2010 11 12 cumberland trail 50k directors cut

Susan Donnelly Ultramarathon Trail Runner. Motivational Speaker. http://www.susanruns100s.com

Cumberland Trail 50k - Director's Cut Date : November 12, 2010

Lisa Arnold and Janice Anderson heading to the turnaround.

October 15, 2010 When you’re putting a lot of effort (and missing a lot of runs) into a project like a race, you inevitably ask yourself many times along the way why you’re doing it. This year, I got tired of reminding myself of the answer and wrote it down: Give runners a remote, wild experience Give them a real challenge – this is a doctoral 50k, not a bachelor’s Show the history of the area – mining and logging Get this great trail some feet and exposure Benefit the local economy Do it as green and as local as possible

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This is not a beginner race. It’s intended to be a true challenge on technical trail, a good step up to longer races on the same surface, and a good place to try gear, strategy and fitness on a difficult course.

Bottom line: I want it to be something I’d love to run.

Course marking with Hiram Rogers and Rob the day before the race.

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Driving Hiram to where he and I split to mark the course, I can't resist this shot - it's going to be a great day tomorrow!

The Day as an RD With all that in mind, what I see on race day is definitely different from what the runners see.

It starts with mild mayhem in the dark race start parking lot at 5:00 a.m., getting the volunteers headed in the right direction with the right gear, checking in runners, and coordinating logistics with Mark Rooker, the park ranger. The parking lot is full of to-ing and fro-ing headlamps and voices in the dark. We can’t afford any mistakes on getting the volunteers out on the course, and we have all new people at the Turnaround aid station, and some other new volunteers.

They’re heading out on remote and fairly obscure mining roads where there are plenty of side roads and no street signs. I’m counting on Kerry to help get everyone where they need to go.

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Giving the pre-race briefing.

Then before I know it, all those months of preparation are done and all the runners gathered at the starting line. After a short briefing, I give the start and they head off around the corner and out of sight in the dark. Rob, who is sweeping, is still there because Leonard Martin arrived late and is trying to his gear organized and going.

Once Leonard and Rob are underway, I find myself standing utterly alone in the dark, silent parking lot, with nothing particularly urgent to do for the first time in days. I’m momentarily at a loss, just like last year. This is definitely the strangest point in the day for me.

“Ok, now what?”

I decide to go check the direction the runners went to make sure everything is going well. Last year, some runners got lost in the dark and I was able to find and round them up from the picnic area. We flagged extra in the park, but it’s better to make sure.

I drive down to the picnic area and spot two headlamps – must be Rob and Leonard (I hope).

Sure enough. I get out of the car and trot down to the path to say “hi.” I’m still in that “I’m sure I need to be doing something important but I can’t think what” place. I talk with Leonard for a moment – Rob is behind picking up the flags – then shoo Leonard on.

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Meeting Leonard.

But I also have an idea. I hop in the car and drive to the end of the picnic area, where the trail takes off into the woods. I get out, lock the car, meet Leonard on his way into the woods, and run through the park to the road crossing with him where I let him and Rob go and stop to talk to Jack, who is manning the crossing. Getting to enjoy a little snippet of the running this year is fun and a huge relief in my day. Giving up running for the day is well worth it to put on a good party for everyone but it’s awfully nice to sneak some of it in.

I jog back into park, get in the car and drive back to the picnic shelter where Jack has already returned from the road crossing. We confer for a moment. It’s still pitch dark and time to head out and check on the aid stations and the runners. Jack, bless him, has a good book and is willing to hang out and wait until I get back much later in the day.

I take off, hopefully in time to catch Leah Jones, who is manning the other road crossing and wants to get out on the course but doesn’t know where to go. We play phone tag but after a few minutes of confusion, her car pulls up behind mine and convoy up the steep and rutted gravel road.

