Burning River 100 and Beast of Burden Crew/Pacer Reports!

Lots has happened since my last blog post! My family and I visited my brother in Myrtle Beach and my husband has run his second 100 miler. I paced hubby at Burning River and my friend Kathy at Beast of Burden, my son started school again as well as cross country - and got accepted into the Perry Fire Explorers program. The little bugger is getting his temps in a couple weeks. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Busy as always!

BURNING RIVER 100
After a very good running season my husband was more than ready for Burning River. The race was held at the end of July.

Like a big dummy, I forgot to charge my camera. So this is the only pic that we have. (Thanks Chaney!) The week was like any other, busy - and the night before the race my son had an interview with the Perry Fire Department's Fire Explorer Team. (HE GOT IN!!!)

Being the interview was late at night and after work - I had tons to do to prepare for the weekend. Hubby went to bed early as he should have, however chauffer duties and crew duties kept me up for quite a bit of time. Long story short I got a whole 3 hours of sleep the night before I would be up 24 hours plus! In the end lack of sleep wasn't an issue though, as I had not had any caffeine for a month, and just a small amount of coffee sent me through the roof. Problem solved. One of them. In the morning I woke up, jumped out of bed and felt a stabbing pain shooting through my foot. Not knowing what it was I tried to keep it to myself as I had to pace the old man for 38 miles. I was hoping it would go away FAST. I pushed it into the deep dark part of my mind and got the family ready and off we went! BR 100 start! The foot hurt during pacing duties even after popping one Aleve before pacing (do not recommend) at some point after we finished the pain went away. *POOF*! Like magic. I don't know what the heck it was but glad it didn't last.

Many friends were running this race so it made time at the aid stations fun. Eventually though everyone spread out and settled into their pace.

THE MIDRACE CURSE
At the halfway point my sister came out so we could take my car to the finish, and so she could drop me off at the next aid station, all in time to pace my hubby. Maybe not such a bright idea, as I already know - every single race, no matter what the distance halfway in hubby starts the mental business. He gets nervous, starts to think about how bad 100 miles hurts, etc., you name it. Sure enough when I was at the parking lot at the Nat I got a phone call from a poor volunteer at an aid station....Husband said don't forget this, husband said grab that, blah blah blah (bless her heart for satisfying him and calling me!) All I could do was laugh and say "Ok". My sister dropped me off at the aid station and I waited, talking with some friends and waiting some more. This time last year I was waiting for him in the dark here, but this year there was PLENTY of daylight to go around! All of a sudden I saw him, grabbed my gear and we were off - 38 miles to go! It was nice running through the ledges when it was light out. Hubby was feeling tired, but really pleased with the time he was making. He was so far ahead of what he did last year - just amazing!

THE SHUFFLE

Enter in the hubby shuffle. He slowed to a walk, but mostly it was just mental. I could tell from last year, he was still feeling strong. So I had said, "Well just try and walk every minute, then run the next. I'll tell you when it's time to start and stop". That worked for awhile, but I could tell when I started to annoy him with the whole "RUN" now "WALK" bit. Quite frankly, I was starting to annoy the hell out of myself, too! Soooo I decided to trick him a bit :) I started to make a shuffling sound, like I was running - and thought maybe that would work. VOILA ! Sure enough it did! Every time he stopped, I'd wait a minute or two then break out the shuffle. (Now that he knows what I was doing I don't think that will work again, ha!) Soon he didn't have long to go (don't recall since I'm a blogger slacker but it was 3 miles I believe). He really picked up the pace during this portion. As if he got a bit of an adrenaline rush, or just a rush because "thank god this shit's about to end" or something, I'm not sure - but he really pushed it through to the end to get a near 6 hour p.r. on the course! This race ends his running season for the year and so proud of him! He's really come a long long way. Way to go babe!!

BEAST OF BURDEN 100 MILER

One of my favorite races, Beast of Burden was held at the end of August in Lockport New York. What makes this race so awesome? Bottom line: the people. Just extraordinary. It's like a family! (Funny in running, you gain more than friends but family - it's great! I've got i2P family, Copper Canyon family, BoB family - love all of it!)

