This was my third attempt at the 70.5 mile (113k) Laurel Highlands Ultra (http://www.laurelultra.com/) on 13 June. In 2013 I abandoned after 46 miles and last year I successfully completed it in about 19 hours. This year the objective was to get under 18 hours which was the cut-off time many years ago.
I’m writing this 6 months after the fact so many of the details have faded away. That’s a good thing because many details were quite painful.
The weather was exceptionally humid that day. At 5:30 AM the temperature was a seemingly cool 64°F (18°C). It was nice and pleasant just warming up but when I started to run in the high humidity I quickly realized that this was going to be a serious obstacle.
I made it up and over the 3 major climbs to reach the first aid station at mile 11 in about 2:30. The crew was there and with everyone still being in good spirits we yuked it up a bit. The next 8 miles cover a few smaller short hills. I got to the first checkpoint after mile 19 in about 4:09. The last 500 foot climb into the checkpoint is one of the most difficult parts of the entire course. I was losing a lot of liquids and was overheating. At the checkpoint I gave up on my garmin that had run out of battery and I shed my t-shirt in an attempt to keep cool. I had never tried running with the backpack and no t-shirt. This type of improvisation is not a good thing on a long run as I would learn later. But, I was still in a good mental state and highly motivated at that point in the race.
In the next section, initially I was feeling great without the t-shirt and on the relatively flat trail was enjoying the run. By the time I got to aid station #3, just before Seven Springs, my backpack began to seriously rub my back raw. I stopped and filled up with water and reversed the pack, wearing it on my chest. As I crossed Seven Springs resort I was all alone. This is about marathon distance and by here, the reality of the day long trek begins to work on your mind. There is still almost two marathons yet to run. Also, physically I was suffering from the onset of cramping in the legs. This slowed me considerably even on the descents. In this state I began to lose clarity in my thinking. The water seemed too heavy and I thought that I didn’t need all of it to make it to the next water point. So I foolishly dumped half my water, a decision I would later ruefully regret on this humid day, for just a few miles later I had consumed all my water and there were still about 5 miles to the next checkpoint. At my speed, that was about 1 hour without water just when I desperately needed it to help avoid cramps. To avoid cramps, what has worked for me in the past is taking salt pills every hour.
Upon arriving at checkpoint #2, the crew there gave me a boost of motivation. I got there after about 7 hours and 6 minutes. I filled up with water, ate some fruit, and put on a shirt to protect my back. After about a 10 minute break, I set off again for the next section which crosses the turnpike, goes thru aid station #5 at mile 39, and then continues to route 30 just before mile 46.
I crossed the turnpike, waving to the truckers below. Before arriving at aid station #5 I had consumed my 2 liters of water already. I arrived there at 9 hours 9 min. which was about 2 hours of effort since the last fill up. Cramps were coming on more frequently and I was going at a slower and slower pace.
The 6 miles remaining to route 30 turned into a slog with frequent cramps. It was not possible to run any longer. Dizziness began to come on. After 46 miles and 11 hours and 11 minutes of effort I trudged into checkpoint #3. In that condition with 25 miles remaining I decided to call it a day. I didn’t want to have to walk those last 25 miles so I signed my race number and turned it in at checkpoint #3. This was probably a wise decision as later in the evening at about 10PM a heavy thunderstorm rolled through.
The finisher rate this year was 66% compared to the 83% from 2014. This stat attests to the difficult weather conditions in 2015. In 2015 conditions were difficult but far from the conditions in 2010, when temperatures soared to more than 90°F and a resulting 50% finisher rate.
You hate to abandon a race, but as they say, sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you. On this day I was on the menu.