Start: In front of a nursing home. Finish: Next to a graveyard. Now I know why they added the .2 mile......very convenient for those who think they are going to die! I actually didn't care if I died, I had my medal.
My quest for the 50 miler started two years ago when I met a guy who ran a 50M with his friend on his 50 birthday. I was so inspired by the idea and decided that was my goal. My birthday is in June. Running a 50 miler in Arizona in June is NOT an option, even at night, it's still 100 degrees and the snakes are out! So I started searching the internet but couldn't find one that actually fell on my June 10th 50th birthday. It seemed like the timing didn't fit with every race I chose. I was beginning to worry that my friends would think I was all talk. Then I met Marianne! We trained and ran Crown King 50K together in March. When I found out she was going to do the JFK 50 miler in Maryland with her brother, Steve, I knew there was a good reason why she came in to my life this year....the timing couldn't have been better. Steve is a member of Reston Runners and Marianne & I became the AZ Chapter members.
I've got a great husband who is very supportive of my compulsive behavior! I've never "asked" him about doing a race, but for some reason I felt I should ask his permission for this one, maybe "just I case I died"! I cried when he said yes and he just gave me this puzzled look! Upon signing up I was very excited. Then came the anxiety attacks. What had I gotten myself into"?!! My only comfort was in the fact that Marianne said she was experiencing the same thing. We kept checking the official JFK website, somewhat hoping our applications got lost in the mail, but when our names showed up we knew there was no backing out.
I ordered a book I found on the Internet, "A Step Beyond: A Definitive Guide to Ultra Running", and when it arrived in the mail a few days later and I saw the enormous size of it, I wandered how I'd ever have time to do all that reading and all that running. I discovered how different an ultra is from a marathon, not only because you eat real food and use a run/walk cycle, but now I had to worry about kidney failure and getting a pulmonary embolism on the plane trip home the day after the race. If that wasn't bad enough, there was an article in the Arizona Republic just a couple weeks before the race about how many bears were hunted down in Maryland !! Now I had to worry about bears!
The day before the race we did something we knew we weren't supposed to do.....walk around DC for five hours !! It was too tempting since it was our only opportunity and I hadn't been there since I was nine. But I think it was meant to be because we walked to the Watergate Hotel for lunch, and what was on the menu........the JFK sandwich. It was a sign, I had to order it, even though I haven't eaten beef in several years.
I don't know if the rain at the sound of the gun was a sign or not, but actually we were quite lucky race day. We had intermittent showers, but the trees protected us from the rain and the temperature was perfect for running. The Appalachian Trail was beautiful and we didn't see any bears! We only saw logs and rocks, lots and lots of rocks, some rocks were big enough that maybe there was a bear underneath them! It didn't matter, I'd never seen the AT and I was really enjoying the early stages (16 miles) of the run. I was proud of the fact that I was very successful in not falling on the AT and breaking an ankle like a guy in front of us. All was great until I got off the AT and onto the tow path and almost immediately had an onset of ITB pain. I was beginning to think that maybe I should have signed up for the early start, giving me 14 hours to complete it, since at that point I thought I might be crawling to the finish line. Thank God for pain pills!
Marianne's son, Ethan, and Steve's wife, Bobbie, crewed for us and I will never forget Bobbie when we'd be coming up on an aid station and she would be running towards us, smiling and encouraging us. Bobbie says CREW stands for cranky runners, endless waiting!! I'm sure all crew members go to heaven when they die.
When we got off the tow path at mile 42, a flood of emotions hit me and I started crying. I not only was going to cross the finish line, but I was going to be well under 12 hours. One of the cops standing there asked if I was alright, then almost before he finished his sentence, realized it was just an emotional moment for me. I'm sure he thought we were all nuts anyway.
I was really amazed at how well I was able to run even between mile forty and fifty. I had no idea what to expect since 31 miles was my longest run. We ran all of the AT, except the steep uphill section. We stuck to the 25 minute run, 5 minute walk cycle on the tow path. Once on the country roads we walked the uphill, ran the flats and downhill and finally with three and a half miles to go Steve proclaimed there was no rush, we had it in the bag. We decided at that point a fast walk was just as fast as we could run. But of course, we saved some for a nice sprint across the finish line in 11:28.
Of course, Marianne and I had to have our post-race pictures taken in the graveyard. We watched a few more finishers then headed over to the gym for food and a massage and some very emotional cell phone calls to family and friends.
I always thought I would cry when crossing the finish line in a marathon, and I never have. But this was different. I was overcome with emotion and couldn't stop crying after crossing the finish line. I was SOOOOOO PROUD !! I had accomplished what I had set out to do two years ago. I am not a very talented runner, but I have what it takes to complete a fifty miler.....determination!
I was so impressed with the Reston Runners. What a great group. They even have license plate holders! Breakfast Sunday morning at the Blueberry Hill Common House was incredible, great food, champagne and a very funny speech by Anna. Everyone was wonderful and it was great listening to all the stories.
JFK50 mile is a great choice for a first ultra. Beautiful course with variety, great aid station support. High percentage of finishers. Don't be intimidated by the extra miles. You just have to want it bad enough.
Kathy Zanath
# 831
2004 JFK 50 mile finisher