Carried my small 12 oz. handheld with water. Took 3 Electrolyte tabs every 90 min (apx). It started off pretty chilly at a brisk 39 degrees, so I wore my light jacket for the first loop. Ran the first 6.2 mile loop non-stop and was very pleased with my time, but I knew it wouldn't last. Dropped the jacket, had a 1/2 pb sandwich a couple potato bites dipped in salt, and some Gatorade. Then gave Dad a quick hug and told him the pace was going to slow A LOT on the upcoming 20 mile loop.

Started out the 20 mile loop moving slow and trying to give the food a chance to settle. Aid stations were spaced out every 3-5 miles. Only once did I run out of water between aid stations. Ate and drank a little at each aid station. Things like: potatoes w/salt, M&Ms, Pringles, Gatorade, and grabbed a gel to go. Had I been trying to "race" this, I would have spent a lot less time at the aid stations, but it was all good. You had to be really careful on this loop to follow the course markings and it was a challenge. Once I got off the course, but another runner gave me a shout and got me back on track. Another time, I was all alone and ran probably 3-4 minutes before I realized I missed my turn. This time I had to backtrack and lost some time. It was warming up considerably on this loop and the sun was pretty intense for this Northern girl. My left knee gave me a few jolts of sharp pain around the 13 mile mark, but settled down after that. (I think a hilly course would have been a different story for my knee).

A friend was volunteering the the mile 18 aid station and it was nice to see a familiar face and get a hug before I made the turn for home. I few miles later I encountered a good sized box turtle along the side of the trail. I'm sure I heard him say, "Slow and steady wins the race!" Sage words! There was a short easy river crossing less than a mile from the end of the second loop. The cool water felt AMAZING, and I just stood there for a minute not wanting to go on.

Back at the start/finish again. I heard from a runner who was finished that the last 5 mile loop was entirely dry, so I took time to put dry shoes and socks on and grabbed my "reward"--my iPod. I gave myself permission to listen to music for the last loop and it was wonderful to have that distraction from the fatigue and discomfort. There were only a few runners around at this point to hear me singing to myself. I used the music to keep me moving. When a new song came on, I would walk for the first minute and then run to the end of the song.

With the course being so flat I allowed myself to walk way too much. I should have used some kind of timer to limit the walk breaks. On the other hand, my only goal was to enjoy the day, finish the race, and set myself up for a good recovery.

Uh, drink beer and eat!! And, thank my Dad for sticking with me for a very long day. He said it was interesting to see the experience once, but next time he would just let me borrow his car!


My training for the last couple months has been very limited as I tried to heal from the knee and shin issues I'd been having. There was a two week period where I didn't run at all, and the longest run I did between my Dec 29th ultra and today's race was a 1/2 marathon. I'm really not sure how much of a factor the heat was for me. I had done some "heat training" using the sauna at the gym. I would get on the treadmill or elliptical for 20 minutes, and then the sauna for 10 min, and repeat that several times. I really think it helped.


Dances with Dirt is a great trail racing series. I'm looking forward to the 2nd race in the series at Gnaw Bone, Indiana. It's supposed to be a very hilly and tough course. I've got some work to do.