Sunday, July 30, 2017

2017 On The Rocks Trail Run 50K Race Report

After not posting any articles for awhile, I decided that it was time for me to get back at it. So today I’m posting a race report about my latest ultramarathon that I completed two weekends ago.

On Saturday July 15th, I completed the On The Rocks Trail Run 50K held at Rocky Ridge Park in York, PA. I was using this event as training for two late summer / early fall ultras I plan to do that are longer than this 50K distance.

Event Overview:

This event has been held for several years and this year was the first that the longest distance was 50K—making it an “official” ultra. In prior years the longest distance had been 45K but the race director added in another (new) trail and thus was able to now reach that true ultra distance. The route for this race is a looped course of just over 10 miles per loop. This year, just as in past years too, had options to run one, two, or three loops. One loop was ~16.7K, two loops was ~33.3K, and of course 3 loops for the 50K. I had run the one and (mostly) two lap options in prior years but after not being able to sign up for a race the prior weekend to this event, at the last minute I worked in this race instead to get in another long distance race.

That’s not to say it was a lesser choice by any means. The On The Rocks Trail Run is actually one of my favorite local trail races and competing in this one marks the sixth straight year I’ve done this event in some capacity.

Overall, I’d rate this event as a moderately difficult race and I will get into more detail in the next section.

As for conditions that day, the weather was rough at the start of the race. While the temperature was in the low-mid 70’s, but the humidity was very high. It just seemed like a sauna once everyone started running. My shirt was very wet from sweat already after about two or three miles of the race. A breeze did seem to cool us down at some spots on the course and as the race progressed it seemed the humidity did alleviate and it felt (marginally) more comfortable despite the sun shining brightly. However by the time I was finishing the sun was heating things up again.

The Course:

The course is a challenging one that contains a lot of single track but there are also plenty of spots where the trails are wider and great for passing or running with someone. Regardless of the width of the trail(s), there are plenty of sections that are rocky or have roots too. Be prepared to pick up your feet! I had to remind myself of this! There are some nice easier sections mixed in but honestly you should not get too comfortable since a technical section (there are many) will soon follow. I like the technical running so for me it was not a problem. It does get tougher as the race progresses though, especially on that third loop! Run the loop once for the shorter race and you know you challenged yourself. Run it again and you’re thinking: “yeah, this is tough.” Run a third for the 50K and you’re kinda ready for it to be over. That’s what ultra running is all about though, challenging yourself and seeing just what you can accomplish.

One positive was that the new section of course added to get the distance to 50K, the aforementioned new trail, was a flat section with only very minor inclines and declines. The new trail is a mountain bike trail with many, many twists and turns and was a nice contrast to rest of the course. And again it was flat which I’m sure most runners appreciated.

Regarding elevation, the info on ultrasignup.com lists about 1400ft of climbing per loop. This seems to be pretty accurate as my Garmin VivoActive HR recorded 4,386ft of total elevation gain and loss for the three loop 50K distance. There are four good sized climbs in each loop—one near the beginning, one about mid-course, and two in the last miles of each loop. The fourth one is the most technical and likely the steepest. I have to say that this one just sucks—there’s not really much else to say.

There were four aid stations on the course. These were especially helpful considering how hot and humid it was that day. The volunteers at the aid stations were great as they would fill your bottle while you grabbed something to snack on. They had both water and a electrolyte replacement drink (I’m guessing it was Gatorade) at each station and I would drink Gatorade each time and just fill up my water bottles that I was carrying to drink between aid stations. I believe at least one aid station also had soda too. Some of the food that I remember seeing at the aid station included watermelon, candy, Oreo’s, and trail mix. I’m sure there was other food too but I mostly stuck to eating watermelon as it would provide me with both additional water and some sugar. I did have to snag an Oreo too several times!

The course was marked very well throughout with the exception of one spot about 2+ miles into the course where I almost made a wrong turn as did two runners ahead of me. That spot was the only one I’d say would have benefited from additional marking. Full disclosure—I did volunteer and help mark about a 4 mile stretch of this course (not the section where I almost made the wrong turn), so I’m partially bias I guess with my assessment for trail markings.

Overall you’ll be running under the cover of trees for at least 90% of this race with the only real open area near the start/finish line.

Other Stuff:

The race is very affordable, considering the cost for signup was only $35 (regardless of which event you chose) and included a tech race t-shirt (if you signed up early enough.) This is very affordable as many 5K’s are in the $25 range to run.

There’s plenty of parking at this event and there are indoor bathrooms (always a plus!) near the parking area and race registration pavilion.

Post race food was great! There was water, soda, sports drink to quench your thirst and food included pizza, subs, chips, candy, and deserts like cookies, etc. Seating was available under the cover of the pavilion.

So How Did I Do?:

Well in case you were wondering, my official finish time was 6:07:56. I had only competed in one other 50K to this point and my On The Rocks finish was about a 22 minute PR, so I was very happy with that considering it was a tough course and the weather was warm. That time was good enough for 11th place overall out of 46 finishers. There seemed like more than 46 runners at the start as the crowd was larger than prior years but according ultrasignup.com, there were 16 DNF’s, showing it was a tough day for some racers.

I’m not sure I raced this event as I should have. I think I was a little too quick on my first loop as I could feel my legs starting to get tired already at the 15 mile mark. By mile 17 I could feel the tiredness even more and I had to back off a little bit. My first two loops were at about the same pace having completed the first in just under two hours and I left the aid station at the start/finish line at the end of loop two just 45 seconds over the four hour mark. The third loop involved more walking for me  the thoughts of maybe finishing the race a just under 6 hours disappeared—I knew I could not sustain that effort on the last loop. I will still take my PR for this event though and be very happy with it!

In the other events, the 33.3K distance had 22 finishers with 9 DNF’s. The 16.7K had 73 finishers with 4 DNF’s.

Final Thoughts:

Regardless of the difficulty and conditions, I personally always enjoy this race. I am likely partially biased again since I personally know the race director for the event. He and his wife, along with all the other volunteers, put on a great event every year. I also like Rocky Ridge Park a lot too. It is a great place to do hill training, which in the long run is what I believe really strengthens you as a runner, especially a trail runner.

If you’d like to challenge yourself on a trail race, give one of the options a try. If you’re a new trail runner I’d stick to the shortest distance event to get your confidence and progress from there, but you will walk away with a good sense of accomplishment nonetheless.

Please feel free to comment if you have any questions or thoughts regarding my blog and thank you for reading!