My first 50

Ben Graff

Nov. 19th 2011

At work a few days after finishing the 2011 JFK 50, a co-worker asked me what it was like to run my first ultra.

"I smiled a lot – more than any race I've run before," I said.

My co-worker gave me a quizzical eyebrow-arched glare.

I tried to explain. "Well, it's like this: I'd been planning for this race for almost a year. I grew up in Boonsboro (where the race starts) and went to middle school at Springfield (where the race finishes). My dad had finished the race back in the 70s and I'd heard stories for years. I'd never run anything longer than a marathon, and despite the months of long runs and strategizing, I was basically terrified I was going to face plant on the Appalachian Trail and end up a the new Washington County Hospital or descend into some electrolyte-depleted madness around mile 37 and try to jump into the Potomac River or, worst of all, make it to mile 49 and run out of time in sight of the finish line.

Instead, none of those things happened or even came close to happening. I rolled both ankles a bit on the trail, but not too badly. Zero face plants. I stayed hydrated and nibbled on salty foods all day long (mid-race potato chips – who knew?). And I stayed on pace – in fact, almost 50 minutes ahead of my "best case scenario" goal pace. And the more things went right, the more I noticed I was smiling despite the fatigue and pain. It's like I was watching myself brush aside the fears and doubts step after step, and with each mile I was a little closer to accomplishing something I'd been working at for so long."

My co-worker nodded, still looking a bit skeptical.

"Also," I said, "this race took as long to finish as my previous two longest races ever combined. So even if I was only smiling a little each mile between winces, that totally added up to more smiling than any race before! Plus, that "Occupy Dargen" sign on the towpath was pretty funny."

My co-worker smiled. That made sense.

Advice for future first-timers
I'm fairly certain I got pretty lucky for my first time out. But at least a little bit of luck is preparation, so I can tell you a few things I think helped me.

