Why I'm Running The Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon

Who's running the New Jersey Marathon?

Disclaimer: I received free entry to The Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!


Use discount code "NJMBIBRAVE19" to receive $5 off any distance (5K, Half Marathon, Marathon, Marathon Relay)!

Before the start getting ready.

So this post isn’t about trail running or ultrarunning. Although those flavors of running are the two that I’m most passionate about, I do the majority of my training on roads. Not because I prefer roads, but simply out of convenience. If I’m pressed for time and want to get some miles in I usually opt to have more time for more miles on roads around my neighborhood rather than to spend the extra time driving to trails to run. But this post is even more focused on road running than that as I am writing to explain why I decided to run my second ever road marathon, the 2019 Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon.

Why would an ultrarunner/trail runner choose to run a road marathon? Well, there are several answers to that question. The first being to seek the answer to an entirely different question, “will I be able to run a marathon faster today than I was able to 10 years ago?”. The last and only official marathon I have run was the 2009 Ocean Drive Marathon. Since I ran that 

At the starting line in Cape May!

marathon they have changed the course to an out and back, but the old course was a point to point starting as far south as you can go in New Jersey, Cape May, and ending in the shore town that I called home at the time, Sea Isle City. Getting dropped off at the start and then running 26 miles to be within a few blocks of home was a really cool first time marathon experience. I really enjoyed it and planned to run more. However, after nearly 10 years now I have yet to run marathon number two. Not because I got away from running, but because I wanted to run farther. Since that first marathon I’ve been focused on ultras and trail running. At the time of the 2019 Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon it will have been a little over 10 years since my first marathon and it seems like an ideal time to test the fitness of 39 year old Scott against the fitness of 29 year old Scott. I will be running the NJ marathon with a singular goal: to finish in under 3:43:02 which is my only official marathon time.

Somewhere midway through crossing a bridge between shore towns.

Finished (superhero pose)!

Happy to be done!

Since it’s been so long since running a road marathon, I’m pretty excited to go through the whole experience again. And that fact that I’m shooting for what will technically be my marathon PR, it makes it even more exciting. What am I excited about that a road marathon offers that I don’t find at trail ultras? Well, mainly crowds. Crowds of runners and spectators cheering for the runners. As much as I love trail ultras, they can become a bit lonesome for some stretches between aid stations. I don’t look at that as a negative; I enjoy running alone swimming in my own random thoughts. But I enjoy some variety and a road marathon will offer that as I’m sure for the vast majority of the 26.2 miles of the NJ Marathon I’ll either be around other runners or making my way down spectator lined streets.

Proud of finishing my longest run to date, little did
 I know that I'd be chasing ultramarathons next.

And for the final answer to the “Why”, because opportunity knocked so I answered. For the last couple years of running ultras I’ve wondered if I could run a faster marathon than I did in 2009. I’ve run plenty of marathon distance training runs, some of which were faster than my 2009 marathon time, but I don’t feel honest calling those PRs as they were not official marathon times on measured courses. So, when after a few months as a BibRave Pro the offer to run the NJ marathon was presented to me, how could I say no? Obviously it was a no brainer to accept and find out what I can do on flat road marathon course so close to home for me.

And we still had some time for fun with friends and family before the course closed!

Five More Reasons To Run San Ramon Valley Education Foundation's (SRVEF) 35th Annual Run For Education

Disclaimer: I’m promoting the Run San Ramon Valley Education Foundation's (SRVEF) 35th Annual Run For Education as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews!”

Use Discount Code: BIBRAVE5 - which is good for $5 off

6.  Lots of Swag Options

10k: The first 500 registered runners will receive commemorative 35th anniversary running sleeves and a Run for Education tech shirt in lieu of a cotton shirt!

All 5K Runners receive a Run for Education cotton shirt. All 5K TIMED runners will receive a FINISHER MEDAL

7.  Breakfast burritos

Who doesn’t enjoy a delicious breakfast burrito? And these ones look pretty dang tasty; I see egg, cheese, potato, and ham!

