Race Detail

Race day, there are only 250 people allowed to register.  In addition, there are two other races on the same day, 50k  & a Marathon which hosts 350 people each.  North Face staggers the starts so the 50 milers start at 5 AM, 50k at 7 AM and the Marathon at 9 AM.  You can either pick up your packet right before the race starts or do packet pick up at the DC at the North Face store.

I went down to DC looking for good gear, race discounts and to get some of the pre race excitement that always starts at packet pick up.  The staff distributing race items had everything in order but there was no extra benefit to going to the store.  No deals, no special gear and I had to fight the Friday evening DC traffic.  TNFC changed the gear from last year where you got a race bottle, shirt and socks.  This years goodie bag included a shirt and arm warmers, not ideal to get arm warmers in the summer but ok.   Next year, I will skip packet pick up and go directly to the race, I advise others to do the same.

Race plan

To be honest, I don’t plan much so the extent of my planning came with packing for the race the night before.  The obviously things needed were supplements, gear, headlamp and some sweet shoes.  When preparing for a 50 mile race, some pre-planning is required.

Breakdown:

Shoes – The North Face Double Tracks

Shirt, hat and socks– North Face – snug fit and UVA protected for the shirt, the standard hat and socks that allowed for breathing

Shorts – compression – road runners sports version

Race water pack – Nathan Hydration pack 

Nutrition/supplies – GU Chomps and Roctane, tube of baby Vaseline 4.0 oz, Band-Aids and anti-chaffing stick

Also, had a backup of everything for the race.  Depending on weather, etc. needed to prepare for shoe/sock changes, clothing and hat was ready to go.

Race day

Anyone who races understands the dynamics of getting up early to get to the race.  Ok, ok, 5 AM start, yeah, that was early even for me.  I got to the start of the race around 4 AM, started getting ready.  While waiting I got to meet up with Steve and Ally Speirs,  nice treat seeing them before the  start.  While hanging around, you started seeing all the headlamps getting turned on and the attitude of the race was very related.  At a trail race there is significantly less anxiety and everyone that is around loves to run (my type of crowd.)

The race is broken into 2 sections:

1. Out and back to the Great Falls
2. Great Falls Loop

Time to race

Starting off was pretty darn cool, seeing all the headlamps taking off at once was fun.  Every step was a surprise because it was so dark and the branches, holes, etc. kept jumping out at you.  While running I chatted with many people, it really helps make the time go past as you start and running up the mileage.  Everyone had stories and those stories get you through the run.

Section 1 – running out to Great Falls was easier than expected.  Needed to keep the mindset “take it easy, don’t rush, slow down”, otherwise later in the day fatigue would set in.  Most of the section was flat but 7-9 miles into the run some hills started popping up.  I always find it funny the hills don’t seem that bad going out but coming back… I will get to that later.  As the sun started to rise, the beautiful landscape showed itself and made the run all the more enjoyable.

Section 2 – once you get to Great Falls, there is loop that has hills, rocks and trees.  It becomes significantly more technical and challenging.  Also, it is debatable because when you run the 50 mile race, you have to run the same loop 3 times.  Some people like the loop and others don’t.

When running this distance you need to find ways to stay motivated.  During the first loop I got to see Steve Speirs flying through the trails.  It was fun cheering for him as he ran past me.  Then I got to run into Bart Rein (another Baltimore runner) as he was cranking along.  Randomly, I would run with strangers and have a lot of fun cheering for them and keeping them going.  At the end of the first loop, Darryn Waugh was standing there cheering the runners on, great guy and always good to see him. 

By the third loop I had a good fall right before the rocky section.  I got up pretty quickly but could tell I damaged my toe and hands.  Once that loop ended, I was looking forward heading back to finish the race.

Section 3 – you head back the way you came out to Great Falls so there was no real surprises.  At this point there are many more people because the 50k and marathon runners are all blended in.  After hitting the 42 mile mark, I was feeling good.  I would get to the aid station and yell out “who’s ready to start running?”  Some would chuckle others would give me dirty looks.  By mile 45 my legs finally got really tired and I slowed down a ton.  At this point in the race you toughen up and push forward, always need to believe.

