As I sit back today, a week after running JFK, I realize that the runners gain so much more by running this race than a t-shirt and a medal.  You walk away from this run with memories that will last a lifetime and you will have a totally different view of yourself both as an athlete and as a person.  There was a whole new world of running that was opened for me on November 18th, 2006 that totally renewed my enthusiasm for the sport.  Above all else, I made some great new friends.  I may not see these new friends until next year at the 2007 JFK, but I think that it makes our friendship that much more special.  Let me tell you about my run.

Prior to starting JFK, I put a lot of effort into planning and strategizing for this race.  I am a member of the US Air Force, and if I have learned anything from my Boss and Mentor, Chief Master Sergeant Keith Mazzatenta, it is that the only way to ensure success in any operation is to plan and prepare for anything and everything that can happen.  I did this with JFK and it certainly paid dividends.  Steve Mildenberger and Anna Bradford can attest to the fact that I prepared for every little bump and stump on this course.  Side note:  I cannot imagine anyone running this course without first enlisting the assistance of these two.  I even planned out how I would handle the day before JFK, where I would stay, what time I would go to bed, how much time I would spend on my feet, etc.  By the time this day arrived, I was totally confident that there was not a single thing that I could have done more to prepare myself for this event.

The morning of the race was picture perfect.  The temperatures were in the mid to low 30?s, and overcast.  But more importantly, no rain or snow.  As I put together my gameplan for JFK, I had decided to run the beginning very conservatively.   Basically, the first 2 miles or so, you gain 550 feet of elevation.  My plan was to walk as much of this as I could.  When the race began, I was cold enough that I decided to run this part, just to warm my body up some.  As it turns out, I ran most of this portion and only walked one very short and steep section.  The positive that I pulled from this was that I sufficiently warmed up and stretched my legs out.  By the time I hit the Appalachian Trail, I was completely in a groove.  

Prior to the race, the Appalachian Trail definitely had my attention.  Every article I read told tales of horrific falls on this portion.  I read many stories of races ending, hospital visits or just badly scraped and bruised runners losing battles to the AT.  To put it mildly, I was more than a little scared of this section of the race.  Normally, I would have gone out to this section to practice it, but given the distance I live from Boonsboro, I live in Harford County, Maryland, doing this would be way too difficult.  On race day, I decided to give my undivided attention to the trail.  After about 30 minutes, my good friend Dennis had sufficiently schooled me up on how to handle this trail and I was now having a blast with it.  I found that if you just concentrate on the trail in front of you, know where you are stepping and don't be afraid to slow down and step off the trail to gather yourself prior to any real technical sections, you will handle it just fine.  If I had to give a new runner any advice on this section of the race it would be this:  Do Not Disrespect the Appalachian Trail.  If you do your homework, and not allow yourself to run this carelessly, you can set yourself up for success for the rest of the race here.  By the time I reached Weaverton Cliffs, I was actually bummed out that this portion was over.  Looking back today, this was definitely my favorite part of the race.  I cannot wait to run JFK again, just for this section.

Upon exiting the AT, I met up with my crew for the first time.  I was able to sit down for a little bit, and I changed my shoes and socks.  About a month prior to JFK, I purchased a decent pair of Trail Shoes.  This was not something that everyone needs to do, however, I found that the stability of a good trail shoe helped me out quite a bit.  I also noticed that, because of the toe protection of my particular trail shoe, I prevented stubbed toes on a couple of occasions.  When I took off my socks I noticed that I was in the process of losing 3 toenails, and I had one jelly bean sized blister on my big toe, and a smaller blister on the ball of one of my feet.  Believe it or not, after lubing up my feet again and putting on new shoes and socks, I never even felt the slightest problem with my feet for the rest of the race.  I made the decision at this point to not change out of my original run clothes as well.  I started off the race in a pair of Under Armour Cold Gear tights and shirt, with a cotton long sleeve Under Armour shirt over the cold gear.  I was feeling comfortable, so I decided to stick with it.  As it turns out, I experienced no chaffing issues at all during the race.  It was now off to the C&O Canal Towpath.  

One of my goals prior to the start was to try and beat the famous train that comes through the race at this point.  I arrived at the aid station heading on to the trail with no train in sight.  I grabbed a PB&J sandwich, some chips and some Gatorade and headed out.  Before I go on, I wanted to point out a couple of things at this point.  Prior to the race, I read quite a bit about the importance of eating during this run.  Part of my strategy was to grab a little something at each aid station.  For next year, I think that for me personally, I will skip the food at the first couple of aid stations and just stick to liquids.  I found that the bumping up and down on the AT was now giving me some stomach issues.  I think that if you fuel your body properly before the start of the race, skipping the food at the first two aid stations will be fine.  Just some food for thought ; )

Prior to the beginning of the race, I was certain that the C&O Canal Towpath would be my favorite portion of the race.  It was going to be flat, soft and scenic.  Don't get me wrong, it was all of that and more"..26.5 miles of more.  I have a very similar trail near where I live that I used for training, the North Central RailRoad Trail, that definitely helped me out.  On the surface, you would think that running on a trail like this would be great.  However, you will find that, because of the constant pounding of the same muscles, over and over, you get more beat up here than you realize.  Plus, there is no change of scenery at all.  I found that I needed more mental strength to get through this section than the AT.  I also got sidetracked twice for Port-a-potty visits because of the above mentioned food strategies.  I figure that I may have lost 15 minutes or so of my time because of that.  Before the race, I decided to set up three points during this run where I would meet up with my crew.  This was good, but mentally, I wish I would have had them at all of the aid stations.  My wife and her friend are the best for picking up your spirits.  My wife's friend Tracey, who is an elementary school teacher, might be the most organized person I know.  She made sure that we were doing all of the right things whenever she saw us.  Unfortunately, we missed them at one stop because we arrived sooner than we thought.  We met them at the other two however.  

