One More Broken Boundary - 50 Mile Midnight Madness

Well, the Inaugural 50 Mile Might Madness is now written in the history books. All the necessary steps were taken to be prepared & to ensure success. Everything was laid out in advance.

Ominous weather met all of us prior to the start with heavy rains but we it stopped 15 minutes prior to the start.

The race course consisted of (5) 10 mile loops in alternating direction. Start was at Quik Trip Plaza @ 41st & Riverside Drive looping around to the Turkey Mountain parking lot & back to Quik Trip Plaza. That way, we got to climb & descend the hill up to Turkey Mountain as well as along the 71st Street bridge.

We were off into the dark @ midnight with headlamps lighting our way.

The lights were critical along the west side of the trail & in order to be sure not to miss critical twists & turns.

As the loops added up, the toughness of the race became to show itself. I believe that the saving grace for all of the runners was the overcast skies.

Once it started to get light, many of us were able to see the true beauty of the course as many of the runners had never run the trails & were NOT from Tulsa. Unfortunately when it comes to hills, they seem easier when you cannot see them & you anticipate them when you know when they are coming.

We were also blessed with lower than normal temperatures & even a hard rain (that seemed to persist for the last 20 miles). The cooler weather was a much welcome reprieve from the usual roasting Oklahoma summer. I suspect if it were a "normal" summer day, there would have been plenty of people dropping as the heat climbed.

Once again, the "boundary" was set & through hard preparation, hard work, great support, faith that we would overcome & the acceptance to suffer, the boundary was shattered.

A big thanks to Brian & Kathy Hoover of Runner's World Tulsa & the TATURs for donating a portion of the race proceeds to Know No Boundaries.

God Bless & see you at the next boundary (Mother Road 100 - Part 3 maybe).

K2