Laurel Highlands Ultra 77 Miler

Last weekend Jess and I went up to PA to see my family, catch a Pirate game, and of course - run an ultra. We had a great time on our trip and got to Ohiopyle, PA the afternoon before the race to hike around and check out the scenery. This town is a hidden gem and I hadn't been there since I was in highschool. So that was really cool. We checked out the natural waterslides, some of the waterfalls, and hiked over some of the bridges crossing the Yough River. We also grabbed dinner, a couple beers, and an ice cream, pretty standard pre race meal.

The next morning Jess followed me down to the start which we could walk to from our bed and breakfast. I was doing the 77 miler which had a 0530 start and Jess the 50K which started later at 0800. I had put together two drop bags, one for 44 miles and one for 64 miles with both having fresh socks and some extra lara bars and the latter having my head lamp. The race was a point to point which was pretty neat but also makes for its own challenges, but I was lucky enough to have my brother and his wife and my sister agree to be my pit crew and cheer section for the afternoon and evening.

The race scenery was pretty awsome. The first 10 miles were pretty slippery from rain the day before and had some gnarly hills. I could tell after the first two hours that it would be a longer day then I had hoped. I hit the 2nd checkpt near Seven Springs PA in about 6 and half hours or so (maybe longer). And I was still feeling decent at this point. This was the first spot I saw my family and my sister's friend, Katie, there to cheer me on. That was really great and helped big time.

The next section included a detour to get over the turn pike which adds and extra 6.5 miles or so to this normally 70.5 mile race. This section was on gravel road and pavement. It definitely was a rough section being out on the road here. But again my brother and sister tracked me down on the road and even jogged a mile or so with me. That was great. This was probably the warmest section as well, although we got pretty lucky in that the temps probably stayed in the 70's for the afternoon. I also got caught in a little rain shower at one point which wasn't too bad.

At 44 miles I switched socks and headed back out on the trail this time glad to have the pavement behind me. The next 20 miles were tough. I was doing the jog-walk-shuffle routine just trying to slog my way down the trail. I was feeling pretty bad and wasn't sure I wanted to continue, but being a pt to pt I knew that if I wanted to drop, I had to do it at the aide stations at either 52 or 64. I got to 52 and decided if I could make it to 64 I would be home free and hopefully my family would be back from picking up Jess from her run and she would be there to cheer me on as well. So I continued my pathetic slog forward.

At some point in the race someone told me the later sections of the trail were more run-able than the early part, which ended up being true. But I was in rough shape so I don't know if what I was doing would qualify as running. At one point there was a relay guy ahead of me and I would walk till he was almost out of sigh then run till I'd catch him and then walk again. Each time he would ask if I wanted to pass and I would tell him emphatically "no."

When I made it to 64 I saw Jess and the fam and that was great. I got the headlamp and Jess put a new shirt on me which in the end backfired because the dry shirt immediately started chafing, oh well. Here my brother was ready to hit the trail with me. That was AWSOME! We walked out of the aide station and after some painful shuffling he basically said "dang dude, we are going slow." So I told him to keep jogging and I would keep up. It seemed to work and before I knew it we were actually trail "running" again.

So we ran on and off as it got dark and made it through the last aide station at 68 miles. I told Scott when we got to about 5 or 6 miles out I was just going to push as hard as I could to finish it up and he said he would probably just let me go. So that's how it went down. I finished in 16:36 for 9th place just after 10PM. I was stoked and completely spent. The pic below is of my kankles 2 days later when they swelled up like softballs. I was pretty much a physical mess last week. I don't think I'm going to run anything over 50 miles until I start running more during the week. This run was doable, but extremely painful and my recovery afterwards was rough.

In the end I had a great time. I am convinced I wouldn't of finished without my family and friends being there and my brother helping me through the last 13 or so miles. I owe them big time. Jess did a great job on her 50K as well, although she didn't get the time she wanted. Below is the first 44 miles from the garmin before the battery went dead.