There was a requirement for each runner to have their own crew so one of my good ultra-friends crewed for the run. The starting point was in a small parking lot by the lake, and the runners then crossed a road, went over a fence, and on to single track trail. The crew access areas were between 6 and 14 miles apart for the runners, but because of the remote locations for Florida, it took the crew a good 45 minutes to caravan from one station to the next at times. I honestly believe that the crew had more fun hanging out and waiting for the runners to come through than the runners had on the course!
Most of the people in the race are members of the Florida Ultra Runner (FUR) Facebook group, and the race turned into a little bit of an East Coast vs. West Coast (of Florida) competition complete with old school east and west coast rap references and perhaps a couple of mildly inappropriate pictures posted on the Facebook event page. The West Coast folks even had t-shirts made so they definitely won the team spirit award!
The race was also stacked with talent. There were 3 or 4 race directors of other Florida ultras and the only 3 folks who finished the 200 miles at the crazy Wickham Park Marathon run a week and a half prior where the prize for the 100 mile male and female winners are fake pebbles, and the 200 mile winner gets a fake rock...
The race was close enough to home that we could get there without having to get a hotel room the night before. We rolled up to the packed parking at 5:30 in the morning to hear Snoop Dog and other various west coast rap artists being played loudly in the parking lot. After greeting friends and meeting a few new ones it was time to get going. The race director had a pre-race meeting to talk about the course and safety issues. It was required that all the runners carry a whistle in case they got off course. If you got lost, you were to blow your whistle 3 times. Anyone within earshot was supposed to blow their whistle one time in response, and then you could find each other out on the trail. There were rumors of a recent runner getting lost out there and then found at 11:00PM up in a tree in a deer stand he found and where he figured he would have to hunker down for the evening until the sun came up the next day. I definitely understood after getting lost on the course the last time I ran it, and was relieved to have ran the entire course over the last month or so.
After the safety briefing, the race got started and we were off. The plan was to push a little harder on the easier course sections, and take it easy on the wet and hard sections, which were mile 20-30 (wet) and 50-60 (sandy+hills). The biggest areas of concern were mainly the wet section followed by the longer sections without aid due to the heat. The temperature got up to the mid 90's and the heat index was even hotter.
The first section of the course was relatively easy running with conversation and groups together. There was a spot that was a little confusing and you could make a left or right. When a group of us got to that intersection, we actually heard someone sound their whistle 3 times. A couple of us sounded back but no response. I hung back for a few minutes, and then saw a couple of other runners headed my direction who had run the course before. If the person sounded again, they could pick him or her up. Turns out that one of the runners got off course and ended up back at the starting point.
The first crew area was 14 miles in. Aside from a whistle and a crew, there was a requirement to carry between 70 and 100 ounces of water due to the heat and distance between crew access. After running out of water on the first section I was very happy to get to the crew spot.
The next 7 miles to the crew spot was relatively uneventful, no major issues except that it was getting hotter out. The biggest mistake of the race for me was not taking in enough water at the first and second aid stations because of the heat.
I rolled out of the second crew area for a 9 mile run which had some water, and it was the section that had me worried the most. The water wasn't too horrible but it was there, and this time no water moccasins.
After a good half hour at the crew area it was time to head out. I was able to pick up the pace for a while to get to the next two stops. 15 miles later we passed through Riverbend Park and arrived at a crew stop. It was time to bring out the headlamp, and get ready for the last section because it was starting to get dark. A few people had recently left the crew area so I was going to try and catch them.
For a comparison, the my last 100K trail time was 12:37 and if not for a few minor fueling errors it could have been closer to a sub 12 hour 100K. The finish time for this one was exactly 4 hours longer, 16:37. It was about 65 degrees warmer and the heat and humidity took it's toll.
To sum it up it was the hardest race for me to date and I was lucky to be one of the 7 official finishers. The East vs West Coast rivalry was not settled, but next year I'm sure it will be just as fun and we will finally have a winner, I'm calling East Coast as of right now!
Andrew Barret won the race, he's a super fast West Coast guy and here is his amazing report also!
http://www.a2ultra.blogspot.com/2014/06/lake-to-ocean-100k-june-7-2014.html
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