Back At It

So after a brief hiatus I'm back at blogging about my year-long training for the OT100. I'm also back on my Paleo Pursuit with today being Day 3 of >90% Paleo eating, meaning:

(1) no sugar; ("sweet cheats" I call them) despite the arrival yesterday of Haagen Daz, Pepperidge Farm's cookies, and DePooter brownies.
(2) no beer; after a "All Fat Tire Saturday Night" at Randy and Susan's
(3) no dairy; except a tablespoon of blue cheese dressing with my carrots

In addition to being back on the Paleo Pursuit I have successfully eschewed the Skoal Brotherhood for a full week.

Workouts have been going great with a killer WOD posted by Chia "No-Bag" Miller on Monday:

21-15-9 for time:

25# plate crunches
(10 burpees)
pushups
(10 burpees)
1-hand snatches
(10 burpees)
lunges
(10 burpees)

I've also been consistent with my running to work and back and on Monday, just to give the joints a rest, I rode my bike to work and back instead. My computer totaled 5.6 miles for the round trip, slightly longer than my guess of 5.0 miles.

Lastly, I wanted to share the Race Director's Report from the inaugural Ozark Trail 100, reproduced below from Paul's email to the SLUGlist:

INAUGURAL OZARK TRAIL 100 MILE ENDURANCE RUN
IN THE MARK TWAIN NATIONAL FOREST

NOVEMBER 7& 8, 2009

RACE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
By Paul Schoenlaub

Three years ago, on Thanksgiving weekend, I set out to explore a few miles
of the Ozark Trail in the Mark Twain National Forest in south-central Missouri. I
ran about 12 miles of the trail on Friday and another 42 miles of the trail on
Saturday. That weekend I fell in love with the Ozark Trail and decided a race
should be run on this rugged trail to showcase the beautiful forest to ultra runners
across the country. One and one-half years later, Stuart Johnson came on board to
work with me to organize the first 100 mile ultra marathon in Missouri, resulting
in the birth of the Ozark Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run. My dream was for a
point-to-point race on this single track trail in November, when the views through
the predominately Oak forest reveal the stark contrasts of the ruggedness of the
terrain and the structure of the majestic trees is simply striking.

Fast forward a little over a year. The US Forest service issued a permit for
the race and we began accepting entries in March 2009. I was shocked at the
support we received initially from ultra runners across the Midwest. Soon after
entries began coming in, it was clear we had interest from across the nation and
beyond. Then, in May, a tremendous storm called a derecho struck south-central
Missouri, devastating a portion of the Mark Twain National Forest. Literally
thousands of trees were downed by the storm. The southern 50 miles of the
planned course for the Ozark Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run were impassable.
With the trail closed, the future of this inaugural event was in question.
Immediately, the Ozark Trail Association began assessing the damage to the trail
and organizing work parties. The United States Forest Service contracted with
professional crews to begin clearing the trail within weeks. Before Labor Day, the
trail was re-opened and the entire original route we had planned was again
available for the race.

It seemed everything was falling in place nicely for a clear trail on
November 7. Then came the floods in the weeks before the race. Relentless rainy
days in the weeks leading up to the race left the creeks and rivers swollen with
floodwaters just two weeks before the race. The weekend before the race, we
found many of the water crossings were again impassable due to additional heavy
rains late that week. Then, just one week before race day, the skies cleared,
allowing the creeks and rivers to drop back into their banks by the Thursday
before the race. Once again, the race appeared to be well on its way to a
successful introduction.

The race had an entry limit of 150 and, within a week of race day, we had
144 runners signed up from 28 states, Canada, and Singapore. The race had been
well received. Now, if we could just pull this off, we would have something worth
talking about. Thanks to the United States Forest Service for issuing the permit;
the Ozark Trail Association for building and maintaining miles of trail; several
amateur radio clubs, spearheaded by the Current River Amateur Radio Club, who
provided emergency communications for the race; our sponsors: the St. Louis
Ultrarunners Group for providing many eager volunteers to help with the race,
Hammer Nutrition and Salomon, for providing products and other support for this
event; and volunteers from across Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas, who helped
with so many different jobs to support the runners throughout the race . . . we were
able to provide a great race that flowed very smoothly on race day.

I had planned for cool weather for months leading up to the race, knowing
well that we could have a warm autumn day with the unpredictable weather of
Missouri. So, for the inaugural running of the Ozark Trail 100 Mile Endurance
Run, we had . . . HEAT! Yes, we had an unseasonably warm day with
temperatures reaching into the upper 70’s. With the leaves down off the trees and
full sun, participants were left with some very warm conditions with which to
contend.

At 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning, 126 runners showed up at the southern end
of the Karkaghne section of the Ozark Trail and took off under the starlit early
morning sky, heading for the finish line at the Bass River Resort, 101.5 miles
away. Not long after the race began, the participants realized what we had
attempted to convey in our pre-race information about this trail: there are plenty
of technical sections on this trail covered with leaves from the predominately Oak
Forest the runners would be traversing for the next 18 to 32 hours.

