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Fairfield Trail Runs 1998 Report: Dan Hawthorne

Summary: Hot! But beautiful and fun!

And now, the rest of the story (very long and rambling):

Last week, I watched the weather forecasts anxiously hoping for good
conditions for Saturday's Fairfield 50k and 50 mile trail runs. Tuesday and
Wednesday the highs were only in the low 80s with humidity less than 50%, a
welcome break from the sweltering heat and humidity we'd had most of the
summer and giving us false hope for Saturday. Most forecasts called for
rain Thursday, but clearing by Fri. morning, and Saturday temps of low 80s.

Well, it rained hard Wednesday and again Friday morning. Finally it
stopped about 1 p.m. Friday. Fortunately the trails at Jefferson County Park
drain really well, so mud would not be a real concern. But the heat and
humidity from all that evaporating moisture was a major concern. And sure
enough, it delivered even better than promised.

Friday night's Cajun feast was great fun with around 40 runners,
families, and volunteers gathering at my house for Shrimp Etouffee, Seafood Gumbo,
and Red Beans and Rice. We also had an ample supply of microbrew.

But as I drove to the park at 6:30 Saturday morning, there was so much
humidity you could see it in the air, like driving through a cloud. (I
suppose you call that 'fog'). The race started on schedule shortly after 7 a.m.
with a bigger turnout than expected, a total of 63 runners in all three
races; 25 in the 50 mile, 13 in the 50k, and another 25 in the half
marathon.

After running a couple of .6 mile loops around the pond, those of us
running the 50 mile set off on 11 laps of the 4.45 mile trail. The grassy
trails in the first half mile were soaked with dew, but the temperature was
only a moderate 70 or so, so running was quite pleasant for the first few
hours. I settled in with a small group including Susan Rozanski, Robin
Kokjohn, and Linda Gentling and chatted for a few miles.

But by 10 o'clock it was really beginning to warm up. The next day I
checked the hourly National Weather Service reports. The temperature was 82
with a dewpoint of 71 at 10 a.m. A friend told me any dewpoint over 70 is
considered tropical. By 11 the temp was up to 86 with a dewpoint of 73. By 1
p.m. it was 89 and peaked at 91 by mid-afternoon where it stayed for
several hours. The dewpoint remained at 73 thoughout.

So those are the stats. The experience can be summarized in one word.
Wilting.

I grabbed a hat from my bag and filled it with ice every aid station.
Fortunately there was an ample supply of ice and there was an aid station
half way through each loop. But at the pace I was moving each 2.25 mile
segment between them was taking about 30 minutes. The ice in my cap would
completely melt within about 20 minutes, just in time for me to reheat before
the next refill. I was drinking a 20 oz. bottle of water every 30 minutes
and taking an electrolyte cap every hour.

I made it to 23.5 miles in 4:21 and to 26.7 in 5:23. It was 12:25 p.m.
and I was hot and exhausted. I decided to sit in a lawn chair and regroup.
My wife, Jennifer, put a fresh layer of sunscreen on my back, and I ate a
packet of chocolate GU, a bite of turkey sandwich, and drank a cold Coke as
I headed back out onto the trail to continue my shuffle. I could see that
not too many others were doing well either. Nikki Robinson and Rich
Breaux went whizzing by on the short out and back stretch. When I commented on
how good they looked, they said they'd had some bad patches also.

I made it to 50k by around 6:40 and took another break, about 10 minutes
this time. Each lap (4.45 miles) thereafter I only stopped for about 5
minutes, once to put on a pair of dry shoes and socks which helped a lot. I
hadn't noticed how soggy and heavy the first pair had gotten from sweat and
dew until I put on the dry pair. Huge difference.

With renewed vigor(?) I continued the relentless shuffle. As I left the
aid station for my 8th lap, there was Bonnie Busch walking back along the
trail picking up garbage. She'd finished the 50k about an hour and a half
earlier and was now out there helping out. Amazing. She looked like she'd
hardly broken a sweat. Later she was back at the start/finish aid station
helping out the runners in any way she could. She said she was heading up
to Wisconsin for a 24 hour run this weekend.

As I continued shuffling along the trail I saw and passed Kevin Kepley
several times. He always seemed to be doing quite well, in good spirits,
handling the heat well and continuing his forward progress.

Each hill was a welcome opportunity to walk. And fortunately they were
coming every half mile to mile.

In the early going I'd thought of perhaps trying to finish in 9:30.
Within the first 20 miles that goal became 10 hours, then "who cares what time,
just finish." I heard myself tell several other runners, "the good news
is, there are no cutoffs. We can take as much time as we want." The run
became a whole lot easier and more enjoyable without the pressure of making
cutoffs.

Somewhere in the late 30s I began to develop a bit of a rhythm, and
realized I could still finish relatively comfortably this side of 12 hours. So
that became my goal of the moment, which of course I would be willing to
give up readily for just about any reason at all. This was just for fun,
after all.

And it was great fun cheering on the other runners and talking with so
many great friends from all over. I briefly spoke with Stuart Johnson from
Shawnee, Kansas who'd just finished Hardrock the month before. I told him I
was sorry we didn't have any snow-covered hills for him to glissade down
but he was welcome to continue running for the next 40+ hours if he wanted
to and I hoped the heat was to his liking. I know he appreciated the
offer. He seemed to be enjoying the run though as he whizzed by.

The start/finish was at a shelter house overlooking a pond which the
trail goes around. As each runner appears on the other side of the pond he can
be seen from the shelter house. So, by the final laps every time I'd
appear on the other side of the pond with less than a half mile to go to the
end of the loop, I'd get a huge cheer from the "crowd" at the shelter
house, yelling "Go, go, go. C'mon Dan!" It always brought a big smile to my
face. They were a boisterous and rowdy group of local runners and friends
cheering me and the other runners on. You see, we don't get much excitement
down here in southeast Iowa. Not that much to cheer about. So any
opportunity.....

At one point the local high school cross country coach appeared with his
trumpet and started blasting the "Chariots of Fire" theme, and other
assorted favorites. The trumpet blare carried quite well across the pond.

As I reached the last hilly section less than a mile from the finish here
comes none other than Nikki Robinson herself strolling back along the
trail singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer, take one
down and pass it around..." Nikki had finished her 50 mile run about an
hour and a half earlier and was now headed back out on the trails looking for
Kevin Kepley. When she saw me, she looked up and said, "Where's Kevin?"
You see, we were all rooting Kevin on to the finish of his first 50 miler,
and eagerly awaiting a sampling of his famous home brew, a bottle of which
I'd tasted the night before.

So, I told Nikki I thought he was about a half mile or so back. When I'd
passed him about 10 minutes before he'd said that this lap was going to be
his last, and he would finish at about 41 miles.

I continued my walk up those last hills, then trotted around the final
pond as the crowd, which was now down to just my wife and son and a few
volunteers, roared. As I staggered towards the finish at around 11:25 after
I'd begun, I thought of those brave souls at Leadville I'd read about the
previous week, who'd sprinted for the finish in the final seconds in order
to make the 30 hour cutoff. I briefly entertained the thought of a final
second sprint in their honor, then came to my senses and thanked God I
didn't have to worry about any cutoffs and decided to just savor the experience
by backing off a little more.

A short time after I finished Kevin and Nikki appeared. We sat and sipped
some of Kevin's home brew while recovering and waiting for other runners
to finish.

A big thanks to Bob Lyon and all the volunteers who made this run such
fun despite the heat. And thanks Kevin for the great beer.

Dan Hawthorne
Fairfield, Iowa
hawthorne@vitalimages.com