24-hour Run for Cancer
take #2. This was my first time back to
this great race since 2012. WOW is a good way to explain this run in one word.
This 24-hour ultra marathon is one of those unique races, no set miles; more of
how many miles you want to run in the 24-hour period. What a great cause (American Cancer Society)
and wonderful running Team Run4Life...raising money, awareness and beating
cancer! I dedicated this run to Marty
Bernich and Traci Bernicke Inman who are currently battling this terrible
disease.
When people see the
title or I explain I am running a 24-hour race, heads turn, people look at me
funny and normally the first words they say are "You stay up all night?"
or "Why? I don't get it".
Preparation for a race
like this, requires more training and planning than normal. You need extra fuel (In my case fig newtons,
nutra grain bars, gatorade and water). Without
these items, there is no way a person could survive the 24-hours. Yes, it is a 3.75 mile loop through the park
so you start and finish in the same location, but as you complete a lap, fuel
is needed. The race did provide pizza at
midday and afternoon, so that was a blessing!
I arrived the day
before the race and meet up with my running mentor Brian Burk and new friend Paul
Starling. We spent a couple of hours
catching up over water and pizza (Hey lots of carbs and great company). As the night progressed I decided that an
early turn-in would be a good idea with the thought of what was ahead the next
day so I went back to my hotel and prepped for the race. I fell asleep early (well for me) at 9pm
watching what else...Harry Potter.
The 0400 wake up call
came early. I was up and ready and
quickly ate my normal breakfast before a race, which included oatmeal, milk and
coffee. I made it to the park at 0500
and we setup base camp. The Run4Life
team consisted of 12 male and females so we had two tents for our food and
chairs. It was great to catch up with a
few runners that run for USMES and to meet several new runners that comprised
the Team. All the members are long
distance runners and I consider myself the "tag along" as most of the
team members normally run 50 and 100 mile races. For me this was my 3rd long distant run. Below is the amazing Run4Life Team:
Pictured below are my
Run4Life Teammates that have served this country with honor.
We also had the honor
of meeting a 93 year old World War 2 Veteran who was walking the race. Last year he walked 22 miles...amazing honor
to be a part of this picture and meet such a distinguished gentlemen.
The weather forecast
for the day was miserable...mid-80s and humidity about the same, thus making it
feel like 101 in the middle of the day. We
had a pre-race briefing from our course director, with the BIG take away...his
request that we walk rather than run from NOON-4pm for our safety. We ended the briefing with a wonderful
rendition of the National Anthem sung by a active duty military member.
0700 arrived and we were
off. I treated this race as me as a "Tortoise",
remember the Tortoise and Hare"...yep no hurry here. After my first lap I was already drenched in
sweat and provided an update via Facebook Live.
I was feeling really good, grabbed some snacks and off for lap 2.
The first 6 laps went
as planned. Slow and smooth. I was deliberately holding back and at times
walking and running. My intervals were a
8 min run and 2 min walk. This worked
great until we got to the afternoon. The
heat had set in and my intervals were more of a 2 min run, 2 min walk. My goal was to do a lap an hour in the
afternoon. If I walked with a purpose I
could walk the 3.75 mile loop in just under an hour. This seemed to work well all afternoon and it
was saving my body for the evening run.
Goal was to step up the pace once the sun went down.
We had several
organizations represented during the race.
The Red, White and Blue organization was out all day walking with American
Flags...what a show of patriotism! After
completing one of my laps and starting a new one I crossed paths with one of
the walkers coming in and asked to take the flag for a lap. He was more than willing so I did. See the picture below with my teammate Paul:
Mile 37 arrived and it
was time for an equipment change...shoe and sock refresher. It was like night and day for my feet and my
body. I felt light on my feet and
quickly made it into the 40s and 50s.
As the sun began to
fall and evening set in, the temps receded and it was time to ramp up the
miles. I went back to 8 min run and 2
min walk as I did earlier in the day.
