Regal Beagle Ultra - Another 50K in the books
When I first heard about this race months ago, I thought this would be a nice race close to home. I was not sure about the terrain and knew nothing about the race besides it was a new ultra race in NE Ohio and it's only 10 minutes from my house. I was also training for the double marathon so I completely focused on how I would finish the big race of the year and did not think much about what I would do after the big race.
After the double marathon at RWS, I began to look for other races. First, I considered BBA as another 50K but the condition was too similar to RWS so I did not run it. Then, I thought about Buckeye woods 50K, which I ran last year but decided to run the 25K instead. The day before Buckeye Woods 25K, I came out and ran on the Regal Beagle Ultra course (there was a training run on the course) and ran one loop with them.
The course is a 5-mile loop. There were 3 distances - 5 miles, 25K (3 loops), and 50K (6 loops). The course was described as fast and great for a PR. I knew that many people signed up for the 25K and only R. signed up for the 50K. I was reluctant to sign up for the 50K as I was not sure if I could run it without getting bored. After running one loop on the course, I decided to sign up for the 50K. The course was fast with a mix of paved and dirt trails (more paved). I also wanted to finish this year with another ultra. So, Regal Beagle it is.
As for pre-race preparation, I did not do much to prepare myself for this race. Went out with P. to celebrate his birthday the night before and ended up drinking and eating more than I needed to. Showed up to the race a bit dehydrated 😰. I knew many people at the race so it was nice to catch up with everyone. I started the race with ZERO expectation. Just wanted to see how I did.
The first 3 loops went by pretty quick. I ran the first 2 loops with B. and T., which made it feel like another typical Saturday run. Then, they took off after the 2nd loop but I had to keep my slow, steady pace because I was running the 50K (They were running the 25K). Ran the 3rd and 4th loop by myself and was able to keep a nice, steady pace. Thought I would PR by 30 minutes if I could keep the pace. After starting the 5th loop, I caught up with R. so I ran with him during the 5th and the last loop. It was nice to chat with him and we had a nice conversation. By that time, I forgot about the PR and did not care too much about it.
But then, at the last mile I looked at my watch and told R. that I could still set a PR. So, he told me to go after it. I nodded and sped up. Could not believe I could still run a 9:30 minute/mile after 30 miles of running. The last mile was exhausting but was worth it. I PRed the 50K distance at Regal Beagle Ultra :D
After crossing the finish line, the RD, J., gave me a nice hat and E. offered to bring me a bowl of chili. I told them that I wanted to wait until R. finished.
Aid station and volunteers: Aid station was awesome and had plenty of food and drink. The volunteers were amazing. One of the volunteers was C., who is a legendary ultra runner in NE Ohio. Having C. hand me a drink and fill my water bottle was very special :D
Overall, Regal Beagle Ultra was amazing and beyond my expectation. It's another great PR or first-timer course. The course was not as boring as what I was afraid it would be even though there were some sections of flat, tall-grass trails.
Picture with the RD, J., and another increditble ultra runner, E.
After the double marathon at RWS, I began to look for other races. First, I considered BBA as another 50K but the condition was too similar to RWS so I did not run it. Then, I thought about Buckeye woods 50K, which I ran last year but decided to run the 25K instead. The day before Buckeye Woods 25K, I came out and ran on the Regal Beagle Ultra course (there was a training run on the course) and ran one loop with them.
The course is a 5-mile loop. There were 3 distances - 5 miles, 25K (3 loops), and 50K (6 loops). The course was described as fast and great for a PR. I knew that many people signed up for the 25K and only R. signed up for the 50K. I was reluctant to sign up for the 50K as I was not sure if I could run it without getting bored. After running one loop on the course, I decided to sign up for the 50K. The course was fast with a mix of paved and dirt trails (more paved). I also wanted to finish this year with another ultra. So, Regal Beagle it is.
As for pre-race preparation, I did not do much to prepare myself for this race. Went out with P. to celebrate his birthday the night before and ended up drinking and eating more than I needed to. Showed up to the race a bit dehydrated 😰. I knew many people at the race so it was nice to catch up with everyone. I started the race with ZERO expectation. Just wanted to see how I did.
The first 3 loops went by pretty quick. I ran the first 2 loops with B. and T., which made it feel like another typical Saturday run. Then, they took off after the 2nd loop but I had to keep my slow, steady pace because I was running the 50K (They were running the 25K). Ran the 3rd and 4th loop by myself and was able to keep a nice, steady pace. Thought I would PR by 30 minutes if I could keep the pace. After starting the 5th loop, I caught up with R. so I ran with him during the 5th and the last loop. It was nice to chat with him and we had a nice conversation. By that time, I forgot about the PR and did not care too much about it.
But then, at the last mile I looked at my watch and told R. that I could still set a PR. So, he told me to go after it. I nodded and sped up. Could not believe I could still run a 9:30 minute/mile after 30 miles of running. The last mile was exhausting but was worth it. I PRed the 50K distance at Regal Beagle Ultra :D
After crossing the finish line, the RD, J., gave me a nice hat and E. offered to bring me a bowl of chili. I told them that I wanted to wait until R. finished.
Aid station and volunteers: Aid station was awesome and had plenty of food and drink. The volunteers were amazing. One of the volunteers was C., who is a legendary ultra runner in NE Ohio. Having C. hand me a drink and fill my water bottle was very special :D
Overall, Regal Beagle Ultra was amazing and beyond my expectation. It's another great PR or first-timer course. The course was not as boring as what I was afraid it would be even though there were some sections of flat, tall-grass trails.
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