Surprisingly, I had one lone race this year that did not get cancelled because of COVID: Burning River 100 Miler, set in the Akron and Cuyahoga Falls, OH area.

Granted, an ultramarathon is already quite socially distant, as racers are often all by themselves for hours on end, particularly as the race progresses towards the later stages. However, that “perk” of trail races (as compared to crowded road races) notwithstanding, other ultramarathons this year have still been cancelled because of COVID-19: e.g., Bigfoot 200 this year was cancelled.

After being cooped up in Baltimore for so many months and having countless races cancelled (B&A Trail Marathon, Delaware Marathon, Morgantown Marathon, and Brooklyn Marathon, just to name a few), it was a great respite and immensely refreshing to finally ‘race’ after ~six months of not being able to in person!

This race was overall quite well-organized and I have to give major kudos to the race directors, staff, and volunteers for putting on a smart, socially distant race.

Among the adaptations for COVID-19: a rolling wave start based on expected finish time (I thought I was going to be ~26 hours, so started around 5am; fastest [expected] runners started at 4am, slowest [expected] runners started around 6am), all aid station volunteers wore masks (and runners entering an aid station had to put one on), no spectators, and no after-race celebration.

…

To make a long story / run short: I finished in 29:27:22 — just under the 30 hour cutoff.

Heat (~90F), long exposed sections, coupled with enough rolling hills on trails to make the race decided not flat, made this race deceptively difficult: only 84 finishers out of ~203 starts (~59% DNF [Did Not Finish] rate).

My training for this race was OK, but not great: 164 miles of running in April, 140 miles in May, 100 miles in June, and 67 miles in July — coupled with rucking (30-40 lbs), some Peloton cycling, and yoga cross-training.

I slowed down significantly as time wore down, as the heat led to some major cumulative dehydration, tightness, and later discomfort in my left foot. [At least: I blame the heat! :) ]

Here were my 10-mile splits:

• Mile 10: 1:57:07 — pace 11:42/mi; Estimated Finish Time: 19:35:15

• Mile 20: 3:55:49 — pace 11:47/mi; Estimated Finish Time: 19:43:12

• Mile 30: 6:18:05 — pace 12:36/mi; Estimated Finish Time: 21:04:41

• Mile 40: 9:32:06 — pace 14:18/mi; Estimated Finish Time: 23:55:15

• Mile 50: 12:50:23 — pace 15:24/mi; Estimated Finish Time: 25:46:09

• Mile 60: 16:00:37 — pace 16:00/mi; Estimated Finish Time: 26:46:37

• Mile 70: 19:37:36 — pace 16:49/mi; Estimated Finish Time: 28:08:10

• Mile 80: 23:01:00 — pace 17:15/mi; Estimated Finish Time: 28:52:17

• Mile 90: 26:16:02 — pace 17:30/mi; Estimated Finish Time: 29:17:16

• Mile 100.2 (Finish): 29:27:22 — pace 17:38/mi

Finally, here’s a video I put together — enjoy!