I’ve decided not to run the Mason Dixon Shortest Day next weekend. This event has been on my calendar since this summer when I ran the MDLD. I thoroughly enjoyed that run and thought I would give it’s shorter brother a go since I had an open spot in my race schedule. Well, the summer…
0-3
Well, my last attempt to run the Mason-Dixon Trail ended the same as my first two: far short of Chadds Ford. This time I only made it to Wrightsville (mile 54) after getting almost halfway and 72 miles in my other two tries. It was pretty amazing how quickly the wheels fell off. I was…
For The Fun
This weekend I’m planning another attempt to run the Mason Dixon Trail. Or walk/crawl/shuffle as the case may be. I made it almost halfway the first time I tried it. And not quite as far the second time. I’m going into this attempt with a slightly different mindset. The first time I was 100% focused…
Mason Dixon Longest Day 100K Race Report
MDLD, as it’s known, is a 100k(ish) fat ass-styled event held the Saturday closest to the longest day of the year. It follows the Mason-Dixon Trail (MDT) from the Rock Run Mill in Susquehanna state park north to the steps of Shank’s Mare Outfitters in Wrightsville, PA. The Trail Dawgs host this “dis-organized” run and…
Failure Sucks
While my second attempt at the Mason-Dixon Trail FKT wasn’t a repeat of my first, it did rhyme. TL;DR – I gashed my shin on a rock after 70 miles and got picked up after 72 miles. It’s difficult to put into words how frustrating this ending was for me. I was in the middle…
If at first you don’t succeed. . .
. . . I guess I might as well try and run the Mason-Dixon Trail again. My first attempt back in May resulted in me quitting after 99 miles. Even though I wasn’t able to finish what I started, I had a blast out on the trail and was completely satisfied with my effort. The…
Serendipity
Typically about 95% of my runs start and end at my house. The other 5% are split between races, occasional long runs at Cheslen Preserve, or random vacation spots. It is very, very rare that I actually get in my car and drive for a run. This morning was one of those exceptions. My son…
Advise for Future M-DT FKT Attempts
If you’re the type of person that only looks to successful people for advice, then you can stop reading here. On the other hand, if you believe that more can be learned from failure than success, then here’s what I’ve learned from my attempt to run the entire Mason-Dixon Trail. Some of this is from…
M-DT FKT Attempt Trip Report
The shorter version This is not the trip report that I had mentally written over the last 6 months leading up to my self-supported attempt of the Mason-Dixon Trail. That one ended at Chadds Ford and not at mile 99 on Cold Cabin Rd. If you had told me going in this would be the…
Mason-Dixon Trail FKT Attempt Preview
Good grief, what am I thinking? I’m going to attempt to set the self-supported fastest known time (FKT) on the Mason-Dixon Trail. I will be starting at Whiskey Springs, the western terminus of the trail, on May 20th about 8am. This means I will try to cover the entire 200 mile trail on foot with…