2015 : 3 Days at the Fair - 72 Hour Event Report

Moving while sleeping - 3rd morning of my 72-hour run, in a somewhat "dazed" state.

My decision to again run the 72 hour event at 3 Days at the Fair came quite late.  With all that's been happening in my life as of late with graduation and job hunting, I just wasn't sure I'd be able to realistically partake in the 3 day event this year.  I toyed with the idea of perhaps dropping down to something smaller like the 24 or even the 12, but to me it just wouldn't feel right unless I was out there slogging it out for 3 days.   I guess honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.  Another thing holding me back was my perceived lower level of fitness this year.  I admittedly took the entire month of February off from running after a mediocre showing at the HURT 100.  I had sprinkled in a few runs in March and early April to keep my fitness at a decent level, but all of those performances were under par for me.  It wasn't until the 2nd week of April when I finally picked up my training to what I consider a "heavier" load.  Even still, this only meant 60-70 mile weeks, not 100+ mile weeks.  Going into May, I knew that if I did go for it again at 3 days, that I'd certainly survive, and probably put up decent numbers, but likely wouldn't top last year's mileage of 246 (let alone hit the mythical barrier of 250).   Somewhat reluctantly, I did finally decide to throw my name in once I realized that this might in fact be my last year to feasibly do the 72 (at least for a couple of years anyway).  I just couldn't pass up spending 3 days with some of my favorite ultra folks.

Strategy:

Once the decision was made to run, I followed last year's approach of running the 12-hour Mind the Ducks the weekend before.  Unlike last year though, I didn't run it too hard, and left after 10 hours to make it back for my graduation on time.  This meant I was much more rested (and less sore) for the 72.  As far as race strategy for the 72 however, I honestly didn't have a solid plan going in.  For 2013 and 2014 I had two somewhat similar experiences, with some slight notable differences.  For this year, I couldn't decide what strategy I wanted to try to employ, as I really didn't have a set mileage goal.  The most important goal to me for the 72 has been to hit 250 miles.  Had I gone into this year really believing I could have hit 250, I very likely would have.  I honestly didn't think I'd get close enough to even try though, and that was perhaps my biggest weakness going in.  It's not that I wasn't confident or sufficiently trained for decent mileage, it's just that I never really set a hard goal to shoot for.  For me, running the 72 in 2015, was all about enjoying 3 days of running with friends after a very long 7 years of graduate school coming to an end.  All I wanted was to be out there, and not be thinking about school or jobs for a few days, and just make loops and chat with good people.  I knew there'd be ups and downs, and I knew there'd be rain...so I decided early just to wing it.

There was one particularly "place" I was hoping to get to in my race that I knew was possible from my 2014 outing.  This "place" I described quite vividly in last year's report.  Somewhere around mile 220 last year, amidst severe sleep deprivation, I arrived at a mental place I can only refer to as absolutely and completely "distilled".   I distinctly remember wandering around the loop in an almost surreal state of existence.  It was simultaneously bewildering and yet wonderful.  It is only after extreme physical and emotional exertion over several days that I can find myself in this mind space.  I remember Marylou having to help me to my tent as if it were a dream or out-of-body experience.  I wanted to again skim the surface of that place again this year if possible.  I wanted to remember what it felt like to exist there again.  This was ultimately the real reason that I finally made the decision to sign up this year.

As far as mileage goals, like I said, I really didn't set any.  I guess I had a soft goal of 200 miles in order to get the new 200 buckle, but otherwise, I didn't really know where I'd come out above that.

The Report:

I went into the race this year with a couple of things a little different.  I did have my usual station set up about 1/3 of the way through the loop, but I made the decision early to go with music (iPod).  It wasn't that I wanted to necessarily tune folks out, it's just that I wanted 2015 to be more of an internal race for me.  In general, I was definitely a little less social this year than in past years, but I certainly didn't enjoy the race any less.  It's just where my mind was this year, and it worked out well for me.

The forecast was calling for a couple of sunny/hot days, with some rain mixed in....and this is indeed how things turned out.  I was constantly swapping out my sun hat for my running cap, and putting on sunscreen when needed.  Additionally, the first night got really cold, which I know affected more than a few runners.  One thing I stayed on top of from the very start this year was my overall body maintenance.  I made sure to periodically apply sunscreen, chapstick, lube, and change clothing at periodic intervals.  This was critical as I had only one tiny blister at the end of the 3 days and didn't even lose a single toe nail.  My leukotape held up for the full 72 hours and my feet looked great.  The only issue I had coming away from the event were very sore hips.  It took a solid 5 days for my hip pain to subside after the race, and only now am I running again.  Another thing that I did this year was to buy a large case of 12 chocolate milk boxes (the kind that don't need refrigeration).  These were absolutely killer when I needed a high-calorie pick-me-up.  I love the aid station food and snacks, but I've learned over my 3 years that there are inevitably times when nothing at the station looks appetizing.  It was during these times, that I'd crack open a chocolate milk.  

I had no plans on trying to place again (in 2013 I placed 3rd, and last year 2nd), but I certainly thought that it may be possible.  At the start line I spoke briefly with Josh Irvan about his training, and knew he was gunning for 300 miles.  I remember a short conversation I had with Mike Dobies at the Barkley, and knew Josh was coming in fired up.  Additionally, I saw that Serge Arbona was running the 72 (A US national team member).  I immediately knew that pending some major blow up, that my best possible placing would probably be 3rd, so I honestly put it out of my mind from that moment on.  I figured I'd just do my thing, and see how things were looking on the morning of the 3rd day.  

My biggest strength at 3 Days is my consistency.  Over the past two years, I've learned that I can survive on little sleep, and simply keep on plugging away.  Other runners will come out after sleep and run faster, but generally I always catch back up just because I keep on moving....always.  I take very few long breaks, and simply keep making forward progress.  One of the 3-Day'ers that I admire the most at this event is George Biondic.  I didn't run in 2012 when he put up a solid 241 miles, but all the accounts of his race are that he was insanely mathematical about it.  He knew exactly what his pace needed to be for optimal efficiency, and how much sleep (and when to take it) per night, and how many calories to eat and when.  He proves my point that if you are consistent, and somewhat mathematical about your race, even with a lot of walking, it's very possible to push upwards of 250 miles.  You just have to keep moving, stay on top of nutrition and calories, and take very few breaks.  I like to think that like George, consistency rather than speed is also my strong suit.  Going in to this year, I figured I was at least probably capable of 220's if not 230's depending on how much sleep I took, as long as I kept moving. BUT, like I wrote earlier, I didn't set a hard goal.

