This is it, Race Day. Today I'm attempting my first ultramarathon. What is an ultramarathon? An ultramarathon is any organized footrace extending beyond the standard marathon running distance of 26 miles, 385 yards. Ultramarathons or ultras typically begin at 50 kilometers and can extend to enormous distances. There is no limit.
The longest certified ultra in the world is the Sri Chinmoy in New York. In this race of endurance, athletes attempt to run well over 5,000 laps around a course that is approximately a half mile long. This is equal to 3,100 miles. In order for the runner to finish within the 51 day limit, he/she must average 60.7 miles per day. Although I have great respect for someone who can run such a race, I would be bored to death running in a half mile circle for so long.
This race is a lot more interesting as its course winds through the rolling hills of Capon Valley. Not only is this my first ultra, but it is my first race of any kind. It's typical of me to start with an ultra rather than a 5-10k. When I started hiking I didn't start with a small trail, but decided to hike the 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail. (FYI - After hiking the trail in sections for 2 years, I'm 58% done.) Although 31 miles is a long way, it's rather small for an ultra. At least I had a little bit of sense and didn't start with a 100-miler.
Lynn and I arrived in the area late Friday afternoon. Although we plan to spend the night at nearby Winchester, VA., we drove over to Yellow Spring to make sure we could find it. As we arrived at Ruritan Park we saw a building on the other end of a large, green field. Next to the building was a camper. That has got to be Jim and Sue's camper. Sure enough it was. It was great to see them for the third time during our two week vacation. I had lots of questions for them about the race.
As I began to ask questions, Jim said,"Now he has questions."
Sue added, "We were wondering why you haven't been asking us questions."
"Oh, I had plenty of questions," I said. "I just can't concentrate on two things at once. I had 200 miles of the Appalachian Trail to get done. Now I can concentrate on the race."
We picked up our race packets that evening. Each packet contained a map of the race, an ultrarunning magazine, Capon Valley 50k t-shirt, and some other goodies. We told Jim and Sue we would see them in the morning and headed off.
The next morning, I had second thoughts as I reviewed the course.
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Sue, Jim, and myself at the pre-race briefing.
I looked at Sue and asked, "Any last words of advice, Coach Runtrails."
"Have fun," she said.
Sounds like good advice to me.
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Before the race I met a couple of Jim and Sue's ultrarunning friends. From left to right: Laura, myself, Jim, Sue, and Joey. There's a lot of pressure on Joey this race. The bib numbers are assigned alphabetically, and he is #1.
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How well do I think I will do? I've told everyone my goal is to just finish within the 8 hour cutoff, but secretly I've been hoping to beat 7 hours. We'll see. One thing for sure, I can't go wrong with Lynn cheering me on.
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After the national anthem was played, we started off.
You can't see me, but I'm behind Sue and Jim.
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Lynn ran to the other end of the field to get another picture of me. I'm smiling after a tenth of mile, but will I be smiling after 31 miles.
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I usually take pictures of my outdoor activities, but not today. I would need every second to try to finish this race. Believe it or not, some of the runners took pictures DURING the race, including Sue. Lynn took the pictures at the start and finish of the race while all the other pictures in this entry were taken by Sue. To see more of Sue's pictures of the race click here.
I started the race at a faster pace than I should have. I knew I should go slowly, but it is tough not to get pulled along in the current of runners.
I didn't see Sue and Jim much during the race. Before we made our way out of Ruritan Park, Jim pulled way ahead. I wouldn't see him again until the finish line. Perhaps a mile into the race we came to big hill. "You do well on hills so just go," said Sue. I wouldn't see here until the end of the race either.
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We crossed a lot of creeks today. Who knows maybe it was the same creek over and over again. Notice the pink ribbons in the picture. The pink ribbons marked our course along with occassional pink plates or pink arrows spray painted on the ground.
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Nearing Aid Station #1. The course loops back this way later so this also serves as A.S. #6.
At this point I was thinking, "This isn't so bad. I can't wait to run my next ultra."
