the Barrie Half this weekend, but that didn’t work out and I’ll leave it at that. So to my delight she would come along and crew for me, with Scott and Dave Morl doing the pacing duties. A great mix for a crew; Joan is great with her organizational skills and an expert on the nutritional side with the Isagenix, my main fuel. Scott has run 17 100 milers and ran Mohican last year so would have some great insight and experience to pass on. Dave, who hasn’t run a 100 miler yet, but ran 100 miles at O24, is a strong solid runner and this would help him as much me with some night running on a not so easy course.
With pacers allowed after the second of four loops, we would look at Scott pacing loop 3 and Dave loop 4. That way Scott could get some sleep before driving home Sunday morning.

So we set off for a first stop in Novelty, Ohio to stop in on Dave and have lunch there. Dave would come down and meet us on Saturday later in the day.
We arrived at Dave’s without incident and enjoyed some pizza and salad and then off again to head to our hotel in Wooster. We got there about 5:30 pm and relaxed for a bit before heading out to the race kit pick up and pasta dinner at the race start area in Loudonville.

We did have a few issues with finding the race headquarters, but we can blame that on the GPS unit. We arrived with about 30 minutes to spare for the pasta dinner. Picked up race kit and awaited the race meeting. The usual topics were discussed about markings, dos and don’ts etc. The Midwest Grand Slammers in attendance were introduced and lined up in the front. It was nice to be given some credit for what we were trying to accomplish.

After the pre-race meeting the Slammers got together for a couple of photos and had the opportunity to meet each other.


Back to the hotel to attempt to get to bed early, which didn’t happen! By the time I had all my race stuff laid out and ready, showered and in bed it was already after 10. 3:30 am was going to come quickly.

I didn’t sleep too badly and woke up with a start with my alarm going, thinking that it may have been going for a long time, it hadn’t. I gave us about 30 minutes to get ready, and to be out in the car, it was about 25 minute drive to the race start. We were off in time and only took the essentials as Scott and Joan could come back later to pack and nap if necessary. Unfortunately about half way there I realized I had forgot my gaiters and calf sleeves. Scott dropped us off and drove back to get them hoping that he would be able to meet me at the first aid station.


The start of the race was right on time and off we went. We headed out to the campground down the road and through the campground roads for about a mile before finally hitting the single track trails. Then it was switch backs and climbing for quite a while. Not much we could do here but follow those in front. Nothing wrong with this, being slowed down would help later on. Most of the first 4.3 miles to Gorge Overlook aid station was single track followed by a stretch of forest road (double track) and single track to the aid station. I came into the aid station in 47 minutes and my crew wasn’t there yet, but I really didn’t need anything so I continued on. The temperature was cool, but still a bit muggy, especially in the woods. The next section was 4.5 miles to Fire Tower and was a little easier, some very nice scenic forest trails almost entirely single track. When I got to Fire Tower Joan and Scott were there so I slipped on my sleeves and gaiters and headed back out. It was early, but I was feeling good.
From Fire Tower we would take the long loop for the first two laps and it was rather, rugged, muddy, wet and beautiful. Waterfalls, gorges and climbing up tree routes to get out. We climbed out at the dam and then down the front of it to a flat section of dirt road, some of which was under water. About a mile later we came to Covered Bridge aid station at 15 miles.
To me the next section was the hardest part of the course, up and out of Covered Bridge we would climb, it was probably the hilliest part of the course, but it was also very pretty too. It seemed to take forever to get Hickory Ridge aid station, the 6 miles seemed like 10, but once out of there it was a lot of downhill. Another 6 miles section this was very runnable and I had to make sure I wasn’t running too fast, I got in with a group of runners in front of me to lead the way, but unfortunately some of them just wouldn’t shut up, nothing but talk, talk, talk. Not bad now and then, but not throughout. I had passed them a few times earlier and thought how I didn’t want to get stuck near them, but here I was. There were four guys who were particularly irritating, but one I could tell was suffering a bit already and sure enough he dropped off, before the campground and shortly thereafter another also fell back. Then there were two. Just before the end of lap one another one of them ran into the campground never to be seen again. I finished the loop with the last one, he told this was his 7th Mohican and his 40th 100 miler!!!


I finished the first lap in under 6 hours, which was not bad. Not too fast or slow. Joan and Scott looked after my feet and I just had a moment to sit and relax have an Isagenix shake, some watermelon and off I would go again. I left and followed the same route that we followed at the start, but though it odd that there were no runners in front of me and only one behind that I could see, but I got to the switch backs again and up I climbed. The crowds had thinned out a lot and it was much easier running without someone breathing down your neck. The odd individual could be seen here and there. I’d pass one or they’d pass me. This loop was quite a bit warmer; it was already the middle of the day. Once I got to closer to the waterfall area I hooked up with three other runners, Tim from Tiffin, Ohio, Peter from Chicago and Meredith from Annapolis. Meredith made mention that she had noticed a few runners take the road after the last loop, when the trail was available… yeah that would have been me. So now I knew there was an alternate route through the bush which was less exposed to the sun.
The humidity in the waterfall and gorge area was very high and I was dripping with sweat. At the waterfall I was able to put my head under for some relief, which felt great.
I would use any water to douse my hat and wash cloth that I always bring along with me
for hot runs. The run between Covered Bridge and Hickory Ridge was again very demanding. A couple of miles from Hickory Ridge I hooked up with Dennis Peyton from Louisville, Kentucky. Dennis had been going through some issues and was struggling a bit. I got talking with him and soon he asked to tag along as that might help him. From here we chatted throughout the next few miles and I gave him pointers about how to overcome the negative thoughts, how preserve his energy etc. and this also helped me as we pushed on to the start/ finish area. The time seemed to fly by with someone to talk to. We came into 53 miles with smiles and our faces and finished the second loop in a little over 7 hours, it was also trying to rain, but not much. I wished Dennis good luck as we now had ur pacers ready to go. A quick change of socks, feet lubed up and some more nourishment and off I went with Scott Garrett pacing. Scott is full of great stories and with his experience in doing 100 milers is a great help, especially pacing (12 100 milers in 2012!!!). We started off slowly and spent a lot of time walking. It was still light at this time, we left Mohican at just after 6 pm. This was also the first shorter loop of 23.6 miles, missing out the waterfall section between covered bridge and Hickory ridge. At covered bridge I was suffering a little, just fatigued, but needing a good break. It was getting dark and we put our lamps on. The last section was very humid coming through a low densely forested river bank area. I was not looking forward to the next section from Covered Bridge, but off we went. We walked a lot of this, lots of single track and climbing. Eventually we got to a road crossing into some tall pines and double track and then back into the trails again, and we immediately came across a group of runners around a girl who was having feet issues. She was sitting down and the others were trying to help out, it seemed carrying her out may be the only option. Scott told me to go ahead and he would catch up. So off I went and soon started running, being by myself again seemed to invigorate me and I ran well. A few walks breaks thrown in and then running, until I went over on my right ankle and crashed into a tree! This was just after passing another runner who was rather startled. I quickly picked myself up and was none the worse for wear, so off I went again. Now running a little more tentatively as I thought to myself that I was getting just a little cocky. So I decided to walk until Scott caught up. Scott had some interesting conversations with the girl with the feet problems, but managed to get her going again. Whether she finished or not we will never know. She was “only” doing the 50 miler. We walked up into Hickory Ridge and took a quick break. Here I noticed Brent Colwell sitting with a blanket on, so I asked him how he was doing and that hopefully he wasn’t dropping. He wasn’t, he just needed some time to settle his stomach down and recharge. Off we went to finish off the last 6 miles of this loop. Another 6 and half to 7 hour loop and it was time to switch pacers as Dave had managed to find Joan and was ready to go. I changed into a long sleeve shirt as the temperature had dropped refueled and was ready to go. I told Dave to expect a lot of walking.

