It was almost exactly a week ago that I was running through the streets of New York for the first time. I remember vividly splashing through the fairly empty streets of Broadway towards 52nd street when a makeshift finish line was constructed. Now I am at JFK airport, in the posh Virgin lounge no less (Thanks Jill for sorting this, beats going to Costa for a stale sandwich) trying to make sense of all of this. I still haven’t, perhaps I never will. I think some time on my own and being reunited with my home and my friends might help all that.
So, a summary of what I have been doing and feeling in the past week. I have felt a little overwhelmed by the big city to be honest. More so that I felt when I arrived in LA and if I came here straight from London I would probably not let it bother me too much but everything just feels too busy and fast right now. Having spent so much time running along roads with nothing but the occasional dead animal I feel a bit overstimulated here.
The first few days were hard. The desire to explore New York was restricted by aching feet, waves of tiredness and perhaps most upsettingly disabled by a feeling of indifference. I am in New York, so what? What is so great about this place? Why would anyone run for two months to get here? This made it quite frustrating (particularly for Gemma) for me seeing the sights. We went up Rockefeller tower (a bloody great big building) in order to get a view of other bloody great big buildings. I did not take any photos, there was no need to, there are photos already on Wikipedia.
The second day we met up with Rainer and two of his friends Matthaus and Dani to do a walk of the city. We probably walked in total for about 8 miles, stopped in a few pubs along the way. Many times I just thought “why am I doing this? My feet hurt I could just get a cab home if I want”. Now that I don’t have to be on my feet then why should I? I managed to brave it out though and complete the 8 miles of walking.
It got a bit better later in the week. I am really enjoying the food and the task of replacing some of the 12kg I lost during the race.
Yesterday we went to Fire Island, a sort of holiday beach island that I think New Yorkers use as a holiday place, not so touristy. One of the things that I wanted to do on finishing this race was to go to watch the Atlantic Ocean. About 75 days ago I dipped my feet into the Pacific for the first time and at points during the race I just thought about the sound of the sea. I thought about the sound of waves gently crashing against the land when I was sitting on a chair under a parasol on day 18 trying to avoid a disaster. I thought about that sound many more times during the race where I felt I needed to relax and take myself away. It worked usually and now I was just indulging myself with that sound.
And funnily enough when I was listening to the waves I was taken back into the race. The anchor I used to get me out of the stressful situation can now be used to get me back there. I like this. I still am having problems processing this adventure but re-living it in this way might help. While I was lying on the beach in perfect safety and comfort my mind drifted to when I was sat in that chair, very ill, 23 more miles to stagger while not being able to eat and letting my body chew itself up and with the very real prospect of getting pulled out of the race, ending my dream.
There are other anchors I used to get me out of the race, imagining what it will be like when I see various friends for the first time when I get back, what the first Wednesday night run will be like, looking at my map in the clubroom and being able to say “that’s done”. I might have to go to the clubroom early so I can do that one on my own, it could get emotional.
I have been away from the UK for 80 days now, more than I have ever been away before. I am just really looking forward to getting back home. I feel like I am still just hanging around at the finish line which is perhaps why I have not switched off from the race yet. 2 nights so far this week I have had a dream where I knew I have finished the race but for some reason I am running around in New York looking for the end and I cannot find it. It never comes.
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Day 70. I have had visions of how this would look for about 69 days and in reality it was much different. I though the night of day 69 would be a great relaxing evening of eating and drinking and celebrating a job almost done before a glory canter into New York. Instead it was a stressful long night of trying to figure out what we would do if New York shut down. One of the scenarios was that we would not get to cross Washington Bridge and hence not actually get into New York. It was only 8 miles from the finish line but imagine doing the Los Angeles to New York race and then having to live with the fact that you never actually made it to New York.
This made me feel a little down today. In the morning we discovered that it was very unlikely that the bridge would be closed but that did not change my mood. I have felt a bloating in my stomach for 3 days now which I thought might be a stomach problem but it wasn’t. I think it was nerves. And now at the beginning of the last stage of the race that has been consuming everything I have for the past 69 days I just felt so empty. There was no excitement or anticipation anymore, very little emotion.
I have been warned by a few veterans of this kind of think to expect a 2 week funk after the event while I try to adjust back to normal life and wake up to the reality that the incredible thing you are doing is now done and in the past. I have experienced this in some of the races I have done before but in each case I have had another race to think about in the future which normally helps. Now I have nothing. Could it be that I have started suffering the post race depression before the race has actually finished?
The first few miles were through the busier and busier rolling roads of New Jersey. It was a staggered start today with Myself, the Japanese, Serge, a slightly more mobile Patrick and Phillippe starting off with the “Slow” runners at 5am. Alex, Markus, Jenni, Anneke and Girard were to start at 6 and Rainer, Italo and Peter at 7. It was perfect conditions for running, cloudy and cool like it has been for a few days.
