Lake McMurty 50K Race Recap

Start Line Jitters

“Help yourself to a cowbell and some stickers.” These are the first words spoken to me around 6:40am as I check in for the Lake McMurtry 50K. I’m still half asleep and haven’t had coffee yet. Typically the night before a race I get very little sleep and wake up every hour or every other hour in fear that I may sleep through my alarm and miss my race. But this morning, I wake up on time and gather my bib, complimentary cowbell and sticker.

It’s still in the low 30’s with about 40 minutes until the start of the 50K. As I walk away from the check in area, they start the announcements for the 100K race starting in 10 minutes. 

I listen as I make my way back to my car to eat my pre-race slice of sourdough bread and make sure my water pack has everything I need.

At 7:15am I head back to the start to hear the race announcements and prepare for the 50K start at 7:30am.

This is only my 2nd 50K race. The first one I did, I hadn’t been training for and ran on a whim. After that race, I couldn’t walk for a week after. So I’m nervous about how today is going to go.

I decided to leave my beanie and gloves behind, which felt like a mistake since when we started the race, it was in the low 30’s. After about 45 minutes, my body started to warm up and I didn’t miss the beanie and gloves too much.

These trails had a lot of winding switch backs, so at certain points you’d see people running who were ahead of you and also see the people behind you. The trail seemed to continue along switch backs for several miles.

Early in the morning, we got to see the sun rise over the lake and hear the cows nearby mooing. 

Once we doubled back onto the gravel driveway, I saw the car parked near the turnaround area, but didn’t see the ribbons. So I kept running forward, but realized after a few hundred feet, that I must have missed a turn. So I doubled back and saw the turning point. Luckily I caught myself early enough that it didn’t add too much mileage to the race.

Maybe 2 miles later we looped back to the start line where the 25K runners finished and the 50K runners kept running through. 

The first part of the race had small rolling hills, but the next sections were much rockier, had more hills and had a lot more roots to step around. At one point we were running on a flat plain across the damn. I’ve noticed that Oklahoma is VERY windy. So on the flat part over the damn it got VERY windy!

We went through more winding switchback trail sections and the day started to heat up to the mid-70’s but it still felt manageable. I thought there would be more aid stations, but instead, they had some unmanned water stations with coolers full of water and gatorade to get us by.

Just before we hit the loop near the west end of the park there was a water station with some bagged snacks. I took a small bag of Doritos and Oreos to help get me by and break up the monotony of my GU gels. 

I couldn’t find a map online for this race, so I wasn’t sure if it was an out and back or if there would be loops. I was kind of going into this race blindly and just trusting the mileage on my watch.

We took a small loop towards the west end of the lake before back tracking on the route we came out on. It was so nice to get to a section of the lake where there was not a lot of other people around. When the wind would get stirring again, it made some gentle waves on the lake. 

On the way back over the dam, it got so windy I felt like my bib would fly off of my shirt. At this point I was at about mile 20 of 31. I tried to trot my way through the field, but the wind was pushing against me so strongly that I decided to just power walk and hold my bib down until the wind calmed down.

Once I made it to the water station at the end of the dam, I filled my collapsable cup with Gatorade, chugged it. Then filled the cup with water and poured it over my head since it was starting to get into the 80’s by that time. 

Around mile 22, I hit the 2nd full aid station with real food. As I was approaching the aid station, one of the volunteers announced that a runner was coming through and everyone was cheering me on to the aid station.

This is one of my favorite things about races. You can feel like you’re about to fall apart, but the volunteers cheering you on really helps to lift you up to keep going.

They offered to make me a waffle with bacon. One of the volunteers asked if I wanted peanut butter on it. It took me a minute to think about it, but I eventually said yes. I hadn't eaten as much as I should have, so I needed all the calories I could get.

After a few bites, I noticed a bottle of whiskey on the snack table. I didn’t want to be the one to bring it up. Luckily another runner came through and wanted to take a shot of Fireball. So I took a shot with her and one of the volunteers. That was a real morale booster and also helped take the edge off of my sore feet. 

After my waffle, I started my way back on the trail. It was more gentle hills and switchback trails. With about 9 miles to go I was starting to feel the fatigue and pain settle in. So I just ran when I could and walked when I couldn’t—but I did my best to keep moving forward. 

Around mile 27 or 28 I hit the next full aid station with more snacks, Gatorade and whiskey! This time I had a shot of Screwball peanut butter whiskey. It was so hot! I could hardly taste any peanut butter. One of the volunteers offered to put ice in my hat for me since it was heating up and also offered me a cold beer.

I never say no to beer. So I took one for the road and sipped it as I power hiked/walked the next 20 minutes until the beer was gone.

When we started the race, there was a man at the start kine for the 50K with his dog. He explained to another runner that she’s done a marathon before and this would be her first 50K. The other runner said, “well if she’s done a marathon, what’s another 4.8?”

In theory, when you toe the start line, another 4.8 miles after a marathon doesn’t feel like much…until you’re in the middle of a race trying to gut it out through that extra 4.8miles.

It was brutal, especially as it started to heat up. We had an 18 hour time limit, so I knew I could finish even if I had to walk it in. All I could do was run when I could and walk when I couldn't run.

Along the way, I tried to take some time to enjoy the views of the lake when it would peek through the trees. I tried to enjoy the scenery of the trails and trees. Just taking the last few miles of the race one step at a time.

Eventually, I started to recognize the end of the trail. I saw the restrooms that were near the start line. I saw some kids playing catch and knew I HAD to be close. Then I heard the cowbells!

I pulled myself through to the finish line where one of the volunteers rung the Outlaw bell at the finish line. He congratulated me on my finish, gave me a hug and pointed me in the direction of the finish line BBQ and beer!

Once I settled into a space to sit, eat and drink I made some small talk with some runners. I’m a California girl in Oklahoma so I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. But I managed to meet someone else who used to live near the Central Valley and moved out to the south to retire. He also told me of the Shadow of the Giants 50K near where I live—which I now need to add to my list of to run races.

Confidence Markers

The volunteer (Dwight) who rung the finishing bell for us came over to talk to us. I told Dwight that I was from California and I was on a long road trip to run a marathon or longer in all 50 states. 

Just a few days ago I had been freaking out and 2nd guessing myself for taking this long trip and running these races. After I told Dwight of my plans, he lit up and bragged to everyone who would listen of my plans. 

He would pull runners over and say “you want to be jealous?” then explain my plans to travel and run around the county. It felt good to have that validation and feel like I am making the right decision and am on the right track with my life.

This was a tough race, but so beautiful! I promised Dwight that I would be back in 2024 to do the whole Outlaw series. 

Oklahoma is a beautiful (although very windy) state! I can’t wait to come back someday.

Thank you to the race director and all of the volunteers at the Lake McMurtry 50K for making this race possible and also such a beautiful and fun experience!