Race Review: Stone Steps 50K

Toward the end of September my friend AK asked me if I would do a race with her. She wanted to do the Stone Steps 50k in Cincinnati. This race is billed as “Cincinnati’s Toughest Ultra.” It is no joke. And even though I hadn’t ran any real distance (any more than 8-10 miles at a time) in recent months I decided why the hell not? So I signed up and went about formulating a 4 week training plan that would at least give me a shot at finishing the race.

The day before the race I did something I’d never done before: bought a pair of trail shoes. Yes, that’s correct. Although I run on trails quite regularly and was about to embark on my 4^th ultra (all 4 on trails), I didn’t own a pair of trail shoes. Yes, I know getting shoes the day before a race isn’t ideal. To be fair, I didn’t plan on running in them the whole time. (Spoiler alert: I did run the whole race in them.) Anyway, I visited my local running store, Up and Running in Troy, and tried on a few pairs. I fell in love with the Mizuno Waves. They were lightweight yet sturdy. And after Sunday’s race, I’m hooked on them. I walked away from that rugged trail race with NO blisters. And I’m not going to lose any toenails either. Woot!

I left my house at 6am on Sunday morning and drove to Cincinnati’s Mount Airy Forest, an absolute gem of a park very close to downtown. To be honest, I was really nervous on the way down. It was over an hour away and my stomach was in knots the whole time. I felt tired and nauseated and wondered why I was wasting some perfectly good sleeping time to run around in the woods. (I am not a morning person.)

When I arrived at the race I quickly found AK at the sign-in spot. It was chilly and dark when we got there but by the 8am start time the sun had risen. The race directors gave us all a pep talk (I think there were around 100+ people signed up to run) and turned us loose on the trails at 8am. This event consisted of 4 big loops of 5.3 miles alternating with 3 loops of 3+ miles each. Both loops lead back to just one very well equipped aid station. There’s over 10,000 feet of elevation change. Basically that means that you’re always going either up or down. There are very few flat stretches. It is also mostly one track and very technical – meaning full of rocks and roots. There are spots where a misstep could send a person tumbling down a ravine that looks beautiful but probably wouldn’t be fun to land in. 

The namesake of the race happens during the big loop – the dreaded stone steps. I started calling it the hellish hill to Hades. Those steps last forever.  And we had to do them FOUR times. That loop also had Gummy Bear Hill to contend with, another extremely challenging uphill battle. (It did have a big bag of Gummy Bears at the top. That was nice. It would’ve been better if they were soaked in vodka, but beggars can’t be choosers.) The smaller loop was no piece of cake either. It didn’t have any HUGE hills to contend with but it had plenty of gradual raises of elevation followed by quad busting downhills.

In the weeks leading up this race I had faced some emotional turmoil. I was looking forward to talking with AK while we conquered the trails. We run well together. There are times when we talk non-stop, and other times there’s complete silence. I also got some solo time as I ended up running the last few loops on my own. I needed that – time alone to absorb some recent changes and reflect on life. 

Although I have some excellent friends I talk to on a regular basis, I desperately needed some time to do some deep thinking – just me and the trails…a time where no one was asking anything of me and all I had to do was concentrate on the moment. A time to reflect and think about what is important to me - what to hold on to, as well as the things I need to let go of. It was a perfect day to do that. It was a sunny day – crisp and cool. The color of the leaves on the trees and the ground ranged from green to gold to vivid orange and red.

While in some ways those last few loops felt very cleansing, they were also painful. My left hip and knee were killing me. My quads were also extremely unhappy. I’ll be honest, I was giving myself pep talks during the last 5 miles. Out loud. In the woods. Alone. Judge if you must, I don’t care.

As I crossed the finish line at the end of my final loop the race director caught me and asked my name and age. I answered, curious as to why he wanted it. Was I the last one on the trail? I knew I wasn’t setting in course records on this crazy hard course but was I the reason he and many of the EXCELLENT volunteers were hanging around? But to my extreme surprise, I actually placed first in my age group. I was shocked. I’m 41 – the age group for 40-49 females is usually very competitive and there are plenty of women in that range that excel at ultras. I don’t consider myself an accomplished or expert runner. But when the race director handed me the award, I was stoked. I wish I would've gotten a picture with him, the guy is a legend. Thank you, David Corfman!

Overall, this race was as fabulous as it was challenging. The trail was well marked.  The volunteers were incredibly supportive. The other runners were encouraging – including the ones who were flying by and trying to set course records.  The scenery was breathtaking. I drove home exhausted but happy. I was very sore for a few days. Getting up and down the spiral staircase at work required time, effort, and a few choice words.  Don’t get me started on the chafing in my armpits and from my sports bra. I guess all that’s a small price to pay. And I’m already scoping out ultras for next year… there may just be a 50 miler on the horizon. 

