This years’s ultra pursuits kicked off with a new (to me and Patrick) format of ultrarunning that has long intrigued me: the backyard marathon. This format of racing has been popularized by Laz Lake (of Barkley Marathons fame) who puts on the Backyard Marathon championship in his own backyard in Tennessee every year. Race directors in Holly, MI were early adopters of the format and created the Ode to Laz race and several spinoffs including the 8 hour winter Ode to Snow.
Backyard Ultras consist of running the same 4.167 mile loop every hour (equalling 100 miles after 24 hours). When you finish a lap you wait around until the top of the hour and go again. Some formats are unlimited last man standing races where one person wins and everyone else gets a DNF even if they run hundreds of miles over multiple days. Some are a set number of hours. The Snode, as it’s affectionately called, was an 8 hour way to dip my toes in the mud of this format.
While this race format intrigued me, there were a couple of things working against me. 1) It takes place in the winter. This meant 8 hours of cold. I did a 50k last January and it took 6h 20m. This was going to be colder, longer. Many people set up tents and shanties with heaters but I didn’t want to mess with that so Patrick and I just used the man van. That turned out to be fine. And the temps hovered around freezing which is relatively warm for this time of year. 2) I was way under-trained. I’m still a little broken from Marji and I was sick off and on for most of December and part of January. I knew that going all 8 laps would be a stretch but I also knew that I could just quit anytime if it got too difficult. I think that’s a big part of the psychological game this format plays.
How It Went
The race started at 9:20a so the last lap would have the same amount of daylight as the last lap in the summer Ode to Laz. But, the sun doesn’t actually shine in Michigan in the winter so I’m not sure it mattered. I rolled my ankle pretty severely in the 3rd mile of the 33 mile run but I just kept running and took vitamin I a little earlier than I’d planned. (It is very sore 2 days later.) I was tired after the first loop because of my woeful training. But getting back with 15 minutes to spare was plenty of time to feel better and get back to the corral.
At the half way point I changed my shirt/sweatshirt and it felt good to be dry. I was pretty sure I’d quit after the 5th loop but then I felt unexpectedly fine for that whole lap and two other people even fell in behind us and let me keep pace. I told them they wouldn’t be following me if they knew how much I was struggling. Amanda, who we got to know because of a later ankle turn, yelled, “you’re a good leader!” That pretty much made my day.
During the 6th loop I started hitting walls. The first mile and half is very hilly with a section aptly named “stairway to heaven.” I let Pat go ahead, not knowing how I’d end that loop. I rebounded (the human body is amazing – even this one sometimes) and came in with over 10 minutes to spare. At that point I only needed to make it through the 7th loop with 1 second to spare to make it to the 8th loop which has no time limit. I decided to take my headlamp with me just in case I wouldn’t have time to make it to my van and grab it before the 8th loop (where it’s required). But I made it with over 10 minutes again. I thought I’d fall off for the last loop but finished around the 50 minute mark. Pat ran a blistering last lap good enough for 3rd place overall!
The recovery time between each lap makes this format of racing both doable and torture. Since you can quit, you think about quitting more than you would on a single loop course. Getting to start a race with cheers 8 times is 8 times better than only starting a race once. Getting soup and Vernors in between loops is great. If I was better trained I think I would have absolutely loved it. (Pat was skeptical beforehand but “dangerously” enjoyed the format.) The race directors did a great job and even though it was muddy, I can clearly see myself back on the starting line (over and over) in a race like this again.
Next up! Get stronger and faster at the 50k distance. There will be adventures between now and July 30th but the only formal race I’m doing is the Grand Island 50k in Munising at the end of July.
MI Trail Challenge 