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Big Woods Half Marathon Race Report

Big Woods Half Marathon Race Report

Published by Patrick Durante on March 19, 2025

I had deferred my registration to Big Woods last year when it conflicted with Rabid Raccoon 100. I finally got a chance to race with Team EYB Runners. We are a group of guys who meet at the Wissahickon most Saturday mornings. Led by John Sullivan, this group has been taking on Big Woods for several years, and I was excited to join them this past weekend. We had 10 runners registered for the team, but then the race director deleted all the teams. I’m not sure why, but I’m sure the team would have come out on top. Here is my list of three points regarding how this race went: what went right, what went wrong, and how I would do things differently next time.

What went right?

First off, since the start of the year, I have been following my own training plan. I haven’t posted all runs or workouts on Strava, but regardless, I have been heading out there even when I didn’t want to, holding myself accountable to the training and consistency. I cycle three weeks on, one week off, with about two key workouts each week and race-specific training. Recovery might be a 2-to-1 ratio if higher intensity efforts like intervals are involved. As we got close to Big Woods, I ramped up climbing most weeks. I have a route that has the same amount of vert as Big Woods—2K—but in only 9 miles of running. If I go all out, I can do it in an hour and a half. It was more demanding than Big Woods would be, and it helped to mentally prepare me for the amount of climbing that day. The route is saved on Garmin here called Tedy Mothers Meadows Challenge, click here for GPX.

Race Start

Training:

Legit training and following my own plan. I’m not only the president; I am also a client of UltraRunCoach.com. Consistency was key here. Avoiding injury and sickness is never easy as you come off the transition season that is December/January. I made it through and tried to maintain fitness to the best of my ability.

Gear:

I tried a new “super shoe” that I got for Christmas for this race, and I will say that I do think it made a difference. It was very light and bouncy, which helped a lot with the number of rocks on this course.

Nutrition:

SIS gels were ON POINT. They hit well and kept energy levels high. What’s great about them is their size and speed at which you can consume them. If you have a scoop of Tailwind, that’s an entire bottle you need to down to get the 25 grams of carbs. These things I can fire down my gullet in about 5 seconds. No chewing, just slam it down and go. The difference between bonking and sustained output is nutrition. If intensity is high, so are nutritional demands. You can’t have one without the other because something has to fuel that performance. That’s just what I have found with myself as I do these events. Your mileage may vary.

Creepy Mist on race day

Mindset and Pace:

My mantra for this season is: “Feet over finish”, and I detailed a post why. I was also thinking, how fortunate I am to have the privilege to worry about race times. This is a luxury of life, and I am aware of that. What I don’t worry about in races is what place I will come in. Someone said to me, “Do you think you can win?” That’s a lethal thought, because that puts an emphasis on the podium versus my feet. I can control my feet and my per mile times, but not who who shows up on race day. Controlling the controllables here.

Target vs Actual Pace – 8:45 was the plan

We had perfect cool weather come race morning. When the race started, I had set a PacePro plan of 8:50 a mile. This was conservative, but I knew I could hit that with relative ease. I was checking my HR during the start, and the mix of cold weather, getting a good night’s sleep, and not being stressed led to a very low HR. I realized I was able to keep a much faster pace and increased the effort after the first few miles. I had great traction with the conditions, so I was able to move fast and keep my cadence high. It was only the “secret forest” section that slowed me down. A lot of that had to do with the inability to see the rocks under fallen leaves. After two rolled ankles I was done. I said, “STOP,” you cannot and should not try to blast through this area. Garmin’s PacePro kept informing me I was 3-4 minutes over pace; which I lost that in the secret forest. Once past the secret forest, I gain back some time with the help of Matt.

Mr. Backpack! What’s in the bag?!?!?!

The key point here in my training has been recovery weeks. In my recovery weeks, I am doing very light to no running. I am using three secret weapons: cycling and yoga as substitutes for running. What that does is keep me fresh and going hard on the weeks when it’s time to run. I heard it said that relationships in life cycle through three states: harmony, disharmony, repair. That’s kind of what training blocks are. In the beginning, there is harmony; the training starts to create strain, trauma/disharmony; then comes the repair. The recovery weeks also include sauna, either via my gym or the sauna blanket I purchased. High-quality sleep and eating right. This year, I am focusing on the high quality diet than in past years, making sure to hit protein and veggie intakes higher than in years past.

What went wrong?

In the “Secret Woods” section, I went too fast initially. I almost ended my race with a twisted ankle. Being able to quickly realize that going fast in that section would have been a bad idea was critical. I also carried a flask I never needed. This was because of the cold weather, the isotonic gels from SIS provided the small amount of hydration I needed. I had carried the Tailwind with the idea that if things got bad, I would “just add water,” but it never happened. I was cold most of the race, thus lowering hydration needs. I would NEVER do this in an ultra, but a half marathon is the type of race where you can take high-level risks because of the short distance.

Team EYB

On a personal note, I think I played football the day before too hard with my son, and my foot was hurting from some sprinting. Maybe not the best idea before a race, but I can’t say NO to my son/daughter to have a catch. Oh well, I thought it would work itself out on the trail, and it did.  That’s pretty dumb logic, to say that, but you would be surprised how often something “works itself out on the trail”.  

What would I do differently?

