Movie Monday: The Barkley Marathons

What's the hardest thing you've ever done in your life?

Now stop thinking what you did is that hard, you candyass.  You haven't experienced anything until you've done the Barkley Marathons.

Devised three decades ago and inspired by a prison break in which an inmate only covered eight miles across rugged Tennessee mountains in 55 hours, the Barkley Marathons is a race designed to make you suffer.

Over 100 miles.  60 hour time limit.  No aid stations.  No GPS.  Checkpoints consist of tearing pages from books strategically placed along the course.  The registration process is a secret, and while the start day is given, no one knows the start time until the race director blows a conch shell an hour beforehand.

In thirty years, only 14 runners have ever finished.

In 2012, a film crew captured the insanity that is the Barkley Marathons in a documentary, which is currently streaming on Netflix.  I made the mistake of turning it on the other night just before going to bed, expecting to only watch a few minutes of it.  Instead I stayed up way too late to finish it, and then I could barely sleep because I kept thinking about it all night.

The film, and the race itself, show just what people will do in the name of escaping boredom and doing something meaningful with their lives.  That of course means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but to these unfortunate few, it means nearly killing themselves in the backwoods of Tennessee just to say they did it.

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is the 6 minute trailer for the film:

Now get out and do something painful, you candyass.

2014 Dirty German Endurance Fest 50k: Race Report

Ran my first ultra this morning at the Dirty German Endurance Fest.  By day I am but a mild-mannered high school German teacher, so this race was right up my alley.  There were 3 races on offer today: a 25k, a 50k, and a 50 miler.  I had wanted to go with the 50 miler since last December, but eventually dropped to the 50k because I didn't get in as many miles as I wanted to this winter.  Next year, perhaps...

Located in beautiful Pennypack Park in Philadelphia, the race begins and ends at a small pavillion and is comprised primarily of a 15.5 mile loop through the park.  The majority of the run is in the shade and is gorgeous.  My God, how I love trail running.

Stevie accompanied me to the start.  We arrived at 7am for an 8am start.  It was still a little chilly that early in the morning.

We parked ourselves right by the finish area and pavilion where poor Stevie had to contend with over five hours of German folk music and a man with an accordion.

I decided because the weather was supposed to be cool that I would run without a hydration pack or a handheld bottle.  The aid stations were spaced out perfectly so that this was not a problem.

And let's just talk about aid stations, shall we?  As a marathoner, I'm used to water and Gatorade and the occasional Gu, but at every aid station along this course I was greeted by a veritable smorgasbord of options: cookies, crackers, chips, M&M's, PB&J sandwiches, boiled potatoes, trail mix, and Mountain Dew!  If being an ultrarunner means I never have to see another Gu or Powergel again, then sign me up.

The race itself felt more like just another long run.  There were no spectators at all on the course, and there were long stretches in which I ran completely by myself.  I guess this is par for the course in ultras.

Never having run an ultra before, it's hard to tell what is normal and what is not.  I walked up most of the hills, and wanted to run faster on the straightaways, but was too tired and too sore on the second loop.  Did I not taper enough?  Did I not train enough for the distance involved? Did I not fuel properly?  I managed to save enough gas for the end and was moving pretty quickly in the final few miles, and finished the race at a dead sprint.  My unofficial time was 5:11:32:

You might notice that, according to my Garming, I didn't run a full 50 kilometers.  The loop was supposed to be 15.5 miles, which the 50k people would just run twice.  When I finished the first lap, I noticed my watch only read 14.68.  I was paranoid that I had somehow cut off a section of the course and asked a few others about it during the second half of the race.  I talked to a guy at one of the aid stations who said he made and marked the course himself and guaranteed me it was 50k.  He also let me know that sometimes Garmins can get a little wonky on the course under all the trees and bridges.  I guess I'll take his word for it and claim I ran a full 50k.

I had brought a chair with me and a cooler full of beer to dump into my beer boot, but as soon as I finished it started to cloud over and cool down, and I was too cold to sit in a park drinking beer.  So I went home and had some there.

Here's to a great day of racing, and enjoying the benefits of running long.

Shortened long run

I was aiming for 25 miles today.  Only made it 17.5.  Around mile 14 I developed sharp pain in my right hip, which then subsided towards the end of the lap at 16.5, but returned in force once I started on what was to be my final lap.  So I made the call to end the run short and finished with 17.5.

I hate that feeling of having to run less than I wanted to on a particular day.  It makes me feel like I'm making mistakes in my training.  Like all the running I've been doing this winter and spring has still failed to strengthen me and toughen me enough to get through a simple 25 mile run.  Because I crave the idea of pushing myself and finding out what I'm capable of, and consequently labeling a 25 mile run "simple."

On the other hand, I have to remind myself that mistakes are inevitable, even with the experience I have accumulated over the years, and gentle fluctuations in weather, diet, sleep patterns, and even moods can all affect training for better or worse.

I've been icing and stretching my hip all day today in the hopes of being ready for my first ultra next weekend.  I'm not going for any time goals, but neither do I want to limp painfully through any portion of the race.  All I want is to finish feeling strong and get myself a beer as quickly as possible.