Two days post “race” and I sit here, very delicately, leaning a little to one side on my posterior muscle, and thinking “well, it could have been a lot worse!”
Oh, it was a challenge all right, this 50-miler at Umstead Park on April 5th, 2025. Easy course (as far as 50/100 milers go), great volunteers, excellent food and aid stations, a great group of friendly runners, and a sunny day in the spring with everything in full bloom. “Wow, Glenn”, you say, “I can’t imagine how it could even be considered a challenge with that glowing review!” Of course, I would agree with you had I not experienced the heat of the day. Seventy-four degrees at the start of the race at 6:30 am and going up to 88 degrees in the afternoon….and yes, even for those of us who “only” did the 50 miler, the afternoon heat came into play.
Many have been there, of course, training thru the cold winds of January and February, and then acclimating seasoned bodies to 60, and even some low 70-degree days that come around in March on occasion. Then we toe the line in April or May, and get blasted with an unusually hot day, a record, a “great day to watch a race” (I’ve heard announced before)! Runners luck, get used to it. No complaints from me, I finished…. barely.
No, as I mentioned, it could have been so much worse. My little friend, Mr. Hemorrhoid reared his ugly little head a few days before the race. As I noticed the discomfort in “that” particular area begin to build, I thought to myself – “hmmm, that can’t be good!” Being a novice to this particular running malady – I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I did know that these things just don’t go away in a day or so, or at least that’s what the Google told me. Look – I’ve had blisters, ingrown toenails, pulled muscles, heat exhaustion, sunburn, yellow jacket stings, cramps so bad I couldn’t stand, and even had a bear growl at me during a race, but I’ve never been as scared of my posterior area as I was heading into the race this last weekend! Would this be the “end” of me?
I could see it playing out in my mind’s eye. My wonderful crew, Sheryl, a veteran of many, many ultras, waiting patiently for me to hit that aid station. She’s ready – she’s got salt tabs, honey stingers, Gatorade, fresh socks…any number of things that might be required to keep me fresh and happy on the trail. I come running in to the station, and I don’t shout out “Ice packs, I need ice!”, or “peanut butter and jelly, half a sandwich”, no I come trotting in, doing a weird walk-run (walk with one leg, run with the other), as I lean sideways to ease the pain that’s ripping from behind. “Cream, Sheryl” I scream, “Give me the cream!” And then everyone at the aid station knows…. this poor soul has a running ‘roid, and no one can bear to look.
Luckily, it didn’t happen that way. My body decided that it would behave for me, maybe giving me the break I needed to deal with the heat. No, the race was a pretty good one, and I did indeed finish…maybe not as fast as I would have liked, and maybe a little dehydrated (maybe a lot), but I finished. A good day at my age.
Yes, I’ll consider this a lucky race. From now on, however, I’m going to make sure I attend one of these Ultras with plenty of “Preparation”.