Flatlander's 6hr & 12hr race with St. Louis Ultrarunner's Group - Fenton, MO

Twelve hours is a long time to be running. Last year I tried this race in the 6hr format. I managed 40+ miles in 2009. This year, I wanted to "go big". Problem is, I've been racing too much lately, and I'm only 1 month off of a 100 miler at STORMY. I knew going in to Flatlanders this year that it probably wasn't going to be "my day". Not getting injured became my goal for this one.

But hey, I wasn't going to miss a day hanging out with my SLUG friends and the weather for the 2010 Flatlanders race was shaping up to be SPECTACULAR! Before the 7:30am start, we were all chatting about how this could be a course record year. Starting time temps were a cool & breezy 56 degrees. Absolutely perfect. With a projected high of 82 degrees and low humidity there really was nothing to complain about.
 

My friend, Wendie (pictured here with eventual champ, Lee Dougherty) was trying her first ever ultra marathon! Wendie turned 40 this week, and her goal was to cover at least 40 miles. GUTSY - to say the least. Wendie has only run 1 marathon, and it was a few years back - but she's a better runner today than she was then, so I think she was ready.

Other friends that came to "throw down" for 12 hours included Brandon Janosky, Tommy Doias, Jen Eichelberger, Joyce, Norm & Kat Yarger, Kyle Gibbs, Steve Pollihan, John Pollihan, John Mossman, David Stores and many others. It was definitely a great representation of SLUG talent from every age group, gender and beginners & experts alike.

At the 7:30 bell, I was off with the crowd and could tell straight away it was going to be painful every step. My stomach wasn't right either, and although I had several pit stops, I managed to get in the marathon distance in well under 4 hours. Plenty fast for the 1st 1/3rd of a 12 hour. Problem was, I was getting some pretty severe knee pain and hip pain - to the point that it seemed like the sensible thing to do was shut it down. I wanted to eclipse the 40 mile mark - so I hammered my last couple of loops at a swift pace. But at 7hrs & 17 minutes, with about 42 miles in - I took my own advice and SHUT IT DOWN. No reason to go off injuring myself, I figured. However, that wouldn't stop me from cheering on my friends and fellow SLUGs.

Jill Indovino, council director for Girls on the Run St. Louis, was there to run a couple of laps with me and I really appreciated her coming out in support of my efforts. Since Wendie was running to raise money for Girls on the Run STL, Jill also came out to support her. Not only did Wendie raise more than $1,000 for GOTR - she bagged 48.85 miles in her first Ultra! Amazing job Wend-O!!! I'm really proud of Wendie, because she was pretty nervous heading in to this race. She took it head on and came up a winner.

There were so many good performances out there that I can't take the time to write them all up. I know there is a new Grand Master's course record, though. Lee Dougherty, 60 years young, hammered out an AMAZING 73.54 miles to take the overall title for 2010 on this Grand Master course record performance. He's not far off the overall course record either, of 77.45 miles. GREAT JOB LEE!!! Oh, did I mention that this is his 3rd consecutive overall win in a row at Flatlander's 12hr? He won last year AND the year before, too!

Time for me to ice bath, stretch, heal up a bit and get ready for Spirit of the Osage 50k next month. It's my last race for 2010. I can't over do it at Sunshine in September or Mountain Highway Madness this weekend, so I'll have to be cautious. However, I wouldn't miss a chance to run in BC - regardless of how I'm feeling.