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***2022 Trail and Ultra Running Thread***

30,066 Views | 418 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by coop-aero-06
94chem
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My daughter and I just read the edited version. Funniest thing I've seen this week.
94chem,
That, sir, was the greatest post in the history of TexAgs. I salute you. -- Dough
aggiespartan
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AG
I just signed up for the Loup Garou 40 miler in south Louisiana. I guess I'm going to try to become an ultra runner by the end of the year!
AggieOO
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aggiespartan said:

I just signed up for the Loup Garou 40 miler in south Louisiana. I guess I'm going to try to become an ultra runner by the end of the year!


Welcome to the world of voluntary suffering.
aggiespartan
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AG
AggieOO said:

aggiespartan said:

I just signed up for the Loup Garou 40 miler in south Louisiana. I guess I'm going to try to become an ultra runner by the end of the year!


Welcome to the world of voluntary suffering.
The race is two 20 mile loops. They will have a place at the start/finish to leave a chair with a drop bag/gear. Any recommendations for things to leave there that might not be obvious?
AggieOO
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Pumpkin pie.

Easy on the stomach and can actually help settle it if you are having issues. And great source of calories.
Dafstun
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AG
Awesome! You will enjoy that one.
aggiespartan
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AG
AggieOO said:

Pumpkin pie.

Easy on the stomach and can actually help settle it if you are having issues. And great source of calories.
You roll up to your races with pumpkin pies?
AggieOO
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aggiespartan said:

AggieOO said:

Pumpkin pie.

Easy on the stomach and can actually help settle it if you are having issues. And great source of calories.
You roll up to your races with pumpkin pies?
welcome to ultra running. you'll see weirder things than pumpkin pie.

but typically, bring a slice. or find the mini pies.
aggiespartan
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AG
I heard a lot of people got harassed by hornets at Mission Tejas this weekend. Hope everyone came out ok!
BooletPruf
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AG
Those hornets were no joke. I ended up dropping because of them. My whole right side was on fire and I got to the point where I couldn't get a completely deep breath. They closed loop A after runners were getting stung until park employees went and killed them. I ran loop A after they reopened and one stung me on the left wrist as I ran by. I like the race. The park is great. I am disappointed in not finishing. First race I have dropped.
Swarely
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Did Ragnar Relays out in Comfort this past weekend. Second year in a row. Just came off a marathon training cycle and forgot how hard trail running can be. Had a great time, but my body hurts today.
aggiespartan
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AG
In preparation for my 40 mile race, I decided not to drive to Oklahoma for a 50 this weekend, and am instead attempting a 31 mile training run. I'm thinking about doing three 10 mile loops so I can set up an aid station. I think this will probably be awful and take me a really long time, but here are. If I can get through all the times, I will feel pretty good though, regardless of the time.
aggiespartan
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AG
For 40 miles, would you take a change of shoes if there was a chance of rain?
Sponge
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AG
If rocky no, if potentially muddy then yes. If rocky I'd just do socks in drop bags and wear gaiters.

I remember at the Tushars it was very wet and a guy set his foot down in a ton of mud and it ripped his shoe off. And that was early in the race; must have been brutal the rest.
aggiespartan
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AG
Sponge said:

If rocky no, if potentially muddy then yes. If rocky I'd just do socks in drop bags and wear gaiters.

I remember at the Tushars it was very wet and a guy set his foot down in a ton of mud and it ripped his shoe off. And that was early in the race; must have been brutal the rest.
It's a swamp that mostly drains quickly, but the ground has been described as "squishy" with some standing puddles.
AggieOO
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Take shoes so you have the option, but if the entire course is wet, it won't make much sense to change shoes bc they will immediately be wet again. If it's just one area, maybe it will make you feel better to change. I've done 50s and even 100 miles with wet shoes the entire race. You'll survive
aggiespartan
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AG
AggieOO said:

Take shoes so you have the option, but if the entire course is wet, it won't make much sense to change shoes bc they will immediately be wet again. If it's just one area, maybe it will make you feel better to change. I've done 50s and even 100 miles with wet shoes the entire race. You'll survive
Yea, I know I"ll survive but other people's plans make me question my plans.
AggieOO
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Every single person will have a different plan.
aggiespartan
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AG
It's just my longest distance so I don't know what my plan should be. I know I have to just do it to figure it out though.
aggiespartan
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AG
I just got back to my hotel and got cleaned up from Loup Garou. I did the 40 mile race. It probably went about as good as it could have. I finished in 10 hours 10 minutes.