The day slipped by quickly, soon I was at half way and at this point Rainer passed me running so fast I could not believe it. Italo as soon after trying to get the 3.18 hours he needs on Patrick to get second place. He got 2 hours of that in the first half of today and soon after Italo passed me Patrick did too, realising that his 2nd was now very much under threat.
I just plodded along at my usual pace expecting at some point the significance of the day to catch up with me but it was not happening. I thought “just wait for the bridge, it will get better when I get to the bridge”. When I did get to the bridge it started pouring with rain. I was impressed with the structure but in the cloud I still could not really see New York. It was quite exhilarating passing the bridge with the noise of the cars rattling it. Once I got off I was in New York and only about 7 miles from Times Square where the finish was.
Most of the last few miles were on the riverside path which was pleasant as New York (the city that never sleeps) had been tranquilised with weather channel scaremongering. There were a few people out for a run but very little traffic and not so many people wandering around.
Laurie and Bennett were supporting too while Gemma was sometimes running with me. Whenever I stopped for a drink every 3 miles I did not really know what to ask for or what to say. I wanted this to be the perfect day for over a year now and it was not living up to that. Gemma ran along the river section with me while we talked about what hurricane Irene (later downgraded to “tropical storm” Irene and by the time I post this blog with will be downgraded to dog fart Irene) had done to this city.
2 miles left I left the river to head onto Broadway towards Times Square. It got a bit better. I have run for nearly 800 hours and I have about 20 minutes left. I had to look intensely at the turn sheet though so that these confusing roads did not mean I ended up somewhere else. I was trying to then find 57th Street where the hotel was and then heard the incredibly loud sound of a horn and Rene running towards me. The finish line was outside (I was expecting it to be inside) and without really thinking about it too much I found myself on the other side of the finish line.
It was a great atmosphere at the finish with some of the runners and all the support crews there. Laure had wanted this to be a low key race which is why there was no media coverage or fanfare in the places we went. Every now and again someone would find out about the race and make a noise but on the whole we crossed the USA unnoticed. I was fine with this and she said about lack of media at the finish that they would make it look like it’s all about one moment, crossing the line. It’s not, it’s about 70 days of unique experience at only the 16 of us would really understand. I still feel a bit down about it now but I know that it will sink in soon and I will realise the magnitude of what I have done.
I have so much more to say about this race and will be doing so in the next few weeks. Right now my brain is just an empty space, unable to really think about anything. Gemma is a bit worried about my silence but she needs not to be. It will pass.
I have just run across the United States of America. I just need to say that to myself a few more times and then perhaps I will believe it. And then my emotions should come back.
]]>OK, not too much time for a blog today , I thought I would have lots of time but we have just had a long meeting about what might happen tomorrow regarding the hurricane Irene.
It’s due to hit late tomorrow, after we have run but there will be heavy rain perhaps spoiling our run. The problem is New York is closed, and Washington Bridge may be too.
It is possible that the bridge will be closed before noon in which case not many of the runners will make it across. In that even the race will end at the start of the bridge, in New Jersey. So I will have run the LANJ race. Does not sound quite as appealing.
The finish has been changed. Central Park is closed so we can not finish there nor can we do our staged finish. Instead we will finish on the 7th floor of the Novotel in times square, emerging from an elevator soaking wet. That is of course if we even get into New York.
Tomorrow was meant to be a nice stroll to glory but now it has become a headache. Damn nature interfering with our ultras.
Anyhoo, let’s hope this hurricane does not hit till later. I am not too worried about being indoors for all of Sunday.
Anyhoo, today was great. I felt quite relaxed when running the last few hills of the USA and in some busy roads. It was half nice half horrid but I enjoyed myself today and always thinking of “this time tomorrow” while doing it.
And then a great surprised, at around 16 miles Laurie popped out of some trees. She and Gemma had been plotting this for ages and it was a real shock to see her I could not think of anything to say but I had suncream in my eyes soon after as I thought about tomorrow. Laurie was here at the start and it will be so great to have her there at the finish too.
Patrick still struggled today but comfortably managed the cut off. His second place might be in jeopardy though as Italo today ran like Rainer and smashed the 47.4 miles in 7 hours and is now I think just 4 hours behind Patrick.
I can’t really think of anything else to say right now. I have an earlier start than expected so need to get to bed. But I need to get ready. No faffing tomorrow I have to get to that bridge before they may close it.
F**k
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“Who is this new young good looking chap? And where is that smelly tramp who has been hanging around for the past 2 months?” Well no one actually said it but I am sure they all thought it. My new shaven face was certainly a discussion point this morning and during the stage. I still look in the mirror and not quite recognise myself, I have lost so much weight and it really shows now in my naked face. I am not sure whether I should try to get fat again when I finish this, saves me having to buy new clothes.
The race briefing this morning was long. I think Laure was frustrated by people going wrong yesterday (or perhaps by people complaining about it) so she went through all the turns. I can’t see how anyone could really complain about yesterday. It was basically one person going wrong and then lots of people sleep running, our own stupid fault.
