3 DAYS AT THE FAIR: 48 Hour Race Report by Josh Irvan
ACROSS THE YEARS
It was January 1st at 12:05 AM and I was sitting at a hotel bar still recovering from my so so performance at Across the Years 48 Hour race in Phoenix Arizona. I wanted the 200 mile goal and fell short with 125.98 miles. That wasn’t much further than my 24 hour best. Ugh!! As I mulled over my race stats, I thought about a lot of personal things, and it was kind of a low moment for me. I went to the lobby of the hotel and sat at their computer station. I searched the Ultra List for timed events and found “3 Days at the Fair” in New Jersey held in May. I’ve looked at this race before, but it was a much shorter loop. They had changed the course and made it a certified mile which was what I was use to. I pulled out my credit card and signed up. “I have 5 and a half months to get this right”, I thought. I finished my beer and went to bed.
GOING TO DELAWARE
On April 15th, I watched the Boston Marathon on my computer. I had it projected for my entire art class to watch while they worked on projects during the day. I wanted to share that with them and get them motivated to want to run. At the end of the work day I shutdown my computer and went to my car. It was 3pm. I turned on the radio and it was like all hell broke loose. Bombs had gone off at the marathon finish at 2:50PM. I sat there in disbelief as I listened. As the events of that week unfolded I found myself breaking down in tears trying to get a grip on why someone would want to do this to not just people but runners. My running Mecca had been attacked and I took it personally. I love running and marathons in particular; I couldn’t understand this madness.
In order to deal with this I put my ultra training on hold and signed up for both the Delaware Marathon and the Philadelphia Marathon. I wanted to qualify for Boston for 2014 and show support for my fellow runners by not being afraid to continue to race and run. I had about 4 weeks to Delaware so I upped the speed of my tempo runs and I hit the track for speed workouts. I hadn’t run a fast marathon since 2007 and didn’t know how my body would hold up. I also had knee surgery in 2011 for a torn meniscus and wasn’t fully confident that my knee would hold together at a higher tempo.
My training runs were on target and I felt pretty confident going into the Delaware Marathon. I still had speed and with my running base, from back to back to back 20 mile runs on the weekends leading up to this set me up for a good performance. I was concerned not for the marathon but if I raced too hard, I might be too spent to perform well a week later at the up coming 48 hour race in New Jersey.
went off. I needed a 3:15 to qualify for Boston. I felt strong during the race, and at half way I came in at 1:27 and change. Everything still felt good so I kept with the pace I was doing. Miles 17, 18, 19, and 20 all felt strong and controlled. Someone told me I was in 7th place and that sparked the fire in my legs. I pushed it harder and even went sub 6 pace
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| Home Away From Home! |
THURSDAY
On May 16th, my friend Bill Schultz and I drove up from Philadelphia and arrived at the Sussex County Fair Grounds around 5:30PM. We found a perfect camp location near the back side of the restroom building that was right on the edge of the course. It was a great location! We spent time setting up our tent and unloading my car while we watched the 72 hour competitors run on by. It was a warm Thursday night, about 77 degrees, and we knew that those runners were having a tough time with the heat. Bill and I both hoped for cooler conditions during our race. After we finished our camp set-up we drove the course loop just to get a feel for what we would be doing over the next 2 Days. We made some notes, went to our hotel in Newton, and a pre-race dinner at Applebees, and followed up with a good night’s sleep.
FRIDAY
Bill and I got up early on May 17th, dressed, packed our stuff, grabbed a quick breakfast in the hotel, and were off to the race by 7:20AM. It was a 10 minute drive. We were both excited to arrive and get ready to run. Once there we finished our camp set-up and grabbed our numbers from packet pick-up. We took it easy until we went to the start area at 8:50AM. The 48 Hour runners were all waiting by the finish clock and aid station area and we all were ready to do this. At 9AM, we were off!
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| Bill Schultz & Me |
I started the race out at a modest pace. I usually do 13 minutes of running and 2 minutes of walking just to get things started. I followed this strategy for the first 4 hours of the race. Once I was comfortable with the course, I switched over to walking the hills and running the flats and down hills. This course was awesome! Very runnable and was perfect for someone like me. I can run hills well and can run fast when I want to.
