April was about fun

April is the first month that I didn’t publish at least one Substack post, since I started writing here in February of 2024. I don’t have a great reason. Life has been life. But as I sit here on April 30th trying to decide what it is I want to share with you, what comes to mind is how fun my running has been so far this month. This past winter when Spring seemed far away, figuring out what I might want to do in terms of running in 2026 seemed like something fun to think about. I had such a great time down in Virginia where I ran the Yeti 100 mile run in the Fall, that I decided I wanted to head back and do another race with the same group, but a different course. They had a 50k race in April that was about 15 minutes away from the 100 mile course that seemed like the perfect choice. April would be full on Spring in Virginia, while Vermont could easily still have snow, frost, mud and barely budding trees. So I hit the register button on Ultrasignup and booked my favorite Airbnb. I had something to look forward to.

About 3 weeks before the race, I was perusing Facebook and noticed that a favorite race of mine in Vermont was happening in a week. The last 2 years the race director had some stuff going on in his life and so the race hadn’t happened since 2023. Runamuck 50K is a really chill, low budget sort of race, but full of fun people, great climbs, and beautiful scenery. Weather-wise you never know what you will get. It can be snowing, icy, sunny, muddy, or all of the above. Even though I had my VA race in 3 weeks I decided I wanted to just go and have fun. Since I would probably would be running for 4 hours anyway on that day, why not just add a few hours, run with some people, eat snacks and go someplace else. And as a bonus, 2 of my favorite friends that I haven’t seen in far too long live down near where the race is held, so I would get a chance to see them for dinner the night before and sleep 1/2 hour from the start (instead of 2 hours.)

Race morning the temps were chilly (high 30s) but expected to be sunny and in the 40s. So I committed to the shorts. If you know me, you know that I dislike leggings and pants(aka leg prisons) when running. Had my usual prerace breakfast of Poptarts and Coke (no judgment please.) I got to the race and immediately was glad that I showed up. Familiar faces and new faces, a hug from the race director and a warm welcome from his wife. The weather was partly sunny and breezy as we took off. I settled into my all day pace right away, towards the back of the pack and met up with another runner that I knew. She’s a faster runner than me, but I decided I could pick it up, as long as I could keep up the conversation. Eventually the conversation ended and I let her take off, and I got back into my groove.

The first two miles were on a paved road but then you head up into the dirt road hills and the rest of the day is spent going up, up, up and down, down, down. Eat, drink and repeat. The weather was perfect, light breeze, part sun, and the roads had just enough mud to be soft to run on, but not so muddy that you were slogging. The first aid station was around 10 miles and a welcome sight. I grabbed some coke and filled a baggie with potato chips to nibble on as I climbed the hills. Most of the middle of the day was spent leapfrogging with the same group of runners. As is my style, I tend to pass folks on the uphill sections and then they pass me on the downhills. Around mile 15, I saw the lead male charging down a hill that I was hiking up. He would finish in 3:15 !!!!! An insanely fast time for 31 miles on this course. My stomach was behaving, and I kept eating and drinking, alternating gels, candy, chips, cookies, and sipping on my liquid calories. I have been working on eating on all of runs at home. Even the quick 5 milers, so that my gut can handle it for the longer days.

I was about 4 hours in and still feeling good, with about 10 miles left to go. I decided I wanted to listen to music, which I don’t often do in races, but it was such a lovely day that music seemed like a perfect background soundtrack for this wonderful day in the woods. I remind myself whenever things feel hard that I get to spend the whole day outside, eating snacks, moving my body, meeting new people, and that is literally my JOB!

At around 25 miles I decided I would take the “power gel” (100 mg caffeine!!!) to give me a boost to the finish… and boost it did! The last 5 miles went by in a flash and even the last 2 pavement miles were enjoyable as the wind was at my back. I finished with a smile on my face and another hug from the race director…. And also a cool sweatshirt for being oldest female finisher!

