An object in motion tends to stay in motion..... theory confirmed!
So I set out in the morning on 3/24 for my second attempt to run 100 miles, this time at the NJ Ultra Festival. That being said.. let’s get me there.
After getting chewed up and spit out for a second time over at Virgil Crest Ultra for my first 100 attempt, I knew I needed to get myself a 100 mile finish. I needed a belt buckle. So when Nichole ( my fiance) and I saw the NJ Ultra Series, checked our schedule.and decided it was a great race to go after. I knew it being 10 loops would be mentally tough, but I’ve done a bunch of loops before, and what the hell.. a challenge is a challenge right? So it’s settled.
Now, most of the time I’m all about making yourself uncomfortable when you run. Trying to push your own personal limits. I do things like take 2 less gels than I need while I'm out on a run. Or give myself just a little bit less of water than I thought I’d need. Even wearing different things sometimes. Just so I’m clear here... it is because I don’t like being surprised. I don’t want to get to a race and be running and spill my bottle and be without it for a few miles. Or if I get to an aid station and they have food, or gels I’m not used to. I also do it to provide myself some testing so I can figure out what I like. That being said.. let’s go back to last week. 7 days before race day
I got new shoes. Everyone is always saying that it’s a bad idea to use new things on race day, yadda yadda. Now I’m not saying that they’re not right. I wouldn’t suggest it to anyone, but my MT101s were done, like REALLY done, and I couldn’t find them anywhere. So I went with the new versions. MT110s, They’re different, you can feel it the second I got them on. In the 20 miles or so I put on them before the race, I still couldn’t get the laces right. Eh, what are you going to do right? We’ll it’s a 10 loop course, worst case I go 10 miles in shoes that suck and throw on a different pair I have a few. “Bring em all” I said!
Two days before the race - I got a Nathan Running Vest with a bladder. Never have I run with one of these. Never struck me as something I’d like. Though I read this review on a new one, the Nathan Minimist. It’s like a vest, well it IS a vest but the pocket in the back is just enough for a bladder to hold your water. So my theory here was, again worst case 10 miles, leave the bladder if the vest works, or take the whole damn thing off and use the trusty hand held. I did go out on a 5 mile run to get the fit right with a full bladder.
I’m not done.
So, I’m going to keep this part pretty censored, but I’ve had some pretty serious chafing issues in some pretty sensitive areas on long runs lately. I think it’s due to my shorts being worn out. So, I needed a pair of spandex shorts ( men say compression shorts, but it’s bullshit.) So I went out the day before the race and bought a pair. I tried them on when I got home and threw them in my bag. That was that. Again, 10 miles is the longest I’d have to travel.
Last but not least. I wear my bib on my shorts pretty much all the time now. I have a thing with shirts. They either come off, get used for other purposes in the woods, get changed, or something silly. So a couple of days before the race. I get an email from the RD stating the following in it. “
“Bib: You will receive a bib at registration. It will have a chip on the backside.
For the chip to read accurately you need to wear the chip dead center on your front.
DO NOT bend, fold, or crush the bib. Do not place it on your hip, thigh, back,
head, shoe or any other location. The RFID reader will be over head and will be
positioned to read your bib from your chest. It does not matter if you wear a sweat
shirt or jacket over your bib, if you are wearing your number correctly.”
So let’s recap.. I’ve got shoes, that I only wore for a few miles and have had for a week. A running vest that I’ve only ran 6 miles in, shorts I’ve never worn for a run, and NOW I can’t pin my damn bib on my shorts! Didn’t they know it was supposed to rain all afternoon and night?
Luckily, somehow somewhere I was able to throw all of this in the back of my mind. I didn’t even care about it honestly. I needed this. I was determined to go out there and just do it. Period. I’d find a way to work it all out. I had to. I’d be out there for hours. I really didn’t have a choice.
I’m skipping the night before, because it’s a lot like other ultras. Got there, picked up the bib. Ate and headed to the tent for some joke of an amount of sleep before the run. This was nice though, because the McNulty’s offered a pre-race dinner option. Think backyard BBQ, with a good chunk of the people you’re about to spend a day passing back and forth on a trail.
Rick McNulty’s pre-race talks seem to have a very similar pattern to them. “This is the course” “This is how you’ll know you’re on course” “Have fun” And his daughter, Anya, chimed in with a true pearl of wisdom “Don’t follow the person in front of you, they don’t know where they’re going” Then a nice count down. I got my good luck kiss from Nichole, tied my shoe and I was off.
