Rock Bridge Revenge 2009
By Andy Pele
Congratulations to Jeff Wells and everyone who helped him bring a 50K trail race to Columbia. Of course most people raced the 7 mile course (42 finishers) but 16 raced 25K and 11 took on the 50K, including Mike Tripp and myself. The longer courses showcased much of the trails you can run at Rock Bridge State Park, including the Deer Run and Sink Hole trails on the West side of Hwy 163 and the High Ridge Trail on the East side and a loop out to Shooting Star trailhead that included a run atop two bluffs with awesome views, Coyote Bluff and Shooting Star Bluff. In spite of all the rain we had days before the race, conditions on the trail were pretty good. There were definitely sections of slick mud but they were short and merciful enough not to suck the shoes off your feet. There was even a section of trail under water for 20 yards, but the race director was nice enough to mark out a detour around this little pond. This is a wonderful time of year to run out at Rock Bridge. The chiggers and ticks are gone, the spider webs too. The leaves are turning and the mosquitoes have disappeared. Usually though, the Gans Creek wilderness side can be overgrown this time of year, but volunteers had cleared the tall grass from the weedy areas so that the trail was runnable again. Temperatures were chilly at the start (30s) but at least the 50K runners got to experience the warming sun by noon. The food and campfire at the finish line were awesome! Thanks to Joe Greaves and Mark Vellek.
Inspired by Mike Denehy’s no car diet of several years ago when he rode his bike to the race in freezing weather, I rode mine to the race. I didn’t expect to be the only one and was pretty surprised to see Nate Smith and Mike D. there, and no bikes, especially considering that it wasn’t very cold out. We arrived to fresh bagels and coffee. Guess I could have skipped my pancakes and eggs. Jeff gave a humorous pre-race talk, introducing us to the “volunteers” that would be guiding us out on the course, pink ribbons tied to the bushes and trees. “You can yell and curse at them all you want,” he said. One thing I can say for sure about longer trail races is that there will be moments in the race where you wonder whether you’re still on the right course! Running at Rock Bridge so often was definitely a psychological advantage for me. I never got stressed about where I was.
I started off in the back of the pack, walking and chugging down the rest of my coffee, then sprinted ahead of several people before heading into the woody single track. There I got stuck behind slower runners and just enjoyed the easy pace, talking and joking with Nate and Mike. Nate, by the way, was in full costume mode: red tights, blue shoes and a stars and stripes jumper. He and Mike jostled each other for miles, splashed each other in the puddles, and passed each other repeatedly. At the big creek crossing, calf deep, Nate took a huge leap in, misjudged his landing and ended up falling all the way in. I tried to keep my feet dry with waterproof socks, but the water was just a bit too deep for that.
As Nate and Mike started to run ahead of me, Tom Tomicki kept me company. Also the 2nd place 50K runner joined us at this time, coming from out of the woods where he must have been making a pit stop, another luxury of ultra running. I stopped twice to use the pit toilets in the park. When we got to the Devil’s Ice Box parking lot, we parted ways with the 7-mile runners and crossed over to the Gans Creek Wilderness side. This is where Tom must have lost his way and ended up running 7, instead of his planned 25K. I stopped at the aid station there and asked them how many 50K runners had come through. That’s when I found out that Tommy Doias and I were leading the race. After catching up with him we ran together for a while and got to know each other. I found out that he was going to be doing his first 100 miler at the Ozark Trail 100 next month. Unfortunately though, he was running on a tweaked ankle. Nevertheless, he got ahead of me as I stopped at the next toilet and aid station. I knew from experience that I could be very close behind him and yet not see him because of the trees and topography.
I also knew that I might easily see him again at the next aid station, congregation areas for ultra runners. 25K and 7-mile runners were at a bit of a disadvantage at aid stations for this race because they weren’t designed for the grab-go-and toss that triathletes are used to. As Matt Widzer told me, after snatching a Dixie cup of water and running off into the woods, they shouted out to him, “there’s no trash can out there!” If you come into an aid station yelling ahead what you need, you can expect to be pointed to either the Gatorade cooler or the water cooler, where you may fill your bottle yourself, or have it filled for you. And your coke is “poured to order.”
I stopped to stretch my IT band several times during the race. During one of these stops Kurt Kennet and the female 25K winner passed me. Starting up again, I let them set the pace and felt like they were pulling me up to Tommy. I felt stronger after a while though and passed them to catch Tommy just before the steepest hill of the course. He was walking and limping. Figuring he was done for the day, I suggested he soak his foot in the creek as I passed him. Then I apologized for not having any ibuprofen on me. He said that he can usually just run through it and that’s just what he did, trailing close behind me all the way to the next aid station.
Approaching the second half of the course, I wanted to run hard and push myself. I also started thinking about winning. I stopped walking the hills and allowed myself to go anaerobic, hoping that it wouldn’t take too much out of me toward the end. I could feel my competitiveness pulling my awareness away from the “here and now” and maybe that’s why I hit a rock or root and almost took a tumble. I put in several strong surges during the first of the three loops that make up each half of the race and never saw Tommy again. I was feeling good too at mile 21, as Eric Rosenhaur pulled up to me in his truck and Jeff ran a little with me. That feeling continued until after I completed the second loop, the High Ridge Trail, and saw Ted Zderic and Matt Widzer encouraging me and telling me how far ahead I was.
But then I started to feel the fatigue. My legs got heavy, my groin and lower abs started to ache, and my lower back started to ache. Core work. If you haven’t done enough, an ultra will tell you. I like these tough spots because they give me a chance to use my mental strength: imagining my feet as light as feathers; picturing soothing situations for my body; telling myself that my body is trying to deceive me into slowing down; knowing that I have enough fuel and energy to make it through without slowing; telling myself that I like the pain.
It all worked and I finished in what felt like 4 hours. Time had passed more quickly though, because my time was actually 4:48. It was nice to win $50 cash, nice to get a Nathan handheld water bottle to give to Nicole instead of another race t-shirt, nice to eat real food after a race. It also feels good to hold a course record, though I’m sure it could easily be broken next year and that someone can go 4:30 on this course. That’s why I’ll be petitioning Jeff to change the course next year. Ha!!