The day began to heat up early and, by the time the runners made it to
Sutton Bluff aid station at mile 17.6, it had warmed into the 70’s. At the 8 mile
aid station, runners hardly needed to even top off their water bottles, but most
were filling completely empty bottles at Sutton Bluff. Later in the day, the early
November heat would begin to take its toll on the field.

Jeff Browning had begun to pull a lead by Sutton Bluff. He was followed 8
minutes later by Ben Creehan, David Wakefield, and Ryne Melcher. Gregg
Buehler and Michael Adams were just 5 minutes back and the men’s race was
beginning to take shape. Theresa Wheeler led the women into Sutton Bluff, with
Rachel Furman just 5 minutes back. Ellen Erhardt, Jen Foster, and Jennifer Aradi
were another 5, 6, and 7 minutes, respectively, behind Rachel.

As the sun continued to rise through the clear autumn sky, most discovered
how hot this November afternoon could be in central Missouri with the leaves off
the trees, allowing full contact between the suns warm rays and the skin of the
runners hour after hour. Through the next few aid stations, in the heat of the day,
Stuart Johnson and I were visiting aid stations restocking them with additional
water and ice to quench the runners’ need for these necessary elements. By the
Brooks Creek aid station at mile 43.5, Jeff Browning had continued to expand his
lead on the men’s field and was now on pace for a 17 hour finish. David
Wakefield and Ryne Melcher had moved into second and third place 54 minutes
back. Michael Adams had moved up to fourth place, another 12 minutes back,
with Ben Creehan just 3 minutes behind Michael. Kyle Gibbs had moved into
sixth place just a minute behind Ben. As these men moved through the aid station,
it became apparent that the difficulty of the trail was taking its toll on the lead
runners as Michael Adams flew through the aid station with what was presumed to
be a broken finger. He appeared to shrug it off though as he flew through the race
with the ailing finger taped to the finger next to it, proving that you can finish an
ultra with a broken bone, so long as it’s not a running part.

The women’s race had taken a dramatic turn by Brooks Creek as leader
Theresa Wheeler had dropped to fourth place due to a knee injury, which resulted
in the demise of her race. Rachel Furman had moved into first place and was
pulling away from the field with a 30 minute lead over second woman, Ellen
Erhardt. Jennifer Aradi was in third, 8 minutes behind Ellen and the top 5 were
rounded out by Theresa Wheeler and Susan Donnelly, another 27 and 28 minutes
back, respectively. Lucia Alzaga had moved into sixth place another 23 minutes
back.

Many of the runners began to recover from the days’ heat as the sun set on
them coming into Brooks Creek. Being the first year for this race, I had made a
decision to eliminate the first cutoff for the race this year at the 28 mile aid station,
which most runners hit in the heat of the day. The second cutoff was at Brooks
Creek. I had hopes that many runners who were dragging themselves through heat
would recover in the evening hours and begin moving better. With this in mind,
the cutoff at Brooks Creek was extended by 30 minutes, allowing only 2 additional
runners to leave that aid station, neither of which would finish the race.

Back to the front of the pack. At Hazel Creek aid station, mile 68.5, Jeff
Browning had pulled a commanding 2 ½ hour lead and it looked like nobody was
going to be able to touch him now. As the day cooled, he had appeared to pick up
his pace and was moving forward with impressive determination. Michael Adams
had moved up through the pack and was now in second place with his taped
fingers, followed closely by Kyle Gibbs four minutes back, who had also danced
through the rocks to move well up in the field. David Wakefield and Ryne
Melcher were now 23 minutes behind Kyle, but appeared to still be joined at the
hip. The big question of this race was whether or not these two of the men’s
leaders would stay together through the entire race. Ben Creehan had dropped
back 28 miles from David and Ryne as the heat of the day had appeared to take its
toll on him.

Arriving at Hazel Creek, the women’s race had not appeared to change at
all as far as the placement of the ladies leaving Brooks Creek. In the spirit of Jeff
Browning’s example in the men’s field, Rachel Furman had built a commanding 1
hour 50 minute lead on the women’s field. Ellen Erhardt was holding on to
second place, with Jennifer Aradi hanging tight just 9 minutes back. Susan
Donnelly had dropped an hour back from Jennifer, with Lucia Alzaga yet another
43 minutes back. Beth Simpson-Hall had now moved into sixth place just 10
minutes behind Lucia.

The night running had brought with it a new discovery for most runners.
The rocks that were so difficult to avoid as they hid under the blanket of leaves on
the trail during the day seemed even more difficult to see at night. This trail has a
mysterious majesty at night though, as the trail corridor opens before you, which
makes the might running a captivating experience.