I could tell you that the first few laps were a blur. They’re not at all. I, as I sit and write this, could tell you just about everything that happened over the next 20 hours 20 minutes and 55 seconds. I loved every single second of it.
The course was beautiful. It started with a long stretch of pavement to get out of the fairgrounds and into this nice little out and back section of trail. Nothing too crazy, but I ended up behind a runner I’ve run with before, Jim. One of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He’s the one that on my first attempt at 50 miles, assured me that there was hot soup at the next aid station. I would have hugged him for just telling me it was there. At Virgil Crest last year, I spent a good time with him talking and trying to make it through the mountains. Just a great guy, greats every new runner he sees with “What’s your name and where ya comin from?” All day long I saw him talking to someone new, and always with a smile. I think I’ve heard someone refer to him as Gentleman Jim ( I might be wrong)
In a little bit you came to a fence that you had to touch as Rick put in the beginning “This is about personal accomplishment, you don’t HAVE to touch it, but that’s the course” When I got there I knocked it with my knuckle and said out loud “ONE” Turned around and headed back. When you got back to where you came into the trail you crossed a little overpass and headed out onto another trail. It was pretty similar to the other one, no real big scenery changes. There was one spot that had a big field with some cows. I got to see a mother out walking her calf. Kinda made me want to stop and take it in, but I was there to run. This trail though had some cool river bridges. They looked like they were there forever. Plywood was put over them for the race so we could get over them safely and fast, but they were still pretty iffy.
After running a bit you hit this pretty wide open area that looked like it would be a great run, in the summer. Due to the season and it not really being too dry there was thick mud. It was easy enough to go around, but the second I ran through it, my first thought was “Shit, it’s going to rain all day” I immediately started thinking about how many of these laps I could get done before 3pm when it was supposed to rain.
After a few of those bridges, a cool stream, that you had to step on rocks to cross, some more of that thick mud, you hit the turn-around aid station. Very nice and well stocked as always. You headed back and then came to the same entrance way. By this time the “self serve” water station was up and running. Pretty much just a few gallons of water sitting there with some plastic tables and some cups. Passing this station by and then heading up for a run around the fairgrounds was cool. You got back on a little bit of pavement for a hill and then through a meadow, with a couple (seriously only one or two) little rolling hills that reminded me of a cross country course.
For the lap finish, you ran through where people had their tents set up and right through a huge garage that was the dry staging area, under the timer and right out to the aid station. As the day progressed and people started to finish this was especially cool, because I was able to see people walking away in their cool green fleece with the NJ Trail Series logo on it and their finishers medal. They’d walk limping to the car, after running 26.2m, 50m, or 100k and still would clap as a runner ran by. No matter what “Looking great” “Still looking strong” “You got this” “Great Job” or something to that effect came out as a runner passed.
Eventually the night wore on and people started to fade away, a packed parking lot grew thin and it was just the 100 milers out there. It was dark and lonely. I almost felt the last 100k finish. I KNOW I felt the last of the 50 milers cross the line. There was just a sense, that the field was now less.
I kept going, on my last lap, I just couldn’t run too much anymore. I had 90 miles in. I was so close to being able to come in sub 20 hours, but it just wasn’t in the cards. I came to the fence and finally after all day of counting, hit it with my knuckle so I heard that metal noise one last time and said out loud “TEN!” One of the other runners heard me and said “That’s gotta feel good” My feet didn’t really move until I passed the little water station, about 6 miles later, for the last time. Then I was able to run. By the time I made it into the finish it was all surreal. Here I was out there for over 20 hours doing something I love. Having a fanastic time. It was perfect. Got a high five from a guy that was wearing a Virgil Crest shirt and ran near me a lot through the race. (yeah I kinda took it as little bit out of context but for a minute, he was that mountain giving me a little well deserved respect.) I got my handshake and congratulations from Rick. And I took a fucking seat. As far as my shoes, vest, spanex and bib worries. None of them even phased me. I had such a great time out there I didn't even think of it. The rain held up except for a few showers. Not really even a need to wear a jacket. It was truly a great day to run. Later in the night the wind picked up and the people finishing over 24 hours needed a bit more protection.
