Burning River Race Recap

Burning River, the 2011 USATF (USA Track & Field) 100 Mile Trail Championship, was a rousing success this year, both for the race organizers and myself. For the first time ever, 300+ participants registered for the race, with just under 300 actually toeing the starting line at 5:00 AM on Saturday, July 30 (with 151 runners completing the course within the allotted 30 hours). Last year, I would complete the course in 56th place with a time of 23:36:26 (yes, that’s twenty-three and a half hours), primarily walking the final 30 miles due to moderately intense pain and/or swelling in/around the leg area. This year, having that experience under my belt, I took precautions and wore calf sleeves on both legs, as well as a Jumper’s Knee brace on my right leg, and was pain-free (chaffing and general aches notwithstanding) the entire 100.8 miles that comprised the course. In fact, I finished on quite a tear, not allowing a single runner to pass me the final 35+ miles (besides general tiredness, I felt far better 100.3 miles in than I did 33.3 miles in, at which point my electrolytes were severely unbalanced and I had to sit down and/or slowly walk for at least 30 minutes, at which point I was passed by a handful of people I would never again see). I crossed the finish line in 20:49:06, nearly three full hours ahead of last year’s tally, which was good enough for 16th place overall.

I’m not sure if it was during or just after the race, as I lay in the middle of an ice-cold kiddie fountain (the kind that randomly shoots out jets of water from various holes in the ground at differing intervals), but I decided that I’m actually a fan of ultramarathons. Perhaps I was too stubborn to admit it, even to myself, but there’s a very strong chance that I only participated in past ultras to prove to myself that I could do so (which is, in and of itself, not a wholly bad thing)—not necessarily because I liked doing so, but because my body allowed me to do what many other’s bodies wouldn’t. The 2011 iteration of Burning River was truly an enjoyable experience, from start to finish and from teeth gritted in pain to teeth shown amidst a giant smile. And yes, I’ve already signed up for Burning River 2012.

Next race on the agenda (currently): Saturday, November 5th’s Savannah Rock ‘n Roll Marathon, though I’ll be looking into other ultras in the interim.

Pictures (as soon as they’re made available to me) from Burning River 2011 will be posted ASAP.

P.S. A big thanks goes out to Julia and my mom, who were a gracious and ever-helpful crew even when all they likely wanted to do was ring my (unintentional) mean-spirited neck.

P.P.S. Monthly mileage totals for June and July: 202.5 and 268.71 miles, respectively.