Early in the morning I volunteered at my son's XC fun run 10k - manned a water station and took some pics for the team.

My hubby got off of work, met us at XC and we were then headed off to Lockport! I had the awesome job of pacing my friend Kathy for part of her first 100 mile finish, which was incredible! We got to the finish line and waited for Kathy's husband, Ray Zahab. In the meantime I snapped pictures (of course!) and talked with some friends - no wait - -family!!

Not too long after Ray showed up with his friend Nathalie. Her husband Jeff was pacing Kathy, we got the low down on what was going on and chatted for a bit. Then Kath came and her, Ray, and I were off for the next 12-ish miles! They're fun people to run with, easy going and just great people. We soon got to the turnaround and I went with Kathy for the next 25 miles. I can say out of everyone I've paced, I have NEVER ever seen anyone run so much as Kathy during! She was amazing and got a kick butt time out there! It was great getting to know her more and be out there with her - truly an inspirational woman, and seeing her cross the finish line was extraordinary! And I might add, a mother of two young kiddos....apparantely to someone's surprise at the finish line - I just heard a gasp and..."WOW, she's a MOM?!" from someone. I smiled and thought... Heck yeah man! Moms are TRUE Badasses :) CONGRATS KATHY!!!

Training, I2P Updates, Eat and Run Review, Salomon Pack Review, and More!

ON TRAINING:

The last few weeks of training have been going great, I have an awesome schedule thanks to Ray Zahab and have also been going to a self myofascial release class.  My running schedule has been building up in intensity and miles slowly but surely, just the way it should be. All my pieces and parts are feeling fabulous and I'm getting more excited every day!  The self myofascial release class is great, and I have learned a few handy tips.  All of a sudden I'm finding myself more flexible than I have ever been at any point in my life.  For the first time ever (EVER!!!) I can put my palms on the floor when stretching my hammies.  VICTORY!!!  
Before going to class due to many years of running and not stretching,etc I felt a bit like this:

And NOW I feel like this:

PUMPED!!



IMPOSSIBBLE2POSSIBLE UPDATES

The youth ambassadors for Expedition Africa 2012 have been announced!  Congrats to all the youth who will make the extraordinary journey with the Impossible2Possible team!  These youth will travel for free to Africa, and will be running in Botswana!  Throughout their journey they will be relaying tons of information back to classrooms that have signed up for I2P's free program.  Teachers please don't miss out on the chance for your class to particpate in this extraordinary learning adventure!! The expedition details can be found here.  Teachers  - to sign your classroom up you can go to the Impossible2Possible site! Check them out!

Congrats kids! Enjoy your journey!

EAT AND RUN BOOK REVIEW

I've finished reading Scott Jurek's book "Eat and Run".  It's a great read - has some recipes that I'm excited to try and is written well.  It was a bit strange for me reading the book and reading about some people I know (Leah, Caballo, Valmir).  The book wasn't terribly long (translation: working, training, mom, wife can read in a respectable amount of time).  Grab the book and check it out! You won't be dissapointed!    



SALOMON XT SKIN PRO 3 SET HYDRATION PACK REVIEW

I've had a few hydration packs in my day - but this one so far is the best.  Previous hydration packs of mine have all been Nathan and Camelbak products.  Those served their purpose, but they weren't fabulous.  I had been watching my hubby run in his Salomon pack for almost a year now, and longingly looked at the way it just seemed to form to his body.  It looked so comfortable, I had to try it. 

When I received the pack I immediately thought it was made just for me, as their was a special little spot just for my chapstick! (FYI, Yes I am a chapstick addict.) From this point forward, it was instant love.....

I hadn't run with a hydration pack since October, so I assumed I would come off the first run having sore shoulders, as that typically happens with my Nathan and Camelbak.  I was relieved to feel no pain at all! The pack, true to what I saw on my hubby, formed so well to my body and was so comfortable. There are many little pockets for extra things, with the larger pockets more torwards the back (If I would change anything about the pack, it would be to move those larger pockets closer to the front of my body).  Due to this even distribution of items due to the locations of the pockets, etc, etc. there is one small problem. Anytime I fell while running on the trail with my Nathan or Camelbak, the one single main compartment would be so full of crap that when I landed it felt like I was landing on a pillow! During some races it was damn near comfy and I wouldn't want to get up. (seriously) With the Salomon pack everything is so well distributed, I don't get that big pillowy cushion :) Hopefully that translates into faster running times since I'll get up faster!

