American River 50 Mile Endurance Run Race Report

Two days after the 2009 running of the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run I think I'm finally starting to put things into perspective. I thought about heading down the overused cliché route, like the Tortoise and the Hare, or the one from the old Wide World of Sports, something to do with the thrill of victory and agony of defeat but the more hours that pass after the event and the less sore my legs feel the less dramatic the event seems. As a matter of fact, right this very second I can say that the entire experience was wonderful, and that I'm happy with my time. I've gone back and forth with that sentiment, however, many times over the last 48 hours as I think back to what I could have done better, and then praise myself for powering through a few routine ultra-related highs and lows.

First, the summary paragraphs, for those who like to stop by the site, catch a couple of details and get out, those who don't really care about all of the ultra running geeky details. Then I'll get to the geeky details (what I enjoy) and no doubt this report will go longer than intended.

The Summary!

Over 700 runners toed the line for the 30th running of AR50, some 200 runners tackling their first 50 mile race! At the race packet pickup the day before the Fleet Feet in Fair Oaks gave away t-shirts to the first 200 to pick up their race numbers that had a great phrase on the front, “50 miles, the new 26.2.” With this year's AR50 selling out a few weeks ago, and other ultra runs requiring lotteries or fast fingers at the computer I think this statement is definitely true.

Last year I was one of those rookies ready to take on a 50 miler, so this year I felt like I knew everything about the distance. That was my first worry, I can't lie, I felt like I was a bit over confident if anything. It was still 50 miles! I had put in the road training, but not a lot of time on the trails. I wondered if that would make much of a difference on the day, and I think I found out about 35 miles into the race.

Team Overbay was back in their uni's this year.

Wait, back to the summary. I started out a bit too fast, but really felt good. I set a goal to hit the marathon mark around 4 hours, hit Beal's point (27 miles) around 4:10 and then hang on from there. I hit the marathon mark right on schedule, Beal's the same. I had another good 3 or 4 miles and then around mile 32 I kind of fell apart, mentally and physically. I was determined to finish, so that wasn't a worry, but at one point, right around mile 35, I thought I was heading toward a 15 mile “death march” to the finish.

Me coming into Beals Point wearing my Brooks ID Gear

I've been running ultras now for a year and a half. I've run 8 or 9 of them and I've yet to have an injury. Yet there I was around mile 34, 35, feeling an odd pain in my right knee. I felt the pain primarily when going downhill. Now, it's important to note that on an ultra you always want to run the flats and downhills, try to run the slight ups and power walk the big hills. Having knee pain on the down hill sections forced me to almost walk the downs, making me want to compensate by running the flats and every up that I could, possibly wearing out my legs in the process.

From Buzzard's Cove (35 miles) to Rattlesnake Bar (41) I was essentially walk-running just counting down the miles until I could see my family (at Rattlesnake). That was the only thing keeping me going through that stretch. I was starting to get passed, and that's no fun at all. The good news was that I wasn't too hot, my stomach stayed with me the entire race, it was just my darned legs! Who'd have thought that after 30+ miles ones legs could stage such a convincing revolt!? I was desperate as I arrived at the Rattlesnake aid station. My family was there, and that was wonderful, but I had 9 more miles to go. Luckily I thought to pop 3 Advil, because I was willing to try anything. After kissing the family unit and even getting a very sweaty hug from my 7-year-old (the rest stay at a distance at aid stations) I headed out and started running.

5 and 7-year-old wondering when Dad would finally appear!

I decided that I would run until I just felt I needed a walk break. I made it a quarter mile and I felt fine so I just kept running. Pretty soon it was a half mile, then a mile! I passed somebody, then somebody else. Now I was at a mile and a half, the next aid station was just a couple of miles away so what the heck, let's try to run it in! I made it! After 10 miles of pity, I just put together a string of 4.4 miles of pure running. Open fields, beautify day, butterflies in my way, running. This is why you run!

