Race Recap: Flower Moon 50

I'm back! And I can now say that I've run a 50-mile ultra (52.87 miles to be exact). On Saturday, I ran my first 50-miler at the Flower Moon 50 in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. And boy, was it hard. 

But first, let's back up: On Friday, I arrived in Pawhuska (the town from "Killers of the Flower Moon," the book and soon-to-be Martin Scorcese film) and checked out the downtown area. It's also the home of Pioneer Woman's HQ, and while I'm not into her, my mom is. So I had to stop into her shops.

While I was in town, I scoped out Osage Hills State Park, where my race would be on Saturday. Just so I'd know where I was going at 4:30 am. 

Then I checked into my super-cute AirBnB in nearby Bartlesville (about 20 minutes from race site). This place is called the Quapaw on AirBnB, and if you're ever in the area, stay here! 

It's very affordable, and you get the whole house to yourself. The host is super-helpful, and the Netflix worked great. Plus, I had full kitchen to cook my pre-race pasta (and post-race pizza). I enjoyed my meal and watched Outer Banks and then headed to bed at 7:30 pm (for a 3:30 am wake-up!).

Unfortunately, it started storming around 11:30 am, and I woke up to booming thunder. The thunder sounds deeper and more menacing in the plains! Plus, I knew the trails would be a muddy mess the next day. Glad I packed extra shoes.

On race morning, I had my bagel with vegan cream cheese and coffee, and then headed to Osage Hills State Park. Packet pickup started at 5 am for the 50-milers, and I got my bib and hoodie and waited for the race start.

At 6 am, we were off, and as expected, the trails were muddy. But the insides of my shoes stayed relatively dry, which was good. The course started on a small trail and then opened into a Jeep road for a mile or so. At that point, I thought, oh yea, this will be a breeze! I love a good Jeep road. 

But then, we hit the real trail, and I had a rude awakening. Turns out the trails in the Osage Hills and quite a bit more technical than what I'm used to. 

I selected the Flower Moon 50 because it's not a mountain race (and living in Memphis, I can't train for a mountain race) and it had a long cutoff time (18 hours). But I didn't expect the trails would be mostly all rocks — lots of little rocks and lots of large boulders to navigate around. Some faster runners were still flying over the rocks, but I had to walk those rocky stretches to make sure I didn't fall on my face!

The race involves four 13.1-mile loops, but each of those loops is broken up into four trails that clover-loaf around one aid station. The first section goes past beautiful Lookout Lake (where people were relaxing in kayaks and making me very jealous!). It also went past an old CCC camp, which was pretty cool.

And it went past a filming location for the "Killers of the Flower Moon" movie, which is coming out in October. It was a little ways off the trail and down a hill, so I didn't venture too far down for fear of getting back up. But I peeked down the hill. 

The second two sections are made up of a large and a small bike loop (though I don't know how anyone could bike over those rocks). And the fourth section was a mile-ish trail that led to the start/finish area, where there was another aid station.

So we passed the bike loop aid station 16 times, and I got to know the volunteers pretty well. 

The station was stocked with all the essentials (chips, pickles, soda, Oreos, bananas, oranges, watermelon, popsicles, water, Gatorade, and first aid supplies). Mid-day, the temps reached the high 80s, and the popsicles and watermelon (with lots of salt!) were a lifesaver. I also packed lots of my own snacks in my drop bag, which I could access at the bike loop aid station. I had sesame rice balls, Uncrustables, chips, vegan cheese puffs, Plant Bites, UCan gels, applesauce packs, and chocolate pudding packs.

We passed the start/finish aid station four times, and they had hot food (though not vegan; mostly bacon and fry bread tacos) and the same kinds of vegan-friendly snacks. 

My first two 13.1-mile loops went well, and I was on target to finish in about 15 hours. But the wheels started coming off in loop three. It was just so hot, and my sunscreen was wearing off. I could feel my skin burning, and my feet were tired. When I got to mile 31, which up to that point was the longest I'd ever run, I was miserable. Though these reptiles brightened my mood a bit.

Look at this baby copperhead that I leaped right over on the trail. Yea, I know, he's dangerous. But so cute!

Fireball also helped when things got really tough. Fireball is a trail-running superpower. All it takes is half-shot, and suddenly, things feel alright for awhile. Most Memphis trail races provide Fireball, but I didn't see any at the Flower Moon aid stations. I suspect alcohol wasn't allowed at state parks in Oklahoma, but I packed a couple tiny bottles in my drop bag.

After I finished that third loop (mile 39.3-ish), I decided to change out of my trail shoes and change socks. I put on my road shoes, and I instantly felt better. Suddenly, I had a spring in my step, and I started passing people. I felt great! I had long wondered what it would feel like in an ultra to go to such a low place and then push through. And this was it!

But what goes up must come down, right? About mid-way through my fourth and final loop, the rain began. I knew it would get dark on my last loop, and I had my headlamp at the ready. And I was actually looking forward to the sun going down and cooling things off. But I wasn't prepared for rain, which was pretty hard at times. I typically enjoy rainy runs, but not at mile 45-ish of a 52-mile race in the dark. 

Luckily, I wasn't too alone out there. There were a number of people around my same pace, so I could see other headlamps bouncing through the woods. That made me feel a little better. We were all suffering together. It seemed like the second half of my last loop lasted forever, but somehow I finally came through and made it through the finish line in 15:51:45. 

They handed me this beautiful buckle — my first ultra buckle! — and every minute (even the miserable ones) seemed worth it. By then, it was about 10 pm, so I quickly gathered my drop bag and headed back to my AirBnB for a shower, a vegan Blackbird supreme pizza, and a can of champagne. I picked up the pizza at Whole Foods in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on the drive in, and it was the perfect thing to put in the oven while I showered all the mud off me.

What an experience! If you're looking for a first 50, I'd highly recommend Flower Moon. It's so well-organized, and the generous cutoff time takes the pressure off for us slow folks. Just prepare yourself for rocks!