MY SIS - TRAIL RUNNING!!!!

Big shout out this week to my sis, Kelly - who came running with my son and I at Girdled Road.  Her max distance thus far has been 5k, road.  She hit the trails Tuesday with determination and grit, and conquered those hills! CONGRATS SIS!!!



YOUNG EAGLES 2012

Last Weekend was the traditional Young Eagles free airplane rides operating out of the Geauga County Airport in Middlefield, Ohio.  I've taken my son nearly every year since he was old enough, and he always has a blast!

This year we took my son's friend Christine along for some airplane action - it was her first time on a plane and when she landed she was all smiles. These pilots are quite extraordinary as they use their own money for fuel for these flights, with most of them flying kids around for 4 hours - each group of kids getting 15-20 minute flights.  The lucky kid who gets to sit in the front of the plane gets to fly for a bit as well! Kudos to EAA Chapter 5 -thanks guys for another great flight!











OTHER HAPPENINGS:

With no volunteering duties we were lucky enough to have LOTS of free time last weekend! On top of the Young Eagles flight we were able to see my friend, Dan Holt, perform at the Beck Cafe in Lakewood.  It was SO unbeilevably nice just sitting outside, relaxing and listening to great music.  Thanks for the invite Dan!  Hopefully we can come out to more of these!

Yesterday was my husband's birthday.  He awoke to a car decorated to the fullest extent!

Party pooper that he is he drove his motorcycle to work.  Booooooo.



Father's Day was spent with my hubby. No car decorating involved. We went out to eat, played some mini golf, and went to the movies. My husband's movie of choice: Men in Black III.  I groaned a little bit on the inside when he told me that's what he wanted to see, but it actually wasn't half bad.  (Not really worth a trip to the movies for though!)










The day before Father's Day we went to Cedar Point, but not before going on a 3 a.m. "Goodbye Run" for Scott McGrew! Scott and his wife Bri moved to Washington (state).  I wish we would have had more time to hang out with them, as they are really great people who we're going to miss.  Scott had paced me at Beast of Burden 100, summer - and I paced him at Oil Creek 100.  My family and I met Bri and Scott at the Cleveland Marathon last year, right before my son was heading out to run his first marathon. 

McGrew family we will miss you! But remember......













;-)


Happy Running all!
Laurie

Updates on well...EVERYTHING!!

So where to begin? There's so much to say it could fill 10 pages, but will try to keep it short. (yeah right)  Life has been much too busy for blogger time but is about to slow down now.  Today I find myself with plenty of time as my son is here at home with 6 of his amigos banging on their musical instruments :)  Pretty much all that's left this summer for me is summer fun with the family and training for the Pine Creek 100.   I guess all I can do is go in order from after the North Coast 24 Hr.

50's FOR YO MOMMA
My hubby had another race, called 50's For Yo Momma which was a 50 miler located in Circleville, Ohio.  This time some friends joined in on the ultra fun, too - tackling both the 50k and 50 miler distance.

Some of our buds:


Looks were deceiving in little old Circleville.  Even at the start/aid station (10 loop course) I sat there thinking how flat the course must be. As each runner came in they remarked how hilly it was, unexpected, and the comments didn't stop the whole race.  My husband wasn't feeling as well as he did at Glacier Ridge or running as strong but he kept on.  About half way through the race I noticed his typical "wtf" look he gets and told him to knock that mental shit off.  He did, and prevailed.  Despite a slower time from Glacier Ridge he came out 3rd overall!! 


The finish line:



Getting treated to a massage after the race:


After watching/crewing for my husband at both Glacier Ridge and 50's I realized he needs much more electrolytes than the average Joe.  It's just the way his body works.  Case in point:  As soon as he got off that massage table it was covered in nothing but salt.  LOTS of salt.  (Sorry massage dude!)


ONE WEEK LATER: THE CLEVELAND MARATHON
My husband decided to run the Cleveland Marathon, because his work paid for his entry, and I was already helping out coaching/crewing for Team Moving Spirit, which helps raise money for the fight to find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  Duchenne's is a fatal progressive disorder that causes loss of muscle function and independence.  Check out their website here to learn more about Team moving spirit and the fight to stomp out Duchenne's!

Just a small portion of Team Moving Spirit's team members!

My hubby and I went our separate ways and I knew we'd see each other at some point.  I just didn't realize how fast :) 

The JOA coaches headed out to the course to first cheer on the 10k runners who were rockin' their distance and then headed out to the 1/2 marathon and marathon portion of the course.  Soon after we headed out my husband blew by us, hooting and hollering and looking good.  Not tired in the least, in the heat, a week after his 50 miler! We discussed his electrolytes after Yo Momma and he upped his dosage.  It worked like a charm!! I silently guesstimated his finish time at 3:20, unless he really blew up - but definitely no more than 4 hours.   He looked really REALLY good though and happy, so I was hopeful!  We carried on to cheer on team JOA and help them if needed.  The head honcho and brainchild of Team Moving Spirit Runners was Joe Vasil - who wound up not only helping team JOA runners with supplies/goods (gels, Vaseline, etc) but anyone on the course who needed it.  Many runners were SO thankful!

Joe the great to the rescue!

 

It was just so hot at CLE and I think it caught many runners off guard a bit, new runners and vets alike. Team JOA crushed the course though! For many of the runners on the team it was their longest distance ever.  People such as my gal pal Peg - who conquered her first 1/2 marathon!

Peg in great spirits for her first 1/2!

 

The whole set of pics I took for the team can be found here.  Congrats to the whole team, you guys are extraordinary!!

As for my hubby....

When my son and I were done with our Team Moving Spirit duties I looked at the watch and hurried to the finish line.  With a beautiful stroke of luck we got there just in time to see my hubby cross the finish line and hoot and holler for him!  His final time?  A Personal Best at 3 hours and 16 minutes on tired legs!  AMAZING!!

Holla....

 

THE OTTAWA MARATHON

Some time ago my friend Agnes Jung whom I met through the non-profit  Impossible2Possible mentioned her plans on running her first marathon, the Ottawa Marathon!  Excited for her I looked at my schedule, and saw it just happened to fall on Memorial Weekend! Added bonus! I started thinking well maybe the kiddo and I could make it down to cheer her on. (Hubby worked that weekend.  Boooo)  Well we worked it out and made our way down, we HAD to!  This gal pal of mine came down to Beast of Burden 100 - winter to cheer me on in the snow and wind, the VERY LEAST I could do for her was to go someplace that was all warm and sunshiney and cheer her on lol :)

 

One of my most favorite things in the world is watching someone tackle a new distance, cross the finish line for the first time - doing something they never thought they could do.  Agnes was all smiles! I loved it!  We ran with her for a tiny bit towards the end, and my son seranded her with his new Eukele (did I spell that right? Don't even know....).

 

We cheered on tons of other runners as well, er um...all the runners and while I was being lazy by not running my arms and hands did kinda hurt at the end from all the clapping (sissy).

Congrats to Agnes on an extraordinary finish and for letting us tag along!! Both my son and I had a great time hanging out with her and her amazing son Robert!

Way to go Agnes!!!

 

In between visiting and the marathon my son and I visited the Gatineau Trails (I seriously had to get out of the city, heard about these trails and so it was, we headed out for some hiking)

OHIO WE DO NOT HAVE HILLS.  WE HAVE BABY BUMPS. 

Happy as he looks here, I really thought he would pass out at times on the trail.

 

Despite my son's death stare every time we saw a new hill it was great getting out of the city.  Ottawa is amazing, fun, and cute but I just wanted to be in the woods :)

Wilderness

 

-OR-

City

 

Which would you choose?

