The Poetic Runner

2012: Looking Ahead

2012-02-07T22:20:00.000-08:00

Gosh! I have not posted in over 3 months! Time to get cracking and update my blog more often.

After the Spartathlon I experienced deja moo a.k.a "I've seen this bulls*it before" in the Javelina 100M in November. Just like the prior 2 years, the first 4 loops went fine while the 5th one and half the 6th proved to be my bete noires once again. Like '09 I had the most amazing last 3 miles. Caleb Wilson offered to pace me for the final 9 miles and he was the reason I was able to run fast at the end. Thank you, Caleb!

Like the past 2 years I have gotten into this year's 145-mile Grand Union Canal Race (June 2). I have already paid my race fees for the Sep 28 Spartathlon and my race number is 73.

A few Fat Ass races, the Lake Sonoma 50M on April 14 and the Quicksilver 50M on May 12 pretty much make up the list of races I am using to prepare for the GUCR.

I do want to pour in a few months where I touch 100-1110 miles per week. This, of course, might necessitate 2 runs per day on some days of the week or very long back to back weekend runs. I will have to play it by ear about how I get to 100+ mpw based on my work schedule.

Last year was a good year for my mileage - I ran just over 2500 miles which averages to about 7 miles per day. I want to get past 3000 miles this year and I do believe I might just be able to do it. January was a good start towards that goal - I had 215 miles in that month in addition to over 100 miles on my road bike.

You Get What You Ask For

2011-10-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

"You get what you ask for". Not that I don't believe it but how true it is was hammered into me during the incredible Spartathlon.

What an experience it turned out to be. I now understand why people go back to run it year after year whether they've finished it or not. I will be going back next year and the year after and subsequent years too (assuming I qualify to run it beyond 2013).

Let's start with the days leading up to the race. I flew to Athens a few days before the race to get over jet lag and get used to the heat and humidity there. Surprisingly, unlike last year, it was not very humid this year and it proved to be a saving grace for my race.

I picked up my race packet around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sep 28, and met a few people I know.

(75 Checkpoints, 75 drop bags if you like!)

Dinner that evening was with Mimi Anderson (she was the 3rd. woman overall), her husband Tim, their friend Bridget, Allan Rumbles and his wife and Matt Mahoney and his wife. They are all British and I know Allan from the GUCR earlier this year.

Friday, September 30

My Mom's birthday. She would have been 74 had she not passed away earlier this year in May. I had dedicated the race to her.

I got up around 3 a.m. in order to shower, tape my feet and eat breakfast. The hotel was across the street from the London Hotel from where buses were to depart at 6:00 a.m. sharp for the Acropolis. I went inside the hotel to use the restroom one last time and I met last year's winner, Ivan Cudin, there. I wished him good luck and found out that he had been ill the past 2 months and had not been able to train as he would have liked. He went on to finish 7 minutes faster than last year, in 22:56, and became only the 3rd. person ever, after Yiannis Kouros and Scott Jurek, to run the Spartathlon in under 23 hours! What an amazing runner he is - check out his picture later on in this post.

I found myself sitting near Mark Woolley, an Englishman who has been living in Malaga (Spain) for the past 20 years. He had run the race thrice before and finished once. He was hoping to even it with a finish this year (he did finish!).

The Acropolis was a beehive of activity. Runners from so many nationalities were swarming around taking pictures or videos and the air was thick with excitement intermingled with nervousness.

I met up with my British friends - James Adams, Matt Mahoney, Allan Rumbles, Peter Leslie Foxall (he was starting his 14th Spartathlon; he has finished the race 9 times!). I even managed to get a nice picture with them.

With my British friends before the Start. L to R: Philip Smith,

Matt Mahoney, Mark Woolley and James Adams)

I had to run off into the bushes at least 3 times in order to pee. A sign of things to come!

The race started promptly at 7 a.m. and the first mile was all downhill. My last 2 runs had been 5-milers on Monday and Tuesday. I had gotten rest on Wednesday but had climbed all the way to the Parthenon the day before to do some sightseeing.

The early miles felt wonderful. My legs were opening up and my Garmin showed me to be maintaining a pace between 9:45-10:00 mins/mile. The first urge to pee came around 7:45 a.m. Good! If correctly hydrated I pee around every 45-50 minutes. I ran off to the side of the road into a deserted lot to relieve myself. A minute gone right there. The first 2-3 hours I peed every 35-45 minutes.

We soon found ourselves on the Iera Odos, the road used 2500 years ago to make the religious trek to the festival in Elefsina. Lined with shops and buildings it would appear alien to an Athenian transported forward to the present.

We soon left Iera Odos and made the left turn onto Leoforos Athinon. I remember a Greek motorist shouting angrily at the policemen standing in the middle of the road. Traffic along this busy highway had been stopped to let the runners through and the motorists were irate at the prospect of waiting at the light for 10-20 minutes.

This road was probably the least attractive section of the entire race. Cars and trucks whizzed by belching exhaust fumes and it was a relief to branch out to the right, away from the busy road, onto a smaller road with much less traffic.

I had decided to put in 200 - 240 calories every hour. For the first 50 miles I had made use of just one drop bag, at Checkpoint# 13 (30 miles), in which I had put 8 gels. I was carrying 12 gels in my waist pack and the pouch in my hand bottle. I dutifully ingested 1 100 calorie gel every 30 minutes and it kept my blood sugar even. I had taken a salt tablet just before the Start and waited until 2 hours into the race to take the next one.

My initial plan had been to skip every other Checkpoint but it turned out that I went through all of them just to have my bottle either filled or topped up. These visits never took more than 10-15 seconds and I was very pleased with those rapid transitions. I needed every second - I had never run a 50-mile race in under 9:45 and here I was being asked to do it in 9:30!

The Half marathon point went by in 2:10 and it was starting to get toasty warm by now. We passed a factory and the road climbed a bit past it. This was around the 16 mile mark. We soon hit a stretch of the road that was beautiful. It hugged the coast with the Saronic Gulf being on the left. The sun glinted off the water, ships went about their business and ahead of me I could see the coast stretching off into the distance. It reminded me a bit of the Big Sur marathon course.

I was still running well and had not walked at all. The road veered off the coast and started to see more traffic once again. It got very busy around the 25 mile mark as there seemd to be construction work up ahead. Before I knew it I had reached Checkpoint #11 (42.2K or 26.2 miles). 4:23 is what I took to run the marathon. I made it out of there 22 minutes ahead of the 4:45 cutoff. First part of the mission accomplished!

(Drinking a sports drink in the 26.2 -mile CP)

Pretty soon after the marathon CP the road got back along the coast again and started to rise up. This is where I walked for the first time, about 0.7 miles. As soon as it started to get undulating again I started to run and I ran all the way to the 30-mile CP, a checkpoint perched next to a hotel 60 feet above the ocean.

(30-mile Checkpoint)

My only drop bag in the first 50 miles was in this Checkpoint and it contained gels. I stuffed them into my waist pack and got out without wasting too much time. I had reached 30 miles in 5:09 and the 31 mile point came and went in 5:19. Not bad for a slow, old geezer like me! :-)

The road now wended its way a bit away from the ocean past homes and stores. It was really hot now and I was starting to slow down a tad. 30 miles in 5:09 is 10:18 mins/mile. The 40-mile CP came in 7:10 i.e. 10:42 mins/mile pace. I was still not worried for I had 10 more miles to do and a good 2 hours and 20 minutes to do them in though I did want to get to the 50-mile CP in 9 hours or under.

(Approaching the 40-mile CP in around 7:10)

I eventually rolled into CP #22 at 9:09 into the race.

Even though I had only 20 minutes before the Checkpoint closed I still decided to get a 10 minute massage for both my legs. I downed a chocolate milk and changed into Brooks Racer ST shoes. These weigh around 7 ounces and felt so comfortable once my feet went in. I started from CP #22 at 9:21 into the race and promptly got into a rhythm of sorts. Walking and running, when I could, got me to the next CP. I was not feeling all that great. My legs were starting to slowly deteriorate but I was determined to plod on.

I eventually got to the CP before Ancient Corinth and then past the ruins of Ancient Corinth into the next CP.

(Ancient Corinth)

(Ivan Cudin, the winner, flying past the ruins)

In and out of there in a flash, I set my sights on the next CP which was to close at 7 p.m. (12 hours into the race). My pace slowed terribly after this and I basically made it into the that CP at 7:00 on the dot! I still had half a bottle full of water and only 1.8 miles to go to the next CP. I blasted out of that CP and ran sub-7:30 mins/mile and made it to the next CP with 5 minutes to spare. It's noteworthy that I had now done a 100K in 12 hours during a tough, tough race. I was proud of myself.

That bit of fast running was the last I did until the CP where I stopped. My legs were really hurting now and I did not want to take a Tylenol just to make it from CP to CP for, deep down inside me, I knew that one of the Checkpoints ahead would be my last one i.e. I would reach it too late. CP #31 it was where I reached 11 minutes late. It was still open and one of the Race Directors, the one who had let me leave the previous CP 5 minutes after closing time, was there again. He was perfectly agreeable to letting me continue but I decided to stop just because I knew that I would be getting to each CP later and later and there was no purpose to subjecting my body to more pain when there was an infinitesimally small chance of anything different happening.

Back to Athens it was the next day and then the flight back to San Francisco on Monday, Oct 3.

So what did I learn from the Spartathlon?

(a) I am faster than I have given myself credit for recently. It's been a long time since I ran a race hard and the Spartathlon kind of forced me to do so. Had it not been for the increasingly frequent pee stops in the last 20-23 miles I would have reached the 50-mile CP in under 8:50.

(b) The race is hard but not unconquerable for someone like me. I will have to train harder and smarter to get to Leonidas's feet next year.

(c) AMAT VICTORIA CURAM - "Victory Loves Preparation". I will have to prepare really well in order to emerge victorious next year.

Now coming back to the first line in this blog - "You get what you ask for". Since applying for the race earlier in the year I have been talking just one kind of talk - I am so very grateful for being able to start this amazing race and anything I achieve will be far more than I could ever hope for. Just getting to 50 miles in under 9:30 will be wonderful. THAT'S ALL I focused on - 50 miles in around 8:45 or so.

Guess what I got? 50 miles in under 9:30 and then kaput! The brain had decided that that's all it was going to give me since I did not truly believe that I could run 100 miles in the Spartathlon in under 23 hours. I had violated my own first principle that I try to teach the people I coach - have belief in yourself and focus on the moment AND entire race..

(d) The biggest confidence booster was the fact that I DID reach 50 miles in around 9 hours. I know that I can reach the same point in next year's race, with good training and proper hydration management during the race, in 8:30 or faster. If I do so and my legs are still feeling good, my chances of making the Base of the Mountain CP with ample time to spare are very good.

Heartfelt gratitude to Tim, and Bridget (Mimi's crew) and, especially, to James Adams and Robert Treadwell for helping my crew navigate the maze that is Athenian roads in the first 50 miles and continuing to encourage me on repeatedly in the miles between 50 and 68.

Kudos to all of the volunteers, from the Race Directors down to the people manning the Checkpoints, for a fantastically run race. They made it easy for me to get in and out of checkpoints in a flash!

Onwards to the Javelina Jundred on November 12 now.

3 weeks to the Spartathlon

2011-09-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

In 490 B.C. Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta a few days before the Battle of Marathon.

My run starts atop the Acropolis, under the imposing but beautiful Parthenon, at 7 a.m. on Friday, September 30,

Here are the cutoffs every runner will try to stay under in order to advance towards the Finish:

Athens to Corinth ===> 81 km ===> 81 km IN 9.5 hrs
Corinth to Nemea ===> 124 km ===> 43.0 km IN 6.5 hrs
Nemes to Lyrkeia ===> 148.5 km ===> 24.5 km IN 4 hrs
Lyrkia to Nestani ===> 172 km ===> 23.5 km IN 4.5 hrs
Nestani to Tegea ===> 195 km ===> 23 km IN 3.5 hrs
Tegea to Sparta ===> 245.3 km ===> 50.3 km IN 8 hrs

The elevation profile is shown below.

The days will be hot and humid while the night could possibly see rain and cold. Last year it was sad to see some runners in nothing but shorts and singlets getting soaked to the skin, from the rain that hit for an hour or so, and getting hypothermic.

What do I hope will happen on Saturday, Oct 1? This!

From Tegea the road takes on the final climb of the race rising from 640 m (2,100 ft) to 975 meters (3,200 ft) in a distance of 22 km. The runners will pass through the villages of Kamari (196.8 km) and Manthirea (202.1 km) where the paved road twists and turns through an evergreen landscape that is visible almost as far as the eye can see. The final 28 kilometres to Sparta are almost all downhill descending into the Evrotas Valley. At the village of Voutiani (236.2 kilometres), the runners can clearly see their goal and after crossing over the Evrotas river bridge (243.5 km) the runners are met by local school children who will accompany them to checkpoint 75 and the finish line in Sparta the capital of Laconia (245.3 km).

The city turns out in force to welcome the athletes as heroes in front of the statue of King Leonidas. All finishers are presented with an olive wreath and offered a goblet of water from the Evrotas River, much as Olympian winners would have been honoured in ancient times.

To say that I am very, very excited is an understatement. The nervousness may, and probably will, come the night before the race but I am prepared for it. To be given the opportunity to start one of the hardest and most iconic of races is an honor I am humbled by. I worked hard last year, and again this year, to finish the 145-mile Grand Union Canal Race in the UK, races that have become my qualifiers for Spartathlon 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

The plan, as of right now, is to run this race this year and in 2012. I may skip 2013 but friends who have run it before insist that it's like a drug - you cannot have enough of it. Having seen it for myself last year, during my crewing stint for Nattu Natraj, I kind of understand their assertion.

Stay tuned.

Running Far in the GUCR - Part Deux

2011-06-05T16:11:00.001-07:00

Race: Grand Union Canal 145M Race
Date: May 28, 2011
Location: Birmingham to London, United Kingdom
Time: 41:30

IN FAR LONDON

In far London lay the big prize

Sought by ninety-two pairs of eyes.

Off they went with hope in the breast

That well they would fare in the test

And make it past the next sunrise.

Zeus looked down kindly from the skies

On the Will, staving off demise,

Which hoped to finally get rest

In far London.

Heard were many dejected sighs

As, for the fight, feet failed to rise.

The rest bravely managed to wrest,

From Nike, the Cup of Conquest:

Their dragons they'd cut down to size

In far London.

How similar this year's race was to last year's. Ergo the poem above, a rondeau, is similar in theme to last year's sonnet.

The biggest thing I learned is that I have to go back to the drawing board for my Spartathlon training. Just under 4 months left and I have to not only step it up but make a few radical changes. Que sera sera.

Thursday, June 26

I landed in London around 1:30 p.m. and soon found myself on the Piccadilly line making my way to the Euston Road station and a cafe near it where I was meeting a Facebook friend for tea around 3:15 p.m. It was raining when I emerged above ground but quickly found the cafe and made it there without getting very wet. The friend had been waiting since past 2 p.m. and had to leave around 4 p.m. for another appointment. We talked about a lot of things during our 40 minute chat. It was refreshing to meet someone who had no running background. It was also coincidental that the friend's neighbor was running the GUCR too. Small world!

Off I went to Euston Station and after asking about the fare to Birmingham I was faced with the choice of taking the next train, at 4:15 p.m., for the cost of UK Pounds 74 or wait until off-peak hours (after 7 p.m.) to pay a fare of UK Pounds 18. Not wanting to sit in a station for almost 3 hours I paid the higher price the result of which was a walk from Birmingham's New Street station to my hotel, Jurys Inn on Broad Street, in daylight.

I deposited my luggage in the hotel room and went downstairs to pick up water etc. from a store across the street. It was then off to Pushkar for dinner. By the time I fell asleep it was 2 a.m.

Friday, May 27

I woke up around 8 a.m. and went downstairs to eat breakfast. After breakfast I went up to shower after which I went out again to walk along the canal and up and down Broad Street.

I returned to the hotel room and found myself falling asleep just past noon. I woke up feeling refreshed around 2:15 p.m. After freshening up I went out to grab an early dinner. I ate dal and rice in an Indian restaurant. James Adams had sent a message to a whole bunch of us that he would be in a pub called O'Neill's around 4:15 p.m. The pub was right next to the Travelodge where we were to pick up our bib numbers between 5 and 8 p.m.

James was in the pub as promised and we hit it off immediately. He is a very talented runner, having finished the GUCR in 30 hours and change in 2008 in addition to the Spartathlon (twice) and Badwater. Very soon other runners were filing in. We eventually had a full table with Claire Shelley (she went on to win the Women's race the next day!), Allan Rumbles, Paul Ali, Mike Blamires, Jeremy Smallwood, George Fairbrother, Dino Illaria, Lindley Chambers, his friend Sue Albiston, James Adams, Gemma Greenwood, Sarah Hutton, Neil Bryant, Stuart Shipley and a few others.

I ate a couple of orders of French fries. We soon dispersed with Allan, James, Claire, Lindley, Sue and I heading along the route for a half mile or so to reconnoiter the course. It was back to my hotel room after that. Having slept the 2 hours around noon sleep was now hard to come by. I tried repeatedly but was forced to switch on the light and the TV often.

Saturday, May 28

I eventually gave up around 3 a.m. Needing to be up and about by 4 a.m. I did not see any benefit to lying around in bed until then. I quickly ate breakfast (milk and a chocolate croissant) and got down to the business of showering and taping up my feet. I finally left the hotel around 5:25 a.m. and made my way to the Start area on Gas Street.

(In the Start area. Photo courtesy of James Adams)

I met Sharon Weldon, Christian Hottas, Christine Schroeder, Keith Godden and a lot of other people I had come to know from my UK races from the past 2 years.

(Waiting to start the race. Photo courtesy of Christian Hottas)

Dick Kearn's race briefing was short. Something that stood out was "Please avoid painkillers. They take the pain away but leave the killer bit". Nice advice. Right after that we were off.

(0.2 miles into the race)

Start to CP#1 @Catherine de Barnes Bridge (10.7 miles)

My tentative plan was to make it to the first Checkpoint, at 10.7 miles, by 8:00 a.m. and eventually to 70 miles in anywhere between 14-16 hours (8 - 10:00 p.m.). That would give me a good springboard to try to go under 40 hours.

(Powering to the first Checkpoint)

(Less than a mile from the first Checkpoint. Photo courtesy of Gemma Greenwood)

The miles went by quite fast. I was talking to another runner and before we knew it we were at the Checkpoint. I reached at 8:03 a.m., downed a milk carton and left in 2 minutes flat.

CP#1 (10.7 miles) to CP#2 @Hatton Locks (22 miles)

The runner I had been talking to had gone on ahead and now I was all by myself. I took up a 25 minute run, 5 minute walk method that wound up working for me for the next 50 or so miles. The 25 minutes would go by almost unnoticed as did the 5-minute walk breaks. I was making good time.

(~ 13 miles from the Start. Photo courtesy of Gemma Greenwood)

It must have been about around mile 19 or so that I came upon a friend, Stephen Thomson, who had finished the 2009 Thames Ring 250M and last year's South Downs Way 100M race (I missed the 56M checkpoint because I got lost). He lives in Birmingham and he had decided to get a 20+ mile training run in along the same route as the GUCR just so he could encourage friends running the race. He ran with me all the way to the Checkpoint where his wife and kids were waiting for him. He wished me luck and I powered on towards the actual Checkpoint. Here too I was in and out fast, maybe a couple of minutes at best. I had reached the Checkpoint at 10:30 a.m. i.e. 4.5 hours into the race.

CP#2 (22 miles) to CP#3@Birdingbury Bridge (35.9 miles)

I continued to use the 25 Run, 5 Walk strategy. It was working so why not? I was still using a gel every 45-50 minutes in addition to a salt tablet every 2 hours or so. In addition to the milk I was drinking at every Checkpoint (I was getting it from my drop bag) I was also partaking of crisps, a few cookies here and there and roasted peanuts. This section is hazy in my memory. I was mostly alone and in a zone of sorts. CP#3 duly arrived at 1:22 p.m. (7:22 into the race).

I did sit down here for I wanted to eat some of the canal soup that Dick Kearn, the RD, had mentioned in his e-mails a few days before the race. The soup took about 5 minutes to be made so I busied myself by eating a few more crisps and peanuts. The soup was one of the tastiest things I had eaten all day. I texted as much to my friend, Anu Singh, and she cautioned me against eating too much in the feed stations. She remembered what had happened to me after gorging on a lot of food in the 70.5 mile CP last year!

CP#3 (35.9 miles) to CP#4 @Heart of England, Weedon (53 miles)

It was back to the 25+5 grindstone again. It must have been a couple of miles out from the CP that I hooked up with a runner, Per Hjorth, who was running the race for the first time. He was wearing a cute blue hairpiece.

(Per Hjorth in the Heart of England, Weedon feed station. Photo courtesy of Jonathan)

He and I were either together or within sight of each other for the next 80 miles or so. It was in Braunston that I helped a cyclist carry his bike up a steep set of steps that crossed the canal. Soon Per and I were at the steps that would take us onto the path that went up a moderately steep hill and to the other side of the Braunston tunnel. I ran up the hill all the way partly to use my quads, muscles that had lain kind of dormant all day, and partly to thumb my nose at the hill.

Back down to the canal it was again. Per and I talked about various runners that we knew and we soon arrived at the Norton Junction (48.3 miles). Allan Rumbles was here and we greeted each other. I went into the inn there to use their toilet facilities. The innkeeper was kind enough to fill my bottles with water and a pub customer even bought me a bag of crisps! You English people are the best!!!

I arrived in CP#4 at 5:38 p.m. i.e. 11:38 into the race. Back calculating I would hazard a guess that I passed 50 miles in around 10 hours 30 minutes. I again had some milk and left soon after.

CP#4 (53 miles) to CP#5 @Navigation Bridge (70.5 miles)

This section of the route goes over the second tunnel, the Blisworth tunnel (at mile 62.5), and involves over a mile on asphalt. I remember going over the tunnel with a couple of other runners and then making my way down the trail to the canal. In spite of having gone to the restroom at 48.5 miles the urge to go was back and as strong as ever. I used a pub on the lock by the canal. I remember coming out of the restroom and noting the Barcelona-Manchester United score (it was tied 1-1 then).

Back onto the towpath again. I ran+walked as best as I could until, with about 2-2.5 miles to the next CP, twilight set in. My headlamp was useless in that hazy light and I resorted to walking until it got dark. Once the lamp was switched on I discovered that the towpath was not in the best of conditions, making for treacherous, in my opinion, footing. So I walked all the way to CP#5 arriving there, with a chilly breeze blowing atop the bridge, at 10:19 p.m.

CP#5 (70.5 miles) to CP#6@Bridge 99, Water Eaton (84.5 miles)

After eating some baked beans and a few cookies and getting into slightly warmer clothes, i.e. my Polartec American River 50M jacket, gloves and my Lean Horse beanie, I was about to leave when Javed Bhatti showed up as he had promised he would a few days before the race. He is one of the nicest people I know - very supportive and encouraging. He and his friend, Fiona McNelis, offered to pace me for a couple of miles. Their company was more than welcome! I had texted Emily Gelder, who was going to pace me from 99.8 miles onwards, that I would probably not get into CP#7 until after 7 a.m.

We ran some and walked a lot of the next 2 miles before they bid me adieu and turned around to go back and wait for Christian Hottas to show up at CP#5.

A really strange thing happened that put paid to my hopes of making it to 100 miles in around 25 hours. Every gel I ate instantly resulted in severe acid reflux. It would shoot up into my throat. This made it very hard to keep my caloric input going and, as a result, I was forced to walk along at a pedestrian pace.

Very soon I found myself walking along the towpath with Per Hjorth and Sarah Hutton. Sarah's legs were starting to seize up. I would stop now and then to pee and they would continue on and disappear around a bend. I would trudge on and eventually catch up with them only to have the cycle repeat itself some 30-40 minutes later. Our little train finally spotted the dim lights of the CP ahead in the distance. We made it there at 2:56 a.m. (20:56 into the race if you are still awake and keeping track).

I promptly asked for some hot chocolate, ate a lot of cookies and also crisps. I also asked the Anthony Taylor, the co-RD of the Thames Ring 250M, to wake me up in 20 minutes. I tried hard to sleep but with the sound of the generator behind me and the runners coming and going I was unable to sleep at all. I had now been awake for 37 hours straight. I left CP#6 around 3:23 a.m. Sarah had already left. Per was right behind me.

CP#6 (84.5 miles) to CP#7@Grand Junction Arms (99.8 miles)

This section was a long one. Per was ahead of me and I kept him in sight. He was walking at a pretty good pace and I must have been too for I pretty much kept the same distance between us.

Very soon the pre-dawn light brightened the sky and the darkness retreated with every passing minute. It was still cold and I was loath to take off my warm jacket lest I caught a chill. The phone rang around 6:00 a.m. It was Emily informing me that she and her friend, Clare Shobbrook, were in CP#7. She asked me if I wanted them to come to a mile point closer to where I was so I could rest. I gladly accepted their generous offer. I turned Data Roaming on in my iPhone and quickly looked up Post Codes (Dick had sent them to crewed runners last year) for meeting points ahead of me.

I met Emily and Clare around the 94.5 mile point and they promptly left me in the back seat of the clean car, whose floor promptly got dirty with all the canal dirt I brought in, to get some sleep. It was probably around 7:00 a.m. or so. I tried, unsuccessfully once again, to sleep for 15 minutes. I finally got up when they returned and starting walking again. Emily and Clare drove off to make their way to CP#7.

I reached the CP at around 8:53 a.m. I promptly gathered my toiletries and went off to the Grand Junction Arms pub's bathroom to use the toilet and freshen up. I felt like a new man when I emerged 15 minutes later dressed in fresh clothes all ready to attack the new day.

I quickly ate some beans, some more peanuts and crisps and, with Emily Gelder now by my side, set out to get past 100 miles and onto the Finish. It must have bee around 9:25 a.m. when we left CP#7.

CP#7 (99.8 miles) to CP#8@Springwell Lock (120.3 miles)

It was still not possible to run. Emily tried to get me to shuffle a couple of times but my heart and body were just not in it. So we walked. Very soon she and I came upon a runner who was sitting on a bench by the side of the canal. She asked after his health and quickly asked me to go ahead while she helped David. Very soon I could hear them talking and coming up behind me. Davin soon passed me. He and I were to play tag for the next 10 miles or so. He would go ahead and I would catch up and pass him. Then he would pass me. This made for an interesting morning in a beautiful part of England.

Emily is just one of the sweetest people you are ever likely to meet. Very, very helpful and supportive she was the best thing I could have asked for in those miles. She even massaged my legs 2-3 times between then and the Finish. I owe her the latter part of my race!

Clare met us around 105 miles and it was great fun to down a generic Red Bull during the small stop. It kind of settled my stomach but I was still finding it hard to run.

Emily asked me to go ahead. I started walking and it was soon after that I decided to try a small nap. I distinctly remember setting my watch alarm for 5 minutes hence and I actually got 4 minutes of deep sleep sitting on a step! I was instantly awake as soon as the alarm went off. The 5-minute nap had done me a world of wonders! I felt reinvigorated. Emily soon caught up with me and we surged ahead.

It must have been around 110-111 miles that I asked Emily if Clare would be kind enough to get me French fries. They had worked last year, around the same point in the race, and they were my last hope this time around.

Such coincidence that Clare agreed to meet us at the same place that I had eaten fries last year! Unfortunately traffic had slowed her down and she had not yet reached the bridge when we got there. Emily asked me to continue on and she would bring the fries to me.

