Comments on: Umstead Trail Marathon 2009

By: fgump

fgump — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:34:01 +0000

Belky and Seuss-
You guys did the work. I was just along for the ride, run, and (infrequent) walk. That was as much fun as I’ve ever had in Umstead. Ironic, when you guys probably weren’t thinking it was “fun”. Giving is so much more fun than receiving! Well done, Belky and Seuss, well done.

By: Belkymd

Belkymd — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:35:53 +0000

Yesterday, I was reflecting on last years rainy start and this this years heat and I began asking myself why I continue to sign up for the Umstead Marathon. Seuss said it perfectly when he described the the park as a jewel and the people incredibly friendly. Combine those elements with a really cool tech shirt and a beer mug and thats enough to keep me coming back year after year. Seuss and I ran the first 5k together as we solved most of the world’s problems. What a great guy that Seuss character is! I then split off and focused on lifting my feet up on the single track so as to not do a somersought. I don’t have the move quite down like Seuss does! Coming out of the single track I ran into Fgump who had the best volunteer spot of the race. As always, his words of encouragement were uplifting. I would see Fgump a total of four times on the course and enjoyed his words of wisdom each time. Being in the very middle of the pack, I went for stretches where I thought it was just another solitary Saturday morning in Umstead. It was very peaceful and gave me a little time to reflect on my dogs recent passing! Somewhere on Turkey, I was running next to a guy that looked really familiar. He struck up a conversation and we figured out that we were gym rats at Gold’s in Garner years ago. We also discovered that we both moved to North Raleigh the exact year! Luke, later informed me that while trying to have their second kid, ended up having quadruplets! Wow! Luke has the most steady pace of anyone I have ever seen. It didn’t matter if we were climbing Mount Turkey or decending it, his pace was the same, faster than mine! After a grueling out and back on the Turkeys, I ran into my good buddy Fgump again who had been relieved of his post duties. Seeing that the wheels were falling off, Fgump decided to jump in and run Cedar Ridge with me. Did I mention that Fgump deserves the volunteer of the race award! We were able to take a somewhat bleak pace into a respectable pace on one of the tougher sections of the race. On the way back out of Cedar, Squeeky joined us and took some of the great photos. When we reached the top of Cedar, Bill asked for my food and drink order and said, you are on your own. That last two miles were grueling. I had blisters, dehydration, sunburn and a funny feeling stomach. I think the stomach problems stemmed from the gummy bears and Oreos I ate at the Trenton aid station. With a mixture of walking and running I finally made it to the finish. I was greeted by my mom, sister and Fgump. Of all four marathons now, that was definitely the toughest. The heat almost made me fold my cards! The Umstead finish is small, but makes up for it in spirit. Thanks again to Fgump, Squeeky and Seuss for some great memories.

PS> I’m going to predict that I will see Kendall’s name on the entry list for 2010!

By: dr seuss

dr seuss — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:07:19 +0000

“Not sure how you ran an entire marathon at Mt. Umstead.” Terp wonders.

I don’t know about Belky, but I didn’t. Plenty of walking went on!

By: terp

terp — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:07:35 +0000

Congratulations Dr. Seuss and Belky…especially with the warmer than predicted temps. I was wilting just watching my daughter at her soccer practice. Not sure how you ran an entire marathon at Mt. Umstead. Congrats!

By: Belkymd

Belkymd — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:55:21 +0000

My race recap is coming soon! I had it 90% completed and stepped away from my computer for 10 minutes and my wife closed me out. Bummer! I have redo it! Stay tuned!

By: fgump

fgump — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:45:24 +0000

Congratulations Seuss and Belky. You guys raced in fantastically tough conditions. How on earth can you plan for 80 degrees when all we’ve trained in is freezing?

It was so much fun to see this race “from the other side” However, I really wanted to be running it with you guys.

Great job, you both looked fantastic at the finish too. I think Belky should try the all-Oreo nutrition plan for 2010.

