The long story short is:
I was 9 minutes faster than last year and felt great at the finish.
The long story long is:
Matt and I got to Hagerstown late (as usual) as Matt did
not get out of work early as planned (as usual - next year he promises to take
the day off). Matt was sick, and was running a slight fever. I remarked that
I had been sick earlier in the week, but felt fine now. We spoke of the 1999
race, when the two of us and Will Myers had all been sick and had to drop out
of the race. I was hoping that this was not a premonition.
We got to the motel and met with Will Myers and his sherpa, Don Higdon, and
took Matt’s car to the finish. We then had dinner in the hotel’s
restaurant after I got my 500 mile sweatshirt.
That morning I woke at 3:20 (ugh!) and Matt mentioned that he had been sweating all night. Not good. Don drove Will and I to the 5 a.m. early start for the slow folks while I ate a banana and power bar and drank an Ensure and V8. We met up with Greg Seidl (who was going for his 22nd finish and was in great shape having lost 20 pounds over the past year) and his wife Kristin. I gave Kristin a bag with shoes and stuff and off we went. Don left to go to the finish where he would bike the course backwards to offer support.
The team of the Worn Soles (Will, Dan Symansyk, Ron Bowman, John Curley and I) got together at the start, but we didn’t stay that way for long. After the start a few over-hydrated induced pit-stops caused us to loss contact with each other. The first hour I was mostly alone and not feeling well. I felt overheated and tired and a little down from being separated from my running buddies. I guess I did not look forward to 50 miles by myself while not feeling good. But after over an hour of mostly uphill walking I was running down some downhill sections and feeling good about the world and the race and my spirits were lifted. I saw Ron coming from behind a tree after watering a bush and we hooked up. I was following him when I fell in some rocks and banged by left knee, but got right up and continued. I didn’t realize that I had blood coming down my leg and elbow.
At Crampton’s Gap (aka Gaithland) I met Kristin and exchanged by flashlight for a new bottle of my favorite Gatorade. The lemon-lime flavor that was provided at the race turns my stomach for some reason, but I thrive on the orange flavored version. I grabbed some potato chips and a Pepsi and left with Ron. Kristin told me that Greg was 10 minutes ahead of me as she tried to clean my bleeding knee (she is a nurse). Dan was right behind us and gave Kristin his flashlight. Will was right behind Dan, but missed Kristin.
The trail south of Crampton
is a long uphill, so I used the walk break to eat a trail bar. Shortly after
that Dan caught up with us.
At the top of Weaverton Cliffs Dan passed Ron, I followed, and off we went.
Dan went down the cliffs as if the race ended at the bottom. I told him I felt
like I was running a 10k! We were booking. Jon Valentine took our picture along
the way and I hope it comes out.
Dan and I got off the trail in 3:50, 5 minutes behind schedule but before the leader from the 7 a.m. start … always a good sign. The two leaders passed us before we got to the railroad tracks where I met Kristin again. I changed my shoes and socks and grabbed a new Gatorade and V8. I forgot the Ensure. Kristin added that Greg was now 20 minutes ahead and that he looked good. His lead was growing sufficiently that Kristin would be gone from future aid stations before I reached her. I figured I won’t see Greg again either.
Dan and I crossed the tracks (no train this year to hold us up), turned onto the C&O Canal Towpath and quickly got into our 8 & 2 routine (run 8 minutes and walk 2 minutes). The plan was to do the 26 miles on the towpath, from about mile marker 58 to 84, in 5:45. At marker 63 we say Don Higdon with his bike on the side of the towpath changing clothes (it had warmed up from the high 30s to high 40s). It was perfect timing as both Dan and I had just taken off a layer of clothing. We gave our extra clothes to Don. Don then told us where he had left several Gatorade bottles for me along the towpath. During this one minute pause the USNA marathon team came storming past us looking like they were having a good time. Don continued south to meet Will while Dan and I resumed our steady assault of the towpath.
Several Striders who started at 7 a.m. passed us as we trudged along the canal. Bob Cawood told us that Matt had dropped at Weaverton because of his illness. Matt got off the cliffs 10 minutes faster than Bob, but caught a ride from Helen Lard and Mike Bergeson who were crewing for Kevin Lynch. Helen later said that Matt was drenched in sweat as he was unable to regulate his body temperature due to his illness. He made the right choice to drop. Others that passed us were Jim LeClare, Maureen Rohrs and Prasad Gerard.
I found the Gatorade hidden by Don at mile markers 65, 72 and 80. They were perfectly placed just before an aid station so I could discard the empty bottle. Everything went well until about the mile 34 aid station. Dan’s stomach started to bother him. He slowed down a bit and started walking for more than 2 minutes (he was keeping track of the time and I didn’t realize that until later). At the mile 38 aid station (known as “38 Special”), Mary Lang called out my name. She was rapidly coming up having started at 7am.
I talked with Dan and said I had to leave him to beat last year’s time. He didn’t object. We both knew that he’d finish; once you get to 38 the rest is only a matter of slugging it out. Mary and I went off doing 8 & 2 for a couple of miles, but she had too much energy and left me in a cloud of dust and leaves. Then I saw, and heard, Dam #4. It was the end of the towpath and it had taken 6:01 to finish it. This was a bit latter than I wanted.
As I had at each aid station, I got a Pepsi, potato chips and an Advil. The knee was a bit stiff, but not hurting me. Then came that fun little climb out of theriver valley. I used the climb to eat my third or fourth trail bar.
I hit my watch at the 8 miles-to-go mark and figured I needed to do sub 13 minute miles to beat last year’s time. I felt good and ran down the road (well, it felt like running even if it didn’t look that way), walking only the up-hills.
At 7 miles I heard my name called out, and there was Kristin. Greg was only 50 yards ahead of me! The back of his A10 jacket was my new goal. Two miles later he was still 50 yards ahead. Damn. But I caught him just before Downsville with 4 miles to go. We had a little talk, and he was happy with his time with a goal to break 12 hours. Just then Don rode by on his bike, headed to the finish line. I gave him by belt with a half full Gatorade bottle to reduce the weight. After 46 miles, every ounce counts, especially when the aid stations are only 2 miles apart!
The next three mile went quickly. I ran in the last mile, and when Kristin and Matt yelled out my name near the finish I found the energy to kick for the last 100 yards. I crossed the line in 11:40, 9 minutes faster than last year. I got my medal and meet up with Matt. I just stood there and remarked that I felt fine and didn’t feel beat up. I think I felt better than at the finish of any other JFK. The rest of the Worn Soles came in, spaced about 10 minutes apart. It had been a good day for us all.