Ultra Running

The Company, Indeed!!!

This is my experience (& opinions) in helping to crew an amazing runner with a phenomenal team!

So, I helped to crew a runner this weekend. “Crewing” is a team that is put together to help a runner get from point A to point B, as strong and healthily as possible. It is also not allowing your runner to stay in a bad head space, which is so very easy to do when you’re running, especially longer distances. Running is more of a mental activity than a physical one. Those that have run Marathons have probably heard of “hitting the wall”. That wall is when your body wants to give up, because it will, but it’s so much stronger than we know and if we push through mentally, it will pass. Our minds are indeed miraculous!

About two months ago, one of my BRF (Best Running Friends, and runners truly make the best of friends!), announced after running an Ultra, and 46 miles (her longest ever), that she was going to sign up for the Daytona 100 here in Florida. Her “Why” went far deeper than an overwhelming desire to do something crazy, but it is not mine to share.  The Daytona 100 was raising money for Runners4Recovery, which she was passionate about. She served on the Board and ended up earning over $1000.00 for them with this race. When she announced that she was signing up for this race, I immediately I reached out to her and told her that I would love to help crew her. I have never crewed before, but I knew I could do it (we can do anything we truly put our minds to…I learned that long ago). It sounds nuts to most, but I have spoken to many first time 100-mile Ultra runners (avid podcast listener, too) and their longest training run was around 50 miles, so it was not off the mark. Ultramarathoners all have their own “why” as to what keeps them going forward on these exceptionally long distances. Nevertheless, I was in, and she accepted my offer graciously (I have never seen her done anything less than graciously!).

I was originally crew chief, but as God does, he moved things around in their proper order and I ended up being a pacer. A pacer, well, paces the runner and keeps them going when they want to stop, they also help keep the runner at a pace to finish on time. Pacing friends is challenging I learned! I’m far too much a caretaker/people pleaser, but pace I did!

The crew chief and I met up at 5:30 AM at the start of our race (Jacksonville Beach Lifeguard HQ) to see off our runner (and all the runners!) with high energy and enthusiasm. It was a 3.5 mile run north up Beach Blvd. from 1^st Street and then back south, so we waited for her return to cheer her by and check on her and then off she went! We wouldn’t see her again until Mile 16 at Mickler’s Beach mini aid station. Our two other crew members (I’ll call them “pacer freaking hilarious” and “pacer patriot” I am not going to use anyone’s name here as this is my perspective and they all have their own. If they choose to identify with my post, it is theirs to share!), the amazing folks that they are, were working the Runners4Recovery aid station at Mile 35 and would be there until at least 4 PM.

Once we saw our runner off, we went and started to decorate the official race vehicle, which belonged to the Chief. We also reorganized the vehicle, went to get some strong coffee, and off we went to the first checkpoint, Mile 16, Mickler’s Beach. 

It’s funny how everything blurs together, and for that I am very grateful for photographs and that our handy dandy cellphones record the times, etc. I’m not going to do a runner report here or get too into detail about each of our stops with the star athlete. This is me processing the weekend and evaluating the race from a first-time crew member standpoint. Here I sit, post day two of my return to reality (post two nights of good sleep) and I have been unable to think of little else. I am still in awe and gratitude. Truly a life changing experience.

Four people were brought together by Providence to bring an extraordinary athlete through a record run! There are no mistakes! It was a first for all four of us. Our athlete brought in the wonderful and amazing Dawn, (Run Natural Coach), who is an expert on ultras, as a consultant, so there were indeed five on this team!

Okay, so back to our star athlete! It was a hot one. I imagine one of the hottest. The high temperature was close to 81 degrees, with humidity vying between 47-100 percent, and dewpoint hanging out around 62. It was a summer day here in Florida on December 3rd! It’s that humidity and dewpoint that really get to you. Not only that, but they were running with the sun beating down on their face most of the day. There was very little shade and no cloud coverage at all. Not a canopied trail, to be sure! Running on the side of the road and on sidewalks is not the most ideal running, either. You must stay very mindful and on point to avoid falls or injury.

