Saturday, September 19, the alarm went off at 4:45am in my room at the Marriott - Downtown Cleveland. My brother-in-law (and crew chief) Mike Niegowski and I were quick to get out of bed and get to the coffee. We weren't quite sure of the weather conditions, we anticipated a wet day and wanted to make sure we were able to get to Edgewater Park by 6:15am, while there was still a break in the weather, so we could set up our canopy and personal aid station. Based on previous experiences, it is not fun setting up in the rain prior to a 24 hour run! By 7:15am, Mike and I were set up and I sat down to eat my pre-race breakfast, consisting of Lucky Charms with chocolate milk and a PBJ uncrustable sandwich. I applied the necessary lubricants to every crevice of my being and rested under the canopy as it started to drizzle and the winds picked up.
The 2015 Northcoast 24 Hour Race, was the USATF National Championship Race. The best Ultrarunners in the country would be lining up to run as many miles as possible within the 24 hours. Any man that is a member of the USATF that runs more than 140 miles, could qualify for a spot on the USA National 24 Hour Running team, which competes every year in the World Competition. My goal was to run 123 laps around the .90073 mile loop, which would equate to 110 miles and a PR for me. Each lap would be dedicated to an individual who was impacted by Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia or the CARES FOUNDATION. But I also dedicated laps to others that were supportive of my running addiction. I wore their names on the back of my TEAM CARES shirt. This would serve as motivation for me as the race became more difficult. T-shirts can be purchased here: https://www.booster.com/24-hour-run-for-cah-and-cares-foundation
At 9am, the sirens blared and we were all on our way. For me, this was the 6th year in a row to run the NC24. Every year running more and more miles. Last year running 107 miles and setting my PR..
About 2 hours into the race my upper right calf developed a really sore strain, unlike anything I had ever experienced before, it was affecting my stride, but I made some adjustments to accomodate the pain. Shortly thereafter, my hamstrings began screaming, aching and throbbing and I was still less than a marathon into the race. I wasn't sure if it was going to be my day. I hadn't had a full nights sleep in 2 weeks (thanks to our new puppy!) I was so tired. I began to have thoughts of quitting. Thinking to myself that even the most elite runners can have an off day and DNF (Did Not Finish). Never this early in an Ultra had I had these thoughts. I had put in so many training miles, had traveled so far, quitting could not possibly be an option.
It was the thoughts of the names that I wore on the back of my shirt that gave me the motivation to keep moving forward. I didn't want to let anyone down. I had to keep running. My brother-in-law, Mike and my college roommate Brian and his daughter, were great motivators and crew as well. They made sure I had what i needed, from food, to supplements, to dry running gear. I completed my first marathon (26.2 miles) of the day in 4 hours and 30 minutes. The wind was really picking up and was a steady 20-30mph coming off Lake Erie into our faces. Then it started with drizzle, and for what seemed like most of the afternoon, we were wet. I trudged on. 12 hours and 15 minutes into the race i had completed 60 miles - over 2 marathons. (my personal best for a 12 hour race is 65 miles - so maybe I was going out a little too fast.......again.) Miles 60-80 were probably the most brutal. The overnight hours. Between 10p and 4am. Time just dragged. I began to have foot problems. Developed a blister on the inside of my big toe, but nothing a little moleskin couldn't fix. My pace slowed and my goals were starting to get out of reach.
I think it must have been around 1am. My legs were so tight I had to make a pit stop to get stretched out by the medical team. For their notes they asked me what they were treating me for? my answer? MY LEGS ARE GOING TO EXPLODE! While laying on the table being twisted and pulled in every direction by a sports doctor, minutes were ticking off the clock. I had intended to run 110 miles. With 9 hours left to go I would have to make a goal adjustment. My legs were not moving as quickly and there was no way I could keep up the pace I needed to get to 110 miles, so Getting to 100 miles became the new objective.
Lap after lap, ticking off the miles. Around mile 85, I pulled back into the medical tent for another stretch to get me through to the finish. The sun was coming up which provided a little pick me up. When the final horn blared, I bent over and placed my marker on the course, to get credit for a partial lap. I had finished.
