Buckeye Woods 25K - Free race by Medina Country Road Runners
Last year Buckeye Woods 50K was my first ultra. The race is free to all Medina County Road Runners members and the annual membership fee is only 20 dollars. The club does a lot of great things including multiple free races throughout the year, group runs, banquet, etc. I found the race on Facebook and it claimed that the race was flat and fast, and good for your first 50K. So, I paid the membership fee and signed up for the race.
This year I just ran the double marathon at Run with Scissors last month and am still recovering from the race. There is also a new ultramarathon race near my house, which will take place next weekend. I was considering running that race if I decided to do another 50K. Therefore, I took it easy at Buckeye woods 50K by signing up to do only the 25K (3 loops).
Since it's only 25K, I did not really prepare for the race. I drank a couple of glasses of red wine the night before and did not do the usual pre-race carb-loading routine. I showed up 10 minutes before the start and greeted all MCRR members. About 5 minutes before the race started, the RDs kinda told us which direction we needed to run because the loop was only 5 miles. So, in order to get 31 miles (50K), we needed to run an additional mile at the beginning of the race. I did not care too much about the direction because I was going follow others in front of me.
I was glad that I only did the 25K. The first loop went by pretty fast because I ran with R. and we talked about her running, my running, and other stuff. I took some time after the first loop to make sure I had enough fuel for the 2nd and 3rd loop. I ran/walked the 2nd loop with R. and K.. R. is an experienced ultramarathoner and I wanted to pick his brain on ultra running. I also did not care too much about time. So, I ended up walking/running with them on the 2nd loop. I learned a lot from R. The key takeaway was that he told me to embrace the night run. His favorite time in the 100-mile race was the night run. I've never run through the night before so I can't tell if I like it or not but the idea of night running just scares me.
Took a picture during the first loop when the sun came up.
This year I just ran the double marathon at Run with Scissors last month and am still recovering from the race. There is also a new ultramarathon race near my house, which will take place next weekend. I was considering running that race if I decided to do another 50K. Therefore, I took it easy at Buckeye woods 50K by signing up to do only the 25K (3 loops).
Since it's only 25K, I did not really prepare for the race. I drank a couple of glasses of red wine the night before and did not do the usual pre-race carb-loading routine. I showed up 10 minutes before the start and greeted all MCRR members. About 5 minutes before the race started, the RDs kinda told us which direction we needed to run because the loop was only 5 miles. So, in order to get 31 miles (50K), we needed to run an additional mile at the beginning of the race. I did not care too much about the direction because I was going follow others in front of me.
I was glad that I only did the 25K. The first loop went by pretty fast because I ran with R. and we talked about her running, my running, and other stuff. I took some time after the first loop to make sure I had enough fuel for the 2nd and 3rd loop. I ran/walked the 2nd loop with R. and K.. R. is an experienced ultramarathoner and I wanted to pick his brain on ultra running. I also did not care too much about time. So, I ended up walking/running with them on the 2nd loop. I learned a lot from R. The key takeaway was that he told me to embrace the night run. His favorite time in the 100-mile race was the night run. I've never run through the night before so I can't tell if I like it or not but the idea of night running just scares me.
Took a picture during the first loop when the sun came up.
R. and K. left after the 2nd loop as R. has a 100-mile race next weekend and they were just out to walk some miles. I caught up with S., another experienced ultra runner during the 3rd loop and ended up running with her the whole time. She told me about her ultra experiences, being the volunteer coordinator for a major 100-mile race in NE Ohio, and etc. I had a great time talking to her. She is awesome.
After finishing the 3rd loop, I was done. My hips started to bother me during the 3rd loop and I'm not sure if it's because I've been running on a flat surface for a while. Took a picture with my bib number. This time I got "911", which was pretty awesome.
Post-race food was also incredible. There were chili, chocolate/banana bread, and other goodies that people brought to the race. I stayed a while after finished running to help/volunteer because I still need more volunteer hours. They did not really need help as much. So, I just hung out and talked to people.
I can't say enough good things about Medina County Road Runners club. There are a lot of cool, nice runners that I enjoyed chatting with. I will continue to run the BW 50K race every year but may just keep it at 25K.
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