• Start training early. I like to make big training plans for races. I almost never follow them exactly, but it makes me feel good to plan at least a few months out. For this race, it was actually an 18-week schedule with running 4-5 days per week that built up long runs on both Saturday and Sunday to simulate fatigue. The longest one, about a month before the race, was supposed to be 5 hours on Saturday and 4 hours on Sunday. (It actually was 4 hours on Saturday and about 2 on Sunday. Like I said, I like to make the plans, not necessarily follow them...). My favorite find was a section of The Turquoise Trail that starts at the end of Lake Audubon in Reston and empties (after a few turns) on the W&OD trail, giving you just a taste of some trail running followed by a long straight stretch – sort of a mini JFK 50. I ran that section almost every non-rainy long run.
• Set a goal or two or three. Goal #1 was finish alive. This is an important and noble goal – one I can recommend for everyone with no reservations. Other goals were more challenging for me to come up with. Because it was my first ultra, I had no reference point for how long I might take or how fast I should try to go per mile or anything. Two things helped a great deal. One was the very rough guideline of doubling your marathon time and adding 2 hours. For me, this came out to around 10 hours (4 x 2 + 2) which seemed wildly optimistic and became my "best case scenario" goal). The second was the incredibly helpful spreadsheet created by Tim Smith that could predict various splits for the race. It has modifiers for difficulty for each mile to account for hills or aid stations and gave me at least some reference point for when I might be where. This helped me tell my family when they could hope to see me and helped me mentally run through the race for packing purposes ("okay, it's 12:30pm and you might be hungry and will definitely want Mountain Dew – those both go into the mile 27 bag!"). Having multiple goals helped me feel okay no matter how I was doing and, because things went well for me, made me feel great on the course when I realized I was ahead of even my best case scenario.
• Do a training run on the AT. It seems intimidating when you think of it. But it's a lot less scary when you've hiked that section of the trail with a full pack once or twice and tried to run it in a rainstorm. Okay, that second one seemed like a horrible idea at the time – the weekend I happened to travel up to Boonsboro for a training run it decided to steadily rain for exactly the 3 hours it took me to run from the South Mountain Inn to Weverton Cliffs. I was cold and miserable and nervous about slipping miles from help. But in retrospect, it was the best training idea I had and a happy accident. I got experience on the race route in bad conditions – far worse than race day. (Actually, because of a lack of research, I got some bonus training – I didn't realize the race route took the fire road up, and instead ran an extremely rough section of the trail for an extra mile or two!) The hiking and training runs gave me experience bounding up and down wobbly rocks which helped physically and milestones I could look out for which helped mentally. So take the day trip up and do at least one training run on the AT. Totally worth it.
• Wear a watch (ideally with GPS!). I know some people find it incredibly de-motivating to glance down and see how much distance is left or what time or pace they are running. I'm completely the opposite. I'll admit it – I'm addicted to the data on my Garmin 310. I actually have a hard time running without it now. For this race it was particularly helpful for one main reason: it helped me slow down. When I got to the C&O Canal towpath, I felt pretty good. And so I started running like I would on a regular Sunday jog. My goal pace was around 10:30 for the trail section. So when I looked down and saw I was running at an 8:32 pace, I actually said aloud to myself "slow down!" The runner in front of me who overheard me talking to myself was confused. But it helped – I did slow down, and because of that I had energy throughout the race and was actually passing people on the road portion at the end.
• Talk to people. I usually run with headphones, so the no listening device policy worried me. Turns out it was manageable and even enjoyable, as it lead to overhearing all sorts of funny conversations on the AT, like the guy in the kilt explaining for the 4thtime why he was wearing it or the guys who explained a rating system for trail falls ("you can score above a 10 if there's blood!"). It also helped me completely avoid the lull people have described between miles 29-36 when you've gone farther than a marathon but are still a ways from the next major aid station. I started talking to a woman who it turned out was having a terrible day (she'd fallen and hurt her ankle pretty badly on the AT) but was going at exactly the right pace for me (her "terrible day" being almost exactly equal to my good day). We ran together for several miles, and those miles went much faster.
• Eat what your body is hungry for. My Garmin said I burned about 6800 calories during the race. Your body needs fuel. So if you find you suddenly crave bananas or soup or M&Ms or whatever else you happen to see, go for it in moderation. Your body knows what it needs and what it can't handle. Listen to it. For me on race day, this was usually the orange slices they had at a lot of aid stations; the soup and hot chocolate were also great surprises. And because I live on the stuff, those 3 sips of Mountain Dew I'd packed in my bags were heaven!
• (Side note. This one has a corollary: don't be afraid to ask for weird stuff. When I was running, for some reason I really wanted a dill pickle. I've never wanted a pickle before in my life when running, but I found myself looking hopefully at every aid station for one. I never did get one...but I learned after the race that if at any of the stops where my dad was standing I'd have said "Gosh, I want a dill pickle" he would have simply walked to the car, gotten the one he packed for lunch with his sandwich, and given it to me. So ask for weird stuff: you never know when someone might be able to produce it. They're just that good.)
• Pack a hand warmer and a change of socks or two. I wore gloves, but on a whim the night before I went out and bought those little hand warmer packets at CVS. Really good idea. At race start, it was about 29 degrees and stayed below 40 for much of the AT section. I carried a water bottle in one hand and the hand warmer packet in the other and kept switching every 5 minutes or so. My gloves sweated through, leaving my fingers frigid and would have lead to me not being able to open beans or gels or even my water bottle. But that little 8-hour warmer packet saved the day (and my dexterity). The socks speak for themselves; I ended up putting a pair in every bag and only used one of them, but I liked having the option.
• Smile. There are a lot of people taking pictures – you don't want a bad picture, do you? Okay, seriously it really did help to smile, even when it hurt. You've probably heard the research about how smiling can actually lead you to feel happier. It seems to work triple for me when running, and also helps those around you. So find the joy wherever you can and fixate on that – it will make the whole race better.
• Thank the Reston Runners volunteers (and all the other course volunteers too!). They are really amazing – handling bag logistics before, during, and after the race, cheering as you navigate the course, offering soup and help with your bag at aid stations, and generally being rays of sunshine on what might be a cloudy experience. I've never felt more supported during a race than the RR crew made me feel on this one. They rock!

All in all, it was a fantastic experience for my first ultra and one of the best running experiences of my life. If you're on the fence and the least bit tempted to try, all I can say is that it's worth a shot. With a lot of preparation, a little luck, and some help from your fellow runners and volunteers, you'll find yourself smiling as you cross the finish line in Williamsport. Of course, you'll also find yourself wincing at the sight of stairs for the next few days after you finish. But mostly you'll be smiling.