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Tag: Philadelphia Trail Run

Philadelphia Trail Marathon Race Report

Philadelphia Trail Marathon Race Report

Published by Patrick Durante on April 24, 2023

  • What went right?
    • I didn’t go with a vest as this was a “shorter” race for me.  I kept my kit light with only 1 waist bottle holder.
    • My pace was very dialed in.  For this distance and vert, I know I can handle 8:30 – 9:00 pace depending on the weather.  I had just done a race that went well last year with this exact same setup and kit so I know it was tested. 
    • I know every section of the course.  I have run every trail and every turn of this course multiple times.  Nothing beats having the home-court advantage.  This doesn’t normally happen for my races as I like to do different races every year.  I got the best sleep ever because I felt like it was just going to be a training run.  Maybe it’s worth it to visit a course beforehand to get that peace of mind?
    • Made sure to power hike almost every climb in the beginning to save my energy.  I saved it for where it counts, on the downhills and flat sections.  (really not many of those)
PHOTO CREDIT: Doug Rafalski This is my light weight 50K kit.
  • What went wrong?
    • I pushed the limits of dehydration.  I really should have made sure to drink on a schedule versus just doing it at the aid stations.  I wasn’t taking enough liquids and it was warming up at 11 AM.
    • Too fast of a start.  This wasn’t my choice, the trail narrowed so you had to jump out ahead to avoid the traffic jam.  The first mile clocked in at 6 minutes and I immediately pulled back.  I made sure to run my own race and that is critical in every ultra.
  • What would I do differently?
    • I got lazy with my eating and drinking and it happens almost every race unless I set a timer to go off on my watch every 30 minutes.  I just got to remember to do that BEFORE the race start.  That’s the biggest thing that can cause issues later in a race because once you are behind with nutrition, its a losing battle.  
    • I’m going to practice the crap out of this course.  If this race happens again next year I now have the GPX and course mapped out.  I’m gonna run this course once a week.  They had no GPX file before the race.
    • Light vs heavy shoe.  I swapped to a light vs heavy shoe and it was the right call.  This course drains well from heavy rain and wasn’t muddy.   I didn’t need crazy tread shoes.

Final Thoughts

Me as a kid at the Wiss wearing a bart simpson T-shirt. This section was on the course.

The Wissahickon has been a place that I’ve been going to since I was young. The fact they put together a marathon here was incredible and it was a perfect course.  I was so grateful to be out there and racing.  This is my home turf and basically where I grew up.  This is by far the best event Uber Endurance put together.  I can see myself coming back every year to run this course.  It meant so much to me over the years and this was a near-perfect way to experience it. This park has helped me grow into the person I am today.  How can a park help you grow?  It can challenge you and introduce you to new people.  It can be a place for your kids to play and explore.  

The Japanese practice “Forest Bathing”, or shinrin-yoku as they call it. Spending time in nature is good for both physical and mental well-being. It is proven to reduce stress hormone production, improve feelings of happiness and free up creativity, as well as lower heart rate and blood pressure, boost the immune system and accelerate recovery from illness. As somebody who grew up in the city coming out to the Wissahickon as a kid always felt better. I never knew why, but after reading about shinrin-yoku I understand.

So if you had to choose between the Philly Marathon or the Philly “TRAIL” Marathon, that’s a pretty easy choice! 😉

Eastern States 100 – The Hardest 100 Miler on the East Coast

Eastern States 100 – The Hardest 100 Miler on the East Coast

Published by Patrick Durante on August 19, 2022

What went right

I kept the clothing light because I had been reading about the effects of overdressing can hold too much heat in.  I wore a new singlet that really worked well and didn’t cause any chafing.  I changed tops later at night because the temps dropped.  I  switch my pack at mile 83 to my waist belt. The only issue with this was I forgot some key items in a transfer like butt wipes and battery chargers for devices.  I think I made the right decision, I wanted to travel light and with no vest for the last section.  I saw that I was using aid stations effectively so I didn’t need all the extra stuff.  

It’s OK to not have a pacer.  I had made different attempts to get a pacer, but in the end, it just didn’t work out.  I didn’t need a pacer, I made friends and I talked to the right people exactly like I have done in the past.  Sometimes you hear the voice of someone or have a few words with them and you know they are the type of person to spend a few miles with.  I knew I could count on myself to make friends. It happened organically and was great!  Mixing in with just the right people at the right time.

I used my water on my back vs bottles in my vest. I could get lots of ice, have icy water, and hold way more than I needed. This will be the go-to setup for all races over 50K with aid stations over 8 miles apart. Distance between aid stations is critical for which setup to use. I also used pantyhose cut in half and filled with ice stretched over the neck.  It worked really well at keeping me cool, but it wasn’t a really hot day.  Then just dump the pack after the last drop bag and run it in!

2Toms foot powder for anti-blister seems to work well.  I still had major issues with my feet swelling and soreness on the sole.  Maybe thicker shoes? It was so much downhill I’m not sure it would matter.  It was faster to pre-load socks with this stuff than trying to lube feet.  Just throw a new pair of socks on and go.  

PRELOAD YOUR WATCH COURSE WITH WAYPOINTS!  I can’t stress this enough.  Using the course feature on my watch saved myself and others around me.  We knew instantly if we were going off course and how much was left to the next aid station.  Yes, we did go off course once or twice but were quickly back on course with this feature.  Note: disable Bluetooth, Inreach, and heart rate for my watch to make it over 30+ hours.  Need to be mindful of that in a race of this length.  Watch died at 100 miles, and this race was 103 in length.

I packed aid station bags at the beginning of the week.  It took off so much pre-race anxiety before I left.  I will always make sure to pack my bags WAAAAY before.  I used super large zip lock bags as always and they were perfect.  

