Connect with 24-Hour Running on Facebook

A new group on Facebook has been started by 24-hour runner, Phil McCarthy.  The idea behind the group is to discuss, swap stories and celebrate the art of 24-hour running. This includes, but is not limited to, the upcoming IAU World Championships in Katowice, Poland.

After starting this group about a week ago, there are already 152 members.  The group is open to all interested runners and fans, not only in the US but worldwide.  Please join us by searching Facebook for the group "24 Hour Running" or copy and paste the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/392231974169118/

IAU Releases Details on 2012 World 24-Hour Championship

The International Association of Ultrarunners just posted the GIS (General Information Sheet) for the World 24-hour race in Poland.  The race definitely feels real now!

Katowice is the city hosting the race, about 70k from Krakow.  The GIS includes pictures of the race course, which is just shy of a 1 mile loop (1,554m).  The race will take place close to the city center in a park setting that has a pond in the middle of the course.  The loop is circular but since it is quite large hopefully there will be no issues with stress on the side of the body that is taking the turns.



Map of race course



The course looks nice and shady although there does seem to be some cobblestone that we will have to contend with that could make things interesting.  The shade is important because the race starts at noon so we will have both days with potentially warm weather.

View of the course with cobblestones

Another viiew with smooth asphalt

The Final Information Sheets aren't due until August so I'm not sure if the rosters of the participating countries will be listed before that time.  Looks like they are expecting a large crowd as there are no open entries allowed. 

I guess I now have to start training in earnest and practicing my Polish!  How do you say "beer" in Polish??

2012 24-Hour USA National Team - Poland Bound

USATF recently sent out the official invitation to runners qualifying for the 2012 USA National 24-Hour Team.  The Team is scheduled to compete in September at the World 24-hour championship in Poland.  The runners are:

Women (Qualifying Mark- 120 miles minimum)

1.         Connie Gardner, 144.72 miles, 9/17/2011, North Coast 24 Hr, Cleveland, OH (AUTO)

2.         Debra Horn, 134.45 miles, 9/17/2011, North Coast 24 Hr, Cleveland, OH (AUTO)

3.         Sabrina Moran, 147.90 miles, 5/6/2012, North Coast Spring 24 Hr, Cleveland, OH

4.         Anne Lundblad, 140.26, 12/31/2011, Freedom Park 24 Hr,, Morgantown, NC

5.         Suzanna Bon, 136.67 miles, 5/6/2012, North Coast Spring 24 Hr, Cleveland, OH

6.         Carilyn Johnson 130.92 miles, 12/17/2011, Desert Solstice 24 Hr,, Phoenix, AZ

Alternates

1.         Lana Haugberg, 128.71 miles, 6/3/2012, FANS 24 Hr, Minneapolis, MN

2.         Lisa Bliss, 125.98 miles, 9/17/2011, North Coast 24 Hr, Cleveland, OH

3.         Anna Piskorska 122.82 miles 12/29/2011 Across the Years 24 Hr, Phoenix, AZ

Men (Qualifying Mark-135 miles minimum)

1.         Serge Arbona, 156.49 miles, 9/18/2010, North Coast 24 Hr, Cleveland, OH (AUTO)

2.         Philip McCarthy, 153.37 miles, 9/17/2011, North Coast 24 Hr, Cleveland, OH (AUTO)

3.         Jonathan Savage, 146.28 miles, 9/17/2011, North Coast 24 Hr, Cleveland, OH (AUTO)

4.         Mike Morton 163.90 miles 9/24/2011, Hinson Lake 24 Hr, Rockingham, NC

5.         Jon Olsen, 158.53 miles, 5/6/2012, North Coast Spring 24 Hr, Cleveland, OH

6.         Harvey Lewis, 142.86 miles, 6/3/2012, FANS 24 Hr, Minneapolis, MN

Alternate:

1.         Joe Fejes, 142.08 miles, 5/6/2012, North Coast Spring 24 Hr, Cleveland, OH

We are now just waiting to see who has accepted the invitation and the "final" USA Team will be announced.  We have also gotten some initial information about accommodations in Poland from the IAU so it is starting to feel like the race will actually happen this year (the 2011 World race, scheduled to take place in Switzerland, was cancelled).  Stay tuned for more information as I receive it from USATF…..  And in case there was any doubt, of course, I did send in my acceptance.  Can’t wait!!