Okay, so I’ve been hitting a wall with this blog post! My brain is only just coming back around from probably less than an hour of sleep in a period of over 52 hours. Are you impressed?! I sure as heck am! Lack of sleep was one of my biggest concerns but thank you, God, for adrenaline! In my older years I tend to get grumpy without sleep or when I am tired, but so grateful the grouch did not come out! So, lack of sleep and running, can you dig it? What amazing grit, tenacity, and determination it takes to keep on putting one foot in front of the other! So proud. So amazed.

The crew chief and I spent a lot of time together tending to our athlete. She was a perfect lead being very well organized, tough when she needed to be, loving, and inspiring. I could not imagine a better chief. I do know that I could not have done as well, to be sure. When the going got tough, she got in there and did her job! It was beautiful and inspiring to witness her with our athlete.

It was planned that I would join our athlete in pacing at the mile 35 aid station, where our other teammates were helping to tend to athletes all morning. After some awesome KIMSPIRATION, fuel, hydration, rolling, and a little bit of rest we were off through gorgeous St. Augustine. It was like two friends getting together for a run! Well, for me, I am sure that this amazing woman I was running with wasn’t quite feeling the same. However, we chatted and laughed and had a good ol’ time. As we were crossing the 95-year-old The Bridge of Lions it was reported to me that our athlete was famished. This was a good thing, right? She insisted on “real” food and this is my first screw up, uh, I mean “lesson”. I should have called our chief immediately and asked that she meet us with food. “Should-of’s”, uuugggghhhh! I don’t know what I was thinking. Our runner is very headstrong and stubborn, mind you—like most of us, right?!? Well, she was hellbent on getting something to eat. I wish that I had reached out to our chief, as it could have made a difference. I honestly could not tell you what I was thinking or why I did not think. We all know, NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY!!! It was reiterated a thousand times by Dawn, too. I think because I recently ran the NYC marathon on new sugar loaded fuel (not accustomed to) because I had left mine at home, I was not too worried about it. However, I consider this a major lapse in judgement. I had one job!

We ended up passing a street taco place and each got a single vegan taco. It was delicious though a little spicy (not good) with protein, carbs, and healthy fat. Onward we continued, taco in hand! We stopped at the cute souvenir store “Toms” (since 1970) and the Hippo Pops looked so refreshing we decided to enjoy a blueberry ice pop. It was not long after this that her tummy started to bother her, and she revealed some of her health history to me (note to self: check on that before pacing a runner if possible!). It was a bit concerning to say the least. Now our running was becoming less, and our walking was increasing. We were stopped by the Marshalls at a few minutes to five and told to stop until we had our lights on. We called our chief and she came and brought them to us.

This star athlete then wanted a good cup of coffee and knew just the place. She was so excited as it was one of her favorite shops and they were still open…The Kookaburra Beachside coffee shop. So delicious! It was not long after this that her tummy started to bother her and she revealed some of her health history to me (note to self: check on that before pacing a runner if possible!). It was a bit concerning to say the least. Now our running was becoming less and walking was increasing.

Just as we were retuning to A1A from Old A1A we ran into another runner— I will call him Brooklyn. He is a true veteran to Ultras. This was his third Daytona 100. I hope that he shares his story of this race as what he shared with us was incredible. He was kind and informative. We enjoyed our time together and it helped the miles to pass more quickly. The three of us stayed together for quite a while. It was at this time that Brooklyn told us that the aid stations had time cut offs and that if we did not make that cut off, we were out of the race, disqualified, even if we made it over the finish line before 1 PM the next day (that was the only cut off we were aware of). If there is a negative to having a virgin crew it is the inexperience. None of us realized. We didn’t even really believe (or want to believe?!?) this new information. It threw us for a loop mentally. We all read the entire Race Booklet multiple times and never saw that anywhere. We did not understand. Our athlete was still on point, so we were not overly concerned at this point, but mindful.

