A HAT Run Race Report by Tom Nasuta
The HAT Run is held at Susquehanna
State Park in Maryland Harford County ,
Maryland
Ultrarunner Magazine has identified the HAT Run as one of the largest 50K races
in the
The 2014 HAT Run was to be my 7th time
participating in this race. The course is mostly single track trails with some
portions on fields and paved road. In
March the weather can be very unpredictable and this year was proving to be no
different. Just 1 week prior to the race the area was covered in snow and
temperatures had been in the low 20’s.
Background
I have had mixed results with the
HAT Run in the past. As I have gotten older my times have gotten slower, but I
hold out hope that one day I will be able to set a new personal record on this
course for 31 miles.
My plan was to try and set a goal
of finishing the race close to 6 hours. This is a time that I ran in 2004 in
muddy conditions. I have always thought I might be able to match this time if
the conditions were perfect. This would require maintaining a pace of 12 minutes
per mile.
My backup plan was to exceed the
time that the UltraSignUp website had predicted for me which was over an
hour slower. This was a powerful
motivator in my training over the past few months. During our weekend runs, my training partners
Casey Fisher and Hugh Wilson discussed how organizations try to predict finishing
times using times from similar races. In
ultramarathons this becomes complicated since races are held on various
surfaces, hilly or flat courses, and warm or cold weather. Our plan
was to train hard and do what we could to prove the race prediction gurus wrong. In preparation for this year’s HAT Run we did
hill repeats, speed work on the track, races at shorter distances and trained
on snowy trails throughout January and February.
Not finishing an ultramarathon is
always another possibility. Ultrarunners
are always one step away from twisting an ankle or falling during a trail run. Most of the time this is a minor issue, but
experience in training is the best way to avoid these problems so we continued
to train on trails whenever possible. Getting sick during the run from heat or poor
food choices is also common in this sport.
It is especially disappointing to be slow, miss a cut-off time and be asked to stop
running.
In 2013, 500 runners
pre-registered for the HAT Run, 422 runners started the race and 363
finished. Realizing that over 25% of the
runners may not finish the race, I studied the cutoff times and wanted to be
sure that I wasn’t running so slow that I would be asked to stop. DNF means Did Not Finish. It is not something
any runner wants to experience.
The Plan
So my plan was to run at a pace
where I could try to run a new personal record, but not run so recklessly that
I went out too fast and crashed. I would
run carefully so that I didn’t trip and fall, eat food that I was comfortable
with and try not to waste time at the aid stations. Since it has been very cold in training, I
didn’t anticipate a problem with heat and dressed accordingly.
What Happened
The course covers a short 3.6 mile loop in the beginning of the race that spreads the runners out before they hit the single track trails. The temperatures were cool at the start, but most of us felt that this was perfect. It was one of the few times that we were able to run without many layers of clothing over the past few months. In fact many of the runners wore running shorts and we were able to drop any jackets or extra clothing after this 3.6 mile warm-up.
and Josh Greenberg were also running confidently.
The trail conditions were perfect. The snow from the previous week had melted and there was very little mud on the course. These are considered technical trails with many rocks and roots to navigate. It is a hilly course, but this is what we train on each week so I was feeling very confident.
Nutrition is one of the topics
that our training group has discussed and experimented with a great deal over
the past year. The food items at many
ultramarathons typically include cookies, pretzels, candy, sports drinks and
water. In preparation for this run, Hugh Wilson prepared
several nutrition bars that were made from higher quality ingredients. These
bars worked well in training and my hope was to use these nutrition bars for
fuel rather than the snack foods.
Halfway Through – So far so good
After completing 17.3 miles I was
pleased that the plan was working. I was running faster than originally
planned, and I was pleased that the winter training and nutrition bars were
paying off. I did notice that the
temperatures were getting much warmer so I started to walk more on the up hill
portions of the course.
As the day progressed, the warm temperatures took their toll and the
final 13.7 mile loop of the course was not pretty. As the afternoon wore on I realized that the
fast pace early in the race was not a good idea. But these are the moments where you learn the
most about why we participate in this sport and how to adjust. I was not in danger or distress, I was just
starting to get very hot so I adjusted my pace. I started to notice other runners catching up
to me, but I was well ahead of the cutoff times and decided to enjoy the remainder
of the race and make the most of it.
In a few cases where I caught up
to other runners that were also struggling to finish, we worked together to
complete a few more miles. Even though
the heat was taking a toll on many, no one was in medical distress. We were just experiencing weather conditions that
we had not had an opportunity to train with.
Conclusion
My 7th running of the
HAT Run was a success. I improved my
times completed in 2011 and 2012 by over
18 minutes. I had a plan going into the
race that, in hindsight, may have been a
bit ambitious. The long distance trail
running in January and February was perfect preparation for this early Spring
race. I just hadn’t anticipated the warm temperatures. I made adjustments that
resulted in a successful finish. The nutrition bars were excellent. My friends and training partners in the race experienced the same difficulty, but all of us completed the race successfully. If I have anything to share, here are three
recommendations for others to learn from my experience.- Be flexible – Things may not go as planned, but don’t dwell on it. Quickly assess what you need to do to finish the race. Adjust your pace, re-fuel, change clothing, etc. Most importantly adjust your attitude. Everyone is straining in the later stages of a long race. This is where the more experienced runners have the skills to not give up.
- Recognize the moments – There are times in a long race where seeing a friend or family member on the course can be extremely powerful. Some of those volunteers are runners that wanted to be running also, but were forced to withdraw due to an injury. Encouraging a fellow runner on the course that is struggling can also help.
- Follow the Plan – I was so excited to finally be running the race and sharing the experience with my faster running friends. Although I had a plan, I didn’t pay attention to it as I should have. I should have started out more conservatively and paid closer attention to the strategy I had laid out.