My son and I stayed in Ottawa until Monday.  Monday morning we woke up and headed to Ray Zahab and his wife Kathy's house. (Super close to those Gatineau trails I learned!!)  Finally I got to meet the awesome guy who has been helping me for so long!! It was great spending time and chatting with them - they are truly amazing people!  So incredibly busy and they just do so much for so many people.  (Example....Ray was in Vancouver until Sunday morning, came home - and headed out to Mexico after we left Monday.  MORE than extraordinarily busy!!)  And as if they don't do enough for me I left rockin a pretty sweet pair of custom Oakley's :)  All I ever had before these sunglasses were the cheapo glasses that you get from WalMart, Target, or yes....I'll go ahead and say it, the GAS STATION.  What an incredible difference! (duh)  Now I actually find that I lock my p.o.s. Nissan just because my shades are sometimes in there.  *love*  Thanks Kathy and thanks Ray for a great time! (and my kick ass shades. wooooo)

SCOOBY, MY LITTLE RUNNER DOG

Last week I lost a great friend.  More than a great friend.  If you were ever close to an animal, you know what I'm talking about.  Scooby was an extraordinary dog - intelligent, strong, and caring.  Caring in every way. 

 

Scooby helped me through the worst time of my life.  Not too long ago, about 6 years back.  Something in my life happened that threw me into a deep depression.  All I did basically was cry, stare into space with this crazy ass glared out expression, eat Hot Cheetos and drink Smirnoff ice (seriously).  I would lay around for hours, and hours, and hours.  Despite my dogs very active nature she stayed by my side every day, every minute, every second.  So that meant she laid around for hours, and hours, and hours as well.  She would lay there and stare at me, lay on me, lay next to me...whatever she was there.  And almost all on her own pulled me out of the rotten miserable state I was in.  I did have a great deal of help from the kiddo and my brother, but ultimately I didn't want to place my burdens on my mini (even though I'm sure I probably did to some extent) and my brother who did not live by me.  So, there was Scooby.  We became closer than we had been, and I truly knew what it meant to have a best friend from that point forward.  In more recent, happy times she trotted through the woods with me, through creeks and around logs.  She sniffed horse poop galore and loved every minute of it. 

Her favorite thing?  SNOW!! (Oh yes you know she's mine now!!)  She could spend forever out in the fluffy white snow.  Unfortunately this year we had very little snow, save one 2 foot snowfall.  We spent that day running a loop around our house, at times she would just dive head first into the snow, eating up every single cold snowy minute!

There were only a few times she would get a little mad at me, and I'm not quite sure why......

The Saturday before she died she saw me pull out my "shoes with the three stripes" and she got sooo excited.  I was bummed because it was the furthest distance I had run in awhile and she wasn't quite there yet, so she couldn't come along.  She always got excited when she saw the shoes, but this time she was much more excited that usual. 

I promised to take her out for a jaunt when I got back, and that's what we did.  It would be our last run together.  It was probably the most enjoyable one yet, and she was just SO excited to be outside.  I never would have guessed it would have been the last one.  I went to take her out after my run on Tuesday and something was different.  I should have known then.  She didn't want to run, she just wanted to walk.  It was unusual, but I thought to myself "Hey dogs can get tired too".  Except she never did.  We walked and when it was time to go back inside she didn't want to go - she wanted to walk more.  Eventually of course, we had to go back into the "prison".  Wednesday morning I woke up and she wasn't her peppy self.  But, again not acting anything other than just not "peppy".  My son called me at work and said he thought Scooby was acting strange too - and wouldn't come inside.  As soon as I got home however, she ran inside - and then it happened.  As soon as she got to me her legs gave out from under her and I sat there, holding her, wondering what the hell was happening.  She was not coughing, not throwing up, no diarrhea - she just was very weak.  She didn't even seem in pain, although I wonder now if she was perhaps masking it.  I laid with her as she laid with me all those months, holding her, staring at her - thinking she would get better and wondering what this was.  I decided if she was still acting strange in the morning I would take her right to the vet.  Unfortunately I never got that chance. Somewhere between 12 a.m. and 3 a.m. she passed away.  Seemingly peaceful, still in her blankie.  Love you Scooby.....love you forever.  Words can't even describe what you've done for me.  We'll all miss you so much. 

