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Doug gives the pre-race briefing..."This ain't Disney!" Click here for more pictures Race Report by Greg McDowell After completing the Boogie 50 miler in 2010 on my second attempt, I returned to the event with thoughts of improvement, only to be met with additional challenges. Clouds and rain moved in shortly before the 6:00pm Saturday evening start, causing intermittent sprinkles but welcome cloud coverage in the early going. Throughout the evening, May and I exchanged text messages about rain - apparently, Charlotte was having its share, too. I mentioned some light sprinkles. Determined to keep my nutrition levels higher in hopes of longer-lasting energy, I pushed the G3 (with protein) and calories in the early going. That may have contributed to some stomach distress following an excellent initial 10 mile split which was 4 minutes faster than 2010. The second loop pace dropped precipitously as running seemed to jostle my digestion, giving pause to the thought of a successful finish. I spent 8p to 10:30p balancing the goals of nutrition and avoiding quality time in a small room - a room with a moon-shaped carving on its door, in the woods of rural N.C. For the third loop, I relied only on Gatorade and water, figuring I would sit out for a bit after 30 and eat if necessary to regain some strength. At 26 miles, as I headed downhill, the threatening sky finally unleashed its fury. It would not be a stretch to call it torrential (my headlamp barely lit the pavement 6-10 feet in front), and it lasted 20 minutes, with another 20 minutes hard. But the rain was invigorating - and stinging - as my stomach issues abated and the cool air brought renewed life. My feet were quickly soaked and my running shorts grew heavy. I took an 8 minute stop to switch shoes and socks, apply vaseline, etc. But I felt better at 30 than I had at 20, despite falling many minutes behind goal pace and even more with the equipment stop. I grabbed a small PB&J sandwich and walked out to begin the fourth loop. Light rain continued to fall. Any hope to improve upon the finish time was long gone, but there was still the infrequent opportunity to complete the challenge. This was only the second time I had ever covered more than 31 miles, so there was still much to be learned. And perhaps I'll recall getting past a stomach issue in a future event. (I know now to moderate the high protein calories in the early going, and I also learned the benefits of the pre-prepared PB&J mini-sandwiches.) Unfortunately, the cloud cover prohibited the joy of sky-watching which is only available post moon-set (2:30am), far from large cities. As I found myself almost entirely alone for 30-40 minutes at a stretch, I listened to the bullfrogs and various creatures lurking in the woods. I stayed in the center of the road, constantly scanning the pavement for any slinky varieties of God's creatures. At mile 15, I had spotted one about 10 feet short of stepping on him (or her - it was dark). Fortunately, I was moving so slowly, I had plenty of time to step aside, while shouting out an unplanned expletive in case that would discourage further contact. In fact, it worked, as I never again saw a 5 to 50 foot copperhead, despite constant vigilance. I reached 40 miles below the requisite 10 hours - the limit before a runner is allowed to begin the final lap. While Doug "Boogieman" Dawkins often allows exceptions to this published rule, I hoped to avoid a ruling. At 40, I made another (quicker) stop to change into a third pair of shoes, and dryer socks, applying vaseline liberally to some sensitive toes, heels, etc. It took about 4-5 minutes to lower aching bones into my beach chair, and with Ricky Scott's assistance (he had dropped at 26 with heel/foot issues), I was quickly on my way, although not quickly. As the rain dissipated, steam rose from the pavement. Through mile 46, I tried to find a running and mostly walking stride which created the least pain for my feet. I was strongly aware of my burning quads, and not motivated to reach any particular finishing time. Following 2010's 12:00 finish, my announcement of a goal to take an hour off my time was beyond laughable. After completing a 31 mile training run 3 weeks ago, and the Illinois Marathon 3 weeks before that, I had revised my goal to just beat 12:00. (My written plan was 11:35.) At 20 and 30 miles, I wondered whether I could be an hour slower rather than an hour faster. I managed to throw in some 20 second jogs, but in reality I was just out for a 3.5 mph stroll. I might reach 4 mph on the downhills, but the uphills were more of a struggle than I had remembered from my two previous attempts. I took some solace to recall that my final two laps were approximately the same pace as in the prior year. At 46, I sat again to slather even more vaseline on my aching feet. There were several tender spots and I wanted to avoid the painful recovery