Lapped By the Sun:
By John Prohira
An Invitation from a Northern Recruiter
Calling all recruits, those looking for adventure and anyone seeking a taste of something different. Here's a challenge--an arena in which a runner can pit strength, endurance, and wit against a worthy foe; thankfully in this case, in a battle whose scars are mere scratches, dents and sore muscles.
In mid-April, those enlisting for this cause can join me and about 200 others for the 8th Battle of the Bull Run Run in Manassas, Virginia. There they will find 50 miles of forested, rolling terrain marked with paint blazes and ribbon that just beg to be run. This is a course that one hopes to survive, not conquer, but I promise rewards on par with the effort.
The trial of wills the runner must endure along the way pales in comparison to those undergone by young men from both the North and South during the two historical Civil War battles that took place on the fields adjacent to the BRR trails and to which this event pays homage. But perhaps the runners who grace this course gain fortitude from the memory of those more difficult struggles resulting in more dire consequences. I know I usually do.
The entrant can register or enlist as a member of either the North or South and last year 22 states and Canada were represented at the BRR.
Eight hours by car will get the Rochesterian to Manassas in time for the pre-race feed and trail briefing. This pre race stuff takes place in a spartan dining room/kitchen in the middle of Bull Run Park where all will be offered a simple meal of pasta and sauce, meatballs, corn, lemonade and coffee. Near this building are a couple of other simple wooden structures housing "barracks" for overnight stays, bathrooms and showers that will remain hot even after the last runner crosses the finish line. Those who act quickly and so desire can reserve overnight space in the barracks before the race.
It is an interesting group of people who show up for these ultra-type events. They're perhaps best described as an eccentric, eclectic and gentle group of people. I wonder if their kind nature is the result of the humbling hours spent on trails during these races. Anyway, at 6:15 a.m. on Saturday, April 15th, those entered will begin competing against the course and themselves, striving to reach personal goals and to earn a coveted veteran pin with stars representing each previous BRR finish.
The trail the race is run on parallels the Bull Run and Occoquan River. The word "Occoquan" translated from the Doag Indian dialect means "at the end of water". The Doag were the original inhabitants of this valley. Early colonial settlers adhered to the English custom of naming water courses by tidal characteristics. A broad tidal stream was called a river and a small tidal stream a creek. The water channels above the tidal level flowed in only one direction and were named rundles or runs.
The Bull Run-Occoquan stream valley was the site of the first major Civil War battle, one fought over the defense of the Orange and Alexandria railroad crossing. Here on a warm day in July, 1861, the two great armies of a divided nation clashed on the fields overlooking Bull Run. Young volunteers in colorful new uniforms gathered together from every part of the country, thankful that they would not miss their only battle of what they thought would be a very short war. But the pageantry was quickly lost in the smoke, din, dirt and death of that day. On both sides soldiers were stunned by the violence and death around them. At day's end 900 young men lay lifeless on these fields. 10 hours of fighting was all it took to sweep away any notion that the war would be short and clean.
A little more than a year later in August of 1862 these armies met again on the plains of Manassas. Gone was the enthusiastic naivete of the previous year. The contending forces were now made up of seasoned veterans who knew the reality of this war; knew that this was far from the holiday outing or grand adventure they thought it might be the previous year. The 2nd battle of Manassas spanned three days, inflicted greater damage, killing 3400 and brought the Confederacy to the height of it's power, opening the way for the South's first invasion of the North. It would be another three years before war's end.
Along with the ghosts of battles past the runners will negotiate this scenic but difficult course. I guarantee that those embracing this challenge will feel the "historical presence" on these trails. I've run this course twice and each day was spent running and walking with some reflection on the past and enjoying the full beauty of the Virginian spring. The trails wander through forest blanketed with the previous autumn's leaves and with early spring's wildflowers. No hill presents a significant climb at BRR but their vast numbers exact a toll too often not appreciated until late in the race. Patience is a very powerful attribute and friend on this course. At times the ambling and mildly rolling hills can lull the runner into a false sense of ease. Although stunningly beautiful there are sections of this course that are primitive in the strictest sense with poor footing and lots of rocks to hop around. There is always the possibility of encountering that odd large downed tree requiring some climbing from the runner plus a few rock outcrops and crevices to squeeze in and around. This course is not boring.
