2019 Youngstown Ultra Trail Classic (YUTC) 50K
Great race. great course. great volunteers.
Youngstown Ultra Trail Classic 50K is an old school ultra marathon event in Youngstown, OH. It's a club race put together by NEO trail running club. It's so old school that they only accept paper registration (you have to send in the paper registration form and a check). I wanted to run the race last year but I ended up in a boot after the CC100. This year I sent in my registration fee early as I did not want to miss the event.
I know NEO trail club because they run one of the aid stations at the CC100. Great group of people.
There are 2 distances - 25K and 50K. Of course, I signed up for the 50K. Who knew I would roll my ankle 2 weeks prior to the race? *sigh
A week leading up to the race day, I did minimal running but instead did a lot of cross training to save my ankle. I was pretty bummed that no matter how much I tried to rest and do the ankle exercises, the bad ankle still hurt a bit when I walked.
On the race day, I showed up before 8am (official start time). However, some people took the early start at 7am. I did not think I needed the early start as no one told me that the course is technical. I talked to a couple of people before the race started and they all told me that the course is VERY technical, rocky, and hilly. I freaked out as I did not think I would make the cutoff time and I regret NOT taking the early start :( In my head, I imagined that the course was similar to Massanutten course. If so, my ankle would not have made it pass Mile 10.
The RD told me at the hard cutoff was at 2pm (everyone had to start the last loop before 2pm). In my head, I thought about the possibility to quit at 25K as I did not know how much my ankle would tolerate the rocky terrain.
Then, we took off. I thought to myself if I could make it to the 25K before noon (4 hours), I would be able to finish the race. If not, I would quit at 25K. The course was pretty and not as technical as I feared. There were some climbs but they were not too bad (compared to Vermont or Mohican). Most of them are single track trail, which was pretty nice. The weather was PERFECT. It was a great day to be outside and enjoy the nature.
I ran into T. on the way back to the start line (almost done with the 25K). I told her my ankle hurt really bad and I thought about quitting. It did not hurt much while I ran so I had to keep running. At that point, I was 15 minutes ahead of the expected time. Then, I came back to the start/finish line area. The 25K people were done but the 50K runners had to go back out and run 2 more loops on the course. I was debating if I should quit or keep going. I still had time. Of course, the RD and volunteers at the aid station did not let me quit and gave me the classic ultra running spiel, which I knew it was coming (coz I would have said the same thing to other runners).
And of course, I went back out for another loop with the expectation that I had to get back before 2pm (the hard cutoff). The 3rd loop was not too bad as all I focused on was the hard cutoff time. I made it back to the start/finish line at 1:45pm. Then, I knew I had to finish this whole thing.
And I did. YUTC 50K is in the books!
I was very very impressed with the volunteers. I knew many people at the start/finish line aid station so that was really nice. However, the volunteers at the covered bridge aid station was just as amazing. When they saw me pulling out the flask, the first thing they asked "What goes into that?", which means I did not have to tell them what to do. You can tell if the volunteers are runners or ultra runners or not by the way they help you at the aid station.
Youngstown Ultra Trail Classic 50K is an old school ultra marathon event in Youngstown, OH. It's a club race put together by NEO trail running club. It's so old school that they only accept paper registration (you have to send in the paper registration form and a check). I wanted to run the race last year but I ended up in a boot after the CC100. This year I sent in my registration fee early as I did not want to miss the event.
I know NEO trail club because they run one of the aid stations at the CC100. Great group of people.
There are 2 distances - 25K and 50K. Of course, I signed up for the 50K. Who knew I would roll my ankle 2 weeks prior to the race? *sigh
A week leading up to the race day, I did minimal running but instead did a lot of cross training to save my ankle. I was pretty bummed that no matter how much I tried to rest and do the ankle exercises, the bad ankle still hurt a bit when I walked.
On the race day, I showed up before 8am (official start time). However, some people took the early start at 7am. I did not think I needed the early start as no one told me that the course is technical. I talked to a couple of people before the race started and they all told me that the course is VERY technical, rocky, and hilly. I freaked out as I did not think I would make the cutoff time and I regret NOT taking the early start :( In my head, I imagined that the course was similar to Massanutten course. If so, my ankle would not have made it pass Mile 10.
The RD told me at the hard cutoff was at 2pm (everyone had to start the last loop before 2pm). In my head, I thought about the possibility to quit at 25K as I did not know how much my ankle would tolerate the rocky terrain.
Then, we took off. I thought to myself if I could make it to the 25K before noon (4 hours), I would be able to finish the race. If not, I would quit at 25K. The course was pretty and not as technical as I feared. There were some climbs but they were not too bad (compared to Vermont or Mohican). Most of them are single track trail, which was pretty nice. The weather was PERFECT. It was a great day to be outside and enjoy the nature.
I ran into T. on the way back to the start line (almost done with the 25K). I told her my ankle hurt really bad and I thought about quitting. It did not hurt much while I ran so I had to keep running. At that point, I was 15 minutes ahead of the expected time. Then, I came back to the start/finish line area. The 25K people were done but the 50K runners had to go back out and run 2 more loops on the course. I was debating if I should quit or keep going. I still had time. Of course, the RD and volunteers at the aid station did not let me quit and gave me the classic ultra running spiel, which I knew it was coming (coz I would have said the same thing to other runners).
And of course, I went back out for another loop with the expectation that I had to get back before 2pm (the hard cutoff). The 3rd loop was not too bad as all I focused on was the hard cutoff time. I made it back to the start/finish line at 1:45pm. Then, I knew I had to finish this whole thing.
And I did. YUTC 50K is in the books!
I was very very impressed with the volunteers. I knew many people at the start/finish line aid station so that was really nice. However, the volunteers at the covered bridge aid station was just as amazing. When they saw me pulling out the flask, the first thing they asked "What goes into that?", which means I did not have to tell them what to do. You can tell if the volunteers are runners or ultra runners or not by the way they help you at the aid station.
If you are looking for an old school ultra marathon on a great course with great volunteers, this is the race for you. I highly recommend this race and will definitely do it again next year :D
Sydney
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