It must have been right here that I attempted to run once again. Maybe the Red Bull had done its magic. Maybe my brain had woken up and decided that it was tired of walking. I was able to maintain a decent 10-11 minutes/mile pace for the next 1.5 miles or so. I kept looking back to see if I could spot Emily but she was nowhere to be seen. I kept moving on and suddenly she was by my side, holding a Macdonald's bag of fries! Manna from Heaven brought to me by my own angel - Emily! The fries revived me tremendously!

I soon started running, like I had the year before, at 7-8 minutes/mile pace and soon passed Per Hjorth and David who were walking together now, and blazed into CP#8 at 2:10 p.m. (32:10 into the race). I must have spent 5 minutes here having my bottles refilled and handing over my drop bags to Clare to take to her car. Clare were going to drive on to the pub at 127.5 miles.

CP#8 (120.3 miles) to CP#9@Hambrough Tavern (133.2 miles)

Emily was in Clare's car eating something and changing clothes so I took off at a sedate pace. Emily soon caught up with me. We ran along and walked occasionally and, about 2 miles from the Checkpoint, Emily and Clare talked. I immediately asked Emily to request Clare to order French fries for me. As soon as we reached the pub I went to use the toilet one more time. I came out to find the 2 beautiful women sitting outside enjoying their drinks and food. I quickly polished off the fries and a glass of wine. I was on the road again in 6 minutes or so around 6:45 p.m.

Just like last year I put the hammer down and started running fast. It must have been a few miles into the run that I suddenly heard my Mom, who had passed away the week before in India, start a conversation with me. I told her that I missed her and she talked about how she had given up on Life after suffering a fractured leg a few days before she expired. I asked her if she was going to be with me during the run and she replied in the affirmative. I powered on secure in the knowledge that my Mom was by my side.

I reached Bull's Bridge junction around 7:42 p.m. I quickly got onto the Paddington arm of the canal and continued to run. I reached the final Checkpoint, at Hambrough Tavern in Southall, at 7:56 p.m. I had my bottles refilled and asked Clare to tell Emily, who was still in the Tavern using the restroom, that I had left.

CP#9 (133.2 miles) to the Finish, Little Venice (145.4 miles)

I ambled along and Emily finally showed up about o.75 miles into the run. I had decided, before she showed up, that the blister in my left foot that had been bothering me for the last 40 miles or so was getting too painful to continue running on it. So it was going to be a long 12 mile walk to the Finish.

Emily and I walked along talking non-stop about Badwater etc. I will be crewing her next month in that iconic race. It must have been about 5 miles to the Finish when I got a text from James Adams asking me how far I was and that he was coming to meet us. True to his word he showed up with about 2.5 miles to go. Emily and James talked about this and that and I moved steadily on listening to their conversation. James left us with about a mile to go since he could take a bridge across to where his girlfriend, Gemma, lived. Emily and I moved on and before we knew it we were in sight of the Finish.

With about 300 yards to go I called Anu and she promptly put me on her speaker phone. It was gratifying to have Anu, Nishad, Malhar and the others listen in on my finishing yet another GUCR!

I was blown away by the times that the men's and women's winners had recorded. Pat Robbins broke his own record of 26:24 by running a phenomenal 25:37 while Claire Shelley finished in 30:00 even. Hats off to you both!!

Emily and Clare, who had picked up food and a bottle of wine for me for my post-Finish celebrations, dropped me off to my hotel, the Novotel, soon after the Finish. I was in bed by 1:00 a.m. and woke up early to eat breakfast before packing up and taking a cab to the airport. I was back home in San Jose by 6:00 p.m.!

I had wanted to go under 38 hours for this race. I finished 3.5 hours slower. I have to really rethink my Spartathlon strategy. More pain in the offing? So be it. :-)

Let me first start by thanking Dick Kearn and his amazing corps of volunteers. They were extremely helpful and caring. I thank you all for helping me finish this long race. You folks are awesome!

James Adams - a special shout out to you. You are an inspiration! I love your sense of humor and your amazing talent at running long, hard races. I am looking forward to meeting up with you again in Athens for the Spartathlon. Good luck in your run across the USA which you start on June 19.

(Clare, on the left, and Emily in the hotel lobby after my finish)

Clare Shobbrook - you are a doll. You did not even know me before the race but you went miles out of your way to help me. I am moved, very moved. You have a lifelong friend in the US!! Hugs to you.

Emily - what can I say about you? You are the most wonderful soul. I feel like you and I have known each other (in another lifetime maybe?) forever. What an amazing pacer you are. Caring and infinitely helpful. I am so looking forward to returning the favor when you start Badwater at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, Jul 11! A huge hug to you and lots of kisses. I am your #1 fan!!

Mom - this race was for you!

More GUCR info: http://www.gucr.co.uk

GUCR Bound

2011-05-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

I am 2 weeks away from a quick trip to the UK to run the GUCR 145-mile race. I leave at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25, land in London on Thursday, May 26 at 1:35 p.m. and start the race at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 28.

To say that I am excited is an understatement.

There is something about the UK that captivates me. I have now started 3 races there, the June 2009 Thames Ring 250M (I stopped at 183 miles), the May 2010 GUCR 145M (I finished in 43:22) and the September 2010 South Downs Way 100M (I got lost at 56 miles) and finished just one so you may well ask me what it is about the UK that draws you back there again and again. Maybe it was all the Enid Blyton books I read as a kid and which enamored me so much with the English countryside?

I am now one of the starters of the Ultra Trail South West race on June 23, 2012. Yes, I signed up for a race in the UK 14 months in advance!!

Back to the GUCR. I am hoping to finish in under 37 or 38 hours. Over the years I have come to realize that one race does not a year make (or break)! So if I do not finish in under 38 hours (or not even finish at all!) I will take it in my stride. Life is much more than a race or a goal. I do not define myself by achievements alone. I see myself as a person who starts an adventure, called the GUCR 145M in this instance, and has fun every step of the way. If the adventure ends early so be it.

Let's see what Memorial Day weekend has in store for me. All I know is that I will be running in good old England once more and that is one of the best gifts to myself!

Stay tuned.

The Spartathlon Journey - II

2011-04-19T09:06:00.001-07:00

MUSINGS
On the Rack on the Track
As I said before this Spartathlon training is long and torturous. :-))

Those Wednesday speed work sessions are hard! All of January, February and March I pretty much varied between 6 or 7x800m in around 3:30 pace.

In the middle of April I decided to throw in mile repeats. 2 weeks ago I did 3x1 mile @ 7:17, 7:10 and 7:04 followed by 2x800m (3:20, 3:04!). Last week I did 4x1 mile in times that were between 7:04 min/mile and 7:10 min/mile. It might just be too soon for the interval training to have a huge impact but I am hoping they will lend "wings" to my feet come September end. They do hold a sort of fascination for me though. The mind wants to find excuses to skip them but they do feel good once the first steps are taken on the way to the 800m or mile repeat.

Yesterday (Mon, April 18) I decided to do some hill repeats in lieu of my weekly 4-5 mile climb up Bohlman Road or Sierra Road. I chose a moderately hilly 4-mile out and back and ran fast twice of every steep slope along the way. The last slope, all of ONLY 0.15 miles long, was the steepest and my legs were complaining at the end of it. My breathing was the one to go before the legs. Maybe it's allergies what with all the pollen around and all that.

GUCR Bound
I leave for London on Wed, May 25. This year's GUCR promises to be totally different from last year's where I had the comfort of a 3-person crew. This year I am unsupported and I do have the added goal of wanting to finish in under 38 hours if I can. A new development from the middle of last month - I now have a pacer, a friend named Emily Gelder, who has offered to run with me from mile 1oo (the canal runs by the Kings Langley Rail Station). I will, in turn, be part of her Badwater crew later in July.

(Idyllic English vistas wait for me in Kings Langley and all along the 145-mile course!)

Emily and I spoke last month about Badwater. She loves coming over to the US to run races while I love going over to England! So much so that I signed up for the Ultra Trail South West 100M race (Jun 23, 2012 http://www.endurancelife.com/event.asp?series=49&location=125) 14 months in advance!! My way of helping UK's economy recover. :-))

C2M Freeze

2011-03-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

BRRRRR!!!!!

Weaving around on TopaTopa trying to find the narrow switchback trail that will take me to the top. Snow and rain making it hard to see far ahead using just my headlamp. Hand torch in my waist pack 600 feet below me in the Aid Station. This is no longer fun. The waterproof gloves are wet from the inside! A little blister in my right toe is starting to irritate constantly. This is a training run for other races during the year and I am not having fun with incipient hypothermia and wet clothes. Time to drop and find the warm hotel bed tout suite!

I had finished this race last year in similar circumstances and felt comfortable calling it a day this year. My heart was not in it and the weather was not co-operating. The rain had come earlier than I had expected. Even then I had put spare gloves, a balaclava and a spare T-shirt in my backpack. The only problem, I realized later, was that I should have had a big poncho that would have covered my backpack and keep all my stuff dry. The gloves had not become wet but the spare T-shirt had!

The next time I run a wet race I will make sure I have a poncho stashed away in my backpack.

I hoofed it out of Ojai on the Saturday, 2 p.m. flight back to San Francisco and was watching a movie later that day with friends when a friend, still in Ojai, texted me that it was raining very hard there and she was praying for the safety of the runners up on the Ridge. I too sent some positive energy to all those runners.

I woke up the next morning to learn that that Chris Scott, the RD, had canceled the race at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday and they had all spent the entire night making sure that the runners and the volunteers were safely off the trails and the Ridge. Kudos to him and his fantastic volunteers!!

Back to my GUCR and Spartathlon training now.

(Waiting to start the race)

(Circling the field)

The Spartathlon Journey - I

2011-02-18T16:33:00.001-08:00

Weekly speed work sessions. Long weekend runs. 50 - 60 miles per week. I love running and I run 3 week micro-cycles of high, high & low mileage pretty much all through the year. Having a goal though, i.e. a race, to train for makes it very different.

There was a time when I used to be obsessed with training schedules and would feel low if I missed a session especially a long run. Age and lots and lots of miles under my feet have transmuted that obsession into something akin to an eagerness to experience running for running's sake. Every run, be it one where my breathing is labored (allergies/exercise induced asthma?) or a muscle or tendon is tight or one where I am floating with every sinew and joint in perfect harmony, is priceless.

This Spartathlon training is, I am slowly finding out, a double-edged sword. Some of that old obsession is creeping back in albeit slowly and I am fighting as hard as I can to send it back into the dungeons of my mind whence it escaped. The joy of being able to tread the same path trod on by Yiannis Kouros, Scott Jurek, John Foden and, probably, Phidippides is being counterbalanced by the fear of "failure".

The Spartathlon is a tough, tough race. It will take all I have, and a lot more besides, to get to 100 miles in under 23 hours leave alone finishing all 153 miles in 36 hours.

My training and my determination will not let me down. Of this I am very sure. Will my training and determination carry me to the Finish line in time? Of this I am not very sure.

The Ego, though, is insidious and rears its head to step into the fray. It is the Ego that fears "failure" and it is the Ego that forces me to get obsessive about the training.

I read something very nice on Catra Corbett's Facebook page:
Believing in yourself is an endless destination.
Believing you have failed is the end of your journey.

I have always believed in myself completely. That changed a bit after (a) my aborted Tahoe Rim Trail 100M effort in 2008 and (b) my inability to complete the 250-mile Thames Ring race (I stopped at 183 miles) in 2009. I was only able to put those "failures" in perspective with the help of friends and, eventually, my belief in myself and the faith that I had made the correct decision in that moment.

I wonder what Phidippides must have felt when he took the first steps on his journey to Sparta on that fateful morning in August or September, 490 B.C.? He probably had family in Athens, maybe a wife, children, parents, sisters, brothers or friends who might end up either dead or in slavery should the Persians vanquish the Athenian hoplites. What stress to run 250km under!

He ran to Sparta where the Spartans, in the middle of a religious festival called the Carneia, informed him that they would start out for Athens 4 days hence. Phidippides ran all the way back to Athens to inform the Senate that Spartan help was not coming immediately. The run to Sparta in 36 odd hours. The run back in 40 hours? 300+ miles in just over 3 days. What an uber-athlete he must have been!!

Back to my training. Last week I missed my Wednesday track session. Thursday was a beautiful day and I decided to do an impromptu track session on a levee near the office. I ran to the levee, a mile from the office, and paced out a half mile section on it. My first 800m was in an uncomfortable 3:17 (6:38 per mile pace, 22 seconds faster than desired).

The times for the 7x800m were 3:17, 3:20, 3:23, 3:26, 3:27, 3:31 & 3:19. On the track I get pace feedback every 200m and am able to make micro-adjustments to finish up between 3:27 - 3:30. The levee had no such markers even though I was wearing a Garmin. Garmin's paces lag by as much as 45 seconds at times and so I do not rely on Garmin's pace numbers. The next time I do a similar workout on that levee I intend to put markers every 200m to simulate the track.

Let me end with a poem I wrote last year during my Spartathlon crewing stint for Nattu Natraj.

The soft murmur of a caressing breeze:

Fleeting Time stands still. There is just music.

Of Life this is what the Soul wants and sees;

No moments gone. None to come. Just this tick.

Oh what a gift you have bestowed on me

Ancient Athens and your proud Parthenon.

Your people, your hills and your warm, blue sea.

Waiting for your embrace half a life gone.

As though in a dream barely remembered,

Whose faint images one so aches to hold,

You blend in with your tales I've told and heard.

You are sweet, alluring, proud, young yet old.

To the Soul the images have now gone

Of a blue sky and the proud Parthenon.

The Spartathlon

2011-01-07T22:57:00.000-08:00

September 30 - October 1, 2011

(http://www.spartathlon.gr)

What a journey this race promises to be!! I have filled out the form, printed out the races I have done in the past 2 years and am planning to wire transfer the race fees late next week after mailing the form on Monday or Tuesday. Hopefully my application will be accepted.

50 miles in 9h 30 mins.

106 miles in 24h 30 mins.

153 miles in 36 hours.

These are the cutoffs I will be dealing with. That's faster than I have ever run a 100 mile race. I have one advantage that I "gifted" myself a few months ago - I crewed Nattu Natraj's effort in this race in September and got to witness the course for the first 93 miles up close. Karen Bonnett and I had the crewing down pretty good after the first few Checkpoints and all that knowledge will end up proving invaluable for me and my crew.

My journey to the start of this wonderful race, a start that takes place on the Acropolis under the floodlit beauty and grace of the Parthenon, promises to be filled with excitement, long training hours, painful speed work sessions and intense nervousness in the last few days leading up to race morning.

THE PARTHENON

THE START

HOPING TO MAKE IT PAST ANCIENT CORINTH (50 miles) WITH TIME TO SPARE

WHAT I WANT TO BE DOING SATURDAY (OCT 1) AFTERNOON

(James Adams, from the UK, finishing last year)

THE RACE ENDS WITH THE KISSING OF THE FEET OF THE STATUE OF KING LEONIDAS

"The journey to 153 miles begins with one step" (with apologies to Lao Tzu). I took that step this week. I came up with a training plan of sorts. The plan involves 1 track workout a week in addition to 1 hill run (4-6 miles straight up on asphalt) and a long Saturday run followed by a shorter Sunday run every weekend. I plan to take 1 day off per week.

My first speed session of the year was yesterday (Thursday, Jan 6). I warmed up with 1.5 miles followed by 4x50m strides. The main workout was 6x800m which I ran in 3:51, 3:35, 3:26, 3:27, 3:23 & 3:26. Did the last 2 feel hard! My breathing was a bit labored towards the end and I did not feel as smooth as I did during the first 4 800s. My plan is to work my way to 12-14 800m repeats by August.

My air ticket and hotel reservations are done for my Memorial Day weekend Grand Union Canal Race (GUCR; 145 miles) in the UK. It was my finish in the same race last year that became the qualifier for the Spartathlon. Last year I ran the GUCR with just goal - to finish in time. This year I want to attempt to run in under 38 hours. Maybe 37 hours if I have a good race.

(Eric Nedervold- thank you for asking me to blog more often).

[The Spartathlon logo was "borrowed" from the Spartathlon Web site]

Javelina Jundred 2010

2010-12-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

Date: October 23, 2010

Where: McDowell State Park (near Fountain Hills), Arizona

What: Javelina Jundred 100M race

Time: 29:11

This race was almost a repeat of the previous year. Loops 5 was slow. Loop 6 was slow for the first half and, almost to the second, around 6:55 a.m. I picked up the pace and flew to the end of the loop.

The only difference from last year was Loop 7. I ran pretty much all of it last year. This year I walked all but the last mile.

Last year I had, kind of, fought the course in my mind. After the race I had mixed emotions about the race. This year I fell in love with both the course and the race as a whole. I will go back there every year if I can. That's how much I like the race now. :-)

All I am going to do is post pictures of my race. No race report other than the fact that I had a blast running this superbly organized race. Thanks to the Coury brothers, Dave Combs and all the volunteers who spent hours and hours supporting us. Thanks also to Rick Gaston who was there to pace a friend. Congratulations to my friend Bradley Fenner who ran 19 hours and change for his 6th place finish. What a stud! Scott Verwolf is another one I want to mention - he is my latest running friend!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you all!

(San Jose airport; waiting for the flight to arrive)

(Early morning hug from Ling-ru Chu)

(Beautiful desert sunrise)

(With Rick Gaston. He is a wonderful person)

(Scott Verwolf)

(With beautiful Sandy Baker)

(Post-finish)

(Replenishing muscle glycogen right after the finish! :-)) )

South Downs Way 100M

2010-10-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

Date: September 11, 2010

Where: Eastbourne, United Kingdom

What: South Downs Way 100M race

Time: Got lost before the 56M checkpoint and missed the cutoff

Tossing and turning in a jet-lagged bed,

Sound of far waves crashing onto the beach;

Thoughts already in a race in my head;

Hours ticking by, sleep still out of reach.

Then we are off into the constant rain

And the rolling hills above Beachy Head.

Legs awake that week long dormant had lain;

Of missing tight cutoffs a constant dread.

On the high ridge eyes taking in the views,

Sending them to the Soul of this Being.

Blessed! Want not to be in another's shoes.

Bliss it is to be with Life communing!

Alas! All good things must come to an end.

This one came early - feet took a wrong bend.

Getting closer and closer to this race there was just one worry I had especially after going through the pictures that Jen Jackson, the Race Director, had posted on the race Web site - getting lost. Some parts of the trail hardly looked like a trail i.e. it was barely discernable. My plan was to see if I could keep pace with Javed or Keith and try and hang with them.

I landed in London on Thursday, September 9 and checked into the Best Western Victoria Palace, a hotel that was less than half a mile from Victoria Station. After taking a shower I walked to Piccadilly Circus and from there to Woodlands, an Indian restaurants. The food was awesome. After picking up some water from a Tesco I took the Tube to near my hotel and walked the half mile back.

The next morning I woke up, ate breakfast and hit the road to the Victoria Station and the train to Eastbourne. I had booked myself into the Best Western York House hotel. It was a mile or more away from the station. I lugged my luggage to the hotel, left it there (the room was not ready) and went out to eat lunch. Lunch was in an Italian restaurant. It was OK. After lunch I decided to walk off the meal and went up the hill to the start of the South Downs Way trail. It was a very steep trail leading up the hill and beyond.

I made my way back to the hotel and checked in. After an hour or so I went to a Chinese accupuncture place for a really nice massage. The relaxed feeling persisted all evening. I came back to the hotel and laid out my race stuff for the next morning. While doing so I realized that I must have forgotten my lube spray back in the US (I had not - I found the spray many days later when in Barcelona). I set out again to look for Vaseline. I finally found a couple of small containers in a store. It really came in handy during the race and after in Barcelona.

Saturday, September 11

I checked out of the hotel around 8:45 a.m. and walked to the race start which was on the Bandstand along the waterfront. It looked like it would rain but the rain held off while I was pulling my bag behind me.

I soon found the SDW starting area. Javed Bhatti was there as was Keith Godden. I recorded their interview on my portable video recorder. I took a few pictures of the start area.

(L to R: Javed Bhatti, who finished in 29:45, and Keith Godden before the Start)

(In the race Start area)

At 9:45 a.m. we were given a race briefing. The heavens finally opened up. I made the wise choice of putting on my Dick Collins rain shell. That truly, like in the GUCR back in May, was a good choice. I had my camera out when the race started.

(The Start)

I was one of the last people running towards the SDW trail since I was too busy taking pictures.

The trail started at a pretty steep angle. It soon levelled off and then changed to rolling up and down. It must have been a couple of miles later, probably going over Beachy Head, that the SDW trail REALLY changed into long and steep rollers that went down for ever and up for equally long. This lasted for almost 5 miles before we got to a long, long downhill. This downhill eventually led to a small climb and then to a road crossing which was around the 8 or 9 mile point in the race. I had caught up with Keith Godden somewhere after the long descent and we crossed the road together.

It was here that I decided to readjust my backpack. I stopped for almost 5 minutes and then continued alone. Keith had continued on. I was alone once again and had a great time running on a small downhill trail. I soon spotted Keith up ahead along with 2 other women we would end up playing tag with on and off for the next 40 miles.

Keith had come up with an ingenious way to carry the plastic, foldable map of the SOuth Downs Way trail - he had put it into a shoulder loop (picture below) of his hydration pack.

Around 10 miles we came into a little village. Javed had told us about a pub close to the SDW and I decided to go in to have my water bottles topped up. I also downed a beer (carbs!) in the process.

We started up SDW once again. It was a bit of a climb to the ridge. The views were gorgeous! The race was, like the Coyote Two Moon 100M, on a ridge (the SDW) and the Aid Stations were off ridge i.e. a descent to get to one and then an ascent out of it. Keith and I were constantly fighting cutoffs! The first AS, at 19 miles, had a cutoff of 3 p.m. or 5 hours into the race. We made it out of there at 2:22 p.m. or 4:22 into the race.

(Checkpoint #1)

It had been raining all day and the rain started up once again once we were out of the AS. We were getting used to the rain, the wind and the occasional fog banks on the ridge which mysteriously disappeared at lower elevations!

I felt so much gratitude that Life had given me this opportunity to run in a beautiful part of the world (actually every part of our planet is gorgeous!) .

So onwards we trudged, Keith and I. The next cutoff was 8.5 hours at 34 miles in Pyecombe i.e. by 6:30 p.m. We had 4 hours and 8 minutes to cover that distance. We did fill up our bottles midway through that stretch and (I can't remember all that much bout the course today) made it there and were out 8h and 12 minutes into the race i.e. at 6:12 p.m. An 18 minute buffer to help us in the next section.

I remember walking out of that AS, crossing a road and walking a flat section past a farm before which we started a long uphill section designed to get us back on the ridge. It was starting to cool down now so I got into my jacket again. Keith and I looked back and we spotted the 2 ladies we had been playing tag with all race long. Before long they caught up with us and the fours of us ran pretty much together along the ridge to the next section where we had to get off the ridge. It was at the bottom of a long hill, after crossing a "busy" road, that I asked Keith if I could make a quick foray into the bushes to answer Mother Nature's call. That probably took me 5 minutes or so and we were soon on our way.

We made it into the next checkpoint, in the Washington Car Park (49 miles), 12 hours and 6 minutes into the race (10:06 p.m.). They had some pretty good soup there and I helped myself to a couple of cups of it.

We left around 10:15 p.m., crossed a busy road and were on the other side along the SDW. We soon saw a sign that told us that we had 6 miles to go and about 100 minutes to cover them in. Since the section was supposed to be flat and runnable were looking forward to making the 56 mile cutoff before 12 midnight. The cutoffs after the 56 mile checkpoint (The Bridge Inn in Amberley) were a bit more lenient. The initial section climbed a tiny bit before becoming flat. Very soon a couple of runners, who said that they had been sitting for a long time in the 49M AS, passed us going at a pretty good clip. Soon after that we came upon a person who was waiting by the side of the trail for his runner to come through.

It must have been after we passed this person that we veered off to the left instead of staying on the SDW which went off to the right. We kept looking at the watch expecting the checkpoint to soon swim into view. It must have been around 10 minutes or so to midnight when we neared what seemed to be homes. Very soon we were on a road. We went to the right and came to a sort of junction. We chose to go straight and started running hoping that we were close to The Bridge Inn. We must have run for 10 minutes when Keith remarked that something was off. We tried to look at the map and orient ourselves. A car filled with people came up. We asked them if they knew if we were in Amberley. They were unfamiliar with the area and their car GPS showed nothing. I took out my iPhone to check its GPS and it showed us to be somewhere near Arundel.

By now it was 12:15 a.m. We knew we were lost. We ran back the way we had come and then up another road for at least 5 minutes. This too lead nowhere. I even knocked on a couple of doors and one of them looked at me incredulously while informing me that Amberley was 3 miles away as the crow flies. I knew we were done!

We were finally able to determine that the little village we were in was called Burpham. Keith called Jen Jackson, the Race DIrector, who eventually showed up with Dick Kearn to pick up up about 40 minutes later. We made it to the race hotel (Mercure) in Winchester a few hours later where I promptly lay down and went to sleep for a few hours in the conference room that had been emptied for the race.

I woke up around after 8:00 a.m. and cleaned myself up a bit before going into the breakfast room for some much needed food. I had reserved a room in the Mercure for after the race and the front desk let me have the key around 10:00 a.m. I was happy to lug my bag upstairs, take a much needed shower and get into clean clothes. I lugged my bag downstairs again to the front of the hotel.

I was expecting Javed to show up around 3 p.m. After walking around Winchester for a bit I found myself in a Thai restaurant. The food was simply superb! I strolled back to the Mercure and it was not long before Javed and Stephen Thomson finished together around 3:45 p.m. It was fantastic to see them.

(Javed and Stephen yards from the Finish)

(Talking to Javed and Stephen after their finish)

I have a lot of respect for Javed's abilities and mental strength and I had no doubt that he would finish in under 30 hours. Congratulations to him, Stephen and all the others who reached Winchester.

Was I disappointed? I looked deep down inside me and realized that I had fought hard in this race from the very first step. Running close to cutoffs does not leave much room for any errors and it was an error that put paid to my dream of reaching Winchester. I could have been more careful about the signs but it's not like Keith and I had not been so before. We just missed one sign and that made all the difference.

Keith is a wonderful companion to run with. Calm, strong and very motivated. I thoroughly enjoyed his company for the 49 miles I ran with him. Hopefully we will bot be lucky enough to get into next year's GUCR.

A big vote of thanks to Jen Jackson and her band of volunteers. Special thanks to Dick Kearn. You people totally rock. You made me feel so very welcome. I love running in the UK and will try and squeeze in at least one race there every year if I can.

Race Web site (Results, etc.) http://www.southdownswayrace.org

Running Far in the GUCR

2010-05-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

Race: Grand Union Canal 145M Race
Date: May 29, 2010
Location: Birmingham to London, United Kingdom
Time: 43:22

There they waited at the Start in Gas Street,
Some eager, some filled with trepidation.
Would it end in Nike's grace or defeat,
This race from Birmingham to far London?
The Gods of Rain came first to the party
And from a few soles their resolve they stole.
Few more yielded around mile seventy,
Unprepared to pay this long race's toll.
Forty odd rode out the storm and the night
And strode to the Finish like Colossi.
Better equipped they had been for this fight
And had too this thought as their main ally:
Look within you for courage and you'll find
It's limitless, much though it may be mined.

Wed, May 26 & Thu, May 27

Anu, Anju and I flew from SFO to London the evening of Wednesday, May 26. We landed in Heathrow at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 27. We took the Heathrow to Paddington express and quickly checked into our hotel rooms before heading out for lunch. We had planned to walk to Paddington later in the evening to pick up Indu, who was landing at 6:30 p.m. from India, and take her to the hotel. Indu arrived on schedule too and we headed to an Indian restaurant for dinner. The food was passable.

