The Last Runner in the Forbidden Forest - Half Way There – Part 1

Our lives are a series of choices we make every time we get to a fork in the road until we get to a destination that seemed inevitable.  It is as if that destination was your chosen goal even though you never really thought too much about it. You were making of what you thought were short-term decisions that led you to your current place.  That is what happened to me when I decided to try to run 100 miles in at least 30 hours. I had already done six ultras, three 50ks and three 50 milers, which should have been enough for a sixty one year old man. I have nothing to prove to anyone, yet for some reason I have something to prove to myself. I had worked hard over the recent years on my fitness (I describe this fitness journey in an early blog The Journey from 0 to 50 after the Age of 50) I guess with ultra-running the next distance is always calling you. It didn’t help that I was watching numerous YouTube videos documenting people succeeding and failing in their 100 mile attempts.

It was inevitable that I would succumb to the calling of the 100 mile distance. So, in the depths of snowy winter and with COVID-19 still wreaking havoc in our lives, I signed up for the Forbidden Forest 100 Mile, 30 Hour Endurance Race.. I gently broke the news to my wife that “I had found a great race for my first 100 mile run!” (Keep in mind I don't think I even told my wife I was looking to do a 100 mile race.) She immediately shot back “What do you mean your first?” I kinda hemmed and hawed and finally did what any husband would do, just ignored the retort and changed the subject. Then I said we would be able to see our daughter who lives in Connecticut.

I upped my training and I was very confident about my training and planning for the race. That is until two days before the race when unexpectedly seeds of doubt began to creep into my head.  A hundred miles is a long way I thought to myself. You have to run at night. Finally are you positive you can do this? The answer was a resounding “Maybe!”

The day before the race, I got there early and was the first person to check in. The excitement and confidence almost immediately came back as I met the Race Director Lou Loban. Like most race directors, he had a sense of humor. Race Directors of ultras are an interesting breed, they on one hand want you to have a great race and take pains to meet all your needs but on the other hand they take a little pleasure in knowing that you will suffer.  I am sure that if we had a psychic do an analysis of their past lives they at one time all worked in a torture chamber during the Spanish Inquisition.

Lou treated me like I was his personal guest at a family party. He load me up with race bling, which as any runner knows is a great feeling.  I started talking with other runners who were slowly yet steadily, coming in.  The party was just starting. I love the race scene but this race scene was different.  Since this was a short 2.23 mile loop you could set up your own aid station with food and a change of clothing and gear. My wife and I setup my canopy with the chairs and table.  The food would wait until the next day.

I also met my tent neighbor Celeste. We had both done a virtual race together representing Dylan’s Wings of Change who I was raising funds for running this race. When I saw on a Facebook group site that she was doing the same race I reached out to her to see if she would like to share resources she gladly accepted because at the time, she thought she was primarily doing this race solo. Eventually this turned out to have been one of the smarter moves I made for the race. Because while she was not solo and neither was I, in the end we both had crews that cheered each other on and it was definitely great to have us both get positive energy from total strangers.

The next morning I was like a caged animal ready to run yet while I was completely ready and set up by 7am others were just starting to set up their camp. The start was not until 8:30am so I had to be patient. Looking out over the field of canopies and tents, I had the sensation that this was not race as much as it was a festival. I was surrounded by people who I did not know, yet there were no strangers. We were an ultra-running tribe.

There was a little confusion at the start since we thought it was a wave start but everyone just paused and then started all at once. Like most races I do, I probably started out a bit too fast.  I was at a pace at around 11 minutes per mile, which was not a pace that I could not keep up for 50 miles. Let alone 100 miles.  That was okay my plan was to be steady for the first ten loops and than slow the pace down. It is interesting in ultra-marathons that you often find yourself in a pack of runners with a similar pace and then slowly but surely you spread out.  Eventually you find yourself alone like I did to figure out the right pace to finish the 100 miles in 30 hours. Even though this was a short loop the 78 runners or so were soon spread out.

My race was not with the other runners. My race was with the clock.  The race was basically a math problem.  I just had to keep moving at a steady clip with rests built in until I got to 100 miles. You really could not walk too long or you would fall short. This meant constantly checking my watch seeing if my pace would get me to the various goals I had set for myself.  I wanted to get to 50 miles in about thirteen hours.  That would give me sixteen hours for the second half. (Yes I know that adds up to twenty-nine hours but I was calculating in a nap.) Still to get to fifty miles I still had to actually run fifty miles.