It's never easy. Nothing worth having comes easy right? There will always be obstacles in a race of this distance, there will always be ups and downs. Lots of downs.....Lots of downs. If you put your mind to something you can certainly will yourself to do anything. 2 hours in to this race my legs weren't having it. But my MIND wanted it. This race was the biggest mental challenge I've faced. So despite the fact I didn't reach my goal of running 110 miles, I still ran pretty damn far under some not so great conditions. So I will savor this race for a little while, be proud of myself, until I start back training again for the next race. Stay tuned.
Prelim: RESULTS: 114 laps = 102.9624 miles
24th place Overall out of 163 runners
19th Male out of 111 male runners
4th in my Male 40-44 age group out of 23.
Andrew is a 5 Year old boy who lives with a rare genetic disorder known as Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH). For the past 5 years I've run in 24 Hour Races while raising money for the only organization in the world that is dedicated to supporting the CAH community - THE CARES FOUNDATION (www.caresfoundation.org) This year I chose to run for 48 hours and have raised over $13k for CARES this year. I run for Andrew and all those parents and families that are affected by this rare disorder.
I woke up Friday morning at 4:30am and prepared myself for the 3 Days at the Fair Ultra Event. I showered and loaded my things into the car. I drove one hour, to the Sussex County Fairgrounds. Scouted for a good location to set up my canopy and personal aid station. Found a spot about 100 yards from the aid station and 50 yards from the bathrooms. By Friday morning at 7 AM the 72 hour runners had been on the course for 22 hours and already you could see some signs of wear and tear on some of the runners as the trudged through the early morning hours.
I had a bagel with some peanut butter and sat down in my chair, put my feet up and encouraged the runners as they ran by. My wife Sandy arrived to the race about 7:30am.
The 48 hour race started at 9 AM on Friday, May 15th. At 8:50 race director Rick McNulty gave his prerace instructions. And at 9 AM he rang the bell signifying the start of the 48 hour race.
For some reason at the start of these races there is a hesitation among the runners at the starting line to be the lead runner when the bell rings. Someone's got to be first out so I just went for it and ran my comfortable pace. You have to go into these type of races with a plan and a goal. Sometimes you share your goals prior to a race, sometimes you don't. My public goal was to run at least 150 miles, I'd be happy with that. (My PR in 24 hours is 107) My secret goal would be to run 200 miles, and place in the top 3. In the beginning, I would warm up with a 20 mile run at training pace and then slow down into race mode - and shoot for 4 miles per hour. I figured to have a chance at placing in the top 3 I'd have to get my mileage up whenever i could. getting mileage up early would be a good time.
I have never run for longer than 24 hours. "They" say a marathon is not a 26 mile race, it's a 6 mile race. The first 20 miles are warmup and the race begins at mile 21, after you hit the wall. For a 48 Hour Race they should say, "remember.........it's a 2 day race, not a 1 day race."
In past 24 hour races my brother-in-law Mike had crewed for me. But he was unable to make the trek from Ohio for this race, and the pressure would fall on my wife Sandy! Sandy stepped up and offered to redeem herself from a previous crewing attempt and offered her support for the first shift (Friday 9am-7p).
You may remember a few years ago, Sandy was banned from crewing for me! She committed the ultimate crewing no-no! In the middle of the night, during the Northcoast 24 hour, Mike was taking a nap in the car and sandy was subbing for him, my spirits were low and I was cold and shivering, barely moving, it was pouring down rain, Sandy suggested it was alright for me to quit the race, that I had already run enough miles!! Sandy was fired from the crew and demoted to spectator! (I made Mike do it!)
Sandy's job during her 10 hour shift Friday, was to make sure I stayed hydrated, to make sure I took in calories, take my electrolyte pills and my anti cramping sports legs pills. Make sure I am peeing, putting on sunscreen, re-apply sunscreen, get change of clothes ready, swap out shoes, and most importantly offer ENCOURAGEMENT. When you get in to race mode, and you are running around and around a 1 mile loop, it's hard to remember to do all this without help. Having a crew is really important to me and it makes the race more enjoyable. Let the crew remember all the "little" things and I can just focus on moving forward! I created a spreadsheet so she could write all the pill info down.
