Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 10:05:24 -0500
Hi ho!
First of all, I promised Bonnie Busch that I would testify. So, without
further ado, "I come before you, brothers and sisters, to proclaim that
Iowa is NOT flat". There now, I feel much better!
The Fairfield 50M is a great run. It consists of a couple of short loops
around the lake, and then 11 loops of about 4.45 miles each. There are
two aid stations, one at the start/finish, and the other at about the 1/2
way point of the loop. The footing is excellent over most of the course.
It's hard to find a rock or root to trip over. The course was well
marked, and the aid stations were decent.
I had a good day of running. I alternated drinking a bottle of CLIP
with a bottle of my own concoction of maltodextrin, dextrose, salt
and Kool-Aid flavoring. I supplemented this with water from the aid
stations, and a couple of colas late in the race. Boy, they sure tasted
good! Note: dextrose isn't very sweet, and the Kool-Aid cherry flavoring
has a sourness that is intended to be offset by the sweetness of table
sugar. Always TASTE your own concoctions BEFORE race day! Even though it
didn't taste great, it did work out for me. I stayed well hydrated, and
took in enough electrolytes to avoid any problems with cramping. I took
one Karl's Kapsule per loop until it started getting really hot, and then
I took two per loop. I took another couple after the run, and I never had
any problems.
Although I had a great run and a great time, I didn't manage to finish 50
miles. I was just too slow. The RD allowed me to start early, but by
6:30 in the evening, I still had 2 loops to go. The loops were taking me
about an hour and a half, and the last one would be after dark and
probably take closer to two hours. I didn't want to keep the nice folks
putting on the race out there that long, so I called it a day. 41 miles
in 12:19 is still a great training run! Then I got to share a beer with
Nikki and Dan and Bob and Tom and all the other great folks while cheering
in the last few 50M runners. The post race chili was great!
I don't feel bad about not finishing. I did learn a lot. Following
are a few things that I think, if addressed, will allow me to finish
my next 50M near the back of the pack:
1. My training was inadequate. I should have gotten in more long
runs of 25 to 35 miles, with one back to back 30/20 2 or 3 weeks
prior to the run. I also should have done some mid length pace
runs at a pace a little bit faster than my goal pace for the 50.
Finally, I should have done more fast walking in training. I had
been doing this earlier in the year, but didn't do much in the last
month or two. I did these things in preparation for the Strolling Jim in
May, and finished 41 miles in under 10 hours.
2. I wasted time at aid stations. I should have had all of my drinks
mixed ahead of time and had bottles filled and ready to go. As it was, I
spent a lot of time mixing and filling bottles. I probably spent at least
an hour over the course of the day that could have been saved with better
preparation and planning.
3. I should run with a pair of gaitors. There were lots of small (and
some not so small) rocks on the course that kept getting into my shoes. I
probably spent at least 30 minutes over the course of the day getting
rocks out of my shoes. A pair of low gaitors would have kept the rocks
out of my shoes and saved this time.
4. I need to lose weight. Nuff said.
Anyway, it was a great run, a great event, a great day, with some
great folks. I didn't have a single blister. I have a little muscle
soreness, but not too bad. I'll be running at lunch today. :-)
Thanks to Bob Lyons for putting on a quality event, to Bonnie Busch
for cheering me on (and everyone else), to Dan Hawthorne and family
for some great gumbo and the loan of a pillow, to Nikki Robinson
for sharing a post race beer (after running 50M on Sat., Nikki was doing a
triathlon the NEXT DAY!), and to all the volunteers and runners for
telling me how great I was doing (with a straight face) and making the
whole thing so much fun.
Fairfield, I'll be back next year!
kevin, the mathineer who thinks that the best thing about not finishing
your first 50M is that you don't have to start thinking about your first
100M yet!
1998 Fairfield 50M Report - Dan Hawthorne
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1998 10:18:41 -0500
Summary: Hot! But beautiful and fun!
