I was so glad to wrap up my 2025 racing season with this fall trail race again. As I was running the early part of the race, I was thinking about how similar things were going for me from last year’s race, and that I could probably just cut and paste last year’s race report and just change a few things. But the latter half of the race certainly was different than last year.
I don’t even know why I try to make a pre-race plan, because I never stick to it. I had pre-run half of the course last week, and the rest this week, and my pace plan and how I felt during those two runs told me I need to dial it back from the start. But did I? Nope, gunned it too hard and would end up paying for it later.
Heading out with excitement and trying not to step in a hole.
The day seemed perfect for racing, maybe 45℉ at the start, calm wind, and the course was in really good shape. The first mile netted me a split of 8:09, and I knew I would regret that. But the hills soon came and forced me to slow down and rein myself in. Once I got to four miles or so, I finally had dialed myself in and was on autopilot.
After getting passed by other runners who had started slower than I did, I found myself running behind a guy running at about my same pace. Blue-sleeved Guy, as I named him, would gap me a little climbing hills when he was jogging strongly up them and charging hard down them, neither of which I was able to do. But I would slowly reel him back in on the flatter portions of the race.
As we got to the 7.75-mile turnaround, Blue-sleeved Guy hit the portapotty, and I went straight to the aid station to refill my water bottle. I had seen in the pre-race email that Tailwind would be at the aid station, but oftentimes it’s diluted too much. I asked the volunteer at the aid station if it was mixed to a good concentration, and he responded like he had been asked before, saying that most everyone had said it was spot on. I trusted him, filled my bottle, and turned back to the trail. I kept looking over my shoulder for Blue-sleeved Guy, but he never materialized.
Out-and-back courses give you an advantage to see how many are ahead of you and how many are behind. I felt pretty good about seeing fewer faces heading out as I did after turning around. I figured I was in the top twenty or so. I settled back in and kept chugging away at the miles at a comfortable-hard race pace for me.
I felt pretty good up until 11 miles into it. I could feel myself starting to struggle. A guy passed me around the 12.5-mile area and said, “Even the small hills are feeling like large hills now.” I couldn’t have agreed more. I told him that I was gassed, but I kept trudging along.
My mile splits had been holding steady, but at 13 miles, I hit the wall. My wife, Kari, had said before the race started that she had put an extra gel in the zippered pocket of my hydration belt for me. I honestly didn’t think that I would need it, seeing that Tailwind had been working great for me, but boy, was I wrong. I was blowing through my hydration and was concerned that I would drink all of it too soon. I reached in and grabbed the gel and ate it. It would have been worse for me had it not been there for me. It was a race saver.
Coming into the last little bit of the race. The trail was filled with beautiful fall foliage.
I started having some foot cramps, and knew that could spell trouble. It was at the last two miles that I decided that the “race” was now just to get to the finish. As I came off the main trail and onto the grass, I was passed by a guy who was my age, and I asked him if he wanted a sprint finish. He said, “Sure,” and I chuckled. I said, “I’m going to make you earn this.” 😄 But honestly, I couldn’t keep pace and was just glad to make him earn it. The second year in a row that I was out-kicked in the final quarter-mile of the race. Oh well, I guess that’s racing for you.
So dead and done with the race that I was stopping my watch even before crossing the mat.
Kari was awesome once again, taking pictures, making sure I had what I needed, and getting my very sore body back to the truck for the drive to Pop’s for some much-needed lunch replenishment. She ended up walking 8 miles of trails while I was out there punishing myself.
The slogan of this race is “Finish or Fossilize,” and I was certainly glad that I didn’t fossilize. Came close. 😄 Time to recover and plan out my race schedule for next year.
Fall is in full swing here in the Midwest, and I’m still chugging along. I have one more race on the calendar for the year, a 25K trail race in November, so I am trying to build a little speed while hoping I don’t reaggravate some dumb running injury. I’m also hoping to run over 1000 miles this year, something I didn’t do last year, only hitting 800. I’m confident I can get that done.
I had two decent runs this week, a 10.5 miler on Wednesday and a 12 miler on Friday. I was happy with both efforts, running them straight, without taking any walk breaks. Even though I am still running the A/C at home due to some lingering warm fall temperatures, both Wednesday and Friday were cooler than what I was used to. In typical “me” fashion, both days resulted in my overdressing for the run. You would think that in my thirty-plus years of running, I would know how to dress myself for running success. Nope. On Wednesday, I wore shorts and doubled up on top with a long-sleeve shirt covering a short-sleeve one because I was worried about being too cool. By mile two, I had warmed up nicely and was sweating heavily and cursing myself for not dressing smarter. Then I went and did the same exact thing on Friday.
It’s been a struggle for me year in and year out. Every year, I promise myself that this will be the year that I keep some sort of journal on what to wear for the weather to be comfortable. I neglect it every year.
