The 2018 MT Tammany 10 Update!
We are still in basking in the bright sun the MT. Tammany 10 provided us this past weekend, it truly does kick off the season in great fashion!
MPF RNR Weekend Highlights
At the MT. Tammany 10, Kehr Davis won and set a new course record for the women! Jay Lemos raced hard for 7:33:04 setting a new PR and placing 2nd and Julian Vicente finished his 3rd sub 10 hour race. Matthias Lipsey was out in PA and won the Mile Run Trail ½ Marathon!
MPF Clients in Action
Eli Chamberlain crushed his first 50k by placing 2nd at The Xterra 50k (coach Elizabeth)
Emmanuael Odebunmi cruised to line of The Xterra 50k placing 7th (coach Elizabeth). He is getting ready for the grand slam of ultra running!
Jill Lizotte placed 3rd in the Tarc 50 Mile Endurance Run (coach Ben Nephew).
A few thoughts from Jay Lemos...
"Oh tammamanannanany, a beyond awesome super low key event that packs one of the biggest punches of the year. What makes it even better is the crowd it brings together. a group of people that are willing to run almost 40 miles of rocks, snow and ice with almost 13k of climbing, even if we don't know each other it's like we've all been friends forever. My personal experience from this year for example, Steve Lange and i ran together the entire time, talked about 70% of the time like we'd know each other forever and were the best of training buds (never met prior to this). He eventually went ahead super strong like he was all day and won while I just tried to keep my shit together and finish shortly after. Although the idea of loops may sounds like a drag, the fact that you get to see your friends throughout the whole race is really cool. Alex really knows how put on a trail sufferfest with amazing volunteers, aid, and he's just an awesome guy to hang out with".
Kehr Davis
"It's always great to see teammates at the races and I truly appreciate the unique ultra-running community. Mt. Tammany was a great experience. There is definitely something to be said for counting loops rather than miles! The route was great! I hiked up with just a few bouts of running and cruised down. I loved that we were either going up or down at all times - sounds silly but I hate long flats. The food and support were great and well organized, and it was especially nice to see familiar faces running the course in the opposite direction providing words of encouragement and funny encounters. This was my first race of the season and the first endurance run since October, so I was very uncertain about my level of fitness and mental capacity. I am heading to Portugal for the Madiera Island Ultra-Trail race at the end of April and Mt. Tammany made a great training run. Hopefully, I won't see any snow in Madiera!"
Julian Vicente
“The trail was arduous, the runners efforts were relentless. As the day progressed our bodies broke down like an aging ship at sea”. Ya, run up red, then blue and run back down. After leaving the aid station you continue round and round. You do the Tammany 10 and you shake it all out , that’s what it’s all about."
A quick recap of my day at Tammany
The soreness still lingers in my muscles, my senses are heightened, my mind is completely clear with only flashing scenes of the race course. I already miss the trail and the great community of people whom I’m lucky to call my trail family.
Boom, I threw my name in the hat a little later than usual and guess what I was put on a wait list, WHAT TAMMANY? NOT TAMMANY too! What is the trail running scene coming too? I remember when it was only a couple of us at the start line, now there is a waitlist. Don’t get it twisted, it’s great to watch the sport grow, but I thought this day would never come. How many people really want to climb the same mountain 10X? I guess 63.
The best part of this large field is that there were 13 strong women toeing the line, some of which were the most competitive on the # BeastCoast, go trail sisters!
Tammany or not to Tammany
The week leading up to the race up until night before the race, text from my team came pouring in, as well as actual phone calls :) Are you doing it? Will we see you tomorrow? I stared at each and asked myself the same, the only answer I could come up with is that I was on the fence. I really felt like I was sitting on a fence looking back and forth weighing the pros and cons. Why? Because I didn’t make this a goal race, I knew exactly where my fitness lied, I was confident I could complete my goal of 7, but on the other hand I didn’t want to DNF.
I proceeded to pack as if I were going, one last text from my good friend Julian, leave it to him to give to me straight, “this isn’t UTMB, its Tammany, get over yourself, just come do loops with your friends” so I responded “have a good race”. I told myself I’d make my decision at 3:30 in the morning. UMM, DO I HAVE ANXIETY OR WHAT? OVERTHINKING IS MY MO, it’s a wonder I get anything done or as Ben says you should race more.
The alarm went off at 3:30, I pressed snooze... I’ll sleep 10 more min, finally I said screw it! I’m doing this for me, even if I do 6 laps, I will enjoy each. I Loaded my car drove 1:20 min, entered the trailhead to MT. Tammany. I Immediately saw #vanlife Garry Harringtons and Julians #vannessa, I knocked on Julians door, he almost fell over in shock. Ha!
We walked over to the start line to check in, I began seeing all of my wonderful friends and just like that all of my anxiety was replaced by joy.
I almost beat Scott Livingstons rapid fire report. The Livingstons are the best!
I took a couple of photos then proceeded to placed myself in the back of the pack, after a ½ mile road section we began the first ascent up, the trail was actually in great condition, the chilly temps made for a nice hard packed snow/ice, but we all knew as the day wore on this was going to get nasty, but for now this was a runners paradise especially the descent.
Each year the varying trail conditions make for a very entertaining day of running.
Why this race is far from boring?
Each lap is completely different.
You have a cheering section on every lap by your fellow runners and hikers as this is a very popular trail.
You smell pot, alcohol and bad perfume almost every loop.
You get to watch the race while you’re in the race.
Even the view from the top of Tammany changes.
Warm greetings from a variety of dogs.
I’ll save you the time of reading my loop by loop playback. I finished the race and went on to live happily ever after, I hope to go for my 4th finish next year! Next up Worlds End 100k.
Gear used
Nutrition
Coconut water with and without pineapple
2 Bananas
Thank you to the entire Tammany community, my fellow MPF RNR teammates and our sponsors Salomon, Run on Hudson Valley, Red Newt Racing, Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Company, as well as everyone who came out to volunteer and support this great race. This is my 4th Tammany 3 finishes, 1 DNF due to fall that wrecked my knee..