But for some reason today at the start my head was not in it again. We are so close now yet the thought of 3 more 50 milers and then the last day just feels like too much effort. I commented to Gemma in the early stops that today does not feel like it is going very fast. I was not talking about actual speed or time but by my own perception of it. I knew I was going along at about the same pace as usual but it just seemed to drag which in this race for me is so much worse than actual times. Yesterday even having done the extra distance the miles seemed to pass quicker. I moaned to Gemma that today was going to be long.
The town of York was lovely but soon we were on the busy roads again where I feel less and less welcome. Drivers pulling out of side streets and turning right do not seem to look right before pulling out and I have to be really careful of this. With 4 days to go no one is going to pull out now with blisters, fatigue, shin splints or diarrhoea. Getting run over by a car though will bring an end to it though. We all need to be careful now.
I have not really spoke much about Patrick on this blog. He is a really nice guy who does not speak English but I get the impression he is the joker of the French crowd. He is currently in second place and is obviously a fantastic runner but recently he has slowed and today he looked a cripple at the start. At some point I saw him go to the side of the road to take a leak and then have to be helped back onto the road by his wife and Girard. He could still run faster than me though. Whatever his issues were they must have eased at he slowly slipped out of view.
We passed a couple of nice places today in the middle, one in particular called Gouglasville (I think) which was a beautiful town just off the interstate. I was good to get off the busy roads even though we could still hear them. I said to Gemma “Perhaps there is a place to get a smoothie here”. It was a loaded “Perhaps”, and Gemma responded by getting me said smoothie.
We then went through a city called Reading. This was the most horrible part of the day. The city was fairly ugly like it’s British counterpart but this was quite rough to run through. The sidewalks were all smashed, people everywhere looking at you with disapproval and I was afraid to go for a piss in case I got sucked into some sort of territorial war. Not nice.
And after that there was more really busy highway but by this point my head was better and the miles seemed to be going faster again. I was still in last place, everyone seems to have found some source of speed for the last few legs that I have not. I’m not worried though. 2 more 50 mile days and then the glory leg.
Day T-2 Kutztown to Washington – 51 miles
This will be a short one as it was a long day and soon my eye lids will overpower me. Today was tough. Laure called it a “5 star day” for hardness. There were hills, traffic, lots of turns, ugly roads, busy towns, intolerable intersections and on top of that a good hour of really hard rain that promised to bugger up everyones feet.
All eyes were on Patrick this morning. He can’t walk. In the space of a week he has gone from the runner who finishes second most days to a cripple. Makes all this talk of “In the bag” feel a bit premature. Alex and I spoke at the start that we got into the “we’re so close” talk way too early. 500 miles is not that close. Less than 150 is but because we have been thinking about being so close for too long it feels like we should have finished by now.
Today started a little slow and just got slower. The first 7 miles were on a road of angry truck drivers (I don’t think they were angry I just imagined they were). Then there were a few miles of beautiful but very hilly roads which would have been brilliant but for the rain. I have loved the rain up until now but now I just think about my feet. After a rain shower my feet just burn. In the end they didn’t and overall I had nothing to complain about but I found today really mentally tough.
It’s funny, I am 3100 miles into a 3200 mile race and hence “near the end” but all I can think about is how it sucks to only be 17 miles into a 51 mile day. I can’t get myself into New York mode for some reason, I found it easy to think about it before now but all I can focus on is the next horrible mile.
The day eased up though and just before entering New Jersey a Fetchie called Jeff came out to see us. It was really great to see him and as always it would have been nice to spend more time chatting to someone who made the effort to come out and see the race. He bought some really nice tomato that got put into my sandwich and I really enjoyed it. I may change my mind about this salad stuff….
Near the end I saw Serge’s crew and asked them how Patrick was doing. They said he had been to hospital for pain killing injections and was back on the road. From what I heard he was on about 60k when I finished and was likely to miss the cut off by some time but that is OK so long as he does not miss it tomorrow. I really hope he makes it and hope that they would be lenient with the cut off if needed, if he has to crawl all day and all night to get to Central Park then let him. Come on Patrick. COURAGE.
And that was about it for today, I finished in 13.30 and will not sleep much tonight. Tomorrow is about 49 miles and then the last day. Gemma and I celebrate 2 years since our first date. She will be treated to me eating pizza in bed and then falling into a coma. I might shower beforehand though, I’m romantic like that.
Two more days, 85 miles. NOT in the bag.
]]>My legs hurt all night again, keeping me awake along with the usual thoughts of running the next stage. When I woke up in the morning I commented to Gemma that my legs do not normally hurt this much.
I don’t think I was as grumpy as usual even though Gemma said I was at breakfast when I complained about having to eat a banana. The motel put on breakfast for us and as best as I could I tried to force bagels and creamed cheese down my throat. I still have tooth ache which means sometimes I have to eat like a geriatric hamster.
