Forget the PR Race Director 50K: April 8th, 2017

Good Morning Mooooohican!

I ran Forget the PR 50K as my first ever ultra marathon back in 2012.  I have been back every year since as this race is one of my all time favorites.  It is sort of a homecoming for me because all of my closest ultra friends in Ohio volunteer at this race.  The race director Rob let's the volunteers come and run the course a week before the actual race and get the same schwag as the runners. We are also treated to post run beer and pizza.  Not a bad volunteering gig!  This race is in early spring so it's kind of the kick off to the ultra season and nicer weather.

My "Big Ass Hill Face"

The Dam Steps

Steve waiting patiently for my slow self

The weather this time of year comes in many forms.  We"ve had unusually warm weather and also unseasonably freezing weather.  We have seen snow, rain, ice, and sunshine at this event.  This year was a rare treat as the weather Gods smiled kindly upon us.  It was 30 degrees in the morning at the start but it warmed up to 60 degrees during the day!  Upon arrival I said hello to many of the usual suspects.  Rob told us to go and since I felt good I hung with the lead group.  I was running with Ron DeLozier and Steve Pierce.  We had a very fast pace going and I had a bad feeling that I was going out to fast.  We hit the big climbs at the beginning including the North Rim trail and also Big Ass Hill, a fan favorite!  We got through Firetower at the 5 mile mark and Covered Bridge at mile 8 when I realized I was in over my head with the pace we were keeping.  I pulled the old "go ahead guys, I have to pee and will catch up!'  I did have to go, but I mainly just wanted an excuse to pull off the trail and rest for a second.  I let them get further ahead and I started off again at a much slower pace.  Steve Pierce hung back with me.  He just wanted to be out there and enjoy the day.  For the  record Steve is really fast and would of normally kicked my ass!

The mighty Mohican River

The Home Stretch

We had a good time just taking it easy and having fun.  This course is really tough for an Ohio 50K with about 5,600 feet of elevation gain and it was definitely kicking my butt on this day.  I was not adequately trained leading up to the race but I just loved the feeling of being out there in the nice spring weather with good friends.  On the last 5 mile stretch Steve and I were running with our friend Darcy.  She is a really fast runner and even won the Indiana Trail 100 a few years back!  Anyway, her and Steve were doing hill repeats in this last stretch of this tough 50K.  Talk about having a lot of ambition!  We finished the race and I was really wiped out.  I was able to shower up before heading over to Trails End Pizza for some beer, food, and great conversation.  I was able to hang out with a whole slew of awesome people.  Rob handed me my sixth buckle and it felt just as good as the first one.  This was Rob's last year for putting on the race and it will be sad that he is not going to be in charge next year but he left the duty to two great people who will carry on the Torch.  I look forward to many more years of volunteering and running in Mohican at Forget the PR!

FPR 50K Buckle number six!