The Rouge-Orleans 2013 Challenge

I really loved reading the Trail Runner's magazine that I subscribed from USA.  There would always be a feature of a very nice trail race in the magazine that made you go "wow".  And this was the 2nd time I signed up of a race based on the race review in the Trail Runner's magazine (the first one being the Canadian Death Race which I DNFed in 2010 and 2011).  And as the Rouge-Orleans 2013 Challenge fell during our Lunar Chinese New Year period, it meant that I could take a few more days of leave and do another race as recover run the following weekend.  :)

Night Before The Race

The Rouge-Orleans 2013 Challenge is a point-to-point ultramarathon.  I flew into Baton Rouge (in the State of Louisiana) 2 days before the run.  The race briefing and race-packet collection would be conducted at the host hotel which was just next to the race start, I decided to stay there for ease of convenience.  There wasn't much things to do in that part of Baton Rouge although I did take a 3 miles walk to the nearest sporting outlet to check out any items that I might need.  That evening, the race director, Denver Benton, picked me up from the hotel and drove to a nearby restaurant and I met up with other runners / volunteers for dinner.  They also showed the entire course of the race inside the restaurant.  I was glued to the screen most of the time while eating and listening to the rest talking about the race and other stuff.  And the more I thought about the race, the more excited and worried I became.  This was the challenge of a single-stage event although one could choose to sleep for a couple of hours before running again.  I decided to concentrate on my dinner.  After everyone had finished, Denver drove me back to the hotel.

Day Of The Race

This race as very unique.  The "cut-off" time for the 126.2 miles was 42 hours and that is if you think you would finish the race in that time frame.  If you are a faster or stronger runner, you are able to choose to start the race at a later time and hence a shorter cut-off time.  I usually loved to utilize the entire time limit given and since I was able to choose when to start, and knowing I was a slow runner, I chose to commence running at 8pm.  This meant that I had 42 hours to complete the race.  :)

Denver and his team of volunteers setup the race packet collection at the host hotel at about 3pm on Friday.  The race briefing commenced at around 4pm.  After the race briefing, runners were asked to fill up and submit an indemnity form before collection of their race packets.  Dinner was concurrently held so I decided to carbo load while waiting for the queue.  After dinner, I submitted my indemnity form and collected my race packet.  And at the same time drop off 4 of my drop bags, as well as sent in my luggage, which would be transported all the way to New Orleans.  :)  It was about 6pm, just 2 hours before the race began.  I spent the rest of the time listening to the free Friday Concert and getting mentally prepared for the race!

Start Of The Race

There were quite a few runners who chose to make use of the full 42 hours and start at 8pm.  At about 7:15pm, I followed the runners and made the very short 650m walk to the starting point.  Although it was early February, weather in Baton Rouge was not cold at all.  I started the race wearing a short-sleeved tee although I packed a windbreaker and gloves in my hydration bag.  At the start, many runners and their family / supporters / crew were busy taking photos, wishing each other well, and adjusting their gears.  Everyone couldn't wait for the race to get started, especially me.  As usual, I was nervous but seeing the excitement on the faces of other runners did calm me down a little.  I knew once I started running, I would be fine.  Sometimes, I wished I had a crew when running an ultramarathon but it was difficult to find someone who would travel so far just to crew for you. At exactly 8pm sharp, Denver sent us off running!

00 Miles to 25 Miles - Approximate 6 hours

There were altogether 4 drop bag stations - at the 25 miles, 50 miles, 75 miles and 105 miles mark.  There were other un-man water stations where we could pick up water.  As the race was run on the levee (embankment built along a river to prevent flooding by high water) just next to the Mississippi River, it was considered a very flat course.  I found myself dropping back as soon as the race started.  But I wasn't worry.  I could see some runners in front from the blinking lights on their hydration bags or vests, and I knew some runners were behind me.  Soon, I saw the first marker "1", which meant that I had completed Leg 1.  There were a total of 30 legs and every leg ranged between 3 to 7 miles long - the shortest being Leg 29 which was 2.54 miles while the longest being Leg 8 which was 6.27 miles.  I knew all the segments were very short and my aim was always to reach the next marker instead of looking at my watch or worrying about how long more to go.  Since it was night and dark, all I could do was to keep running.  At around Leg 3, I met up with a few local runners as I was crossing some road junctions.  This was one of only two detours that was confusing and I was glad to have someone to follow.  The 1st drop bag station was just after Leg 6, after I had been running for almost 6 hours.  It was time to throw away my trash, stock up some more cans of milo, as well as gel and sports drinks.  I spent about 5mins at the drop bag station before checking out.  I was feeling great and although it was almost 2am, I wasn't feeling tired or sleepy at all.  :)  Then again, I knew this was just the start as I still had about 100 miles to go!

