As the summer approached, I prepared myself to race the Lone Ranger Ultra-Marathon, a 24 hour race. This is part of the Back on My Feet charity 20 in 24 race in Philadelphia. This would be the second time I competed at this race. In 2009, I ran 118.38 miles on this course which is 8.4 miles in length which you repeat as many times as you can in 24 hours. I placed 2nd male and 3rd over all. Could I be competitive again? After learning what I did about heat training and racing in the heat at Keys 100, I felt I could prepare well to compete again in Philadelphia in mid July.
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| Jeremy, Josh, Brian and Bill before the start. |
The day before the race I met up with my friend Bill Schultz, an accomplished ultra-runner in his own right, at the pre-race packet pick-up. We went there to get our vitals taken by the race volunteers and to get our race numbers. After this, Bill and I chatted with other runners about the race and the course. The big thing we talked about was how hot it was going to be on race day. Mid 90’s with Philadelphia humidity was going to test all of us.
After a good night’s rest, Denise and I got up, packed the car and headed over to the tent village near Boat House Row next to the Philadelphia Art Museum where we would meet up with our friends George, Jeremy, Bill, and Brian. After setting up our camp sight for what would be another long day ahead of us, we were ready to start the race.
The race started at 10am and it was projected to be hot and humid all day long. When the gun went off, I started out running easy with Serge and Anna who were the male and female winners from 2009. The three of us ran together for awhile and talked about various races we ran during the first half of this year. Eventually we separated and started running our own paces. I started to do my 13 and 2 strategy, which means running 13 minutes and race walking 2 minutes in order to save my legs. It helps in keeping lactic acid from building up in my legs and also helps keep them fresh by changing speeds like shifting up or down in gear while driving.
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| Chris Smith & Me along Boat House Row. |
Since Denise and I have been at this race before we knew the in’s and outs of the course and put together a strategy that would be more effective than the previous year. Since our base camp was off the main part of the course, I decided that Denise would meet me with any supplies I might need each lap right on the course path. This would save me time and distance going back to and from the tent. We decided I would only go back to the tent to take care of any blisters and shoe changes. Everything else would be done on the path. This worked out really well.
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| I'm on Falls Bridge. |
I watch the sun track across the sky, thinking about a variety of topics. Running across the Falls Bridge was always a highlight for me. The views are beautiful and it is a marker of the halfway point of the loop. I chatted with a lot of different runners like Chris Smith, who is originally from Australia, and a bunch of other folks. Chatting it up with aid station volunteers was a lot of fun. The aid stations were well stocked and organized this year. It was good to see the same people each lap. I needed to use all of my knowledge from the Keys 100 race in order to deal with the intense heat. Salt tablets, ice cube filled water bottles and neck wraps, my rail riders eco mesh shirt and my running hat with the neck cape: all these items really worked wonders to keep me cool. After 50 miles I started to use some pacers. Around 5pm I ran a lap with my friend and high school running team mate Jeff Mowery. At 8pm, I ran a lap with my friend Lisa McGonagle who works at the Rocky Run YMCA as a Yoga instructor and cycle teacher. It was great to talk with my friends. At 11:30pm I picked up my last pacer Lou DonO’frio, who is one of my running and training partners. He is also a local lawyer who was just coming off a spot on Fox News. Denise told him to hurry up, get in the tent and change because Josh was coming soon. I met them at the tent. I changed my shoes for the second time and took care of some small blister issues and then we were off and running the loop. During my laps with Lou I dealt with some stomach issues. Diet Coke and raisins did not settle well and when I passed a guy on the side of the road smoking a cigar that triggered it and made me sick. I pulled over to the grass and puked. Lou was somewhat intrigued with what came out of me. I felt much better and we moved on. Lou ran 17 miles with me and was done. Too much water was making his stomach up-set. I thanked him for his help and kept going.
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| Denise helps me on the path. |
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| Lou gets ready to pace me. |
During the rest of the night I talked with a lot of other folks, people who were riding bikes, people running the relay and other ultra-runners. By the time the sun came up, I came through the check-in area and talked with the timer about my place in the race. He told me I was second male and third over-all with time left on the clock. I told him that was the same position that I was in the previous year. I thanked him and ran on, I heard an announcement over the loud speaker of him telling all who could hear of how I was doing in the race. It was very exciting. I checked in with Denise for my last half lap and I pushed on. I wanted to get to the furthest aid station check point on the other side of the river before my time ran out. During the final 2 hours of the race they had us collect these blue wrist bands marking our progress in the race. The sun was blazing at this point and that side of the river was the hottest. It was tough conditions. I made it to the aid station that was my goal, and then I was done. Time was almost over and I wouldn’t be able to get to the next station for it to count onto my total distance. I had completed more than 122.5 miles and had finished 2nd Male and 3rd overall and made a $1000 dollars in cash. What a great race. I learned a lot about racing and competing in timed events and this race really prepped me for the national championship in September in Ohio. Denise did another fantastic job as my crew chief and has become a seasoned vet in ultra-crewing.
Serge Arbona won the race with 146.75 miles, I came in with 122.5 miles and Randy Miller came in with 120.91 miles. On the woman’s side Sabrina Moran won with 125.18 miles, Terry McWilliams, a very nice Christian woman who I had many conversations with during the day, came in 2nd with 105.59 miles and Kathy Uknis came in 3rd with 102.57 miles. Other than Serge, Sabrina, Randy and I were very close and those positions could have changed at anytime. My friends made their goals for the race. Bill and Jeremy ran 50 miles for the day and Brian ran just under 60 miles. A good time had by all. National Championships here I come.
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| Terry McWilliams and I with our awards. |
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| Tent City:Team Irvan Base Camp. |
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