Fri, May 28

Indu and I headed to Hertz to pick up the rental car I had reserved. We were given a brand new Audi. It had less than 10 miles on it! I decided to drive the major part of the way to Birmingham and it was astonishing how my brain instantly switched everything over to the left side. How amazing the brain is! The four of us ate lunch in the same Italian restaurant where Anu, Anju and I had eaten lunch the day before. We then piled into the car and headed up M4 to Birmingham. The plan was to get to the Red Lion Inn by 5 p.m. to pick up my bib# etc.

We reached a bit early and got to meet Christian Hottas and his friend Christine Schroeder both of whom were running the race. I also met a few people who had started the Thames Ring 250M race in June, 2009. Pat Robbins, the eventual winner of this year's GUCR in 26 hours and change, was one of them.

Dick Kearn, the RD, eventually showed up along with the volunteers. I picked up my bib#, paid the race fee and also picked up T-shirts I had ordered for Anju, Anu and Indu. These were crew T-shirts.

It was off to the hotel after that for some much needed sleep. On the way there the girls picked up some Indian food to go.

Sleep was hard to come by. Not because I was nervous about the race (in all honesty I was not even a little bit nervous) but because I was worried about the 3 women and whether they would be able to find the meeting points we had decided on in advance. Dick Kearn had sent out UK Postcodes for possible crew meeting points and I had taken a lot of those codes and created a document with Google map screenshots. Even though the car had a GPS unit I was still worried.

Sat, May 29

I finally fell asleep at 2:30 a.m. only to wake up at 4:00 a.m. in order to get ready for the race. My breakfast was chocolate milk and a croissant.

(Taping my feet in the hotel room on race morning)

I spent the good part of 30 minutes taping up my big and little toes in addition to the heel and the ball of each foot. One more trip to the toilet and I was ready to roll.

Around my waist I had the rain shell I had been given at the end of the 2009 Dick Collins 50M and it proved to be the most wonderful piece of clothing for the first 7 hours or so.

(Just before the Start)

Anu and Anju accompanied me to the Start. I reached there around 5:30 a.m. Gas Street was a hive of activity with runners and their crew members all working feverishly to get the runners ready. I met a few friends, from the Thames Ring race, including the Thames Ring winner, Jon Kinder, who went on to finish second 27 hours later.

(Pre-Start interview. Keith Godden and Jon Kinder in leading roles!)

Dick said a few words and we were off!

Miles 0-31

The canal on the right separated us from the tall buildings of downtown Birmingham. I must have been over hydrated for I stopped to pee at least 4-5 times in the first hour. About 6:20 a.m. the drizzle began and turned to rain off and on for the next 9 hours or so. That's exactly what the weather forecast had said would happen.

Around 6:35 a.m. the phone rang. It was Arun Simha asking for an update! I told him I was doing great!! :-)) The buildings started to get sparser as we headed out of the city center and into the countryside. A church here, tropical looking trees there all made for almost idyllic vistas that did not change much during the rest of the race.

(The early miles along the canal)

My backpack had 3 small cartons of chocolate milk. I had lugged the milk all the way from the US. Since the girls were meeting me for the first time around mile 31, I intended to spread those 3 cartons across those miles. The heavens had opened up even more by the time I got to the first Feed Station (as they call Aid Stations in the UK - how cute!). I had my chocolate milk, had them top up the bottle that had Pocari in it along with the water bottle and I was out of there in a flash. As far as the Feed Stations went in the first 70 miles, I was in and out within a minute or two. I did not linger long and managed to socialize even in those few minutes, something I am wont to do and like to do in races.

Keith Godden and I played leapfrog for most of the first 30 miles. He had sent me an e-mail last year, in November or so, with the offer to mail me a copy of the Trail Running Association's newsletter that had coverage of last year's Thames Ring 250M race. The article had a picture of me running into the mile 82 Checkpoint (CP# 3). I eventually received the copy in December and was grateful to him for his kindness and I was looking forward to meeting him. It was indeed wonderful connecting with him and running those 30 odd miles "together". I took a few pictures of him and he reciprocated by taking some of me.

(Keith Godden)

(Beautiful!)

We actually ran up and through Shrewley Tunnel together and then for a bit beyond. I had to stop to pee so he kept going.

I then found myself running with a few other runners on and off. I remember talking to one runner who had run the London to Brighton 56 mile race. Another runner had started the GUCR the year before but stopped at mile 70 because he had gone out too fast. This was only the second time he was attempting a race longer than a Half marathon! Amazing!!

The second Feed station came and went by again. I refilled my Pocari bottle with more Pocari powder and left the aid station soon. I wanted to meet up with the girls as soon as I could.

(One of the users of the canal)

I ran a lot, a lot, of those first 30 miles. In fact, I ran a huge portion of the first 70 miles. I would hazard a guess and say it must have been around 60 miles.

The bridge under which I was to meet up with the ladies came soon enough and I was very happy to see their cheerful faces.

(Coming into the 31 mile meeting point)

I quickly replenished my supply of chocolate milk and gels and headed out as soon as I could. The ladies were looking to go and check on the phone I had purchased the day before for use in the UK.

Miles 31-70

I continued to run for many long miles before walking 5-6 minutes every hour. I wanted to get to mile 70 as soon as I could. One of the places I had been looking forward to revisiting was the Braunston Tunnel. This is where I had spent 20-30 long, really long, minutes looking for the path to the other end in last year's Thames Ring 250M race. This time around the path was crystal clear in my mind. It was wonderful to exorcise my Thames Ring ghosts.

I was with 3 other runners when we went over the tunnel. On the other side 2 of them stopped to get some food from one of their crew members who rode up on a bike. I continued on and the phone rang. It was Anju asking me where I was. I knew I was within a mile or so of the 48.5 miles bridge. This is exactly where they were! I soon came to the bridge and was very happy to see the 3 beautiful ladies.

(Coming to the 48.5 mile meeting point)

(Mile 48.5 meeting point)

I asked them to meet me again, for the last time until mile 70.5, in the very next meeting location which also happened to be a race Feed Station. This was in Weedon a.k.a the Heart of England.

I met up with them again in Weedon.

(Coming into the 53.1 mile Feed Station - Weedon, Heart of England)

(The 53.1 mile Feed Station)

I was in and out of that Feed Station and on my way to get to mile 70.5 i.e. the Navigation Bridge. Another place I was looking forward to revisiting was the Blisworth Tunnel. Right at the top of the climb, I realized that darkness was setting in and so I spent a few minutes putting in fresh batteries in my hand torch as well as my headlamp.

I was soon back running along the canal. It was around here that my blood sugar plummeted. I popped a gel but suddenly my ability to run was gone. So be it. I power walked most of the way to the 70.5 Checkpoint i.e. the Navigation Bridge. I finally reached and was very happy to do so. I sat on the bridge and enjoyed Anu and Indu's pampering. I wolfed down 3 hot soups and 2 cheese sandwiches.

(Putting in lots of calories in the 70.5 mile Feed Station)

I then headed to the car to change into warmer clothes and replenish my supply of chocolate milk. Anju was my pacer for the next 10 miles. I had changed into Tevas for, hopefully, the rest of the way. I had used the Tevas during a 26 mile stretch in last year's Thames Ring 250M and also for the last 36 miles of last year's Lean Horse 100M and they were the best thing I could have done.

Miles 70-120

Anju was wonderful. She was very supportive and inquired after me all along. Those 10 miles took what seemed like long, really long hours. This included passing many bridges whose numbers would increase infinitesimally i.e. Bridge 74A, 74B, 74C, 74D and then it would start all over again a few bridges later. Anu and Indu called us a few times to ask where we were and we would give them the bridge number and not be able to tell them how close we were to them!

The Peartree Inn Bridge, at mile 80.4, came eventually. This is where Anu was to take over pacing duties for the next 16 miles. Anu and Anju swapped places and soon we were off. Anu has placed me in many races before and she knows how to get me going. By now my nausea, which had reared its head during Anju's pacing stint, had achieved full blown status. I could only walk fast not run. So be it again. Anu would shuffle ahead and come back to encourage me. I kept plodding on steadily.

The mile 84.5 Feed Station came eventually around dawn. I ate a bit here, drank my chocolate milk and, at Anu's insistence, was soon out of there. The sky had a lot of light by now and the Sun's rise was imminent. The rains of the previous day had been replaced by loads of sunshine on Sunday. The day started to get warmer by the hour. I was still only able to walk so walk I did. The miles went by slowly but went by they did. It must have been around mile 95 or so that we spotted the familiar figures of Christian Hottas and Christine Schroeder ahead. We soon passed them and were also upon the Ivinghoe Bridge where Anu would swap places with Anju. I ate some more food here including some much needed coffee.

Anu, like Anju before her, had done a superb job of not only taking care of me but also motivating me to push now and then as best as I could.

Anju and I set out from the Ivinghoe Bridge at around 9 a.m. or so. My desire to answer Mother Nature's call had now become a pressing problem. It must have been within a mile or so that we came upon an opportunity to use the restroom. I was lucky that the Inn, closed at that time, had the owner in the backyard about to leave. He was kind enough to open up the restroom to me. I spent a good 10 minutes in the toilet. It was like I had been given a fresh lease on life!

We soon came to the Grand Junction Arms, the 99.8 mile AS. One of the 3 runners who had been with me going over the Braunston Tunnel was here and seriously contemplating dropping out of the race. His feet were killing him (he did drop there). Anju shepherded me out of that AS as soon as she could and we started the journey to the next meeting point with Indu and Anu which was under Bridge 140, mile 104.3, in Berkhamsted. This is where Indu was to take over pacing duties for the next 4 miles i.e. until the next meeting point at Bridge 149 and mile 108.5.

I was power walking now and Anju had to shuffle or jog to keep up with me. That was a good sign. The nausea was hanging around but I was determined to make good time. The phone rang again and we told the girls to meet us under the bridge. Once we got close, I changed my mind and decided to go to the car. It was a wonderfully warm afternoon. The sky was dappled with clouds, none of them rain-bearing. People were walking the tow path and enjoying the lovely day. I reached the car and sat down for a couple of minutes to enjoy a chocolate milk. Despite the nausea, I was able to drink chocolate milk at will.

(Do swans preen?)

Indu and I started by running the first mile or mile and a half as and when the nausea permitted me to do so. I then slowed it down to a fast walk and those 4 miles went by in a flash. Anu took over pacing duties again from mile 108.5. This is where things got interesting.

Anu's foot had not been doing too well. Anju's ankle, twisted weeks before this UK trip, was in bad shape too - hats off to these ladies for pacing me despite their aches and pains.

It was with Anu that I turned up the walking into real power walking. I set off at a blazing walking pace and Anu, finding it easier to run than to walk, would go ahead and come back for me only to do it all over again. We passed a lot of bridges here and Dick Kearn's detailed notes gave us mileage numbers for many of these. I was thus able to calculate my pace - it was between 13 and 13:30 min/mile. The phone rang once more. It was the girls asking if I would like French fries. Would I ever!! So we met up under Bridge 165. The French fries and the ketchup were manna from Heaven!!!

It was here that Anu asked Anju and Indu to meet up with us in the Springwell locks race Feed Station at mile 120.3. In all the confusion, Anju and Indu understood that we would meet again at mile 118.0. Anu and I soon covered the next 5 mile at the same rapid clip that we had started off her pacing stint at. To our surprise Anju and Indu were nowhere to be seen. Anu was hoping that they were held up and still on their way there to pick her up. I quickly ate some food and while doing so had an idea. Steve, another runner, had been with me on and off for the past many miles. He and I reached this Feed Station together. He had gone off to the side to his crew car. I went over there with Anu and asked his wife if she would be kind enough to ferry Anu to the 133 mile Feed Station in Southall. She mentioned that they would be making a stop, to help Steve, around the mile 126 or 127 mark. That was fine with Anu.

I left with a bit of concern for Anu and the girls. Where were they? It was just past 5:00 p.m. now and even though sunset was not for another 4-5 hours, it was starting to get a tad chilly. A mile or so after the Feed Station I asked Christian Hottas, who I caught up with, if he had a spare flashlight. He said he did and that it was in his drop bag in the 133 mile Feed Station. That took care of the flashlight/headlamp problem for the night. I now had to make arrangements for warmer clothing just in case I was not able to meet the girls.

The phone rang a couple of times. It was the girls! It got cut off each time. What was going on? I had another great idea. I took Steve's wife's phone number from him and called her to find out about Anu. They were fine and making their way to the 127 mile meeting point. I started to run. I was in Urgency mode by now - I had to get to Christian's drop bag as soon as possible so that I could head on to the Finish and, maybe, not need the light or warmer clothing. I flew down the path at 8:00-8:30 min/mile pace. Before I knew it I was at the Cowley Lock Bridge (#188). Steve's wife and his other crew members were outside an inn. Anu had run to their car to get warm clothes for me. She had found a sweatshirt and sweatpants. Seeing her running towards me with all those clothes made me choke up - I could understand how worried she must feel not only for herself and the girls but also for me knowing that it was going to get colder.

I tried to call the girls on their phone. Dark thought were going through my mind. What if something had happened to them? I had even called Vandi and Vasudha to confirm their phone number. Finally the phone rang and it was Anju asking me where we were. She and Anju were waiting back at the 118.0 mile meeting point. I quickly told them to head off to the 133.0 mile Feed Station and that Anu would be there. I then called Steve's wife to have her inform Anu that the girls were OK and that they would meet her in the last Checkpoint. This took a huge load off my mind. I was free to run without worrying now.

(Anu)

I flew. Flew is truly the right word. It was as if every muscle and tendon in my body came together in those 6 miles to the last Checkpoint. I passed many runners who had been at least an hour ahead of me. I finally made it into the Southall Feed Station sometime around 9 p.m. Mission accomplished. The lovely ladies, reunited now, were waiting for me. This feed station, unfortunately, had no hot food. Neither did the pub in whose parking lot our car was parked.

(Southall Feed Station, mile 133, interview)

(After having changed into warmer clothes)

I quickly changed into warmer clothes, put on my headlamp and started off with a few gels in my fanny pack. I had left the backpack behind. I did carry 2 bottle, both filled with water.

The Grand Union Canal for the next 2 miles was pretty sad. Booze bottles here and there. Signs of nighttime fires. It was obviously a section used by homeless people. British Waterways, working on a section of the canal, had closed it off 2 miles into it and Dick had given us detailed turn-by-turn direction to reconnect to the canal further up by taking a detour through an urban neighborhood. Carr Road to Rothesay Ave to Currey Road to Oldfield Lane. Oldfield Lane led to the Black Horse pub which was on the canal. I promptly went into the pub to use their restroom facilities. That took about 15 minutes and the little bit of rest did me a lot of good.

Upon joining the canal, I saw a signpost that told me that Paddington was 7.75 miles away. I had been along the canal for about 2 miles after leaving the 133.0 mile Checkpoint. That meant that the urban diversion had been approximately a couple of miles long. I was pretty much alone here at this point. Sleep was starting to make its presence felt but I was able to keep it at bay by singing Hindi songs loudly. Looking back with around 6.5 miles to go I noticed lights. They soon caught up with me. It was Steve, his friend and his wife. We walked together in companionable silence. The rest of their crew was meeting up with them with approximately 6 miles to go. We soon spotted them and Steve stopped to eat and drink while I pushed on.

Sleep was coming on in waves now. I would have periods of intense sleepiness followed by spells of clear vision and thought. Across the canal on the left I was passing factories and manufacturing plants that had people in them for the parking lots were full of cars. There were similar companies on my side with the occasional aroma of foodstuff wafting across my nostrils.

Out of the darkness ahead I saw a light coming towards me. My alertness went up just in case it was someone I would not like to meet in a dark alley (or canal path!) at night. It turned out to be Christian Hottas's friend, Hartmut, who was supposed to run the race but had dropped out a few weeks ago. He had walked the 3-4 miles from the Finish and I was the first runner he met. He promptly reversed direction and started to walk with me. He was a boon. I could not have asked for a better pacer. He kept me regaled with stories of running in Germany and his other exploits. Sleep came in waves still but I was better able to control it. I did ask him to wake me up in 5 minutes while I sat down on a little bench for my one and only stop in those last 12 miles. That 5 minute nap helped. I kept asking him about how far the Finish was because I knew that the girls would be waiting anxiously for me. The phone even rang a few times and I gave them a best guess of where I was.

Finally Hartmut pointed to a very distant light and told me that the Finish was kind of near there! That perked me up tremendously and I called the girls to let them know I was close. It must have been about 300-400 yards to go to the Finish when the phone rang again. It was Rajeev Char asking me how I was doing. I told him I was 300 yards from the end and that it was the most beautiful experience ever. It was! I had gone further in the Thames Ring 250M (183 miles) but had failed to reach the Finish line. This was, now, the longest successful race finish I had achieved.

The 3 ladies were waiting for me. With a few hundred feet to go, one of the race volunteers came out to warn me not to get too exuberant with my celebrations as someone was sleeping. I kept that in mind when I crossed the Finish line! Anu, Anju and Indu were there to hug me, take pictures and even record an interview of me.

(A blurry picture of me post-finish)

What an epic race it had been. Never for once, during those 43 hours and 22 minutes, did I ever doubt that I would not make it. I pushed hard when I needed to. My past 100M races had shown me that I could turn it up as and when I had to so I was confident of that ability even during those few times that I was a bit close to cutoffs.

A big Thank You to Dick Kearn and his amazing band of volunteers. They kept me alive with their hot soups and good cheer. I am looking forward to next year's Thames Ring 250M (June 22). Anthony Taylor and Dick Kearn have already confirmed that I can start to get excited about my participation.

Anu, Indu and Anju were the best crew members and pacers ever. Always loving, always helpful they fill my memories of the race with a golden glow that is not about to fade for a very long time. I love you three!!

This 145 mile (233K) race finish means that I have qualified to apply for the 153 mile Spartathlon (from Athens to Sparta) run annually in Greece every September. I will send in my application one of these months for the 2011 race.

Race Reports

Paul Ali http://earley-gunners.blogspot.com/2010/06/2010-grand-union-canal-race-report.html

http://sites.google.com/site/mylifeasarunner/race-reports/gucr-2010

Race pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramonaultra/sets/72157624048773463/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11659262@N07/4671831483/

My Fotki pictures

http://public.fotki.com/rajeevtherunner/gucr-trip-photos/gucr/

My Facebook album

http://www.facebook.com/rajeevtherunner?v=photos#%21/album.php?aid=174995&id=688528118&ref=pb

AR-PR

2010-04-12T17:20:00.000-07:00

Race: American River 50M
Date: April 10, 2010
Location: Sacramento, CA
Time: 10:10

I do not remember ever running the last miles of any ultra marathon as fast as I ran the miles from 31 to 47 in the 2010 edition of the iconic American River 50-mile race.

I'm putting down numbers (approximate ones at that - my memory is, at best, suspect) just so I can look back, years hence, and get an idea of how much knowing AND coming to love the course helped in each subsequent AR race I have run.

Year 1-31M 31-50M

2006 6:00 5:34

2007 5:56 5:13

2008 6:31 4:51

2009 6:16 4:23

2010 6:14 3:56

The first thing that leaps out is that the last 19 miles have gotten faster every year. This year's section from 31 to 47 was something that amazed me a lot. I was on fire and it only let up some once I got to the final climb up from the river.

I have grown to love those last 19 miles. Rewind to 2006, my first AR50, and I remember running that race in lots of mud, fast flowing rivulets and streams and mid-shin deep water crossings once or twice. I detested those 19 miles. I then encountered them twice in the 2006 Rio Del Lago 100M 5 months later. A portion of that section, going south, made me lose a huge chunk of the 45 minutes buffer I had built up. You get the picture. Those 19 miles were my bete noire until 2008. During that (2008) race I told myself that there was nothing I could do about the course. What had to be done had to be done in my mind. I have come to love them now. They are so different from the first 27 miles, to Beals Point, that they add a lot of character to AR50.

My first 27 miles were uneventful.

(The early miles. Photo courtesy of Brian Harvey)

They were pretty much a copy of 2009 i.e. marathon in around 4:55, Beals Point just past the 5 hour mark, slow down between Beals Point and the next AS at mile 31 and then a resurgence/renaissance in the last 19 miles.

(Coming into the first AS. Photo courtesy of Daniel Fabun)

(Second AS. Photo courtesy of Daniel Fabun)

(A few miles after the Nimbus Overlook AS. Photo courtesy of Brian Recore)

The only difference is that I ran those last 19 miles way, way faster than I did last year.

The first 27 miles to Beals Point were largely uneventful save for the fact that for 3-4 miles before Beals Point my blood sugar was lower than I liked and that led to my slowing down quite a bit. It did not recover until I switched to Coke in the 31 mile AS.

I have been in the zone before in races (2008 AR50, 2009 AR50, 2007 Miwok 100K) but this time around it felt like there was no Rajeev, just a body moving along doing what it loves doing most. I never looked at my watch after leaving the 31 mile AS and it was only an accidental glance at a volunteer's watch in the Manhattan Bar AS (mile 43.92) told me that it was 2:46 p.m. I was in shock! I knew I had run fast, the miles between Aid Stations were passing by in a comfortable and fast blur, but this was ridiculous.

Now I was on fire! The goal had become a sub-10 hour 50M (finish before 4:00 p.m.). I picked up the pace even more. I fell in behind a lady and her pacer who were moving at the same pace as I was. We blew by so many runners that I lost count. We finally reached the left turn from the river that starts climbing to Last Gasp. This is where I backed off a bit. I walked most of that hill. I ran/walked to the Last Gasp AS and went through. The final 2.8 miles were a run+walk that saw me finish in 10:10. Probably the best race I have ever run.

I wonder what next year will be like.

Howling at the Coyote Two Moon 100M

2010-03-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

Race: Coyote Two Moon 100M
Date: Mar 5 - Mar 7, 2010
Location: Ojai, CA
Time: 38:25

Trail or I:who would first relent?
Up we went into the dark night.
On finishing I was hellbent.

Then it came, the first long ascent:
The start of a long drawn out fight.
Trail or I:who would first relent?

Last year, up Topa, I was spent.
This year I made it there upright.
On finishing I was hellbent.

Down to Rose Valley, then ascent
Up to Topa; end of first night.
Trail or I:who would first relent?

Rain, snow: of chill a grim portent.
Fought hard to stay in the spotlight.
On finishing I was hellbent.

Sleep and cold tried to make a dent:
Fought them I did with all my might.
Trail or I:who would first relent?
On finishing I was hellbent.

What an epic race this one was. Having traversed almost the entire course except for the descent to Gridley Bottom and the subsequent ascent to Gridley Top in 2009, I was confident of being able to finish the race this year. The inclement weather from noon on Saturday until almost 3 a.m. on Sunday made the race that much more epic.

Thursday, Mar 4
Anil and I flew into Burbank airport and made our way to the Ventura Bowling Center in Ventura for the 6 p.m. bowling festivities. The alley was filled with familiar faces - Catra, Andy Kumeda, DC, Gillian, Georgeanna Quarles, Dave Combs, Deb Clem, Chris Scott, Nancy Warren, Dean Dyatt, Diane Vlach and a host of others. It was like coming home and like a year had not gone by.

Anil and I were on a team that also had DC, Gillian and Andy and Marie Boyd. Marie is the RD of the Bishop 50M race. I was probably the worst bowler on show in the alley and our team finished dead last.

We checked into the Capri Hotel later that evening and fell asleep after making a few drop bags.

Friday, March 6
We woke up late Friday morning and spent at least 30-40 minutes making the drop bags. Race briefing cum lunch was at 11:30 so we did not eat a heavy breakfast. We drove a few blocks down the road to an electronics store to buy a charger from my iPhone and then to a grocery store for water and a few last minute things. On then to the race briefing.

People were already in line for the food when we got there. We sat at a table with Glenn Tachiyama, DC, Gillian and Dave Combs. Chris Scott soon started talking about the race and we listened as carefully as we could. It looked like the rest of Friday was going to be clear but the rain could roll in on Saturday.

Anil and I went back to the room and got our drop bags etc. for drop off to the Thacher School. We picked up our bib numbers along with our goodie bags and got a free pair of Drymax socks from the company.

Back to the room it was to rest a bit, tape our feet and return for the 6 p.m. Start. Anil and I had gone to Boccali's to pick up pasta and a sandwich. We finished taping our feet, ate our respective dinners and drove to the Start. I had decided to run the entire race in compression shorts over which I had on thick tights. A short-sleeved base layer T-shirt was covered with my favorite Brooks long-sleeved orange shirt over which I had on a green rain jacket that had a hood. Injinji gloves on my hands, feet (sans socks) in Brooks Cascadias and gaiters around the ankles completed my running outfit for the next 40 hours.

(Anil and I before the Start. Photo:Andy Kumeda)

The Start area was a hive of activity. Even people who were starting hours later were there just to flag off our group. It felt great to see the camaraderie and the banter between these amazing runners. Catra even remarked that my bib number 33 had been her bib number the past few years and that I was going to finish for sure. Prophetic words!

(Catra pointing to my bib# 33. Photo:Andy Kumeda)

Thacher School ===>Sisar

(The 6 p.m. start group. Photo:Stan Jensen)

We started promptly at 6 p.m. Soon we were in a long line of runners snaking up the Horn Canyon trail. Thacher School is at 1500 feet while the top of the climb was at 4500 feet i.e. we had a 3000 foot climb in 4 miles which meant an average gradient of 13-14%. Great way to warm up!

(Finally!)

The copious rains this year meant that the 3 stream crossings we made were done so with a lot of water flowing past. My shoes got wet while crossing the last one. The runners started to spread out soon. Pretty soon we could see just one light up above us, that of Levi Rizk, which meant that Anil and I were in "second" place. We soon reached the top and began the long 7-mile downhill that would lead us into the first Aid Station, Sisar, at 11 miles. Anil and I enjoyed this long section since it gave us a chance to open out our legs. There were a few streams in the last few miles before the AS and my feet got soaked again in one of them.

The AS finally arrived. I quickly downed a chocolate milk and put the other one in my backpack for the long climb up to the next AS, Topa. Anil and I were out of there in less than 7-8 minutes.

Sisar ===> Topa
It was about a half mile from the Sisar AS that we met Dean Dyatt and Andy Boyd. Dean had found Anil's cell phone along the trail while Andy had found Anil's blue bandana. How amazing that they had spotted these objects in the dark! Anil and I thanked them and resumed our climb, marveling at how amazing it was that they had found them.

This climb is interminably long and it gets steeper the further up one goes. We soon passed the point where we had made a right turn to go down to the Sisar AS. Now the trail got steeper and narrower. We kept plugging away at the slope relentlessly. Up above us we could see the occasional flash of Levi's headlamp. He looked like he was way up high and we wondered about how far the AS really was!

I started remembering parts of the trail from last year and came to the section where George Ruiz had passed me on the trail in 2009. I remembered that the AS had come up quite soon after George had gone past. Sure enough we reached the AS a scant 15-20 minutes later.

(In the Topa AS)

It was cold up here. The volunteers, however, were so warm and helpful that it took our minds off the cold. I had a chocolate milk here again and Anil and I left almost right away to begin the short but very steep climb to the top of Topa. The entire trail had been covered with snow in 2008 (Steve Ansell told me this last year) while only the top of Topa showed snow in 2009. This year we hardly saw any snow. The steepness was unchanged but the absence of the snow let us follow the narrow trail that switchbacked its way up the cliff. On the way up I noticed something glinting iff to the side of the trail. It was 3 spent 30-06 cartridges! Anil promptly put them safely in his pocket.

Saturday, Mar 6
The top had a little bench on the side of which there was a talking head and a deck of cards. As instructed, I pressed the button to activate the talking head. "My head hurts ..." came the nasal voice, marring the idyllic silence atop the 6800 foot Topa cliff. Anil and I switched off our lights and sat on the bench for 45 seconds enjoying the expansive view below us and taking in the beauty of our lovely planet. Then it was time to get back to the race.

