Shakori 40 (2022)

I told myself I’d just see how I felt that day and do my best to improve my previous time when I ran this same race in 2020. Apparently, I felt like suffering a bit.

For a refresher or for those of you not aware of what the Shakori 40 is, it’s a 40-mile race around the Shakori Hills Community Art Center. 10 laps of a 4-mile cross-country trail that weaves throughout the large wooded property. Repetitive but fun and engaging.

I haven’t trained much for speed in recent months—most of my focus has been on slow and steep. Yet, there I was, chasing down the front pack as soon as the race began. I still have to work on my patience.

I quickly made it through the first 2 laps (8 miles) but realized by lap 3 that the frontrunner was out of reach unless he was overconfident and underprepared (much like myself). I began to temper my hopes of having a top 3 finish at this point—the overall competition was definitely stronger and faster than when I ran it last.

By lap 5 (20 miles), I was beginning to feel the effects of the muddy trails on my feet and ankles, but I did my best to stay focused and reminded myself that I was halfway to the finish. I was way ahead of pace.

Laps 6-7 were where my physiology and reality came crashing into each other, and I began to negotiate walk-run agreements with myself. “100 steps, then run for a mile.” “Walk to the top of that hill, then run for a mile.”

Due to my impatience and lack of training specificity, this default strategy continued into laps 8 and 9. I was really suffering out there, but I was still on track to finish faster than my 2020 result, and I was still having a good time despite my pain.

On the 10th and final lap, I knew only 4 miles separated me from being done, so I chose to dig deep and push it. I tried not to negotiate and forced myself to run through the sections where I struggled on previous laps. Time was moving fast, my legs were moving well enough, and my spirit was strong. I made it to the final stretch, and I was running hard. My wife (Christa) and daughter (Callie) were waiting at the finish, cheering and beaming with excitement. As I ran by them, Callie jumped onto the course and sprinted through the finish line with me.

6:51 and 6th overall. A 47-minute improvement from my last run here.

Not too shabby.