Saturday, 6/24/2017 - Many on the Genny

Saturday, 6/24/2017: 41.64 miles, 12:35:17 (paused for about 8 minutes), 18:11 pace, 66F-78F, 3 mph N wind (at start), 5365 feet of elevation gain, 5379 feet of elevation loss, mostly sunny during the day.

Today's race was the inaugural Many on the Genny (MOTG). The first sentence of my Garmin post says it all: "A tale of running, walking and surviving."

It was an epic race so it deserved its own blog post. I had signed up for this race back in 2016 when it first opened up. What was I thinking? I had set my sights on this race for months. Which ... meant I didn't sleep much the night before.

The alarm went off at 3:05 AM. I think I got 3 hours of sleep. I remember hearing another brief rain shower during the night before I finally drifted off to sleep ... probably dreaming of mud. My darling wife, Christine, was already awake. She was going to act as my crew, cheerleader and sherpa during MOTG. We quietly got ready with no arguments. I made the coffee. I made a lunch of 6 PB&J sandwiches, 2 bananas, 2 apples and 2 oranges. The PB&J sandwiches were mostly for me. I filled up my Ultimate Directory and Hammer Nutrition flasks with my Hammer Gel. I filled my homemade hydration vest (a Salomon vest for 1/2 price from an outlet store in Niagara Falls, Canada along with a 3L bladder from Medved) with 2L of water. I chose my trail running clothes of choice: shorts, calf sleeves, Darn Tough socks, blue Salomon SpeedCross 3 trail shoes along with an orange 2015 Moore Than A Race long sleeve tech shirt. We left for Letchworth State Park at 4:19 AM. I was in no hurry and we arrived about a hour later ... easy peasy. There was plenty of time before the start at 6 AM.

I got my bib from Sheila Eagan and said "Hi" to the trail running peeps that I knew and some who I didn't know by name said "Hi" to me. Three school buses brought more trail runners from the east side of Letchworth Dam. This was a point to point race since our start was on the west side. Soon .. over a hundred trail runners were congregating for the long journey ahead. The line to the men's room was a bit long so I went off to take care of my last minute business elsewhere.

I was smiling at 5:50 AM ...

I told Christine that our course was back towards the entrance for a mile and then back along the trail right past the fence that overlooked the Dam. Then I kissed her and asked her to meet me at Aid Station (AS) #1. I fired off a RoadID eCrumb off my personal cell so that Christine and my kids could track me. My Ricoh cell was off in my hydration vest. My plan was to turn it on and fire off another eCrumb once I got to some semblance of cell reception on the east side of LSP.

A selfie from Heather Bailey Ostrander before the start

Eric Eagan said some brief words of wisdom and ... we were off! I know now that I started too fast but ... that's what I do. I am not one to hold back and run easy. The sun was just up and off we went back towards the entrance for about a mile just off of Park Rd. Then we turned back, got onto Trail 20 and headed toward Lower Falls. I noted that Christine wasn't there when we went past the start. I settled into a fast trail pace and ran with Andy Ciaio, Jaime Peca and Danielle Feligno for a bit. Trail 20 was asphalt along the gorge fence for a while then went into single track. Soon, I found mud. The rain from the previous night had left a LOT of what I call "peanut butter" mud. It was very slick, slippery and quite deep in spots. Did I mention that there was a LOT of it? Sometimes the footing was tentative at best with a bit of slipping and sliding as I came down and out of gullies.

Ellie Pell wading the creek before the waterfalls on Trail 18

We ran by an old Civilian Conservation Corp barracks, crossed a creek of shin high water, ran up past a water fall, and ran a mile on Park Rd to get to AS #1 (the High Banks camping area). Don't tell anyone but I (like everyone else) ran on the shoulder of Park Rd not on the grass. It was so much easier. I met up with Christine, taking 2 Endurolytes and stopping for a bit to change my shirt to my orange Charlie's Old Goat Run short sleeve tech. My Garmin had me here at 1:18 (7:18 AM).

I was still running well. I took Trail 17 down, down and down some more. The mud made the down a bit slippery so I was careful. The trail became a bit tricky with lots of small branches to step on, over or around. I remember looking at my Garmin ... 10.3 miles in 2 hours. Then it was back up, up and up Trail 15 back to Park Rd.

Robbie took this picture as I came up Trail 15 to Park Rd

Heather Bailey Ostrander took an excellent picture of this mud field ... one of many that we ran through

Yes, I ran on the shoulder of Park Rd for 2.5 miles. These were easy road miles and I used my longs legs to power me along. Then it was across the road to Trail 11 (up on a really overgrown road and then back down on trail). Back across Park Rd to Trail 13 for a bit to Trail 1, then up an access road to the St Helena's parking area (AS #2). My Garmin puts me here at 2:50 (8:50 AM). I met up with Christine for a PB&J sandwich and an Endurolyte. I gave my Ultra Directions flask to Christine to refill with Hammer Gel. This was a really quick stop ... in retrospect, I probably should have stopped longer.