Our descent was done relatively fast. We met a bunch of our fellow starters on the climb. We met Wendell Doman in the AS. he was about to tackle the Topa climb. That meant that he was just 3-4 miles behind us. He had started a full 2 hours after us! These people are so talented!!

We did not linger too long here again. We ate some solid food (cheese quesadillas) and set off for the long 6.3 mile trek down to Rose Valley.

Topa ==> Rose Valley
This stretch is actually the one I like the least in C2M. It has unsure footing along the way added to a pronounced camber in some sections. Nonetheless Anil and I made good time reaching the bottom of the descent. The next couple of miles wound their way uphill and then past a few stream crossings to the Rose Valley AS. This was the first of 2 visits to this AS (at mile 21). The next one would be around mile 45 or so.

Marie Boyd (Andy Boyd's wife), the RD of the Bishop 50M race, was here waiting for Andy to show up. She was so very helpful! In fact, she was there at every AS I went to after Rose Valley and it was sheer pleasure to interact with her. Her calm and very helpful demeanor made for a very comforting experience all through the race. The tape on my toes had started to come off because of all the stream crossing. I spent 5 minutes sitting in a chair getting rid of all the tape. Mari was kind enough to offer me some Hydropel. After drinking my usual chocolate milk, Anil and I set out to begin the climb back up to the Topa AS. It was starting to get cold the further up we went. I was looking forward to the night ending and the Sun making its appearance.

We reached Topa around 6:30 a.m. It was very, very cold up there on the summit and I was in awe of the volunteers who had braved the cold all night helping runners with their race. Anil and I ate some more food, warmed up a bit by the fire and then left the fire to make the long trek down and then up to the Ridge on the way to the Ridge Junction AS.

Topa ==> Ridge Junction AS
The Sun's appearance had chased away Hypnos (Roman God was Somnus) and his hordes. We were eager to press on and get to Ridge Junction as early as possible. It would be great, as I told Anil, to start the long descent to Cozy Dell, with some light left.

(Coming into the Ridge Junction AS)

I remember passing the point where the Horn Canyon trail meets the Ridge (the 4 mile point at the beginning of our race; many hours ago!) at 8:18 a.m. We soon reached the Ridge Junction AS around 8:45 a.m. Andy Kumeda and Fred Ecks were there along with a few other volunteers. Nattu rolled in here right behind us. I was very impressed - he had started 2 hours behind us and caught up around mile 42.

Anil and I ate a quesadilla each and left after thanking the amazing volunteers.

Ridge Junction AS ==> Rose Valley
A couple of miles after the AS, Anil had to answer the call of Nature (I had gone around 6:45 a.m.). It was while I was waiting for him to finish that I spotted a familiar figure - Martin Casado. He, Anil and I now formed a triumvirate that made our way along the ridge. It started to rain now. The rain soon turned to sleet and soft snow. It was so beautiful. Before we knew it, we were at the turnoff that went down to the Rose Valley AS.

This is one of the steepest descents, and ascents, in the C2M 100M race. Martin had problems descending. The top of his foot, where the ankle meets the leg, was tight and hurting badly. Anil, who is a very strong runner, took off here like a hare and disappeared from sight. Martin and I gingerly made our way down the fire road. Soon Martin was a few hundred yards behind me. It had started to rain by now. I rolled into the AS and promptly sat down to eat a quesadilla and drink my chocolate milk. Martin came in and one of the volunteers was kind enough to offer him the use of her Stick. Diane Vlach, Peggy Davidson and Diane Vlach came in soon after. The 3 of us left very soon after.

Rose Valley ==> Howard Creek
It was on the climb out of the Rose Valley AS that Martin flirted with the idea of dropping out of the race. His plan was to get to the Howard Creek AS but he was not sure if his sister would be there to give him a ride back. Being an ultra runner (= nutty, like all of us) he decided that he wanted to get at least 60 miles in that day before quitting. His plan now changed to traveling the 9 miles back to school from the top of the climb. We soon parted ways - he went off to the left while we took the right turn towards Gridley Top. It was here that the rain, which had caressed our skin until now, became a horizontal force transformed into sleet and snow. Anil and I were now walking along the ridge, hunkered up against the cold and the driving sleet but still enjoying this adventure of adventures, looking for the turnoff to Howard Creek. After a long descent the turnoff finally showed up.

(Running down to the Howard Creek AS. Photo:Glenn Tachiyama)

The 3 mile trail down to the Howard Creek As is the best trail in the entire C2M race. Eminently runnable with soft earth and a thin carpet of leaves, it was a pleasure to finally open up the legs and let them fly. It was on this descent that Diane, Nancy and Peggy caught up with us. Soon there were 5 of us making our way into the Howard Creek AS.

(With Anil, Diane Vlach and her parents in the Howard Creek AS)

Somehow our drop bag was missing here. I settled for a quesadilla and some water. Marie Boyd, who was helping Andy in a tent, was kind enough, once again, to give me some Hydropel for my toes. We must have spent about 10 minutes here. I met Diane Vlach's parents. Her friend, Jose, was at all the aid stations and he took a picture of us together.

It was time to get back on the ridge to start the last two descents, one of which was the longest at 7.7 miles.

Howard Creek ==> Gridley Top
The trudge up the trail from the Howard Creek AS went by smoothly. It was not a very steep trail and the footing was secure. The rain hit us a bit once we got to the top but it looked like the worst of it might have passed. We followed the ridge a mile or so down to the Gridley Top AS.

My initial calculations had us leaving this AS at 4:30 p.m. To our surprise, we reached at 3:40 p.m. and were out of there at 3:51 p.m. I had been telling Anil stories about my battle with the Cozy Dell ascent from last year and he was kind of prepared for this long descent and climb back up to Gridley Top.

Gridley Top ==> Cozy Dell
The initial 0.75 miles is a climb and Anil and I manfully trudged up the slope. Then began a mile long descent, we could see the trail forking off from the ridge below and to our left, down the ridge. The views at just past 4 p.m. were sublime. A left turn put us on the trail down to Cozy Dell. I had to stop a half mile down the trail to empty my shoes of the gravel that had gotten in. I could hear the voices of the 3 girls, Nancy, Peggy and Diane, above us as they too joined the descent.

The next few miles were along a narrow trail that had a few places where the drop off was precipitous. We made our way through those sections gingerly. Very soon we were off the narrow trail and a right turn put us on a broad trail that led to a right turn onto a narrow trail a mile or so later.

This trail started to get slick underfoot. Very soon we were battling clay mud. This is a surface that is hard to run on. One feels like one is skiing. Mark Swanson, a 2010 C2M 100K finisher, described clay mud as Vaseline on steel.

(Mud near Cozy Dell Photo: Doone Watson)

The closer we got to the Cozy Dell AS the worse the clay mud got. Numerous were the times when both of us almost overbalanced. I had been telling Anil horror stories of the absolute last section of this trail, the part of the trail that was covered with a lot of rocks and poor footing. In reality, this year, it did not seem as bad.

We ran into the Cozy Dell AS at around 6:25 p.m. i.e. a 2 hours and 35 minutes after leaving Gridley Top. That was pretty good going I reckoned.

A couple of the volunteers spent 5 minutes looking for our drop bag which was finally found. Anil, whose heel was hurting, changed into his extra-wide Brooks Addictions and we departed after eating a bit and drinking our respective race drinks (Chocolate milk for me and Ensure for Anil).

What an ordeal the climb up turned out to be. We soon found out that going UP clay mud was infinitely harder than "skiing" down. I fell at least 3 times as did Anil. My hand bottles were mud covered as were my legs and my hands. We knew that we would have to endure this discomfort for 2 miles, a distance that was sure to take us at least 40 minutes if not more.

We sucked it up and kept moving forward, all the while warning runners who were going into the AS about the clay mud. Finally the left turn came. We were glad to get out of the muddy section and onto firmer ground albeit one that sloped upwards a tad steeply for a mile. I was a bit ahead of Anil at this time and I would wait for him to catch up. We eventually reached the narrow trail that would take us to the ridge. It was a little bit up this trail, around 8:16 p.m., that Anil urged me to go ahead. He asked me to let Chris Scott know that he was on his way up and would not be very far behind me.

I felt terrible leaving my buddy behind and did it only because I felt like I could put the hammer down in the next 15-20 miles and ensure my finish since I did not see myself returning next year.

I left Anil behind and settled into a fast pace up the hill. I reached the ridge at 9:00 p.m. or so. It was very cold up there. A half mile into the mile long climb and my right hand was feeling intensely cold. I decided to put my hand bottle in my open jacket pocket, the flashlight in my mouth and run with my fists pressed into my butt to keep them warm. I only managed this for a half mile but I lost my bottle in the process. Never mind.

It was an extremely cold, hypothermic and wet Rajeev who reached the Gridley Top AS at 9:45 p.m. I promptly asked Chris and Luis Escobar if they had spare gloves.

(Talking to Chris Scott and Luis Escobar in the Gridley Top AS)

I took off my jacket, my T-short and my base layer to put on a fresh base layer that had been in my backpack. To my disappointment, that base layer was wet too. I decided to put on my wet clothes and et out of the AS as soon as I could. Sue Johnston, Chris Scott's wife, was a darling! She loaned me a pair of her dry gloves. They made the last 25 miles of the race so easy for me. Thank you, Sue. A big hug to you too. :-)

Gridley Top ==> Gridley Bottom
The descent got warmer the lower I went but I also got sleepier. So much so that, 38 minutes into my descent (10:38 p.m.) I sat down in the middle of the trail and dozed for 5 minutes. I got up, swallowed a caffeine tablet and started the descent again. The caffeine kicked in in about 10 minutes and the rest of the descent was uneventful. Negotiating the crazy rocks during the last 0.75 miles of this descent was not pretty. My whole body jarred with every step from rock to trail or onto another rock.

Sunday, Mar 7
The Rajeev caravan rolled into the Gridley Bottom AS at around 12:30 a.m.

I had someone call Chris to find out about Anil. I was glad to learn that he had left Gridley Top at 11:09 p.m. to make his way down to Gridley Bottom. I was very happy to hear that.

I drank a chocolate milk, took out Anil's Lake Sonoma 50M jacket from the drop bag and put it on under my T-shirt and sat down by the big, warm fire to doze for 15 minutes. Sleep was not easy to come by so I finally got up and left that AS around 12:55 a.m.

Gridley Bottom ==> Gridley Top
The 3 NorCal girls soon passed me on their way into the AS. 5 minutes later I felt an intense urge to answer the call of Mother Nature. That took me a good 10 minutes and I remember starting the journey up around 1:25 a.m. Feeling infinitely better, I settled down into a fair pace and a good rhythm. I came to the point during my descent where the trail had taken a sharp right turn. It was a left turn on the way up. I was not more than 50 minutes from the top. With about a mile or a mile and a half to the AS, it came into view. It kept showing up every now and then, getting closer but at a terribly slow pace! Sleep was starting to crowd my brain once more.

It was such a relief to stroll into the AS and promptly lie down on a sleeping bag provided by Luis Escobar. He was kind enough to cover me with his blanket. It was 3:27 a.m. when I closed my eyes to try and sleep. It was 3:50 a.m. when I got my butt off the floor and it was 3:54 a.m. when I began the long 8 mile hike to the Ridge Junction AS.

Gridley Top ==> Ridge Junction AS
I was cold though not as much as last year when I had started at pretty much the same time (3:55 a.m. this year compared to 3:30 a.m. last year). It had been bitterly cold last year but this year was just perfect. The snow covered the entire ridge. I could see a long ling of footsteps snaking their way up into the darkness. Walking on fresh snow is slow so I opted to step in the footsteps of those who had gone by earlier. Time and again I would use my flashlight to scan the ridge ahead and would still find it climbing up.

(Wintry conditions Photo: Doone Watson)

A few times I stopped, bent over because breathing was a bit hard for me, like it had been many times in the past 87+ miles. The beautiful views to the right of me, of Ojai and beyond, acted as a palliative for my struggles with the snow. I thought of my Dad, orphaned when he was 8 or 9, struggling to make it in this world (make it he did - big time!!). This struggle was nothing compared to what he had faced. My spirits lightened and I came back into the moment, as I had been through much of the race. I stopped wondering about how much more I had to climb and focused instead on finding the right footsteps to put my feet into.

(The beautiful views that greeted the early morning mind)

Before I knew it, I had crested the 1.5 mile long climb up from the Gridley Top AS and now faced a rolling course back to Ridge Junction. The sky was getting a bit more blue and the snow covered ridge was beautiful. I had been seeing lights behind me the past 0.5 mile and they belonged to a male and female runner who passed me on the rolling section. I stopped to pee and had a bit of fun making an interesting pattern on the pristine snow.

I soon caught up with the two runners again. The lady was kind enough to give me a Honey Stinger chew. It tasted pretty good at 6:00 a.m. I fell in step behind them and, looking around me, realized that we must be pretty close to the AS. So close that I was truly shocked when it suddenly showed up in front of me.

It was 6:30 a.m. It had taken me 2 hours and 35 minutes to cover the 8 miles from Grifley Top to Ridge Junction, a pace of just under 20 minutes a mile. Not bad I thought to myself.

Incredibly enough, Fred Ecks and Andy Kumeda and another volunteer were still up and smiling when I came in. I had my water bottle filled, grabbed a chocolate covered macadamia and headed for the Finish after thanking them.

(In the Ridge Junction AS at 6:30 a.m.)

Ridge Junction ==> Thacher School a.k.a Finish
The right turn onto the Horn Canyon trail came up at about 6:50 a.m. There was snow for the first 0.7 miles and the going was slow. The snow soon disappeared but the rocks and the steepness did not! I had to step this way and that just to get good footing. It was here that the top part of my foot, where it meets the leg, started hurting. I had to be careful now - I did not want to worsen it. I kept plugging away and eventually reached the point in the trail where I could hear a stream below me. A few 100M/100K runners passed me here making the descent look easy compared to my labored one.

I was finally at the bottom I clearly remembered this section from last year. Andi Ramer and I had made it to the Finish line around the same time and that memory was crystal clear in my mind while the realization was also there that I was making a new one today.

Beat Jegerlehner passed me with two stream crossings and 0.7 miles to go to the Finish. I too started running once I got past the 2 streams and found myself chucking my backpack and green jacket on the grass as I made the obligatory run around the soccer field to finally reach the "Finish" at around 8:25 a.m. for a race time of 38:25.

(Finish at last! Photo: Stan Jensen)

(Hugging Anil after the finish)

I was happy. I had finally completed this brute of a race. Funnily enough, it had not seemed as hard this time around as it had last year.

Will I go back next year to run it? As of today, the answer is No. I want to volunteer instead. As many hours as I can physically manage. It will be wonderful to help someone else achieve their dream of finishing this hard, hard race.

I was bummed to find out, after the race, that Anil had stopped at mile 81 (Gridley Bottom). Nonetheless, he knew best what he had to do and if stopping was the decision, so be it. Good luck to him the next time he does this race. I am very confident that he WILL finish.

Chris Scott is a fantastic RD. I love his sense of humor and the approach he has to running. His volunteers must love him a lot to brave the blizzard conditions atop the ridge for hours and hours while helping us. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You folks ROCK!!!

The Year Ahead

2010-02-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a few months since I have posted. I did not run any races since the Javelina Jundred 100M back on Halloween weekend.

At the end of December, 2009, I spent 10 days in Ubud, Bali. The runs were hot and humid but so pleasurable!

(The villa in Ubud, Bali, where I spent 10 idyllic days)

Some of my races for 2010 were fixed in my schedule many months ago while others showed up as I thought more about them. I may or may not do some of them but it sure feels nice to actually contemplate attempting them.

It is retribution time for the Coyote Two Moon 100M in March. The race is 10 days earlier than last year. I have chosen to go "The Full Monty" with the hours allotted to the runners i.e. 40 hours is what I asked Chris Scott to give me to finish the race. I am hoping to finally get my C2M buckle in a month.

I love running the American River 50M. The race is a favorite of mine and I love the jackets they hand out to Finishers. Truth be told, I run it mainly for the jacket. :-)

I got into Miwok 100K and that race is another favorite of mine. The views are spectacular as are the volunteers and, of course, Tia Bodington, the RD. Let's see if I can go under 14 hours this year.

The Quicksilver 50K was my first ultra marathon in May 2005 and I will run either that distance or the 50M in that race for as long as that race is put on or I am able to run. The course is never flat - you are either descending or climbing!

(Ah! Almaden Quicksilver Park views)

It would have been nice to run the Ohlone 50K for the third year in a row but I have decided to give it a miss and volunteer in the race instead. This is because it is the weekend before the next race on my schedule.

Last year's Thames Ring 250 only whetted my appetite for distances longer than 100 miles and the Grand Union Canal Race (GUCR), a 145-mile behemoth, promises to be another exciting race that will end up being infinitely satisfying should I finish. It runs from Gas Street in Birmingham to Little Venice in London and follows the Grand Union Canal towpath.

(Picturesque Grand Union Canal towpath just after Blisworth Tunnel)

I am hoping to recover in time from the GUCR to start the 317 mile (500K) run across the state of Tennessee. Known as the Vol State race, it is run on back country roads in 90+ degree heat and 90%+ humidity. I have no idea how I will fare but start it I will for sure.

In August I am contemplating either the Leadville 100M or a return, for the 4th time, to the Lean Horse 100M. I am hoping to decide in a month or two.

I toe the Start line of the inaugural South Downs Way 100M race in Eastbourne, United Kingdom, on Saturday, September 11. The race runs along the famous South Downs Way trail in the UK and finishes in the historic town of Winchester.

I will start the Dick Collins 50M on October 9th and then run the Javelina Jundred 100M once again on October 23.

(Anil and I in the 2009 Dick Collins 50M)

Let's see how this year pans out.

Jappy Jours in Javelina Jundred

2009-11-02T16:42:00.000-08:00

Race: Javelina Jundred 100M race

Date: Oct 31 - Nov 1, 2009

Location: Fountain Hills, AZ

Time: 28:36:59

Having my feet taped in the pre-dawn chill,

Mulling over the long miles up ahead.

And then we are off, soon snaking uphill,

And soon the sweat moistening the forehead.

The pink glow on the distant mountain peaks

Soon will light up the dusty, rocky trail.

Soon the morn sky adorned with orange streaks.

Soon the Sun shows, our wills to soon assail.

Slow steps forward through the heat of the day,

Heart gladdened by the sight of wild horses;

Be present, the Finish is far away,

And watch the smiles on the passing faces.

Night passes; the new morn brings new purpose:

Time to run fast to the victor's dais.

Race pictures: http://rajeevtherunner.smugmug.com/Other/2009-Javelina-Jundred/10184937_2yyoK#701248008_4aHzX

One of the most fun and, may I say, comfortable 100 mile races I have ever done. My blood sugar stayed constant pretty much all through the race and I was able to run as fast as I wanted to in the last 15 miles.

Friday, Oct 30

I took a 5:30 p.m. flight from SFO to Phoenix and, after picking up my Hertz rental, I was in the Comfort Inn in Fountain Hills by 8:45 p.m. I decided to go to a grocery store to pick up a few supplies like bread, PB and water.

I met Dave Combs outside in the parking lot and he directed me to a Safeway a mile and a half away. I was back in 30 minutes and spent the next 30-40 minutes making my drop bags. I finally lay down on the bed at 11:00 p.m. having set the alarm for 3:00 a.m. My intention was to reach race Jeadquarters by 4:15 a.m. in order to (a) get my toes taped and (b) pick up my bib#.

Fugitive was showing on TV and I could not resist watching it. I reluctantly switched off the boob tube at midnight and dozed off.

Saturday, Oct 31

I was up at 3:00 a.m. and quickly showered and had a quick breakfast of chocolate milk and a bagel with PB. I parked my car in the JJ Jeadquarters parking lot, picked up my bib# and goodie bag, put them in the car and went to get my feet taped. It was chilly and I was shivering a bit while the taping was done.

(Al taping my feet)

Al, from Kachina Rescue, did a great job of the taping. He was fascinated by the fact that I was planning to run the entire race without socks. I had already run the Dick Collins 50M sans socks and so knew where my hotspots were and the taping pretty much took care of them the entire way.

I was back in the car at 5:00 a.m. I turned on the engine and the heater while I pinned my bib to my shorts. I tried to doze for 20 minutes but the constant glare of passing headlights made it hard to come by. I finally gave up and left the warm confines of the car and stepped out into the cold to go look for Diane Forrest. We had planned to run together.

(Sandy (L) and Diane)

(My buddies Phil Rosenstein (L) and Donn Ozaki)

I met her namesake, Diane Vlach, Dean Dyatt, Steve Ansell, Dan Marinsik, Jakob Hermann, Donn Ozaki, Phil Rosenstein and a host of other familiar faces. I finally found Diane at the back with her friend Sandy Baker. Both Diane and Sandy were attempting their first 100M race but did not look nervous.

Very soon the runners were off and Diane and I noticed that it took us almost 55 seconds to step on the starting mat (we were being timed using a transponder that went round the ankle). The first loop was clockwise so we veered off to the left. The first 5-8 minutes I encouraged Sandy and Diane to walk. We started running a half mile or so after the Start and continued until we hit the first climb. It was not steep but it did take us a few hundred feet above the desert floor.

The pink glow rimming the distant mountain tops had bloomed into shades of orange and red and we knew that we were in for a toasty day ahead. On top of the climb, the trail leveled off gradually and then began a gentle climb all the way to the first AS. We could see the long line of runners snaking off into the distance.

That first AS, Coyote Creek, soon came into view and we were in and out of there quite quickly. Sandy had run this loop earlier in the year, in September, during the 12-Hr training run that Jamil and Nick Coury had organized for the benefit of JJ100 participants.

My arm warmers were the first to come off. My jacket followed later. The headlamp had been safely tucked into my waist pouch long ago. Diane, Sandy and I made our way at an easy pace towards the next AS, Jackass Junction, which was one of 2 drop bag Aid Stations.

(With Jody van Zanten (L) and Jean Ho)

A mile or so before the AS we saw homes on the left and even remarked about the wonderful sun deck one of the homes had. To our utter delight we came round a bend and saw 3-4 wild mustangs cantering off to our right. I quickly took a couple of pictures of these magnificent beasts.

(Dave James giving the horses a run for their money)

The eventual winner, Dave James, passed us going the other way. I was awestruck. We were at 10 miles while he was already at 24-25 miles 3 hours into the race! (he ran the first 2 loops in 3:53 and the entire race in 14:20, breaking the previous CR, held by Karl Meltzer, by over an hour!!!).

(The early miles)

We left the Jackass Junction rather quickly. I refreshed my Cytomax bottle and downed a small chocolate milk.

The section between Jackass and race Jeadquarters seemed easier than the first 10 miles and we ran across the timing mat for the second time that day in 3:36. I quickly went to my drop bag

and drank some chocolate milk and picked up additional gels while dumping my jacket and arm warmers into the bag.

The second loop was to be run counter-clockwise. This was the first time I was doing a 100M race that had more than 2 loops and was looking forward to finding out how easy/tough the "washing machine" loops would eventually prove to be.

The sun was definitely warmer by now so I made sure I got some ice in my Cool Off bandana from here on out. It was fun seeing other runners, they were the front runners obviously, going the other way. We got to see all of the fleet of foot ones - Bev Anderson-Abbs (the women's winner), Jorge Pacheco. I met Sean Luitjens a few times. Jakob Hermann and Dan Marinsik showed up eventually. Steve Ansell, Craig Slagel, Craig Heinselman and a few other friends had already gone the other way looking strong.

Somehow the counter-clockwise direction felt a tad tougher. We rolled through the Aid Stations one by one and eventually found ourselves back in JJ Jeadquarters to cross the timing mat for the third time. We had done the 2nd loop in a more conservative 4:14.

(End of the second loop)

Off we went into the 3rd loop, clockwise again, with food in our bellies and ice in our bandanas. It was almost 2 p.m. when we started and I asked Diane and Sandy to walk for the next 2 hours or so.

(The eponymous fountain in Fountain Hills)

That walking saved us from being overly ravaged by the 3 - 4 p.m. heat and we savored the gradual cooling down on the other side of 4:30 p.m. The loop was uneventful.

Anu and Raj had landed in Phoenix around 4:30 p.m. and I asked them to drive straight to the race instead of going to the hotel. They were waiting for us when we reached the end of the loop, 46.4 miles down, at 6:11 p.m. Sandy, Diane and I hit the restrooms and then our drop bags in order to get into warmer clothes.

I took off my shoes to check on the taping and noticed that some of the toes were starting to have their taping fray at the edges. Having another 54 miles to cover, I decided to spend a few minutes having the taping redone. The few minutes actually became more than 30 minutes! It was around 7:10 p.m. or so that Anu, Raj and I set off on Loop 4 (counter-clockwise). They were both happy to be moving and we had a blast talking up a storm. Anu had come down with the express purpose of evaluating the course to see if she would want to run it next year (as of today her answer is No). Nonetheless she had fun running at night.

The 3 of us walked a lot of the first 10 miles. I then decided to run up the hills in order to use a different set of muscles and give the hammies some rest. We had caught up with Dan Marinsik around 53 miles into the race and he was with us for another mile or so before we left him on the way to the Coyote Creek AS (mile 55 or so). Anu was initially reluctant about eating in the AS for fear of not leaving enough for other runner but was reassured when I told her that pacers were more than welcome to the food. She had a slice of a bean burrito as did I. We eventually completed the loop around 11:00 p.m., in about 4 hours. Anu and Raj quickly got me a few burritos and soup. I got into slightly warmer clothes, picked up a spare headlamp and left around 11:30 a.m. Anu and Raj went back to the hotel to get some sleep. They were planning to come back, to pace me for the last 10 miles, around 8:45 a.m.

(Getting ready to start Loop 5 after being paced by Anu and Raj in Loop 4)

The next loop, number 5, was one where I ran not a single step! I know not why but I could not run more than 2 steps! Strange feeling. I decided to surrender and walk since that was what each moment was bringing into my life. I had switched off my headlamp 30 minutes into the loop and went through the night section relying on moonlight.

4 hrs and 35 minutes is what that loop took me. The Aid Stations in the loop had some cold bean burrito slices that I ate with relish while downing chocolate milk. Once back in JJ Jeadquarters, I quickly used the restroom before starting loop 6.

The first 8.5 miles of this counter-clockwise loop went pretty much the same way as the 15.5 miles of the previous loop - I could not run.

Dawn had broken by now and I stowed my headlamp in my jacket pocket. All through the night I had moved up small slopes into warm air and down small dips into cooler air. Other runners remarked after the race that they had felt cold at night. I felt comfortable and enjoyed being alone in the darkness.

It was just before Jackass Junction, at around mile 82, that I was passed by a woman runner who was going at a pretty good clip. I found out later that it was Ling-ru, the 2008 RDL 100M women's winner. She was pacing Sandy Baker. I finally caught up with Sandy about a half mile before the Jackass Junction AS. I sat down in a chair to down my chocolate milk and eat something while Sandy and Ling-ru just breezed through. I eventually got up and continued on my way.

Daylight was upon us and I was glad to be able to see off into the distance once again.

A male runner soon passed me followed by 2 women, dressed in costume. I watched them go up a couple of hills and wished them good luck. I looked at my watch and it showed 6:50 a.m. Did I want to walk the rest of the race? No came the answer. This is where I "commanded" my brain to find me fresh resources in order to finish the race sooner. Oh boy! Did it ever find me resources!! I took 2 steps running, around the 86 mile mark, and did not stop running until I had reached the end of the loop, at mile 92.8. This was the most powerful I have ever felt in the end of a race. The running was effortless, whether going uphill or downhill, and the breathing easy and controlled. I passed the male runner and the 2 women runners and then a host of runners making their way to the end of the loop.