Dave is a lot different pacer to Scott, both were great just different in there ways. Scott kept you r mind going with funny stories etc., Dave much quieter, but still had a way to keep your mind off the negative side of things. Scott would take advantage of the next few hours and get some sleep, so he could drive home on Sunday.

Once we got up the switchbacks I started running and surprised myself on well I could still run. Similar to Kettle Moraine I had no stiffness or soreness in my legs, I was just tired. We came into the first aid station and missed Joan there. She was there in the car, but I didn’t see the car. So we just quickly got going again. As we went on my running got better, I didn’t think this would last so I thought I’d take advantage of it while I could. I was apologetic to Dave, because I didn’t think I would be able to run as much as maybe he would want to. But as he said it was all about me here. The next aid station we again seemed to miss Joan, but she caught us as we were leaving. She was tired and a tad grumpy, but that was understandable. I had enough to get me through this now, I just had to get to the end. I promised Dave that the next section was mostly downhill to the ravine and the river, but although the first part was, it kept going back up hill all the time. Dave though this was amusing. I’d only been through this section once on the last loop, so I was a little off with my memory. This section to Covered bridge took a lot longer than I thought it would. Again I was dreading the section out of Covered Bridge. It seemed that my head lamp was losing its battery life and my hand held wasn’t any better, So I decided to change them up. I tried Scotts larger head lamp, but didn’t think it was any good so eventually switched to the cheap little one that he gave me ”just in case”, it worked great and I found that I didn’t need the hand held any more either.
I told Dave to expect a lot of walking in this section, but to my surprise I started to run once we go to the top of the first hill, and continued running. For some reason this section now seemed easier than the last 3 laps. Maybe it was the fact that we had a couple of runners behind us that spurred me on, I’m not sure. I ran this section very strong, walked the hills still but when running I was going well. We came into Hickory Ridge and didn’t stay long at all before heading on, knowing that we only had 6 miles to go. It was starting to rain at this point and rained a little heavier than it had all race. The rain continued until I was only a mile from the finish. It felt good to get cooled off by the rain and soon my shoes were soaked as the single track became flooded, but it was a case of just get it done now. As we got closer I was flying down the trails, Dave was having to remind me to back off a bit and be careful as I almost went over on my ankle a few times. I couldn’t believe that I could run so strongly without any soreness at this stage of a 100 mile race and only 2 weeks after the last race. I felt on top of the world. At some point I realized that sub 26 wasn’t going to happen so there was no hurry to finish, just to finish. I came in once the rain had stopped at 26:11:16. I was extremely happy with that. I had been looking at a 28 hour finish going into the race, so this was a bonus. Over all I felt that this was one of my best races ever based on that this was two weeks after KM100 and how I felt and finished.

Also finished 28th overall out of 98 finishers and about 200 starters. A great feeling of accomplishment with 2 races done and 2 more to come.

I can’t say enough about my crew and pacers: Joan, Scott and Dave. They kept this all together for me.

Bring on Burning River!

Kettle Moraine 100

So Kettle Moraine is done! Over all a great race, where I felt good throughout most of the event, finishing better than I had planned or expected. The first step to the Midwest Grand Slam completed.

We left on Thursday morning from Barrie, car loaded up with less stuff than I thought we would have. Oliver and Joan would be my pacers and crew. We drove to Kalamazoo, Michigan and stayed there Thursday night leaving us a nice 4 hour drive on Friday. While in Kalamazoo we went out for dinner at a nice Indian restaurant that Joan had looked up on the internet and came well recommended and the recommendations were well warranted. We filled up (fuelled up) and then headed out to do a bit of shopping. Back to the hotel we relaxed and hit the sack with no anticipation of having to get up early. The Fairfield Marriott in Kalamazoo, while sufficient for a night’s sleep was disappointing as far as Marriotts go. It was old and in need of much repairs and upgrades. Breakfast was good though!!

We were up fairly early and took our time to get back on the road and headed off to Elkhorn, Wisconsin. The route took us through Indiana and up through Chicago (the only place where we encountered any traffic). We passed another Ontario plate on the way and it just turned out to be Vince Charbeneau from Burlington. Just past Chicago we stopped for lunch and looked for some shopping opportunities (running stuff). We passed a Road Runner Sports and decided to try it and were glad we did. The cheapest gels we’ve found and some good prices on other goods and the best customer service. One thing Americans know how to do better than most!! Also found out that Vince had been in just 20 minutes before us.

On the road again we arrived in Elkhorn earlier than expected and as we couldn’t pick up our race kits until 4 we settled into our room for a bit of a rest. The Hampton Inn was a much better hotel than the Fairfield in Kalamzzoo. Of course I was paying for this one, whereas the other one was a freebie on points.