8.  Health and Wellness Expo

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2018 FROM 10AM-4PM at Iron Horse Middle School
The San Ramon Valley Education Foundation's Health and Wellness Expo before the run provides entertainment from local chorus and bands, an entertaining Mascot Dance Off for the kids, and a great selection of food trucks to fuel up at. All this while picking up your bib and race bag. Oh, and lets not forget the extensive list of vendor tables to check out: 

Vendor booths at past expos have included: Stanford Children's Health, Sports Basement, Whole Foods, BYOG, Noodles & Company, Crunch Fitness, Tri-Valley Orthodontics, GymGuyz, US Cryotherapy, Danville Fit Body Boot Camp, Intero Chiropractic, Total Wellness Chiropractic, SitterFriends, Elements Massage, Studio Mandala Yoga, Healthy Lifestyle for Youth.

Food vendors from previous years have included: Creme si Bon, Iron Horse Kettlecorn, Mustache Mike's Italian Ice, El Gran Taco Loco, Forni Di Sbarro, Golnazar Gourmet Ice Cream, BSA Troop 834/Jamba Juice, Izzy's Frozen Custard

9.  Team Building Options

Corporate Team Challenge

The San Ramon Valley Education Foundation's Run For Education’s Corporate Team Challenge provides a team building opportunity while promoting health and fitness within your company. There is also the chance to earn prizes for your company, not to mention the bragging rights that will be earned.

1s​t​ Place – Fitness Party at The Studio in Danville

2n​d​ Place – Catered lunch brought to your office by Dos Coyotes

3r​d​ Place – Drawing for a $100 Forward Motion Gift Certificate

Fifth Grade Walk Team

The Fifth Grade Walk Team is sponsered by Toll Brothers and provides fifth grade 5k runners with bonus swag and the chance for the students to win a pizza party and/or an ice cream party!

1. An Exclusive Toll Brothers 5th Grade Walk Team t-shirt in addition to the Run for Education t-shirt (first 500 registered 5th graders).

2. The school with the most 5th graders registered for The Run will receive a Pizza Party from Mountain Mike’s Pizza for all the students in 5th grade.

3. An extra bonus for the schools built by Toll Brothers (Bella Vista, Coyote Creek, Creekside and Quail Run): The school with the most 5th graders registered for The Run will get an Ice Cream Party for the entire 5th grade.

10.  Great Race Photos

I'll let the awesome race photos speak for themselves...

Five Reasons to Run San Ramon Valley Education Foundation's (SRVEF) 35th Annual Run For Education

Disclaimer: I’m promoting the Run San Ramon Valley Education Foundation's (SRVEF) 35th Annual Run For Education as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews!”

Use Discount Code: BIBRAVE5 - which is good for $5 off

1.  It Supports a Worthy Cause

The San Ramon Valley Education Foundation is the primary fund-raising organization that works in partnership with the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. The San Ramon Valley Education Foundation works with 35 local school affiliate education and fundraising organizations to raise and invest millions of dollars of financial support annually to promote innovative learning experiences for San Ramon Valley Unified School District students helping them become tomorrow’s global-minded thinkers.

2.  It Offers A Plethora of Distance Options

Alright, let’s just list all of the options:  10k, 5k, Fun Run (5k), Mini Run (50 yard dash), Friendship Run (0.25 mile), Virtual Run (10k and 5k options). There’s enough options here for everyone in the family to find a distance they would enjoy.

3.  Costumed Characters

As a parent, I know my kids would have a blast with these characters.

4.  Preview a Portion of the 27.2 Mile Iron Horse Regional Trail

As an avid trail runner, this is particularly attractive to me. While only 4.24 miles of the Iron Horse Regional Trail runs through the length of San Ramon, this run offers an opportunity to preview a small portion of it. Additionally, incorporating the trail as a part of the 10k course adds some variety to the route.

