2016 Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run "Race Report"

People will give you a lot of reasons as to why they run ultras.  I'll give you one:

Click on photos to enlarge

Umstead 100 makes #families.  It was evident as I witnessed friends, now family, embrace warmly before departing that we had taken part in something special.

The photos above embody the attitude of the weekend. Love. Support. Joy.  Why else would we endure hours, sometimes days, of suffering? Jordan was there to capture the moments above perfectly. Before we climbed in our cars, we gave hugs all around. Hugs for congratulations. Hugs for appreciation. Hugs for new relationships formed. Hugs because together we had achieved so much more than getting four runners to the finish line. We stared failure in the eyes and laughed, smiled,  danced, and vuvuzela'd our way to success!

It has been two years since I've written a "race report" and this one will follow a similar format. There are a few reasons why I stopped writing this blog but the primary reason was the realization that what I'm doing isn't a big deal.  Plenty of individuals pursue long distance running.  What IS a BIG deal are people who give up a weekend to help and support others achieve their goals.  People who drive three or four hours to cheer on runners and pace friends at all hours of the night.  Those are the type of people we should be writing race reports about.  THOSE people are a BIG deal!

1. LINDA VICK! True confession.  Linda was my undergraduate advisor when I was a mechanical engineering student at Virginia Tech.  Numerous times I went to her office in a panic fearing the worse and there she was to keep me calm and reassure me everything was going to be okay.  I affectionately refer to Linda as Momma Vick because of this.  What better qualities could you ask for of a crew member at a 100 mile race? Linda not only drove down to support the four of us as crew but she ALSO VOLUNTEERED at the aid station halfway along the course and was there to tell me I looked strong as I came through her aid station later in the race.  I know this was not true but thank you Linda for being an awesome friend, advisor, and crew member last weekend.  Both Michelle and I are so appreciative for your friendship.  Linda is running the Blue Ridge Marathon next weekend and we intend to find her on course with the Vuvuzela!
2. BUTCH!!! This kid has serious talent! Talk about clutch in a way that only #UltraVT could pull through.  Butch ran an off the couch 50 miler with Royce.  Butch is a seriously talented runner and a humble guy who basically made the pacing situation work.  Things got a little messed up with the pacing schedule, which was totally expected, because 100 miles is a long way right?!? Josh Starner stepped in for lap 6 pacing duties for me and it is because of Butch that this worked and didn't completely shatter all pacing responsibilities! I felt the need to include some typical BUTCH face photos to give you a better feel for Butch's humble intensity.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Chris and Julia! You guys win the award for the longest drive! Every time I came into the aid station there you two were with smiling faces.  Chris, Trevor and I were joking a week out from Umstead that you had as many 2016 miles as Trevor and I and that you could be running Umstead.  It was awesome that your rocked out two laps with Stewie and helped pace him to a PR.  He's already talking about your magic and requesting you for Grindstone this fall.  I can't wait for you to get up to Blacksburg for your first Catawba Run Around #CRA. Chris is a card carrying member of the #BadIdeaClub and embodies the #ExploreYourFaceOnFire attitude.  He also participated in the inaugural meeting of the bad idea club completing the New River Trail 50 mile run last fall.
   
   
   
   
4. Jill! In case no on has told you today, YOU'RE AWESOME!!! I came in after lap two slightly unhappy with a blister that had developed on my left foot.  
   
   I wondered going into the race whether a spot on the inside of my left foot was going to be an issue.  After hitting the aid station, I was persuaded to change my socks (a great idea) and reluctantly sat down in a chair, only after stating aloud a power phrase "Beware of the chair!"  When I took off my sock, I found a pretty large blood blister that needed to be addressed.  After consideration, the used fork on the aid station table wasn't going to work and without pause, as if in a movie, a knife slides in from behind me on my left side.  Jill was there to save the day! With a little hand sanitizer for sterizilation (?) I did through-and-through and drained the blister.  I didn't have to worry about my feet for the rest of the day.  Jill, thank you for letting us borrow Josh for numerous weekends throughout the winter (but really...you're welcome!).  Jill and Michelle ran the 8 miler last year at Eastern Divide.  We wish we could have them here in Blacksburg but Boone will have to do for now!
5. LOIS!!! It's no wonder G$ is so awesome! She's a chip off the old block! (not calling you old here Lois)  If you were to have a potluck, Lois would bring the awesome-sauce! And some sweet signs! Lois has been at Umstead for the past two years and is an awesome crew member! She even stayed up for Trevor to finish last year (I didn't make it to the finish line for Stewie last year). Lois, thank you so much for being there and being the awesome Mom you are! You're one of the coolest moms around. The photos you took are awesome and you kept everyone on the interwebs informed all day.
   