Wearing layers is the smart thing to do, and that is something I don’t fail at. If you get too hot, you can take off a layer and put it back on if necessary. But it’s not just about knowing how many layers to wear; it’s also about wearing the right things, as well. When I started running in the late 1980s, there wasn’t any sort of industry-wide clothing for runners. We had cotton shirts, shorts, socks, and you wore what was comfortable. If you signed up for a race, you were given a cotton shirt. I wore them like badges of honor, even though they held on to sweat and became miserable. According to Google, Nike didn’t debut its Dri-Fit clothing until 1991, and it took a while to convert us running neanderthals. When tech fabric (generally made of polyester) became widely available, it made a huge difference in running for me.
This is a much younger me running the 1999(?) Jenny Spangler Trustmark Marathon in Lake County, IL. The shorts and top are some of my early tech running gear. I still have the shirt. I wore it on Friday. The hat was a cotton Univ. of Kentucky hat. Apparently, I hadn’t made the switch to visors yet.
It’s interesting to see how others dress when the temps get cooler. I saw a woman running the other day in shorts, a short-sleeve shirt, and an ear covering headband, clearly worn to keep her ears from getting cold. In the fall, when the temperature hits the 50s, people start wearing pants and sweatshirts. In contrast, on the same type of weather day in spring, they won’t be wearing anything like that, happily enjoying their runs in shorts and t-shirts. I guess going from cold to warm is an easier transition than warm to cold. The picture of me above was what I wore on a spring day. Looks like I was ready for the warming temps.
Well, since I don’t have a handy-dandy reference log to tell me how to dress perfectly for the changing seasons, I guess I will just keep changing clothes with the seasons.
09/20/2025 ~ West Point, Iowa ~ 10 hours/loops/yards ~ 41.6 total miles
It’s my fourth time at this event, and it’s become an addiction. I love the backyard ultra/last runner standing format, and I love pushing myself to new distance goals. Broken Anvil is a great event, and if you’re looking to find out how far you can go, this is an awesome way to do it.
My wife, Kari, decided to join me this year – not just crewing, but also running – the second time for her, and my fourth here at Broken Anvil. We arrived on Friday night and set up our tent in the same spot we were in last year. We also set up our collapsible canopy next to it, as the tent can get warm. We spent most of our time with our chairs under the canopy in between loops.
Checked in Friday night.
The day was forecast to have some rain, and there was a little bit at the start, but then it let up for a few hours. Most of the midday, afternoon, and early evening was spent running in a steady light rain, with the occasional bit of heavier rain thrown in. Honestly, it didn’t bother me at all. When I run, I sweat, and the rain didn’t make it any worse. The temperatures were also mild, which helped keep the day manageable.
Morning sunrise in southeastern Iowa.
I was using my typical two-minute run/two-minute walk pacing plan from the start, and found that I was bringing up the rear. Most of the pack was finishing ten minutes ahead of me, if not more. But my pace plan has worked well for me in the past, and I kept chugging along.
On the second loop, it is not yet raining.
I made the switch to Tailwind this year as my primary hydration/nutrition, and it was working great for me. Gels tend to give me a sugar rush and then a blood sugar crash. Tailwind eliminated that issue, and I felt great on each loop of the race. I supplemented every loop with snacks in camp – pretzels, grapes, chips, a yogurt, bananas, etc.
Our camp setup – we spent most of our few minutes in between loops in the canopy.
As the guy coming in with less than 10 minutes to spare before the hour was up, I found myself worrying about anyone who was behind me. Sometimes they would squeak in under the cutoff, but I knew when I didn’t see them on the last out and back portion of the course that their day was probably done.
The field getting ready for the top-of-the-hour start.
Kari went out for the fifth loop, and she had been ahead of me for most of the loops for the day. It wasn’t long until I passed her, and then I became worried that she might not make the hour cutoff. I made it back to the tent, grabbed a couple of sandwiches, some chips, and refilled my handheld water bottle, and heard the 1-minute warning whistle. It was time to head back to the start corral for the next loop. Kari hadn’t made it back yet.
Kari and the rest of the runners were ahead of me, as usual.
But as the seconds ticked down, the runners ahead of me started cheering, and I realized that they were cheering for Kari, making it across the line just as Loop 6 began. Others were encouraging her to “Do One More!” loop (a sort of motto for this type of race), but she had collapsed on the ground. Now I had some concerns. I offered to walk her back to the tent, but she was having none of that and encouraged me to continue on with the race, insisting that she would be fine. I’m not sure if she crawled back or was dragged back to the tent, but when I returned to the tent, she said that others had assisted her in getting back on her feet, both literally and figuratively. When I came back in from that loop, she had changed clothes and looked refreshed. An impressive 20.8 miles, a personal best distance for her.
Sometimes hilly, sometimes flat – a little grass, asphalt, dirt & concrete.
