FLRC 100K Ultra Challenge Redux

I'd originally hoped to give the 100K Ultra Challenge a second attempt on December 21st, the Winter Solstice. My first run was on the Summer Solstice, June 21st, exactly six months earlier. I figured running in minimum daylight would close out the FLRC Challenge with a degree of symmetry. Neither date has any special meaning to me. Both happened to meet my own criteria of possible days for an Ultra Challenge attempt—two consecutive days when I'm off from work and my kids are in daycare. Ultimately I chickened out on December 21st when I saw how cold it would be with the likelihood of light snow. It also meant I'd be done running for the year so I'd essentially be throwing in the towel in the Most Miles contest. I decided to put the run off until the 30th. I also considered a midnight start on December 31st so I could end the Ultra Challenge with the Waterfront 5k group run in the evening, but I didn't trust myself to stay awake while driving all night between courses. 

So what's the FLRC 100K Ultra Challenge? The rules and details are all on the race Web site. Basically, it involves completed ten specific virtual race courses in under 24 hours, with a cumulative distance of 65.3 miles. Run a course. Drive to the next. Repeat x 9. You can start whatever day and time you want and choose what order to run them. The courses vary in distance from 1 mile to a half marathon and include 4 singletrack trail courses and 6 on asphalt or rail trails. The Ultra Challenge is part of the FLRC Challenge, a larger, year-long virtual series organized by the Finger Lakes Runners Club. 

The weather actually looked pretty good for December 30th. Word around town was that the trail courses were super sloppy and slushy, but passable. I decided to knock them out first, in the daylight and on fresh legs, knowing if I could finish Frolic and Thom B

without injury I'd finish the whole thing well under 24 hours. I would've preferred to start at sunup or a little before, but I had to get my kids up and out the door to daycare, dropping them off in Dryden on the way to start the Challenge in Virgil. At least this time I didn't have to take a 2-hour break like I did on my first Ultra Challenge. I made it out to Kennedy State Forest and punched the clock at 9:12 a.m. 

My food and gear setup was the same as last time—all my stuff organized in my Prius' trunk like a mobile aid station. This was critical since I was on my own for most of the run—no crew, and no pacer lined up until the last few courses after dark. I packed a ton of clothes since I had to layer properly for the cold and be ready for 15% chance of rain, plus wet feet on all the trail courses. Thankfully I didn't need to guzzle water and sports drinks like I did on my first Ultra Challenge when it topped 90° and infinity percent humidity.

1. Forest Frolic 

It made the most logical sense to start here after dropping off my kids. It cut down on the driving time and got the toughest course out of the way first. I ran a double loop of this earlier in the week when the opening road section was an ice rink. Thankfully it was mostly thawed by now, so most of the course involved running through slush and standing water. Yeah, I was never so happy to plow through so much slush. I took the front loop clockwise so I could run downhill under the powerlines. All the slop made for my slowest time on this course, but I enjoyed the solitude and crisp morning air while making a conscious effort to start off easy. 9 miles, 1:58:33

2. Thom B

Hammond Hill is along the way from Virgil to Ithaca, so running this one second is a no-brainer. Hammond's DEC trails were a lot less slushy than Kennedy's, and even clear in some spots, but it was still wet and slow going. I passed Dean Russo near the end and somehow he'd caught wind of my ultra effort. Otherwise the trails were empty and I enjoyed another two hours of solitude. 8.5 miles, 1:46:53

3. Waterfront Trail

Knocking this quick course off next simplified the overall logistics. Stewart Park closes at dark. Although I'm not past running through the park after sundown, I was nervous about parking in the park after dark and risking a run-in with a cop. Ultra Challenger Damian Clemons reported that this happened on his run when he ran this course in the middle of the night. To me it wasn't worth the risk, and I didn't want to park at the Ithaca Youth Bureau and walk 300 meters to the Challenge sign, run the route, and then walk back.