As the day went on I talked with other runners, like David Wingard, who was running a marathon on each of the 3 days. He was neat to watch. He defiantly was built for running and a nice guy to boot! I also had the pleasure of getting to know Susan Warren. We would end up running and walking together a lot during the early part of the race. Later Bill and she also walked, ran and talked a lot during the race.
Once the sun went down it was an entirely new game. At that point I was about 60 miles into the race and staying on course. I was in first place by a good margin and was just beginning to relax and let the race come to me. The night time was tough. Many people took breaks and the
course was pretty empty. I really had to work to stay motivated. I played my ipod a lot during the night. I usually don’t use it that much, but I was trying to keep my tempo up. Very hard to race by yourself. Fortunately the course was well lit, and I didn’t need extra lighting. It was cold also so I left my water belt at my camp and just used the water provided at the well stocked aid station. Their aid station was one of the best aid stations I’d seen at a race. If they didn’t have something out for you, the people working the station would make it for you and have it ready for you by the next lap. Those people there really were top notch. They really helped me out immensely and I was very appreciative of that. I was well hydrated and was fortunate that I stayed that way throughout the entire race.
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| Brushing my Teeth |
I came through the 100 mile mark in 20:28:51 a solid time for me. I still felt good and kept working the course. Once the morning came, I was glad to see the sunrise. It was very beautiful watching the sky turn from ebony black, midnight blue, aqua and then finally sky blue. It was nice to see, and Saturday morning was here.
SATURDAY
Buy the time 9AM rolled around I had logged 114 miles for Day 1 and was ready to work on my Day 2 total. As Day 2 started for me, and Day 3 started for the 72 hour folks, Day 1 started for the 24 hour people, I still felt strong and rolling along with no problems. I stuck with my plan and it paid off in a big way. Clouds rolled in and kept the day much cooler and I didn’t need my water bottle belt on Day 2 at all.
When I hit 130 miles around 1:30pm on Saturday it started to rain lightly. Bill and I had talked about when I should take time down, and this gave me the reason to do so. So from 1:30 to about 3:30 I slept, changed socks and my shirt, and took care of any blisters. I didn’t have many and my feet held up very well. I did tape a few toes and put some Hypa-Flex Tape under the front part of my feet just to prevent my skin from breaking down. I changed my knee braces and added more Body Glide to the backs of my knees. By 4PM, I was out running again.
RIDING THE SATURDAY NIGHT TRAIN
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| The left side of this map was what I called the back stretch of the course. |
One thing I did a lot on Day 2 was to latch onto various 24 and 72 Hour people that still could run fast. Drafting off the side or back of Serge Arbona, Darren Worts and a cast of others was a huge help. I’d run with Serge before for short periods at the 20 in 24 Lone Ranger Ultra-marathon in Philadelphia, but this time was different. I used his energy and others and got a good long pull down the back stretch all the way till we hit the dirt path. Then I slowed down, recovered a bit, and waited till a new train came on by. I must have repeated this strategy 30 or 40 times with various runners. It was much easier to run on Night #2 with the addition of the 24 hour and 12 hour people out there running. It gave me a much needed energy boost and something to chase.
MORAL SUPPORT
At 11PM on Saturday night, my girlfriend Sue Drill and her daughter, Amanda came to cheer me on. I had been texting her updates throughout the race in order to keep her posted. My friend Bill was running along this stretch of road, and I had the opportunity to introduce Sue and Amanda to Bill for the first time. “Sue this is Bill Schultz”, I said with enthusiasm. After exchanging pleasantries, Trishul Cherns came up and said “Bill Schultz”, looking at my friend with astonishment. It turned out Bill and Trishul new each other back in 80’s when Bill did the bulk of his competitive racing. It
was great to see them, Sue and Amanda, but Trishul urged me to save the happy moment for later, because I needed to get back to work. Trishul meant well; because both he and Bill knew I was getting closer to possibly cracking the 200 mile barrier in 48 Hours. I had had that goal at ATY and didn’t entertain the thought again until earlier that night when I saw Mary Lou Corino cross the 200 mile mark earlier that morning. I just didn’t want to put it out there as a goal and then be disappointed if it didn’t happen. It was great to see Sue and Amanda and they gave me new vigor to push harder and continue racing. Besides if I did crack 200 miles I wanted them to be there to see it happen.
