Surf the Murph 50K
When I found out about Surf the Murph, I thought "this could be a great way to wrap up the year". This is my rookie year in the 50k ultra world, and I did three early on: in Feb, April, and May. I figured it'd be great to run one more 50k, on a beautiful Fall day, in a great park, with friends, while setting a PR (a person can dream, right??).
Well, what do ya know... that's pretty much how it went!
I think the best part is that I ran the whole way with other people! Normally I end up running by myself - and that's ok, I still enjoy the races. But running with others all day long at Surf the Murph was a total blast!!
I started out with Kel - we took it easy in the dark and then settled into an easy pace. I'm glad Kel was just out to enjoy the day and wasn't interested in pushing it, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to hang with her. As it was, I still almost got dropped on the single track on the first lap.
During the 2nd lap we started hearing voices. They'd be there, then they'd be gone, and then they'd be back. Nothing spooky going on, just a group of runners that were slowly reeling us in. We started thinking "just catch us already!"... I've decided slowly catching other runners must be more fun than slowly being caught. :)
Kel was done with her 25K at the end of lap 2, so I decided I would see if this other group of runners would let me join them... and sure enough they did. So the fun continued. I knew Les from before, and got to know Carol, JoAnn, Tom, E, and John out on the course. We just cruised along - the back of the pack - chatting away and enjoying a nice day in the woods. It seemed everyone started feeling the miles along the way, but we all hung in for a nice finish.
I should note that this was a very compassionate group of runners. About the only mishap was me twisting my ankle early on lap 4. The two runners I was with (who shall remain nameless) paused for just a bit as I started walking it off. I received a quick "are you ok?" and "gotta shake it off"... and then they took off! As they ditched me I'm pretty sure I also heard "if you can't shake it off, someone will come back for you. we think. probably tomorrow. maybe." Tough love I guess, and it worked... I shook it off. :)
A great big Thank You goes to Les & Cindy and all the volunteers for putting on a great event!! I hope to do this one again. As always, it was nice to reconnect with friends and make some new ones. Hopefully there will be some group runs in the next couple of months before the next race season begins. Until then, hang in there, heal up if necessary, and run when you can!
Well, what do ya know... that's pretty much how it went!
I think the best part is that I ran the whole way with other people! Normally I end up running by myself - and that's ok, I still enjoy the races. But running with others all day long at Surf the Murph was a total blast!!
I started out with Kel - we took it easy in the dark and then settled into an easy pace. I'm glad Kel was just out to enjoy the day and wasn't interested in pushing it, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to hang with her. As it was, I still almost got dropped on the single track on the first lap.
During the 2nd lap we started hearing voices. They'd be there, then they'd be gone, and then they'd be back. Nothing spooky going on, just a group of runners that were slowly reeling us in. We started thinking "just catch us already!"... I've decided slowly catching other runners must be more fun than slowly being caught. :)
photo from Bryan Cochran |
Kel was done with her 25K at the end of lap 2, so I decided I would see if this other group of runners would let me join them... and sure enough they did. So the fun continued. I knew Les from before, and got to know Carol, JoAnn, Tom, E, and John out on the course. We just cruised along - the back of the pack - chatting away and enjoying a nice day in the woods. It seemed everyone started feeling the miles along the way, but we all hung in for a nice finish.
I should note that this was a very compassionate group of runners. About the only mishap was me twisting my ankle early on lap 4. The two runners I was with (who shall remain nameless) paused for just a bit as I started walking it off. I received a quick "are you ok?" and "gotta shake it off"... and then they took off! As they ditched me I'm pretty sure I also heard "if you can't shake it off, someone will come back for you. we think. probably tomorrow. maybe." Tough love I guess, and it worked... I shook it off. :)
photo from Cindy Martisko |
A great big Thank You goes to Les & Cindy and all the volunteers for putting on a great event!! I hope to do this one again. As always, it was nice to reconnect with friends and make some new ones. Hopefully there will be some group runs in the next couple of months before the next race season begins. Until then, hang in there, heal up if necessary, and run when you can!
posted by Wayne at 10:01 PM
6 Comments:
You have come a long way from working that aid station at Superior last year.
Shaking it off is critical in ultras, glad to hear you did.
So, you going to make the jump to 50m next year?
Sounds like Superior 50 is in the works with a solid 2008?
Very nice job, Wayne. You certainly have the great ultra attitude, and will go a long way. (Pun intended.)
That really was a perfect day for MN trail runners, wasn't it?
Someone mentioned a fat ass out at Afton in a few weeks - I'll need to find out more about that...
You've gotten hooked, haven't you? I'm betting that, after doing three shifts at FANS this year, you'll be running it someday.
Nice to have met you, look forward to seeing you at future events.
I will look forward to hearing which 50 you go for.
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