2018 B.U.S. Smart Ass Trail Mix Up "Adventure Run"

On the drive to Forest Park we actually had on again/off again drizzle - not an auspicious start to a race primarily on trails!  But, luckily, it had stopped when we arrived (minutes before the start)!  This race was held in Alley Pond Park last year (in December, actually), so we didn't know what to expect with the terrain/layout.  Needless to add, it turned out to be a beautiful - but challenging (as in hilly) course.  Less than a mile of it was on park roads, the balance of the 5k loop was on trails.

The course was well marked - which does little to explain how I went off course during the first loop!  Not a big deal, 5 minutes, maybe 3/10ths of a mile overall - but definitely not - to repeat myself - an auspicious start to a trail run!  The 50k was 10 loops.  That was my original plan.  But I dropped down to the 30k (6 loops) because I'm registered for the Sri Chimnoy Marathon this Thursday, at Rockland Lake.

That was a smart move because it took me roughly 3:37 to finish the 30K.  That was a solid half hour slower than my 50k split at the Alley Pond version of this race last year (I did 50k there)!  The hills and humidity took a toll. Still it was a great day - and Richie, our fearless leader, can chalk up yet another fantastic BUS event!

Here are the 30k results (as well as 50k finishes) from NY Ultrarunning!

2018 Broadway Ultra Society 4 Hour Run & Awards Lunch

This morning was the B.U.S. 4 Hour Run followed by the Annual Awards Presentation (Lunch), where the 2017 Grand Prix awards were presented to the winners!  This year, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Broadway Ultra Society, the run was extended 1 hour (from its typical 3 hours)!  The run and post-run celebration are high points on the B.U.S. calendar!


The last time I was at this venue (the 2015 edition), I managed to squeak in just over 20 miles in 3 hours - of some serious sub-zero wind chills!  This time around the 1.453 mile loop I managed 20 miles in just over 3 hours (14 loops) and ran a full 16 loops for 23.248 miles.  I stopped with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.  Given that I ran the Savin Rock Marathon in West Haven yesterday, I was more than pleased with that outcome!


After the running came the food (something very close to my heart)!  There was plenty of pizza and salad - among other things.  And, what anniversary would be complete without cake?!


The next B.U.S. event (2nd on the 2018 Grand Prix schedule) is the reconfigured Sybil Lundington 50K in Carmel in April.  For the first time in its long history the Sybil course will consist of two 25k loops instead of the one 50K loop set-up.  It will also feature a new start/finish location. 


I'll add link to the 4 Hour Race results once they've been posted.

Long Island 6 Hour 60th Birthday Run: Race Photos & Results

This morning was a tough day to run (90+ humidity with on again off again drizzle) but weather aside, I had a great time at the Long Island 6 Hour Run (officially, "Fred von der Heydt Memorial 6 Hour 60th Birthday Run")!  It was my first ultra of the year, and after the Sri Chinmoy Marathon in August, longest distance of the year as well :O

I'll write up a short race report tomorrow, but it seemed like old times because I ran a 5K in Central Park yesterday, and followed up with a 50K (32.6 miles, officially) today!  I can't remember the last time I ran a pair of back to back races in recent memory - haha!

Not only was the event first rate - but the post-race party was incredible (subs, pasta, and beer - to mention a few of the things available).  Also, lest I forget, the aid station selection of food and drink was pretty awesome on its own (I have NEVER seen a PB and M&Ms sandwich before today - haha (PBJ and raisons - yes indeed, but not M&Ms).

Here are the race results from GLIRC.

2010 new york ultrarunning grand prix awards brunch

yesterday, following the b.u.s. 6 hour run at henrickson park in valley stream, long island, awards were presented to the new york ultrarunning grand prix winners at the annual brunch. phil mccarthy (who also won the 6 hour run that preceded the ceremony) and jodi kartes heino were the overall winners! i took first place in my age group for the 4th consecutive year!

while i'm proudly holding 3 awards in the above photo - only one belongs to me. the other two are first place age group awards for emmy and noonie. they were both down in raleigh, north carolina, at the umstead 100 miler! other winners pictured here include; elaine, lucimar and al.

the 2010 final standings and complete list of 2010 winners is posted at the ny ultrarunning site.