A quick look-back at the data from 2013 and 2014 shows slightly different race strategy approaches.  In 2013 I had no idea what would work best, so I just sort of went out moderate on the first day, and took my first sleep some time in the night at about 85 miles.  Then, I ran solidly after that sleep for a good 15 miles but succumbed rather quickly to fatigue early on the 2nd day.  I slept another short stint much earlier on the 2nd night and went back out much before dawn.  I found that this strategy was difficult in that it meant I had several hours of running in the wee hours before the sun came up.  It was incredibly difficult to function during those times, and I found that my loops were dreadfully slow.  Additionally, I realized rather quickly that my two sleep breaks were definitely too short.  When I hit 201 miles early into the evening on the 3rd day, I went down for what I had planned to be a longer sleep.  Unfortunately, I slept through 3 alarms and was out for over 4 hours.  Without this snafu, I'm almost certain I would have hit 240+ miles that year, but still I came away learning a lot about multi-day racing (especially to always have a back-up person that can shake your tent if you oversleep!).  On the final morning, I had a good push with Dave Lettieri and muscled out 231 total miles.  I was content with this, but still slightly annoyed at my oversleep.  One thing I noticed when looking back at my data is that I didn't really take any regular rest breaks.  Other than my sleep breaks, my laps were all rather random.

2013 data.  The very large sleep break on the third night is easily identifiable.

In 2014, I tried something a little different.  I decided to take periodic rest breaks on what I called "the tens".  I decided to push out at least 50 or 60 miles at the beginning, but then take short breaks every 10th mile to elevate my feet briefly, and rest my hips.  I kept to this strategy very methodically, and took breaks as little 10 mile rewards.  I again took three sleep breaks, with the first two being slightly longer than in 2013.  I also decided not to take my first sleep until hitting 100+ miles and to try to hit at least 100 in the first 24.  I ended up with 104 by 9 am on the 2nd day.  On my third/last sleep, I AGAIN overslept my alarms, but thankfully had Marylou to shake my tent when she realized I wasn't out on the course.  I only lost about 45 minutes on that sleep, but again, was slightly annoyed that I did that.  During the early hours of the last night, as I was desperately trying to hit a magic number of 222 miles before sleep, is when I found myself plunging into the unique and surreal "distilled" mind space.  It was an incredible form of existence that took me a little by surprise.  I had pushed for 222 because it meant that when I woke, even if I was a complete wreck, I only had to do 10 miles to pass my 231 from the previous year.  When I woke though, I found I was in decent shape and had pushed out an easy 15 miles while the sun rose.  During the last 2 hours, I again picked it up, this time running fast loops with anyone that would.  I distinctly remember running a sub 9-min mile with both Marylou and Joe Fejes before finally crossing the line for good with 246.  Somewhere in my mind I began playing the game of, "what if I didn't take that break here or there, could I have hit 250?".  To me the difference between 249 and 250 at a 72-hour event is monumental.  Crossing that barrier takes a level of commitment and training that thus far has eluded me.  Hopefully at some point soon, I will finally join the "over-250" club.

2014 data.  You can easily identify the regular "10-Breaks".

This year, I sort of subconsciously decided to follow last year's approach as I felt it worked pretty well for me.  I wanted to again hit 100 in the first 24, and then take my sleep immediately after.  Then, I would slog through the 2nd day starting up with the "10 breaks" as mini rewards.  I wanted to push my 2nd sleep until about 3:30 am so that when I woke, the sun would be coming up shortly after.  I wanted to minimize my time on the course during the 3-5:30 am block.  Those are the toughest to get through.

Day 1:

The race started at 9 am sharp on Thursday under lovely weather, and a very large crowd of us was off to move for 72 hours.  I settled into a comfortable groove very early and was aiming my lap times for about 10:30 - 10:45 min miles.  As with last year, I made a soft goal of hitting a marathon before taking any sort of break.  I held to this very well, only stopping to grab my gel/gummies every hour.  I hit the marathon mark at very modest 4.5 hours, and pushed out another 5 for the 50k before taking my first sit down break.  It was somewhere around there that I also began slowly incorporating solid food more frequently.  I told myself I wouldn't look at the leaderboard until at least 24 hours, but truthfully didn't really care.  My primary motivator was to simply enjoy my 3 days of disconnection that this event was allowing me to have.  The air was fresh, the loops ticking by, the weather nice (albeit a bit hot/sunny), and the fellow runners were all smiling and ostensibly having a good time.  I was also enjoying my music early in the race, and was only hoping it wouldn't play itself out too early.  I knew I would need the music boost on my 3rd night and last morning to really get me going.

As the first day progressed, I found myself occasionally chatting with other runners.  I saw Dave and Melissa a lot, and made small talk with anyone that made an effort.  Unlike previous years though, I generally did not initiate, and kept to myself and my music.  Like I said, it wasn't because I wanted to be antisocial, it's just that I wanted the event really be an inward journey this year for me.

The start.  I'm in there somewhere

Talking with Johnny Hällneby early on in Day 1.

Finishing a loop with Josh

Running with one of the younger participants.

A group of us all coming in on an early loop

The day progressed rather quickly, and I noticed a few 24-hour runners sprinkled in as well as the marathon folks.  Darren Worts was running the Quad this year (4 marathons over the 3 days), so it was the first time I wasn't actually competing against him.  I ran through the afternoon and into the evening and gradually began passing milestones:  50 miles, 60 miles, 70.... At some point I stopped for a proper dinner, and noted I was on almost an identical pace as last year.  I pushed through the night, which ended up being quite cold (down into the 40's), and maintained decent mileage throughout.  It was very quiet on the first night....many went to sleep to avoid the cold.   I slowly began incorporating consistent walk breaks once I hit 80 miles as well.  When 9 am rolled in on the 2nd day, and the 48-hour runners were toeing the line, I hit 103 miles for the day.  I could have pushed out 1 more and been exactly at the same mileage as last year, but honestly it wasn't that important to me, so I went down for some well-earned sleep.  Immediately, and on cue, as soon as I laid down my hips began throbbing.  I've learned to expect it at this point.  A Tylenol put me at ease and I was out for a short (1:30) sleep.  When I woke and made the rest of the way around the loop on what I like to call my "wake-up" loop, I noticed all the new runners.  I slept through the start of the 48.  When I hit the timing mat, I sat for a bit and enjoyed some pancakes and coffee to get me going.

