Sioux Falls South Dakota Marathon

A person’s word should always be their bond, if you say you’re going to do something , than do it.  Just like anything in life, if you make a vow you should always keep it even if it is not always easy or fun, this applies to everything, marriage, parenting, your job, almost everything in life that is worth doing.  I have said that I wanted to run a marathon in every state and then made a promise to do so after one of my friends, Mike Edenfield, passed away.  He had been on this same quest when his life unexpectedly came to an abrupt end.  I became more determined to finish out the 50 state quest, partly as my own goal and also in memory of him.  Looking at some of the states, it seems really fun getting to see some awesome destinations but however, there are a few places that do not seem like great vacation hot spots but they must be done.

Just 3 weeks after my trip to Las Vegas had me scheduled to spend 2 weeks in the Midwestern portion of the country and spending a weekend with nowhere to be and nothing to do and thus looking for a nearby marathon.  The closest race  was a mere 12.5 hour drive away in Sioux Falls South Dakota.  I had planned to leave work on Friday and drive up to Omaha Nebraska to spend the night before finishing the final drive up to South Dakota the next day.  The trip was not that bad, going up through Kansas City and up to Omaha, I’ve spent a few trips in that area and really like Omaha Nebraska but north of that is a bit of a no man’s land.  I did not really know what to expect coming into Sioux Falls and found it to be a pretty small town but thought that it was kept looking pretty nice and the park around the falls was a positive experience.  I had anticipated the course to be pretty flat and assumed that it would also be a little bit cooler since it was now September and it is pretty far North.

I was a bit mistaken on my assumptions for this race, there were plenty of hills and the temps were in the mid 80’s plus there were almost no trees to keep the sun’s rays at bay.  I had hoped that this would be my chance to get back into the mix for running a fast marathon again but a week before I had a freak strain in my left hamstring that had me sitting out and not running at all in order to recover in time.  I just wanted to finish the race and go back home.  This race had a couple of pacers to stay with in order help some folks keep with their goals.  I started running with the 3:05 group but everyone including the pacer dropped off by mile number 8 due to the heat and humidity being a bit too much.  I slowed down as well and dropped back to the 3:15 group until the pacer apologetically had to tap out at the 12 mile marker.  There were also quite a few hills but the I did find the downtown area and the run through the Sioux Falls park to be quite nice until my hamstring began to hurt terribly around mile 15.  I should have stopped but I figured I could suffer for the next 11 miles and check this one off so I gritted my teeth and grinded it out.  I ended up finishing with a disappointing 3:45 marathon time but was glad to be done with it and go home.  All I could think about was getting some dry clothes on and a little something to eat but that did not happen right away.

I was pleased with the race shirt and the high quality medal that was given out at the finish line.  The race was a point to point course with a bus that was supposed to shuttle the finishers back to the start where we could get our cars.  Since the race was on Sunday and I had to be back at work on Monday, I planned on driving the 12.5 hours back in one day.  I figured since the race began around 6:30 that I could be done and back to my vehicle by 11 at the latest.  There were a lot of positives about the race but the experience became very sour when I realized that there was only 1 bus to take runners back to the start which left me waiting for 2 ½ hours until I could get back to the start line.  While waiting in the blistering sun, there was even one runner that passed out in the heat and had to leave in an ambulance.  That is how life goes, sometimes you must endure the bad to enjoy the good.  I made the drive back and got to the hotel late but am glad to have marathon #15 in the books.  Now I look forward to trying to rehabilitate my hamstring before running in Dover Delaware in less than 6 weeks.  This is going to be a rough ride.

ET Midnight Marathon

For as long as my wife and I have been married, we have always talked about to visiting Las Vegas for our anniversary.  Each year we would talk about going but never put the plan into motion until this year.  Our anniversary falls on August 22 each year which also happens to be her birthday.  Since we decided to finally head out I just so happened to look for a marathon to do while out there since we were not out in this part of the country ever.  There happened to be a race in Rachel Nevada on the same weekend at midnight about 2.5 hours outside of Vegas.  I told Casey about it and without hesitation she said okay and wanted to know if she could sign up for the half marathon portion.  I was pleasantly surprised since my wife has only ran a few 5k races and one 8k.  In her life she has never ran more than 5 miles at one time.  She has never been as crazy about running as I have and I have never pushed her to be a runner.  It has never really been an issue of contention between us, I enjoy running and doing races all over the country and my wife enjoys travel and spending time together.  During this 50 state marathon journey, we have been able to see some really interesting places and experience many wonderful memories.  This trip to Vegas would be one of the best trips we have ever had together.  We arrived and did all of the normal tourist excursions, we saw the Grand Canyon and experienced all of the daytime and nighttime splendor that Las Vegas has to offer (most of it anyway).  The good thing about this race was that it started at midnight so we basically had to force ourselves to stay up late into the night in order to properly acclimate to the time difference out there.  I could write a whole different blog on all of the fun stuff that we did and have a plethora of entertaining stories that I will talk about for many years to come, but this is a blog about running.