We headed up to La Grange and the Nordic Trails site for the race pick kit up at 4pm. There was already a crowd there and I immediately bumped into Dave and Kim Bohn from Ottawa. I had run my first 50k with Dave in Haliburton and then met him again a few yearas ago while we were doing the 50 miler at Sulpher Springs. So we got our obligatory photo taken again to add to the two other times we had raced each other. Then we saw Sandy Stiner and her entourage. Joan had kept in touch with Sandy since O24 and was looking forward to seeing her again at KM100. She had a big troop of family with her for the race.

Kettle Moraine is a very low tech event and not much of an “expo” actually a race kit pick up was about it, in a tent at the start area. A nice touch was throwing in a book (Once a Runner) as part of your kit.

Back to the hotel we went and stopped at the Holi Cannoli restaurant on the way back, as it was recommended by Dave and Kim. It was very good. Once at the hotel we went for a dip in the hot tub and then back to the room and made sure we had everything laid out for the next day before hitting the sack.

4:30 came quickly and although I slept fairly well, I was up lots going pee throughout the night. So some oatmeal for breakfast and dressed we were out the door and on our way by 5:10, with only a 15 minute drive to La Grange we had lots of time. Just had to pick up my timing chip and do the usual potty runs.



The race was off and running at 6am and into the cross country ski trails we went to start.
The first 8 miles are on these ski trails which are a roller coaster of small, but sometimes steep hills. My right knee was giving me a bit of grief in this section as I was being very tentative with it. I had it taped and it felt ok, but just a little unstable. I saw Dave ahead of me as he gradually moved further ahead. I never saw Vince in the early going at all and assumed he was behind me. One aid station at 5 miles in a nice tall pines area was fully stocked , but I didn’t stop here. The first aid station to meet my crew was at 7.6 miles, Bluff Rd., here I grabbed a sandwich and some water melon. It was getting humid and I was sweating a lot, even though the temperature was not that hot. I started with taking my S Caps once an hour, but would increase that to every half hour once the humidity rose.

A quick stop in the aid station and back out I went this time into some nice single track to Horseriders aid station which was an unmanned one. I just ran straight through this one. I had been trying to keep the pace to a slow and steady pace and was running with a group of about 4 others and we were running the single track nicely. It was a beautiful area with a mix of terrain and vegetation, from tall pines to crowded brush, area’s with thousands of wild flowers everywhere. The next aid station was Emma Carlin at 15.8 miles and I came in there at just under 3 hours, feeling good and sweaty. I loaded up my pack and had a couple of sandwiches and changed my socks and lubed up my feet.
The next section is notoriously hard, with long stretches of open meadow with exposure to the sun, luckily this year it wasn’t near as hot, but it was still sunny. The other “problem” with the meadows was it could be wet and muddy in spots and it was. This section from Emma Carlin to the next manned aid station at Hwy ZZ was more than 10 miles and usually takes its toll on runners and I know I felt it when I finally came in and saw my crew. They reminded me that I was well ahead of where I needed to be so could back off if I needed. The next section to the turnaround at Suppernong started off nice enough, but I found I struggled through the second half of the 5 miles. The miles seemed to be getting longer! It was in this section that Vince passed me going on the way out already. I was somewhat surprised to see him so far ahead of me.
My crew was there and I sat and enjoyed an extended break taking in extra fluids, a shake and some water melon. I also saw Matt who I had run with off and on for most of the first 26 miles. He was doing the 100k, but dropped at ZZ, he was struggling and had some past injuries that were bothering him. It just wasn’t his day.
I then head back out. The run back from Scuppernong didn’t seem to be as bad, as Matt had said it was more downhill going back. There were still a lot of ups too. Eventually I started running with Bill another “local” runner and we chatted for a long way. We came into Hwy ZZ and I changed socks and lubed my feet again in prep for the wet and mud and sweat of the meadows. I was prepared to walk most of the 10 miles if I had to. I started off running with Bill again and we stayed together for a good portion of this section. At an unmanned station in this section I left Bill behind and didn’t see him till much later in the dark. When I came into Emma Carlin again at 47 miles I was suffering a bit from the long stretches in the meadows. Again a good rest here and a change of socks and I was ready to go again. Although this was one of the best sections of the course and most runnable and with my crews insistence I decided to walk the entire section to Horseriders. With the exception of a few downhill’s that is exactly what I did. I had a lot of runners pass me in this section, but stayed the course anyway. After Horseriders I had renewed energy and ran great. I passed everyone that passed me earlier and a number of others. Just before coming into Bluff at 55.6 miles a thunderstorm hit and it poured down. Initially this felt great breaking the humidity somewhat and refreshing my tired body. It was pouring down when I got to Bluff and I just sat down in the rain and had some noodle soup and a cup of Mountain Dew. At this time I found out to my surprise that Oliver was going to be able to pace me from this point on. I was wondering why he was dressed to run already and hadn’t expected him to join me until the turn around at 100k. Oliver and Joan had been alerted to the early pacing possibility by Sandie’s crew, so we took advantage of it. At this point I was in 90th place out of 233 starters. This was also a low point in the race for me, I was ready to walk for a long time. I warned Oliver of this and he was happy to walk or whatever it takes.
Once back on the trails to the Nordic Center we found ourselves walking with an older guy from Minnesota, Steve. He was full of stories and I found it surprising that this was only his 7th 100 miler and he’d only finished 2. Once we started to hit the hills we had no choice but to run the downhills and this seemed to pick me up a bit again. We arrived at the 100k start/finish are in 14:40 with 38 miles to go. Darkness had set in at this point and we had timed it just right. Getting our lighting systems together and having another extended rest I was out of the aid station before 9 pm. I was surprised at this point that I hadn't seen either Dave or Vince, so I started to worry that maybe they had dropped.
A good section of running and walking the hills ensued and I wasn’t feeling to badly at this point, but in the back of my mind I was already thinking about the final 8 miles on the ski trails again. I wasn’t looking forward to it as it was going to be a hard slog over these hills again.
We came into Bluff Rd again with anticipation of running some new trails shortly afterwards. The first 2.5 miles were a nice change of flat to downhill soft enclosed single track. We flew along this stretch feeling really good. Another unmanned aid station on a road crossing signaled the end of the 2.5 miles and the end of the flat part. We also though the next stage would be another 2.5 miles, but found out that we were wrong and it seemed to go on forever even though it was only just a little over 4 miles, and it wasn’t flat!!! All hilly. A tough section that I struggled on, but finally came into Hwy 12 aid station at just under 19 hours and in 83rd spot. We refuelled again and headed back out quickly for the last 4 miles of running with Oliver. More hills to climb, but we knew the turnaround was approaching. We found it strange that we going to Rice lake, but kept climbing to get there. We arrived finally at 20:23, had a shake, thanked Oliver for the great support and pacing duties and had Joan join me for the next 19 miles back to the finish. 81 miles done and still feeling no soreness at all, just general fatigue. Although I could tell I was having some difficulty with a toe nail or two. I left Rice lake at 2:30 am in 60 place.
Joan did an awesome pacing job and would prod me anytime we came to a downhill we ran well going back to Hwy 12 and didn’t stop long there before heading out again towards Bluff Rd. As we approached the unmanned aid station between Hwy 12 and Bluff we noticed that it was getting light and I was able to shut off the lights. We passed a couple of ladies on the trail and gave us the incentive to stay ahead of them so we tried to run as much as possible.
At Bluff road we were at 93 miles and the end was in site, the temperature had cooled off over night, but I still felt comfortable in a Tshirt, as long as I kept moving! The last dreaded section was left and Joan pushed me well on this, forcing me to drive hard with my arms on the up hills and run well on the down hills. The last 2 miles are flat to uphill and seemed to take forever. We had one 100 miler pass us in this section, but I didn’t care, I was walking most of this anyway. With about one hundred meters to go I could finally see the finish line so we ran (uphill). I had been thinking that it was looking like maybe a 27 hour finish and I would have been happy with anything between 27 and 28 hours. So it quite a shock when with about 30 meters to go I finally saw the clock and it said 25:52:… I was going to finish in less than 26 hours. Holy crap, way faster than I had planned, or expected. My final time was 25:53:15 and I finished 39th out of 233 starters and 113 finishers.