Day 2:

Day 2 is always the hardest for me, and the early miles 105-125 are so incredibly slow.  Every year I struggle at this point mentally, and I always have a monumental low in the "hundred-teens".  This year was no different.  It seemed that I spent all morning ticking off the 20 miles to get me up near 130, but I eventually began to feel better once there.  The walking was becoming more regular now, and I was punctuating my long miles with 10-breaks and periodic calls home.  Every once in a while I'd call home, and my other half would "walk a mile with me".  Of course the entire time she was usually sighing and calling me an idiot.  Perhaps she was right.  I couldn't remember how long I made it into the 2nd night last year, but I knew I wanted to try and hit somewhere around 160.  I'm not sure why that number stuck out, but it was what I was shooting for.  I began to notice that I was approaching the point in the race where I was on what I call the "3-10's".  Basically there comes a point when I've slowed down enough, and am walking enough, that I very regularly chug out 10 miles in 3 hours almost to the second.  This includes my 10-break too.  For 50 miles this rule held.  I was doing 10 miles every three hours exactly.  To any normal runner, this might seem like a very slow pace (essentially 3.3 miles an hour), but consider my condition, and my breaks, I was quite content with it.  My goal was to try to maintain the 3-10's even after my 2nd sleep though, which I knew would be much harder.  The day progressed into night and 3 am began to creep every closer.  Like clockwork, I hit 3:30 right at 160 miles, and decided it was time for another sleep.  Little did I know that it was at 160 miles exactly that I also took my sleep last year.  It was almost eerily frightening how similar my 2015 and 2014 races were turning out to be.  I did finally start looking at the leader board and noticed a few things.  First, Josh was WAY out in front and pending a meltdown, untouchable.  BUT, I also noticed that Serge was not running.  After racking up a very big day in the first 24, he had run into some trouble with his leg and was ostensibly out of the race (at least for the short-term).  I had, after many a late mile actually caught and surpassed him.  Additionally, there was Daniel Gallo, and Johnny Hällneby who were just ahead of me.  Over the wee hours though, I had managed to eek out enough miles that I was periodically on the podium (3rd place).  On a couple of occasions before getting my sleep, I had actually pushed into 2nd place.  These brief stints never lasted long and were always due to out-of-sync sleep schedules between me and the other top runners.  Things would all change on the third day.  I went down for sleep, asking Bill Schultz (Josh's Crew Chief) to shake my tent in 2 hours if he didn't see me.  Thankfully, he came over just as I was waking up so all was good. I owe a lot of thanks to Bill over the course of the 3 days for adopting me as another one of his runners.  He always asked if I needed everything, he stayed awake way too long for a crew chief, and was always cheering for me.  I'm sure Josh would agree that having Bill around and in "your corner" certainly is a huge benefit on your race.

I slept again for about 1:45, and made my way around for breakfast and coffee again.  I was excited that the final 24-hour day was about to begin.  The last day is always fun watching the myriad other racers beginning and finishing (the 24 hr, 12 hr, and 6 hr).  It's also in the night that I had hoped to again find that deep mental place again.  Right as I hit 175 miles, the 9 am clock ticked by and the 24 hour racers shot out of the gate.  Perfect time for a sit down break under the roof.

Running early on Day 2

Somewhere out on "the loop".

Day 3:
Day 3 was forecast to bring us some rain.  After two rather hot/sunny days, I was frankly excited by this prospect.  It was also on day 3 that we'd get some big crowds at the fair grounds.  There was a large Rodeo going on later that night as well as a horse show of some kind.  Lots of people around the fairgrounds shaking their heads at us crazy runners.  The rodeo proved quite entertaining and at one point they even had 2 skydivers parachute down onto the rodeo stage.  It was rather surreal.

I don't remember much specifically about the 3rd morning other than I was desperately trying to make those 25 miles so that I could hit 200.  In my mind, everything over 200 was just gravy on top.  I knew I hit 200 last year at some point around 4 or 5 pm, so was hoping to be close, but really didn't know how I was comparing in general to my 2014 race.  I simply knew that I wasn't that far off.  I was getting more and more tired, but my music was keeping my spirits up, as well as all of the new faces.  The day progressed at a moderate paces, and I took several breaks.  I found I was stopping by my car much more frequently for breaks.  I was needing to elevate my feet more often as well.   I pushed through the 190's and finally hit 200 right before 6 pm.  I made my 201 victory lap (like the previous 2 years), and then just as I came into the station, a huge thunderstorm opened up.  The timing was terrible for the 6 hour runners as they literally started the race as lightning was striking nearby and torrential downpours opening up.  It was quite brutal.  I decided to take a longer seated nap break during this time rather than to soak myself for a lap or two.  Of course I look back on this break now and it frustrates me to know had I kept going I likely would have made the 2 more miles I needed to reach my ultimate goal by race end (more on that later).  It felt nice to sit out the rain, and the radar showed it would be moving on quickly.  I took this time to rest and call home.  I finally caught up with Dave and Melissa, both who had had some trouble over the course of the three days.  Still, Dave had managed to hit the mileage he needed (158 I think?) to break the 1000 lifetime mileage mark.  I had ran his 1000 mile with him and needless to say, I was definitely envious.  What an amazing accomplishment.  When I set out after the rain, I knew I was in for some rough miles.  Like last year, I decided to try to hit the rather arbitrary number of 222.  This would get me through the horrible teens and within reach of 230 again.  My early math had me believing 235, and maybe even 240 was possible provided I didn't oversleep on my last night.  Some new stories had transpired over the third day.  Serge, who at one point was essentially out of the race, had been up running pain-free for the entire 3rd day.  He'd already caught over 20 miles on me and was about to pass me.  I knew that my only chance of placing would be 3rd unless he ran into more trouble.  On top of that, Daniel Gallo was still running very well and we were basically leap-frogging each other all day....never more than a few miles from each other.  My heart wasn't set on placing, so I just figured I'd do my thing and if I came out in the top 3, then great....but if not, then I'd be genuinely happy for those that did place.

Enjoying a snack break during the rain

A few hours later as the evening pushed on, I remember Daniel had started having some swelling in his leg.  In all honesty, it didn't look to great, and I thought perhaps it might end his run.  I was definitely bummed as I felt like we had been working well off of each other for the entire 3 days.  I told him to ice it well and elevate it and he'd likely be back out soon.  I really didn't want him to be out of the race.  He's one of those "good guys" that you just can't help but root for.  Plus, his wife (crew) was incredibly supportive to all the runners, and always cheering for me each loop.  Sure enough, as the hours pressed on, his leg swelling went down and he was back out racking up loops.

In the wee hours of the night, Daniel went down for a long sleep, and I kept pushing on.  I wanted that 222.  I was also hoping that somewhere around 215 is when I'd hit that "distilled" place.  But, unlike last year, I made it through those miles much easier.  I was definitely exhausted, but I never was so much so that I became disconnected like in 2014.  I was admittedly disappointed that I didn't get to that "place" again, so relegated myself to just taking some sleep and hoping for a decent last morning.  I went down again about 1:30 am, and woke a very short 1:30 later.  I was extremely sluggish and not really able to run, so I plodded out 3 very slow miles.  At 3 am, as I was finishing out my 225 mile, I saw that Daniel had awoken from his longer 3+ hour sleep break.  At this point, he was 5 miles behind me and would have to work to catch back up to me.  But I knew I was going painfully slow though, and figured the sleep probably did him really well.  Sure enough, he whizzed by me doing a 10 minute mile and I knew almost immediately that I wouldn't be able to hold him off for 6 more hours.  My reaction was to simply smile and think, "good on ya Daniel.  Now keep it up!"  Still I kept moving and doing my thing.  I found myself very quickly rooting for him more and more.  He was on a tear and I couldn't help but be inspired.  I wanted him to keep it up.  In just two hours he was already even with me and showed no signs of slowing down, so I kept encouraging him every time he'd pass me.  To see someone who just a few hours earlier had an enormously swollen leg, now cranking out consistent 10 min-miles was just awesome.  He eventually did slow down a bit, but was still moving better than me...and was now 5 miles ahead of me with just a few hours to go.  I was content with my race, and now began to realistically do my own race math.  What was possible?  What would I be happy with?  What was my end-race strategy.

The Final Hours:
When the sun came up on the last morning I had done the math for an easy/comfortable finish, and came up with 242 miles.  This was absolutely fantastic in mind and I was pleased I'd break 240 again.  I was still a little disappointed in the way my last night unfolded so wasn't feeling particularly motivated on the final morning.  Usually with just under 2 hours to go, is when I start my surge!  For whatever reason, the adrenaline starts flowing, the pain gives way, and I manage to bust out 6-10 crazy miles at the end.  This year though, I wasn't feeling it.  I remember telling several people that this year I was "going out with a whimper" and that I was content to simply "walk it in".  I was admittedly a little disappointed with myself, but I was excited for my probable 242, and for Josh's, Serge's, and Daniel's awesome races.

...and then it happened.  At some point Johnny went blasting past me.  He had gotten his push/surge.  He let out whoop and a holler and for whatever reason it hit me....just like that.  I found a little more spring in my step, my thighs went numb, I gave myself a little stretch, and then like a getting smacked in the face with a 2 x 4, I was knocked into the present moment.  I could feel it building incredibly fast and I didn't want to let it go.  I wanted to hold on and embrace it...and let it drive me to a good finish.  I immediately put on my goto music track that always keeps me fired up, and just like that, I was off in a blast.

For all those long hours at night that I had longed to find that feeling, or that "place", and been unsuccessful, it was in the last 90 minutes that it came in another way.  When that music started playing, and the feeling came over me when Johnny ran past, I was overcome by a wave of energy, a wave of humility, and a wave of joy.

...and so I ran.  And I ran hard.  Harder than at any point in the race thus far.  I busted out an 8:37 mile at mile 238...my fastest of the event, and it was AWESOME.  Every time I made it to the end of the loop I was expecting to have the feeling wane, and that I'd go back to my shuffling, but the feeling persisted and I kept at it.  I ran another, and another, and another.  Daniel began to panic thinking I was trying to catch him, but I assured him I wouldn't and that I was simply embracing a feeling I had been long pining for over the past 72 hours.  Still, he began running too...and it was inspiring.  In a way, I felt that by my running, I was pushing him to greater numbers.  My math co-processors were chugging at high speeds now and I began calculating my new goals.  245?  246 maybe?  could I break last year and hit 247?  I knew 250 was almost assuredly out of reach, but that I might get close.  I was annoyed with myself that I probably could have squeezed out a few more miles over the past 72 hours and set myself up for 250 but hadn't.  More importantly though I thought, will Daniel hit 250?  And seeing as though he was 4 miles ahead of me at this point, as long as I kept him moving in a panic mode, he would.  Every time I passed his crew station, I told his wife that I just wanted him to hit 250 for the both of us.  Every mile, I latched on to someone else to run with....anyone that would run with me.  I tried to stay with Daniel, but he kept out-pacing me.  So I ran a mile with a 24hr runner, and then another.  I was averaging 9-10 minute miles now, and had passed 242 (my original calculated goal) and still had over an hour left.  So I kept on plugging away.  I crossed the mat a half an hour later and asked Rick, "What number was that?!".  He yelled back "245!".  I really thought it was 246, but alas he was right.  This is when I mentally began to give up.  Had it been 246, I had 50 minutes to bust out 4 miles.  This was totally doable in my mind...12:30 miles.  But with it being 245, I would have had to muscle out five 10-minute miles.  I was fairly sure my surge wouldn't last that long for that pace.  I wanted to believe it would, but as I headed out on my 246th mile, somehow I knew.  I knew I would best my 2014 mileage, but that 250 miles would remain elusive.  My legs were really beginning to ache, and my adrenaline surge was definitely waning.  I jogged out 246 and as I headed out on 247, I paired up with Josh on his 292nd.  I was now in new territory.  I was on the course past where I was last year, and it felt awesome.  Josh and I chatted for a bit and I felt as all of my aches and pains began coming back.  The 247th mile was my last good one.

Zipping through asking Rick about my mileage on the last morning

As we crossed the mat together, we had 20 minutes left.  With my dream of 250 over, I settled with the thought of having one last easy stroll around the course to finish me off with 248 (2 more than last year).  But, as I began the loop with Josh, my body had already begun shutting down.  Somehow it knew.  As I made it to my car and to the turn just past it, I had to stop and stretch my legs.  I was feeling nauseous as well.  All the hard running was making me extremely woozy and I needed to center myself.  I told Josh to go ahead and I saw that I still had 12 minutes to finish the final 1/2 mile. How embarrassing that I was falling apart so quickly at the end.  That last 1/2 mile were brutal.  I was a wreck and every step another part of me began shutting down...it was a comedic domino effect taking place in real time inside my body.  I stopped several more times to keep from falling over and by the time I rounded the last turn, I had only 2 minutes left to finish.  Needless to say, I milked the race for every minute I could and crossed the line in 71 hours, 59 minutes.

Final Numbers:
248 Total Miles

Fist 24hrs - 103
Second 24hrs - 72
Third 24hrs - 73

2015 data with various components identified.  You can really see the push at the end, and when it began to fall apart.

Finishing the race looking back at who else is left to finish

Crossing the line utterly exhausted for 248 miles

Myself, Daniel (red hat), and Johnny (laying down) celebrating after

Some Thoughts:
One of the most surprising things I learned about this year's race, was just how closely it mimicked last year's race.  I not only took my sleep breaks at the exact same mileages, but my first 36 hours were nearly identical (see figure/chart below).  In truth, my 2014 race was actually faster/better, and the only reason I managed a few more miles this year was because I slept less on the last night.  If you look at the plot comparing all three of my years, I actually began to fall off of my 2014 pace mid-way through day 2 this year.  By the time I went to bed at 222 miles, I was actually about 90 behind my 2014 pace.  BUT, I slept 90 minutes less.  So, when I got up and started running on the final morning, I was nearly on the exact same schedule/pace as last year.  What's even more remarkable, is that at mile 238, I crossed the timing mat within 10 seconds of my overall time from 2014....it was THAT close.  The difference was that this year, my final push/surge was faster, and more protracted.  This was how I managed to eek out 2 more miles in the end.

Total Mileage vs. Total Time for all three years.  Inset shows final 30-50 miles.

While I did come away in 4th place, and with no award this year, I really enjoyed rooting for others, especially Daniel.  I was so excited that he hit 252, and feel like in some small way, my little surge at the end did help to keep him moving faster.  I know he seemed really happy to have done as well as he did.  Additionally, I came into this year's race, more for myself, and with an attitude not really conducive to competitive racing, so for me, 2015 was never about trying to place.  So in a nutshell, the fact that I bested my mileage from last year was more than I could have ever asked for this year.

I really enjoyed the somewhat more pronounced "inner" journey this year as well, and really loved the overwhelming emotional component that came with my final push this year.  It was very reminiscent of the feeling I had near Wartrace, TN while running the Vol State two years ago.  The kind of overwhelming feeling that gives you goose bumps for miles and nearly brings you to tears.  I love that kind of stuff.  It's almost as if all at once, the enormity of what you've just accomplished all hits you.  Holy crap, I've been out here running for 72 straight hours, and moved 248 miles....POW!  It reminds me a little of that feeling I got after finishing my PCT and AT thru-hikes only more diminished obviously.  I took this video at the exact end of my PCT thru-hike.....

I like my upwards progression at this event, and how I've learned so much over the past three years; truly.  I  definitely believe that 250 is within reach and that I just need to come in slightly more trained.  I refuse to believe that 250 will be asymptotic for me.....always getting closer, but never getting there.  Just with this year, I know of at least three places I could have shortened a break, or pushed out an additional mile or two.  But such is the game at a 72.  It's hard to know what you'll want at hour 68 when you're at hour 14.

I did come away with a 200 mile buckle and my 500 lifetime award (which I hit very early my first day after 23 miles).  Next year I would need 275 miles to hit 1000, so it's very unlikely although arguably not impossible.

500+ mile club.  (I have accrued 725 now over the past 3 years)

I guess that's it.  Thanks Rick and Jennifer for again putting on such a unique and wonderful event.  I have really come to love my 3 days of running in circles in New Jersey.  I hope to be back next year.

Oh and Josh Irvan ended with 293, Serge Arbona with 268, and Daniel Gallo with 252!  Congrats guys!  Amazing numbers, and I only hope to join you all in the 250+ club some day.

My loot from this year!

Photo Credits : Various other runners and crew at the event.  Send me a note if you want named credit for one of your photos.

Graduation Weekend...and beyond.

The doctor is in...

Well...after nearly 8 years in graduate school, 2 degree tracks (MS and PhD), 5 field seasons in Antarctica, 6 visits to the ice-core lab in Denver, countless hours coding in matlab, months of writing and editing, over a dozen courses taken, and literally thousands of scientific papers read....

It finally all ended this past weekend.  Despite my successful defense late last year, I purposely delayed my graduation until Spring so that I could finish up my manuscripts and have a little more time to job hunt.  It was really hard last year having all of my paperwork done, but not be able to turn it in.  This past Saturday though, all of that was forgotten, as I did finally get to walk across a stage, shake the University president's hand, and have my doctoral degree conferred.  My mom and sister, as well as C were all able to come as well, which made it even more wonderful.  The fact that it happened on mother's day was an added bonus too!

The entire weekend was a blur, a whirlwind of travel and planning.  I knew that my sister wouldn't be bringing my 2 year old nephew with her, so I decided to head up to see them on the Thursday before graduation.  Then, we could all drive down together for the actual graduation on Sunday night.  First thing Friday morning we all headed to Niagara Falls for a whimsical visit to the falls.  We had a great time and my little nephew loved it.  We went to both the Canadian and American Falls, and it was during this trip that I learned my nephew will likely one day become an ultrarunner like me!

Canadian Falls

American Falls (with lots of snow/ice still hanging on)

Water plunging over the American Falls

My nephew showing off his new ultrarunning skills.  I predict a sub-14 hour hundred-miler in his future.

After our trip to the Falls, we headed back to Rochester for the night.  The next day, I decided to again run my childhood hometown ultra.  Last year, on a whim, I signed up for the 12-hour Mind The Ducks race in Webster NY.  The race is on a 1-mile loop about 5 miles from the house I grew up in, and only about 2 miles from my old high school.  I hadn't planned on running it again this year due to graduation, but once I decided to come up early, I figured why the heck not.  I knew I would have to leave a few hours early, so was not going in with the plan of "defending my title".  Last year, somehow, I managed to eek out 72 miles and come away with only my 2nd overall win at an event.  But, despite the rarity of such an occurrence, I knew this year would simply be about having fun.  I also knew the forecast was predicting mid-80's temps with high humidity, so I wasn't thrilled with the idea of going out hard.  

I took it easy most of the day, and had a soft goal of 50 miles in 10 hours.  I ran a conservative 9-10 min/mile pace and tried to keep smiling.  The heat of the day did get pretty rough, so everyone slowed down significantly.  I remember walking quite a few more laps than last year.  Still I managed to enjoy myself and rack up some decent mileage.  Like last year, I also knew that I'd be running 3 Days at the Fair in less than a week, so I didn't want to push hard at all.

Sometime around 4 pm I realized I was on pace for a little over 50 in 10 hours, so I planned to hit 52 and get the double-marathon award.  I ended pushing a little bit harder and getting 54 total when it was all over,  and pulled myself out of the race just over 10 hours so that I could drive back to Pennsylvania before it got to be too dark.  Overall, it was another excellent experience at the event, and I was thrilled I made the last minute decision to run again.  It is really a lovely looped course.  Next year I'll hopefully be able to return with a full 12 hours, to give myself another honest chance at a top finish!

Just before the start, enjoying a calm morning by the ponds

A nice reflection shot of the ponds

Race Start

Runners heading around the loop

An early morning photo from when it was still cool

(photo : R. Heerkins Jr.)

After 10 hours of running, I decided to say hi to the locals.

More geese

Baby geese!

Before heading out of town, I stopped to get a world famous Abbot's soft-serve ice cream with sprinkles.  I figured that my 54 miles made it well-earned!

...And then....Sunday morning finally came.  After what seemed like an eternity, it was finally the dawn of my graduation day.  I woke up that day a graduate student, and would go to bed a certified Doctor.  I couldn't wait.  All the hard work, all of the hours of research, and even the countless hours and hours of self-doubt about whether or not I'd actually finish, were about to FINALLY be resolved. I would walk across a stage and be introduced for the first time ever as Dr.

I was eternally grateful that all of my family came down for this day.  I know that it was a lot of travel for everyone, and I was so appreciative that I could share in the day with others.  The ceremony itself was pretty standard.  Degrees were conferred, speeches given, photos snapped, and hands shaken.  In the end, it was all pretty routine, but during the entire 3 hour ordeal, I just couldn't wipe the goofy grin of my face.  I never attended my Masters Degree commencement, so for me, this graduation held somewhat of a double meaning as well.  It was a surreal contentment that I felt, and at many times I even got really choked up.  I particularly recall a moment when the University president asked us to turn around, look for our families in the crowd, and then acknowledge them all for all that they've done to help us get to this point.  That was a really difficult moment for me, especially since my dad was not there to see it all.  I know he was definitely a big part of me getting through so many of my low points.  So...dad....thanks for everything.  Miss you.

