Pre-MMT Dreaming.

Anxiety has set in full force, as have my dreams involving various athletic feats where I am clumsy and failing miserably. Last night I was attempting another surfing lesson (I had attempted this in real life this winter in El Salvador and got pummeled by my board) and was in a pool with a large group of people. I was using an insanely narrow board, and couldn't stand up, so my instructor (a beautiful, beautiful man) crafted me an impromptu one out of cardboard. I tried and tried, but couldn't stand up, as my board was really soggy, and not so stable.

Last week I dreamt I was at MMT, and somehow got onto the all weather track portion (sounds like MMT, no?) and couldn't get back on trail. I later woke up (in the dream) at a hotel (again, somewhere along the MMT course), and had accidentally taken a 4.5 hour nap. I had a heck of a time getting my teeth brushed and getting back on trail again.

Back to real life, I felt the need for a pretty strong taper, so have been taking it really easy the past couple of weeks. I'm still running to work (4-6 miles), but after an 18 miler on May 1, haven't done anything over 8 miles. I've also tried to stay off of my feet on a couple of recovery run days, venturing into the pool for a couple of mile swims. I was having some pains on the inside of my left foot/ankle, so hope that a couple of very restful weeks, will leave me rested and my foot happy. Tapers are hard. It doesn't take me long to make me feel like I'm 100% out of shape.

Now it's time for organizing gear, figuring out which shoes to wear, and of course, the most important, what color skirt to wear. I'm going with the Montrail Mountain Masochist. I wore them for an 8 mile run on some really rocky trails in the Catskills this weekend, and started to second guess my choice. It was a wet weekend, and there were several spots where I slipped on rocks. I'm not sure that it was the shoes though. Mossy rocks are slippery, and I don't know if anything is going to keep me upright at MMT. It's been a year since I've visited my hand surgeon, so hopefully the rain will be light, and the rocks sticky. I'll have some La Sportiva Fireblades and some old-school Montrail Hardrocks as back-ups for a shoe change. It's going to be muddy again, this year, so a shoe change will likely be necessary around Gap2, or so.

Besides some pre-run anxiety, I'm really looking forward to spending the weekend with old friends and new this weekend at the ranch, along the trail, and at the aid stations. The VHTRC puts on great events, and MMT is no exception. Here's hoping the rocks on Short Mountain have spontaneously combusted since the Chocolate Bunny.

Promise Land 2009, MMT long training runs are done.

Like Bull Run Run, this was my 3rd time running Promise Land.  And like Bull Run, it is one that I hope to return to again and again.  A Horton event, Promise Land measures at a bit more than a 50K (34.3 miles on my watch).  Held in the end of April, the red buds are always blooming, and the tree are just beginning to really green.  PL is arguably one of the most scenic ultras in the area, and while I had considered not going after a hard effort at BRR last weekend, I decided I'd be more comfortable with one more last long run before MMT.   I was surprisingly not sore after BRR, and PL has a couple of good quad-trashing downhills.  The course features a few good climbs and descents; the website claims about 8000 feet of elevation gain over the 34 miles (and the same in descent). 

The forecast was for upper 80s or low 90s and the weather didn't disappoint.  What started out as a warm day, just continued to get warmer.  Many runners camp in the field that is by the race start/finish, and this year we decided to camp too.  It made for a really easy morning, as the run starts at 5:30, which means an early morning regardless of where you're coming from.  I was chilly when I went to bed, but was surprised to wake up to temps that were already about 10-15 degress or so warmer than the night before..  I actually didn't mind the heat until the final climb up Apple Orchard Falls, where it started to feel a bit steamy.  

For me, I have 2 favorite sections of the course.  The first is the first big downhill/rolling section which is along a grassy fire road up near the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The sun has just risen at this point in the run, and the views of the blue ridges off to the right are spectacular.  My second favorite is the climb up Apple Orchard Falls.  It's the final big climb, and passes along a beautiful stream and then climbs up an impressive water fall and a set of wooden steps that didn't seem as long as I had remembered. The water seemed to be up this year, and the falls were even more spectacular than I remembered.  