(Turning on the afterburners)

It must have been a mile and a half before the end of the loop that I passed Diane Forrest and Jennifer Blake, her pacer. I complimented them on their great form and moved as fast as I could towards the end where Raj was waiting to pace me the last 8.6 miles. In and out I went of Jeadquarters. I walked with Raj for half a mile and then decided to turn on the "jets" once again. Up the hill we went, passing admiring runners (they said as much), and continued running all the way to the Coyote Creek AS for the final time in the race. We had my bottle filled up with cold water and were shown the Tonto Trail for our last 3.7 miles back. The Tonto Trail was a gentle decline all the way back to its intersection with the Pemberton Trail which is the name of the 15.4 mile loop I had run 6 times earlier.

(With Raj Singh, my pacer for the last 10 miles)

This is where we wound up playing leapfrog with Jimmy Dean Freeman (3rd overall in the 2008 RDL 100M; a very talented runner and coach) who was pacing his wife, Kate, to her first 100M finish. We eventually came to the Pemberton Trail where we made a left turn. A few rollers later I could see the Jeadquarters and the Finish area off in the distance. That lent my feet more wings and I finally stopped just after the mat in a satisfying 28:36:59.

I had covered that last 8.7 miles in 2 hours and 10 minutes or so.

Diane Forrest came in to the Finish area about35 minutes later but waited, in a great show of friendship and love and caring, for Sandy to show up so that they could cross the Finish hand in hand. Way to go Diane and Sandy! You women rock.

A big thank you to Jamil Coury and his band of volunteers that included Dave Combs, Chris Rios and others.

(Dave Combs)

(Chris Rios)

Thanks also to Rick Gaston who took pictures throughout Saturday and also paced a friend. Seeing him and Dave there made the race that little bit more comfortable!

I'll be back!

2009 Lean Horse 100M

2009-08-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

ANU'S SONNET
He who knoweth her a fortune hath found:
A treasure trove of Love and Happiness.
A precious gift 'tis to have her around
In our lives I must truly confess.
Her tinkling laugh, her lovely doe-like eyes,
Her capacious heart, her heavenly voice,
She is larger than life: don't go by size!
Love her we must. We have no other choice.
Cry with you she will, feel your pain she will;
Reach out she will in your darkest hour.
A Guiding Light on the climb up Life's hill,
Of mental strength she is a tall tower.
So heady, vivacious, loving and kind,
Another like her you will never find.

Date : August 22-23, 2009
Race : Lean Horse 100M
Location: Hot Springs, SD
Time : 29:13

And then I choked up again and again and again ... At mile 30. At 60. At 80. Along Argyle Road. I cried after the Finish. For months I had been looking forward to this race and I knew that I would get very emotional during and after the adventure. How prescient I was!

This was Anu's race. What a fabulous race she ran. Truly one for the ages.

It all began late last year (2008) when she asked me if she would be able to run 100 miles. I assured her she could run one with appropriate training and that gave her enough confidence to sign up for Lean Horse at my insistence. I had run the race in 2007 and 2008 and knew the course well. To say that I was excited is an understatement.

Given that the only cell phone provider that works in Hot Springs, SD, is Verizon I bought a couple of Verizon track phones for our race. AT&T phones work in Rapid City. Raj and I also both bought a couple of digital camcorders for the race.

Thursday, Aug 20
As I do every year, we decided to fly out Thursday morning. Our tickets had been booked way back in February and a friend of ours, Bharti, had also signed up for the trip to help crew and pace Anu.

We left Anu's home around 5:00 a.m. in their van to catch 7:18 a.m. flight to Denver from SFO. That flight took off on time and we landed in Denver airport hungry and promptly started looking for vegetarian restaurants, We settled on a Mexican restaurant that had pretty decent food. I hydrated with a beer. :)

(On our way to Rapid City, South Dakota)

We trudged across the terminal to the gate for the flight to Rapid City operated by United Express. It was a small commuter plane and the flight was short and uneventful.

We soon got our rental car, an SUV, and headed into town to Walmart to pick up much needed supplies for the race.

Raj and I picked up a Thermocol cooler, ice, water, cookies, chocolate milk, water and other small supplies for the race. There was no way of knowing if some of these would be available in Hot Springs. We also found the address of an Indian restaurant close to the Walmart. We ate a light lunch, at 5 p.m., and had them pack rice for us to be used in the race as lunch & dinner for Anu. In the cooler went the 7 bottles of Persian yogurt drink that I had brought in my checked bags from San Jose and string cheese.

We drove the 60 odd miles to Hot Springs and decided to head straight for Argyle Road to help Anu get an idea of the rolling hills between miles 5 and 16.5 (miles 83.5 and 98 on the way back). That recon drive really helped her on race day as she had a mental picture of what was coming up and how steep/gentle the climbs were.

We checked in to the Holiday Inn Express and I started the process of making the drop bags. That took a good 30-45 minutes and they were soon ready. We retired to bed early that night. Bharti and I were in a small room with 2 bunk beds. Raj and Anu were on the big Queen bed while Nishad slept on the floor on a couple of blankets.

Friday, Aug 21
We woke up around 7:30 a.m. and I was soon down in the restaurant eating breakfast. The others soon came down too and we had a great time talking to other runners. We met Phil Rosenstein who had run across the US to raise money for his charity. Very inspiring stuff.

Off we went to the Mueller Center to deposit our drop bags and make it in time for the 3 p.m. briefing. That briefing was short and we were soon in the Pizza Hut across the road for an early dinner. Anu cannot eat pizzas so she ate in the hotel room - we had brought some microwavable Indian food from the Bay area.

Raj and I then went to a local grocery store to buy Velcro, duct tape and some cloth that we were planning to use to cover the holes I had made in Anu's shoes in the front to give her toes more wiggle room. We eventually engineered makeshift covers for the shoes that were held onto the sides using Velcro (they were eventually discarded 20-25 miles into the race).

Sleep that night was wonderful.

Saturday, Aug 22
Race day dawned bright and warm. Anu and I quickly showered. I went down to eat breakfast while Anu was getting ready and reconnected with Phil. I also met Scott Giddings for the first time in person. Scott and I had run Lean Horse in 2008. He was back this year to try and go under 24 hours (he eventually came very close!).

We soon got into the SUV. Phil rode with us to the Start. Into the Mueller Center we went and checked in as instructed to do so the day before. Anu sat down on a chair and put on her socks, shoes etc. while I met and talked with Bonnelle Murphy and Joe Judd. I took a few videos of all of this.

With 7-8 minutes to go we were instructed to go outside. Jerry Dunn, the RD, gave us last minute instructions and we were soon off. I recorded the first 10-15 seconds after the start on the video and then put it away for later use.

(A few minutes before the 6:00 a.m. Start)

Anu was wearing a yellow fluorescent top with a blue skirt. She had a Cool Off bandana around her neck along with a visor and sunglasses. I had a waistpack that had the portable digital video camera, a digital camera and gels. My backpack had an extra 2 bottles of water to go with the 2 bottles I was carrying in my hands. One bottle had Cytomax while the other had water. A Cool Off bandana around my neck matched the orange visor.

I had Anu walk the first 5 minutes. We spent those minutes talking to a few runners, Jim Phelan one of them, who were doing the 50M race.

(The ever friendly and loving Anu with 50-mile runner Jim Phelan)

5 minutes into the race we started running. We were soon joined by Francine Weigeldt, another first time 100 miler. She stayed with us until mile 26-27 after which she took off on her own. We saw her once more, around mile 50. She was on her way back from the turnaround and she looked strong.

We soon left the asphalt roads behind us and began the trek to the first AS, Coldwater Creek, at mile 4. Anu was settling down into a good rhythm and I made her rush through the AS while I refilled the bottles. I caught up with her a quarter mile out. The left turn onto Argyle Road was soon upon us as was the large yellow 5 mile marker on the left side of the road.

This was a sustained climb of 1.5-2.0 miles and Anu maintained an impressive pace up. The road turns into rollers after the top of the long climb and before we knew it, we were at the second AS, Morph Road, at mile 10.5. Deb, Laurie Woodrow's friend, was volunteering here and she took a picture of me. I took one of the AS.

In and out like a flash from the AS. We had done the first 10 miles in 2 hours and 30 minutes i.e. 15 minutes a mile pace. Excellent pace given the terrain.

(Anu motoring at a very good clip, around mile 13 or so, just
after leaving the Black Hills National Forest)

Anu kept up this relentless pace all the way to the first AS where we could hook up with our crew - Argyle Road at mile 16.5.

(Coming into the Argyle Road Aid Station (mile 16.5) at
10:00 a.m. on Sat, Aug 22. Nishad on the right)

We reached there exactly at 10:00 a.m. i.e. 240 minutes for 16.5 miles or 14.5 min/mile. She had picked up pace between 10 and 16.5. To say that I was impressed is an understatement.

The cloth covering her right shoe had kept coming off so Raj used duct tape to glue it to the sides. Anu changed out of the yellow top into another yellow one that was thinner and better for running in the heat. Anu drank half a bottle of the yogurt drink. We both put ice in our bandanas and headed out quickly. Onwards to the next AS, Like Kiln, at mile 20. From now on we would meet our crew, Raj, Bharti and Anu, at every AS.

It was in the Argyle Road AS, as I was rummaging through our drop bag, that I met Lynnor Matheny. I had read her posts on the Ultra mailing list and had been looking forward to meeting her. She is a very sweet person as is the friend she was running with, Sherry Meador. Anu, Francine and I played tag with them for the next 6-7 miles or so. Lynnor was walking off food she had eaten in the AS with a very purposeful stride.

It must have been around mile 18 or so that Anu experienced a panic attack. She was quick to recognize signs of low blood sugar and asked me for a gel. I gave her an Accel gel and within 5 minutes she was feeling good again. The day was getting very hot by now. 10:45 a.m. with nary a cloud in the sky and the trail glinting brightly ahead of us for as long as the eye could see.

We trudged on to the Lime Kiln AS. Here we refilled the bandanas with ice, ate a bit and headed out.

(Adjusting Anu's ice bandana in the Lime
Kiln Aid Station (mile 20))

Anu asked Bharti and Raj to prepare her lunch, rice and yogurt, for her to eat in the next AS which was Pringle at 24.5.

The trail between Lime Kiln and Pringle, after an initial flat section of about 1.5 miles, was a gentle and then a slightly more pronounced downhill. It was fun to be running again. About 5 minutes from the AS I asked Raj to turn on the air conditioning in the SUV so that Anu could cool down while she ate her lunch. We probably spent 10 minutes here. Just before we left I helped Anu stretch her left hamstring. I drank chocolate milk. This is pretty much what I had throughout the first 50 miles in addition to the gels and Cytomax/Gatorade. It must have been after 12:50 p.m. that we left Pringle. It was very hot now and Anu had the hardest time in this long, unshaded stretch that paralleled Hwy 385. Raj, who had gone to Custer the day before to rent a mountain bike, now accompanied us with ample water and additional gels if needed.

I could tell that Anu was trying to conserve her energies. She is a very talkative person but this section saw her quiet as a doormouse. She was fighting and my respect for her, already very, very high, inched up with every passing mile.

It was in the Carrol Creek AS, at mile 30, that she informed me about her blister. Early treatment can be the difference between successfully finishing or dropping out from pain and an altered gait. I quickly took out my foot care kit (thank you Zombierunner!) and had it popped, coated with Neosporin and taped up in no time at all. She had run the 30 miles in 8:20 i.e. we reached the AS around 2:20 p.m. She and I left the AS soon after the blister work and began the long stretch, 5.5 miles i.e. 35.5 miles into the race, to the Harbach AS. Someone had moved the 35 mile marker way ahead, almost to the 33.5 or 34 mile mark. Anu was glad to see the sign though and I could see it reflected in her stride.

It was here that I fought with her! She had been agonizing about the improper information her new Garmin was showing about the distance (she was trying to reconcile the mile markers with the Garmin numbers) and was constantly anxious about her pace and whether she would eventually be able to finish given the amount of walking we were doing.

My experience with previous very hot 100M races had taught me that power walking between 12 noon to about 4 p.m. would pay off big dividends later in the day, especially at night. I could understand her anxiety but my Ego refused to give up on "I am right. Just follow my advice. No need to consult your Garmin. Trust me". We had a small spat as we were walking into the Harbach Road AS and my anger erupted in front of Raj, Bharti and Nishu. To say that I was mortified and disgusted with myself is truly being generous to myself. I was sick to the core of my being. How could I fight with this little bundle of love and joy who was struggling hard enough to complete a very, very tough challenge? She certainly did not need my ego-driven anger. All she needed were calming words.

Unbeknownst to me (I was fixing my shoes in another part of the AS) she gulped down a bottle and a half of the yogurt drink. That amounted to 1000mg of Sodium. As soon as we left the AS, I took my hourly Succeed salt tablet and gave her one too. That was almost 1400 mg of Sodium in 5 minutes! No wonder she threw it all up in the next 2-3 miles.

About 0.5 miles out of the AS we passed Akos Konya going the other way (we were at mile 36, he was at 64!). All he carried was one hand bottle! Given that he was probably covering the miles between aid stations in 45-60 minutes, why would he need more????

Anu hit an emotional low a mile or so after passing Akos. My anger, combined with the heat and her anxiety, made her burst into tears. Raj consoled her and took care of her while I walked by her side in intense pain and feeling 2 feet small. I decided to talk about my flare up at a later time and to continue to help her as a coach by making sure that she was still taking in enough fluids and calories.

We soon passed another runner, Ray Greunewald, who was having a tough time. He had done many 100s before but was having the toughest race of his life. Anu, the ever compassionate soul that she is, offered him words of encouragement.

It was here that a couple of runners went by the other way. One of them pointed to me and said "I love your blog!". Whoever you are leave me a comment with your name so that I can come back into this post and give you credit! Thank you. That added a nice touch to my race.

We soon saw a familiar figure running towards us. It was Nishad running from the AS to assure his mother that (a) she was doing very well, and (b) the temps had fallen a bit. We had been told the day before in the race briefing that Custer and beyond would definitely be cooler. Cooler it certainly was. We were close to 5800 feet in altitude and that little coolness was so very welcome after the battering ram of the Sun that we had been subjected to all day.

Anu was feeling a lot better by now. Her queasiness had dissipated and she was feeling charged up with the knowledge that there was a very long downhill section coming up in a mile or so. We spent very little time in the Mountain Trailhead AS (manned every year by school kids) at mile 40.5.

Raj was still on the bike. We set out to begin the long downhill to the Oreville AS. A mile or so after the Mountain Trailhead AS, the downhill really began.

(Anu flying down towards the 50-mile turnaround. Crazy Horse on the right.)

Anu was by now flying at 11-12 minutes a mile pace (even faster in some sections!). I let her go, not wanting to interrupt her amazing rhythm. She stopped, for a few minutes, in the Oreville AS (mile 46.2) before pressing down on the accelerator once again all the way to the turnaround. Holy smokes is all I could say all the way there!!!! She reached 50 miles in 13:38 i.e. at 7:38 p.m. This turnaround was on Deadbroke Street in Hill City, SD.

We looked at each other and heaved a big sigh of relief. She now had an additional 82 minutes to add to the allotted 15 hours (900 minutes) to make it back to the Finish. Those precious minutes not only gave her an extra 1 minute and 36 seconds a mile (overall pace for the last 50 went from 18 min/mile to 19:36 mins/mile!) but untold confidence and faith that she COULD actually finish this behemoth of a race. I was so proud of how she had run the last 7-8 miles to the turnaround.

She ate her rice and yogurt again. I helped myself to some of it. The evening did not presage a chilly night. As soon as we had gotten all we needed from the SUV, Raj left to go and return the bike. He wanted to meet us in the Oreville AS at 54.6 miles. Nishad, Bharti, Anu and I set off to begin the long trek back to all the aid stations in reverse. We were power walking and must have reached Oreville around 10:00 p.m. It was here that Anu and I changed into warmer clothing. I put on a Brooks running jacket and Anu put on a skull cap and long sleeves. Nishad had a headlight. I had my headlamp and Bharti had her light. Anu was safely ensconced between us.

The climb back up to the tunnel just before Crazy Horse was a long one. I had kept telling Anu that the tunnel marked the end of the climb and it eventually came into view. We could even see someone's flashlight coming towards us. Nishad correctly guessed that it must be his Dad. It sure was Raj. We now walked in companionable silence to the Mountain Trailhead AS (mile 59.5). Bharti's foot was hurting by now so she decided to stop and drive the SUV along with Raj. The plan was for Raj to pace us from the Harbach Road AS (mile 64.5) which was the next AS.

After eating a bit, Anu, Nishad and I left. It was a downhill for a little bit and then flat all the way into Custer. Anu was finding it painful (pain on the inside of both knees probably brought on by tight Vastus Medialis or Sartorious muscles) to walk but did not feel the pain when she shuffled. We covered those 5 miles at about 15 minutes a mile pace. It was incredible what Anu was able to do in these late stages of the race.

We spent a good 10-15 minutes in this Aid Station eating and putting calories into our bodies. I had decided to switch to my Tevas here so it took us those extra minutes. Anu too switched to Tevas. Raj and I stuffed each of her gloves with chemical hand warmers.

Sunday, Aug 23
The procession now had Raj and Nishad accompanying us. Onwards to the Carroll Creek AS, at mile 70. Those 5.5 miles were the longest in the race. I remember leaving Harbach at 12:50 a.m. The AS refused to show up! It eventually did at 2:30 a.m. It had taken us 100 minutes to cover 5.5 miles i.e. 18 minutes/mile. Not possible. Anyway, we sat down so that I could eat some tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Anu had some buttermilk and half a sandwich.

The empath she is, she is the only one who noticed that there was a runner sitting to her right who was crying (he had dropped). What a woman!

It was 2:37 a.m. when we decided to hit the road. I had been doing math while eating and realized that we HAD to reach the Argyle Road AS, at mile 83.5, by 7:00 a.m. at the latest to have a decent shot at finishing. I asked Anu to dig deep and do the next 13 miles in 4 hours tops.

Nishad had by now done 19.2 miles His plan was to go another 0.8 miles to make it a round 20. Bharti was given the task of finding the next spot where she could pick him up. It was dark, there was lightning in the air for the next hour and Bharti could not find an opening immediately. The trail had diverged away from Hwy 385. We asked Nish if he could continue to Pringle. He was OK with it so we asked Bharti to go straight to Pringle and wait for us.

We passed another runner, Louise, along this stretch. She eventually was one of the last people to finish. This section too felt interminably long.

The Pringle AS had been abandoned. There were a few people there, runners who had dropped and their crew members. One of them made us a PBJ sandwich. Raj and I had asked Anu to continue on while we picked up supplies. Anu passed Pringle at 4:30 a.m. It had taken us 113 minutes to cover the 6 miles from Carrol Creek to Pringle i.e. almost 19 minutes/mile pace. I know I was moving way faster so there was something way off about the race distances!

This next section, with a 2 mile gentle climb and a 2 mile flat after that, to the Lime Kiln AS was amazing. Anu covered those 4 miles in 59 minutes! She shuffled at 14-15 mins/mile, even up the slight slope. The Lime Kiln AS was totally deserted. Since we had Bharti and Nishad in the SUV we decided to push through to Argyle Road, 3.5 miles away. Given how hard Anu had been pushing for the last 10 miles and knowing that we would reach Argyle by 6:30-6:35 a.m., I asked her to ease off a bit.

We both felt the intense need to answer Mother Nature's insistent call. That took us 5-7 minutes. We eventually made it into Argyle Road at around 6:35 a.m. Anu quickly changed into day time clothes, the same orange top and white skirt she had worn for her 24-hour run around the West Valley tracks, while I shucked my jacket and my back pack. The SUV would now be alongside us all the way to the 95 mile turnoff! What a boon that proved to be!

Anu had delivered on the 4 hour from mile 70 to 83.5 promise to me. I was a bit worried about the next challenge, the biggest one yet, in the race - the rolling hills between 83.5 and 93. We left the Argyle Road AS at 6:47 a.m. Anu and I soon got into a great rhythm and we quickly passed the 85 mile mark. The Sun was up and it was a beautiful morning to be running towards victory.

To my utter and complete shock we were soon upon the site of the second to last (second one on the way out) AS - Morph Road. There was a lady who came out of a camper when she saw us and we gave her our bib numbers and just sailed past. I was excited! I knew that the 90 mile marker was not far off. It eventually came at 8:08 a.m. Anu The Magnificent had covered the last 6.5 miles in a stunning 81 minutes i.e. 12.5 mins/mile!! Holy mackerel. I had thought the hills would chew her up and spit her out. SHE was the one who chewed up those rollers and flattened them out!! I was in total awe of this little bundle of courage and determination. I knew I was watching the greatest exhibition of motivation, guts and chutzpah that I would ever have the privilege to witness.

Mile 93 came soon enough and we stopped briefly at the top for me to put on my Team Anu T-shirt. I had had them specially designed for us. Bharti, Nishad and Raj were planning to wear their shirts in the last 200 yards from the Finish.

We now flew down the hill to the 95 mile marker and the right turn just after it that would lead, in 0.8 miles, to the Coldbrook Creek AS at mile 96. Raj and Nishad took off from that turn to head into town and wait for us just before the Finish.

I gave Anu a gel here so that she could go straight through the AS. She and Bharti waltzed right past while I decided to go in and grab a cup of soup. The last question Anu asked me (it was exactly 10:00 a.m. i.e. 28 hrs. into the race when we reached the 96 mile AS) was if we would finish inside of 30 hours! Bharti and I chuckled at that comment but it was a telling one. She had been intensely keyed up for 28 hours and was just then beginning to realize that it would soon to be over.

To put the miles from the mile 70 AS to the Argyle Road AS (mile 83.5) and from Argyle Road to Coldbrook in perspective I want to offer up this statistic:

Mile 70 ==> Mile 83.5 ==> 13.5 miles in 4 hours
Mile 83.5 ==> Mile 96 ==> 12.5 miles in 3 hours 13 minutes

It is the most amazing statistic. She had covered 12.5 miles of steep, rolling hills much faster than the flat terrain of the previous 13 miles. Wow! Wow!!

My soup was hot so it took me a while to gulp down. In the interim I flirted with Elaine Doll-Dunn, Jerry Dunn's wife, and the other female volunteers.

I soon caught up with Anu and Bharti a half mile out of the AS. They were slowly walking up a hill. I assured them that we had only a couple of small climbs left before the downhill that ended on the asphalt roads of town. The day had gotten very hot by now and Anu's asthma had started to bother her a lot. She realized though that the Finish was round the corner, so to speak, so she put the discomfort at the back of her mind and started running as soon as we hit the downhill into town.

She started power walking as soon as we got onto the flat section. We could see Uli The Walker (5 times in a row Lean Horse finisher) ahead and Anu soon caught up with him and surged ahead with about 0.75 miles to go. Past the waterfall we went and soon saw Raj and Nishad waiting ahead of us, 400 yards from the Finish. Raj had handed his video camera to my friend, Joe Judd, so I ran ahead to within sight of the Finish and let Joe know that we would all be coming in in a minute. In the meantime Raj, Bharti and Nishad had donned their Team Anu T-shirts.

I waited for Anu and the others to join me. Anu broke down right there and I asked her to hold it in for a few more paces. We all rounded the corner and ran towards the Finish amidst loud applause from other runners. It was the most amazing Finish ever! Anu, who had been holding her emotions in a tight rein for 29 hours and 13 minutes (her finish time) now let go and started weeping. Raj hugged her as did Nishad and Bharti. I gave up when she put her arms around me and sobbed into her shoulder. I was the proudest I have ever been of any person in my life.

Raj had biked more than 30 miles the day before and run an additional 19 with us. Bharti had paced us for 25 miles while Nishad had matched us step for step for 25 miles too. Thank you, you wonderful crew people!

We slowly made our way into the Mueller Center to drink, collect our drop bags, get a massage and chat with other runners. The award ceremony was planned for 12:15 p.m. so Anu, Raj and Nishad went to the hotel to let Anu shower. She did get a massage before leaving though. Nishad and Raj later told Bharti and me that Anu had fallen in the bathroom owing to hypoglycemia. This was soon remedied by giving her food.

The ceremony started at 12:15 p.m. sharp but there was no sign of the three of them. She eventually came in around 12:25 p.m. and I knew something was wrong. She sat down next to me and asked for a doctor 5 minutes later. The attending medical officer was summoned by Raj and they helped her walk off to a stretcher in the back of the room. Jerry Dunn, the Race Director, pointed to her and said that she was one of the successful first-time 100 mile runners to which the crowd responded with applause.

It took Anu 2 hours and a lot of salty water and soda to recover from the dehydration. We eventually made it back to the hotel room around 3:00 p.m.

Monday, Aug 24
The next day we visited Mt. Rushmore on the way to Rapid City and the flight back to San Francisco. On our flight from Rapid City to Denver were Lynnor Matheny, Sherry Meador and Phil Rosenstein.

Lynnor, in her race report e-mail a few days later, stated that Anu's finish was "one of the most inspirational things she had ever seen". High praise indeed!

(Rapid City airport. L to R: Sherry Meador, Lynnor Matheny, Anu Singh, Phil Rosenstein and Raj Singh)

We spent an hour with them before the flight, which was delayed by about 30 minutes, and it was great fun to share stories.

Many thanks to Jerry Dunn and his band of volunteers. Very helpful and cheerful, even in the wee hours of the morning.

I am intensely proud of Anu. I am humbled and awed by the manner in which she fought her demons and eventually triumphed. Way to go babe!!

The Untamed Thames Ring 250

2009-06-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Date : Wed, Jun 24 - Sun, Jun 28
Race : Thames Ring 250 mile race

Where : Start and Finish in Streatley, Berkshire, United Kingdom

Distance Covered : 183.14 miles (CP#7) in 63 hours

Pictures
Pre-race http://rajeevtherunner.smugmug.com/gallery/8992499_QbQHu#597869674_EtKj8
Race http://rajeevtherunner.smugmug.com/gallery/8858686_yNG7R#587155722_ko9cg

I have divided my race report into 3 sections.

Part I covers the days leading up to the race and the first 55 miles.

Part II details the sections from CP#2 (55 miles) to CP#5 (130 miles).

Part III focuses on the remaining 2 Checkpoints (#6 & #7)

I received an e-mail from the newest member, Christian Hottas, of the Ultraholics Yahoo group back in November, 2008 about the inaugural Thames Ring 260. It immediately appealed to my desire to see what lay beyond a race of 100 miles, not that I had sated my appetite for 100 mile races.

I spent a few weeks doing research on the race route and the Thames Ring. The minute I saw names like Henley, Reading, Marlow and Milton Keynes I was hooked. I had to give myself the gift of running a race in the UK. I have always been intrigued by that country and continue to be so even after spending 2 weeks there before, during and after my unsuccessful attempt to complete the TR250 race.

(The Morrell Room)

The race started in Streatley, outside the Morrell Room, and passed through Reading, Henley, Windsor, London, Milton Keynes, Braunston, Napton and then onwards to Oxford on the way back to Streatley. I am hoping to go back in 2011 and complete what I started last month.

Goring & Streatley are quiet little villages that have a few surprisingly famous personalities living there. George Michael, of WHAM and "Careless Whisper" fame, has a home right next to the bridge that connects the 2 villages.

(The back of George Michael's home)

(High Street connecting Goring and Streatley)

Goring is the one with the train station, the library and a host of small shops and restaurants. Its quiet beauty, so English, charmed my heart no end. The Goring side of the Thames is lined with stately mansions. One of them is shown below.

(An estate on the Thames)

The various checkpoints are detailed below.

