Make Godiva Great Again

I have huge news. Tremendous. I have been elected president of my running club, Carolina Godiva Track Club. Below is my acceptance speech.

Thank you for making me your President.

Godiva is an amazing club. Very, very terrific. Filled with so many incredible people.

But our club is in serious trouble. We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, Bull City Running in a race? They kill us. I beat Bull City Running all the time. All the time.

When did we beat Raleigh Runners at anything? They send their runners over by the millions, and what do we do? When was the last time you saw a Godiva singlet in Raleigh? It doesn’t exist, folks. They beat us all the time. They’re laughing at us, at our speed. And now they are beating us for faster members. They are not our friend, believe me. But they’re killing us in membership. Godiva has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problem runners. It’s a disaster.

When Raleigh sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending runners that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing tendonitis. They’re bringing chafing. They’re bringing course cutters. Their shirtless guys… And some, I assume, are good people.

I will have a great marathon– and nobody has marathons better than me, believe me, I have the best marathons – and I’ll have them very inexpensively.

I will have a great, great marathon on the Durham border, it’s going to be huge, and I will make Raleigh volunteer for that marathon. Mark my words.

I will be the greatest Godiva president God ever created. For all members, even the haters and losers.

Like past president Douglass Hensel. Major loser. He’s a very, very, low energy person.

I heard he made fun of my running shoes. Nobody has ever hit my running shoes. I’ve never heard of this one. And he referred to my shoes if they’re small, something else must be small. I guarantee you there’s no problem. I guarantee you. Really some kind of a clown. Sad.

And I’ve heard some people say nasty comments about how I get injured a lot. Not true.

Believe me, I have tremendous stamina. I am proud to share this report, written by the highly respected Dr. Harold Bornstein, stating that I am the fittest runner he has ever seen:

“If elected, Mr. Corriveau, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest and the fastest individual ever elected to the Godiva presidency. “

- Dr. Harold Bornstein, DDS

And people love my blog. I have the most loyal blog readers. Did you ever see that? Where I could run in the middle of Umstead and shoot a snot rocket at somebody and I wouldn’t lose any readers, okay? It’s like incredible. Runners love me. When you’re as popular as I am, you can do anything. I walk up and grab them by the… fuel belt. You can do anything. I can’t help myself. I grab their water bottle and just start drinking. I don’t even wait.

But the Godiva board, it’s a disaster, it’s a disaster. We have losers. We have people that don’t have it. We have people that are morally corrupt. Like the treasurer, I call him “Corrupt Kevin”, he should be in jail folks. I’m going to drain the swamp.

I’m going to have the best people. The smartest people. For treasurer I will have my good friend Bernie handling the club’s money. Bernie lives in Butner, he’s a genius with money. Bernie Madoff, very, very smart.

We’re going to get to work immediately for the Godiva Track Club. And we’re going to start winning again. You’ll be so proud. Again, it’s my honor. And I love this club. We’re going to make Godiva Great Again.

Thank you.

Death of a Trail Runner

We had to put down our dog Dudley Dooright today. He was 11 years old. Dudley was my running partner.

You may have assumed that my running partner was my wife Shannon, the exceptional runner that she is. But Shannon and I are never in sync. I love mornings but she hates them. She has her best runs at night around the time I cannot keep my eyes open, let alone run. She might lag behind on a technical trail, but when she does 20 mile runs in Umstead I’m struggling to finish two miles on aching knees.

In fact, I have never been a social runner. The reason I started running originally was to get away from people. I discovered that running on trails alone was my happy place, the only thing that helped with frequent bouts of depression. But it wasn’t simply the endorphins produced from running.

Running on roads is just rote exercise. A procedure defined by simple equations of stride length and cadence, of VO2 Max and glycogen consumption. But running a single track trail as fast as you can is something else entirely: Intense focus on every root and rock, trying to maintain momentum around the next switchback, through the stretch of ankle deep mud, down and up a gully and then lifting your shoulder just in time to barely miss that tree. There are no thoughts of mortgages or dentist appointments or what the hell you are going to do with your life. Only thoughts of how many steps to take before you jump that log.

I got Dudley as a puppy in 2005. He was obviously a Golden Retriever, though I often refused to acknowledge this. This is because he was a reject from a breeder who dumped him in a parking lot, leaving him to die with a congenital defect. Dog breeders and the demand for “purebred” dogs is one of the main reasons the shelters are overflowing with animals who will never find a home. But I digress.