I breezed right through this one. Running on a paved, even surface in dry socks and shoes was total bliss and a complete 180 from the first two courses. It was also a strange feeling passing so many other people after seeing almost no one on the forest trails. Not having to navigate an obstacle course of downed trees, a battered bridge, and poison ivy (like I did here on my first Ultra Challenge) was also quite pleasant. 3.1 miles, 29:17

4. Tortoise & Hare

By now I wasn't worried about getting rained on—the window with that 15% chance had passed hours ago. It was even warm enough to run in just a short-sleeve tee. After a quick stop at GreenStar for some additional provisions, I made my way through heavy traffic down to Buttermilk Falls State Park. I would have rather hit up Danby to finish the more technical course in the daylight, but Tortoise is another course that's closed at night and I didn't want to risk getting ticketed. 

This course was entirely dry so my feet didn't get wet at all. Someone positioned an 8-inch-diameter log at the upper park's water crossing so that you could walk right across if you trust your sense of balance. I passed Aaron and Amanda King who were each running the course twice to help lock up the team win for the Thundering 30s by ensuring that our team would have the most completions on the Tortoise & Hare. They knew what I was up to and and all the excitement kept me moving relatively fast through the second half of the course. 5.4 miles, 1:03:49.

5. Danby Down & Dirty

Without question Danby was the toughest of the ten today. I still felt pretty good after 26 cumulative miles and I didn't have my legs stiffening up after getting out of the car like I did the last time. I started this course at 4:12 p.m.—exactly 7 hours elapsed on the clock—but only made it 2 miles before I had to turn on my headlamp in the middle of the ravine swamp. I slogged through the swamp and power hiked the Pinnacles climb but it only got worse from there. All the fog at the higher elevation made it tricky, especially in the super muddy spots going up the big hill, and again on the way down. 

The Danby course is tough enough when the trails are dry and you can see where you're going. Add in loads of extra mud and 2-3 feet of visibility and you're in for a rough ride. I also have a yet-to-be-diagnosed eye problem in which my ability to see in low-light environments has been deteriorating over the past 2 years. No, it's not exactly ideal for ultrarunners. (This is one the main problems that made for a painful 33 hours at Virgil Crest.) Running became impossible and I had no choice but to walk the last 3-4 miles. Near the end of the loop I encountered an entire family—2 adults, 2 young kids, and a dog—hiking the Abbott Loop in full darkness with headlamps. Now that's the kind of thing I want to get my kids interested in at an early age! 6 miles, 1:29:05

6. South Hill Rec Way

As I left Danby to return to civilization, I went to town on the buffalo tofu sandwich I'd grabbed earlier at GreenStar and it was the best thing I'd eat all day. I also called Hayley and said goodnight to my kids over the speakerphone. I felt like new once it struck me that all 4 trail courses were behind me and the last 33 miles would be dry terrain and even footing. Not having to change shoes and socks again was another plus. 

When I got out of the car and onto the trail I found myself freezing cold, even with the appropriate clothing layers on. Nothing else to do but get moving and hope to warm up. By the time I hit the turnaround at Burns Road I was back to a comfortable body temperature. I still felt okay physically and mentally, but I really struggled to maintain a reasonable pace in the dark. I always felt like I was moving much faster than the pace indicated on my watch. This would end up being a trend through the end of the Challenge. 

I spent the second half of this course alternating between jogging and walking while texting with Amelia Kaufman to figure out when and where she would meet me for pacing duties. She ran over to the Rec Way from her house and we settled on meeting in front of Ian's house after I finished the course. 6.8 miles, 1:13:39

7. Black Diamond Trail

I considered saving this for last like I did the first time. I've run the BDT course in the dark many times and consider it one of the easiest Challenge courses, especially when you're fatigued and don't want to navigate turns or watch for traffic. Saving it for later meant extra driving time and running an extra mile back up the East Hill Rec Way, so I decided to just get the BDT over with. 