5.  Family Friendly and Great for Kids

First of all, strollers are allowed so the ones too young to run the full distance can catch a ride if needed. Also, there are shorter distances and noncompetitive runs [Fun Run (5k), Mini Run (50 yard dash)] for the younger kids to enjoy. And lastly, see reason #3.

2018 Twisted Branch 100k

The Starting Line. Photo credit for all photos with TB logo:  Goat Factory Media Entertainment

“Your movement, your effort is a pinnacle of what you can do” 

-- Joe Grant

The Twisted Branch 100k is a 64ish mile trail race that makes use of the extensive Finger Lakes Trail system to provide a point to point course from Naples, NY to Hammondsport, NY. The course offers just a small sample of the Finger Lakes Trail system as the trail network in its entirety covers over 950 miles of trail. The trail system is managed by the Finger Lakes Trail Conference (FLTC) and maintained primarily by volunteers. With that in mind, I want to begin this race report with a huge thank you to the FLTC and all of the volunteers who have given their time to build and maintain these trails for me and so many others like myself to enjoy. Your work is truly very much appreciated.

Having never hiked or ran any of the Finger Lakes Trails before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I tried doing a little research before by searching for images and videos of the trails and reading a few race reports from previous years of the TB100k. All the images and videos I could find made the trail look pretty runnable. Nothing I found made it look anywhere near as challenging as the Worlds End 100k course which is the only other 100k I had previously run so I was using that as my basis for comparison. Comparing the course records for the two races (10:14 for TB100k and 11:37 for WE 100K) seemed to support my conclusion that Twisted Branch should be a faster 100k than Worlds End. The race reports I read made me question this conclusion as they often described the trails as rugged and tough. Several of the reports told accounts of chasing cut offs and missing cut offs. In talking with others who had run the course, I often heard it described as tricky, which perplexed me a bit as a course description. I decided to cautiously rely more heavily on the hard numbers of the course records and trail photos as evidence that TB 100k would be a less challenging course than WE and that as long as I a have a good day I would be able to finish the course faster than WE.

Camping Area at the Start.

I began checking weather forecasts about a week out as I do for every race and found that most forecasts were predicting rain for nearly the entire weekend. As race day got closer, the forecasts changed a bit and were only predicting rain over night before the race and during the AM hours of race day. I planned accordingly and packed my drop bag with dry socks and a dry pair of shoes and labeled it for “The Lab” aid station which would be just before the halfway point and hopefully after the rain had stopped. With a plan in place which could not possibly fail, I was ready for race day. 

Pre Race Registration. Photo credit:  Goat Factory Media Entertainment

There was a light drizzle of rain as we set up our tent at the camping area near the starting line, but not a full on rain as I thought we might be in for. The registration area was a bit more crowded than most ultras I’ve run. It was also one of the few that I’ve been to that have vendor tables. Altra, Darn Tough Socks, and couple others were there. After picking up my swag bag, having my pre race photo taken, and chatting with the Altra rep for a bit, it was time for the mandatory pre race meeting where the Race Director, Scott Magee, went over race information and safety precautions. Shortly after the remaining daylight began fading quickly so I helped get the kids ready for bed and than put myself to bed in hopes of getting some good sleep before the early 4 AM race start. 

Camping Area at the Start

My alarm went off and woke me from a dead sleep, from dreams that I can’t remember. This is a good thing. That means that I slept well. I went through my standard race morning prep: lube (I tried using Squirrel’s Nut Butter for the first time as I got a sample at registration) the feet and areas that chafe, take two Imodium pills, eat two peanut butter sandwiches, and try to poop. With my race morning ritual complete, I headed to the starting area and finished the final check in. I ran into one running buddy at the starting area who was pacing for someone at the race, but otherwise I didn’t see many of the other familiar faces I’ve come to expect at PA trail races. We chatted a bit about the course and how neither of us had much of any kind of idea of what to expect. After a few minutes, the RD began a final pre race announcement and the race was on.