CHECK POINTS

LEG	Leg dist	Leg time	Tot dist	Tot time	CP opens Closes (hrs open)
Streatley – Hurley CP1 GR = SU828842	27.25	8	27.25	8	13:30 18:00 Wed (4.5)
Hurley – Chertsey CP2 GR= TQ054666	27.8	8	55.05	16	18:00 Wed 02:00 Thur (8)
Chertsey – Yiewsley CP3 GR= TQ066800	27.2	10	82.25	26	23:00 Wed 12:00 Thur (13)
Yiewsley – Berkhamsted CP4 GR= SP997077	23.6	8	105.85	34	05:00 Thur 20:00 Thur (15)
Berkhamsted – Milton Keynes CP5 GR= SP880364	24.35	8	130.2	42	11:00 Thur 04:00 Fri (17)
Milton Keynes – Nether Heyford CP6 GR= SP644591	26.95	11	157.15	53	17:00 Thur 15:00 Fri (22)
N. Heyford – Fenny Compton CP7 GR= SP430532	25.99	12	183.14	65	24:00 Thur 03:00 Sat (27)
F. Compton – Lower Heyford CP8 GR= SP483246	22.84	12	205.98	77	06:00 Fri 15:00 Sat (33)
Lower Heyford – Abingdon CP9 GR= SU498967	23.55	12	229.53	89	13:00 Fri 03:00 Sun (36)
Abingdon – Streatley Finish CP10 GR= SU594808	18.83	11	248.36	100	18:00 Fri 14:00 Sun (44)

Red = guesstimations!! Green = good sleeping spaces.

Bon voyage! :-))

The Untamed Thames Ring 250 - Part I

2009-06-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 20
I spent the morning running about 9 miles or so with Anu and Raj. We ran down Hwy 9 to Los Gatos, took a left turn on Santa Cruz Ave. which soon became Winchester Blvd. A left turn onto Knowles took us back towards Anu's home. A wonderful, warm day and an equally wonderful run with motivated friends.

I went back home to shower and pack and return to Anu's home in my car which I had planned to leave there. My flight was at 7:15 p.m. and I wanted to be in the airport before 5 p.m. Anu and Lily drove me there and I reached with ample time to spare. The airport was deserted! I was checked in and on my way to Security 10 minutes after I had walked into the Terminal!

(With Lily and Anu outside the San Francisco airport)

I eventually found my way to the gate and spent the next hour and a half reading the turn-by-turn race route details and tracing them in the Geo Projects Thames Ring map I had bought a few months ago from Amazon. It was so exciting to find the various small details like Pub names or street names on that map. I did manage to sleep for a few hours on the 10-hr long flight.

Sunday, June 21
I landed in London about 15 minutes early. Immigration and Customs were fast and I was out by 1:45 p.m. Time now to head for the Underground. The 3 bags were heavy with race stuff and it was quite hard lugging them down to the Underground. After asking around, I bought a 1-way ticket to the Gloucester Road station (about a mile from the hotel) on the Piccadilly line. The train came in soon enough and I stashed my bags by the door and sat down to enjoy the 45-minute trip to Gloucester Road.

The walk from the station to the hotel was very hard. I was going up a bit of a slope all the way lugging the heavy bags and I was thankful for the hotel (Best Western John Howard, next to The Royal Albert Hall) steps when they swam into view! I quickly got my room and put the bags in a corner. That's about when I received a text message from Engel Martin, my BMC ex-manager who had moved to Ireland a month ago and who was visiting London for the weekend, asking me if I wanted to meet up with him in Harrods.

I freshened up and headed out the door with my camera to make my way to Harrods which my map showed me to be on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge. It was about between a mile to a mile and a half from my hotel. I decided to walk through Kensington Park where a concert was going on. The music was fantastic and I stood for many long minutes enthralled by the sounds and the people enjoying a sunny London late afternoon.

Engel and his family were in the toy section of the store. I must have spent 10 minutes or so talking to him before we were asked to leave since the store was closing at 6 p.m. (Sunday and all that).

(With Engel and his daughters)

We decided to take the party to a pub next door and soon found ourselves enjoying a glass of wine and eating pub fare. It was a walk in Hyde Park after that before we parted ways. I wanted to get back and sleep so that I could be rested for the trip to Streatley the next morning.

Monday, June 22
I had breakfast around 8 a.m. the next morning in the restaurant's dining room before checking out. I had 3 choices - call for a cab to take me to Paddington station, (b) take the Underground from Gloucester Road to Paddington or (c) walk the couple of miles across Hyde Park to the station. I chose the last option.

What a hard walk it was! The bag I was pulling was heavy and the castors were not the best. My two shoulder bags were heavy as well making for many stops along the way to rest my weary shoulders. I finally reached Paddington Station where I quickly bought a one-way ticket to Goring/Streatley station (16.50 pounds). I hauled my luggage onto the luggage rack in the compartment and sat down by a window to enjoy the scenery going past. I was curious to see if I could even spot the Thames Path! I did not but was fortunate to see the Oracle building when the train pulled into Reading. Adding to my woes for that day, I had, unfortunately, not taken a direct train to Goring. I was forced to haul my heavy bags from Platform 3 to Platform 9 using a tunnel below the tracks. Man was that tough!!! The Goring train eventually arrived and I scrambled on it.

Goring station was another problem. I was faced with the prospect of taking my luggage up a flight of stairs and down another on the opposite side. This is when I had my first slice of luck for the day. :) A tall young man named Robin asked me if I needed help. I gladly accepted. When he learned that I was going to walk the 0.75 miles to the Swan Hotel, he offered to drop me off. Thank you Robin!

The room I was given in the Swan was right on the water. What a lovely view I had from the balcony. The hotel itself is a very old one and the plumbing supported that fact! :) Nonetheless I decided to head out for lunch. With my faithful camera in tow, I decided to first check where the Start was. To my utter surprise, it was right next door to the Swan (50 yards or so away!). I then headed the opposite way to check out where the Thames Path was. I found it soon enough and stood there examining it as a boxer might his opponent! :)

(Pretty signs in Streatley)

Lunch was in the Miller of Mansfield pub. A glass of wine and a delicious pizza. Out I went again to the Thames Path for a short walk along the first few hundred yards. I ate dinner that night in the Swan dining room.

Tuesday, June 23
I woke up early the next morning and spent the morning lazing around and buying last minute stuff like water and a few more batteries and bandaids.

I went back to the Thames Path again and was sitting there talking to an Underground train driver named Steve when a couple pulled up in their canoe right in front of us. They were obviously headed to town for a quick bite to eat. They asked us if their stuff was safe in the canoe. I then offered to help them lug their stuff to my hotel and have the hotel staff put it in the back office. We were soon walking towards the hotel, talking about my race. They were excited at the prospect of, maybe, seeing me out on the course as they were planning to camp overnight 6-7 miles down the river and were not planning to start rowing again until after 10 a.m. the next day. Mike and Mary made for a striking couple.

I spent the next few hours making my drop bags.

Alicja Barahona, one of 2 women to start the race (she eventually finished 3rd overall in 79 hrs! What an athlete!!), and I had met earlier when she was checking into the hotel and we decided to go look for rice or pasta to eat. After trying a couple of pubs in vain, we decided to eat in the Swan that evening. We ate an early dinner with a couple of other runners. We were all champing at the bit.

I went to bed early but could not sleep for the next 2 hours, nervousness and jet lag keeping me wide awake.

Wednesday, June 24
Race day finally! Gosh what an adventure it promised to be!! I was excited to say the least. I made my last minute toilet calls before checking out and lugging my 2 drop bags to the Morrell Rooms next door. A lot of the other runners were already there. I picked up my bib number and paid 5 pounds as deposit for a toilet key for the Grand Union Canal section of the course. I safely put that key in my waist pouch.

(The Start)

(With Alicja just before the Start)

(Doing my customary dynamic stretches)

Alicja and I had a couple of pictures taken outside and before I knew it the race had started. The others sprinted off like they were running a mere marathon or 50K! I walked to the start of the Thames Path, about 0.2 miles from the Morrell Room, and had a chance to take pictures of the frontrunners from the bridge.

Morrell Rooms, Streatley -->> Hurleyford Farm, CP #1

Segment: 27.2 miles; Total: 27.2 miles; Time Limit: 8 hrs.

Very soon I was the last runner. I had my camera in my hand and the laminated map cum instructions for this first section of the course in the other along with my bottles. Clicked a bunch of pictures before putting the camera away to tackle a few climbs, one of which included 10 or so stairs at a steepish angle. The right Achilles tendon was a tad tight owing to the impinged sciatic nerve in my back. That tightness eventually disappeared and never came back the rest of the race.

I kept looking at the directions on the map and making the correct turns as directed. I soon spotted a runner up front. He had slowed down to talk on his phone. I passed him and asked after his wellbeing (I always do that in a race). He said he was fine so I continued. Very soon another couple of runners showed up in front of me. I caught up with them and very soon there were 3-4 of us making our way along the Thames Path that soon wound its way away from the river into a residential neighborhood. That's whan a runner named Carl Sommer (he went on to finish in 91 hours!) called me back because I had missed a turn. Destiny! He was to be my savior on more than one occasion in the next 70 miles.

We made our way through the town of Whitchurch and were back on the Thames Path. It was reassuring to see the sign pointing in the direction of Reading! This was a section that ran right next to the river (on the left) and the railway line (to London in the direction we were moving in) on the right. I vaguely remembered seeing this section on my way in a few days ago.

By now there were 3 of us running together - Carl, Gary (a policeman) and I. Gary had completed a 205 mile one-off race a few years ago and he was looking forward to taking on this monster. It was fun running with these 2 Englishmen.

During one of our deviations away from the river, I espied a small convenience store and we were soon drinking chocolate milk and the local Gatorade-like drink. They really hit the spot.

It was just after Pangbourne, going past one of the locks, that I happened to look between a couple of boats in the lock and noticed a couple paddling their boat. It was Mike and Mary from the day before. I excitedly hailed them and took a couple of pictures of them before wishing them a good trip to Reading.

(Mary and Mike)

Carl and I soon found ourselves running through a big open field on the right and the river Thames on the left. I could see for miles off to the right and it was a sight to warm the heart.

We soon approached Caversham and the bridge across the Thames I had seen pictures of over the past few months. Wow! I had to slow down (not that I was running that fast!) to absorb the sight and let it all sink in. WOW!

The river was lined with wonderful homes on the far side of the path. Homes that had "garages" for their small boats! I was very captivated by the passing scenery.

Through Caversham and onto Reading. The path was lined on our right with apartment buildings, office buildings and an occasional restaurant or two. We rounded a corner and I was overjoyed to see a familiar sign on a couple of buildings on the right. Oracle. My old employer. I had interacted with a bunch of people from this Thames Valley Park office during my years in HQ in Redwood Shores in the Bay area. Carl took a picture of me with Oracle in the background.

We soon put Reading behind us and got on with the task of pushing on to CP#1.

(Henley Church off in the distance)

I soon spotted a church off in the distance. It was Henley Church. The number of people on the path had now increased substantially. Into Henley-on-Thames rolled the caravan of 2 runners. I was a tad behind Carl taking pictures. Henley was a hive of activity with intense practice and preparations going on for the annual Henley Regatta that was to take place the Tuesday after i.e. June 30. It was one of the nicest towns I had seen in a while. The Thames was very wide here and the rowing lanes had been set out for more than a mile. Rowers were practicing with their coaches yelling out instructions on megaphones. We passed through Henley, after sucking down on an ice cream cone each, around 3 p.m. or so. That was 22 miles in 5 hours of running. Not bad.

(Carl going past people enjoying the afternoon sun)

(Lovely Henley)

CP#1 eventually came at 4:07 p.m. (6:07 hrs. into the race). I spent 20 minutes there replenishing my gels, having my bottles refilled and eating some food. I joked around with Anthony and the other volunteers and left at 4:27 p.m.

Hurleyford Farm, CP#1 -->> Chertsey Bridge, CP #2

Segment: 27.8 miles; Total: 55.05 miles; Time: 8 hrs.

Carl had left 3 minutes before me and a combination of his slowing down for me and my speeding up meant that I soon caught up with him. The past few days in the UK had told me that it stayed light until just past 10:15 p.m. or so and got light again around 4:00-4:30 a.m. I was looking at around 6 hours of darkness. Another 6 hours before it got dark. Maybe we would make it to CP#2 just around the time the day gave way to the night.

Onwards we trudged along the Thames Path. Past homes and apartment complexes. On cement and asphalt roads. Past houseboats and other boats in the river. I kept asking Carl about Windsor Castle. The 6 hours to the sight of Windsor Castle are a blur. All I remember is that we spent quite a few miles going through neighborhoods, some of them rich ones, and shaded country lanes.

We soon moved from the right bank to the left side and stuck to this side all the way to Windsor. The castle was soon spotted off in the distance and very soon we were in a clearing with the huge bulk of the castle looming across the Thames on the right. Pictures of the castle were the last pictures I took in this race. I put the camera away in my drop bag for the night and never took it out the next 2 days! No idea why!!

In Windsor, Carl and I walked into a pub and bought a couple of bottles of water to refill our hand bottles.

Night was upon us now and we had on our respective headlamps. The laminated maps had great mileage notes. We soon caught up with Andrew Ferguson a.k.a Fergie The three of us ran together for a few miles. We passed under M25 and soon were joined by Paddy Craig. Paddy and Fergie took off ahead of us and Carl and I stayed together. We eventually passed them a mile or two before CP#2 which we reached at 11:31 p.m. or 13:31 hours into the race. Carl and I left the AS together at 11:59 p.m. after eating, replenishing our gels and picking up extra flashlights and batteries.

(to be continued ...)

The Untamed Thames Ring 250 - Part II

2009-06-28T23:12:00.000-07:00

Chertsey -->> Yiewsley, CP #3
Segment: 27.2 miles; Total: 82.25 miles; Time Limit: 10 hrs.
We started from the Checkpoint a minute before midnight and went up a slight slope onto a wide field to the left and a sloping bank on the right. About a quarter mile out I decided to stop and pee by the side of the trail. That's when I felt a slight coolness in the air. I quickly took out my sleeveless cycling vest, arm warmers and thin gloves. The arm warmers came off a little later and the gloves some miles later but the vest stayed on. My legs were covered by my running tights. Pretty soon we were off the grassy area and running through a small town.

(LEGEND: TP=Thames Path; TR=Turn Right; TL=Turn Left; RD=Road; RT=Right; BR=Bridge; LK=Lock; STON=Straight On; TJ=Trail Junction)

"After Anchor Pub on RT continue on LHS of road and then TR through car park at TP sign. TL at small TP post (easy to miss) to return to RD where TR. Just before mini roundabout bear right on path to join RD at TP sign. Cross RD to follow TP sign over large grassed area with ivy covered wall on RT. When houses on RT end TR at TP sign. At RD TL. At RD junction cross main RD and TR to cross Walton BR on LHS and take steps down to towpath."

Carl had been superb until now with navigation. Even he got confused a bit here. He and I had been using just our headlamps until now but I took out my powerful hand flashlight just so we could see small signs that we might miss in the less powerful glow of the headlamps.

The "TR through car park at TP sign" led us into some woods. We went in for about 200-300 yards and finally, after some hard searching, found the small Thames Path sign and quickly found ourselves looking for the next marker, the ivy covered wall. The town was soon behind us.

Back along the towpath.

"...At approach to Molesey LK WC on RT. Cross Hampton Court BR 63.85 mls. Continue on LHS of river. Cross Kingston BR 66.75 mls without crossing RD over

BR.

On far side of BR (upstream side) follow TP sign down to riverside and TR alongside river. At Teddington LK ignore TP sign over pedestrian BR and follow TP sign STON continuing on RHS of river. At Richmond BR continue under BR then TR up steps on far side of BR. Cross BR and take first right down Willoughby Street which becomes Duck Walk..."

Carl stopped around 1:30 a.m. or so to answer Nature's call. I sat on a rock drinking and eating for those 5 minutes. He is an amazing runner and I was very impressed with his consistent pace and superb navigational skills. Back in Egham we had passed a few hooligans who were eve teasing a few women across the road and probably spared us because there were 2 of us. We learned, at CP#3, that a runner had been beaten up for his cell phone. Ouch!

As expected it started to get light around 4:15 a.m. Carl was a little bit ahead and I decided that it was my turn to answer the call of Nature. It was around 4:45 a.m. and a slight chill was in the air. The Thames had no raised bank as such and it lapped among the plants a few feet away.

Hardly had I started up again that I was faced with an impasse of sorts. The Thames had overflowed its "unraised" banks onto the towpath. There was no way for me to go around it on the right. I was forced to wade through ankle and mid-shin deep water to continue. A bit further up I was totally unable to follow the path. I could see the river curving off to the left and a bridge off in the distance, about 0.5 miles away. The path had entered the town of Kingston-Upon-Thames a few miles back and I soon chose to veer off the Thames Path into a neighborhood, navigating by the seat of my pants. I found myself walking along on Petersham Road past quaint little row homes with cute doors and flower boxes in their windows.

Across the street, almost at the intersection of Petersham and Bridge Road (I did not know the names of these roads then. I only found out later when looking up Google maps a few weeks later), a couple of Indian gentlemen were opening up their store. It was around 6 a.m. I asked them where the Richmond Bridge was. They smiled and pointed to my left, down Bridge Street. I thanked them, turned the corner and saw the bridge right away.

Across the bridge and a quick turn into the first lane on the right on the other side of the bridge put me onto Willoughby Lane which became the Duck Walk. The Thames was on my right and on my left were condos. I could see straight ahead for almost half a mile and so decided to put my head down, so to speak, and run.

"... Soon pass under Twickenham BR and reach Richmond LK. Follow RD away from river to join A3004. TR and cross road BR over River Crane. At TJ with mini roundabout TL into Lion Wharf Road. At river TL. At Town Wharf Pub TL at TP sign then TR at TP sign. STON. Just past London Apprentice Pub RD turns left...".

The problem became apparent as soon as I got to the other side of Twickenham Bridge. The Thames had overflowed and I could see the left turn that was the road away from the river but there was water, mid-shin deep, between me and the road and there was no sense in wading through it. I was in a quandary. Where should I go? What should I do? I turned back to see if there was another way around and I spotted Carl. He too had been turned back by the water and, like me, was looking for an alternate route.

I was glad to see him. He and I soon found a parallel road that went away from the river. 20 minutes later we passed the point where the original road would have connected to the road we were walking on. I guess we added a mile or so to our odyssey.

"TR into Syon Park. (If park closed, continue on RD to reach A310 where TR. At junction with A315 TR. Continue until BR over Grand Union Canal). Follow path to RT of RD through park. Near Garden Centre TP signs indicate walled walk to main RD. TR to reach Grand Union Canal. Cross RD to reach LHS of canal. Sign indicates Grand Union Canal Walk Birmingham 139 miles 74.15 mls..."

Carl and I decided to check if Syon Park was open. It was and we were glad to be able to go through it instead of around it. Carl decided to answer the call of Nature here again as did I. We were soon on the move again and found ourselves quickly navigating our way to the northward turn onto the Grand Union Canal.

I was disappointed with the Grand Union Canal (GUC) in this section where it passed through London. There were factories lining it on both sides and the canal was filled with effluent from these businesses. Sad. Very sad. This state of affairs lasted for a few more miles before the canal's appearance began to improve.

Carl had wisely pointed out the fact that it was the GUC sections of the race that had the longest set of instructions. This was because of the numerous bridges we had to cross to follow the path as it made its way north. I would hazard a guess and state that there must have been a bridge every 0.5 miles or so if not sooner!

I was feeling a bit sluggish at this point and Carl moved ahead to eventually disappear from sight. Now it was a constant checking of directions to make sure I had not missed a bridge crossing.

(Bridge 201. All bridge photos courtesy of FoxyIslandWalks.co.uk)

"... Cross canal on BR 207. At BR 201 Grand Junction Arms serves breakfast from 0700. At Bull’s BR continue STON over Paddington Arm. 79.45 mls"

(Paddington Arm)

The next 9 miles were spent passing bridge numbers that decreased from the initial 208 or 209 all the way to Bridge 193. On the way I passed Three Bridges, the Hanwell Locks and Norwood Lock.

(Three Bridges)

(Hanwell Lock)

(Norwood Lock)

(Running into CP#3. Photo courtesy of Ken Fancett)

I reached the checkpoint at 8:20 a.m. Thursday (June 25) morning i.e. 22:20 minutes into the race.

I was happy to see my friend Ken Fancett volunteering in the CP. He quickly had me sit down and helped get my drop bags. I dumped my camera, my arm warmers, my headlamps and flashlight into them while taking out replacement gels and other food items.

This is when the runner who had been attacked in Egham made his way into the CP. His hamstring pain, where he had been kicked, had worsened and he was considering dropping from the race. I don't know if he did or not. Poor man.

The Thames wading had resulted in wet socks and shoes leading to a blister on the outside of my left heel. I decided to get out of my size 9 Brooks Cascadia trail shoes and into a slightly larger pair (size 9.5). In hindsight this might have been a mistake!

Anyway Carl offered to wait for me but I waved him on. I thanked him for his help.

(Talking to Ken Fancett)

(One last drink before leaving CP#3)

I eventually left the CP at 9:08 a.m.

Yiewsley -->> Berkhamsted, CP #4

Segment: 23.6 miles; Total: 105.85 miles; Time Limit: 8 hrs

"At Malt Shovel Cowley (WTR) cross canal on BR 188. At BR 184 Uxbridge cross canal to RHS. Immediately after A40 cross to LHS on BR 183. Café at Denham LK (Open 1000-1630). Just before BR 174 WC at car park BR 173 Lock Centre 92.45 mls Bear RT to cross BR over LK. Cross to RHS on BR 166 96.25 mls. Cross to LHS on BR 163. Cross to RHS on BR 158 100.15 mls. Cross to LHS on BR 155. Cross to RHS on BR 154. Water tap at LK 66. Cross to LHS on BR 153 101.55 mls. Cross to RHS on BR 143"

It was a nice warm morning. The sun was out and I settled into a nice rhythm.

I remember coming upon a gate I had to go through and found its picture on http://www.foxyislandwalks.co.uk.

Below are some of the bridges and locks I went past in the next 45 minutes or so.

(Bridge 189)

(Crowley Lock)

(Bridge 188)

A few bridges later I lay down on a bench by the side of the path (it was 9:45 a.m.), set the watch alarm for 10:15 a.m. and tried to sleep. I lay there in that state between sleep and wakefulness and finally got up when the alarm went off. I started trudging forward and in 10 minutes or so had come back to life.

This section must have had 50 or so bridges that I either went under or crossed over following the path. The canal was constantly lined with boats. It was fascinating observing the variety of boats and their names.

(Bridge 155)

(Apsley Lock)

(Bridge 152)

All I can say is that this section went by in a blur, bridge after bridge and lock after lock.

The path started to be lined with homes and restaurants soon. I remember going past a restaurant that had people sitting out under the warm afternoon sun enjoying lunch. It must have been just 3:30 or 3:45 p.m then. Soon I got to a lock that had a slight slope and before I knew it I was in CP#4 i.e. 105.85 miles. I arrived there at 4:11 p.m. on Thursday i.e. 30:11 hours into the race. I was so happy to have passed the 100 mile mark without any major problems.

(Raven's Lane Lock 54)

(Coming into Checkpoint #4)

I ate a bit, had the volunteers, who were superb as usual, fill up my bottles and decided to use the restroom in the pub next to the CP to brush my teeth and use the toilet. The volunteers, as I mentioned before, were superb. One of my drop bags had been swamped by ants. They were wonderful in dealing with it. They emptied out the bag and got the last ant out before stuffing the stuff back in.

I decided to sleep for a bit on a picnic table. I plugged the phone into my portable charger. I had been texting my progress continuously to either Anil Rao or Anu Singh. I needed that phone for emergencies if they were to occur so having that phone juiced up was a priority.

Hardly had I laid down to sleep that a shadow (I was in the sun with my visor pulled down) fell over me. I opened my eyes to see Mike (the guy in the canoe back in Streatley and Pangbourne - it felt like a lifetime away!). He introduced me to his Dad. It was wonderful seeing him. I decided that sleep was not coming and that hitting the road would be a good option. I left the CP at 5:57 p.m. I had spent a good 1 hour and 46 minutes there but had gotten no sleep of any note.

Berkhamsted -->> Milton Keynes, CP #5
Segment: 24.35 miles; Total: 130.20 miles; Time Limit: 8 hrs
"Cross to LHS on BR 141 near Berkhamsted Station. Cross to RHS on BR 138 108.45 mls. WTR just after LK 46. Cross to LHS on BR 134 111.35 mls. WTR just before BR 133. Grand Junction Arms Pub on BR 133. Bluebells Café just before BR 132 and White Lion Pub (Open from 1000 until after teatime (unspecified)). Cross to RHS on BR 132. Cross to LHS on BR 131 113.25 mls Cross to RHS on BR 116 119.25 mls. WTR just before BR 114 121.25 mls. Leighton Buzzard Tesco after BR 114 no longer has a café. At BR 107 cross to LHS 124.75 mls. After the 3 Soulbury LKs WTR. At BR 106 cross to RHS. At Fenny Stratford LK 22 WTR 128.8 mls."

The map for the section showed 35 bridges to put behind me. I truly had never seen so many bridges in my life!

(Berkhamsted Lock)

(Bridge 138)

As instructed I crossed Bridge 138 to the RHS of the canal towpath. I stayed on this side for the next 3 miles or so.

Along the way I passed Dudswell Lock.

(Dudswell Lock)

(Bridge 134)

As instructed I crossed Bridge 134 to the LHS. This was mile 111.35 according to the notes. I texted Anil Rao and Anu Singh about my progress. This was certainly the farthest I had ever run.

(Bridge 135)

The path on this section, maybe a mile to a mile and a half long, had a different feel to it. I remember seeing these 2 men in a rowboat going past me in the direction of my travel. Their 2 dogs ran past me keeping pace with their rowing. They soon passed me going the other way.

It was as I was nearing Bulbourne that I sent Anil Rao a text about my location and asked him to check out the place in Google maps. He sent me a text, with a smiley, asking me to enjoy a beer in the Grand Junction Arms that was coming up soon. :)

(Bridge 133 and the Grand Junction Arms pub)

I had a quiet laugh at that remark.

There were quite a few people out for an evening walk along the path, enjoying the balmy temperature and the wonderful views of the canal.

A scant 45 minutes or so later I started to feel low. This always happens to me in some races when night falls. Night running excites me but it is the gloaming, that period (also known as twilight) between day and night, that seems oppressive to me. I sent a text to Anu about my state of affairs and she, the angel that she is, sent me a message about how she was with me in spirit as was (she read Tony Fong's e-mail) the entire Asha community. That perked up my spirits so much that the feeling of gloom was dispelled and did not come back again until that fateful 30-40 minutes at the end of my race just before I quit. Thank you Anu. Thank you Anil. Thank you Tony. Thank you The Asha Family.

I ran past a young couple sitting on a bench a few miles from Bulbourne romancing in the setting sun. They paid me no notice at all. Why should they??? :-))

I ate a Cliff Mojo bar and downed a gel along with a Succeed salt tablet. I had been taking these every hour since the start of the race. I finally criss-crossed the canal on Bridges 132 and 131. After this it was a sustained journey on the LHS of the canal until Bridge 116 where I had to swing over to the right side. Those miles are again a blur. I do remember power walking them (16 min/mile pace or so) and enjoying myself.

(Bridge 116)

I knew I was at mile 119 when I crossed Bridge 116 to the RHS. Getting closer to Milton Keynes where I could, hopefully, sleep. I had taken a couple of caffeine tablets, one in the afternoon and one in the evening and they were to prove fateful.