With the goal being sub-2 hours and finishing with a time of 1:52, what would I change? Not much. I executed my plan and controlled my mindset. I was sitting at 4-5 place, with 3rd out of reach. I focused on “feet over finish” and only cared about what I could control: pace and foot placement. I ran MY race, MY plan. Nothing pushed me faster than I wanted to run, well, except Matt Lewars. That dude was on fire, and I followed; he helped keep me on target. Thank you very much, Matt!

The training leading up to this has been great. The EYB Runners have been a fun and amazing group to run with, and I am grateful for meeting them. I look forward to running with them in the months ahead as I prepare for the More Miles – Last Man Standing and Eastern States 100.

I made a short virtual run to document the race, to show my kids, and to remind myself there will be a day I can no longer do this, but today was not that day. Enjoy!

Ultra Lizard Brain

Ultra Lizard Brain

Published by Patrick Durante on January 12, 2025

I was listening to a podcast about how the lizard brain is still inside us. It developed first, and the larger brain grew from there. The lizard brain can’t speak, and it’s primal. Since it doesn’t communicate with words, it needs basic things and operates on a simple level with less complexity. I started wondering if there’s a better way to live—one that caters more to that lizard brain—in an attempt to make life simpler, be happier, and reduce anxiety or depression. After all, anxiety and depression are often byproducts of a brain that tries to live in the future or ruminate on the past.

So, what does this lizard brain need? Let’s get real basic with it. The lizard needs sunlight, connection with other lizards, natural and simple food, the ability to run from predators, rest, and the chance to do it all again. When you put it like that, it all sounds so simple! The problem is that when this lizard starts interacting with things unnatural to its basic, primal needs, it begins to suffer. The lizard doesn’t care about what car it drives or its social status—it just uses its feet to get from point A to point B. The lizard doesn’t care what its house looks like or what clothes it wears—it’s always butt naked!

Remember, we’re only focusing on basic survival and self-preservation needs here. I’m not trying to add any unnecessary complexity. The lizard just wants to see tomorrow, maybe find a mate, and, if it’s lucky, see some offspring. So, what do I need to give it, day after day, to make sure it keeps moving forward?

As I dug into this idea more, I realized that the lizard brain is always in the moment. It can’t handle an abundance of time—it’s not sitting still long enough to catch the latest episode of its favorite TV show. If it did, it would get eaten.

When I’m running ultras, I feel like I go into lizard brain mode. I’m running from predators, I’m fueling, and I’m just being present in the mile and the moment. I try to force my brain back to simpler times. During a race, there are always unknowns, and the advanced brain doesn’t like that. But the lizard brain thrives in simplicity—it understands clear actions and conditions. The lizard brain wants training it’s seen before, food it’s eaten before, and even shoes for its lizard feet that it’s used before. The lizard brain doesn’t like “new.” It fears the unknown.

To thrive, the lizard brain needs simple, day-to-day living. Run the lizard. Feed the lizard real, alive food. Move the lizard. Get the thinking out of it. The lizard only worries about today—not the past or the future. It takes action on what it can control, not on what Sally the lizard receptionist in accounting thinks about it. Complexity kills—in design, in training, and in making life reproducible.

The lizard brain evolved in the wild, in the forest—not in the city. It needs to get back to nature. Feeling the sun, wind, rain, and dirt connects the lizard runner back to its primal instincts. It thrives in its original environment, where it can roam in wide-open spaces.

The lizard also loves to struggle with its support network of other lizards, training with others who are doing the same thing. The camaraderie of enduring difficult challenges together strengthens bonds and reinforces the lizard’s purpose. The cheering crowds, pacers, and aid stations during a race let the lizard know it’s not alone in this fight for survival.

The basics work for a reason—that’s what I’m saying here. We’ve broken away from simple daily habits that our brains need to function. Where can I remove complexity when it doesn’t need to exist? That’s the core principle of success.

The lizard brain also needs a problem to solve. It thrives on overcoming obstacles and is hardwired to conquer challenges to survive. The lizard brain doesn’t binge-watch Netflix. It gets out and does things. The trail is our survival scenario—a life-or-death struggle, both physically and mentally. This struggle gives the lizard brain a sense of purpose and validation.

The lizard brain wants one task—a single focus. That’s what ultrarunning does: it gives you one task, with the sole purpose of putting one foot in front of the other. The lizard brain can’t multitask, and anyone who says they can is just doing multiple things poorly instead of one thing well.

The lizard brain also pushes through pain. It actually loves pain as a feedback mechanism, using it as a tool to modify behavior. Pain tells the lizard when to slow down, adjust its form, eat more, or take a break. That’s a core survival ability: the ability to endure enough to see another day.

Above all, the lizard brain needs a reason to keep going. It needs a clear goal, like a finish line, where it can be rewarded. The lizard thrives on the satisfaction of being tested, pushed to its limits, and becoming something more than its current self.

So, the lizard brain needs its basic fuel, rest, safety, movement, connection, and purpose. Ultrarunning, in many ways, strips life down to these core elements and satisfies the primal brain’s instincts while aligning them with a modern challenge—with guardrails in place to keep it manageable. We might not like it, but it’s all very simple. I see this when I watch squirrels or other mammals surviving in the wild. This all runs through my mind as I sit watching out my window with my plethora of problems, while they live in the moment, just trying to survive.

I sit on my couch worrying about a future that might never come or a past that doesn’t matter. I need to get back to simpler times. Simple. How do I just make it simple? What would this look like if it were easy? That’s always the question to ask yourself.