FANS 24 Hour Race Report- June 2009

I ran the FANS 24 Hour race this weekend, in Minneapolis. The people were great, the weather...not so much. This report is a bit long. So, get a cup of coffe and cozy up.

First of all, the folks that put this race on were absolutely great. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Sure, it's pretty much the norm for an ultra. But, it's always appreciated and sort of amazing. These poor folks, many of them non-runners, sit around freezing their butts off, so that us poor, filthy slobs can abuse ourselves by running in circles. Some of my favorite things which this team delivered: 1) Pizza, twice! At 6 pm, and again at midnight, I had pizza. Awesome! 2) Massages. Yes, that's right. At any given time, there were 2 massage therapists on hand. Wow! I loved it and took advantage of it a few times when a few minor aches wouldn't go away. 3) I really enjoyed the full breakfast after the race. I was hungry and tired, as was everyone else. It was great to walk right into breakfast. Perhaps the best part was to be able to sit and talk with some of the other runners.

There's always sort of a sadness when an event is over. You think about it for so long. You plan. You travel. You run like hell. Then, when it's over, your regular life just pops back on. It's nice to spend some time to ease out of it, talking with others who've experienced this kind of weird experience (volunteers and runners, alike), before easing back into the 'normal world'. As I sat in the airport, trying not to fall asleep before getting on the plane. I thought,"These people don't have any idea why I walk like I'm 90 years old, why I can't keep my head upright on my shoulders." But, the others that were present 'out there', they get it. They understand the things that went on at the lake. The nondescript piece of a city park that saw a thousand amazing things take place in the hearts and minds of those that were there.

Like the guy who couldn't run after the first 5 hours because of pain. So he walked for the next 19 hours. What kind of impression do you think that made on his two kids? Their dad was certainly as amazing as any super hero.

The forecast for the week looked great. 64 degrees and partly cloudy. But, two days out, it changed to rain, 70% chance. Sure enough, it dawned cloudy. At the start, it was still dry. By the second hour, the rain started. It was light, but constant for the first 6 hours, or so. Then, it turned to a moderate, but very consistent rain. This continued for about 3 hours. It was cold, too. The temp was around 50 degrees.

I had on a rain jacket and gloves that had been soaked for hours. I was wearing shorts that stuck to my legs. There were a lot of folks who were starting to go hypothermic. You could put on something dry. But, within minutes it would be wet again. All in all, most runners seemed to deal with it pretty well. There was far less activity in the medical tent than I expected. Happily, around 9:00 pm, the rain stopped and settled into a fine foggy mist. Manageable with a dry rain jacket and a dry change of clothes. I'd been resisting pulling out the dry set. I knew that I'd need it to get through the night.

My race went pretty well. I had stated my goal to anyone that would listen: 100 miles in under 24 hours. I started somewhat slow and easy, as planned. I went for a 12 minute pace for the first 5-6 miles. Then, I brought it up a little. I tried to keep it around 10-11 minute pace for the remainder of the first 25 miles. Plus, I walked the bridge across the lake every lap. It was about 5 minutes, out of every 25-35 minute lap. A good break to keep my legs fresh.

That bridge was always the coldest part of every lap. The wind blew off the lake and right across the bridge. There was definitely a cold, nasty wind a-blowin'! But, the best thing about the bridge was the planes. The planes would line up for the airport runway, about 300 feet off the deck. It was awesome! They'd come roaring in every few minutes, leaving swirling trails of mist in the wakes of their wing tips. Great full sensory experience!

I never came to my "wall", which I usually hit around mile 16-20, and sometimes repeats every 30 miles, or so. I believe that my fueling was the reason. I ate mostly fruit and a few small pieces of turkey sandwich. Never underestimate the power of an orange slice! I felt like I got a charge for the next lap, every time I ate a couple. A slow and even burn of quick carbs was the main goal. I was able to PR every distance at this race, From marathon (yeah, my marathon time is slow) to 50k, through 50 miles and 100k, I was ahead of all of my best times. The flat loop course was the secret. But, that was the reason I showed up.

Around mile 40, I started to hear that old familiar voice in my head. It was raining. It was cold. I could go to the motel, watch some bad TV, go to the steakhouse for a big dinner and dessert. I just kept telling myself no. Not this lap. Just go around again, one more time. Stay in the now. I've learned that being present is what gets me through these things. Thinking about what's to come is not a good strategy. And besides, I had chosen this. I had thought about it for months. I had spent a few hundred bucks to get here. My wife had reorganized her life for the week, so that I could do this. My daughter told me I could do it. I couldn't tell her, I couldn't tell everyone, that I just decided to quit and go somewhere warm and dry.

At mile 40, I looked at the top ten. I was there! I was number 10! I'd never been number ten, unless maybe there were ten entrants. By mile 62, the voice was finally gone for good. I had 10 hours left to go about 38 miles. I had clean, dry clothes and shoes. It had stopped raining. I was going to break 100 miles. I was. I knew it. There was nothing that was within my control that could stop me. It was possible that there could have been something else. But, I didn't see any problems. I had a few small aches and pains. I stopped at the massage tent for a couple of quick 10 minute tune-ups.

Every lap, I would yell out my number to the lap counters. They would yell back, "That's lap 31. That's 75 miles!" I'd yell back, "25 to go!" Then, I'd do the math. If I hold a pace of at least 17.5 minutes per mile. I'll have 20 minutes to spare. I must have done the math 200 times during the night. The last 3-4 hours, I was still very close to making it, or not. I had to keep moving. Walking it in was not an option. I was NOT going to end up with 97 miles. There were a lot of folks out there walking. I admired each and every one of them. I was just not going to be one of them.

Mile 98.5. The time clock said 23:20, I had 40 minutes to go 1.5 miles. I decided to go over to the short course, instead of the long loop. I was pretty sure I could manage the pace. But, I didn't have a watch. There would no denying my goal. So, I ran short loops back and forth, near the finish area. It was really fun. There must have been 60 people running back and forth, 220 yards out, then back again.

"I need six short loops", I thought. "Six, and I'm done."

There were some who were just walking. Some were running hard, like a six minute pace. They were cranking out laps, passing by slower walkers, over and over. I decided that if all these people could keep going for the last few minutes, I would too. Plus, I didn't want to come up short, due to some math error. I felt like 101 was a good number. I picked it up. I passed 100 miles. Yes!!! I counted 4 more loops. I passed 101 miles. There was 15 seconds left. Others came sprinting in, literally as the clock turned 24:00. Amazing! Absolutely awesome!

I saw one woman getting congratulations from her family. She had hit the line with literally no seconds left. She had run HARD for the last 30 minutes. Her family was ecstatic. She started to tear up. And I felt it, too. I was a little sad that I didn't have someone there with me, to share my joy. But, I understood the joy and the pride. All around me, there was appreciation for all the athletes, young and old, fast and slow. There were volunteers yelling "You guys are awesome! 24 hours! Yeahhhhh!" It was a great display of human emotion on so many levels. One of the many reasons that I, and so many others, love this crazy, ridiculous sport that is ultrarunning.

There were a lot of astounding things that happened out there. From a pure numbers stand point, there was a new course record set. Michael Henze put up just over 145 miles, to break the old course record of 136. This guy was just fast and consistent, the whole time. The only time I saw him walk, he was coming by me up the small hill they call Mt. Nokomis. He told me he had to break 135 miles to be considered for the US 24 Hour team. I think he took care of that! Of course, there were many other stories there. Most of which probably went on within the minds of those participating. But, I'll leave it to them to tell their own story.