May 3, 2008
Blue Planet (Run for Africa) 24 Hour Run

Last year at this run, I'd logged my longest run to date, with 90 miles, in preparation for my first 100 miler. This year I was undertrained but would still try to get in 100 miles if the opportunity presented itself. The course was a five mile cross country loop with singletrack, a whole lot of gravel road and grass.

The first two laps went well and I was at the proper pace. The third lap proved much more difficult. I was already starting to develop hot spots on the balls of my feet at mile 12. I hadn't expected them until about 40 miles in. Also, my hips began to hurt and they caused more hip pain than I'd ever experienced before.

I spent some time resting on the course and did more hiking than I'd wanted to at this stage. Lap 4 got no better but I'd changed shoes, hoping this would alleviate the pain. It didn't so I suffered through lap 6.

Lap 7 presented a new challenge. My left foot began to hurt on the extended downhill and eventually it became excruciatingly painful. I had to lie down on a rock and prop my feet up against a tree. I lay there for a good while. It helped the situation. I thought my day was already done but the extended rest allowed me to continue. There was an extended grass section afterward which further massaged my foot.

I was way behind schedule to attempt 100 miles at this point so I lowered my expectations and that stress relief helped dramatically. My ailments seemed to vanish and I could continue at whatever pace I felt appropriate.

I fell back in the standings but knew from last year that many runners would either drop at 12 hours or take an extended rest. I'd managed just 45 miles in 12 hours but didn't much care. Massanutten was just two weeks away so the fewer the miles the better.

I stopped for a while to get a full meal. I ate with Rich Lilly, who just finished his 12 hour run with 70 miles, and Liz Luccarelli, an ultra newcomer who was moving very well in her first event.

The rate at which I was getting passed up was a little disheartening but I kept my head up. Drew Shelfer was tearing it up all day and wound up with 70 miles in under 11 hours! Rich continually passed me as did Mohammed Idlibi and Basil Glaros. Mo dropped to the 12 hour race. Denise Davis and Gerald Buckner kept plugging away and I knew they'd keep it up for the full 24. They both wound up with 100 miles each!
Kent Green, who also ran 50 at McNaughton in Illinois, racked up 70 miles very quickly and was heading toward an easy victory. He took a brief rest and woke up six hours later.

I continued throughout the night and into morning. I felt much better but maintained an easy pace. I had one burst of energy where I ran a mile at just over six minute pace but then it was back to a slow go. At 70 miles, I sprinted across the finish line and called it a day. There wasn't much to be gained from completing another lap although I had plenty of time to do so.

At the awards ceremony, I actually got a placement prize. I received the third place award for under 40. I didn't expect there to be separate age categories. By taking it easy, I allowed my body the chance to recover for Massanutten, which is one of my favorites and a marquee event both regionally and nationally.

B-Rex