Double Chubb 50k, 2012

Race Report from Joel Lammers... The Double Chubb is a 50K run that takes place in the bluffs and flats of the Merrimac River, just southwest of St. Louis, MO.  The course consists of 2 out-n-backs on the Chubb Trail.  Sections of the course are flat and fast and other parts are technical & hilly. Christine Crawford, Mike Vigneau and I left WI early on Friday afternoon.  We picked up Don Frichtl along the way.  Christine drove and kept us moving at a “Ron Bero” pace (that’s fast).  Around Springfield, IL we passed a road rage incident where one guy ripped his shirt off preparing for a fist fight.  We were going to stop to offer assistance but the others in the car felt we shouldn’t because I might flex my muscle and hurt someone.  So we drove on.  We arrived around 6:30pm, picked up our packets, got some eats and hit the rack for the night.   The morning brought cool temps, light winds and sun.  A perfect day for running.  The course was in pretty good shape except for some short sections of slimy, silty mud that was left when the river flooded earlier in the week.   Those sections were almost impossible to run though without losing your balance or falling.   The race began promptly at 7:30am.  After the first 7 miles everyone in our group was running strong and looking good.  Crawford was running especially well.  As things progressed I started picking off all the young bucks that went out to fast.  At the 23 mile mark I was running a distant second to the talented and trail savvy David Pakorney.  Crawford was only about 10 minutes behind me and looked to shatter the course record.  Vigneau was still holding his own at about 4:40 pace which was excellent for his first official 50K.  Frichtl was having a very successful run seeing the year before he sprained his ankle and dropped out after 1 mile. I ran strong the final leg finishing in 4:09. Wrong way Crawford got lost for a bit but still broke the course record with a 4:28.  Vigneau faded some & got lost some and finished in 4:54.  Frichtl rounded out our group finishing in 5:11 even after falling in one of the muddy sections. They had primitive showers, brats, burgers & beer at the finish so life was good.  Crawford got us all home safely and the trip was a total success.   If you are interested in running this race next year, you need to sign up at noon on 1/1/2013.  This year the race filled in 2 hours.  It is well organized with lots of fun friendly people.