Now I am not one who believes in omens or signs but as I was running my fifth loop I saw a large hawk feather falling to the ground almost directly at my feet. At first I thought it had fallen from another runner but who would be running with a feather? I had already passed this spot several times, so it could not have always been there previously. I picked up my newly found treasure and ran with it in my hand until I got to my aid station less than a mile from where I found it. I took this find as a good omen, a sign that I would succeed.

The one thing that I was a little hesitant about on this 100 mile race was that it was a series of 45 loops.  Would I get bored with the same scenery?  On other shorter ultras there were always different vistas and views that kept me excited and motivated I would not have this on this race. It ended up I loved the loop.  The trail was rolling with short climbs and descents.  Definitely runnable but definitely not a smooth easy trail. The reason I loved it though was that I could concentrate on my pace and not be distracted. I also was never far from food and water so I did not have to carry a lot.  I would carry just enough water to always stay hydrated a simple thing but extremely important, especially since it was a hot humid day. I just had to find the right pace and I did. 

Mile 27 with Ian Hockley

The other thing that was completely new to me was having a crew.  All my races had been solo acts and I would use the aid stations provided or on some loop races bring my own supplies but on this race my wife would be my crew most of the time and my daughter and her boyfriend would also join in. So we were all new to crewing but soon fell into a routine of me coming in and they helping me with my fluids and food.  My wife even would cool me down with an icy cold wet cloth during the hot parts of the day. I am pretty sure I would not have finished without them.  It changed from being “my” race to “our” race.

I also probably stopped too often and lingered too long at our camp but it was not only great to hear my crew cheer me on but Celeste’s crew did the same thing.  This event is actually more of a mental challenge than it is a physical challenge and the positive energy from a crew cannot be dismissed at all.

In a long race you have your ups and your downs.  For some reason as I was coming into mile 27 I was not feeling great about my race except when I jogged into my camp there was Ian Hockley from Dylan’s Wings to cheer me on.  We hugged and he interviewed me and gave my wife some pointers on crewing. While I would have loved to stay and chat I had miles to cover.  He walked with me for a short time and we discussed doing it next year.  He really lifted my spirits and I was back going at a steady clip.

This spirit lifter by Ian plus a good meal reenergized me and I was back at a steady pace.  I was also passing more people on the loop trail. It was not that I had increased my pace but that I was keeping the same pace and the others were slowing down. I was actually amazed at how strong I felt. After 30 miles and I was moving strong and steady and I passed a runner rather easily, she was astonished and said “What is with you? You got a second wind?” I smiled to myself because I knew I was going strong.

I don’t want to give the impression that I was a leader in this race far from it but I was definitely on pace to finish with time to spare and while not leading I was definitely in the upper half.

The other advantage to a short loop ultra is that you get to see the same runners often and there is banter and a sharing of energy that occurs.  We all quickly give each other a positive comment whether we are being passed, or passing someone else.

One person however really stood out as someone who inspired me to keep going and it was not because she was going to get to the 100 miles. No, far from it.  Her name was Ilene and she was completing the course on crutches.  She was going to push herself as hard as she could to get as many miles as she could.  I called her my hero.  I thought if she can give that type of effort so can I. I mean what excuse do I have? 

Ilene and I on the trail

One of the reasons I wanted to get to fifty miles as fast as I could is that I had to run at night and that is something I had no experience with so I wanted to accumulate the miles during the daylight because I figured (correctly) that the pace would be slower in the night.

Well I reached my goal of 50 miles slightly ahead of schedule at twelve and a half hours. Bon Jovi’s song Livin’ on a Prayer was stuck on in my head courtesy of my daughter’s boyfriend PJ singing it. Because of the line - Woah, we're half way there.

In reality though the Bon Jovi song that should have been going through my head is It’s My Life with the line - It's my life, It's now or never. Because darkness had set in and I was entering the part of the race I was most nervous about.  Running through the night in the dark. That is because I had the least experience with this. While I felt strong I knew the hardest part was coming.

(To Be continued.)