If you had asked me at the beginning of the year which races I was most looking forward to, my last race, "Many on the Genny" definitely would have been on the list. The photos of the area looked beautiful and the truth is, it was even more gorgeous than I imagined. The race is intentionally kept small, which was part of the draw for me. It had a really cool vibe and the racers all hung out afterwards drinking locally brewed beer and eating a local dish called "garbage plate".
There was only one distance that participants could run: 40 miles (64km). I had heard that the race was not really for beginner trail runners and that it was fairly challenging. I didn't have high expectation going into this race and my main priorities were to have fun and enjoy the scenery. I was also looking forward to hanging out with friends in the tiny rustic cabins we rented inside Letchworth State Park, which is where the entire race took place.
I was planning on running most of the race with my good friend, Matt Lowe. We have done many races together and he has helped pace me in six different 100 milers. Matt is a great guy and a lot of fun to be around. I knew that at the very least, we would have some fun this weekend and likely get into a little bit of mischief. Matt has been running really well lately so I made it very clear that if he wanted to push, by all means he should leave me in his dust. He is super strong both physically and mentally and he is an excellent climber.
We didn't line up at the front but with the first couple of kilometres, we had made our way into the top 5. We were moving well but I have to admit that I was probably working a little harder than I should have so early in the race. At 6k, while running through a gully, I jumped across a ditch and was unable to stick the landing. I did a "tuck and roll" and quickly jumped to my feet and kept moving. I did a quick assessment and nothing was hurting. Yet. A few minutes later the top of my left foot and the inside of my right foot both started to hurt. My elbow was also stinging but that wasn't a concern. My left foot had been bothering me a bit for a few weeks and, surprisingly, ignoring it was not helping the situation. Although my foot pain worried me a bit, it ended up having little effect on my race and by 20k, they were no longer sore at all. However, the bigger issue was that when I fell, I ripped my shoe. Not a little rip; my toes were literally sticking out the end of my shoe, which kept filling with sticks, rocks, and other debris.
I had no choice but to run the next 26km in these shoes. Thankfully, I had decided to throw a pair of brand new shoes into my drop bag. By the time I had reached the halfway point, the tear in my shoe had extended all the way across the other side. When I ran the road section of the course, my shoe made a loud slapping sound every time it hit the pavement; the ridiculousness of the situation made my chuckle.
After my shoe ripped, I stayed positive. I continued to run with Matt up to the first aid station at about 12k. He got there about 30 seconds ahead of me and was quick to leave. The volunteer could not get the lids off of my bottles (neither could I) and I was delayed a couple of minutes. Leaving the aid station, Matt was out of sight and my race plan changed. I had been getting pulled and now, all alone, I was definitely going to slow down and enjoy the journey. It turns out that letting Matt go was a great decision because he went on to run the race of his life. I wouldn't have been able to keep with him and would have felt horrible if I had slowed him down.
The next 25km were amongst the most fun I have had running all year. The scenery was absolutely incredible. The park is considered to be amongst the best State parks in the country and is often considered the Grand Canyon of the East. To make the situation even better, the expected thunder storms were holding off and the overcast skies kept the temperature reasonable. There were some super fast sections and I just felt like I had an endless amount of energy. I was smiling from ear to ear for 2 straight hours.
I kept waiting for the course to get harder but honestly, I found the first 35k to be quite easy. The second half, well... that's another story!
After changing my shoes and getting some calories in me, I was ready to go. I finished the first half of the race in 3:09ish and thought my goal of running under 8hrs seemed like a piece of cake. Essentially, the course runs all the way along one side of a huge gorge, crosses a bridge, and comes back up the other side. It turns out that the second half is drastically different from the first. Still, everything was feeling easy and good, until I went off course. In regards to the course marking, I will say that it marked sparingly but accurately. In sections where you stayed on one trail for an extended period of time with no trails branching off, there were no flags, which makes sense since there were no other options. However, because there was often a considerable amount of distance between flags, I didn't think anything of it when I didn't see a flag for a long time. But, when I got to a road and there was not a flag in sight, I knew something was wrong. I quickly retraced my steps until I returned to the spot that I went off course. It was marked perfectly. It was 100% my fault. This sort of thing usually crushes my spirit but not today. I was feeling strong and had probably only lost about 5 minutes. I got to the next aid station and was told I was still inside the top 10, which I didn't really care about either way.
Surprisingly, I got over my blunder quickly and was moving ok. The aid stations were pretty far apart and my long since expired gels were not sitting well. I kept trudging along and the course started to get more technical and certainly more hilly. It was a pattern of running up a slight incline for a few minutes, down through a steep gully, across a creek, scramble up the other side, and run on a slight decline for a few minutes. There had to have been at least 20 of these gullies and it just felt like it was breaking me down. I got hot, I was thirsty, and my energy was low. And then I went off trail again. This time, I crossed a gully and didn't even think about where to go; I followed the direction we had been moving all along, which was incorrect. Another 5-10 minute detour but this one was harder for me to let go. Sure enough, when I returned to the trail I found that, like the first time, it was properly marked.
I was starting to feel sorry for myself but kept moving forward. I once again passed a couple people that I had passed after I went off-course the first time. I knew that I was getting close to the aid station and was relieved to come across some volunteers who informed me that I had 1/2 mile until the final aid station. I started to push a little bit and was running through an overgrown field with power lines above me. I kept thinking that it had to be over the next little hill. Nope. Maybe the next one? Nope. "Hmmm. It's been a while since I've seen a flag". "It's weird, it seems like nobody has been through this field in a while". You see where I'm going with this, right?
"Are you #%$^ing kidding me!?! Where are the $#%!ing flags!?! Who marked this *%#$ course!?!" This time, I had a full out pity party. There were balloons and streamers and everything. I literally sat down in the field and thought that I would wait. I was desperately hoping that somebody would come up the trail and tell me that I was going the correct way. Nope. Eventually I ran back through the field only to find a perfectly marked route that I had ventured off of (in a strange turn of events, Heather and our friend Lizzy also did the exact same thing but without the balloons, streamers, and temper tantrums).
I reached the final aid station and only had 5 miles to go. These miles were the easiest of the second half of the course but, because I was still sulking, I walked most of it. At the aid station, the volunteers were amazing. They were supportive, encouraging, friendly, and they even gave me an ice cold beer for the finally stretch. Eventually, I started running again, crossed the finish line, gave the RD a high five, and was able to laugh about the whole ordeal. I was super stoked for Matt, who finished nearly an hour and a half ahead of me in 3rd place. The Race Director was a great guy and I really enjoyed talking to him after the race. This event is an absolute hidden gem and I imagine that in the next couple of years it will start selling out in the first day and may eventually have to move towards a lottery registration. I suggest that you do this race with your friends while it is still easy to get into.
After the race we went out to dinner at a Hole in the Wall (I'm not being critical, that was the name of the restaurant) and then had a campfire and some beverages. It was a great weekend on a truly beautiful course. With 4 extra kilometres, I was still only 8 minutes over my goal time. I don't care about my time but I am disappointed with myself. I'm not upset that I went off-course; these things happen. I'm disappointed about the way that I handled it. I've grown a lot over the last few years. I don't get worked up about weather, poor trail conditions, or poorly run events. However, I tend to get overly frustrated when I go off course. This is definitely something I need to work on. If you're reading this and have any advice, I'd love to hear it!