If you're looking for an intense race that will cause you to dig into your inner reserves just to finish, Stone Steps 50k is a good option. It is not for the faint hearted...but it is well worth the effort.  Be sure to train on hills...

P.S. I didn’t run for a week and then went out and did The Narrows 10k this past Sunday. It’s put on by ORRRC and was super fun. There were over 150 runners and I managed to place 5^th in my age group. No chafing this time. Holla!

Race Recap: Another Dam 50K

Last weekend I did something not many people would think was fun: a little race called Another Dam 50k. No, I am not crazy. (Ok, that’s debatable, but we don’t need to talk about that right now.) And yes, I loved every single minute of it.

This ultra (an ultra is a distance anything over and above the standard marathon distance of 26.2 miles) was at Englewood MetroPark, about a 20 minute drive from my home. I signed up for it a few months ago because the thought of doing something like that scared me shitless. Made perfect sense at the time.

Race day dawned sunny and beautiful with the temps in the low 60s, which gave way to temps in the 80s later. The course consists of 4 loops for a total of 31+ miles. It is mostly shaded except while running across the infernal dam,…which is required twice on each loop. Good times. Most of the race was on the trails, some of it was on pavement. And of course there were hills, including Big Bertha, who makes her salty appearance within the first mile of each loop. She is a bitch.

The race started at 8 a.m., so I got my happy ass up at 6:30 to finish packing my provisions: a couple of PB&J sandwiches, cut into fours (makes it easier to stuff in the face on the go, multi-tasking at its finest), potato chips, water bottle, extra change of clothes, extra shoes and a care package supplied to me by one of my BFFs. (The normal stuff like Vaseline, candy bars, lotion, powder, etc. Things one needs during and after the race, obviously.) And in true Lisa fashion, I forgot my Powerade. I knew Gatorade would be supplied on the course but it doesn’t always agree with me. Enough said. I have better things to do than to get into a discourse on my intestinal issues. Okay, I really don't but I'll leave well enough alone. This time. 

Just before the race started, the race director called the 100 or so participants to the start line and gave us a low-key pep talk. He also warned us not to fuck up the trails – no littering and if you have to be a bear in the woods and can’t get to one of the porta-potties make sure to get far enough off the trail that other runners don’t have to witness it. After those words of wisdom, he turned us loose.

During the first loop I fell into an easy pace. I knew my pacers wouldn’t be joining me until loop 3 or 4, and I was fine with that. As I was running, a few people struck up a conversation – it was all very laid back and relaxing. At one point I started running with a guy who had crewed/paced at the Leadville 100. Seriously, how fucking cool is that? He also had done IronMan 70.3, an event on my agenda for next year. Turns out, he and I had a ton of mutual friends. We chatted and paced each other for 10-15 miles and had a grand old time. Thank you, Doug, for your awesomeness.

By the time I started loop 3, I was on my own again. But my first pacer, Sheila, made her appearance with impeccable timing as I was heading through an aid station. We took off, and I sincerely believe that she made that loop bearable. We talked sometimes, but there were also times of silence. She was an excellent pacer and those miles seemed to fly by.

At the start of loop 4, Tracey (she of the two time Boston qualifier fame) made her appearance and the three of us set out.  If you’ll recall the last time the 3 of us ran together, I puked. There was no puking this time. They told me it wasn’t allowed as it would give them a complex. This loop was the hardest. I was tired. My body hurt. And then I got a weird side cramp. I also felt like I was getting a blister on the bottom of my left foot. My hips hurt. My knees hurt. I didn’t like my sunglasses on top of my head but I didn’t want to wear them, either.  My Garmin quit. The birds were too loud. I think I ate a bug. But I felt as if I couldn’t stop smiling. There’s no other way to describe it: I felt free. Free of the shackles of grief that have plagued me since my sister died last month. Free of the constant stress of budget woes, worrying about my children, fretting that I’m not a good enough mother, daughter, friend, person, …I could go on. I opened up and let the trails just be my therapy.

As we neared the end of loop 4, I felt like crying. I was beat the hell up but not ready for it to be over. I marveled at every mile covered and felt incredibly lucky to have fulfilled my goal. I crossed the finish with a time of 6:10:31. That includes all the stops at aid stations. I was 3^rd in my age group for females and 11^th female overall. Not bad for my first ultra. And I can’t wait to do it again.

Thank you again to my wonderful friends and pacers, Sheila and Tracey. (And to fellow Team Grace members – congrats Brett Bogan!). And thank you to TerriAnn, who sent me wickedly funny and inspiring texts all the way from Utah, as well as Steve who texted me to get moving and stop drinking wine in the shade. For the record, no wine was consumed until hours after that race. I stayed hydrated with water and Gatorade. Also, I want it known that I did not make up any new obscenities during this race. That alone is a major accomplishment, thank you very much. 

Until next time….

Signed,

An ultra runner.