Me sporting the "Team Monsters" shirt and the orange-tinted glasses from Rio Del Lago 100

7-year-old Syd helping me into the aid station

Finally arriving at Horseshoe Bar

I left Manhattan Bar (44 miles and some change) still feeling great, knowing it was only a little under 3 miles until the last aid station and where the hills started (the last 3 miles were up hill). I knew once I hit that last aid station that I truly could walk it in from there and be content. After running the last 4 miles I knew I would beat my last year's time (something that was in jeopardy when I reached Rattlesnake less than an hour earlier. I knew this from my wife simply saying, “You know what time it is, right?” Oh yes I did!).

But here I was again, running, and passing people, and feeling good! I made it to the Last Gasp aid station (47 miles), what service! Volunteers ran down the hill and grabbed my bottles and asked me what I wanted in them. At this point just ice and water. I was so sick of gels and gu and fruity flavored anything! They told me to keep moving and they'd catch me with my bottles, and they did. All I had for a tip was an unused gel or some salt tablets. My happy helper declined and I kept moving up the hill.

Last year I finished in 9:52, this year I secretly want to finish under 9, but I really would take anything faster than last year. In my head, I figured if I walked in the last 3 I'd finish in 9:40'ish but again, there I was feeling good! So I started to run! Well, slow jog I'm sure, it was mile 47 after all and it was uphill, but I was moving! So I ran it in from at least a couple of miles out. I turned the corner to the finish and there were all those wonderful feelings coming up inside of me again, like they do with every finish. My kids smiling, my wife yelling, the crowd clapping, Norm Klein announcing my name and saying, “Here comes Tony Overbay, I beat this guy up Stagecoach (a very steep training hill) last week!” Norm is the race director of the Helen Klein 50k/50m and once RD of Western States, and Rio Del Lago 100 miler (my 100 miler!). My finishing time was 9:23, good for 164th place out of 510 finishers.

Crossing the finish line at 9 hours 23 minutes, 30 mins faster than last year!

When people ask me why I run these distances sometimes it's easy to say “because I can!” Laugh a bit and leave it at that. But there is nothing like that sense of accomplishment. Nothing beats having the highs and lows, ups and downs and working through them, seeing what you are made of, pushing through the pain, feeling the results of hours and hours of pre-daylight training, eating right (well, better), and then you reach your goal. It's truly amazing each and every time and part of the draw of the next event is the finish (OK, and the t-shirts and finishers jackets and all the cool stuff you get these days for finishing).

Holding the coveted Brooks finisher's jacket!

I crossed the finish line and I was handed my finishers jacket, it's awesome! It's from Brooks no less, my sponsor, so I can wear it with pride...if only it didn't hit 70 degrees the next two days! Huge thanks to race director and ultra athlete Julie Fingar for putting on such a great race.

I found my buddy Jeffery working the massage tent with all of the folks from Monsters of Massage. I spent 5 minutes on the table but those 5 minutes no doubt helped me with a quick recovery. I thought I'd have trouble going down steps by Monday but I'm just fine. I even went to the gym this AM with my wife for some weights and 30 mins on a bike followed by a day at John's Incredible Pizza making the most of the buffet. Ah, the benefits of burning 6,742 calories just two days earlier (thanks for the data Garmin 305).

Celebratory hug (from a distance thanks to my smell no doubt) from my wife and son.

Quick bit of business for those runners about to leave without reading of the two sub plots in the race, I ate a gel every 45 mins, took a salt tablet every hour and eventually threw down a couple extra salts and gels and the day went on. I carried two handheld bottles the entire race, one with water, the other with my Gu2O sludge (4 scoops plus one scoop of Endurox for a shot of protein in one of the small bottles, I go with 5 scoops in the larger bottles).

I tried going with some potatoes and salt at a couple of aid stations and tried some soup at one but I just wasn't feeling the solids on this day and I didn't force them since I was packing a lot of gels. I did change from my road shoes to my trail shoes at Beals Point and I was glad I did (more on that later). I read a few reports of folks getting poison oak but luckily I missed it. I did use a couple of pre-wipes at Beals but never rinsed with Technu afterward like I had planned on doing.

