I Witnessed the BBA50K!

The Bills' Badass 50K is a legendary race that takes place in Peninsula starting from the Covered Bridge. Ever since I started trail running, I have heard people talk about its epic-ness: the weather, the stream crossings, the mud, the yelling of the RD.  I decided to volunteer at the aid station for this event, and I'm here to tell you that it is all true.

Here are the details of the race as I understand them:

It's free, but the racing community expects you to either donate your time to environmental cleanup or money to the cause. The causes this year were Edwin's Restaurant and Leadership Institute and the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership.

The race consists of 6 loops of hills, single track, and stream crossings. Runners check in after each loop. After the 6th loop, runners must ascend Candy Mountain where they will take a piece of candy out of the basket and bring it back to the finish line.

The goal is to finish the race, especially when the weather fights back. Those who do not finish the race are considered "candy-ass." They tend to take this label in stride and promise to complete the next year.

The race director, Wild Bill Wagner, carries a megaphone and likes to yell at people.

I showed up at 7:30 AM in horrible weather (cold, sleet, pouring rain, wind) to work the aid station. Thankfully, Wild Bill had set up a tent for the station, so I was protected from the elements. There was already a plentiful amount of food set out for the runners, and many participants brought in homemade and store bought food to share. We had tons of bacon (a trail runner staple), Subway sandwiches, pb and j sandwiches, pretzels, Pringles, M and Ms, salted potatoes, chicken soup. . . you name it; we served it up.

Do we have enough food? No?  There is lots more behind me in the tent!

I met my fellow volunteers, who were very kind.

Here we are in the red tent!

I had quite a few friends who ran this race, and I am amazed by their badassery. Here is a shot of the Burning River Goddesses (Nicole, Marta, and Jennifer) coming through after the first loop.

I stayed until 10:30 because I had to go home and wake up my kids. Wild Bill offered to yell at them over the phone, and in retrospect, I should have taken him up on it.

The weather got increasingly worse all day, so I am even more in awe of all runners of this race, even those who were "candy-ass," considering I didn't run a single mile that day, and I CERTAINLY didn't cross any swollen streams. Instead, I threw on every layer of clothing I had and tried to get warm for the rest of the day.

Will I run the BBA 50K one day? I don't know. The weather is a deal-breaker for me. Someday I intend to run a 50k, but I don't know if I want it to be this difficult. I do want to say that you will never find a more supportive community than these trail runners. Everyone was positive and encouraging and happy to be out there. I am honored to be a part of that family.  Even if I get yelled at.

Where did you run this week? Wherever it is, I hope you run happy, Peeps!

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