The race is called the ET midnight marathon, and takes place along the Extraterrestrial Highway in Rachel Nevada.  The race starts at the “black” mailbox (it is actually white) outside of the famed Area 51 sight and finishes at the little Ale Inn 20 miles away.  The race has a 51k, marathon, half-marathon and 10k.  The marathon and 51k start at the mailbox at the stroke of midnight and then the half marathoners are taken 7 miles up the road and start at 12:30, then the 10k runners are taken to the finish line where they do a 3.1 mile out and back at 1:00am.  The marathon consists of the first 12.5 miles being entirely up hill followed by 7 miles down hill and another 3 miles up again and 3 miles down.   Another factor to keep in mind is that this is the month of August in the middle of the desert and the elevation at the highest point is around 6000 feet above sea level.  So we have heat, hills and high elevation making this yet another tough race to put on the calendar.  I was mostly worried about my wife though, since this would be her first marathon and to top it off she had not trained for this at all, absolutely zero miles of running had been done on her part to prepare for this race, to say I was worried was a big understatement.

There were a lot of people that showed up to the race, most of them were shuttled on buses from Vegas to the starting line.  It was so amazing standing around before the race with a lot of runners dressed in costumes and a sea of people wearing glow sticks and head lamps.  The air felt nice with almost no humidity even though the temperature was in the low 80’s.  The race started and off we went into the night, the big difference I noticed immediately was that it was a bit more difficult to breathe due to the elevation compared to good ole Tennessee.  After about 3 miles, my body adjusted and breathing became normal as we were just beginning the uphill climb.  Mentally as the race was started, I mostly focused on catching up to my wife since she would be starting 7 miles ahead of me about 30 minutes after I started running.  I kept calculating on when I would catch up to her, I missed her and longed for her mostly just to make sure she was doing okay and to be there to encourage her.  It bothered me that she was alone in the middle of the desert on a difficult race course doing her first half marathon without me there to help her.  As the miles ticked on and I knew the top of the summit was coming, I spotted her silhouette in the distance with my headlamp, I knew immediately her stride and body shape and felt so much joy to see her.  I had not felt that emotional about seeing my wife since our wedding day, I could tell that she was okay and feeling very good and happy.  We were almost to the top of the hill together and so I stopped to run next to her for a little bit and give her some of the encouragement that I had longed to share for the entire race.  After a few minutes she encouraged me to go ahead and keep running, I did not want to leave her again.  In that moment I was ready to run with her all the way to the finish line and forgo completing my #14^th marathon.  Her finishing her race suddenly became more important than any race I had ever done.  I wanted to be with her and witness her triumph of her first half marathon.  Just like our wedding, I wanted it to be her day and celebrate her accomplishment but she would hear none of it.  Casey told me to go and continue and promised to meet me there at the finish, so I reluctantly picked back up my pace and headed off into the darkness, missing her once again.  The lonely feeling I had after leaving her made me want to run faster, I decided that the sooner I finished, the sooner we would meet again.

By the time I had surpassed the top of the summit, the race had spread out with only faint flickers of light out in the distance from other runners barely visible.  It is a very euphoric feeling being alone in the middle of the desert at midnight by yourself, no street lights, no houses or businesses and almost no traffic to speak of.  I turned off my headlamp to run in the dark and experience something that very few people ever get to see.  There was no interference from outside city lights to block what the natural night sky was displaying, it was amazing, I had never seen the moon shine that radiantly.  The moon was actually so bright that it almost hurt my eyes to look directly at it and the only sounds I could here were my foot strides and the breeze going across the sand.  This is why I wanted to do this race, most people go to Vegas to witness the massive casinos, wild club parties and the vibrant night life but never get to experience the peace of pure solitude in one of the most remote areas in the country.   I was able to enjoy both and would do it again in a heartbeat.  Out of all the races I have ever ran, this one is by far the most unique and enjoyable so far.  This marathon beats out Boston and New York and every other marathon I have ever done.

I did not keep track of the miles nor what kind of pace I had been running, I did not care.  I did not want this race to end, I just wanted to keep on running until the sun came up.  This was one of those rare moments in life that you just long to hang on to and hope that it never ends.  I believe that there are certain times in life where you get to experience a small piece of what heaven is like, maybe it is during the birth of your child or during your first kiss, sometimes it comes when looking at something magnificent or sometimes it comes when you are doing nothing at all.  I think each of these times are just pieces of what heaven is like all rolled into one and after each one, it makes you crave so much more.  I think sometimes people turn to many different vices in life hoping to find a piece of euphoria and my use sex, drugs or alcohol to try and find it.  I happened to find it while running in the middle of the night in the Nevada desert and keep running hoping to find it again.

The race finished and I had a 4^th place overall finish but was most elated to see my beautiful wife waiting for me at the finish line with a smile upon her face.  I crossed the line and started to cry tears of joy as we embraced and started to talk about our experiences.  I almost immediately received my trophy from placing first in my age group but despite that, I was already holding the hand of my best prize of all.  This race was special because it was in a special place with the most special person in my life, it was marathon #14 on our 14^th wedding anniversary, we drove back to Vegas as we saw the sun slowly rising over the mountains,  we got to spend one last night in Vegas with a suite at the Venetian with a promise that we would someday be back and that there would be plenty more adventures to come.

Tell City Indiana Marathon

Many times when I look at my travel schedule for work, I try to plan ahead of time for a nearby marathon to knock off of the 50 state list.  In June, I was going to be working in the North Eastern most corner of Arkansas and only 3 hours away was a trail marathon in Tell City Indiana.  When people think of Indiana, they picture a flat state with no hills to speak of.  This is true for most of the state however the southern part is the exception to the rule.  The website described this as having the most elevation exchange of any marathon East of the Mississippi river falling short of Pike’s Peak and Mount Lemmon.  It also tells runners to expect this not to get a PR or a Boston Qualifier on this course.  I desperately wanted to knock off another state and figured I would see how tough this race could be.  The entire course was to take place on a 2 lap mountain trail and turned out to be every bit as rough as the entry form suggested.

The race was taking place on the Indian Celina trail in Tell City Indiana on a warm June afternoon.   There were quite a few runners that showed up with the course offering a 10k, half marathon and Marathon.  It was difficult to discern who was running in which race due to all of us starting together and us being painted with numbers instead of bibs.  The only goal for this race was to finish and not worry about time or pace, the hills were too tough to keep any type of pace.  Most of the hills were slick due to rain early in the morning which lead to a lot of fast walking up the hills and sliding down on the other side.  I did not have any idea where I fell into the mix of other marathoners nor did I really care.  If I finished in the top 10 or dead last was not a factor that weighed on me during the first loop.  I knew that there were plenty of people in front of me and just as many behind.  The course had many ups and downs and even a few fields of tall grass on uneven ground.  This was one of those races where you just keep moving forward and enjoy looking at nature.  After the first loop is when things started to change, one of the volunteers at a water station informed me that I was currently in 3^rd place.  I could see the 2^nd place runner in front of me, we had been trading positions for the entirety of the first lap and the 4^th place runner was in me immediate line of sight when I looked back.

The first lap was taken with caution with me slowing to cross the rivers with care not to get my feet wet to prevent blisters.  I had also expended energy in taking up conversations with other runners nearby but then it all became personal business during the second lap.  I had planned on keeping pace with the second place runner and then trying to sprint past him during the final mile at the finish.  One thing I am blessed with is closing speed but my main curse is that with my size, I suck at running up hills.  The man in front of me probably weighed 130lbs soak and wet.  I would pass him on the flat parts and down hills but he was very consistent with his pace on the up hills. This soon became my demise on the longest hill of the course, he kept his tough pace and I faltered behind until he disappeared over the summit.  I tried to pick up the pace barreling as fast as I could through the flats and down hill sections hoping to see my adversary.  The streams that I had once carefully crossed, I plowed through with absolutely no caution like a hungry beast looking for prey.  Finally, I came out of the forest with only a quarter mile till the finish line to happily take the 3^rd spot.  I talked to the other guy after the race and he told me that he had been running scared trying to urgently stay ahead.  He beat me but 3^rd place overall for any marathon is something that I can sleep easy over.  I finished just over the 4 hour mark but to put it in perspective, the guy who got first finished in 3:53 but he ran a marathon earlier in the year in 2:30.

The one thing I have learned about trail races is that it has a different type of running atmosphere.  These type of races do not care about medals or swag bags and this one was the same.  Instead of a medal, I received a handmade wooden trophy and got a neon green running singlet with the race emblem on the front.  After it was over, I headed home pleased that marathon #13 was now officially in the books and looked ahead to one of the coolest races that I have ever  heard about coming in August.

Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon

I had made a resolution this past New Year’s to try and hit at least 5 marathons per year all the way through 2015.  I had a quick recovery from running New Orleans the previous month and decided that Louisville Kentucky seemed like a good choice for the next race.  It always takes place the weekend before the Kentucky Derby with all of the weeks festival activities starting with this race.  The course even gives runners the opportunity to run through the infield of Churchill Downs.

I have found Louisville to be a very nice town with a lot of interesting sights and activities to keep a persons interests.  There is a lot of history involved with this city and a perfect getaway for the weekend.  I found this to be a big city marathon with a small town feel to it.  The shirts given at the packet pick up were nice and getting to the start line was rather easy.  The course was mostly flat during the initial first half but increasingly difficult during the second.  This race features a half marathon simultaneous to the full marathon and draws several thousand patrons.  Both courses stay together through downtown past the Louisville Slugger building, through Churchill Downs and eventually splits off at the 10k mark near the university.   Later on the courses meet up again during the final 2 miles of the half marathon and the 18^th mile of the first.  This was my only complaint about the race due to congestion around some of the water stations.  At mile 18, a runner starts to get close to the infamous wall and is in dyer need of hydration, simultaneously I am hitting these same water stops with a large group of walker/joggers toward the end of their journey.  This section of the race also becomes further complicated while trying to weave in and out of other folks.  This can be a very frustrating part of the course both mentally and physically.  It becomes even tougher since you can see the finish line but then the marathon course takes a right turn and goes through another 6 miles of some of the steepest hills of the race.

On race day, I decided to take the same approach that I had during the New Orleans marathon.  I was going to run slow at the first and really have no agenda as to a time that I wanted to run it in.  Most of the race was flat and fast with the exception of a few hills at the halfway point and during the last 10k of the race.  The spectators were also very encouraging and seemed to pay a particular fascination as to my physical size and my overall pace due to it.  I did not pay much attention to my watch but then realized that my average pace was around 7:20 per mile.  I had not felt like I was running with that much effort but it just turned out to be a good day.  I felt great and was also proud to be sporting my newest Reckless Running race singlet which also got a lot of attention from both runners and spectators.

The highlight of the race came during the run through Churchill Downs, it was one of those rare moments when you see such a magnificent sight that it almost makes you dizzy from the enormity of it.  It was such a stark contrast at this point of the race, the Downs is one of the pinnacles of wealth where millionaires, billionaires and celebrities come to party and spend extravagant amounts of money on a horse race then two blocks outside of the arena is an area filled with rows of poverty and high crime.  The halfway point of the race went through a park on the south end of town in which the homeless were our only form of spectators in sight.  It is a bit of a saddening contrast to see on race day running through so much wealth next to so much poverty and not much in between.  It does make me very thankful to live the life that I do, with having a job and roof over my head and being able to provide a reasonable life for my family.

The overall experience of the race was a pleasant one despite a few minor hiccups.  The medal given at the finish was very nice and high quality and I also finished in 3 hours  and 14 minutes.  The festival at the end was also extremely entertaining with almost a carnival like feel to it.  This race is one that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a good race experience.  I crossed the line looking ahead to my next marathon coming up in June.  Marathon #12 is in the books and then shall come the dreaded #13 in Tell City Indiana.

Rock n Roll New Orleans Marathon

After running my first 50 miler just 2 months earlier, I found myself taking a much needed recovery break to try and heal up.  Even after the soreness left the body, my usual runs were made it feel difficult to keep up at any of my old paces.  I was a bit distraught in late January when I realized that I had paid the entrance fee for the New Orleans Marathon in February and almost an entire month had passed due to recovery without a single speed workout or long run in the books.  Even though I would not be at my best, who could resist an opportunity to check out New Orleans.  I decided to go with the flow and just enjoy the experience.  My wife accompanied me on this trip which allowed me to view this as a romantic getaway with a 26.2 mile running tour of the city.  I woke up on race day with absolutely zero expectation other than to finish and enjoy the experience.  This mindset was also ingrained due to the previous 2 days being spent in the French Quarter enjoying the sights, sounds, food and drinks. 

