Stone Mill 50 Miler
Oil Creek. It all seems to start and end with Oil Creek. This year, I ran the 50k. As always, the trail was rugged, I had a blast hanging out with friends. I got to pace two runners to their first 100-miler finish. I could have done without the bear encounter, but I digress. Finishing the 50k felt empty. I needed it to collect all four buckles, but I crossed the line with more in the tank, and sort of a “now what?” type of feeling. My personal tradition is to take a break after Oil Creek. No running. Nothing. Nada. Normally, I enjoy the first few days, and then I get the itch again. This year was bad. I didn’t feel like I earned the break. There is a lull in the racing calendar from Oil Creek until the Beast in January. There is nothing locally, if I wanted to run, I’d have to travel. And, here I was with a travel certificate just I was just itching to use. It finally dawned on me why