Well... the smile says it all..   I made it!!   On Saturday September 27th, 2014, I completed my goal of running a 50K (2 actually), and a 50 Miler before I turn 50 in two months!   That gives me 50 more years now for a goal of a 100K and 100 Miler! :-)




So, if you want all the gory details, stay tuned for a full race report below and a lot of pics from the day.  If you just want to cut to the chase, 1. I finished! 2. I finished before the cutoff! 3. I didn't hurt myself, and 4. I'd do it again and am already looking for a new distance goal.  :-)

 And before I forget, this was a really really well run race, and the volunteers were amazing! I would highly recommend this one for sure.

Boom, now you can get back to what you were doing, or just scan the pics and skip the blah blah blah...    BUT.. if you love race report blah blahs as much as I do...   here you go :-)

Pre-Race dinner...  yum!

So... the race was up in Lakewood, CO... about a 2 hour drive from here, so we headed up the afternoon before and stopped for some pre-race fuel at Tokyo Joe's...   good stuff!

Fellow INKnBURN Ambassador Rebecca Walker

Ali Smith, Tonia Smith, me, Christoph Sholtes, and Dan Smith.

After a so-so night's sleep (I always struggle the night before), my wife delivered me to the parking/shuttle area around 530AM and I headed over to the Start/Finish area.  Here I had the pleasure of meeting a number of folks from the different Facebook running groups I am part of and it was so great to meet them all in person (not all in the pic above).  It's one of the few times I've been at the start of a race and known so many people...  that was pretty cool.  What was not cool was that I didn't put enough time in my morning for coffee!!  Ah well, I corrected the problem with some caffeinated gels at the first aid station!

Mile 3 or so?

So, with the sun still not up yet, the 50M and 100K'ers all took off at 630 AM for the first loop of our adventure (50M was 4 laps, 100K 5 laps).  The trail started of meandering alongside a creek for a mile or so, and then looped back on the other side of the creek working its way back. At this time it was pleasantly cool, and the single track was smooth and easy to run.  I was running a little faster than I told myself I should, but it felt so nice out and I knew that once the sun came out it was going to heat up fast.  The trail stayed in the trees mostly until the first aid station (3.2 mi).  There I grabbed up some gels, topped up my bottles and tried to get a little food in. 

Mt Carbon

Eventually the trail exited the wooded areas and we ran along the lake/reservoir.  Here is where I started to feel that sun...  gently warming at first, but I knew it was going to get hot in a hurry.  Mt Carbon was the first significant climb with one switchback and a long traverse up the side that you can see in the pic above.


Upon reaching the summit, you could see Denver off in the distance (hard to see in this pic).  From this point on was a nice downhill run into the golf course area of the trail.



After winding behind homes and around the golf course a bit, the section with the water crossings came up. I wasn't sure what to expect at first, but came to welcome this section later.  In the course of 1/2 a mile or so, there are 3 water crossings like this one.. the deepest being about mid calf on me.  Refreshing for sure, but I wasn't sure how my feet would holdup getting wet 12 times throughout the day.



After the third crossing, the trail exited out onto a wide sidewalk path that ran between the golf course and some amazingly huge and beautiful homes, on up to the 2nd aid station at mile 7.8.  I refueled with some food from the station (PBJ, Chips, Coke... ugh.. I know I know..) Also, I was carrying with me Mama Chia pouches (which really work well for me), Fuel 100 Electro-bites (which I alternated with gels from the aid station), and S Caps.  I stuck to a schedule of taking in one of those items every 3 miles at least, and when it got hot, one S Cap every 30 minutes.


From the 7.8 mile aid station to the one at 10.1 Miles (Just before where this pic was taken) is what I came to call later the "hell" zone...   Just over two miles, but it felt like 10! Primarily because that section is totally exposed to the sun, and has some very long stretches where you can see the trail way way off in the distance so it felt like I was not even moving.  I did ok the first time through here, but I dreaded it on the next 3 laps..    Eventually after leaving the aid station at 10.1, there was one more climb to negotiate... not that it was super steep or long, but when you have been cooked by the sun and your legs are complaining, it is difficult to fight your way up the grade.



Finally the course brings you back to the start/finish and the main aid station.   I finished the first 12.5 mile lap in 2:49 or so... the only time I would be under 3 hours for the day! 

Getting advice from the boys for lap 2

What was really awesome was having my wife and boys cheering me on each lap.  And, since the laps were so long, they had time to go to Chatfield and the corn maze, a movie, and dinner!  I got to do what I love, and they had a great day as well!


So, off I went again for lap 2.  By this time it was getting warm.. actually felt really hot to me but I knew it was just going to get hotter! Heat was the one thing I couldn't really train for... up where I live it seldom gets out of the 70's, and today it was supposed to be pushing 90.. 

Coming into the 2nd aid station, lap 2...  needing a double refill!

I ended up completing lap 2 in 3:17.  Slower than the first lap, and by the time I finished it, I was really feeling the heat.  I tried to eat more at the aid station, but was starting to experience mild waves of nausea that made it difficult.  Nothing sounded good, which was a bummer because the stations had some great stuff!