   
   
   
   

   PAUSE!!! DID I MENTION HOW AWESOME OUR CREW WAS?!?!?!?!?!!!!
   
   

   

   
   

   

   
    
   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   
6. Ginger A.K.A G$ - You sand baggin' son of a...     Ginger is fast.  Don't let her tell you otherwise.  She has speed, talent, and a smile that makes it hard not to smile back when you're around her.  I remember an early season training run with Ginger in town when we descended down into the valley on Nellies Cave Road and G$ was a total trooper soaking in the experience (and suffering) and held her own climbing out of the valley.  Michelle and I feel so fortunate for your and Trevor's friendship.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for traveling to Myrtle to support Michelle in her first marathon! #LoveWhereYouLive #WeHaveTheBestPeople
   
   
   
7. (Josh) STARNER!!! DUDE.  I'm Sorry.  You got me at my worst during the race.  I was in a dark place.  Probably pretty glazed over.  Possibly swerving all over the trail. Non-responsive. And overall not a great person to be running with.  If there was an MVP of crewing duties for VT Ultrarunning you would win it at every year.  Your kindness and willingness to do whatever a runner needs is unparalleled.  Thank you for the generosity of your time and being at Umstead.  I can honestly say I'm not sure I would've made it around lap 6 without you! I'm so stoked to watch you tackle your first 50 and 100!
   
   
   
8. MAO (Sean) MAO! I'm so glad you tapped Trevor on the shoulder to ask if you could join at pub run.  Your ENTHUSIASM IS CONTAGIOUS.  You were on point all weekend.  Always willing to help.  Keeping what could've been a heavy and stressful pre-race day light and jovial.  Deb - your husband is an amazing man and thank you for letting us borrow him for the weekend. Also, Michelle is going to need the peanut butter ball recipe. "MMMM....this is so good!!!" On a serious note though, watching you transform into a trail beast has been inspiring and a breath of fresh air.  Not only was your DEBUT marathon seriously impressive but then to turn around and lay down the time you did at Holiday Lake. This is just the beginning. Thanks for taking charge on the vuvuzela duties.  Your horn skills are superb.
9. JORDAN and Kristen!!! Where do I begin.  I'll start with this:
   

   "Jordan knows me better than most people, he knew that I’d let myself be content with finishing, rather than pushing myself to finish higher.  He knew exactly what to tell Michelle and how to push me, without physically being there to push me.  It was as if he was out there with me on lap 8, when he was back at headquarters aid station waiting for me to finish."

   
   Jordan has been there with me every year.  It wouldn't be Umstead without him.  He kept me fueled in the dark miles of a 100 miler and kept my spirits high providing encouragement and compliments.  If there were a tour guide of SWVA mountains it would be Jordan. He is a far better friend than I deserve and I hope we run until we're old and pushing the 30 hour cutoff. You make me want to be a better runner, person, friend, and husband. You are a huge role model for me.  Thank you for being my friend Jordy!
   
   
   Fun fact: Jordan is solely responsible for the increased usage of emoticons among our group.  There's a correlation between the number of emoticons used and happiness of the individual.  Jordan uses a metric crapton of emoticons.
   
   Below: Jordan has my jacket and headlamp and is waiting for me to return from HQ aid station.  Did you notice his shirt?!? He's a boss. And a beast.  Seriously talented and so proud to call him my friend.  If you look at all the crew photos above, you'll notice it's Jordy taking care of both Trevor and Royce's feet.
   
   
   
   
   
   

   I can't think of anyone else I'd want to projectile vomit in front of!

