April 11-12, 2008
McNaughton Trail Run

This was supposed to be my first 150 mile run. I hadn't been able to train for it so I knew it'd be a rough go. My knee took a few weeks to heal after I banged it on a rock during the Foothills run. My knees had been experiencing overuse pain as well for several months. This meant virtually no running leading up to McNaughton.

The drive took 11 hours. I encountered heavy rain just over an hour out. I was hoping for a dry weekend, knowing full well that the course would be muddy and contained stream crossings.

I met Liz Bauer for dinner and other runners joined us as well. John Sherpa LaCroix, the race director for the New England 200 was there. La Gondola sounds like a fine Italian restaurant, but it didn't pass muster. They didn't even have marinara sauce so I was forced to eat spaghetti without any sauce. The salad left much to be desired as well.

It was off to the start to set up camp in high winds. It took some doing but I got the tent up and got a reasonable night's rest despite the barrage of breezes.

The race didn't start until 12:00, so there was much waiting around but it allowed time for meeting runners. This is a more social type of set up with laps. I'd done two lap courses in 24 hour runs before.

We were off at the sound of the horn and trudged through a mucky mess which led down to a grass field. I settled into a very slow pace and mixed in some walking right off the bat.

With my knees still bothering me, I was glad to experience running on very soft surfaces. The soft grass gave way to soft mud and more grass. The course ran across several grassy knolls linked together with forested trail. There were five grass fields as well.

The first lap went well but took longer than anticipated. The temperature was around 50 at the start but it was windy. We had to run through two streams on each lap. This meant there would be no such thing as dry feet. The ups and downs were steep and a little slick to start off and they just became worse over time. Sound trail building techniques eluded the staff at McNaughton Park.

The trail often descends into small, steep gulleys. These are momentum killers. I run on momentum so they certainly didn't help my cause. The flats went slowly but I felt I was moving well. The downhills slowed me as they would all day and night. The climbs were easy, one with the aid of a rope due to the steepness and the footing. The rope helped immensely.

The stream crossings were cold but my feet warmed up within 30 seconds. There was one giant mud pit with shoe sucking mud. Each time through this became larger and more tenacious. The last section of the loop passed through a disc golf course with kick in the teeth hill, which was easy the first time through but could be a problem later.

The second lap took a bit longer than the first. Each ensuing lap took a little longer than the previous one. Doing the math, it appeared that I would not have enough time to finish if I were to take an extended break. This weighed heavily on my mind.

It didn't take long before Paul Stofko lapped me. He was followed by Dave Goggins and Ryan Decker. The second time I was lapped by Paul, I ran with him for a bit. Dave passed me again shortl afterward. He had cut into Paul's lead substantially and passed him shortly afterward. Liz had also lapped me as well as Charlotte.

On my fifth lap, I attempted to cross the stream on a tree. The tree was slick and required a jump from the other side. Landing sent reverberations through my entire body, especially my back. After a few more miles, my back was hurting substantially and I made the decision to rest when I got back to the tent. I figured I'd do at least another 50 come morning.

The 100 and the 50 mile runners started at 6:00 and I was still in my tent, coughing and trying to stay warm. The plague that I had in February resurfaced, but only after I had stopped running. The primary problem was the loss of body heat after stopping. I wasn't cold while I was moving but my core temp plummeted after I stopped. I got up after a few hours but was still a bit chilled.

I had hopes of continuing but couldn't convince myself to continue. Every time it looked like the clouds were about to break, it started raining again. I just didn't want to be miserable any more.

I met a bunch of runners from all over the country. It seems that ultra runners are friendly no matter where they live. I may head back next year to complete unfinished business. It's only a failure if you stop trying. In the meanwhile, I'll take the DNF as motivation in my upcoming events.

B-Rex