Boogie Marathon

To say I was at an emotional low the morning of June 16th would be a gross understatement.  It was a bad week on several fronts, nothing horrible, just nothing to get excited about.  I spent most of the week looking for excuses to NOT run the Bethel Hill Moonlight Boogie, as it is officially known.  Specifically I was registered to run the "little" Boogie or "baby" Boogie...26.2 miles...the "real" Boogie is 50 miles. 

Every pain in my foot, every sore ankle, every twinge in my knee or hip...every hangnail, splinter, runny nose, pimple, split-end...hell, I think I was gonna drop out for bad breath on Thursday....I just did NOT want to run.  I was running alone.  Jon and Amber were on vacation...B was sitting out.  Then it hit me...I WAS RUNNING ALONE!  ALONE.  That one word provided the all the motivation I needed to change my attitude....or would ALTITUDE be a better word for Boogie.

Frank Lilley was in a tizzy due to the forecast of 79 for the high and 59 for the low...Boogie is made for Manly Men (and women)...made to test even the highest octane rocket sauce...79...THEY SHOULD CANCEL!...so...GOOD WEATHER + FRANK IN A TIZZY = I HAVE TO GO!

So, once I decided to actually go, we packed a few bags, jumped in the truck headed to IHOP for a few carbs (pancakes) and Elecetrolytic Porcine Protein (bacon, ham and sausage)....and headed west...2 1/2 hours later...Rockingham.  And guess what...our room wasn't ready...come back in an hour.  1 hour later...our room wasn't ready...3:00pm...need to head the the race around 4:00pm...room still not ready...so we watched an episode of King of Queens in the lobby while the cleaning staff finally tackled room 414...3:30...check in...change...off to Bethel Baptist Church in Ellerbe.

Trail races and Ultras tend to draw a very loyal crowd and after doing a couple you start to see the usual suspects....

Here is Suspect El Numero Uno...Frank Lilley...he has been the driving force behind several of my more extreme running adventures....Thanks Frank.  His picture is shadowy at the request of the Witness Protection Folks...he has a past...but that is for another blog post (not because I suck at taking pictures)....LOL.

Charles West, David Solomon...a whole lotta nice folks that I met at Hinson Lake last year were all there...Good people!  Everyone was friendly and excited to run Boogie in such good weather.  It wasn't long before Boogie Man called for the masses to congregate at the church steps for a word of prayer and a few instructions...including the warning about biting dogs...Apparently a gentleman named Joey decided to do a Double Boogie...yeah, I said DOUBLE....that means 100 miles...but early in his attempt, he was attacked by a dog and bitten in his hind quarter....but went on to do something like 75 miles before he called it a day...I was in the company of true insanity...MY PEOPLE!

FACTIOD # 1: Ellerbe is in the sandhill region of North Carolina...or as I like to say sandHILL!  I did not see much sand, but the hills were there...and they were happy to see us runners...in fact I think these hills are built on piles of dead runners.  Bethel hill is an gorgeous steep downhill, 2 mile stretch of out-and-back...the OUT part is downhill...all the way...the BACK, then, is all UPHILL...2 miles...Boogie Man is a SICK DUDE!  Several hills were not runnable...I mean...I chose to walk them to enjoy the beautiful scenery...yeah!

FACTOID # 2: The sandhills of NC in June are beautiful.  Green and lush hills of farmland...remote and full of the sounds and smells of the country. 

SOOO...6:00...start time...I opted for shirtless...of course...that is just how I roll. 

I made the first loop very comfortably...about a 12 minute pace....everything was going well...the temperature was great...the sun was setting...the iPod was shuffling in just the right order this time...Adele...Foo Fighters...Mazzy Star...The Civil Wars...Iron Maiden...Rush...it was a good mix.  The race was 2 ten-mile loops...then a 6 mile loop...so, I was able to expect the next section...then the next section...at mile 16 I got a much-needed hamburger...and some gatorade...the fluid/fuel stops were great...pretzels...bananas...these little chocolate cookie balls...yeah, I said it...chocolate cookie balls!

I had the normal baggage I take with me on runs...WHAT?...let me explain...I run for a lot of reasons, but marathons...I run them to exorcise some of the crap I still have trouble putting down and walking away from.  I have found no better way to work things out than to get an endorphin buzz and gut it out on the road or trail...hard to explain...but if emotional scars were trash I would be locked up for littering...but I digress.

Mile 20...all good...stopped to talk to B...CarbBoom Gel...a sudden, strange little wheezing cough...and I'm off.  By now it was dark...really dark...and I really enjoyed the extended periods that I was able to run without my headlamp...the stars gave off just enough light to make the lines on the road just barely visible.  Runner would pass in the dark so close that it was almost startling at times...the bobbling lights in the distance, coming and going, let you know you were not alone....at 21 miles my nagging little cough turned into a full-on asthma attack...GREAT...didn't bring my inhaler...had not had an attack since the weather warmed up...I won't need my INHALER!....TOOL!  So, I did the only thing I could...I walked to the farm path gate made from heavy rubber coated cable and sat down to calm my breathing and get my %$#& together...10-15 minutes later I was back on the hoof.  I walked a little...ran a little...coughed a little...mile 25...let's run this in....mile 25 1/2...let's try this running thing again...24 3/4...LOL....OK...100 yards to go....run this thing in...YEAH!

6:02:00.  Enough said.  26.2 miles of the most gnarly, hilly, dark, lonely, peaceful, friendly, and beautiful road I have run.

And for what?

A hand-made, one-of-a-kind coffee mug...and just a little more peace than when I started...oh...and CHOCOLATE COOKIE BALLS!

See you on the road.

E