The first loop went better than expected. The first 4 miles were the hardest - Lots of climbing and descending, lots of roots, and some mud. The pack separated after the 4 mile aid station and I was pretty much alone until mile 8, but I made up some ground and finally saw some more people after the 8 mile aid station. Next was 8 miles until the last aid station. I ended up running most of it with a guy and this was his first ultra too. I wasn't too sure what his plan was because I didn't see him eating or drinking, but I figured everybody has their own deal. We made it into the last aid station and the loop was about 3.5 miles away. I let him go ahead of me and I kept the last bit at a steady conservative pace. I knew the first 4 miles would come pretty quickly and I wanted to make sure I didn't kill myself. I finished the first look in about 4:45

I saw my new friend at the loop and ended up heading out before him. I got some snacks and changed socks and just headed back out. I realized when it was too late that I forgot my headlamp, so that was a little push to keep it moving. I saw him again at the 4 mile station and we were both in good spirits. He stuck around longer than I did, but my strategy was to get what I needed, and keep moving. I got to 8, hit the porta pottie, and he was there when I came out. I was in pretty high spirits and joked around with the volunteers. My new friend looked rough. He looked over and said he couldn't eat anything. When I headed out, I joked with the aid station girl that this was the start of the recovery run.

The rest of the race was pretty solitary for me. I saw one guy resting on a log, and that's the only person I saw for the next 8 miles. The last 8 stations had signs leading up to it, so you knew it was coming. I was doing really well mentally the entire race, but I did lose it a little bit there because I knew I was going to do this. I got to the aid station, had some snacks and a few drinks of beer, and I was off. Those last miles were tough. I passed one more person right around mile 39 and the rest was solo. By then, I knew I wasn't going to run out of light and I knew I would finish before 10:30.

All in all, I learned a lot and I felt like I had a pretty good result. No falls, and the guy at the last aid station told me I looked great, especially for this being my first ultra. I'm sure they say that to everyone, but I felt like he meant it. Mentally I don't feel tired at all. My legs are fatigued, but I'm still in good spirits. When I called the husband after the race, he said "wow you sound really chipper," which is much different than I sounded after the 17 mile Possum Kingdom race.

Thanks for all the advice everyone!




Ragoo
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AG
Awesome congrats!
Dafstun
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AG
Congrats! I like that long swamp bridge. Such a unique view.
aggiespartan
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AG
We went over a few of those. The last one we hit lead straight to the last aid station. They were slick and a little wonky but there were definitely some cool views.
oldarmy76
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Has anyone done any of these races before: https://www.ultraexpeditions.com/run
The one at Davis mountain and/or caprock canyon looks interesting.
aggiespartan
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AG
I have some friends that just did the barrier islands race and they enjoyed it. I've done a handful of their urban races, and they've all been pretty good.
AggieOO
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oldarmy76 said:

Has anyone done any of these races before: https://www.ultraexpeditions.com/run
The one at Davis mountain and/or caprock canyon looks interesting.
I've run the one at Caprock. There's a climb on that route that is pretty damn insane. its almost vertical. Overall, its a good race.

I've not run the one out in the davis mountains, but I've run Sky Island a bunch of times, which is mostly the same course, just different start/finish location. Its a fantastic race venue, but its pretty much 100% exposed, so it can get warm.
AggieOO
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Anyone register for Broken Arrow? We have not (yet). Potentially a big change coming for us (no, not another kid), so we are taking our chances and waiting to see what happens. If its still open once things shake out in a couple weeks, we'll probably jump in. 26K is already sold out, unfortunately.
aggiespartan
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AG
I haven't registered for anything for 2023 yet. I was going to wait until after BCS, but a lot of the races I was interested in are selling out. I wanted to do Dam Yeti, but I forgot about it and it sold out in less than an hour.
aggiespartan
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AG
I'm looking for an ultra in probably March or April, probably 50k to 50 mile distance. Location drivable for a long weekend from DFW. Any recommendations?
AggieOO
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Green Ultra in CS will be mid to late March.
agdoc-ultrarunner
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AG
aggiespartan said:

I'm looking for an ultra in probably March or April, probably 50k to 50 mile distance. Location drivable for a long weekend from DFW. Any recommendations?
Ouachita 50miler in Little Rock, AR is 4/17/23. I have run it before and it is a lot of fun. Get to scramble up an easy climb of Pinnacle Mountain with beautiful pics at the top about 5miles in.
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TRM
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AG
Time to start the 2023 thread?
aggiespartan
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AG
would you choose Dead Horse Ultra 50 mile, or Javelina 100k?
coop-aero-06
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AG
I would probably do Dead Horse over Javelina mostly because I would rather visit Moab over Phoenix. I have had many friends run Javelina over the years, and it definitely has a fun party atmosphere going on. That can be great if that's what you're in to, but if you come into an aid station in the middle of the night really needing a pick-me-up and all the volunteers have been drinking booze all day and don't really offer much assistance, that's not ideal.
 
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