Dirty Girls 24 Hour - Saturday July 23, 2016

 Dirty Girls is a special event for me.   Way back in 2008 it was my first Marathon and first Ultra Marathon all in the same day.   It was my first time experiencing pain like no other ... even my hair hurt.   Fast forward to 2016  and its still a race I hold close to the heart.   Form the RD Di to the dear running friends its a special race.   Sadly rumour has it that this is the last running of this event.  Races come and go with RDs but this one will be truly missed.

 There has been allot going on in my life recently and last week was no exception.   I wasn't really sure of what my race plan was and was toying with the idea of doing a 12 hour day run.  Prep for the race as a last minute afterthought ... oh yeah I am going to go run for 24 hours best I put a few things together.  I kind of planned for the night just in case I was having a good day ,  kind of had enough calories and kind of had everything I needed to go long.  Usually planning for this starts days in advance ,  this time it was hours.

 Had the best nights sleep in over a week and woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed on Saturday morning.   Treated myself to a Tims breakfast enroute and arrived 20 minutes before race time ... unusual for me as I am usually an hour early.  No worries ,  no cares it was just a matter of pulling out the chair and cooler and picking up and pinning on my race bib...boom I was off and running.

 Took off in my Hoakas ,  Race Bib,  Shorts and a Hand Held ... love the simplicity.   The hand held would be a godsend.   I haven't used one in a long long time but on this day it was perfect.   Aid station every 4K ,  500ml of water every 4K ...simple.  So simple was the theme of the day...keep it simple and enjoy the forest , enjoy the heat ,  enjoy the my fellow runners just enjoy and keep it simple.   As I ran I developed a plan based on how I felt ... it was simple.  I ran and I ran passing 48 km feeling great and surprisingly in 6 position out of 30 men!   There was a small part of me that wanted to keep going at that moment but thats not why I do it but it is fun to compete sometime.  So at 4:16 pm I told the starter that I was going to be off course for a few hours.   I drove home ,  an hours trip ,  let my dog out ,  had dinner ,  showered ,  caught up on my email so on and so forth making it back close to 8pm to cheer on the start of the 12 hour night race.   Made it back on the course around 8:30  and I ran and I ran and I ran again ... no music just me ,  I didn't talk I was alone in my head.   My head had allot in it ...not bad just lots of time to think and figure things out.   I had a particular moment of Zen when I realised that I had just ran through one of the toughest 2K of the course but had absolutely no recollection of doing so.  I was in such deep thought that I totally disconnected my mind from my body it was like I was physically transported  through space.  You could never consciously choose to have such a thing happen ....it just happens and it was amazingly cool.    I stopped for a break at 12:30 am ,  grabbed a sleeping bag from my car and had a bite of food and a beer in my zero gravity chair.  It was really cool wrapped up so toasty and warm just listening to the conversations.   Again I found myself in another time warp ...12:30 am turned in 3:00 am.  I have no recollection of falling asleep just the constant drone of warm conversation.    The night air was cool and I was still shirtless.   It took awhile to formulate a plan to make a dash to the car for a shirt without freezing.   Once again I hit the trail ,  alone in the night and alone in my thoughts.   My energy levels were drained ,   I was 72K in and about to trip the 50 mile mark,  this was where I finished last year but I knew I was going to go longer but how long .... 1 ,2 3 more laps did I have it in me.    Vertical Pierre better know as the Creemore RD had a secret weapon at the 4K aid station ...Maple Syrup.    Had a shot in my coffee ,  two shots straight up and the stuff worked like rocket fuel...repeat, repeat and done.   Finished the last lap at about the speed of the first lap feeling amazing ,  simply amazing.

Logged a 104km run spending about 18 hours on the course satisfied and content ready for a good ,meal and a bed.

God I love this shit ...ultra forever baby,  ultra forever!

Dirty Girls Pics

Thanks for the pictures  Patrick ,  Robin, Kim and Christa.

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The video is really cool .... just because it makes us SMILE!

Dirty Girls 24 Hour - July 25/26 2015

 What a blast this race is.  It just keeps getting better year after year.  The small filed and setting with folks camped out around the start finish makes it one the of the best races of the OUS series.  New friends made and old friends.    No matter how much effort I put into this race report it will never do the event justice.

 Race day started at 5 am a half hour before my alarm after a really lousy nights sleep.  Note to self.... DO NOT ,  DO NOT  dine out the night before a race.   I know to stick to "normal food" the night before.    A lousy sleep usually translates to a good performance.   Waking up before the alarm allowed me a brief but enjoyable Coffee in the Hot Tub.