A great race overall. I still have a hard time comprehending how I never felt sore throughout the race, even since the recovery has been amazing. The only affects were an uncomfortable drive back to Michigan after the race. A sore right leg that I couldn’t get comfortable. And some toe nails that don’t look good. Blisters under both big toe nails.
Dave Bohn dropped at the 100k mark and therefore got credit for that. Vince Charbanneau finished in just over 25 hours so he did very well too.
Sandy dropped at 93 miles, so close yet.... Still she got the 100k buckle anyway, so good for her.

I can’t say how much I am thankful to both Joan and Oliver for being there, crewing and their awesome pacing abilities. I am sure Joan’s nutritional know how with the Isagenix products really made the difference, the ionix (adaptagens) drinks at aid stations and the recovery concoction afterwards worked wonders. The shakes throughout the race were about the only thing I could stomach at times.
It's Wednesday now and I’m still feeling good, even went for a run last night and will go on another tonight, but that might be it until Mohican in 9 days. Bring it on!

Just over one week to go to Kettle Moraine 100, so I guess I should be getting organized! I have started preliminary plans, but I have a lot to do yet.
The taper is well under way with a couple of runs left to do, but I’m not fretting about that at all. I will run tonight (Thursday) and Sunday and I won’t be doing any great distance either. It’s all about rest now and regaining any lost strength, fueling and getting my brain on track mentally. I think I’m there, but you never now. I thought I was mentally ready last year at Vermont, but that didn’t work out quite as planned. This will be different though as I learned from Vermont and I’m not looking to do a specific time goal; it’s just about completing the race.

This weekend I will go down to Sulphur Springs and cheer Joan on while she does the 25k race there. She is running really well now and has a lot more confidence in her running which is great to see. There will be a number of Barrie runners taking part doing most of the distances. The weather is supposed to be quite cool, so I would imagine that there will be a lot of good times.

Sunday will be a day to start putting my gear together. What to bring? I will get everything organized in the garage and set to pack. Make a few lists to make sure I’m not forgetting anything and my crew (Joan and Oliver) will be meeting to make sure they are both on track.

I won’t much time next week to put things together as I will be up north for work on Monday and Tuesday and then we leave on Thursday morning.
The drive will be split up so that we stop in Kalamazoo on Thursday night. Then we only have a 3 – 4 hour drive on Friday morning. Kalamazoo has a local running store that will have a presentation by Max King on Thursday night on his ultra-exploits. Good timing on our part!

I was hoping for cool weather next weekend, but at the moment the long term forecast is for typically very warm weather.



My only worry is not being acclimatized to hot humid weather. It was very humid last night for my run, but the temperature was not too warm. That is my only exposure to it this year so far. I have to remember to just take it easy and not woryy about running fast. Its all about completing the race, not the time I do it in.