Now ... all of my mojo left me. I wish I could have found it because I wanted it back! I remember looking at my Garmin ... 15.3 miles in 3 hours. It was 9 AM. The course on Trail 1 sort of hugged Park Rd. I just had no energy. I ran/walked. Christine met me at one of the overlooks and gave me back my Ultimate Directions flask. I slipped and fell on my left side on a down slope so it was really a slow motion fall onto my butt. This really stretched my right knee and hip. I sat there for about 20 seconds while someone behind me asked me if I was OK. My hands were all muddy. Onward. Things kind of fell slowly apart. I missed a flag and went onward. I eventually came to a cliff that I had to either go down or go back to find the course. What did I do? I went down the cliff ... slowly, carefully placing me feet and clung to every tree I could. Once I got the bottom I made my best guess as to the proper direction and went the best way I could. I saw a road with some cabins and made my way to them. I kind of thought that these were the cabins past Lower Falls. I continued along this road until I saw a lady runner coming down the Park Rd into the Lower Falls parking lot. I bellowed out "Where the Aid Station"? I really wanted to see an aid station by this time. She replied that she was just following the flags (that I hadn't even noticed) and that it was soon. So I turned around, followed the flags and walked to AS #3. My Garmin shows me here at 4:37 (10:37 AM).

I stayed at AS #3 for perhaps 10 to 15 minutes. I asked Amy Lord if she had a new body for me ... she laughed. I met up with Christine, had another PB&J, rolled my right hip and upper leg and had 2 more Endurolytes. Christine put more bug spray on me and then I put on some sunscreen. I stashed 2 more PB&Js in my hydration backpack.

The next four pictures were taken by James Amy Fricon Rogala showing 1) some of the 127 steps down to the Lower Falls, 2) the water just before the bridge, 3) the bridge, 4) the turn onto Trail 6A and the sheer wall after the bridge

Sherry Hecker Kessler took this picture (below) of the steps on Trail 6A leading away from the Lower Falls.

Now I was headed for the more remote section of the course. I asked Christine to meet me at Cabins E on the Park Rd past the Parade Grounds. I had my doubts about whether I would see her or not. I was taking the direct way and she had to exit LSP at the Castile exit and make her way around the south end of LSP, through Portageville, up Route 436 and up the Park Rd to Cabin E. Anyway ... I left AS #3, walked down the 127 steps to the bridge across the Genesee River, crossed over and made my way back up on Trail 6A to Park Rd, turned left and followed Park Rd. I tried to walk slowly up to where Trail 9 meets up with Cabins E so I wouldn't miss Christine. I waited there for about 5 minutes. I saw a group of Boy Scouts and their leaders come down Trail 9. I asked the leaders that if they saw a light blue Equinox with a blonde driving to tell her that "Doug had waited and that he would see her at the finish". I proceeded up Trail 9. I was walking a lot now. I put my personal cell on Airplane Mode and fired up my Ricoh cell ... no service. I had wanted to send an eCrumb to Christine and my kids to let them know where I was ... oh well. I kept walking ... Trail 9 came out on the dirt road portion of River Rd for about 200 yards before the course made a right onto the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) with its yellow blazes all the way back to the Letchworth Dam. My right hip hurt when I lifted up my right foot. I lost a lot of time and seriously doubted whether I could finish. So ... I walked and walked. I was very mindful of all the roots that I didn't want to trip over. I remember seeing the blue blazes that would have led me up to Sehgahunda CP #6 but missed the ones for CP #5 and #4 since my head was down looking at the trail and trying not to trip. So I walked ... slowly. I could hear lots of wind in the trees above me but only a breath of air got down where I walking but it did help keep me cool.

Mike Meynadasy took this picture of AS #4

I got to AS #4 at 7:32 (1:32 PM) and my savior, Mike Meynadasy. He sat me down and asked what I needed. I told him that I had right hip pain and that I didn't really know what I wanted. I had some potato chips, some bacon and a bit of Coke. He diagnosed my right hip pain as a hip flexor issue and recommended rest and stretching. My Ricoh cell had somehow done a factory reset on itself. This erased all my apps and all my pictures (maybe they're in the cloud somewhere). I punched in Christine's number to let her know of my condition. I seriously thought of quitting and walking up to River Rd so Christine could come get me. I even paused my Garmin because I was sure that I was going to DNF. But ... Mike told me "You have time. This AS doesn't close for another hour." So I sat there for a bit more. He offered me 2 ibuprofen which I initially refused but eventually took. He gave me a pep talk as he led me out of AS #4. I think I was at AS #4 for about 30 minutes ... but it was time well spent. His words "Pain is temporary but Internet results are forever" and "Only 13 miles to go" stuck in my head.