Shannon and I eventually had a pack of 4 dogs, and we would often take three of them running on the single track trail around the lake near our house (The 4th dog Lula was more into sunbathing than running). We are those obnoxious people who let their dogs run off leash, but we almost never ran into anyone else out there, and the unlikely event someone might be bothered seemed a small price to pay for the sheer happiness of three dogs.

Jorge and Jefferey seemed to mostly enjoy finding disgusting things out in the woods to eat, or roll in, or both. We would often have to call those two away from whatever distraction they found to keep them moving. But Dudley was different. He loved the trail like I did, and just wanted to run. It was a roller coaster ride that he didn’t want to stop. He would run up and down hills or around in circles through the trees while the rest of the pack dilly-dallied. He didn’t really care where we were going, as long is he was moving.

Around 2008, I started to invest more of my time and attention to running. When I figured out how to run more than 15 miles a week without hurting my knees, I ran as much as I could, with my favorite route an 8 miler around the lake. Since the other dogs lacked the stamina and interest, I would only take Dooright with me.

[Dudley participated in an experiment where he was presented with treats behind a long series of strange and complicated apparatus, while being given confusing instructions. The researchers were questioning his intelligence. But seeing his exasperation, he might have been questioning theirs.]

Running with Dudley took no training or instruction because Dudley and I shared the same loves; of trees whizzing by; Of dancing over roots and rocks; Of breathing so hard you’re on the edge of collapsing. We would pour everything we had to getting to the end of trail, only to turn around and head back gasping for breath.

We had a special connection that I cannot explain. Almost always he was there ten feet in front of me, setting the pace. When I couldn’t keep up, sometimes he would stop and look back at me, “What are you waiting for? Come on!”. Or he would run a wide arc through the trees to allow me to catch up.

Dudley knew the trails better than I did, and had a perfect map in his head. Often he would jump off the trail into a swamp or make a hard left and disappear over a hill. Stupidly, I would stop and call for him. But it never failed that he would reappear on the trail in front of me and give the that look, “What? Let’s go!”. On hot days, he would get tired on the way back, and struggle to keep up. So he would cheat and take short cuts to stay in front of me.

His desire to always be in front made him great at racing 5Ks. His laser like focus gave him an edge over other dogs. Of the 12 dog friendly races we entered, Dooright came out top dog in 9 of them.

Around 2012 both Dudley and I slowed down. My knees started to bother me again, and his hips got weak. When we woke in the morning, we would both hesitate before going down the stairs, knowing it was going to hurt. We still tried to hit the trail together, but he couldn’t go as far, and would be stiff and sore afterward. But it was always worth it.

Dooright was great at 5Ks. But his inability to pace himself resulted in him being defeated by the Dirty Dog 15K. Twice.

A few weeks ago, Dudley momentarily collapsed while chasing a ball. After many trips to the vet, he was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. The tumors in his organs would grow and burst, causing him to bleed internally. They robbed him of all his energy and he could no longer run. Even walking was a struggle.

There was no treatment available that provided any hope. So we just tried to give him as many good days as we could. On Thursday we drove Dudley and the other 2 dogs out to a local trail for a walk. Dudley jumped out of the van and trotted to the trailhead, as fast as we had seen him move in several days.

It was mid-afternoon and we had the woods to ourselves. He managed to walk a half mile, trudging slowly forward with all of his effort. But that was all he had in him, and he just stopped on the trail. We let him rest a while, and then leisurely headed back. He would walk for a hundred feet and then stop and rest. The cancer was tearing his insides up. His stomach was bloated, and is spine and hips protruded from withering muscle.

Seeing him struggle like this was terrible, and Shannon and I decided that it was finally time to let him go. As we neared the car, Dudley stopped and dug a shallow hole and laid down in the middle of the trail, in the shade of large tree.

His nose twitched left and right, detecting distant scents in the breeze blowing in his face. Occasionally his ears perked up when he saw a bird or squirrel or runner going by in the distance.

“Come on Dudley, let's go home.” I tried encouraging him to follow us to the car. But maybe for the first time ever, he didn’t seem inclined to follow me. He just looked back peacefully. I imagined him saying “I think I’ll stay here on the trail. This time, go on without me.”

