A Fun Year of Running Far and Long

I had a bad New York City Marathon in November of 2022, a combination of unexpected race-day heat and some out-of-nowhere quad pain a week before the event doomed my hopes of having a good showing in the historic race through the five boroughs. I was bummed. It took 5 years in the lottery and two Covid delays to finally toe the line and I had a solid block of training. I felt great but that’s the thing about running races, you can have a bad day on any day no matter the work you put into it. Oh well, I got a nice shirt, a string bag, and a couple of delicious NYC bagels. Well worth the trip.

I rebounded a couple of weeks later with a solid time at the Schuylkill River Loop Race, an 8.4-mile race around Philly’s most iconic running path. The performance made me feel better but I was still a bit wounded from my bad race a month earlier, so I decided to tackle another race before the end of the year and ran the Naked Nick Trail 50K on December 18th. It was freezing (28 ℉) and challenging but I had a surprisingly enjoyable time out on the trails. My legs felt fresh and I was super pumped to end my year on a high note. I clocked 1,616 running miles for the year and was happy to take a few days off to rest and eat every Christmas cookie in sight.

When January rolled around, I was still excited about my decent 2022 finish and was feeling pretty fit so I set a goal of doing four big races in 2023 with the Dirty German 50-Miler ultramarathon in May being my “A race” (runner speak for the main race of the year you are training for). I ran two 50-mile road races ten years ago and always wanted to get back to running that distance and maybe more.  I also wanted to do 50 miles on a trail because flat roads can get pretty damn boring. Plus, I’m an old fella now (more on that later) and I have some things on my checklist I need to knock off.

To backtrack a bit, an “ultramarathon” is any race longer than 26.2 miles, a few are held on flat roads like typical marathons, but the majority of ultras are run on trails, fields, hills, woods, mountains, and pretty much any surface that has rocks and roots and boulders and other nasty things that are trying to trip and injure you every step of the way.

Most trail ultras also have ascents and descents to keep things interesting. It’s different mentally and physically from running a road race, you really can’t zone out for too long. You need to stay focused for the majority of the course, looking down to avoid the pesky dangers. Some trail runners describe tip-toeing through the nastiness as problem-solving. I’m one of them. After a while, it becomes second nature and you don’t have to think about it, you just do it.

On longer steep climbs, hike don’t run. Preserve your energy. You’ll eventually get to enjoy some flat or flowy runnable sections. Hiking is also a good time to eat a snack and grab a drink from your flask or bottle.

Another difference between trail and road races is you get to eat grilled cheese and chips and soda during these events. You don’t see that goodness on a folding table next to the tiny water cups and GU packs during a road marathon.

Most people consider a 50K (31.07 miles) and a 50-mile trail race to be beginner ultras. These are what I attempt to do. I am working my way up to the next level which are the 100K and 100-mile distances. The distance levels and types of endurance events after that start to get crazy. The Cocodona 250 (miles!) is a fun event to follow and human-machine hybrid runner Harvey Lewis set a backyard ultramarathon record by running 450 miles in four and a half days.

At this point in my young ultrarunning career, I ran four 50K trail races in the past two years and wanted to see what running an extra 18+ miles felt like. It seemed daunting but I was motivated to train more and I wanted a “Dirty German 50” cap. It’s a conversation piece. I met a great guy named Tom on a scorching hot summer weekend on the trails because of the cap. I digress, back to the story.

I bundled up and ran the trails of The Wissahickon and hit the streets of Philly and the boardwalks of Monmouth County NJ and logged about 450 miles from January to March, an okay amount of training for cold weather but I needed more to get in the shape necessary to give the Dirty German the respect it deserves. So, I signed up for a couple of prep races. It is now time to take a look at how that went. You might want to hydrate.

Race One: HAT 50K Run

March 23rd, 2023, in Havre de Grace, MD

Course: View on Strava

With every spring trail race a little rain must fall, for the HAT Run, a lot of rain fell. Like the entire time. Thankfully, the downpour did not dampen the spirits of the staff and volunteers who were amazing, and despite the massive amount of mud (which made the climbing and the descending harder and take a hell of a lot longer), I enjoyed the experience. It was an adventure.

