2009 Gunpowder Keg 50K

The power is out at work, so I thought I'd make a short blog post from my iPhone to kill some time. I tried to take a nap, but that wasn't working for me...

On Saturday, I ran the Gunpowder Keg 50K. It is a roughly 10 mile loop, and there are 2 aid stations. One is at the start/finish, and another is maybe at 3-4 miles into the loop. You pass this one twice, so you are never more than 3-4 miles from an aid station.

The terrain is not too technical, with an elevation gain/loss of 1000 feet per loop, 3000ft total, and about 100ft per mile. This is not bad, I've done a 16 mile run with 6000ft of vertical in another section of the same park. There are very few rocks or roots to trip on or worry about. There are a couple wooden mini-bridges that can get quite slippery. My hip and ribs had a very intimate encounter with one of them. Nice bruises!

There was only one water crossing. Supposedly, you could avoid this if you skipped across some wet mossy rocks, but it looked too dangerous to me. I just plowed through the water.

This was a "Fat Ass" event. Before anyone starts complaining, Fat Ass is a term that has been used for years to describe a low-cost or free, no-frills, largely self-supported run.

This run fits that description perfectly. There is a $5 suggested donation, and you are supposed to bring 1 gallon of water for the aid stations.

I only have one complaint about this race. Some douche(or perhaps douches) filled his (their) water jug(s) with the nastiest water imaginable. It tasted like pool water siphoned through a decrepit garden hose. When I topped off my water and Gatorade at 20 miles, I didn't try them right away. One mile down trail, I took a sip, and nearly barfed. I tried both, and they were undrinkable. Maybe I am just a sissy, used to drinking some of the best quality tap water in the nation, but this was disgusting. So for the next 4ish miles, I didn't drink anything. I started to get dehydrated and delerius.

The water at the next aid station was much better. After that, I learned to sample the water before filling up my bottles.

Personally, I didn't have the best run ever, but it wasn't that bad, either. I finished in 5:52. I met my "easy" goal of breaking 6 hours. But was far from my tough goal of going under 5 hours. 5:52 was the second fastest I've ever run a 50K, the best in 3 years. I have no idea what place I was. It will probably be a good while before the results are up, but thats ok with me. Before the water mishap, I was running even with 2 very fit competitive ladies, so place-wise, I was probably where I normally am.

Ah, the power is back on, so I need to wrap this up. I have some more thoughts about training I want to write about, so I'll have to get to that later.

Also, if you are going to a race where they ask you to bring a gallon of water, avoid douchebaggery and just buy a jug at the store. If you can't, at least fill up the jug the night before, and LEAVE THE CAP OFF. This lets the chlorine "outgas", removing the funky taste.