First Ultra Q&A
Q: Burning River, why was it called this, did you get scorched crossing the creek? -Carlos
A: Carlos, as a Canadian you are forgiven form not knowing the origin of the burning river. The Cuyahoga river was at one time one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Akron, Cleveland and Lake Erie were the heartland of heavy manufacturing in the 20th century. The factory waste was just pumped directly into the river. The river would have oil-laden masses on the surface. These would catch fire. There are at least 13 cases where the river caught fire.
Yes, for some odd reason Americans are perversely proud of having a river that caught on fire. A bad fire in 1952 did heavy damage to boats and bridges. It was a large fire in 1969 that made a difference This was a turning point that caused the creation of several environmental acts. S
ince then the river has been cleaned up and much of the surrounding land is park land that can be used for recreational activities, like throwing up and passing out.
Q: How was you second sunrise, invigorating? Carlos.
Well, the sunrise on that second day came with about 3 miles to go in the race so I was pretty much done with it. It wasn’t much of a celebration at that point. I will note that your body and brain are tightly tuned to that daily rhythm. That first night, when it got dark and we were 60-70 miles in my body wanted to lay down and sleep. Once I pushed through that, I woke up and it was a bit like a jet lag state. As soon as I got across the finish I had no problem getting to sleep even though it was early in the morning.
Q: Did you see any strange inexplicable things in the half light? Carlos
I have been asked this ‘hallucination question’ a number of times. I did not have any clear hallucinations. I think because I was heads down focused on the trail all night long so I didn’t look around much. When I did lift my head, I could see the phantoms in the shadows, so to speak. Your brain is fried and tries to pattern match the trees and rocks in the shadows. It would be very easy to see things that weren’t there.
Q: Would you do it again?
Never say never. Once I hit bottom and started hiking it got a lot easier. Getting to that point was a bit bumpy. I think if I could figure out how to spread out my energy better, do more hiking and less running, it wouldn’t be so bad. I think with practice my gut would adapt and I could beat the yucky stomach. And I’d have to find a solution to the undercarriage shredding.
Q: Who did you talk to? What did you learn? Leeann
In the first half I talked with a lot of people. I tried to ask questions. I tried to listen. There was an interesting lady from Puerto Rico who had run lots of ultras. There was a loud guy from West Virginia who really liked the sound of his own voice. There were some ladies I ran with. There were some first timers. Some people were dialed in and had headphones and didn’t want to talk. I mostly just listened. I learned from these people some of how they got into ultras. I learned about the course and what to expect
I was not as chatty as I usually am in a race. I think I felt a bit out of place and a bit distracted by what I was doing. I was running my own race.
When I picked up my pacers we talked about other stuff. Kevin told stories about his ultras. Mike and I talked about our families and such.
Q: Michael Deming – Did Kevin or Mike change your shoes for you? I remember Todd changing Kevin’s like a champ at the Vermont 100. Sounds like no big deal till your 60 miles in 🤢.
Also, having seen you run a good portion of the Wineglass marathon backwards with a smile and chatting to me and other runners, did you get to a point where you just didn’t want to talk to anyone, or worse?
Yes – I switched out my shoes ay 37 and Mike changed them for me. I made them take a note to remember my orthotics. Mike tied them too tight and I had to adjust it but after that I didn’t change my shoes. My gaters worked great at keeping stones out of my shoes.
Like I said above, I wasn’t super chatty. I had normal interactions after we started hiking and I recovered a bit. I was pretty cranky climbing some of those hills. We passed people at the end who were shattered and all you could get out of them was a grunt.
Q: James Harris – Any chaffing?
Oh yeah. My undercarriage got shredded early. I don’t want to be too graphic or specific, but I believe the clinical term is the perineum. That whole area was rubbed raw. And the crevice where my legs meet my body was a nice bit of raw meat. I also got a bit of chaffing where my arms rubbed against my body.
After the damage was done it subsided to a dull background sting unless I tried to do something that involved sitting down or adjusting my shorts. It hurt for a few days and then was super itchy for a couple days like a healing sunburn.
I didn’t have any nipple problems. I guess because I was moving so slowly. My belt line was fine as well. I did end up with one small blood blister in the center of my forefoot. I think that was from hiking so much. I also bruised up both big toenails. I haven’t lost them yet, but I might lose one of them.