This was to be my first Rock n Roll marathon that I had ever ran and even allowed me the opportunity to line up in the starting blocks behind some of my running idols.  Mo Farah, Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan were all there and since I had a decent time on my registration, I was to be in coral #1 behind the elites.  The race was also started by the lead guitarist from Pearl Jam playing the national anthem only about 10 feet from where I waited.  The experience so far was upbeat and full of excitement.  It was amazing to see the start of the race as all of the elites took off in front of me and quickly disappeared out of sight in a pace that looked easy for them but seemed like an uncanny feat for mere mortals like myself.  I later found out that Mo Farah had broken the course half marathon record with a dramatic finish just above the 1 hour mark.

For my race, I decided to coast at an easy 8 minute mile for the start and then consisted of a slow increase in pace as the course progressed.  This was a very flat course at sea level with the temperatures in the low 60’s.  The race goes through some of the historic areas of town in front of some of the prettiest homes in that part of the country.  Many of the homes looked like castles with the French style architecture that gives this part of New Orleans its rich flavor.  At almost the halfway point, the course twists and turns through downtown into the French Quarter with each breath giving a different smell.  One moment gives the aroma of fresh Cajun food cooking at a restaurant and then it immediately changes to the smothering stench from Bourbon Street given from the debauchery and alcohol that had taken place the night before.   The constant shift in smells added to the continuous change to my emotions and physical demeanor throughout the race which is common among all marathons.  One step you feel good and the next is balanced upon wanting to quit.  Emotionally, I would get distraught and be on the verge of tears and the next I would read a sign held up by a spectator and immediately feel uplifted.   One such sign was being held by a homeless looking man which read “free performance enhancing hugs!!”.  I even found a couple of areas in between water stations in which locals

were handing out beer to any runner who felt the need for some extra carbohydrates along the way.  I admit that around mile 23, I decided to enjoy the day and partake of a delightful ale.  If I remember correctly, they said it was Abita Turbo Dog.

Surprisingly, I only checked my watches a couple of times during the race because, I kept the mindset of trying to finish instead of run a fast pace.  As the course neared the end, I started to feel better than I had the whole race and eventually got faster as the time progressed.  When most people were slowing down from fatigue, I began to feed off of the satisfaction of passing another runner with each mile.  I crossed the finish line at about 3 hours and 16 minutes feeling happy with the end result.

Overall, I can honestly say that the product offered by the Rock n Roll marathon company gives a very good experience.  Every mile had a different band playing, to offer entertainment to the runners and spectators (although some were not so great).  The shirts and medals given out were also among some of my favorites in my collection.  The medal and shirt were of a higher quality that I received at Boston and New York.  New Orleans pulled out all of the stops and gave an all around good race day experience.  As I continue to progress through all 50 states, I can guarantee that I will specifically aim to run more RR marathons in the future.   This made marathon #11 with then next state only 1 month away.

Table Rock Ultramarathon

 

A few weeks ago, as I was preparing for my first 50 miler (actually 54) and the 10^th race at marathon distance (26.2 miles), there was a lot of information being released that  leads some to believe running extreme endurance events is bad for you.  Basically the study shows that the strain on the body from marathon running can increase a person’s risk of having a stroke and the risk can shorten one’s lifespan.  My opinion both during and after the race is that even though this is supposed to kill me, it makes me feel more alive than I have ever been.  It is kind of ironic that I began running to lose weight and increase not only my quality of life but the quantity of my lifespan.  I have been up as much as 270lbs and incapable of enjoying some of the things that I currently do on a daily basis.  I have already heard enough lectures and excuses about how running will ruin my knees and give me arthritis along with this new study to give even more lectures and excuses not to run.  A short life filled with real living is, in my opinion, better than a long life of just existing.  Running is not everyone’s picture of fun and I do understand that but for me it doesn’t get any better than seeing and experiencing what this hobby has allowed.

 

 

A few points before I talk about this amazing race.  I am not going to gripe about how painful and difficult it was.  Yes, it hurt a lot and yes it was very difficult.  I have a few pictures from the race and the elevation profile attached but showing numbers, statistics and words to describe the course would exceed the limitations of my vocabulary.  Also to describe the pain and fatigue is not an easy task either unless you have done something similar, for example; if I describe the feeling from a burn or broken bone, it is easy to empathize since these are common yet different feelings of pain that most of us have experienced.  Running an ultramarathon is in a different category and difficult to describe so I won’t make this sound whiny since it is something I willingly placed upon myself.  As of right now it still feels like I’m telling a lie when I tell that I ran a 54 mile race, folks look at me like some sort of escapee from the mental hospital.  I agree that it is not a task that someone can wake up tomorrow and do without a long period of training and preparation.  I would typically not recommend trying something like this without having ran at least one marathon or at least built up to a couple of 30+ mile training runs.  There was one exception to the rule for this race.  My friend, Brad Farmer, is one individual that I ran with during this race who had never ran a race of any distance ever before this.  Let me state that again, he never even competed in so much as a 5k before this race.  That is VERY exceptional and still is unbelievable to me.  He fell in love with running about 3 years ago and has been racking up insane mileage, not for sake of competition but for the mere enjoyment of running.  I had been pestering him for a while to run a race with me and was stunned when he agreed to run this one.  I must say that I am extremely proud of him for completing this challenge side by side with me and not only that, but also finishing in the top 15 especially when a quarter of the runners did not even finish.

 

On race day the first thing I noticed is that most ultra-runners don’t really care about formalities, they just like to run.  All of us were gathered around in the parking lot of Lake James State Park waiting on some instruction as to where the starting line was, when the race director gave us some instruction and then said “go”.  The start line was wherever we were standing.  A race starting this way was something that I had never experienced before.  Another example was the fact that this was listed as a 50 miler but the distance was actually 54 miles.  What is 4 extra miles amongst friends?  We started out with a conservative pace as many bolted out to the early lead as I silently knew we would see them again.

 

The first 20 miles of the race is all hills, primarily on the up side.  Each hill that ended in a blind turn revealed yet another hill to conquer.  Brad and I had originally decided to do a 5 minute run followed by a 1 minute walk to try and conserve energy.  Due to the amount of upward climbing that took place, we found it more efficient just to speed walk most of the hills since they were too steep to really run with any type of efficiency.  We saw other participants trying to run the hills without making much more progress than us and at this point in the game it was all about conserving energy for the end.  Once the majority of the climbing was finished we were blessed with some amazing views of the mountains in the distance with fog still in the valleys below.  We reached our first set of drop bags at mile 15 where I had a few electrolyte tablets and a fresh bottle of Pedialyte along with some body glide for chaffing and extra nipple bandages just in case the ones I had fell off.  There was also a hot cup of Ramen soup waiting at the aid station for those who wanted it.  Food at this point was not appetizing in any aspect but to stay strong you have to eat as much as possible to replenish the lost fuel along the course to keep from hitting the wall.  I can honestly say that one of the toughest parts about running an ultra marathon is nutrition.  Most races at marathon distance or below only requires a few sips of Gatorade and a gel every once in a while but to run longer is impossible without a larger variety of calories.

 

After the aid station we noticed a gorgeous mountain in the distance that had a giant rock face at the top of it and I jokingly told Brad that it would suck if we had to run up that mountain.  As it turns out, that mountain is Table Rock, hence the name of the race “Table Rock Ultra Marathon”.  The mountain comes later in the race, for the moment we were content running down the gravel road along the top ridge of a couple mountains and enjoying nature.  The weather was great at the start in the upper 40’s with everything feeling great.  As the run progressed so did the temperatures as the weather climbed to a sunny 70 degrees.  This is typically not bad except as a rule of thumb, they say to dress for a race as if it is 20 degrees warmer and to dress accordingly.  The race course continued to alternate between gravel roads that led to paved ones and back to gravel through the NC countryside.  The scenery was not lacking at all and the views helped to take the mind off of the pain that began from tired muscles and would continue to progress for the next several hours until the finish line.  At the 50k mark, I was happy to see an aid station but also was a bit confused since we were supposed to have our second drop bags at the 35 mile mark.  We were told that there was another aid station only 3 miles away which seemed even more of a quandary.  This reasoning became clear as the next 3 miles were all steep uphill climbs on a road filled with endless switchbacks.  This point was where I hit a milestone into uncharted territory.  The longest I had ever ran at one time in my life was 31 miles.  I have never ran any further and did not have a clue what it would feel like and new that I was jumping into the deep end.   We could see the summit of Table Rock in the distance and still did not believe that we would actually have to climb up it until at mile 34 the road ended into a parking lot with an aid station waiting at the entrance to a rough and rocky trail leading up to the summit of the mountain.   This was a very difficult and technical trail with a very steep climb to the top.  We reached the top of the mountain just long enough to get a quick glance at the view to soak it in before turning around to go back down the mountain and grab our last set of drop bags at the aid station before the long downhill run.

 

Most people would think it is a relief to run downhill but when your legs are already shot from the long set of climbs it becomes very difficult for your legs to absorb the shock that a downhill run brings on.  I felt like I was walking a fine line hoping that my legs would not buckle from fatigue because a run on this steep of a hill would be extremely disastrous.  Finally the last of the downhill descent ended at around mile 40 when things relatively flattened out to rolling hills instead of dramatic ups and downs.  We were told at the last aid station that we were inside of the top 30 and were doing good.  We both decided to go for broke during the last half marathon portion of the course and it started to pay off as we began to pass multiple runners along our path.  Most of these were the folks at the beginning of the race that went out too fast, pushed too hard and were paying for it dramatically in the last few miles.  It appears that our conservative strategy paid off.  We hit the 50 mile mark and had already received a feeling of gratification.   How many people can say that they ran 50 miles?  Not only that but I was feeling very good even though the last 4 seemed to take forever.  About 3 miles out, before the race entered the park where the race started earlier, I could see my wife and daughter waiting patiently and waving to us as we came into view.  They started to run beside us but we were feeling good and still pushing a pace that was difficult for them to keep stride, luckily they parked the car only a mile down the path that we were running and hoped in to drive over to the finish to wait for us there.  When the finish line clock came into view, we saw that it read 9:59:10 and we had decided that we wanted to be under the 10 hour mark so we began to sprint.  That is a weird feeling after running 54 miles to try and finish of in a dead sprint for the finish line but we did it anyway.  We made it under our time barrier and were glad to have finished up and receive our black hooded sweatshirt as a finishers prize.  I must say this is the toughest shirt I have ever had to earn and will wear it with pride.  The race was filled with such amazing views that I had to take my wife and daughter back the next day to show them what Table Rock Mountain looked like.  It is a shame that most people will never get to see that view, yet another reason to love running because without it neither would have I.

The North Face 50k in Atlanta GA

After running the marathon in Kansas I felt great.  Usually I hurt for a couple days after and don’t seem to run well for a couple of months but for some reason I felt good.  I felt so good that I was easily able to run another 8 miles the next day with no soreness at all.  The challenge of running a marathon had gotten almost “easy”.  Since I had already qualified and ran Boston it no longer was an obsession about how fast I could run but instead it became about how far.



Base Camp for the race

 

During my running and travelling, I came across an author named Dean Karnazes.  His books were extremely inspirational and inspiring.  He is known for countless running feats such as running a marathon in all 50 states in 50 consecutive days.  He also once ran 48 hours straight on a treadmill in Times Square, ran from Los Angeles to New York and has done more ultra-marathons around the world than anyone I could imagine.  Dean has done more in his running career than I can begin to fathom, he is a superhero.  I want to be like Dean Karnazes.  After reading all three of his books, I decided to jump into the ultra-marathon game and decided to sign up for a 54mile race in Nebo North Carolina in December.  I started training and then realized that this distance is a huge step up from a marathon and would require a tougher approach to my training regimen.  To stay motivated I signed up to run a 50k trail race outside of Atlanta as a training run and to knock another state off the list.  I had no idea that this new distance would be filled with lots of treats. 

 

I first saw an advertisement for this race in Runner’s WorldMagazine and was sponsored by The North Face.  Usually when a big name company sponsors a race there is always lots of good perks so I could not turn this down.  To make the deal even sweeter, The North Face is Dean Karnazes’ official sponsor and they pay him to go and do all of his wild races and so he was on the list to be there after the race for a meet and greet at the finish line festival.  I have met plenty of famous people before like Hulk Hogan and Leila Ali and have been on TV shows like American Gladiators, One Man Army and Homicide Hunters but meeting Dean would mean more to me than all of those combined.  I could not wait to cross the finish line and go to meet the man responsible for motivating countless people to push the limits of what the human body is capable of, and so I headed off on the morning of the race with extra incentive to run well.