25 Miles to 50 Miles - Approximate 8 hours

Just after we left the 1st drop bag station, one of the runner suggested to me to wear my windbreaker as it would be getting colder around 4am.  I reckoned he was right and put on my pink color Nike windbreaker and a pair of gloves.  The group got bigger when we caught up with 2 other runners.  As I was used to running alone and not have someone to talk to, I listened to the rest chatting and even singing!  It was a great way to know about other runners and the time and miles seemed to get by faster.  I was also very glad that I had company during this stretch of the race route as I saw on the info that around Leg 8 or 9, there were supposed to be ghost sightings!  I was not sure if the rest knew about it but luckily, I didn't had such encounter!  :p  Just before 6am, the day got brighter.  As I was still feeling strong, I decided to push on as the rest had started walking more than running.  Another reason could be due to the cooler weather condition.  In order to keep myself warm, I just had to run.  I passed a fellow solo runner as she turned off to meet up with her support crew at around 6:15am just after Leg 9 and I caught up with another solo runner at around 7:05am.  His support crew asked if I needed anything and I requested him to help throw away some of my trash which he obliged.  I ran and walked with him for a short while before picking up my pace.  Just after Leg 11, I saw a runner returning from her support crew.  I followed her for a short while before passing her.  I was feeling very strong despite not sleeping the night.  It was almost 9am and I thought I should be reaching the 2nd drop bag station soon.  I did eventually reached the 2nd drop bag station just after 10am, at Leg 12.  I was feeling physically tired now, after running/walking for 14 hours.

50 Miles to 75 Miles

I rested for about 10mins at this station.  The volunteers were very helpful: whatever I needed, they would bring it to me.  I tried to ingest some GU gel with water.  But it didn't sit well in my stomach and I threw out a while later.  Luckily, they had hot soup, which taste especially nice that I asked for a second cup.  I also requested them to help me take some photos of the aid station and other runners as I wanted to save my energy for running.  :p  I stocked up some more cans of milo, more gels and sports drink before relieving myself behind a huge tree even though the mobile toilet was 50m further up.  I also decided to leave my camera as well as the safety vest there as everything I carry seemed to weigh a lot more than they actually were!  I also requested the volunteer if they could help me bring the safety vest (which I would need during the night segment) to the next drop bag too!  After thanking the volunteers, I made my way across the road and continued running on the levee.  Although it was late morning, the weather was fantastic.  In fact, the sun seemed to be hiding and didn't appear until in the afternoon.  Even then, it was not hot.  While my pace had slowed down considerably, I was still able to keep jogging.  Sometimes, I would look out to the river and other times, just focus on looking at the levee in front of me.  All this time, the levee meandered along with the Mississippi River.  After every turn, you would see a never-ending stretch of levee in front of you.  And when you got close to the end of the turn, you knew there would be another one greeting you soon.  :( I continued to hydrate and eat whenever I could but I lost track of time.  At one point, I thought I should have arrived at the 3rd drop bag station but I didn't see any tent.  It was depressing as it was getting dark and I had left my headlamp in that drop bag station.  I needed to get to the next station soon to retrieve my other headlamp.  Luckily, it was on the levee which we were running on - not on difficult trail as compared to running inside the forest - there was no reason why I should get lost as long as I stayed on the levee.

I eventually reached the 3rd drop bag station and just slumped onto the next available chair.  One of the volunteers checked out my bib number before retrieving my drop bag.  They were like on an auto-pilot mode.  They knew exactly what the runners need - their drop bags.  After that, they asked you what else you need, etc.  I was very grateful to all of them.  I transferred cans of Nescafe into my hydration bag instead of Milo as I would be spending the second night running/walking.  I spent about 10mins before I continued my journey, which was approximately another 50 miles to the end.  Now, I was all by myself as I couldn't see any runners before or after me.  It must be around 6~7pm.  I told myself that I only had one more drop bag station to reach before I embarked on the last stretch to the finishing.  Seems easy but I can't think of any other reason to motivate myself.  I slowly ploughed along, looking out for the next marker.  While I was tired, my mind was clear.  I recalled the previous night where I was running with 2 other gentlemen.  Running alone required more effort.  My aim was to reach the last drop bag station by 2am.  It would be tough to cover the 25 miles in 6-8 hours after I had already ran 75 miles.  By now, time seemed to go twice as fast but the distance covered seemed to go twice as slow.  :(  I came to a point where I was supposed to come down from the levee and run around the basin.  I saw a few support cars around the area and then I saw runners running past me!  I guess these were strong runners who started at a later wave or the relay runners.  I was happy to be able to follow them even though it was only for a short stretch.

