Sehgahunda Trail Marathon - Saturday, 5/26/12

Saturday, 5/26/12

Sehgahunda Trail Marathon, 26.3 miles, 6:06:21, 65-80F, sunny, calm



I didn't get much sleep the night before. I was too keyed up plus Christine snored. Luckily, our suite at the Genesee Valley Inn had 2 bedrooms so I just moved to the other bedroom and did my tossing and turning there. I think I got 4 hours of sleep ... maybe. I do know that Portageville had a rooster that was intent on waking up the entire village at 5:30AM ... plus anytime else he felt like crowing. It was really nice that I laid out my racing stuff the night before. It made things a lot less hectic. The continental breakfast downstairs was nice. Seeing hot air balloons outside at 7:13AM when we were leaving to head up to the Sehgahunda start line at the Mount Morris Dam was an unexpected bonus.

We got to the race start in plenty of time. I did no pre-race stretches. I just milled around and wished everyone a good race.

The Sehgahunda Training group before the start

Needling the bear before the start!

The solo women started at 7:45AM. We all cheered them on. I heard a story later that the first place woman had to scare off a black bear somewhere down in the course!

My goal coming into the race was to finish. Sehgahunda to me is divided into 4 sections: Dam to Check Point (CP)1 (hard), CP1 to CP3 (harder), CP3 to CP6 (hardest because of the constant up and down, roots and rocks), CP6 to the end (easier but hard after just getting to this point). You have to be aware of your footing at all times else Sehgahunda will bite you in the ass! My previous two DNFs gnawed at me. My darling Christine was my support crew. She met me at the first 6 CPs to offer me a wet towel, a Powerbar Gel, Endurolyte tablets, her support and a kiss. She was a Godsend!

Solo men started off at 8AM and the relay runners started 30 minutes later. This was a long race ... here are the highlights that I remember. I purposely started toward the back and moved up a bit at my own pace.

The start! A long way to go ... no need to rush!

I started to pass some of the solo women about mile 3 into the race. We all offered them encouragement as we passed. It was nice to see and give encouragement to people you knew as you either headed up or down from a CP ... which we did for CPs 1 through 6. So ... getting to CP1, 6.1 miles, went well. Then it was back down and onward to CP2, 2.5 miles away. The climb up to and from CP2 was quite long. Bill Beyerbach and his girlfriend Deb Wyspianski manned CP2.

CP #2

Then it was onward to CP3; a long, long 6.8 miles away. When I got there I was 15.4 miles into the race. Christine said I looked good. I felt tired. From then on I would run to the next CP, revive myself with Christine's and the vollies help, then head onward to the next CP.

CP #3

CP #3

My achilles started to bother me, then my knees started to bother me because of all the downhills and heading in and out of all the stream (mostly dry) crossings. I headed onward to CP4, 2.3 miles away. I was starting to slow down. I started running with Joe Muczynski, a fellow Sehgahunda Training member, who I had been slowly catching. His support crew was his girlfriend, also named Christine. We ran together from CP4 to CP7 and offered each other encouragement when we needed it. CP5 was a short 1.7 miles away. Onward to CP6, 2.5 miles away. Joe and I walked almost all the way up to CP6, then ran it when spectators could see us. I really tried to be aware of my footing. I did not want to trip and fall. Once I headed down from CP6 I was in virgin territory ... I had never gotten this far before. It was only 1.3 miles to CP7 on the stone road but it seemed like a long 1.3 miles! I did stub my left big toe really good just before CP7. Then it was a mile on the stone road to CP8 where I met up with Bill and Deb again who were manning another CP. Only 2.1 miles to go on a level cinder trail! Yeah, baby! I ran on in a nice and easy economical pace and headed toward the finish. I turned left at last trailhead, then ran up the last hill toward the Parade Grounds, then the last turn. I was not going to walk it in for sure! It felt really sweet to cross the line and hear Ellen call my name and tell everyone that my third time at Sehgahunda was the charm!

Christine was running behind me as I was sprinting for the finish line

30 seconds after I finished

2 minutes after I finished

Getting friendly with the bear

I was a bit miffed that Christine had not set up our chairs by the finish line. Instead of getting some nutrition (mistake) I went out to the car to get them and set them up there so I could watch other runners come in. Then I sat down ... finally. The drama was not over yet though. Suddenly, an oops moment ... I realized that I needed nutrition NOW! I got up and ambled toward the food. Somehow I said that I needed food, someone looked at me, realized that I really needed it and got it for me. I wish I knew who this guardian angel was! My fingers were tingling for a good 10 minutes as I ate like it was the best meal on earth. I came close to screwing up!

I also heard about a bear sighting later. Duane Basch was running on the stone road between CP7 and CP8 and saw a bear about 25-30 feet away in the brush. Both were scared and ran in opposite directions!

This race is not about stats ... it's about sharing the experience, earning that Sehgahunda hoodie and finisher's necklace. But I did OK, 6:06:21, 99th out of 148, link here. I finished 9th out of 19 in my M50-59 age group, link here. Other Sehgahunda Training team members: Don in 5:14:30, Jim in 5:54:18, Joe in 6:16:16, Bambi in 6:32:02, Tammy in 6:35:22, Becky in 6:37:41, Jennica in 7:07:13, Jady in 7:25:26. Others that I knew: Andy in 4:38:37, Todd in 5:35:06, Ron in 5:39:37, Marilee in 6:42:41, John in 6:58:17, Kathy in 7:13:17. I remember getting a great hug from Krista at the finish line! I really wish that the relay team members and 14 solo DNFs were recognized in the Yellow Jacket Racing results.

Some pics of Sehgahunda Training team members

Bambi, Jim, Jennica

Don, Tammy, Sean

Becky, Carl, Stacey

Duane, Nate, Todd

The Sehgahunda Training mentors (Sean also ran)

Laura, Boots, Mark

A thank you to all the people who helped put this wonderful race on: Fleet Feet, Yellow Jacket Racing, all the volunteers and all the spectators! Thank you!

Christine and I just sat in our chairs for a couple of hours before we headed back to the Genesse Valley Inn, with its free wifi, where we caught up on everyone's Facebook exploits and updated on what had happened during our day. I moved slowly ... trust me! I was really tired, I managed to make it until 9PM until I gave in and headed to bed for a nice 11 hours of sleep.If Christine snored ... I didn't hear it. The rooster across the street didn't bother me either.

The swag ... Sehgahunda hoodie, bib and neckace!

What a great day!!

Here is another perspective on Sehgahunda from TrailsROC, link here.