Family, friends & fun.
My wife Angie and I look forward to 50s For Yo Momma all
year long. Although the week leading up to the race is typically filled with snafu’s,
stress and a fair share of cursing, it is a true labor of love for the two of
us.
50s is a day filled with family and friends, goals
accomplished, and obstacles overcome. It is a day to make new friends and to
enjoy the amazing culture of the ultra community.
This was our 5th year of racing at Hargus
Lake Circleville ,
OH Ohio Hargus Lake
25k participants missed the worst of the extreme temps, but
50k and 50 milers battled over-heating and dehydration issues in various forms
all day. Ironically, the perfect course conditions exasperated the issue,
providing a foundation for runners to really push the pace early. I am fond of
saying the 50s course beats you up slowly. With no significant climbs but lots
of rollers contributing to the 900’+ of elevation gain each loop, it’s way too
easy to take off fast and regret it a loop later. This may have been the case
with the two runners leading the 50 mile much of the day. Those fellows were
blazing a trail to the fastest times we’ve seen, with the leader finishing his
first two loops just behind the 25k winner! Keep in mind, the 50 mile course is
½ mile longer than the 25k course, so this dude was seriously cruising! The
heat eventually took its toll, causing both our early leaders to drop with only
a loop or two to go. Joshua Rakosky told me he’d opted to play it a bit more
conservative, betting the heat would catch up with the leaders. His gamble paid
off, and he cruised to victory in the 50 mile in 9:09:02 .
The course record, btw, is an unbelievable 7:56:36 !
Runners were cramping, battling stomach issues and dealing
with exhaustion most of the day. We had the highest rate of DNF’s ever, with
only 36% of our runners finishing the 50 miler. We were able to talk several
runners down from that DNF ledge by encouraging them to take a break, go
for a soak in our little pool, and munch on a delicious sno-cone J
All of these folks were able to get their race back on track and finish with a
smile. This is one of my favorite things about ultras! Sometimes a half hour
spent wisely “resting” can make all the difference in the world!
Some highlights for me this year:
-
The moment when one young woman
turned down 3rd place in the 50k because she had accidentally cut a
half mile off the course. She realized her mistake on the second loop and told
me it wouldn’t be fair to accept the award, because the next female finisher
came in just 10 seconds behind her.
-
A good friend suffering a rough
day had to DNF the 50 miler. After stopping, he made his way over to the
campgrounds aid station and volunteered for several hours.
-
Watching in awe as Brian Greeley
spanked the previous course record in the 25K by 16 minutes, running an
incredible 2:10:46 !
-
My daughter Izabella made a couple
of motivational posters throughout the day:
-
Sno-Cones!! We must have made 500
sno-cones for runners throughout the day. Nearly every runner had one at some
point.
-
Our medals. This being our 5th
year, we decided to go retro and bring back all of our past years medals. We
love them all, but the first two years are special to us because we were able
to make them ourselves. The first year’s medal was a huge hit. Out of the first
45 medals I gave away, 40 were first year medals!
-
The kiddie pool. Glad so many
runners enjoyed a dip!
I want to send a huge thanks out to all of our runners, volunteers
and sponsors.
Runners:
There are so many amazing ultras to choose from these days.
Thank you for running with us. We love the ultra community and are so happy to
have the opportunity to support it!
Volunteers:
What a huge list. Several of our MVP volunteers were called
away to weddings this year (what ever happened to June weddings, people???).
Thankfully, several other folks stepped up to fill those much needed spots.
Matt Kim accompanied me for two days, course marking, toting
supplies and doing whatever I asked of him. Then he spent the entire race day
with us counting laps. Can’t begin to thank this guy enough for his time.
Thanks also to his wife and son for loaing him to us and for helping as well.
Kathy Wolf & Karen Kanke- These two rock stars come out
and check the course markers race morning every year. If you’ve ever been lost
on a race course, you know just how important this task is. They stick around
after to take pictures and help wherever they are needed. Huge thanks, ladies!
You are awesome!
Chris Hildenbrandt- Chris spent most of the day Thursday
doing the first round of course marking for us. He and his wife de-marked the
course on Sunday, which is a huge job. Thank you both so much!
Julie Noyes- Julie comes out every year, starting her day
with us at 5am , and handling timing
with Matt until mid afternoon. Rock star!
Sunshine Sung and Allen Frye- These two stellar volunteers
arrived early and didn’t leave until the last runner came in. They worked the
aid station, counted laps, carried water, and did a multitude of other things
for us throughout the day. Thank you!
Molly Fisher came down Friday evening. She helped us with so
many set-up tasks, staying up late to help us fill water jugs and lug supplies.
She was up early making coffee and helping check runners in. Thanks so much for
all your help!
Nikhil Shah, Jennifer Wilkinson, Jennifer Spiller & son,
Michelle Minor & son, Susie Birdwell & family, Jimmy Sung, Tim Dwyer, Will Fountain, Steve Zaleski, and Salt
Creek Livestock (our dedicated 4-H’ers). All of these folks gave us tons of
their time and I can’t thank them enough. You are all awesome!
Sponsors:
Berger health System has been our Premier sponsor from the
beginning. There is no way this event would be half as awesome as it is without
their support. Thanks!
Delmont Storage has been with us since our 1st
year as well. Again, our event is so much better because of their support.
Zanzi’s Pizza- Zanzi’s has provided pizza for our runners
every year. Thanks so much for their generous support!
Wendy’s has donated cups to us every year. Thank you!
Most of all, thanks to my AWESOME wife Angie. She started
this crazy adventure of Race Directing because it was something that I loved
and she wanted to support me in it. But she immediately fell in love with the
ultra running community. She channels that love into every aspect of our
events, and it truly shows. Thanks, baby!
For all those who like the numbers, here’s how things broke
down this year:
Registered runners: 130
Starters: 120
Finishers: 86
Finish rate: 72%
Youngest runner: 16
Oldest runner: 67
Sno-Cones consumed: 500
:)
50 Miler
Starters: 46
Finishers: 17
Finish rate: 37%
Winning time: 9:09:02
Course record: 7:56:36
50K
Starters: 38
Finishers: 35
Finish rate: 92%
Winning time: 6:33:38
Course record: 4:14:40
25K
Starters: 36
Finishers: 34
Finish rate: 94%
Winning time: 2:10:46
Course record: 2:10:46
For full race results checkout our website at www.50sforyomomma.com.
Don't forget to check out Not Yo Momma ' s 100 as well. We offer 25k, 50k, 75k, 100 and Ohio ' s most badass 100 miler.
Thanks again!
