I chose North Coast 24 Hour Endurance Run (NC24) as a test of my ability to complete Burning
River 100 in July. With a little over 3 months between the two races it seemed
like a perfect test of my training and a confidence booster. Leading up to the
race I was neglecting some of my training due to being overworked but I was still improving and training harder than ever before. I also
managed to pull or pinch something in my back moving some heavy things around
in our lab. I had no illusions that I would somehow do anything impressive. I
just wanted to cover a minimum of 80 miles with an achievable goal of 90 miles.
My stretch goal was to break 100. Being that this was a 24 hour race there's really no way to make this short so grab a coffee and pull up a chair.
Pre-race
I asked my boss for Friday off and he said I could only have
it if I finished up all my work. I didn’t think that would happen so I asked
for Monday off knowing I would probably be wrecked (this is important later). I
ended up getting all my work done so I drove out to Cleveland Friday night after spending the day packing and frantically fighting with my bank over a hold on my direct deposit (who does that?!). I
drove straight to the park and scoped out the course before heading to my
hotel. One of the first things I noticed was the white caps and heavy winds
along the breakwater. I really hoped it would calm down by morning. I arrived
at my hotel just in time to watch the coverage of the second Boston suspect
being pinned down in the boat and then taken into custody. I fell asleep
quickly and slept pretty well.
Waves were crashing over the breakwater
Race Morning
I woke up before my 6am alarm. I checked the weather and saw
cold temps predicted so I chose pants, a tank top, and a long sleeve over top.
I also wore my trusty Altra Zero Drop Torins for the entire race. I was anxious and full of nervous energy so I headed out before the continental
breakfast was laid out. I went over to the local Starbucks and got a decaf (I
avoided caffeine for the week before the race). I sat and talked to some older
gentleman until 7:30 and then headed to the park for packet pick up. I found my
friend, Anne, almost immediately so I set up my little station next to hers.
Most people had tents but I didn’t want the temptation. I had brought a
sleeping bag and a camp chair, mostly so if I got hypothermic I could warm up
or take a nap after the race before I drove home. I also had a duffel bag
stuffed with running clothes, jackets, and gloves as well as a small cooler
with two Red Bulls in it. That's it... no crew, no shelter, and no extras. Racing by the seat of my pants!
Tent City (and me in my pink hoody in the background)
I picked up my bib and chip, slipped on my hoody over my
clothes, and then crawled into my sleeping bag to wait for the pre-race brief.
The wind was howling and shortly after it started to snow. Then it began to
pelt us with hail. I pulled my bag over my head and seriously considered just
getting back in my car and going home. The hail and snow stopped just before
9am and the pre-race briefing went on as planned. So I sucked it up and lined
up with everyone else despite the biting wind. The high was 41 degrees with a
low of 33 and winds around 30MPH.
snow in my lap
Race
Heidi, the RD, sent us off with a bullhorn at 9am on the
dot. I was surprised at how many people took off like it was a shorter distance
race. My plan was to run as evenly and consistently as possible for as long as
I could maintain it. I didn’t wear a watch so I didn’t worry about pace or
times. I just tried to keep my effort low and even. We were running the .90075
mile loop clockwise which meant a short incline along the edge of the lake and
then running along the breakwater at the top before turning away from the lake
and heading down to the line to start again. The wind was gusting diagonally
across the park and the freezing spray from the waves crashing against the
breakwater would mist us with every loop. The wind was from the side on the
uphill, mostly behind us at the top of the loop, and directly in our faces as
we returned along the sandy beach which meant the sand blew into our eyes,
noses, mouths, and shoes relentlessly.
snow on the path
After the first few loops I could tell my back was going to
be an issue. My right SI joint was sending shooting pains down my leg with
every step. I told myself it was just nerve pain so there was no reason to pay
any mind since there was nothing I could do about it. It did slow me down
though. I decided to try to hold 5 loops per hour for as long as I could in
order to get close to 100 miles. I began to walk the short incline from the
start/finish up to the breakwater each lap so I could eat and drink and save my
legs. Then I would run the remainder of the loop and do it again. I would walk
an entire loop every 15th or 16th lap.