Picture of me at the 2009 World race in Italy - It's posted on the IAU website!



Canton Marathon Scores a Touchdown

I thought I should start ramping up for the fall 24-hour race season and registered the week before the Canton Marathon (race date 6-17-12).  Canton is a smaller city about one hour south of Cleveland.  What possessed them to start up a marathon and schedule it for mid-June?  Not sure but the timing worked out well for me so I got sucked in to signing up!

Canton is the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame… so everything about the race had a football theme… which is a bit interesting for a running event.  The race started by the Hall of Fame and the finish line was on the actual infield of the football stadium.  Likewise, the shirts were designed to look like football jerseys and the medals were shaped like footballs.  Quite unique.

I arrived at the 6:00 a.m. starting line well ahead of the actual start.  Anticipating hot weather, the early start would give us a bit of a break before the sun started scorching us. Apparently worried about the possibility of super hot weather, right after I registered I was given the option of “deferring” until next year.  Hmmm…. I think if you sign up for a June race in Ohio you can pretty much expect hot weather.  I guess they were being EXTRA cautious.

While we all lined up at the Hall of Fame for the start, we were then directed down a hill and by a river to where the real starting line was, about a ½ mile away.  This took a bit of time so we actually got underway about 6:15.  Deciding that this was only a “training run” for me and I didn’t want to suffer too much, I opted to start with the 3:45 pace team (8:35 minute mile).  Before the start, our pacer, Amy, mentioned that there were a few “rollers” at the end of the race….. Otherwise I was clueless about the course.  I hadn’t bothered to look at the elevation or where we would actually be running.

Luckily for us, there was substantial cloud cover once the sun came up.  The race had water stops every mile, which was also fantastic.  And although Canton is not a big city, there were a surprising amount of people out on the course to cheer people on.  As the race progressed, it became very clear that this was not a flat course and in fact we were either running up hills or down them….. Nothing flat at all.  Having done all of my training on flat ground, this was not the best course for me.  My hamstrings were getting very sore toward the end of the race from all the uphills and I started losing steam.  Around mile 20 I started fading from the 3:45 pace team (that now only had two runners with the pacer) and I was just trying to hang on.  At mile 24, the heavens opened and it stormed like crazy.  I thought it might hale!  Within minutes, I was soaked to the bone and I gained 10 pounds of water weight from drenched clothes and shoes.  As soon as it started, however, the rain stopped and it was no longer raining when I finished at 3:51 in the stadium….  While I liked the stadium finish, I could have done without the “up ramp” to get into the stadium.  I had had my fill of uphills by the end!!!   After I finished, there were volunteers with buckets of ice water who dumped a bucket over your head with your permission.  When asked, I said of course, and then promptly screamed when the bucket was dumped on my head.  Boy did that feel good!

For an inaugural event, things were well organized.  Although I was hoping for a faster time, I would run it again but would plan to do a little hill training before the race!!

Finisher medals

Spring North Coast-24 Race Report

What do you get when you cross Cinco de Mayo with the Kentucky Derby?  A wild 24-hour race on the north shore of Lake Erie, of course.

Weather in Cleveland has been crazy all spring, with one day hot and the next freezing.  For the spring edition of the North Coast 24, as race day approached the weather was all over the place.  On the Thursday night before the race, Suzanna Bon from California, flew in for the race.  I picked her up at the airport and we swung by the race course so she could take a look at it.  That night, the temps were close to 90 degrees and the Lake was totally still - no breeze at all.  I told her that by Saturday the temperatures were supposed to cool down and that the prediction was for a NE wind.  I joked that a NE wind would be good as a cool wind would be blowing across the Lake (since the water temp is only 50 degrees right now) just as long as there were no whitecaps.



No, this is not Hawaii, it is at Edgewater Park on Lake Erie

Well, I should not have joked because when we arrived at the race on Saturday morning there were definitely whitecaps on the Lake.  Next door, at the Edgewater Yacht Club, they were registering 25 knot winds (almost 30 miles per hour), not quite gale force winds but pretty close!  Given the direction of the wind, the decision was made to reverse the direction of the course and run counterclockwise.  That way, when we were running closest to the Lake, the wind would be at our back.





Suzanna Bon and I early on in the race.



With the wind, the temperature stayed quite cool, which was good.  Early on it was cloudy but by mid-afternoon the clouds had blown away and the sun was out.   



Sabrina Moran, running west with the tailwind.

 

Windy day at the Lake.

 My plan for the race was to try to run 71/63 mile splits for a 134 total.  The first half of the race went pretty well and I hit my 71 mile target exactly.  By 10:00 PM (13 hours into the race) the wind finally died down but by then it had worked some damage on me.  I am a bit of a "leaner" when I run normally.  Usually, in the later stages of a 24-hour race I am really starting to lean.  With the wind so strong, from the start of the race I was leaning excessively into the wind.  Over time, I think that had some negative effect on the muscles in my hips.  By 15 hours, my hips were killing me.  Not only were they hurting but they felt like they were locked up.   I went in to the medical tent and got some of Dr. Andy's medical students to stretch me out.  I stopped again at 18 hours (hit 100 miles at that point) and 20 hours for more stretching in the medical tent.  The stretching/manipulation worked for awhile before everything went back into a locked position.    

I felt like quitting but my crew members, Sarah and Karen, reminded me that if I quit they would have to go home to their kids and they were having so much fun that I couldn't wreck it for them!  Ok, I said, I will keep trudging along....

Almost finished.

While my race was less than stellar, I did have some entertainment.  Both Jon Olsen and Serge Arbona were running like maniacs.  And I swear that every time Jon passed me (which was MANY times), he would say some encouraging words.

On the women's front, early on Jenn Shelton and Emily Uhlig were running world record-plus times.  I was certain they were much too aggressive in their pacing and both dropped early in the race.  Sabrina Moran and Connie Gardner took a more conservative approach and it definitely paid off for them.  I knew before the race that Sabrina could "easily" hit 140-plus... the question was how much over 140 could she run? 

To a slow-poke like me, it looked like Sabrina and Connie were fairly close until that last few hours of the race.  Then, Sabrina must have drank some jet fuel as she took off like a rocket.  She was lapping everyone on the course.  It was an amazing performance to witness.

With a few hours to go, Sabrina getting ready to overtake Connie.

So, at the end of the race, when all the dust settled, I just hit 200K, with 124.6 miles.  This is not my best race nor my worst.  Given my lack of training and hip issues, not a bad training run.

There were stellar performances, however,  First, Sabrina Moran, with unofficial race results, set a new American Record with 147.9 miles.  I can see her hitting 150-plus in the near future.  Jon Olsen had 158.53 miles, just weeks after taking 7th place at the World Championship 100K.  Serge Arbona had a nice run with 153 miles and Connie Gardner, always consistent, again ran over 140 with a total of 142 miles.  We should have very strong men's and women's teams for the World championships in Poland in September.

Special thanks to my very dedicated crew members, who kept me laughing: 

• Courtney - one week away from delivering her first baby -  "Maybe if I run with you I'll have a Cinco de Mayo baby;"
• Sarah - "This is fun, I like bossing around runners - they do what I say, not like my kids who ignore me;"
• Karen - "No whining, I did my part to get you in shape for this race;"
• Else - "I was going to sign up to run the race but I overslept and so didn't get here until 9PM;"
• Mindy - "You said not to let you stop so get moving - it's right here on your instructions under miscellaneous."

