Ran The Howl At the Moon 8 Hour Run yesterday. This was my 15th time running this event. And it was easily the best time I've had. Two years ago my daughter and her husband came down and camped with me the night before and then stayed and supported me during the race. Which was great. But this year they talked my whole family to come down. All three daughters, two husbands, wife and to grand kids (ages 3 and 1 month). What a great time we had. My one son-in-law is really into camping and had everything you could have asked for (canopy, tent, grills, fire pit, food, etc).
After a pretty good night's sleep, the next morning was race time. Start time was 7:00 a.m. And we would continue trying to move forward over the next 8 hours. The race is held on a 3.29 mile loop in Kennekuk Cove County Park near Danville, IL. It is a mixture of trails, dirt, grass and a couple short paved sections. Not a lot of elevation change, but enough to keep it interesting. What makes the race special to me, is the people involved. The race director, Marc Reddy, his wife, the volunteers, the runners and all the people who come down to cheer and support all of us. It is put on by the Kennekuk Road and Trail Runners. They have always put on a first class event. Their slogan is "Train Hard, Race Hard, Party Hard!"
I've had some moderate success in the race over the years, including a 4th place overall back in 1995, and 2004, and placed first in my respective age groups (40-49 in 1998 and 50-59 in 2010). The last 2 years, I have had good efforts, but have started finishing farther down the list (32nd and 23rd), somI didn't really know what to expect this year, especially with DNF at the Black Hills 100. I knew I was in good shape and was feeling pretty good this last week, so I decided to go out faster than usual. The first 3 hours went well with 6 loops done, but then the wheels started to fall off. I slowed down to almost 10 minutes slower per loop for the next 2 hours. But somehow, with the support of my whole family, I managed to work through it during the last 3 hours as I steadily picked up a minute or two in each succeeding loop. I ended up with 45.27 miles which was good for 10th place overall and 1st place in the Grandmaster Division (50-59).
A tough, but absolutely wonderful weekend!!!