Now, in the words of Paul Harvey, “The Rest of the Story!”

First, the cliches. The tortoise and the hare. So a few months ago I was called out on a friend's blog, he said that he could beat me in a 50 mile race. We attend church together and a lot of people at church know that I run some long distances. It became well known around church that we were theoretically racing each other. Now, I mean no offense in anything I'm about to type, he (his name is Mark Snow, let's give him some credit here) knows I'm a fan of his and consider him a good friend. But, with that said, I've run a lot of ultras now and a lot of marathons before running the ultras.

I had to figure out a lot of things with regard to eating, hydration, salt balance, training, you name it! When he first entered the race I figured we'd train together, but I floated that idea out a couple of times and I felt like he wasn't very interested in training with me, or hearing any of my advice. He had a plan and he was going to follow it. That plan consisted of no ultras leading up to the 50, and no back-to-back long runs, etc., all things that went against any published training plan you could find. We did manage to do one run together, a 15 miler that consisted of the Auburn Overlook to Cool via K2 (killer hill) and back to the Overlook via Stagecoach (another killer hill). I can't lie, the plan was to show him how hard this stuff was going to be, and I felt like I succeeded a bit on that particular run, I had a great day and I felt he was tired by the end. When we made it back to my car I said, “OK, now picture another 35 miles!”

Well, fast forward to race day. I was hoping to see Mark in the AM and run together for a bit. We didn't connect and I went out about as fast as I figured I would, very slow the first mile or two, but then I met up with ultra speedster and the father of ultra blogging Scott Dunlap (makes you sound old, doesn't it Scott?). I've traded emails with Scott, I've seen him at races but I never thought I'd be able to run with him so I grabbed onto the opportunity and did 3 or 4 miles at his 7:45 pace which he kept up the entire day (finished in 7:44!) and commented in his race report he felt he could have kept up for another 30 miles! Scott is preparing for his first Western States and he appears to be doing it right.

Thankfully nature called me (as it did a record 15 times, including at mile 46 which is always a good sign that things are working well) and I let Scott go but it was indeed a treat to run with him and talk family, training, parents, the Paleo Diet, Vespa, you name it (I tried two Vespas at this run but I can't lie, I don't think even Vespa can make up for my lack of trail running!). I then ran back and forth with good friend Leslie Antonis who ran a 50 miler the previous weekend and a 100 miler just a couple of weeks before that (she went on to finish in 8:48!)! We played leapfrog for the next 10 miles as I would leave the bike path to un-hydrate and then catch back up with her. My point being, I figured my buddy Mark was well behind me because I was moving at a good clip!

I also ran with a very nice guy I've bumped into many times out on the trails, Ryan (I'm drawing a blank on his last name). His wife was due that day with their second child and he had a buddy meeting him at every aid station to pull him if necessary. Don't think he didn't have his priorities straight, his wife sent him out to run the race as she felt like nothing was happening on the baby front. Imagine his surprise when she showed up on the race course with their oldest and ran with him for a bit! I saw it with my own two eyes and caught up with him to make sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing! She looked great! Pregnant, but great! Hopefully the baby made it into the world safe and sound, with a great pre-birth story that I'm sure he/she'll appreciate down the road.

I hit the marathon mark right around 4 hours, disappointing if it's a marathon but absolutely perfect for a 50 mile pace, I was going to smash my last year's time! As I came into Beals Point I saw my family and Mark's family. So naturally I thought that Mark hadn't come in yet. As I sat down to change shoes my wife said, “Mark just left and he was looking pretty good, he said he was getting tight but he was doing alright!”

WHAT!?

I started to panic! She was feeding me Shot Blocks (I wrote up in my instructions to feed me even if I said no, and sure enough I told her no and she kept feeding me!), I was changing shoes, my shirt, replenishing gels and salt and all of a sudden I thought, “What if Mark pulls this off!?” I had jokingly gone on record and said if he beat me I would give up running forever. Now he was a mere 23 miles from taking me out of the running game altogether.