I sat on a log next to him. A barrier broke inside me and the sadness of losing him poured into and mixed with the happiness of all those long afternoons of running the trails with him. I started crying, deeply. Haven’t really stopped yet as of this writing. It took us a couple days to summon the courage, but we let him go this morning.

I suppose a eulogy for a dog could be considered banal, or you might call this one maudlin. I would accept that.

After all, it’s just a dog. It’s just trails in the woods. It’s just a guy and his dog running as fast as they can to nowhere in particular. It’s just exactly that and nothing else. Pure joy.

Dream Big - South Carolina 24 Hour

Start of the South Carolina 24 Ultra

The Spouse

This is probably your first visit to this blog, so let me introduce myself as Shannon Johnstone's husband. That is how I'll be known from now on. 

It wasn't always that way. Years ago I was the popular one, with a blog that had literally dozens of followers. Shannon and I ran a crazy amount of races together, from 5ks to Marathons, sometimes two a weekend. Neither of us were exceptional runners. We would often win our age group, but were pretty average even within our local running club Carolina Godiva, and never posted a performance worth noting.

I was always a little faster than Shannon, and finished ahead of her in our first 92 races together. 

But it was our first ultra-marathon, the Frosty 50k, where we discovered she had a hidden talent. The further she went, the stronger she got. It took every fiber of my being to keep up with her at the end of that race.

This led us to try more ultras, but I was not cut out for them. The Uwharrie 40 miler left me in ruins. Shannon, on the other hand, ended up winning it in 2011. She went on to run the Umstead 100 in 21:48, becoming a true ultrarunner. 

Our friend Dennis put crazy ideas in Shannon's head.

Big Dreams
While running a 100 miles in a day is beyond the comprehension of your average runner, in elite ultra circles it is merely a good training run. On a national scale, Shannon's 100 mile time of 21:48 is fairly pedestrian.

Still, she had big ambitions which she mostly kept to herself because they seemed so outrageous. Her heroes were Annette Bednosky, Jill Perry and Connie Gardner. She dreamed of being a part of Ultra Team USA.
A friend of ours had just gone to the World Triathlon Championships as part of the national tri team, and he talked about the little USA shorts with his name on them. Shannon was starry-eyed.

Living legend Ray Krolewicz (Coach Ray K.) gives last minute instructions

Ridiculous

So she scrutinized the current qualifiers for the Women's National 24 Hour Team.

When she saw that the two open spots were currently held by relatively low performances (122.5 and 124 miles), she started scheming and looking for 24 hour races. If she could run 100 miles, what's another 22.5? It was early February when she heard of Ray Krolewicz's last chance South Carolina 24 hour qualifier. She jumped at. 

I thought she was crazy. The race was 5 only weeks away. She hadn't been putting in any kind of training for a 24 hour race, let alone one on a track, and she thought she was going to qualify for a national team? She had only run 127 miles in the entire month of January, and she was going to run 123 in a day? It seemed ridiculous to me. 

A ton of experience and talent
Photo: Ray Krolewicz

A Plan

But I should have known not to doubt her yet again.

Immediately after hearing about the race she jumped on the treadmill and ran a 50k on it. Seriously, five hours on a treadmill. A good test in tedium.

Then she wanted to talk strategy. I am a big believer in even pacing (only theoretically, I am not smart enough to put it in practice). Running 122.5 miles in 24 hours requires an 11:45 pace, but she felt more comfortable running an 8:00 to 9:00 min mile. So I suggested running 4 loops and then walking 1, to average the 5.1 miles an hour. 

The next week she went to the track and ran another 50k there, practicing the "run 4/walk 1" ratio. It was an abnormally warm 75 degree day, and she learned how important the walk breaks could be. 

After this, she came up with her plan:

• Run the first 50 miles in 10 hours, with her 4/1 ratio.
• When the sun sets (when she feels her best) start skipping walk breaks and run the next 50 faster.
• Have plenty of time left for the last 22.5

Ray-K does things old school, like this race program.
The women's competition was impressive
Photo: -Harvey Lewis

Competition

When race day came, Shannon had lost her hopes of making the team. There were nine other women there vying for a spot, almost all of them with far more impressive resumes. Eight of them had gone over 100 miles before, and one had just placed 2nd in the national 50k championship. 