The Finish

Within the last mile I lean forward and power through, knowing my family is at the end I take off and start running hard again.  There was nothing like running through the finish line and feeling the satisfaction of completing this race.

The Aftermath

As I have said before, trail ultras are a special experience.  A gentleman who ran the 50 miler comes up to me with his family and said “I don’t know you but you got me through the race.  Thanks for cheering for me.”  His family took a picture of us and he thanked me again.  It made me feel good that I could impact someone's race in a positive way.  I also got to meet two great Dailymilers at the race Andrew and Larry.  

Like anything, there is so much to learn with every experience and … always believe!

About the Reviewer

Brodie W:  I just run, I run a lot!  I am a high mileage runner that runs over 170 miles per month and averages sub 8 min mile pace on the road.  I have tried many shoes and limit my shoes to motion control/stability options which support my extreme pronation issue with my flat arch and I require custom orthotics.  I don’t have issues with weight maintaining around 170 lb.   Over all, I am a heel to inner roll foot striker but my arches collapse when I run.  I have been a long distance runner for over 11 years and have completed 6 marathons, 1 ultra, 1 Olympic triathlon, and many other shorter races.

For the Hat Run (Ultra 50k in Maryland), I was planning to use a pair of road shoes (Brooks Beast) because I wasn’t comfortable running in the New Balance Trails I purchased. Not for any good reason, just eased away to make sure I didn’t have any arch issues. Before the start of the race, The North Face was a sponsor and started telling me about their shoe line. Due to my shape of my foot and unusual shoe size, (and with my luck they had my size for their demo) they let me try a pair of The North Face Double-Track. I did a 180º right before the start of the race and gave the new shoes a try without ever running in them previously.

North Face Double-Track
Category: Trail/Stability

Weight: 11.3 oz

Upper Material: sandwich mesh, synthetic leather

Waterproofing: Gore-Tex XCR

Sole: Tenacoius Grip

Footbed: Ortholite Northotic

Arch Support: medium

Details for make of shoe: North Face Website

*Suggested retail = $110

Fit

The shoe caught me off guard because when I put it on it felt like glove but provided more support more than expected.  Without having a wider option the mesh allowed my foot to fit without feeling restricted.  In other shoes must get a wider version (Brooks 4E, New Balance 2E) but the Double-track was one size fits all.  Without putting my orthotic in the shoe, my heel hit the back of the shoe and felt great.  When I stepped down, immediately the fore foot flexed with my step and I felt like I needed no break-in period.  Since I require major support, when my heel strike hit, I didn’t feel a lot of give preventing more issues to my pronation problems.   Once running on the trail for the race, I did use my orthotic on top of the inner sole, slight slippage in the heel (nothing major.)   When running down sharp hills, the shoe grabbed the ground and I was able to have great traction on the tough terrain.

Structure

North Face offers two key things in the shoe that are very relevant for me.  First X-Dome which protects from pronation and second Snake plate design that allows for flexibility in the forefoot.   This structure worked for me better than expected.  I admit, I didn’t think the heel/arch support would hold up but I was wrong. Even on the tough terrain, my foot remained balanced and was able to have a good heel strike up and down the hills.  The shoes seem to have close to a straight last which also helped from allowing my arches to collapse.  Due to the snake design, I felt like there was enough padding and grip so when I was going rough gravel, tree roots or branches, my foot wouldn’t slip. On the other hand, when running on flats (road parts of the race), I felt the impact immediately on my forefoot and had to easy off of the speed.  Yes, I know it is a trail shoe so the impact was expected.

Styling

I admit, I love the way the shoes look. Compared to others and the black, green and gray hid the fact that my feet are huge (in my mind at least .)  With being a little lighter than most MC road shoes and a sleek design, I really like how they looked when running in them.  The outer part of the shoe mesh has a snakeskin look and match the environment I was running through.

