Southern Ohio Singletrack Bliss at the Thunderbunny 50k - Athens, Ohio
My lasting impression of the Thunderbunny 50k will be the muddy trails. While the first half of the course was mostly runnable, the second half had much more mud that made it difficult for me to keep my pace up. It’s interesting the different kinds of muds that exist. Sticky mud that wants to hold your shoes to the ground, slippery mud that encourages your feet to slip sideways, and cakey mud that wants to remain part of your shoe. There were plenty of all three on this run.
Despite the mud, the Thunderbunny 50k was an excellent 50k ultramarathon! The course is nearly 100% single track and is exceptionally runnable. Made up of rolling hills from where the course cuts in and out of the hills surrounding Dow Lake, there is never a boring foot placement. Most of the course is within Strouds Run State Park. The course is constantly weaving up, down, and over the hills. There is one particularly fun part that is a very long descent to an aid station. The second half of the long ascent is a gravel road that you can fly down. At the bottom, you are greeted by an aid station, perfectly placed. The aid station is well situated for a brief rest before returning to the peak on this long out and back portion of the course.
This rugged course is also easily accessible from many cities nearby to Athens, Ohio. Athens, Ohio, is in the southeastern part of the state and is within a few hours' drive of several larger cities such as:
Columbus, Ohio: Approximately 1.5 hours by car.
Cincinnati, Ohio: Approximately 2.5 hours by car.
Cleveland, Ohio: Approximately 3.5 hours by car.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Approximately 3 hours by car.
Indianapolis, Indiana: Approximately 4 hours by car.
Louisville, Kentucky: Approximately 4 hours by car.
Detroit, Michigan: Approximately 4.5 hours by car.
Athens, Ohio is also home to Ohio University, not to be confused with The Ohio State University, that is close to where I live. Many of my friends and colleagues went to Ohio University, so it was nice to see this side of the area. Because it is a university town, there are plenty of places to stay and eat that make this ultramarathon an excellent location for out-of-town racers. After the race, just minutes from the finish, I had a beer, a Polish hot dog, and fries at an eclectic place, Devil's Kettle Brewing. Food was outside at their food truck and beer came from inside the building. Don’t ask for pepsi or coke, they only have beer, root beer, and homemade ginger ale.
I drove down from Columbus, Ohio on the morning of the race, leaving at 5:30am. This left me plenty of time to get to the parking lot at the lake in Strouds Run State Park and make the short walk to the registration area. Registration only took a minute, so it was a stress free start to the race day.
The Southeastern Ohio Trail Runners put on an exceptional event. The race was extremely well set up with clear course markings (signs and flags at every intersection), plenty of port-o-potties, and well-stocked aid stations. I especially enjoyed the wavy potato chips they had at most aid stations. Something I haven’t seen before at ultramarathon aid stations was Flavor Ice. They were a big hit! The volunteers were friendly, and I’m grateful for them coming out and helping to make this such a memorable day.
If you are looking for a springtime ultramarathon with nearly 100% single track, super logistics, and forested bliss, the Thunderbunny 50k put on by the Southeastern Ohio Trail Runners is a superb choice.
