Whew....what a day Saturday November 21 was - 50 miles in 11:13!  I don't think I've ever done anything quite so  challenging before. Running a fifty mile race wasn't ever something I had planned on doing, so, how then did I end up on that starting line?  

Well it all began with a conversation with friends late last year.  We were all talking about our year and I was saying how mine had been pretty full with a lot of events (Disney Goofy Challenge (1/2 marathon followed by marathon the following day), half marathon in April, Ottawa to Kennebunk cycle tour, Rideau Lakes cycle tour, Ironman Lake Placid, Cumberland duathlon, Cumberland 1/2 marathon, Philadelphia Marathon, the do 100 runs in a 100 days challenge, New Years Eve Resolution 10km) and how fortunate I was not to have been injured at any time.  

My friend Cathy asks what my plans were for 2008 and as I knew I didn't want to do the Ironman again - too much  time spent training (yeah.....little did I know) - she suggested that if I was looking for something new, I should do a 50 mile race.  Hmmm.....now  that would be a challenge.  So, why not.   Checking out races on-line, I found the JFK race. Not knowing anything about it other than I knew someone who had done it and knew that one of my friends Jean would be doing it, I figured that would be the race.  Had I checked out the training plan and the course elevation in advance, I'm not so sure I would have signed up!  The amount of running I had to do for this race was the most I have ever done. For example, during the hardest part of the training I was running 40km on Saturdays and about 25 -30 km on Sundays. During that time, I entered two marathons as part of the training as well.

Because I had never done a race like this before, I found a group through the JFK web site called the "The Reston Runners".  They are great - I joined up as a Reston Runner and met some great folks, got lots of encouragement , advice which all helped to make the whole experience less daunting.

About 20km of the JFK race is done on the Appalatian Trail.....now I am not a fan of trail running, so I was definitely not looking forward to this.  In fact the first time out  doing trails  this year, I wiped out and I remembered thinking that I'm too old to be falling on trails, getting all bloodied up and risking real injury!! Needless to say, while I did a lot of hill running, it was done mostly on the road. I only ventured into the trails a few times.  

So, while I didn't have much trail running experience, I did have a lot of mileage under my belt, so I felt ready for the race. My goal was to finish within the cutoff time of 12 hours. My friends Andrea and Jean were also doing the race. Unlike me, they love the trails and have no fear!  And - they are fast too!! Their goal was to do the race in about 8 hours or so.

From a psychological point of view, I broke the race into three sections:  the hills, the flat and the rolling hills. Otherwise, just the though of running 12 hours was pretty daunting.

Before I tell you about the day, I want to thank Bob for his tremendous support throughout the day.  As my  support crew, I gave him a back pack full of clothes , shoes  and food and  other  stuff that I might possible need/want.  He was at every 'crew designated' rest stop and had everything I needed.  Knowing that I'd see him at the rest stops gave me something to look forward too.  (note: the race is very well supported, but having someone to provide you with the food/drink/clothing that is otherwise not available is much appreciated).

It was a clear yet windy day - about 1 degree (it stayed this temperature pretty much all day) - but best of all it was dry!  The course elevation is as depicted as you see on the attached elevation map - so right from the get go we were facing some pretty long hills. The first mile was rolling hills, the second mile was a climb right to the beginning of the Appalachian Trail. The first bit of the trail is not too bad in terms of footing and climbing. Then we were on asphalt for a while which nice to run on, was at times  just too steep  to run. Then came the tough part - the rocks.  Large, very large, rocks that jutted out all over the place. Again we were climbing and it seemed we'd never reach the top.  But, eventually we did and started our descent which while pretty much straight down had the odd hill thrown in for good measure. Then came the switchbacks....very, very scary switchbacks!  Ok.... scary for me because as I said, I really don't like trail running.  My friends on the other hand love this stuff and go crazy fast!

The first part of the race is about 24 km.  I finished that part (with a huge sigh of relief because I only fell once and didn't break anything) in 3 hours and 48 minutes. Let me tell you, my legs were feeling that effort!  Now, onto the tow path for part two - the marathon.  I started out slow and started doing 10 and ones.....pretty soon found that 10 minutes was far too long to run at one time. I hooked up with some Reston folks who were doing 4 and 1's - much more manageable.  Finally at about mile 38 I seemed to find my running legs and was able to run pretty steady from that point - only stopping at larger hills and at the aid stations.  Finally, I got off the tow path.....and due to the lateness of the day was given a reflective vest. The toughest part of the tow path, which is flat and long was running without music.  We were told many times that anyone caught with music would be disqualified (they don't allow personal listening devices for insurance reasons).

The last 8 miles of the course is rolling hills - what was difficult was that pretty soon it was pitch black and it was very difficult to see anything. What made matters worse for me is that due to all the wind that day, the vision in my right eye was all kinda hazy.  That haziness stayed all night  - to the point I couldn't even read a menu.  Luckily though it was gone by morning.

I finished the race in eleven hours and thirteen minutes - and very happy with my accomplishment.  As I was running those last few miles I wondered how on earth anyone could continue for another 50 miles. I also said I'd never do this again......well only if I ever got the chance to go to Africa and do Comrades :))

I  would also like to congratulate Jean and Andrea on their stellar performances.  Andrea finished in a time of 8:11 and was seventh woman overall!  As well, having the support and encouragement of our group the Reston Travel Babes (Joanne,Marge and Andrea) as well as Anna Bradford who completed here 14th JFK and is the one who brought us all together made  the experience even more memorable.   

Cheers,

Sonja