Covert Ultramarathon
After pacing me at the Palm 100, my husband was regretting not running the 50K and notching his first ultramarathon. Since there were no local races coming up, I decided to play race director and make one for us!
I had a bit of a head start on this because I'd planned a solo 50K for myself in August that got abandoned in favor of emergency gallbladder surgery (goodbye gallbladder, you will not be missed). I'd designed myself a logo and everything because that kind of overdoing things is how I roll. I'd named my race the Covert Ultramarathon because it ran past CIA Headquarters (vaguely - we were on the other side of the river). I was pretty pleased with that so when the idea to make a race for the two of us popped up, the Covert Ultra was revived!
The course was simple: start in Bethesda, MD, run the Capital Crescent Trail down to Fletcher's Boathouse on the C&O Canal, and follow the towpath north until we hit 15.5 miles. Then do it backwards.
We parked a car roughly halfway up the canal and loaded it with a mountain of drinks and snacks, including a thermos full of pizza rolls that I made that morning.
We ran my (slow) pace and it went really well! We took it easy, as one should for a first ultra, and the only thing that looked like it might be a problem was when we came upon signs like this:
It turns out the segment of the towpath that was closed was roughly 10 yards that you could just walk around. Not sure a detour like that deserves a sign.
The biggest drawback of a self-created race like this is the lack of bling. I WAS READY, THOUGH! Real life skills: engage! I took my logo, turned it into a model, and 3D printed us each a medal on campus. I even painted them and strung the ribbon myself. #veryProud
Most importantly, my husband had a great time and the ultra bug seems to have bitten him. He's signed up for his first 50 miler in March. I had a great time organizing the race and may well do it again as a virtual race or even a fatass if there's interest...
I had a bit of a head start on this because I'd planned a solo 50K for myself in August that got abandoned in favor of emergency gallbladder surgery (goodbye gallbladder, you will not be missed). I'd designed myself a logo and everything because that kind of overdoing things is how I roll. I'd named my race the Covert Ultramarathon because it ran past CIA Headquarters (vaguely - we were on the other side of the river). I was pretty pleased with that so when the idea to make a race for the two of us popped up, the Covert Ultra was revived!
The course was simple: start in Bethesda, MD, run the Capital Crescent Trail down to Fletcher's Boathouse on the C&O Canal, and follow the towpath north until we hit 15.5 miles. Then do it backwards.
We parked a car roughly halfway up the canal and loaded it with a mountain of drinks and snacks, including a thermos full of pizza rolls that I made that morning.
We ran my (slow) pace and it went really well! We took it easy, as one should for a first ultra, and the only thing that looked like it might be a problem was when we came upon signs like this:
The biggest drawback of a self-created race like this is the lack of bling. I WAS READY, THOUGH! Real life skills: engage! I took my logo, turned it into a model, and 3D printed us each a medal on campus. I even painted them and strung the ribbon myself. #veryProud
Most importantly, my husband had a great time and the ultra bug seems to have bitten him. He's signed up for his first 50 miler in March. I had a great time organizing the race and may well do it again as a virtual race or even a fatass if there's interest...
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