Run, cramp, hobble, walk

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Here is an interesting conundrum, seven Connecticut runners completed the Foxcatcher 50k in Maryland on April 18th. To get there, five traveled south and two traveled north yet we all made to the same start location for the inaugural running of this event, work that out!. The race uses the same course; correction, courses, as the Foxcatcher Endurance Ride that brings together horse riders together for rides of 25k to 50 miles. I guess they thought that a few extra dumb animals out on the trails wouldn’t make much difference!

The course is a mixture of open grass fields, gravel tracks and woodland trails. Sounds innocent enough but throw in a couple of stream crossings, good mud, unbroken sunshine that pushed temperatures to the high 70s and the event proved a little more challenging than one might have originally imagined. The race directors were easy going guys who normally put on laid back Fat Ass races, and the Foxcatcher received similar attention to detail. As we assembled for the start, someone asked where the finish was going to be. “Oh yes”; came the reply followed by a brief thoughtful pause. “Just come back to the tent.” was the final instruction and off we set.

Trail markers were a combination of plates, flags and ribbon. The run route was a lap of orange markers followed by a smaller loop following blue ones. At left turns, the respective colors were also attached to white ribbon and at right turns they were appended to red ones. Got it? Sounded easy enough, no one should get lost.

Within the first 40 minutes while leading the race, I performed my first detour. Besides adding additional distance I rejoined the race somewhere in the mid pack. But that was difficult to judge as the entire field was just 25 and they were quite spread out by now. I zipped past Spuds, then Lefty. I chased after Shellygirl and finally caught up to Guthrie. Despite the harassment of trying to make up for lost time, the run was a joy. Memories of running over grass downland back in the UK came to mind and although the horses had rutted the going, it was still very runnable.

I passed Guth and quickly arrived at the first aid station, I grabbed a PB&J and headed out. Further up the gravel road the aid station was situated at, I could see a body and assuming it was the lead runner, gave chase. As I got closer, the ‘runner’ turned out to be a hiker coming towards me and behind I saw a runner also coming towards me – not good signs. At the same moment a car horn sounded behind me and a voice shouted out, “Jerry have you noticed any orange markers lately?”. One of the aid workers have chased me down in their car to point out that I was no longer on the course. I had to double back about a half mile to get back on track.

The next adventure came a little later on when as I run up a short hill towards what looked like an aid station for the horse race. It was still being set up and when I asked where the orange course was no body seemed to know. While I floundered, Guthrie and another runner arrived. We all looked at each other in confusion. One of the workers said he’d seem markers to our left on top of a hill, another said he thought they were to the right, then someone mentioned that he’d seen a line of orange flags going across the field but someone in a pickup truck had just driven through and removed them! We followed the line of the missing and flags and found ourselves back on track.

I gradually opened space between myself and Guthrie once more and arrived at the next aid stop to find the race leader filling his bottles. I managed to get in and out before him and soon lost sight of him. Being much more careful to watch for markers I made good time, my legs were beginning to feel fatigued but otherwise everything was good. Arriving at the end of the orange loop I caught the aid worker literally with his pants down. With one leg in his shorts, he hopped about telling me what was on offer to eat and drink. I had just 7 miles to go according to the course map – I sensed victory. About half a mile out cramp seized both calf muscles every time I tried to run. I’d take a few strides, feel the muscles start to cramp and resume walking. Worried that slowing my pace would result in being overtaken I made the macho decision to ignore the feeling of cramp. Big mistake, my right calf went into a spasm and seized up turning my foot inwards. I was stuck, in agony and worried that if the other leg did the same I was going to be in serious difficulty. I tried to reach the cramped muscle but couldn’t bend. So I gritted my teeth and put more weight on the twisted foot to flatted it on the ground and stretch out the cramped muscle. Thankfully it worked and I hobbled on. Thereafter for about 2.5 miles I ran, cramped, hobbled and walked. I was amazed that by now no-one had overtaken me . Looking back I could see a runner but he never got any closer – maybe he was suffering too. With just 3.5 miles to go, I refreshed at the last aid stop and discovered that the cramping had subsided. For the remaining miles, I just kept going without looking back until I crossed the line. After crossing the line, getting off my cramped legs was sheer bliss and it took me a few minuted to realize that the the pretty lady with a puppy who was clapping and smiling at me was in fact Noway who with Dan have driven up from DC to cheer her CT friends on! And there was me think I must have just looked good coming into the finish!

Guthrie was a couple of minutes back and by the time we had walked back to the car, Shellygirl also arrived. Once changed, we sat out by the finish to see Lefty, Spuds, Chipper and Iggy finish. Guth was the first lady finisher, SG was first in her age group. Lefty had pushed though cold symptoms to the finish, while Spuds coped with nausea brought on by the heat. Chipper and Iggy finished looking cheerful, they had stayed together and provided mutual support. Check out the video of their finish. Everyone seemed satisfied with their run.

So was the journey worth it? The race was definitely low key and there are pluses and minus to this. The atmosphere was much more personal, as the race director addressed everyone by name. Despite getting lost, the course was marked adequately and the open country offered a pleasant change to enclosed woodland trails. I’d consider doing this race again.