The course was challenging, packed with everything you would want in a trail race: a reasonable number of steep ascents (about 4,196 ft total elevation), tricky descents, some much-welcomed flowy runnable trails, and a couple of road sections thrown in the mix. I took it pretty slow and had some gas in the tank at the end.

At this point, I should mention I am 54 years old and I know my best running days are behind me. I’ve run 28 marathons (27 on roads, one on trail) and nine ultras, and I average about 35 to 40 miles a week depending on the season. I now head out mostly on the trails for my longer runs and run all over Philly and my neighborhood for my shorter runs. I also love running on the boardwalks in Central Jersey (I’m from Belmar). Jogging through Asbury Park on a busy summer weekend morning is a must for fans of running in Jersey.

I’ve been a vegetarian for over thirty years and eat fairly healthy but maybe too much bread and cheese (please pronounce my last name, Lyons, the fancy French way), and have recently started drinking low-cal IPA. It’s not the best beer but do I deserve the best? Absolutely not.

I got into trail running late in life, a few years back when, like many trail fans, I watched the “The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young” documentary and then took a deep dive on YouTube. I was hooked.

When friends ask why I run so often and at times, run far, I usually reply, “I like being outside.” It’s the most succinct answer I can give. I have a hard time describing how much I love running and how much I need it in my life without going into great detail that would surely make them regret asking the question.

Being outside and moving about is good therapy, it makes me feel calm and part of nature. Running takes me away from screens, which is very necessary (I am a web developer). I love seeing people hiking and mountain biking and encountering all the beauty: chipmunks darting in front of you, deer staring at you when you round a bend, crazy birds squawking, dogs bounding about in vests, babies in backpacks, toddlers with big old sticks… everything about it rules.

After a long day or an especially stressful week, I can’t wait to strap on my trail shoes and have at it. My “Can I say hi?” reflex when encountering a very good dog on the trails can’t be beaten.

Race Two: Philadelphia Trail Marathon

April 23rd, 2023, in Philadelphia, PA

Course: View on Strava

The good people at Uberendurancesports put on exceptionally well-run, affordable, and friendly trail races in the Philly and Reading PA areas that cater to beginner and seasoned runners alike. Race director Stephan and his team were kind enough to put on a race in my main training ground, the mighty Wissahickon Valley Park, my favorite place on earth to run.

It was one month after my 50K and I felt good and ready to tackle the two formidable 13.1-mile loops around the “Wiss” on the Yellow, Orange, and White Trails. These trails have it all, lots of roots and rocks and a good amount of challenging ascents but also some very runnable and enjoyable single tracks and fun descents to bomb down (carefully!). It was a picture-perfect sunny April day and I was surprised to come in third in my age group (4:49:47), a little home-field advantage did me good. I got a German weather station as a prize!

Almost every trail runner has said, “I went out too fast.” It is kind of hard not to. I’ve done it a ton. Starting slow or at your preferred pace at the beginning of most races is a crap shoot. The first few miles are usually crowded and you are jockeying for position and sometimes you just get caught up in a group that is running faster than you should be.

Also, during many trail events, multiple distance races are being run at the same time. At this race, there was a half-marathon in addition to the marathon. These runners were going out at a greater clip than the marathoners who were trying to save some gas for the second lap. I usually look at the bib colors (differentiates the distances) of runners I am running with to make sure I’m not getting caught up in a bad (way too speedy) situation.

Luckily, I hung back for the majority of the first loop, and then—and this is the best part about looped races with multiple distances—on the second loop, everything gets less crowded, the frenzy subsides, and there is more space for you to do your thing and chill out and lock into the pace you need. You get a little adrenaline boost. It feels awesome.

I’ve been running on these trails for years and this majestic course took me on sections I have never been to. I love that surprise “holy crap where am I this rules!” feeling. This race/course is a must for people who are interested in longer-distance trail races. I recommend the half marathon option for beginners. It gives you a great preview of the terrain and fitness level you will need to do it. Go Wiss, Go Philly!