I was staying right on target and prettily easily keeping my
5 loops per hour average despite the wind and cold. After 25 or so miles I
decided to change my socks to relieve the sand friction in my shoes. It helped
immensely and I made a plan to change my socks every 25 miles thereafter.
Around 30 miles my back pain suddenly disappeared which helped me stay on pace
and even improve slightly. I whiled away the hours talking to other runners and
watching in amazement as the men ran themselves into the ground trying to beat
the wind. Johnny Cash (yes, his real name) was going for 135 miles and he was
just blazing. Hearing him lap me again was better than a clock. He was
ridiculously steady!
waiting to start
Around 40 miles in my coach stopped out to cheer me on for
awhile and check in. I was so happy to see her. She got me some warm food and
broth, walked with me for a minute and helped refine my plans. We felt
confident 90 miles was in the bag. After a few laps she had to leave but it
kept me going at a better rate for another hour or so. I began to notice that
my right foot was getting tender along the ankle. I tried to shorten my stride
and improve my form which helped a little so I kept chugging along, knowing a
50 mile PR was in the bag.
My coach and I
I should have hit 50 miles in 11:30 or less but the pain in
my foot was becoming annoying. The balls of my feet were getting tender and I
blamed sand so I stopped to change my socks again. I passed 50.5 miles in
11:4x. I set my focus on getting to the 100k mark but began to lose steam as
the sun set and the temperatures plummeted.
Running some laps with Ronnie
I stopped around 55 miles to add layers. I had two pairs of
tights, a tank top, a long sleeve tech tee, two jackets, a hoody, and gloves on
and I was still shivering uncontrollably. The top 10 or 12 men were still
plugging away and 3 or 4 women remained on the course but everyone else seemed
to disappear as soon as the sun set. I renewed my focus on not leaving the
course for anything short of a medical emergency and pressed on. I tried to run
more to get my temperature up and it became a battle between the pain in my
right ankle/foot and my need to stay moving and warm. Occasionally someone
would be running at a pace I thought I could sustain so I would hang with them
for a few laps until I either got too warm in all my layers or my foot began to
protest. Pretty soon all of the women had disappeared and I gave in to the urge
to check the leader board. I believe I was in 4th place at that
point and around 21-23 overall. I wasn’t too far from Anne in third place so I
decided to put in as many laps as I could while she was off the course.
Sunset
I picked up a 3 hour marathoner in a Boston jacket named
Bruce and we put in a blistering 3 or 4 laps before I fell off his pace. Every
few laps he would grab my hand and pull me along for another couple laps until
I was gasping or limping and then I’d walk. I hit the 100k mark in around 15:30
and I felt pretty confident that 90 miles was very doable. I walked some very
brisk laps with another runner named Jason and ran a few with another named
Ronnie. They were both on pace for well over 100 miles so I’d enjoy their
company while it lasted and then walk again.
Cleveland skyline at twilight
Sometime in the middle of the night I began taking caffeine:
coffee, Mountain Dew, Coke, whatever. The week without any caffeine made the
effects potent and I was wide awake despite the darkness. I ran without a light
using the light of the moon and my familiarity with the course to guide me
instead. It felt like hours before any other women rejoined me on the course
but they later told me they only left the course for about an hour. I had taken
over third place and I was now running scared that Anne would find her second
wind. The winds calmed down and changed direction overnight which was a nice
change and helped keep my spirits up. The appearance of a fox raiding the park
garbage cans for our leftovers also gave me a boost. Of course, no one else saw
him so maybe it was just a hallucination?
Plugging along
My coach wanted me to try to catch second place and I got
fairly close when she left the course again for a short time. She came back out
and finished a loop right behind me. She got a look at my numbers and let out a
curse and took off like a bat out of Hell. By this point I was more than happy
to let the chips fall where they may. I had hoped the sun coming up would
rejuvenate me but instead I was becoming a walking zombie. My only goal was to
keep putting one foot in front of the other until the end.
I liked this tree when it wasn't blowing pollen in my face
Thankfully my friend, Glenn, showed up at 6am and took over
caring for me when I could no longer care for myself. He forced oatmeal and
coffee into me and walked several loops, taking pictures and calling out
encouragements. I just blindly followed behind him and the doc (who ran the med
tent but also put in 34 miles) and tried to give convincing smiles when other
runners talked to me or encouraged me.