Outrun 24 Hour race

I'm going to keep this short as its been about a month since we did this race and as usual I've a been a little lax in keeping my blog up to date.
AS it turned out we went down to Dave & Sandra Morl's place to spend the night prior to the race on Friday night where they also hosted a pre race pasta dinner for whoever wanted to come out and enjoy. There were about a dozen or more there and we got to meet a few people we hadn't met before including Jeff and Will from Tennessee.
After a hot tub and a couple of bottles of water we hit the sack to "sleep". Unfortunately too much water had me up most of the night going to the bathroom.
The race started at a nice 9am, so it wasn't a ridiculously early time to get up to get ready for the race.
We had set up a couple of tents and a table the night before near the start finish area and so all we had to do was show up. Dave and Ben were using part of the table and us the other side and then we had two tents.
THe race started and off we went. The course is a 1 mile loop on trails looping around a fire pit at the end of the loop, it was not a flat loop, the first half was gradual climb to the "hill" then some rollers before down hill to the finish.
I ran with Dave for the most part. Dave hadn't run a hundred miles before and that was more or less his goal. Not bad for someone who was on crutches a few months ago from an operation on his achilles and foot. Joan was looking to double her longest mileage ever by getting in 100k, but was very hesitant about whether or not it would happen.
Dave and I would run together mostly, but every now and again we would be split up only to get back together later. It was a very nice day and actually got warm later in the afternoon.
We got to the 50 mile mark at about 10 and a half hours, we had done some walking loops and this helped with some recovery and it was after this that Dave started talking about stopping at 62 miles (100k). Joan was plugging away well still and had teamed up with BEn to push each other. I was starting to have trouble with my right knee again, but only during the walking stages. Running felt good, but I was stopping to walk with Dave, I should have just continued on with my own run. On the 62nd lap my knee started to give out while running, this to me was a sign. as the lap went on it was getting worse and I decided that was all I needed to do, 100k was a good run for the day so leave well enough alone to run the more important races coming up. Dave decided to go on until at least Joan and BEn finished. I had done the 100k in 13 hours and 19 minutes. not bad at all. I decided to get some sleep as we had to drive home in the morning. I didn't get any sleep for the hour or so I tried to lay down, but when I got up Dave was still going, actually he was flying and was approaching 80 miles. Meanwhile Joan and Ben were approaching 50 miles!
I got the video camera out and started taping bits and supporting them. It wasn't long before Joan and BEn completed there 100k. I was so proud of Joan (and Ben) for pulling it out. A great job for Joan especially to help her confidence after struggling with injures over the past two years.
Dave meanwhile was turning into a running fiend, racing through the miles. He completed the 100 miles in 21 hours and 32 minutes. An amazing feet anf thats where he called it quits.
the eventual winner was Will Jorgenson who we met the night before. He racked up 117 miles, a new course record.

Two weeks from the writing of this blog entry I should be done Kettle Moraine 100 the first step towards the Midwest Grand Slam. Training has been going well and one thing that O24 taught me was that putting in huge mileage is not necessary, as in O24 I felt great later in the run. Now it is time for two weeks of taper.

Two Weeks till 24 hours

Yep, it's only two weeks until I line up at the O24 24 hour race just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. This will be my 2nd go at a 24 hour race and this time Joan will join me, but not in support, but as a competitor herself. As Joan is herself training for a 50 miler in September she would love to get some mileage in this weekend too and what better way to do it than to run all or most of the night!
So the training has been difficult, mainly due to the weather, which hasn't been pleasant to say the least. Spring never seems to want to get here, every weekend run seems to be a cold wind run. Never the less, I have still put in some good mileage. One of the questions I have been asking myself of late is what is "enough mileage"? Is it necessary to put 100k+ weeks? I would feel better about myself if I got a number of weeks of 100k+, but at the same time there is the thought that although running a lot of mileage during the week will add up, sometimes you need the extra rest time to recover from the weekend long runs. So therefore I am not to worried about the numbers. I have read many different views on what mileage is best, and it is all over the place. What works for one may not work for the other.
So as for O24, the goal is to try and get to 100 miles, but it is not necessary. This is a training run for the 100 milers to come and to work on some of the important support stuff, like nutrition.
The course is a 1 mile loop, so easy to keep track of your progress. It is also a trail and not entirely flat, which is a good thing as far as I am concerned. Joan is hoping to get in 100k, which may be a tough number to get to, but when you have 24 hours to do it... The main thing is that there is no pressure.

Beyond the Green Jewel

Now that Green Jewel is done and over with I can start concentrating on training for the Midwest Grand Slam. The Green Jewel went well, a good weekend with good friends even if it never stopped snowing all weekend.
Regardless of the snow I wore shorts anyway and was glad I did as the temperature wasn’t too cold. The Green Jewel is a gage of where my training is each year and although I still did well I felt that I struggled in the second half. A lot more walking than I would have liked, but from what I heard afterwards most runners were 10 to 20 minutes behind their normal times. So maybe I went out to fast or maybe it was the footing. I felt very comfortable through the first 20k, which I can probably attribute to the Isagenix E-shot that I took prior to the race. It made the first 20k feel really smooth. I was on course for a PB for the half, but knew that it would not continue in the second half, where it gets hillier.
I did run the big hill this year instead of walking it as I have in the past. I got to the marathon distance at 4 hours, so I don’t think that I was pushing it too hard.
Either way I finished in 4 hours 46 minutes, about 15 minutes slower than last year and 2 minutes quicker than 2011.
The rest of the crew all did well and were very happy to finish. 7 runners and 4 crew members left an lasting impression on some of the locals, glad to see a “large” international contingent taking part.

Now that I have a had a week to recover I feel it is time to step it up a gear and get the training started for the MWGS and more specifically the Kettle Moraine 100, first race on the agenda.
Last week’s recovery was not quite that, what with a nice trail run on Tuesday and then a tempo run on Wednesday I also ran fairly hard on Friday. No long run on Saturday and 29k on Sunday at a quicker than normal long run would be.

The plan is to work on the long runs as time on feet as opposed to distance and work on my endurance. I need to be feeling better longer in to a run than I have been.
Nutrition is another item of concern, but with Joan’s help with Isagenix I am working on rectifying this.
So the Crossfit experiment is over as I won’t have time for it and although I liked the whole idea of Crossfit and the way it works, it doesn’t work into my plans right now. It may again in the future when I have more spare time and I’m not training for a race(s).
For now it will be running trails on Tuesday, regular runs on Wednesday and Friday, which maybe the equivalent of speed work, long runs on Saturday and Sunday. Thursdays maybe trail runs too, but I might also try experimenting with other workouts on Mondays and Thursdays as cross training.
For my long runs I also have to work on pacing, running too fast with others doesn’t work and so it will be either by myself on Saturdays or with Joan for part of the run. Sunday’s, I will just have to play it by ear. This past Sunday’s run was quicker than I would have liked, but I still think there is a place for quicker long runs too, once in a while.
Next on the Agenda is the Harry Rosen 8k run in Toronto, yes I said 8k. It’s Joan’s benchmark race for the year every year and lets her know how she is doing. It should be interesting this year with next to no training for most of the last 6 months. I’m sure she will do well though as she is a tough competitor.

The schedule for the year is now:

March 2 – Green Jewel 50k – Done – 4:46

April 6th – Harry Rosen 8k

April 27th – O24 24 trail race

June 1st – Kettle Moraine 100

June 15th - Mohican 100

June 29th - Pacing at Western States 100

July 27th – Burning River 100

September 6th – Hallucination 100

With possibly more to come.