Race Three: Dirty German 50 Miler

May 20, 2023, in Philadelphia, PA

Course: View on Strava

The Dirty German certainly lived up to its name. Okay, more like Muddy German. I had no idea what to expect heading out for 50 miles on a trail, but I was feeling fit and ready to go coming off my recent 50K and the trail marathon. Two weeks before this race, I did a 30-mile, mostly flat, run at the shore as my last long run. To mix things up and avoid a looped run, I took the train from Belmar, NJ to Little Silver, ran 5 miles to Sea Bright, and then ran 25 more down to shore to Point Pleasant. When done, I hopped on the train back to Belmar. Casual pace, stopped often to take photos, lovely weather, and felt okay, just what I needed to keep me motivated in my quest for 50 miles.

Race day was humid and it rained pretty much the entire time creating a soupy and muddy course and a slower-than-expected trek around the three 17ish-mile loops in lovely Pennypack Park in Philadelphia. Pennypack has a very popular wide main paved trail that follows Pennypack Creek for nine miles but the unpaved trails nestled above on both sides of the creeks are the main attraction for trail runners and hikers. This is where the majority of the race took place. The total elevation was fairly tame for a 50-mile race (3,306 ft) but there were enough tricky ascents and descents in the sludge to keep things interesting. A couple of small stumbles kept me alert and mildly filthy.

Loop one was okay, took a while to find my pace and get rid of some jitters. Loop two was much better, found some comfortable spacing, had some nice chats with other runners, and the miles peeled away at a good clip.

Took about a five-minute break between loops two and three to change my shoes, shirt, and hat due to the sopping wetness. While I was downing a Powerade and Honey Stinger Vanilla Waffle and getting ready to head out, I watched a group of 20- or 30-somethings motivate a first-time fifty-miler to head out on his final loop. He seemed a bit gassed and I heard him say (paraphrasing) “This is the furthest I’ve ever run right now (33 miles) and I am happy with that…” His friends were incredibly supportive but they wanted him to finish this thing, especially his girlfriend (I’m guessing) who said (again, paraphrasing) in the most cheery yet you-are-gonna-do-this tone “Come on, it will be fun, I’m running with you” He agreed, and headed out with his highly-motivated pacer. I was so happy for this guy. And I was lucky enough to see the two inspired runners again right near the finish. More on that soon.

I was relieved to start loop three. I’ve never run more than 35 miles on a trail so If I could just get to 40 miles in good shape and hike the rest in, I would be pumped. I took it mile by mile and had a steady feeling of both calm and excitement. “Just get to the next aid station,” was my mantra. “You will be rewarded with grilled cheese and coke… grilled cheese and coke…” Every four miles the awesome volunteers met the runners huddled under tents, ready to fill our bottles and offer us hot food, chips, candy, cookies, an array of beverages, and pretty much everything you would need to fuel up to get to the finish. In addition to the food, their vocal support as you enter and leave the aid stations is invaluable. Multiple times, I wanted to give them hugs. Wet, muddy hugs from a drenched old man… what a treat for them.

When I finally got passed mile 40 and was crossing a creek I took a moment to be like “Hell yeah! 40 done and I still feel good.” Was my slow pace slower now? Sure, but it was not about “my time” in hours and minutes, it was about “my time” in terms of experiencing something I wanted to do and enjoying it while it happened. The last ten miles were oddly enjoyable, even with some slight soreness in the calves and glutes. I was expecting to hit the proverbial wall or some sort of minor “pain cave” but it never happened.

I was pretty much alone the last ten miles and did not try to pick up my pace, thinking it might cause cramping or a blow-up. Around Mile 48 I heard a lot of back-and-forth chatter from behind and was happy to see the couple I mentioned earlier. She was the perfect pacer, giving him the proper mix of pep talk and general banter to keep his mind off the task at hand.

He seemed in good spirits and was going at a decent clip. We ran together for a little bit as mile 50 quickly approached and when the finish line was in sight, I said “Don’t let this old guy beat you.” He and his pacer laughed and she said “Let’s go!” They took off and it was a joy to watch them finish. I also heard voices behind me and figured I had to beat somebody, so I gave it my best effort and sprinted in the last 50 yards.