My Friend, Royce

The course starts out on trail just wide enough to run two abreast, but the trail quickly narrows to single track. Starting out the day cautiously, I didn’t want to push too hard to get ahead early and ended up in a bit of a conga line somewhere in the middle of the pack. My initial impression of the trails were that they are somewhat technical with a good deal of exposed roots that were slick due to the wet conditions, but they were completely runnable in my opinion. I began questioning early on if I was taking it too easy to start as the conga line was hiking many of the short and not too steep climbs that I thought were runnable. For better or worse, I reigned in my ego and only passed any other runners when another runner near me decided to make a pass. This meant I was not alone at all until the I reached the first aid station (Cutler) at 6 miles. I ate a gel and shoved one in my vest for later and continued on. Shortly after the first AS, the course hopped onto the first paved road portion of the course. At this point runners began to spread out a bit which I was thankful for because it was feeling a bit congested to me on the tight single track having a runner immediately in front of and behind me for the first six miles.

It's all business at the aid stations.

After about a half mile of road we were back on the trails. I was with a group of about four other runners, two of whom were the lead females who spent the next stretch of trail trading the lead with one another. It was at about this time that the sky really opened up and the rain started to fall. The sun was just starting to rise, but it was still awfully dark on the trails with the stormy skies and shadows from the forest blocking the majority of the light. The miles began to pass quickly and quietly with this group in the rain until somewhere shortly after aid station 3 that I found myself running all alone on a paved road. It was here at about the 17 mile mark that I clicked off some faster road miles with what felt like minimal effort that I started thinking about race strategy. I looked at the race the way a wise ultrarunner that I met and ran with for a good part of the course this year and last at Worlds End. He broke the 100k distance in roughly 20 mile sections and tackled them individually. He explained it as having a plan for each section. For me this meant taking the first third of the race easy. At this point in the day I felt I had achieved that and my legs were still feeling good. I figured the next 20ish miles I would push the pace a bit and then the last 20 I would try to maintain and see what’s left at the end. 

While the Rain Was Falling

Employing this strategy, I ran the 10 miles or so at what felt like a harder effort. At that point I reached aid station 5, “The Lab”, where my dry shoes and socks were waiting. While changing and thinking about how great my feet would feel after being soggy for the last three hours or so, a volunteer reminded me that they would likely get soaked again. Not what I wanted to hear, but true nonetheless. I headed out from the aid station enjoying my dry feet for the moment. It was probably only a matter of one to two miles before a road crossing that had a small river running along the side of it that was uncrossable without going ankle deep. Shortly after that the course rounded the edge of a corn field where my feet sank just short of ankle deep in the soaked ground. The dry clean socks were glorious while they lasted.

After the Rain... You Live Again!! (You know you just sang that Nelson song)

Even with wet feet, I was still feeling good for the next 13 miles or so to aid station 7, “Bud Valley”. I passed a few runners in that stretch which is always a bit of a mental boost. Even more of a mental boost was that my wife and kids were waiting at this aid station to support me. I spent a little more time than normal at this aid just to get a hug from the wife and kids, but moved out trying to pick up the pace a bit as my wife informed me that the last runner had just left the aid station a few minutes earlier. The second half of a longer distance race is the part that I find most enjoyable. Yes, it will likely be far more painful than the first half, but if you start your race with the middle of the packers and race conservatively until the second half you begin to see the carnage the distance inflicts on the runners that went out too hard. Even if you’re hurting a bit, when you pass another runner at the 37 mile mark who still has about a marathon distance to go and looks half dead already, it makes your situation seem far more manageable. It motivates me to push to catch the next runner who went out too hard and blew up 20 miles from the finish. It’s not the right strategy for every runner and to each their own, but for me running a smart first half and trying to close the second half strong has worked out pretty well. 