   
   

   

           2014 Finish                             2015 HQ AS Pre-Start
   

   

   2016 Finish!
   

   
   Kristen, thank you for being there and capturing moments behind the camera! I'm glad you got the opportunity to witness Umstead firsthand.  
   
   
   
10. Michelle! My Loving Wife Sherfy! I cannot begin to express my gratitude for your support in this endeavor.  Of all of the Umstead moments over the past three years, none compare to RUNNING the last lap of this years race with you.  You've supported me in so many ways over the past 7 years but last Saturday I saw a side of you I've never seen before.  On lap 7, I told Jordan I was ready for lap 8 to be a victory lap and wanted to soak in the day.  I told Jordan that there was no one I would rather run lap 8 with than you.  I told Jordan that the only reason that I was there on lap 7 was because of your support.
    
    
    
    Your support all winter during long training days.  Your support preparing healthy meals every week for us to eat. Your support of many Saturdays apart with me training in the mountains because you knew it would help me be successful at Umstead this year.  But you didn't let me settle for victory lap.  You didn't let me walk the last lap.  You persuaded me ever so slightly to want more than just finishing.  You wanted more for me when I didn't.  You didn't complain once.
    
    
    
    You ran hard and were the perfect pacer.  I'm not sure we've ever been more in sync on a run together.  Not only would Umstead not have been possible without you, it wouldn't have been fun without you.  All day long you were ready to get me whatever I needed to get back out on the next lap.  You led our crew calmly and kept our pacers organized and made the day work. I am so damn proud of you.  I am so glad to be on this journey of life together. SO Richmond...?!?
    
    
    
11. EVERY VOLUNTEER! Rhonda! The #UmsteadFamily. There’s a lot of selfishness involved in setting the goal of a 1000 mile buckle.  Perhaps my selfishness is fear in what will happen after the Umstead party is over? The first year we were at Umstead, we rolled with a fairly small crew, only Michelle and I were there on Friday and Rudy and Jordan drove down on Saturday. We were welcomed by other runners and crew (Rick and Tammy, you guys seriously rock and are just so darn nice! We feel privileged to call you guys friends).  I vowed not to run it again because I could not imagine the day going better or having more fun.  But the draw of the #UmsteadFamily convinced me to sign up again and run it last year.  Last year was the first year that we knew folks before we arrived at the race start.  We met Lois and Jordan returned AGAIN for pacing duties, running laps 7 AND 8 with me.  Josh came and ran with Trevor and fun times were had.  The race just has something special about it.  Perhaps it's the lap setup that makes headquarters aid station and crewing so appealing or the unparalleled welcome that crew receive by the race staff.  No other race treats runners and crew equal.  Rhonda, thank you for continuing the awesome event Blake created!  Volunteers, thank you for being out there in all hours of the night. For pacing random people to help them achieve their goal.  You guys rock!  Thank you to the countless photographers (Ben Dillon, Hope Squires, G. King, Dennis Geiser, and many others) that stand out on the course and take photos of runners to use as FB profile photos or for blogs like this one.
    
    
    
12. Friends and family following along from all over.  Thank you for your positive words, congratulations, and words of encouragement.  It is easy to pass over the Like button on FB or to think..."he's running that again?!? We get it. You run" (#HatersGonnaHate) but knowing we had people following along, subscribed to text messages, and supporting from a far kept us going out there.  A big shoutout to our RunAbout Pub Run family.  We look forward to seeing you guys every Wednesday! It's become my favorite day of the week.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

There you have it!  It was an awesome weekend of running with friends, now family. Congratulations to all finishers and participants! It takes guts to toe the line of a 100 miler, finish or not.  Royce and Josh, welcome to the family and selective group of 100 miler finishers.  I hope your Umstead experience lived up to the hype! Stewie, I'm so damn proud of you. I think of you like the brother I never had.  Congratulations on breaking 20 hours! You inspire all of us and I don't hesitate to say you that you are the mayor the Blacksburg running community!

I may post a detailed race report full of geeky runnerd numbers and description of how things went down but everything above is the important part, the part WORTH reading. I do want to write a blog post on why signing up for ultras with friends and training with friends is awesome but... we'll see if that happens.