I organized all my clothes into storage bins - t-shirts and shorts in one bin, 2XU compression gear, socks and underwear in another, cold weather gear (long sleeves, tights, gloves, hats). And then had all the electronics (Gps watch, headlamps, charging blocks, ipod, headphones) a nutrition bin, with cliff bloks, my endurolytes, sports legs, alleve, Hammer Fizz, snicker bites, gummi bears)
Friday was a hot day, a hot day by running standards, it got into the low 80's with hot sunshine. There was no shade on the 1 mile loop, except for about a 75 yard grassy/dirt stretch between the horse show area and the rodeo area.
I chugged along and banged out the first 26 miles in 4:09. I covered 50k in 5:15. Sandy was diligent about keeping up with everything! She was fantastic. I see a promotion in her future. (Assistant crew chief?)
Completed the first 26 miles in 4:09
I don't remember much more about the first 12 hours. Sandy left around 7p to go see the boys at home and was relieved by my friend/brother/and Andrew's dad - Doug Zehner.
Doug volunteered to crew for me during the overnight hours Friday-Saturday afternoon)
I think when Doug arrived Friday evening it was around 8pm.
12 hours into the race. By 9pm, I had run 60 Miles. Very good, if I WERE RUNNING A 12 Hour RACE!!!!! (my PR for 12 Hrs is 65 miles). This is a 2 day race, this is a 2 day race, this is a 2 day race.............
feet up sometime Friday!
I quickly briefed Doug on Sandy's system she had put in place and was off running again. All a blur, but notes we took at different mile markers indicated, at 11:25pm, (14 hours and 25 minutes into the race) I had run 70 miles. At 3:50am (18 hours and 50 minutes) I had run 83 miles. It was around 4:20am, when I crawled into the car for what would be my first moment of sleep. I "slept" for 50 minutes in the back of rented Dodge Durango. Off and running again.
5am - Saturday morning, the Fairgrounds were bustling, as the cowboys started to arrive for a Rodeo that was to take place later in the day, in addition to a horse show. The fairgrounds were echoing with rooster calls, which became quite annoying and the constant announcements over the PA system of the variety of horse names winning each category, For those that are interested --- "Pleasure Me" won a lot of awards in a bunch of different categories.
At the half way point, (24 Hours of running), 9am Saturday morning, I had run 101 miles. (but this is a 2 day race). My legs were in check, no chaffing issues anywhere (yet). I felt pretty good.
But the next 6 hours were painful and I think the longest. I slowed dramatically, only "running" 9 miles in 3 hours. Doug would walk with me every once in a while overnight and into the day. I figure he may have walked over a half marathon over the course of the 15 hours he was helping me. He was a tremendous help, and I couldn't have done this without him!
By 3pm Saturday (30 hours into the race) I had covered 115 miles. At this time Sandy, my boys and our nanny Melissa, had arrived and I was recharged. Drew ran a lap with me, and he really ran!!
Sandy was back for more, She was going to crew during the Saturday overnight hours. There were thunderstorms brewing and rumors were starting to spread around the course about the possibility of heavy rain, pea size hail and 30mph winds. The cars and trucks started to roll into the fairgrounds for the rodeo, there was lots of activity. A private jet plane buzzed the fairgrounds a few times, extremely low to the ground. Then the Rain, thunder and lightening came, can't say for how long, but it delayed the rodeo. When the rain passed 2 guys had jumped out of a plane and landed safely in the middle of the rodeo ring.
At some point, Sandy left to go to a local diner to get me a sandwich! I devoured a crispy chicken sandwich. The first real thing I had eaten since I ate half a cheeseburger Friday night.
