Forget the PR, Mohican 50K

Last weekend Gina and I ventured over to Ohio for a 50K at Mohican State Park. In one sense, it did live up to it's name, I didn't get a PR (although my PR is on a course whose measurement accuracy is definitely not certain). Challenging, yes - kind of, there were enough ups and downs to keep things interesting, obviously Ohio has limited potential for long ups and downs and I bet most of the longest ones are in this park. There was plenty of technical terrain (read: hand-over-hand root ladders) and beautiful landscape to enjoy. It is a very gorgeous park and the race course cut through the best of it.

The race course is best described as a 3-leaf clover with the starting point on the tip of one of the petals. We started just a few minutes after 8:00 AM on Sunday. 150ish runners took off over the dewy grass, around an orange pylon, onto an asphalt road for a short stretch an then we hit the trail section. Luckily, the RD's announced before the race his pet peeve: Mid to Back of the Packers starting fast then slowing to a walk on the first hill section. This can be a problem at some races, at Squaw Peak 50 in Provo, UT, I've ran the initial 2 mile bike trail at 7 minutes/mile and still hit a log jam once the trail section starts. Luckily, the RD announcement helped, I hit the hill on the trail section and just kept boogying.

The initial "1 mile hill" though from the pre-race instuctions did not quit live up to its name. It leveled out for long stretches in the middle and was never really steep, I mean it is designed for mountain bikers, there is only so much you can expect from that population. They cannot seem to build a trail that isn't somehow a Grand Prix loaded with tight unnecessary turns, log jumps and quick, short drops (they called these "dogs" in OK, I don't know if this was a OK thing or not). Anyway, I started in a pack of 4 runners, a group of 3 took off at the start and we never did see these guys again. Right before the 1st aid, I followed the runner ahead of me (Richard Cook, the winner of Oil Creek 100), who was following the runner ahead of him and we missed a turn. In about 10 feet we realized our mistake and made the quick turn around. I ran through the aid station for the most part, just pausing long enough to get my bottle filled, and left before anyone else from this little pack of 4. They left quickly too, but after another mile or so, I never saw them again behind me.

Aid station 2 is right at the center of the 3-leaf clover, the "vertex" as us math folk say. I crossed over a covered bridge, got my bottle filled again (all of the aid station crew were amazing, I never stopped, someone grabbed my bottle and filled it up whiel walking next to me, I've never seen such helpful aid station workers!) and helped out on petal #2. About a mile or so into this section, the trail made a left turn and started picking its way through a small creek bed, hopping over fallen logs, around boulders and to top out required a short hand-over-hand climb up a tree's root system that looked like a ladder designed for someone just in my shoes. A bit later, I popped out by a resort by Pleasant Hill Dam. There is a short (~¾ mile) loop around the resort before you start heading back to the central vertex. Right as I started the loop I saw the lead runner (who would eventually win) heading back. After I passed through aid station #3 and was heading back myself, I saw some of the group that I had been with before. I figured I had a bout 7 minutes on them, more than I was expecting, so I relaxed a bit as I didn't feel anyone breathing down my back and turned my attention to the three guys I knew were ahead.

Back at aid station #2 again, I started up the climb to the Fire Tower (aid station #4). I think this is the longest climb on the course, really the only time I felt like walking at all. When I pulled through the Fire Tower aid station, I was a bit disappointed as I still hadn't seen Gina and we had planned on her meeting me both at the Resort (which I cam through sooner than we planned) and at the Fire Tower. About ½ mile down the trail though I saw her waiting for me in a parking lot. It picked me up to see her, plus I could finally ditch the glooves and long-sleeve shirt I had been carrying around my waist for the last 8 miles. Of course, following a climb to something called Fire Tower is an equally long descent. This felt good and I worked the down hills, unfortunately, I didn't seem to make up anytime on the guys ahead of me.

One last time through aid station #2 and I had only a 4 mile segment left, mostly flat along side a creek. After walking for 2 minutes to let me legs get a break after the downhill section, I put my head down and went to work. I made it through the flat creek side section and got the cruelest part of the course, a steep ½ climb followed by an equally steep descent. Yeah, I walked most of this climb.

I finished in 4:31:30, a time I'm very happy with. My toes on the other hand, probably wishes I took the down hills slower, or moved up to size 11s.



RESULTS