2015 Fort2Base Race Recap

This past Sunday, August 23, 2015 was the 5^th annual Fort2Base run from Ft. Sheridan to the Naval Station Great Lakes.  I had registered for this race last year but the weather was supposed to be in the 90’s so I opted out and volunteered at the Nearly Sane Half Marathon instead.  The weather was totally different this year and I was excited to run this.

The only “problem” with this race is the 7 AM start time at Ft. Sheridan that requires a bus ride from Rosalind Franklin University.  Never heard of it?  Yeah, me either.  It’s a medical school in North Chicago, IL.  The last bus leaves at 6:15 AM to get to the starting line plus, an hour drive to get to the busses, which meant leaving Naperville at 4:30 AM, which meant getting up at 3:30 AM.   As an aside, I used to get up at 3:30 AM frequently to take business flights east.  An early flight allowed for many one day trips to Washington DC back in my younger days.  Now, getting up at 3:30 AM is a real chore.  But I wanted to run Fort2Base at least once, so I did it.  I am always amused when I get up very early that my cats are ready and willing to eat!  Part of getting up so early is the requirement to get them fed before I leave.  My husband would feed them (this time he was out of town) but they clearly look to me for their food.

My friend, Sherry, was driving with me and she showed up at the house at 4:25 sharp and off we went.  The drive up was totally uneventful.  The only good thing about such an early start time on a Sunday was that there was virtually no traffic until we got within a quarter mile of the parking lot.  I have to say that the military has the parking and bussing logistics mastered.  We parked the car, used the port-a-lets, got on the bus and we were on our way to the start. 

The long bus ride to the start reminded us of just how long 10 Nautical Miles or 11.6 miles feels.  Did I really want to run that far this morning?

 

The bus dropped us off at the starting line (the location of which I’m still not entirely sure of) and I immediately got back into the port-a-let line.  My tummy was grumbling.  I had not fully dealt with what was residing in my bowels (in other words I had not yet pooped) and the lines were pretty long.  I never miss an opportunity to get in a port-a-let line before a race.  The number of port-a-lets was adequate (a few more would have improved the speed but probably weren’t necessary) and I had a nice conversation with the folks behind me about the proper length of race shorts and which brands we liked.   I was partially successful in the port-a-let and then went out looking for my run club buddies.

The Bolingbrook Fun Run Club (“BFRC”) had a large presence at this year’s Fort2Base runs, I think we had about six people in the 3 NM race and about fifteen in the 10 NM race.  As I’ve mentioned before, it is so much nicer going to these races now that I know there will be friends at the beginning and even better, friends at the end.  Before BFRC, I felt kind of lonely as a back-of-the-pack runner, coming into the finish line when lots of people have already left.  I didn’t use race day packet pick-up or the gear check, but both appeared to be running smoothly.

Obligatory Pre Race Selfie

We took our obligatory run club, pre-race, group picture and selfies and before we knew it they were lining us up to start.  I have one minor complaint about the race start.  If the organizers are going to make announcements and have someone sing the national anthem, then make sure you have speakers loud enough for people to hear.  I was standing near the 11:30 pacer and we couldn’t hear a thing.  Some people thought others were being disrespectful and talking through the anthem but even when somebody yelled “be quiet” loudly and the whole place got quiet, we still couldn’t hear a thing.   Given that this event had a military theme, I understand singing the national anthem.  But I still don’t understand why it is sung at other running events.  What does it have to do with a group of us running a race?

One of the really good things about this race, and I wish other races would take note, is all the back of the pack pacers!  There were pacers available all the up to 14:30 min per mile (I think.)  Often, I think that the front of the pack doesn’t really need pacers; they know how to hit their times.  But the back of the pack can really use the encouragement and support.  Well done Fort2Base!

Then we were off… the beginning of the race runs through a residential neighborhood and a few (very few) people were out to see us off.  One man was on his balcony, in his bathrobe, giving us encouragement.  I started off with my friend, Yoko, who was going at a faster pace than I wanted to run so I sent her off after about four minutes and got into my interval groove.  I had decided that I was going to run this using the intervals that I intend to use for the 50 mile run.  As such, I started running 30 seconds and then walking 45 seconds.  It was difficult for the first mile or two to get a good 30 second run going as the pack was still pretty tight.  But, I tried not to be too disruptive and ran around people when I could and always put up my hand as I prepared to shift into walk mode.