**Photo credit for the photographs in this post goes to a long list of photographers including our crew: Lois Kelly, Jordan and Kristen Chang, Linda Vick as well as the photographers out on the course: Ben Dillon, Hope Squires, G. King, Dennis Geiser, and Teri Saylor**

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Synchroblog: Why Do We Run?

In second installment of UltraVT synchroblog, I was tasked with coming up with a topic that "had a little controversy" and would ultimately promote good discussion within our group.  I suppose one neat thing about participating in the synchroblog with a group of likeminded college students is that, as intellectuals, we can appreciate and embrace differences in opinion without feeling like our beliefs or values are being challenged.  That's the beauty of the entire thing; new perspectives promoting and fostering a rich dialogue among friends.

The topic I decided on, as seen in the title, is Why Do We Run?  This has been an underlying theme in many of my posts and one that I attempted to tackle in an open conversation last spring, Lets Talk Running Motivation.  One excerpt from that post that helps set the tone for the discussion:

I have a personal struggle with motivation that teeters on an unhealthy addiction.  I often have a feeling of guilt until I cross off that days mileage.  It made me think.  What drives me to run? 

I think it is important to reflect and reevaluate periodically, taking a step back see the bigger picture.  I'm excited to read what my peers have to say as I think it is a challenging topic but relevant as ultrarunners because of the inevitable "but why do you run so far?"

What role does running play in your life? 

For me, it is important to continually remind myself that running is something I do and NOT who I am.  This is a big one in my opinion, especially in our generation, because we keep such busy schedules and are so driven to climb the ladder or get to the next "thing" that we hardly stop to enjoy the moment.

For instance, last Sunday morning I completed a massive accomplishment by finishing my first 100 mile race.  A race that I devoted a huge amount of time, energy, and money toward...and it was over in the blink of an eye...erm...in less than a day?!?  You know what I mean.  Michelle and I discussed before Umstead 100 that I would NOT sign up for another race in the week following Umstead.  Rudy, without any knowledge of this discussion, made sure to tell Michelle to "not let me sign up for any races the week after."  I'm proud to say that I didn't.  That's not to say I didn't look but I didn't pay for or actually sign up for any races.  Small victories.  The point being that, we are often too quick to think about what's next that we rarely stop to appreciate the things we have, or in this case have recently accomplished.  I think by not signing up, I savored the success of completing my first 100 mile race in a stylish fashion.  Further, I would argue that I'm the happiest I've ever been following a race.  I spoke with Kristen about this on our run on Sunday morning, the post race depression.  After months of planning, training, and hard work the event is over and far too often is over in a fashion that does not meet our idea of "success."  We justify our performance by telling ourselves "I could've done this differently" and "I should've trained this way" never being satisfied with our performance.  I believe this is an inherent trait of runners, specifically runners who consider themselves "endurance athletes."

Running, in this way, is both productive and equally destructive.  The coin is two sided; races and events serve as source of focus and drive when motivation is lacking to train and simultaneously act as selfish pursuits of achievement that are detrimental to relationships, professional goals, and social lives. I spoke with some friends about this in early February as I expressed my concern about how selfish training for a 100 mile race is and the toll it was taking on all three of the above mentioned aspects.  Training placed an additional, and entirely unnecessary, burden on Michelle to pickup my slack while I spent hours running each weekend.  It was entirely unfair.

So why continue to do it?  Simple: mental balance.  Now, I understand all the aforementioned selfish training and unfair talk in the previous paragraph is enough to warrant hanging up the sport altogether.  But since I began running again in late 2011, I've been a happier and more balanced individual than I can ever remember.  Getting out the door, even if only for a few miles, gives me an opportunity to clear my head, unwind from a long day, and personally reflect on my life and behavior.  It's my thinking time. Selfish?  Absolutely.  But do I feel that I am a better friend, son, teacher, and fiancé (soon to be husband) because of it?  There's not a doubt in my mind.  I don't think anyone, or at least very few, individuals who run 100 miles races and put in 60+ mile weeks can do so unselfishly.  The compromise then is choosing and pursuing races that allow for a resemblance of balance.

For me, I need to ensure that running has it's place within my life without taking it over.

When did you start running and why?