2010 new york ultrarunning grand prix: final standings

the final standings for the 2010 new york ultrarunning grand prix series were posted yesterday. phil mccarthy, with 4,000 points out of a possible 4,000 over 4 scored races, was the overall winner! jodi kartes heino, with a perfect 3000 points out of a possible 3,000 over 3 race, was the top woman finisher. this year the series consisted of 7 races that kicked off with the caumsett park 50k in march and just ended with the long island 6 hour run two weeks ago.

this year i ran 5 of the 7 races and finished in 5th place overall, with 2230 points - and won my age group with 380 points out of a possible 400. while i equalled my 5th place finish from 2009, my point total was almost 300 points less than the 2515 i accumulated in the 2009 races. in a similar vein, i repeated my age group win for the series, but it was 20 points shy of my 400 points in 2009. that said, i'm still pleased with the results :D

the grand prix series is one of the best kept ultrarunning secrets in the tri-state area. not only are the races low-key and (relatively) inexpensive - but each one is practically a family reunion considering all the familiar faces that participate year after year. for this good fortune we have to thank richie, our fearless b.u.s. leader - and all the volunteers who help put together the events!

trail mix-up six hour run: race report

The Trail Mix-up Six Hour Run was originally planned as a trail run - but extensive tornado damage forced a reworking that moved the course to the park roads. In terms of nomenclature, it wasn’t really a “mix-up,” it was more like a derailment. The actual course was a shortened version of the Queens 60K and Metropolitan 50M/Kurt Steiner 50K layouts. The trail mix-up was figure eight, roughly a quarter mile shorter than the layout of those two courses. The distance was 2.62 miles and contained an out and back portion and a loop portion. In the final hour or so, the course was shortened to just the 1.26 mile loop portion.

My plan for race was to reach the 50K distance - which worked out to a dozen loops. To count for grand prix points in the BUS series, runners had to cover a minimum of 26.2 miles. I’ve run three six hour races (where I averaged about 33 miles) in the past. As a example of heading into an event with no expectations and surprising myself with the outcome - the 36.8 miles I covered during those six hours in Forest Park turned out to be a PR! I didn’t realize that until I looked up my mileage from the prior six hour runs! But I’ve gotten ahead of myself.

Emmy, Rob and I car pooled to Forest Park, leaving my house just after 7 and arriving there in about 40 minutes. There were plenty of familiar faces (but a good number opted for the Vermont 50 Miler that same day), including Noonie, Byron, Gail, Eliot, and Phil (who worked the scoring table), to mention just a few. There was one major aid station at the mid-point of the figure eight. Richie got the race underway just after 8 - and off we went.

If I did two loops an hour, I would reach 50K. While thirty minutes a loop seemed a bit conservative, at least at the outset, I expected the mileage to catch up with me. I ran the first couple of loops with Byron and Gail - much faster than I had intended. I typically go out fast (the first two loops were 23:45 and 23:13, respectively), but was surprised to see the next 3 loops go by even faster (22:26, 22:28, and 22:32, respectively), for a five loop split of 1:54:26 - at the half marathon mark.

Since I felt strong (which I suspected had plenty to do with the 20 degree cooler temperature), I just kept up the pace. I thought about stopping for my Ipod, but decided to skip it and stay focused on maintaining a decent pace. While I increasingly slowed over the next five loops (23:56, 24:31, 24:56, 25:10, and 25:34, respectively), a 2:04 split for the second half marathon - my marathon split was 3:58:36 (a 9:07 pace). That left me just over two hours to cover another 2 loops for a 50K!

At that point I was more than pleased (if not surprised) with my race. I took a quick break at that point to towel off and grab some orange Gu chews then pushed on. The 11th loop, at 27:39, reflected that side trip to my drop bag. But I picked up the pace again for the 12th loop, and ran a 26:15 to reach the 50K split in 4:52:30 (a 9:19 pace). Now that I had reached my mileage goal, any additional distance was gravy. But now I would add some walking to the mix. My 13th, and final main loop, took 31:48 (and shows the walking breaks).

With roughly 35 minutes left on the clock, Richie moved me on to the short loop. While I could have squeezed in one more main loop in that time, I was more than happy to ease up the pace. I completed two small loops (2.52 miles) in 33:28 and another 2/10's of a mile of the short loop when the whistle sounded to end the race. All together, I reached 36.82 miles (an average pace of 9:47). That was good enough for 4th place overall, and first in my age group. The reward was pizza - and Southern Tier Harvest Ale (a growler of which awaited in my cooler)!

