over the marshes &
A 50k trail race pushes runners to their limits B Y C H A R L O T T E S M I T H
Running more than 30 miles through the swampy woods on a
chilly January morning might not seem like the ideal way to spend
a Saturday. But Michelle Fogle wouldn’t want to do anything else.
Fogle plans to be among the runners competing in Wilmington’s
Southern Tour Ultra on Jan. 13. In its third year, the event consists
of 50k and 50-mile team relay races, both run on a looped 5-mile
course along the Intracoastal Waterway.
“It’s a very big community atmosphere and all walks of life are
out there,” says Fogle, owner of a retail running apparel, shoe
and accessory store in Wilmington. “I will always run that race as
long as I can functionally run that race. It is my favorite event in
Wilmington by far.”
Fogle likes extreme events and extreme conditions. She became
attracted to distance running after completing her first half-mara-thon
in 38-degree weather, battling sleet, hail and 35-mph winds.
She calls it “the most fun I’d ever had in my life.”
The potential for bad weather always exists in the middle of
January, although average lows historically are right around freez-ing,
with temperatures rising to the mid-50s. But even if the
weather isn’t extreme, the mileage is.
A marathon — the pinnacle of distance running for many — is
26.2 miles; an ultramarathon is anything over that. A 50k officially
is a tad over 31 miles, although the Southern Tour is actually closer
to 32 miles.
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WBM january 2018