The New Year and what is to Come

It’s a new year and time to start planning this year’s racing schedule etc.. Two years ago I was listening to a few podcasts while doing all my long runs in preparation for Burning River and one in particular was the 100 Mile Ultrarunning podcast. I found the podcaster’s (is that a word?) commentary very relevant and found that I was looking forward to each and every one, but they were not aired that often. One topic that Dale (the podcaster) touched upon was about creating a new series similar to the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, but something that was logistically more manageable for the average Ultra runner. Especially those of us that live on the east side of the continent. Getting into the Grand Slam is difficult if not for just the challenge of getting selected in Western States lottery, which I missed out on again this year. Then there is the cost and time involved in getting to and racing 3 western based races.
So Dale came up with the idea of a Midwest Grand Slam, approached four race directors, who were all over it, and got it together for an inaugural series in 2012. As I was listening I thought that it would be a great series to do and contemplated it for 2012. My problem was that, at that point I had only completed one 100 miler and was a little unsure of whether it would be a good choice to attempt four in one year with my lack of experience. As it turned out it was a good choice as my experience at Vermont last year taught me a lot, and if I had attempted the Midwest Grand Slam instead I may have faltered at the first hurdle.
So with my failure at VT100 behind me and completing 100 miles at NC24 as well a great run at the Creemore 100 I think I was deemed ready for the challenge. So one of the first things I have done this year is to sign up for all four races and send in my registration for the Slam.
The races are:

Kettle Moraine 100 in Wisconsin on June 1st
Mohican 100 in Ohio on June 15th
Burning River in Ohio on July 27th
Hallucination 100 in Michigan on September 6th

I am now committed to do this and one factor that is motivating more than any is the fact that if I complete the Slam I would be the first Canadian to do so!

Part of the buildup to the first race will my annual trek to Cleveland to do the Green Jewel 50k in March and then April I will again go to Ohio to compete in the O24 24 hour race. So the training has been well under way, double long runs with Oliver and Rick on most weekends. Oliver is doing the Green Jewel as well and both will hopefully be crewing/pacing for me through some of the races, along with Joan of course.

Another part of the training that cropped up recently was that I have tried Crossfit the past two weeks. I have tried to get into a training regime that worked on strength and core work, without the required results. Mostly due to my inability to keep the work up. I have found that at Crossfit it is only about getting there. The instructor drives you through a tough 1 hour work out that varies daily. I am not fanatical about it like some, but I can see how this can really help me. I will do this to mid-February when I have to start to taper for Green Jewel and another month afterwards prior to O24. After that we will see, as there will be a lot more running to do then.

Another running trip popped up by chance when I didn’t get into WS100. One of the people we camped next to at VT100 last year did get in. Gary Bennington from Montreal was successful and congratulated him via Facebook, I also let him know how lucky he was!!!Not long after his girlfriend Kate got in touch with Joan to ask if I’d be interested in Pacing and both of crewing for Gary. Woohoo! We obviously said we would do all we could to make sure we could get there and help out. Other than having the opportunity to run it this is the next best thing and the experience will be invaluable for when I get in next year!!!!! Let’s hope.
WS100 will still be a logistical challenge. We will be there, but We go to Virginia Beach the first week of July so we will go to WS100 and then drive to VB from Buffalo Airport when coming home. Another possible issue is the Midwest Grand Slam. I will have done KM 100 on June 1st, Mohican two weeks late and then in another two weeks be pacing Gary. I don’t see this being a problem for pacing Gary at WS100, so hopefully everything goes well.

It’s going to be a busy year. Luckily I get another 5 vacation days this year too. And when Joan gets back into running condition there maybe a couple of other running trips for her races too. The first one is already planned with Joan’s benchmark race the Harry Rosen 8k in Toronto in April. Looking forward to many more and a busy year.

Creemore Fat Ass 100 Miler

I have been busy with races this fall, whether it be running them or supporting others and with most them in the US, it was nice to finish the racing season with a home grown event. On December 1st I took part in the Creemore Fat Ass 100 mile run. This was put on for Scott Garret as his last (12th) 100 miler of the year, put on by the ultrarunning community, by his friends.
I was more than a little apprehensive about running as 100 miler in this part of the world in December. Who knows what the weather would be like. In the weeks before it was all over the place and we had a bit of snow in the week prior to, but as the weekend approached the temperatures looked like they would be pretty good. On Saturday morning it was cool (below 0C) and breezy, the forecast was for the temperature to increase as the day progressed and through the night with rain coming over night.
There were 27 of us to toe the line at the start and at 7 am we were off. The wind was rather bitter as we ran out the drive way from Pierre and Leanne’s place. We ran out on the main road towards Airport Road for a few hundred meters to get in the extra distance before turning around and heading out on the course proper. The course consisted of running the road into Creemore, through town to Collingwood St and then south up the hills. Eventually we would turn into a farm and through the fields and trails of the Creemore Vertical Challenge course. Through a ravine and up the other side to the midpoint aid station which is where Joan was stationed. From here we would run the roads back to Airport Road and then after 100 metres or so head back into the trails back to the start finish area. A total of 10.6k that we had to repeat 15 times.
After a few laps I got into a groove where I would walk about 100 metres through town and walk most of the uphills, I would also walk the stretch on Airport Rd. This seemed to work well. The weather though was not cooperating very well. With the wind the temperature never seemed to warm up at all, and of course the more you ran the more tired you felt and therefore the colder you felt. I never felt cold, but I never felt warm either.
I found that the aid stations didn’t have a lot of food that I was interested in early on so I was taking a gel every hour and also trying to take my S caps too, although I wasn’t really sweating a lot. Joan had made up some Ionix/Energenix mix for me to drink after every lap. A good recovery drink to flush the system of lactic acids, etc.
The first few laps were:

1:15, 1:17, 1:14, 1:18, 1:27.

I was feeling pretty good and part way through the day Shawn Patton and Crystal Fetcher joined me to pace for a lap. So I got to talk to Crystal about her first book being published and what it was about etc.

