Madcity 100K Race This Weekend

I don’t want any of you to think I have retired for running after my Barkley experience a few weeks ago.

I will be competing at a 100 kilometer road race (about 62 miles) this weekend in my hometown of Madison, WI. This is a race I have done a few times before and is actually the US National Championships at that distance. A lot of ultrarunners do not prefer running on asphalt, so there are not a lot of runners competing (actually only 15 of us). I’ll be wearing #7.

This is a 10K loop around a nature area (arboretum near the University of Wisconsin campus). www.madcity100k.com 

The race starts at 6:30 AM tomorrow morning and split times for each loop will be listed in real time at: www.runrace.net/findarace.php?id=13110WI1&tab=a5&runumbr=7#sPrt

I am hoping to run a very steady race of 54 min per loop which would give me an overall finish time of around 9 hours. This would be a 20 min PR for me at this race. I usually go out way too fast and peter off in the end. I’m hoping age has made me smarter.

I hope you are all doing well and the recent events in Boston certainly put all this into perspective.

All the best -
Ryan

My Barkley Experience

Barkley is hands down the hardest endurance event I have ever participated in. I did not even make it around 1 loop. My mission was doomed from the start. After I had trouble keeping up on the uphill climbs with you some of the runners (yes – I need to be a better packer - I was carrying 2 packs).  I realized I had the map but did not have the written directions as to the book's locations. I was able to kinda tag with others and find the first 8 books. I was alone on the climb up to Indian Knob. Ended up at the highest knob and thought maybe the 9th book will just be there. Little did I know that the book was inside a “cave”. I may have been on the wrong knob – who knows. I thought I’ll just wait for someone else to come – waited for about 45 min...no one. Thought – I don’t have this book – I won't be allowed to continue. 

In hindsight I should have just followed the route anyways. But I decided to run about 1/10th of a mile to where the “marked” trails get close to where I was and run them back to camp. I ended up getting disoriented and somewhat lost. After about an hour of running around in what seemed to be circles to started to get a little dark. I seriously started freaking out and thought I was lost and had know idea where I was now on the map. I have never experienced anything like that. 

Once I got my wits I made a plan, the highways are around the park and I knew if I just set my compass to SE I would run into them. I crossed some Jeep roads and was very tempted to take them but stayed on task. I just figured I if I can only make it to the Highway at least I would know I can get back. What a feeling when I escaped the woods and found the road. 

I ended up about 1 mile from where the Highways intersect. Ran the final 10 or so miles on the road in the rain back to the park. I thought someplace might be open to call and let the crew/family know I was OK. But everything was closed as it was after 9 PM at this time. I also considered knocking on someone’s door but feared being shot. Nothing could have prepared me for this...I had to see it with my own eyes.

My local paper The Verona Press just ran a story in the April 11, 2013 edition on my attempt at the Barkley Marathons: