If you live in Florida, or even
outside of Florida for that matter, love running on trails with like-minded
individuals in an organized, competitive and fun setting, with a low cost,
you should look no further than the Whispering Pines 12 Hour / 6 HourRace. This well organized run takes place at Whispering Pines Park in
Inverness, Florida on a Sunday in the middle of February each year. This year it just happened to be during President's Day weekend. Race Director Terri Hayes, a long time ultra runner herself, likes to give back
to the ultra running community, that she has been a part of for so long, by putting on
low key, laid back, runner friendly events for people of all ages and
abilities. The cost to enter the races she puts on is, well, there is no
cost. Terri organizes these races as a way of paying it forward.
All that she asks for is a donation of any amount you are comfortable giving to
help cover the costs of food, supplies and other general necessities that are
associated with organizing an event as such. Terri even has finishers
awards made for all participants and after covering her costs for food
and amenities, gives the rest that she has collected to the park as a way of saying
thank you for allowing her to put on this event.
This year’s running was in its 4th year and the second time I have
taken part in the fun. I originally ran this race back in 2015 when it
was in its second year. Terri had moved it to April that year, but has since moved it back to February. At that time I had only
run one 50k a few months prior since I was just getting involved in ultras and
the trail and ultra community. I didn’t know what to expect when I
started, but I did know that I was going to run as many loops as I could with
the hopes of lasting all 12 hours. Suffice it to say, I ran 9 loops in
just over 12 hours for a total of 43.2 miles. I was so excited that I had
done it. This year, being that I have now been running ultras for just
over 2 years, I knew I could run at least 10 loops or more. My plan was
to not take long once back at the pavilion after each 4.8 mile loop. I
was going to refill my handheld with my Tailwind Nutrition and get back out
there for the next loop. With my Headsweats trucker hat on and my handhelds all set to go, I did stick to the plan for most of the run, but
there were 2 times that I took longer than I had planned to get back out
there. Being a part of the trail and ultra community, you get to know a
lot of people and it was at these two specific times that I stopped to talk to
some of my friends. It’s always good to see familiar faces at events like
this and so I always like to chat for a bit. I knew that because of the
extra time I took that I could complete only 10 loops this year. As I was
finishing loop 9, Donna Laparo, was just starting her 10th loop as
well. Donna and me ended up running the first few loops together, before going off on our own, after stopping on the first loop due to getting a bit confused with the trail markings. Since it was already dark at that time and headlamps were already on, she was
bringing her husband with her to keep her company. When she saw I was
finishing loop 9, she waited for me while her husband went back to the
pavilion. I don’t know why this is, but for some reason, no matter how
many times you run the loop during the day, when it gets dark, the trail looks
completely different, so it’s always good to be able to run with someone.
Since this was going to be our final loop of the day, we decided to just walk
it out. Even though 10 loops would officially be 48 miles, when we
finally got back to the pavilion, my Garmin was showing that we had actually
run 49.5 miles because of that mix up on the first loop and going the wrong way. Terri let us get in the extra .50 miles by running around the baseball field to finish the day
with 50 miles.
By the time we were done, there were only a handful of people still hanging
around, including the guy who just set the course record by running 13 loops
for a total of 62.2 miles. He had run by us a few times while on the
course and he was flying. He was a really cool guy though and he made it
a point to come over and tell us that we did great. I just love the trail
and ultra community. It was such a great day!!
So, in February of 2018, if you are going to be in the area or live close
by, come on out to Whispering Pines Park and run the Whispering Pines 12 Hour /
6 Hour ultra, meet Terri Hayes and become a part of a community that I think is
pretty awesome. I will definitely be there and you should be too.
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