Figured it best just to show some pics from the day, rather than bore with the details of the ceremony.

Putting on the gown for the first time!

Me and Mom

Me and Carri (sister)

Me and C

Entering the arena....can you spot me?

The distinguished deans and speakers

Ready to walk on stage to receive my degree.  My advisor  (Prof. Alley) is standing right in front of me.

Receiving my Degree!

And the Dr. is in....

Finding my seat, clutching my diploma for dear life!

 

And it's over....

Myself, my advisor (Prof. Alley), and another one of his students (Nate)

5 years of work for this...

Myself and Prof. Alley (my advisor)

The family

me and C

I thought I'd also attach the two most important pages of my dissertation, at least in my eyes...

Acknowledgements

Dedication

So......

What's the big news moving forward John.  Well, I'm happy to say that I am moving to start a new job!  I'm heading up to New Hampshire to start a new job as a Research Scientist at a lab that specializes in Cold Regions research.  In other words, I'll be working on a lot of great projects associated with Arctic and Antarctic research.  I'm really excited about this new opportunity, about the people I'll be working with, and with my new location.  So wish me luck moving forward!  I'm definitely eager to start playing in the White and Green Mountains of both Vermont and New Hampshire.  Lots of potential crazy trail adventures in my near future for sure.

In the coming weeks I'm sure I'll share more information regarding the big move as things progress further.  For now, this is about all I can say with certainty.

In other quick news, I did end up running 3 Days at the Fair again this past weekend, and I plan to do a full write up on that.  I managed to eek out 248 miles (2 more than last year), for a new 3-day best.  I was really hoping to break the mythical 250 barrier, but I came up just a tiny bit short.  I guess that gives me a goal for next year!

Finishing an early loop at 3 Days...

Another "3 Days at the Fair" 72hr Experience

Some Photos Modified from: T. Bushey

70 hours in...Brad and I having a good ol' time

Usually I will start a report off chronologically and begin by retelling the story of my race prep or of my pre-race routines.  Not this time though.

Somewhere, at some point deep into the final night at "3 Days", I had finally reached that point that I so long for...that state of existence so indescribable to others.   I had my head down, desperately trying to finish the last loop I had told myself I would do before hitting my tent for a nap....loop 222.  I was fighting every ounce of my being to stay awake, and my walking had become a bit drunkard in fashion.  I just had to make it that final 1/4 mile to my tent and then I would have earned my rest.   Marylou passed me and asked if I was ok.  I grunted something audible and somehow got out the words "tent" and "nap".  She made me focus and asked if I would set alarms.  I grunted again, but then somehow immediately flashbacked to last year's fiasco when I slept through them all on the final night.  I looked up at her with what little energy I had, and during a tiny moment of clarity, asked her to shake my tent if she didn't see me on the course in 2 hours.  This simple sentence would later save my run.  I put my head back down and was immediately out-of-focus again.  Marylou jogged on ahead.   My walk turned into a shuffle, and I could feel myself falling asleep standing up just a few hundred feet from my tent.  I drifted into oblivion while standing.

But then I felt someone grab my arm.  It was Marylou again.  She had turned around, saw me fading and had come back to pull me to my tent.  I could barely speak as I was now going on about 64 hours with about 2 hours of sleep.  She guided me to my tent by my arm as though I was blind man, and I fumbled my way up the grass somehow setting 4 alarms in the haze of it all on my phone.  It wouldn't matter though as I would turn all 4 off as soon as the first one went off 2 hours later.  (I have no memory of doing this).  I was asleep before I got my shoes off.

What seemed like moments later, I hear the zip of my tent fly, and a soft voice saying, "John.  Are you up?  It's been 2 hours and I haven't seen you".  It was Marylou, coming to my rescue yet again.  I felt only slightly rested, but well enough to get up and get moving again.  I was on pace to break my mileage from last year, and I wanted to break it by at least 10 and hit the low 240's.  Marylou was gone as though she was a ghost, and I never saw her until a few loops later.  I very slowly made my way around the loop, waking up, allowing my achy bones and joints to suss themselves out, and then rewarded myself with a large hot coffee and mouthful of brownies.  Breakfast of champions.  Two loops later I would finally see Marylou and give her an enormous hug, thanking her for saving my race.  I still owe her big time for that one.

Early on during day 1

I have many times thought about it, that feeling I get late into these endeavors....especially when reminiscing about my thru-hikes or say the final descent down Chimney Top at Barkley, but it is such an elusive feeling that I find myself tripping over my own words when trying to tell others of it, or even remembering the specifics.  Even as I write this text now, I find myself trying to remember it almost as a dream after having just woken up.

There comes a point for me during these ridiculous things that I do, when I am reduced to my absolute identity (for a lack of a better way to describe it).  I guess in some way I find that I am like many others in that I am collection of multiple layers.  An onion, a russian nesting matryoshka doll, or whatever other metaphor you want to use.  I am the sum of all of these layers upon layers, that have grown and evolved over time through my experiences.  Together, these layers comprise the totality of who I am, what others know me as.  But, at the very base, at the core beneath the mantle beneath the crust, there is the base layer...the innermost me, as it were.  It is in these rare and fleeting moments of utter exhaustion, sleep-deprivation, and internal exploration that this fundamental "me" finally may surface and is exposed.  Those few other runners who may speak to me during those times, will see me and know me, as very few ever have, or ever will.  It is an incredibly surreal and almost liberating feeling to exist in this state, even for such short periods of time.  All the proverbial layers are stripped away, and I can simply be my true self.  It is really magical and I find that when it is all over, and days later (such as now), that it often brings a sadness to me.  I want to find myself in that state again, but I cannot simply will it to happen.  Perhaps that is why I keep going back to these ultra events.  I pine for those few moments of self-clarity like I had during Vol State, or Barkley, or my thru-hikes.  Moments when simply opening my eyes, and breathing in the air, can give me goose bumps.

Like I said, this is all very hard to verbalize, and I imagine by now it seems as though you are reading some Undergrad philosophy major's pseudo-self-transcendental rant on existentialism or some nonsense.  I can assure you...that whatever it is, it is beyond description and the clarity I achieve is worth all of the pain I may go through.

The final morning would progress well, the sun would rise and wake me up further, and then the hours would tick down to the final few.  At some point with about 70 minutes left, I decided to put on my favorite running music and was overcome with a burst of emotion.  I ran hard for all 70 minutes getting in 3 more miles than I thought I would giving me a total of 246 at the Finish Line.  I ended up running one entire lap with Joe Fejes...which in itself was quite surreal, and then 4 of my last 5 laps with Marylou.  I watched her top 271, breaking her own Canadian Record by another 5 miles.  I pushed out one final 9-minute mile by myself coming in with less than a minute left on the clock.  When it was finally over, I was entirely depleted and would not have wanted to run another loop.