I went into it as a final long run before MMT, and vowed to myself not to run it too hard.  I didn't feel like I really pushed it, just had a good last long run, and finished up right at 6:00, which is about 10 minutes faster than I ran it in last year.  The finish is a long downhill road section (the same section you climb at the beginning) and it felt good to cruise down the last 3 miles or so to the finish.  I ended up as first loser, as Horton likes to mention (2nd female), about 10 minute behind Bethany.  Bethany ran strong the entire day, and I lost sight of her around mile 20 and never saw her again.   Sean represented WUS well by winning in just over 5 hours, and Vicki Kendall turned in a great performance in winning her age group and running a huge PL PR of 6:49.  Vicki is going to have a great MMT.  

It feels good to be done with long runs, and I plan to spend the next 3 weeks resting up for MMT.  I feel like I've put in the miles for the most part, with 4 long runs of 50 miles, 31 miles, 50 miles and 34 miles in the past 5 weekends.  The main thing I worry about is my lack of training on MMT trails this winter.  I plan to do one more run on them this weekend, but at this point, there's not much I can do.  If nothing else, hopefully my winter of heat training in El Salvador will compensate for my lack of rocky trail training.   Bring on the heat!  

Bull Run Run 2009, I love the VHTRC!!

This was my 3rd year running the Bull Run Run 50 miler--I've run it every year and it's a favorite. I won BRR in 2007 in what I considered to be a bit of a fluke (lucky day), and slogged through it painfully last year on dead legs after having run a fun down-hill 35-miles in Bolivia the weekend prior. I was hoping for somewhere in between this year...a solid training run for the MMT 100 coming up in a month.

I had no intention of 'racing' BRR; I hadn’t even decided to run it until a couple of weeks ago, and decided to run it because I hoped that two 50 milers and two 50Ks scheduled within a period of 5 weeks would be enough to get me feeling in shape for MMT. I also planned to hit 80 mile weeks for 3 weeks in a row, with BRR coming on the Saturday of the second week, sandwiched in between the Chocolate Bunny and Promiseland 50Ks. I haven’t actually quite hit that goal, ending up with 77 miles the week of Chocolate Bunny and 75 miles the week of BRR, but pretty close. I'm not a mileage whore--80 miles is about as high as I get. So, I had no plans of running hard, but somehow in the first mile, got into the lead and then just never backed off. I'm still calling it a training run, just more of a tempo-paced training run than I had planned for.

I felt strong on the first out and back (16 miles) and really enjoyed the first section of trail. I’m not sure if I have ever even noticed the bluebells in years past, or at least they hadn’t caught my attention like they did this year. They were in their full glory and were stunning!

I started to worry a bit around Hemlock (start/finish) when I realized I was going to have enough Gus to get me to about mile 30. I hadn't thought about gear until the morning of, and had some gear issues--brought along a Nathan bladder for my Camelbak--so used a handheld water bottle instead. Lately I've been sticking to an all Gu diet on short runs (did I just call 50 miles a short run?), especially on a warm day like Saturday. It's hard to cram more than 3 gels into my handheld pocket, and any more than 2 gels in my skirt weigh it down to the point of falling down. An issue. So, I had 5 gels along for what I was hoping to be a sub 9 hour run. Not so smart. But there is always aid station fare.

I felt generally crappy from about mile 20-30. I was having some abdominal pain and decided that I have a hernia, and then just focused on that for a good 10 miles along with some butt/left hamstring issues, which bug me normally. I probably should get the abdominal pain checked out, but the pain went away after about mile 30, as good pains often do, so I stopped thinking about it, and enjoyed the Do-Loop. I got a gift of Gus from Bryon upon entering the Do-Loop, so my concerns of bonking were lifted. The Do-Loop kind of sucks, in general, but didn't suck as much as I had remembered it sucking in years past. It's a lot of short steep ups and downs with heavy leaf cover that makes footing a bit tricky, but it's only 3 miles, so ends sooner than later.