The first part of the course was pancake flat until you leave Creemore and head across the bridge up Collingwood St. It’s a good climb from there and then a sharpe downhill before another climb. Cresting that hill doesn’t end the climb though as you have to continue for another kilometer to the entrance to the farmers field and a nice downhill to the trails. The trails although snow covered were very runnable, a little slippery in places, especially the downhills in the ravine. The uphill out of the ravine was steep and another walking section to the aid station. The southerly wind would howl through the aid station and all along the road it was a head wind to the next turn. The road to Airport Rd was all downhill for about 2k and I was hitting 4:30k’s along this stretch for most of the day and into the night. The last trail section was quite long, but fairly flat, but nothing but single track.

Next few loops were:

1:20, 1:24, 1:37, 1:36, 1:40

As you can see the pace slowed somewhat, but after ten loops I was feeling a little fatigued, but knowing that I was counting down single digits for laps to finish. Just after 9pm arriving at the midpoint aid station I had Bryan Pellerin join me to pace for a few laps, this helped a lot as I was struggling at this point, but he got me running when I didn’t want to. I would still spend more time running than walking at times, but I was still moving forward.
Half through Bryan’s 3rd lap with me, Helleina Rothenburg joined me for a couple of laps. Helleina is great to run with because she likes to talk. Which keeps you awake. We hadn’t seen each other in a while so we had lots to chat about. I did a lot of walking on these laps and Helleina would try to keep me running, mostly unsuccessfully. Helleina left me with only 2 laps to go, it was raining and had been since about 1 am and although the temperature had gone up, it didn’t feel like it, because the wind was still blowing. I headed out for the final two loops with thought that my head light might not make it through the loop. I had extra batteries, but was not hopeful about being able to replace them out on the course. I got the first set of trails and the mud was getting very difficult to maneuver through, slipping and sliding everywhere. I was surprised not to go down at all. The last section of trails were even worse. But I got to the start/finish area and had Pierre change my batteries. Off I went for the last lap I figured I had 3 hours to beat 24 hours and decided I could walk the entire loop and still have time to spare, so that’s what I did. I kept my light off through town to conserve the batteries. Just as well as into the trails they were fading again and I was almost on hands and knees looking for the trail in the mud. It was very difficult going. At the aid station Joan had some relief and would head off to the finish to see me there when I was done. She had been at the aid station for the entire 23 hours!! Wow, what a trooper. She is amazing.
On the walk down the big hill I passed two runners, running, I was walking! One of them was Chris Battaglia who was in some serious pain and a hurting unit.

I finished in 23hours and 1 minute a new PB for a hundred miler.

The last 5 laps were:

1:45, 1:55, 1:43, 1:31, 1:57

Over all I felt quite pleased about my performance. A good run, took it easy when I needed too and got through the tough parts. Some great support on a tough day weather wise. This has definitely got my confidence back up for my next great adventure. Thanks Joannie!

JFK 50 Mile - 2012

After a weekend at home, next up was the JFK 50 Mile race in Boonsboro Maryland. I had done this race back in 2008 and it was my first 50 miler. I didn’t particularly care for it at all, it was boring at times (The tow path), the trail was good, but the temperatures were rather cold. I think they said it had been one of the coldest on record.
So why go back. Kevin asked and that was all it took, and the fact that it was the 50th running of it. Eventually RickyMac signed up too and both he and KevO had the goal to make it their 50th marathon or ultra, in the 50th running for their 50th birthdays and of course it was a 50 miler.
Rick and I drove separately which after Missouri was a good choice, as I didn’t want to be crammed with 3 others in a car, unless it was a limo!! We drove part way down on Thursday night, and although we had planned on meeting up with Kev and Chris we took a wrong turn and ended up going another way.
We arrived in Hagerstown, Maryland midafternoon and as it was too early for the expo we went shopping. Then it was off to the expo, which wasn’t much more exciting than last time, but I did pick up a jacket and a sweatshirt for good prices.
Back to the hotel, met up with Kev and Chris and went to the Olive Garden for dinner.
Then back to the hotel and get ready for the next day and then bed for the night.
The morning came early, as they usually do, and took off to Boonsboro for the start. This year we had the luxury of having Chris with us to drop us off at the start and pick us up at the finish, only a few miles from our hotel.
It was barely light when we headed to the start area from the warmth of the school and we were still walking up to the start when the gun went off to signal the start. I think it caught a few by surprise, but we weren’t worried about setting any course records or anything.
So off we went and started the long climb up to the top of the Appalachian trail. From the start you more or less climb 2 to 3 miles up the road to the trail head and it is a fairly steep climb near the end. Once on the trail the climbing continues. The idea is to get to the trail head before the larger crowds of runners or you will be stuck behind and not able to run your own race. We all seemed to manage that. Kevin left me behind and I left Rick behind at the beginning of the trail.
Once on the trail I remembered parts of it, but had forgotten about large chunks of it. The climbing seemed relentless, but the views were spectacular. Luckily it was a nice sunny day, cool, but sunny. For some reason a lot of runners, me included seemed to have trouble tripping on roots and rocks. I had never experienced this before and have no explanation for it, but I was catching my toes on things regularly, almost going down a couple of times. The last few miles of the trail were very gnarly, to the point where it was hard to run and in some cases very dangerous. Getting off the trail was actually a relief, I was actually looking forward to the tow path. That didn’t last long.
It seemed that once I was on the tow path I couldn’t get into a rhythm. I was trying to run and it felt awkward. I would check my watch and find I was running to fast and try to slow down, but it didn’t seem to work. Eventually I came up with a plan to run 1.5 kilometres then walk half a k. this seemed to work well and kept me spirits up. Unfortunately it is a long stretch along the tow path and even the new strategy started to fall apart, but I would fall back to it and force myself to keep it up. Although I was being passed by others early on the path, I would find myself passing those same people later. Finally after 26 miles I got off the tow path and started the climb up to the rolling hills that would take us back to Williamsport and the finish. It would 8 miles to the end. At this point I was trying to calculate what finish time I could get, but I was realizing that it would take some monumental effort to beat my previous time here. Although I had a burst of energy on the road, it wasn’t enough and I would still need numerous walk breaks. Meeting up with a few other runners and chatting about this and that (running), I came in to finish at 9 hours and 12 minutes. Kev O was already dressed and had actually been back to the hotel for a shower too. He had finished in 7:53, 83rd overall. We weren’t quite so hopeful for Rick as Chris hadn’t even seen him on the course at all. So Kev took me back to the hotel so that I could shower and change.
We got back and found Rick already done!!! He had had a great race finishing in 9:48.

