West Texas Ultra Review

Craft Run shirt as base
Magellan long sleeve shirt as Mid
Magellann Fishing shirt with hood and gaiter as out layer
Biking vest for outlayer and extra core protection
Leggings: adidas Men's Core Own the Run Tight Black 
adidas Men's Own The Run 7” Shorts
Darn Tough Socks
generic beenie from Ross
Hand held: Nathan SpeedDraw Plus Insulated Flask (Froze during third loop)  Hydration: LMNT in addition
Hoka Speedgoat 5

Changed socks into another pair Darn tough socks and speedgoat 4s on 4th loop. 

They had a packet pick up the night before the 50K for 2 hours, which was also for 2 hours before a night 10K they were hosting at the same location.  This is my 4th run with them and check in/packet pick up has been very smooth each time.  The are always very helpful if you have questions and the process is quick and efficient. 

The course ended up being 5 loops of a 10K track, to make the 50K distance.  Each loop crossed the Start line around 2.5ish miles.  So every 2.5ish to 3.7ish miles, you were hitting up a refuel station, restrooms etc.  The support team was great, braved the elements and cheered on the runners.  They even brewed up some coffee (which I appreciated) to warm the belly.   The race director did great to keep track of the runners and check in with them to ensure they stayed on course.  The support on all 4 runs I have done has been top notch. 

I had a very good training block, up until my taper.  I did a lot of training miles in the Mount to Coast R1R (review found: https://www.weeviews.com/reviews/3968/mount-to-coast-r1r ), my peek miles felt good.  I normally do a 2 week taper and in the first week of my taper, my back went out.  Not a great thing to have happen when you have 30 miles to run in slippery conditions coming your direction.  So, my taper miles basically fell off a cliff instead of tapering down.  I was slightly concerned with the miles, quite a bit concerned about the back going into the run.  Luckily by the time the run was to be done, my back was probably around 85% good, but with the conditions forecasted I was going to take this run slow and steady. 

As noted before, the course is 5 loops of a 10K, with what looks like a crazy noodle art design.  It could get a little confusing on course figuring out how far along you were because of how much the trails interweave with each other.  

It was a mix of rain/sleet in the beginning of the run in the dark.  The first portion of the loop blocked a good bit of the wind and had some fun curves, single track and bike lanes full of nice muddy water.  The second half of the loop opens into a pasture like setting, which did not block the winds at all.  The route takes us along the outside of the trail, along a roadway, directly into the strength of the wind.  This resulted in teary eyes, the face getting pelted with sleet and me rethinking life's choices.  

No lies here, midway through the run I did give thought to dropping to a 25K.  I sat in our car where my wife was, in the heat, as we melted off the icicles from my beard with a growing concern that I was taking a chance with my back.  The course was only going to get more wet and muddy, making me slipping a strong potential.  I was going to run a little more and see how I felt, but that thought was very strong at this point in the run. 

Then a few things happened. 
1. I went to the first aid station and they had coffee, which I had.  Not sure why this helped so much, but it did. 
2. I was kind of talking through my thoughts with some other runners and they all rooted me on, but also understood where was coming from.  It was very supportive
3. My dumb#*s remembered I had a neck gaiter to block some of the wind from my face, so I pulled that up and started to run. 

The temp dropped to 28 between the 2nd and 4th looped, which resulted in the course being covered in snow.  We actually had some snow drifts in areas with the winds and snow accumulation.  Then it warmed up a "bit" and the course became very muddy on the last circuit.  Because I was not setting any land speed records, I took the time to take some pictures on my last loop.  This is one of my slowest 50K's, but also one of the ones I am proudest of for finishing. 

With the weather conditions and my back issues, I am very happy with myself for finishing the run.  My knee gave out a bit from all the slipping in mud, so basically walked most of the last loop.  After I took off after the second loop, I knew I was going to push until the end and very happy I did.  From a metrics standpoint, not my best run.  From a mental standpoint, It is one of my best finishes because I was really struggling for a while and fought through it to finish. 

If you get a chance to run with this company, they come highly recommended from me.  They have a lot of runs and look to always be expanding.  They have runs in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and even Michigan.  They have bike events as well mixed with the run events.   They do a great job and again, I was very impressed with the quick change up they did with the event location change.