So instead Shannon was just hoping to run the entire 24 hours. If she made the 120 mile qualifying mark, that would be "icing on the cake". 

Start

Of everything Shannon did that day, it was the way she started that I was most proud of her for.

Of the 9 men and 10 women, she was the only one who took walk breaks right from the start.

Despite being lapped over and over, she stuck to her 4/1 plan. 

Photo: Ray Krolewicz

Lapped

At the 3 hour mark, Shannon was DFL (dead fucking last).
She had been lapped by the lead women 18 times, and was almost 5 miles behind them. But she was happy and feeling good.

I sat at the card table I had set up, surrounded by 300 pounds of stuff we had carted from home. Most of it assorted types of candy. Occasionally I would refill her bottles with gatorade or water.

I talked with Tim who was set up next to us. He was crewing for his wife, Carilyn Johnson, a four time member of the 24 hour team, hoping to make her 5th. We commiserated with each other, being the slouch husbands to ultra runner wives. Shannon didn't need much help, so I went out a 3 mile run, which was enough to exhaust me.

The GPS track. Round and round they go

All smiles the first few hours
Photo: Ray Krolewicz

Photo: Ray Krolewicz

Getting Hot
By 3pm it was getting hot. It was about 73 degrees, very low humidity, and a nice breeze.
This sounds pleasant, but the sun was scorching. I kept slathering on sunscreen but still it felt like my skin was being microwaved.

Adding to the temperature was the black track absorbing and radiating heat.
The runners could not tell how much they were sweating, because the dry wind evaporated it instantly. But the heat started to take it's toll. Joe Fejes set up a bucket of ice water for people to dunk their shirts in.

A few runners started getting sick, possibly from being dehydrated. But the leaders kept their pace up through the afternoon.

Elites Carilyn Johnson and Katalin Nagy lead the way
Photo: Ray Krolewicz

Photo: Ray Krolewicz

Baked 
Even though she was pacing herself and taking walk breaks, the sun almost defeated Shannon.
"I can't do this"
She plopped down in the chair.
"I'm not cut out for this. I feel awful, I just want to go home. I don't want to do this anymore. This isn't for me."
Being a huge wimp myself, I am not good helping others through adversity. In fact, in the Croatan 24 hour race I talked her into dropping out. But I had promised to be more positive this time.

"I am sure you feel awful. It is really hot out and you don't handle heat well. But if you want to drop out, you can... but first just walk 8 laps. If you walk 8 laps and still feel bad, then we can go home."

I gave her a big cotton shirt and doused it with water, and had her wear her big floppy sun hat. She looked kind of silly, but it was what she needed.

Shannon in her "Badwater gear"
Photo: Ray Krolewicz

Fallout

Shannon managed to recover from the hot afternoon, but others were not as lucky. Six of the other women fell off their pace due to illness or cramps. 

Shannon hit her 50 miles in 9:37. 

By hour 12, she had 62 miles and had moved up into 4th place. She had paced herself well and stuck to her plan.

The 3 lead women were running very strong and Shannon was far behind.

Halfway point
Photo: Ray Krolewicz

Sleep

Shannon had booked me a hotel room for the night. I think she worried I would get tired and try to talk her into dropping out. So around 10pm, I left and had a guilty nights sleep.

She had planned on picking up the pace at night, but it didn't work out that way. 

Around 1 am (15 hours in) she hit another low point, and sat down for 15 minutes, feeling defeated. 

Ray K came by and asked if she wanted to nap in his car. 

The timers were kids from Wilson High school and their parents.
The stayed awake all night manually recording every lap of each run.
Photo: Ray Krolewicz

Photo: Ray Krolewicz

Luckily Mark Mantz was there to make coffee and do the math for her. She had 9 hours left and 45 miles to reach her 120 mile goal. "That's only 12 min miles. You can do that!". 

Shannon hit 100 miles in 19:46. But she was slowing down, having run the second 50 in 10:05. 

Photo: Ray Krolewicz

Carnage

After my good nights sleep, I awoke feeling a little sore from my 3 miles the day before. I got back to the track by 6am and caught a glimpse of Shannon still running as I pulled up. I couldn't believe it.

The track looked much different than when I left. A few of the runners were gone. Many were sitting or walking very slowly. A few that had struggled during the day had recovered and were back running strong in the morning.

Photo: Ray Krolewicz

 A Chance

After 21 hours, Shannon was now in second place. 

