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Holiday Lake 50K 2000 Report: Martha Holden

Race Report - Holiday Lake 50K++, Saturday, February 19, 2000

This past Saturday, Bill Harrold, John Deeter, Ken Hubbard and I
ventured west to Appomattox, Virginia for David Horton's Holiday Lake
50K++(++).  I had wavered over my entry due to my sporadic winter
training--I first filled the application out in December, but never
mailed it. Based on Ken's promise that we were going to run easy (and
my fiance's kind offer to babysit my 8-year-old daughter), I finally
decided to go the Wednesday night prior to the race.  Then I heard the
forecast…rain, sleet and freezing rain in the area all day on Friday…it
looked like it was shaping up to be a challenging run.

The pre-race dinner at the 4-H Center was excellent, especially the
spinach lasagna, bread and coconut cake!  David welcomed each runner
and made us feel instantly at home.  His remarks about the race, the
course and the runners were both helpful and humorous.   Somewhat
alarming was the part about the course being measured by a bike at 17.5
miles one-way.  Henceforth I think it should be known as the Holiday
Lake++(++).  We had the chance to meet other runners and I was able to
say hello to Frank Probst of the VHTRC, whom I know from the List.

4:45 a.m. came early at the Budget Inn (I'm not a camper, but I admire
those who do).  We awoke to the last of the rain pouring down, but a
surprisingly warm temperature of 47.  By the time we headed out for the
park, the clouds had blown over and there was a full moon out.  The
race started promptly at 6:30 and we headed up a short hill on the road
and immediately turned into the woods onto singletrack.  I was very
glad I had taped my ankle securely (last sprain was less than 2 weeks
ago on 2/8).  The first half-hour is a blur of adapting to running in
the mud, trying not to trip, wishing the sun would come up, and
realizing I was woefully overdressed.

I knew eating and drinking would play a big part for me, so I had my
first Gu at :45, and another about every 45 minutes thereafter (until I
ran out of Gu and switched to Clif Shot).  I supplemented with some
snacks from the wonderful aid stations (four of them plus the
turn-around halfway), and drank XLR8, water and, in the second half,
flat Coke.  I was glad I was conscientious about this as I was out on
the course for longer than I'd thought I'd be, and the day warmed up
quite a bit to 65 degrees.

Ken set the pace for us and led me down fire roads, trails, through the
woods, across the meadow and through a few streams (David advertised
the course as having two stream crossings, but there were a few bonus
streams thanks to all the rain).  As we neared the turnaround, we were
able to see the leaders coming back, as well as Frank Probst and Bill
and John.  They were all running well.  After slipping and sliding down
a power line hill, we finally reached the turnaround at 3:04, otherwise
known as the Start and Finish, neither of which I wanted to think about
at this point.  I switched shirts and put on a singlet, thanks to Ken's
recommendation.  (I never even considered bringing sunblock to this
race, but after this it will become a staple in my running bag.)

Back we went the way we had just come, running the second half of the
course in reverse.  It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed seeing each
now familiar milestone pass by as we counted them down on our way back
to the start.  Trail, stream, fire road, aid station, trail, forest,
meadow, stream, aid station…..It had dried up a little, but much of the
course was still fairly muddy.  Sometimes I thought I would have been
farther along had my feet not been sliding back 3 inches for every step
forward I took.   Ken kept us on a good pace and dragged me away from
the aid stations where I was fighting a tendency to linger ("hmmm,
maybe I should have just one more cookie….")  Finally we were on the
last couple of miles of singletrack (how did I ever run it in the dark
a few hours ago?) and then out of the woods and onto the road.  We ran
down the hill to a 6:25 finish and a hearty greeting from David and the
crowd.  Bill and John were finished and showered already; they had run
5:47 and 5:56, respectively.

Thanks to David Horton for coordinating such a wonderful race.  Thanks
to Ken for knowing I could do it and getting me through.  And a special
thanks to all of the volunteers who helped organize and manned the aid
stations.

Martha Holden
mpholden@yahoo.com