Michigan: North Country Trail 50 Miler
In the Summer of
2015, I had the pleasure of crewing my buddy John for his first 100 mile race.
I thought about how dumb it sounded to run 100 miles but some how in that was
able to justify that maybe I should attempt "just" a 50 mile race. With the same goal
of making sure the race was in a new state, I took to Google in search of what
would be my first 50 mile race. After some quick searching I read about this
race that sells out within a few weeks and apparently has the best swag around
(I mean these people must not have seen a Possum event, just saying) and the
registration was just a few days away. So there I was, a full year before the
event, I registered for the 2016 North Country Trail 50 miler in Wellston,
Michigan.
Location: Wellston, Michigan
Date: August 20, 2016
Finishing Time: 11:43:14
I used all the
training for marathons in 2016, as a base before ramping up after the Playin'
Possum 50k in May. I had to switch gears of the speed goals of the first half
of the year and know that the goal is to make it through 50 miles still standing.
There were some tough training weeks as I kept putting more and more miles on
my feet. I am so thankful for all the support that I got from Team Possum. From
encouragement when I wanted to slow down, to people joining me on long runs,
there was never a lack of support while I prepared. The icing on the cake was
that a few weeks before the race, John offered to join me as a pacer and help
Kaela with any "crew" needs during the race.
The week of the race
had quickly approached and one of the few things I was hoping wouldn’t end up happening, looked inevitable. Now if you have read some of my other race reports, you know my track
weather with great weather for races. This race was going to fit right in line.
Checking the 5 day forecast, showed 80% chance of thunderstorms the entire day.
I remember just laughing as I told Kaela about the weather, since she was going
to have to be stuck in it with me as well (she wasn't thrilled about that).
Two days before the
race, we made the drive up to where we were staying in Cadillac, Michigan. I
wanted to have some relaxing time the day before the race so I decided heading up
early would make sure not stuck in the car the entire day before the race.
Kaela, Bella, and I spent the day before race in Traverse City checking out
what Northern Michigan had to offer. We walked around downtown and along the
water just enjoying the time, with no real schedule or agenda. It was also
Bella's 7th birthday so we set up her birthday cake in one of the open lawns of
a park on the water for her photo session (don’t judge).
After we left
Traverse City we made our way to Lake Michigan and drove down the coast before
heading to packet pickup at the start area. Up to this point, everything I had experienced about the race was fantastic. My experience wasn't as golden as the
picture I had painted in my mind. When we arrived at the pickup area, we seemed
a little confused as there seemed to be little to no guidance. Kaela and I
stood for a few moments trying to understand where we should be going to get my
bib and items. I saw out of the corner of my eye a gentlemen walking away from
table around a bend with what looked to be race items. There didn't seem to be
much organization and flow in their check in process and it started to make me
think if other facets of the race were "organized" the same way.
Before heading back
to the hotel, Kaela and I drove to all the crew spots that she would be meeting
me at the next day just so she could get her bearings on where to go. After
making sure we were both on the same page with crew locations we headed back towards
our hotel to meet up with John and grab dinner. I had spent the drive back
trying to decide on food and quickly found out that apparently pasta with red
sauce is not an easy thing to find in Cadillac, Michigan. After me getting
pissed off (for no reason other than frustration and nerves) and Kaela making multiple calls to restaurants, I
finally got me some basic pasta, while John and Kaela had an amazing meal from
Clam Lake Brewing company located in downtown Cadillac. Back at the hotel, we
ate dinner, discussed plans for the race, watched some motivational Ginger
Runner videos, then laid down to get some sleep.
"Hunny…hunny
wake up, I didn't hear your alarm." Well that was a different sound than I
was used to waking up to for races. My phone was charging on Kaelas side of bed
and apparently she missed the first alarm and only caught my "no seriously
you need to get up" backup alarm. Lets just say it put a little pep in my
step as I had to get ready and out the door a little faster than originally
planned. We had a 40 minute drive to the 6:30am start, which allowed me to
relax and get mentally prepared for race. I had put in the work and training,
other than an injury, I told myself, there was no way I was not leaving
Michigan without my 50 mile finish medal.