Having a pacer for the later miles was a whole new ballgame. Amelia kept me entertained so I forgot about how tired my legs were getting, and she convinced me not to walk much. I don't remember much else about this course—it was over before I knew it. 10 miles, 1:55:26

8. Pseudo Skunk Cabbage

Driving over to the Ellis Hollow Community Center brought on a new and unexpected three-word element to the Ultra Challenge. Fog. Like seriously, all of Upstate New York's fog condensed into the Town of Ithaca's east side. I had to creep along at 20 mph just to make it to the course without flattening any deer or driving into a ditch. 

Running in near-zero visibility was marginally easier. At least if I ran into a deer on foot I'd probably not end the day with a trip to the emergency room. There was hardly any traffic at all on the Pseudo Skunk course, which was nice since I wasn't anywhere close to running in a straight line. I avoided running close to the shoulder because I was afraid of falling sideways into a ditch, but had no trouble moving over when I saw oncoming headlights. The canter/camber of the asphalt surface, designed to shed water efficiently, caused me to swerve all over the road. I couldn't see far enough to know where the hills were. Instead, I had to feel them under my feet and was in for a surprise every time I felt a change in the gradient. If anyone was spying with infrared goggles all they'd see is a couple of drunks staggering down Ellis Hollow Road, and none of it had anything to do with fatigue. I also couldn't see any of the intersections where the course turns until I was right on top of them. Amelia's eyes are sharper than mine which helped me avoid missing any turns. Running this with a pacer was eerie enough—I honestly don't think I would have done it alone. And it wasn't just me. Amelia, who hadn't already run 40 miles today, agreed. It was like running a half marathon in a sensory deprivation chamber. The only thing missing was a UFO abduction. 13.1 miles, 2:42:01

Alien abduction somewhere on the Pseudo
Skunk backroads

9. Cornell Botanical Gardens

With Pseudo Skunk behind us, the only thing left was the two shortest and easiest courses. Each was a victory lap. CBG was a quick shuffle. It was still uber foggy but the arboretum was closed to traffic and at only 2.4 miles, I was done before I even had the chance to warm up. I tried to finish under 30 minutes but couldn't quite make it and didn't really care that much. For some reason I kept thinking of the time Amelia was pacing me in the dark at Eastern States and I saw a cat sitting on the side of the road and was sure I was hallucinating but it turned out to be real. 2.4 miles, 30:22

10. East Hill Rec Way

Seriously, how in the hell did Aaron King end his Ultra Challenge with a 7:01 mile on this course?! I was a physical wreck when I got here and felt like an Olympic medalist when I dropped my pace to under 10 minutes per mile in the final sprint. More fog. More shuffling. Then I saw the blazing outdoor light at the Cornell ecology building and knew the end was just ahead. I scanned the sign and high fived Amelia. Then we started the looooong walk back to the car. 1 mile, 11:06

Post Script

Since I wasn't signed up for any ultras I figured another go at the FLRC 100k Ultra Challenge would be a worthy effort and a good way to wrap up the Challenge at the end of the year. I initially thought the 65 miles would put the Most Miles contest out of reach, but Karen Ingall logged some big miles in the final week and we agreed amicably to end the contest in a tie. 

The Ultra Challenge was way more fun the second time around. I never bonked or felt terrible even though my run time was an hour slower. I enjoyed managing the extra logistics that aren't part of a conventional race—driving, deciding on the order of the courses, etc. I'm hoping the 2022 edition of the FLRC Challenge will include an ultra component so I can attempt something like this again. My final run time was 13:20:11 (cumulative time on course), and elapsed time (which includes driving and breaks between courses) was 17:00:06. If I'd know I was so close I would've run that last mile 7 seconds faster!

Thanks to Amelia for pacing and making sure I didn't become roadkill courtesy of a semitruck or get permanently lost in the endless fog. And thanks to FLRC Challenge race director Adam Engst for putting it all together and egging me on along the way.

Done after an Olympic-caliber 11-minute mile. 

Any burrito joints still open at 2 a.m.?