The Finish Arch

I felt like I was chasing this runner who had “just left” AS 7 forever. One aid station and about 10 miles later I finally caught sight of him. He was climbing the last big gain before aid station 9, “Lake David”, at about mile 50. He was climbing strong and at this point my quads were starting to feel the wear of all of the small and short climbs throughout the middle section of the course. I was motivated to catch him though as I hadn’t seen any other runners since AS 5. After the climb the course drops you out into a clearing around a large lake with the aid station on the opposite side of the lake. I circled the lake chasing him and trying to look like I wasn’t tired after just redlining it on that climb. He got into the aid just before me and barely even stopped. Although I didn’t pass through as quickly as this guy I was chasing, there were a couple other runners (or a runner and pacer, not sure) in the aid station as we passed through which helped keep me from feeling too bad about watching this guy I’ve been chasing down for the last two hours breezing through the aid station.

I was a bit demoralized at this point as the guy I chased for so long was out of sight again leaving the aid station, but I realized I had less than 15 miles until the finish and my legs felt ok still. I knew that if there was any time to push it now was that time. I turned to the words of my 4 and 6 year old boys the night before for encouragement. The younger of the two told me to win the race. I had responded with it being unlikely, but I would do my best. My older boy told me to get in the top five. Having no idea what place I was in at the time, but knowing that I’ve been only gaining places since starting off with the mid-packers I fantasized that a top five finish may be possible. But it would only be possible if I pushed hard for the remainder of the race. I did something I usually don’t do during races and put my headphones in and turned on some music. I immediately felt an increase in energy. I started cranking out some faster miles immediately. Within minutes I passed another runner who had blown up. A few minutes after that I finally caught the guy I had been chasing on a downhill stretch of fire road. I told him that I had found my third wind after turning on some music and he gave me a pat on the back as I passed him. Not too long after that my headphones started crapping out on me. Not wanting to fight with them and get pissed off about it, I just took them off and put them away. From there on I had a new mantra: “honest effort”. I didn’t know what place I was in and I didn’t want to get passed by anyone so at every little incline or climb where I began to think that it would be nice to take a break from running and hike this I told myself to give an honest effort to run it before resorting to hiking. And with that mantra I did not stop running for much.

And now time to recover.

I spent more time at the second to last aid station than I wanted to just because the volunteers there were so cheerful and fun. I was in a bit of a goofy state of mind, but managed to push myself through after a pic (which I would love to see) of me giving a two thumbs up rating for the awesome course. I reached the final aid station, “Urbana”, without any runners catching me which was now my greatest fear. I drank coke and ate a gel which was my standard aid station routine at this point. It was a busy aid station with lots of spectators which was great to motivate me for the last big climb of the race which followed immediately after. After what was probably the steepest and most continual climb of the course I finally became frustrated. It wasn’t the fact that my dry shoes got soaked after only a mile or so. It wasn’t that tough climb just six miles from the finish. It was all of the little climbs between that final big climb and the finish. For the last four miles or so of this race it feels like the trail just messes with you and takes you up and down the same hillside. Maybe it was due to the nearly 13 hours of running previously, but I did not enjoy the last four miles of this course until I exited the trail to see the final road crossing and the finish line on the other side. Maybe that’s just the “tricky” part of this course.

Me Looking Disappointed at My Beat Up Feet

At the finish I got to give a big high five to my son who was perched on the bridge just before the finish line. I finished in 12:56:21 (which was only good enough for 8th place, apologies to my sons), well under my goal time of 14 hours. In retrospect, maybe my goal time wasn’t challenging enough. But when you’re running a course that is completely unfamiliar, it’s easy to misjudge. I am definitely guilty of that with my first crack at Worlds End where I severely underestimated how much the difficulty of the course would slow down my pace. While the Twisted Branch course was definitely not as technical as Worlds End, I’m not saying it is an easy course. There is still nearly as much elevation gain (10,458’ at TB and 12,091’ at WE) according to my Strava data. In my opinion, it was the road sections of the TB course that really improved my overall pace. When you can crank out some sub 9 minute miles on a rolling downhill paved road it’s going to increase that average pace even if there’s only about 5 road miles on the course. I kinda enjoyed the road sections to break up the course a bit also. It felt good to be able to just open it up a little and not worry about footing for a break every once in awhile. Another item that set this race apart from others was the Excel pacing tool provided on the website. This amazing Excel sheet was the most useful pace planning tool I have ever experienced. I may be a bit more impressed by it than most just because I'm a bit of a spreadsheet nerd, but I encourage you to play with it and then tell me it's not cool. On top of all of this, the finish area was awesome with great food (the burritos and broth were amazing) and a local brewery (The Brewery of Broken Dreams) had kegs of an IPA and stout. All in all, I highly recommend checking out Twisted Branch if you’re in the market for a 64ish mile adventure. And this just in, I recently heard that Twisted Branch is now a Western States qualifier race. So if that's your jam, here's another Beast Coast option.