It was fun socializing afterwards (although we missed Eliot, who left after he logged 26.2 miles) while we waited for the result to be compiled. Byron took first place, and Gail was the first woman finisher (Noonie took second place and Emmy took third). During the clean-up, Richie announced the availability of a stray watermelon(!) - which I gladly offered to adopt. Carrying that huge melon back to the car was, seriously, the hardest part of my day :O

Here are some race photos.

"trail mix" 6-hour run, forest park, queens

hot off the press, details of a brand new ultra in queens, new york. in today's mail was a race application for the "trail mix" 6-hour run in forest park, queens. this event has just been put together by richie, our fearless b.u.s. leader-in-chief, to replace the traditional staten island 6 hour run (which has been cancelled for 2010). the date is set for sunday, september, 26 (and, unfortunately, conflicts with the vermont 50s, also set for the same day).

this is not your traditional 6-hour run. here is the description, in richie's words:

The objective of the event is to navigate the time period on the following three types of terrain:

1. Two hours on a 1.9-mile bridal path loop or carriage road type surface.
2. Two and half hours on a 2.35-mile trail loop.
3. One and half hours on a 1.3-mile road/footpath loop. ...

The trail loop is hilly and the other two loops would still be considered rolling and challenging. The event will be conducted like an ultra triathlon and may be presented with an informal flavor.
_____________

we've had ultras at forest park in years past. the most recent one, if i remember correctly, was the queens 60k. but the location also hosted the kurt steiner 50k/metropolitan 50 miler. since the "trail mix" 6-hour run replaces the staten island 6-hour run, the race (informal or not) will be counted in scoring for the ny grand prix series.

i'm in!

2010 joe kleinerman 12 hour run: race report

the joe kleinerman 12 hour run celebrated its silver (25th?) anniversary this weekend. it was my second 12 hour run, and my second time running the joe kleinerman run. the 2010 edition was markedly drier than the last one, in 2008. that run included a race stoppage because of nasty mid-afternoon thunderstorm (which, on the positive side, led to a drop in the overall humidity). i barely reached 50 miles that year (terrible weather conditions plus a bout of anemia).

this time around the weather was fine. it sunny and warm (but most of the course was shaded and there was a nice breeze). my mileage target was 100k, just over 62 miles for the day. the macadam pedestrian loop in crochern park (bayside, queens) was 0.97 miles. the 50k split equalled 32 loops, 50 miles (50.5 actually) was 52 loops, and the 100k mark equalled 64 loops of the course. i hoped to run 6 loops an hour for most of the day, then slow to 5 (and probably 4) at some point.

i ran at a 7 loop per hour pace for the first 3 hours (reaching 21 loops in 3:01). because of the heat, i discarded my singlet after the first loop - and didn't put it back on until i reached 50 miles late in the day. i ran well for the first 25 loops and then began to feel the wall creeping up on me. i stopped to eat some avocado that i had brought to the race and kept in a cooler. even so, i found myself walking up the rise to the scoring area after the 25th loop.

i reached the 50k mark in just over 5 hours (5:01) - much sooner than i reached it in 2008 (5:52). but i just couldn't shake off the doldrums that hung over me. my pace dropped significantly during loops 33-38 and all i could do was push forward until i got a second wind. that came, thankfully, during loop 39 and carried me straight through to the 50 mile mark. my split for 50 miles, 8:57:11, was a pr! i was thrilled - and surprised, given the desultory string of loops between laps 25 and 38!

with 3 hours still to run, i had already reached my 2008 mileage (51.4). but the tables turned on me because after reaching 50+ miles, i hit another down patch. the high point of that stretch (between loops 53 and 58) was the root beer floats the richie had prepared for us! but, after walking a few loops (i had one loop that clocked in at 19 minutes and a second in 21 minutes during that stretch), a got another second wind. my last 5 full loops bounced between 9 and 12 minutes! i reached 63 loops before switching over to the short loop.