I swapped to my backup pair of shoes when it was clear the rain was going to be around for a while. The pain I have been having at the top of my left foot made an appearance around Loop 4, so I popped a couple of Ibuprofen pills to take the edge off. Other than that, I had really no issues with strains, pains, chafing, or other issues that are typical for me. I used a product called Salty Britches anti-chafing ointment, and it performed really well. I would also add some Squirrel’s Nut Butter occasionally, as it was less hassle to apply, and to keep any chafing at bay.
Whispering Pines Trail is mostly dirt, pine needles, and tree roots, but it offers a definite walk break opportunity.
On Loop 8, I was getting pretty tired of running and was thinking of pulling the plug on the day. Loop 8 is a popular drop point in this race format, as it gets you an ultra-distance finish of over 50K. But I pushed myself back out there to the starting line to “do one more” loop. While in the corral awaiting the start of Loop 9, I met Matthew, who was wondering if he could join me for the loop. He was attempting his first ultra and was hoping to reach 50 miles before dropping. I advised him of my pace plan, and he was cool with going along with me at that pace. We chatted, and for the first time in the race, I wasn’t running mostly by myself. It was a relief not just to be in my own head for the first time. There were a few runners in the field like Matthew, who were there learning as they went. I am eight events into this type of race, and I am still learning as well.
Matthew and I paced through Loops 9 and 10, and upon finishing Loop 10, I decided that I had had enough. Matthew continued on and got his 50 miles/12 loops done. Pretty impressive. Well done! Also impressive were the runners who made it past 100 miles. The winner was Nick S., with an impressive 33 total loops and 137.5 total miles. The assist went to Keely Y., 32 loops, 133.2 total miles.
Out of the running and sitting in our chairs, waiting for the rain to stop. It’s tough packing up after 41.6 miles of running.
Kari and I hung around in the tent for a couple of hours, waiting for the rain to stop before tearing our tent down and heading back to the hotel for well-earned showers and some solid sleep. Another great experience at the Broken Anvil Backyard Ultra, and I hope to be back again next year.
3 out of the top 10 (distance-wise) were females (just got goosebumps typing that)
We had an age gap of 53 years from the youngest to the oldest participant (16 – 69 years young)
A total of 5,000 miles were collectively run during the race – That’s like running across Iowa 17 times
NOTES FOR NEXT TIME
I am really fond of my 2-minute run/walk pace plan, but maybe I am a little too faithful to it. The goal is to get in before the hour, and I was doing that, but I was also not leaving myself much time to regroup for the next loop. I may play with a 3-minute run/1-minute walk, or maybe stick with 2 minutes of running and only 1 minute of walking. Lots of time to try it out.
Our tent is great, but it might be time to buy a 10’x10′ canopy for easier setup and takedown. It’s miserable having to try to get everything packed up after running 40+ miles.
Caffeine! I totally forgot about adding some caffeine into the mix. I had about 5 ounces or so of Coke at noon with my sandwiches, but that was it. I might have gotten an extra loop or two more done with some caffeine in me.
I gambled and lost. I thought that I could sneak in a 12-mile run before a predicted thunderstorm, but how dumb is that? You don’t just sneak in twelve miles. Two or three, maybe, but not twelve. However, that is what I tried to do, and I hoped that the radar on my weather app, which was showing nothing, was correct.
It was sunny as I headed out for this run, and I even put on some sunscreen before leaving – 😄. It was a warm and humid day, and I was contemplating which route to take: the shady out-and-back on the main trail, or the trail along the road that I had been running lately, which had a headwind. I found myself pondering what was more beneficial for a long run on a day like this. Would shade keep me cooler? Or would having a breeze blowing on me feel cooler? In the end opted for the breezy route and skipped the main trail because I’m getting tired of having bikes whizz past me. As you can see, getting caught in a thunderstorm was not even a consideration.
Storm or no storm, I was soaked by mile five. Sweat was dripping from my visor, and I had almost drained my water bottle dry. At mile 6.5, I stopped and refilled my water bottle, and could clearly see that the skies were no longer clear and sunny. But it wasn’t looking threatening at all, so I soldiered on.
As I got off the trail that runs along the roadway and hopped back onto the main trail, I heard my first little rumble of thunder. As I got to mile 8.5, I could feel a rain drop or two, and I decided that maybe I should stop taking the walk breaks and start hoofing it back in. At about 9 miles into the run, the thunder and lightning were now becoming very common. I could handle running in the rain, but the lightning was becoming very, very frightening! I knew that the nature preserve up ahead had some shelters to get out of the storm, and I hot-footed it there as quick as I could. As soon as I got there, the skies unloaded.
I sat down on a metal chair under this small shelter and thought that maybe that wasn’t the best place to sit. There was a guy walking up the trail, and I was waving him over to join me, but he had other ideas. Soon after, a runner that I see on the trail frequently also blew by my invitation to join me. I wonder how that turned out for them? It was pouring now, and the wind was blowing the downpour directly at me, so I got up and found the smallest dry spot that I could find to stay out of the rain. Between the temperature drop that accompanied the storm and the winds blowing misty rain at me, I was now starting to feel a little cold.
