Another Howl at the Moon is in the books. It was my 18th Howl. Overall it was a pretty good day. Got in 45.77 miles which was good for 14th place out of 298 starters. And 1st place out of 28 in the Superior division which is 60 & over. It also put me over 800 total miles. It wasn't anywhere near some of my best mileage for the race, but it was very solid. In fact, it was almost even splits for the first time (first 4 hours - 23 miles, second 4 hours - 22.77 miles). I went out a bit slower this year, running with a lovely young lady named Casey running her first Howl and ultra for the first five loops. And her friend, Lanie, joined us for a couple of loops. I think it paid off, because some of my middle laps were quite strong and on the out and backs I actually was running sub ten minute miles after 7 and a half hours of running. And although it wasn't real hot, the humidity was oppressive. So, I must be fairly fit and strong.
Another thing that really made my day was having my family there. Mark, my son-in-law, is always a rock when it comes to camping. My wife and daughters are always great to have there. But the kicker was my grandchildren greeting me each time I came around on a loop, especially my grandson, Hunter. Hunter would actually run towards me for a hug each of the first six loops. It was great. I was told on the first two loops, he was greeting almost everyone and one after another runner got a big kick out of it. It was fun.