Poles are now my new best friend for super technical climbs and descents. At first in the race, I was getting annoyed with them. After 30-40+ miles I got used to them and actually LOVED them. They really saved my race/life on some really technical stuff. I can’t count how many times I tripped and the poles caught me as they hit the ground first. I did remove the wrist straps and I had heard horror stories of people getting hurt if they fell with their arms in the straps. Warning: Do not leave it until race day to practice with them, they will do more harm than good. I actually broke a cheap pair in testing and got a better pair before race day because I tested them.

What went wrong

I had some type of butt rash I had to use vaseline on, not sure why, but I had it in my pack because this has happened before.  Tailwind gives me so much gas, hence the name, and I had to use vaseline.  

Incredible quad pain from the downhills to the point I could barely walk in the race. Not sure what you could do to eliminate that except TONs of downhill in training. That amount of force on the downhills was HORRIBLE. Like I didn’t want to take a step, and I noticed if I laid down and put my feel up it went away. Blood was pooling and I had some massive foot swelling. Changing shoes at aid stations worked really well.  When we laid down for 12 minutes I was super refreshed.  I was actually able to run again.  

I killed my small camera by getting too much water in it.  I record my runs and then do a video montage for those that want to relive the race.  My small camera died and I couldn’t recharge it.  I now know to put it in a zip lock bag.  It wasn’t until after the race and it dried out did it come back to life. 

What I would do differently

Stop being so scared going into these things.  If anybody was willing to talk about it I would cry about how crazy the course was.  Next time STFU and stop scaring yourself.  I know enough now about how to handle these types of races.  Yes, this was the granddad of them all, but it’s still just goddamn running not brain surgery. The only thing at stake if you fail is YOUR pride. I kept telling myself my new mantra, “I don’t mind what happens”, AND I actually believe it.

InReach died because Bluetooth and ant+ were enabled, they should be turned off for that long of a tracking event. Who cares if I can send it from my watch if the device is dead??? Just set it in track mode and pull it out at aid stations to send additional messages.  My dad thought I actually dropped from the race because he didn’t see any additional points when the device died.  

That’s it.  That was everything I learned from this race, besides that it went very well.  I felt great, didn’t get hurt, had fun, and made a really cool video people seemed to enjoy.  Check it out below.  

My video montage of ES100
Loopy Looper 2021 – Mistakes you do not want to make in your looped Ultra race.Loopy Looper 2021

Loopy Looper 2021 – Mistakes you do not want to make in your looped Ultra race.

Published by Patrick Durante on August 13, 2021
Loopy Looper - Patrick Durante Photo Credit: Glassjar Productions
Loopy Looper 2021 – Photo Cred: Glassjar Productions

Recap of my race of the Loopy Looper 12 hour event at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, New Jersey. The reviews consist of 3 topics, what went right, what went wrong, and what I would do differently. I call it the RWD race review.

right:
1) Brought lots of ice to the event in a cooler so I could soak drinks and towels.
2) This race was the closest I ever came to dropping. Taking in some salt and just waiting until I recovered save me from a decision I would have regretted for eternity. I took in food, talked with some people, and tried to regain my reason to get back out there once my initial goals had failed. Thank god the guy working medical at the event gave me some S-caps.
3) Bringing a chair for my air station. I would also have brought something to be in the shade. The sun was VERY intense.

wrong:
1) I didn’t realize how much the weather would affect me and I blindly followed a plan without accounting for the weather.
2) I didn’t put ANY sunscreen on so my body didn’t deflect any of that heat and it made my body work harder than it needed to.
3) Food strategy didn’t work, I didn’t like what I brought and ended up NOT eating it. It didn’t have enough salt in it. I didn’t eat enough at their aid stations.
4) Small pop-up tent would have been useful for my aid station, but unsure if its worth the investment. GET TO RACE EARLY AND GO TO SHADE UNDER TREES!

Differently:
Take salt, start PAINFULLY SLOW.
Racing in the heat = PAINFULLY SLOW START WITH NO RECORDS being broken. We all enter a race with a preconceived plan, but it’s our EGO that keeps us going on a path that might be a mistake.
Better food intake with MORE salt on a hot day.
I have had hot races before and I should have started painfully slow. Remember 2019 Vermont? I don’t care what pace other runners are going, just worry about yourself and what feels right. Have more than 2 shoes to rotate! I only had 2 road shoes and wish I had more and one with MORE cushion. I picked up a pair of Altra Torin 5’s to try out for the next 100-mile race. No negative thoughts. Stop asking people how they feel when you run with or by them. What do you really think they are going to say? Most will just complain about something and bring negativity into the race.

Don’t invite the devil inside your house by talking or thinking negatively.

-Patrick

Final Thoughts: This race was run in direct sunlight/heat, and I didn’t manage my pace and salt intake properly. I didn’t have any S-caps and I didn’t realize how much the heat would affect me with lack of taking in salty foods. It started with water building in my stomach that I could feel sloshing around. Once that started to happen I didn’t feel like eating. I made it back to the start and waiting until I felt better. All I could think about was dropping from the race. I had 2 chewable S caps and waited. It was like somebody switched off the pain/suffering. I knew that If I dropped from the race I would regret it for a long time.

The pain cave was SO bad that I almost quit. Using the sit and wait before you make any big decisions worked well. It gives you time to regain your thoughts.

Would you do the race again? I am unsure how I feel about the course and looped races in general. I need to get over this failure first before I can come to a decision. I might take one more crack at this race before I give up looped races. Overall it wasn’t that bad of a result. I still made it for 52.5 miles.