Upon exiting, I asked where the next woman was and was told that Justine had entered the Do-Loop 16 minutes back and that Keith was 30 seconds ahead of me after the Do-Loop. That motivated me to pick up the pace a bit to widen the lead and to catch Keith, as I'm never anywhere close to Keith. I passed Keith at the Fountain Head AS (38) on the way back without even realizing it, so then continued to chase him on towards Wolf Run Shoals (40), where I eventually figured out that he was behind me. I felt really strong from the Do Loop (mile 35) until about mile 43. Luckily Greg Loomis caught up with me at about that time, and we pushed it in the last several miles together. I like to run alone, but it was nice to have Greg's company for those last hard miles. He made the last 5 miles go by much more quickly. Greg and I finished together in 7:34.05, good for 8th overall, 1st female and just a couple minutes shy of Anne Lundblad's course record. The warm weather affected many people, but being that I wintered in El Salvador where it was 80-90 degrees and sunny every day, I had a bit of an unfair advantage.

And in other exciting news, the WUS Pink Mafia team of Keith Knipling, Brian Schmidt, Todd Walker, Justine Morrison and I cleaned up in team competition, beating our nearest competitor by a ways. Hence the obnoxious pink offit I'm wearing above....

Bull Run is a good course for me. It's hilly, but run-able, and technical enough to not be boring, but not so technical as to require much rock hopping, although there are a few short rocky sections along the river. The aid stations are top notch, with great VHTRC volunteers/friends, and the party at the finish line is always fun--good food and catching up with friends. My apologies to aid station workers I encountered from Hemlock to FountainHead, as I was a bit grumpy. This was Anstr's first year as RD, and he and his fabulous volunteers pulled off another great BRR. I teared up at some point in the last 5 miles, maybe in pain, but also in thinking about how much I love the VHTRC--what a great group of people! I really missed the club while I was in El Salvador (although I love my ES running group, too).

Regarding BRR, I will definitely be back. In 2007, I felt my win was a bit of a fluke/lucky, and that I'd never be able to approach that effort again. While I ran a good time this year, I didn't feel great throughout, and feel like I could go faster on a good day.

Maybe a lesson learned is that I do better when I don’t think about a race at all. I tend to get nervous about races, and for that reason, don’t love racing. Being that I didn’t plan to race, I wasn't even slightly nervous. I don’t think that this particular tactic will work with MMT next month, as it is hard not to focus on the 100 mile rock-fest that is MMT, or go into it as a 'training run,' but at least in 100 miles there is plenty of time to settle nerves.

Now it's off to a truly slow effort at Promise Land 50K++ this weekend, which I plan to take at a leisurely pace and enjoy the views.

(Photos courtesy of Aaron Scwhartzbard and Quatro Hubbard)

Chocolate Bunny 2009, Smokey Edition

Every Easter Eve, Tom (and now Kirstin) help put on a fun, yet kinda crazy, low-key event, known as the Chocolate Bunny 50K. You finish on Easter, regardless of whether you run it in 5 hours or 15, so all finishers receive a chocolate bunny. The run starts around sunset, and covers what are some of the rockiest parts of the MMT 100 course. It's a great way to get in a long night run, with support, and is a spring-time favorite. This was my first complete chocolate bunny. I had run the first 2/3 of it 2 years ago, but had chosen to not run the entire thing so as to not run a rocky 50K the week before Bull Run Run. I'm running BRR again this year, so I opted for the full bunny. I'm shooting for 3 80 mile weeks in a row, with a 50K (bunny), 50 miler (BRR), and 50K (Promise Land) thrown in for long runs. 80 miles is as much as I ever do in a week, so hope that it will be enough to be in decent shape for MMT next month.

Back to the bunny. The run starts at mile 58 of the MMT course and finishes at mile 89. The first climb is a good one. Not too steap, not too rocky, and most of it pretty runnable. It's not runnable for me during MMT, but at the start of a run, it's mostly runnable. The trail in general is pretty nice until a bit of a gnarly section down into Moreland Gap, which is the start of Short Mountain. Short Mountain is one of those sections on the MMT course which gets a lot of hype. For many, Short Mountain comes after sunset, which adds to the challenge. My goal at MMT is to be on Short Mountain before dark; not necessarily done with it, but at least on it.