THE LAKE HEALTH 1/2 MARATHON

Once again the family and I volunteered at the LH 1/2 Marathon.  This year my son and I had navigational duties (GASP!)  which was a chill job, just making sure no one turned down the wrong way at our given stations.  My hubby had that job as well, and was also course sweeper at the end picking up cones and what not.  It was great seeing a lot of running buds as well as Metropark buds (part of the proceeds benefit the local metropark system, the Lake Metroparks).  It was another hot day and part of the course included a nice hill to go along with the heat.  I wish I would've taken my good camera but only had my cell - however still managed to get a few shots in.  I was surprised to see a runner in I2P gear out there and was thrilled! It was former youth ambassador Bridget!  Love seeing the ambassadors rockin the I2P gear!!

Congrats to all who ran the 1/2 marathon or 5k out there.  And thanks for letting me volunteer....I got a serious suntan! ha.  Seriously though, this should be the last volunteer duty for us for awhile.  We have to really cut back and not spend ALL our time on running stuff, even though we love it there's lots of other stuff to do, too.  We'll still volunteer - but are scaling back.  Hints of volunteer/crew burn out are evident in the following pics and helped push the decision along:

   

Lake Health Distance Classic:

Cleveland marathon:

50's For Yo Momma:

 

Nuff said. 

Like I said, definitely won't be stopping volunteer duties altogether, volunteering is really so rewarding, but we are seriously cutting back.  It's been such a busy spring! 

And finally....the end! Thanks to you if ya stuck in there through this long junk. wooooo.

Happy Running!

Laurie

 

The North Coast 24 Hour Endurance Run Crew Report and Sabrina Moran Breaks the American Woman's 24 Hour Mileage Record!

The North Coast 24 Hour USATF National Championship was held in Cleveland this past weekend.  The National Championship was switched from fall to spring this year due to the timing of the World Championships.  (There will still be a fall North Coast however it will not be the National Championship).  Unable to handle both events, the Medina County Road Runners petitioned other clubs in the area to take over the spring version and this eventually fell into the hands of the Cleveland West Road Runners Club. 

This event brought quite a few of my ultra runner friends down to Cleveland.  David Ploskonka stayed at our place the night before the race and we met up with Jacqueline Choi at Edgewater the day of the race.  My plan was to stay and help them through the race, do whatever they needed me to do to get them through 24 hours of running. When it was all said and done Jackie logged a total of 102.69 miles and David logged 49.54 miles. Other out of town friends that made the trek down were Jameelah Abdul-Rahim Mujaahid (81.97 miles), Anne (87.37 miles) and Robert McClain, Sabrina Moran (147.72 miles), Derek Murphy (66.66 miles), and Valmir Nunes (55.85 miles).  Local ultra runner friends toed the line as well, to include Debra Horn (124.30 miles), Cyrus Taylor (44.14 miles), Brad Polman (132.41 miles) and more. 

Straight from work on Friday I picked up David from the host hotel - Days Inn of Lakewood.  He drove down with a couple of runners from his area, Serge and Christian.  (Ultra runners are ultra drivers, too - driving 8 hours from Maryland the day before the race, as well as 8 hours back the same day the race ended!)  I had "met" Serge before in passing when I ran North Coast but had never met Christian (met as in exchanged a few words around that monotonous .9 mile loop). Super nice guys and amazing runners.  Anyway, David and I drove back to my house and chatted for a bit, David crashed for a nap and I cooked dinner.  (Talk about worry, just cook for an elite ultra runner the day before their race!)

The  morning of the race I woke up, hobbled out for a short run, cooked breakfast and then my son, David, and I were off.  My husband headed out for a race of his own - the Diversity 5k downtown (p.r. at 18 minutes and change!!) and came to the race later.  As soon as we stepped out of the car at Edgewater we noticed #1 How much colder it was compared to temps at my house (not unusual) and #2 The wind.  The wind was horrible!

Case in point: Kite surfers and surfers were out in full force on Lake Erie

All anyone could hope for was the wind would die down at some point.  (It took awhile)  Pre race time was spent catching up with runner friends.  The first one I saw was Sabrina, we chatted briefly and wished her luck.  We then hooked up with Jacqueline and saw Derek and wished him well.  Soon the runners lined up at the start and with a simple yell "READY - GO!" the runners were off on their adventure, running around a .9 mile loop for 24 hours.  As for me I proceeded to set up "camp", which consisted of 3 folding chairs, a cooler, and lots of blankets for me, my son, and any runners who needed them, as well as a picnic table that held Jacqueline and David's items. (no tent this time around)  I then plopped my lazy bum into my folding chair next to my friend Charlie, who was crewing for Derek.  