In first was Katalin Nagy, who had just broke the 200k American record in 20:01. With that performance, Katalin secured her #5 spot on the team. 

Still up for grabs was the last spot, and Shannon now had a chance at it. If she could make it past 122.5 miles, she could possibly make her dream of Team USA come true.

But... she had run 106 miles in 21 hours, which is a 11:54 pace. 

Another 17 miles in the last 3 hours would be a 10:49 pace. 

So she would have to pick up the pace and run the last 17 miles  faster than the previous 106. It seemed implausible to say the least.

Honor Bonds (left) counted all of Shannon's 495 laps for the entire 24 hours.
Photo: Ray Krolewicz

Pain
And she was struggling. Her face was scrunched up in a scowl. Her running stride was now very short and stiff. She could only take sips of ginger ale, and could not eat anything.

"I need to sit down for a second", she said as she came by. I knew this would be a mistake.
"NO! Do not sit down. Do not stop. Do not walk."
She was running about a 10:30 pace, so she had absolutely no time to spare. She had to run continuously the entire last 3 hours in order to make it.

She would run by and shake her head and whisper "I can't do this".
"This is what you were dreaming of. This moment. You can do it."

I counted down the laps. 67...30...10...6...4...3..2...
"Just two more laps, than you can stop!," I shouted, "hold on! Just two more!"
But then Ray shook his head, "Two more to what? That only gets her 122.5, but she has to keep going. There are 3 other 24 hour races going on. She has to go as far as she can."

Somehow she managed to run past 122.5 for another 2 laps for 123.1 miles. When the 24 hours were up she just laid down in the grass.

Megan Stegemiller ran with Shannon the last few hours and got her through

Step It Up

We won't know if she actually made the team until next week when they announce it. Maybe they will chose someone else. 

And even if she does make the team there may not even be a World Championship to go to because the one scheduled for Pilzen, Czech Republic has been cancelled.

But she dreamed big and actually achieved it. Witnessing it has made me a little less cynical. 

However, amazing as her run was, she now has new standards to live up to. She got this Facebook message from Joe Fejes:

Congratulations Mary Shannon Johnstone for the effort you put out this weekend in nailing down the last spot on the USA team. It was a thrill to watch you accomplish an opportunity of a lifetime. 
Words of wisdom--be prepared to step up and contribute as a scorer at the World Championship...

Yeah, Shannon. Only 123 miles? Time to step up!

2013 Dog Days 5K

Old Dog
Dudley Dooright just turned 8 years old, and the years are taking their toll.
His hips sway and sag when he walks. When he gets up, his legs are stiff and there is a pronounced limp. Sometimes he will stand at the top of the stairs, hesitant to go down, because he knows it's going to hurt (lately I've been doing the same thing).

When he was young we would count the number of tennis balls we would throw for him, and we would give up when we hit 100. Nowadays, he doesn't make it past 5 before he lays down panting.

Getting too old to race?

Running Dog
Dudley was never the most athletic or graceful dog. His run is kind of a lumbering trot. Even in his youth he would overheat in 50 degree weather, and Jeffery the 3 legged dog could outlast him.

So physically he was never a great runner, but he does have the perfect instinct for it.  He absolutely loves to run more than anything else. I could give him a big juicy steak, but he would drop it to follow me out for a run.

Most dogs want to stop and sniff and pee on things, but he just wants to go forward. On a leash, he will match my pace, whatever it is, steady and constant. Sure, he will check out other dogs,  people, and squirrels as we pass, but he wont break stride. And if we are following someone, he must pass them. He just has to be in front.

Racing Dog
This makes him a great racing dog. His first was the CARA 5K in 2009, where he came in top dog, and remains the poster child on their facebook page.

Next, he and I defeated Shannon and Jeffery with the help of some dastardly tricks at the Umstead Coalition Run. He again was top dog and second place mammal, and just 28 seconds behind speedy human Jeff Hall.

Last month I saw the Dog Days 5K, which advertised: "Most races don't let you run with your dogs, this one encourages it!"
I had to sign us up. Dudley may not get many more chances to race.

Shave and a Haircut
But he needed some help if he wanted to be running out in front.
Last night I gave him a haircut to keep him cool. I filled half a big grocery bag with hair.