Gemma got me a proper egg and bacon roll from a diner early on which went down a treat, it had a real egg in it rather than the yellow circle thing you get in the McMuffins, not that I am complaining about those though.
Today was fairly boring on the whole except for a really nice stroll through Gettysburg around half way. I don’t know too much about the battle of Gettysburg other than that it was a very important one in the American civil war where the Union army defeated the Confederates somewhere near there. Americans probably know all this from their world history lessons.
There were a huge number of historical signposts with information on which I stopped to read but it was hard trying to put it all together. Taverns where armies gathered, roads that were marched on, profiles of generals and heroes and villians. This would be a great place to spend the day as it looks like such a proud historical town. I got the sense that I was marching along the same routes that the armies would have done nearly 200 years ago. Pennsylvania is full of history, the buildings look old but beautiful. Previous states where all the large scale farming happens buildings look like they are only built to last a few years before being pulled down and replaced. I like this state.
New Oxford was lovely too and it had a McDonalds. Gemma asked me if I would rather have a sandwich that she had made with my smoothie rather than a Big Mac. It was a loaded question like many of hers such as “would you like to eat some vegetables” or “would you like to shower before getting into the bed”. It was a nice beef and cheese sandwich though.
The blister that had bothered me the past couple of days had gone and in the last couple of weeks I feel pain on the sole of my right foot just below the toes. Not sure what that is but taking my shoe off and giving it a bit of a run seems to help it. Not sure whether it might be plantar fasciitis (I hear people banging on about this one a lot). I remember reading in Marshall Ulrich’s book that he got this and his solution was to reduce is mileage from 60 a day to 40. I am doing about 50 a day and have no option of reducing. I’ll get through it.
We finished on a very busy road at a café a few miles from the motel we were staying in. On finishing we ate in the diner that managed to get our orders a bit wrong. I asked for chapped steak and eggs and got a whole steak and an omelette, Gemma got most of her gluten free dinner correctly except for the bread stacked on top. It was not too slow a day and tomorrow will be nice and short.
Day 66 – York to Lancaster – 26.9 miles
26.2 miles was the distance we were expecting but Laure said there was a diversion and now it was to be 26.9 miles. My chances of a marathon pb were slipping.
There was an announcement that Alex had a baby girl this morning (back in Italy of course) and that mother and child were doing very well. He found out just before the finish yesterday which probably explains his quick time and hasty exit. Today we had two guest runners of David (dressed as a cow) and Berangere running today.
We started on the same busy road that we finished yesterday on and in the pitch black 5.30am morning it was still quite busy. I had the turn sheet and I normally just look for when the first turn is, today it was 16.9 miles which meant I could just put it away for a few hours and sleep run and follow everyone else.
We ran along and soon we were on an interstate, it felt a little strange but I could see a long line of runners ahead so stayed with it. After about half an hour on here Bando caught me as asked if this was the right way. I was sure it was not as Laure would have told us about this, there was no way a crew could access us on this road and she would have said something to us. There was debate, Phillippe said “yes, this is good way, good way” and sped off. I thought we should just walk in the same direction till someone tells us otherwise (yeah stupid). I had no phone on me so could not call anyone.
Then we saw Fabien (Patricks wife and support) drive past and honk at us and somehow she managed to turn around to tell us all to go back. Doh. We are now further from the finish that we were at the start. I blame David. Silly Frenchman.
I was quite upbeat about the whole thing as was Patrick and Italo who soon sped past me. Rainer, Jenni, Markus and Alex had all gone the right way, the rest of us didn’t. Bando flew off, I think he was worried about missing the cut off now which could be an issue for many of us. Mr Koshita did not look very impressed though.
After about an hour and a half I met Gemma at the 1 mile point to have a drink and sandwich. I think we had probably added about 4-5 miles on with that detour. Still, 26 miles is a silly distance to run. WE ran through a pretty town (York I think) and I think we are reaching that critical point where I can no longer say hello to everyone I see. In Oklahoma where you only see one person a day its easy to do, in fact I would say hello to horses and cows too just because I was lonely. It’s going to be harder now in all these busy towns. “Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello …..” I would get out of breath quickly.
10 miles a stop in McDonalds where I was allowed an Egg McMuffin and smoothie this time. At 16 miles there was the first official turning which was on a very long bridge over a huge wide river. Can’t remember the name of the river but it was lovely to see in the sunshine.This is where I caught up with David dressed as a cow still (Silly Frenchman) and Berangere who looked like she was suffering a bit. Still I think after today they will be celebrating running their first ultramarathon. Who knows, perhaps in a few years they might end up doing something really stupid.
Not a lot else happened today though at the start we were briefed on how the finish into New York will work. We are to run the 35 mile stage as 2 groups, fast and slow (apparently I am slow). We will run to a Starbucks about 1k from Central Park and then re-group and finish the race together. I really like the idea of finishing all together but not all are keen. Oddly Bando is really against it “But it’s a race, we should race to the finish”. Bando has had a miraculous recovery recently but I don’t think in the next 5 days he is going to catch up the 300 hours he needs on Rainer.
