Pemberton 50k: Relay

It was an early morning. Chilly. The 45 minute drive out to the park seemed long. She was runner number 2 on the relay team. MITriGirl would take the first 15.5 mile loop and she would follow with the second loop. It was a different crowd than she is used to, but the lines for the bathroom were familiar. Even in ultrarunning, people have rituals and she watched as they stretched, warmed up and got ready for the start of the Pemberton 50k. Someday she would like to do an ultra. Maybe next year she'll run the whole thing by herself. But this year she was not ready. She didn't have enough endurance mileage on her legs and the fastest she had ever run the loop was a slow 11 minute-per-mile pace.

The crowd of runners gathered under the makeshift tent and the race director yelled "GO!" And they were off. The SkirtChaser, on a relay team of his own, was there with her watching the start. After the runners disappeared onto the trail, they meandered over to the campfire to stay warm. The shared stories with other runner's and family members. After about an hour and forty minutes they began to see the first couple of runners come through to start the second loop. SkirtChaser expected his runner under two hours so he was getting ready to go. She knew she had at least two and a half hours before it would be her turn. She cheered for the runners as they came through the aid station. A small part of her was jealous that she was not out there running both loops. But it was for the best.

Just past the 2 hour 30 minute mark, she saw her runner coming down the final stretch. MITriGirl handed off her water bottle (since she forgot her own at home she would be sharing). She filled it quickly and dashed off to the trailhead. She had dreaded the running the second loop. It would be nice to be done and enjoying watching the finish line. But as she settled into a rhythm she found that because the runners were spread out over the course, she constantly had something to work at, a rabbit to try to catch. She would work at passing the runner ahead of her and then focus down the trail to the next runner. Slowly, she passed one after another after another. Before long it was dozens. This mental game kept her motivation up and kept her running strong.

The course is a gradual incline for about 5 miles, then rolling hills for about 5 miles, then the last 5 miles home is a smokin' downhill and before it flattens out to the finish. She wasn't focused on her splits necessarily but she noticed that she was running consistently under a 9 minute pace. Hmmm, she thought to herself, maybe I can run sub 2:30. She continued to make forward progress, passing other runners. She flew past the first aid station and entered the middle section of the course which she always found to be the most challenging. Her legs are usually tired from the incline and then get beat to death with the short, steep hills in the middle section. The farther she got into the loop, the harder it was to pass people because they were keeping a faster pace. This challenged her to push harder, keep her pace up. Eventually she crested the last hill and knew it was a straight shot for the finish. She let her legs fly. The faster she went, the farther she went, the looser her legs began to feel. It was nice to feel them stretch out after having tightened up on the hills.

8:30 mile. 8:30 mile. 8 minute mile. 8 minute mile. This was Boston Marathon pace. She felt like she was flying across the trail, skimming the surface. This late in the race other runners were feeling the pain of 30 miles in their legs. She flew by them like they were standing still. She felt great. She began to believe she might actually run sub-9-minute pace. On this trail. She never would have believed it was possible. This trail killed her legs in the past. Now she was in control. There was no pain. There was no giving up. There was only motivation. And spirit. And heart.

The last mile was hard. It was no longer downhill. The effort was visible. She was ready to be done. She saw the tent signaling the finish line was close. She crossed in 2:16. Her fastest Pemberton loop ever. She was happy. She was thirsty. They all stayed for the chili feed and watched the 50k runners finishing. They looked tired. And happy. They stayed for the awards. The SkirtChaser and his partner set the new course record for relay teams. It was fun, she thought. Maybe next year...