Holiday Lake 50K Report

The day finally arrived for my jump into Ultrarunning. I want to Thank
the several people from the list that sent me messages of encouragement. I
arrived at the 4H center right at 6 in time for the pasta feed. I shared
a table with Frank Probst, Steve and Deb Pero and Johnny Laney, all
experienced ultrarunners so the weekend got off to a good start.
Sat morning was a little cold but the forecast was for perfect weather
into the 50's which sounded great for my first ultra.
We started off into the dark toward the trailhead and after a short
bottleneck we were off and running. It quickly started to lighten up and
I was able to enjoy the sensation of moving over the trail. The course was
a little easier than I had expected so I had to hold back and be sure to
throw in a few walking breaks instead of waiting till I was forced to walk by
the terrain. The early portions of the race were very uneventful but I was
having a great time and felt really good. My brother, sister-in-law and
my 14 yr old son were crewing for me. I didn't really need any help but it
was great having them there to support me. As the lead runners started coming
back towards me I started looking for familiar faces. Steve was looking
real strong and I was amazed at how fast Frank was moving. Then Johnny and
then Robin Fry went by. I missed seeing Deb and thought she must be behind me
but I really thought she should be in front of me some where because her time
last year was a little faster than I was hoping to run. I had just missed
her because at about 18 miles on the return trip I caught up to her and
we played leap frog for the next 10 miles or so. I hadn't passed but 3 or 4
people on the first loop but by the 2nd aid station on the return I had
passed 17 and was still feeling very good. I was really surprised that my
legs were still feeling as fresh as they were. My brother had been timing
me between aid stations and he said my pace was almost holding steady for
each segment. The only problem I had was as I ran by a section where some
logging had been going on along one of the forest roads. There was some limbs
across the road and I tripped over a branch about the size of a finger, due to my
inability to jump more than 3 inches and when I did my right hamstring
cramped. I was able to stretch it out and it didn't bother me the rest of
the run. Inevitably I started to slow down and most of the people I had
been passing went back by me. It was about this time that Deb disappeared ahead
of me for the last time. I still couldn't believe I felt as good as I did
though and it wasn't until the last mile that I felt the wheels starting
to come off and was looking forward to it being over. Coming back up through
the ropes course I was afraid I couldn't make it up that final tiny hill
but once I made it it was all downhill to the finish. It was great to have my
family there to meet me and then have David there to congratulate me as I
crossed the line. Frank was waiting there also. This was a great
experience and a great race that I would recommend to anyone.
Joey Anderson