At the end we were informed that we have now done 3000 miles, I thought that was coming tomorrow but we are already there. In fact I am on 3005 miles : )
There was an earthquake nearby today which I felt as I went into the motel room. I was too tired to really get excited about it. Later after a much needed nap I had my beard shaved off and then a hair cut. When I started this I felt like a boy amongst men. Then during the race I became a tramp amongst men. Now I really really do look like a 12 year old boy amongst men. Mauro actually did not recognise me when he saw me earlier.
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Today was the second of the “mountain” days. I think after this it’s pretty plain sailing to New York. Yesterday was beautiful and interesting although the length of time on my feet took it’s toll. From the very first steps of this morning I felt like my feet had been battered. Wearing wet shoes and clothes from yesterday probably did not help.
The first 10k of today were all down and at the bottom of the descent was a McDonalds that I had earmarked for breakfast. We then went through a small town called Cumberland which had been written on very old mile markers for miles and miles so it must have been important back in the day. Now it is just a regular town like many others we have passed through only there were a lot more morning joggers today.
Now we are in the founding states there are a lot more interesting buildings. Ones made out of stone and brick and made to last. We have been following the “National Road” more or less from Indianapolis, one of the first national highways built about 200 years ago. It is not a very busy road but it is littered with relics from the past when the country was only 13 states. There are forts of previous battles and toll houses with prices on. To take a 2 horsed 6 wheeled carriage into Hancock would cost 6 cents I think. Not sure about a weary runner on two tired feet and a badger on his back,
I am going to learn a lot more about this area when I am done here which is not long now.
Anyhoo the running went ok. The climbs did not really start until half way and even then they were not as bad as yesterday, certainly not the first climb. There were some awesome viewpoints though, one at a place called “Town Hill” which had a great looking B&B (yes, sounds very British doesn’t it?) at the top .
Today I was excited about Gemma being at the finish though she got stuck in traffic and I am still waiting for her to arrive. I have been counting the days since we said goodbye in a rushed way in Oklahoma at the start of stage 36. It seems like such a long time ago though I have trouble now remembering what happened yesterday from the day before from the day before, like the days really are merging into one enormous tract of time. Los Angeles was two months ago (TWO MONTHS????) yet somehow it feels like that could have been years ago. My summer has been so crammed with excitement, despair, fear, hope, experience and all other emotions that by brain has probably spread it over more than a year just to stop me exploding.
Now I don’t feel like I can even measure time. I think some days “I have about 8 hours left of running today”. I don’t even know what that is anymore. 8 hours used to be a working day, or a 50 mile race, or an after work pub session getting out of hand. I don’t know why I even look at the time anymore, I just plod along and at some point during the day it finishes.
Serge said to me this morning “from tomorrow we will be able to say this is the last Sunday, and then this is the last Monday etc”. It’s true and it’s going to be awesome. This time next week I’ll be in New York. I prefer to think of it this way though.
Remember that thing I had to do ten times this summer? Well now I only have to do it once more.
Day 64 – Hancock to Waynesboro – 46.2 miles
This is the “last Sunday” of the race. No more running on Sundays after today. This time next week I won’t have to do any running. Etc
It really lifts spirits to be able to say things like that, to say to a passer by who asks “yeah we started 2 months ago in LA but this is the last week”.
Gemma arrived later than expected last night while stuck in traffic in a place called “New York” and we did not get a huge amount of sleep. I felt quite tired but so happy that Gemma was here now. Things seem much easier when she is around.
I also had a visit from John Price this morning. I had met John once at the Spartathlon 2 years ago and kept in touch with his crazy antics on Facebook. Earlier this year he ran across America pushing a baby jogger on his own. It was great to see him and he brought along some good beer and cookies too. Even better to see him : )
I started the day still being crewed by the organisation while Gemma got more sleep and it started quite well with the feeling that this will soon be over. There were a few more hills left of the Appalachians but it was not nearly as hard as the past 2 days. The roads were quiet and lovely and after about 15 miles Gemma came along and started running small sections with me. It was great to have her back. Her bum is much easier to follow than Mr Tanaka’s.
John popped up too and was taking photos and walking alongside me up some of the hills. It was great to chat to him as the last time I would have spoke to him was when I was an absolute wreck after my first Spartathlon and I did not want to talk to anybody. However I feel in this race I at least know that I would never feel that bad.
Around half way a chap pulled over (I think his name was Bennett but I may have misheard) who said he was a friend of Laurie and that he drove up from Baltimore to say hello. That was really kind and I said I was on my way to the McDonalds and that Gemma and John were there. I think they ate McDonalds together while my Big Mac and Smoothie were delivered on the road (this is the advantage of a support crew). I did not see him again but it was really nice meeting you and thanks for donating the beard trimmers : )
The second half of today felt a bit crap. The euphoria of “The last Sunday” wore off and the reality of “I still have 20 miles to go which is another 5 hours of slogging” set in. It’s funny how I have don’t this now for 63 days, run nearly 3000 miles and the thought of doing another 20 just make me feel crap. I have the blister on my little toe back that I got on the first day and it was burning a bit. I also seem to have started creating electricity and every now and then getting a shock in my balls or on my back. I think the humidity is quite high again and maybe my damp clothes are causing that.