Before the race, I had a strategy set up for run/walk ratios that kind of went out the door when I saw how well things were going for me.  Originally, I was going to go with a 15 minutes of running, 5 minutes of walking on the Towpath.  However, once on the Towpath, I just decided that I would run to each aid station, walk through, get my food and walk for a couple of minutes leaving.  This was working well up to about mile 28.  At this point, I switched to a ratio of, run to a mile marker, then walk for 2 minutes.  This was working well and offered structure and kept my mind busy.  By the time I reached the 38 special aid station, I fueled up for the last time on some real good food and made the decision to just grab chips and water exiting the trail, then it would be all liquid to the end of the race.  I exited the Towpath and realized that I had a real chance to finish in under 10 hours.  This was great news and it kind of pumped me up a little.  That is until I saw the first "rolling? hill coming off the Towpath.

As I exited the Towpath, I also went to a new run/walk strategy.  Basically, my new strategy was to walk up any hills, and run the downhills and flats.  I knew that I would have a decent shot at finishing in the 10 hour time frame, so I had a little flexibility to be more liberal with my walk breaks.  It was at this point that I hooked up with this girl, Kim Richmond, who needed to complete JFK to qualify to run a 100 miler in Hawaii.  We talked and joked and shuffled our way along.  We caught up with Anna, who played leapfrog with me all day long.  Side note:  If you ever run JFK in the same running pack as Anna Bradford, realize that she is going to look like she is in the first mile of her run all day long.  Don't worry about how you feel, just use this as a way to gather yourself mentally and keep moving forward.  Back to the story.  I met up with my crew at mile 47, I ran over and gave my wife a huge hug and kiss, which charged up my batteries to run this thing in.  

Coming down to mile 49, you kind of start reflecting on the days events and you realize that you just accomplished something huge.  I checked my watch and saw that a sub 10 hour finish was in the bag now, so I could really enjoy the finish.  I turned to my new friend, Kim and asked her if she could believe we were almost done, and she kind of looked at me curiously.  She had missed the last few mile markers and had no idea we were inside of one mile left.  She instantly pepped up and we ran it in together.  I saw my crew at the finish and this overwhelming flow of happiness came over me.  All of those months of training were now coming to an end.  I was so proud of what I had just accomplished, but there was a little sadness mixed in there as well.  I had trained and trained for this huge event, and now it was over.  I wound up finishing in 9:56.  This is a mighty steep baseline to work off of for future JFK's, but I think I am up to the challenge.  

So, this was the story of my first JFK experience, but there is another story that is way more meaningful, and for prospective ultrarunners, a story that hopefully will push you over the top in your decision to sign up for your first Ultramarathon.

The real story of this race are the tales of the volunteers that staff the aid stations, the folks that dedicate their time and efforts as crew members, and the new friends that you make out on this run.  I have never seen food layouts like this at any sporting event.  The volunteers should be commended for the incredible job that they did.  This would have never been possible without their help.  My crew, which consisted of my wife and her best friend Tracey, were the best crew that I could have hoped for.  They were there to fill my water bottle, make sure that I ate, and did an incredible job of lying, telling me how great I looked.  I cannot imagine doing this without them.  It was so awesome to see all of the Blue Reston Runners Crew shirts when you ran into all of the aid station.  There was always someone from the Reston Runners whenever I needed a pick-me-up.  I cannot thank you guys enough for that.  The best part was the new friends I made out there.  Obviously, I have to mention Anna "Mrs" Bradford, who played tag with me from the beginning of the Towpath to the finish.  Funny thing about Anna, how does she manage to always look like she is just floating along, totally effortlessly, while the rest of us are struggling?  She was awesome.  I also have to mention my good buddy Dennis.  If you ever need someone to run with, he is the man.  I have never met a more polite person in my entire life.  He must have said thank you to every single person out on the trails.  I also want to mention this tough young Marine, Lawrence.  This poor guy was having some serious IT band issues from about mile 25 on.  Yet he never even entertained the thought of quitting.  He wound up finishing in around 10:10.  Incredible.  The best was this woman I met, Kimberly Richmond.  She had navigated the AT like a pro, then wound up falling at some point on the Towpath.  She needed stitches, but kept on running.  She and I finished together.  We laughed and told stories for about the last 6 miles of the race.  She told me of her plans to run the HURT 100 in Hawaii, if she could finish this race.  Well, she finished and she is now on her way to Hawaii.  Good luck on your run Kimberly, I know you will do awesome.  She is the toughest chick that I know.  And then there is Steve Mildenberger.  We have still never met face to face, yet I feel like I am one of his kids.  He totally took care of me, and we are basically strangers.  Steve, I am so lucky to have had you as an eMentor.  Thanks pal.

So here I am, finished with the run, feeling like a million dollars.  I certainly hope that anyone who reads this will have their minds put at ease about JFK.  It is a very tough challenge, but one that will reward you tremendously.  Put the time in to train, and more than anything else, please sign up for an eMentor with the Reston Runners.  You cannot go wrong by doing that.  Good luck and I hope to see a lot of new faces to make friends with out at the 07 JFK 50 Miler.