of blisters I have known. As I started downhill at 5:25am, I realized I soon wouldn't need my headlamp, but it was too late to discard it. A couple fast walkers passed me, chatting incessantly. I wondered what it would be like to have company on this trek. I had listened to music on a new iPad Nano that May had recently given me, but just for the first 16 miles. As rain threatened, and the headphones irritated me, I had retired the music to the trunk of my car. As it darkens, it's usually best to stay focused on one's surroundings (and I had just seen Mr. Copperhead). The final 4 miles were surprisingly hard. The aching increased and the sky lightened, signaling the end of a long, long night. As I jogged the final 50 yards, Chuck Bingham (volunteer lap recorder) said I looked good. He and Wes (Ricky's friend) asked how I felt, and seemed surprised when I said "really, really bad." But I sat for awhile, put my feet up and inquired of Chuck the number of finishers, etc. Seems there were about 40 ahead of me and maybe 5 still on the course, including Sharon Scott ("Hundred Miler Sharon Scott ," as she will henceforth be referred to after completing the Umstead Ultra in April). The Bethel Hill Moonlight Boogie continues to have a fairly high number of dropouts. I myself was a DNF in 2009. Last year, 80 were registered, but only 56 showed. 36 finished and I was #24. While I would not have as low a number this year, I was, and am, a multi-ultramarathon finisher, with the official finisher's mug to prove it. 14 hours later, much of the discomfort is gone, although I will be struggling to get in and out of chairs for a couple days. And I might be taking the elevator more than the stairs. Final time - 12:33. Race Report by Sharon Scott No race report from me -yet-and don't hold your breath- as I have not even finished my Umstead report .... sorry, i'm a terrible writer and historian :( Boogie was tough. Again. I think each year it gets harder or maybe I'm just getting older. I decided sometime during the night that the reason I was able to finish Umstead 100 was mainly because of my AWESOME crew of pacers and crew chief but also because of the mental toughness that the Boogie 50 has taught me.... I was happy to finish. thankful that Doug allowed me to continue since i missed the 40 mile/10 hour mark by 7 minutes this year. My official finish time was 12h59m30s, but one thing I've learned from the Ron Horton School of Minimum Effort Running is that my finish time will simply be 12 hours and some change!!! Doug did a quick course sweep during my last lap and offered encouragement and told me there were 4 folks behind me. As much as I didn't want to be DFL, Idid feel really sorry for those folks since they had more miles to cover. It was great to hear that Ross did so well. I never got to talk to him since he got there late and was long gone by the time Ifinished. Congrats to you, Greg, on another 50 mile finish! No one will call you a One Hit Ultra Wonder now!!! You have proven yourself twice now and Hinson Lake should be a nice challenge to go past the 50 mile mark and to hit new territory. It was good seeing you again and it seemed like I got to see you on every out and back and it always perked me up to hear a familiar voice during the night saying hello :) We missed all the other folks this time that we have had so many Boogie memories with. Marc, Ron, Johhny, Tommy, Kimya, Jason, Kara, and Korre but it was great introducing Wes to the Boogie - his comment after he finished was priceless ..... "Well, I'm a man now ... the Boogie isn't a race for boys!" I'm going to lick my wounds and hopefully forget about the pain and all that swearing off long distance running that I did so much of during the night!!! Race Report by Ricky Scott Okay, after
reading Greg and Sharon's account, let me tell you the truth. Response by Greg to Ricky's Race Report Just one question
- "Zombie?" Really. Race Report by Ross Baker First, there was a Small issue with late arrival at the start line. Mapquest was not my friend and it left little time to socialize beforehand. Second, the Boogie is all that and then some. Heat, darkness, storms, unforgiving terrain, wildlife--that's the kind of a test that bruises a man's (or woman's) resolve as much as the body. Still, though, with purple painting the night sky and stars abounding and the sibilance of your own breath palpable in the remove of this journey, you can't help but sense the God-writ majesty of this world so easily lost to the hustle of the everyday. I truly had a great time. Congrats to Sharon and Greg for their success and to Ricky for his inspired effort against difficult odds. Like my friend Jim said during the 4th loop when the deluge came, "This makes it epic." In so many ways, indeed. Thanks again for everyone's help in helping me prep for this undertaking. All your wisdom helped tremendously. |
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