I was now passing through Leighton Buzzard. Maybe a mile or more after going under the A505 bridge, I started passing apartments and a few parking lots on my right. There was a bench on the side of the path that I dearly wanted to lie down on for 10 minutes but I could hear voices and laughter in the parking lot. Not wanting to tempt the fates (I remembered the story of the assaulted runner back in Egham) I decided to push on until I was out of town. I passed apartment after apartment on the right while the canal to my immediate left was lined with boats.

I went a bit further. It must have been either on or before the Leighton Lock that I saw a bench on the right.

(Leighton Lock)

Getting closer I noticed a pillow on one side of it. Reckoning it to be the sleeping place of a homeless person, I moved the pillow aside and sat down and turned off my headlamp (it must have been 11:30 p.m. or so). Just as I was about to sit down I saw headlights coming up from a ways behind me. I realized that it could only be another runner. I closed my eyes and waited for him/her to show up.

It was a woman runner. The only other woman in the race besides Alicja Barahona. I had heard Fergie mention her name during our Tuesday dinner and remembered it to be Brigid. She made for a very cute sight! She had her space blanket wrapped around her waist. On her right forearm she carried one of those reusable cloth bags. It was a Tesco bag. Tesco is one of the world's largest retailers. They are ubiquitous in the UK. She sat down next to me and turned off her headlamp too. She started talking about how she had had no headlamp (??) and how she ran into the Tesco store a mile back to buy a couple of headlamps and batteries. Her throwing up miles before Leighton Buzzard had necessitated an hour long nap in the fields wrapped in her space blanket. Hence the said blanket around her waist.

She had also picked up ice lollies from Tesco to help soothe her upset stomach. On hearing about my mild nausea she promptly took one out and plonked it in my hand. I partook it gladly. Very soon we were on our way, sleep forgotten.

I felt an instant bond with this amazing woman. Just talking to her I knew that this was a kindred soul. She was a superb fell runner and this flat running was killing her. We spent the next few miles talking non-stop about this and that. We finally came upon Bridge 107 (mile 124.75) where we had to cross over to the LHS. I sent off a text message once again to Anil and Anu with my status and they promptly posted it on Facebook like they had been doing all along.

(Bridge 107)

Until now we were running together. Maybe it was the sugar in the ice lolly that gave my feet wings but I felt that I had to run and run fast that too. I sped ahead of her doing 7 minutes a mile pace or so. Very soon I came upon Bridge 106 where we had to cross to the RHS.

(Bridge 106)

I crossed over and shouted out to her after peeing and waiting for her for a few minutes. I told her I would see her in the CP and asked her to be safe. I took off like the proverbial bat out of hell. I was revelling in the feel of my muscles working hard after many miles. I must have run 70 miles out of the first 105 miles of the race and had been power walking most of the course since then.

I soon passed a few runners including Javed Bhatti whom I had last seen in CP#3 (mile 82). When I finally got to the Fenny Stratford Lock I knew I was at 128.8 miles and the CP was another 1.4 miles away.

(Fenny Stratford Lock)

I briefly debated filling up my water bottle but postponed it for the CP which was only 10-12 minutes away. I started running hard again and reached Bridge 90c under which was the CP.

(CP#5 to the right under Bridge 90c)

What a relief. I quickly texted Anil and Anu the fact that I had reached CP#5, 130.2 miles, at 1:35 a.m. on Friday, June 26 (39:35 into the race). I also let them know that I intended to sleep for a few hours.

Somehow I had gotten the impression that the cutoff for this CP was 4 a.m. I asked the volunteers to wake me up at 3:30 a.m. and tried to sleep in the back of a station wagon. Both my bags were in the back and I was using my sleeping bag to cover myself. I could hear other runners coming in and I drifted in and out of a light, very light sleep. Not enough to do me any substantial good.

I kept looking at my watch and noting the passing time, all the while ruing my inability to get sleep. I got up at 3:25 a.m. or so and was within 5 minutes of leaving when I heard another runner ask to be woken up at 4:30a.m.! Huh?? I inquired about the closing time for the CP and was overjoyed that it was 5 a.m. and not 4 a.m. as I had mistakenly thought. Delighted I crawled back into the car after asking to be woken up at 4:30 a.m.

Still no sleep. I tossed and turned for the next hour and finally decided to get up and leave. The blisters were causing quite a bit of discomfort so I decided to see how a pair of Tevas and Injinji socks would handle the next section. Since I was planning to walk most of it I figured that Teva would at least not rub against the large blister on the outside of my left heel.

After eating baked beans and a few other goodies I left CP#5 at 4:59 a.m.

(to be continued ...)

The Untamed Thames Ring 250 - Part III

2009-06-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

Milton Keynes -->> Nether Heyford, CP #6
Segment: 26.95 miles; Total: 157.15 miles; Time Limit: 11 hrs.

(Showing off my colored Injinji socks to Anthony, Kathy and the others)

(Leaving CP #5 at 4:59 a.m. on Friday, June 26)

"At BR 71 next to Wolverton Station (no toilet) 138.4 mls there is a 24 hour Tesco 200 yards beyond the BR on the far side of the canal from the towpath. It has an in-house Starbucks Café open from 0730 to 1900 (approx). BR 76 Black Horse Pub 135.85 mls. After LK 21 WC (locked) and WTR. Cross BR 65 to LHS 140.6 mls Cross BR 64 (Navigation BR) to RHS. WTR just before BR 55 146.15 mls.

Cross BR 55 to LHS. At Stoke Bruerne cross BR 53 to RHS. WTR beyond LK 14. Take path to RHS of Blisworth Tunnel. At RD STON for 1.5 miles. TL into Car Park (at Bridleway Finger Post) and down steep track to towpath. At BR 48 WTR. Cross BR 48 to LHS and then, after entrance to Northampton Arm, cross BR 47 to RHS 151.05 mls. BR 36 Bugbrooke The Wharf Inn 154.4 mls "

I left the CP wearing my yellow rain jacket, my tights, my Lean Horse cap atop which were my Ryder sunglasses and, most importantly, Tevas on my feet.

Christian Hottas followed me and soon caught up with me. He introduced himself and I was so happy to see him! I had been a bit disappointed to note that his bib had not been picked up when we started the race. He was the one who had sent me information about this race and I had wanted to meet him and thank him in person! Turns out that he had arrived late to the Start and thus had been playing catch up with the rest of the runners.

We talked and we talked for the next many hours. Approximately an hour or so after we had left the CP, I needed to answer Mother Nature's call. I went by the side of the trail while Christian patiently waited. A further hour later we both decided to lie by the side of the trail and get 15 minutes of sleep. I remember being in that state that's between sleep and wakefulness for those 15 minutes. I got up at the same time that Christian did. A couple were walking their dog and we must have looked a strange sight indeed!

(Bridge 76 and the Black Horse Pub)

We trudged on. We were soon joined by a couple of other runners. I had my heart set on the Starbucks at mile 138 but could not, for the life of me, see the steps leading up to the bridge. Not wanting to disturb the rhythm I was in I continued on as did the others.

We were passing abandoned and derelict warehouses with broken windows and plants growing wildly inside, all the way up to the top row of windows! One of the runners even cracked a joke about this. :)

(Derelict warehouses in Wolverton)

We soon reached Lock 21. The laminated map mentioned that there was a toilet here and I soon found it. The key I had taken at the start from the race staff now came in handy. It opened up the restroom and I sat down on the toilet in great relief. Outside was a water fountain which I promptly used to fill up my hand bottles.

(Cosgrove Lock 21 with the restroom and water fountain)

I looked around and could find no trace of Christian. It was like he had dropped off the face of the earth!!

I continued on thinking he would soon catch up if he was behind me. The day was beautiful and it must have been around 10 a.m. or so when I rounded the path and could see the view of Stoke Bruerne that I had seen pictures of on the Web for many months now. How wonderful!

(Stoke Bruerne Locks 16, 17 and 18)

Beyond the canal, up ahead, I could see building on a hillside. I was approaching Blisworth and the tunnel I had read so much about.

I had crossed over to the RHS of the canal over Bridge 53. The towpath was geting more and more crowded now. I remember a bunch of school children going past in the opposite direction. I finally reached the tunnel. It looked smaller in real life than it did in pictures. At 3076 yds. (just under 2 miles) it was pretty long. As instructed I ascended the trail going up on the right of the tunnel. The last view I had of the South tunnel entrance is shown below as is the path leading up the hill. I power walked this hill.

(The south end of Blisworth tunnel)

(The trail to the top of the tunnel)

Now the story gets interesting!

"Take path to RHS of Blisworth Tunnel. At RD STON for 1.5 miles."

This bit confused me! The top of the trail soon reached a road that climbed at a gentle slope slightly to my right and went downhill slightly to my left. Straight On would mean crossing the road and pushing through a tall hedge beyond which I could see a field.

I chose to go right. It was right then that it started drizzling. Earlier in the day I had put my rain jacked inside my backpack. I quickly took it out and put in on. I had hardly gone 0.2 miles when I came to a crossroad. The name on the left read "Bridleway". Could this be where I was supposed to go left? However I could see no car park beyond. Just the path curving off to the right and going downhill. I was puzzled. I looked behind me at the trailhead I had come up. That was my anchor point. Leaving it could mean getting lost!

I saw a person on a bike approaching. I flagged him down. He was riding a Royal Enfield Bullet! I had once owned this bike in India (in the late 70s). I asked him about the other end of Blisworth Tunnel. He did not know where it was but he did tell me that I was headed in the direction of the town of Blisworth. Reassured I set off again walking up the now increasing slope.

It was still drizzling. I soon saw a car coming round the corner slowly. I stopped it to get a second opinion on my choice of direction. The lady too confirmed that Blisworth was indeed in the direction I was going and that it was about 1.5-2 miles away. That was indeed great information! I continued on. I passed at least 3 side streets, a couple of which had names beginning with "B" but none were Bridleway.

Very soon I crested the hill and started running downhill. There was construction going on and the normally narrow road had been narrowed further to a single lane that switched from Northbound to Southbound. Into their midst ran this apparition in yellow on Tevashod feet and a backpack bouncing on his back. My cell phone rang. It was Pallavi. 12:30 p.m. 4:30 a.m. in San Jose. What was she doing up so early? Later. Got to find my way to the other end of the tunnel first.

To my relief I soon spotted the name Bridleway on my left. A car park on the right confirmed I was on the right path. I confidently headed straight on for a hundred feet before noticing that the path veered left and uphill! I had this stinking suspicion that it would go uphill to the same Bridleway road where I had stopped the biker earlier!

I turned around and ran back to a construction vehicle parked in the parking lot. The worker knew nothing about the path I had come from but did point out that a small path to our immediate right in the parking lot led down to the canal! Indeed this was the "down steep track to the towpath" in the instructions. 100 feet later I was happily running along the Grand Union Canal again! I quickly texted Pallavi with my status.

(I swear it was here that I texted Pallavi with my status!)

I cannot remember much after this other than the fact that I soon caught up with Christian and Javed Bhatti. We spent the next 7 miles together. It was soon after we had joined up that I remember sitting by the side of the path and fixing my blister [lancing it, draining it and putting antiseptic cream on it. All in 3 minutes. I had become an expert. :) ].

I seem to remember the rain finally coming down heavily around 1:15 p.m. or so. It rained on and off for the next 60 minutes. We were soaked. With about 2 miles to go I took off. I started running at a steady pace and I soon got into a comfortable rhythm. Checkpoint #6 soon came into view around the corner after Bridge 27.

(Bridge 27)

I entered the Checkpoint at 2:23 p.m. I had 37 minutes to get into dry clothes, consume enough calories, get more gels, have my bottles refilled and pick up other stuff like lights, batteries etc. Those were hectic 37 minutes. I took out a bunch of gels and put them somewhere and forgot to take them when I left at 3:00. Not wanting to decide on what to wear, I just got into old tights, shorts and a new shirt. It was here that Anthony told us that we had 11 hours to complete the next section. Both Javed and I pointed out that the document he and Dick had sent out few weeks before the race stated that we had 12 hours to cover the 25.99 miles to Fenny Compton. Anthony insisted it was 11. I left promptly at 3:00 with the hope that Javed and Christian would catch up.

Nether Heyford -->> Fenny Compton, CP #7
Segment: 25.99 miles; Total: 183.14 miles; Time Limit: 12 hrs.
"WTR between BRs 26 and 25. At Norton Junction 162.82 mls cross BR over Leicester Line of Grand Union Canal and then at once over main line canal to LHS. At Braunston Tunnel leave canal, take path bearing RT to join metalled RD where TL to reach A361. Cross RD and STON up path. At path junction STON to steps on RT. Descend to rejoin canal at mouth of tunnel. Shop on left by locks serves hot drinks. Before A45 BR over canal 2 WTR taps about 100 yards apart.At junction with Oxford Canal cross canal on BR 95 to RHS. DO NOT TURN UP OXFORD CANAL Next BR should be 97. At Napton Junction 172.42 mls cross BR 17 over Grand Union to continue on Oxford Canal. DO NOT TR UP GRAND UNION CANAL. Folly Pub WTR At Napton Top LK No 16 WTR."

My lack of any kind of sleep for 53 hours was now playing havoc with my body and mind. The intense humidity after the rain stopped had made the air feel extremely muggy and dense. It added to the feeling of intense lethargy. I stopped a half mile out of the CP to redo my laces. I looked behind me and could see no sign of the others. I continued on. A half mile later I saw a small clearing on the right. I must have been close to a motorway, I believe it to be M1, for I could hear the steady sound of cars moving at high speed.

This clearing did not help either. I got up in 10 minutes to continue on. Still no sign of the others! The next mileage check was at the Norton Junction which was at mile 162.82. I remember thinking that I had enough hours to cover the 25.99 miles and that hurrying was not an option. Compounding my other woes was the state of my cell phone battery charge. It was almost down to 0%. In fact it reached 0% almost right after I left CP#6. I would slow down, plug in the battery operated portabe charger and continue on. After 5-7 minutes I would check the charge level. It stubbornly refused to move from 0% leading me to believe that the portable charger was not working. Now I was concerned. I HAD to have a working phone. What if I had an emergency and needed to call for help? Anthony and Dick, the RDs, had printed their phone numbers on the bib but what good were the numbers if I could not call?

I passed a home with a young man standing right next to the canal. I asked him if he had a mini-USB charger I could use for 10-15 minutes. He was so helpful. He led me around the side of the home to the kitchen where his mother sat smoking. He brought out a big basket filled with chargers but none of them were a mini-USB one! I was disappointed. The Mom however, bless her heart, advised me to cross the lock coming up to the opposite side (I was on the RHS) and go to the hardware store and ask Steve for help. She stated that he was tech savvy.

I did as instructed. Steve indeed knew what he was doing. He brought out a new mini-USB car charger (I bought it for UK Pounds 16.99) and he managed to plug it into a device that was, in turn, plugged into a wall outlet. My cell phone was soon happily gulping down sweet British power! :))

I sat on the floor of the hardware shop from 5 p.m. (Yes! I had probably traveled 3 miles in 2 hours!!) until 5:35 p.m. which is when I decided to get on with the business of running the race. The Blackberry Pearl now showed 40% power. Good enough for at least a day.

Now I started moving with some urgency. The cell phone had been taken care of. Time to put miles behind me.

I soon came to Norton Junction which I negotiated carefully (did not want to go off on some other canal and get lost).

(Beautiful turn bridges 93 and 94 towards Braunston)

I was soon on the LHS of the canal headed towards Braunston.

I took out one of the few gels (remember I had forgotten to pick up a fresh supply in the previous CP) I had in my backpack and wolfed it down. I got into a wonderful rhythm during those 2-3 miles to the Braunston tunnel.

The tunnel soon came into view. The instructions had me going up a short climb on the left of the tunnel. I reached the top and got stuck again.

"At Braunston Tunnel leave canal, take path bearing RT to join metalled RD where TL to reach A361. Cross RD and STON up path. At path junction STON to steps on RT. Descend to rejoin canal at mouth of tunnel. "

At the top of the canal I was faced by an asphalt road that curved off to the left and ended in front of me. It gave way to a very narrow trail that went through tall nettles. On the right was a similar trail. I confidently took the straight trail. It soon curved to the right. The nettles and plants were at least shoulder high, if not higher, and it made for a difficult 100 feet. I lost confidence. I could see, over the top of the plants, what looked like an endless field on the other side! Where the heck was the metalled road? I retraced my steps. I went off on the trail to the right but that one did not feel right. I had no idea what to do.

I decided to follow the asphalt road to the left. Within a 100 feet I saw a small trail to the right. It came out into a huge, really huge, clearing through the middle of which was a walking path and on the other side of which were apartments. Ah! People!! There was a woman walking a bit ahead and I asked her how I could get to the Braunston locks. She professed ignorance of the locks but pointed to my right, far off to my right, as the direction where Braunston was. A couple of young kids too confirmed this. I lost confidence. I chose to go back to the top of the tunnel.

I took the trail that went straight ahead again. I lost confidence at the same place on the trail and came back to the top of the tunnel again. Now I was getting distraught and a bit concerned. Getting lost in a strange land is no fun at all.

I decided to go back to the clearing. This time the young kids told me about a road that lay on the other side of the apartments. Emboldened I started powering up the walking path. The path, for at least 200 feet or so, was alive with tiny frogs. It was around 6:30-6:45 p.m. and I could see them but not so well and I was a bit concerned that I would kill some of them. I gingerly made my way up the hill and soon found myself in a roundabout!

Gosh! Why another problem?? The roundabout had 3 choices - road off to my left, road straight ahead or one to my right. I have a very good sense of direction so I knew, instinctively, that the left and the straight ahead should be ruled out. That left the road on the right.

I crossed over and started walking. To my surprise, I soon saw a brown-orange road emerging from the field on the right. Directly across it, on the side of the road I was walking on, was a trail, beyond a gate (next to which was a home), that led steeply up a hill. I was sure this was the metalled road in the instructions and that the road I was walking on was the A361 in the same instructions.

I confidently power walked up the hill expecting to find steps at the top that would lead me to the canal. To my utter disappointment, the trail continued down the other side and had 2 branches that went left and right at the top to add to my woes. I continued straight for maybe 50 feet before I lost confidence again.

I quickly ran down the 0.25 mile long hill back to the gate and the home on the side. I rang the doorbell and, after what seemed like an eternity, the door eventually opened. The couple knew exactly where the canal was! It was indeed on the trail I had just come down. They gave me more valuable information - the steps were a mile to a mile and a half away. In fact, as it turned out, they were less than a mile away. I ran up the hill like a demon and continued to fly down the other side to the steps. I had lost 40 minutes or so in finding the right path!

(The steps are on the right, next to the tunnel)

I was happy again to be back on track. The trail right by the canal here was very muddy. I soon got past without any major soaking. A mile or so ahead I soon spotted Andy, Christian and Javed. I was happy to see them. Turns out they had spent an hour in a pub while I had been busy getting lost. I guess you know the course if you have run the Grand Union Canal Race, a 145 mile behemoth, before.

We now negotiated the next many miles as a team. I even got a few English gels from one of the runners. At 172.42 miles, Napton Junction which was the junction of the Grand Union Canal and the Oxford Canal, Javed, Christian and I decided to lie down and rest for 15 minutes. It was 9:00 p.m. and I texted Anu with my status. Javed checked his own phone for messages. Christian tried to sleep.

Down towards CP#7 we now headed. Javed and I were ahead of Christian. We alternated between running and walking. This we kept up until we reached Folly Pub. The 3 of us trooped in to buy food. Javed bought some Mars bars while I bought potato chips. This is when the world started tilting for me. I felt like I was on the deck of a ship that was listing from side to side! It was a scary experience.

I ate the 2 packets of chips and also had a bite from the Mars bar. We were soon on our way. Very soon after this Javed took off running. Now it was Christian behind me as we made our way to CP#7. It must have been around 10:00 p.m. that we both decided to lie down on one of the locks. We set the alarm for 10:15 p.m. and lay down. I still could not sleep. Neither could Christian. It was also getting a bit chilly. I took out the thin jacket and put it on. We soon started walking on. The bridges kept increasing in number. I kept consulting the laminated map again and again to get my bearings. CP#7 was near Bridge 136. It must have been a few miles from the CP that I mentally gave up. My brain was feeling the effects of sleeplessness. My blood sugar was low. The blisters were hurting. I had lost the will to fight.

How I still tried to fight. I hated giving up. Eventually I told Christian that I would probably drop at the CP. He ran past me advising me to fight and that it was only pain. I knew it was more than just pain. Everything that could go wrong had come together in those last few miles. It was like the Perfect Storm.

I was alone now. I texted Anu that I was probably going to drop. She was heartbroken and devastated. She advised me to get to the CP and then decide. She so wanted me to finish 250 miles! I did too but deep down I knew that I would barely make the 2:00 a.m. (11 hours from CP#6 remember?) cutoff. How could I gather all the stuff I needed for the next section, eat, change clothes etc. in 5 or 10 minutes?

I must have been at mile 181 at 1:00 a.m. Those last 2 miles were the toughest 2 miles I have ever travelled. I would sit under a bridge, turn off my headlamp, set the watch alarm for 15 minutes hence and would get up in 15 seconds to continue the fight. Witha mile to go my headlamp started flashing. Low batteries. One more sign from the Universe! Everything was starting to fail. My system felt like it was shutting down. I replaced the batteries and continued on.

Kathy was standing outside the CP. I saw her and felt happy that I had finally reached. It was 1:48 a.m., 12 minutes before the CP closed (or so I thought). I could hear Javed and Christian talking. I put my backpack in a tent and lay down. Kathy brought me baked beans which I gladly wolfed down. Soon after I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

Curiously Javed and Christian continued to eat and do their thing and did not leave until 2:20 a.m. or so. I thought that was strange since the CP should have closed at 2:00 a.m.

It is only recently that I found out that Christian, who had come into the CP 20 minutes before me, took out the same CP mileage doc that Anthony had sent us a few weeks before the race and showed Anthony that the CP was supposed to close at 3:00 a.m. and not 2:00 a.m. Anthony agreed and that's why they left at 2:20 a.m.

Gosh! Would I have stopped had I known that I had an extra hour? Probably not. I would certainly have slept for 30-40 minutes before making up my mind. In fact I was planning, had I made it into CP#7 with some time to spare, to leave as soon as possible and sleep on the trail somewhere! Whatever future race I run I am going to make sure that I confirm the cutoff time in every Aid Station.

I finally woke up around 5:45 a.m. Kathy was going about the CP putting stuff away in her car. She had loaded my drop bags too into the car. She is a beautiful human being. A wonderful poet and runner. She drove me all the way back to Streatley where I got myself a room and, after a shower, lay down to sleep.

It was around 6 or 7 p.m. that I went to the Morrel Room. I met Jonathan Kinder, the winner (just under 60 hours) and spent the next couple of hours talking with him, Dick Kearns, Alicja and Neil Kapoor who had finished together in 79 hours. Wow!

Hindsight is a curious thing. It glosses over our pain but makes us treat that self that decided to make a certain decision with no respect. I did so for the first 2-3 weeks. It is only lately that I have accepted that I did not fail in this race. I fought as hard as I could for 64 hours and 183 miles. I had fun every step of the way. I was grateful to be alive and to be able to cover such a huge distance and not be in any real difficulties except during the last 3-4 miles.

The nettles and the narrow GUC trail on the Oxford Canal between Napton and Fenny Compton finally got to me. I am going back in May 2010 to run the 145-mile GUCR as a means to coming to terms with the GUC towpath. This is so I can go back in 2011 and finish the Thames Ring 250.

The race was fantastic. I cannot even begin to imagine what kind of planning went into the Checkpoints and how to transport runner bags from one CP to another. Kudos to Anthony Taylor and Dick Kearns for putting on a fantastic show. Thank you both and your amazing band of volunteers who kept us fed all through the race.

Congratulations to all who started the race. You folks rock! It took a lot of courage.

Congratulations to the amazing 12 who finished. I doff my hat to you ladies and gentlemen. You do us proud! Christian and Javed finished in 96 hours.

I will end this race report with a poem. Not mine but one written by Kathy.

The Ballad of the Thames Ring 2009
The Start; Streatley
The runners set off as the clock strikes ten
Aiming to get back to Streatley again
But this is no ordinary river run
Along the Thames in the morning sun
They set off at a conservative pace
Two-fifty miles is the length of their race

Checkpoint 1, 27.25 miles
At Hurley Lock they approach at a run
After suffering the heat of the midday sun
A short rest, refreshment and good natured banter
And set off again at a brisk canter

First Night
Kingston and Staines
Will be remembered
For causing runners pain
Not from sore feet, aching muscles, we find
But injuries of a more sinister kind
From sad, bad people whose idea of fun
To assault endurance athletes on the run
In that one thing our race was marred
By “happy slapping kicking” from society’s scarred.

Checkpoint 3, Horton Bridge , Yiewsley; 82.25 miles
Early hours of the morning, find my way to West Drayton
Checkpoint three’s somewhere near, but I’m at the station!
To find the location, I phone up Dick
Hope he’s not in his van, having a kip.
In ones and twos runners arrive by headtorch light
Looking just like they’ve been up all night!
Refreshments are given and blisters are dressed
Some nip into tents on the side for a rest
The canal side gets busy as we slip into day
Walkers, runners and cyclists pass on the way
A normal working day is their destination
Our retiring runners are given lifts to the station

Checkpoint Five, Tinkers Bridge, Milton Keynes; 130.2 miles
The Fiends, The Fiends of Milton Keynes
Whose roundabouts are so confusing
Strangers to this place drive around for hours
And the locals find this amusing!

Runners are lucky, the canal is their guide
To their little oasis by canal side
Tim’s rigged up lighting and stoves under bridge
China cups, kitchen sink, but alas no fridge
Tired runners come in and crashpads are found
Tents and cars or a blanket laid on the ground
Rajeev arrives, he’s desperate for sleep
Then spends hours on his phone, and he’s not counting sheep!
Bridgid runs in, a shopping bag has she
She’s been to all-night Tescos for retail therapy
With pub tales of borage, lemonade and brandy
To calm upset stomach, Immodium’s more handy
As morning dawns our closing time is nigh
We gently wake runners and send on their way
Take down electrics, pack food in Dick’s van
Then onward to the next stage of the plan.

Checkpoint Seven, Wharf Inn, Fenny Compton,; 183.17 miles
“The towpath is overgrown”, they said
“We nearly ended up in the canal bed!
On the path were these great big gaps
Covered by undergrowth like runners’ traps”
With nettles and wet grass up to their necks
No wonder the runners were getting quite vexed
With sympathetic words we sent them on their way
“It’ll be better from now on”, some of us did say
We didn’t know what lay ahead
But they looked a bit happier as onward they sped

On expenses Anthony bought us a meal
Cleaning moats and duck houses weren’t part of the deal
But maybe next time instead of our dinner
Anthony will buy us all a strimmer!
With strimmers, secateurs and hoe
Along the towpaths we will go
Of rivers and canals across the nation
Taming rampant vegetation
Making the paths smooth and neat
Respecting the runners’ weary feet

Under the bridge I waited with a lamp
For the last few runners as tired they tramp
Guided through the pub garden to checkpoint seven
A seat, food and drink may seem like heaven
But don’t hang about, no time to repose
This checkpoint is about to close!

After a sleep in our little camp
Saturday morning dawns, misty and damp
Rajeev is delivered safe and well
To the lobby of his Streatley Hotel

The Finish, Morrell Room, Streatley
The first runner arrived back on Friday night
Just before ten Jon’s goal was in sight
So round to Morrell Room this runner to see
He’s up and about, drinking cups of tea
And walking quite normal, looking just like
He’s been out on a few days leisurely hike
Not running the towpaths at a cracking pace
Four and a half miles per hour was his speed for this race

So respect due to those who have guts to compete
Even though in the end not all will complete
Whether you finished at Streatley or some other place
You’ve covered more miles than most runners would race
To run this race next time, a dream, do I dare?
But whether runner or helper, I plan to be there.

