On Sunday I ran Fort2Base for the third time. It starts on an Army base and finishes on a Naval base. Having the honor of being on a military base of any kind is so inspiring to me. Running from one to another is downright cool.
The only thing I dislike about this race? It’s almost always hot. This year was no different.
71 degrees and sticky at 4am didn’t bode well. But it was overcast, so there’s that, but radar showed storms imminent. Joy. I parked and boarded the shuttle to the starting line at 6am for the 7am start.
I found Emily and a whole gaggle of Chicago Running bloggers. Yay!
I finally met Heather too. Double yay!
I made it out of the potty with 30 seconds to spare til go time. Just enough time to scurry over and start behind the 11:30 pace group. Maybe that’ll keep me from going out too fast. It did. Tight quarters as we looped around the starting area, which was totally new. That half mile loop made me ponder where they’d shorten the course at the end. The end of this course is an effer because you enter the naval base and see the finish line, yet have another 5k or so to go. No bueno.
I hit the first mile marker and my Garmin says 1.15 so I automatically assumed the course was marked in nautical miles, which would make total sense. 1 mile = 1.15 nautical miles. Cool.
So I’m running easy, trying to find a pace I can sustain in this humidity without dying, when the volume on my tunes goes from normal to blasting my ear drums out. I’m forced to stop and attend to the problem. It happens again in mile 3. WTH? Apparently my phone is haunted.
We get onto the bike path we’ll be on until we enter the naval base. The bulk of the race is here. It’s gloomy and overcast, thankfully but gosh the humidity. Stifling. I resort to one of my tough conditions strategies: find something, anything, nice to say about the run.
The path is pretty. The foliage is lush. Soldiers are awesome. It’s not raining…..yet.
By mile 4 I realize I did not take a gel before the start. So I do that. I brought festive summer flavors: cherry lime and lemonade Roctane. I froze my fuel bottles, which are cooling my torso nicely, although they’re wetting my skirt. Whatever.
I woman in a neon red/orange top passes me with great form. She looks super fast, but she takes intermittent walk breaks so we keep passing each other. By mile 5 I decide I too will take a walk break at each nautical mile marker.
A woman ahead of me peels off and goes to squat in the bushes. Except the way the path curves, the bushes are not obscuring her. At. All. Ugh, poor thing must be desperate. Plus I see potties maybe 100 yds. ahead.
At mile 7.5 I hear a huge rumble of thunder. Gosh rain would feel SO good. But lightning? That’s excitement I don’t need. Better to step it up and finish. Then I almost step in a huge pile of puke. Really? It’s a tough day, I guess. I hold my breath so as not to catch a whiff.
Finally the path portion of the race is over and I head toward where we cross to enter the Naval base. Except the guy directing traffic decides to stop the runners and let traffic pass. For 2 minutes and 24 seconds, we stood there waiting. Really? I turned off my Garmin.
Being a veteran of this race, I well know the final portion is not easy. There’s a mega downhill then an even more mega uphill at mile 10, which totally blows. Military personnel stakeout there to make sure you run up vs. walk. It sucks because I swear I can’t run up this kind of incline any faster than I can walk. It just wastes energy I don’t have and makes me ornery.
I struggle to the top and the lady in front of me pulls over to puke. Do you sense a theme here? A course marshall tells me just a half mile more and it’s all downhill from here so I look at my Garmin, note when half a mile will be and wrap my head around that. No more walking. I can certainly tough out a half mile. Except a half mile comes and goes and we’re still running. Finish line nowhere in sight. I can’t even see where the turnoff is yet. I’m in that mental no man’s land. How the hell long is this race, anyway? I keep going. It’s eternity. The 10 mile marker was at the base of the hill I summitted 2 miles ago, I swear. That’s when I finally realized the course was marked in regular miles, not nautical. Doh.
I throw one foot in front of the other. Not walking. Finally I see people turning in the distance. I drag myself in, get my medal and seriously consider jumping in one of the blow-up pools they’ve got at the finish line. The course was long. A good half mile long. It was that loop at the beginning.
Fort2Base always has amazing medals. They outdid themselves again this year. One side shows the Army Fort Sheridan, the other shows Great Lakes Naval Base. Very, very cool. Something I wish the weather was. The women’s race shirt is hot pink with camo accents on the sides. Nice, although it runs a tad large. I wish more races would do tanks. Overall, an excellent race I will do again and again.
Do you have favorite races you run again and again? Or are you a “one and done” type?
I’m linking up with Mary Beth, Jessica and Christina for the Race Recap Linkup.
I thought it was marked in nautical miles at first too! It coming at 1.15 miles made total sense to me.
Oh my gosh, they stopped you for traffic?? I was lucky and that did not happen when I crossed, they got their stuff together and stopped the cars. Yikes!
The humidity wasn’t supposed to be so bad but it was really awful. I’m sorry you had such a tough race but it sounds like everyone did.
They told us Hero Hill was 1/2 mile from the finish too and it wasn’t, definitely wasn’t.