Performance

For a trail shoe it held up better than I expected (compared to the support of a road MC shoe.)  During the race we ran through everything, brush, streams, rocks, etc.   I had almost no issues but slight slippage in the heel.  The fact that I have some of the worst foot structure for running and was able to run strong through the 31 miles, the shoes did great.  Another nice positive between the socks I was wearing and the shoes, after running knee deep in a creek, they dried out very fast.  I never once changed socks or shoes through the race.   I did have a little tough time keeping the laces tied so, next time I will need to look at alternative lacing solutions to keep the snug fit throughout the run.

Summary

These shoes are officially added to my arsenal.  I am scheduled for another ultra race (50 miler) in June and I plan on using the North Face Double-Track for that run.  I will limit the miles in these shoes on the road and make sure every step is on a trail.  Over all more than happy with the outcome of the shoes and the race, nothing is more surprising than running in a new pair of shoes in an ultra race and having pure success.

About the Reviewer

Brodie W:  I just run, I run a lot!  I am a high mileage runner that runs over 170 miles per month and averages sub 8 min mile pace on the road.  I have tried many shoes and limit my shoes to motion control/stability options which support my extreme pronation issue with my flat arch and I require custom orthotics.  I don’t have issues with weight maintaining around 170 lb.   Over all, I am a heel to inner roll foot striker but my arches collapse when I run.  I have been a long distance runner for over 11 years and have completed 6 marathons, 1 ultra, 1 Olympic triathlon, and many other shorter races.

Post run Dailymile meetup

Check out this article on our fundraising effort for the BCAC!  Donate now!  I also did a radio interview this past week too. Listen

It was another great week of training!  The mileage was down but the speed was up.  A special thanks to the dailymile friends that showed up Saturday and ran one of my last longer runs with me.  A very special group.  We are getting down to the wire here, I actually am leaving for Colorado tomorrow morning, I can’t wait!

Here is a re-cap of this weeks training:

Tuesday, August 10: 6.24 miles – I didn’t really have a goal for this run but as I watched the Garmin I thought it would be nice to be in the 8′s today.  It was a struggle my head is always telling me I am not a speedy guy, I am a slow and steady guy. Give in to the 9 minute mile, relax. This was a small victory. The splits are all over the place: Mile 1: 7:55 / Mile 2: 9:19  / Mile 3: 8:53  / Mile 4: 9:40 / Mile 5: 9:15 / Mile 6: 8:55 / Mile .24: 8:01

Wednesday, August 11: 8 miles on bike, 2 miles on treadmill 15% incline, 100 sit-ups, 50 push-ups, 50 squats

Thursday, August 12: 6.45 miles – Awesome hill run with Juda this morning! The skies got dark the winds picked up and the skies opened up and dumped on us. It was awesome! We ran over to Bellemore Rd. and used it as our hill. It was like a river. Great run.

Saturday, August 14: 9.05 miles – Great run for several reasons:  1. Weather was perfect  2. Got to run with some great people  3. I felt fantastic.  4. I love running in downtown B’more.  I am lucky to have such good people around me. Big thank to Jeanne for setting up this meetup.  Thanks to Brodie, Mike, Kathleen, Juda, John, and Darryn for all your support. I really had a great run today here are the splits: Mile 1: 10:27 / Mile 2: 9:27 / Mile 3: 9:10 / Mile 4: 9:20 / Mile 5: 9:59 / Mile 6: 8:18 / Mile 7: 8:33 / Mile 8: 8:30 / Mile 9: 8:41

Sunday, August 15: 12 miles – 1st run Hot to Trot 4 mile race: Alright, if you know me then you know I don’t run in the 7′s.   I was as surprised as you when I saw my splits at the Hot To Trot 4 mile GPS race. Check them out:
Warm up: 8:53 / Mile 1: 7:16 / Mile 2: 7:51 / Mile 3: 8:01 / Mile 4: 7:50
2nd run, cool down:  This mornings 4 mile race was a good confidence booster for my training.  I had twelve on the training schedule so after my 4 mile run with a half mile warm up, I continued on the trail to get my miles in. Good day, last double digit run before the main event.

Believe in the Run

Brian L. Stephanie M. Brodie W. and Me

So about two months ago I was messaging back and forth with Stephanie M. on dailymile.  We were thinking it would be fun to run a race together, Stephanie mentioned The North Face Challenge in DC.  I wrote her back and let her know that I was registered.  She said I was nuts and she registered too.  We were kinda nuts we only had about six weeks to get ready for a trail marathon.  If you know anything about road running vs trail running, you know trail running is harder.  I emailed Brodie and roped him into the madness too.  We are running enablers, its a good thing.