that loop, while just over 0.21 miles, included the only major climb on the course (and constituted half of the small loop)! i eked out 3+ small loops before richie blew the whistle at 12 hours. my unofficial mileage is 61.8 - less than half a mile shy of the 100k mark (62.2). given the roller coaster ride over the 12 hours, i was more than pleased with that mileage! the only downside to the day was the incredibly bad chafing i suffered through during the second half of the day :(

afterwards, richie had pizza set up for the runners. collectively, we devoured 12 pies in the blink of an eye! phil won the race - logging more than 78 miles in the process - and alicja took first place among the women. emmy (who ran just under 60 miles) won a sweatshirt in the post-race raffle! in a fun bit of trivia, my bib number equalled my age! and, in an it's a small world category, i met another 47 year old who runs ultras and blogs - seth - at the end of the day!

this is probably my last long run/ultra before the vermont 100 miler next month :D

here are my race photos.

2010 joe kleinerman 12 hour run: race photos and results

it was a long hot day (but thankfully plenty of shade and cool breezes) to be running loops in crocheron park, queens, for 12 hours! in a roller coaster of a day, i managed 62 miles - just shy of my 100k target. i ran the first 50 miles in 9:02:30 - but since the split was 50.5 miles, i probably did the 50 in under 9 hours - either way, the split is a pr for me at that distance :D

here is my race report; and here are the race results.











a few more pictures posted on facebook.

here are photos from the 2008 kleinerman 12 hour run.

2010 long island greenbelt 50k: race report

Despite my fourth Long Island Greenbelt 50k, it seems unlikely that I’ll finish this race without going off course at least once! My first time on the course (2007) set the high water mark of four missed trail blazes. In 2008, my trail navigation skills improved and I only went off course twice. And, in 2009, I got lost just once. It seemed that the progression was working in my favor. This weekend, however, I still missed a blaze and found myself off course during the first outbound leg. But I’ve gotten ahead of the story.

Last year I woke up to the sound of heavy rain outside the window. Luckily, it stopped on the drive down to Plainview. We had muddy conditions, but no more rain during the day. On Saturday, it hadn’t begun to rain yet - despite a forecast that rain would arrive overnight. I drove to Long Island with Emmy and Noonie. While there were occasional patches of sun, it seemed like the rain was never too far off. To me, it's always preferable - mentally - to kick off a race in dry conditions (even if the rain is only minutes behind). Luckily, no rain at the start - just humid conditions.

I had a sub-6:00 finish in mind when we set off at 7:30. The first part of the course is a 1.8 mile out and back on the roads, leading back to the trail head. It took me 15:44 and I was drenched in sweat as we entered the trail! I thought it would be less humid on the trail, but no such luck. The trail has a number of road crossings on the 7.8 mile stretch north to the Cold Spring Harbor turnaround. The bulk of is very runnable trail. However, the last 2+ miles, from the Route 108 to the turnaround is where all the serious elevation change lurks.

Including the brief out and back, I reached the Cold Spring Harbor in 1:34:47 - slightly off pace for a 6:00 finish. It included a half mile detour I took with 3 other guys, when we collectively missed a blaze! I got back on track (so to speak) for the inbound leg, with a 1:21:03 and first half split of 2:55:50. During the inbound leg the rain arrived. I felt a few drops just before Stillwell Field, and then the heavens opened (with some thunder too). The storm didn’t last long - just long enough to soak my shoes and socks. But, by the time I returned to the trail head, both had dried out.

On the outbound leg of the second loop, the rain made another appearance. This time it wasn’t as loud, or long - it was just long enough to get my feet wet again. Both storms knocked down the humidity, so running conditions improved in their wake. There were a couple of muddy patches during the second loop - messy but not dangerous. My second outbound leg took 1:26:19, for a cumulative split of 4:22:09 - well on target for a sub 6:00 finish. I just needed a 1:30 inbound leg back to the trail head and I’d make it back to the clubhouse in plenty of time.

But that outcome wasn’t in the cards. By the time I crossed Route 108 and had the gnarly climbs behind me, my time cushion had all but evaporated. I kept moving, but had no leg speed left to push the flats. I reached the trail head in 1:41:52 - a full 15 minutes slower than the outbound leg - and still had half a mile of roads, back to the finish. That small stretch took 3:22 and I crossed the finish in 6:07:36. Well off my target, but good enough under the circumstances!