I started "running" during my sophomore year of high school when I went out for the cross country team in the fall of 2002.  I thought of myself as fit and quickly learn just how unfit I was. The team was a blast and we had a few kids on the team who were amazingly talented and naturally gifted with absolutely zero focus and dedication. Huge potential squandered. They made every practice hilarious, mainly because we were high school guys and everything inappropriate seemed funny at the time (why do I want to coach HS again?).  In the spring I decided to participate in track and field and fell in love with the sport.  I choose hurdles, despite my scant 5' 3" build, and quickly fell in love with the feeling of flying through the air over hurdles.  I'm not sure if I was driven or simply had a chip on my shoulder but I managed to make it to states my senior year and place 7th, good enough for all state honors.

Part of the reason I choose to leave my job as an engineer is so that I could coach at the high school level with the desire to help kids find a love of running, or at least pursuing an active and healthy lifestyle.  Once I got to college, I would go out for runs sporadically but never with any idea of "training" or consistency.  Eventually, a friend persuaded me to sign up for a half marathon, the Yuengling Shamrock half, which I thought I was going to die after.  In the fall of 2009 after completing the Journey of Hope, I decided I was fit enough to run a marathon.  Little did I know that cycling fitness doesn't necessarily translate to running fitness.  I swore I would never do it again.

The real catalyst for me signing up for my first ultra was my best friend Jeff sending me a link to Sabrina Moran's blog, who attended William & Mary at the same time that he did.  I was hooked and quickly signed up for my first ultra, another terrible idea, the North Face 50M, which I eventually reduced down to the 50k and ran in the summer of 2012.  The past few years have been a whirlwind of growing as a runner, specifically developing confidence in my fitness and ability to run beyond my self-imposed limits.

If you could only run one last run, where and with whom would it be and why?  

When I met Michelle, she wasn't a runner but in all fairness neither was I.  The first few times we tried running together were...well...disastrous.  Running partners need to run the same pace and our paces didn't mesh well together.  However, over the years, we've run together when I haven't been training and it has been AWESOME.  She knows it's my favorite thing to do together.  I know it's one of her least favorite things.  We're working on finding a happy medium.  I digress.  If I had one last run, or could only run one more time before both of my knees gave out, I would want it to be with her someplace beautiful.  Just a fun run along the water or a canal or in some new place we've traveled to.  Spending time doing what I love with the person I love most in the world.

Which is better, trail running or road running?  Why?

Tough question.  I came from a road running background transitioning to longer trail ultras after running my first half marathon eventually my first full marathon.  A lot of the runners I know ran a trail 50k as their first long distance race and completely skipped over the marathon distance.  I LOVE the feeling of running through closed city streets in a massive road race where you feel like for a few short hours, runners own the roads.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, the ultrarunning community is SO much more close knit than the road running community.  We endure and suffer together, traversing massive mountains and covering grueling distances.  Trail races are limited by the number of runners a trail can accommodate and consequently are more intimate experiences.  Road running has my heart but at the moment, trail running has captured my attention and drawn me in.  I have a lot of lofty goals involving trail races and really only one that involves road racing, qualifying for Boston.  I suppose that's why I think trail running, and ultra distance racing will continue to keep me entertained for the foreseeable future whereas Boston may be more of a "bucket list item."

Groups or solo?

Deep inside, I'm fiercely independent but when it comes to running I find strength in others around me, whom often believe in me more than I do myself.  UltraVT is a petri dish of inspiration.  I think the following tweet after Monday night's group run sums up my opinion on the matter:

When 6.5 miles seems like 6.5 minutes running with @ultraVT friends. Gorgeous evening for a run and the rain even held out for us!
— Brett Sherfy (@RBSherfy) April 15, 2014

So there you have it!  The second installment of UltraVT Synchroblog.  All most of us will be publishing this Friday morning.  Be sure to click on the links under the UltraVT logo on the right side of the page as everyone else updates their blogs.  Writing this post has been an excellent opportunity to organize and consolidate my thoughts into coherent opinions.  And they're just that.  Opinions at the moment.  Perhaps I'll read another runners post and change my opinion.  Maybe not.  Either way, I'm excited to do another one.

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