It doesn’t look like much of a storm, but it was angry while I was in it.
I spent about five minutes there, and when I could sense that the rain was letting up a bit, I decided I would be better off in the larger picnic shelter not far away. I took off, and the rains picked up again, naturally. Upon reaching the picnic shelter, I was met by a cyclist who chuckled at me coming in laughing. He wasn’t wet at all, and frankly, I was wet from sweat prior to this storm happening. But now I was wet head to toe, and I was glad to have a companion to wait the storm out. We chatted about bikes a little bit, and then he pulled out his phone and declared that the radar was showing that the storm was almost over. It had let up a little, and as he pushed his bike back to the trail, I figured that I could make it the two miles home fairly quickly.
I wasn’t a half-mile into the run when the thunder and lightning returned, and the rain started coming down hard again. I climbed the hill and decided to head under the canopy of the many trees. Being under trees in a downpour is useless, as I was getting soaked. As I watched the rain cascade down the paved path on the hill, I saw a frog joyfully hopping across to the other side of the trail. This storm is starting to become weird. After about five minutes standing there, I started getting attacked by mosquitoes, so off I went down the trail again, only to be greeted with more lightning and thunder directly over me. Back to the canopy of trees! I waited there for about 10 minutes and could sense the rain coming to a stop. I continued on toward home, hoping that my need for shelter was unnecessary. Upon getting home, the skies opened up again, and once inside, I was thankful to shed my clothes and jump in the shower to get cleaned up. I really didn’t want to get more wet, but a shower was needed after that trek.
I’m sure I have been caught in the rain before, but other than the downpour I endured during the 2018 Boston Marathon, and one time at Leon’s World’s Fastest Triathlon, when the swim was the driest portion of the race, I don’t remember a situation quite like this one on a training run. It was one for the memory books, for sure.
Total Miles – 800 miles / 67 miles per month / 15.4 miles per week
Total Runs – 128 runs / 10.6 per month / 2.4 per week
Total Time – 135 Hours / 11:15 per month / 2:35 per week
LIFETIME TOTALS – 32,703 total miles run / 5650 total lifetime runs / 4599 total lifetime hours run
JAN 58 miles / FEB 70 miles / MAR 34.5 miles / APR 3 miles (lol) / MAY 39 miles / JUNE 64 miles / JULY 48.7 miles / AUG 108.8 miles / SEP 132.7 miles / OCT 86 miles / NOV 88 miles / DEC 67.3 miles
In November, I had a “what the heck?!” moment. I decided to pull up the running totals for the year and staring right back at me was a total running mileage of just over 700 miles. At that moment, I realized that topping 1000 miles for the year would not happen. The last time I failed to go over 1000 miles was in 2010, so running 1000 miles in a year had become an expected milestone to reach, and to not get it was a little shocking. Then reality set in: I looked back at the monthly running totals and saw that April had a grand total of 3 miles. Yup, that isn’t going to help push me over 1000 miles. And the preceding and following months both were very low. I had forgotten that high hamstring tendonitis had taken me out of running for a spell, and I was using those three months to recover and rebuild.
Recovering and rebuilding seems to be the norm for my running anymore. At 61 years old, my brain keeps writing checks my body can’t pay for. I don’t think that will change, as I have already set myself up for some more body punishment for 2025. But I need to be smarter about staying within my ability without overdoing it.
Even though some mandatory recovery months in 2024 were necessary, I was still able to get some running and racing accomplished and did well at them. Four of my five races went really well, seeing that the first race of the year was the reason that set me back in the spring for me. Here are the links to the race reports:
The Forge Gravel Triathlon Race Report – Summary: What did I do after tearing myself up running the 25K trail race? I switched to the bike and started getting my cycling conditioning back. Feeling good again and cautiously pushed the pace through a very technical running course, a course that half the field cut and ruined the overall and age group results. I’ll probably skip this race in the future. I had fun getting back into triathlons though.
2024 Chicago Marathon Race Report – Summary: I was thinking this race would be a farewell victory lap for marathoning for me – one last hurrah. Then the speed started coming back and I attempted to shoot for a sub-3:50 Boston Marathon qualifier. Missed it by 3.5 minutes, but I was still happy with my sub-4-hour final Chicago Marathon. I’m done with marathons.
What’s in store for 2025? First up is a return to long-distance triathlon specifically the 70.3 Ironman Rockford in Rockford, Illinois. This is the inaugural race there, so I have my fingers crossed that this new race will have wrinkles ironed out. After that June race, I will switch from multisport and concentrate back on building distance to hopefully go far at Broken Anvil Backyard Ultra in Iowa. In the back of my mind is a return to Tunnel Hill, but mainly thinking about racing the 50-mile race, with a goal of being around 10 hours. A man can dream.
Typically before a run workout a wise runner might warm up with some walking or light jogging before hitting the start button on their watch. After the workout, a cool-down might also be utilized to bring the heartrate down and get the body temperature to be less hot.
