This is my race report for the Forget the PR 25K race at Mohican in Loudonville, Ohio. the race was held on . Jim Smith, my fixture of a running buddy, and I left Columbus early (5 a.m.) in the morning. We got to the race parking lot way early as there were only about 6 other cars in the lot. And that was even after we stopped at the local McDonald's in Loudonville, which is the swankiest McD's I have ever seen. There was marble and granite everywhere. Wood and even polished brass. Nothing says class like polished brass.
I digress. So we made our way over to the start area to get race numbers, sign-in, etc. It was chilly but partly sunny and probably 45 degrees or so. A perfect day for running. We went back to the car and got our race gear on and got prepared by listening to a little Girl Talk on the stereo. Very cool DJ from Pittsburgh that mixes 70-80's rock hits with Rap. It is a great combination and really fun to listen to pre-race.
We made our way to the line. Well, I should say Jim made his way to the line. You see Jim ran in the 50K and I in the 25K race. I got shut out of the 50K as it was full so I ran the 25K instead. The 50 started 30 minutes before we did. They rolled out at 8 a.m. and we started at 8:30. Jim looked good and I had the feeling that he was gonna have a good day but I wouldn't see him again until close to the end.
We started at 8:30 and when the gun went off we ran across a grass field about 200-300 yards and then turned left onto a road and ran back past the start line. I put myself in the lead as I wanted to get a good start and I was feeling strong that day (so far). As we got about another 1/4 of a mile we got to where the trail goes into the woods and begins to go uphill (already). Myself and Randy Wilson were up front and we had a great pace going. I had never met Randy before but when he told me he was a Cross Country coach from Pennsylvania I thought, Uh-Oh, this guy can hold a pace. Now, I am gonna get "off trail" for a second here and talk about one thing that I love the most about trail running, and running in general. I meet people that I do not know from all over the place. You just settle into a pace with someone and you start talking and it makes it that much more fun to run with a new running friend. Sounds a bit corny but I really enjoy that part of running. I have made many friends that way. Speedy runner extraordinaire Jay Smithberger from Granville for one.
So back to the race.
Randy and I started to pass some of the 50K runners at about the 4 mile mark or so. All of the runners were really good about letting us pass as we were keeping a much quicker pace. Makes sense, we were running half the distance they were so we could afford to go faster. Now something happened as we passed a few runners that I must stop and comment on. There were three runners that we passed and one, a guy that runs in the Northern and Central Ohio trail running community and owns his own screen printing business. He supplies many races with the shirts they give out. I won't name names but you get the idea. He said, and I quote, "Hey are you guys gonna run the REAL race next year"? Now Randy didn't take this too kindly and said a few choice expletives that I will not repeat here but I felt the same as he did. But Randy did say "we are just running fast because we can". Now the more I thought about this the more angry I got. I know for a fact that the gentleman was not kidding or "busting our balls" because neither one of us knew him. It's fine to say that kind of thing if you are friends with someone and you are jsut giving them a hard time as a friend. Neither one of us knew this joker. What right did he have to ask us if we were running the REAL race? Just because there is a longer race out there it doesn't mean that other races that day are not REAL. We all go to events with different goals and different agendas. My goal that day was to run the 25K as fast as I could as it was shorter than the 50K and I felt that my training would allow me to have a pretty fast time. Just because I was running faster and passed this fella on the trail he felt the only way to "shoot back" was to make a comment about running a shorter distance then he was that day. My ass. Any distance that anyone decides is fine for them on that, or any other day. I just ran the Mohican 50 mile trail race in preparation for the Burning River 100 later in July. Now the Mohican race also has a 100 mile race that all goes off at the same time. Now do you think that because 50 miles are less than 100 that 50 miles is a lesser event? Hell no! 50 miles is damn hard and there are people that start the race that never finish. So my point is now matter who is running what event it is exactly what they want to run that day and no one, except their ball busting buddies, should give them a hard time about it.
Okay, back to the race again.
Randy and I were going along at a good clip and I led us up to the first aid station. I thought "well, if he stops I will, if not I have enough water, etc. to get to the next station". Randy didn't stop so neither did I. We dashed into the woods and headed down a nice decent.
As soon as we got to the bottom of that decent I thought "I should not be a hog and let Randy lead for a while" be the kindhearted trail runner that I am. Well, when Randy took the lead he slowly hit the gas and I increased my pace to keep up. When I realized that it felt a bit fast for the pace I thought I could hold for the whole race I wished Randy luck and he slowly faded out of sight around the next corner. I felt good myself and just told myself to not worry about him anymore and just settle on a pace I felt good with. I did just that and was feeling really good. We came up to the Covered Bridge aid station, a staple of any trail running event at Mohican.
In fact, it's funny how many trail ultras have "Covered Bridges". The Burning River 100 in the Cleveland area in July (two days from now in fact) - you guessed it, Covered Bridge. I would love to find a race someday that is race from one Covered Bridge to the next. If anyone knows of an area with lots of Covered Bridges, let me know.
Back to the race. I got refueled at the aid station quickly and off I went again down a paved portion and into a small campground looking portion of the race. I could still not see Randy but I thought perhaps if I kept in my pace that I might see him again. The paved portion disappeared and turned into singletrack trail again. I love me some singletrack. It got to a portion where it wound very close to the Clearfork River and I really had to be careful. Lots of roots and rocks. This stuff is easy to trip on accidentally and I find myself at late stages of a trail race telling myself to "lift those knees" to avoid tripping.
Well, I avoided tripping during this race, which is usually not the case. Usually it's not an ultra unless you trip and fall. Not so this time, thankfully. I knew I was getting close to the finish and the adrenaline started pumping as I knew that I had not been passed by anyone and was still in 2nd place overall. I had never finished in 2nd place overall EVER in any race and I was getting excited but keeping focused on the trail. As I popped out of the woods where the singletrack ended I knew I only had a very little ways to go. But where were the trail markings? I looked for the telltale yellow flags stuck in the ground. Nothing. I was on a paved parking area and my eyes dashed back and forth as I frantically looked for the markings. Nothing. I ran slowly to the right after I asked two guys in a pickup if they saw any runners. They thought they saw some go right. So I ran about 1/4 mile to the right as I thought I saw a yellow flag. It turned out to be a daffodil and I was pissed. I quickly turned around and dashed back to where I popped out of the woods. As I kept running past that spot I spotted Randy cooling down. I asked him which direction to the finish and he said "Quick right this way" and pointed behind him. At this point I could see someone running in front of me. I knew it was the person who was behind me all race and was now in 2nd place. That was supposed to be my place. I tried in vain to catch him but we were way too close to the finish. I watched him finish and I finished about 10-15 seconds after him. As I crossed the finish line I tossed my waterbottle down in disgust and barked at the race director about the poorly marked porting right at the end and I why I was pissed because it caused me to finish 3rd rather than 2nd. He apologized profusely and quickly sent someone out to mark the course in that area and to make it painfully obvious where you were to go. I cooled down and apologized to him for losing my head and I told him how great the race was except for that little portion. I felt bad for over-reacting and apologized again. He was very gracious and I appreciate his kindness. Thanks Rob.
Here is me during the race:
My buddy Jim was running the 50K and after I got cleaned up and fueled up again I walked the course backward toward the Covered Bridge and met him about 1/2 from the Bridge. I ran back in with him to the finish for my cool down. He ran a great race and PR'ed at the "Forget the PR 50K" as did quite a few people that day. Rob has promised that in 2012 the race will be revised to live up to it's name. Bring it on Rob. Just make sure that hunting for the trail is not part of the race.
Thanks for reading and Happy Running!
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