Howl at the Moon 8-hour Ultra

Three weeks from Saturday I am doing the Howl at the Moon 8-hour Ultra event at Kennekuk Park, near Danville, Illinois. I know some of you know all about it, but for those that don't . . .

It consists of a 3.29 mile loop through the park. The course is 75% trail, 20% fine rock and 5% asphalt.
I have read that the event is well run and I am excited to be a part of it.
Participants can run or walk as much or little as they want during the 8 hours.
A friend of mine took a nap at one point during the Howl.

The course record is 61.72 miles.
Your family/crew can set up at the start finish to help you out.
They have scorers for each age division.

It starts at 7:00 AM and I hope it is not as hot as it is now!
I would like to get 30 miles in, but the weather will probably decide my mileage for me.
I do plan to take it easy and not kill myself.
I will let you know how it goes.

Good luck! I look forward to seeing your race report when you have finished the race. I have thought about doing this or a similar race.

Yikes!

Good luck and have fun. Just remember if the weather is bad take it easy and be safe out there.

I am planning on being smart on August 13 @ Howl at the Moon.
Though it does not really "fit" in my marathon training schedule, I will make it work.
I will not be out on the trail for the complete 8 hours, I am very sure of that!

8 hours, hmmmm.

Best of luck, Charles!

Charles,

I am registered for Howl also. We will have to make plans to meet up. I ran this last year as my first ultra with a goal of completing 10 loops which I did in about 6.5 hours. I then stopped and watched the rest of the participants for the last 1.5 hours. This year I plan on going for the entire 8 hours. If we have decent weather I hope to complete over 40 miles.

This is a great event, the Kenekuk Running Clug does a great job and they always through great parties after their events. I am not sure if you are a beer drinker, but they always have plenty of free beer after Howl.

See you next month.

Vegas has set the over/under for your race at 35.5 miles.

Dave-O wrote:Vegas has set the over/under for your race at 35.5 miles.

Will that change if we have decent weather? If it doesn't change I will take the over.

I hope it's not as terribly hot as it might normally be...it sounds like a tough run!

Charles and Jeff: I'll be there too but I'm using it as a training run of only 5-6 loops. I'll have a walker friend with me who is planning on the same 5-6 loops. I'm planning on staying the whole day, so after I'm done (or during breaks, I don't care if I do it all at once or over the day), I'll cheer you guys on!!

Yeah! It will be nice to meet a couple of runners from the forums.
I dream that I will do 10 laps, but the heat will be in charge.
I don't want to hurt myself in the middle of marathon training, so I will try to be smart.
My wife will be there - not running - to offer her advice and support.
She will be taking photos and maybe doing a little video too, so we will make sure to include both of you.
We are staying near the interstate and will be only 15 minutes away.
I plan on checking in on Friday and doing the practice loop at 6:00.

Looking forward to meeting the two of you. I know many people bring an awning or tent for shade.
We are looking into getting a cheap one for the day.
So maybe we can offer some shade if we find one.

Sounds like a plan. I'm planning on bringing ice, blanket, chair and snacks. We'll be driving in that morning from Indy so will get there about 45 minutes to an hour before the start time.

Looking forward to meeting you two and Jeff.

D

Best of luck Charles, Jeff, and Dot. Will be interested in your reports...

sounds like fun! that is my birthday, wish i could be there. have a great run!

dot520 wrote:Sounds like a plan. I'm planning on bringing ice, blanket, chair and snacks. We'll be driving in that morning from Indy so will get there about 45 minutes to an hour before the start time.

Looking forward to meeting you two and Jeff.

D

Wow, it will be great to meet all of you. I live less than an hour from Kennekuk so I will be driving over on Friday p.m. to set up a canopy and save a good spot. I will be joined by three other runners and a couple of their family members. Maybe I can attempt to save a spot close to our canopy so we can all be together on race day. We can probably exchange cell phone numbers as we get closer to the event.

Jeff: That all sounds good. I'll PM you and Charles my cell number the week of.

I'm looking forward to being a cheerleader more than a participant. I'm just coming off of PT for some nasty PF and nerve entrapment that is still an issue and my doc doesn't agree with me really doing this race....so....5 loops will probably be all I'll be up to doing and all that he has agreed to. That gives me lots of time to cheer for you and Charles.

Jeff and Dot - private messages sent to you both about the Howl.

I'm pretty sure I've never done a trail run in steady rain. While I understand that not all of it is on dirt (soon to be mud), it should be interesting. I had wanted to participate in the Mudathlon this year, and now I may get the chance. I'm changing up my list of things to bring. What was geared up for 90 degree weather will be warm and wet. Ah, the adventure!

I see a 60% chance - which also means 40% of no rain.
Maybe we will luck out and it will only rain on Friday!
See you Saturday!

dot520 wrote:I'm pretty sure I've never done a trail run in steady rain. While I understand that not all of it is on dirt (soon to be mud), it should be interesting. I had wanted to participate in the Mudathlon this year, and now I may get the chance. I'm changing up my list of things to bring. What was geared up for 90 degree weather will be warm and wet. Ah, the adventure!

Last year it rained most of the night before and the course was still in pretty good shape. There is really only one section that gets muddy. I think the rain will help us stay cool and I don't think it will be that big of an issue for footing. Actually, I don't think it is going to be steady rain. I think it is going to be scattered showers which may mean we hardly get anything but when it does rain it may come down pretty hard for short periods fo time.

Yep, rain is ok with me.
The lower temps will help out a lot.
I am excited to see what I can accomplish - without killing myself!
Good times.

Darn it! I was hoping for a lively race report....oh well, I'll go for scattered and the 40% dry.

dot520 wrote:Darn it! I was hoping for a lively race report....oh well, I'll go for scattered and the 40% dry.

Oh, I am sure there will be enough for a lively race report. This crowd is very colorful and lots of fun.

Well, off we go to Danville this morning.
I was praying for cooler weather, but I did not specify about precipitation.
Hmm . . . I need to be more specific next time!
However, I will take a high of 79 and rain over 95 and scorching sun any day.

Hopefully back tomorrow evening with a fun report of our day at Kennekuk.