At right you will find a list of a few names I liked from those suggested. Take a moment to vote for the one you like. More info about the event....
Settled on a date - Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010. The week after Governor's and the day after Hawk Hustle.
Mapped out a 6 mile out and back loop from the lower parking lot to the upper campground. Lots of really fun hills. Cause hills are our friends. Some stairs, some steep, most runable. About 1000 ft of elevation gain/loss every 6 miles if I recall. Scenic in the fall. Well maintained trail. No cross country bramble scramble.
Low key, laid back late fall event. T-shirts optional, minimal entry fee.
Fundraiser to build a playground at the park for kids. ;-)
All welcome. Do any distance you want from 1-5 loops. Say up to 30 mi or 50k distance.
Ultra finishers (more than 26.2 mi) get your names and times in Ultrarunning Magazine.
Bathrooms at both ends.
Self service aid stations at start and 3 mi turnaround. Real food.
Hope to get this on CBRC and Muscatine running calendars. Get some brochures made up. All in my spare time.
As I remember a number of friends today running marathons this spring, a reminder of why this event is important. A struggle of east vs. west, Persia against Athens of Greece in 490 BC. The Persians were stopped at the gates of Europe on the Plain of Marathon. If it had gone the other way, the last 2500 years of history would have been very different. Forget democracy, the Enlightenment. Think tyranny and despotism. This is an old, traditional view of history, but one with a lot of truth in it.
Unforeseeing one! Yes, he fought on the Marathon day:
So, when Persia was dust, all cried "To Akropolis!
Run, Pheidippides, one race more! the meed is thy due!
'Athens is saved, thank Pan,' go shout!" He flung down his shield,
Ran like fire once more: and the space 'twixt the Fennel-field
And Athens was stubble again, a field which a fire runs through,
Till in he broke: "Rejoice, we conquer!" Like wine thro' clay,
Joy in his blood bursting his heart, he died--the bliss!
For those all day runs, a little Johnny Cash is recommended. And a couple of running podcasts. This one from Running Times by Max King supports an article from the June issue. Turning an off pavement run into a speed workout. Like dancing (not me!), you gotta know what to do with your feet....nothing too technical or you risk falls.
Checked the weather radar at about 4 am, and things were looking pretty good...30 to 40 some degrees. "Breezy" 20 mph wind gusting to 30 mph. Warmer than Mobile Marathon in January (17 deg with 20 mph wind.) I have gotten a bit better at running in the rain, but it is still not my favorite.
An ultra is really course specific. One "flat and fast" marathon can translate nicely to another locale, but every one of these off pavement frolics in the forest is a bit different.
Ice Age is a very well "run" event. It's one of the oldest ultras in the nation, celebrating it's 29th year in the southern Kettle Moraine State Forest. The race covers part of the 1000 mile Ice Age Trail system, that marks the southern limits of the last big glaciers covering North American over 10,000 years ago. The glaciers melted back, leaving behind rocks and sand and hills and lakes. (We the people of Illinois and Iowa would like to thank Wisconsin for sending much of your fertile black soil our way.)
The ladies I went with had a great time, and finished strong in their first 50 mile effort. We made a pact to stay together. No one left behind. We had trained for months for this, and were going to finish as we had trained.
No wrong turns (on the trail)....plenty of white paint on the ground marking the turns. Lots of food and closely spaced aid stations...every 5 miles or so fuel and hydration. Not every minute a rolling barrel of laughs, but this distance is about overcoming, enduring. This isn't a 5k....you're sorta out there for a while.
Weather....rain after mile twenty, followed by alternating bouts of sleet, rain and hail. Particularly as we crested un-protected ridge lines. "Look at that view!"....then a little sun, punctuated by more wind and frozen pellets of goodness from heaven.
The first 10 miles on the Nordic Loop were well groomed, grassy cross country ski trails. Once we got on the Ice Age trail, the remaining 40 was mostly single track, up and down continuous. Almost 7000 ft of elevation change, which is mighty impressive for the midwest. I heard cries of "Look, another hill...how Wonderful!" from the ladies. Perhaps something else was intended, but that is what I heard. Hard of hearing, this old masters runner is. Can't tell the difference between 50k and 50 miles either.
Good times. Great friends. A huge thanks and debt of gratitude to our families and spouses for tolerating this mostly healthy obsession, especially on Mother's Day weekend. We all have kids and significant others, and could not do it without the support. Thanks to all.
Urgent shout out from Paul Schmidt, Cornbelt Running Club President. I often volunteer, but am one of the guilty out of town runners that day. See below. Please help if you can. Races don't happen without volunteers.
-Larry
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I'm in a bind- so many people are out of town this year for traffic
control coverage for the QC Distance Classic that we're very short of help.
Will you get the word out to QC Runner and Muscatine groups asking for
volunteers for this Sunday? We'll gladly accept runners spouses, friends, & family members.
At this point we can still use 20 people- that's a lot to find on short notice.
The flip side is that entrants are noticeably higher than last year and that
was a good year, too.
Please have anyone interested in helping contact our coordinators, Joyce and Alan,
copied on this email, and myself as soon as possible.
On a leisurely 10k jaunt tonight, my running partner starts to wonder aloud if anyone had ever qualified for Boston on a 400 m oval track? No idea, I said. But I'll Google it. Fresh from counting laps at the Cornbelt 24 hr run, idea fresh I suppose. He wants to re-qualify. Bad.
That's a someday dream for this Masters runner. I just have to get a bit older. And not get slower. There are mountains to climb and forests to frolic in until then.
Odd marathons exist. The closest thing I can find is the InStep Icebreaker Marathon up in Milwaukee, held every January at an indoor ice arena on a 450 m track. The race FAQ says they are still waiting on finding out if this is a Boston Qualifier or not.
A small event, limited to perhaps 100 people. Fills fast if I recall from last winter. Some video and race reports from their blog. Chip timed, I note, with human lap counter backup. I would think the bloody chip would be all you need someday. Hard to keep track of people, especially if they change clothes at uber long event. Many, many volunteers required for lap events like 24 hr run or Howl at the Moon 8 hr Ultra over in Danville. I am guessing more volunteers than runners, for an odd change of race statistics.
For those who have never seen this, let me set the scene. Imagine running around a 400 m high school track. For an entire 24 hr day. Yes, it's a bit of a mental thing by that point. The 29th Annual Cornbelt Running Club 24 Hour Run. Brought to you by many dedicated volunteers, particularly organizers like Karl Ungurean, Mick Harper and Rus Hart.
I was a lap counter for a few hours this past Saturday. Great kudos to friend Michele Hall, who ran 77.68 mi. on her first time at this event. A survivor in so many ways. A new female record set by a lady from Chicago at 123.61 mi, overall winner Jennifer Aradi. And another hat's off to the great 'Badwater' Bonnie Busch, QC first lady of ultra running with another 100 mi plus performance. A great day for the ladies.
