Training Log Archive: hughmac4

Batona 100 50 FKT Report

Executive Summary

A beautiful night! But 3.1 miles / 40+ minutes of navigation errors (spacing out and missing turns) got me behind my planned arrival time at Ong's Hat. I was counting on joining the Batona 50 race for support there, but got too far behind to take advantage of the (so I hear) awesome aid, and I didn't have the supplies in place to make it back on my own. So I bailed after completion of the one way hike. I guess I have a self-supported FKT for the trail (don't see another one mentioned anywhere), as I ended up doing it with nothing but self-support: 13hr:05min:50sec. Certainly nothing to write home about, as I was pacing for twice the distance.

GPS Track: https://attackpoint.org/sessiondata.jsp?sessionid=...

Some Details

With the help of my dad (thanks, Dad!), on Friday afternoon I dropped off a few supplies at four points along the trail, had a nice dinner at Doyle's Pour House in Tuckerton, NJ, and then headed out at 6:30pm from the southern terminus of the Batona Trail.

Southern Terminus

It was a stunning night in the Pine Barrens! Totally silent, with zero wind and crystal clear skies. A surprisingly-bright quarter moon that lasted for a while. Dry, dry conditions for the trail!

Just past Batsto

I generally made good, mellow time in anticipation of the out-and-back. But my concentration was lacking. I'm used to running with just enough concentration to not miss a streamered course, not a trail blazed trail, so I had a number of missed turns. Eventually these added up to 40+ minutes of lost time, and 3.1 miles of added length. As I missed these turns and had to backtrack, I tried to up my pace, and got angry at myself and a bit frantic, until at about mile 42 I realized I wouldn't make the race start. I also fell pretty hard on roots around then, and decided to take that as a wake up call, and begin to take it easy on myself and just get the one way done in a relaxed manner.

Almost 1/2 Way

After about 3am it got colder than expected ... the water in my refill jugs was slushing up! Putting those icy soft flasks into my vest pack was challenging. Once I slowed down, I was cold until I got home many hours later and took a 30-minute hot soak. Ahh! I also had some rib bruising (pretty painful!) from the fall, and the bouncing (I guess) of the soft flasks in my vest. I'm not sure what the fix is for that (too loose? Too tight?) besides going with a back bladder.

There were some cool, spooky moments! A silent, gliding barn owl. The too-close-set gray-green trunks of cedars in their swamps surrounding and leaning towards me, menacingly. The muffled splash of ... something ... in a black, otherwise ripple-less pond. The single enormous brown oak leaf that a trick of the light turned in to a leathery, brooding face. Quite the adrenaline rush on that one.

Apple Pie Hill Fire Tower

The only people I saw were in cars on the occasional road that I passed. No idea what they were doing on some of those roads at 2, 3, and 4 in the morning, and I'm kind of glad I never found out. And then the Batona 50 racers, who all passed me only a couple of miles out of Ong's Hat. They looked so fresh and happy! I almost changed my mind and kept going, but knew I'd never see them again, so decided on discretion.

All-in-all a great learning experience, and challenging navigation and self-supported run in lovely conditions. I wish I had made the race start, but there's always next year!


Northern Terminus (actually from the day before)

C • Thanks 5

Just posted my 'intentions' to Fastest Known Times:

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Hello FKT Enthusiasts!

The weather is looking good (and Denis is hosting the race), so: I will be attempting a supported completion of the Batona Trail Out-and-Back, starting this Friday (2016-11-04) around dusk at the Southern Terminus (Bass River State Forest end).

I will be running through the night in anticipation of then competing (hah!) in the Batona 50, which starts at 7am from Ong's Hat, heading south.

As mentioned, this is a supported attempt. While it will be self-supported north-bound (I'll drop a few bags on Friday), it will be fully-supported south-bound, with aid stations and other runners to help me enjoy my time on the trail even more, which will be awesome! If I can stay ahead of the cutoffs and in touch with any other runners! That's some good motivation! :)

Assuming the tech works, I will be posting a Garmin LiveTrack to my Facebook page for interested friends and family, and then will post a report link here with gear list, a few pics, and the GPX track -- likely on Sunday.

Hopefully the Jersey Devil will be out of town, or at least in a generous mood.

-Hugh

C • No sweat 6

So nice out. Staying limber.

Wow, gorgeous day. Busy one, though. A few ultra-pace laps on the Big Field. Lovely. Stunning.