I was exhausted but elated and was met by an awesome race director who gave me the choice of two different styles of “Dirty German 50” finisher caps. I got a little weepy. So happy. I came in 42 out of 102 finishers.

About a minute later, I looked at my old watch and it said something like 49.74 miles and I DID NOT want to post a 50-miler finish time on Strava that was less than 50 miles! I slowly jogged around the pavilion and an adjoining field until my watch hit the magic number.

I stuck around and clapped and hooted and hollered for the other finishers and had a couple of nice chats with people I met on the trail. It’s a great community.

Race Four: Blues Cruise 50k Trail Race

October 1, 2023, in Blue Marsh Lake, Leesport, PA

Course: View on Strava

I volunteered at the “1/2 Sauer 1/2 Kraut” race in June and it was a ton of fun being on the other side handing out drinks, pointing out which way to go, and offering lots of “Looking good! and “Keep it up!” I recommend pitching in at a race just to see how much work volunteers and staff put in before, during, and after the event. It’s inspiring.

After a solid summer of racking up some pleasant but mostly “the sun is trying to kill me, why am I doing this!” miles I was ready to tackle a nice fall race and enjoy some crisp leaf-crunching clomping about on a cool tree-covered trail. Sadly, this was but a dream.

I forgot that early October can still be summer and on the Blues Cruise 50K race day it was unseasonably summery and humid, not my favorite weather. And for some reason, my early morning go-to PBJ on wheat did not sit well in my stomach and the first two GU packs I downed during the race also caused some problems early on.

I was running at my moderate old-guy pace, but at mile 18, I slowed down and felt very nauseous and thought, “Hey, I might not finish this,” which is fine during a looped course race, but the Blues Cruise is a large 31-mile one-loop course, and I would need to walk in the final 13 miles if decided to quit.

Luckily, I was approaching an aid station, and when I lumbered in, I ate about five orange slices. I usually go for salted potatoes and a grilled cheese square at this point but I needed to try something different to quell my dumb stomach. And guess what? It worked! Soccer parent around the world who force oranges on their kids at halftime can’t be wrong. Seriously, this saved my butt, and I was able to rebound. I felt steady for the last ten miles.

For some reason, the monster who created this course made the last two miles straight uphill. I kid, The Blues Cruise staff and Pagoda Pacers are the nicest people around. They put on an incredibly friendly and professional event.

Bonus Video Content! If you would like a glimpse into running a trail race, ace photographer, Justin Langston (who was all over the course) followed me for a short bit on mile 13. You get to see some lovely single-track trails and how well-run and inspiring the aid stations are.

I reached my goal of four races! But I still had some unfinished business… how about one more?

Race Five: Philadelphia Marathon

November 19, 2023, in Philadelphia, PA

Course: View on Strava

Road marathons with thousands of entrants are made for patient and focused people. I am a marathon vet (read: old and cranky) and I’m way less patient and focused than I once was. Parking a mile away from the start, waiting in the bathroom line for 30 minutes, and standing in the corral for another 30 minutes before a race is no longer fun or worth it for me. I still enjoy seeing happy young people bouncing up and down, trying to stay warm while chatting about what’s ahead of them for the next couple/few hours. A mom around my age and her son silently fist-bumped right as our corral went off and I nearly cried. It was so sweet.

The whole marathon experience is wonderful, but I’ve done enough of them, and it is now time to bid adieu… except for just one more.

I needed to do the Philly Marathon one last time. I’ve done it nine times and “ten” seemed like the perfect number to go out on. The course and the crowd support in Philly are top-tier, and I recommend it to anyone looking to do their first marathon. I signed up three weeks before the race. Coming off the 50K and 200 miles of running in October, I was a little tired but felt fit enough to give it a go and close this book. My only goal for the race was to give thumbs up in every photo taken of me by the numerous course photographers and to finish it under the time of 3:50:00.

Despite the aforementioned waiting and waiting and waiting, the weather was perfect and for once I did not go out too fast and stuck to my plan. Most races have water and Gatorade G2 (diet Gatorade) as the electrolyte option. It tastes horrible but I am used to it and try not to drink too much.