Felt good to clean up at the lake at the finish!

Scott Snell
September 9, 2018

Five Reasons Why Shady Rays Are A Great Choice For Your Next Pair of Sunglasses

                      

Disclaimer: I’m promoting Shady Rays sunglasses as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews!”

Discount Code "BR" -is good for 50% off two or more pairs!

5.  Choices, Choices, Choices
The number of options will leave you stunned. If you can’t find a style of Shady Rays that you like, I will have to assume you don’t like sunglasses in general. Check out the many styles in this video or go straight to Amazon to inspect the many styles more in depth.

4.  You can contribute to the fight against hunger

In addition to providing a great product, Shady Rays also serves a philanthropic mission: to fight hunger in America. For every order placed, Shady Rays funds 11 meals through Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization providing meals to children and families in need. Feeding America fights hunger via a network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies.

3.  Durable Performance

Shady Rays sunglasses are constructed to be durable with shatter-resistant, high-visibility polarized lenses. The polarized lenses reduce glare reflected at some angles off shiny surfaces (such as roads, cars, or water) improving your overall vision by blocking those scattered rays of light that impede your vision. Speaking from my experience testing out my pair of Signature Series - Black Lime, I have had great clarity and zero fog up even on the muggiest of days when I am sweating within minutes of starting a run.

2.  Guaranteed

Additionally, Shady Rays believes in and stands behind their product. They offer a Lifetime
Craftsmanship Warranty and Free Replacements if Lost or Broken. I know that sounds too
good to be true and I was a bit skeptical, so here’s the fine print for your perusal.

1.  Comfort

In my opinion, above all else the top priority for a quality pair of sunglasses is comfort. The pair of Shady Rays I tested out did not disappoint in this category. One thing that really burns my ass is a flame about three feet high. Another thing that annoys me is a pair of sunglasses that doesn’t want to stay put on my face. Shady Rays sunglasses did just what they were supposed to: shaded my eyes and stayed in place comfortably even when I had beads of sweat running down my face. Another little bonus I found with the design of the sunglasses is that there was room on the outside of my eyes for me to sneak my fingers in to wipe sweat away from my eyes without taking my sunglasses off.

Get your pair of Shady Rays on Amazon!

2018 Fat Sass Switchback Challenge - Six Hour

Tougher Than Hyner In a Lot of Ways

Slideshow of the Fat Sass Switchback Challenge. Photo credit for all photos used in the

slideshow and blog post goes to the wonderful volunteers that made this an amazingly fun event!  

The Fat Sass Switchback Challenge is a distance/timed event orchestrated by Sassquad Trail Running, a division of Core Total Training and Fitness LLC. The event in its inaugural year (2018) offered runners a 5k distance option or the choice of two timed event options of three or six hours. I opted for the six hour challenge. It was managed as a self-supported fat ass style race, so no entry fees, no aid, and no swag. Even without aid provided, there was a designated park table for runners to donate community aid to and it was about as good as any aid station I’ve passed through. The organizers did ask in place of an entry fee that runners bring non-perishable food items to donate to Livingston Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a nonprofit organization that assists Livingston residents struggling with unexpected hardships by providing short-term financial and in-kind support. I was happy to contribute to the cause and have the opportunity to run a race on some new trails.

