Sunday, August 1, 2010

BR100 - It's not about finishng, it's about the journey


Last night (and this morning), I had the unique opportunity to volunteer for the Burning River Endurance 100 Mile Race. Now, I know it's a bold statement on my part to say that in a little over two months I am going to (attempt) to join the ranks of other ultra marathoners. OK, I'm only doing a 50K (31 miles) but it is 18 miles longer than any race I've ever done before, and to date, 14.5 miles longer than my longest run. I'm hoping to rectify that before the actual event.

I asked Julie if she wanted to meet me there. I recently joined Grunt Girl Racing and they were working the Covered Bridge Aid Station in Peninsula at miles 80 and 85.5. She agreed and I was happy. I'm sometimes worried that I got her "hooked" into running trails with me and I now belong to this group that she doesn't. I've been running with Julie for something like 4 or 5 years. Other runners have come and gone but we are the last remnants of the old "Team Freebie". We aren't fast, we are certainly back of the packers if not last placers on the trails. Just when we got ourselves firmly planted in the middle of the pack at road races (sorry, Jule)!!

Our adventure began as I got there at a bit before 7PM. This aid station's hours were 4PM-8AM. It was a critical station as it was around a tough section and they had to pass through twice. Julie got there about an hour later. We were kind of hanging around. A lot of runners weren't passing through yet. The elites had come and gone. We got familiar with where everything was and were told to go to the entrance of the bridge. At about 9PM the guy that was handling the clipboard passed it to us. Apparently he was unclear on the correct procedure because he didn't inform us that we were supposed to call in each runner so that it could be posted on the website. After looking at the site today, I saw that we were the only aid station that never reported. I felt really bad about that.

I can't speak for Julie (well, maybe I can) but this whole experience was incredible, emotional, and one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed in person. Once dark descended on the trails the whole thing seemed surreal. We were located at the front end of the bridge. The "cool kids" were at the other end. The end where the runners got the "real" help, the bonfire was blazing, and the real comraderie of the race lied. Hey, we were new, gotta pay those dues. We were alone on our end with the generator literally roaring in our ears the entire night. The runners would come around a bend with their headlamps and flashlights on. Some were running, some were walking. As they rounded the bend, we were an oasis of light and warmth in the black night. I'm sure it was very difficult to leave when the time came. Julie and I were the first people they saw, their first greeting. Unfortunately all we could do was smile and scream "what's your number?" over the generater.

There were two basic types of runners. The ones who had one or two pacers and a whole crew to help them and the lone runners with no pacers. The latter sometimes had drop bags, sometimes not. They came into the aid station alone, got their nutrition and hydration from the volunteers and disappeared silently, alone, into the darkness. I was really impressed with both types of runners. Both types ran the gamut in their condition. Some were stumbling and barely coherent, some were in great shape. I saw three throw up over the edge of the bridge. As the night grew later and turned into morning and runners were fighting "Mr. Cutoff" as a Facebook friend called it, they had to fight the urge to stay too long in the aid station. A few stayed as long as an hour. I don't think I could have run after staying that long, knowing I still had 20 miles to run, half of them in the dark.

All in all, it taught me a lot about myself and my fellow runners. I am an early riser so therefore, I go to bed early. I found myself wanting to stay longer, fighting my own fatigue because I've been that last place runner that volunteers walk out on. I've been that last place runner that has no food or water at the finish line. I've been that last place runner that tries to get to the chute before it's torn down. I'm sure I will be that runner that is trying to beat "Mr. Cutoff" soon. It's not fun. I told Julie that the runners that need the most help, receive the least. I finally had to leave at 4AM but Julie said she would stay. We both did 9 hours. When I left there were less than 10 runners left on the course that hadn't been checked in at our station.

God Speed to all of those runners that can do ultra marathons. I will attempt to join the ranks of ultra marathoner on October 16th, with Julie. I learned, last night, that it's not about finishing, it's all about starting. It's not about finishing, it's about the journey.