 Arrived in Mansfield at 7am an hour before the start.  Got ready and then chatted it up with lots of my " Ultra Friends".     It was the biggest field yet for the 24 hour race with 47 of us doing the 24 plus we had the 6 hour  and 12 hour folks 75 for a total of 122...WOW!   Started on time at 8am and after the cha cha line in the first single track we all spread out quickly.

 Weather forecast was for a rather hot day unsettled conditions with a chance of afternoon T Storms and an almost guaranteed chance of at least a shower.    Well it was HOT  but as it turned out there was barely a drop of rain and no Storms.   I knew heading out that this was not going to be a day that I tried for a buckle  achieving 120 km in 24 hours.   I like running in the heat but I really have to slow down to enjoy it otherwise the heat rules and I loose.   I was thinking that I would like to get to 100K .   that was goal A and B was 80K enough for metal ... love the bling!   For some time I was planning a different sort of fueling plane and that was to stop every lap ,  sit down in my "Zero Gravity Chair " have a Beer and some food then grab a 0.5 Litres of Water to go.    Run plan was more or less always walk the first K ( mostly uphill ) finishing the water.  At the 4K aid station it was Gel time and 2 glasses of water then run back to the start finish.      Now all I had to do is repeat , repeat ,  repeat ,  repeat .......

 There was tons of interest in my fueling plan and plenty of skeptics and I have to admit I was one of them not really sure of what I had committed too.   As it turns out I was OK , actually way more then just OK.   It was hot ,  really hot someone overnight said we had a humidex pushing 40C.   Hydration was spot on! I figured I consumed 10-12 Litres of fluids 7-8 of which were water.    With a Gel and S Cap every lap my electrolytes were perfect.   Usually I never get enough calories.  Sometimes they get in but don't get processed.  Liquid calories seem to be easier to absorb so the Beer was perfect.   Never felt like I was low on Calories and believe me I know when I run out of fuel!   One unexpected surprise of my rather unconventional plan was lowering my core temperature.   Not only was I adding carbs I was also cooling my core every lap with just shy of a liter of Ice Cold fluids.  At both Laura Secord and the North Face 50K's it was HOT and my core temp was way high for a long time.   Not the case a the DG 24 and I know that for 2 reasons.  First off when my core is hot hot hot for a long period of time 24 hours after the event I get the "Rash of Scarlet Fever" and I  got it for LS and NF but not DG.  Second I know by the temperature of my breath when the core is HOT and there was only 1 lap that I headed out that I though the core temp was up.  In addition to the cold bevy I also was horizontal in the shade so that also aided in my cooling.   I was in no hurry to drink the beer and my stops were anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes in length.    Yet another positive was my Feet ,  yes my  feet benefited greatly from being elevated regularly.  Usually at the long DG race it feels like someone was beating on the bottom of my feet with a 2X4.   This time there was no foot pain util the last lap.   Now I do give some credit to the Hokas ... they rock but I am sure that putting my feet up helped a ton.   There was a mental aspect to the fueling plan and I cannot tell you how much I looked forward to ending a lap knowing there was a cool shaded chair and an Ice Cold Beer waiting!!!    So I was really happy with how the whole Beer thing went however if I was "racing"  the fuel plan was a lousy idea but being hot and not really wanting to go for it it was perfect.    The only "Mentally TOUGH" part is I could have walked every lap ,  not  taken such a long break and more or less did the 80 km in the same time.

 One of the absolute hands down best part of doing theses sorts of races is the folks that I get to hang out with.  Old friends and new found friends always.   Its hard to pick any event on Southern Ontario that I don't bump into someone I know.   Patrick Rose paced me after dark.   When I dawned my lights I threw a Blue Tooth Speaker in my backpack and we streamed Okemos Brewing off the Internet rocking the forest away for a few hours.   There are so many sub stories to tell ... moments with old friends on the trail .   One special surprise was Grant Monet coming out for the 12 hour night ... the only OUS race he could squeeze in all season.  And then there was the 19 year old, Lizzy  going  going for the buckle on her third ever and longest by far Ultra ,  she made it with time to spare.   Any day I bump into Doug Barber is always great ... a running legend and  neighbor.    Can't say enough about Diane the RD and Henry.  I was teasing Diane about the "Pig Tails a Flying" sign was missing.   She has these really cool creative signs describing each section .... things like "Single Again" , "Dirty Boys Muscle Duo" .... so on and so forth.   I fell like I should mention everyone that I talked to ,  swapped stories or heard words of encouragement but I would have to write a small book to include everyone.