There could be small dog in there somewhere

I used an 8 year old electric razor that I bought from Costco for $20. It is so dull it could only cut a few hairs at a time before it started to smoke. Still I think I did a great job! I should open my own grooming business. Please contact me for an appointment.

I was actually afraid to take him out in public.
I thought I might be arrested for animal cruelty

Doping

Banned Substance?

This morning I doped him up with 8mg of Metacam to take the edge off his arthritis. In my own personal experience, masking pain with drugs so that you can run is a terrible idea that will make things worse in the long run. But our veterinarian recommended it, and this was a special occasion. I hoped there would be no drug testing at the race.

Pre-race
Dooright couldn't contain himself as I tried to pick up the bib and chip. Although he had only been to 2 races, I swear he knew what was going on. He mostly ignored all the other people and dogs, and kept encouraging me to just start sprinting across the field at the NC State University Club.
"LETS GO! LETS GO!"
"Hold on... not yet..."

Although  50° was somewhat chilly for me, he was already panting. I had brought some bottles filled with ice water and sprayed him down.

"Oh, that's an... interesting... looking dog you have there", a guy came up and pet Dudley.
"Yeah. He gets really hot", I said.
"Oh", said the guy, looking disgusted at his hand, now covered in wet dog hair clippings, "That explains the why he is shaved down."

I scoped out the competition. Many of the runners were veterinary students, young and fit, and potentially very fast. There were a lot of equally fit and swift looking labs and shepherd dogs there.
Dooright, with his graying muzzle and his 85 pound bulky frame, looked out of place.

"It's OK", I whispered to him,"They aren't racing dogs"

GO!
The race started, and Dooright sprinted off at top speed, but not in the right direction.
I reeled him in and got him on the right track, and we settled in behind a young woman with a black and white bull dog, and a guy with a small Australian shepherd. 

The shepherd made the mistake of drifting into the path of Dooright, who was moving like a freight train at a sub 6 minute pace. Before I could pull Dudley back, he ran the smaller dog right over, like a bus running over a bicycle. The poor dog rolled onto its back, bounced into the air, and flew into the legs of his human, who tripped and stumbled. Fortunately he didn't fall.

"OH! I'm so sorry!", I gasped, trying to keep up with the freight train.

"It's OK". They didn't miss a beat and kept running.

Mile 1

Even with Dooright throwing down a ridiculous pace, there was still a few people hanging with us. 

A guy running solo in a white shirt and headphones fought for the lead.

We headed through a parking lot, down a gravel road and onto a soft dirt trail.

My legs were struggling to keep up, just a week after the punishment in the Umstead Marathon. But this was Dudley's day, and I was trying to let him run it his way, out in front.

When we hit the trail, Dooright got 6 years younger, and dropped the headphones guy. We were in the lead!

Unfortunately though, he was having trouble reading the bright orange arrows marking the course.
It took some skillful maneuvering to guide him through that section. 

Mile 2

We hit the "cross country" part of the course, which was a rolling path along the boundary of a wide rectangular field. I looked back and saw the little shephard and human maybe 50 yards behind. They had recovered from being run over and were closing fast. 

I was already tired and holding us back, but made an effort to pick the pace back up along the straightaway.

Dooright responded and moved slightly ahead of me without tugging on the leash.

We finished the first loop, and at the halfway point a volunteer offered a bottle of water. 

"Yes! Thank you!", this was perfect. Dudley would be getting hot.
As we ran by a small green pond he tried to dive in and run through it. This is his usual tactic when we run by the lake. "Sorry! Not today!"
I took the cap off the bottle and started dousing him as we ran.

Mile 3

We got through the trail section quicker with Dudley remembering the way this time. 

We started catching up to people still on their first loop, and Dooright surged each time he saw a new opportunity to pass someone. 

Back in the field, I saw that we had gained ground on second place, but I was running out of gas quickly. I couldn't believe we might actually win.

A women crosses the finish line with her doberman

Finish

As we approached, they stretched out some pink tape across the finish line waiting for us.

This confused Dudley, who thought it meant it was off limits. With some coaxing I got him to break the tape, just under 20 minutes in 19:53. 

So Dudley Dooright won the race outright. Not just first dog, but first mammal! (There might have been some birds up there who beat us). I came in second place as first human.

Pretty good for an 8 year old dog, and a 42 year old guy, but slow for a winning time. If we had did the "Run for Oaks" just down the the road that same morning, we would have come in 33rd place.

