Fleet Feet Dirt Cheap Stage Race

Saturday, November 14th to Sunday, November 15th

I ran 3 times on 2 days, 19.5 miles in the Fleet Feet Dirt Cheap Stage Race held in Mendon Ponds Park. CJ came in from Cleveland to give me support and watch me run. She took most the pics that are posted. She was also my masseuse for pre and post run stretches.

Sat: 3 miles, FF DC Stage Race 1, 45F, easy, walking stops, no pain. I missed a turn up Cardiac Hill and was DQed. There were some injuries ... a girl broke her ankle and another girl sprained her ankle. There were 73 runners, overall results are here, age group results are here.

Finishing Stage 1
Sat: 5.5 miles, 45:04, 8:12 pace, FF DC Stage Race 2, 60F, easy, walking stops, no pain. A long run in the Devil's Bathtub area. I took a tumble going down a hill and did a somersault over my right shoulder. I shook myself off and continued onward. Later, I found some serious mud like everyone else. I finished 45th out of 82, overall results are here. I was 11th out of 15 in my age group, results are here.

Somewhere during Stage 2
Climbing up the stairs at the Devil's Bathtub as I finished Stage 2
The battle scars of Stage 2 after I took my head over heels tumble
Sun: 11 miles, 2:05:51, 11:28 pace, FF DC Stage Race 3, 45-55F, sunny to cloudy, calm, walking stops, no pain.

I survived the 11 grueling miles of Stage 3. I ran in economy mode, just putting one foot in front of the other ... watching out for roots, rocks, logs and the occasional pile of horse poop as usual when you run trail. I had two Gus, one at 5 miles and one at 7 miles. I usually ran in a loose group of other runners. An encouraging word, a warning or help with trail selection every now and then helped on the journey ... especially around mile 2 when the trail made a sharp right off the main trail that I and another runner so wanted to follow. I finished 49th out of 74, overall results are here. I finished 9th out of 12 in my age group, age group results are here. Here is a map of Fleet Feet Dirt Cheap Stage Race #3 course, link Garmin Connect - Activity Details for FF Dirt Cheap Stage Race #3, 2645 feet of vertical climb, 1254 calories burned!

Full of energy before Stage 3
Somewhere during Stage 3 with my "posse" that I ran with for 5 miles or so
Digging up the hill as I finished Stage 3
I was a bit out of it for a couple of minutes after I finished
The swag ... a sweet sweatshirt and Salomon water bottle

All in all, a great way to spend a weekend! Many thanks to Fleet Feet and Yellow Jacket Racing for putting on an excellent event. Can't wait until next year!

Keeping active, Doug