What Happened at Mohican (26.2 trail experience)

It didn’t feel strange at all. Hiking up the first hill single file with strangers didn’t feel strange at all. We were sharing stories about running and little else while we paid close attention to avoiding roots and rocks on the trail.

It’s easy to keep your eyes glued to the ground. Sticks, rocks, mud, and the occasional chipmunk need to be noticed to be averted. But sometimes you can trust the ground enough to where you can look up and notice the place you’ve found yourself. On a road basically leading to no where. Glorious.

I can’t decide if I like the actual running more or the culture surrounding the sport. With Ultras, folks camp out for the whole weekend. They bring their friends, family, and even pets. The start and finish lines are always a party and the runners must decide how they’ll relate to the soreness and exhaustion.

One man I met travels with his wife almost every weekend to do Iron Mans and Ultras. They don’t sleep on beds and they don’t sit on comfy couches or chairs because it gives them back issues. I’m in a selfie with three strangers that’s now somewhere on the Internet. I met one woman who was only running ten minutes every hour for the marathon. Another woman told me about her and her husband’s leg muscles physically quitting about mile 70 out of 100. “You’re not a true runner without a DNF (did not finish).”

One woman I kept passing and being passed by throughout the race thought she might need to drop out. “I’ve run for 9 years and have never had a DNF. I can’t believe it.” She had been feeling nauseous for several miles. I told her, “We can do more than we think we can.” She said that she knew and that once she ran over 30 miles with a torn up shoulder and out of socket rotator cuff.

These are the kinds of people and stories out on the trails. My petite self must have been an amusing addition.

One of the best scenes of the weekend was watching an older man be awarded the 2000 mile belt buckle. When you finish a 100 mile race, you get a belt buckle instead of a dinky medal. At the Mohican trail, if you finish the 100 ten times, you get the 1000 mile belt buckle. This particular gentleman finished the 100 mile race twenty times and was going out for a 21st. They had to create this belt buckle aware specifically for him. It didn’t exist before. He cried. And his encouraging words to us all, “There’s victory in a finish.” My dad looked over to me and said, “That’s why you run these things.”

The stories.

The emotions.

The memories.

The people.

The sights.

The fears.

The limits reached and pushed.

The chance to inspire someone else.

Another highlight of the weekend: my dad and I were interviewed for the 2016 race documentary. (Only Ultras have documentaries…such divas). We were the camera guy’s first interview of the weekend. I think we nailed it. He asked us why we run and I said, “It helps me remember who I am.” And my dad said, “I don’t know until I’m out there.” Hit up the 27 second mark for awesomeness!

I always get some sort of second wind at the end of a race; maybe because I want to look cooler or maybe because I’m just ready to be done. Nonetheless, it’s a sweet feeling to finish, look back and see your time, then sweaty hug friends or whoever is close enough. No one I knew before the race saw me finish. But friends I made along the way gave me my props. I really wanted to cry. But I didn’t. I still think I need to. Such an experience deserves some tears, I think.

The finish really was pretty anticlimactic for me. I expected almost a weight to leave me. I started this thing to win myself back and to say no to old habits and feelings. I guess I achieved that before the finish and really did come across the finish a new person. No, I’m not proudly displaying the 26.2 on my laptop and vehicle…when you’re around cars with 100 and 200 mile bumber stickers, you’re not really allowed to flaunt. Maybe a 32 miler is in order…I think I can picture a good spot for that “Ultra” sticker.

And that’s the question I knew would come but dreaded. It reached me at the finish line. A woman I had run with at the start of the race found me and said, “So, would you do another one?” And now that I’m home, “What’s next?”

I love the idea of traveling and running in different state parks and amazing landscapes. Camping with friends, free food, and another free t-shirt are so tempting. And since I seem to lose part of myself outside of my running shoes, I think I’ll stick to it. Come October I’ll be participating in a Tough Mudder obstacle course in Tennessee. Something totally new once again has crashed into my world.

I suppose that will never stop. So I’ll roll with the punches and keep buying new running shoes.