Finish Line

Blues Cruise 50K 2013

October 6, 2013

Distance : 31 miles
Finish : 5:38:29
Pace : 10:55
Rank : #61 (overall)

Somehow we thought the race started at 8.30, so when we arrived there at 7.50, we basically dropped off our bag, get the BIB, and ran. Joe and I literally started from the very back of the starting line. Joe did not have water till aid station #1 and he was using button up shirt till the finish line. I, on the other hand, was kinda in a rush mode and ran too fast for my first part of 10 miles, and had to pay the price on the last 10 miles. Oh and off course, I got off the trail cuz when I was eating my M&M and did not pay attention on the trail mark, I got an extra free mile (maybe .5 mile). And for Jess, somehow she was having fun, though she got bloody knee. But we are happy folks at the finish line. One of my favorite race organizer.

Pictures by Jim Blandford

Course Info
We run the Blues Cruise clockwise on even years and counter-clockwise on uneven years.

Course description for counter-clockwise directions: (uneven years)
The race starts at the pavilion at the Day-Use-Area. After a short stint on the road (about 1/3 mile) you will turn onto trails. The next 3 miles are mostly rolling single track and you will lose net-elevation until you arrive at Aid station #1.

Mile 4 to Mile 10: (Aid station # 3 — RATS NEST) features mostly single track and is considered the flattest and fastest section of the race.

Mile 10 to Mile 15: The real race starts at Mile 10!!! Climb up the ski slope hill (approx 300 ft climb) followed by a mix of rolling single track and wider gravel roads.

Mile 15 to Mile 25: This section is the most remote section of the trail system. Great views of the lake and the Pennsylvania hills. Great single track trails with rolling hills. None of these hills are super steep or long, however this section features a lot of these hills and they will take their toll if you run them too hard.

Mile 19 : (Gear drop location) Major creek crossing. Creek is about 50 ft wide and usually knee-deep. A volunteer will be there to assist you. Your drop back will be delivered to that location so you can change into dry shoes and socks if you wish.

Mile 25 – 30: Mix of single track and wider faster gravel sections.

Mile 30: Longest climb (approx) 1 mile of the race however not as steep as the ski slope hill. Finish: Nice little 1/3 Mile downhill on the road to the finish

Course description for clockwise directions:(even years)
The race starts at the pavilion at the Day-Use-Area. After a short stint on the road (about 1/3 mile) you will turn onto trails. After a short climb you hit a 1.5 mile downhill section to the stilling basin (lowest elevation of the race). The section from the stilling basin to the 1st aid station (mile 4) consists mostly of a gravel trail with little elevation changes. Mile 4 to Mile 16 (Aid station # 4 – Magarithaville) features mostly single track and many small hills. Each hill by itself is not difficult, since all of these climbs are less that 150 ft of elevation. However this section features a lot of these hills and they will take their toll if you run them too hard. The next 3 miles feature a mix of single track and some wide gravel trails. At Mile 19 you meet the infamous Ski slope Hill. Almost 300 ft of elevation gain will reduce most of us regular folks to walking. Once you conquered the ski slope hills who have a long flat and fast section ahead of you. Mile 20 to 25 is mostly flat. This section can help you to conserve energy for the final push or help you to make some time. The hills are picking up again halfway between aid station #6 and #7. Aid station #7 is located at mile 27.5. The last section is all single track and hilly. The new course is more challenging than the original out and back, but we believe it is a fair course and doable for anyone who is prepared properly.

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Run 10 Feed 10 – 2013

September 22, 2013

Distance : 6.2 miles
Finish : 00:43:14
Pace : 06:58
Rank : #23 (overall)

Before the race, I was a bit nervous that I might not well prepared for a fast short race. I have been training to run slower pace to get a longer distance for the whole year. But not sure what was getting into me, I was just flying when I hit the West Side Highway, and ran around 7 min pace or below. I believe I made myself a PR that I would not be able to break it for a quite sometime.
The out and back course was pretty cool, since I could see my friends who also ran in that race that day, Emerson and Kristin.