I was a bit grumpy and sore for much of the rest and came in a little later than I would have liked but the finish was quite nice, some cookies (John’s cookies were amazing, peanut butter that just melts in your mouth which is actually a really good thing to eat on the run) and a lady (whose name I forget) with cake.
We went to a buffet later which was an experience. I know I have lost some weight recently but a womans arms should still not be bigger than my torso. Yuk.
]]>Well today went just as I kind of hoped for yesterday, the opposite of yesterday. I woke up in a good mood but that was shortly ended by the nature of the start of this run. The town of Uniontown was like most other towns we have crossed. Broken traffic lights and uneven sidewalks (usually with an injury lawyer practice beside them). It can be hard work in the dark trying to step over all the obstacles but within 3 miles we were on a highway that put me right off running.
I don’t really pay attention to the profile of the routes, don’t really see how it will help me. Peter has been talking about “stage 62” for a while now. I just get out of bed and get given the miles and then do them at my own slow pace.
I wished I looked at this one though, the first climb was huge, on a busy road though the trucks were only doing 10mph downhill. As the sun rose I grumpily trudged up this thing for about an hour and thinking “how many more of these will we have”?
I also got a bit annoyed at Girard who seems to be able to walk as fast as I can run and he was doing it right in front of me, obviously not deliberately but I was close to asking him to at least look like he is making an effort cos I am busting a gut here.
I have been told I have a significant limp, denied by me for a few days but now I can clearly feel my body rocking more to the right and my right foot curving in more as I stagger forward. I have become one of those old men you see at races who look like they are running sideways and I remark “they should get that sorted out, it must be killing them”.
I was getting annoyed at my beard too, everything I eat now has hair in it and my beard get full of everything I eat. I can’t wait to get rid of it. End of day 66 it goes (because that’s a short day and this will be a big job).
Anyhoo, at the top of this first mountain pass was a lovely looking resort and then the rolling road from then on seemed to have nice resort after nice resort, much nicer looking places than we have stayed so far. I looked at my phone time when I knew I was at 11 miles to see how far behind the “4mph” I was and it was only about 10 minutes, not as bad as I had thought.
But the grumpiness went away as soon as the highway got less busy and the lovely trees and scenery came out, I looked back having made the first mountain climb and saw just how high we were. Earlier today we were way down there in the fog, now look at us. I think today will be a Cheryl Cole day, really pretty but really really slow.
Bando had run off again, he has had a great second wind towards the end of this race and its great to see. I ran close to Koshita and Phillippe most of the day but they got away from me and I was in last again. I didn’t mind this time though, I knew it was going to be a long slog but I was well inside the cut-off again and looking around it was just beautiful.
I nearly trod on an eagle. It was just in the road, unable to fly but it was trying to fly and get out of the way. I slowed and moved around it not sure what it might do and it managed to flap over up the embankment. I am not sure whether birds with damaged wings survive long or heal at all, poor thing.
I started to limp a bit quicker on the parts that were only slightly up or slightly down. It reminded me of yesterday when I ran past a school where a brass band were practicing. I managed to go faster than them and overtake and after doing so they all turned and cheered for me, that was quite cool.
32 miles in after lots of hills was the first McDonalds on a run I have seen for 2 days. Perhaps that’s what perked me up. Big Mac and smoothie and David insisted on recording the whole thing, me walking in ordering, eating, spilling, getting gherkins stuck in my beard.
More down and up and then David appeared in a cow costume. At first I thought it was a biker and he had a bell in his hand that I thought was a spanner or something and that it was a nut wanting to kill me. Silly French Person.
I was just really enjoying the day and then Gemma sent a picture from James Edgar’s birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES) of a load of friends wishing me good luck. That was really nice to see. Gemma is now less than 24 hours away, it’s going to be wonderful to have her back here again. It’s much nicer here than in Oklahoma too.
Two miles from the end it rained hard, David asked if I was wet and I said no, I am British and hence I am waterproof. I loved the end of today, getting really wet and heading downhill to get to the finish that they were waiting for me so they could pack away and get out of the rain. I finished and was handed lots of Guinness from David as a present so long as I promise to stop saying he is a Silly Frenchman.
So, I was hardly king of the hills today but I loved them. Actually if Budweiser are allowed to call themselves King of Beers then I am going to call myself King of the Mountains anyway.
]]>I woke up feeling more energetic and awake than usual. Since there are so few days left I have decided to get out of bed with more of a spring and make more noise at the race briefings. It was going so well. The first few miles I ran pretty well too, no pain and comfortable. I did not eat much at breakfast though as I have toothache and the nuts were getting stuck.
