Walnut River Gravel Run 50k

There have been a few posts where I mentioned my speed just never really came back after I got the flu and was sick for 2 weeks in March of 2019. It was getting to the point where I was really frustrated and just not very motivated to train for anything. I decided since I couldn't train to run fast times, I needed some other challenge to train for. That's when I decided to run my first ultramarathon. My original plan was to run 35 miles for my 35th birthday. Then Boston got pushed back to October 2021 and I got in. I decided I'd rather run a 50k a bit earlier in the summer so I could have a couple easy weeks of running before jumping into an 11 week training cycle for Boston. I usually do a 12-16 week training cycle for a marathon, but I felt like since I'd have a huge long run base under me with the 50k training, I'd be okay with a shorter cycle. When I started training for the 50k I told everyone if I hated the training, I wouldn't do it. I was super easy going and flexible about it. I wasn't sure what I'd think of the back to back long runs on the weekend but I ended up loving it! This was the first cycle in a long time that I made it through with no aches, pains, or niggles. I think part of that may be because I ran all my long runs around 9:00 pace. I also wasn't able to run my speedwork quite as fast because my legs were still a bit fatigued on Wednesdays after the back to back long runs which I think helped me stay healthy. It also helped me not obsess over how much slower my splits were than in the past. Most the time when I have little injuries or aches, it's due to speedwork. So I think it was a blessing in disguise that my speedwork was slower.

My friend, Audrey, came to watch me run and we took a picture before the race.

I hadn't been 50k training for very long when I found out I got into Boston. I decided to push my ultra up a bit and switch to a 50k but I still needed time to get my long runs in before race day. It would crunch it a bit to run an early July 50k (I had been planning on 35 miles on July 29th for my birthday) but I felt like it was totally doable. I landed on the Walnut River Gravel Run in El Dorado, KS because it was early July and would give me 11 weeks to train for Boston after 2 weeks of easy running following the race. Plus with it being my first 50k, I really didn't want to do a trail race which would add in a whole other level of challenge. There was a 50k closer to us the same day but it was an evening trail race and I didn't love the idea of finishing in the wee hours of the morning. My biggest concern with running this race was the heat. I noticed pictures of one of the ladies who owns the running store I'm on the race team for on the race website so I talked with her about the course. She said the biggest challenge is that there's basically no shade for the entire race so it gets really hot. I ran most of my long runs later in the morning than I normally would so I'd finish around 10:00am which was the time I figured I'd finish the 50k. I tried for unshaded courses, but it wasn't possible to find courses that were entirely without shade. I did make sure the last few miles of my long runs were without shade. I felt confident in my ability to handle the heat as many of my longest runs were done starting at 80* and finishing much warmer. I was hopeful even just going 3 hours north would give me a bit cooler temps than what I was used to. I also did a few long runs with gravel roads mixed in but they were nice, well maintained gravel roads which were similar to portions of this races but weren't anywhere near as challenging as large portions of this race!

The race started at 5:30 am and we knew if we took the kids, they'd end up waking up really early and being miserable and grumpy all day. The Friday before the race was Ty and my 10th wedding anniversary so we decided to make an anniversary trip out of it. My parents came to our house to watch the kids for the weekend and we went to the race just us. Packet pickup was from 2-6pm on Friday so Ty took a half day and we made it there in time to pick up my packet. On the drive I tried to read a bit toward the end and kept nodding off. I'd been worried I'd have a hard time falling asleep that night because I slept in until 6:40 that morning since I was only running 2 miles, but with how sleepy I was in the car, I was optimistic it wouldn't be an issue. When we picked up my packet the race director was acting like the course was really confusing and wanted us to go drive it. Looking at the map I couldn't figure out what was tricky about it since it was basically just an out and back with a square. But she made me nervous, especially once I looked and there were only 17 people registered for the 50k so I likely wouldn't have anyone around me to follow. So we decided to go drive the course which wasted about an hour of our time and was pretty unnecessary. Although it did help me mentally prepare seeing the state of the roads we would run on. The main portion of the race went down 20th street which wasn't too bad. The first 5 miles were really nice gravel roads like I'm used to. Then miles 5-15 were mostly okay with some sections with really large rocks. Once you turned to do the square, that's where things got dicey. We almost got stuck a few times and there were sections where I was trying to see where I'd be able to run but there just wasn't anywhere that had a decent path. The rocks were huge! The morning of the race we heard one of the runners mention the roads had recently been graded which kicked up a bunch of large rocks. I told myself when I got to that section of the race, to remind myself it was better than running a 50k as a trail race. I did use that later and it really helped my mindset as I was struggling.