June 5th came fast and the next thing I know I am waking up at 5 a.m. getting my gear together and rushing out the door to go pick up Brodie.  I left something in the house so I ran back to the house, as I was running I stepped on the hose and slightly turned my left ankle (FORESHADOW ALERT).  I hopped back in the car and picked up Brodie stopped at Starbucks and got my pre-run ritual meal: tall coffee, slice of banana walnut bread, and a black cherry yogurt.  Brodie knew some back roads and we were to the shuttle bus before we knew it.  We met Linda on the bus and she hung out with us until the start of the race.

Stephanie pickin' up packets

Stephanie picked up my packet for me the night before so I was eagerly awaiting her arrival.  From a distance I saw her orange dailymile t-shirt.  We had a Hallmark moment as we opened arm hugged.  It was the first time we met, but just like when I met Steve S. and Andy O. it was like we already knew each other and were old friends.  It was hot out there and I was already sweating.  Another dailymiler Brian L. showed up too. Now we were all together, Brodie, Stephanie, Linda, Brian, and me all just waiting for the start of the race.  It came fast enough.

All five of us started the run together and the terrain was deceptively easy for the first couple of miles.  I came to run with Stephanie so I made sure I didn’t lose her in the crowd.  The trail got harder and hotter.  I was dripping with sweat, I couldn’t be any wetter.  Stephanie was wearing a little green sparkle skirt that made a lot of people smile and comment.  For most of the first 13.1 miles I kept hearing “I love your skirt” when I wasn’t hearing that I was hearing Stephanie cheering on other runners.  I found out that she was a cheerleader in high school and college.

Spotting Mark at the 1/2 way

Stephanie had planned on only running 13.1 miles of the event.  When we made it close to the half way point we spotted Jason P. from dailymile and then Stephanie’s husband Mark.  We said a quick hello and made it to the aid station where we filled up on water and nutrition.  Did I mention it was super hot and humid.  I went through 64 oz. of water in 13.1 miles.  We saw Greg S. from dailymile at the aid station, he was pacing a friend doing the 50 miles.  I said my goodbyes to Stephanie and got back on the trails.

I felt good at this point and started to pick up the pace.  It was fun I was passing a lot of people.  I knew I still had a long way to go so I tried to keep myself from getting carried away.  By the time I started to really feel the distance I was pretty over heated.  Having the Camelbak with 64 oz. of water turned out to be a life saver as I gulped enduralytes, Stinger gels, Clif Bloks and loads of water.  It was seven miles between the aid stations and in 90º weather and 90% humidity that would have been a long wait for water.

I started getting really fatigued around mile 17, maybe that is why on a steep downhill I wasn’t careful.  Next thing I knew my head hit the ground and I did a summersault.  I had turned that same left ankle as I had running back into the house.  I hit hard my upper arm is deeply bruised, my knees have small cuts and my wedding band cut into my hand and was bleeding.  I got up and knew I was screwed, it was tough to walk let alone run.  I was not going to DNF (did not finish) this race.  I started walking and started going to a dark place in my head.  I really started to beat myself up.  I thought I had lost it and was thinking I was weak.  At this point I was about 7-8 miles out, at the pace I was walking (about 18 minute miles) this could be awhile.  People I passed were starting to pass me, this SUCKED!  I needed to start running.  My first couple of tries were on the shorter side.  As I kept going the runs got longer.  I was bargaining with myself, thinking just run to that next uphill or run to the next spot of shade.  Every time I had to stop running I would start to beat myself up again.  I spotted a few other dailymile people on the trails, Brian F. and Matt the “No Meat Athlete” it lifted my spirit.  The last aid station had Coca-Cola it was cold and delicious and I drank a lot of it.  Coca-Cola fueled the last two miles I was done with this race and just bit down and ran as hard as I could.  I knew Brodie, Brian, and Stephanie would be waiting at the finish.  So would beer and ace bandages.  I was right about the beer, no luck on the ace bandage. Stephanie captured my finish on video.

