DNF – NYC Trail Festival 50k

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Staten Island Green Belt
5 December 2015
16 miles finished in 4:02:57

My 2015 running schedule didn’t end as expected, as I had to drop out of the NYC Trail Festival 50k at the mid-point.

The race was tough from the beginning. I didn’t sleep well the night before, I got lost on the way to the event (luckily hooked up with two other runners who were also lost and we helped each other), and my trail fitness was very low. I knew the 50k distance was kind of a long shot and I came >thisclose< to dropping down to the 25k distance, but I didn’t. At the starting line, I was tired, but optimistic. Read More

Sybil Ludington 50k

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Carmel, NY
25 April 2015
7:33:00

I didn’t run as much as I expected to this winter, but when I did run, I added in hills as often as possible. That still definitely wasn’t enough to be even reasonably prepared for the Sybil Ludington 50k. Holy HILLS, Batman! Here is the elevation chart:

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I’m still baffled and amused by this description of the course I overheard:  “It has three significant climbs.” To me, it had about 15 significant climbs.  lol Read More

Wildcat Ridge Romp 50k

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Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area
10 August 2013
10:40:00 Finish

I registered for Wildcat Ridge thinking I could use it as a training run for the 50-miler I’m working toward in October. I planned to “take it easy” and estimated I’d finish in about eight hours. Wrong! I worked my butt off and finished in 10:40. I felt like I did my homework on this one: I carefully read the race director’s description of the course, I looked online for photos and videos of the course (found a few, nothing threw up a red flag), I studied the course map, etc. None of that prepared me for what I actually encountered during the event. I’m learning this will probably be the case for every trail run I ever do. 😛 Read More