I went to bed at 9pm with an alarm set for 4:45. Ty kept the tv on and watched for a bit which I didn't think would bother me but I couldn't sleep, so I was glad when he decided to turn it off and try to sleep a little bit after I did. And, of course, he was snoring before I fell asleep! Race morning we got up at 4:45. I ate a Zbar, drank some Nuun, filled my bladder in my camelback, and we were off. I checked the weather when I woke up and it was 74* with 85% humidity. By the time the race started it was already 77*, luckily as my friend Sara suggested, it was overcast for most of the race which really helped! The pins they gave us for our bibs were tiny so I dug around in Ty's car and found a couple bigger ones. I was a little worried about the first mile because it sounded complicated getting to the gravel road but I figured it would be okay because I'd have other people to follow at that point. If anything would have been helpful, it would have been walking this portion of the race the day before but it wasn't clear on the map and the course wasn't marked very well. My friend, Audrey, came to cheer me on and I was excited to see her before the start. She took some pictures and then we were off a little after 5:30. There was a woman right in front of me and when we got to a section where there was an arrow spray painted on the ground, it looked like it was pointing toward the road so we headed that way which was up a big hill and a group behind us followed. Once we got to the road she stopped and said it didn't seem right to cross the road so we stood and waited until more runners came behind us and they yelled and showed us where to go. We got back on course and after that were able to follow the guy who was giving course directions before the race so I was confident I wouldn't get lost. I ran the first portion a bit slow to stay behind him. I knew once I got to the gravel road, I'd be fine. The arrows on the ground in the first portion were not painted well and were tricky to follow. It also made it hard that it was dark. The first mile was 9:34 and then once we got to the gravel road, I felt comfortable running my own pace. My plan was to run the first half of the race in 9-9:30 pace and attempt to negative split. I also knew the heat would really start to get to me at the end so I may not be able to negative split no matter how conservatively I went out, so I wasn't against running slightly under 9:00 but not too much. I really held myself back and made sure all my early miles were close to 9:00 pace. Since I was tapered, it felt pretty slow. At times during the 2nd mile I'd look down and see I was running 8:20 pace and have to reign myself in. But once I hit a groove around 9:00 pace I just cruised there and didn't have to look at my watch at all.

Ready for the start! The woman to the side of me is who I ran behind for so long.

There was a woman running just a bit ahead of me (the lady I followed who took a wrong turn at the beginning of the race), I'd guess about 15-20 seconds in front of me and just maintaining the gap. I hated that I had someone so close to me but we were both running alone. I thought about speeding up for a bit to catch up to her so we could run together since her lead never changed, but I wanted to run conservatively and felt good with where I was. The first 5 miles were all great and I was so happy and feeling awesome. I was watching the sky and a little nervous for the sun to come up. Around 3 miles in Ty and Audrey drove by us and cheered for me and then stopped at the first aid station. Miles 2-5 were 8:41, 8:54, 8:58, and 8:56. The first aid station was around 5 miles. When I ran through it, I saw Ty and Audrey helping the volunteer set it up. I didn't find out until after the race that the volunteers at the first couple aid stations got to them a bit late and they weren't ready for the guy running in front. Ty and Audrey helped them get set up so they were ready by the time I got there. I also had no idea how many people were ahead of me because it seemed like a few men went out way in front. But in the early miles there were 2 men and then the woman ahead of me so I was running in 4th. 5 miles in, the roads started to get dicey and I'd have to move around on the road to find decent paths to run. On the way out, they weren't great but didn't seem too bad and didn't seem to slow me down. There were also lots of really gradual small inclines but I didn't really register them either. There was one section in here that was so nice and easy to run leading up to a farm house. They had a colt out in their pasture which was so cute to see! I was having a hard time getting water out of my straw which seemed harder to drink out of than normal in the early miles. Finally during mile 6 I realized I didn't have it pulled all the way open. I felt so silly when I realized that! I was feeling a bit hot watching the lady in front of me's tank top blow in the breeze while mine was stuck to my back, thanks to my water vest. I started to wonder if the vest was worth it. Spoiler alert, it so was! I wouldn't change anything about my gear. I used body glide all over and came out with no chafing!

