The Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK is in the books!

I have to begin by saying that ultramarathoners are phenomenal athletes... Sunday's Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK 50 mile relay and ultramarathon was such a fantastic experience, but I ached after running just over 10 miles, a fraction of the distance they would cover.  I remember thinking when we DROVE past the 26 mile mark that when the ultra-runners passed this point, essentially completing their first 'marathon' of the day, they (mostly) had another one left to run.  I cannot begin to imagine... 

I passed several ultra-runners during the final leg of our relay and made sure I told every one of them that I thought what they were about to accomplish was amazing.  And it was.  Everyone on the mountain encouraged the other runners around them, but I think they made an extra effort to cheer the nearly 120 men and women running the Ultra (114 finished in the allotted 12 hours).  The winning time (a new course record) was 5:33:46.  Phenomenal. 

Our team waiting for Janine at Transition Zone #1

While I am in awe of them, for me, the day was about running with seven other terrific women, having fun, and crossing the finish line before dark!  Start times were posted on Wednesday morning and our team was initially included in the 10:00am wave, setting off a moment of panic.  I love an outdoor run as much as the next girl, but we realistically thought we would need 8:30:00 to finish the course... meaning that late a start would likely leave me (as our final runner) coming down the mountain in the dark.  Plus, the course is officially shut down at 7:00pm meaning any deviation from our expectations, and we might not finish. When they moved our start time up by half-an-hour, I felt much better.

Coming into Transition Zone #4

I had two legs (of twelve) to run - the first, a 6.2 mile run that is described as "gently rolling, with several long hills".  The longest is just over a mile in distance and includes a roughly 500 foot rise in elevation.  I ran it back in September, when I was just getting my running legs back under me and it kicked my ass.

While it was still a tough leg for me, it went so much better than I expected... The run I thought would take 1:15:00 instead took only 1:04:13.

After my first run of the day was complete, I had a nearly five hour wait before my second run.  But it was such a perfect day... clear and sunny, temperatures in the high 50s, and I enjoyed every minute outside.  Cell coverage was spotty at best throughout the day, but I resisted the occasional urge to call and check on the kids.  In the end, they had a fantastic day.  Both Matt and Cathy got to and from all the activities on their busy schedules, they ate well, listened well, played nicely. 

Penn Roosevelt State Park - gorgeous fall afternoon!

I just love the light coming through the trees...

About to cross the finish line

We stayed nearly perfect on our target pace (10:00) all day thanks to some amazing runs by my teammates; when Allyson handed off to me for the final leg at 5:20pm, just 4.2 mostly downhill miles stood between us and our goal to finish before 6:00pm.
  
With the sun setting and cloud cover moving in, I was glad to be moving again.  All afternoon, we had our eye on a team called Obligated Eight and their final runner was in sight once I had the baton.  It took about two miles, but I finally caught and passed her, eventually crossing the finish line at 5:57pm... with three minutes to spare and with plenty of daylight remaining.   

We finished second in the women's mega category thanks to that pass on leg #12, 19 seconds ahead of Obligated Eight!

Even though I am glad this year's race is behind me, I am also anxious to go back out and do it again next year... I even thought of a good team name while we were still on the mountain... "Done Before Dark".  But now that I have had a few days to think about it, I've got an even better idea... "Drinking By Dark!".

Who's in with me???