On the way to the starting line it
rained on and off but nothing to crazy. John and I did however notice that a
pretty gnarly storm was working its way right towards us but looked like we had
a few hours until that would happen. We arrived to the start about 30 minutes
before the race start. I had started to set up my vest and get everything ready to
walk to starting area, when an announcement was made that the start was going
to be delayed 15 minutes as a storm was about to roll in. A few minutes later a
pretty good rain band came through the area. We hung out in the car just to
stay dry, until the rain passed. Took a quick pee in the woods, grabbed all my
stuff and headed to the starting line about 20 minutes after originally planned start.
The race director
was going over some last minute instructions and details about the course and
markings. Once he finished those details, he decided to let us know that yet
again we would be delaying again for 15 minutes for another band of storms that
was going to roll in. At this point John and I were wondering what kind of
trail race postpones because of some rain (not a Possum event I'll tell you
that!). As we were making our way back to the car (again) we saw some
lightening off in the distance, and so did the race director and crew. Add
another 30 minutes to the delay!
We sat back down in
the car trying to stay relaxed and loose but really I was just ready to run. My
caffeine pill was kicking in and it was becoming wasted energy. I decided to
start eating as though I was already on the course as at this point any food I
had in the morning was no longer going to be supply me energy at the start. We
took a look at the radar and noticed it was just light rain for the next 4-5
hours before a strong band of storms made it over Lake Michigan and hit us, but
there was no real reason of why we delayed in the first place, other than
people not wanting to get wet.
Almost an hour after
the scheduled started, we made our way back to the starting line to line up.
While I stood in the starting area, I tried to calm my nerves and anxiety about
the race. It was a long way and this was not going to be an easy race and then
on top of that the delay pushed my nutrition plan out of wack. I took a deep
breath and said a quick prayer, that God would help settle my worries of the
unknown and help me mentally be focused and in the moment. As I opened my eyes,
I felt more of a peace over me. Now I was ready.
"Runners. On
your mark. Go…"
The event was
comprised of 3 total events with staggered starting times; the 50 miler, the
marathon, and the half marathon. The 50 miler and marathon start with a 1 mile
lollipop loop before heading into the 25 mile loop that I would be tackling
twice. I used this little 1 mile loop to let all the rabbits pass me and for me
to get a read on the conditions that I would be in. The rain packed down the
sandy trail which made for similar running conditions as I was used to at
Delaware State Park, which made me very happy. As I came back around the start,
Kaela and John were there to cheer me through it before heading to their first
crew point.
We had come up with
a plan the day before that Kaela would meet me at a few of the crew points to
keep me up with tailwind, gels, and waffles so I didn't have to carry an entire
laps worth in my vest. We used the crew map located on the race website and it
showed that I would see her at approximately mile 8, mile 17, and then back at
the start of my second loop. So it was going to be a little while before I was
seeing them again. Back to the course!
The trails were running
pretty smooth with the occasional root that you had to focus on, but overall no
real issues with the footing. I came up on a group that was holding a
comfortable pace, so I decided to hang with them for a few miles. In miles 2-3, we
hit some pretty good size hills. Not necessarily all that steep but pretty
long, so we turned to a power hike because no reason to burn out in the first
5k of a 50 miler. By the top of the climb I had out power hiked the group I was
with and was already alone in the woods. I cruised through the downhills on the
other side of the climb and passed 1 or 2 runners as I made it into the first
aid station at just over 4 miles. I was hoping for some real food like PBJ but
aid station was pretty bare. I just ended up grabbing some chips and refilling
my water before making my way back on the course. I had been on a plan to eat a
gel/waffle every 30 minutes but after a couple I decided to move back to 45
minutes as my stomach started to not enjoy it.
Leaving the aid
station, I caught up to a couple of other runners and we took down the trail
together. About a mile after the aid, we saw a group of 4-5 guys running
towards us saying they lost sight of the pink flags that indicated the correct
trail for us, and only saw yellow flags which for the half marathon. We stood
and talked about the directions we had come and to think of any possible turns
we had missed. Luckily there was a trail map posted and myself and another guy
pointed out that the course ran the outside trail which we were on and in the
direction they were heading originally. They were cautious and decided to head
back towards aid and re-track steps to make sure didn't miss, but my little
group was confident and we just pressed on waiting to see more pink flags. Just
over a 1/2 mile later, the pink flags started back up and the worry of being
lost was gone!