Now that’s the run, that was it. There really wasn’t a lot to it more than me just running for 20 hours 20 minutes and 55 seconds. But there was a LOT more to it. Not just for me. For everyone that was out there. See, there’s this thing.. I say it all the time, there is small group of nuts that go out every weekend and run for really long distances. They’re growing, but it’s not a large number. A race like NJ Ultrafest, gives you a chance to get to know a LOT of them. Being an out and back course, you get to pass people on coming so much that you smile and say “Good job” or “Looking great” to so many of them, that you feel like you know them. I was able to see people I’ve seen at other races again. There was the guy wearing the Virgil Crest shirt ( later found out his name was Jason), there was Jim, there was Johnny ( he was at the AID station giving people a great smile and pep talk on their way out) There was the girl that had two giant buns on the top of her head. There was Matt and his friend he was waiting for. There was Chris and Joseph ( a couple that ran that day in different races, but I’ve seen Joseph crew for Chris before) There was Jessi Kennedy, a staple in the north east running community. There was Zsuzsanna, the first place female. There was Yuki ( a guy I met only a month ago while volunteering at Febapple 50K whose smile was awesome at mile 60) There was my fiance, Nichole out there running 50 miles. Seeing her at different points on the trail was awesome too. At one point I just ran up to her gave her a big kiss and kept going. No talking to reason, just a kiss and an “I love you.” There were so many more. Even the self serve aid station, became manned. At one point it was one or a few of the McNulty kids, at another it was a self proclaimed “old goat” who adopted it because he was just impressed with the raw emotion of people running at 2:30 am. Even a random crossing along the course became a cool spot. At some point during the day someone sat there with a guitar playing “Alive” by Pearl Jam while others helped cheer people on.
There was not only a pre race dinner option but a post race breakfast.Most of us inside a warm room for the first time since the Friday. Rick's sister noticed the last runner coming in. As she got closer, we all went outside to cheer her in. All of us standing there clapping whistling for her. She was out there for well over 26 hours at this point. Smiling. Determined and almost done. She finished. She did the same thing we all did. There is something about a race like NJ Ultra Festival, maybe it’s the multiple out and backs that you end up seeing so many faces you feel like you know everyone. Maybe it’s the fact that there aren’t many ultras in the northeast, that you really do know everyone. Maybe it’s the fact that a true close family like the McNulty’s put on the race, and that feeling trickles all the way out on the course. Either way, the Ultra Festival is something worth arriving early for, running, and staying until the last runner comes in.
So I set out in the morning on 3/24 for my second attempt to run 100 miles, this time at the NJ Ultra Festival. That being said.. let’s get me there.
After getting chewed up and spit out for a second time over at Virgil Crest Ultra for my first 100 attempt, I knew I needed to get myself a 100 mile finish. I needed a belt buckle. So when Nichole ( my fiance) and I saw the NJ Ultra Series, checked our schedule.and decided it was a great race to go after. I knew it being 10 loops would be mentally tough, but I’ve done a bunch of loops before, and what the hell.. a challenge is a challenge right? So it’s settled.
Now, most of the time I’m all about making yourself uncomfortable when you run. Trying to push your own personal limits. I do things like take 2 less gels than I need while I'm out on a run. Or give myself just a little bit less of water than I thought I’d need. Even wearing different things sometimes. Just so I’m clear here... it is because I don’t like being surprised. I don’t want to get to a race and be running and spill my bottle and be without it for a few miles. Or if I get to an aid station and they have food, or gels I’m not used to. I also do it to provide myself some testing so I can figure out what I like. That being said.. let’s go back to last week. 7 days before race day
I got new shoes. Everyone is always saying that it’s a bad idea to use new things on race day, yadda yadda. Now I’m not saying that they’re not right. I wouldn’t suggest it to anyone, but my MT101s were done, like REALLY done, and I couldn’t find them anywhere. So I went with the new versions. MT110s, They’re different, you can feel it the second I got them on. In the 20 miles or so I put on them before the race, I still couldn’t get the laces right. Eh, what are you going to do right? We’ll it’s a 10 loop course, worst case I go 10 miles in shoes that suck and throw on a different pair I have a few. “Bring em all” I said!
Two days before the race - I got a Nathan Running Vest with a bladder. Never have I run with one of these. Never struck me as something I’d like. Though I read this review on a new one, the Nathan Minimist. It’s like a vest, well it IS a vest but the pocket in the back is just enough for a bladder to hold your water. So my theory here was, again worst case 10 miles, leave the bladder if the vest works, or take the whole damn thing off and use the trusty hand held. I did go out on a 5 mile run to get the fit right with a full bladder.
I’m not done.