Then it started raining!  And it was cold.  I put on my windbreaker again.  And I felt miserable.  But I reminded myself as long as I kept running or walking, I would be getting closer to the last drop bag station.  Then I found myself running along the road.  While there were still traffic at that kind of unearthly hour, most belong to the runner's support crew.  And then I saw runners running on the levee!  Did I missed a turn - I wondered.  A few cars stopped and asked if I needed anything.  I didn't think so and thanked them.  A passenger (most likely a relay runner as he was wearing a running gear) from a car told me that I should be running along the levee as it was safer.  I found a path and ran back up the levee.  But after a few steps, I came straight down again as the wind was very strong in the driving rain.  Another few cars drove passed me and I managed to get a blanket from one of them.  When I managed to find a path to reach the levee (okie, we were no longer running on the levee but on paved road), I saw the 4th drop bag station!  It was approximately 3-4am but there were many supporters at the area.  I asked for some hot soup with noodles but they ran out of gas so the soup was not that hot.  I was able to finish it but not the noodles.  I was also too tired to recall I had put a 2nd pair of shoes and socks at that last drop bag station.  By then, the weather improved and the rain stopped.  I thanked the volunteers before leaving with another runner.  Still with the blanket over me.

I reckoned I should finish the race within the 42-hour cut-off limit.  But I had to run more and walk less.  I decided that I would walk until it became bright again.  Along these last stretch, more runners passed me.  Most are relay runners who cheered and encouraged me.  Daylight came soon and I was glad to see where I was running and which direction I was heading towards.  :)  While the rain had stopped, the wind continued blowing.  I ran and walked while still covering myself with the blanket.  I was tired but my mind was clear.  Then the lady whom I passed the previous afternoon passed me!  She had someone running with her.  I tried for a while to keep pace with her but she was too strong.  Soon, she was gone and I was alone again.  But that stretch of the road had many cyclists and all of them were cheering whenever they rode past.  It did make me smile to acknowledge their cheers.  And then I realised I was running out of water as I didn't refill anything at the last drop bag station!  Luckily for me, a relay runner and his pacer ran past me and asked me how I was doing.  I asked for some water which they obliged.  The pacer then ran ahead to the next Leg to get more water while the relay runner walked with me and offering some raisins.  Someone then ran towards us.  He was the relay team's support crew and offered to walk with me while the relay team runner could continue running that Leg.  The raisin was good with all the sweetness in them and perhaps that gave me some sugar rush.  I thanked the guy when we reached the next Leg and he told me all that was between that Leg and the end point was just 7 miles more to go!  I thanked him and started "jogging" again.

Between where I was then to the final road section was about 4 miles but that 4 miles seemed to take me forever!  By then, I knew I had "plenty" of time left to meet the cut-off.  I was still feeling great but my feet was feeling extremely sore.  I eventually reached the point where I had to come down from the paved road and ran next to the old railway track to the finishing line.  But that was even worse than running on the paved road due to the large pebbles that were all around the track!  I couldn't even run by then as every step was very painful although I was sure I didn't had any blisters.  Then I saw the Race Director, Denver Benton standing at the cross junction.  He was encouraging me and any remaining runners that ran past him that the finishing was really near (which was another 3 miles).  That was the longest ever 3 miles I covered, which took me almost an hour!  Denver's description of the finishing line wasn't so accurate as well.  At least to me!  His "just a little more" felt more like "20km" distance to me!  Eventually, I made a left turn and on my way to the park where the finishing line was.  But to reach there, I need to cover another short stretch of road before reaching the entrance of the park.  Then, I had to maneuver myself around the other park users, a small car park before I finally crossed the finishing line at a time of 41hrs 21mins 52secs, just before the 42-hour cut-off-time!  I was elated and totally exhausted.  I had also loss my appetite although the warm soup tasted heavenly.  There were 2~3 more runners who completed within the cut-off time before the Race Director presented the overall top 3 prizes to the men and women runners, as well as the various age group winners as well.  I was very lucky to place 1st in my age group (4th overall among the ladies out of 6 who completed) as there were very few female runners.  I was presented with a hooded sweat shirt, a glass, a medal, a well-deserved belt buckle and an alligator head!  While I only spent just over 41 hours to complete the race, it was the longest ever race (126.2 miles or 202km) that I completed on my own goodwill!  The Race Director, Denver Benton, and his crew of volunteers and supporters really work their socks off to ensure the success of this superb ultramarathon.  :)  Thank you all and well done!