The course is a trail loop just a little over a mile (roughly 1.05 miles according to my Garmin data) in

Near the end of the one mile loop.

distance. The elevation gain per loop is 274 feet according to my Garmin data and 313 feet according to my Strava data, so trust whichever data set you feel is more accurate. Runners take on the course in a clockwise direction starting at the Locust Grove picnic area of South Mountain Reservation in Millburn, NJ. The trail starts with a climb up about 5 switchbacks (hence the name of the event) of primarily smooth trail for about a half mile before reaching the top of the ascent. There is then a short stretch (less than a tenth of a mile) of flat paved road before making a right back onto the trails. From there it’s about a half mile descent down more technical, rocky trails before returning to the picnic area.

I registered for this race to use it as a long training run with a good amount of elevation gain ran at a faster pace than I’m willing to push myself to without any competition. It was also a matter of convenience; I was visiting my in-laws the weekend of the race and the park it was held at was only about an hour from their house. For all those reasons and no entry fee while donating to a good cause, I couldn’t resist. Having never visited the area where the race was, I wasn’t sure what to expect of the trails. I knew there would be some elevation gain because the description on the Ultrasignup page said that each lap had about 291 feet of gain. However, I never did the math to figure how much gain I would accumulate based on distance goals until the night before the race when I was telling a friend about it. I casually told him that I planned on running thirty some miles in the six hour period. Then I did an estimate of the math in my head:  30 laps X 300 feet = 9,000 feet of gain. Shocked, I redid the math using a calculator:  30 laps X 291 feet = 8,730 feet. At this point in the conversation, in near disbelief, I told my friend that that’s more gain than Hyner 50k and I likely wouldn’t be running as far as I had planned to in the six hours. Setting goals for timed events that are pretty much out of my reach seems to be a habit for me. I did the same thing when getting ready for the six hour Running with the Devil.

Thankful that I figured out how much tougher of a race this was going to be than I expected the night before rather than during the race, I tried to get some good rest before my early alarm went off. Unfortunately, a good night’s sleep was not to be had. This weekend was the night of the Fourth of July fireworks display so the kids got to bed late to begin with after that. Then one of the two woke up a couple times during the night and had trouble getting back to sleep. So, after a few hours of

A rocky, but not the rockiest descent.

broken sleep I got up, ate some breakfast (peanut butter sandwiches), and drove to the park. I got there early enough to get situated. I checked in, dropped off my charity food donation, added my community aid of Swedish Fish and olives to the aid table, and got my personal aid station organized. Since this was a self-supported race I brought enough Gatorade and calories to get me through the entire six hours. Since I’m a bit frugal and I only had one gel on hand, all of my calories came from that single gel, three cans of Wal-Mart brand cola, and a tube of green cake frosting. I know, sounds gross, but it works and it’s not like gels really taste all that great anyway. Since it was at most a six hour race, my plan for fueling didn’t rely on any real food. I basically just wanted quick energy from simple carbs and some caffeine. The soda and frosting met all my needs.

After a few words from the RD, Kim Levinsky, the race began. Interestingly, and maybe it was just for the sake of simplicity, all runners (5k, 3 hour, and 6 hour) started simultaneously. I guess in this manner, a single clock could be used to time all three events simultaneously. Another interesting part of the organization of the race to me was the lap counting system that was used. At the completion of each lap timed event runners would record their place at the time on a chart that had all the runners’ names in that event listed. Similarly, 5k runners recorded their time rather than place at each lap. With this system, you always knew what place you were in and could get an idea of how far other runners were in front of and behind you. A volunteer was there to assist at all times as the board could get a little confusing especially after a few hours of running trail laps in the heat and your brain is getting a bit foggy.

The check in board used to record your place after every lap.

