OSS CIA 50 Miler Race Report
This was my third time running the OSS CIA 50 miler, a nighttime race in my backyard. 2 years ago it was a great tune up for UTMB, which was the plan again this year.
The plan was rattled 3 weeks before the race when I took a nasty fall and smashed my leg on a rock. After lots of swelling, an x-ray, a bone bruise diagnosis, a week where I hardly could walk, and 2.5 weeks of no running, I was mostly healed up just in time for the race. I decided to still give it a go, and the goal was to finish and get in some quality UTMB training.
The course has two loops of 26 miles. Each loop has 3,000 feet of vertical with a good bit of technical trails mixed in. We started at 7pm with temps around 80. It would be a bit warm and humid at night, but the weather was pretty decent for Virginia this time of year.
Loop 1 was a blast and went amazingly well. Two speedsters shot off the front, and I was content to settle into 3rd. There was no pain in my leg, and I felt great. I was pushing the pace and definitely ran harder than I should have just coming off a minor injury, but it’s hard to slow down when everything is going well!
I came through lap one in 4:04, a good 11-12 minutes faster than 2 years ago when I won in 8:52. I still felt really good, moved through the aid station quickly, and started on loop 2.
Things went well for a while, and I passed the 2nd place runner. He was battling nutrition issues, and I wished him well. Then things also went south for me. This happens a lot in 50 milers around mile 30. You’ve been running for a long time but still have a while to go. I think the biggest issue was that with the time off after the fall, I simply didn’t have the legs to run hard for that long. I should have just accepted it and slowed down, but I kept pushing and probably created a new problem by taking too much salt with back-to-back S-Caps. I got to the mile 37 aid station to some excellent encouragement from some friends who were generously volunteering. I told them I felt pretty terrible but would see them again after the 3 mile loop and try to pull it back together.
Unfortunately my stomach kept getting worse in the farm to forest loop. Eventually I decided to walk until I could snap out of it. But there was no snapping. Not even a wee bit. I pulled over on the side of the trail, turned off my light, and laid down for a few minutes. Sometimes laying down for just a bit can reset the stomach and get me back in action. This wasn’t one of those time.
I trudged back to the aid station, and the crew there was quite worried about me. It took me twice as long to finish the loop this time, and they had expected me back way sooner. When the now second place runner came in and said he hadn’t seen me (he passed me while I was laying down off the trail), they were sure I was lost. Nope, not lost guys – just pitifully slow. I had a brief internal debate about dropping, but I squashed that voice pretty quickly. I thanked them, said I was fine, and said I’d finish it out and just hike it in.
I was about 7 hours in and was fully prepared to hike all the last 13 miles. I left the aid station at the same time as Matt, the runner I passed at mile 30 who went by me while I snoozing on the trail. He said he wasn’t feeling good either and suggested we join forces for a bit.
The next 8 miles we ran together epitomizes what I love about ultras. We were both in a really rough patch and worked together stride-for-stride to keep moving. Despite how bad I felt, having someone with me coaxed me back into running. I led through the next flat trail section and was VERY excited to get to a hill so we could walk. We got to the road section and got into a rhythm of walking the climbs and running the downs / flats. Matt seemed to be perking up and was in better shape than me. Each flat / downhill he’d patiently wait while I talked myself into running again. I was super appreciative for him staying with me but said he should take off at some point since he was clearly stronger.
As we came back from the turnaround, there were several runners close to us. We turned onto the trail section with 7 miles to go. Running was taking its toll, and I had no calories or fluids in me at this point. We made a plan to hang together for 2 more miles, and then Matt would take off to the finish.
I was in a world of pain and struggling with not vomiting, but it was at least that the end was in sight. Matt took off, and I tried to keep a decent pace going with hopes of still cracking 10 hours. Mercifully we hit the big road climb. As we hiked up, another runner finally caught me. We worked silently together up the climb and down the next descent to the bridge crossing before the last 2+ miles uphill.
As we jogged up the hill, all of a sudden I had to pull off the trail to puke. At that exact moment Justin came by charging up the hill like a Mack Truck. He had another runner behind him, and the guy who I had been running with took off with them. Just like that I went from 3rd to 6th with 1.5 miles to go!
I had to sit for a minute to regroup and then got back in gear to finish this damn thing. I crossed the finish line in 9:41. I walked up to the RD, Alex, and said “I think I did that the hard way.” I rehydrated, took a bit of a nap, and then ate an amazing breakfast of French toast and eggs. It was fun to hang out afterwards and catch up with friends.
I can’t say I’m surprised that I struggled with my stomach and holding pace. But overall I’m happy with how it went and think I’m still on track for UTMB. I’m super grateful to Matt for patiently hanging with me and dragging me through back half of lap 2. I’m pretty sure I would have been way slower and wouldn’t have cracked 10 without him. And it also made those rough miles much more enjoyable to have company!
Alex and Athletic Equation put on great races. Looking forward to the next one!