I have had a great month of March as far as running goes.
My 2nd 50k of the year was The Buzzard 50k In Hinckley Ohio on March 15th.
Ice and slick trails made for a slow go but I did claim the Grand Masters Division and finished 8th overall. Thank you Roy, Shannon and all of the volunteers and runners for a great event
I had 6 days to recover until I was to run the inaugural Bad Water Cape Fear 51.4 miler in North Carolina on Bald Head Island. The last 38 miles was all on the beach and was sure to make this a tough run.
I was pretty sure I wouldn't be running in snow and below freezing temps either!
I was pretty sure I wouldn't be running in snow and below freezing temps either!
More significant than the actual running was the fact that this was to be my first race as a volunteer Ambassador for Runwell The Linda Quirk Foundation dedicated to help fight the disease of substance abuse.
As someone who has been in recovery for over 20 years I have a vested interest in this fight.
My wife Mary made the 750 mile drive with me and was looking forward to meeting "Team Runwell' and sharing in this first adventure together. As always if it weren't for Mary there is no adventure taking place. I can't thank her enough for the support and compassion she has for my passion. You're the best love!!!
We reached the Deep Point Marina after a nice uneventful 12 hr drive and were now a short ferry ride from our stay on the island. We made it to the Runwell house around 8:45 pm Thursday and I was glad we had an entire day to relax before the race Saturday morning.
I had met Linda Quirk the founder of Runwell and Pam Rickard who was a Runwell Ambassador at the time briefly back in 2012 at O24 which is a 24 hour race put on by Outrun(Ohio Ultra Trail Runners) that takes place in Kirtland Ohio. I had so much fun in 2012 I have been part of the race committee the last 2 yrs. There are still spots available for the 4/26/14 race. Register at Ultrasignup.com
I had the pleasure of seeing Pam at different events and keeping in touch via social media and my interest in Runwell grew. It was through my correspondence with Pam these last several months that I decided to dedicate myself to as I like to say "Giving Back to Move Forward". My love for running, my experience with substance abuse and my need to have a greater purpose in my life led me to this Island I had never heard of before this year.
I like to use the term cautiously optimistic when partaking in new endeavors. You never know how the dynamics of a group are going to come together even when you all are fighting for the same cause. Any apprehension that I had going into the weekend was gone almost instantly!
I cannot thank Linda and her husband Randy enough for their hospitality.
Along with Pam and her husband Tom and their daughter Sophie we shared the house with Linda's son Jason and Randy's daughter Katherine and her two children Emma & Aidan.
Chemistry is a key component to successful relationships and I think I can say we all felt the vibrancy and excitement and passion of why we were there. We were a team and even though we hadn't known each other long it felt like we had been a team for years!
Race morning excitement!
Jason and Katherine were to attempt their first 50k runs while Linda, Pam, and myself opted for 51.4 miles. Something tells me that Randy and Mary and Tom did as much running as we did Saturday and they weren't even racing. At least you had golf carts!
We arrived at the start and saw some familiar faces and faces that would soon be familiar as we would pass each other a few times on the beach later in the day. Good to see everyone so excited about this inaugural event. Chris Kostman from AdventureCORPS the RD and his wife Laurie and all of the volunteers made this an unforgettable event. Already thinking of how much faster I can run it next year!
Chris gave the pre-race Race Director pep talk played the National Anthem through the loud speaker and it was time to run. There was a pretty good group that took off at a quick pace and I managed to keep them within my sights for a short while. I think I had the same idea as they did. Run fast the first 12 miles of asphalt roads to have some time in the bank when we hit the beach for the last 39 miles. On paper it was a good theory except for one major flaw. After a few miles my 52 year old legs let me know they were not yet recovered fully from the previous weekends 50k. By mile 2 I had to slow my road pace down by almost 1 minute per mile and figured the sand would have to be pretty packed for me to finish in my goal of under 10 hrs.
It wasn't and I didn't!
I did get to see Mary and Randy and the kids a few times as we ran the road by the beach house a couple times before we would hit the sand. It was a nice run on the island roads and then we did 1 mile or so of trail before we came to the Conservancy and The SAND.....miles and miles of unforgiving beach. It wasn't as packed as I was hoping and I think myself along with many others ran at least an extra mile or three towards and away from the surf to find the "best" footing.
There is a local 5 mile race in Mentor called The Johnnycake Jog. Everyone talks about the final turn when you hit the last 2 mile straight away and are running down Mentor Avenue to the finish
I hear people say how much they hate that stretch and it seems to go on forever.
NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!
Picture making that turn running almost 5x that distance turning around doing it again and then repeating the whole process!! Also figure the majority of the time there are just other runners and some people surf fishing. No cheering crowds or people sipping coffee in their lounge chairs telling you that you look great and are almost done.
Aside from us runners and volunteers the cheering sections consisted of a group of ladies relaxing on the beach and a couple fisherman who seemed to be a bit more relaxed than myself as they listened to music and sipped beverages from the tailgates of their vehicles.
There were times when all I could see was a runner about 1/2 mile in front of me and a couple about the same distance behind and nothing else save for a few birds.
Hours of sun, sand, and water! Thank goodness for the voices in my head!!
Luckily for me Mary made it back from her "Hot Stone" massage in time to meet me at the Conservancy before I headed back out for the last 19 miles or so. I wasn't quite sure if she would be recovered enough from the previous day's "Hot Stone" pedicure to fully appreciate the massage!!!
She was and she did!!
Fortunately I had enough in the tank that my plan of letting no one pass me the last 20 miles worked just fine. I felt fairly strong and did a combination of 1/4 mile power walking 3/4 mile running for miles 32-41.5. I was able to pass 8 people up using this method and pretty much never came close to passing the ninth. He kept just enough in front of me that I managed to narrow the gap to 2 minutes but that was it. Way to finish strong Eric Gelber!!
It was great seeing the Runwell team on the beach during the race.
Seeing Katherine and Jason only a few miles out from the finish of their first 50k was awesome!!
You two rocked it!!
Watching Pam pass by on her way back to the finish and seeing Linda on my way back got me pumped. Pam finished in 10 hrs. 40 mts. and I came in at 10 hrs 51 mts.
50 miler PR by over 35 minutes!!
Linda came in a couple hrs later and made it 5 for 5 for the Runwell runners.Pretty incredible since Linda hasn't been able to train much these last 6 weeks.
Nice seeing all of you out on the course finishing what you started especially Laura Makey, Keith Hanson And Drew Coombes.
Three weeks until Forget The PR 50k at Mohican State Park in Ohio.
No sand but maybe a hill or two!!!
Hope to see you out on a trail or road somewhere.
Mike