By: dr seuss

dr seuss — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:03:39 +0000

I think this might have been said before, but that was the hardest marathon I’ve ever done! Even still, it was a beautiful day, the people at the park were incredibly friendly, and Umstead is truly a jewel within the city. I really appreciated running (ok, starting) with Belky, and the awesome support by Alex and Bill. Couldn’t have done it without you guys. As you all know, we had a snow day on Monday and freezing temps. Who’d have thought it would be 80 degrees today?! I know my body was not used to that even though I drank from every aid station and emptied my camelbak twice. I enjoyed saying hey to people we crossed paths with, but took it a little too far. I saw a guy with a t-shirt from my alma mater, Ohio University, and went to flash him the secret OU hand sign (looks like an O and a U) and in so doing somehow inserted my left foot into the loop of my right shoelace. I fell down and did a somersault and came up with a bloody knee. The OU guy asked if I needed help getting up and for some reason interpreted my answer of “yes” as an opportunity to leave me sitting there. During the next 14 miles, I got a lot of props for having the bloodiest appendage on the race, so it’s all good. Soon after that, Turkey Creek came up with its mountainous inclines (yes, Kendall, they are mountains!) and I started getting cramps. That was usually not such a problem because I really didn’t mind walking (you gain a bit humility when you do a somersault early in the race). Alex rode along for most of those middle miles and really kept me going. I got to the finish line about 45 min later than most marathons, but it was a great experience. I won a door prize at the end: one of last year’s t-shirts with the turkey vulture on it. I like that one better than mine with the tree frog. After resting a bit and eating a burrito, I walked down to the lake and went in up to my hips. The day was hot but the water was still really cold so it did my legs some good. I can’t wait to see how I feel tomorrow!

By: terp

terp — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 00:36:01 +0000

Good luck tomorrow! The weather forecast is awesome.

By: sandbagger

sandbagger — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 23:25:07 +0000

Good luck guys! Make sure to email me photos so I can post them.

A race recap listed here would be excellent as well so we can all hear how it went.

By: Belkymd

Belkymd — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:36:27 +0000

Thanks for the advice on the cold Seuss. I will look for you and fgump in the morning. I’ve been trying all day to get fgump to swap with me but he won’t do it.

By: dr seuss

dr seuss — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:59:32 +0000

Hey Belky! Sorry about your dog and your cold. Speaking of country songs, you need to listen to Rascal Flatts’ Backwards! For me, when a cold is coming on I take a decongestant when I go to bed and prop myself up with lots of pillows. It’s annoying to lie like that all night but if I don’t the congestion and irritation works its way down to my throat and chest. I’m looking forward to seeing in the AM!

By: fgump

fgump — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:50:26 +0000

Dusty-
So sorry to hear about Jade. We love her so much. As for a cold remedy, I can think of nothing better than a 4-5 hour sweatfest in Umstead. Good for the soul too.

The knee is fine. Burst bursa, but it’s on the mend. PT described it as “housemaid’s knee”-fitting as I was working on my knees on concrete last week…

See you racers in the morning. Rest up.

By: Belkymd

Belkymd — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:33:26 +0000

This might sound like a country song, but my dog is dying and I just caught a cold. It hasn’t been a good week! The cold thing happens to me every time when I taper. Does anyone have a remedy? See you on the trail Seuss!

ps> fgump, how’s that knee doing?

By: dr seuss

dr seuss — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:15:17 +0000

Thanks for the great support! We’ve certainly run these trails together a lot! After having a 20 miler when it was 9 degrees I can’t believe it’ll be almost 70 while I’m out there (I’m planning on being out there a pretty long time!)! I’m excited! See ya soon, Belky!

By: fgump

fgump — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:05:38 +0000

Crikey! Shamrock’s in 2 weeks? Yikes! My taper’s too late!!

It’s 3/22, so I’ve got a little more time.

Remember, Saturday’s marathon starts at 9am. The trails will be open to the public, so go mix it up with the racers! Good luck Seuss and Belky!