So, I’m going to keep this part pretty censored, but I’ve had some pretty serious chafing issues in some pretty sensitive areas on long runs lately. I think it’s due to my shorts being worn out. So, I needed a pair of spandex shorts ( men say compression shorts, but it’s bullshit.) So I went out the day before the race and bought a pair. I tried them on when I got home and threw them in my bag. That was that. Again, 10 miles is the longest I’d have to travel.
Last but not least. I wear my bib on my shorts pretty much all the time now. I have a thing with shirts. They either come off, get used for other purposes in the woods, get changed, or something silly. So a couple of days before the race. I get an email from the RD stating the following in it. “
“Bib: You will receive a bib at registration. It will have a chip on the backside.
For the chip to read accurately you need to wear the chip dead center on your front.
DO NOT bend, fold, or crush the bib. Do not place it on your hip, thigh, back,
head, shoe or any other location. The RFID reader will be over head and will be
positioned to read your bib from your chest. It does not matter if you wear a sweat
shirt or jacket over your bib, if you are wearing your number correctly.”
So let’s recap.. I’ve got shoes, that I only wore for a few miles and have had for a week. A running vest that I’ve only ran 6 miles in, shorts I’ve never worn for a run, and NOW I can’t pin my damn bib on my shorts! Didn’t they know it was supposed to rain all afternoon and night?
Luckily, somehow somewhere I was able to throw all of this in the back of my mind. I didn’t even care about it honestly. I needed this. I was determined to go out there and just do it. Period. I’d find a way to work it all out. I had to. I’d be out there for hours. I really didn’t have a choice.
I’m skipping the night before, because it’s a lot like other ultras. Got there, picked up the bib. Ate and headed to the tent for some joke of an amount of sleep before the run. This was nice though, because the McNulty’s offered a pre-race dinner option. Think backyard BBQ, with a good chunk of the people you’re about to spend a day passing back and forth on a trail.
Rick McNulty’s pre-race talks seem to have a very similar pattern to them. “This is the course” “This is how you’ll know you’re on course” “Have fun” And his daughter, Anya, chimed in with a true pearl of wisdom “Don’t follow the person in front of you, they don’t know where they’re going” Then a nice count down. I got my good luck kiss from Nichole, tied my shoe and I was off.
I could tell you that the first few laps were a blur. They’re not at all. I, as I sit and write this, could tell you just about everything that happened over the next 20 hours 20 minutes and 55 seconds. I loved every single second of it.
The course was beautiful. It started with a long stretch of pavement to get out of the fairgrounds and into this nice little out and back section of trail. Nothing too crazy, but I ended up behind a runner I’ve run with before, Jim. One of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He’s the one that on my first attempt at 50 miles, assured me that there was hot soup at the next aid station. I would have hugged him for just telling me it was there. At Virgil Crest last year, I spent a good time with him talking and trying to make it through the mountains. Just a great guy, greats every new runner he sees with “What’s your name and where ya comin from?” All day long I saw him talking to someone new, and always with a smile. I think I’ve heard someone refer to him as Gentleman Jim ( I might be wrong)
In a little bit you came to a fence that you had to touch as Rick put in the beginning “This is about personal accomplishment, you don’t HAVE to touch it, but that’s the course” When I got there I knocked it with my knuckle and said out loud “ONE” Turned around and headed back. When you got back to where you came into the trail you crossed a little overpass and headed out onto another trail. It was pretty similar to the other one, no real big scenery changes. There was one spot that had a big field with some cows. I got to see a mother out walking her calf. Kinda made me want to stop and take it in, but I was there to run. This trail though had some cool river bridges. They looked like they were there forever. Plywood was put over them for the race so we could get over them safely and fast, but they were still pretty iffy.
After running a bit you hit this pretty wide open area that looked like it would be a great run, in the summer. Due to the season and it not really being too dry there was thick mud. It was easy enough to go around, but the second I ran through it, my first thought was “Shit, it’s going to rain all day” I immediately started thinking about how many of these laps I could get done before 3pm when it was supposed to rain.
After a few of those bridges, a cool stream, that you had to step on rocks to cross, some more of that thick mud, you hit the turn-around aid station. Very nice and well stocked as always. You headed back and then came to the same entrance way. By this time the “self serve” water station was up and running. Pretty much just a few gallons of water sitting there with some plastic tables and some cups. Passing this station by and then heading up for a run around the fairgrounds was cool. You got back on a little bit of pavement for a hill and then through a meadow, with a couple (seriously only one or two) little rolling hills that reminded me of a cross country course.