Thirteen hours are allowed for finishing the distance. Start and finish of race is at Hemlock Overlook in Occoquan Park from which the course quickly drops to Bull Run below and follows a narrow meandering path heading upstream along the water. After about two miles runners will bunch up a bit at the first water crossing at Pope's Head Creek. Soon after they will leave the waterline for four miles of rolling hills and a couple of more stream crossings.
It's impossible to predict year to year the level of the streams the runner must cross. The water may be low enough for one to jump from steppingstone to steppingstone keeping their feet dry and cozy. Or not. One high water year I stepped off a stone midstream and found myself standing in over two foot of the Run. Just another lesson presented while ultrarunning, on how or how not to cross water and then how to run with wet heavy feet. I recall seeing nature's color spreading out on both sides of the trail, with noisy geese and lazy ducks in the creeks, with fisherman here and there not catching a thing but seeming to enjoy themselves nonetheless. The beauty of the bluebells here carpeting the forest floor can be almost breathtaking. Or is it the trail running doing that?
At 18 miles or there about (ah the relaxed and simple aspect of ultrarunning: Does it matter how far it was? 17, 18 or 19 miles?) the participants find themselves back at the Overlook and race start. At that point the course again descends to the Run, now heading downstream into the innumerable hills that separated the camp at the Overlook and the infamous Do Loop. Here one should pay close attention to trail markings, you do not want to Do this Loop more than once. Many runners in past years veered off course and repeated miles 31 through 33.5 over again a little like a computer routine caught in a "loop". Spring's beauty can still be seen and felt in the Do Loop, that is if you are still in the mood for Nature. It's here that the rolling hills the BRR is famous for are compressed into tighter climbs and drops for over 2-1/2 miles. After the 15 hills in 'da Loop, at 33-1/2 miles the runner is on his way home, along now familiar serpentine paths that brought him here.
After surviving the Loop, the miles back to Hemlock Overlook may seem longer but when bluebells are again spotted the runner realizes that he is near water, hopefully the Run and close to finish; and he is. At 49-1/2 miles the Overlook presents one last, memorably steep ascent and then the oasis of camp and finish, the end of a worthy struggle. A victory.
The finisher will be rewarded for his effort with the cheers of goodwill from those waiting for him. Often tears of joy and relief accompany those accolades. For at the day's end the cherished runner is home, back in the embrace of those who understand the challenge he undertook. Hot showers with Fels Naptha soap (in case of poison ivy), food and that finisher's pin await him.
The finishing line isn't given; it's earned, and therein lies the beauty. Simple things appeal to me. Tasks like ultrarunning, putting one foot in front of the other getting where I have to go. I like simple stories and quotes, ones I can remember, like "adversity introduces a man to himself" and from Plato: "self-conquest is the greatest of all victories". I like what Keith Pippin, an ultrarunner who contributes to the UltraRunning magazine, says about this kind of running: "Each time you run you will receive lessons. You have enrolled in the school of ultrarunning. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid. What you think makes no difference; the lessons will be presented until learned. When you run there are no mistakes, only lessons. The art and science of ultrarunning is a process of trial and error and experimentation. The failed experiments are as much a part of the process as the combination that ultimately works."
When I apply what Keith writes about running to real life, more of that life makes sense. Come join me and run with philosophers. In a race such as BRR I'm introduced to myself and I like the man I meet. And I always come away from these events in a more philosophical mood. I'd like to share this experience with you first hand. It's out there on trail that I find life easier to understand, and keeping it simple helps me immensely, on the trail and in real life. At times when it gets difficult, a person's only recourse is to call on their spirit, which fortunately functions independently of logic. Yes, on a good day I can use what I've learned through ultrarunning in larger life, understand that I and those around me react to the world in a relative manner, in a way that may or my not be logical. That we all have been presented challenges and respond to life as a function of those challenges, when we are fresh and rested the world may look different than when we're tired and weakened. Yes, lessons will be presented in life and what ultimately works will be realized. Refreshment will come. I'm learning more and more to appreciate that. And it's the hours spent inside my own head while running long distances that have helped me get a bit of a handle on that.
So there is your invitation. Let's head south for a couple of days in the middle of April. Let's go play in the woods, revel in the springtime, maybe testify. Should you be interested please give me a call or write.
I'd like to close this invitation and share with you a couple of quotes I like a lot.
"Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
and
"To achieve all that is possible, we must attempt the impossible – to be
as much as we can, we must dream of being more."
— Unknown
peace, John