The first time I ever 'ran' Short Mountain, I thought it sucked. I was with Michelle Harmon, and we were several hours into a 40 mile run, and both hating life. We kicked nearly every rock on Short Mountain, and I remember discussing with her that I had no desire to ever attempt MMT. Hah.

I remember running Short Mountain a couple of other times, and thinking that it got way more hype than it deserved....not much of a climb, and the rocks weren't really that bad. And last year during MMT, I remember stumbling over some rocks on Short Mountain, but don't remember thinking much of it, besides being happy to get off it and to arrive at Edinburg to sample some of Brenda's famous potato soup. Ymmmm.

I really had little recollection of the giant rock pile that is the ridge line of Short Mountain, but it sucked again on Saturday. It didn't help that I had 2 dim lights (meant to replace my batteries, but ended getting the new and used batteries mixed, and had 2 dim lights as a result), and that my feet/ankles were having some unhappy issues, but I again questioned the sanity of MMT while on Short Mountain on Saturday.

After Short Mountain, life gets better. Sean had mentioned to me earlier in the run that he really liked the section on Powell's, which I remember having hated during MMT. That section he was referring to was the same section where I had fallen last year during an MMT training run, which resulted in hand surgery. This time I enjoyed the section into Woodstock and the memories of my month at work typing with one hand seem to have faded.

Getting into Woodstock, means 5 miles to the finish, along a ridge line that is not too gnarly, but also never seems completely runnable, with a steep, fun down hill into Powell's Fort. I was expecting a bon-fire and beer, but instead was greeted in the parking lot by Sean, who had finished almost an hour earlier and a bit after Keith (who had driven back up to Woodstock), and who was by this time, shivering. After all, it was 35 degrees'ish, and after running for 30 miles and then standing around in shorts in a parking lot full of locked cars, he was understandably cold. Luckily, for both he and I, my dear new Bridgette has heated seats, so we soon had toasty bums and were snacking on a big vat of party mix, while we awaited other runners.

I must say that the run put a healthy dose of fear in me for MMT, as I had truly forgotten just how gnarly and technical some of those stretches are. Luckily, I'm not sore today, and was able to run commute, so my feet and ankles seem to be recovering fine. I do need to find me some new shoes in the next month, as I wore my old school hardrocks, which felt stiff and clunky. Wondering if any of the other participants had lingering effects from the controlled burn that had been done the day prior? On Sunday, I could barely talk, and felt as if I'd smoked a couple of packs during the run. Kudos to Tom and Kirstin and their band of merry volunteers! As always, your support is much appreciated. It was great weather for running, but a cold night to be volunteering. It was a nearly perfect night (minus Short Mountain) to be out running in the mountains, under a nearly full moon.

Bel Monte 50 Miler, 2009 Forest Gnome Edition

On Saturday, I ran the Bel Monte 50 Miler in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville, Virginia--my first long run on trails in a few months. Perfect running conditions, 50's and damp. It rained until early Saturday morning, but stopped in time for the run and didn't pick up again until mid-afternoon. Bel Monte has 25k, 50k, and 50 mile options and the course is a nice mix of single track, fire road, and gravel road; some parts of it pretty technical, but other parts nice and pine needle-y. I signed up for Bel Monte because I'm feeling months behind on long days on trails, so figured I should jump in with 50 miles my first weekend back (there were the shorter options of Terrapin Mtn 50k and MMT training run #3 on Saturday, as well). I'm not sure that I can catch up in the 2 months before MMT, but 50 miles on Saturday seemed like a good idea.


The bad:
The first 5-10 miles. I felt like crap and my legs felt like logs. Training on roads is not training on trails, and all sorts of little muscles get forgotten. Between not being able to see the trail (a flashlight might have been handy) and not having run on trails in 6 months, I struggled in the beginning.

I had thoughts of giving up running altogether during the first 5 miles with people passing left and right. Of course, some of those were 25 and 50Kers, and those that weren't, I passed back at some point. One guy, when I told him to pass me, said he'd prefer not to, because he distinctly remembered my pony tail bobbing by him later in the race on other occasions. He did pass, but regretted it later.... ;)

The Good:
Some sweet single track up on the ridge lines. It was fun, once I got back in the groove of it, to navigate over rocks. I was pretty happy to not fall once, especially after a long break from trails, and the fact that I fall on most long trail runs.


