Carl Touchstone 50K - my first podium!

This was my second time to run in the Carl Touchstone 50K (aka MS 50). The race features three distances: 20K, 50K, and 50 miles. I ran the 50 miles last year but since I was using this as a training run to peak for the Vermont 100 in July, I opted for the 50K this year.

I decided to camp at the start/finish this year with Stacy, Mann, and Mandy. There is plenty of space to camp, but it is primitive camping only. I recalled last year arriving at the start/finish the day before the race around 4:00 p.m. and it being almost completely empty. This year, however, was a different story. This race is run on the Longleaf "Horse" Trail in the DeSoto National Forest in Mississippi. The key word in the preceding sentence is "horse" because when we arrived at camp we felt like we were at some type of horse commune. The place was packed with horses, trailers, campers, etc. We were treated to various horse sounds for much of the night.

After setting up camp, Stacy and I went into town to pick up the various items each of us left at home. We returned to camp to eat and sip on a cold beverage. Mann and Mandy came back after the pre-race pasta dinner. We visited for a while and then each headed off to bed until morning.

We were up by 4:00, dressed by 5:30, and racing by 6:00. It was fairly warm when we woke up, a sign of a very warm day to come. The National Forest Service was doing burns in the area, so the race course had to change at the last minute. Hats off to Dennis and the other race volunteers for making the needed changes and updating the website promptly. Basically it meant we would run an additional out and back on each loop that we had not run in previous years. For the 50K, our first loop was a 16.7 mile loop and the final loop was 15.2 (yeah, I know, that adds up to 31.9, or .8 more than a 50K . . . what can I say? We got the extra .8 free with our race fee).

The race starts in the dark, but a headlamp is not needed because light is fast approaching and we run on nice wide, pine trails for a nice stretch. We then took a left for the first of two out-and-back sections. This first out-and-back was wide and wet. There were several creek crossings that were wide enough that you just had to hammer through them and let the shoes drain later. I felt really good the whole first lap. I hooked up with a fellow Starkvillian, Steve Elder. He and I chatted a bit as we clicked the miles away. We were both running strong and feeling good. We went out with a group of 8 or 9 runners. The front 3 or 4 quickly distanced themselves from us and we settled in in that next group. We leap frogged a couple of guys several times.

Steve and I finished the first section in 2:25, which is about 8:40 a mile. While we were on the 2nd, shorter loop, Steve mentioned that he had run a sub-3 hour marathon. It was about this time that I realized I was an idiot for trying to run with him. While I'm in pretty decent shape, I am not a sub-3 hour marathoner, at least I don't feel like one. Predictably, Steve started to stretch it out in front of me some. Also, I started to get just a little nauseated. It was getting insanely hot for this time of year. The temperature was in the 70's already and it was still early morning. I made a rookie mistake of running out of water between aid station 1 and 2. Fortunately I was without for only a short time. I am still tinkering with my sodium intake. I used Nuun for this race for the first time, and really like it.

By this point it was just survival. I was trying to be cautious and not hammer too hard. I would be conservative on some uphills and run the downhills. This seemed to work well, and kept me in the game for a while. Mentally I was just working on the constant forward motion mantra. I knew I was in the top 5 at this point, but not sure whether I was 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th. When I got to the last aid station, I was fairly certain I was not going to catch Steve, but badly wanted to make sure no one caught me. I continued walking the uphills and running the downhills. I kept thinking "what if someone passes me and it is for 3rd place." As I approached the final half mile I made my last look behind me. Seeing no one, I stepped it up and ran as hard as I could, finishing in 5:01.36, a personal best by 46 minutes, good enough for 3rd place. Had it been a traditional 50K (31.1 miles), I would have broken 5 hours. I was shooting for 5:15-5:30, so I was very pleased, especially considering the heat - it was close to 80 at this point.

Running another great race, Mann was not far behind. Mandy finished her first 50K in under 6 hours, no small feat in that Mississippi heat. Stacy pulled out a top 25 finish as well.

Several other Starkville runners braved the heat Saturday, all running the 50 mile race. Candy ran her first 50 miler and finished in 8:40, good enough for 4th female. Cade notched his second 50 mile finish at MS50. Becky ran a great race, but the heat made it tough and she ultimately dropped down to the 50K somewhere late in the race.

Tim Fromm, from New Mexico, ran strong the entire race, winning the 50K comfortably in 4:21.59. Local favorite, John Brower, defended his title winning the 50 mile race in 7:21 - 20 minutes ahead of second place John Cobbs of Alabama. Kris Whorton was the 1st female 50 miler in 8:05. Lisa Dahl, Minnesota, won the women's 50K in 5:30. Full results are here.

All-in-all, a great day on the trails with friends.

UPDATE: After returning home and unpacking my car, I found an oval "Ford" keychain with 2 Ford keys on there. I feel awful thinking about someone looking for these keys, but have no clue who they belong to or how they got in my truck floor board. If you have any clue, please email me or leave a comment here.