And now, the rest of the story (very long and rambling):
Last week, I watched the weather forecasts anxiously hoping for good
conditions for Saturday's Fairfield 50k and 50 mile trail runs. Tuesday
and Wednesday the highs were only in the low 80s with humidity less than
50%, a welcome break from the sweltering heat and humidity we'd had most
of the summer and giving us false hope for Saturday. Most forecasts called
for rain Thursday, but clearing by Fri. morning, and Saturday temps of low
80s.
Well, it rained hard Wednesday and again Friday morning. Finally it
stopped about 1 p.m. Friday. Fortunately the trails at Jefferson County
Park drain really well, so mud would not be a real concern. But the heat
and humidity from all that evaporating moisture was a major concern. And
sure enough, it delivered even better than promised.
Friday night's Cajun feast was great fun with around 40 runners,
families, and volunteers gathering at my house for Shrimp Etouffee,
Seafood Gumbo, and Red Beans and Rice. We also had an ample supply of
microbrew.
But as I drove to the park at 6:30 Saturday morning, there was so much
humidity you could see it in the air, like driving through a cloud. (I
suppose you call that 'fog'). The race started on schedule shortly after 7
a.m. with a bigger turnout than expected, a total of 63 runners in all
three races; 25 in the 50 mile, 13 in the 50k, and another 25 in the half
marathon.
After running a couple of .6 mile loops around the pond, those of us
running the 50 mile set off on 11 laps of the 4.45 mile trail. The grassy
trails in the first half mile were soaked with dew, but the temperature
was only a moderate 70 or so, so running was quite pleasant for the first
few hours. I settled in with a small group including Susan Rozanski, Robin
Kokjohn, and Linda Gentling and chatted for a few miles.
But by 10 o'clock it was really beginning to warm up. The next day I
checked the hourly National Weather Service reports. The temperature was
82 with a dewpoint of 71 at 10 a.m. A friend told me any dewpoint over 70
is considered tropical. By 11 the temp was up to 86 with a dewpoint of 73.
By 1 p.m. it was 89 and peaked at 91 by mid-afternoon where it stayed for
several hours. The dewpoint remained at 73 thoughout.
So those are the stats. The experience can be summarized in one word.
Wilting.
I grabbed a hat from my bag and filled it with ice every aid station.
Fortunately there was an ample supply of ice and there was an aid station
half way through each loop. But at the pace I was moving each 2.25 mile
segment between them was taking about 30 minutes. The ice in my cap would
completely melt within about 20 minutes, just in time for me to reheat
before the next refill. I was drinking a 20 oz. bottle of water every 30
minutes and taking an electrolyte cap every hour.
I made it to 23.5 miles in 4:21 and to 26.7 in 5:23. It was 12:25 p.m. and
I was hot and exhausted. I decided to sit in a lawn chair and regroup. My
wife, Jennifer, put a fresh layer of sunscreen on my back, and I ate a
packet of chocolate GU, a bite of turkey sandwich, and drank a cold Coke
as I headed back out onto the trail to continue my shuffle. I could see
that not too many others were doing well either. Nikki Robinson and Rich
Breaux went whizzing by on the short out and back stretch. When I
commented on how good they looked, they said they'd had some bad patches
also.
I made it to 50k by around 6:40 and took another break, about 10 minutes
this time. Each lap (4.45 miles) thereafter I only stopped for about 5
minutes, once to put on a pair of dry shoes and socks which helped a lot.
I hadn't noticed how soggy and heavy the first pair had gotten from sweat
and dew until I put on the dry pair. Huge difference.
With renewed vigor(?) I continued the relentless shuffle. As I left the
aid station for my 8th lap, there was Bonnie Busch walking back along the
trail picking up garbage. She'd finished the 50k about an hour and a half
earlier and was now out there helping out. Amazing. She looked like she'd
hardly broken a sweat. Later she was back at the start/finish aid station
helping out the runners in any way she could. She said she was heading up
to Wisconsin for a 24 hour run this weekend.
