Race Report: Ode to the Hoff, June 18, 2022

  Ode to the Hoff is a backyard style ultramarathon. Every hour, on the hour, runners embark on a  4.12 mile loop. You can finish in 30  minutes, or finish in 59 minutes, but the next lap starts at 60 minutes on the mark. The remaining time you have between your lap finish and the next lap start, can be spent any way you please. The last runner standing is marked as the winner, with the second to last runner taking the "assist". This style of racing poses a unique set of challenges, as well as some very distinct benefits. My overall takeaway was that I don't see myself personally falling in love with the backyard ultra in a competitive way, but I absolutely see value in hopping into one of these events throughout the season for a "supported long run". 

This was a first-year event, but was hosted by the Ode to the Laz race organizers. Ode to the Laz is a primarily east-side of Michigan series. It was nice to see a primarily east-side organization host an event here in beautiful West Michigan!

Race website: https://odetolaz.com/

Registration: Ultra Signup

Location:  ★★★★★
Hoffmaster State Park in Muskegon, Michigan
The race was hosted at the State Park, with ample camping space at Hoffmaster and Muskegon state parks, less than a mile from the race start. There is a shower house and multistall bathroom with hot and cold running water located mere steps away from the start line (important for those middle laps!). If you've had enough of running through the woods, Lake Michigan (the greatest of the great lakes, in my opinion) is steps away for a quick dip. 

Organization: ★★★★☆
As mentioned above, the race was a first year event. However, the race company is experienced. The race organizers were very clear regarding course rules and what would and would not be provided at the race. My two complaints and the reason that organization is ranked as "good" and not "excellent": there was a relatively late date change for the race. As in, end of March, an email went out announcing a date change from June 11 to June 18. Maybe not a huge deal to some, but many of us have to request weekends off from work months in advance. The other complaint is regarding communication regarding parking. It was quite unclear where crew members were to park. We had planned to crew out of the van, but that appeared to be a no-go. It was fine, but clarification regarding whether people can crew out of cars or if they really need a tent, is a must for future. 

Course: ★★★☆☆
The course was beautiful, but really was almost a weird long S shape with two out and backs. The single track is wide enough that it wasn't a huge deal, but I didn't love having that many sharp turnarounds. The course consistested of about 0.7 miles of pavement along the park road (minimal car traffic). The rest of the course was wide singletrack. There was quite a bit of elevation packed into a small out and back -- essentially, you climb from the park to the top of a dune/bluff overlooking the lake, then start to descend down towards the lake, then climb back up. The course is very rooted, which became quite technically challenging later on in the day as the shadows grew long. Additionally, there is a nice little set of 7-10 wooden stairs in there too. I imagine those could get pretty slick in the rain, but you could easily run off to the side of them if you're a confident descender. 

For the first two laps, the course was short by about half a mile due to a misplaced cone. This was corrected for further laps.

I will note that the night loops were 100% pavement on the park roads (no vehicle traffic in the park after 10 pm). I bailed after completing 11 yards (loops) and the night course didn't take effect until yard 13. Therefore, I really can't attest to this further

Food: ★★★★☆
Traditional ultra fare was available. Not much was really required since most people had their own snacks with their crew. However, the food rating got bumped up from three star "average" to four star "good" because Pigeon Hill brewing had kegs flowing all day! Additionally, there was plenty of sponsored corepower to go around. 

My race:

Not the ideal race prep coming into this. I worked overnights through the weekend, Tuesday-Friday was in Makinac at a conference, and jetted back downstate just in time to grab the van, head out to Muskegon, and get some sleep. The morning was chilly but clear. I started the day with my award-winning pre-race prep of half a white monster, kodiak cakes oatmeal, and some liquid IV. 

View of Lake Michigan -- one of my favorite parts of Muskegon!

The race started with a very informal rundown of the rules, and an airhorn to start us out. There were about 80 people at the start, but there were two categories: The backyard ultra crew, and the 3 hour adventure crew. So, the pack really thinned out after the third yard.

Starting out I had the tiniest little niggle in the right calf but otherwise felt great. I ran the first three hours with coach Erin Young and friend Joe Miles. Chatting with friends really made the yards fly by. Huge props go out to Joe for sticking with us for his longest run to date! The pace was conservative. I was shooting for 20-25 minutes of rest between yards and really nailed this throughout the day. The first 2 yards were short, so had more like 30 minutes of rest for those. Not a bad deal early in the day!

The singular image of me in the event. Joe (in red) of course looked great for the camera; I don't think I noticed it was there!

Joe dropped off on the fourth yard, and Erin on the fifth. On my own with the day starting to heat up, I started making some new friends. The most fun part of this event was that I was rarely alone, since everyone gets a "reset" to regroup for every yard. 

I started struggling with some stomach issues between my cycle and overdoing it on cold fruit (it tasted so good!) so the vomiting began around yard eight. Around this time I really felt the toll in the my right ankle and calf from running off camber on the trail for a mile every lap. I really wanted to push through to 10-12 yards though, so trudged on with a few extra walk breaks.

Refueling in the corepower tent between yards

After the 11th yard, I made the decision not to head out for another one. I had met my goal, and was ready to go to sleep. I had to wake up for work at 4:15 am the next morning and had an hour drive home!

Overall, I really enjoyed Ode to the Hoff. If you're thinking about dipping into the backyard ultra scene, this just might be the race for you!