I was never much for either a warm-up or cool-down. In my younger running days, I would walk about a third of a mile before and after a run thinking I was a smart runner. In races, I almost always did a jog/run with some up-tempo strides prior to the race just to get the juices flowing. And then followed it up with a short easy cool-down back out on the course, which was probably a total jerk move, and looking back I can’t believe I used to do that. I never warmed up or cooled down before/after a marathon. The warm-up was done in the first 3-5 miles, and the cool-down was done as a shuffle heading back to the car or hotel.
Today I ran outside and nearly froze myself. Early December is here, and it wasn’t quite freezing, but the wind chill was brutal. I had planned to run eight miles, but the sun had taken a pass on the rest of the day, and the “warm-up” walk around the block with the dog made me question any run outside. I swapped a windbreaker for a running jacket, and out I went thinking maybe five miles was more in line with my current comfort level. I got to the two-mile mark and decided to turn around.
Upon getting home I had the realization that I was in need of both a warm-up and a cool-down, as I was still freezing but I was also sweaty and tired from the quicker pace due to the stupid temperature that I ran in. That was a new one for me. By mid-February, I will probably be out there on a similar day wearing much less running gear. Until then, I’m picking my outdoor running battles and hoping to avoid the warm-up/cool-down.
I have been fortunate to have lived near several great bike/walk/run paths as an adult. In my early running days, I loved running on the Green Bay Trail in Highland Park, Illinois. I would typically run this trail from Highland Park five miles out to Winnetka and then return home. A relocation to the Western suburbs of Chicago presented me with the option of running on the Great Western Trail and the Illinois Prairie Path. And I have spent more than half of my 35 years running at the local Hickory Creek Nature/Forest preserve paths and the Old Plank Road Trail (aka Old Plank Trail or OPT), where I see lots of locals also out enjoying the paths.
Over those many miles and years, I have seen quite a few faces over and over again. I call these people “regulars,” and even though I may not know them by name, we are pretty familiar with each other. Sometimes I will have a brief conversation with them, learn their name, and find out their reason for being out on the trail, but most times we just pass by with a nod or a wave. I thought that I might highlight a few, some I haven’t seen in a long time, and some fairly new. So, in no particular order, here are some of The Regulars.
Shirtless Tall Guy – One of the more recent regulars is a tall, fit guy in his 30s who runs shirtless, loping along at a relaxed pace, but I have seen him running fast on occasion as well. We usually give a brief wave when we pass each other, acknowledging the fact that we are always out on the trail pounding the pavement. I’m not sure if he runs to compete, or just runs for the pleasure of it. I envy his effortless-looking gait and often think that he would be a great distance runner if he wasn’t already.
Buford Pusser – In the 70s there was a movie called Walking Tall, telling the tale of a Southern sheriff who meted out justice by carrying a rather sturdy baseball bat-sized stick. There’s a local guy who walks the trail who reminded me of that character. I hadn’t seen ol’ Buford on the trail in quite a while, but recently there he was, walking along and carrying the four-foot-long thick dowel rod that he carries like he’s going to have to fend off a wolf pack attack. I usually run by this guy with caution, but I don’t fear him.
Wrong Side Wheelchair Lady – I encounter this lady all the time in the hilly nature preserve trail and she’s always on the wrong side of the trail. She used to have a friend who would walk along with her but I haven’t seen her friend in a long time. Lately, she has been singing classic rock songs at the top of her lungs while pushing herself up the hills. I’d probably be more friendly to her if she wasn’t always on the wrong side of the trail.
Baby Jogger Mom – This redhead with a wolf tattoo on her back shoulder used to push her newborn in a stroller in the preserve and I would see her nearly every run. Then she disappeared for a while, later to return with a double-wide stroller and two kids! But she seems to be fading quickly from the ranks of the regulars, as I haven’t seen her in quite a while.
Mario! – A long-time runner, this guy reminds me of Mario from the arcade game. He’s been out there as long as I have, and we just keep putting in the miles.
Will County Forest Preserve Lady – An older lady who wears a pullover-type top emblazoned with the logo of the forest preserve is one of the older regulars on the trail. A taller, thinner lady who I see often on the Old Plank Trail in Frankfort. There used to be a trail sentinel program run by the forest preserve district, so maybe she wears the pullover from that. Not sure.
Bill – Mostly a midday runner like myself, I encountered this local guy quite often, usually crossing the railroad tracks where the make-shift path gets me into the nature preserve. He was always friendly, and at one of the crossings, I took a moment to chat him up. He said his name was Bill and that he runs about four miles nearly every day. He doesn’t race and thinks the distances I run are crazy. But anyway, he’s a nice guy.
Curly-headed Guy – I used to see this curly-headed guy all the time running on the OPT and one day we stopped at a road crossing together and I introduced myself. He was wearing an Ironman visor and I had to at least say hello to a fellow Ironman. Turns out his name is Charlie and we are now good friends and follow each other on Facebook. He tends to ride more than run nowadays, but we are always joking about wanting to be each other when we grow up.
