Signed up for this race many months ago, back in the spring after the
Clinton Lake 30 mile. Same Race Director Bob O'Brien from Champaign area and the
Second Wind Running Club.
I really wasn't thinking too much about this event too much in advance. Got busy in work, family activities. Build for Tahoe Rim 100 was in the first half of the year. Quad Cities Marathon was in September....volunteer and participant. Then there is that little race at Wildcat Den on November 13th.
Drove over on Friday night, and found a nice Italian restaurant in Peoria area. This is eastern Illinois. I went to school in this neck of the woods. No need for hotel reservations. Nothing happening in Danville. Except for the Illinois/Ohio State football game. And the
Covered Bridge Festival. I truly was looking forward to Karaoke at the Day's Inn with all the AARP folks, but there was no room. I think we got the last hotel rooms in town except for the shady looking place on the south end of town.
At the starting line, we started to get a hint at small size of the event. My friend looked around and asked "Where are all the girls?" In a field of ten, she was all the girls....
A beautiful fall days, if a bit windy. The temps started in the high 40's, edging up into the mid 60's with sunny skies. Tree cover and leaf cover kept the wind and sun at bay, and after the first few 5 mile loops, we shed outer layers and ran in short sleeves and shorts.
The difficulty of the course started to dawn on me during the first loop. Very little level ground, very little run-able for any length of time. Lots of up and down. How much? Around 13,500 ft of climb and 13,500 feet of drop for a 30 mile race. The race website claims on the order of 12,000 feet of "elevation change." I wasn't truly appreciative until I dumped the data from my GPS.
Instead of a typical 5-6 hour finish for a modest trail run 30 miles or 50k, I was looking at an 8 hour plus finish. Was not planning on racing, but was certainly planning on finishing quicker. GPS elevation plot showed elevations as high as 800 ft and as low as 400 ft. Not huge, but constantly varying elevation. Some slopes hand over hand ascent. In mud, it would have been much worse. See GPS data at left.
Race was well supported. Plenty of food and drink. Another shot or two of brandy from Bill, a fellow I met at Clinton Lake and other central Illinois races. He promises to come up to Wildcat 50k, and I hope to see him and others in November.
Race finishers got some nice hand fired ceramic mugs, plus some Karl Meltzer's "
SpeedGoat Karl's 100 mile blend" coffee. Can't wait to try....coffee is from
Jameson Coffee, a small batch roaster from Indiana. And a ceramic pendant on a string, all hand made.
I think we will be back, hopefully to bring some friends from Muscatine and Quad Cities. Recommended.
-Larry
I really wasn't thinking too much about this event too much in advance. Got busy in work, family activities. Build for Tahoe Rim 100 was in the first half of the year. Quad Cities Marathon was in September....volunteer and participant. Then there is that little race at Wildcat Den on November 13th.
At the starting line, we started to get a hint at small size of the event. My friend looked around and asked "Where are all the girls?" In a field of ten, she was all the girls....
The difficulty of the course started to dawn on me during the first loop. Very little level ground, very little run-able for any length of time. Lots of up and down. How much? Around 13,500 ft of climb and 13,500 feet of drop for a 30 mile race. The race website claims on the order of 12,000 feet of "elevation change." I wasn't truly appreciative until I dumped the data from my GPS.
