Hachie 50 Miler 2018 Recap.

So it’s time to recap the Hachie 50 miler! What a rough and tough day that was. And I have lived to tell you all about it! This was my 3rd year in a row running this race. I remember running my first 50 mile race kinda like it was yesterday! And I return to this race EVERY time because I love this amazing, supportive community of runners and of course you cannot go wrong with awesome swag EVERY year! I also love seeing the turnout every year of great friends and people stepping their game up to run this distance. Running 50 miles definitely changes you from the inside on out.

Saturday morning I made my way out to Waxahachie for the 5 AM start. Thankfully the race is not far from home at all – it is probably about a 35 minute drive. I arrived and parked up close because I KNEW I was going to be hobbling back when it was all said and done. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to do after running an ultra is drag my extra tired body millions of feet back to my vehicle. It’s like honestly- could I get a STRETCHER or something over here please?!? Anyway, I arrived just after 4 a.m., and since it’s a small race I grabbed my race number and still had time to take a quick pic before the gun went off.

The timers started and we took off into the straight up DARKNESS! The park is a mostly paved 10 mile route with a very small little trail part to keep things interesting. It is super shaded too in the back half so that when the weather gets warm (which basically happens every year, as it is MAY in Texas) you are covered up mostly. The aid stations this year were stocked with plenty of ice cold water and electrolytes which I was so thankful for. I tell you what- a little bit of ice in a cup goes a looonnng way. This year, I adjusted my strategy a bit and decided really to just run by feel and see how things went. Since I ran 34 miles on my birthday a week prior I didn’t do too much tapering. And with a 56k coming up in less than 2 weeks I just wanted to stay injury free and finish the race strong. So I had to swing by aid stations, did mostly a lot of running and some shuffling towards the end past mile 40 when my legs got tired. This year, compared to last year I did not have a pacer (I was in a relationship last year so this year I went as a single gal) but for this race honestly with it being 10 mile loop 5 times I didn’t feel like I needed a pacer. You can just as easily finish strong solo especially with tons of aid stations and encouragement. This race every year has amazing volunteers and people that are SUPER pumped and positive the entire time. Someone out there even told me that they were a reader of my blog (fun, HI if you are reading!!!) So it was great to go out there and essentially go at it alone…BUT not really feel like I was ALONE. If that makes any sense.

When it was all said and done, I still managed to finish among the TOP finishers! 3rd place overall female, and finished among the TOP women and men for the 3rd year in a ROW!! I was ecstatic to see that as I crossed the finish line. All of the top finishers received a piece of log with their winning stats on it which I thought was so awesome. All of the 50 mile finishers also received a personalized outdoor chair with carrying bag, a BUCKLE/medal and Cinco de Mayo style shirt among other fun things. So every year they kind of step it up with the swag which is neat.

Overall it was really fun to run a 50 mile race on Cinco de Mayo and earn my margarita! This is one of my favorite races to date and I can’t wait to run it again next year.

Finish time: 9:06:30

Overall 50 mile results here.

How was your weekend? Did anyone run a fun Cinco de Mayo style race?!