Run for Regis - Government Shutdown Edition

If there is one thing for certain these days, you can depend on nothing to be the same!

     With my goal to run 12 marathons in 12 months in 2018, I knew I would need to start off strong, just in case I had to miss a race later in the year.  That said, January in Ohio is a great time of year to start running marathons (shakes head vigorously side to side).  The Run for Regis was the first marathon on my list in 2018, which I was very excited about since last year I did the 18 mile option and loved that it opened my eyes to the great asset with have in Northeast Ohio with the Cuyahoga National Valley.  I used these trails extensively in training for the Leadville 100 last year and for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon.  With a lot of elevation changes (for Ohio) and some truly great forests, ledges and trails, this was just the place I needed to stay motivated and excited for running.

     This year the Run for Regis was going to be very different than last year.  For starters, I was upping the distance from 18 miles to 26.2, there was even a 50k option.  Second, this year had a lot more snow on the trails.  It did warm up later in the day and melt some of the snow, but last year was mostly mud the whole way.  I preferred to run on the snow as I can not stand having wet socks or feet.  Lastly, the night before the race, the event organizers posted that if the government shut down at midnight they were unable to officially time the race or set up aid stations as their permit for the race would be invalid.  The crew would be there to pass out swag and medals, but any runner who planned on running the race would have to run fully self supported. Even the restrooms would be locked. Looks like the difficulty just got turned up a notch.

    Race day...

    I drove to the Ledges shelter where the race was supposed to start from.  I was dark as the sun still hadn't risen by 6:58 AM here.  I walked up to the van the race crew was handing out gear and medals from to collect mine.  While there, I grabbed two extra bottles of water, figuring to leave them in the car in case I needed some extra water from what by hydration bladder could hold.  I laced up my shoes by the light of my car, through on my running pack and started off on the trails at about 7:15 AM.  It was dark and a cold 33 degrees.

Course Map

    The trails were well marked this year with white signs that had large red arrows, reminiscent of a garage sale sign you would see.  These signs were a marked improvement over last years signs, which almost caused me to miss part of the trail.  As the race started by running into the ledges section, the trails were well packed with snow and easy to run on.  Some spots had ice and any runner knows to watch for rocks and roots that can just out of the snow and catch your toe. It was very clear where the race went, which was surprising to me as I appeared to be on of, if not the, first runner out on the course.  I enjoyed Boston Run part of the trail due to the constant change in scenery, the rolling undulations of the hills, the bridge crossings and the familiarity I had with having now run this section multiple times through multiple seasons.  While this is always a beautiful place to enjoy nature, the pristine whiteness of winter really captures the beauty of the park.  The sunrise was spectacular through the trees.

    After running for roughly 2 miles, I went to take a sip of water from the over the shoulder hose connected to my hydration bladder.  Nothing came out.  I tried again, sucking harder this time.  Nothing.  I took a few deep breathes and tried again, much harder now while even pressing with my hand on the bladder, nothing.  Although I filled my hydration bladder the night before, I forgot to test it out, rookie mistake.  I ran the rest of the loop, sipping sparingly from the soft water bottles that were strapped to my chest.  This was not a good way to start a self supported marathon.

     As I came back towards where the run had started, I could see the soft glow of light coming a van.  The race crew was still parked in the parking lot handing out the last of the medals and swag to those who still came out.  Running towards them, I grabbed several extra water bottles to carry with me for the race.  Quickly dropping off my 2 litter hydration pack and hose in my car, I stock my pack with three half liter water bottles, leaving three more in car passenger seat.  This would be enough to get me through the race, even if I had to run the last loop with no water.

    Having now gotten enough supplies, despite an almost race dooming oversight, I was now calm and ready to go about the rest of the race.  The next loop was an almost 9 mile section with several aggressive hills.  The Salt Run loop was very picturesque and cross a roadway twice, luckily with little traffic especially on a Saturday morning.  Running around Kendall Lake, a sledding hill and trails that make up some of the Burning River 100, this trail was a blast!  One thing stuck out to me though, I'd have to run this aggressive hilly section twice this year.  Last year, this section snuck up on me and took a lot out of me.  Knowing this, I power walked the hilly parts and took my time to enjoy this.  Knowing after I finished this loop, I would only be half way done was a bit intimidating.

     The Salt Run loop had bathrooms (pictured just over the hill above) where I thought I could relieve myself.  Unfortunately, the park rangers had locked these due to the government shutdown.  Guess, that only leaves on option.  Running down the trail parallel to the sledding hill was fun.  Watching kids (and some other runners) slide down the hill, on the second lap, was uplifting and brought a smile to my face. Who cares if they were course cutting, they were still close enough and enjoying the park, while snubbing there nose to the government shut down. That's a runner's spirit!

    The hardest part of the Salt Run loop was the Pine Grove loop.  It felt like I was almost back to the end of the loop and this dastardly little loop just keep snaking around playing mind games with me, until finally dumping me back on the trail I had run in on.  It was flat and easy to run, but the torturous part of thinking I'm almost there was a little brutal in the cold with few supplies.  The trek back to the car was pretty fast from there, grabbed some more water bottles, left the empties and carried on.  Mental math telling me I had enough water to finish this race was encouraging and I trekked on through the snow.

    Coming around for the second of each loop I saw more and more runners.  Some of them started rooting for me, telling me I was "in first place" and "no one is ahead of you".  There was no way for them to know this as everyone started at different times, but the cheers were welcomed and motivating each time.  I typically retorted with "No I just started at 5am!" which usually drew chuckles from the others.  Exchanging a few high fives and motivation with others on the second of the loops was great to hear and see as so many others still came out and did this race despite having no aid due to the government shutdown.  By my estimates from last year, I'd still say half, or more, still showed up and ran.  Guess you just can't stop some runners.

  As I came back in towards the finish from my second loop of Salt Run, I checked my Strava app I was using.  It said I was only around 24+ miles.  This concerned me as I knew I had run the whole course.  To be sure I was not short changing myself or the race, I started back on the Boston Trail loop for about 1/4 mile out and then turned back, to see if my GPS would correct itself.  Strava did not accurately measure the whole race, which I confirmed with other race vets who I saw at the parking lot.  Subtracting the extra roughly 1/2 mile I ran this means I finished in 5:00:52.  This was not my fastest run, but I beat my 18 mile run last year in distance and time.  

     Considering this race was fully supported and required me to carry more, have less aid and make a few stops at my car, I was happy with this.  The 3,200 feet of elevation gain and snowy trails made this much harder than the road marathons I have run in the past.  Although this was my second slowest marathon, although it was my fastest trail marathon, I am happy with it.  Run for Regis will serve as a great stepping stone and training run for the rest of my year and help push  me to what will hoepfully be a PR at the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon this year!

My Strava data for this race.

MAJOR shout out to the race crew who despite all of the political drama around this date with the government shutdown, still had the course marked, handed out medals and swag AND let us submit our times to post them later.  You are the real winners here!

Also, the pullovers they gave out at this race were AMAZING!  Worth the registration alone!