The colt I got to see twice during the race.

When we came up on the aid station at 10 miles, the woman ahead of me stopped to refill her water bottle, but since I had my camelback on, I didn't need to stop, so I passed her as she was refilling. I was so bummed because I figured I wouldn't see her again and just being able to see someone ahead of me was really nice mentally! But right after I went through the aid station I could hear her coming in hot behind me. I got excited thinking she had sped up after the aid station to catch me so we could run together. But then she flew past me and didn't even respond when I told her good job. I realized she was out to win the race and wanted to be out in front, not run and work together. Then I didn't feel as bad about not trying to catch up with her to run together in the early miles. I went through miles 6-10 in 8:51, 8:48, 8:48, 8:54, and 8:54. Somewhere in here the sun came up and Ty passed off my sunglasses to me. Pretty early on in the race I noticed my bib had ripped and was flapping around. I re-pinned it multiple time in the coming miles but it just kept re-ripping. I thought it was because my vest was rubbing it but Ty said multiple people lost or had theirs rip as well so I think it might have been made out of something different than most bibs.

The sun was out for a few miles but I couldn't tell you how many and which ones because the early miles of the race were so easy and I was feeling so good. I really felt like I could go forever. After mile 10 we had about 3 miles until we got to the place where we would turn right to start the square. I was dreading it a bit because I knew how terrible those roads were going to be. Before making the turn we had to run a mile out past it and then turn around and go back. I felt really confident about finding the turn around, thanks to the course preview the day before. When we hit mile 13 Ty and Audrey were at the aid station there. I had decided in addition to my bladder to pack a small fuel belt water bottle in my front pocket of the vest and drank out of that a bit early on because I figured it would be easier to refill at aid stations than my bladder. At this aid station I drank the rest of my water bottle and handed it off to Ty so he could refill it and give it to me when I came back through. I felt a little bad about it since the lady ahead of me was having to stop to refill, but I knew if I didn't have Ty there to refill the water bottle, I wouldn't have stopped to refill it yet. I just did it because he was there. I made sure to drink every mile early on even before I felt like I needed it. I also ate Gus every 4 miles so at miles 4, 8, and 12 at this point in the race. I put the trash in a pocket of my shorts and meant to drop them at an aid station but always forgot so I finished the race with trash from 7 Gus in my pocket. I alternated between a caffeinated and non-caffeinated Gu. Somewhere around in here it drizzled a bit and the droplets on my sunglasses got annoying so I passed my sunglasses back to Ty when I saw him. 

The woman ahead of me stopped to refill at the mile 13 aid station and I expected her to again come hauling past me, but this time she didn't. I was a bit disappointed because I knew I'd be alone from here on out. For some reason, I was just sure there were a slew of men ahead of me. So when I got closer to the turn around and only saw one man coming back toward me after the turn I was a bit surprised. Then I reasoned the rest of them must already be on the square portion of the course. That was true of the one other man who was ahead of me. When we passed by each other we fist bumped. After the race Ty told me they saw him before I came through at each spot in the race and he was so nice and excited to see them each time. When I came back through the aid station Ty passed me my bottle and told me they'd see me when I came out of the square. I was really excited that I was half-way done! I checked my watch and I was at 2:17:30 at halfway so on pace to run around 4:35. I was really excited about that because I was thinking sub-4:40 would be a good time for me given the conditions. Miles 11-15 were 8:47, 8:49, 8:47, 8:37, and 8:45. I got pretty excited that I was half-way done and may have sped up a little too much given the challenging nature of this portion of the course.

Mile 13ish aid station where the woman stopped and I passed her. This was the last time I saw her during the race.

Since I was all alone, the square seemed to last forever. I can't remember what mile we came out of the square at, but I think it may have been around 21. I was looking forward to seeing Ty and Audrey again when I came out of the square. They had people at each intersection where we turned to make sure we didn't miss the turn which was greatly appreciated.  Miles 16-20 were 8:41, 8:52, 8:39, 8:42, 8:43, and 8:52. I ate more Gus at miles 16 and 20. I was excited I only had 2 Gus left to eat because I was so over them. They were too sweet and I was tired of eating them. Coming out of the square was a welcome change, it was back to the main road which was in better condition. The marathon started 30 minutes after us and was just an out and back on that main gravel road so I saw some marathoners ahead of me as I turned onto the road. I was also excited that I was getting close to the marathon mark. I started telling myself, "You are really doing this! You are going to run 31 miles!"