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The leg between Aid Station #1 and #2 was the longest. A water only station was made available about half way through this section. From this picture it looks like the woman is directing the runner across the creek, but the course actually turns to the left here and goes up one of the biggest hills of the day.
Most, if not all the runners, walk up the biggest of the hills. I'm a hiker not a runner, so hiking up big hills is my strength. Throughout the day I don't think I ever ran past anyone. The only time I passed anyone was hiking up hills or at the Aid Station. I was heeding Sue and Jim's advice not to 'grow roots' at the aid stations.
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The course follows these powerlines for a while.
There was a constant buzzing sound over our heads.
This was the only place I got off course. I was following the runner ahead of me when I saw two runners taking a shortcut over a small hill while I went around. Then I noticed there were pink ribbons over there. They weren't taking a shortcut, I was taking a longcut.
"Word of advice," one of the runners said, "Follow the ribbons not the runners."
One person went the wrong way and several of us had followed.
It wasn't any big deal but probably cost me an extra minute.
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Nearing Aid Station #2. The man in the front with the dog was photographing the runners.
Volunteers do a terrific job at these aid stations. These aid stations are like an oasis in the desert. I refilled my water bottle, grabbed a few orange slices and headed off. The aid stations offer a wide variety of drinks and snacks. Fruit, chips, snacks, Coke, Gatorade, candy, and health bars were all available. I can't imagine eating most of this stuff during a race, but everyone is different. By this point I changed my mind from running another ultra this year, one a year is good enough.
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Here's A.S. #3.
Once again my view of ultras changed.
I'll finish this one, but never want to run another one ever again.
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If there is a tricky spot in a trail, there is usually a pink plate with instructions on it. In this case, the plate is used to bring a little humor. With a toy horse tied to the tree, the plate reads, "My kingdom for a horse!"
By now I felt like I needed a horse to finish. My body was already a bit beat up from hiking 200 miles of the Appalachian Trail. A runner is supposed to taper his miles before a race. This wasn't an option for me. I came down to hike the A.T. first and run the race 2nd. I only had one day rest inbetween my 200 miles of hiking and the race.
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Nearing Aid Station #4.
By now I was thinking, "I don't want to run another #$%&^#@ ultra ever again." I passed a woman named Stephanie who I had been following for a long time. We would play 'leapfrog' for the remainder of the race.
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The course followed a blue blazed trail for a several miles.
I got my second wind and really enjoyed this section of the course. Stephanie passed me on a long, downhill stretch. It was several miles before I would see anyone. I didn't see or hear anyone in front of me or behind me. I felt like I was the only one left on the course. I knew I was near the end of the pack, but I thought there were still quite a few runners behind me. During the course of the race many runners past me. Maybe more of them past me than I realized. Was I in last place? I sure felt like I was.
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This scenic waterfall was a moral booster. Jim was going so fast he never even noticed it, but Sue obviously saw it, thus the reason for the picture.
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I finally reached Aid Station #5. I thought I would never get there. The volunteers do such a terrific job. They make each runner feel so important. They all clapped and cheered as I neared the aid station. A few people called my name out and said I was doing great. I didn't know anyone here. They must have cross referenced my number with the list of runner's names. Just another small touch to make the runners feel important. In fact, they did such a great job that I was beginning to have delusions of grandieur.
"Am I in first place?" I kidded.
"No, but your in the top ten . . .(pause) . . . plus 100," one of the volunteers replied.
"Have you run many ultras before?" someone asked.
"No, this is my first race."
"Your first ultra?"
"No, my first race."
"But you've run regular marathons?"
"No, this is my first race."
"Well, you've at least run some 5 or 10k's."
"No, this is my first race of any kind."
"Well then, you're really doing well."
This vote of confidence came at just the right time.
"I can finish this race," I told myself.
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After A.S. #5 I went up a very long, steep, hill. Near the top I saw Stephanie, the woman who I had caught up to earlier. This was encouraging. It was the first runner I had seen for miles. I managed to catch up to her. We ran and hiked together for much of the remainder of the race. We went into aid station #6 together.
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About this time Jim was finishing the race. Lynn thought she got out there in time to take his picture, but he finished too fast. She saw him come down the final stretch but didn't have her camera out yet. Here he is just after the race.
He came in 78th in a time of 6:33:30. He has reason to be proud. This is almost the same time he ran this race a few years ago and the course is now 2 miles longer. Way to go, Jim!
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Stephanie kept pulling ahead on the flats and downhills, and I would catch up to her on the uphills. We worked as a team, encouraging each other along. The last mile or so had a lot of downhill and flat sections. She pulled ahead, and I wouldn't see her until the finish line.
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The finish was getting close as I ran past the small post office in Yellow Spring. I guess it wouldn't count if I mailed myself to the finish line.
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At this point I knew I would finish well before the 8 hour cutoff, and I actually had a shot at finishing under 7 hours. I wasn't sure if the race started right at 8:00 or if my watch was in sync with the start time. This was going to be close. Part of me wanted to walk the rest of the race, but my pride kept me going. With everyone watching, I was determined to finish strong. I reached down deep and gave it all I had.
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Back inside Ruritan Park
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The finish line then came within view. Lynn was waiting for me at the end. What do you know? I'm still smiling after 31 miles.
Always looking for a laugh, as people cheered me on, I stopped about 10 feet from the finish, bent over, breathed heavily, and said "I can't finish." It cost me a few seconds but was worth the laughs. I stood up and jogged across the finish where Lynn gave me a big hug and kiss.
"I'm so proud of you ," she said but was thinking, "I'm just glad you are alive!"
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I did it! I completed my first ultra. Stephanie had finished about 1 minute 45 seconds ahead of me. She congratulated me on my first ultra finish. Then Jim came over to congratulate me as well.
My final time was . . . .
6 hours, 59 minutes, and 44 seconds
I guess that final push paid off. I beat my secret goal of 7 hours by a mere 16 seconds. I finished 103rd out of 132 runners that finished. I'm unsure of how many started the race, but a race this long almost always has some that do not finish (DNF). Ironically, I came in 103rd right inbetween Sue and Jim's bib numbers of 102 and 104.
Well, I finished my first race, but Sue was still out there. I quickly took a shower in Sue and Jim's camper. (What a nice camper! It has all the luxuries of home.) I came back out to the finish line, and a few minutes later we saw Sue running down the finally stretch. Come on Sue! Just one more step!
Sue had a finish time of 7:29:13 and came in 119th. To see all race results click here.
You may ask, "How did you come in ahead of Sue on your first race?" Sue has run so many ultras that her goals and objectives have changed. She is out there to have as much fun as possible, but still finish within the cutoff. She took 61 pictures DURING the race. That cost her quite a bit of time right there. She also was suffering with leg cramps the last few hours. Sue is also my ultrarunning mentor. Everyone knows one of the goals and signs of a great mentor is to have one of their pupils finish ahead of them. Thanks for all the coaching tips Sue and Jim. With running/hiking the Appalachian Trail and Colorado Trail the last two years, she hasn't been able to enter many races. I think she said this was the first ultra she finished since 2004. Great job Sue!
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Enjoying a post race chicken dinner.
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Saying goodbye to our friends is always tough, but Lynn and I are excited for Jim and Sue as they get ready for another adventure out west. Be looking for a 2007 link in their journal coming soon. Their homepage is www.runtrails.net.
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Final question: "Will I run another ultra?"
You, betcha. Although I hit a low point around Aid Station #4 and thought I wanted nothing to do with an ultra again, I quickly rebounded for the remainder of the race, and nothing compares to the tremendous feeling of accomplishment when you cross the finish line. However, I really need to concentrate on finishing the Appalachian Trail as well as some other hiking goals, so I probably won't run another ultra until next year sometime. Special thanks to Jim and Sue for all their hospitality, friendliness, and ultrarunning advice. I took your advice Sue.
I had fun !
