After my first 50K, I vowed to not run another 50K. I was also told once you run your first ultra I would to run many more. I guess I was wrong. I finished my second ultra and have already signed up for a 100K. The Prairie Spirit Trail run was located in Ottawa, KS, which is about an hour and a half south west of Kansas City. Unlike my first 50K, I had no crew or fellow runners to help pace. I ran alone with the use of a drop bag. I did not use my drop bag as much as I thought. I had a change of clothes, some extra food and pain aids. I did not change clothes and probably should have changed shirts. I did eat some additional food but the aid stations were well stocked. I did use the 2Toms anti chafe pads. These pads saved the race for me.
The race started in a snowstorm and ended in the bright sun. The 2Toms came into play early because the snow made my clothes wet from the start. The 2Toms eased the rubbing and I had no chafing problems the entire rest of the race.
The race was a very flat and fast out and back course. The 50K runners had a short out and back before heading on the main trail out and back. The first manned aid station was located in Princeton and that is where I had my drop bag. I thought I was running slow but I was way ahead of my predicted pace. I had to tell myself to slow down so I would burn out early. I have this problem in my long runs. I start off way to fast and have nothing left at the end of the race. I slowed myself down by taking pictures and this aid station is also where I had my first application of 2Toms.
The next manned aid station was at Richmond. This is also the 50K turn around. I was still ahead of schedule but the race changed entirely at this aid station. The aid station to the finish would be into a 25 MPH head wind with gust up to 45 MPH. It felt like a 10 degree temperature drop and it was a tough run. I could not get any pictures because my hands had 2Toms on them and it was just to cold to take off my gloves.
I got to the Princeton aid station on the way back and still felt pretty good. I was still ahead of pace so I readjusted my finishing time and sped up. I should not have changed my plan. I struggled the last 5 miles. I also ran out of water with 2 miles left. I felt the slight uphill to the finished line and it hurt. I did have a somewhat sprint finish to get my time under 6 hours and 30 minutes. My official time was 6:29:27 which is over 2 hours faster than my first 50K and 30 minutes faster than my predicted time. 
I met a bunch of good people at this race. I am going to be back here for the 100K and might pick up another two trail races in Kansas. They told me that there are hills in Kansas so I will sign up for those races.
Next up is a super hilly race in Texas.
Big Guy Hiking 