Bad Apple Ultra: The Last One in is a Rotten Apple

After searching for awhile, I decided to try my first shot at a 12 hour ultra at Bad Apple Ultra at Kackle Orchards in Greenville, Michigan.  The event took place in late October.  My daughter was leaving for college in June so I decided I needed to take my focus off of the empty nest and on to running.  I started my training in May which allowed me 5 months to train.  I used the Ultra Ladies 100 mile training plan to get me ready for the ultra.  I wasn’t exactly sure how to train for a 12 hour, but using this plan seemed to make sense for me.  I was getting in long miles which I thought would help me with fatigue for the 12 hour event.  After looking at the website and seeing course records, I decided I would shoot for the stars and go for the women’s course record that was held by a three-way tie by three women.  The record was 64 miles in 12 hours.  Of course, being my first 12 hour event, my first goal was to finish!

I recruited a couple of friends and my husband to crew me.  The course was a 4 mile loop around an apple orchard.  For my first experience I thought a short loop would be a good course for me. My friend Charles had ran the course many times and was able to provide insight, offer advice and encourage me to go for it. 

Race day the weather was just under freezing to start at 6 a.m.: Snow was gently falling.  We all started with head lamps and I wore my Under Armor running tights, long sleeve base layer shirt, Patagonia light weight wind breaker, a hat and gloves.  This outfit served me perfectly the entire day.  I had other gear readily available with my crew since it was a short loop.  My husband set up our crewing station just ahead of the start/finish line.  We had a canopy with some tables and my nutrition and hydration for the day.  Additionally we had a reclining lawn chair for me to rest if needed.  I had a variety of food from sweet to salty.  My plan was to use food for nutrition and water for hydration.  My husband had a dry erase board set up to help keep track of my loops and times to closely monitor my course record goal.

A week prior to the race, I was feeling some aches and pains from all of the mileage I had put in so I went for a sports massage.  The last several weeks of the training were 30 miles on Saturdays and 20 miles on Sunday. In the midst of my training we also moved so this put some strain on my training plan.  I was not only running a lot of miles, but also carrying a lot of moving boxes.  I guess this served me well for staying on my feet and getting in a good core workout.  On race day, the massage apparently worked as I didn’t feel any muscle pain throughout the entire 12 hours.

I started the race out with a woman named Rebecca.  She had some ultra experience so we chatted and ran some miles together.  It was dark and not knowing the path, I started off with my pace a little slower than I had planned.  I quickly realized that I would need to make some adjustments to my pace according to the terrain.  The course consisted of a variety of surfaces: a woods trail, paths through the orchard both grassy and gravel, through a pumpkin patch and corn field. 

After a short time I decided to pick up the pace and run ahead.  I came along side a male runner and we started talking. He shared he had run the course multiple times and had ran 52 marathons that year.  I decided since he was seasoned to the course, I would run with him for awhile. I remember him asking my goal for the day and when I shared he sort of laughed at me like my goal was set a bit high.  I didn’t let that shake my confidence: I believed I had a shot a the course record if nothing went wrong.  It was dark and snowy and somewhat difficult to see, our headlamps were lighting the trail and small pie tins with green arrows pointed us in the direction for the turns.  I was following along with him since he knew the course: All of a sudden we were running in tall grass through the apple orchard and I realized my feet were getting soaked.  We noticed that we took a path too soon and were running through the un mowed section of the course.  It didn’t change the distance, but it did change the fact that this path wasn’t mowed and the one we were supposed to be on was!  At this point I looked over and noticed something in his hand and asked what he was carrying; he laughed and said that he was trying to hide it, but he had a beer in a cozy that he was carrying.  This was at 6 am!  So I followed the wrong person down the wrong path!  His goal was to drink a beer every lap of the 12 hours as he had brought along a 15 pack of All Day IPA.  I think he finally dropped after 10 beers, but I did tell him I expected one after I finished. 

After that I ran on ahead and discovered I thought I had a blister developing from my wet feet.  When I came around the first lap, I stopped and changed my socks hoping this would help.  I ran the second lap hurting from the blister and decided to stop again for some first aid.  My husband popped the blister and I started off for lap three.  It was cold and the stops were tough on my muscles.  They would tighten up and it would take a bit to get going again.  I stopped one more time for final blister care the third lap, but after that I just gritted through the pain. I decided if the blister was the only pain I experienced that day I would call it lucky.  The stops for the blister did set me back a bit, but I was still on target for the record.  My husband was excited marking the laps and cheering me on.  At stops I was taking in some water and a little bit of fruit.  I really didn’t feel like eating so I just kept running. 

