Lynch's Woods 50k - hosted by race director Terri Hayes was my final 32 mile race before the "official" training begins for the Iron Horse 100 miler in February. My training has been very laid back & slack since the Laurel Valley 35 mile race at the beginning of August. I have put in a few runs around 14 miles, but nothing longer. My friends Wayne & Kyle came up from Georgia and stayed at my place the night before the race. We had a 30 minute drive down to Newberry & easily found Lynch's Woods park. This has been the easiest race to find so far! A nice change from being lost on mountain roads minutes before the race begins...David, Wayne, Mark, Jason @ Start
Jason w/the GUTS crowd before the race...
The race director gave us instructions for the course at 7:15 and we were off & running at 7:30. About 60 runners were running this event which consisted of a 4.25 mile loop around a dirt road, about a mile lollipop out-n-back and then four loops around a single track trail which added up to a 50k. I never really understood the entire race route, but it was marked so well I could easily stay the course.
I started out slow on the dirt road loop and lots of runners took off fast. The 4.25 mile road portion went by really fast since I was jawing with lots of old and new friends.
Friendly horse on the trail...
I caught up with a nice husband & wife couple from Charlotte, NC running their first ultra on the lollipop section of the course. I think we ran a little extra on this part and ended up back on the road with this horse checking us out.We quickly found the trail back to the main aid station which was also the start/finish. From here the race takes you on four identical single track trail loops through Lynch's Woods. I haven't ran many trails, but this one was extremely zig-zaggy. At one point I felt like I was running through a pylon obstacle at football training camp. There was serious fun to be had & I can't wait to go back and try it again. I was not expecting the large amount of ups & downs either. They were not huge, but kept coming at me all day long. By the end of the last lap I pulling myself up and down the little hills and my lack of training was slapping me in the face. On the other hand, I had a blast running the course with so many great runners. I ran most of the final lap alone until I was "chicked" by by Kim Pike & then "Ray'd" by David Ray. It was great to see them both finishing strong & it helped me to stay focused on finishing. Thanks again to Terri Hayes and her great volunteers who pulled off another memorable ultra!
Coming into the finish @ 6:58!
High fives for the family @ the finish!
Mark, Wayne, & Jason @ the finish. It looks like Wayne is giving me the birdie, but he wasn't!
Next up - FATS 40 mile race in October!
Great job, Jason! I too had a good time at the Lynch's Woods 50k, though my quads are telling me otherwise at the moment. I caught up with you at the end of the fourth lap. Good luck with your training for the 100-miler.
ReplyDeleteCongrats! You make it sound so easy!!
ReplyDeleteYou did great, Jason! I was pushing for a sub-7 finish at the end when I went by you and I didn't remember how far it was to the finish. Very nice to meet the family too! I'll have pics and report up soon.
ReplyDeleteGood report and congrats. You continue to be an inspiration for me.
ReplyDeleteThis was my toughest race so far. I have ran more difficult courses, but this one took a toll on me. Great course though!
ReplyDeleteGood job. Took a toll on you how?
ReplyDelete@ Coach -
ReplyDeleteFor some reason the zig-zag trail and loops were tough on me. Like I said before, I have ran tougher terrain and felt better after finishing. I underestimated this race because it was in Newberry, SC and not up in the mountains. Lesson learned: Never underestimate a race.