Bike Pusher Guy – I have passed people on bikes while running in the past, and although the speed needed to do that has long left me, but occasionally I come upon Bike Pusher Guy. This guy is older than me and doesn’t ride his bike very fast, and he always hops off and pushes it up the hills. Friendly guy, and we see each other often.
Me – I guess I’m a trail regular as well. I often wonder what others think of me as I jog by huffing and puffing in my sweaty clothes. Well, if you become a regular make sure to say hello to me because I’m always up for a chat.
I have done the spring version of this 25K before, and since I opted to not burden myself at Tunnel Hill 100 with another 100-mile attempt this year, I decided to give the fall version a go. And I am happy that I did! We had a cool and overcast morning for the race, with perfect trail conditions, and seeing that the fall version is run at a different course, I found this one to be a lot less technically challenging. That’s not to say this was easy – it had nearly 1500 feet of elevation! Lots of rolling hills, and a few steep enough to force me to walk, but the day turned out great for me.
My faithful sidekick/super sherpa/wife Kari and I got there way earlier than necessary, but were glad to do so to get a prime parking spot as the location had very few and we didn’t want to have to find the second and third parking option and have to walk. We had lots of fun people-watching and chatting about the other racer’s prerace routines.
I had made a race morning decision to wear my more comfortable road shoes instead of my trail shoes, based on the race director’s email stating that the course was in great condition. I also wore my gaiters to keep the little rocks, sticks, leaves, and other trail junk out of my shoes. I was looking around and it seemed that I was the only one that opted for them. I was so glad that I did.
At the start of the race, a short grassy section that led to the path.
The 50K started at 8:30 and my race started at 9:30. This course is much more crowded with other patrons, but they weren’t too bad and gave us plenty of room. My plan was to not go out too fast and have to suffer in the later miles, but of course, I bolted out of the gate. It wasn’t long before I found myself in no-man’s-land once again, not quite with the lead pack and way ahead of the back-of-the-packers. Doesn’t matter what length of race I do, I find myself in this spot every time.
There was a giant hill that I walked just before mile 2 and I got passed by a couple of other runners, but walking calmed me down and I settled into a more appropriate pace. The hills kept coming and I just kept pushing on.
That’s a lot of hills.
The 50K leader was shirtless and I saw him around my 5-mile mark and knew that I would definitely see him again. It wasn’t long after that when I saw the first 25K leader coming back at me from the turnaround, and she was flying! She did eventually win the race, a first for the race director, which he was super excited for.
As I got closer to the turnaround myself, I was marveling at how good a gel would make me feel. Every 30 minutes is when I choke down the 100-calorie syrupy stuff, and I was finding myself looking at my watch 15 minutes after each one wondering how much longer to the next. I finally caught a guy that I had been slowly reeling in, but he would jog the hills and I would walk them and have to work at pulling him back in again. We arrived at the turnaround aid station at the same time. I had already had the lid off of my 21-ounce water bottle and had it refilled with another 21 ounces. I’m glad that I opted for the bigger bottle this time instead of the 12-ounce handheld bottles I used in the spring race. I was staying on top of hydration.
After the turn, I found my legs and started running at a pretty good clip. This portion would be downhill for a while, and I tried to take advantage of that. I could see the competition coming at me for the first time and I was glad I had a good lead.
I have to give a shout-out to the large group of spectators who greeted us when we went out and came back on the course around the middle section. It was a big pick-me-up.
The next runner ahead of me was another one that I had tried to reel in from the start. She had passed me within the first 1/2-mile of the race and looked strong, but by mile 11 she clearly had run into a wall. I passed her and put some distance on her. I didn’t think that I was in the top ten at this point, but gaining a spot gave me some motivation to keep chasing others. The problem was, there weren’t any ahead of me that I could see!
With about 2.5 miles to go, we hit the last big hill and I was passed by another guy. Great, I had just gained a spot and now I was losing one. I tried to match pace with the guy, but he was younger and stronger. And to add insult to injury, the race director informed us at the awards that he had raced the RDs fall Lakefront 50K the week before. Tip of the running visor to him.
Once up the big hill it was flat and I summoned the energy I had left to push a little bit. I could hear the quick footsteps rapidly approaching me from behind and of course, it was the 50K finisher passing me in the final mile. It has happened twice now to me and I hate it! Oh well, another tip of the running visor to the shirtless 50K winner, whose overall 50K time was nearly a half-hour faster than my Chicago Marathon time. Actually, the second-place 50K finisher was also faster than my CM time. Crazy kids. Tip of the running visor to both of them.
