Though not necessarily on purpose, I haven’t repeated a lot of races. I ran the Santa Hustle half twice, but otherwise, this year’s 8-Hour Dream Endurance Race is only my second repeat. It’s a timed race with a short course featuring 3K or 5K options which you can combine in however many loops you can manage solo or with a team. I first tackled it in 2019 as part of a women’s relay team (you can read the full recap here). In 2020 I skipped for obvious reasons (though they actually got approval to run the race, and I did go to spectate and cheer for a friend). I was so glad to get back to it this year, and while it was a repeat, it felt like a very different race as it was my first stab at a timed ultra.
My current training plan was already set when I decided to sign up, and my coach had 20 miles on the books. I asked her about the possibility of going further, to 26.2 or even 50K. I’d just completed my first 20-miler of the cycle two weeks prior, but I knew if I felt good on race day, I’d want to keep going. Still, 26-31 miles would a big jump from my current training, so we agreed I should play it by ear. I started the race with no actual goal, just openness to see how things might unfold.
This race is special for a lot of reasons: the competitive and team spirit, how much variety in terrain is packed into just a couple of miles, the vibe of the tent village. One of its lesser qualities is typically the heat. The race has a rep of falling on the hottest of days. Think 90s with a real feel of 100+ with soupy humidity and full, blazing sun. In the days leading up to the race, I watched in awe as the projected temperature dropped and dropped until it was forecast to be 69 degrees at the 10 am start. Yes it was a touch humid, but the weather was pretty perfect for racing. There was even a super refreshing and fine mist for a brief time.
My whole approach to this race was so low key I nearly forgot my cooler and arrived just minutes before the start. I actually watched all of the other runners blast off while I was still getting settled in the tent I was sharing with my friend and fellow Oiselle Volée teammate, Tara. She waited too, so we actually got to start the race together. When you have 8 whole hours, a leisurely start seems just fine, right?
I wasn’t trying to break any records or meet a specific pace. My initial plan was to try to keep a very easy, but fairly consistent pace through the planned 20-mile training run and worry about the rest later. 11 loops of the short course (about 1.9 miles) would get me there. Tara and I ran the first loop together. We breezed through the downhills. The puddles and mud on the course seemed manageable (though we worried how it might fare after a few hundred runners looped it for hours on end). I even felt light and smooth going up the bell tower climb, which isn’t long, but is rooty and steep, getting into 20-30% grade if Strava segments are accurate. The great thing about short loops is that in the beginning they fly by. 1.9 miles down.
For the next 14 or so loops, I was on my own. I saw Tara surprisingly little. We must have just been missing each other, planets in our own orbit. But in a race like this, a friend is always nearby, some you may just not have met yet. A lot of the women I ran with in 2019 were on a team again, and every time I passed their tent in the village, they cheered and gave me a nice boost. I saw a woman wearing an IT100 hat, and struck up a conversation. She and her husband are also running the Indiana Trail race this October. We cheered for each other every time we passed, and I’ll be glad to see them out on the trails again this fall.
When I gave a woman a heads up I was passing on the left on the bell tower climb and joked “unless I slide backwards…” because it had gotten quite muddy and slick by that point, and she said: “Then I will catch you!” Dang, fellow runners can be the best.
My only other race day plan was to test some nutrition options. For the last several years, I’ve relied primarily on energy chews during marathons, but as my pace has picked up, they’ve become more difficult. I use them because gels can make me crazy thirsty, but I figured it was time to give gels another try. I’ve also been trouble shooting the reason for some leg fatigue issues, wondering if nutrition or strength is my primary culprit. I purchased several different brands of gels and bought other snacks I love for ultras: peanut butter filled pretzels, Cheez-Its, gummy bears, popsicles, and a PB&J for lunch. I made it a mission to see just how many calories I could cram in.
By the time I hit mile 20, I had already put back a 2-scoop 17 oz bottle of Tailwind, 3 gels, a handful each of peanut butter pretzels and gummie bears, plus some Gatorade from the course. My stomach did great, I found a real winner in the gel department (Hammer Nocciola, like liquid nutella and I am down with that), but I still experienced the leg fatigue. I had already suspected this. Signs are pointing to more leg strength workouts for this gal.
Getting to 20 was freeing. Everything else was a bonus. I was just there to enjoy the process and the vibe. I could stop whenever I wanted. Or not. Between 20 and 26.2, I was still mostly running. After I passed the marathon mark, I ate my PB&J. I actually thought I might make it about 6 hours, but by incorporating walk breaks and continuing to eat, I found I could just keep on going.
After mile 27, I switched to exclusively walking. I figured I had time for about 3 more laps. I finally reconnected with Tara, and we got to do our final laps together. It was great to start and finish with a friend. She asked: “How are your legs so clean?!” I wasn’t being too dainty about things, and I definitely got some splatters up the back of my legs, but some folks looked like they got back from a spa treatment. Like full-on mud bath. Maybe to do with strides, foot fall, pace? We marveled at how well the Towpath held up. Despite all that traffic, the mud didn’t get a whole lot worse from where it started.
The final lap felt long. My feet were starting to hurt and it conjured up days of waitressing and working retail. These were like holiday rush feet, except also wet. I was ready to be done.
Later I realized the walking worked magic on my legs and kept them from stiffening up. I think I’d have been much more sore afterwards had I stopped at 26.2 and just sat down.
If I had paid more attention, I might have realized how close I was to winning my age group. I ended at 34.2 miles with 15 minutes to spare, which ended up being third. The top woman in my AG ran 35.07, and second place had 34.72. Extending to the 5K course on the last lap, or squeezing in one more short loop would have done the trick. That hadn’t even been on my mind. I assumed the top woman would be so much further ahead, I hadn’t bothered to check. No regrets though. I went far beyond what I anticipated for the day.
Doing the race solo was a rewarding experience, and I’m glad to have done it. We got special belt buckle medals and a bonus trucker hat for hitting marathon distance. I may try it solo again, depending on my training goals each summer, but from where I’m sitting right now though I think I’ll opt to go back to being on a team. It’s just too much fun to race your heart out with friends on this kind of strange course looping back to the greatest little tent village.
There was nothing quite like taking off my shoes and socks and slipping into my recovery sandals after the race. Tara shared her Hypervolt, and I sat in our tent, hypervolting my legs while listening to the post-race band play Tangled Up in Blue. Very tired, but also very content.
The details:
8-Hour Dream Endurance Race
July 17, 2021
50K #2
Weather: 69 degrees at the start, cloudy, cool
Official results: 34.2 miles, 7:45:23.10