Sugar Badger 50M Race Report

Plus two extra miles, for some bonus fun

The course

Sugar Badger is an out-and-back on a rail-to-trail path. The course is flat and mostly dirt, with occasional gravel sections. I felt totally comfortable in road shoes, but would probably wear trail shoes next time. While there are trees lining the route, the trail is by no means through a forest or anything - the tree coverage is pretty scant and you will feel the sun if it’s out!

Although it doesn’t get much simpler than a “rail-to-trail out-and-back,” there is one complication: the detour. Sugar Badger has historically included a short segment through a tunnel, but said tunnel has been closed for construction lately. As such, the route now detours through two miles of nearby roads to bypass the closure.

The infamous detour sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the course: it’s less scenic, it gives everyone their daily dose of asphalt, and it’s relatively hilly - contributing to perhaps 90% of the total 750 feet of elevation gain in the whole event.

If it’s a particularly warm day, the roads will feel like a frying pan compared to the trails. The second jaunt on the detour correspond with miles 48 - 50, which were by far the hardest for me. The final aid station is fortunately at mile 50, where the road meets back up with the trail. An aid station just two miles away from the finish line may seem unnecessary or skippable, but that opportunity to resupply and see some friendly faces perhaps saved me from a DNF.

Finally, it should also be noted that the detour adds an extra mile to the course, so the “50-miler” actually comes out to 52 miles…which honestly just increases the overall value for the registration fee!

All that being said, the detour accounts for just 8% of the entire journey. The other 92% is smooth, soft, and scenic.

Aid stations & drop bags

The Sugar Badger aid stations earned plenty of praise. Each was fully stocked with snacks and treats, including watermelon, pretzels, potato chips, cookies, Bobo’s bars, and pickles (I downed 3 shots of pickle juice at mile 45). It’s nearly impossible to predict what your body will be craving after 40 miles, so the variety at each aid station was amazing.

The electrolyte powder of the day was UCAN, found at every stop. I had never heard of UCAN before, but “nothing new on race day” just so happens to be my favorite rule to break; I just kept pouring the mix into my soft flask without a second thought, and carried on without any discernible side effects.

This is all made possible by the wonderful volunteers. I have to give a special shout out to the volunteer at mile 26, who basically unpacked and repacked my drop bag for me, while I barely lifted a finger.

The race organizers will send your drop bags to two aid stations: (a) Monticello at miles 10 and 40 and (b) Putnam Park at the turnaround point. I packed for both, but probably could've gotten away without having my own supplies at Monticello.

The first time through Monticello I just dropped off my gloves (yup, I wore a pair of thin winter gloves for the first 10 miles in a race where I later almost got heat exhaustion...). At Putnam Park, however, I changed shirts, switched hats, reapplied sunscreen, resupplied food - all which let me head back out feeling refreshed and ready for the second marathon of the day.

Then, at Monticello for the second time, I mostly emptied my vest, prioritizing a lighter load over reserve supplies. I somewhat underestimated how difficult the final 12 miles would be, but knew I had one more aid station before the finish line, so made a gamble. And so went the protein bar I had driven across a state line and carried around for 40 miles before deciding I didn’t want it after all.

Now if only I had decided to replace that weight with extra water…

Overall race experience

In case you missed it: it was a hot afternoon! I kept leaving aid stations with two full 500mL soft flasks, only to run empty after a couple of miles and show up completely desiccated at each subsequent stop. All the volunteers were eager to help, even offering me salt tablets at one point (if only they knew the absurd amount of those I had already gone through). Recognizing a rail-to-trail is never going to offer complete shade from the sun, I should’ve brought greater water carrying capacity.

The race was otherwise smooth sailing, although I was solo for most of it. I did share some great miles and conversation with someone early in the race, but once we separated, I was sans running buddy until the end. You do see every other runner near the turnaround, which is a great opportunity to see who you could conceivably catch up to, who’s on your tail, and to cheer each other on. You also might pass some 50k participants near the finish, as they start an hour after the 50-milers. I mostly enjoyed not being completely alone on the trail for those final miles, but it can also be confusing if you’re competitive and wondering if the runner just behind/ahead of you is even in your event or not.

The race organizers announce each finisher by name and hometown as they approach the finish line, which is a nice and supportive touch. Plus everyone hanging around the finish line tend to clap and cheer, which gave me a much-needed boost for the final few meters. Finally, the race director, Scott, personally greets and congratulates each finisher with a hug or handshake, along with their medal.

Post-race

Along with the medal, each finisher also gets coupon tickets for pizza and gatorade. A local baker was also hanging around the finish line, and gave me a few pastries gratis (she was also selling baked goods at the start line, so there’s your backup plan if you wake up late and don’t have time for breakfast). Overall, the post-race party was a great environment to replace calories, lay out on the grass, and cheer for and meet other runners.

The only post-race inconvenience was waiting on my drop bags: the Putnam Park bags were brought back to the finish line about two hours after I finished; the Monticello bags were no where near ready by that point, so I ended up driving over to get mine. This wasn’t a big deal, but make sure to not leave anything in your bags you’d need soon after finishing. And be prepared to wait to be reunited with them, pick them up yourself, or be ok with “donating” them to the race director (which I’m sure is annoying and discouraged).

What you’re taking home

Speaking of bags…the swag bag did not hold back. Everyone was given a drawstring filled with a t-shirt, two patches, a neck bluff, some socks, and a fanny pack. Everyone also got a silicone wristband, but who wears those anymore?

Perhaps the most exciting part of any “swag bundle” is the…lengthy and detailed manual! All joking aside, the organizers publish one of the most comprehensive race books I’ve ever seen. It’s quite helpful, so I definitely recommend giving it a read. Just don’t save it for the night before, as it takes some time to parse through.

Finally, the finisher’s medal is pretty sick and I went home with one of the coolest trophies I’ve ever won (take that with a grain of salt: I haven’t won many trophies).