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| Bill Schultz & Susane Warren |
SUNDAY
It was Midnight and at 12:04 AM I came through the 162 mile mark and headed back around the loop. I stopped for a moment at my campsite to see Sue and Bill. Sue was putting Amanda to bed and Bill and I had our last conversation about running for the 200 mile goal. He told me I needed to average at least 5 miles an hour for the rest of the race in order to accomplish this feat. I spent the next 13 miles trying to wrap my head around how to do that. I kept up with the same running strategy which was getting me closer to my goal, but it wasn’t fast enough. I drafted off various runners, stayed well hydrated, ate enough food, but I couldn’t see how my walk, jog, run effort was going to get me there in time. The 200 mile goal was slipping away.
At Mile 175 (3:43 AM), Rick McNulty, the race director, asked me if I was going for 200 miles and I didn’t give me a clear answer. I didn’t want to say yes and then fail again. I said something along the line of “I’m not sure”. I was really trying to see if I could settle for 185 or 190 miles, but that wouldn’t do. During this time, Bill had gone down for his break and Sue and Amanda went to sleep. It was just me out here fighting my own demons. It was not easy and by 4AM it started to drizzle.
COMMITMENT TO THE END
By 5:12AM I had crossed the 180 mile mark. I finally figured out what I needed to do. “I will treat this like a fast tempo run or a Saturday morning workout”, I thought to myself. I needed to push hard and not stop until I finished the race. I new I would win the race, that was for sure, but I wanted the 200 mile goal now and I didn’t want to let it slip away. I stopped at my tent and took 3 Advil. This was the last time I took pain medication in the race.
I came through the aid station and clock area with 181 miles and asked Otto, the man who had been helping me for hours, to keep certain items in one location so I could come through each lap and grab them quickly. “I want a water, a coffee, a soup, a Gu, a gel and a small piece of cookie right here each lap. If I use it up replace it and if not just leave it here and make sure no one moves it.” Otto agreed with enthusiasm knowing something cool was about to happen.
I started to run hard. Really really hard. I envisioned the Delaware Marathon I did the week before and ran much of the next 2 laps with that kind of fire. I zipped around the course with my new plan. I didn’t push to hard at first. I wanted to make sure my knees could handle the newly added stress. Things checked out and I felt good. I came through the clock at 8:33 pace, hit the aid station and gulped down a water, a Gu and ran up the hill. It was still early when I ran past my tent and no one was up yet from there rest. The I pushed even harder. Miles 183 and 184 went by quickly with a 7:12 and 7:58 pace respectively. I even caught up to Serge and grabbed a lap back from him which I’ve never done before. I kept up with the aggressive pace and wanted to keep running hard until I could bank enough time and assure I would attain my goal.
By 6:15AM I cruised through with 187 miles. As I went by my tent Sue was up and taking pictures with my camera and she was getting Amanda ready for her day. Bill was out on the course again walking and running with Susan Warren. I passed them enthusiastically as I zipped on by for another lap. Bill shouted out, “Good Work”. By this point people could hear me coming because I was breathing heavily. The other runners started moving over and giving me the inside lane. Many runners and spectators cheered me on and gave me very nice words of encouragement. It fueled the fire and helped me to keep going.
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| Amanda and Me. |
At 7:18AM I had 194 miles in. This gave me the opportunity to slow a bit. I stopped at the tent to talk with Sue and Amanda. Amanda wanted to run a little with me and so she tagged a long down the hill. It was fun and made me smile. We stopped at the bottom of the hill. I bent down, put my hands on my knee and said, “Thanks Amanda to you and your mom for coming to my race and seeing me run. I appreciate it. Now run back to your mom now, I’ve got to finish this thing up.” I patted Amanda on the head and took off running up the hill. A few more miles had passed and I felt good about pushing as hard as I did. By 8:08AM I went through the clock and aid station area with 199 miles and I could enjoy the next lap. I exchanged a few final words with Susan Warren and with Bill and talked with Sue as I ran passed my tent. I told her I would be coming in at 200 miles next. Bill was able to get her and Amanda over to the clock before I came through so they could video record me doing this crazy thing.
I ran down the hill and up the other side. I saw Darren Worts and Serge Arbona. I wanted to catch them both before I
came through at 200 miles. Even though they were both in different races from me I needed that final motivational push to help me through to the end. I passed Darren by the time I reached the bottom of the hill. I started to pick it up one final time and really turned on the gas, and passed Serge by the dirt path. I was in the home stretch. I always liked running hard through a finish line. As I made the turn up for clock aid station I felt a sense of relief. I pushed all the way through and raised, by hands in victory. I did it in 47:17 Bill, Sue and Amanda were there as I came through. I got my picture taken by the clock and the adrenaline rush I had used for the last 3 hours or so was dissipating.
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| Day#2 at 200 miles. |
The crazy thing was after the picture I was overwhelmed with emotion on multiple levels. It was more than the run, it was a lot of other stuff that came to the surface in my mind. I began to hyperventilate. The race director Rick came over to make sure I was ok. I told him I just needed a moment to collect myself. After a few minutes, I was ok. Rick told me I needed to do 2 more laps to get into the top 3 for furthest distance run on the course. I ask the aid station people to make me an egg sandwich and Bill would bring it to me at the tent. Sue and I walked up the hill together to start my next lap while Amanda played in the waterfall pond. I retrieved my egg sandwich from Bill and walked the next lap with him. With one lap to go I walked and jogged easily as I got congratulated by runners and spectators alike.
Walking the last stretch was tough as I tried to digest what I just did.The rain was coming down much harder now and I was getting cold. I made the turn for the clock with 5 minutes to spare and crossed for the final time with 202 miles in 47:55. This achievement was the high point of my running career and I am very thankful for the support all of the people at the race gave me. Thanks to all of you who helped me from handing me water to giving positive words of encouragement. It made my journey much more enjoyable. Thank you!
10 REFLECTIONS
Here are a few things that I really enjoyed out there while I was running:
1. The Ultra-Pee-Wee’s: all of those little kids like Adam and those girls who were in 3rd grade and did the marathon or
50k distance during the race. Super impressed!.
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| Sue, Amanda and I at the awards ceremony. |
2. Good conversations with David Wingard, Serge Arbona, Darren Worrts, Susan Warrren, Melissa Huggins, Mary Lou Corino and Pablo Espinosa. Thanks for the support! (Also Otto and Randy from the Aid Station.
3. Great Aid Station help and awesome food.
4. Super fast and runnable course. Loved the course!
5. I appreciated Serge’s Crew for positive words of encouragement.
6. Thanks to all the spectators who cheered for me.
7. Sue and Amanda for driving the 3 hours to cheer me on!
8. Thanks to Bill Schultz for the advice and encouragement which paid off hugely for me in the end.
9. Perfect weather for the most part which kept me from overheating.
10. Rick and Jen McNulty for the encouragement and putting on an awesome race.
My last few Splits
182 5:34:00 AM 0:08:33
183 5:41:12 AM 0:07:12
184 5:49:10 AM 0:07:58
185 5:57:27 AM 0:08:17
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| Trishul Cherns congratulates me at the end. |
186 6:06:05 AM 0:08:38
187 6:15:15 AM 0:09:10
188 6:23:29 AM 0:08:14
189 6:32:03 AM 0:08:34
190 6:41:01 AM 0:08:58
191 6:50:29 AM 0:09:28
192 6:59:21 AM 0:08:52
193 7:09:19 AM 0:09:58
194 7:18:58 AM 0:09:39
195 7:28:37 AM 0:09:39
196 7:39:18 AM 0:10:41
197 7:50:09 AM 0:10:50
198 7:59:19 AM 0:09:11
199 8:08:44 AM 0:09:25
200 8:17:57 AM 0:09:13
201 8:37:19 AM 0:19:22
202 8:55:38 AM 0:18:19
* For video of my finish go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrKbGP_egq8&feature=youtu.be
