One of the McNaughton Hills - photo by Mark CarlsonThe McNaughton Park Trail Runs are next weekend near Pekin, IL and include 50, 100 and 150 mile events. Originally I had signed up to run the 150 mile race but after much thought and consideration I decided about 6 weeks ago to drop down to the 100 mile distance and give it my best effort to try to break the 24 hour mark. Here's a short blurb about the course from the event's website:
Do you think Illinois is all flat cornfields? Wise ultra-runners will get some serious hill training in before coming to McNaughton Park! We don’t have mountains in Illinois ... just a few rolling hills with elevator shaft downhills guaranteed to warm your quads on a chilly April evening. Here’s how one satisfied customer described the terrain: ‘I now know why Illinois is so flat. They took all the hills that are supposed to be there and put them ALL into one spot in Pekin, IL ... and called it ‘McNaughton Park’.”
If you'd like to take a McNaughton Virtual Tour created by Ollie Nanyes please click HERE.
The "only 150 mile ultra race in the United States" begins at noon on Friday with the 50 and 100 mile races starting Saturday morning at 6:00 am. Fellow SLUGs Jeremy Bolt and Travis Liles will also be tackling the 100 mile distance and SLUG, Tracy Thomas, is toeing the line for the 150. If any of you would like to track the runners as the race is happening there is a webcast you can tune into by clicking HERE. If you see that I'm "stalled" say a quick prayer and send me some positive vibes! I'll post a full race report next week after the race.
Today was the Go St. Louis Marathon and I went downtown to cheer on the runners and enjoy the amazing weather. Last Fall in my Yoga class, my friend Larry Hook and I were talking about running and he said, "I've run a few half marathons and someday I'd like to run a marathon," to which I responded, "Why don't you do it next Spring?" Well, today was "someday" for Larry as he rocked the course with a sub-4 hour finish! Way to go Larry and congratulations to all of the finishers! To view the full 2008 Go St. Louis Marathon Results click HERE.
From today's weather it certainly seems as though Spring is here; hope you're outside enjoying it!
Happy Running,
Carey
5 comments:
Good luck this weekend at the 100 miler. Perhaps our paths will cross unlike at Kettle last year when I was pacing for Tom Riley. I'm doing the 50 miler this year and is my farthest trail ultra thus far. Sort of a training run for Miwok next month.
take care and see ya soon.
Brian
i gotta say though, you don't actually run that power line cut, it jogs back into the woods.
Dirt Trail Runner,
Good to know! I took one look at that hill and knew I'd be muttering some choice words going up it after the 3rd or 4th time.
- Carey
Good luck this weekend!
And Larry - if you are reading this, way to go!!! I'm happy to hear you did so well :)
-Jaimee
Thanks Jaimee; by the time you guys start class Saturday morning I should have about 20 miles down with only 80 more to go :-)
Larry ROCKED! He finished about 30 minutes faster than he expected so I actually ran right past him (I ran from the finish line to Forest Park Visitors Center and back) and since I wasn't looking for him in the 4 hour group I missed him in the crowd.
Thanks again for the well wishes and I'll see you a week from Saturday,
Carey
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