The Route
The race started at Pier 84, and ran on the West Side Highway for about 3 miles down, then back up on the Hudson River bike/walk path to the finish line at the Pier 84

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Super Spartan Tri State NJ 2013

September 8, 2013

Distance : 8-9 miles of the gnarly, rugged and extreme.
Finish : 1:54:33
Rank : #79 (overall)

This year was much easier than last year, and also, we lost a few cool obstacles. We did not have the monkey bar, cliff jumps, rope crossing over the river, and more.
I was not training at all for this race. I just ran a lot. So my plan was, I would kill my time on my running and would take my time on every obstacle nice and easy. And I knew I would pass the Hercules weight pull, from last year experience, the weight + gravity was about the same as my weight. I was dragged and pulled back up by the weight.
The race started with a quarter-mile of a steep uphill, I ran it till I passed everyone in my starting wave, and continue on the trail. Everything went like I was planned to, even on the highest wall, I could jump over it pretty easy. The funny part was, I had a hard time with the giant truck tire, and found out there was a huge rock inside it. The one that pissed me of was I fell on the climbing wall, that was supposed to be my second best strength after trail running, and it was not even difficult traversing. But overall I was pretty happy with my finishing time.

Race Description
The Super Spartan obstacle race provides an 8+ MILES / 20+ OBSTACLES battlefield of insane mud running with 15 or more obstacles to test your physical strength and mental resolve. This mud fest of a race will have many trials to push you to your limits that any man or woman with resolve can complete! This endurance race consists of mud runs, trails, and both mental and physical obstacles and challenges. The good news is that after you complete your painful journey, there will be live music and a catered meal to soothe your aching joints.

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The 2013 Baker Trail UltraChallenge

August 24, 2013

Distance : 50 mile (got lost so many times that ended up 57 Miles)
Finish : 12:12:40
Pace : 14:39
Rank : #40 (overall)

This race was actually not a full trail running race, I would say more than half of the route was on the road or on the jeep road. I hate to say, this was my least favorite race.

Lets start with I don’t favor.
The trail probably the most ill-marked race I ever ran. I know getting lost on the trail is part of the fun. But getting lost on the race day because of silly reason such as confusing trail mark, trail marked is not exist in a junction, etc, it s a bit un-acceptable. I have been in many races like in Terrapin Mountain 50K, Blue Cruise 50K, Pinhoti 100, and Nueces 50mile; where the race organizer were simply put an arrow chalk mark on the ground and that made a huge different and a simple solution. On the other hand we did not have that fancy mark in this Baker Trail race. In one point I was running around for 15 minutes, from trying to figure it out by myself till a good amount people caught up with me and got lost too, probably it ended up a good of 20 runners. I ended up had about 7 extra miles.
Also we did not have the map and route description until the last day, actually received the map and got the course brief just before we start. It would be a big help if we have it in advance, so that we could study it first and make a mental or physical note.

What I do like
Actually it s a pretty good trail, we passed many different areas and neighborhoods. So it was never a boring course. It s not an easy trail, so it made me to keep focus and put aside my frustration of getting lost so many times. The volunteer, so many times they lifted up my spirit and bring back my determination to finish it. I think on the second last aid station, I was pretty sure that I did not want to continue, because I was too upset with the course mark. And there was an old lady who offer me a grilled cheese sandwich, asked me to sit down and took my time, she tried to cheered me up while she was grilling fresh sandwiches for the other runners. After a few minutes, I got up and ran again. Man, I owed that mysterious old lady.
All the aid stations were well stocked, one of the aid station named themselves “Walmart”, they did have everything, except porter steak that I asked them.
They also had one of the best post race meal. That spicy chili beans bowl was epic.
Every year, the finisher only gets 1/3 of the medal piece, and needs to finish 3 years in a row to get the whole medal. Actually this is the only reason that I might run this race again.

Godfrey (0 miles)	AS2 Dam Road (11.4 miles)	AS4 Ridge Road (21.1 miles)	AS6 Route 422 (29 miles)	AS9 Matty Road (40.3 miles)	Smicksburg (50 miles)
6:43:00	8:44:17	10:58:22	12:36:00	15:34:44	18:55:40

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Deep Pond Sprint Triathlon 2013

August 17, 2013

Finish : 1:57:48
Swim : 40:15
Bike : 46:41
Run : 23:41

This was probably the worst performance that I have ever done. Big part of it, was the swimming part. Not only it is my least favorite sport in the world, but also I was not well prepared for my swimming training. I was probably one of the last 10 persons who came out from the Lake.

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