Charlie and his brother-in-law Derek, who completed over 66 miles!

Watching the runners, everyone seemed in good spirits (especially at the beginning - HA!) I could tell right away that Serge would have a great race.  During the day he was running strong and smiling every loop and was pretty impressive to see.  Jacqueline was her typical self - so happy and smiling, so grateful to be just in the moment and having so much fun.  I loved it! Throughout the race there were quite a few people who came up to me and said how inspiring she was, and that her smile was just lighting things up in the cold dark night.  I think I can safely say there wasn't a time when she didn't flash a smile when she came by! Due to a crazy chain of events (work, sick, travel, etc) David stopped at 49 miles - which was a very smart thing since he has MMT coming up and was traveling to Israel for work immediately after the race. (And I do mean immediately - straight from the race I took him to the airport so he could catch his 12+ hour flight.  OUCH!)  Valmir stopped as well, and afterwards told us he'll be taking a bit of a break in June and July to rest up a bit.  He knows what he needs and knows what he has to do.  He's a spectacular runner who holds such times as 5 hours and 38 minutes for a 50 mile run, Badwater winner (and course record holder) at 22 hours and 51 minutes, Beast of Burden 100 miler (winter) at 14 hours and 56 minutes, and so much more - so yeah he knows what he's doing and knows what he needs to do!  Sabrina looked strong and incredibly focused from the get go, Anne was looking strong as always and Derek was all smiles and came with a "git er done" attitude and a PR goal to shoot for.     

Night came to Edgewater and brought a welcome change.  Everyone was worried the wind would get worse at night, but like a switch the wind died down considerably and made many people happy.  It was still cold, but no wind was such a relief to everyone - runners, crews, and volunteers alike.  Earlier in the evening my son had been playing his guitar by our "camp" and while a bit shy moved a few steps closer to the edge of the path with his guitar as time went on.  

Not too long after he got brave enough to get about 5 feet from the path and break out a song my husband and son left for the night leaving Charlie and I in silence and darkness.  Boooo!  We huddled under our many blankets (I was being quite the candy ass - 3 coats and 4 blankets.)  How could I have run a 100 mile race in the middle of winter and be cold in 50 degree weather was completely beyond me!  I tried to catch up on some reading but due to a nasty cold all week and very little sleep my eyes started to get heavy and I couldn't read anymore without drifting off to sleep.  Despite the fact that my hubby had brought a thermos full of coffee earlier it was pretty hard to keep my eyes open through the night.  (again, candy ass - I wasn't running! Shouldn't be tired!!) Charlie was making coffee runs as well, but I had already overdone it on the caffeine and just told him to get me decaf.  (Decaf coffee because caffeine seems to really aggravate my adrenal system, so too much of a good thing is so so bad!)  The coffee was a big help in keeping me somewhat warm, and was so grateful for Charlie's coffee runs and was always so bummed when I saw the bottom of each cup.  The hours went by and I continued to find myself falling asleep, taking small cat naps under my "blankies" and at times coughing uncontrollably from my cold.  Each time my body jolted me awake I sat there and stared at the path, waiting to see the incredible things everyone was doing.  At one point I saw Serge (who was still running strong) stop - throw up, and start running again.  THAT is pure heart and guts right there!  Sabrina was incredibly steady and strong, and didn't even look tired!  It was really fantastic to watch.  Every lap just brought the word "WOW" to my mouth, and that doesn't even describe what she accomplished this past weekend.  To me it appeared that both Serge and Sabrina sped up later in the race versus slowing down.  Incredible! As I said before Jackie was all smiles every step of the way and passed us on many laps shouting "WOO HOO!".  So great!