As I was dealing with that defeat, the sounds of more footsteps were approaching, and I was passed by a woman who clearly was kicking to the finish. I tried to keep pace with her but she was slowly pulling away (tip of the visor to her-lol). We emerged relatively close from the trail and onto the grass to do a parade lap of the park to the finish and she hit the afterburners, beating me by 15 seconds. I knew that I couldn’t catch her, but I also knew that the clock was ticking rapidly to the 2:20 mark and I gave it my best to be sub-2:20, but my official time put me two seconds over it. My watch time shows 2:19:38, but it paused while I was refilling my water bottle. Seeing that I had predicted a 2:40 finish when I signed up for the race, and then thinking I had a good chance to go sub-2:30, to get 2:20:02 was a huge surprise that I will proudly take as a new PR.
Earned another A/G glass – 1st place!
Finishing the race and getting my medal and age group award
All in all, it was a great day and a great performance for me. I might have to keep this one on the calendar for next year!
With one race left on the calendar this year, I decided to do a little course reconnaissance seeing that I had not run this particular race before. I have been on the trails in this area, but it was a long time ago, and I felt it might be a good idea to see what I had gotten myself into.
The race is the Paleozoic Trail Runs – Silurian Fall II 25K held in Palos Park, Illinois in the Cook County Forest Preserve District commonly called Swallow Cliff. If you have followed my blog you will note that I have done the spring version of this race before, three times actually, but that course is in a different location.
Last week I went out to find the start/finish area and ran from the start to about 4 miles out before turning around. The trip paid off because I took a couple of wrong turns and had to double back to get back on course. But the trail was nowhere near as technical as the spring course is. There was about 540 feet of climbing for the portion I ran and the two hills were definitely steep enough to warrant walking them. The trail was in pretty good shape, with good footing. I ended up running eight miles in about 1:15, so I was pleased with my speed and effort.
Last Saturday, Kari and I went back to the trail to walk the second part of the trail, which I hadn’t gotten a chance to run last time. It was also in good condition with very few technical aspects to it. There were 530 feet of climbing in this section, so overall, that will be the challenge that awaits me. Tackle the hills with the appropriate effort, and push pace on the flats and downhills.
Tried to capture the type of trail and the rolling hills of the course.
The course.
Today I ran one final 8-mile run near home at a comfortably hard pace and held an 8:32 average pace, finishing in 1:08. I was pretty gassed after that, so I may have to dial back my expectations just a little on race day. Plus the hills will slow me down somewhat. The race website asks you to submit a predicted finish time, and based on my three previous attempts at the spring version of this 25K, I estimated 2:40, but I think I have a good chance to be under 2:30 and maybe closer to 2:20. At least now I know what to expect from the course and the pace I have been running lately. I’m looking forward to race day.
Let me be honest with everyone, I fully expected this marathon to be a final hurrah, a victory lap, a farewell tour to marathoning. I had nothing left to prove with running marathons. I am past setting personal bests, I have qualified for Boston three times and run it once, I just really lack the motivation to keep doing them. The 2023 marathon and it’s perfect weather and record-setting performance was definitely fun to watch and gave me a little push. And when the email came to encourage me with my legacy status to sign-up for the 2024 I did it.
Of course, the training season didn’t go so well. I was doing pretty good gaining some speed and endurance again without injury, I set myself back after racing a sprint triathlon and had to take some time off to get back on track. I flip-flopped from following an Ironman training plan to a basic marathon training plan, finally settling in on just the running plan. I opted to do a backyard ultra as my final long run (2024 Broken Anvil Backyard Ultra Race Report). Although I didn’t practice marathon pace there, I certainly was confident in my ability to be on my feet for a long time and cover the distance easily.
Then I found that the speed was coming back. I bought some super-shoes (HOKA Cielo X1) and I felt like a gazelle. Now I was running an 8:45 pace easily and a 3:50 BQ time was in sight of being a possibility. Instead of taking the intended victory lap/farewell tour at Chicago, I showed up to race as hard as I could.
Saturday my wife Kari and I met up with my Gunner team buddies – Alex (who was gunning for a sub-3:00), his dad Dave, and Jeff in the city and went to Maggiano’s to carbo-load. After a great meal, we went back to Jeff’s place and had great conversations until it was time to get some uneasy sleep for tomorrow’s race.
Looking fresh in the hotel room
Looking fresh just before entering the runner gate at Jackson St.
I was up at 4:30 and took a shower. I had some bathroom issues and I was hoping that it wouldn’t dehydrate me too much, if you catch my drift. But I was glad to void all of that out of my system. Kari found me a coffee and a breakfast sandwich from the shop located at the hotel (I stayed at the Palmer House Hilton, which I highly recommend. Very close to both the start/finish.) and I was all set. I had been concerned about the temperature and about being comfortable with what I would wear, but the walk to the entrance gate was very comfortable and I ended up giving Kari the sweatpants I was wearing before going into the runner’s area. Once inside, I made my way to the porta-potty lines and waited my turn. After that, I headed to Corral F and took a seat on the ground. 8 am came soon enough and we started moving to the start line. One guy took it upon himself to lay a doodie right there in the corral, which was quite a sight to see. He had no shame. Others were up against the fencing peeing. I shoved my empty Gatorade bottle in my pants and peed into it as well. At least I had a little modesty. My mother would be proud.