At this point I
started doing some math in my head (which is never a good idea when running)
and realized that there was no way I was going to see Kaela and John around
mile 8 because I was already 6 miles in there was yet another aid station
before I got to their location. I was planning on having a bottle of tailwind
per hour and was stretching it to get the 8 miles between seeing them, and now
it was definitely going to be longer. I arrived at aid station 2 to find, yet
again, no real food of any substance. Just had fruit, candy, and chips. I
started to overthink and worry about nutrition since the crew location was
further than originally depicted and the aid stations were not giving me the
real food I was needing between the gels schedule. This overthinking lead me to
slowing down my pace and losing the group I was pacing with.
The next few miles
started to play some mind games with me. After a climb from the aid station, I
hit a flat section that seemed to be never ending. I could just see straight
ahead for what seemed to be miles. The woods were so dense that it felt like you
were in the middle of nowhere and that I was not going to ever make it out.
Once I finally did make it out, the straight and narrow changed quickly to
rolling hills and curves! Luckily there seemed to be more downhill than up, but
it really started to do a number on my quads. Around mile 16 my slow pace
turned to a walk. Walking that early in a 50 mile race was not a part of the
plan for the day. Mentally, I started to go to a dark place and could not snap
out of the funk. And to make matters even better, the weather decided to peak
its head again and start pouring. It felt like the rain Forrest Gump talked
about where it was coming up from below me.
Finally started to
hear some cheers through the trees and realized that I had made it to the next
aid station. As I came in, I remember telling my crew that sub 11 hour goal was
far gone and now the goal was just to finish. They could tell that I was not
all there and in poor spirits. They gave me some encouragement and told me to
push through and make it to the start/finish area where they would have a
change of clothes for me and we could re-access the goals at that point. Seemed simple
enough since I was only 7 miles from the start/finish, but those miles did not
come easy.
I ran when I felt
like I was able to, but most of it seemed like a crawl. I kept focusing on my
watch, which caused me to get frustrated with the amount of time I was losing.
I started to think that maybe I would just drop down to the marathon distance as
it would still cover my state goal and just mark it off the list. That thought
only lasted a quick moment as a spark came over me and I said to myself "I
didn't come to Michigan for marathon, I came here for 50 miles." That jolt
of energy pushed me through the final 5k of the first loop, cruising through
the final two aid stations before making my way to the starting area.
As I came into the
start area, Kaela and John had made some friends that were allowing me to
change clothes next to their tent. The rain had not let up at all so we decided
that I would just change shirt and socks, instead a full off change. I tried to
get changed quickly, load up gear and get out as soon as I could not to waste
any precious time. I gave Kaela and Bella a kiss and started back on the course
with John for the second loop.
John was a big
encouragement as we started off letting me know that I was still doing great
especially with the circumstances with late start and weather. He also brought
up to me that it was clear that I was very far behind on nutrition and that he
was going to be controlling my eating for the remainder of the race. We started
off at a decent pace cruising through the first few miles up to the first climb
around mile 28. This is where things started to fall apart again. My legs did
not want to keep moving and it was taking everything I had just to put one foot
in front of the other. It was even more aggravating knowing that I had trained
so hard and it looked like I had just sat on the couch for the last 6 months.
John stayed in front
of me most of time, telling me when I should start running. I would listen to
him as long as I could then go back to my slow walk. As we approached the first
aid station, he recommended, some coke just to get some caffeine in my system
and to help settle my stomach. I hadn't had a dark soda in almost 11 years and
wasn’t sure if that was the best option but in my state of mind, whatever John
handed me I just took (probably not the safest option). We made our way
through some runnable sections that I pushed through the best I could. By the
next aid station, John really started to annoy me with his
"coaching". I knew he meant well and was looking out for me, but with
the hurt locker I was in, I wanted nothing to do with what he was saying. He
kept pushing me to run any flat section we came to as we were losing lots of
time with my "mopping around". One encouraging thing was that after
any bit of running that I started myself he was say that was a great section
and try to keep my spirits up.