When I saw Ty and Audrey, Ty said it was the last time they would see me until the finish. I asked if there was anyone close behind me. I figured if I had a decent lead on the 2nd place female I would go ahead and refill my whole bladder at the next aid station, if not I'd just refill my water bottle. Audrey said, "I'd say no, but it's really hell no!" That made me laugh. I was still feeling really good when I saw them but Audrey said she could tell I was starting to feel it a bit. It was crazy that all the rocks seemed so much bigger on the way back and I noticed every single uphill that I hadn't really even registered on the way out. There were some small inclines that were so long. I saw Audrey and Ty at the top of one of them which is probably why Aud said I seemed to be feeling it a bit. The aid station was just up the road a bit from where I saw them and was a little after mile 25. I was starting to notice the heat a lot more and was feeling super hot. I started to break out in goosebumps so when I stopped at the aid station I poured a cup of water on my head and another cup on my neck. Then I refilled both my bottle and my bladder. I was really glad I did that because I didn't have to worry about running out of water or trying to conserve it, I just drank whenever I wanted to. I was really excited to hit the marathon mark and checked my overall time, I went through the marathon in just under 3:57. For some reason I was really pleased to still be under 4 hours for the marathon, even in a 50k. Miles 21-26 were 8:52, 8:41, 8:56, 9:21, 9:07, 10:22. I looked at my watch at the start of the aid station stop and then again when I left. I estimated it took me about a minute and a half and I was pretty close. Strava showed mile 26 was 9:07 moving time. I'm not sure what went on with mile 24 in 9:21 other than maybe it was a bad portion of the road. I remember there being a terribly rocky section with an uphill where I was struggling to find good footing and rolled my ankle. I think I didn't notice it as much on the way out because I was running downhill.

I wish all the sections were as nice as this one!

A little bit after the marathon mark I passed a guy in the marathon and he told me there was a guy not too far ahead and I could probably catch him. I was glad to know I'd likely get to see someone soon. On the tops of the hills I'd be able to see him but otherwise he was far enough ahead I couldn't really see him most of the time. At around 27 miles the sun came out again and I really started to get hot and feel the race. I started using my straw to drink from and my water bottle just to pour on my neck and head. I was so glad I had both. The downside with the camelback was that I wouldn't have been able to pour water on my head with it. I started to wonder if I was going to be able to get my Gu down at mile 28 because my stomach was feeling a little yucky, but I was able to get it in just fine. If I do another 50k, I'll have to look at other gel options because the sweetness of the Gu really got to me, even the fruit flavors I had. I don't have very many specific memories from this last portion of the race other than that I just wanted to be done. At one point I started singing in my head, "Just keep running, just keep running," like Dory from Finding Nemo. By this point my bib was ripped in half and hanging on by one pin in the lower left section of the bib. Parts of it had disintegrated. When we went past volunteers they would write our bib numbers down so they could make sure everyone was okay and making it to the next aid station in the race. The volunteers started asking me my bib number and I wasn't sure. I tried piecing my bib back together and guessed it was 19 so I shared that when I ran past. 

With 2 miles left I could see the guy ahead of me because he started run/walking. I caught him with a mile and a half to go and he told me he'd tried to hold me off but just couldn't do it. I ended up finishing 4 minutes before him so he really struggled that last mile! The sun was really blasting and there was no shade. I started to get a little worried about that last section going back where we took a wrong turn on the way out. There was a volunteer walking around on the course and he told me to take a left at his chair. I think he got bored and left his post. I took a left turn and there was a crazy steep downhill through mud that went under a bridge and wasn't part of a trail or anything. I actually had to duck down to go under the bridge. I wasn't about to fall with less than a mile to go, so I just walked down the hill. I remembered slipping a bit on the way out and at the time thought I stepped in a cow pie or something. I could see footprints in the mud and figured they were from the race. The mud was really slippery and almost a clay. The last portion of the race was a bit confusing because of how they drew the arrows and being 30+ miles in may have made me not as sharp! There was one spot where an arrow appeared to be pointing into the woods on a trail through there so I turned that way but then the trail had a big NO spray painted on it so I got back on the path. I was super excited to see the park we started at coming up and there were no signs to tell us which way to go. I started to keep following the sidewalk I was on but the race director started yelling at me to turn and running toward the finish line so I turned. It was the wrong way so they yelled at me to run through the grass which totally messed up my finishing kick. At that point I gave up on trying to kick and just focused on finishing. I was so pleased to be finished but also knew it would hurt once I stopped running. Ty kept filling my water bottle and handing it to me and I just kept pouring it over my head. All I wanted to do was lay in the grass in the shade but the race director said she wanted to take a picture of me with the top male finisher, so I stayed on my feet, but they kept dillying around so I walked a bit with Audrey and then we took pictures.