I popped up and by the time I left he had a good 10 minutes on me. I made my way to the aid station and filled up, said “Hi” to good friends Nancy Warren and Melissa Johnson and I was off, now with a purpose. I'll admit, I was almost panicked, “Must catch Mark!”

My trail shoes felt great as my road shoes (an unreleased model from Brooks) were great and light, but bad on the trails. My legs were tired, but the up and down of the trails and the cushion of the dirt always bring the legs back to life just a bit.

Finally, as my watch showed 31.50 miles I saw somebody walking up ahead that looked like Mark. “Snow?” I yelled!

“Hey Tony,” he said. It was Mark. I stopped and walked with him for a bit and we broke down his day up to that point. I couldn't tell him enough how impressed I was of him. Here's a guy who never ran more than 20 miles and he came through the marathon mark under 4 hours and stayed ahead of me until exactly 50k. We chatted on Sunday and he said he thought he went out too fast. He said his tummy never turned on him and that he probably could have done a better job with electrolytes or food early on but I tell you what, he's a natural ultra runner if he can find the time for it. Mark and I have had a couple of good conversations about what it takes to train and have kids. Mark has a big family like me, with small kids, all active, and he coaches a track team at Whitney High. He said he just plain ran out of time to train and I definitely understand. I confessed to him that thankfully I require little sleep so I can train from 4 – 6'ish every morning but that over the last few months those back-to-back 20 milers on Friday and Saturday, hitting the road at 4 AM, well, those weren't as fun as when all this ultra running was shiny and new.

So tortoise and hare. I played the role of the hare and caught my tortoise at the 50k mark. He managed to keep going up until Rattlesnake Bar, approximately 41 miles into the race. Well done, Mark! If you're ever up for training for a marathon or 50k I'm your man!

Subplot number two, the “Thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat!”

If I'm being perfectly honest, the moment I passed Mark was a pretty big victory mentally. But there was another threat gaining on me and I didn't even know it. Back story – A few weeks ago fellow Lincoln resident Chris Perillo emailed me and said he had read my newspaper column, saw my website, that I was an ultra runner and emailed me to ask me some questions about ultra running. I was happy to start trading emails with Chris because when I started there were some very nice ultra folk there to answer ALL of my questions, and I mean all of them. Primarily there were two people who became my virtual coaches. First was Nancy Warren, she's run a lot of hundreds, done the Badwater Ultra through Death Valley a couple of times, she's the race director for the 12 Hours to Cool night run and just a nice, nice person. The second, and if you read my 100 report from last year you'll already know, is Lon Freeman. This guy is the real deal. He wins ultras, sets records and still had time to answer a lot of dumb questions from this rookie. So I was excited to give back.

The weeks went by and Chris and his running partner, Roseville resident Amy Schmich, were doing everything right. A lot of long runs, trail runs, speed workouts, you name it. They did Way Too Cool and both had great times. We finally figured out a time to run during our taper. We, meaning Jeffery, me and Pastor Nathan, another good running friend of ours, met Chris and Amy one chilly morning at 5 AM at the Tower Market in Lincoln for a 7 mile run. It was great, they were both running strong, great conversation, a lot of running talk but more importantly WE were the ultra gurus. Jeffery and I were waxing on about our ultra exploits, I was quick to mention my 100, Jeffery training for States, we were the stuff! They were both talking about finishing somewhere between 10 and 11 hours so the last people I was worried about seeing were Chris and Amy.

So of course when I hit Buzzard's Cove, easily the coolest aid station in ANY ultra I've ever run, it pops up in the middle of nowhere, I was shocked to see Chris and Amy coming through looking right out of the pages of Runner's World magazine! I'm dying and they are coming through looking fresh! I never saw them again. I caught up with Amy at the end and they finished about 12 minutes ahead of me. Amazing job! Quick note on Buzzard's Cove, too. I don't know if these guys are the aid station captains but my friend Matt Keyes and my super pacer from my 100, Derek Semanski, were both there with words of encouragement and, best of all, ice cream! I can't wait to see the proofs of the pictures from the professional photographers at the race. As I crested one particular hill I had a cone in my hand and I smiled for the picture.