With my legs getting
super heavy and my body feeling weak, I asked John if I would have time to sit
for a couple minutes at the next aid station to help me regroup mentally. He
knew we were just over a mile from the aid station where I would also be able
to see Kaela and said that if I ran into the aid station that he would
"think about" letting me sit down. It felt like it took everything I
had left in the tank to make it to that aid station. When I arrived all the
volunteers had this look on their face that confirmed I looked like crap and they didn't
know how to handle that.
Now this is about
the point where John got to enjoy running in the crazy weather. It was raining
just as hard as it was in the first lap, but this time it was not ending. We
started comparing the weather to possum events and talked about how this is our
type of weather and my body seemed to agree. It clicked in my mind about
running back home in horrible conditions and my body just kept on moving. My
walking pace started in increase, and even better is that I was actually
running more than I was walking. Seeing Kaela turned my mood around and for
some crazy reason that horrible weather was the icing on the cake. Before I
knew it, we were at the next aid station that was 4 miles away. I didn't spend
much time there, just grabbed a quick bite, refilled water, and kept on moving.
I apologized to Kaela for having her show up there because I didn't end up
needing her. I later found out that she had also been caught by the horrible
weather and ended up soaked while setting up my chair and supplies waiting for
me to arrive (sorry babe!)
After this aid, we
made a short climb and made it to the super flat and long section of the course.
The soaked trails made for some hop in my step and fun "playing in the
rain." We saw a runner off the in distance and I made this little game of
calling them possum bait. I keep my head down at the trail watching my steps
while John trekked behind me. I went as long as I felt I could before taking
another walk break. John said that I went for just over 2 miles without
stopping which was the furthest single stretch I had gone since the first lap. We made our way to the area that was my darkest in the first lap and all of a
sudden it didn’t seem so bad. The hills didn’t seem as long, and the distance
to next aid station felt like it was a few miles shorter. As we made our way
through that inner section of trail, we passed some more possum bait before
making it to the next aid station, the last one that I would see Kaela only 7
miles from the finish.
The "floating" aid station aka underwater |
The next few miles
we just cruised on by more and more possum bait. Every time I saw a runner in
the distance, I'd call them out and power through until we passed them. In that
last stretch of 13 miles, I did not allow a single runner pass me. In the last few
miles I started to feel some blisters forming and the bottom of my feet really
started to hurt, but I just tried to ignore the best I could by starting some
conversations with John. As we hit the final stretch, I had a plan of walking
from the final aid station, up to the top of the last hill and then running all the
way down to the finish. Approaching the aid station, John yelled out asking the
volunteers how long it was until the finish. "Just over a mile…" John
instantly got on me and said that I was not walking any of it and to move my
ass.
Pushing up the final hill and the cruising the steep decent, I gave all I have while my feet were on fire. With each step I could hear the music getting louder and louder, we had made it. Through a clearing in the trees, I could see and hear Kaela cheering me into the finish line. I went into what felt like a full out sprint through the finishers chute before crossing the final step of the race.
11:43:14
There is just so
much that took place to get me to this point that its hard for me to try and
summarize it all quickly. I first learned that Cadillac, Michigan is literally
in the middle of nowhere (lol).The race, IMO, was not well prepared for the
nutritional needs for those doing the 50 miler race. That being said the
volunteers were amazing and accommodating in every way. I learned a lot about
how to overcome mental and physical fatigue and to dig deep to pull out all
that I have to finish the task at hand. I learned how important nutrition is
and how it can make or break you in a race. Most importantly, I learned that
with an amazing support team, you can accomplish anything! It was an amazing
experience completing 50 miles and I hope to be able to have the opportunity to
do it a few more states along this journey.
Thank you so much
for getting through this very long post. John was capturing the day with my
GoPro and that video is on my YouTube channel (link below) so make sure to check it out to
get a better view of what it was like on the trail. There is only one more race
scheduled for this year, so I will see you in Chicago!