But the highlight was the chocolate shake!!!!! During another downpour and thunderstorm, I laid in the back of the car and enjoyed my milk shake and slept for about 60 minutes. It Rained quite a bit Saturday night. After coming in soaking wet after a downpour, I had a bought with the chills, and had to lay back down in the car. At that point, Sandy monitored the weather radar, and we decided that i would take another 30 minute break until the storm passed. I ran with rain gear on for awhile, don't know how long, but there was a constant rain for some time and I was drenched but I trudged along.
I think it was around 4am, that I became somewhat energized again. I was looking at the standings. I had gone from 10th up to 5th place overnight. The guy in first place was out of reach, and still moving pretty well. Second place was out on the course and still moving. Third place was at 151 miles and 4th place had gone home at 150 miles, I was at 141 miles.
It was around 5am that I asked the race director what the guy looked like, and how he was moving. He told me he was hobbling and had been seen sitting eating breakfast. He told me his last mile took him 44 minutes. My 143rd mile took 13 minutes. The race director thought I could catch him, I thought I could catch him too. I had 4 hours to make up 10 miles. Could I do it???
Katherine arrived to the race around 6am Sunday morning to help Sandy crew and cheer me on! Katherine is Andrew's Mother, best friend and President of the CARES FOUNDATION.
Over the course of the next 2 hours I ran 9 miles, it actually felt good to run faster, working different muscles. But word was out that I was making an attempt to catch the 3rd place runner, and the first and second place runners scooped him on his feet and kept him far enough ahead of me to make it more difficult to catch him. When I did lap them, I made a point to run as fast as i could by them, letting them know I was coming.
In 2 hours the race director said I had narrowed the gap and was now 5 miles behind 3rd place. But I couldn't maintain that for 2 more hours. I finished very strong and I will be curious to see what my spits were in the last 4 hours!!!
At 8am Sunday, 47 Hours into the race, I took a shower, changed into warm clothes and walked around the course for the last time with my 2 boys.
We walked by the 3rd place finisher, Bastiaane and I patted him on the back, shook his hand and acknowledged that I just didn't have what it takes to catch him. He told me he thought he was just going to be able to cruise comfortably in 3rd place and just walk during the last 4 hours. He said he was a little pissed, but he recognized it was all in good fun. We spoke a little about CARES FOUNDATION, Andrew, and he asked some questions about CAH.
Race Directors Jen and Rick McNulty .
3rd Place finished with 162.
2nd Place finished with 171
1st Place 179 miles
I Finished in 4th Place with 156 miles in the 48 Hours
During the Awards Ceremony - RIck, the race director told everyone about my chase for 3rd place, and how Bastiaane asked "Who brings a knife to a fight at 7am, after running for 46 straight hours?????")
Who does????
THIS GUY :)
BLISTERS - both feet looked like this, and are actually worse.
WHAT DID I INGEST OVER 48 HOURS???
I swalled 48 Sports Legs capsules, 42 Hammer Endurolyte capsules, and 3 Alleve.
I ate 5 packages of Cliff Bloks, but my diet consisted mainly of grapes, strawberries, bananas, pretzels, chips, PBJ squares, pizza, salted boiled potatoes, gummy bears, snicker bites, half a cheeseburger and the highlight was a crunchy chicken sandwich and chocolate milk shake on Day 2.
I drank orange, lime, fruit punch gatorade, sometimes mixed with diet mountain dew and of course water.
SLEEP?
Over 2 days I "slept" for 135 minutes, plus a few rest periods with my feet up in the back of Dodge Durango to get out of the rain!
THANK YOU TO ALL MY SUPPORTERS and ALL OF YOU WHO DONATED TO CARES FOUNDATION. DONATE HERE: http://caresfoundation.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1137134
THANK YOU TO MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE SANDY! THANK YOU TO DOUG AND KATHERINE ZEHNER.
What's next? I'm registered for the NORTHCOAST 24 Hour in September of 2015!
I trudged on. 12 hours and 15 minutes into the race i had completed 60 miles - over 2 marathons. (my personal best for a 12 hour race is 65 miles - so maybe I was going out a little too fast.......again.)
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