Whatever pain I feel today, whatever hardships I will endure tomorrow....it was all worth it for that lucidity I was able to achieve late into my third night.

Marylou and I finishing a quick lap together late on Sunday morning

Backing up a bit....

While my numbers certainly indicated a better running than last year, the weather was most certainly worse.  Thursday, while dry, was ridiculously humid....and it rained for nearly 12 hours on Friday.  Saturday was much improved, but only the last morning (Sunday), was truly perfect weather.  The humidity on Thursday didn't really hit me too hard, but the rain on Friday was downright miserable.  It was so hard to stay motivated during the downpours because all day the rain would tease us into thinking it was done, only to open up again and re-soak us all.  Keeping up on chafing protection was a challenge, and we were all constantly pushing each other to get up and get out there.  Still many of us lost precious hours of time by sitting out the rain, and the inclement weather likely cost the quick guys their chance at breaking the 48-hour record too.  But despite this, people like Marylou were still able to top 271 and set a new Canadian record, and Joe Fejes managed 230 in the 48 (7th place on the all-time list).

Last year I did 95 miles on day one, and then 70 and 66 the following two days.  This year I told myself I wanted to get closer to 100 on that first day to build a slightly better cushion.  I knew I could run 100 comfortably in 24 hours on a relatively flat course.  I had done 114 back in November at the One-Day as well.   This would allow me to plan for roughly equivalent days 2 and 3, and come out near 240 miles total if all went right.  But as I knew (along with many others), many things can go wrong, and any plan that I came up with had to just be a template....that would likely be altered many times as the days progressed.

Day 1 started well.  I got a good night sleep the previous night, had a hearty dinner of pancakes and eggs at the local greasy-spoon diner with fellow runner Jim Lampman, and was all ready to get some miles under my feet.  I was a little worried about muscle fatigue as I had run a rather fast-paced 12-hour event last weekend (Mind the Ducks) and pushed out a respectable ~73 miles.  I had only run a short 3 mile recovery jog since then though and given my legs 4 solid rest days to recover.  I was ready as I would ever be I had figured.

I made the rounds, saying hi and catching up with friends.  At 9:00 am we were off and I settled into a smooth and very comfortable 9:30 minute-mile jog.  I figured I could easily maintain this for a long while.  I had just sort of told myself I wanted to get through as many of the early miles as I could before really breaking or resting for any significant amount of time.  I knew I'd eat a bit, stop for salt, stop for bottle refills etc, but no big rests. All morning and into the afternoon I plugged away, maintaining sub 10-min mile pace.  When I crossed 19 miles I got to stop and ring my 250th mile bell.  Because I had accrued 231 miles last year, this meant I now had 250 total miles on the course.  The next big milestone would be at 500...which I would most certainly not achieve this year.   When I finally hit 50 miles, I still felt fantastic and was pleased my body was holding up well.  The humidity was high, so I was stopping for water a lot, but I hadn't once checked the leaderboard.  The real race doesn't even begin until the 2nd night in my mind, so there's no sense in getting worked up on stats.  My only concern was 240 miles in 72 hours, and 100 the first 24.

My station set up in the same spot as last year

My sheltered tent spot up behind a nice tree

Before dark I was well into my 60's and was prepping for my first night out on the course.  By this point I was giving myself short sit breaks every ten miles (which had started at 50).  This allowed me little mental breaks to look forward to, and time for me to elevate my feet.  I had told myself I would start elevating my feet earlier this year.   Getting through the first 100 is mentally tough when you know you are shooting for 200+.  There's just something about knowing you are over 100 that makes the miles come easier.  It's almost as though 0-100 are the preface in a novel you are really excited to read.  You just want to get to the good stuff, but have to get through the front-matter first, in a sense.

The night went by rather quickly though, and the miles racked up.  I was still on pace to make my 100, and by this point I had instituted little walking break sections along the course.  Walk to the bathroom, run the loop and straightaway, walk the little hill up to the big loop, run the big loop to the 2nd cone, walk to the gravel...etc......."  Each lap was taking about 11-12 minutes now, which was perfectly fine with me.  At one point I had glanced at the leaderboard and did see I was somewhere in the top 5, but again wasn't really worried about it.  A lot would change.

I made sure to talk to as many people as possible while I was still cogent and in high spirits.  I wanted to take in as many stories from fellow runners as I could.  I obviously caught up a lot with friends like Dave Lettieri, Melissa Huggins, Brad Compton, and Jim Lampman, but I also made sure to say hi to new folks and random people I had never met before.  I wanted to learn about people's goals for the weekend, and their motivation for doing the event.  And I wanted to laugh and smile a lot .... which I was.  It was already turning out to be a great weekend.

As the sun came up on the second morning, my mileage was in the 90's, but I hadn't really slept yet.  At 9:00 when the 48-hour runners started, and my first day ended, my odometer rolled over to 104 miles and I was content to sit in Dave's reclining chair for a 30-45 minute power nap.  I had achieved my goal of 100 miles.  Things were going well.  The nap was entirely too short, but I told myself I wouldn't take more than 45 min sleep breaks until the final night.  I got up slowly and stiffly, walked over to the kitchen and put as much food and coffee in me as I could.  It would take me a loop or two of walking to warm back up and get my running legs back on.

As I passed Keith Straw's tent, I saw he was tearing it down.  I was sad to learn he had decided to go home and that the multi-day venue wasn't for him.  He is always a fantastic individual to have on course and chats with him will most certainly leave you smiling or laughing.

Then the rains came.

Day 2 is notoriously the roughest in most people's opinions.  You are deep in the mid-section of the race, not half-way yet, but with many miles already under your feet.  It's equivalent to mile 120 at Vol State.  You feel like you've come so far, but yet have an impossible way to go yet.  With the rain, it would only be harder.  I turned to my ipod for solace and began listening to a lot of music.  I need as many distractions as possible, and a lot of people weren't out on the course.  I layered up in rain gear and began slogging wet mile after wet mile.  Every ten miles I would gloriously sit under my dry canopy and enjoy a beautiful rest.  I would frantically check my phone's weather apps to see how much longer the front would be dumping rain on us and it always seemed to be in the same place.  No matter how much time passed, the rain just kept coming.  It was extremely demoralizing.  The 48-hour runners were powering through it, but even the fast guys weren't doing as well as they would have liked.  Still, with all this said, everyone was still making miles one at a time....even if slow, and that's all that matters.  Forward progress.

