I signed up for this free "fatass" 50k a while back when I saw it posted on facebook and thought "sure, free race, why not... no big deal if I don't show up." (Note: a "fatass" race is the term for races that have minimal organization, no awards, no aid stations, basically all self-supported but there will be people there to loosely keep track of finishers and report results. Don't come at me, it's just the colloquial term used.🙃)
Spoiler alert: I didn't train for it, but I went and did the event anyway.
I spent most of the week prior debating back and forth with myself, convincing myself whether it was a good idea or a bad idea (I swung both ways throughout the week). I finally decided I'd show up and do what I could, knowing I could DNF and I would have still gotten a good run for the day.
The event was at a mountain bike park in Gastonia, NC so I left Greenville early on Saturday morning, arrived in time to get my bib (which at first they couldn't locate but eventually found), get my chair and cooler and gear set up, then head to the start line.
Started off conservatively, and also forced to be so because of the crowd of folks at the beginning. There were people doing the 50k (10 laps) and the 10-miler (3 laps) and all started at the same time. It was enjoyable to be around folks for a bit, make light chatter here and there as you went by, get into a grove behind someone for a while on the single-track where you couldn't pass.
The second and third laps sped up a little bit without the crowds in front. Paused at the chair for a few gummies here and there but no major food. Started to get hungry on lap 4 and then regretted not stopping to get real food before lap 5. Finished 5 and paused for a bit, sat down, grabbed lunch food (sandwich, chips, maybe part of a beer), and then kept going.
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| Path through field of daisies |
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| the lake in the middle of the trail loop |
Despite feeling better after taking in a good amount of food, the speed never really came back to the legs in the second half. The crowd had also thinned significantly so there were many times when I never passed another runner during a whole lap. I started listening to music on Lap 8, and that definitely lifted my spirits and resulted in probably a faster pace than I should have been running because after that lap I was completely toast. I did run into a friend on the trail (more like LEAPED over it because I saw it at the very last second).
Ended up grabbing a (very long) stick and shoving him off to the side of the trail so he didn't surprise any other runners.
Finished the race in under 7h 30m total (somewhere around 7:23) and felt tired but not in terrible shape. Was definitely happy to sit down for a good while and enjoy post-race beverages with the small group that was still there watching the final finishers.
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| Splitsssssss |
Overall, really pleased with how this went given the serious lack of training/preparation, and it gives me confidence going into the summer with a few other races coming up on the schedule!
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