After considering the amount of gain I had in store for me and my readjusted goal of aiming for up to 30 laps rather than thirty-something laps, I went out at a pace that I thought would get me close to that goal. This meant running the entire climb during the first lap which wasn’t bad as it was not too technical and not too steep thanks to all the switchbacks. However, I knew full well that after a few laps I would certainly be hiking portions of the climb. I ran the flat paved section at the top at a medium effort then tried to let gravity do the work and stay light on my feet as I flew down the technical descent to complete my first lap in about 10:54. This was good enough to put me in first place at the time. I was able to maintain that pace and running the entire course for about the first four laps. After that, my times started to slow a bit as I started hiking portions of the climb. It was somewhere around the fourth lap check in that another runner I had been yo-yoing with got to the check in right ahead of me. It turns out he was another six hour runner who had been checking in as second just behind me for the first few laps. He was a bit confused when filling in his place at the board when he realized he was now in first. Which is another point that made the lap counting system interesting. It was hard to tell who you were racing against unless you happened to be at the lap check in with them. There were no markings on the bibs, so unless you asked you couldn’t tell who was a six hour or a three hour runner. Hence the reason for the other runner’s confusion when he got the lead.

I continued cranking out laps in second place for a couple more hours maintaining a pretty steady pace. The mental challenge of a timed event on a short loop was something I haven’t dealt with very often. I approached it the same way I approach a distance event:  break it up into manageable sections and then comfort yourself every time you reach one of those check points. For this event, I broke it down into two hour blocks. The first two hours seemed to go surprisingly fast. I told myself “that wasn’t so bad, just do that two more times!”. The middle two hours were the toughest mental struggle for all the normal reasons:  it got a bit warm, I was beginning to tire, and there was still a pretty long way to go. Once I got through that and into the final two hours, things began to turn around. I knew at this point it was time to push and see what’s left in the tank.

The view from a point midway up the switchbacks.

I don’t remember exactly where, but somewhere near the middle of the race I realized at check in that I had been passed by a six hour runner and was now in third. I had no idea who it was for the reasons I mentioned earlier. I continued in third place until there was a little over a half hour left. At this point if figured I would have enough time to finish my current lap and run two more before time ran out as long as I maintained my pace of around 13 to 14 minute laps. As I’m going over this and calculating the time in my head while finishing up the climb and reaching the paved section I caught sight of a few runners ahead of me. At this point I knew they had to be six hour runners, but I wasn’t sure if they were runners I was lapping or if one of them may be the second place runner. I didn’t catch them before the check point where I saw that I was still in third. Not knowing if I was taking over the second place position or not, I skipped stopping for aid this lap and decided to run this second to last lap as hard as I could. I figured if I did just take second place this would give me a bit of a gap ahead of him before he finds out at the next check in. If I was still in third, it would at least give me a chance to catch the second place runner wherever they were or I could at least say I gave it my all to try to catch them. Running my second to last lap as fast as one of my early laps I reached the check in to find out that I was in fact in second place. Knowing this motivated me to keep my pace up for my final lap and finish strong in second place with a total of 26 laps (about 27.2 miles).

The scene just before the start of the race.

The highlights for me during this race weren’t really about me or even specifically running. What I thought made this race great was the organization and volunteers that made it happen. There aren’t many trail races in NJ and even less trail ultramarathons. I’m so excited that Sassquad Trail Running has started organizing these events in NJ that are more convenient for me than driving to the middle of PA. During the race it was great seeing many of the volunteers taking time to run a few laps while they had downtime from their volunteer duties. During one of my laps, a volunteer took note of the Hyner socks I was wearing and commented about Hyner being tough and how this race compares. I replied with something along the lines of “This is tougher than Hyner in a lot of ways”. Strictly looking my Strava elevation gain data (8,142 feet for Fat Sass versus 7,507 feet for Hyner), the Fat Sass was tougher than Hyner. In a way, I feel that Hyner relieves a bit of the suffering experienced while running it with the beautiful scenery you enjoy along the way. Even with the arguably more technical terrain of the trails at Hyner, the grueling nature of repeating a one mile loop for six hours I still feel was more challenging than anything I experienced while running Hyner.

Scott Snell

July 31, 2018