The mid-100's were endless, and my 10-mile breaks seem to take hours and hours.  I was walking a lot at this point and taking short rain breaks under the main pavilion.  I even took another 20 minute power nap in Dave's chair at one point as well.  Reports finally started coming in at dinner time that the rains would stop around 10 pm.  By this point I was at about 150 miles and ready to sleep for real, but decided to push on to 160.  It was a very long 10 miles, and by the last 5, I was beginning to stagger quite a bit.  At 160, I walked up to my tent, and took my first real nap of the race....setting 4 alarms.  Immediately my hips began screaming at me and I couldn't get comfortable.  When I finally did get into a position that worked, it seemed only moments later my alarms were screaming at me.  I had slept almost an hour, although it only seemed like 2 minutes.  I got up and walked a couple of slow miles to get warmed up, noting that the rain had finally indeed stopped.  I could even see a few stars.  I had hoped to get to 180 by the 48-hour mark.  In the end, I hit 177 (or 178?) as the 2nd day ended, so was content.  I was getting quite fatigued by this point and I was trying to mentally prepare myself for the 3rd day...a day notoriously filled with a lot of power hiking....and not much true running.

Day 3 last year I hit my 200 miles sometime right around sundown.  This year, I had 12 hours and just 22 miles to make that same milestone.  I knew I was well ahead of the pace, I just needed to keep moving.  The day would prove to be long.  Despite a whole slew of new runners on course (24-hour runners, 12-hour runners, and 6-hour runners), I was in a constant battle with fatigue.  There comes a point when losing time to some much-needed sleep actually ends up making you faster in the long run....because walking while extremely exhausted is just so darn slow.  I plodded out many a slow mile, but finally creeped up on 200 around 5 pm.  When I did eventually hit it, I decided that in a tribute to last year I'd walk one additional mile before taking a long break.  This way, I'd have 201 in case for some reason I couldn't get back up.  Unlike last year, there was no fanfare associated with my 200.  I simply ran it alone, popped across the timing mat and Rick announced "200 John!  Nice!!".   Just like that, I was in the 2's again.  I had just 31 miles, a 50k, to tie my miles from last year, and over 15 hours to do it.  I felt pretty confident I'd hit 240, but was still cautious about my optimism.

It was at some point around here that I finally started checking in on the leaderboard regularly.  I was surprised to learn I was holding a solid 2nd place standing.  Most people had shifted around quite a bit, several were lost to the rain and sleep...and others were plugging along steadily, climbing ever-so-slowly up the board.  The 48hr speed runners were all off record pace now, although Joe was still putting up ridiculous miles and would most certainly top 200.

I was already starting to think about sleep again, but desperately wanted to get up to at least 220 and a good ways into the night.  I didn't want to have too many dark/cold hours after waking up before the sun would rise.  Getting to 210 was ok, but it was around mile 211 that I finally found myself descending into the abyss and when my final "layer" came off.  For 10 lonely and peaceful miles I trotted around the course in a rather surreal state of existence.  I had finally found that feeling again and it was magical.  I enjoyed every second of it knowing that it would be fleeting and could fade at any moment.  I had decided that my goal mileage would be 242.  It seemed like a good random number.  This meant I wanted to get to 222 before sleep so that I'd have an even 20 left to do.  It seemed totally reasonable in my head at mile 216 when I came up with it.  The problem was that the next 6 miles would be the longest of my entire life.  It's funny how a 10k can seem like an eternity, when I'm running 200+ miles.  Each mile was slow and extremely labored as I became more and more exhausted.  People would try to talk to me and I would only make a soft and abbreviated noise in response.  I was incapable of true speech.  I had one runner ask me if I wanted her to walk with me to keep me awake,  I grunted out, "i'm ok", and she ran ahead.  At mile 220 I truly did not believe I'd make another two miles.  I drank a little coffee and sat on a bench not sure I had 2 more miles in me.  I got up convinced that I would just walk to my tent and surrender 2 miles early, but when I got there, I was so out-of-phase, that I literally forgot to stop.  Soon I was halfway around the loop before I realized I passed my tent.  I finished 221 and said well shoot, I can tough out one more, no?

It was mile 222 that would herald in my complete collapse...and where this race report began.  Thankfully, moments before my demise, Marylou rescued me....twice.

The final morning was cathartic.  The first few miles after my 2 hour sleep went by quickly and before long the sky began to lighten up.  I hit 231 miles very early and celebrated my first few steps out onto mile 232 as new ground.  Each new mile was now uncharted territory for me and I was thrilled to get in as many as I could.  Brad Compton (Fellow Vol Stater), who had been down in 5th or 6th place for most of the race, and steadily moved himself up to a solid 3rd place just 15 miles behind me.  He exemplified the slow-and-steady adage, by plugging away consistent miles with minimal sleep.  With about 70 minutes left in the race I finally hit 240 miles and let out a hearty yelp of excitement.  I knew I would also hit my random goal of 242.  It was then that I put on my favorite tunes and starting running. I had originally planned on simply hitting 243 by walking in 3 slow miles, but I decided that was no way to end an event like this.  I wanted to end like last year.  I hitched on to Joe Fejes for a mile and it got me fired up as I ran an entire mile at his pace.  It was a blast.  Then at the end of the loop I caught up to Marylou and we ran 4 miles together.  It was probably my favorite miles of the entire race.  I had great music blasting, goose bumps for all 45 minutes of it, and an enormous smile going.  It was bliss.  During our last mile together we had just over 20 minutes left at the finish.  I told her I was going for 2 more and she said that she wanted to just do an easy-paced victory lap.  She had earned it for sure...as it would be a total of 271 miles and an outright win.  I burned on ahead finishing my 245th mile in just over 10 minutes and went on to push for that last mile of 246.

I looked behind me and there was no one.  I would be at the very end and I needed to keep it moving or I wouldn't make it.  My entire body was aching and I had to stop for short walk breaks...but by the half-way point of the loop I still had 6 minutes left.  I knew I would make it.  Dave Lettieri shot out of nowhere pulling out a 6:30 loop and passed me in the final few hundred yards.  I smiled as my watch counted down the final two minutes and I rounded the corner crossing the final timing mat with 30 seconds to spare and 246 miles under my very sore legs.

I collapsed on the ground for a very long time with an enormous grin on my face.  It was all worth it.  I had bested my previous run by 15 miles and nearly achieved 250 total (perhaps a goal for next year...)

Many thank to Rick and Jennifer (and all the volunteers) for this great event, and allowing all of us to come out and find each of our own little moments of clarity.

My 2nd place prize and 250-mile coin

Napping...feet-up, at a rest-stop on the interstate drive home

Sunset over Seneca Lake just before getting home

Final Numbers:

Day 1:  104

Day 2:  72

Day 3:  70

Total 246 miles.

3rd place overall, 2nd men (Darren Worts had 254 Miles)

Lifetime Miles at 3 Days: 477 Miles (Just 23 more for my 500 coin!)

More photos and detail to come as they become available.

hike on my friends,

-j