That Rabbit Died!!

Long before most of the Bimblers Bluff runners had woken up a lone runner headed out from the start. Phil Markovich, a local runner, wanted to run the race but a family party meant he wouldn’t be able to do it at the published time. “Don’t worry,” Said the race director, “You can start early!”

And he did………………..

The following is an account of his experience, as shared with a fellow bimbler.

I had a bad run yesterday, mostly because of stomach issues. I started the race at 4:42am due to a family celebration I needed to attend at 1pm, so after driving over to Braemore to drop some water, heed, and a Gu bottle, I met Jerry at the start as he was unloading his truck to set up for the events of the day. I asked him if he wanted any help and he kindly directed me to think about my run, and to get going, reminding me that I had much more work ahead of me than the unloading of his truck. I asked him if he wanted me to take some trail marking tape just in case there was such a need, and so I carried that and did some augmentation here and there, using up the entire roll to be sure runners did not get lost. My apologies to the sweepers if this increased their work unduly.

It’s really hard to run fast in the dark, and the first section in Timberlands is kind of technical in some spots, and it was 4:42 in the morning for Pete’s sake, so I felt I did not really get going until after route 80. There is plenty of wildlife at night, and I saw some bats, and some deer through this section. They apparently LIKE being awake at that time of day.

Then, a little later I began to have problems with my stomach. Vomiting would have been my reluctant choice, but unfortunately that was not how my body decide to rebel. Not sure why. It usually takes me about an hour and 1/2 to the top of “the stick”, where the junction is for the “lollypop”. It took me 2 hours just to get to the top of the stick!! I knew I was in for a long day. The daylight started to light the trail just before I got to route 77, so that made things a little easier.

I got to the top of the Bluff after 2 3/4 hours and stopped to admire the view, and text Jerry about the good state of the trail markings so far. I ran a bit but got bogged down after a couple more ugly “side trails”, and got over to Braemore at hour 4 ! Ugh!! I was pissed, and not feeling it. Bounce and the misses, and the rest of the aid station crew were setting up and heartily welcomed me. I got my Gu, some aid station pretzels, refilled my hydration pack and hit the trail, worrying now that I might have to content with the leaders passing me….which I did NOT want to happen.

I spent a lot of time marking with the tape through this section, and got to Rene’ s Way at hour 5, knowing that Brian Rusiecki was probably about 30 to 40 minutes behind me. I stopped doing the augmentation marking just after Rene’s Way and tried to focus on real running. I got to the top of the stick just before hour 6 and tried to push through a bit harder.

After doing a reasonable job on the road section and turning back onto the trails near the nunnery, the wheels came all the way off and I spent more time dealing with my stomach. Also, my knee had progressively begun to bother me, especially on the downhills, just before Rene’s Way, and now it was getting difficult just to walk! FFFFFFFFFFF*%K!!!!!!!!

I hobbled to the aid station on route 80 but put on my best face (cameras were rolling don’t you know!!), surprised that I had not gotten passed by Mr. Rusiecki yet, and had the fantasy that I may finish ahead of him still (with better than a 3 hour head start). On this past Friday’s Westwood morning training run Jerry had joked that he was going to announce at the beginning of the Bluff that they had released a “rabbit” (me) to try and have the leaders “catch”. I don’t know if he made that announcement, but I was trying to avoid my own embarrassment and maintain some semblance of dignity by NOT getting passed.

I received great attention at that aid station by all the wonderful Bimblers, and I almost got Allstate to drive me to the finish! They had a wonderfully decorated station with equally festive food choices. Most of the other stations were not set up yet when I wandered through, but I am sure they offered great snacks as well. I headed into Timberlands to push to the end. I did run OK for a bit, on adrenaline and coca-cola I guess, but then just slow-ran and walked some. At the last wooden foot bridge, about an half mile from the end of the race, Brian Rusiecki past me, powering quickly and without slowing one bit, heading straight up the last steep climb. I cheered him on, amazed at how fresh he looked. I didn’t feel embarrassed, just a bit disappointed in myself. I then pressed on to finish “second”, about 5 minutes after Brian. My elapsed time was around 7hours and 41 minutes.

I thanked people at the finish, and tried to thank Jerry (but he was taking a phone call), ran to my car, and drove home. I quickly showered and drove to my family celebration, a 50th birthday party for my sister-in-law. A whirlwind turnaround!

Today I’m fine. It’s funny that sometimes in training runs I feel great, I can run for several hours, and even on the rare occasion, I even feel like I can run forever. Then, like yesterday, I feel like running is the activity I least wish to do. Nevertheless, I would do it again, and will. Hopefully without the “issues”.