Many runners arrived at the Berryman aid station, mile 81.5, under cover of
darkness, but just under half the field came into this aid station near sunrise or
later. The cutoff for the Hazel Creek aid station had been extended by 45 minutes
and, in like manner, so too was the cutoff at the Berryman aid station. Extending
the Hazel Creek cutoff had allowed another 11 runners to continue their quest for
the Ozark Trail 100 belt buckle, 7 of which made it to the finish line under the 32
hour cutoff. Extending the Berryman cutoff also allowed 11 runners to continue
the race that otherwise would have been pulled. Amazingly, 10 of these 11
runners made it to the finish line under the 32 hour cutoff. The only one who did
not make it to the finish line of these 11 was Lucia Alzaga, who ended up having
to drop due to an injury after an amazing race at her first attempt at a 100 mile
race.

Oh, yea: back to the leaders at Berryman. By 8:33 in the evening, Jeff
Browning had increased his lead to well over 3 hours. He certainly was
untouchable. Michael Adams was solidly in second place, with the twins, David
Wakefield and Ryne Melcher, 30 minutes behind Michael. Ben Creehan had
seemed to begin to pull out of his mid-race funk and was in fifth place, just 9
minutes back, and apparently closing on the dynamic duo. Kyle Gibbs had
dropped to a distant sixth place at an additional 50 minutes back.

The women’s race was not changing much, with the exception of Lucia
Alzaga dropping back in the pack with her unfortunate injury. Rachel Furman
continued to expand her lead by what was now almost 2 ½ hours. Ellen Erhardt
and Jennifer Aradi came into Berryman at the same time, while Susan Donnelly
was solidly in fourth place. Beth Simpson-Hall had closed to within 42 minutes of
Susan as she moved into fifth place. As Lucia dropped back, she came in another
36 minutes back with Jen Foster.

The final 20 miles of the race had some great runable trail, as well as more
of the leaf covered rocks that had been the theme for the day. The final few miles
of trail that had been scheduled for completion prior to the race were not quite
finished due to weather during some of the scheduled trail building weekends
earlier this year, resulting in the last 2 ½ miles of the race finishing on a gravel
road. I think most runners welcomed this unanticipated road section in what had
been planned as a 100% trail race. Rest assured, the final section of trail should be
completed some time next spring.

Jeff Browning came across the finish line in 18:38:59, setting the course
record for the Ozark Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run and pulling an impressive 4
hour and 20 minute lead over the next closest competitor. Shortly after Jeff
crossed the finish line, he commented that he was on pace for a 17 hour finish, but
as night fell, he found the rocks, as difficult to see as they were under the leaves
during the day, became virtually invisible under the leaves at night, thus slowing
his pace considerably. Still, he had quite an impressive race for this inaugural
event.

Rachel Furman had an impressive first hundred, finishing first and setting
the women’s record at 25:28:21, all while maintaining over a 2 hour lead over the
nearest competitor. This was good enough for seventh place overall.
Ben Creehan had moved up through the men’s field to finish in second place,
while PoDog Vogler finished tenth overall to capture the men’s masters’ title.
David Wakefield and Ryne Melcher rounded out the top 5 men finishing together,
as they had started the race. Kyle Gibbs hung on to finish solidly in sixth place.
Ellen Erhardt pulled a 20 minute lead over Jennifer Aradi to finish second in the
women’s race, while Susan Donnelly was able to hold on to a 12 minute lead over
Beth Simpson-Hall to take the women’s masters honors. Susan and Beth rounded
out the top 5 in the women’s race as well, with Lynn Saari moving into sixth place
by the end of the race.

Interestingly, the second place men’s masters runner was Dale Humphrey, a 50
year old and the second place women’s masters runner was Beth Simpson-Hall, a
51 year old. Way to go for a couple of runners with a combined age of over 100
years between the two of them.

I was impressed with the performance of all the participants in this race and very
pleased with the many positive comments they have made about the race. Even
among those who were unable to finish the race, many have already told me they
plan to return to run the race again.

It is very noteworthy that 11 of the first 20 finishers completed their first 100 mile
race on the Ozark Trail. I find that impressive and, although I would not suggest
that this is a great first time 100 mile race, it is certainly achievable as these
impressive athletes have proven. Once again, among the first time 100 mile
finishers was the women’s champion, Rachel Furman.

There were many other impressive performances and valiant efforts by some who
were unable to finish. I admire the toughness of all those who toed the line for this
event and am impressed with what each and every one of them was able to
accomplish. Though the finishers rate was a low 44%, I am impressed that there
was little difference between the finishers rate of veterans at the 100 mile distance
and first timers.

Thanks again to all the participants, volunteers, sponsors, the Ozark Trail
Association, and the National Forest Service for their parts in helping to make this
race a reality and achieving my primary goal of showcasing Missouri’s Ozark
Trail in the Mark Twain National Forest to the ultrarunning community.