Listening to Mongold growl(?) at me as he barreled past to stop walking. The 50 miler had a few out and back sections, which allowed you to see other runners. Mongold mentioned to someone afterwards that he hadn't walked a step--he broke last year's course record by more than an hour. Fun to watch.

Live Scroat Belly and Split Lip show in the woods. Seriously, an unfair advantage. I was in a funk and pulled out my iPod--hello Witchita--I love those boys. They never fail to pull me out of a funk.

The fog, although it obstructed the views, was nice and made the run seem a little mystical. There were places where I wouldn't have been surprised if a gnome had hopped out from behind a rock and waved at me. Maybe next time....

Just being out on trails in the mountains--it was something that I really missed and was anxious to come home to.


I felt clumsy and out of shape at times, but felt strong in spurts, especially towards the middle and end. That was encouraging, that I had more than 50 miles in me if need be, and I could recover from the dead leg lows I felt early on.

Nutrition: 5-15 gels (probably somewhere in the middle), a couple of packs of shot blocks, and a handful of savory aid-station snacks towards the end. One S-cap, and not a whole lot of fluids. I emptied my Nathan bladder once (Nuun), and filled it half-way (water) at mile 32. That was it, besides grabbing water at the last couple of aid stations. It was damp and chilly (to me) outside, and I wasn't thirsty. Energy-wise, I didn't bonk and stayed on top of things.


Shoes: No blisters--might be a first--and no lost toenails--another first. I think the numerous river crossings actually helped in that regard. I wore injinji socks and my very old Asics Trail Attack I. While they looked new (washing machine), they need to be retired, as I have no idea how many miles they have. Unfortunately the updates to the original Trail Attack I have not liked nearly so much. The original had a snugger fit to it, and a light weight road shoe feel. And it was the shoe on top, when I unearthed and opened my tub of shoes on Friday afternoon. I am still in search of a perfect trail shoe. I won a pair of Vasque boas, and also plan to order some La Sportiva's this week, so hope to find something I like soon for MMT. Otherwise, I'll go with Hardrocks again, although I'd really like to get away from them. They seem like too much shoe, although they are the only thing I've found that make my feet less un-happy after long runs on the rocks of MMT. Maybe MMT requires too much shoe.


I ran alone most of the day. No one passed me, and I didn't pass anyone until the last couple of miles. I finished in 9:26, which was an hour faster last year's course record. It's only the 2nd year for the 50-mile option at Bel Monte, so that won't last for long. 6th overall and 1st woman. The results claim that only 43 of 103 starters finished....not sure why? It's a challenging course, but not overly so.

Two days later, and I'm walking funny, and won't run until Tuesday's WUS. Bel Monte did prompt me to put my name on the Bull Run waiting list, as another 50 miler would help with my confidence pre-MMT. It was great to see some VHTRC friends out on trail, Bradley, Sean, Steve, Mitchell, among others. It feels good to be home!

Back home again....

After a little over 5 months in El Salvador, I'm back in the states. While I'm glad to be home, I had a great time in El Salvador and will miss the friends I made here, and many things about El Salvador. But, I must say, I'm glad to be home to my 'regular life', running in Rock Creek and the Massanuttens with friends, and enjoying spring in DC. I had the opportunity to travel around a bit during my time in El Salvador, and I hope to go back someday soon to explore some more. Some photo highlights from the last 5 months:

The view from a run up to Boqueron, one of the volcanoes surrounding San Salvador. Beautiful views. A fun run, and uphill for 15 miles.

A truck 'parked' on the side of the stree in Apaneca, El Salvador. A sleepy little town on the 'Ruta de las Flores.' Wonder how long this truck has been 'parked' there?
And we in the US insist on car seats for kids up to how many pounds now? It was a hot afternoon; definitely not the most pleasant of rides.

I was there for 2 big elections. The left won over the presidency in the recent presidential elections. Will be interesting to see what that means for El Salvador.
The view from the barge on the ride to Isla Ometepe. Site of the 1st Fuego y Agua (F y A) 100k and 50k Ultramaratones. What an adventure!!

