John F. Kennedy 50 Miler
Hagerstown, Maryland
Saturday, November 17, 2007

It took just over 5 hours to drive down to Hagerstown, Maryland, on Friday afternoon - longer than anticipated because of construction delays along I-78 in Pennsylvania. My friend Emmy (Ctmarathoner) and I drove straight to the packet pick-up at the host hotel when we arrived. This year they included a short-sleeved tech shirt, instead of a long-sleeved cotton one, which was great. After the packet pick-up we went over to Ledo?s Pizzeria for the pre-race dinner with some fellow runners. It was a lot of fun to see Meredith (Merigayle) and Dave (dg1) again, and then meet Derek (Durt), Mandy (DeTurtle), Linda (altoids) and Tony (AnthonyP) to name just a handful of the attendees.

The biggest decision I made - and the one I regretted the most - was to wear road shoes instead of trail shoes. It?s truly an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise well organized event that the no provision for drop bags is made for the runners. If a runner is fortunate enough to have a crew, switching shoes at the end of the AT is non-issue. However, for the rest, it?s an all or nothing decision. Last year I wore trail shoes the entire day - and I should have done so again. I also opted to wear tights, versus shorts the previous year. That decision worked. Along with two tech shirts and fleece vest that I wore, I was didn?t think I overdressed. I had my windbreaker tied around my waist because of the forecast for rain. Even without the rain, I wound up wearing it for the road portion. I wore a headband and gloves as well, and would periodically take off the gloves - only to need them again a few miles later.

We skipped the pre-race briefing and, after dropping off our bags for the finish on the truck outside the gym, walked the half mile to the start in downtown Boonesboro. Like last year, the race went off without fanfare. When the crowd surged forward, it was on! The two mile climb to the start of the AT again reminded me of the start to the Wurtsboro 30k road race in Sullivan County, NY. It took 19 minutes to reach the trailhead. After a mile on the trail, we returned to the road and another steep climb to the 5.4 mile mark. I walked most of the stretch of road between trail sections with Julie Aistars. In the ?it?s a small world? category we traded stories about Sri Chinmoy and his ultra races. I was shocked to learn that she had broken both of her legs at the six day run in Queens, NY, last spring! At that event, I manned the scoreboard during the last day to fulfill my service requirement for the Vermont 100.

On the trail to Gaitherland Gap, I practically ran over Emmy. I had lost sight of her at the porta-johns at the start of the AT, and had my eyes glued to the ground in front of me on the trail. We ran together for a while and then reconnected at the aid station at Gaitherland Gap. Just before the rocky downhill approach to the switchbacks at Weverton Cliffs, I went on ahead. Then I found myself stuck behind a crowd of runners inching their way down the switchbacks - while a line of Boy Scouts in full packs stood alongside the switchbacks and let us pass. It took me just under 3 hours, 2:58, to exit the AT. That was about 16 minutes slower than last year. Despite taking the trail more cautiously without trail shoes, I had turned both ankles twice. I was so grateful to have survived it without serious injury.

Last year I fell into a funk during the first few miles of the towpath. This time, knowing what to expect postponed that bleak period for at least ten miles. But I would have a dark patch between miles 30 and 34. Like last year, I found myself running from mile post to mile post. The towpath that we cover during JFK runs from markers 58 to 84. I loved counting down the miles to go. Somewhere after the second aid station on the towpath, Emmy caught up to me. From that point on we ran together for the rest of the race. During this early stretch we ran a couple of miles with a fellow Broadway Ultra Society runner, the second B.U.S. runner we ran with that morning! For the most part we ran 10-11 minute miles, but lost time at the aid stations, such as 27.1 and 38.4 (a/k/a ?38 special?).

At 27.1 we saw Mandy (DeTurtle) and Linda (altoids), who cheered us on - and took a couple of pictures too! After Merigayle arrived and told Mandy about Derek having an ankle problem, she ran back to support him. Derek got off the AT without incident, but his ankle flared up on the towpath and he had to cut his race short. At the 38.4 Emmy felt lightheaded (probably from too much water) and stopped for some chicken broth and salt. I took a bathroom break and discovered I couldn?t urinate. I had only one bathroom break so far, at the start of the AT, more than 7 hours earlier! Despite taking in fluids at each station - water, soda and soup - I must have sweated most of it out because not until the end of the towpath at mile 41.5 did I finally relieve myself. Even so, I never felt dehydrated on the towpath, or any portion of the race, for that matter.

It took me about 5:19 to finish the towpath, 5 minutes slower than 2006. Cumulatively, I was 21 minutes off my 2006 time. This year I felt physically worse, but mentally better, than I had the year before. Last year I struggled through the last 8 miles alone. It was a tough grind, but I just put one foot in front of the other and got it done. This time I felt awful, and even took some preemptive Advil - to positive effect. Having Emmy there was a mental boost. We strung together 11 minute miles and finished strong. I actually finished the road portion a minute faster than 2006. But, overall, I was 20 minutes slower this year, with a 10:01:02. Emmy, however, had a tremendous 47+ minute PR, finishing in 10:00:36. In the middle school gym we saw Mandy and she filled us in on how everyone was doing. Dave finished up just after we did and we talked with him for a bit before catching the bus back to the high school.

The next morning we saw Mandy and Derek in the lobby. Then we met up with Dave for breakfast at Denny?s before heading out. The funny thing was that we all had the same memory of the race volunteer who was eating bacon and eggs at top of Weverton Cliffs, as we approached the switchbacks! Now it was our turn to chow down on some serious breakfast! While we ate, we thought of Merigayle and her running club manning a water station at mile 9 of the Philly marathon! On the drive back, we actually encountered rain, snow and sleet as we crossed through Pennsylvania. Luckily, we didn?t have to deal with that messy weather during the race! While we all scattered in our separate directions, it seems like we?ll all regroup in Umstead this Spring.