And of course to Roger, who set up/broke down the tents, made guest appearances and even bought me a new good luck charm from a local garage sale during the day.  I will have to take that one to Poland and give it a real test there.

**Photos courtesy of John McCarroll.  Thanks, John!!!

Glass City Tune-Up

The North Coast 24 is just days away.  Having done few long runs this year, I though I would get in my "longest" training run before the NC24 by running the Glass City Marathon in Toledo on April 22nd.  Toledo is an easy 2 hour drive from Cleveland.  In years past, I have just driven up the morning of the marathon.  This year, two friends joined me so we decided to make a road trip out of it and went to Toledo on Saturday night.

Since I last ran Toledo, the course has changed.  It could only improve because the old course was run on alot of roads with heavy traffic, not alot of fun.

Last year, the course changed so instead of starting and ending in downtown Toledo, the race started and ended at the University and in between meandered through neighborhoods before turning on a bike path and through parks a fairly flat race.  I would give the course a pretty good mark.  There were surprisingly quite a few people out to cheer on runners even though the race started at 7:00 a.m. and the race start temperature had to be in the 30s.

As the race got underway, I was trying to figure out if I should just lope along, try to run really hard or somewhere in between.  I fell in with the 3:40 pace group and thought that would be a good in-between group for me.

It was a bit crowded in the initial miles of the race as there were quite a few twists and turns.  Although I looked forward to the joke that our pacer told every mile, I decided around mile 7 that I needed to get away from the pack so I wasn't fighting to get into position to run the tangents.  I slowly pulled ahead and then kept waiting for the pace group to blow by me at some point.  I also decided to not watch my splits too carefully so I wasn't really sure how fast or slow I was going.  By the mid-point of the race, temperatures were about perfect although there was some headwind.  We apparently ran by Olander Park, which is the former site of many former 24-hour and 100 mile races... although we didn't run inside.

I finished the race at 3:38 so I was able to hold off the 3:40 pace group to the bitter end.  Not a huge race so I was able to get a first place finish in my age group - nice functional award that included an Asics gym bag, arm sleeves and socks.  Each finisher also got a glass beer stein (and nice medal of couse).  Due to the weather being pretty chilly at the finish, we opted to pass on the free beer (shocking) and instead went back to the hotel for a hot shower!  Now we'll see how prepared I am for the NC24!!

Solitude on the Chippewa

Last weekend, I find myself back in Wisconsin visiting family with only

three weeks to go before the North Coast 24-hour National Championship.  I am a little bit stressed because I have gotten way behind on my training.... oh well, I end up having a few hours to kill and so go exploring on the Chippewa River State Trail.  The name is a bit misleading because it is not exactly a "trail," but a very nice asphalt bike path.  From the looks of things, it is quite new and very well maintained.  The west end of the trail starts in Durand, Wisconsin and ends up in the east at Eau Claire, for a total of 30 miles one-way of paved trail.

I start in Durand on a bright and sunny day.  The temperatures increase throughout my 20 mile run to the point of being downright hot.  What's up with that?  It is only mid-April.  It still should be snowing!!  The trail is completely flat. Apparently it is converted from an unused railway corridor.  Early on, the views are of fields and farmland.  Even though it is mid-afternoon on a Saturday, I see only two runners, a handful of bikers, two fishermen and one snake.  It is very quiet and peaceful.

After about seven miles of running, I see my first real glimpse of water - the Chippewa River.  The Chippewa eventually drains into the Mississippi River.  It was used heavily in the 1800s for logging.  Now, it's a popular river for canoeing.  Although I would like to keep going, I have to turn around at the ten-mile mark and head for my car.  Unfortunately there are no drinking fountains on the trail and I have brought no water with me.  I am parched.  I am tempted to jump in the river but decide to keep plodding along the path.  When I eventually get back to the trail head, my car is a welcome sight as I drive off in search of drinkable water!  Definitely though a nice way to spend an afternoon.  I will be back to see the rest of the trail as I missed the sandstone buffs that are further east.