Another shot from F y A. The view on the climb up Volcan Maderas.

Also from F y A, from the top of Volcan Maderas. An inactive volcano, crater lake is often clouded over and rainy. We were fortunate to have great views and sunny skies.

Again, F y A, a view of Volcan Concepcion from the road.

The view from half-way up Volcan Concepcion during F y A. I dropped my camera on trail soon after this shot and luckily the next guy picked it up for me.

From a day-trip to Cayos Cochinos, Honduras with J-Leh and Tonia.

Not a bad spot to stop off for lunch, unless you don't eat fish.

A day trip to Cayos Cochinos in Honduras (a group of small islands close to La Ceiba).
While the rest of the group opted for snorkeling, J-leh and Tonia and I opted for coffee.

River rafting in the mountians near La Ceiba. This day of rafting had its consequences....
Not us, although we'd gone down this run earlier in the day.
My rafting guide trying to convince me to jump. I did, but it took me a while.

The mountains were beautiful, and the forests intact.

J-Leh and I enjoyed a nice hike in the woods, even though we never did find the giant waterfall.

And glamour shots from the suspension bridge....

J-leh and I spent a few days in Roatan, Honduras between Christmas and New Years, and went diving for the first time since living in Chuuk. It was great to get back under the water, and I hope to plan another diving trip soon.

I dove for the first time in 5 years, and J-leh dove for the first time ever!
The ruins in Copan, Honduras.

Another photo from Copan.

The view from Cerro Verdo of Izalco, a volcano I climbed with my running friends. It was a fun day with good friends.

A partial group shot from the top. Jose Alberto, me, David, Gloria, Juan Pablo and Luiz. I'll miss you guys!

One of the few touristy colonial towns in El Salvador, a view of the cathedral in Suchitoto.
We ran to the beach several times--one of my favorite runs, 20 miles and much of it downhill. This wasn't actually one of those Saturdays, but this was a trip to the beach after my last Saturday long run in the mountains around El Salvador.

The group, after one of those weekend runs to the beach.

I'm happy to be back in DC again, but I will miss many things about El Salvador, especially my early morning running buddies. I won't miss setting my alarm for 3:30 for early Friday morning runs though! Well, actually, I guess I will. Thanks to my dear friends--come and visit me in DC!!

Ultramaraton Las Verapaces, Coban, Guatemala

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I broke down and ran the only 'local' ultra I could find on Saturday, the 80 km Ultra Las Verapaces, which started at Km 132 on the paved road to Coban, Guatemala, and ended at Km 213, the central plaza in Coban. 50 miles on a busy highway in the mountains of Guatemala....mountains = good, asphalt = torture, no? Picture a winding highway, packed with buses, logging trucks, and weekend traffic. And you know what? It wasn't so bad....and definitely a race I'll remember.

In preparing for MMT, I've been a bit nervous about my lack of long runs since about the time I left DC in mid-October. I ran the 100Km Fuego y Agua race in December in Nicaragua, and besides a couple of 20 milers thrown in here and there, haven't done anything really long since Fuego y Agua. I'm getting in about 60 miles a week, but that's with 3 or 4 10-15 mile runs per week, and no consistent 20 + milers. I've definitely been running more miles during the week here than I do in DC, but much less on the weekends. At home, January through March are great training months with the VHTRC with lots of organized training events and chances to get out on the MMT trails, which when snow covered are slightly more forgiving. While I've missed out on my favorite months of VHTRC group training runs, one advantage I have had in El Salvador is that every day is 85-90 degrees and sunny. There is really no day that isn't perfect for heading out at 5 a.m in shorts and a tank top (unless you're Salvadoran, and wear long sleeves when it hits 75).

It was a challenge to get any information on the race. It was originally posted on an on-line calendar for February 28th, and then disappeared, and then reappeared a few weeks later with a February 21st date. I stalked the organizers until I finally heard back, and was disappointed when the race instructions mentioned that every runner must have a 'support vehicle.' What? The thought of needing a support vehicle frightened me a bit. Luckily, a friend from Peace Corps Paraguay, who is doing a second stint with Peace Corps El Salvador, jumped at the chance to get away for the weekend, and agreed to accompany me. Thanks Alyssa!!

