I ran the Berryman 50+ miler Saturday. There was a large
group of us from Columbia that went this year and many of us camped together.
Some were running the marathon and several the 50. Temperature at the start was
53F and humid and got up to 75F. The 50 miler started at 6:30 am. I took off
near the front and was in 4/5th place the entire first loop since I ran with
another runner. He wasn't wearing a GPS and it was his first 50 miler. I think
this is the longest I have run with the same person in an ultra.Most of the
time he ran right behind me.
I didn't spend much time at aid stations so often started
out ahead of him but he would shortly catch me and not want to pass. We had a
drop bag at the 16 mile point on the loop. He even changed his shoes after we
had crossed the creek and still caught me. I was a little
worried I might be running too fast but hoped to finish the first loop in 4:20 as I have done many times (might be time for a new approach).
As we finished the first loop, the time on my GPS just hit 4:20. It seemed a little more difficult than some years which might be since I ran all the hills. I have run all the hills in this race before but it has been a few years. One of the 50 milers had dropped at the first loop so we were now in 3/4th place. The first loop went by quickly and I am thankful I had someone that I enjoyed running with to pass the time.
I took off for the second loop while he was changing his
shoes but of course he soon caught me. I asked again if he wanted to go around. I had a feeling that might have the ability to pick it up since I never heard him breathing hard behind me. After about a half mile, he said he was going to try to run the downhills
faster. I wasn't able to keep him in sight for long since he did pick up the
pace. He obviously had the ability to run faster but was smart to hold back on
the first loop. I was able to keep my pace in the 10s (about same as first
loop) for 5 more miles but at mile 31, I slowed to 12 min.I kept running other
than uphills and managed 11-12 something pace all except 1 mile at 14 min where
I spent a little extra time at the aid station catching up on hydration. No miles in the 13s!
I passed a few slower marathoners but didn't see anyone
else. I wasn't too worried about any 50 milers passing me even though I had
slowed since the temperature had warmed up. I didn't feel great the last 20
miles but felt good enough to run most of the time so pace didn't completely go
downhill. I probably made the mistake of running the entire first loop and
didn't walk any hills.
I ended up finishing 4th overall, 2 places higher than last year and 14 min slower. The guy I ran the first
loop moved up to 2nd. He ran the second loop only 8 min slower. I ran it 38 min
slower in 4:58 so my overall time was 9 hr 18 min. I ended up breaking my streak of 4 Master's
wins since another 47 year old finished 22 min ahead of me. Fine with me since
I really didn't need another plaque and even if I had run the first loop slower, I don't think I had an 8:54 in me. I did run an 8:52 in 2014 but it was much cooler.
This race was the 7th time I ran the 50 miler here plus 2
marathons. Most likely I will plan to go back for another 50 miler next year. It seems to be a tradition to have a group from Columbia and it is always a fun time. The winning time for the 50 miler was 8 hr 18 min which was much slower than
usual. Typically, there are runners in the 7s and the record is 6:30. There was a guy trying to break the course record and didn't
even come close. Times seemed slower than usual for whatever reason. The course was wet in a few
places and it was a little warm so probably didn't help.
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| Crossing Brazil Creek |
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