After a short distance, probably less than a mile, we started to run on a bike path.  Because it was early Sunday morning, the bike path was fairly quiet, at least at the start.   Although it wasn’t particularly hot, the temperature was about 70 F, the start of the race was very humid.  I immediately noted that getting a good deep breath was very difficult.  Being on a narrow bike path, with high vegetation on both sides, increased the humidity and the air was really still.   When the vegetation would open up or the path widen, we would get a blast of fresher air and breathing would improve a little.   If it had been hot and sunny as well as humid, it would have been miserable but it wasn’t.

As mile marker 1 appeared, I was thinking “what the heck? My GPS says I’ve run almost 1.2 miles.”  I know I wander around and always get a long course reading but this seemed way off.  Others around me were noting the same thing and finally, I heard someone say “one Nautical Mile down” and I realized the mile markers were all going to be in Nautical Miles.  Hearing that made me feel so much better.  I’m slow but I didn’t think I was THAT slow.   This morning I found out that the mile markers were NOT in nautical miles.  It turns out the whole pack went the wrong way at the start of the race and added between a quarter and a third of a mile to the event.  Oh well, it doesn’t really matter for a back of the packer.  The elite runners, however, are not happy!  It totally messes with their times.

Most of the race is run on the North Shore bike path.  As the race proceeded, I kept getting this sense of déjà vu.  I knew this bike path.  Yep, it was the same one I rode when I did the Ride for AIDS in 2011.  I remember having the same feeling of not being able to breath in the more closed in areas of the path and I remember being grateful for the shade.  Shade was not an issue for this race as the sky was heavily overcast for the entire race. 

I started to notice the other run/walkers as the pack thinned out after a couple miles.  I could hear beepers going off and see people transitioning from running to walking as their hands went up in the air.  I want to remind my friends that run/walk to move to the right when you’re walking.  It was really hard to get around people who were walking down the middle of the path, particularly when bikes were sharing the path with us.  Also, if you’re in a group, please don’t stretch out three and four across the path; that is just rude.  There was one group of women, who appeared to be in their late 40’s and early 50’s that kept running three abreast.   They were difficult to get around when they were running and they were walking.   People, please be considerate.

Most of the scenery on this race is pleasant, it’s a tree lined path, but unremarkable.  It’s a nice flat run on a shaded path.  After Nautical Mile 9, however, when we entered the Naval Station Great Lakes, the scenery got more interesting.  First, there were buildings and naval personnel wandering around, midshipmen (I presume) cheering us on and after a steep downhill run, a beautiful view of Lake Michigan.  On an overcast, windy morning, it looked just like the ocean and truly was worth the run. 

Hero Hill from the bottom during the 3NM Race

What goes down, must go up.  After the view of the lake, an immense hill by Illinois standards, came into view.  At the top of the hill was a group of midshipmen who were running down the hill to encourage those of us running up the hill.  I ran about half way up and walked the rest of the way to the top.  Even walking, this was some hill.  At the top of the hill was a large banner that said “Hero Hill” and a couple more gentlemen congratulation us on the run.  But it wasn’t over yet.   After that long hill, it took a little bit of work to get my running legs working again but I did.

The final three quarters of a mile seemed to go on forever but eventually, after one last turn, the finish line came into view.  Once again, BFRC made it all worth it, and as I ran to the finish line, I heard my friends calling my name, taking my picture and giving me words of encouragement.   There at the finish line were more service men and women to drape a huge medal around my neck and to hand me a blue sweat towel (nice touch.)

The after race food was pretty standard stuff, bananas, pita chips, granola bars, water, vitamin water

and Cracker Jacks.  There really wasn’t much of a post-race party but at least for me, the post-race party isn’t a big draw.  After I grabbed a few snacks, I went back out to cheer on the remaining BFRCers and other late finishers.

Long Lines for bus back to parking

After everyone was in, we then had to take another short bus ride back to our cars.  There was a super long line of people waiting for the bus but in reality it only took about 10 minutes to get on a bus and be on our way home.  The drive home was uneventful.  

I loved running Fort2Base and am glad to say that I’ve done it.  I will probably not do it again, however, since it requires getting up so early and driving so far for essentially a pretty vanilla half marathon.  These days there are so many choices closer to home that are just as interesting.  

Nice Big Medal!