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| Pre-race, ready to roll! |
I ran this event a few times in the past. I enjoy it because it's my home race since it's done on the Potawatomi trail (the Poto for short) in the Pinckney Rec Area. I do most of my big training runs for ultra events on this trail and it's one of the best trails that Michigan has to offer. This year was very special because my friend Steve did his first ultra marathon at this event. Steve is a friend that I kind of knew in college because he was my neighbor and he also knew Jessica through a series of friends. Steve also grew up in Ohio not to far from where I am from and spent a lot of time hanging out at Oak Openings which is where I trail run every time I am visiting family back home. We reconnected when he moved to Detroit a few years ago and he started dating my friend Molly. It was nice getting to know him better and we had many discussions about running as it was an activity that we have in common. Steve loves the outdoors and going hiking so I often pushed the idea of ultra / trail running on him because I knew he would love it. Combining his love of the woods with one of his favorite exercise activities of running along with a great community of people, does it get any better?!! I talked to Steve last fall and told him about this race and he decided to take on the challenge! I was excited because there are not many people that decide to embark on a journey like this and you can not explain how great the mental and physical rewards are which result from training and achieving this goal. I was also happy because not many of my college friends are into ultra running with the exception of Lucas.
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| Mid race, just enjoying this great day! |
Steve trained really hard for this event in his newer-ish home town of Grand Rapids, MI. We met up once in Feb. at Oak Openings for a training run and we also did a nice training run on the Poto in April a few weeks before the event. I was getting excited for him as I remembered the feelings I had leading up to my first ultra marathon. I had no doubt he was going to do great just from the amount of training he was doing and he was mentally in a great place for the run. Race day arrived and Steve and Molly drove all the way from Grand Rapids that morning! I was glad that Molly came and Jess got to hang out with her for a little while. I worked with Molly for quite a few years and we became good friends throughout that time so it was nice to catch up. We were standing around outside pre-race and freezing while waiting for the race to start. It's late April and temps were in the 20s on race morning but was going to heat up into the 50s and be an extremely nice day for the race, perfect running weather. Steve and I started the race slowly and then settled into a nice steady pace. We were having fun chatting and hanging out for the first six or seven miles. Steve was feeling really good and decided to roll with his momentum and I was glad he did. Before the race I told him to make sure he runs his own race and don't feel bad if we are not together the whole time etc.. Also, I did not want to push myself to hard during this race because I was only two weeks away from the Dark Sky 50 miler in Tennessee.
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| One of the many eco systems in Pinckney Rec |
I stayed steady after Steve and I separated and I talked to a few people that lived in the same town as me, Royal Oak. One guy was wearing an old cashmere sweater and said he ran in it all winter. Wool is the best material to run in because it's extremely moisture wicking and can keep you warm in the winter or cool in the summer. This was obvious because the back of his sweater looked soaked with ice crystals but it was just all the sweat that migrated to the outside of the sweater. Natural wool never smells because bacteria does not stick to wool so you don't have to wash it very often. I thought this was a genius move by this guy to find purpose for an old sweater! The temps started warming up on this first thirteen mile loop and it turned into a crisp spring day. I will make this statement a second time, this IS the perfect running weather. I got done with the loop and saw Molly at the start / finish area with her Dad. They said that Steve left out of the aid station about five or ten minutes before I got there. I was glad he was doing well. The second loop was nice just being out in the woods on this amazing day and enjoying the trails.
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| Steve just crushed his first 50K! Congrats! |
I finished up loop number two and upon arriving back at the start / finish I heard that Steve kicked major ass on his second loop and took off like a mad man for his final five miles. That got me super pumped up just to know that he was doing well. At mile twenty - six of my first ultra I felt like I was going to die and I had to pretty much walk the last five miles. I really enjoyed the last five miles of this race and was excited to finish up so I could hear about Steve's day. As I was running to the finish line I heard Steve, Molly, and her Dad cheering me onto the finish. Seeing the joy in Steve's face over what he accomplished was worth the price of admission. I knew exactly what he was feeling and was glad he embraced the journey with training and got to experience the culmination of hard work on race day. He was so pumped up at mile twenty - six that he took off without his water bottle and pretty much sprinted the last five miles! That's incredible for someone to do on their first ultra. It just shows how much training and hard work he put in for this thing. He said it was life changing and I completely understood and it awoke that feeling in my memory. After the race it was great to hang out in the parking lot and have a beer with Steve, Molly, and her Dad. The feeling after an ultra is great, even though you are hurting like crazy it's hard to not smile. I am glad that Steve enjoyed the overall experience and I wish him the best of luck when he chooses to raise the bar to a fifty miler!
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| Finishing this race up, what an awesome day! |
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| Nothing better then post run coffee from Bear Claw! |
