Mohican 100 Miler

I spent my first 22 years of life in Ohio and have run several hundreds after moving away from Ohio, but I have never run a hundred in my birth state. So I decided that this year I would sign up for Mohican 100. Despite living less than 75 minutes from Mohican State Park growing up, I only visited it a handful of times in my youth. I thought that by spending a day looping around the park, I could make up for lost time. So on May 30th, I flew into Cleveland and stayed at an Airbnb in downtown Loudonville with my dad and Maryann. We explored a few trails in the area despite the heavy rain. 

The race started at 0500 on May 31st, it was dark and humid with temperatures in the low 50s. The course was fairly flat for the first mile but after crossing the Clear Fork Mohican River the trail trended upwards through broadleaf deciduous forest to the Gorge Overlook aid station. There was a mild amount of undulation, but generally the course ascended from the starting elevation of 950 feet to the Gorge Overlook at 1280 feet. I reached the first aid station in 0:55:30 (mile 5.9) and there was a sizable group of runners in the lead pack. We were moving at a quick but sustainable pace. My goal was to generally hold a 930 pace for the first half and hopefully not fall too far off for the second half in order to run under 18 hours. 

As the sun rose there was a cacophony of passerines that engulfed my surroundings. The Pileated Woodpecker calls punctuated the song birds and made the Ohio woodlands sound like a tropical rainforest. I pressed on to the Fire Tower aid station which included a significant descent prior to a climb to the aid station and eventually the course high point of 1360 feet. I reached the Fire Tower aid station in 1:34:50 (mile 10.2). Between the Fire Tower aid station and the Covered Bridge aid station, the trail generally stayed between 1200-1300 feet before dropping down to the Clear Fork Mohican River at 1030 feet. However, prior to dropping down to the river along Big Lyons Creek, the route passed under Big Lyons Falls, one of my favorite landmarks in the park. In the first lap we were tasked with bushwhacking up Little Lyons Creek. This was not really a trail, more like a stream bed with obstacles, but it was only about .4 miles. Once we reemerged on Lyons Creek trail, the route passed by the Pleasant Hill Dam.

The Pleasant Hill trail then paralleled the other side of the Clear Fork Mohican River before reaching the Covered Bridge and corresponding aid station. The distance from the Fire Tower aid station to the Covered Bridge aid was the longest on the first lap because of the Little Lyons Creek bushwhack. I reached the Covered Bridge aid station at 2:36:46 (mile 16.6). At this point the field dispersed a little more and I was wavering between second and fourth. After the Covered Bridge aid station, the trail ascended to the ridge on the more remote north side of the park. The opening ascent was only about 350 feet, but the trail was rarely flat and there were about six different rises and falls of 50 to 300 feet prior to Hickory Ridge aid station. 

Hickory Ridge felt like a remote aid station because there was no crew allowed and it was accessed by a small township road, but in reality it was still very close to the main roads and start/finish area. I reached Hickory Ridge aid station in 3:30:06 (mile 22.3) the first time. The route between Hickory Ridge and the stat/finish area squeezed 4.9 miles into a section that was only about 2 miles as the crow flies. The muggy dark early morning had transitioned to a beautiful sunny, but fairly cool mid morning. I reached the start/finish area in 4:16:15 (mile 27.2) and I was sitting in third or fourth but very happy with my pace and how fresh my body felt. It felt good to get the longest loop out of the way first, the second loop would only be 26.6 miles and eliminate the Little Lyons Creek section. 

The second lap was similar to the first, I fought my way up to 2nd by the end of the loop but had relinquished about 25 minutes to the lone leader. Each lap was roughly 3585 vertical feet or about 143 feet per mile, which anyone who lives in northern Ohio can tell you, that is about as hilly as it gets. Because there was no climb amounting to more than 350 feet, it basically felt as though I was in a constant state of either climbing or descending with very little consistency in one direction or the other. Also because the park is not that big, the trail was as convoluted as possible to milk every last square inch of surface area possible. I would describe the course as the equivalent to the sulci and gyri of the brain. 

Despite being in a large group on the first loop, I was more or less alone for the entirety of the second lap with the exception of passing people that were on their first lap. I hit Gorge Overlook aid station in 5:17:03 (mile 33.1) or 1:00:48 (5:18 slower than the first split). Then the Fire Tower aid station in 5:56:53  (mile 37.4) or 39:50 (30 seconds slower than first split). The second Covered Bridge aid station was only 5.8 miles from the Fire Tower and I reached it in 6:52:29 (mile 43.2). Although not necessarily comparable, I reached it 6:20 faster than the first lap. The weather on the second lap was generally sunny with temperatures increasing into the mid 60s. However, at a few points it looked like a thunderstorm might blow in, but it never materialized. In what I considered to be the hardest section, the Covered Bridge to Hickory Ridge (5.8 miles), took me 1:02:06 (7:54:35 mile 49). This was 8:46 slower than the first lap. The section between Hickory Ridge and the start/finish (5 miles) took me 0:51:52 (mile 54 8:46:27). This was 5:43 slower than the first lap. 