Skyline To The Sea 50K

2009-04-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

It was early into the week, possibly Monday or Tuesday, that I informed Anu that she was running the PCTR Skyline To The Sea 50K on April 26.

I am coaching her to her first 100M start, the Lean Horse 100M in Hot Springs (SD), on Aug 22.

This was my way of getting her to run when tired. To say that she was excited is an understatement.

The initial plan was for the 2 of us to drive to the Finish and take the bus up to the Start. It changed a few days before the race. Raj was going to drop us to the Start and then show up, hours later, to pick us up from Waddell Beach. I drove to their home earand transferred my race stuff to their van. We left their home around 8 a.m. (the race starts at 9 a.m.) and made it up Hwy 9 in no time at all (at least that's how it felt!). It was chilly at the top and we stayed in the warm van after picking up our bib numbers and attending to the call of Nature. The bus from the Finish had not arrived yet and the parking lot was sparsely populated.

That all changed when the bus disgorged its passengers. Very soon the lot was a hive of activity.

We talked with super triathlete Stanley Ho who was doing his first ultramarathon. Abhijit had driven him to the Start. I also bumped into familiar faces - Keith and Kay Blom, Sean Lang, Martina Koldeway, Mark Tanaka and Samanvitha Rao to name a few.

The race started on time. The first few miles were downhill on the most wonderful surface I had ever run on. The trail was idyllic - a slight fog around and the sun gently warming our skin now and then.

(coming into the first AS)

We reached the first AS after a few pit stops to answer the call of Nature again. Keith Blom and Gene Weddell were on the main road, just before the AS, to direct us along the right path.

Rick Gaston was in this AS. He took a picture of me while I was taking a picture of him. :)

We were out of here soon and began the trek to the next AS. Anu was feeling great and I took a lot of pics of her, smiling and posing along the trail. The AS was manned by Zach Landman (he had volunteerd in my Ruth ANderson race the weekend before) and his girlfriend. After spending a few minutes eating and socializing, Anu and I began the wonderful descent into the Gazos Loop AS.

The AS was a hive of activity. Runners leaving to begin the 7K loop. Most runners were exiting it to start the push to the Finish.

We soon caught up with Famida Hanif-Weddell on the longish climb. The next few miles were spent in her company. The steepest part of the climb was quite steep but not very long. We soon began the descent down the the trail we had run befor, the one that took us into the AS. The station came into view soon enough. Chakri Gullipalli, a Team Asha runner and mentor for the past 4 years, was waiting to start his run to the Finish. The 3 of us left the AS together but we soon left him behind (he had some muscle tightness and had wisely chosen to slow down).

Anu and I had the most wonderful time from here on out on the long descent. The fatigue finally hit Anu with about 6 miles to go. She never complained even once, keeping a smile on her face all through the final push.

(My finish. Thanks Keith Blom!)

She made it into the Finish 7:53 after the race had started. What a trooper! Extremely strong mentally and getting even stronger with every race finished. Way to go girl!

(Anu's finish)

Raj was waiting for us and we duly made it back to Saratoga around 6:30 p.m.

Quicksilver next up for Anu.

American River 50

2009-04-05T20:08:00.000-07:00

Comes a time in many an ultra race

When your reflection says "It is now time

To pull up your socks. To pick up your pace.

To give up the fight is the biggest crime."

So I looked the race Demon in the eye

And, sans hesitation, picked up the sword.

Vanquish him I would or, in trying, die.

So there they stood. His battle hardened horde.

Each one different from the other eighteen.

Sharp was my sword. Furious were my parries.

Each was relegated to a has been,

Felled while trying to fend off my flurries.

Veni. Vidi. Vici. I was Caesar.

Of one more realm I was now Emperor.

Running ultra marathons for 4 years now has taught me one thing - the human brain is an amazing creation of Nature. It is capable of the most mundane tasks and it soars when delivering the sublime!

Having spent all of Friday working, I slept nary a wink (actually dozed off for about an hour) before leaving home just after midnight to drive to Anu's place where Dan Marinsik was to park his car so that we could carpool to the race. We left Saratoga around 12:45 a.m. and hit 880N - > 680N --> 5 North. Before we knew it we were in the outskirts of Sacramento. We soon got onto 80 East and found ourselves in the Dam Overlook parking lot around 3 a.m. We tried our best to sleep a bit but all the cars driving up to park woke us up every few minutes.

It was soon time to get out of the warm car and head towards the shuttle buses. I went off to use the restroom and Dan and I got separated. I tried again to get a few winks in the bus as it made its way towards the Start but to no avail.

It was chilly in the Start area. I picked up my bib number and dropped off my Finish area drop bag. I soon found Karen Bonnett and the rest of the Acme Running Club AR50 runners. We took a few pictures before heading out towards the actual start area.

The race started on time and I soon found myself almost at the back of the pack running at a sedate pace. My stomach warned me that I would need to hit a restroom soon. Remembering that there was a restroom around the 4 or 5 mile mark, I asked it to hold its horses and not ask for attention for another 40-50 minutes.

Right around 7 a.m. I found myself in the line to use the restroom. My turn eventually came and it was blessed relief! I reckon I must have lost 10 minutes or so during that break.

Those first few miles had been spent running with Jose Gabriel and Marissa Licon. They were both trying out Vespa and were very excited about its promise.

After the much needed restroom break, I got into a nice rhythm. I eventually caught up with Shannon Farar-Griefer and Diane Vlach who were running together. I spent the next few miles chatting with them before taking off to run my own race.

The miles went by in a blur. Aid station. Eat something. Joke with the volunteers. Fill up one of the bottles with Cytomax. Thank the volunteers. Leave. Along the way I would catch up with friends or they would pass me and we would talk for a bit until we parted.

It was with a shock, 4:30 into the race, that I realized that I had not taken a single walk break until then. I promptly walked for a full 5 minutes!

Julie Fingar, the RD, had actually put a nice large sign marking the marathon point in the race. I made a mental note that the marathon went by in 4:57. Not bad for a 50M. There were still many miles, tougher ones at that, left in the race.

Beals Point is always a hive of activity and spectators in this race. This year's great weather had brought friends and family members of runners by the dozens. Nancy Warren was in the AS. She is a lovely person and I love her spirit, her cheerfulness and her caring and giving nature. I gave her a big hug and a kiss. I spent a few minutes there eating. I also emptied my shoes of dirt (I had forgotten to wear gaiters). The minute I started running again the race had changed! Both my legs were a sea of pain and tightness. They refused to help me pick up the pace. I walked most of the way to the next AS. People passed me one by one. I spent those minutes singing Indian songs loudly and taking in the lovely views of the Bay and the flowers along the trail.

The 31 mile mark came in around 6:16 into the race. If you are doing the math like I was during the race, the 4 miles from Beals Point to the 50K mark had taken me 72 minutes - 17-18 minutes a mile. The first 26.2, in contrast, had taken me around 11:20 per mile.

I ate a bit more in the AS and soon left it, resigned to a long 18 miles to the Finish. It was during this section that I asked myself if I wanted to try to go under 11:00 for the race. The answer that came back was a resounding Yes. It was like my brain had been waiting for this very signal. I started running. The legs ached no more. The brain had recruited more motor units to help me in my quest. Mile 38 is where I popped a Tylenol and filled one of my bottles with Coke. Now I really flew! I do not use that word lightly. I must have been running anywhere from 7:15 - 9:15 mins/mile pace. I took no walk breaks. I passed every person who had passed me after the levee.

I was eagerly looking forward to the last few hills. I had run up those slopes the past few years. This year was to be no different. The first of the slopes leading up from the river was soon upon me. A third of the way up, I stopped, bent over with my hands on my knees and waited for my pulse to slow. 20 seconds later I started running up again. A third of the way up I stopped in similar fashion again. I refused to walk. I finally made it up the slope and ran the rest of the way to the Last Gasp AS. I filled my bottle with Coke for the last push and headed up the slope. This year that last part felt way easier than it had in years past.

About half a mile from the finish, just before the last small but steep climb, I spotted the familiar figure of my RDL buddy, Karen Bonnett, ahead of me. I yelled out to her and soon caught up with her. We ran up the last climb together and finished hand in hand. 10:39! 30 minutes faster than in 2007.

What a race I had run! It was one of the most fun races I have ever run. The miles seemed to go by faster than they've ever done.

Kudos to Julie and her amazing band of volunteers. Thank you all for another wonderful edition of AR50.

Until next year.

The Coyote Two Moon party

2009-03-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

Jean Pommier wrote a poem last week. Inspired by me was his confession. It was an acrostic. So I decided to honor his act with an acrostic of my own, a double one (the first letters AND the last letters of the lines, when read top to bottom, spell something).

C oyote Two Moon! What a race!! It has now become a fa V
O ne that I want to do at least once mor E
Y ou could not tell from how low I set the ba R
O usted at 75 miles, high on the ridge above serene Oja I
T ook 28 hours and Chris Scott's, the RD, dictum to end it al L
E nough said he! This is the end of your Coyote Two Moon part Y

T opa, steep and icy, was hard. I wish I were as surefooted as Bamb I
W ith the day's dawning, my run was reduced to a tro T
O n ahead, the occasional rapidly moving figure of Andy Kumeda 'S

M ade up some time running down the long Cozy Dell Stretc H
O n the way up I slowed terribly. Turned off my Petzl Tikk A
O n the side of the trail I rested. Gosh! The Finish was so faaaaa R
N ot wanting to quit, I got up, trudged on until "No mas" I was tol D

My race photos http://rajeevtherunner.smugmug.com/gallery/7623515_LyC46#493025444_sfH3y

My party began on Thursday, Mar 12, as part of the bowling team. I flew into Burbank on an early flight, picked up the rental car and drove down up to Ojai. I was safely ensconced in the Capri Hotel, just past the main Ojai strip, by 2 p.m. After having made my drop bags, I left to go explore the town and grab some coffee and supplies from the grocery store.

I left around 5:30 p.m. to head to Ventura and the bowling alley. I was part of a team that consisted of Nancy Warren, Diane Vlach, Deen, Carol Cuminale and Bob. I met so many friends there - Nattu, Zombie G, DC, Dave Combs, Cindy Goh, Georgeanna Quarles to name a few. I am a pretty lousy bowler and it was a wonder I even made it past 50!

Dinner was pretty much a few pizza slices and a couple of beers. Sleep was easy to come by that night and I slept like a baby.

Friday dawned warm and sunny. What an exciting day it was going to be! The mistakes I made will be ones I will rectify next year (if Chris lets me have a shot at it again) - I stopped eating solid food after lunch. As a result, I started the race with low blood sugar (despite an Ensure for dinner and one 30 minutes before the Start at 9 p.m.). The other one was to select 38 hours as my Finish time. I should have gone for the Full Monty of 40 Mooning hours. :)

(Race briefing around 1:00 p.m.)

It was a bit cold at the start but we all soon warmed up. Nancy Warren was BEHIND me for quite a few miles. Catra Corbett and Linda McFadden soon disappeared ahead, climbing at a pretty impressive speed. I was followed for the whole climb by Dennis Drey. He and I had connected in the 2008 Lean Horse 100M and we talked about this and that on the way up. A few hundred yards from the top of the 4 mile climb, my phone rang, for the first of many times in the race. I gave my friend a status update and put it back in my fanny pack for we were about to begin the long descent down to the first AS - Sisar Canyon.

Dennis and I split up for a bit. I caught up with Nancy, who had passed me on the climb, and we enjoyed a conversation all the way down to Sisar. It was quickly in and out from there.

I stepped into a stream almost right after leaving the AS. The wet feet were soon forgotten as I met 2 other runners. One of them had flown in from London to run the race. Ken and I talked about the UK and my upcoming Thames Ring Ultra all the way up to the gate. There was still a long climb to get to the Lions Cyn AS. Ken took off soon after the gate and I trudged on alone. At one point, I sat down on the trail to look at the stars, enjoy the silence and let my heartbeats settle. It was soon after this that I passed Linda McFadden whom I found lying on the trail. She said she was OK and that a known heart problem had surfaced. What a trooper! More about her later.

A bit further up I was passed by George Ruiz, co-RD of the TRT 50M/100M race, and Brian Wyatt.

I had eventually reached the Lion Cyn AS. The captain was Luis Escobar.

(Luis Escobar)

He offered me a grilled cheese sandwich and coffee. I hesitated a bit. It had been half a grilled cheese sandwich that had created stomach problems for me around mile 72 in the 2008 Lean Horse 100M. I was hungry so I threw caution to the winds and gobbled one down. It was delicious and I promptly asked for another. Other runners were coming in either on their way up to Topa or on their way down to Rose Creek. I must have spent 10-15 minutes in the AS before heading up the climb. The initial 0.5 miles were not very steep. What freaked me out were the lights of the runners ahead of me. The lights were ABOVE my head, almost in a vertical line up!! I knew that the total climb to the top was about 2 miles. I also remembered that the ascent was about 1300-1500 feet. That bespoke of a 13-15% climb!

Those numbers were confirmed just a bit later with the slopes I soon encountered. I came upon the first snow of the race up this climb. There were stretches of the trail that were totally covered in snow, one side to the other and I had to navigate real gingerly given the tenuous hold my road shoes provided.

I had to stop a few more times on this climb to slow my heartbeats. A couple of hundred yards from the top, during one of my rest breaks, Linda Dewees passed me. She was looking strong and I admired the way she was negotiating the snow and the steep climb.

I duly reached the top. Got my card from the pack there (we had been instructed to do so in the race briefing and in the Lions Cyn AS). Turned off my headlamp. Took off my ear warmers. Not very cold. Nary a breeze. Utter silence. What a beautiful way to connect to my beloved Earth.

Reluctantly I eventually got up and started the hoary descent down the slippery snow. The phone rang again. It was about 3 a.m. now and the caller was a friend who had gotten up to get a drink of water and instantly wondered how I was doing. Ergo the call.

I met Steve Ansell and Beat Jegerlehner about 0.5 miles from the AS. They looked happy and upbeat. Steve remarked that the entire way up to Topa had been covered in snow last year!

(Steve Ansell and Beat Jegerlehner)

I got back to the Lions Cyn AS, ate a couple more slices of grilled cheese, got a bit more coffee and started off on the trek down to Rose Creek. Some of the sections I encountered on this descent were across scree with unsure footing. I went across these sections with my heart in my mouth, fully realizing that I would be allowed a look at the drop on the way back many hours later.

Fred Ecks caught up with me and eventually passed me with about a mile to go to the AS. It had gotten bitterly cold by now. I was looking forward to the AS and warming up for a bit.

The AS was eventually reached at 6:30 a.m. Jakob Hermann (he finished in 36 hrs. last year - wow!) was there as was Dan Marinsik. Dan had gotten lost for almost 2.5 hours (he had started at 6 p.m. on Friday) and was dropping in the AS since he was on 40+ hrs. pace. Wise decision. I sat there for a bit. Got some cheese quesadilla slices and a shot of Jack Daniels! I replenished my bottle of Cytomax with some powder from my drop bag and had my water bottle topped up. Rose Creek was at 26.7 miles so my marathon had taken 9.5 hrs!

I left at 7 a.m. to begin the long trudge up to Lion Cyn and Luis Escobar's delicious grilled cheese fare. I got some pictures of the scree sections here. I was alone for most of the climb and it was a wonderful trek up. Surrounded by beautiful mountains and lovely vistas, I felt like I was being given therapy for the soul. :)

Some more coffee and sandwiches it was in the AS. Chrissie Weiss, of Dirty Girl gaiters fame, was sitting there. I left after spending 10 minutes or so with the food. The sun was nice and warm by now.

I started the descent and soon got into a groove. I did a combination of walking and some running here. Soon I was reduced to just a walk, a fast trot. I just could not bring myself to run at this stage. This run-apathy lasted for many, many hours. I made my way back to the gate from where we had made the descent to the Sisar AS the previous night and started the long climb back up to the Ridge Junction AS.

As I was passing the top of the Horn Canyon climb (the first climb that we 100 milers had made the previous evening), I saw a familiar figure join me on the trail - Donn Ozaki.

(Donn Ozaki)

We had become friends in the 2008 Dick Collin's 50 mile race and we instantly fell into the familiar groove again. He had deliberately chosen to be slow in order to let his friend, Laura who was starting 2 hours after him, catch up. They had planned to run the 100K race together. I spent a good 15 minutes here eating quesadillas and regrouping my forces. I set out alone and 8-9 minutes into it I realized I had left my jacket behind in the AS. I turned around and promptly saw Donn running towards me. He was kind enough to speed up back to the AS and bring me the jacket. We were passed by Luis and his team in their pickup. They had closed the Lions Cyn AS and were planning to camp for the night about a quarter mile away from the Ridge Junction AS.

Donn and I spent the next few miles togehter, running when we could or when I felt like it and walking most of it. We soon neared the turnoff leading down to the Rose Valley AS. The initial descent was very steep and the views were gorgeous! We ran/walked into the AS. I had a change of clothes here but decided to stay with what I had started the race with - biking shorts length tights over which I had worn shorts over which I had long tights. I ran the entire race in this. I never felt even a bit uncomfortable.

I spent another 10 minutes or so schmoozing here. This is where I met Karen Hanke and Melissa. Carol Cuminale was here too. Linda McFadden was here. She had, inconceivably, made it this far! She finally called it a day there.

I seem to have run this race in some sort of a daze for I forgot both my water bottles in this AS. I realized this 0.25 miles back uo the long climb so I had to hurry back, get the bottles and start the climb over again. I caught up with and passed Georgeanna here. The top was eventually reached and we made the right turn to take us along the ridge to the turnoff leading down to Howard Creek. It was here that I started running. Not just running but running fast. The slope was gentle and the footing assured. I passed a few runners here and reached the Howard Creek AS.

I must have spent at least 20-25 minutes here, most of it answering the call of Nature. I changed out of my shirt here into a fresh one and headed out again to climb back up to the ridge. Ernesto Matal Sol was with me on and off up the climb. We soon made the right turn on the ridge and the Gridley Top AS soon came into view.

Chris Scott was here as was my friend, Carmela Layson. She, Jakob Hermann and I had run our first 100M race in the 2006 Rio Del Lago 100M. She handed me some soup and some quesadillas. I quickly left this AS to make the long trek down to Cozy Dell.

The fog had started to roll in when I had reached the ridge from the climb up from Rose Valley and it was to become a factor here. My headlamp could not pierce the fog. It was hard going to get to the turnoff leading down to Cozy Dell. I said Hi to Catra going the other way to the AS. Good for her! She is one strong runner and I admire her very much. Always good humored and helpful.

The fog seemd to thin as I descended. A lot of the 100M & 100K runners were on their way up. I met most of them - Fred Ecks, Ken, Steve Ansell, Beat and many others. Beat gave me an idea of what to expect. It did not sound very good.

Once I had gone past the narrow trail and found myself on a wider path, I let my legs fly. It felt wonderful to feel the muscles working in concert and generating more heat than they had in many hours. :)

The headlamp experience here was funny. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or just an overactive imagination but I seemd to feel, all along this section, that there were homes around me. Melissa and Karen passed me going the other way and Melissa told me about the really bad section coming up and cautioned me to watch my footing.

That section was truly one from Hell! Gosh. Bad footing all along and it had to be negotiated in the dark. I eventually found the Aid Station. Sat down on a chair, ate a few quesadillas, drank some soup. Giles Barbeau's wife helped me here. Thank you very much!

I left the AS to begin the lousy climb up to Gridley Top. My race came apart 30 minutes up the climb. I made a left turn (I remembered it from the trip down) and kept walking up this long winding road with many wide switchbacks. For the life of me I could not remember this section from the trip down! I looked around in vain for markings. After deciding that I was off course, I ran DOWN for almost 0.5-0.7 miles before meeting up with a 100K runner. He assured me that I was on the right trail.

I know what happened here. The section where I had let my legs fly was this very section. On the way down I had not realized I was descending! I had felt the trail to be flat so I was expecting a flat section on the way up! Having gone for a few miles without a flat section appearing, I had assumed that I was lost and there went my adrenaline and everything else.

I slowed down terribly on the single track trail. I had to stop a few times once more to let my heartbeats settle. I kept looking at my watch. 12:15 a.m. 12:25 a.m. Where the heck is the top so that I can then start the climb up and then down to Gridley Top? It took a long time in coming.

Once there, I quickly switched to my hand light since the fog was still a problem. I finally made it into Gridley Top at 1:30 a.m. (28.5 hrs. into the race). An hour before this, with my pace slowing a lot and my mind starting to give up, I talked to myself and reminded myself of the DNF in the 2008 TRT 100M (at mile 67). I realized that I was in that same mental territory again.

This is where I felt proud - I was NOT going to quit. THEY would have to yank me from the race. If they let me leave an AS, I would crawl out but I refused to stop. That decision made, I instantly felt good. I had regained some of my old tenacious self and self-respect

Carmela promptly informed me that Chris had asked me to head home. This was C2M speak for "Your race has ended". Get your butt off the mountain by following the same route the rest are following - 7 miles to the Ridge Junction AS and then 5 miles down to Thacher School.

I sat there for 2 hours trying to sleep. It was bitterly cold again and those 2 hours were spent in vain. I heard a woman come in around 3:20 a.m. asking for help to get into her breeches. I found that amusing. I finally left the AS at 3:30 a.m. after mustering up enough fortitude to brave the insidious cold.

A ways up the trail, right after passing the turnoff leading down to Howard Creek, I could hear snatches of a conversation between a male and female runner. Very soon they caught up with me and I put in a few words about what the girl was talking about. The male runner soon sped up and disappeared while the girl, Andi Ramer, and I trudged on. She was the runner who had asked for help to get into her breeches. We soon got around to talking about her accomplishments (multiple Ironman races with a PB of 10:20. Wow!!). Andi and I had the greatest time the next 6 miles down to the Finish.

It got even colder around 6:15 a.m. or so. Andi and I decided to run up a short climb just before the Ridge Junction AS and that helped warm us up a lot. Christine Miller rolled into the AS with us followed by Linda Dewees a bit later. Good for Linda! She was on her way to a great finish!!

Andi and I eventually made it down to Thacher School and the Finish area festivities. I reconnected with a lot of my friends here. Most of them looked tired but proud of their accomplishments. Rightly so!

It was back to the hotel for me and then on to lunch. This is where I bumped into John Brooks and his friend Candace. We had a nice lunch. I talked while they listened!!

I went to bed early that night after a 6 p.m. massage in order to get up early and make it to Burbank for my 11:00 a.m. flight to San Jose.

The race is fantastic. The entire experience is one of fun. It is a very hard race but definitely a goal that is achievable with some hill training.

Chris Scott and his volunteers were, undoubtedly, the best I have ever seen in any race. They had stuff out and into your hands before you could say Coyote Two Moon!! Thank you all for letting me party for so long.

Until next year.

Off to the UK in June

2009-02-17T12:50:00.000-08:00

(Henley-on-Thames)

I'm so pumped up! I have awarded myself a tour in the UK. It's one on foot. The organizers have seen fit to label it a race but I have chosen to call it a vacation!!

I leave SFO on June 20 for the inaugural 260-mile Thames Ring Ultra which begins at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 24. I have 100 hours, until 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 28, to finish. More details about the race are on http://www.tra-uk.org/downloads/thames_ring_update.doc.

The organizers are the same ones who put on the existing GUCR 145 mile race held in May every year.

The Thames Ring race has aid stations about 26 miles apart so I will have to be self sufficient for at least the marathon distance. That should not pose a problem during the day since I will have access to shops in the little villages I will pass through. Nights will be a different matter altogether. I will have to ensure that I put enough stuff in my backpack to meet most "emergencies" at night.

The Thames or Great Ring is actually formed of 3 canals - the River Thames canal, the Oxford Canal Ring and the Grand Union Canal Ring(GUCR).

For more information:
Thames River
Oxford Canal
Grand Union Canal

To say that I am excited is an understatement. As a child growing up in India reading children's books by the famous author, Enid Blyton, I yearned to see the English countryside the stories depicted. Come June, I get to be a child again! I will run or walk through places steeped in history and lore. Charming little villages with even more charming names like Goring (race Start/Finish), Mapledurham, Caversham, Reading, Marlow, Chertsey, Stoke Bruerne ...

Images of some villages in the first 50 or so miles can be viewed at http://www.map-reading.co.uk/localimages/HTML%20files/LocalImagesGallery.html.

A few more images, taken from the above site (thank you Clive Ormond!), below.

(Grand Union Canal at Braunston)

(River Thames wending its way through Caversham)

Kauai running

2008-12-21T08:40:00.000-08:00

I have been looking forward all year to visiting Kauai, "The Garden Isle". I love Maui (I've been there 5 times in the past 6 years) but decided to visit Kauai. There are 18 of us staying in a large (it's big!) villa right on the ocean on the West shore (check out Villa I on http://alohakauaivillas.com).

We landed pretty late on Friday (Dec 19) and were tired by the time we slept around midnight. My PST biological clock woke me up at 5:30 a.m. and pretty soon all of us were eating hearty breakfast while sitting on the lanai.

The day was spent lazing. It was 3:30 p.m. when 5 of us headed off in the direction of the Pacific Missile facility. The others turned back 1.5 miles into the run while I decided to go up Kokee road (this road leads to Waimea Canyon and beyond to Kokee). What a beautiful run it turned out to be! The road gradually started climbing and I was soon negotiating a steady 4-5% grade.

Birds chirping of to my left accompanied by the sound of water rushing down the hill in the form of a stream. Water headed back to the ocean to evaporate and begin its run down the stream again days from now!

No mile posts went by to inform me about my progress. After having run up the road for about 33 minutes, I decided I would turn back as soon as the first car passed me. I had to run another 3 minutes to start to point my shoes down the hill.

The run down finally showed by how steep the run up was. I felt good going up and even better coming down the long way to the left turn back to the villas.

I'm excited about tackling that climb again this week. I will carry water and something to eat that day.

It's 6:45 a.m. and I want to eat breakfast while watching the sunrise from the lanai. :)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

End of The Year Blog Tag

2008-12-17T08:21:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Alan Geraldi with the questions below.

1. What was your 2008 running highlight and running low?
I would have to say that the Rio Del Lago 100M was my highlight for the year. The heat was intense and runners were dropping like flies. I played it safe during the hot hours of the day (12 noon to 4 p.m.). That strategy paid off handsomely and I managed to finish with less than 5 minutes to spare.

I don't know if I had a low of any note. The closest would be the DNF, at 67 miles, in the Tahoe Rim Trail 100M.

2. What race are you secretly planning on doing (or contemplating) for 2009 but haven't made it known to the public....until now.
A few people know that I want to do the inaugural 260-mile Thames Ring (June) in the UK. It sounds intriguing to say the least. Now I guess a lot more will know.

3. Where would you like create and direct an ultra that (to your knowledge) none exists?
I would like to create a 100M run in the South Bay. This would be in the corridor between San Mateo and San Jose.

4. What is your "primary" race for 2009?
My primary race will be the 260-mile Thames Ring. If that race does not happen for some reason, I will focus once again on the Lean Horse 100M and try to go under 24 hours.

5. What is the most exciting thing about your upcoming race schedule?
A few old races, a few new ones ... Keeps me on my toes.

6. List your planned races for 2009:
100M self-supported run at the end of Jan along Hwy 1 from Pacifica to Monterey
Adam Blum's Fatass 26-mile run in Feb
Coyote Two Moon 100M in March
AR50 in April
100M self-supported run the weekend after Ruth Anderson
Quicksilver 50M in May
Ohlone 50K in May
Thames Ring 260-mile ultra in June
Tahoe Rim Trail in July (?)
Lean Horse in August
Rio Del Lago in September
Dick Collins 50M in October

Tagging Anil Rao, Rajeev Char, Mark Tanaka, Jean Pommier, Brad Niess and Rick Gaston.