This year they had Nuun as the electrolyte option. I usually do not try anything new during a race but I was not carrying any electrolytes so I partook. I took my second cup of Naan at mile 15 and it felt potent! I immediately got nauseous and stopped for a sec, ready to throw up. Nuun is fine (I’ve had it since) but I took it right after downing a gel and it did not mix well. Somehow I did not vomit but my last ten or so miles were a little iffy and I pretty much took nothing except for a little water near the end.

The weather and the crowd support kept me motivated—the Manayunk section and finish at the Art Museum are insanely fun—and I was extremely pleased to cross the finish line (both thumbs in the up position) almost two minutes under my goal at 3:48:07. I was stoked. Grabbed two orange juices, gingerly walked through a maze of barriers and tents to a fountain, gently sat down, congratulated the runners next to me, and texted my wife my usual post-race message “Done.” I quickly received back a “Yay!”

Race Six: Naked Nick 50K

December 17, 2023, in Blue Marsh Lake, Leesport, PA

Course: View on Strava

Another goal I had for 2023 was running 1,700 miles. I ran 1,616 in 2022 and 1,604 in 2021. Signing up for races keeps me motivated and I figured one more race and a good small training block would easily get me to 1,700. I had so much fun at last year’s Naked Nick Trail 50K that I decided to give it another go and at only $39 how could I not? No shirt or finisher’s medal, but you get a nice Christmas ornament and a lot of support along the way.

Waking up at 4:45 am the morning after a friend’s holiday party and driving an hour and a half to Blue Marsh Lake was pretty rough but I got my butt there in time and was in a good mood knowing this was my last race of the year and the course was one of my favorites. I had a fun run and pretty much kept to myself for the first 20 or so miles, giving the requisite “Nice work!” to runners coming towards me on the looped course.

At around mile 23, I was running downhill behind a runner and we started talking about other races we’ve done recently and he mentioned where he was from. I said, “Oh, I met a guy last May during the Dirty German who was from there. He told me a cool story about running 47 miles on his birthday.” He quickly replied, “Dude, that was me! And it was 45 miles on my 45th birthday.”

We ran the rest of the race together talking about our kids, running gear, watching trail races on YouTube, and how much we both enjoy just being out and about in nature. The miles went quickly. You meet a lot of nice people during these events.

I finished the race in decent shape and beat my time from the year before by about 12 minutes. I was stoked and relieved and was looking forward to the two chilled cans of Coke I had waiting for me in the car.

While getting ready to leave I stopped to chat with a few other runners near the finish line and cheer on the runners coming up the final climb to the finish, we all stopped yapping when we noticed a pretty epic scene unfolding.

Two young runners (in their 20s) were jogging up the very steep finish, and when they got next to each other with about 30 yards to go, they both took off in a sprint and the crowd went nuts. They both dove across the finish line in a dead heat, with one runner crashing into a bench (no injuries!). It was crazy and fun and they shared a good sweaty exhausted hug and laugh. A very cool way to make a new friend during a race.

Done!

I crossed 1,700 miles a few days later and spent the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve racking up some final jogs on my favorite trails, paths, and roads. 1,775 miles completed, the most I have ever run in a year.

2023 was rewarding and I enjoyed pushing myself through the tough days and basking in completed long runs with my legs propped on the ottoman, sharing chips and hummus with my dog Starr. Getting old is rough (my eyebrow hairs are a real shitshow, I can no longer remember the name of the guy who played drums in The Jam) but I am coming to grips with it and I will keep running and setting goals until my body says “no mas!” and then I’ll probably walk or get a bike and look for some flatter friendlier roads.

If you want to go for a run, hit me up. Would love the company.

Happy Trails!

2024 Goals:

• Run with people more often
• Naked Bavarian 40K – March, 2024
• 55-mile run from Sandy Hook, NJ to Island Beach State Park, NJ
• Howlands Neck Ache 24 Hour Ultra – April, 2024
• Eat an entire Vic’s large plain pizza