As I continued shuffling along the trail I saw and passed Kevin Kepley
several times. He always seemed to be doing quite well, in good spirits,
handling the heat well and continuing his forward progress.
Each hill was a welcome opportunity to walk. And fortunately they were
coming every half mile to mile.
In the early going I'd thought of perhaps trying to finish in 9:30.
Within the first 20 miles that goal became 10 hours, then "who cares what
time, just finish." I heard myself tell several other runners, "the good
news is, there are no cutoffs. We can take as much time as we want." The
run became a whole lot easier and more enjoyable without the pressure of
making cutoffs.
Somewhere in the late 30s I began to develop a bit of a rhythm, and
realized I could still finish relatively comfortably this side of 12
hours. So that became my goal of the moment, which of course I would be
willing to give up readily for just about any reason at all. This was just
for fun, after all.
And it was great fun cheering on the other runners and talking with so
many great friends from all over. I briefly spoke with Stuart Johnson from
Shawnee, Kansas who'd just finished Hardrock the month before. I told him
I was sorry we didn't have any snow-covered hills for him to glissade down
but he was welcome to continue running for the next 40+ hours if he wanted
to and I hoped the heat was to his liking. I know he appreciated the
offer. He seemed to be enjoying the run though as he whizzed by.
The start/finish was at a shelter house overlooking a pond which the
trail goes around. As each runner appears on the other side of the pond he
can be seen from the shelter house. So, by the final laps every time I'd
appear on the other side of the pond with less than a half mile to go to
the end of the loop, I'd get a huge cheer from the "crowd" at the shelter
house, yelling "Go, go, go. C'mon Dan!" It always brought a big smile to
my face. They were a boisterous and rowdy group of local runners and
friends cheering me and the other runners on. You see, we don't get much
excitement down here in southeast Iowa. Not that much to cheer about. So
any opportunity.....
At one point the local high school cross country coach appeared with his
trumpet and started blasting the "Chariots of Fire" theme, and other
assorted favorites. The trumpet blare carried quite well across the pond.
As I reached the last hilly section less than a mile from the finish here
comes none other than Nikki Robinson herself strolling back along the
trail singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer, take
one down and pass it around..." Nikki had finished her 50 mile run about
an hour and a half earlier and was now headed back out on the trails
looking for Kevin Kepley. When she saw me, she looked up and said,
"Where's Kevin?" You see, we were all rooting Kevin on to the finish of
his first 50 miler, and eagerly awaiting a sampling of his famous home
brew, a bottle of which I'd tasted the night before.
So, I told Nikki I thought he was about a half mile or so back. When I'd
passed him about 10 minutes before he'd said that this lap was going to be
his last, and he would finish at about 41 miles.
I continued my walk up those last hills, then trotted around the final
pond as the crowd, which was now down to just my wife and son and a few
volunteers, roared. As I staggered towards the finish at around 11:25
after I'd begun, I thought of those brave souls at Leadville I'd read
about the previous week, who'd sprinted for the finish in the final
seconds in order to make the 30 hour cutoff. I briefly entertained the
thought of a final second sprint in their honor, then came to my senses
and thanked God I didn't have to worry about any cutoffs and decided to
just savor the experience by backing off a little more.
A short time after I finished Kevin and Nikki appeared. We sat and sipped
some of Kevin's home brew while recovering and waiting for other runners
to finish.
A big thanks to Bob Lyon and all the volunteers who made this run such fun
despite the heat. And thanks Kevin for the great beer.
Dan Hawthorne
Home | Fairfield Trail Runs (50K/50M)
From: "Kevin P. Kepley"
Subject: First 50M Attempt
From: Dan Hawthorne
Subject: Fairfield Trail Runs Results/Report
Fairfield, Iowa
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