Q: Alix Chace what was your biggest motivation ? how did the experience translate for you – feeling of accomplishment or recognition of your own limitations and need for support ?
Good question. Honestly I was a bit nonplussed by the whole experience. I was motivated to run the 100 because I was feeling a bit non-directed in my life and needed a goal that would scare me a bit. It was definitely a big accomplishment and I’m grateful for that. Running 100 makes you realize both your own limitations or lack there of and the power of getting good support.
Q: James Harris – When things got really tough did you have a mantra to keep yourself moving?
Not so much a mantra. I was singing Grateful dead songs out loud. And Mike and I had the ‘Just give me 3mph’ mantra.
Q: David Murphy – At what point did you realize that running a 100 miler wasn’t as easy as it looks on Facebook? Or maybe it was easier. Either way.
I think I had fairly realistic expectations going in. I knew the last 30 miles were undiscovered country. Once I hit the wall and lost my stomach in the 70’s I let go of any time goals and just focused on moving. It got simpler. Once you hit the bottom it doesn’t get worse. You just keep moving. I think it was what I expected, or at least one of the scenarios that I had prepared for.
30 hours is a long time. You only have to run a little bit to finish 100 in that time.
Q: Adam Tinkoff Not as a joke, how did your nipples hold up? Did you tape them?
Like I said, there were no nipple problems. I did not tape them. I used a combination of Aquafor and Squirrel’s nut butter for lube.
Q: Duane Hespell Will it be a challenge for you now to get your old marathon pace back after all that slow running?
I’m two weeks out now and I feel 100% recovered. We ran 9 miles in the mountains this morning and I had plenty of juice in my legs. I think with this base and strength I can do a month of speed work and get my pace back. I think having to hike the last 25-30 miles of the race saved my legs a little and let me recover faster.
Q: Mark Robert Sands Did you strictly just run or did you incorporate core work & strength work into your training?
I ran 5 days a week and got up to 2 90+ mile weeks with 2 50 milers. On my off days I did stretching and yoga.
Q: Daniel W. Mruzek Do you think you could do a 200?
Yes, I think I could. I’d have to sleep a little somewhere in there. But If I could make the cutoff by hiking most of it I could go the distance.
Q: David Michaud – When you were at mile 75 what were your thoughts? Was it your most memorable running experience ever? Will you write the book? Was it worth the sacrifice? What hurt most? What was your average heart rate? Did you listen to anything?
At mile 75 my thoughts were “I feel awful.”
I think qualifying for Boston that first time is still my most memorable running experience.
I am always writing books in my head.
It was worth the training investment. I don’t think I sacrificed much, except a couple weekends.
My undercarriage hurt the most.
I wasn’t wearing my HR strap, but It felt like mid-zone-1 most of the time.
I had music with me, but we never played any. We just listened to each other and the sounds on the course.
Q: James Harris Could you have finished without your run buddies.
I wouldn’t have quit, but I might have DNF’ed by accident if they weren’t there to watch me. I might have fallen asleep and not woken up or wandered off course. They were outstanding.
Q: Jayne A Jones Post race…what nutrition did you take on and other than tired how did you feel in yourself?
Honestly my diet was shyte leading up to and the week after the race. I think I would have done better if I had practiced better nutrition going in. The last week I’m back on the good-eating wagon and I’m off the beer and I feel 100% better. I was very tired for the last two weeks after the race. I slept a lot. My brain was punchy too.
Q: Alvaro Munoz How do you train for a 100M? How far was your longest training run? Congratulations as well!
It was a lot of slow miles in the trails and back-to-back long runs on the weekends. Fairly similar to a marathon training cycle with more miles and no speedwork. 2-3 week cycles where you peak every couple weeks then step back for a week. My longest weekends were a 50-15 and a 50-20 a couple weeks before the race.
Once my body figured it out I rather enjoyed he training.
Q: Michael Moschitta Did u fall asleep while running.
No, I did not. I remember closing my eyes, but once we got past that first sunset I was fine. More exhausted than sleepy.
Q: Cheney McConnell Harper Will you do it again?
The $64,000 question. I’m not against doing it again. Maybe a 100K, because I’ve never run that distance.
Thanks for your interest and support! This was fun.
Chris,