Rick Burnett, finishing time 6:13:54
Dear. Dr. Horton,
Having just completed my first
ever Ultra at the 2001 Holiday Lake 50k++, I wanted to take this opportunity to
thank you for the introduction to the incredible sport of Ultra running.
I am a rookie to the whole running scene and until visiting your web site
a few months ago had no idea such a sport existed.
I have only been a runner since February 2000 when after quitting a
25-year cigarette smoking habit I set a goal to train and run a marathon within
one year. On November 18, 2000 I completed my first race, the Richmond
Suntrust Marathon in 4 hours 10 minutes and knew I was hooked on distance
running. After the race I surfed
the web and found your site. Given
my obsessive, compulsive, more is better personality - the races and information you listed had instant appeal.
I began reading everything about ultras I could find on the net and in
magazines including your book “Quest for Adventure”.
I trained tenaciously and ran my second marathon January 14, 2001 as a
long training run for the 2001 Holiday Lake 50K++.
Everyone at work and most of my friends thought I was crazy but did not
expect any less!
February 16th, Friday
afternoon my wife (& crew chief) Sandi and I left Maryland and headed south
to Appomattox. The weather
consisting of rain and drizzle combined with the Saturday forecast did not look
favorable for my first ultra trail running début.
As we were checking in we were greeted by you and you made us feel
welcome and at ease. After piling
our plates from the fantastic pasta buffet and sitting down to eat, it was only
a short time before we were socializing and laughing with everyone at our table.
The excellent food (great coconut cake) and fellowship helped out a lot
with settling my pre-race butterflies.
After a long night of tossing
and turning at the Super 8, Saturday morning finally arrived and the rain
appeared to have stopped. Lining up
near the back of the pack @ 6:29 in the dark- I was nervous! After “GO” and the loop of 140+ runners shuffled briskly
up the paved road leaving the center I thought, “this is not too bad”.
At the top of the hill when we turned left and started down the muddy,
rutty, slippery and rocky foot trail in the dark the knot in my stomach
tightened. Just about sunrise the
group exited the single file path and started up the clay fire road.
After slopping halfway up the hill with at least an inch of wet clay
stuck to the bottom of my shoes I started having doubts about my ability to
finish the run. It was obvious that
my training runs on the flat and packed C&O towpath were not trial runs or
comparable to what I was undertaking now. I had to remind myself of your quote
“it never always gets worse” but at the same time I was thinking “Rick,
you should have trained harder!”. Aid
station #1 at the end of the road did not arrive a moment too soon.
The terrain conditions began to
improve and I began to settle down and into the run. By the time I reached the first small stream crossing I was
feeling so “cocky” that I was going to just splash through so fast that my
feet would not have time to get wet. Wrong,
both feet got soaking wet and I almost sprained my ankle and “face planted”
from slipping on the rocks. At the
second deep crossing I decided to forgo a log adventure and wade slowly and
carefully (in rookie mode) across the knee-deep stream. As I exited the other
side, the cold water left me wobbling like the “tin man” until my calf
muscles had time to warm up again.
The halfway point turnaround
seemed like a long time coming. Soon
the first place and other front runners came sprinting past me like spooked deer
on the run. More and more runners
began appearing from the turnaround each giving welcome encouragement like;
“keep it up”, “looking good” to “½ way is just around the corner”.
It was bittersweet to know that the turn- around was just ahead but about
half the field of runners was in front of me.
I kept telling myself that I just need to finish and not worry about the
time. I stumbled a little through the final single track but was relieved to
finally reach the parking lot at the 4-H Center.
The combination of “at last” making it to the ½ way point and the
words of encouragement from my smiling wife gave me a physiological jump-start.
At 2 hours 50 minutes I began to realize I could finish within the time
limit, provided I stopped kicking and stumbling over ruts, roots and rocks.
The return trip seemed to go
much smoother both physically and mentally.
At various stretches I chatted with veteran runners who were great about
offering advice and giving encouragement. The
miles seemed to fly by and I was happy to see that the dreaded clay fire road
had dried up and gotten better. I
ran the final 2-3 miles with a seasoned vet named Stan who helped keep me from
earning “Best Blood” on the final section of rough foot trail.
Prodded by his encouragement and a surge of adrenaline I ran swiftly down
the hill to the 4-H Center. WOW!
What an incredible feeling to cross the finish line and hear you
enthusiastically announce “Rick Burnett, 6 hours 13 minutes”.
As you shook my hand and congratulated me I welled up inside with
happiness from the overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
I couldn’t stop smiling! I was filled with a feeling that only another
ultra runner would understand.
The post race lunch provided the
perfect opportunity to finally sit down, eat real food and relive the race
experience with other runners. We
laughed and enjoyed the awards presentation that followed.
I said my good-byes and hobbled to the truck for the 4-hour ride home.
I knew I would see many of the people I had just met again at another
Ultra event. I am now hooked!
Thank you for organizing and
directing an event that I will no doubt remember forever.
It has been 3 days and I am still on a high and reliving the run in my
mind.
My registration form and check
is in the mail for the Promise Land 50K and I look forward to seeing you in
April. Until then, I will be
training diligently (on real trails) for what looks to be one REAL TOUGH RUN!
Respectfully,
Rick Burnett