The sweet finish line!

I told Ty I wanted watermelon and they had a small pre-sliced container from the store so I just ate one slice. My main issue was I was so hot. By the time we left to go check out from the hotel I was soaked from pouring water on my head over and over. My finishing time was 4:38:40 which was 8:58 pace. My Strava showed my running time was 4:37:10, an average pace of 8:56. Miles 27-31 were 9:05, 9:16, 9:18, 9:09, and 9:23 (thanks to walking down the hill rather than falling). My finishing kick was 7:39 pace which surprised me. Ty was shocked to see the guy they'd cheered on the whole race finish behind me. He said he was so far ahead of me, they didn't expect me to ever catch up to him. It was cute to see how surprised and excited he was. I finished 2nd overall although the winner finished about an hour before me. We stayed to cheer on the 2nd female as she finished. She finished almost 20 minutes after I did. Talking to her after the race we found out she had won the race the past 2 years. Which made me wonder why she took a wrong turn at the start since she'd run the course twice before. One of my friends looked it up and texted me later that day that I'd beat the course record by 20 minutes!

Me and the top male finisher.

My step count after the race: 49,914!

I had a few people after the race ask me if I'd run another 50k some day. I'm not really sure, but I do know I will never run this race again. The terrible terrain and the heat were just too much to make it worth going back. I wouldn't say the course was hard but the terrain was really taxing, especially mentally at the end of the race. My friend, Sara, ran a rails to trails race in the spring and said her recovery was easier than most marathons because of the softer terrain. I was hoping for that and it was definitely the case. I was so sore right after the race and thanks to running with my water vest and that extra weight, I even had some back cramps after the race. We went back to the hotel and I did a short post-run yoga video and that helped so much! After I showered I used my massage gun and put on compression socks. We also went on a few short walks that afternoon and evening. I ended the day with over 60,000 steps! Once I hit 60,000 steps I told Ty I was done walking. Audrey and her husband stayed at El Dorado State Park and invited us to come to their campsite after the race. We went over there and I showered in their RV and we hung out for a few hours and even took a short walk. That evening Ty and I drove to Wichita and stayed there for a little anniversary celebration. I really wanted to see the fountains at the Waterwalk but I'd already hit 60,000 steps and was too tired to walk back over there so we just watched from our hotel window. The next day we took a walk at a Chisholm Creek Park, visited rescue animals at Riverside Park, and then went to Botanica Wichita before heading home. And, of course, the day after the race it was in the low 60's in the morning and didn't get up to 75* until noon!

As far as recovery goes, I was sore the next day, but really didn't feel it too much other than going up or down stairs. Monday I only noticed soreness when I climbed on top of tables to do work in my classroom and other than that my legs felt mostly back to normal. On Tuesday I ran a mile and felt sore in my hamstrings, but good other than that. I was feeling totally back to normal by Thursday which was exciting. But the fatigue was real! The morning after the race I planned to sleep in but woke at 6:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. The same thing happened on Monday. I'm still feeling pretty tired and don't have quite my normal energy but I've also been in my classroom moving furniture, cleaning, and fixing things up so that likely added to my fatigue. Overall this was an awesome experience and training for a 50k was exactly what I needed right now to let go of things and stop stressing over my times during speedwork and tempos. I have 2 weeks of easy running, getting back into things, and then Boston training begins!

With my buckle, medal, and medal holder I got for being the first female finisher.

My medal holder for finishing first female!

Step count as I was getting ready for bed!