by Rob Powell, RD
I’m finally home after dropping off the truck and trailer, with a garage full of race stuff waiting to be put away until next year. It seems crazy to be thinking of next year just a few days after the seventh annual Forget the PR (FTPR) Mohican 50K event has concluded. “Such a wonderful event!” “Amazing!” “Fabulous!” “Encouraging, nice and so helpful!” “Aid stations like those of a 100-mile race!” These are just a few sentiments runners used to describe the 54 volunteers who helped put this race on.
I’ve said time after time that it’s easy to put a plan on paper, but it’s the volunteers who make this race exactly how the runners described it. I call it a very successful, fun-filled weekend for our ultra family. Isn’t that what it’s about: ultra family and tradition?
When race winners Chad Trumbo and Lee Conner decided to come back and race again in 2016, they were facing an even tougher course. The trails were hot and they were also going to face my sick desire to utilize every hill in Mohican with a trail. So how did they handle it? Both continue to hold their respective course records and have broken them each year they’ve run!
Why did they come back again? I believe a Facebook post/quote by our ultrarunning friend, 10-time Mohican 100-mile finisher Mark Carroll, says it best: “This is going to sound corny, but running FTPR this weekend felt like an old-timey ultra race. I really felt the sense of community and it renewed my faith that we are all for one and one for all. I worried that we were losing that, and it’s a massive relief to know that I was wrong. Let’s please all vow to never ever settle for less than that spirit!”
This quote is the best thanks that I can imagine sharing with each of the volunteers. Another year of the Mohican 50K has passed, and we continue to carry on that tradition for our ultra trail family. I started this race based on the foundation of tradition, and it’s remained my desire to encourage runners to know what it’s like to go the distance and to challenge them to go long. May we ever strive to remain all for one, and one for all. Until next year…
Forget the PR Mohican 50K Results