Seashore Nature Trail 50k Race Report
One of my goals for 2018 was to dip my toe into the waters of ultramarathon running. I was originally supposed to run the Badwater Cape Fear 50k/50m back in March, but a shin injury prevented that. In looking for a replacement, I found this race. It seemed to tick off all the right boxes for a 1st ultra: relatively flat, not too far away (3.5 hour drive), scenic on the coast, not too soon after or before races on the schedule, and small field (<300 runners). So I decided to go for it.
My plan was to bridge my Chicago Marathon training over to this race and not push too far beyond that. After coming through Chicago healthy, that all went well. I even found a nice hotel on the beach in Virginia Beach that was only 5-10 minutes from the race site (thanks
@apdebord).
It was forecast to rain throughout the race, but we caught a break and the couple of hours leading up to the start were relatively dry. I think that made a huge difference for me. I don’t mind running in the rain all that much, but having to stand around in it waiting to start is not at all fun.
The first 1.5 miles of the race were on the park entry road and were the only paved portion of the course. After that the course became a double out and back on trails. There were two aid stations on course that were passed 4 times each with no more than 5 miles between any visit. About mile 3, after transitioning from a sandy stretch of trail to dirt with leaf cover, it started to rain lightly. Fortunately then tree cover kept most of that off of us, but about mile 5 there was a period of heavier soaking rain that was much less pleasant! After that passed a few miles later, the weather settled into a light rain and mist cycle for the remainder.
The course itself was slightly rooty, but man was it muddy with the accumulated rain of the previous weekend along with the current weather system (it had rained hard Friday night). There was a lot of weaving around mud puddles, sometimes having to go off the trail entirely, along with having to be vigilant for the roots.
I seriously underestimated the additional energy it was taking not just to run trails, but to run muddy, soggy trails. As a result, the easy pace I set myself was far from easy enough and I was feeling the effects by the end of the first out and back. There was a bag drop at the halfway turnaround, so I was able swap out for a dry shirt and socks. It was amazing the boost the dry clothes gave! It was also amazing how quickly that boost wore off! Feeling the effects of the exertion now, I was worried about being able to complete the back half and dropped into an impromptu run/walk strategy that quickly became more of a walk/run strategy.
I was not alone in adopting this strategy and was surprised at how much time I spent totally alone on the back half. Also, I know it’s an ultra thing, but it was still odd seeing water, Tailwind, Pepsi and Mountain Dew side by side at the aid stations. I will say that Pepsi really did give me a needed shot of energy and general boost late in the race, along with the bananas. I know bananas aren’t everyone’s jam, but I maintain “ain’t no banana like a race banana”!
I didn’t really have an official time goal for this race other than “finish”, or as my wife and mother put it “don’t die”. Really, they were seriously worried. As I came down to the last few miles, I saw I had a chance to finish under 6:30, so I put the pedal to the floor. Now, keep in mind, this wasn’t just like flooring it in a Prius, this was like flooring it in a Prius with two misfiring cylinders. I crossed the finish line in 6:23:52, unofficially. Officially making myself an ultramarathoner!!!
Once again, thanks for reading all the way through a long winded race report! If you skipped to the end:
TL;DR: 1st 50k finished in 6:23:52. I’m an ultramarathoner!!
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