I ran 50 miles. That alone sounds like a daunting task, but the fact that it was 50 miles in the Blue Ridge Mountains on single track trails, steep forest service roads, crossing streams, and dodging rocks, roots, mud holes, deer, and not to mention four extra phantom miles thrown in for good measure, made it that much tougher. On November 4, 2006, I ran the Mountain Masochist 50+ mile trail run. It was the first time I would attempt to run 50 miles. It was the first time I would attempt an ultra. I’ve run in numerous races from 5k road races to marathons including Boston. I’ve done numerous triathlons from sprint to Olympic distances. I’ve even finished an Ironman. They all paled in comparison the MMTR. It was without a doubt the most challenging event both physically and mentally that I’ve ever been apart of. It lived up to the hype and then some.

 

I made it through six months of training. I trained just like I was training for a marathon with the exception that I trained on the trails every weekend, took a lot of walking breaks, and learned how to eat and run at the same time. I had to take about two weeks off due to a stress fracture with about a month to go before the race, but other than that the training went smoothly. I completed several long runs 18 miles or more with 25 being my longest.  I do have to say that I couldn’t have done this without the support of my wife. People talk about how much you have to sacrifice when you train for events like these. She had to do some sacrificing herself to allow me to be gone every single Saturday morning four or five hours while she took care of a two year old. Then we found out that she’s pregnant with our second child, and that made it even more of a challenge for her near the end of my training. She was awesome.

 

I’m not a morning person. I can’t stand running in the morning. There are only two things that I get out of bed before sunrise for and that’s either fishing or hunting, so the first hurdle in the race for me was getting up at three o’clock in the morning so I could get on the busses before they left. The start was nothing extravagant. I liked it. Horton said “READY, GO” and we were off.  The first part of the race went by fairly easy. I ran with several different people along the way. I’m not a very outgoing person, so I didn’t ask anybody their name or where they were from. I just stayed in a rhythm and tried to keep up. I ran with one particular group of guys from aid station 4 to aid station 9. This one guy talked nonstop the entire way. One guy chimed in that this was his first ultra event, and another one said he must be an idiot to pick this ultra for his first. I told them he wasn’t the only idiot in the group because it was my first ultra as well.  The guy that talked nonstop said the MMTR for your first ultra was like jumping off of a high dive platform into a glass of water. That group would eventually leave me, as I had to take a break in the woods. I couldn’t catch back up. For the most part the first half of the race went by uneventful. I believe the anticipation of seeing my wife and daughter, my parents, and mother-in-law is probably what got through the first half of the race. It was nice to see familiar faces. I’m halfway home.

 

I had about a fifty-minute cushion on the cut-off time at aid station 10. Then came the climb up Buck Mtn. I walked the entire way. It was a tough climb, but it would not be the most challenging part of the race for me. I ran without a watch, so I always had to ask what time it was, and I was surprised to find that I had actually built up another 10 minutes of cushion when I reached the top. I was on about a 10 hour pace. They were playing the Rocky music, which they’re famous for at aid station 11. What was funny was that they were playing the theme from Rocky IV when Rocky was training in Russia. I pictured him running up to the top of that mountain in the snow. I started to yell “DRAGO” but I figured everyone would think I was crazy. I was feeling relatively well considering I had run almost 30 miles. It was mostly downhill from there until the “loop”. That’s where the mental challenge began for me. I knew it was longer than the advertised 5 miles, but I wasn’t prepared for how long it would take me to get out of there.  It felt like two hours. I finally emerged probably as hungry as I’ve ever been in my entire life. I had tomato soup, Oreo cookies, sun chips, potatoes with salt, and some peanut butter cups to top it all off. All the aid stations were that good. The girl at the aid station said I had less than a half marathon left. That helped. I said goodbye to my family until the finish and set off again. I wasn’t really challenged again until aid station 15. The girls were playing the “Eye of the Tiger”. They asked me if I had the eye of the tiger. I said no. I was tired and my feet hurt.  I wasn’t tired like I had run a sprint race; I was tired of being out there. That’s how this race is more mental than physical. I asked how much further, which I shouldn’t have. The lady said pointing, “You see that mountain right there? You’ve got to go through that pass over the top”.  She told me that it’s more like 5.1 miles instead of 4.1. It was an extremely lonely 5.1 miles on a single-track footpath. At times it seemed like I was running on a deer trail. I ran alone for most of the way passing only one guy that was leaned up against a tree throwing up. I know he felt helpless. I felt as helpless as he did. I asked him if he was ok, and he said yes. I knew there wasn’t anything I could do for him, but I had to ask anyway. We both made it to the last aid station. I made the mistake of asking how much further again. The guy said 2.9 miles. I then asked how many real miles.  He said more than 3 less than 4 mostly downhill. I assumed 3.9. I think I assumed right. It was all downhill with several stream crossings. I was happy to see asphalt again. I knew I was almost home. I started seeing more people and was hesitant to start celebrating. Finally, I saw the person I wanted to see from the start of the race. The person I wanted to se even more than my family. 11 hours 13 minutes and 32 seconds after the start I saw David Horton. He called out my number and my name, and shook my hand. He said, “This is your first ultra isn’t it?” That meant a lot to me; out of 300 runners that entered the race he was able to remember that this was my first. Thanks David.

 

People ask me if I had fun, if I enjoyed myself, if it was worth it. At the time, it wasn’t much fun, and no I didn’t enjoy myself, but yes it was worth it. I conquered something that not many people have even thought about attempting. I was glad it was over. I felt like Bugs Bunny in that tiny glass of water after jumping off the high dive. On the drive home my wife asked me if I’d do it again. I said absolutely not. Now, four days later I think…I doubt it…maybe…probably.

 

Andrew Myers