By noon I had in 36 miles so I was half way to my goal and happy to have maintained my pace, but the thought crossed my mind I have to do this all over again: Can I make 32 more miles? At noon I was able to start having pacers so my friend, Bruce joined me.  He quickly realized that I needed more hydration and nutrition and started making me eat and drink.  Luckily he had brought enough supplies along to support me for the rest of the 12 hours (he spared taking it himself for me).  He started having me take a Boom Energy Gel once every hour and a Hammer Endurolyte every hour: I would alternate between the two.  Looking back, if he wasn’t there to encourage this I would have hit the wall and never finished the 12 hours.  Once, I got some nutrition, hydration and electrolytes in me I started to feel so much better.  I was still stopping after  a loop, but by lap 6 I realized this was really setting me back.  Each time I stopped it would take over a mile for me to get moving comfortably again so I would just grab supplies and keep on running.  Bruce ended up running 24 miles with me that day.  Sometimes he would run along the entire lap and sometimes he would take short cuts and meet me at the next stop.  He did a great job of motivating me and keeping me right on pace.

My friend Charles and his wife Julie were also on the course participating in the event. It was motivating to see them and hear their words of encouragement as we met each other on the trail.  I remember thinking in the back of my mind that Charles had told me I needed to hit 50 miles feeling fresh.  As I was about to hit 50 miles concidentally, I passed Charles shouting, “I’m hitting 50 and I feel fresh!”  At that point, I knew I could do it: I felt strong and thought only 18 more miles to go!

Next my friend Teddy came to pace me.  While we were running around the 10 hour point, my Garmin watched died and I sort of had a little mental break down.  He calmly said I have my watch on and I know where you are.  This was a relief, but then I started trying to do mental math, which is the wrong thing to do in a long endurance race: mental math is the first to go for me.  So I ended up panicking myself and thinking I had an hour less and could never make it. I told Teddy and he calmly corrected me and said I was going to make it!  This gave me the motivation I needed.

Teddy and Bruce alternated running some of the laps with me.  At this point in the race, I really needed someone with me to keep me mentally strong and keep me going.  There was an aid station about 2.5 miles in with great volunteers.  They were so encouraging with me and offered me so much support.  At one point, they saved me with some Tylenol which gave me what I needed to keep going.  I would stop grab some goldfish and coke from their aid station and run on.

It was nearing the cut off for the 6 p.m. bonus lap.  If runners arrive at the finish line prior to 6 pm. they are allowed an additional bonus lap.  It was going to be close, but I thought I could do it.  I would be finishing 64 miles that lap which was a new PR for me.  I had ran 40 miles with Teddy a couple years prior, but that was the longest I had ever ran.  I was doubting myself because I was getting tired and even singing aloud which made Bruce laugh.  I was thinking well 64 miles is pretty good as it is a PR, but the record was still in the back of my head: was I ready to give it up or could I still do it.  Then I saw the top male runner up ahead and walking.  When we realized it was the top male, Bruce and I jogged ahead and caught him.  We encouraged him to finish with us.  I told him if we get the bonus lap we can do it together.  So we started jogging together and then he would stop: We did this a few times and then he finally said you go on ahead.  I asked if he was sure, because I didn’t want to leave him behind and he told me to go.  So Bruce and I picked up the pace, not knowing my time since my watch battery died, I had to trust Bruce’s guidance.  I asked how we were doing for time and he told me we should pick up the pace so we did.  The last 800 meters of mile 64 was at 7:30 mile pace.  We came in with about 5 minutes to spare and the top male came in with seconds to spare.

With the bonus lap ahead, we introduced ourselves and went on to complete the final lap.  My entire crew joined me as we finished the last lap.  Darkness set in and it was cold and damp.  I ended up finishing setting a new course record of 68 miles and receiving the Rotten Apple Award for being the last one on the course. Unfortunately this race ended in 2018,  so I guess that means I will forever hold the course record.