The annual endurance toodle In the Heat of the Night is this weekend, a lovely nighttime roundabout south of Jacksonville at the Chocolocco Wildlife Management Area.
It starts at 6 p.m. with a 100K, 50K, 25K and 10K all crunching across the line together. Everyone starts out happy, whoopin’ and hollerin’ and crunch-crunch-crunchin’ along. Some spint, others lope and some of us walk. We know what’s coming. ITHOTN is now in its fifth year and the fields have ebbed and flowed with returnees and newbies. Nothing unusual about that.
The 100K this year has 33 entrants, including Emily Crispi and Justin Smith, both of Huntsville. Michael Worshim of Owens Cross Roads is in the mix, as is Daniel Brunick of Meridianville. They get to do four fun loops around the 16ish-mile course. In the 50K, the area list includes Zack Mitarotonda, Jake Baker, Kari Wever, Olly Orton, Mary Ann Koch, Michael Stewart, Dianna Cioppi, Elizabeth Whittaker and Amanda Williams.
My original plan was for the 50K, but I’ve been a lazybones this summer. Two fun loops probably would be doable, as I finished last year, but one is enough for me time. The 25K is a nice time, as local foot-steppers Anna David, John Woodfin, Cherie Hildreth, Gussie Branch, Catherine Chua will discover with the rest of the field.
The good thing about the 6 o’clock start is you get about an hour and 45 minutes of daylight. Two hours, maybe, thanks to the heavy tree canopy. So if you’re in the 25K and get your shag on, knocking out half or more before it gets dark is quite possible. It’s hot. Muggy, Buggy — cicadas, mostly, and some cool moths. Nighttime birds such as owls, perhaps others. Snakes, too, and spiders. It’s a forest, a very cool forest, with snakes and deer and coyotes and possibly a black bear, although I don’t believe anyone’s ever seen one.
If you run on the Wheeler NWR roads in Mooresville, you know the crunch crunch crunch of that kind of loose rock road. During ITHOTN, by yourself you can get lost in that crunch. It’s repetitive. Non-stop. You either block it out or can’t hear it thanks to the music in your ears. The four- and two-loopers will enjoy it most.
Tips and Tactics
All this to get to the crux, which is tactics, tips and nutrition for endurance events. It’s a never-ending process learning about gear, clothing food, fluids, snacks, carbs —aka, “fuel” — for long runs. Or, of course, rides. Cyclists and triathletes aren’t just taking in water on their 80-plus mile rides. Protein builds and carbs fuel. Gotta have the right mix before, during and after.
I’m a tortoise, but enjoy learning from endurance athletes. Two years ago at ITHOTN, I plopped my cooler and chair with local badasses Christy Scott, Lindsey Shady, Janice Sutton, Lisa Gates and Emily Kennedy. Shady, Gates and Kennedy are in the ITHOTN 100K record list. Listening, watching and learning is one of the best things anyone can do at races. For example, Shady suggested using rubber gloves or a disposable sandwich bag when applying anti-chafing goo like Salty Britches to your feet or other areas.
What a great idea. Easy and simple, no muss or fuss. I’ve done it ever since. The other ladies were incredibly organized, prepared, had medical kits and the right gear. As some in the military might say, they were wired tight and locked in. It’s easy and enjoyable to learn from folks like that. Despite the experience you gain, trial and error comes with a price. You put it in play during a training run or ride to learn. The middle of an event is not when you want to pay that price.
Over the next few weeks, TVO will have an occasional feature with a local runner or rider about their best tips and tactics. Successes are fun, of course, but learning from screw-ups and failures also is important.
“For gear, I have a “cry once, buy once” philosophy,” Shady said, “I don’t need top of the line, best of the best, but I also know you get what you pay for and race day failures can be dangerous. I learned this lesson as a newbie trail runner with a dead, cheap headlamp in the woods at 2 a.m. Lean on your friends for product advice, your run groups, online forums.
“Also, give back! I got here because of the assistance and volunteerism of so many others, and that’s the spirit of this community. I’m never too busy to help someone. It doesn’t have to be a huge gesture like race directing. Never think your contribution is too small.”
I look forward to learning from some of our area studs and hope you do, too. Stay tuned.
(Photos from ITHON by Pete Schreiner Photography, courtesy of Dirty Soles Races)