Dooright cheers on the participants

Afterwards we hung out and took photos, cheered on the other folks, talked with the competition, and picked up some free stuff.

I tried not to take all the free dog treats this time

When we were heading out to leave, instead of getting in the car, Dudley wanted to do another loop of the course.
"Ug. No way. Let's go home", he might not be getting old yet, be I am.

CARA 5K
Poster dog

Live Blogging from the Umstead 100

I will be at Umstead Park all day Saturday watching Shannon run 100 miles.
Since it looks like all the volunteer duties are filled, I will have time to kill. So I have decided to do some "live" blogging of the event.

I will do so at a separate blog that I have created here:

umstead2012.blogspot.com

Mostly to give updates on Shannon, but also to try to capture the experience of a 100 mile race.
I am thinking photos, maybe who the leaders are, etc.

If any of you fellow bloggers or readers will be there and would like to contribute to this "Live" blog, let me know.

See ya all out there!

2012 Umstead Marathon Mascotolgy

It's that time of year again, when we provide our expert prognostication and rank the potential candidates for this year's upcoming Umstead Marathon mascot.

As you know, the mascot changes every year, and is kept secret until the day before the race. For details on how the mascot is selected see the post from last year.

2010 - Year of the Bunny

2010

• That year, we thought the best choice would be a deer. 
• But we deduced that "The Conclave" was working their way through the animal kingdom and the next logical animal would be an opossum. 
• This prediction did not pan out, as 2010 was the Year of the bunny.

2011 - Year of the Tick

2011

• Last year, we considered  opossum once again, as well as a snake and a horse. 
• We went with Deer as our odds-on favorite due to its park presence.
• SometimesBareFoot Josh proved to be the expert mascotologist by correctly naming the Tick to be the 2011 mascot.

2012
Here we are approaching the ninth running of the Umstead Marathon, and we have eight mascots behind us: Horse Fly, Flying Squirrel , Turtle, Fish, Turkey Vulture, Frog, Hare, and Tick. No obvious pattern has emerged, so we are left to judge potential candidates based on the following parameters::

Park Presence - How common is the animal in the park?
Runspiration - How much does the animal inspire a person to run?
Silhouettability - How well could the animal be made into a plaque?
Logotimidation - How cool would the mascot look on a t-shirt and a pint glass?
Intangibles- Has something similar been used before? Is it representative of the Umstead Experience?

Each quality will be judged quantitatively and scored on a scale of 1-10.

I took an informal poll on facebook and got a list of 10 candidates which I will review:

Spider
Presence	In the summer? Oh yes. Not so much in the winter	8
Runspiration	Getting a face full of spiderweb can put a damper on a trail run.	2
Silhouettability	They managed to do the legs pretty well on the tick, but I'm not sure about another one with pipe cleaners	5
Logotimidation	Could possibly usurp The Tick for coolest race shirt. I look forward to the day I can use these phases: "Today I'm breaking out The Spider-Shirt" "Pour me a cold one in my Spider-Pint"	9
Intangibles	We just had an arachnid last year.	2
	Total Score	26

Deer
Presence	When you think about animals in Umstead, Deer are the first to come to mind. In 2008, the marathon briefly came to a halt as a herd stampeded across Graylyn.	10
Runspiration	A deer flying through the woods is the ultimate trail runner	9
Silhouettability	It would be difficult, but if they could carve the antlers it would be freaking awesome.	6
Logotimidation	A majestic deer with a huge rack posing with his head turned? Or maybe leaping across the front of the shirt? Could be an instant classic.	7
Intangibles	I was told by a member of the conclave that a deer would NEVER be the mascot because it had long been a symbol of The Uwharrie Mountain Run. However it seems the last few years, the Uwharrie folks have abandoned this. Is it open season yet on Deer mascots?	0
	Total Score	32

Copperhead Snake
Presence	Depends on who you ask. I have seen a lot snakes in Umstead, but don't think any were copperheads.  Others will say that they are slithering through the trees a foot deep like in the Egyptian tomb in Raiders of the Lost Ark	6
Runspiration	I have witnessed more than a few people running through Umstead screaming "COPPERHEAD!"	9
Silhouettability	This is tricky. If it was long and stretched out it be a pretty fragile plaque. On the other hand if it was coiled up, it would kind of look like a pile of poo..	3
Logotimidation	A snake would be a pretty intimidating logo. All wrapped around the lettering? I'm sold.	8
Intangibles	They could put any snake on the t-shirt. A common water snake or rat snake. Or even a cobra. But in NC, it would still be a copperhead. Just like all soda is "coke".	5
	Total Score	31

