CSAUP: The Most Miserable Mile

Saturday, August 28, 2021 – Leon

“CSAUP: The Most Miserable Mile”

QIC: Wiseguy

PAX: Grillz, Splinter, Little Debbie, Energizer, Guns n’ Roses (left early for golf), Wolfgang (came late after Cascades)

CSAUP Patch earners: Grillz, Splinter, Little Debbie, Energizer

Special thanks to Red Elephant, Rico Suave, Visa, and Eagle for moral support, the photos and videos, and assistance with the workout.

The Thang:

This CSAUP was modeled after the Mid-State Mile. Description of it is in the link here: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=81483. Former Navy SEAL Chadd Wright won this past summer with 122.1 miles logged over about 36 hours. We are not going to go quite that far for this one but it is something to ponder.

The premise is simple. The first lap will be a warm-up with everyone together to get familiar with the route. Each lap is about 1.1 miles. The preliminary route which is subject to change is in the picture below. After the first warm-up lap, you have a time hack of 15 minutes to make for each mile. If you finish early, you just get extra rest and you do not bank any of that time. You keep rinsing and repeating until 10 am. If you miss a time hack or decide to quit, you do not get a patch (but you get 1 post). If you cannot stay for the entire time, you can do as many laps as possible in at least one hour to get credit for 1 post.
Completing the entire challenge without missing any time hacks will result in 3 posts plus the coveted CSAUP patch. The key to this challenge is not about speed, but surviving until the end.

Because of some last minute changes, the route got shortened to about one mile and I did not change the time hack. I did not realize that Trinity Catholic Church holds a service at 0830 on Saturdays. We instead moved over the Leon High School near the Prison Yard. I preferred it to be on the easier side, especially for the first time we are trying this out. However, next year, it will most certainly be harder. I hope to get everyone to train harder and I hope that those who went through it already can find a new challenge and do even better.

The weather towards the end did play a role. Although somewhat overcast, the heat and humidity were still at play especially towards the end.

COT:

Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is to show up. Once we were in the thick of the event, it was miserable but it was manageable. The fact that we still had even the less-experienced runners keep going was inspirational when we were all together. The most I have ever had was six people completing CSAUPs this year.

Prayers to the 13 US servicemen killed in Kabul and the many more stranded at the hands of the Taliban. Prayers to all those affected by that awful situation. This is the product of failed leadership. This is why F3 exists today.