Upon arrival to the start/finish, Dad and Maryann were still there crewing me, but also my good friend Kenny Janosko was there to pace. Having Kenny Janosko as a pacer is similar to having John Muir as a Yosemite National Park tour guide. We hit the trail and the miles clicked by. The last time Kenny paced me we were entering Placer Track during the 2017 Western States and memories of that day were flooding back. We reached the Gorge Overlook in 9:52:21 (mile 59.8). This split was 1:05:54 or 5:06 slower than the second lap. I knew that I would positive split, so I told Kenny not to worry too much about the pace. We reached the Fire Tower aid station in 9:52:21 (mile 64.1). As I recall we spoke Spanish for the majority of this 4.3 mile segment and at the aid station there were some baked goods that I began craving at all the subsequent aid stations. Being in Amish country, there was no shortage of delicious baked goods at the aid stations. 

On the third lap the stretch between the Fire Tower and Covered Bridge was unprecedented. This lap completely cut out the section to the dam and was therefore only 2.8 miles of mostly downhill running. The final stretch followed a stream bed and was fairly muddy but otherwise it was a quick segment. We ran this stretch in 0:36:11 for a total time of 11:19:19 (mile 66.9). Kenny and I climbed up to Hickory Ridge and my most vivid memory from this stretch is face planting after catching a root and then shortly after Kenny also face planting. Fortunately for me, I came out unscathed, but unfortunately for Kenny, he had some cuts and wrist pain. We reached Hickory Ridge in 12:29:02 (mile 72.7). This segment was 1:09:43 or 7:37 slower than the second lap split. However, with most of the splits on this lap, I lost less time between lap 3 and two than I did between one and two, so Kenny helped to slow the hemorrhaging of time. 

In this third lap, Hickory Ridge was stocked with some delicious cookies and I shoveled down several. This was one of my best memories of the Mohican aid stations. The weather was still mostly sunny with temperatures in the mid 60s. As we made our way back to the start/finish, I tried to convince Kenny to run another loop, but recovering from a recent ultra himself, he was not up for a 46 mile day. We reached the start finish area in 13:26:25 (mile 77.6) with a 0:57:23 split (5:31 slower than the second lap). 

I started out alone again on my final lap and probably struggled the most on the segment to Gorge Overlook. I had to walk more at this point than I had previously and it took me 1:14:13 to get to the aid station, a whopping 8:19 slower than the previous lap. This put me at 14:40:38 at mile 83.6. I regrouped and pulled it together between Gorge Overlook and Fire Tower with a 0:49:55 split. However, I was passed by two other runners. This was disappointing because I felt that I was still moving fairly well. Fire Tower aid station marked 87.9 miles in 15:30:33. I covered the 2.7 miles between Fire Tower and Covered Bridge (mile 90.6 16:04:57) in 34:24, 1:47 faster than the third lap despite having to don the headlamp through this section. 

At this point the baked goods were out and pizza was in as far as food preferences. The headlamp was still not fully needed and I only had it on for a few tricky spots to avoid getting my feet wet along the creek, but eventually on my way up to Hickory Ridge I had to keep it on permanently. I reached Hickory Ridge for the final time at 17:21:21 (mile 96.4) which took me 1:16:24 from the Covered Bridge or 6:41 slower than the third lap. Nearing the finish I knew the three runners ahead were not too far up the trail and that the runner behind me was not too far back. I saw an endless stream of headlamps as I navigated the convoluted folds of the route. It was impossible to tell if the other runners were ahead or behind or if they were gaining on me or I was gaining on them. 

I descended to the road the final time and crossed under it to the finish line, unfortunately, I missed the last turn and went around the pavilion and tacked on some bonus mileage to the finish. I managed 18:22:20 (101.68 miles) for fourth place. My final distance split was 5.28 miles in 1:01:02, or 3:39 slower than the third lap, but it was .38 miles further. 

Overall I was very happy with the race and I was fairly close to my goal time. Thanks to the race directors and volunteers. Thanks to Dad and Maryann for crewing. Thanks to Kenny for pacing. Also it was great to catch up with so many friends: The Smithbergers (Jay finished yet another Mohican), Fabrizios (Nick and Lewis finished the 100), and the Genets (Craig and Emily met up for dinner). 

101.68 miles 14,341 vertical feet