Day 4,425—Ohio in the Morning—

 

Start time: 6:16 a.m.

Weather: High 40s, wind 2.7 mi/h, Humidity 78%

     I wasn’t sure how this was going to go, but I was awake at 6 and figured I should run before I do anything else. It was difficult to get going. I started shuffling tightly and wishing the rocks weren’t here. It took me .1 miles to run to where I had set up my aid the morning before. 

    I couldn’t believe how beautiful the sunrise was as I ran east down a paved path next to the campground. I wondered if any runs incorporated the paved trail system around the state parks. I began to think about how nice it is to run the paved version of these races because, in the end, the Mohican destroyed my legs with all the rocks and roots throughout the course. After the first lap, I felt like the course had only three real hills, but once I was finishing my 4th lap, I was struggling to bend my legs. 

   I haven’t looked at the bottom of my left foot, but I am confident there is a huge blister there. All of a sudden, I started experiencing pain in my ankles near the end of the race. 

   I took this picture of the sunrise while running, then turned around and went back to camp. I was dreading packing up my site and driving the 8 hours to my house, but once I sat down, I felt grateful I wasn’t running. I was amazed at how effortless most of the drive home was. 

I recorded a lot of videos of the race and have a great story to tell about my first 100-mile race in Ohio, so I will update my blog with the story this week. I am excited to include ratings in this review, and if I end up liking the result, maybe I will try to keep doing some sort of rating. I was thinking of categories like “buckle, packet, course markings, sleeping accommodations.” I have avoided doing anything like that in the past because I don’t want to publicly say anything negative about any of these races, but at the same time, from a reader’s perspective, I would enjoy a more candid recounting of my experience. I have nothing but nice things to say about the racing community at large, but there is something to be said about the different personalities I have encountered over the years at these races, so I want to include more of those details. I know that might mean I could hurt someone’s feelings, but I want to create something useful for anyone interested in running one of these races. 

Sample rating: Packet 

Rating: Does the Job

Personality: Not Showing Off 

This packet doesn’t need to offer no stinkin’ swag like samples of products that I have never heard of, nor does it bother to provide information about the community or the parks, or have stickers that we will put in a drawer and forget about. It is one recycled plastic grocery bag with the race bib and the t-shirt. The t-shirt feels soft, and the colors work beautifully; it is a nice, simple design.