I'd been wanting to do this race ever since I started trail running. Not sure why, it just always seemed to call to me. Finally I got around to it this year. With the move from Austin to Lake Charles last summer and the ensuing house remodeling my training this past summer and fall was pretty much completely shot. I did the RR50K in October just because I needed to convince myself that I would keep running after the move.

After that I did my weekday runs and an occasional longer weekend run but nothing serious (all my spare time was house remodeling). So I hit the holidays still trying to decide whether I could get ready for MS50. Then my friend Alex convinced me to sign up for RR50Mile in February. I figured why not since the cutoff is sooooo long on that one and I'd get to see some of the HCTR gang. It would be a good training run and a gage of whether I had a chance at MS50. So I signed up. Long story short we did it and it went fine (12:06 finish but we were in no hurry - just cruising). The bad news is that Thursday before the race I learned that I needed to go to South Africa for 3 weeks on the Sunday after the race. Crap! Training plans shot to hell again! Oh well. Finished RR Saturday evening, helped at the aid stations a bit, got a few hours sleep, broke camp, drove back to LC early Sunday morning and then hopped on a plane for about 29 hours of travel. That was a looooooooong flight with stiff legs. The worst part was that I didn't get to see Ava and Robert finish their first 100s! Congratulations you two!

Turns out I didn't get to do much running at all in SA. On my second jog around "town lake" there in Secunda I pulled something in my mid calf, left leg. Crap again! So it is three weeks of enforced rest, a long trip back to the US on March 1, jet lag, and then come down with a cold. Now THAT is what I call a good training plan! So of course I signed up. Steve is my training partner and he has run one marathon but is game to give the 50 mile a whirl so we are both in.

Our last training run was a 14 miler on trails here in the local state park (actually pretty nice trail with lots of roots and mud and even a small amount of elevation change) the weekend before the race. Steve did some actual training runs while I was gone and is now much better prepared than I. I hope I don't slow him down too much.

We drive over to MS on Friday, pickup our packets, eat the spaghetti, watch them hand out door prizes and then head over to the KOA where we rented a cabin. Turned out it was actually a pretty good way to go with access to clean restrooms and hot showers.

Night before the race we fiddle with our gear, make up our drop bags and do the usual stuff. This is Steve's first ultra so he has lots of questions - but he isn't really nervous at all (or at least doesn't show it).

Saturday morning we get up at around 4:00, do some coffee etc and head to the park. Start time is 6:00 just as it is light enough to not need a flash light. The course is 4 x 12.5 mile loops. Our strategy is to use the first loop as a warm up and see what the course is like, use the second loop to just cruise, the third loop is all about saving enough gas for the fourth loop and the fourth loop is all about finishing. Our goal is 11:59 (all we want is a finish and the buckle!).

The trail - usually this is a really muddy course with lots of rain. We are told this is the driest it has EVER been - except maybe in august. How can I describe the trail - not like anything I have seen before. There is maybe 10 miles of really wide trail (could probably drive a car down it) through the woods which is pretty smooth and covered with pine needles. Not nearly as many roots as I was expecting - but in a way this is more treacherous because you don't concentrate as hard and I actually tripped more times than usual. There was about 1 mile of absolute bushwacking where we followed ribbons through the trees and the "trail" sort of formed as the day went on. This was real twisted ankle territory. And hten there was a mile or so of gravel road which we HATED. Seemed like an unusual mix to me. There were also probably a dozen really boggy spots we had to work around on each loop - so I can believe this course can get REALLY messy when it rains. It was mostly flat with gradual grades but there were a few steeper ups and downs. These were not too bad - but more than enough for Steve and I considering our total lack of hill training.

The Weather - We start out in the mid 40s. It is a totally cloudless day and supposed to get up into the low/mid 70s. Humidity seems pretty low. I am a bit worried about the sun/higher temperatures later in the day. Fortunately it is a pretty windy day and we hope to get some cooling from that. It is a cold start. Worries about the heat were justified.

The Run - Off on the first loop we start at the back of the pack and try to just keep it real easy. Our plan is to hold about a 2:45/loop this pace for all four loops but will see how it goes as it gets hotter. As I mentioned above the trail is kind of surprising but we learn it the first loop which goes right on schedule (2:40 or so). We spend 4 minutes in the main aid station and then head back out. I am ready to get into a rhythm on this loop but it never happens. These should be easy "throw away" miles but no deal. Second loop 2:48 (including the 4 minutes in between). About on schedule but now it is already starting to feel hot. In fact, Steve had some nausea hit him on this loop so we start pounding the e-caps down him which seems to help. Third loop - my turn to crash. Overheating quite a bit now so it is focus on keeping the pace slow, do the e-cap thing and just keep shuffling. About half way through the third loop I felt about how bad I expected to feel at the finish. 2:57 for this loop, add 4 minutes smearing on sunblock and our total elapsed time as we lave for the last loop is about 8:30. We beat the 8:45 cutoff but not by nearly as much as we would have liked. Spent a lot of gas just getting this far. Really tough to go out on the last loop but we didn't come here to quit so off we go. I am getting a bit worried now about meeting the 12 hour cutoff. I am feeling nauseous full time by now but oh well. We pound out the first 4 miles or so at a pretty good pace (similar to first loop) but then the wheels just sort of come off. Steve takes the lead and pulls me along. I keep telling him to go on ahead but he won't. I think he could have knocked 20 minutes or so off his finish time. He says he is only walking when he has to, not when I have to. Not sure I believe him. We do a combination of shuffle/walk the rest of the way but manage to hang on and finish in 11:43 or so. I make sure Steve is in front of me at the finish since I figure he deserves to finish before me - and he does by one second.

Race Support - I guess I am spoiled by the quality of races we get over there in TX. I'd say this race was OK but not great and not terrible. Aid stations were adequate (the usual chips cookies, water Gatorade, but no e-caps, no ibuprofen/advil, no gels, no salted potatoes, etc). Volunteers were a mix. Some were great at taking care of the runners and some sat and watched us fill our bottles. No biggie but like I said not the same caliber as what we usually provide. At the finish, they had only one buckle left as well. And there were a couple runners behind us. I made sure Steve got it since it was his first ultra. They tried to get me to accept what looked to me something like a shoe bag instead of a buckle but I said no way. I came for the buckle! Then they took my name and said they'd mail me one. Turns out they were thinking they'd mail it next year when they ordered the buckles for the next race. That was pretty disappointing (ok sounded like crap to me!). Then one of the locals saw what was going on and gave me his buckle. Said he already had a few and knew the RD so he would get one later. Now THIS is the kind of thing that makes the ultra running crowd so special. I didn't catch his name but THANK YOU whoever you are.

After the race the crowd was pretty well gone but they had saved some food for the late finishers. We ate a cold burger and then headed to the cabin. When we got back Steve felt good enough to drink a couple beers to celebrate. I was still feeling pretty rocky. To give you an indication of how nauseous I still felt, I didn't drink ANY beer that night. Things were better in the morning, so we stopped and had some eggs/potatoes/sausage and then the drive home.

Overall - I might go do it again. Not a bad race, reasonable support, kind of a strange trail, but not at the top of my list of things to rave about.

And lest I forget - congratulations to Steve! His first ultra is a 50 miler and he has the buckle to prove it! Way to go! Now if I can just con him into the 100K at Bandera.....