Instead of baseball caps (as in years past), finishers each received a drawstring bag. Afterwards, there was plenty of food - in the way of six foot subs! And plenty of socializing too. By early afternoon, the sun had come out and it had warmed up considerably. Just a few of the familiar faces: Emmy, Noonie, Nick, Richie, Grant, Eliot (his first trail ultra), Marge, Susan, Alicja, Jay, Lydia, and Lucimar. And a couple of new ones too, Joel and Elik (his first ultra)!

Here are my race photos.
Here is Eliot's Race Report.

eliot's 2010 long island greenbelt 50k race report: guest post

wow! and double wow is probably more appropriate!! after he knocked off his first 50 miler at lake waramaug just two weeks ago, eliot ran his first trail run (at any distance!) yesterday, on the long island greenbelt trail. it wasn't just any trail run - but a gnarly 50k, with 3,000+ feet of elevation change (most of which is inconveniently crammed into the northern 2 miles of the double out and back course)! congrats eliot!!

here is his race report!!
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Losing it …. Again – The Long Island Greenbelt Trail 50K – May 8, 2010

Another first for me …. perhaps, another first of many. Just two weeks ago, I lost my ‘50 miler’ virginity to the Lake Waramaug Ultras. It was my birthday …. candles, cake, singing, hugs, kisses, etc. Even with the rain, it was like the perfect night on the town! Yesterday, I lost my ‘trail’ virginity to the Long Island Greenbelt 50K. This was more like the back seat of a Chevy. I’m not saying it was better or worse …. just different.

It would be a humid, damp day with temperatures getting into the 70’s. A few thunderstorms popped up, but we were protected from the rain with the cover of trees. By the latter part of the day, the sun was breaking and the winds were kicking up which you only felt in the last stretch on the roads to the finish at the GLIRC clubhouse. The 50K course was two ‘out and backs’ from Plainview along the northern section of the Greenbelt trail to Cold Spring Harbor. I looked at my Garmin post-race not for my pace, but for the elevation changes. There were about 3,000+ feet of total ascents & descents over the course of the 31 miles, and it felt like the concentration was all on the north shore.

I never thought I would ever run trails. Like many, I’d sprained my ankles on occasion growing up but a right ankle fracture (when I was in my mid-twenties) really made me always second guess the strength of them. But hey …. I’d give it a shot. So, with every measured step, I carefully tried to place my feet; but, even despite this care, there were at least a dozen times that my ankles and/or knees sent a ‘what-the-f…’ message to my brain. I was very apprehensive on the trail. I think this was causing me to sweat more than the physical exertion of the climbs. My ankles held up nicely, but I saw ‘stars ‘a few times whenever my right big toe caught a root or rock. It would bother me the entire day and I‘m sure that toenail is a goner. You must pick up your feet …. always.

My plan for this race was to hang back with Emmy. Haha …. hang back, right! As it was my first Greenbelt and first trail, for that matter, and after reading Frank’s blog about how easy it was to get lost, I thought that it was a good plan. I also had the pleasure of running with her friend, Noonie. The slight problem with the plan, however, was that these were two accomplished road and trail runners (both ran Boston a few weeks back), so it wasn’t easy for me to stay with them even though they were taking it easy. When we got back to Plainview the first time, I was physically spent (perhaps, I still had some residual fatigue from Waramaug in me), so I told Emmy and Noonie to go ahead for loop two. My challenge with ultra-running with others is getting into my non-rhythm …. I like to take walk breaks whenever I feel the need, sometimes even on ‘downs and flats’ while most runners never waste ‘downs and flats.’ Despite this, it was a good strategy to run with Emmy and Noonie as I felt more comfortable on my own for the second loop having been through it already.

Man …. you really gotta focus out there! Without the luxury of a tour guide, you need to pay attention to the trail blazes, ribbons, markings and your footing. Very different than road running where you can go into ‘auto-pilot’ mode during long stretches. There is no visiting La-la land on the trails, for if you enter it …. be prepared to do a face-plant on the ground! So, at the end of a trail race you can be physically and mentally fatigued. On my own, I only managed to get lost two or three times when I lost the trail, so I backtracked and since I didn’t know how to read the double blazes (turn right or left?), I waited until I saw someone running out or back and proceeded. [I should have paid more attention during Nick’s intro.]