A good effort by all, although I wasn’t quite happy with my time, I was happy to be done. I’m sure that will be my last JFK though. I would support someone on it but not run it again. Like most races, there so many more out there to do, why do the same ones over many times.

Missouri and the Ozark 100

After two weekends in the US racing and supporting, I was off again for another running weekend down south. This one was a biggy. Supporting and pacing Scott Garrett for his 11th 100 miler of the year in his attempt to run one a month for 2012. This was to mark his 50th birthday. What some guys will do to avoid the reality of age.
This would be the longest road trip of them all, to Missouri and back for the Ozark Trail 100 in Mark Twain National Forest. A sixteen hour drive split up in to two days of driving there and back.
Scott and Shannon picked me up just after lunch on Thursday and we loaded my Rubber made tubs on the back of his Volvo and off we went. Next stop Waterloo to pick up Jeff Ashizawa who was also helping out and who I had never met, but knew of as he is quite an accomplished Ultra Runner in his own right. We picked up Jeff and headed on our way to Detroit all tucked in to Scott’s Volvo. It was rather tight and would find this would be rather painful upon arriving back home.
A rather painless border crossing and we were headed off to make to Gas City, Indiana to stay the night. I think we arrived sometime around 10, after stopping earlier for pizza in ?????
A fairly good relaxing sleep and we were up and at ‘em. Not much of a breakfast at the Super 8, but we went over to Starbucks to get some caffeine for the next stage of the journey. We drove past Indianapolis and St. Louis before stopping for lunch at a Grocery store, which helped stock up on other needed supplies. After miles and miles of nothing but flat terrain we finally started noticing hills. We arrived at the Bass River Resort fairly early, but eventually Scott Checked in we had the pre-race meal and listened to the RD’s pre-race instructions. Then it was off to find our cabin which was nearer the start. Bass River Resort was the finish. We travelled another hour plus t get there and were lucky to spot it, actually Shannon just happened to glance at a small sign as we drove by. Again we settled in for the night and readied for our early start.

The 6 am start would be cool and did manage to find it in time, on a road in the middle of nowhere, in the forest! Off Scott went and we went back to the cabin for a nap. It would be at least 10 am before we would see Scott again. After our nap we went for Breakfast at Paula’s Home Cookin’ in town. That in itself was an adventure. Talk about stereotyping, these people fit the mold of south local yokels! Talking about hunting, their guns, and not much else. And of course everyone knew each other. Not that I’m complaining about them, as everyone we met down there was very friendly, but we just didn’t quite fit in, but Jeff figured he could very easily after some time.
Off to the first crew accessible aid station to wait for Scott. On our way we thought we were getting lost, but managed to find our way. Getting there with about 20 minutes to spare. Scott came in looking good on a beautiful morning, we got everything ready for him and then sent him back on his way.

No it was another 6 hours or so before we’d see him again and that’s when Jeff could start pacing. So it was time to relax for us and we went to the nearest town big enough to have a Walmart and looked for gas and lunch.
Scott expected to be at the 48 mile mark at about 4 pm and he showed up at about 4:01. This aid station was bubbling with activity and was just basically a road crossing where the trail intersected with the road. Again Scott was doing well, he’d been through a few bad patches was up now, a quick snack and a refill of supplies and off he went with Jeff leading the way.

Shannon and myself went to the finish area to get our cabin there ready and have a nap so that I would be ready to run through the night with Scott. I didn’t sleep well, but got up and had some pizza. Or was that before my nap? Anyway we were off to the 64 mile aid station to meet with Scott and Jeff. We were unsure of timing and got there what we thought was just barely enough time. As it turned out we waited for a good hour and it was cold. Luckily there was a good bonfire going and we took up a few spots there waiting. A few false alarms, but eventually they came in. Jeff was cold as was Scott. They got into some warm clothes and when Scott was ready we were off. I lead into the darkness and boy was it dark. I started with a headlamp and a hand held, but my handheld was cheap and fairly useless. I put it away eventually. We did quite a bit of walking to start as I tried to get an idea what Scott wanted from me as a pacer. I would try to get him to run as often as possible. When I took over pacing we figured Scott was in about 30th place and we spent most of the night passing and being passed by the same runners. Gradually as the night drew on, Scott was not being as responsive to my chit chatting and I was finding it harder to come up with things to talk about. Every now and again I would hear Scott start to shuffle his feet loudly in the leaves< I knew he was falling asleep. “SCOTT” I would yell, “Are you awake?” He’d grumble and we’d continue on. I would sometimes get a little too far ahead of him and have to be conscious of his weariness. We would walk a lot, but run every now and again. Sometimes out of necessity as the cold would dictate how fast we moved. In the wee hours we’d arrive at an aid station and Scott would say that he’d need 3 minutes sleep. So after 3 minutes I would wake him and we’d be on our way again. At the second last aid station after another “nap” (Scott was at his lowest before coming into this station) we headed out and Scott seemed rejuvenated. We had started passing people even while walking before we got here and now he wanted to run and we passed more. As daylight arose there was an extra jump in his step and we ran a lot more than we walked, mostly only walking on the up hills. We were moving well and came into the final aid station feeling great, knowing that we had moved up substantially in the standings and Jeff and Shannon were there to greet us. Scott’s spirits were lifted and he had a goal to get in under 28 hours. This had been a tough race, only a few weeks after another tough one at Oil Creek and he was determined to beat his time there. Looking at the time I knew there was no problem beating it, but Scott didn’t. We left and ran the best we’d run all night we started passing more individuals. It was by far the best part of the run I had been involved in. The trails were great and the surrounding country side was beautiful. I can’t imagine what it would have been like about a month earlier with the leaves changing. Now they were just on the ground. The last few miles seemed to drag on, but Scott was still pushing hard. We kept trying to figure out where we were in relation to the finish line, but each time we thought we were in one place we would find that we were completely wrong. Finally we came out into a clearing and knew we were close. Scott came in at about 27:51 in 17th place overall and 1st runner over 50. An incredible experience and I was proud to be apart of Scott’s 11th 100 miler of the year. I loved running on the course and gave me thoughts about doing this one myself at some point in the future. The only draw back from the weekend was the long drive and my left hip is still bothering me from that.