So I decided to pull the plug with 4.5 hours to go at 3:30 am logging 10 laps in 19 hours 29 minutes .  Skipped Beers 9 and 10 because I decided to drive home when I reached 80K mark.      I had a family dinner to attend to Sunday afternoon so the thought of a shower and my own bed won  me over.    Made it to bed as night turned to day and passed out for few hours of much needed sleep.

 Many pictures were posted so many that I will do a picture post in my next blog entry.   Thanks to everyone who shared them.

Cant wait until next year and I am hoping that maybe just maybe the 48 hour race would return.

  Splits 

Lap     Time 

 1     1:20:16   

 2     1:34:41   

 3     1:39:33   

 4     1:44:24   

 5     1:52:36   

 6     1:53:18   

 7     2:05:20   

 8     2:30:15   

 9     2:19:33   

10     2:29:50  Walked this lap.  

Dirty Girls 48 Hour Trail Race - August 9/10/11 2013 - Mansfield Outdoor Centre

Where to begin....

Going long is really all about the adventure for me.  You never really know where these runs will take you and this years event didn't disappoint.

Did my first 100 miler in 2011 ,  Sulphur Springs.  Last year my one and only race of this distance was the inaugural Dirty Girls 48 hour.   I really like this race for allot of reasons but one very important on is that logistically speaking its a breeze.

Unlike other years this time I was on my own ,  no support,  no pacers ( or so I thought ) just me  and the endless hours on the trails at Mansfield.   Once again I planned and packed and cooked ahead of time and and packed it in my old Dodge Durango.   On very important component was an air bed  and a sleeping bag where I could fully stretch out and snooze  when needed.  

 Race start as 08:00 am ,  I showed up around 07:30 the last to pick up my race kit.    Dianne the RD said she was "worried" because I hadn't showed yet.     I failed to get a race shirt in the last minute arrival but I was OK with that...there are only so many places you can wear a shirt that says " I did the Dirty Girls" besides I have a handful of them already.   Last thing I did before we started was to weigh in.   I had been "eating ahead" and tipped the scales at 178.8 lbs.

08:00 Friday Aug 9th and the race had begun.


Walked the entire 1st loop with 74 year old  Joe Cleary ...the guy is a legend... Google "Joe Cleary Ultra Runner" and you will see.    Joe was using the Dirty Girls to prepare for the " The Pilgrimage to Santiago" ( Google that too).  A little 1000 km walk that has been taking place since the Medieval Times.   90 minutes of talking with Joe was a great way to do the first 8K .   I remember feeling refreshed and excites ready to run the remaining 152 km or 19 loops.   


Got off to a bit of a tough start ,  loops 2 and 3 my "March Madness Broken Ass" flared up...right cheek hurt like hell.   4th loop the Ass troubles went away and I was moving well.  After the 5th loop ( 40K in) I stopped and had allot of food and washed it down with a Beer but I sat too long and it was really hard starting again.  Cramped on the 6th loop after all the food.  7th and 8th loop were great but I was stuck in a mental loop playing the numbers something like this ....

OK , its 7:00 pm I am on my 8th loop  if I finish in 1hr20min it will be 8:20 pm if I keep going is will get to loop 10 by midnight if I slow down to 90 minute loops I should get through loop 13 by 4:30 am take a break until 8:00 am then back out after the 24 hour race starts should get to loop 16 by noon and should finish before nightfall bit maybe I will break at midnight with 10 loops done but I really should do at least one more loop fishing around 1am but then last year I took a break at 03:00 am after 13 loops so I better go til then no wait my feet hurt and I feel tired and its dark and quiet at the start finish I think I should stop after loop 10 and sleep say until 5:00 am then do 2 loops before 08:00 am getting through loop 12.

The above went on on my head constantly for dam near 3 hours.  I tried to think of anything other then the numbers but nothing worked.

Writing this blog I totally forgot about my loop 2 and 3 "Broken Ass".  If it wasn't for this video I would have forgot so here it is loop 1-8 recap...