I eventually hooked up with another runner named Darren. He was from Long Island and ran the trails regularly. The heat/humidity of the day was causing his problems …. he was starting to cramp and lock up. Just wasn’t his day, but it sure made mine. We walked up all the inclines and ran the downs so he could stretch out his muscles. Because I wanted to stay with him, I ran the ‘downs’ and started to feel more confident with my footwork while watching his footwork. He also gave me a trail blaze reading lesson for the next time. Haha. Darren and I crossed the finish together in 7:37:31 (unofficial). It was great seeing Emmy, Frank, Noonie, Grant and many of the other crazies at the finish. Many thanks to Nick and the volunteers for such a well-run event!

Happy Mother’s Day!

2010 long island greenbelt 50k: race photos and results

my fourth long island greenbelt 50k is in the books. i only went off course once (what's an extra half mile?) and we had two thunderstorms (evenly spaced at one per loop). i finished in 6:07:58 - well off my finish time last year, but well ahead of my first two greenbelt races (2007 & 2008). i missed my 6:00 goal by a few minutes, but was still pleased with the outcome.

here is my race report. here are the race results.

here a few more photos, posted on facebook.

2010 sybil ludington 50k: race report

while it hardly seems possible to express this sentiment during the race - the sybil ludington 50k is one of my favorite ultras! during the race, however, my view is best expressed by the string of expletives that escape me as super-sized s.u.v.'s (steroid fed, apparently) continually blew past me on the narrow country roads. aside from the ever present fear of getting run over, everything else about this event is fantastic. sybil was my very first ultra (back in 2006) and i've run it every year since (with many more still in the future).

i've done the boston marathon the week of sybil four times over the last five years. the one year i missed boston (2009), i set at personal best at sybil. that should have taught me a lesson (but didn't). this time around i didn't feel fully recovered from boston. while that was my excuse, this years winner had no problem knocking out a sub 3 hour boston followed by a 3:30 finish at sybil! my time goal was an hour slower (4:30) - but turned out to be way too aggressive under the circumstances.

splits were provided for the first mile, 5 mile increments, and at the half and full marathon marks. here are my splits (i missed the markers for miles 20 and 30):

1.0 8:08
5.0 32:41 40:50
10.0 43:41 1:24:31
13.1 27:03 1:51:35
15.0 16:42 2:08:17
22.2 1:04:44 3:13:02
25.0 35:58 3:48:00
26.2 12:24 4:00:25
31.0 49:59 4:50:24

9:21 pace

i had a solid race for the first twenty miles. but as i reached the aid station at 22 miles, fatigue caught up with me. after that point i was walking the major climbs, and was unable to find a second gear to move into. i reached the marathon split in exactly 4:00 hours, well off my 4:40/45 target. the only bright spot in the remaining 5 miles was seeing eliot manning the aid station at 29+ miles. but those positive vibes (tom was there too) were washed away crossing the traffic filled causeway in the last mile!

while i wasn't at all pleased with my finish (a full 25 minutes slower than 2009; 20 minutes off my initial - way too optimist goal; and, 5 minutes off my mid-race revised target of 4:45), i doubt i could have run it any faster! amazingly, that finish was still good enough for third place in my age group! plus, elaine came in 3rd woman overall, emmy was the first masters woman, and hiroshi (along with his vctc teammate) took first place in the relay! aside from my time, it was a great day to be out on the roads!

the post-race festivities were, as always, great. in addition to the sub sandwiches, there was a special happy 80th birthday cake in honor of joe handelman's finish! the next day, at lake waramaug, eliot would celebrate his own birthday by running his first 50 miler! while i was registered for that one as well, the rain beating against my window sunday morning kept me home. i just couldn't drag myself out for a day of running in the rain :(

here are my race photos.

2010 sybil ludington 50k: race photos and results

the 2010 sybil ludington 50k is in the books! it's my fifth straight year running this great race (it was my very first ultra, in fact)! my time (4:50:25) was well off last years performance, but it was good enough for third place in my ag! elaine was the 3rd woman finisher and emmy was the first female masters finisher! plus, hiroshi's place team took first in the relay!

here is my race report; and here are the race results.

i posted the rest of my photos on facebook.