For the lap finish, you ran through where people had their tents set up and right through a huge garage that was the dry staging area, under the timer and right out to the aid station. As the day progressed and people started to finish this was especially cool, because I was able to see people walking away in their cool green fleece with the NJ Trail Series logo on it and their finishers medal. They’d walk limping to the car, after running 26.2m, 50m, or 100k and still would clap as a runner ran by. No matter what “Looking great” “Still looking strong” “You got this” “Great Job” or something to that effect came out as a runner passed.
Eventually the night wore on and people started to fade away, a packed parking lot grew thin and it was just the 100 milers out there. It was dark and lonely. I almost felt the last 100k finish. I KNOW I felt the last of the 50 milers cross the line. There was just a sense, that the field was now less.
I kept going, on my last lap, I just couldn’t run too much anymore. I had 90 miles in. I was so close to being able to come in sub 20 hours, but it just wasn’t in the cards. I came to the fence and finally after all day of counting, hit it with my knuckle so I heard that metal noise one last time and said out loud “TEN!” One of the other runners heard me and said “That’s gotta feel good” My feet didn’t really move until I passed the little water station, about 6 miles later, for the last time. Then I was able to run. By the time I made it into the finish it was all surreal. Here I was out there for over 20 hours doing something I love. Having a fanastic time. It was perfect. Got a high five from a guy that was wearing a Virgil Crest shirt and ran near me a lot through the race. (yeah I kinda took it as little bit out of context but for a minute, he was that mountain giving me a little well deserved respect.) I got my handshake and congratulations from Rick. And I took a fucking seat. As far as my shoes, vest, spanex and bib worries. None of them even phased me. I had such a great time out there I didn't even think of it. The rain held up except for a few showers. Not really even a need to wear a jacket. It was truly a great day to run. Later in the night the wind picked up and the people finishing over 24 hours needed a bit more protection.
Now that’s the run, that was it. There really wasn’t a lot to it more than me just running for 20 hours 20 minutes and 55 seconds. But there was a LOT more to it. Not just for me. For everyone that was out there. See, there’s this thing.. I say it all the time, there is small group of nuts that go out every weekend and run for really long distances. They’re growing, but it’s not a large number. A race like NJ Ultrafest, gives you a chance to get to know a LOT of them. Being an out and back course, you get to pass people on coming so much that you smile and say “Good job” or “Looking great” to so many of them, that you feel like you know them. I was able to see people I’ve seen at other races again. There was the guy wearing the Virgil Crest shirt ( later found out his name was Jason), there was Jim, there was Johnny ( he was at the AID station giving people a great smile and pep talk on their way out) There was the girl that had two giant buns on the top of her head. There was Matt and his friend he was waiting for. There was Chris and Joseph ( a couple that ran that day in different races, but I’ve seen Joseph crew for Chris before) There was Jessi Kennedy, a staple in the north east running community. There was Zsuzsanna, the first place female. There was Yuki ( a guy I met only a month ago while volunteering at Febapple 50K whose smile was awesome at mile 60) There was my fiance, Nichole out there running 50 miles. Seeing her at different points on the trail was awesome too. At one point I just ran up to her gave her a big kiss and kept going. No talking to reason, just a kiss and an “I love you.” There were so many more. Even the self serve aid station, became manned. At one point it was one or a few of the McNulty kids, at another it was a self proclaimed “old goat” who adopted it because he was just impressed with the raw emotion of people running at 2:30 am. Even a random crossing along the course became a cool spot. At some point during the day someone sat there with a guitar playing “Alive” by Pearl Jam while others helped cheer people on.
There was not only a pre race dinner option but a post race breakfast.Most of us inside a warm room for the first time since the Friday. Rick's sister noticed the last runner coming in. As she got closer, we all went outside to cheer her in. All of us standing there clapping whistling for her. She was out there for well over 26 hours at this point. Smiling. Determined and almost done. She finished. She did the same thing we all did. There is something about a race like NJ Ultra Festival, maybe it’s the multiple out and backs that you end up seeing so many faces you feel like you know everyone. Maybe it’s the fact that there aren’t many ultras in the northeast, that you really do know everyone. Maybe it’s the fact that a true close family like the McNulty’s put on the race, and that feeling trickles all the way out on the course. Either way, the Ultra Festival is something worth arriving early for, running, and staying until the last runner comes in.
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