Wheels on, 50 miles, a mountain climb, and a new PR!

[Bateluer]

Did the 50 miler out here today.
http://www.aravaiparunning.com/mcdowell-mountain-frenzy/#course

Climbing up Thompson Peak right in the middle. Damn trail and road up it was so steep I had to walk up sideways, same going down. Even the first place finisher, who did a 7:26, walked up that monstrosity.

I pulled out a 10:36:03, and 16th place over all. There were 52 starters, though I know at least two people dropped. Race is still going too, for another hour.

 

[Megatomic]

Congrats Bateluer! Any cool pics from the peak?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

You are a crazy man. I cannot imagine doing marathon+ length races regularly. Kudos for surviving once again 🙂

 

[Bateluer]

Congrats Bateluer! Any cool pics from the peak?

Not from me. :/

I need to test out a solution to carry a camera with me. Maybe one of the light weight running vests.

Edit - Heh, I think there may be only one picture of me on the course. Just leaving an aide station, walking and eating. 😛

 

[mechBgon]

Hardcore! 😱 How long have you been training for that?

 

[drteming]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: You ultra runners are stone cold crazy. Hardcore, much respect sir!

 

[grohl]

You are effin' crazy. And my idol. *bows*

 

[Mursilis]

You, sir, are a beast! A crazy, deranged beast! Congratulations on being crazy enough to start, and strong enough to finish!

 

[Bateluer]

Race report from First Place.

http://koreykonga.blogspot.com/2012/12/mcdowell-mountain-frenzy-50-mile-race.html

There was one significant climb/descent between mile 20 and 22. It was up a service road which was described by the RD's as "extremely" steep, which my friend Mike Walker and I had been making fun of prior to the race. Turns out it was no joke. I'm pretty sure it was only between 1,500 and 2,000ft but it seemed to be straight up, which made the toe slamming descent worse than the climb.

When I was about 1/2 mile from the peak, Michael Carson was blazing down. "Good job!" I said. Not too far behind him was Brian Tinder. "Good job!" I said again. When I got to the top, the volunteer was sitting next to the cell tower on his cell phone and said "Hey! I can't get any bars up here." I needed a good laugh!
I said "I thought those guys were bullshitting when they were talking about this 'EXTREMELY' steep climb!"
He said "Nope... It's my first time up here too, I'm just glad I don't have to run 50 miles."
I just laughed and headed down.

Aravaipa Running put on a great race as usual. I didn't get confused at any of the intersections. It was well supported and there were plenty of aid stations. Thank you guys for another great experience and a big thank you to all the volunteers who spent their whole day out there supporting us. Thank you thank you thank you!

Also thank you to all of the other runners out there defeating great distances. EVERY SINGLE person I meet on the trails offer words of encouragement: "Nice job!""Keep it up!" "Looking good!" I just love the sportsmanship and support involved in ultra running. It doesn't matter if you're running a 6 hour 50 mile or a 10 hour 50K, we're all out there doing something amazing and encouraging one another along the way and that is a great feeling.