So there's there agony of defeat. While I was VERY excited for Chris and Amy, truly I was, I wasn't expecting that Chris, in his first 50 I might add, would pass me up at 35 miles! I look forward to running more around the streets of Lincoln with Chris in the future. They both finished at 9:10 by the way, incredible!

Now for the random thoughts portion of the race report:

- The bus ride up in the AM was nice. The bus left the Overlook at 4:15 AM, so I set my alarm for 3:15 AM, got up, started hydrating and eating and made it to the Overlook about 4:10. Again, for the ultra geeks, I had a Balance Bare Trail Mix chocolate chip bar and a banana before the race. I also had a bagel and a granola bar with me but I just couldn't muster up the desire to eat them. Back to Scott Dunlap's report, he went to Denny's and ate a Grand Slam! Maybe that's the key to a sub-8 hour finish. Back to the bus, we left a bit late and made it to the start by 5:15, the bus was silent as many of us, I think, fell back asleep. It was nice to see Rio Del Lago alum and good friend Monica Moore manning the check-in clipboard for the buses. I saw Monica at the race check-in on Friday, at the bus and then at a couple of aid stations along the way. She had a longer day than those of us who ran! She was fresh off a great run the previous week at the Lake Sonoma 50 miler and she'll be toe'ing the line at Miwok with me as well.

- Brief pause to say huge “thank yous” to all of the volunteers that help put on a race like this. The aid station folks were great all around.

- Somewhere around mile 23 or 24 a very jovial man came up from behind me and made a comment about what a wonderful day it was. It was clear his way of passing the day was chatting up runners that he caught from behind, offering words of encouragement. We started chatting and it was like pulling teeth to get out of him that he was 62, has run lots and lots of 100 mile races, including Western States 10 or so times, Badwater a couple of times and basically any other ultra you could imagine. He typically wins his age group, or is at least in the top 3. His name was Jim Magill, what a great guy and what an inspiration.

- Often times people ask me (last week as a matter of fact) how much longer I'll run these ultras before calling it good? I always say that I have no immediate plans to stop running, and that to be frank, the more miles I run and the better I take care of myself the better I've felt. I truly have that feeling at pushing 40 that I'm in the best shape of my life, and I've always tried to be in good shape. I've been actively running for 16 years, so why on earth would I ever want to stop? Now, if injury or accident should occur then obviously I'll be forced to rethink my current plans, but with the latest research coming out that shows that running actually increases bone density, cartilage, you name it, I truly feel that running is something that we all should do in some form or fashion (yes, people do have knee troubles, ankle problems, there are truly exceptions, but subscribe to Runner's World and every month you'll read stories of people who didn't start running until their 60's, people who shed addictions, people who were literally hundreds of pounds overweight who started walking, making it eventually to a run). I go on this tangent because Jim Magill. He has older grand children no doubt who have a grandpa that runs 100 mile races! I'd have to imagine that a lot of his kids and grandkids have adopted healthy exercise habits thanks to Jim's example. OK, enough on that, but I'm glad that Jim passed me, and yes, he finished ahead of me.

- I prepared for this run, as far as laying out what I needed, coming up with a plan for my wife, labeling my drop bags for her, etc., several days before the big event. I don't typically do that. It led to a rather peaceful Friday evening before the run and even as I left my house early Saturday morning I had a feeling that I had forgotten something. I didn't, but I always thought that if you were prepared enough that feeling wouldn't be there, turns out it's in my head!

Well, now that I qualified again to put in for Western States I'll do it. Time to start getting my heart broken by not making the lottery, but eventually I'll get in.

So next up, the Miwok 100k, my first stab at the 100k distance. Again, having a 100 miler in my back pocket makes me think 100k won't be a problem. But as I learned at this race, anything can happen at any point and it can last for a few miles, and then you can feel better. My goal at Miwok is simply to go out and have a nice, long run, and get all the cool stuff that I'm sure comes with the race.