RD Rob Carrol asked us to write a quick race report to go along with the results from this past weekend's 50 miler...this would be pretty neat!
We left Hudson late Friday afternoon to make the quick drive to Circleville and arrive at the pre-race packet pickup just as RD Rob Carroll was finalizing everything for race day. The skies were finally clear of storm clouds after a solid week of rain. Rob gave us a brief course description, a scenic 4 mile loop around beautiful Hargus Lake with rolling single track trails and three short, but steep inclines. By the end of Saturday, we would be VERY familiar with this loop. Packet pick-up was a breeze as we were in and out in less than 15 minutes. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express located 10 minutes from the start line. We visited a very good Italian restaurant called The Tuscan Table in downtown Circleville for our pre-race dinner. Afterwards we settled in and dreamed about the day ahead.
Race day was absolutely beautiful. Excitement packed chatter filled the air as a large group of runners huddled around the start/finish area to listen to Rob’s final instructions and then we made our way to the starting line. What was really nice about this ultra was it started on time. If this was a first year event, you definitely couldn’t tell by the attention to detail and the well stock aid stations. On Race day morning we made the decision that we were going to run this race as a training run as it fit nicely into our key race calendar (Rach’s key race is Burning River 100 and Steve is racing Oil Creek 100). We settled in for the first few loops identifying what sections were faster than others and making mental notes where the trail was going to slow us down a little (primarily due to the ankle deep mud). Throughout the race, local ultrarunner, Michelle Bischell, would take turns running ahead of us and then we would get a few meters ahead of her. She looked extremely strong and thoughts started to cross our minds that the three of us would cross the finish line together. At mile 38, that all changed when Michelle started to experience stomach problems and we found ourselves ahead of her once again. As we entered the start/finish aid station and with only 8 miles remaining, Rach decided that our training run was over and now wanted to race. We picked up the pace and found ourselves separated by several minutes. With 4 miles left, Rach tossed her water bottle and Steve shouted a few words of encouragement. Our goal was to run 50s For Yo Momma in sub 10 hours and we both accomplished our goals. Rach ran a 9:41 good enough for 1st female and 6th place overall. Steve finished in 9:51 and in 7th overall. We were greeted at the finish line by a smiling Rob Carroll and a bunch of dedicated volunteers. Rob and his team put on a quality event with well supplied aid stations, cool t-shirts, and a scenic course all at a very reasonable price. We look forward to seeing Rob for some training runs in the CVNP and at the USATF 100 Mile Championship Burning River 100 in July. Until then, happy trails!