First stop is Tracy Lee’s Royal Blue aid station, fully ablaze with glowsticks and lanterns – a happy oasis of light. The runners are already through, so after a few minutes, Leah and I drive

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on to Shane’s Montgomery Fork aid station. Wesley’s Cross Mountain aid station is next for the runners but on another road, so it’s hard to get to that one and all the rest. Pros that they are, Wesley and Sharon, undoubtedly have everything well under control.

Royal Blue, after dawn.

Someone’s Dropping?

I’m hardly out of the car at Montgomery Fork when someone asks about the runner with the hurt foot. Hurt foot? What?!? Who? No sooner do I hear that they didn’t know who it is, than Dreama Campbell comes into the aid station and announces that she’s dropping due to persistent heel problems. Her first 100 is a few weeks away and she doesn’t want to take a chance on furthering the injury. I unsuccessfully try to talk her out of dropping but she’s sure, and it’s a smart move. Leah parks here to help Shane and his crew, while Dreama joins me for the rest of the course tour.

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Sally Brooking coming into Montgomery Fork. Paul Gossett and Bruce Fox ready to assist.

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A disappointed but smart Dreama, dropping.

We drive past the mine (that the runners don’t see) and some nice views of fall color en route to Laurie Gregory’s Turnaround aid station. Dreama is naturally confused at first because this aid station is not the next one the runners see but is next via road. The course is shaped kind of like a fishhook, so the order of aid stations for me is different than for the runners. Another reason the RD’s perspective is different.

Laurie Gregory has everything well under control, as I knew she would. Tracy Rafferty, who captained the aid station last year had a schedule conflict so I had to find someone dependable to lead it without having seen it last year, and I couldn’t have asked for better than Laurie. The other volunteers here are new to the race but with Kerry’s help, they found the right spot and are doing great. This is a huge feeling of relief.

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The bonus of this aid station is that it has the best view and it’s a sunny day (see the photo at the top of this post). The trees out toward the actual turnaround are stunning colors and the runners will get to see what they missed last year’s foggy mist.

On to the furthest aid station (by road), Greens Branch. While I hate that Dreama dropped, it’s fun talking with her and getting to know her. We’ll get to Greens Branch earlier than I did last year, so should have a comfortable margin to watch some of the runners. Just as we crest the hill above the aid station, we see Brad Adams heading up the road toward us, running fast. I don’t even have time to find the camera so we just cheer for him and for Byron Backer and John Lawler who were close behind. For the three to be this close this far on the course means they’re pushing each other.

Byron running up the gravel road in second place. This is the end of another long climb.

Downhill at the aid station, Liza Graves, Susan Musser, and Terry Cash have things well under control. Kerry Trammell, Brian Reynolds, and Jeff Tambornini are there watching, along with Durand Carmany and some of his rescue squad guys. Quite the place to be. While we wait for the next runners to appear, Terry finally forces Dreama to put on a fleece. Eventually, the rest of the field begins to trickle out from the woods and head uphill on the gravel road. We won’t have to leave until Brad, John and Byron return.

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Dreama and Kerry talking to Mark Mason, while Brian Williams and Sal Coll fuel up.

Lost Runner?

We’re all chatting and watching runners when Sally Brooking comes out of the woods. While it’s great to see, especially to see her smiling, we haven’t seen Sarah Woerner, who has been the women’s leader. I quickly asked Sally if she’s seen Sarah and she said “no,” looking a little confused. I tell her “never mind, go!” and turn to Durand to tell him we might have a runner missing.

On the course, just below this aid station is the one bad corner where, if a runner gets lost, they can go in two directions that quickly branch off into more and more old logging and mining roads. It’s the one spot that always worries me the most because the runners have to diverge off the trail. We had someone at this junction there last year but didn’t this year and instead had strung tape across the wrong directions. Still, the tape could be down and she could have gone wrong.

In that instant, I am suddenly intensely grateful for the two years Rob and I had spent two years finding and nailing down this course instead to doing runs that were more fun, because all that exploration we did has given me a firm mental map of the possible routes a runner could take.

