In January, I ran the Rocks and Roots 50k at Alum Creek in Lewis Center, OH. (If you’d like to read that report, click here: https://crazyultrarunner.home.blog/2019/01/11/rocks-and-roots-50k-1/) This past weekend, I did the same race, but the course was very different.

For a quick recap, the course is run as loops, 3 North loops (laps 1,3,5) and 2 South loops (loops 2 and 4). In January, it was extremely muddy. (Be sure to read the post linked above for more insight). The February race course was frozen solid.

The first loop went well and the extremely frozen ground had me feeling like this was going to be more of a road race. I was a bit overdressed, but I knew the temps would stay cold and I wasn’t sure how the wind off the lake would be. I felt really good and got through the first loop in about 1:15.

The second loop was where things went a bit crazy. The South loop was also frozen, but it was full of ruts. This made any footing precarious and I often found my ankles were taking a beating trying to keep me up right. By the end of loop 2, my legs were hurting, especially my left leg. I thought about dropping but decided that since loop 1 was pretty easy running, I’d run loop 3 and see how I felt.

Loop 3 was mostly like the 1st, but the tiredness in my legs was evident. I was able to run most of it, but did take a bad step at one point that further taxed the already sore legs. That said, I was able to finish the loop without much issue.

Loop 4 was much the same as loop 2, but I had plenty of time so I took it easy. I did not want to risk hurting myself as trying to get through some of the ruts earlier proved to hurt the legs quite a bit, I knew the risk of injury would be higher if I took a bad step. I walked a good portion of the loop. A couple of the frozen spots required a bit of ice skating to safely cross and walking certainly made the creek crossing quite cold, but another loop was down.

Loop 5 is the final loop and I had about 2 hours to finish. At this point, I had to just keep moving forward. While the legs were hurting, I pushed through and kept up a run/ walk as best I could. Since this was the same loop as laps 1 and 3, it was a relatively easy loop, other than the aches and pains I had been experiencing due to the issues on loops 2 and 4. I finished in just under 8 hours, in 7:45.

For completing both 50ks (January and February), the race gives you a nice belt buckle, along with the 2 medals you earn. The races are deceptively tough, especially if the weather wreaks havoc on the course.