Vermont 50 Report

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Artex

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May 16, 2004
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Location
Southern Maine
Distance: 50 miles
Time: 9:56:56

I had two main goals prior to this race. First was to finish. Second was to finish in under 10 hours. I am beyond happy that I accomplished both on a course that was very challenging and well beyond any distance I had ever run before.

So much cool stuff happened during this race and it seems impossible to describe it all on a step-by-step basis. But I seriously had a great time throughout the race. I felt strong physically and mentally the entire time and couldn't be happier with how it all went.

The race got underway at 6:35am. Prior to the start, my friend Chris and I both admitted to each other at how nervous we were. But once the race started and I was running, I was having a really great time running with Chris, my other friend John, and various other runners.

The course itself was very scenic. We ran through really neat forests and along beautiful country farms and on the higher elevations, we had great views of the mountains and hills that rose up from the countryside. Very roughly half of the course was on trails and the other half on dirt roads, all of which was very hilly.

Fortunately, the weather forecasts were a bit off and it didn't rain all day like it had seemed it might. Instead, it was really hot and humid in the morning. Then the skies opened up later with heavy rains, thunderstorms and lightning. That made the trails muddy and a bit slickery, but hey, all part of the fun. I was loving all of it.

During the last 5 miles, I flip flopped on whether I was going to be able to break 10 hours or not. During the uphill stretches, I pretty much resigned that it'd be nearly impossible. But during the last few miles, the trails smoothed out and were flat to downhill and very easy to run on. I dug down deep and booked it. Soon, I was running across the ski trails on top of the mountain near the finish line and could hear the festivities below. Then, I reached a clearing that veered left and down to the finish line. I booked it the last few hundred yards in a full out sprint! It was nice to have enough energy at the end to do so.

One of the many other highlights was seeing Stinkyfeet who was volunteering at one of the aids stations thirty-something miles in (she had run a 100-miler a few weeks ago). It was also great to see her again at the finish line along with Cruddy Toes, who competed in the 50K event.

A great time for sure!

Full results here (note how fast the top runners finished. amazing)

-Jamie
 
spencer said:
Congratulations, Jamie! That's pretty damn impressive...



Was that Sherpa John? He ran it, too, right? I heard he ran it in a great time...

spencer


I saw him there, but I was refering to another John when I wrote that. But Sherpa John ran a good race as well.

Drew and Sarah were also there. I really appreciated them cheering me on.
 
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Sherpa John did a 10:32, a pretty damn fine time as well. My two friends who competed in the bike race had mixed results. Junko beat Jamie, but not by much. :eek: Eugene did a nasty endo and came up with a broken collar bone. :(

Great job, what an event!

-dave-
 
An incredible run in under 10 hours. Absolutely amazing! I'm certain I can not even hike 50 miles in a day. Let alone run it. Outstanding!!
 
[To anyone who thinks this doesn't belong on a "hiker board," I can assure everyone that, in addition to running, there was plenty of HIKING (walking) being done on the beautiful trails and dirt roads of Windsor, W. Windsor, and Hartland, Vermont, yesterday!] :D

Ahem.

A great time was had at the 2006 version of the Vermont 50 miler!! Except for a rather brief rain shower, this year's event was perhaps the warmest on record. The rain was a welcome sight for most of the runners as far as the cooling effect; however, the resultant mud made for diminished traction and lots of gunked up derailers. :( (But if you want to talk MUD, let me tell you about the 2003 race...) :rolleyes:

Congratulations to Artex, who finished his first 50 miler in fine time, especially after never before having set foot on any part of the course. :) The White Mtn. hiking community was well represented in both the 50 miler and the 50k, with strong finishes by Cruddytoes; Mike Micucci, owner of Gorham's Moriah Sports; Doug Mayer of RMC notoriety; Kat Fiske, USFS ranger/skier/massage therapist extraordinaire; Andrew "Traildog" Thompson, holder of the current Appalachian Trail speed record (and the only person I know to have climbed Owls Head in winter carrying only a bagel and a coffee mug) :eek: ; my good friend and ADK frequenter Patrick Wheatley from Quebec, and many others. (Apologies to anyone I inadvertently omitted.)

Also, big congrats to my Montrail teammates Leigh Schmitt and Todd Walker, first and fourth place in the 50 miler respectively!!

After missing only the inaugural 1993 event and finishing the VT50 twelve times (10 times running, twice mtn. biking) and having just run Angeles Crest in the San Gabriel Mtns. of California the weekend before, THIS year I spent race day working the "Fallon's" aid station--mile 38 for the 50 milers, 19 for the 50k'ers. With 700+ mtn. bikes :eek: coming through in addition to 100+ runners, we kept very busy--heck, we worked our butts off! Since Fallon's was pretty late in the race, people had gotten rather strung out by that point. I stayed until most of the runners had passed through but then had to get to the finish line as I had all of Cruddytoes' stuff in my car and wanted to be there when he finished the 50k. (I was a tad bit late. Oops. He gave me his meal ticket anyway. Thanks Cruddy!) :D A grand time was had at the finish line, sitting in the sun, eating, drinking beer, watching people finish, and reconnecting with old friends, including an appearance by our own Suebiscuit.

The VT 50 was started by Laura Farrell in 1993 as both a mtn. bike AND running race, although I believe the first year only one or two mtn. bikers attempted it. Hard to believe now! The race benefits the Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports Foundation http://www.vermontadaptive.org/ and is their main fundraiser of the year. (They also put on the VT 100 in July.) If any VFTTers are contemplating running one of these things, I highly recommend starting with the 50k. Cutoffs are generous, and the aid stations are top notch. Put in on the calendar for next year! :)
 
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Awesome running Jamie!! Impressive time : )
Most definitely putting this on my list of to do's : )
kmac
 
<mod hat>
Sorry guys, I'm going to close down this thread. We're trying to avoid race results as trip reports, even though this is clearly an exceptional race. This is no reflection on Artex (or Stinkyfeet) who did an amazing job.

If anyone has any questions about this policy, please direct them to one of the mods via PM.

-dave-
</mod hat>
 
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