That tiny speck in the water is a surfer. The waves were that big!
Around 8am I realized my position of third place woman was
in no danger with a 9 lap lead over 4th place Anne. I had moved up
to 18th overall and I couldn’t change that with both Karen and
Allene directly ahead of my by about 10 laps in 16th and 17th place. Knowing that there was nothing to
do but cause further damage I allowed Glenn to hustle me into the med tent to
have my foot tended to by a group of podiatry students all the way from St.
Louis, MO.
Bruising just below my ankle
All three students took turns palpating and digging and
nothing really hurt. Finally their teacher came over and pushed in just below my
ankle and also from the bottom up on the outside. The searing pain almost
knocked me out of the chair. Diagnosis: dislocated Navicular bone. It seems my
Navicular fell in and my cuboid pushed out causing a bruise along the side
of my food and the inability to run due to the impact jarring the bones. Once
my foot was reset and all taped up I hobbled outside to watch the last couple
laps. Doc decided he wanted to get one more in so I accompanied him on a slow
hobble around the loop carrying our popsicle sticks. (You are given a popsicle
stick with your number on it to put down on the ground when the horn blows
signaling the end of the race.) We were rounding the last bend when someone
said we had less than 2 minutes to the horn. I wanted to finish with one more
complete loop and maybe a few more steps beyond so I ignored the pain and ran
but it wasn’t enough. The horn sounded and I stuck my popsicle stick in the
sand about 20 feet shy of the mat. Doc was a few feet back and Allene, now in
first place, was a few more feet behind him. We all limped back to the pavilion
and I climbed into my sleeping bag to await awards.
Post Race
I huddled around with Anne, Glenn, Jason, and a few others
as we collected our medals and the guys collected their 100 mile buckles.
Shortly thereafter awards were announced with unofficial results (our extra
incomplete lap was not measured or added yet). I was awarded a plaque for being
first in the 0-39 age group, 3rd overall woman netted me $100, and I
was 18th overall with an unofficial 84.7 miles. I officially ended up with 85.57 miles after my almost complete loop was added in.
The goodies
As soon as awards were over I hugged everyone goodbye and
loaded up my car. I made the 3.5 hour drive back to Pittsburgh uneventfully
despite being awake and moving for 30+ hours. Once home I showered and fell
into bed for a fitful 3 or 4 hour nap. I kept being awakened by my sunburn and
windburn as well as sinuses that felt like half the beach was stuffed in them.
After some aloe gel, an Advil, and blowing about a pound of sand out of my nose
I began to feel more human. Aside from being stiff and a little sore I don’t
seem to have any damage besides the bruised foot. Of course, I expect I’ll feel
more tomorrow since my boss revoked that Monday off deal! I’m going to be the
most useless body in the plant for sure. (Side note: I actually was fairly productive for about 5 hours today!)
Thoughts
This was tough but for all the reasons I didn’t expect. I
didn’t expect snow, hail, and gale force winds in April. I didn’t expect to be
alone for long stretches of time overnight. I didn’t expect to be wet from
freezing spray blowing off the lake. I expected to be tempted to go too fast
but I wasn’t. I expected to be exposed to sun and heat but there was little sun
and no high temps. I expected to be the one who fell apart overnight but I was
one of the very few who held it together for the entire time.
I know that it was a ‘disappointing’ race to many of those
tracking the event because not a single woman broke 100 miles and the winning
male had ‘only’ 130 miles but, really, with the conditions and weather I’m
absolutely amazed at what every single person at NC24 accomplished. Running a
10 or 11 minute mile pace for hours is one thing, running that for hours against a 30
MPH headwind is completely different. Every runner out there for the entire 24
hours absolutely put in a 100+ mile effort even without the results to show for
it.
In the end, I didn’t get my 90 mile goal and I definitely
missed 100 by a pretty good margin. But I’m thrilled with the results. I
couldn’t have asked for better proof of my mental toughness than being the only
woman that never stepped off the course for a nap or to hide from the weather.
I wouldn’t have dreamed of placing in my age group let alone getting onto the
podium in my first 24 hour race. And I have no doubt that I will collect my
first hundred mile buckle at Burning River so long as I don’t suffer any
serious setbacks. I guess it turned out to be a perfect day!