Durand knows the area well too, so we talk out the possibilities and as a first measure, sent one

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of the rescue guys on an ATV to a further junction in the trail to intercept her if she stayed on the trail.

In the meantime, Brad, John and Byron come flying back through the aid station on their way toward the finish and it’s time for Dreama and I to start thinking about heading that way too.

Durand and I and Kerry talk over where to send people to intercept Sarah and were just getting ready to mobilize everyone, she emerges from the trail, in a hurry. She tells us that she and Nick Lavrik had indeed gotten lost, but at an earlier spot than I assumed. I find out later that several runners took at least a momentary wrong turn there.

Brad Adams returning to Greens Branch on his way home.

Durand calls the ATVer back and we all breathe a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it worked out and they caught the mistake on their own. We put a lot of effort into marking the course but you never know exactly how well you’ve done until race day. We would definitely mark this better next year but this was also a good reminder not to make assumptions about where a runner got lost. She and Nick would have ended up on the same roads as if she’d gotten lost at the other junction, but it would have taken us much longer to find them and they would have encountered even more side roads along the way. I’m actually grateful to have had a non-emergency “drill” on this today, as practice.

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Time to Go With that squared away, Dreama and I head back to the finish, stopping briefly at the Turnaround. We watch some of the runners come through, going in both directions, and though that might be to watch everyone else run, Dreama seems at peace with her decision. That’s good. Next, we stop at the Montgomery Fork aid station to find that the top three runners have already been through. We don’t have time to waste.

Dean Deziel refuels at the Turnaround Aid station, Kirby Russell and Laurie Gregory manning the station.

The Finish Line When we get back to the park, Jack is waiting to record the times. Thank goodness for an undistracted person I can rely on in that department. We lay out the finish line and wait, but not for long. Tracy Lee at Royal Blue aid station texts that Brad is on his way – this is a fantastic idea of hers from last year, to text when each runner comes through – and I quickly get another text that John is also on his way. A short time later, Brad comes into view and crosses the line.

John Lawler is only a minute behind him and Byron not long after that.

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Locals Brad Adams and John Lawler, first and second, at the finish.

The rest of the day goes great. Two runners see an elk and one is even lucky enough to spot a bobcat on the course. The sun is shining, the leaves are beautiful, and the day warm enough for runners to hang out at the finish and watch everyone else finish. Seeing everyone hanging out and smiling is another of those moments that make all the thought and effort and missed runs that go into this worthwhile. This is their day and it’s a great feeling to have given them a good day.

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Mark Mason literally dances across the line.

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Hanging out in the sunshine, watching the finish.

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Bill Keane narrowly edges out a small child on a bike.

The one thing I still can’t get used to at the finish is juggling all the things I’d like to do in the little time available. This is another great group of runners, some of who I don’t get to see every day or have just met, and I’d like to talk to everyone for more than a minute and hear their stories, and also answer everyone’s questions, welcome everyone across the line, take a few photos, make sure everyone gets their finisher award, post the finish times online, coordinate the returning aid station supplies, etc. I haven’t gotten that down nearly as well as I’d like, but having people to delegate to – Jack takes great care of the timing, Ray Smith and John Arnold are taking finish line photographs, and the returning aid station volunteers line up the food and supplies on their own as they come in – really helps.

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Can't do this without great friends - with Susan Musser, Liza Graves, and Laurie Gregory.

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Hanging out with Wesley and Sharon Fenton and the sun disappears.

In the end, all the other runners finished, most everyone uninjured and happy to have run a tough 50k, which is the most basic measure of success. I have a few things to improve on next year and find myself thinking ahead to next October, the most basic indication that for me, it’s worth doing.

So put October 15, 2011 on your calendars and I’ll see you there!

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At the end of the day, the car is stuffed - love my Subaru!

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