Oops I signed up for and ran another time based run loops type of race.  These types of races are really growing on me, something about running against time than running for distance is a lot of fun and a little addicting!  So what is a 12 hr endurance run?  Well its just like it sounds, there is a 10ish mile loop and you run loops alternating directions every lap for 12 hours. Chase The Moon was setup with a few options, a 3 and 5 person team, and solo ultra marathon.  The solo ultra was my choice because it was the perfect race to beat my Dirty 30 PDR of 32ish miles.  The cool thing about this race is there is no pressure to run the full 12 hours, you can bring a tent set it up run 1 loop and crawl into your sleeping bag for the rest of the night.

Running in the dark was a lot of fun!

Still running while most of Denver is still asleep.

I arrived at the race with my cooler of Mountain Dew, Snickers, and mindset to run all night .  The tent and sleeping bag were in the car but I opted to not set them up to avoid the temptation of running one lap and crawling into my sleeping bag!  We were off and running at 7 p.m., honestly the 1st couple laps were a blur.  I do remember the even laps seeming easier than the odd laps, it felt like there was a lot more down hill.  Either way there was only 800ish ft of gain per 10 mile lap which is not that much compared to other 2 long distance races I have ran.  Lap #1 flew by with only a short Mtn Dew break at the car.  Similarly lap 2 seemed to fly by as well, I recognized some familiar faces at the start/finish line and used that as an excuse to stand around and chat for 10-15 minutes until they started calling me out for standing around!  The few issues I had with this race started about 1/2 way through lap 3, I could tell a blister was forming on at least one toe (nothing a little duct tape wont fix). I took an extended break at my car after lap 3 to tape up my toes, change my socks and dump the pound of sand out of my shoes.  The next 2 laps were uneventful, I started walking every uphill and it started to become a mental battle that I refused to lose!  Thank goodness for the extremely supportive aid station peeps, they were all awesome and started recognizing me by this point and gave words of encouragement.  I felt like the aid stations were stocked perfect, I am fairly certain I consumed my entry fee’s worth of PBNJ sandwiches, pretzels, and honey stingers.

Cant go wrong with a glow in the dark shirt and medal!

I really started to struggle around the end of lap 4, I had already beaten my PDR by 10 miles, but I had plenty of time to get another lap (even if I walked the whole 10 miles).   The sun was starting to rise at this point, my body was tired and confused, but I talked myself out of the start finish area for 1 last lap.  Lap 5 consisted of a lot of power hiking/walking, but I pushed through and finished the lap with about 30 minutes to spare.  At this point the race course was shortened to a 10K loop, but I was happy with 50 miles. I felt very tired but was extremely happy to have just smashed my previous PDR and completing my 1st 50 miler!  The rest of the weekend was filled with naps and lots of eating.