Forgotten Florida 8 mile – 2023 – Hacking Ultra – Smiths’ Meadow

Race Day Agenda – Sunday 2/5/2023

Travel Information – Friday –> Monday – 2/3-6/2023

Lodging (AirBnB): 317 South Washington Avenue 202 B, Titusville, FL 32796

Birthplace: Parrish Medical Center, 951 N Washington Ave, Titusville, FL 32796

Race Location: Tosohatchee WMA, 3365 Taylor Creek Rd, Christmas, FL 32709

1/25/2023 – changed registration from 50 mile to 8 mile

https://myfwc.com/recreation/lead/tosohatchee/

Crew Information

One crew car per runner.
Crew can access their runner at all aid stations that are marked as “crew allowed” and the other crew access points noted on the aid station matrix.
Crew, please respect all runners while driving near them, and give them the right of way and ample space.
Be mindful of where you are parking at aid stations! DO NOT block roads, trails, driveways, etc!

Runner’s Handbook: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O6ZlZwCd5GrtEFE8Z3M04N2Pr2XqQZNmyGb_jeTmxP8/edit?usp=sharing

Critical Path

100/50 Mile Required Gear:

Purchase shuttle to start – 12/27/2022
FL Fish and Wildlife Waiver
Booked lodging – Titusville – 12/28/2022

smart phone
GPX route of the 100 mile or 45 mile route preloaded onto watch or phone can be found on our website
Far Out app downloaded to phone with “Florida Trail: Central Florida Map” paid for and downloaded to phone prior to race $7.99
300 lumen headlamp or brighter -required 3pm onwards on Saturday until daybreak Sunday
spare batteries
1.5 L capacity for water

RD Sean’s Tip – “ You want an EXTREMELY bright head lamp. Normal road lamps will not cut it. I used the Kogalla light on front of me, and a headlamp on top when I set the Florida Trail FKT. You will definitely want something this bright! Being able to navigate the trails at night will be near impossible without maximum light. It may add extra weight but then you won’t be wandering around in the woods alone and lost. Help me help you! Race day is 11 hours of daylight maybe 11:30 of usable light so that means for 12 plus hours of this race you will be in darkness. Are you prepared for this?“
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O6ZlZwCd5GrtEFE8Z3M04N2Pr2XqQZNmyGb_jeTmxP8/edit?usp=sharing

Note that we have implemented tighter cutoffs in the beginning of the race, and they ease up as the race progresses. Also, per permit we are only allowed to be in the State Forest (Start to Seminole Ranch AS) during daylight hours. We have created an hour buffer to get runners through this area before dark. For the first 39 miles, runners will need to maintain a 16 minute mile.
All cutoffs are the time you must have left the aid station by, and not the time you must get to the aid station by. We want everyone to finish, however if you do not make a cut off by 30 seconds or 2 hours you still did not make the cutoff. Please respect this and help us keep the race safe and the volunteers happy.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O6ZlZwCd5GrtEFE8Z3M04N2Pr2XqQZNmyGb_jeTmxP8/edit?usp=sharing

Philosophy

Circumstances dictate our approach. Coming off the (r) 5th metatarsal fracture, one month is not enough time to execute a conventional 50-mile training program (i.e. a personalized program based on the recommendations of Jason Koop in Training Essentials for Ultrarunning). We will have ~30 days from the first day back running to the start of the Forgotten Florida 50 Mile.

Beyond this specific event and preparation period, the strategy is to build a base of full body mobility and strength, then establishing well-coordinated, biomechanics, particularly waking and running (form). From there, we can begin to influence the cardiovascular system, stimulating adaptation to expand the “aerobic zone”, raising lactic/anaerobic threshold and VO2 Max. Injury prevention, recovery efficiency, and sustainability of activity are the primary goals, lending to the objective of completing the event at hand with the strongest finish possible. This is a 12+ month program, and the Forgotten Florida 50 Mile is 30 days into that program.

One of the original thoughts from which the Hacking Ultra project was born is that I believe that provided enough motivation (i.e. the life of a loved one depends on it), I can complete a 100-mile journey on foot, in my current condition. For the Forgotten Florida 50 Mile (2023), we will line up on the starting line without certainty that I can finish the course. I believe that I can accomplish this, but whether or not I am able to remains to be seen. “I will never quit” is a mantra that I plan to use.

This event will be early in a nutritional experiment that might be advantageous to the nature of the event, or it might be a horrible idea. We expect to gain further insight into this question at the Forgotten Florida 50 Mile, but we do not expect to reach significant conclusions in this regard with such a short preparation period.

Our Forgotten Florida 50 Mile will be highly experimental.

1/25/2023 – changed registration from 50 mile to 8 mile