 

Early in the morning I lined up in the start corral, prepared to push my body longer than it had ever been challenged before, I listened to the race director’s instructions when he announced that Dean Karnazes would be running the 50k with us as he handed the microphone off to THE MAN for some last words of encouragement.  The whole game changed for me right then and there because I knew I would be sharing the race course with a legend.  After Dean handed the microphone back to the race director, he filed in with the rest of the pack and then the gun went off and my long day of glorious pain and suffering started.

 

The race began in complete darkness through a densely wooded single track trail with only a few people that had headlamps, excluding me.  It was a slow start since everyone packed in tight with the folks that had lights and we would all call out to one another whenever there was either a low limb or large step or obstruction on the course, this continued for the first 3 miles until the morning sunlight illuminated the forest enough for the pack to expand.  Once the trail became somewhat visible a group of runners darted past to get in the front position, when this occurred I was pushed to the ground and in the process lodged my right foot under a rock which immediately sent a sharp pain through my toe.  Later I would realize that it had ripped my big toenail apart from the quick.  From this point on I spent the next 28 miles limping up and down the extremely rocky and rollercoaster trail of hills as I could feel the warm blood being absorbed by my socks.  It sounds pretty gross but in the Ultra marathon world, this is considered a badge of honor although it is not one that I would like to experience very often.  At about the halfway point, I had another fall over some of the rough terrain, this time my middle toe on the opposite foot was the victim along with a bloody knee to show for it.  This proved to slow my progress even more than it already had been. 

 

I hate it when people ask me about my times on trail races because most people compare it to their accomplishments on road distances.  Running on trails versus roads are two completely different animals.  Even though some road races may have a few hills, the pavement is still smooth and allows for the runner to get into a regular groove with their stride and perform with more efficiency.  Running on a trail is seldom ever smooth, even on flat surfaces you constantly have to adjust your stride to negotiate a path over rocks, roots, tree stumps and the occasional creek crossing.  The terrain is notorious for constant tripping hazards; it is not a matter of “if” you will fall down but “when”.  Dean Karnazes also became a victim to a nice spill during the race.  The medic tent at the finish line venue was filled with lots of people with gaping wounds from head to toe; this is a unique camaraderie that trail runners get to share.

 

Running this 50k was not so much about going all out to try and race everyone, I never done a race at this distance before and especially not on a trial either.  I did not have a clue as to even what my goal race pace should be, running on feeling and impulse was the main tactic I employed.  I will admit that I did start taking walk breaks during the later parts of the course on some of the large uphill sections.  During the last 5 mile stretch as I started to crest another long hill, I heard a woman toward the bottom of it whom I passed earlier yell out “hello Dean”.  I immediately knew that the legend was back behind and gaining ground fast on me.  This added a new amount of pep in my running so I began to pick up the pace.  I did not care if I beat the legend at his own game, I just wanted to finish somewhere in the same timeframe as him.  I managed to keep him at bay until the very last aid station with 2 miles to go in the race.  We both stopped to get some Gatorade and started running in line together down the single track trail to the finish.  I started talking first and joked about him being the person I blame for the serious pain that I was in.  I told him that I had read his books and felt inspired to try and get into ultra running and run a marathon or greater in each state.  We then got into chatter about different races that we had done and he recommended a few for me to try.  I told him about the upcoming 54 mile race in December and my running partner in that race, Brad Farmer, who was also a big fan of his and was racing that one as his first race ever.  I must say that, although I was in a lot of pain, I forgot about it during that 2 mile span and really enjoyed running with Dean.  Coming up to the last stretch of the race I broke away from me on the last hill and beat me to the finish line by about 100 yards.  I thought it was funny because he came out of the woods first where my wife and daughter were patiently waiting and when she saw me she began screaming “Jeff, look it’s Dean, it’s Dean”  I smiled and said “I know, we have been talking for a while”.  I crossed the finish with Dean waiting at the line to give me a high five and a hug, it was awesome.  I went immediately over to my wife and daughter and he followed and began chatting with all three of us.  We talked about our kids and took a couple pictures together before heading to the medical tent and ice baths.  I can honestly say that was a cool experience and has made me enjoy running even more.  I hope that by looking back on that day, it will give some added motivation to push through many more races in the future.