I signed up for the NFEC 50K during the summer when it sounded like a great idea because it was "on sale" for 50% off. Besides the marathon, the Route 66 Marathon with a Detour to the Center of the Universe was the furthest I had run in one race (and that was like 26.5 miles). This would be my first 50K. Going into it, I was pretty nervous, because the Kansas City Half was the furthest I had run since my peroneal tendon injury at the end of September.
I went into the 50k with low expectations, and simply wanted to beat 6.5 hours, which seemed completely doable. Eladio, my coach, told me to treat the 50k like a training run, and take walk breaks every 5 to 10 minutes and/or walk the hills. After running the NFEC Half in August 2011, I knew good and well what "hill"acious situation I had potentially gotten myself into.
...cut to me at the starting line. I ran the first six miles with Jim and Pritha, where they took a pit stop and I kept on chugging along. They would catch up to me and pass me around Mile 14. Until Mile 28, they were generally in my sights on the straightaways, which really helped me mentally. With only about 200 runners doing the ultra, by the marathon/ultra split, the course was very sparse. By the time the course reached the Riverfront Park, I decided to run 4 minutes/walk 1 minute Galloway style. If the walk came on a downhill, I banked it and used it to walk up a hill later. I am confident that this strategy saved me on this tough course. (I have used it before in a marathon and PR'd.)
Mentally, I struggled with the 50k from the start. In the back of my mind, I kept figuring out how many more miles were left. When I was at Mile 15.5 and knew I still had another 15.5 to go, it was extremely discouraging. It was hard to push past the Mile 26 marker, but how else was I going to get to the finish? I told myself that I had just run a marathon, but parked 5 miles away and had to run to get to my car. (Whatever works, right?)
As far as race organization, I thought the aid stations were very well staffed and well stocked. Many thanks to the Runner's Edge volunteers at the first few aid stations! The later aid stations were equipped with bananas, oranges, chips, chicken broth, and one even had soda. At that point I didn't care if it was Pepsi, Coke, RC, or Shasta. All I saw was bubbly caffeinated goodness. That was a high point of my run. After Mile 22, I felt like I was running from buffet station to buffet station. I definitely ate my way along the course. (Many thanks to Todd for being along the course with Pritha's pup Kobe! Girl Scout shortbread cookies were an extra special treat!)
Two big downsides to the race organization: 1) Beginning at Mile 8, the mile markers (when there were mile markers) were easily 1/2 mile off. Eventually they were only 1/3 mile off, then 1/4 mile off. By the end of the race, they seemed more accurate. I allocated about 1/10 of a mile for the portion of the course that goes down stairs from City Market to the riverfront park. 2) The medals. Seriously? The 5k/10k/half/full/50k all get the same medal, but with different stamped ribbons. Seriously? Come on North Face, you can do better than that.
Yes, this course is hilly. Extremely hilly. Like in a "Designer Showcase of Eladio's favorite hills on all Runner's Edge routes ever and then some hidden gems" - way. However, it didn't seem as bad as it could be simply because I knew where all the hills would be. Well, except for the hills on the ultra-only loop. Except for Riverfront Park, the run was either up or down. It seems to follow the trend for some of the other marathons I've done this year. The elevation chart:
The course gives an excellent scenic overview of Kansas City: Nelson, Plaza, Westport, downtown, City Market, riverfront, Cliff Drive, scary ghetto area, Kansas City Museum, the Concourse, more downtown, Crown Center, the KC Art Institute and Kemper Museum. I really enjoyed the course. There was a lot to look at.
For local runners that want to try a 50k road race (it's tough to find 50k races that are road races instead of trail runs), I would give this race 4 out of 5 stars. It was pretty well done, despite the mile marker glitch. For running the 50k, I got a shirt, arm warmers, hand-held hydration bottle pack thing, and two $5 tickets for food (that I didn't use), and a beer ticket. Not bad.
I guess Dean Karnazes was at the finish line festival until 1:00. I was kind of sad that he didn't stick around for the slow pokes, but he probably needed to go run himself...
Standout moments:
*Seeing people on the course that I knew. The ultra-only portion of the course is a loop/out and back. The out and back gave me the opportunity to realize there were still people behind me, and I knew some of them. It was just nice to see some familiar faces after running solo for so long.
*Galen met me on his bike around Mile 24. Having him at each mile marker until the finish helped break up the monotony of running solo.
*Marathoners wearing their 2012 NYC Marathon shirts (and 1 wearing the bib). At this point, it's not about the hurricane; it's about how unprofessional the NYRR is being....
*Some younger volunteers at an aid station told me I was doing "wonderballs." Hmm. That's a new one.
*At the Catholic church on Gillham, a groom and his two groom's men were having their photos taken. One of the groom's men said, "You are doing great. He's getting married today and would rather be in your shoes."
*I passed some marathoners after the ultra rejoined the marathon course. :)
*Running solo down the middle of the street in Downtown KC. It amazed me that the police had the streets completely blocked off. Since I was at the tail end of the ultramarathoners (and marathoners) t was surreal to just be running all by my lonesome down the middle of Oak Street.
*The foot pain. My peroneal tendon acted up from the Valentine district to the Liberty Memorial, but was generally calm for most of the rest of the race. But my feet. Oh my feet. Not having run long since September really did a number on my feet. The balls of my feet and my toes starting hurting around Mile 16. Everything else felt generally okay, but I have not had my feet hurt like that since my early marathons.
*The wind from the south. By the time I was running the last four miles, all of which were to the south, the wind was coming from the south. Great fun.
*Mile 26. I reached the marathon point in 5:15, which is right on target with where I wanted to be.
*Mile 30. Seriously...30 miles is a long way to run.
*Finishing. Because 30 miles isn't enough...Mile 31. It's been a while since I've been so overjoyed to see a finish line and to just be done. I finished in 6:24:04.
