The G Running Diary

All this and More: AR 50 Part 2: 4/10/05

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Beal's Point is this wonderful oasis in the middle of the run. Even though it is thought of as the middle, you are more than half-way done, at 27 miles. It signifies the end of pavement and the beginning of happy trails. It's the best place for a drop bag and an even nicer place for a picnic. Some runners volunteer at Beal's Point and then run the rest of the course. I got to do that one year, and learned from Laura Vaughn how to heckle the runners who can take it. It makes working an aid station fun. Instead of saying the usual, "You look great!" you get to say, "Hurry it up, you look like crap." These are the terms of endearment shared among ultrarunners.

Some runners change their shoes here. It makes sense--road shoes for the paved path, trail shoes for the last 23 miles. But, you don't have to change. I ran in trail shoes for the whole course this year and last. Don always runs in road shoes anyway (his faithful Brooks Addictions). The best thing we put at this point was our tuna sandwiches. I made a pitstop, (luxurious to use a real bathroom), refilled bottles, got my sandwich and we were off again. I slowed down to eat and drink. I wanted to make sure I ate a good portion of my sandwich before stuffing it in my pack. Soon we reached the single track trail. Running on the trail feels faster and easier. The flowers were pretty in the sun. Too bad I don't know names of wildflowers. There were poppies and different kinds of purple flowers. We gradually started passing runners. They were mostly happily moving along, although some of the ones we passed later seemed to be struggling a bit.

We rolled along the trail through grassy areas, up on hills overlooking the river, and down through muddy, woodsy areas. The aid stations were welcome short breaks. I thought I heard a volunteer offering ice cream at one of the stops, but figured I must have been dreaming. It turned out to be true! Great service. One of the best tasting items was the mini-brownies, but I knew to be careful with those. In another race I ate a lot of brownies and then had some digestive troubles. But a few bites wouldn't hurt.

The section before the last aid station seems to go on for a long time. We ran along expecting at any moment to turn the corner and face the big hill to Last Gasp aid station. The earlier runners had to make this climb in full sun. By the time we got there, it was shaded. It's mostly uphill to the finish from there, on a gravel road. The last uphill felt tiring, but it would be over soon. A lot of people were hanging out at the finish cheering, and the weather was still nice. We finished with smiles and started chatting with friends. We had taken over 11 hours. So, it was almost a full day out on the trail. But what better way to spend a day?

We took some time to wash with Tecnu and cold water. As usual, there was a good amount of poison oak out on the trail, some of it unavoidable. Then, the bus took us back to the start where the car was. I dozed a little on the bus, so the time passed quickly. Finally, our post-race food reward: Del Taco!