Anyhoo, a few miles through what remained of Washington and then out onto some narrow roads with a fair few cars and trucks on them. It was a beautiful road spoiled a little by the traffic but I was determined not to let it get to me. Around half way we passed through a little town and there was a right turn onto a smaller road that seemed to disappear up into the sky flanked again by trees. Wow I thought, here is where the proper climbing starts.
There already had been a few hills of the day but I was expecting more and this was the start of it, a great incline at around 27 miles and it was nice but really hard to slog up. David and Rene were at the top to give me some much needed refreshment while David and I continued our “English people are Stupid because”, “No French people are stupid because….” Debate. I am clearly winning. Stupid Frenchman.
The road flattened out a bit and then there was another turn onto a very busy road. This is when I lost it I think.
I just hated it from the start. The evil camber of the road made me run lob sided and the rocks strewn into the road, the smashed up sections and truck after truck after truck just made it unbearable. Well for me anyway, I was right at the back already and thought I’d been running ok till then. My promise of staying positive was broken on this road.
I was thinking of things to be pissed off at and could not really come up with anything. These drivers are only doing their jobs. The organisation of the race is phenomenal, last night Emily drove back to the previous motel to retrieve my phone that I left there, a 2 hour trip. Seriously how many race organisations would do that? My injuries are minimal. Somehow I managed to overlook all this and stay grumpy.
An Ice-cream with about 10 miles to go lifted me a little and then seeing Bando and Koshita ahead made me feel like I was not going as slow as I had thought. Bando made me laugh earlier by finding 2 enormous sticks to help propel him up the hills. It seemed to work, he just flew off and this was the first time I had seen him for 20 miles.
The last few miles were even worse but I had run out of energy to be grumpy by then. There was a lot of walking on roads that were not made for walking. I saw a sidewalk on the other side and waited several minutes to cross and then ran down it till it ended 50 meters later and I had to cross back. Dunno why I was so frustrated today, I should be enjoying every moment. Hopefully I wont sleep at all tonight and wake up tomorrow feeling like shit. Then the day might turn out good. That’s how it usually works.
I finished and Berangere took me to McDonalds on the drive to the motel. I had a little surprise when I got back. My friend Drew Sheffield (currently in Colorado with Tim Adams and James Elson for the Leadville 100) called me to chat and then put Marshall Ulrich on the phone. Marshall ran across the US 2 years ago in a very quick time of 56 days and wrote a fantastic book about it (I recommend reading it while you wait for me to write mine : ) )
Anyway, one of the things that struck me from the book when I was reading back in the UK was how little time he had to do anything. It’s all run, eat, sleep, run, eat, sleep. Marsh was covering more miles a day than I am and so for him it would have been worse. It was great to speak to someone who knows what this is like but he said that running into New York is the most amazing thing. I am so close. Pennsylvania is just a big rectangle right next to New York. 9 more days.
Tomorrow is a tough day, I think the hilllest yet. I just hope there are no roads like the one we just ran on but I suspect they will be more frequent now.
]]>Italo woke up this morning looking more confused that usual and then broke the silence by saying “oh no, I dreamt that I had run 40 kilometers of today already and now I have to run them again”. Welcome to my world my friend, I have been doing that all race. If I could bag the miles I have run in my sleep then I would have got to New York ages ago and be half way back to LA by now.
Today was supposed to be the longest stage of the race, 58.5 miles but it was cut down to 55 and tomorrows increased by 3.5 as Laure was worried about the amount of turnings we would have to make in the latter stages. A few people have gone wrong and I think now we are not on endless straight roads anymore Laure is worried about someone ending up in Toronto.
I was my usual self, not able to eat as much in the 20 minutes I gave myself to try and wolf down as many bagels as possible. Eating enough, finding clean(ish) pants, remembering my running number all seem like too much in the morning. Only 5 days left till Gemma can help me out with some of those.
There was a surprise at breakfast (provided by the motel today, normally we have to fend for ourselves), David was back. I interrupted his conversation with Serge to give him a hug. It was great seeing him again.
The miles in the dark felt like harder work than normal and just for me for some reason. Everyone flew off leaving Alex and I at the back. Alex has been suffering with a bad shin splint for a few days and has been coming in at the back. In my and most others experience injuries have a life expectancy of about 4 days before they go away or just stop complaining, I hoped this was the case with Alex.
It was an incline which I was running and feeling OK but it would appear that everyone was wearing new shoes today because they were all in the distance. It’s impossible to see other runners from behind in the dark from more than about 50 meters so you never really know where people are.
The sunrise was the best I remember, the glowing sun sat at the end of a beautiful corridor of trees making it look like they were on fire. I have stopped taking pictures now (the humidity killed my camera phone) but that would have been a brilliant one and today generally was gorgeous.