Great job getting it done in the heat!!! I have a race on Saturday and I normally don’t race when it’s hot so I am a little nervous….if they have blow up pools at the end, I am definitely jumping in! 🙂
Oh – and it was great to FINALLY meet you!
Never understood the stopping for traffic thing (or routing a race across a busy train track). Sounds like the heat did a number on the race too.
That has got to be the coolest medal I have ever seen. Any race with the word nautical in it has got to be awesome. Your story is something else. Thanks for sharing as always.
Oh man… all the puke… seeing the finish line and still having 5k to go – sounds tough! I could not deal with the puke. It’s a weird fear of mine. I would have freaked out. bleh! I’m so glad you powered through, didn’t puke! and got your medal 🙂
Congrats on finishing strong (and not puking!) 🙂
I hate when courses are long! I like to do local races more than once…especially since they are usually easier to get to and I can do my training runs in the same areas. But if I am traveling to a race I generally prefer to try different course! Great job, especially with all those hiccups along the way!
Yikes on the woman squatting in the bushes and all the puking incidents! That sucks that you had to wait for traffic at that intersection, too. I had a similar experience near the end where one of the course marshalls said, “It’s 0.3 miles after the stop sign” but it ended up being more like 0.6 miles.
In any event – great job!!! Way to push through the humidity and all those challenges!!! As always, it was so wonderful to see you!!!
That sounds like such a tough course, made worse by the weather.
It sounds like not puking is a victory given the conditions 🙂
I am not a fan of vomit. That would freak me out!
Love that medal – very cool… great story, as always!
I’m usually a one and done-er, but I also don’t race that much. I’m pretty choosy. I would love to do this race though. And that poor lady–I know how she feels. My stomach has been hella messed up the past week on my runs! I hate that feeling!
This race sounds like a toughie! I absolutely hate it when you overestimate how far you have gone and realize that you still have a long way to go. I bet you were very happy to be finished!
Well, I hate to admit it but I’ve stepped in puke in a race. I had no choice. I’ve also been stopped so traffic could pass. Ridiculous. Not only is the medal very nice, but the ribbon is pretty too. Congrats for surviving a tough race!
way to finish strong and not throw up! yikes. that’s never good to see!
They stopped you !!! That is just crazy! Poor squatting lady, I know she had to go some kind of bad! 🙁 Very nice medal! My very first half was RnR New Orleans and I’ve done it twice and already signed up for a 3rd year! Can’t pass up a trip to New Orleans! Great review on this race Marcia!
Oh my word, that was a very colorful race report! I have never puked during a race but I sure have felt like it, so I feel for that lady! Congrats on finishing a tough course in that humidity. 4am is soooooo early to wake up for a 10 miler BUT with the weather I totally understand the early start. Congrats!
I cannot believe they stopped the runners for traffic. And for 2 1/2 minutes? That’s just wrong. I loved this race but it seems like they can’t get rid of the glitches. If they move it back to September, I’d do it again. August? Not so much.
Lots of puke, yuck.
Good job on finishing – maybe puke free races will be a new goal:)
Sounds like a mostly good race. But lots of puking and kinda sucks for traffic to be stopped. Actually makes me think of the end of Marine Corps Marathon where there is a huge hill at the end and you want to walk but everyone is standing there telling you to run!
You always amaze me Marcia!!!!!
Congratulations !! That was super impressive.
Id have tossssssed myself into that pool for sure.
You inspire me.
<3
Lightening and thunder is scary on a race! Happened to me once on a bike course. Love how happy all of your friends look. Looks like a really fun place to have a race. Congrats!
Sounds like fun! I really don’t do summer races. Too hot.
Way to go running in the heat and on a tough course! So weird with your haunted headphones. Hope it doesn’t happen again. I would hate to be stopped for 2 and a half minutes, but cool medal!
Yikes, sounds like a tough race!!!! I’ve always wanted to do this race being retired military! Maybe next year!
Lady you are amazing!! Great job getting your race done, it was way too hot for me!
Sounds like really tough conditions. This is why I never run races in Summer (although I have just signed up for one – but I don’t consider that one a race). Ugh to the puke. Do that off the course people! Not where people are likely to step in it.
I ran one half where they stopped traffic like that – just brutal to get going again!
Great job in tough conditions – seriously, I don’t know how you race in this humidity!?
That race does sounds super cool! I just can’t believe that they stopped you for that long- shouldn’t be the other way around? What a way to tough it out though! Congrats! Nice race review, puke and all 🙂 Thanks for linking up with us!
So so odd about the extra half mile at the beginning. Grrr.
Did you do this the one time it was in Sept? I wish they’d move it back to then. I’ve only done it once, since I don’t want to race in August.
The medal is so cool!
WTG Marcia! My husband and I have run the Flying Pig almost every year since we moved to Cincinnati in 2010.
I am definitely guilty of running the same races over and over. I think of it as a challenge to see if I can beat the previous years time, lol. This one sounds cool running between bases!! Sounds like a rough race for a lot of people! Glad you were able to push through!