Bear
Image stupidly stolen from the LawyersUSA website.
Presence	Apparently they do appear on a sign enumerating the park wildlife, but I don't think a bear has been seen in Umstead in a long time.	3
Runspiration	You can't outrun a bear. Play dead.	3
Silhouettability	Yes it would be easy to carve and recognize, but it would look like cheesy mountain-cabin-gift-store kitsch.	6
Logotimidation	It seems that bear imagery belongs to more  mountainous locations. Plus even if they didn't put a ranger hat on the bear, I think I would still see Smokey.	3
Intangibles	There is already a race called "The Bear"	3
	Total Score	18

Coyote
Source.
Presence	They are elusive, but Shannon and I have both seen them in the park.	6
Runspiration	If you can't be the deer, be the coyote chasing him!	7
Silhouettability	Good, but might be hard to distinguish from a dog.	5
Logotimidation	Something like the image above would nice change from the meek mascots we have had so far. Finally, a predator! Or they could go the Wile E Coyote route...	7
Intangibles	Even if they are in the park, "coyote" has a more of a Southwest vibe to it. It would seem out of place on an Umstead Pint.	3
	Total Score	28

Horse Dung
Presence	Hard to miss.	10
Runspiration	Hard to imagine something less inspiring	1
Silhouettability	The plaque would be easy to carve, but it might take some explaining when you show  it to people.	5
Logotimidation	I think this would be a very polarizing topic, between those who appreciate irony and those who do not.  Split the difference.	5
Intangibles	Nothing says Umstead Bridle Trail like a pile of road apples.	8
	Total Score	29

Crayfish
Presence	I'm sure they are in there somewhere, but runners aren't likely to see them	5
Runspiration	Maybe if it was a 20 foot mutant crawling down the trail. Hey there are those PCB's in the lake...	2
Silhouettability	Yikes	2
Logotimidation	Would look too much like an ad for a seafood restaurant	2
Intangibles	Crustacean would be a good subphylum to cross off the list, and we are due for another aquatic creature.	5
	Total Score	16

Opossum
Presence	Rarely seen during the day, though I have heard of runners encountering them on the trail.	7
Runspiration	Their slow, comically waddling gait hardly inspires running... except for maybe ultra-marathoners	3
Silhouettability	Not sure if the silhouette would we be easily recognizable, and the tail would be problematic. Got to give it a 3... UNLESS... the tail was a rope!  And the plaque hung by it! Can you see that?	6
Logotimidation	A snarling, beady-eyed Opossum with its long bare tail would be pretty bad-ass	8
Intangibles	Come on! Marsupial is due! On the other hand, we pick this EVERY year.	8
	Total Score	32

Stegosaurus
Sorry	I'm not going to dignify this with a response	0
	Total Score	0

Other nominees:

• Cicada - Might be too soon for another bug, I think.
• Turkey - Just had Turkey Vulture in 2008
• Beaver- Hmmmm. This seems plausible, but this post is already way too long.
• Raccoon- This would be another good one, but maybe too much like a Squirrel 
• Duck - Would be disappointing

Finally, the Running-Down pick for the 2012 Umstead Mascot is... 

Drum roll, please...

Bat
Presence	Watch carefully at dusk.	6
Runspiration	Agghh! There is one stuck in your hair! Run, run!	4
Silhouettability	Would be the most coveted plaque ever.	10
Logotimidation	Bats are just fricking cool, period.	8
Intangibles	I can't say why but I when I look at the previous mascots, it seems like a bat should be next. On the other hand we did already have a flying squirrel. (Though it looked more like road kill.) Too soon for another flying mammal?	5
	Total Score	33

Just barely edging out the perennial Opossum pick and the tainted Deer by a single point, the Bat comes out on top in our expert analysis.

On Friday, March 2nd, the Conclave will reveal their mascot choice.
So come back here on that day to read our gloating, told-you-so post celebrating the Year of the Bat!

UPDATE 3/4/2012

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner:

Now, the mascot for 2013 will be...