A
Report from RD Jim |
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Planning for this year's run started back in September, 2003 with the approval of our Temporary Land Use Permit. Once again, we had a large number of returning runners, many were here for their 3rd Wakely, and two, Inge and Rich, have been with us since the first Wakely when 9 runners (and some misplaced Kenyans) explored this course for the first time. Once again the run sold out within days of posting the open registration form. 45 people made it to the starting line and 45 people successfully completed the 4th annual event.... some more successfully than others. The
Wakely Crew arrived at the dam early on Tuesday afternoon to secure a
choice camping spot on the far side of the dam. This paid off as all
of the runners who wanted to camp out at the dam were able to find a spot
with us when they arrived Thursday and Friday. We had two days of
sunny and hot weather and took advantage of the location with a strenuous
hike up Mt. Snowy just south of Indian Lake and some fishing in the Cedar
River and the flow. Then the rain started again with some steady
wetness on Thursday and Friday. But all that ended Friday night and
Saturday morning arrived with cool and dry conditions. At 4:00AM the bus arrived (15 minutes early!). Runners were signed in and our bus and our van were off to Piseco by 4:35AM. When the van arrived at the intersection to Rt. 8, the bus was no where in sight. Flashbacks of last year's bus problems crept in... turns out the bus had to make a stop in the bushes to answer the call of nature.... where's Mom to nag us to go before we leave? After a few words at the start, the race began at 6:35AM under a rising sun. All of the preparations were complete and the success of this year's run was in the hands (and feet) of each runner - all bringing to Wakely their own personal goals for completing this 32.6 miles of the Northville Placid Trail. My run was unremarkable except for the fact that it was unremarkable. My
knees felt great, my chronic Plantar Fasciitis nagged but did not
shout.... and my hydration system did not fail. I was thankful for
the miles I was able to spend with some of this year's runners.
Following Wendy and Lindsey proved too distracting resulting in a face
plant in the mud. So I tried to push ahead. Around mile 14
Mark Justh passed me full of energy. A mile later I caught up with
Mark and he advised me that he had a badly sprained ankle but would push
on. The trail was muddier than I've ever seen it, but a skilled
runner could avoid a wet foot if he worked at it... and I hate wet feet so
I always took the long way around standing water. Lindsey passed me on the up hills, but I was able to catch her on the down hills until she powered her way out of sight. I did some passing myself for the rest of the race running the grassy road with Mike Erickson and Jay Yanovich. Jay disappeared after we reached the barrier and I just can't catch what I can't see. So I settled for a steady push to the finish with the confidence that I would break my goal of a sub 7:30 finish. It was
no surprise that our professional crew had everything well in control.
I heard that Tim and Dan both broke the previous course record and that
Inge reclaimed her Wakely crown. I'm sorry that I couldn't finish
even sooner so I could have spent some time with the runners who had to
leave early, but I was glad to share stories with those still at the
finish. We waited for news on the runners still on the course.
We had Mark with his sprained ankle and heard that Magali Reports
were that they were both in good spirits and making progress. Frank
Dolen and Mike Cunningham were also making steady progress towards the
finish. Magali
The
crew cooked steaks on the fire and everyone who wanted to, joined us for a
fine meal. I was looking forward to more than a few beers with the
guys, but alas, I ended up asleep in my chair by 10PM. I'd like to
thank everyone for helping make this year's event a great success and I'm
looking forward to seeing everyone again on July 23rd, 2005! |