On October 28th I ran in my very first Ultra Marathon. What is an ULTRA marathon? It is any distance over the standard 26.2 miles of a marathon. I ran a 50K or 31.5 miles. This was a trail run which was also a first for me. I usually run on pavement. Trail running is easier on the body because the ground is softer, but it is also more challenging. You are running through the wilderness...rocks, creeks, hills, roots, leaves, logs, animals, etc. I love running and I love to challenge myself with going further and further. This race was a bit of a struggle for me since I had just run a marathon 7 days prior and my body was not recovered from that. I had to do it though because this was the first ever Ultra held in Omaha. It was at Lake Cunningham...which is a beautiful place to run. This was the most difficult race I have run to date. Not only because of the distance but because of the terrain and the course.
I'm the 7th one in!
We had to run up this monster 3 times!
One of the creek crossings.
See the little green flags?
Jumped this log 3 times
Second creek crossing...it ate my right shoe the 3rd time around :)
Most of the course was run on single track
It started off a chilly morning but after a few miles and miles and miles I warmed up. The course was a 10.5 mile loop that we ran 3 times. http://www.goatz50k.com/coursedescription#overlay-context=coursedescription Here is the link to the course description that also has pictures of the course. I ran the first 2 loops with no music and then the final loop was MY loop. I pulled out my phone to take some pictures and I sent some to Jason and I put my headphones in. This was a mistake! I got lost not once, but twice! The second time was at mile 31. I was tired, I was hurting and I just wanted to be done. I burst out in tears because I knew I was so close to the finish line. I got back on course and made it. The course was marked with little green flags that by the 3rd loop rolled around had gotten knocked down. I think that because I had my music on I wasn't paying attention at times and just got side tracked and that got me off course. Trail running can be scary when you get off course because you are alone in the wilderness. The group all started out together, but trail running has a limited amount of entrants, so you eventually get so spread out from one another. Oh well...I completed what ended up being just under 33 miles in 6.5 hours. I wasn't running this for time...I was running this for fun and to say I FINISHED. I know I could have had a better time if it hadn't been one week post marathon. I WILL do another one...maybe even a 50 miler...who knows?!
This run was the GOATZ (Greater Omaha Area Trail RunnerZ) 50K.
The mission of the G.O.A.T.z is to:
- To promote the local trails and trail running.
- To grow the number of active trail runners in and around Omaha.
- To support other trail advocacy groups in the area through financial contributions and volunteer opportunities.
- To advocate for and encourage responsible use and upkeep of our trail systems.
- To be active in securing and developing wilderness areas for trail enjoyment.
- To produce a quality trail race or series in conjunction with other groups of similar interests.
The G.O.A.T.z aims to provide opportunities through use of the web and social media for others to share their passion for the trails, thus furthering our goals. We will strive to do this in lieu of membership fees, rather, we will look to become more engaged with civic entities and local businesses as sponsors to help further our objectives.
Jason was out of town on his annual hunting trip during this run. My dad was kind enough to watch the girls for 8 hours that day! Thanks dad!
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