Dirty German 50K - May 10, 2025

Emaad and Leigh Ann at the start

A non-linear collection of vignettes from Uberendurance Sports Dirty German 50K in Philadelphia. The course was dry and the weather pretty well perfect, albeit a bit warm.  I was able to keep up with Emaad and Leigh Ann for a few miles before their youth and enthusiasm took them away.

Dislocated Shoulder

About mile 19 (about 3 miles into the second of the two 16-mile loops) I come upon a pair of runners.  One is walking very slowly and is clearly in a lot of pain and holding one arm with the other.  I ask if there is anything I can do for him but he replies that he has dislocated his shoulder from a fall. I offer sympathy and ibuprofen. He accepts the former and declines the latter and I go on.

In a short while I spot someone heading in the opposite direction.  He says he is looking for a runner who was reported to be injured and I give him an estimate of how far he has to go. Next is a woman, also headed that way.  She is the runners wife and I provide an update of how far she has to go.  Finally, Race Director Stephan is spotted headed to render assistance.  Later I hear that an ambulance met the runner at where the course comes out at Krewstown Road to render first aid and transport him to a medical facility.

Gravity never takes a holiday.

View from the course.

How Fast Do You Run is the Wrong Question

Someplace around mile 22, on a flat stretch of trail parallel to Pennypack Creek, I overtake Rich, who is walking.  I slow down, greet him, and we begin to converse.  This is his second attempt at an ultra, and I assure him that he won't have any problem finishing this one.  We talk about the difference between trail and road running and I present my six reasons why trail running is better:

• 

  Enjoying the day.

  no mile markers
• softer surfaces
• no repetitive running motion
• better scenery
• better aid station food
• nicer people

He agrees and notes that people often ask him the wrong question: how fast does he run?  Running trails, or ultras, is not about speed.  Except for the elites or the very fast runners, speed is irrelevant. Most of us are out to enjoy the day. We are here to enjoy the journey, not to hurry to the destination.  One may have a finishing time goal in mind, but I don't know of anyone who translates that into a pace.

Ultras are not time trials.

Training tips - stop it! We are trail runners.

Around mile 12, still on the first loop, there are several runners in a group.  One, more experienced than the others, is expounding about training for ultras.  It is painful to hear.  He is laying out elaborate training regimes involving long and short runs, fartleks, speed work, lactate thresholds and more from the dismal world of road runners.

Finally I've had enough of the kill-joy.

"For God's sake! Stop!," I say. "We are trail runners. Unless you seek a podium finish, take all that training bunk and go run on roads.  Train for trail running by running on trails. Run short or long, but keep enjoying the trails you run on.  And if you run enough trail races, each one is the training for the next one.  Enjoy the day!"

Follow the ribbons.

Follow Ribbons, not Runners

The course is very well marked, but it isn't a trail race unless you fall down or get lost. Fortunately, I select the latter.

About ten miles in the wooded, single-track trail has several runners in evident confusion.  They have come out onto a city street that paralells the park, but there are no ribbons on the street, only a traffic cone about 30 yards away. One of the runners reports having gone to the cone, but not seeing a ribbon or trail.  So we do what is recommended - find the last ribbon seen on the course.  It is only about five yards back and it hangs over a fallen log. Looking from there we see that the trail makes a sharp left and we are soon back on our way.

More Than Just an Aid Station Volunteer

At the aid station at mile 24, I linger to chat with one of the aid station workers, Jim Blandford. I saw him there the first loop taking pictures, but now we have time to chat.  He recognizes my Bull Run Run 50 shirt (he is wearing a BRR hat that I have) and we trade BRR stories. He notes that he is doing Massanutten Mountain 100 the following week and I tell my well-worn story of pacing cousin Peter there.  He tells me how the course has that portion of the course has changed since then.

Thoreau's Hut in Pennypack Park

I refill my hydration pack while we talk, grab some cookies, thank him for volunteering and wish him good luck the following week.

Jim is a prime example of what sets ultrarunners apart, for he is not just any ultrarunner.  He will be third at Massanutten the next week, nearly six hours faster than the next person in his age group. It's his third third place finish at MMT, to accompany a first place finish.  In the past 16 years he has never finished lower than seventh at BRR, including three firsts and three seconds.  He has twelve victories in the past 14 years in other ultras.  He is an elite runner, yet here he was dishing out aid to those of us at the far back of the pack. 

This is what makes ultrarunning different. (See bullet point six.)

Bacon and grilled cheese sandwiches

The four aid stations on the course (and the one at the start/finish) are well stocked with the usual ultrarun selections of cookies, potato chips, gels, water and electrolyte solutions.  But each of them is also equipped with a portable grill and are providing runners with grilled cheese sandwiches. But wait - there is more! Freshly grilled, hot bacon!  Many ultras will have grilled cheese, or quesadillas at an aid station, but at all of them?!? Oh, the joy.

This is what makes makes ultrarunning different. (See bullet point five.)

Trail next to Pennypack Creek

Trash Pick-up

As I run (In an ultra "run" means move forward, whatever the pace, including walking. It may also mean stopping to take pictures, admire the scenery or get food at an aid station.) I occasionally spot wrappers on the ground.  Some are clearly from runners who may have tried to put them in their pockets but missed, or had them fall out. (The latter has happened to me.)  I stop to pick one or two up, and it gradually becomes an obsession - not to pick up every bit of litter, as there are the random beer cans, carryout containers and other detritus, but only those that may have come from runners, like gel packs or the little tear-off tabs from gel packs.  It is a bit of OCD behavior, but I gradually can't stop, because it IS OCD behavior.  And I want to leave the park as clean as when the race began. 

Water splash at aid station

The temperatures are rising in the afternoon late in the second loop, and at the third aid station I cup my hands and have the volunteer pour water into the, which I splash on my face to cool off.  It feels good and refreshing.

At the final aid station I repeat the request but as I bring my hands upward the water flies out and more of it winds up splashing the unsuspecting volunteer than me. "If I knew what you were going to do, I would have jumped back," she says good naturedly. "I'll try again," I reply, "but try to have better aim."

First, Last and Only

Rich pulls away from me after we leave the aid station at mile 24 to finish in 8:15. Emaad hangs with Leigh Ann until about mile 22 and then tells her to go on, and she finishes in 7:37; he is 12 minutes behind.

Age group award

I finish in 8:27:14, good for 155 of 177 overall, 97 of 108 males, and first in my age group. Also last in my age group, as I'm the only one in it.  But it is good enough to win a Wetterhaus trophy for the finish.

Swag: Sweatshirt, hat, medal, bib, AG Wetterhaus