This was my 6th year running Seashore 50K. Although I'm nursing a sore heel (not achillies) I'm pretty pleased with my results. It's been a while since I felt strong on the back half of a race. I attribute this to taking the first lap on the easy side instead of going for broke like I usually do. I finally broke my trend of getting slower each year on this course.
The weather never got up to the predicted mid 40's, probably because the sun never broke through the clouds. Race start was just above freezing and it was still below 40 when I finished. All in all it was pretty comfortable weather for running.
The aid stations were well stocked. This year I subsisted entirely on some generic square vanilla oreo type thing - two per aid station like clockwork with a cup of water to wash it down.
I couldn't find Kevin at the start among the other 250 or so people. I did catch him as I approached the turn around at the half-way point. Kevin had already made the turn and was coming back at me. We had never met but he was wearing a superman shirt and sorta looked like his photo so I yelled a quick intro as we passed each other going opposite directions.
I met him again after I finished. He had come in before me and was on the phone arranging to get his car unlocked. We passed the 30 minutes waiting for the lock smith to arrive in my (warm) car and chatted about running. All ended well and Kevin dashed off to his SECOND race of the day. 31 miles isn't enough for him. He had a 5 miler lined up at 4:30 that afternoon a few miles down the road.
Seashore is a great first ultra for those of you interested in such things. It's pretty much flat with a couple little rises. Most of the trail is hard pack dirt. There are enough roots to ensure you trip at least once. The 8 hour time limit is pretty generous in case you need to do some walking. The two lap format lets you see where you are in the pack. The weather is the main variable: from below freezing with snow/ice to a sweltering (for December) 70 degrees. It's all part of the fun.
Thanks for the trip report, Dave! Sounds like you two had a good outing. You had much the same weather we did at Assateague. MM