At the beginning of a race there are no guarantees especially when it is a trail race over any distance. The Hat on Saturday was no exception.

The race covers a looped course through scenic park land. Besides the expected woodland trails, parts also cross open fields while there is also one section of substantial road to pound along. From our local running community we travelled down with seven other runners, two of whom were doing their first 50k. We gathered at a micro brewery in Delaware for a pre-race dinner, where hopes were riding high and everyone was clearly excited at the prospect of the next days race. In the morning, bright sunshine greeting us and despite a chill wind, the weather was definitely better than the rain we had endured last year.

The starting pace  felt slower than last year especially for the initial 3 mile loop that had to be completed before we headed off across the park. The as we set out on the first large loop a group of front runners broke away. I was holding a comfortable pace somewhere close to the top ten and everything felt good and had settled in with two other runners, but after completing about two-thirds of the lap things went sour. We were running in a staggered line and came off a single trail section on to a road. As the gradient dropped something started to nag me that things weren’t right and suddenly I realized there was only two of us. I immediately shouted that there was no-body following and headed back up the road. Sure enough we had somehow missed two bright yellow plates indicating that the route turned off the road - I was immediately frustrated at missing it! Pumped with frustration because I thought the third runner with us must have seen our mistake, I tried to make up for lost time and began to chase people ahead. By the end of the loop I knew the rest of the race wasn’t going to go well as I was tiring quickly. The second loop dragged, I had waves of nausea and mentally beat on myself for getting into the situation. By the finish I even questioned whether I really did want to run the Slam.

Thinking about the day since then, I’ve been wondering about those thoughts and questoned many aspects not just concerning the race but also my thirst to keep pushing myself in similar events. Is it such a bad thing to admit indulging in a brief period of what might best be described as self pity? Lets face it I was able to finish the course some 4 hours a head of the last person and let’s not overlook the fact of simply being able to d0 the race in the first place! Since this morning I’ve received 2 emails from other runners on Saturday which contained their perspective of the days achievements. Later this evening I watched a news clip of a British man who despite the fact that he hadn’t grown up to be particularly active, had just rowed across the Atlantic ‘for the challenge’. Three thousand nautical miles in a tiny rowing boat!

To overcome most challenges there are likely to be moments when the final objective is clouded. I hope that Saturday was just one of those moments. After work Guth suggested going for a run. It was raining and the damp air felt chilly, I still felt tired but I knew she would rib me if I said no.

We ran a short loop from the house on the roads and strangly enough, it felt quite good!

Although I’ve been running for many years, it is only in the last 6 or 7 that I’ve volunteered at an aid station or as a support crew. The experience was a lot more interesting and enjoyable than I had originally imagined. I assumed that watching others would just make me wish I was out there with, but seeing the race from a different perspective was interesting. When you compete in a large race you only see a small part of it, almost as if you are contained in a bubble. For me that means I have little idea of what was happening at the front or back of the field. Watching the leaders certainly does give an appreciation of their pace, yet they are gone in a flash and being so focused on their quest, they hardly notice you. In many ways these get it easy when it comes to racing, as all the infrastructure of the event is at its peak when they pass by. Move the hour hand on a few hours and even though runners may still be coming through, the drinks may be running low, traffic barriers could be coming down and most spectators have long since moved on. How do you stay motivated when a race is being dismantled around you? In all long distance races there have to be cut offs, but still seems as if the further down the pack you go, the demands upon the individual to finish increase.

In a couple of weeks I’m directing a 10k trail race. Well, actually it’s a bit more than 10k, which is why it’s billed as “…possibly the longest 10k you’ve ever run…” It wasn’t that I set out to make it long, it was the convenience of the start/finish location that bumped it up. How far it is really? My answer is there are 10k’s and then there is the Bimbler’s Bash 10k. If you haven’t signed up to enter it, maybe you should. The point about the race though is how much fun it is to be involved from yet another perspective. It isn’t just about finding a course, there is a raft of issues to resolve in order for the event to ‘run’ smoothly and (hopefully) return the following year. Last year’s race was my first, and it felt like my first marathon, lots of build up followed by a low spell afterwards. The only significant difference was immediately after the start when I stood and watched the field head off towards the woods. I was a little bummed not to have an avenue to vent the adrenaline that had built up and I hadn’t anticipated how I might feel at that point in time. When the leaders crossed the line, they looked wrecked. I was worried I might have over stepped the mark with the liberal distance, but hey wait a moment - I don’t normally see the winners cross the line, maybe they always look like sh*t!

After a recovery it was evident that life was good and there were no hard feelings. A few did comment that their 10k times were shot, to which I innocently shrugged and quietly side stepped away. Maybe those lead guys don’t always get it easy!