Virginia 24-Hour Ultra Marathon Run

(Me, Susan, Lloyd, Kim, Brian, Kelly)

WOW!!  That is a good way to explain this run in one word. A 24-hour marathon is one of those unique runs…there was no set miles; it was more of how many miles you want to run in the 24-hour period. My friend Brian Burk introduced this run to me earlier this year. At first I was unsure if I wanted to tackle something like this, but as the weeks and days leading up to the event got closer, I started to warm to the idea. It was for a great cause --the American Cancer Society. My wife had a wonderful idea of running it for the breast cancer survivors she has had the honor of helping through the years and I thought what a wonderful way for me to give back to the women who have gone through the pain and suffering it has caused. A big shout out to Joyce Chapman, Pam Kloiber, Melissa Horton, Amy Carlin, Beverly Pitts and Kimberly Clemmens, running for you was an HONOR! I want to thank Debbie Wingard for making the shirt that I wore the first 30 miles or so. I had plenty of people recognize the shirt and say thanks for running the event in their honor. AND Yes it was pink and Yes this MAN wore it. I even found out right before the race that one of the women I was running with was a breast cancer survivor. CONGRATS to Brian Burk (Our Leader) 75 miles, Susan 52.5 miles, Lloyd 52.5 miles, Kim 52.5 milesand Kelly 52.5 miles,. We battled through the miles and everyone did awesome. I couldn’t have reached my 63.75 miles without your help and encouragement. The photo above was right before the race…we all looked so happy.

So let me provide some play by play.

First 11 miles: Went really well, we were all on a good steady pace. One of the things I really liked about this race was after finishing a lap (3.75 miles) you were able to rest at your base camp (that is what we called it). I was able to hydrate, eat snacks or get on Facebook and update my friends.

Mile 15: Stopped for a tire change. My shoes were feeling like they were pressuring my big toe so I switched to my older pair and it made a huge difference.

Mile 22.5: I made it to this point in 4 ½ hours. Good pace and I felt like I wasn’t rushing the race (I had to remind myself of the “The Tortoise and The Hare” many times). I took a 1 hour break for fuel. I had a huge baked potato with chicken (compliments of Michele Burk). After digesting and resting it was time to get back on the course. One thing to note here…do not just lie around for an hour. You need to stretch, move your feet etc. I made the mistake of just resting and drinking. Once I started running again, it was a bit painful, but after about a mile I was fine again.

Mile 30: Nothing really changing at this point in the race. I was happy to be over 30 miles. I felt good and hydrated but it was starting to get a bit warm. The high was forecasted to be 82 degrees and it was feeling that way.During this time I was thinking…so this is what it feels like to run further than a marathon…hmmm not to bad. I was still on a good pace.

Mile 37.5: Time for maintenance. New socks and shirt...this was new to me. For a marathon I run it without changing. In an Ultra it is all about taking care of yourselfand remaining the “Tortoise”.  It made a huge difference to have fresh socks on my feet. By this point in the race it was the hottest part of the day and I was sweating pretty good. Having a new shirt was just as refreshing as the sock change out.

Mile 45: I hit the rest hour…it was time to fuel again. Again, Michele came to the rescue and brought us Chick Fil-La. I ate quickly and stretched etc. Brian made it to base camp about 15 mins ahead of me, so instead of taking the hour I left base camp with only 45 mins of rest.

Mile 56.25: Well the Iphone died so I was not able to post my status to everyone on Facebook. But, things were still going rather good. I was pushing out 45-50 minute laps, and the pattern of walking and running was going good. Thinking back through the evening, I could have hydrated a bit more. With the temperature going down and the sun disappearing from the afternoon sky, I was not drinking as much as I should/could have.

Mile 60: I finished strong here, but could tell the body was getting a bit tired, not from the running but from the number of hours I had been awakeetc. Susan, Lloyd, Kim and Kelly were at base camp and where preparing to go out for their final lap. I decided it would be cool to see them finish so I went out with them. We walked the entire lap.

Mile 63.75: The end of the road…as I made it back to base camp, I could really tell I was getting tired. I set down and Susan offered me a Gatorade. Right before this I had gone to my car to get my Oklahoma Sooner hoodie for the remaining 3 laps. It had started to rain on us during the last lap, so I wanted to keep warm. After drinking a little I stood up and it hit me…the world was spinning. It was at this point, Susan thankfully advised me to lay down.

Well there is my little snap shot of my first Ultra Marathon. Amazing experience and I felt protected by God throughout. Praise goes to him for my strength and determination!