I had a very pleasant surprise finishing loop 8.   Patrick Rose had arrived and was waiting to pace me.  His timing couldn't have been better.  I explained to him about the numbers game I had been playing and asked him to tell stories about anything just to get my mind to a different place.  He followed me and and totally turned my mental around.   Patrick was going to leave after loop 9 but decided to go one more getting me through loop 10 by 11:30 pm.  Loop 10 was half way to my minimum goal in 15hrs30min with 32hrs30min remaining in the race.   Lets just say I had time on my side.    Said goodbye to Patrick and decided that it would be a good time to break for a bit of shut eye.   My feet were really achy like someone had been beating on them with a 2X4.   When I took  my toe socks off they were full of fine powder like sand.   Only has a couple of small blisters ... no big deal!     Crawled into the back of my Durango and into the sleeping bag and was way way way too hot but without it I was frozen.   I laid there tossing and turning not able to get thermally comfortable for what seemed to be forever.   Laying flat on my back I woke my self up with the loudest snore I ever hear myself snore ...scared me!!!   After the core cooled down the sleeping bag was a nice comfy cocoon from which I couldn't escape due to the single digit temps.   Woke up to day break pissed that I had slept so long still not able to get out of the sleeping bag due to the cold.   Came up with a game plan .... new shorts ,  shirt , shoes my Montrail Mountain Masochist  , socks ,  compression hat , gloves and a sweatshirt I would wear until I started to sweat.   One very pleasant surprise was those oh so achy feet now felt really good.  Decided not to do anything about the blisters knowing they would take care of themselves.    So I hit the trail around 6:30 am wanting to get through loop 11 by 08:00 am.

Did my last video recap of the race after loop 11 was completed....





Nailed the Nutrition ,  Hydration and Electrolytes the entire race.   I had no GI issues what so ever ...only brief minor cramping as a result of eating and eating I did.    Right from the start of loop 2 I grabbed solids  and fluids to go ... lots of calories.   I would walk the first almost K eating and drinking ... it was mostly uphill.  My goal was to always finish consuming after the last big climb to the top then I would start running.  At the 4K aid station I would do 2 full cups of water and a Hammer Gel.... repeat 20 times!

Loops 12 through 18 were all about getting to loops 19 and 20.   I was really moving well and feeling good but the foot pain was building again.    The Montrails are a fantastic shoe but probably not the best choice for this course.   They are a little lite on the "Rock Plate" protection.   Felt a rub on the inside right heal around lap 17 but there was no way I was going to stop to investigate.    Figured I may get to loop 19 before 7pm leaving one loop to so in the dark but I came in around 7:45 pm way to late to go out sans light.     I wished I had of done a video to recount more of the details but there are a few thing the stood out between loops 11 and 19.   Loop 17  I was stung my a  Bee on the top of my head.  Loop 18 I had a really hard right foot kick on a stump that I missed.   Its also the loop that I recall seeing this really nice women  with a very large head of  glowing silver hair  that was always smiling a chipper in the middle of nowhere.  For a moment I though it may have been my "Guardian Angle" so I asked at the 4K aide station if she was real ... they assured me that she was out there cleaning up the trails ... PHEW!

Half of loop 19 was run in the Daylight.   I made it to the 4K aid station before the 12 hour night gang rolled through the course for the first time.   I didn't do any solids heading out on this one just hydration ... I was really tired of eating and eating and eating and eating.    I didn't waste any time heading out on my final lap and decided to walk this one not feeling comfortable running in the dark.   Walking was tougher then running but the trade off was less chance of killing myself.  I had contemplated going beyond loop 20 by crawling into the sleeping bag and getting up at day break for one more loop but then I thought WHY?   The other option was a Red Bull,  pack the Durango ,  1 hour to home , a shower then in bed by 01:30 am.   So I walking through the dark trail I firmly decided on the home option.    It was almost like I was making things go south so I would feel worse and make the choice not to go on.  Walking was way way way more painful then running ,   laying off on the solids a few hours earlier was going to make running impossible it was like committing running suicide ... I was doomed into stopping.  So without fan fair sometime after 11pm I finished lap 20 for a total of 160km.  I collected my Belt Buckle then proceed to pack up and head home.

Driving though Flesherton it was 12:45 am and the Pizza place at the South End of town was still open .... drove by it but did a U Turn.   I arrived at the same time as a young fellow on a Motorcycle.    Whilst we orders he asked where I was coming from.  I told him Mansfiled where I had just ran 100 miles and that's why I was dressed funny and probably didn't smell too good!   He paused for a moment and said " that's like 160 km"   yup I said.  The young fellow excitedly told the two working behind the counter  who gave me the yeah right that's impossible so I whipped out the belt buckle.   The young fellow paused while eating his Pizza and suggested that I must of burned 14,000 calories.   I told him it was non stop consuming calories and he was amazed that we could run and eat at the same time.

I was home a little after 01:00 am ,  a quick clean up and crawled into bed for a really satisfying sleep waking up close to noon not feeling all that bad and already planning next years  48 or maybe even 72 hour Dirty Girls Race.