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Berryman 50 Miler 1999 Report: Kevin Kepley

Interdependence Day, July 3, 1999

Berryman Camp on the Mark Twain National Forest

As I mentioned in my RD report, my adventure had already
begun before I left St. Louis.  I'll pick things up
at the campsite on Friday night.  It was James and
Vicki, Norm and Joyce, Ray, and myself.  We all had
a great time roasting our weenies by the fire and
telling stories.  Best Story Award went to Vicki for
her "Tire Store" saga.  The cool saying of the weekend
became, "You're not getting maximum performance out
of that (insert appropriate term here)."

In the morning we started getting our stuff together
to put in mine and Ray's pickemup trucks, and in James'
car for the three aid stations (in addition to the
start/finish).  We had originally planned on two
plus S/F, but decided to add the third because of
the heat.  And, boy was it hot!  Luckily, it was
humid too, so that we could enjoy the full effect.

Leo Flynn soon came over.  Turns out he had arrived
around 3:30AM and sacked out in his van.  The rest
of us had wisely turned in around midnight so that
we could savor a full 5.5 hours of fitful rest.
Jim Stroup showed up a bit later after an adventure
of his own including getting lost due to my bad
directions.  We got the aid vehicles loaded, and
finally pried Ray Wagner away from his Pop Tart
box at about 7:00, and headed out to place the aid
and put up the last couple of signs required by the
Forest Service.  We could have let the field start
at this point, but because there were only six of
us running we let it slide.

After some devoted dental hygiene on my part, we
finally hit the trail about 7:53 AM.  the pack
held together for about 5 minutes, and then the
"marathon for the incontinent" began.  Seems
everyone was well hydrated!  Pretty soon, Leo,
Jim, and Norm pulled ahead into a lead pack, while
Ray and I opted for a more leisurely pace.  We
hit the turn off for the 50K, and Ray decided to
do his short loop first and turned off back to
the start.  I had delusions of 40 miles, and
continued on.  I made it to the first aid station
at about 8 miles in just at 2 hours.  I sat down
for about 5 minutes and ate some peanuts.

Not long into the second leg, I started to feel
that queasy, sloshy stomach feeling, and was
slowed to a walk.  Running made me feel that I'd
be seeing those peanuts again if I kept if up
for long.  I had taken an electrolyte capsule
at 2 hours, and took a second at 2.5.  A third
at 3, and I started feeling better and was able
to run again.  I neared aid station 2 at about
4 hours, and yelled ahead to James that I was
coming in.  James and Vicki spent their weekend
helping out.  James had marked the course, and
he and Vicki manned aid station 2.  James even
took pictures of each runner as they crossed
Brazil Creek.  A BIG THANKS to both of you
for all of your help, as well as your excellent
company!  I sat down and had a diet coke and
some peanut crackers at AS2.  I felt much
better as I headed out.

From here on, I took a capsule each hour,
and drank a bottle of water and one of
my "bug juice" about each 2 hours.  I made good
time on leg three, and reached AS3 in about
1:15.  The fourth and final leg of the loop
was probably my best.  There are long, runnable
sections through the bottoms, and I took advantage
of them.  I finished up this section in just
1:45, and cruised into camp.  James was ready,
and wanted to test out his feet after his injury
at Kettle Moraine.  I wanted something to eat,
as I had been feeling a bit bonky on the last
part of the last leg.  I cooked up a couple of
hot dogs, and we headed out.  I was running
pretty well for the first mile or so, but
then the sloshy stomach monster jumped on
me again and I was reduced to walking again.
I repeated my strategy from earlier in
the day, and took an extra capule on the
1/2 hour, and after about an hour was able
to run again.  I also had started to develop
blisters, and tried out my blister kit
about 2.5 miles from aid station 1.  Application
of a Compeed patch and some elasticon tape, and
I was back in business.  I started feeling
pretty good again, and was singing as I approached
my truck.  The leg that had taken 2 hours in
the morning, had taken 2:35 the second time.
I didn't have a flashlight, and there was beer
back at camp, so James and I elected to drive
on back.

The same crew camped again the second night,
and Norm's jokes were just as bad as the
previous evening.  Luckily, the beer was
just as cold!

What a great run, a great trail, and a great
bunch of folks to share it with!  I had
a wonderful time, and learned a lot about
running through bad patches.

See y'all next year!

kevin, the mathineer