Daylight broke and all was still the same.  Except one thing.  At this race there's always something that everyone can laugh at (or be fascinated by, you make that call).  The last North Coast 24 there were Kite Flying Nuns.  This time around it was a very different scenario - a group of young people (20 somethings) came down after a late night of partying I presume and proceeded to de-robe and jump in the lake.  We couldn't make it out that well, but have reason to believe two of the adventurous swimmers were completely butt naked.  It was somewhat amusing to see from afar, and we definitely heard their hoots and hollers when they jumped in the 40-some degree water. 

Nudey pic courtesy of Charlie Bolek!  (tee hee)

Aside from the rowdy swimmers, Serge and Sabrina were still as steady and as strong as ever.  Jackie was still smiling, and Derek was pushing on.  At about 8 a.m. I started packing up my car and helped the race's Physical Therapist take down his tent.  After all that I sat on the edge of the path and watched the final laps of the race unfold and it was spectacular as always!  I love seeing the look on runners faces knowing that #1 They're FINALLY nearing the end and #2  The look of incredible accomplishment and pride.  This is well deserved.  Every one of the athletes out there put their best effort forward, accomplished amazing things and pushed it.  They fought mental battles.  They fought physical battles.  They overcame all barriers within themselves to complete an extraordinary task.  They made the Impossible Possible. 

Soon after the race everyone headed to the pavilion for the awards ceremony.  Jackie got her feet worked on, and yes was STILL smiling as if she were relaxing and getting a manicure! I love her!! Serge was tired, cold and shivering from just running 153 miles (2nd place overall!!)  and I ran and got him some blankets from the car. We waited for the awards to begin and Jackie, David, and Valmir and I hung out, chatting and enjoying each others company one more time before we parted ways once again.  While Valmir speaks very little English (He's from Brazil where the national language is Portuguese) it was still possible to have a good conversation (this is something I also encountered when I visited Mexico). 

Valmir and Jackie, post race

A good laugh - finding amusement in the fact that Jacqueline's bandaged toes match Valmir's pants and shoes perfectly :)


Before we left I said goodbye to Sabrina and congratulated her on her stellar victory and then David and I helped Serge and Christian pack up all of their belongings (no crew and packing up your own things after logging mega miles would just plain suck, not to mention the drive ahead of them).  Soon David and I were off to the airport.  We said our goodbyes and he was off on another endurance adventure, over 12 hours of flying. 

SABRINA MORAN BREAKS THE AMERICAN 24 HOUR WOMAN'S RECORD!
I didn't find this out until this morning, but Sabrina broke the American woman's record at the race by logging an unbelievable 147.90 miles!!!  I was wondering at the event if anyone had broken any records, but didn't find out until I woke up and saw this article:
 http://www.ultrarunning.com/ultra/features/news/sabrina-moran-breaks-amer.shtml?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter 

While I didn't know it at the time, it doesn't come as that much of a surprise because I had never seen anyone run like that before.  Not even close!  She was completely focused every single step of the way!  Again I have to say it was truly an amazing thing to watch.  Her last lap I guess-timated was a 9 minute mile.  She came through the aid station with (going by my watch) around 9 minutes left.  A woman who was helping runners all night (Tania) started shouting "I WANT ONE MORE LAP OUT OF YOU! DO YOU HEAR? ONE MORE!" I stood and waited, watching for her - and soon saw her round the bend to make her way back to the finish line once more!  FANTASTIC!!!  Who says ultras aren't exciting to watch!!! All of this couldn't have happened to a nicer more deserving person.  Her sponsors should be extremely proud of her - not just because of her running but because of her positive attitude and sincerity in general.  Case in point: When congratulating her at the awards ceremony she wished me a speedy recovery from my injury.  That AFTER running 147.9 miles and being up all day and night to do it - I wouldn't have even been able to think!! She's one incredible lady all the way around and very deserving of everything this weekend. She worked hard, pushed it, and it paid off in a big way. 

Congrats to Sabrina and everyone else who endured 24 hours of running and walking this weekend.  You all are absolutely inspiring and should be soaking up your hard work and efforts.  It's not easy to do this stuff. At times, training is miserable. But you pushed through and accomplished what many people don't.  For that, be proud. We certainly are proud of you!

Happy Running,
Laurie       

North Coast 24 Hour Unofficial Results
http://northcoast24.org/news/

Sabrina has a great blog - follow her at
http://notallergictoadventure.blogspot.com/