Huff 50k Trail Run

My family and I went back to Indiana for a family visit over the holidays. My wife and I had heard about the Huff (Huntington Ultra Frigid Fifty) 50 k Run, so after checking out the weather forecast, we thought we'd give it a go. We only signed up two days before the race. My wife, Paige, had been nursing a minor injury for a few weeks. But, she felt pretty good. We had decided that if it was going to be knee deep in snow, or icy, we would just enjoy some more time with our families. However, the forecast was 30 degrees, and cloudy. About as good as one could expect, so we went for it.

We arrived in Huntington, after leaving our daughter with the Grand folks, and had a date. Bob Evans, for some home-cooking, Indiana-style. Not fancy, but tasty! We don't often get to have adult time for a little getaway, so we really enjoyed it. We woke up to find it was indeed cloudy, but the rain from the day before had stopped. News from the grapevine said that it was a muddy mess on the course, worse than last year. Since we knew nothing of last year, we just hoped for the best.

At 8:00 a.m., they fired a huge cannon (think civil war style, lit with a big fancy wick-stick kinda-thing), BOOM! We were off! The course followed the road for a hundred yards, or so, then a left turn. Let the mud begin! This first 2 miles was pretty darn muddy. Slick, surface mud. Happily, it was never the "stick to your shoes" kind that adds several pounds to weight of you feet. You could avoid most of it by going from one side to the other, or jumping here and there. After the first mile, I noticed a small airport on the right. Just after that, I saw two people go down, on a steep downhill section. "Ice!" one yelled, after he got up. Mental note: when you see the planes, slow down for the ice. It was slick on the opposite, uphill as well. This was about the only icy section on the whole course.

Just before the icy hill, I had parted with my wife. She wanted to run her own pace, and not feel pressured. It was the last time I saw her, until the finish. But, we did write a couple notes back and forth, as we each passed the car to refuel. I felt really good, especially the first half of the lap, and passed many people, as we had started in the back of the pack. Of course, by mile 3, many of the single loop runners (10.8 miles) were blazing by me like I was standing still. Many were dressed in shorts and coated up and down their backside with mud. Appearantly, when you run faster, you get muddier. Being a slow plodder, I never knew!

After 2 miles, the course turned to pavement, for a 1 1/2 mile crossing of the dam. There was some traffic. But not alot. I enjoyed stomping the mud off and picking up the pace a bit. I was running about 10 minute miles. Good for me, in these conditions. The first aid station was at mile 4. Simple, with snacks, water, etc. I grabbed a couple of cookies and pretzels and kept moving, thanking the volunteeers. Always a must at any race.

Thus, began another muddy section. A quarter mile of really slick stuff. The next 4-5 miles had a few small creek crossings and a lot of mud pits. Sometimes, you could take the side and avoid most of it. Most of the time, there was really no point. You might miss one. But, the next one would suck your feet in. Eventually, I gave up trying to avoid it, and just went for the path of least resistance. There was also a section where there were several large puddles, several inches deep, along the edges of a corn field. Once again, it was pointlees to try to to stay dry. But after a few minutes, the feet would eventually dry a little, until the next one came along. I would estimate that out of 10.8 miles of trail, there was probably three miles of mud.

A half mile before the next aid station, we went by a shooting range. A little unnerving. The next aid station had some great hot soup, chicken noodle. I had run out of electrolyte pills a few weeks earlier, so I worried a bit about getting some salt intake. The soup was a good solution here. As usual at these races, the aid stations volunteers were helpful and friendly. I always give them many thanks, no matter how bad I might feel during a race.

The last 3-4 miles was great running. Lots of nice gentle rolling trail, with very little mud. There was another paved section which croosed over the reservoir again, before the last 2.8 miles into the start/ finish. This was my favorite part of the course. I stopped at the car to leave a note of encouragement for my wife, then onto the starting line for a first lap time around 1:57:00.

I grabbed some soup (the saltiest I could find), a couple of banana halves, and headed out. Ooops! Almost forgot water. I carry a bladder pack when I run and like to carry at least a quart or two with me. That way, I don't have carry a bottle and I don't have to stop and refill very often. I would do each lap on about 1 1/2 quarts each. As I left for the next loop, the trail had gotten a lot worse, in terms of mud. I still moved pretty well at first. But, after crossing the dam, at mile 14, I started to feel pretty slow. Not really hurting bad, just a lot of small pains. My hip flexors hurt, my quads were tight, my calves were tight. I worried that it was the lack of electrolytes. I have used S-caps! pretty religiously and I think my body is accustomed to that consistent balance. I was worried that I might start cramping up.

At the next aid station, I tried to load up on some salty pretzels and crackers. It didn't seem to help much. My pace had slowed to about 12-13 minute miles. As I approached the 3rd aid station, I was really hoping to find someone with some extra salt tabs. At one point, I saw a pill someone had dropped. I thought: "Hey, if I rinse that off with some water...." I picked it up. Then I came to my senses. Who knows what that is? That could be Vicadin, or who knows what. I threw it in the woods and carried on. At the aid station they had some Ibuprofen. I took two and headed out with snacks in hand. After another mile, the IB had kicked in, I guess. I no longer felt the aches and pains. Which, mentally made me feel even better. I ran well back to the start, crossing with a second lap time around 2:26.

My Dad and his wife Sherri met me there. They wanted to come up and check out the race. I told them that we'd love to see them. But, in reality, they would probably only see us for a couple of minutes, every 2 hours, as we came through the aid station. I spent a few extra minutes with them, grabbing a sandwich to eat. Then, I was off again for lap 3. I was feeling pretty good again. But, I was ready to get this thing done.

Lap three went pretty well. The course was definitely deteriorating by the hour. However,I did manage to get through the whole race without falling at all. I maintained 12 minute miles through most of the lap. I was tired, but ready to rock. As I got a few miles in, I started to pass some other runners. I'm not accustomed to passing others, and it felt damn good. I probably passed 10-12 runners on the final several miles. I would see them up ahead, and reel 'em in. Always courteous to give a "nice job" on the way by, which they returned. With a half mile to go, I saw another runner ahead. "I got him", I thought, and scooted by.

I came to the finish without much fanfare. I felt strong and was running pretty well, with very few walking breaks the last lap. I crossed the line at 6:53 and change. Not particularly fast, but satisfying, given the conditions. The winner had finished the 32.4 miles (some said closer to 33) in 4:04. Amazingly, a pace of 6:30 minutes per mile. Most of the runners had gone in the tent for some of the eight different soups offered. Then, I saw my wife. I knew she had been behind me. So, when I saw her there, I knew she had dropped. Her knee injury had flared up at mile 15. She had to walk in the next 5 miles to the sart/ finish. She had gotten very cold while walking, and had been trying to warm up for the last hour or more. I felt really bad for her. But, she seemed to take it all in stride. She has great "go with the flow" attitude. She completed 21.6 miles and felt good for the accomplishment.

After a few minutes of eating soup, cooling down, then warming up again, we hopped in the car for the 3 hour drive back to Grandpa's house. I felt really good, considering I had just run through the mud for seven hours. Even the next day, I had almost no soreness and a great recovery. I feel like I'm finally starting to get some endurance built up. My previous ultras ( a 50 miler in August and a 100 miler in October) had both left me pretty shattered for a few days afterward. It's great to know that you don't need to lose a whole week afterward, just for full recovery. Next up, Rocky Raccoon 50 mile race, on Feb. 2. Rock on!

Joe