For a variety of reasons I had to skip out the MGM 50K this
year. I was a bit bummed since I had run
this 4 years in a row and really like it, so I made a last minute decision to
jump into the Boyer’s Furnace 40 miler to make up for it.
Boyer’s Furnace is a low key 41-42 mile run out in the Massanuttens
with an easy bail point at mile 21 where many people wisely call it for the
day. I figured I would likely take this
option given my lack of trail running and coming off an 80 mile week for the
first time in forever.
I had a most entertaining drive out there listening to the
audio book “Dad is Fat” by Jim Gaffigan that my mother-in-law got me for
Christmas. It is pure gold, and I highly
recommend checking it out.
The race went off at 7am, and it was a nice and brisk 18
degrees. It was supposed to be in the
mid 50s later in the day, and with a 40 degree temperature swing I had literally
no idea what to wear. I went for the
initially stupid and with some luck subsequently smart option of shorts and a
light pullover. This meant I ran a bit
faster than I might have otherwise planned up the 4 mile climb to keep myself
from freezing to death. Fortunately I
did not die, and sunrise on top of the mountain was beautiful and started
warming things up quickly.
Sunrise after some climbing
The next 8 miles were on some nice single track trail on the
northern ridge of the Massanuttens. I
was running in good company, and the miles flew by. We bombed down some really nice trail to the
11.7 mile aid station and then rolled along roads for the next 9 miles, which
also went by fast.
I rolled into mile 21 at Camp Roosevelt in 3:22. That was way faster than I expected, and I
was feeling good. I decided I was
feeling foolish enough to run the whole thing.
The weather was also as good as it gets at this point, and I was running
in shorts and a t-shirt the rest of the way.
The next 17 mile stretch was all up on the southern
Massanutten ridge, and I knew it would be tough. It was 12 miles to the next aid, and it would
all be very rocky with lots of short, steep climbs. But for the most part I felt good and enjoyed
this long stretch. There were some
fantastic views along the way across the valley to the Shenandoahs. I felt pretty rough for a few miles, but an
S-cap, a Hammer gel, and some Coke snapped me most of the way out of it. The guys who hiked an aid station up to
Milford gap were also amazing, and some refueling there was hugely helpful.
Looking over the ridge of the Massanuttens
Looking out over the valley and the river towards the Shenandoahs
I came off the ridge with 5 miles left and was definitely
ready to be done. My legs were beat, and
I was undertrained for this length of run.
I pounded down the mountain as best I could. As one last kick in the teeth, the trail
literally ran through a stream for a few hundred yards, getting my feet nice
and icy cold.
Believe it or not this is actually the trail!
There were 3.5 miles of rolling roads left, and I made
pretty good time. Although it was only
2:30pm, the sun was already well on the way down to the mountains, and it was a
beautiful end to the day. I wrapped up
in about 7:40, first one back for the day.
I very much look forward to getting back out to the
mountains a bit more often again.
Hopefully the MLK and President’s Day long weekends will provide good
opportunities.
Sun already going down on the last road section
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