And then 2 weeks later Michael and I got in the car and headed back to Virginia to join the Yetis again for the Troublesome Hollow 50K. We got there on Thursday night (back at our fave Airbnb), so on Friday we could have a yummy breakfast at the Girl and the Raven, and then ride our bikes on the Creeper Trail, where last year I ran 100 miles!

It was so fun to the on the course again and to be flooded with the memories of last year. Around 5 we went to bib pickup and got all sorts of cool swag, then picked up a pizza for dinner to eat on the porch of our cozy Airbnb!

Race start was at 8 am, a reasonable hour with no alarm even needed to wake up. Michael dropped me at the start, about a 20 minute drive away. The start was a beautiful spot out in the country on the Mendota Trail in Bristol VA. I met up with my fellow New Englander Sarah, that I met at Lovers Lane Run last year, and then ran with again at the Yeti 100. I have a bad habit of not looking at the course map, and continued my streak with this one and Sarah did as well. So we headed out on the trail and did not really know what was ahead of us. Makes things always more interesting and fun!

We did a 4 mile out and back on the trail, passing through the start/finish and then headed the other direction on the trail. As we ran it seemed so easy and flowing and after a few miles in this direction we realized that it was a nice gradual downhill, which would be a not so nice gradual uphill on the way back! Around the halfway point (mile 15) we got to cross this beautiful swinging bridge that to be honest, is one of the reasons we both signed up for the race! After that we hit the main aid station, where the race director’s mom, aunt, and 2 uncles were there to feed us all sorts of snacks and beverages. Talk bout the Yeti family…. It even expands to his real family.

It was after this we were told to look up and over at the “hill” in the distance. (Jason (the RD) said it was a hill, not a mountain, as it doesn’t have a name…LOL!) Apparently we were headed UP to the fire tower! I wasn’t too worried as I’m from Vermont and all we have are “hills!” We ran along the road for a mile or so and then turned up a gravel road. We continued UP that gravel road for at least 2 miles, and Sarah and I both excelled at the power hiking up, passing plenty of folks. We also got to see the race leaders barreling down the hill. (Something I was already dreading….. downhills hurt way more than uphills for me!)

We FINALLY got to the top of the road and made a sharp right turn onto a steep rocky trail. But of course we had more to go! Fire towers are supposed to be high up, right? We continued on the rocky trail and then could see the fire tower. We were almost there. Right in front of the tower there were a few guys with a cooler of beer, bottles of fireball and potato chips (which I had been craving for the last few hours!) And also little juice packs of Capri Sun…wow… did that hit the spot! We took in the view for a few minutes, which was pretty spectacular, and unfortunately my photos were very UNspectacular… and then we headed down. It was just as rough as I thought it would be, but eventually we were at the paved road, heading back to Jason’s mom and family aid station. Sarah’s partner met her here and she hung around for a few minutes and I took off, knowing she would catch up with me.

I got to cross the swinging bridge again and it was just as wonderful the second time, even without the photographer there to document it. And then began the “gradual uphill” to the finish. Once again, around mile 25 I took a “power caffeine gel” and let it work it’s magic. Also, the rain started around now, but it was the light drizzle that cools you off without soaking you to the bone, Sarah also caught up with me at this point and we powered through to the finish. Both our boys were there at the finish to great us and of course Jason was there with a big hug, and Mr.Inspiration with all the hype and glitter!

A big hug from RD Jason is the best!

While neither of these races were epic, crazy, unbelievable adventures, they were fun! And I remind myself daily that none of us know how long we have, how long our bodies will let us do the fun things, so it is important to do them. And I hope that you can bring little or big moments of fun into your lives as often as possible.

Biggest hype man and cheerleader around Mr. Inspiration!

Thank you for being here with me today and reading my ramblings. Please let me know if you liked today’s post by tapping the “heart”as it helps more people find me! Or you can add a comment if anything in particular resonated with you. I always enjoy hearing from you! I am so incredibly grateful for all of my readers and subscribers. All of your likes, comments, and notes are truly an inspiration to me!