I crossed the timing mat at 8:01:15 am and decided to ease into the first mile or two. I was expecting some GPS issues going under Randolph St. and Wacker Dr. but the first mile marker came at 0.86 miles and I hit my lap button and all was fine for the rest of the race. The mile marker signs usually came a little early, and sometimes a little late, but I just trusted my watch.
It was fun going through the various neighborhoods and I was starting to realize that I was taking it all in for the final time. The crowds were amazing and the city was super crowded this year.
I was holding my pace around 8:40 min/mile pace and was feeling pretty good. I was sweating and was concerned about that becoming an issue knowing I had started a little on the dehydrated side. I made sure to take water and Gatorade at each aid station. I kept on my one gel per 30-minute routine and felt fine energy-wise. I tossed the white arm sleeves off and kept my thin arm cooling sleeves. I was comfortable but a little concerned about getting cold.
Ten miles in I felt fresh. At the halfway mark my split was 1:55 and that seemed perfect for the moment, all I needed to do was keep running my pace and empty the tank around Mile 21 or so to grab that sub-3:50.
Earlier in the race I had an issue with my right shoe feeling tied a little too tight, so I stopped and tried to untie the double knot but failed at that. I pulled the tongue of the shoe up a little and soldiered on, but then got concerned about it again and took some time to stop again and loosen it. From then on it felt fine. I also stopped right around 13 miles and used the porta-potty to ease my mind with that issue. So all told, I probably wasted 3 minutes doing those things, which I hoped wouldn’t rob me of that 3:50 BQ.
Kari was joined by my son Ben and daughter-in-law Emily, as well as a couple of their friends, and I had no trouble seeing them on the course. I think I saw them 5-6 times on the course and each time it was a pick-me-up. Around the 14-mile mark, I motioned that I wanted my gloves back, as I was now heading into the wind and was hoping not to get too cold. She shook her head and said she didn’t have them. Oh well, it turned out to not be an issue.
Somewhere mid-marathon
I kept pushing on and didn’t even worry about hitting a wall. I was feeling pretty strong and my pace was hanging tight. It was at Mile 22 when the wind came out of my sails. There was a commotion and they were directing us runners to the right. Then I saw the runner on the ground getting chest compressions. It was one of the most unsettling things that I have seen in a while and it broke me down mentally. Nothing cared to me at that point. I got rather emotional and I just pressed on knowing she was in good hands and hoping the best for her. After the race, I had seen some posts from others also seeing about a total of 3-4 runners from the race in a similar predicament. I haven’t seen any reports of deaths so far, so fingers crossed that they all made it okay. Man, it was unsettling.
I had written down my 5-mile splits on the back of my hand for a 3:45 marathon finish and could tell that I was behind on time to nab not only the 3:45 but also the 3:50 BQ time I was hoping for. My intended kick at six miles to go got pushed to the last five miles, then got pushed again to kicking with a 5K to go. But I realized that no matter if I ran the fastest 5K I have ever run it wouldn’t be enough. I started to cramp a little at Mile 24, I slowed and walked it off, and did the same again at Mile 25. That last mile was still pretty good, all things considered, shuffling in 9:08 min/mile. I took my time up Mt. Roosevelt and coasted it into the finish. Three hours, 53 minutes, and 27 seconds was a satisfying finish time, and I was pleased.
In the last mile(s) on Michigan Ave.
I had been in my head for quite a while in the race thinking that I was definitely going to have a spectacular crash at the end. I slowly shuffled through the chute, grabbed a mylar blanket, a medal, a banana, and water, and tried to keep moving forward. To my surprise, I was starting to feel pretty good. By the time I passed the medical tent (I’m a frequent med tent flyer!), it wasn’t even a thought. It took forever to get through the sea of people, but finally made my way to Monroe Street, made a left turn, and walked the two or three blocks back to the hotel in good shape.
A ride up the elevator left me a little nervous when the door wouldn’t open on my floor, and started beeping at me like I had done something wrong, but it reset itself somehow and opened. I had expected Kari to be there, but she wasn’t so I got in the shower and got cleaned up. Some time in the shower my body was done with this nonsense and started to punish me for once again putting it through the mill. I got dressed, got under the covers, and started working on reversing the meltdown. Kari was giving me food and Gatorade to help me recover, but once I started in on the soup she brought for me, my stomach was not having it. I puked magnificently and immediately felt better. I cleaned up, exited the bathroom, and said “Let’s go.”
Kari wanted to go get the car, which was parked about a half-mile or so away at her work, but I told her I was fine. We got to the car and headed home. Another crash was coming, but some sipping on Gatorade led to some potato chips, some soup, and a sandwich. I was feeling better.
So all in all, it was a pretty good way to end my marathon running career. 10 Chicago Marathons, 23 marathons total, and some great memories along the way. And if you ever hear of me thinking about running another one, please remind me to reread this race report.
an amazing run 