Piney Woods 50km Trail Run
"The marathoner is by most standards a peculiar guy. He has found freedom through the acceptance of rules, has cured his loneliness with solitude, and has discovered the peace inside of pain and effort."
-George Sheehan
Ultra and trail running are possibly the quintessential solo endeavors. Participates, for the most part, run and train for hours each week alone. Our events frequently take place in remote areas where we then spend hours upon hours running through the woods, desserts, mountains, and/or general boondocks with little signs of human existence save for the oasis-like aid stations every 5 or so miles. Let one of the things that draws me to this sport is its social aspect. In every race I met several new running buddies whom I run with on and off during the day, telling jokes, sharing stories, and generally just helping each other to the finish line. We don’t think twice of about sharing our water and food or helping someone up if they fell. We just do it. This holds true from the runners barely beating the course cut-off times to the lead pack. We also make friends at aid stations with volunteers who are there for the sole purpose of helping us met our goals. Ultras and trail races become a communal efforts, with each participant helping each other reach the finish line.
This weekend I got to see this from a different perspective: as a volunteer/crew and not a runner. I traveled down to the Lake Houston Park for the Piney Woods 50km to help out my friend Carl who was running his first ultra and who has crewed for me at several races. We arrived the night before to a fairly empty park. We were both too lazy to put up our tent, so we just slept in the car. Morning came soon, and the park started to fill up. The 50km and 20 mile race both were to start together at 7:30am and each seemed to have about 30 entreats. The 50km race featured a short 1 mile loop, followed by 3 10 miles loops. The race was certainly low key, and didn’t actually start till about 7:40 but I nobody seemed to care.
After the first 1 mile loop, Carl stop to drop off some layers of clothes. While it had been cold and wet during the week, temperature the morning of the race was near perfect. A little chilly and humid but for the Houston area, nothing too bad. As the 50km and 20milers were in the middle of their first 10 mile loop, the 10mile and 5k race started. With the 4 races going on simultaneously it was hard to tell who was running what race, but over all there never seemed to be any congested on the trail. The 50km race leader came by soon afterwards looking strong and running at a very fast pace for the distance.
Carl finish his first loop right on the time he had expected. A quick changed of socks and shoes, and he was out for his second loop. I spent the next few hours helping out at the start/finish aid stations. Every runner was commenting on how fast the course was and seemed to be having a great time (I also learnt that the aid stations before me was passing out beer which might have helped to explain the cheerful spirit of a few runners). The Houston Area Trail Runners were there as well helping out and seemed to be well represented in the race.
The 50k leader, Joshua Pauley, finished his 3rd looped winning his first ultra in a very fast 3:32. Ill be seeing him again later in the year as we both are running the Possum Kingdom 52miler put on by Endurance Buzz Adventures. Soon afterwards, Carl finished his second loop right on time and stilled looked strong. After another sock and shoe change, and getting some calories in, he was back off to start his finally loop. I was surprise to see him still moving so well after 20miles. While he was finishing his final loop, more of the 50k and 20mile racers finish, each adding to celebrations at the finish line where race organizers had typically Texas bar-b-que fair for the finishers. Almost on clock work, Carl came around finishing his first ever ultra. Other than some general fatigue, he seem to be in good shape and I am sure he’ll be wanting to run something even longer fairly soon.
Outside of helping out at the Piney Woods race this weekend, my training this week has been focused on getting ready for my first race of the season, the Cross Timbers 50mile Trail Run next weekend. I'm not sure what to expect as far as course/terrain goes, so I haven't set any goals for myself for the race other than to finish. Ill have a write-up of that race next week.
"The marathoner is by most standards a peculiar guy. He has found freedom through the acceptance of rules, has cured his loneliness with solitude, and has discovered the peace inside of pain and effort."
-George Sheehan
Ultra and trail running are possibly the quintessential solo endeavors. Participates, for the most part, run and train for hours each week alone. Our events frequently take place in remote areas where we then spend hours upon hours running through the woods, desserts, mountains, and/or general boondocks with little signs of human existence save for the oasis-like aid stations every 5 or so miles. Let one of the things that draws me to this sport is its social aspect. In every race I met several new running buddies whom I run with on and off during the day, telling jokes, sharing stories, and generally just helping each other to the finish line. We don’t think twice of about sharing our water and food or helping someone up if they fell. We just do it. This holds true from the runners barely beating the course cut-off times to the lead pack. We also make friends at aid stations with volunteers who are there for the sole purpose of helping us met our goals. Ultras and trail races become a communal efforts, with each participant helping each other reach the finish line.
This weekend I got to see this from a different perspective: as a volunteer/crew and not a runner. I traveled down to the Lake Houston Park for the Piney Woods 50km to help out my friend Carl who was running his first ultra and who has crewed for me at several races. We arrived the night before to a fairly empty park. We were both too lazy to put up our tent, so we just slept in the car. Morning came soon, and the park started to fill up. The 50km and 20 mile race both were to start together at 7:30am and each seemed to have about 30 entreats. The 50km race featured a short 1 mile loop, followed by 3 10 miles loops. The race was certainly low key, and didn’t actually start till about 7:40 but I nobody seemed to care.
After the first 1 mile loop, Carl stop to drop off some layers of clothes. While it had been cold and wet during the week, temperature the morning of the race was near perfect. A little chilly and humid but for the Houston area, nothing too bad. As the 50km and 20milers were in the middle of their first 10 mile loop, the 10mile and 5k race started. With the 4 races going on simultaneously it was hard to tell who was running what race, but over all there never seemed to be any congested on the trail. The 50km race leader came by soon afterwards looking strong and running at a very fast pace for the distance.
Carl finish his first loop right on the time he had expected. A quick changed of socks and shoes, and he was out for his second loop. I spent the next few hours helping out at the start/finish aid stations. Every runner was commenting on how fast the course was and seemed to be having a great time (I also learnt that the aid stations before me was passing out beer which might have helped to explain the cheerful spirit of a few runners). The Houston Area Trail Runners were there as well helping out and seemed to be well represented in the race.
The 50k leader, Joshua Pauley, finished his 3rd looped winning his first ultra in a very fast 3:32. Ill be seeing him again later in the year as we both are running the Possum Kingdom 52miler put on by Endurance Buzz Adventures. Soon afterwards, Carl finished his second loop right on time and stilled looked strong. After another sock and shoe change, and getting some calories in, he was back off to start his finally loop. I was surprise to see him still moving so well after 20miles. While he was finishing his final loop, more of the 50k and 20mile racers finish, each adding to celebrations at the finish line where race organizers had typically Texas bar-b-que fair for the finishers. Almost on clock work, Carl came around finishing his first ever ultra. Other than some general fatigue, he seem to be in good shape and I am sure he’ll be wanting to run something even longer fairly soon.
Outside of helping out at the Piney Woods race this weekend, my training this week has been focused on getting ready for my first race of the season, the Cross Timbers 50mile Trail Run next weekend. I'm not sure what to expect as far as course/terrain goes, so I haven't set any goals for myself for the race other than to finish. Ill have a write-up of that race next week.
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