A Guatemalan running buddy in El Salvador mentioned that the last 30 km was uphill into Coban. I figured if nothing else, I would get in some good climbing practice and it would be a chance to see if my climbing has improved. San Salvador is seriously hilly, and my running group hasn't caught on to walking the ups, so I feel like my climbing has improved in my time here.

We drove the course on Friday, because we had no other option. We were staying in Coban, and the road into Coban was the race route. It was scenic, and we got rained on as we passed through some really nice cloud forest around 1700 m. It doesn't rain in El Salvador from November through April, so it was a pleasant change. There is a large nature reserve along the route called the 'Biotope del Quetzal,' which is reserve for the quetzal (beautiful blue birds that live in cloud forest habitat in Central America and have become endangered as their habitat has disappeared). The first 25 miles of the course was up and down, eventually descending into a valley for about 15 miles of relative flatness, before beginning to climb at about mile 40 up to Coban until the last couple of miles that descended into town with one final little climb up to the plaza. Or at least that's how I remember it.

The race started at 11 a.m., which meant a really sunny, somewhat warm run. We got some mist heading through the cloud forest, which was appreciated. There were 26 of us that started, and 20 that finished. I had been told that no one had ever not finished, but there were fewer startes in the 2 previous years. I was in the lead briefly at the beginning, and then again at some point in the first half, although I didn't realize it. Some guy surged ahead early, but apparently he either wasn't a participant, or dropped early, because eventually, I realized the radio mini-vans were reporting me as the leader. I went back and forth with last year's winner, although I didn't know it at the time, and at one point asked him if he was running the race. Oops.

Aid was roving in nature, coming in a variety of different forms. I had the pleasure of having my own personal escort, Rigoberto, a friendly guy from Coban, who rode his bike patiently by my side the entire run, surging ahead to hand me water as needed. In addition, I had various other 'escorts', 2 police pick-up trucks, the guys from RunGuate.com, 2 micro-buses from the local radio station blaring latin pop and frequent race updates, and a bandit motorcycle heading into town.

I ran a 6:56 which was good for 1st overall and beat the old course record of 7:08. I was super psyched to break 7 hours, as I was guessing I might finish closer to 8 hours, based on the climbs. I ran the first 40 miles without walking a step, which was a definite first for me. I must admit it was partly because I didn't want the radio station to proclaim loudly to all, "The gringa is walking." I hit 25 miles in 3:25 and ran the last 25 miles in 3:31. I really expected to run the second half about an hour slower, so was happy that I was able to maintain a good pace throughout. I walked about a half kilometer total on a few of the last climbs with the radio blaring behind me, "The North American is walking, although she's walking quickly." ("Ay dios! La norteamericana está caminando pero está caminando rápidamente!") The radio commentary throughout was pretty humorous. At some point they mentioned that I had previously run a 100 miler, and then commented that I had also run a 135 miler. I considered popping my head in the van window and correcting them, but figured it would be hard to explain while running.

I drank gatorade, water, 8 gus, a banana, and a pack of shot blocks. My stash of treats (gels, etc) is depleted, so I basically used what I had. I have long since run out of Nuun, which is what I always prefer.

Most of the runners were from Guatemala City or Coban. Guatemala hosts 3 ultras each year; a 50k in the capital and a 100k that runs from somewhere to the ocean, and this one in Coban. All 3 of the runs are on pavement. When I asked some of the Coban guys why they didn't take advantage of all of the great trails and side roads, they commented that they do all of their training on trails or dirt roads. Huh? While it was a fun and interesting event, there are some great options in the area for a fabulous trail event. They seem to feel it would be too difficult to pull off an ultra on trails, and that the ultra itself would be too difficult. I would definitely go back for a trail ultra in the area, although I doubt I'll make it back for another road version. Although I had a blast.....

If you ever find yourself in Guatemala in February I recommend giving this event a try. As with ultra communities in other parts of the world, the one in Guatemala is a fun and interesting bunch, that will go out of their way to help you out and make you feel at home. I hope to return to the Coban area someday soon to play tourist.

(all photos are courtesy of RunGuate.com)