Somehow I felt better. The math in my head said 8.5 miles to AS #5, 4.5 miles farther to the finish. My body said ... you have to be joking. My heart said ... just finish.

My right hip pain was gone ... but it was replaced by the pain of a blister or two on the bottom of my left foot. This pain was manageable as long as I didn't move my foot inside my shoe too much ... which sometimes happened and it hurt. I continued onward. I called Christine and told her that I was out of AS #4 and that I would be there in 3 hours ... which was a complete understatement. I was worried about her just waiting and waiting for me at the finish. I could run so I ran a little bit but mostly I power walked. It hurt to go down into all the gullies and it hurt to climb out of them but I had no choice. I met up with Chris O'Brien and Mike Vallone and talked for a couple of minutes as I passed them. I was told that there was a self-serve water station about 4 miles up. It was closer to 6 miles. A woman was there and helped me fill my water bladder. She told me it was 2 more miles to AS #5. That took a bit of wind out of my sails but what could I do? I power walked onward.

Jim McLaughlin and the crew of AS #5

I got to AS #5 named the Final Countdown around 10:47 (4:47 PM). I met up my next savior, Jim McLaughlin. What can I say about Jim? Well ... I broke a rib between CP #1 and CP#2 during Sehgahunda 2010, and tried to walk to CP #3 (6.8 miles away). Stupid me thought that the pain would go away. Well ... I walked slower and slower as the pain got worse instead. Jim rode down on his mountain bike to help me walk up to where I could get a ride up to CP #3 and an ambulance ride to the Dansville ER. He is definitely an athlete with 16 Ironmans under his belt. He's the nicest guy you ever want to meet period and definitely can be counted on when you need help.

And ... help I needed. Not as much as I had needed at AS #4 but I appreciated a brief rest. He sat me down and practically force fed me chicken broth and watermelon. I had never had broth during a race before ... I am a convert now. I was at AS #5 for about 10 minutes. I left just after Chris O'Brien came in.

I called Christine just after I left to tell her that I had just left AS #5 and had 4 miles to go. I was in the home stretch now and power walked as fast as I could. I have run this part of the FLT many times between 4 Sehgahundas and 7 Dam Good Trail Races so I started to recognize the terrain. Yeah, baby!

I knew from past experience that this scenic overlook was 3.75 miles away from the finish! 

Christine came out to meet me about 1/4 mile out on the trail. I was glad to see her. I told her that "I'm sorry I can't walk with you ... but I gotta finish!" I felt a bit bad but I left her in my dust. I high-fived Eric Eagan at the finish. Done!!

I plopped down near the food. Eric's brother-in-law got me some pizza and a beer. Christine came walking up. He got her and I more pizza and a couple of beers. Yes ... I had not had any alcoholic beverage since my birthday last year. But ... I earned these two beers. I got our chairs from the Equinox and we sat among friends for a while ... old and new.

My newest well earned race bling!

We cheered in every runner that came in after me. The trail running community is a welcoming community to the young and old, to the first place finisher and to the last place finisher. It's all about the effort and the journey. We stayed until it got a bit cool after 8 PM. I let Christine drive home. I was more a bit tired. I just closed my eyes and let her keep on talking to me so she could stay awake. Christine told me that she had enjoyed the day. She hadn't worried about me as much as during my two previous solo practice runs because she knew that there was suport on the course. I later found that she had been on Facebook or texting up a storm with people inquiring about where I was. I was being stalked (in a good way), lol! I took a long and hot shower when I got home. I examined my left foot. I had 2 new blisters ... one on the bottom heel and up on the inside of the heel. I might add ... two well earned blisters. Christine had marked up my June 24th calendar entry of "Many on the Genny" ... she added "TOO" ... it seemed correct.

Muddy trail shoes and MOTG swag

I earned these two blisters!

The vast majority of my 416 races to date have been all about the time from the start to the finish. Start ... run ... run hard .... finish. Stat-wise: I was 100th out of 112, 14th out of 16 in my M 50-59 age group, link here. Six runners were DNF. I won't bore you with my pace ... but they ranged from a first mile of 9:27 to 40:35 (it's slower than that since my Garmin was on pause at AS #4) at mile 28.

Yes, I am competitive by nature. I track my runs, races and times in a spreadsheet. I can tell you that my blue SpeedCross 3 trail shoes have 660.6 miles and that my ASICS GT-1000 road shoes have 318.53 miles. A step counter that I wore told me that I had 77,189 steps.

MOTG was by far the toughest and longest race I have ever run but it was also the most enjoyable ... a true test of character. Eric and Sheila Eagan along with their volunteers staged an epic inaugural race!

Today it was not about the time, pace, where I placed or steps ... it was about finding the will and determination to forge ahead to the finish. Sometimes I forget about that in the rush to the finish. Today it was about the journey.