I’ve seen pictures and heard stories about this race for two years and decided to give it a try. This is my first race further than 30 minutes out of Kansas City. I planned to bunk in a state cabin with Stacy, Kyle Amos and their kids and Gary and Karen Henry.
Left Shawnee around 1:00pm and drove to Topeka where I met up with a whole group of Nerds, Debbie, James, Sophia, Greg and Shane. We all rendezvoused at Great Plains Running (Willie Lamberts store). I grabbed a few essentials like gels and bars for the race. We stopped and had lunch together and then took off for the great Kannapolis State Park in Marquette, Kansas.
We drove to the check in spot inside the park. My first impression was, “oh boy….is this really a state park. What have you gotten us into this time?” The race headquarters was an old block building with louvers instead of windows with plastic over them to keep the wind out. It was very windy because there aren’t many trees in this part of Kansas to slow anything down.
Inside the block building was packet pick-up. There were folks getting ready for the pre-race spaghetti dinner that was planned for later that evening. When we entered the building we were greeted with big hugs from Stacy Sheridan, the Co-race Director. I figured she had mistaken me for someone else and introduced myself. Actually, I learned that she pretty much hugs everyone especially anyone remotely associated with the Trail Nerds. Regardless, it sure made me feel welcome. I decided that despite the looks of the building, everything was starting to look up.
We ate dinner, listened to Phil Sheridan give his pre-race speech (which I’m told has bbarely changed from year to year). It was nice to sit around and visit with friends and meet a few new folks. Besides, the spaghetti dinner hit just the right spot.
I made my way across the lake to the cabins to get settled in. It wasn’t long before Gary and Karen showed up with Kyle, Stacy and the kids not far behind. We visited for a while, goofed around with the kids a little and debated on what time to get up. Then it was lights out. The cabin was really nice and the beds were better than the floor or the ground.
It was and early rise, oatmeal breakfast and then off to the race start. We arrived about 30 minutes before the start. Phil gave nearly the same pre-race speech as the night before and then we were off. I was wearing my new Vasque Blur SLs, OR gaiters, pair of Injinji bamboo liners and another pair of Injinji performance socks, CWX compression shorts, technical shirt, moben sleeves, Solomon wind breaker, backcountry glove liners and my orange Trail Nerd hat. It was windy and about 45 degrees. I was carrying one hand held to see what that would be like. Kyle had given me a set of nipple guards which proved essential.
Starting out slow - Photo by Gary Henry
I decided to start out slow. I found myself within ear shot of a large gaggle of “Mud Babes” behind me (Colleen, Sophia, Debbie, Laurie …etc). That was enough motivation to speed me up. Don’t get me wrong, I love those gals, but 26.2 miles of that level of happiness was something I didn’t think I could endure. J
I got into a pretty good rhythm running through the very deep ditches that were like tiny little “Grand Canyons.” It made me wonder how these were created. Then I turned a corner and was reminded of the wind. This wind was 26 mph of relentless resistance with about 40 mph gust. There were times when I was literally blown off the trail. It really was surreal running through this terrain which is very different than what we have 3 hrs east in Kansas City. There were sections of very fine sand, like at the beach. Lots of rocks, horse hoof prints and long gradual climbs. There was also some scrub like bush with stickers.
I caught up with Pat Perry (seasoned and accomplished Ultra runner) which was very surprising. Pat is always way ahead of me. We ran together for a good amount of time and then I heard him say “if I catch back up to you, I’ll call you names and you’ll never hear the end of it.” I’m thinking what the heck; I’m pulling away from Pat. I remember him saying he hadn’t felt good and was having trouble finding his rhythm (not really whinning). Pat feeling bad is probably equal to my best day on the trail.....so I thought.
I came into the first manned aid station at about mile 13 feeling pretty good. Filled up my water bottle and kept going. I had heard that the section called the bluff was pretty tough and to expect it to be slow going. It wasn’t too bad. The scenery at the bluff was incredible. There was a nice overlook of the Smoky Hill River which I paused at long enough to take a couple of pictures.
Overlooking the Smoky Hill River
I made it back to the manned aid station filled up my bottle again and headed out. I was making great time at 3:23 averaging about 11 min/mile and only had about 8 miles left. I was also thinking that this race isn’t so bad. That’s when it got tough. I turned the corner to head back to the start and the 26 mph wind was in my face. This caused me to have to literally lean forward to keep moving during some of the gust. It took me about 2hrs to run the final hardest 8 miles of my life.
I ran out of water with four miles to go and started cramping which slowed me down even further. I toughed it out and finished at 5:16. Rockin K is Rockin hard. The terrain is spectacular but not that difficult. I think it comes down to the weather. This is always a factor in Kansas. The RD’s are awesome. Phil and Stacy are so friendly and accommodating and the race is well organized. The aid station was run very well and the volunteers were very helpful. A big thanks to the Phil and Stacy and all their volunteers. I know how much planning goes into a race and your efforts surely show in pulling off a great event. I’m planning to add this race to my normal schedule and next time with a hydration pack.
Comments