We watched flashes and streaks of lightning as we drove to the mile 0 trailhead in Osawatame, Kansas. Sydney was on a mission. A personal record for the 50-kilometer distance. She had been working hard towards this goal for months. It was on her mind before the Galveston marathon, even. I was determined to help her in any way possible.

I wasn’t worried about a delay. The radar showed the storm moving out well before the start. Our friend Ben got caught right in the worst of it on his drive. He was doing his first 50k, and he did really well!

We saw almost all our friends there, either at the start or after the turnaround. Randy, Sydney’s coach, stopped to check on her. They had a quick chat about hydration and nutrition, then he went on about his business of running a sub 4 hour 50k. 😳

The mile 0 course is a simple out & back on the Flint Hills rail to trail…trail. There are 3 race distances plus a “fun run” available. For the 50k, there are 3 aid stations that runners pass by twice. The first aid station was moved after last year on account of some troubles with the local residents. Our friend Melissa was running aid station #1. She always does a great job!

The weather wasn’t awful for our run. The wind was mostly in our face on the way out, which was tough. The sun did peek out for a while, but not really long enough to make it hot. Just enough to for Sydney to take off her jacket. She started with it tied around her waist, but it was hitting her in a weird spot. So we put it in my vest. There were some struggles along the way. My music stopped about 10 miles in. I may have reacted a bit harshly to that. I can get angry-ish. Sydney was having water bottle trouble. The bottle carrying her electrolyte mix was clogged or something. It was too difficult to drink out of. So we ended up sharing water on the return trip.

Sydney and I were going fast. Not ridiculous, elite, bq pace. Just a really steady, consistent pace. We didn’t take many walk breaks, we didn’t linger at the aid stations. Except to give Phil a hug. Because he’s Phil, and it’s bad luck if you don’t.

On the way back, we were really moving! The wind was at our backs! We got a chance to see who was behind us. Clint was recording for his YouTube channel. He said, “There’s Rex and Marshall!” Because he was almost to the Marshall aid station.

We saw Laura and Chelsea and Manna all moving really well. I knew Josh was ahead of us, but hadn’t seen him in a while. All ourspeedy friends, Adam, Ben, Randy, were finished by the time we got to the turn.

Before we knew it, we were back at Melissa’s aid station, with just a 5k to go. I put 3 fireball shots in my pocket and caught up to Syd. She had walked ahead to have a moment. Sometimes, these things get emotional. I was very tired! I had to do the countdown trick: less than a 5k. Just 2 miles…a mile and a half…etc. Sydney and I took turns getting each other to run.

Finally, we got close to the finish line. We started really running! I said “let’s go FAST!” And “Let’s go REALLY fast!” As we “sprinted” across the finish.

Sydney and I both finished in a new best time of 5 hours, 50 minutes. Sydney won first overall for the women.

While I was waiting for a massage and chit-chatting with another runner, the temperature dropped about 10⁰ in a minute. I brought the car around so we could sit in it and stay warm, but you know how it goes. We’re in the car, and the race is over. Let’s get out of here!

We made it home before any real weather hit us. Apparently, some runners were caught in a real downpour!

We cleaned up and met with the hash house harriers at a bar for on-after. Sydney beat me at darts and I ate the best g.d. chicken tenders I’ve ever had in my life!