TNF Finish from Thomas Neuberger on Vimeo.

Overall, even with the extreme heat, humidity, busted up ankle I had a great day.  I hung out with my dailymile friends, completed my 9th marathon, pretty good stuff.  Oh yeah did I mention I met Dean Karnazes?

Dean Karnazes & Me

I can’t express how much the site dailymile has improved my running experiences and my life.  If you are not on it you should be what are you waiting for?  Thanks again to Brodie and Stephanie without you it would not have been the same.  See you at the next adventure.  I forgot to mention this was Brodie’s last run before a hernia operation and he actually ran 30 miles.

Results: 27.8 miles 6:22:52 – 67th place overall, in my age group 18th place, out of men 45th Considering I did it with a bum ankle, not to shabby.  I will take it.   -Believe in the Run

Check out these shots of the ankle a day after the race:

Stephanie and Brodie

On Saturday I met up with Jeanne, Paul Gochar, Bobby O’Kane, and Wendell to run the trails in Patapsco State Park.  The video does not do the hills and mud justice.  This was a tough hilly muddy 8 mile mess.

Sunday, Jeanne and I met up for a 14 mile run through Baltimore and the rain.  Fellow Dailymiler’s Brodie W. and Brian B. joined us for the run.  Running with friends sure makes the nasty weather easier to take.  If you are on Dailymile friend these runners, they are great people.

Me, Brian B., Jeanne B., Brodie W.

Patapsco Trail Run from Thomas Neuberger on Vimeo. Believe in the Run

Green Valley North Turkey Trot

I will be running The Green Valley North Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day with some friends and family.

Then in December I will be running a Baltimore classic, The Celtic Solstice 5 Mile Run.  This is a cold one!  Jeanne Bayers and Brodie Wise are just a couple of the dailymile.com‘ers that will be there.  This race usually sells out.  If your interested RUN don’t walk to sign up.  You can sign up and get the jacket for $45, or just pay a $15 fee to run the event.

Hope to see you out there!

From Left to Right Me, Brodie, Katie before the CCR NCR 20 Miler

I guess when I used to think about running I thought of it as an individual sport.  I was wrong. These past few months of training has made it crystal clear.

I have trained for all 7 of my previous marathons with Jeff Arricale.  At the end of the Spring marathon season Jeff let me know he was taking a break.  The training has not been the same.  Having a partner to run the long Saturday runs with makes a huge difference.  When you run with a partner you push each other to run faster even if you don’t feel like it.  You make it out to the start of the run with purpose.  I find myself running slower this training.  I think a lot of it is that I don’t have anyone to keep up with.  I am running Chicago next month and have no clue what my time will be.

On the flip side other running friends are helping me out.  Juda’s Tuesday track nights introduced me to a group of pretty decent runners and had me doing organized speed work.  Mean Jeanne the BOMF running machine and I have become closer this season and have done some of our own track workouts followed by a cup of coffee and some conversation at Starbuck’s.  Katie from Charm City Run joined me for some of my last runs around the Baltimore harbor and showed me how fast she really is when she finishes 20 mile runs 30 minutes in front of me.  My friend Brodie and I reconnected with in the crowd of runners at the Maryland 1/2 Marathon. Brodie came up from Silver Spring early in the morning to Baltimore for the Charm City Run NCR trail 20 Miler last weekend to run it with me.  Brodie is a much faster runner than me. I really appreciate that he stayed by my side giving me encouragement the entire time.  Thanks Brodie.

Once I realized that travel to the Montreal Marathon was going to be prohibitive, Katie let me know she knew someone that had extra rooms reserved in Chicago for the marathon weekend.  Jeff had an extra bib for Chicago.  Everything fell into place and now I will be running the Chicago marathon.  Awesome.

One other set of friends that have helped out are all the people I virtually run with on Dailymile.com.  So I guess I did not train all by myself for this Falls race; I had a lot of help.

PS – I found out that I did not make the wait list cut offs for the North Face Challenge 50k.  Might be a blessing in disguise.  I am really looking forward to Chicago.