Emily and Berangere were crewing me at the start and I no longer know what I want to drink when I get there. I just ask Emily “what do I want to drink” and she has some ideas, usually iced tea. My food box contained pringles today which I bought from a gas station the previous night. 900 calories in a little tube of easy to eat snack. That should get me through 20% of the day at least.
My energy today was generally good, only one wobble around 35 miles. I was eating small amounts constantly with the sandwiches and pringles and the occasional gel. I think the hills and scenery helped with that. I was going slower, I think the new shoes effect might have worn off though it was hilly so perhaps my pace was just as good. I just looked around and thought “I could easily cope with 12 hours of this every day for the next 12 days”.
I guy stopped to ask me for directions to Egypt Valley road, I said I had no idea about the area and he seemed a little grumpy at my response and drove off. Oh well, I used that as prompt to get my route card out of my bag and look for the next turning, half a mile, left on Egypt Valley road. I swear I’ve heard that street mentioned before.
I did pass Koshita and Ishiara though Bando was running very well and finished ahead of me. He must have got new shoes and new legs. It really is great to see him running well, I hoped to catch him to chat but he was way ahead.
Most of today was in fairly warm sunlight with trees all over and quiet roads. There was some trail too or rather gravel path. I found myself running quite well on it and thinking yet again of where this reminds me of home.
The finish was by a small motel that only Italo, myself, Jenni and Anneke were booked into as there were difficulties booking enough rooms nearby (and this was part of the reason why the distance was changed). All of the supported runners had to drive a little distance to their motels. I was relieved at just being able to stay in the place we finished and I enjoyed a prolonged stay out on the grass of the finish area just chatting and waiting for the others to arrive. We were then treated to a brilliant meal put on by the motel owners of noodle soup and pasta, really really good and I regret again not having enough time to eat it. It is hard straight after a long run, your body is screaming for food but your digestive system has gone to sleep.
Day 60 – Morristown to Washington – 50.3 miles
I had a dream last night that I had missed one of the stages and got thrown out of the race. I was trying to convince Laure that I could just catch up and run two of the stages on the same day but she was not having it. For some reason this conversation took place in Leicester. Anyway, I woke up a little relieved to find that I was still in the race and now on day 60.
In the morning Peter said that after today there are 10 stages, but the last one does not count and the 26.2 mile stage (67) does not count either so really it’s only 8 days left. Wow, 8 days left sounds much better, that’s only a week. I’m not counting my McNuggets yet but that seems really close.
Bando had a screamer yesterday. I said to him in the morning to slow down but he said “No, today I go faster, yesterday was the first day since day one with no pain”. Alex told me that Bando had been praying to every God that exists (sic) for just one day without any pain and he seemed to get that yesterday. I think he got that today too as he flew off with Rainer at the start.
We were a bit concerned about Alex who was not at the start today. He had an alarm malfunction and ended up coming 30 minutes late.
Today was an exciting one, 3 states. The milestones were 20 miles – West Virginia, 26 miles – McDonalds and 35 miles – Pennsylvania. I was expecting more of the same as yesterday which profile wise was the case but scenery wise was not. The hills were still there but instead of being off the beating track we were passing through town after town.
There was an incredible fog as the sun came up, reducing visibility to around 30 meters. It felt quite nice just to run through some towns where people were getting up to go to work in the foggy morning like I could have been running to work myself.
The miles were slow going but with the hills and intersections I was not too worried. It would be nice to get this finished under 12 to have a bit of time at the end. I ran together with Koshita for the first half and he slowed to take lots of pictures of everything. A game I like to play sometimes is “what would Koshita take a photo of?” While I am running I imagine I have a camera and that I am Koshita taking millions of photos. I don’t know how he is going to make cut-offs now we are seeing much more stuff.
West Virginia looked interesting from the start, a town called Wheeling and some huge bridges over a river. It all looked very industrial age with steel bridges. It looked really cool. Soon after there was a McDonalds (Big mac and smoothie) and then we started a long long slog uphill.
It was not that steep but anything that increases the effort you need is frustrating, particularly when all out effort still results in you going very slow. I ran most of it, getting more knackered and thirsty and just frustrated with how slowly everything was going. There were some busy sections of road where I’d get annoyed by a lorry breaking my rhythm and making me go to the side (not their fault, the road was narrow).
I saw my first live snake , quite a big black one that made me jump and he went the other way and slithered pretty quickly up an embankment. I was amazed at it’s speed and wondered whether I could have out run it if it decided to go for me. This occupied my mind for a while after.
Near the top of the long incline was the state line into Pennsylvania and with almost every mile now comes a historical marker sign describing some fort or house or refuge that helped protect the settlers from the Indians.
The last few miles were just up and down and up and down, too steep to really do anything with either. I felt my relaxation time at the end slip away as I slogged up a significant slope and then limped down the other side. This is what the next week is going to look like. I finished in 12.40, south of my “4mph” slowest ideal pace but at no point did I really hurt or suffer, it was just frustration really.
But then again, there is only a week left : )
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