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2018 Ouachita Switchbacks 50K

By Greg Sisengrath

January 18^th, 2018

quick roadtrip

Yes, I just ran Bandera 100K a week before (that blog is coming up). But dammit, my legs felt good and I didn't want to miss out on one of my favorite races. I've only missed one year and this year would be a new 50K course. I just had to experience it. So I tagged along with Melissa for the race. We already had lodging planned with a little cabin that was only 10 minutes away from the race start. Thank you Steve Griffin for hooking us up.

being patient

I had no idea how my legs would hold up during the race. I decided to play it safe and stick with Melissa for the first 9 miles. She is much better at pacing than I am. Being patient paid off...

Running happy & Free

The course after the 25K turn-around suited my strengths well with technical terrain and long climbs / descents. I took advantage and was able to pass many 25K and 50K running just by maintaining a steady power hike.

The inbound climb up Winding Stair Mountain.

the winners

I believe Melissa passed all the females shortly after the 50K turn-around point. She has one consistent pace and it's usually good enough for the podium.

Steve was one of the crazies who finished the toughest trail marathon in Arkansas and the toughest trail ultra in Oklahoma in consecutive weeks. That's a helluva accomplishment.

All I got was a course PR by a few minutes. Granted it's a different course. It now has about 800 feet less climbing, but the new section is very technical. So the level of difficulty is too much less.