Whew! My first 50 mile race is done. Bishop was a really cool race to run this year. It's a pretty small event, with roughly 250 runners spread out among 20 mile, 50k, 50 mile, and 100k distances. There were about 50 runners in the 50 mile race with me. All runners started at 5:30am.
For being a small race, there were several recognizable faces at the start line. I knew that Dean Karnazes was running the 100k, and Ann Trason was doing the 50k. (Ann is sort of making a comeback into the ultra community right now. She's been entering a handful of races and just walking the whole thing. On Saturday, she hiked the whole 50k course.) I also spotted Billy Yang and Tim Tollefson, who both registered for the 50k at the last minute.
When the gun went off Tim shot out like a cannonball and immediately put a huge gap on the field. It's pretty amazing to see a pro runner do his thing while the rest of us mortals just ease into a comfortable pace. I found myself shoulder to shoulder with Billy Yang in the first 100 yards so I said something like "hey Billy, have a good race" and he looked back at me a little bit puzzled before offering up a "hey buddy, you too!"
About a mile later I realized there was a small group of about 5 chatty runners right in front of me. Then it hit me that Dean was right in the middle of the group, and he was surrounded by a bunch of fan-boys chatting his ear off. We all pulled into the first aid station around the same time, and I was being deliberate about taking my time, getting hydrated, and eating. Dean rushed in and out of there, possibly hoping to shed the crowd. But everyone just kept following him. Just after I left the aid station I looked up and saw the group about 200 yards ahead of me and Dean had stopped to tie his shoe (possibly another attempt to ditch the crowd?) and a few of the guys were just standing there waiting for him. Anyway, that was pretty entertaining to watch for a little while. Somewhere along the next 10 miles, I slowly made my way past that group and never saw them again.
The 50k course is an out-and-back. Somewhere around mile 13 or 14, I saw Tim Tollefson barreling towards me on the trail so I gave way and told him "good job". He responded in kind. That was cool. He was around mile 18 or so, heading to the finish. He went on to win the 50k by over an hour.
As for my race, it went about as well as I could have hoped for. I struggled to eat after about 30 miles, when the mid-day heat really started to bother me, so I deliberately slowed down and walked a lot. At the aid stations I was able to eat a lot of fruit, and I soaked myself with sponges, and force-fed myself gels. From mile 39 to the finish, the route is all downhill on a very runnable dirt road. Once I hit that section, I finally hit my stride and found a rhythm. I was able to finish strong and run the majority of those last 10 miles.
Next up is the Tahoe Rim Trail 50 mile race. Now that I have a 50 miler under my belt, I have a time goal to shoot for.