With the sun setting and the night sky taking over, I stopped at base
camp and obtained my flashlight. With
the trail being off the beaten path and out in the forest, you can imagine how
dark it was. This does create a change
in how you run and closely watching what is in front of you. It also means a slower pace. There were a few times I felt a face plant
coming, but was able to recover with a slight fall. The other thing I tried to do was run with
someone. Being out on the trail by
yourself was an eerie feeling, slight noises were alarming and a time to watch
for animals. Back in 2012 I had several
encounters with raccoons. They sure are
cute from a distance, but up close...they get aggressive and Tasmanian at
times! This time around I didn't have any
encounters with raccoons, but I did have a deer run right in front of me early
in the race...so close that there might have been a close encounter of a deer
kind.
During the night, I
met an amazing gentlemen in his 60's, a multiple Ultra Marathon finisher, who
just a few years ago was struck by a tree which impaired his ability to balance
when he walks. He was using a jogging
stroller with some amazing lights. Over
time, I ran into him several times and walked several miles with him. We discussed running, his distances and our love
for running. I believe he finished with
60 some miles...amazing!
As mid-night arrived,
I was finally starting to feel sleep deprived.
I had been awake continuously since 0400 the day before and as I was
finishing up a lap around 0100, I caught myself sleeping. Yes, it happened, I was walking and all of
the sudden I looked around and said "What just happened, where am I". I am not sure how far I had been sleep
walking, but yes it happened. By 0200 it
was just too much, I had just completed a lap and decided a nap was in the
cards. Now, everyone around me said if I
went to sleep the race would be over for me.
I did the same thing back in 2012 and yep, the race was over. This time I set my alarm for 0230 and told
myself..SELF you will wake back up! Before
I knew it the alarm sounded, I turned it off and told myself...just a few more
mins. That turned into about 15, but I
was awake. As I set in my chair for
another 45 mins with a blanket and my feet hurting, I remember thinking...it is
time to quit the race, even telling my running mentor Brian Burk who was
sitting right next to me that I was done.
But with all my races the thought of my mileage started getting to me,
realizing I was sitting on the exact mileage from the 2012 race. I jumped up and walked over to the personnel
keeping track of our laps and asked...yep I was sitting on 63.75 miles. There is NO way this runner was going to stop
now. I told the lap counter I was going
to run out to the 1/2 mile marker and back just to set a PR for mileage. She said "I'll be waiting". I headed out for what I thought was a final
mile. As I approached the 1/2 mile
marker, I was feeling really good. The
hour or so of sleep and rest really rejuvenated my body. I began to run and walk and was feeling better
with each step. I caught up with Paul and
decided to walk with him, but it became apparent I really wanted to continue
running. I had several teammates that
were ahead of me on their final lap and catching them was the goal.. After a bit that happened, Joshua, Eric and
Ruthie were very surprised to see me. We
walked the rest of the lap together, which put me at 67.5 miles with only a few
hours remaining in the race. Could the
goal of 75 miles actually happen? I was
determined now! I grabbed some fig newton's
and water and set out on my quest.
After a combination of
running and walking another 3.75 miles was complete. This put me at 71.25. With the end of the race drawing near, we
were limited to going to the .625 mile marker and back. So to get to 75 miles this required 3 out and
backs. The first two seemed easy, but
the final one was a test of endurance. I
remember thinking as I had 1 mile left and looking at my watch...SELF you
better get moving and fast. I crossed
the finish line with 4 mins to spare. 75
miles...wow! Without my teammates this
would have never happened. Blessed
beyond words!
Thanks to Brian, Paul,
Eric, Joshua, Else, Andrea and Ruthie for all the words of encouragement,
running and walking miles with me! YOU
made the difference, YOU kept me pushing for a personal record, which turned
out to be my best race for individual stats...tied for 19th overall and 2nd in
my age group.
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