I parted ways with our runner before the Matanzas Bridge and Pacer Patriot took my place. Pacer Patriot was not able to get our athlete to run a bit, so P. Enthusiasm stepped in. (I must add that while Patriot was with our athlete, time with the other two women was absolutely a blast, we were giddy like schoolgirls and laughing up a storm.) When P. Patriot had accompanied Brooklyn and our athlete, he became a bit peeved that Brooklyn was giving us misinformation as none of us could believe she would be disqualified if she did not make the aid station timers…we did not read that anywhere in the Race Manual (here it is: https://www.daytona100ultra.com/race-guide.html_ ). It was clear that the aid stations had cut offs but not that the runner would be disqualified if he/she did not make that time cut off. As a runner I think of aid stations as a place of reprieve, especially for those athletes who do not have crews, but never as mandatory. I thought the timers were for spectators watching from home! Did I tell you we were a virgin team? I do hope that the new Race Director will take heed and make sure this is very clear for future newbies.

When it was looking like our athlete would not make the 84-mile aid station before they closed/cut-off we went ahead to get confirmation of this information we were given. I practically jumped out of the car before it stopped…how could this be?!? Dawn confirmed it as well. She showed up on multiple occasions throughout the race for support and encouragement and was reachable at any time by phone, totally over and above her call of duty! She also insisted that we call her if our athlete wanted to quit.

We were all a little nervous to reveal to this beautiful woman that she is now disqualified. Will she continue?

YES SHE WILL!!!!!

No hesitation!

This gave us all renewed vitality! She signed up for 100 miles, she was going to run 100 miles!!!

She continued onward with P. Enthusiasm who was able to get her to run again a bit. When we saw them scuffling along at a trot our heart soared!

The three of us went a bit ahead as there was a hotel on Ormand Beach our athlete insisted on getting. P. Patriot slept a bit in his car while Chief and I went upstairs. A bed had truly NEVER felt so good. I don’t recall the time but don’t think it was more than an hour…at this point everything tended to blend. Chief got up to get some hot chocolate (dairy free!) for our girl while I stayed a bit longer. Shortly thereafter she returned with our athlete– who is a queen of short naps, mind you. I awoke feeling rough…never being a good napper. I felt sick and dehydrated. As time went on (ten minutes or so) it was decided that I would continue with our runner girl. She was mentally struggling but still tenaciously moving forward, one step at a time. She was clearer than I at this point as she witnessed a drug deal ahead that I was completely impervious to. Two young boys, around 12-14…we approached them and asked them what they were doing with those men, and they insisted they were given granola bars from the two shady dudes. Granola bars…lol. Oh my. What could we do? I was wearing my Runners4Recovery shirt, and I pointed at it. I said, “Please, please don’t do drugs.” Our runner girl spoke to them, too, though I do not recall exactly what she said. We were both very troubled by this. We focused on faith and how God has us, and them, too…and she said a prayer. I do believe this interaction propelled her forward even more. It reminded her of her “WHY”.

A few more miles south she was ready to throw in the towel. I am not hard core. The fear of someone pushing their body too much can bind me up. I do not know if her body can handle this, and truly she is the only one that can know. Thoughts of my husband running a 5K on the brink of a heart attack returned to me. I was afraid to push her, so I called our Chief. She came out and did her magic…our star athlete got up and continued to move forward. It was a tearful moment I will never forget. I was disappointed with myself for not being able to do that with our runner girl, but so very grateful that Chief was able to. There is indeed a reason for everything!

It is important to note that we had Race Marshalls tell our runner girl from the side of the road in their vehicle that the race was over and that she should stop. I know that is their perception and reality, but we need always remember that the HUMANITY aspect of running need always be first. The HUMANITY of any sport or activity in life is truly the most important – – when it is all said and done, it is all that matters. I think that was the most disappointing thing about this race, but I’ll get there soon, it’s almost over, I promise!

Onward she went!!!! P. Enthusiasm took over for a bit and then P. Patriot. We were getting closer and closer, and the sun was beating down on the runners. It was decided I would go back and see if anyone was going to be there to cheer our runner in and prepare a finish line in case there was not one, as it was looking like she would arrive closer to 3. We stopped at a Dollar Tree and picked up supplies.

I arrived just in the nick of time to see runner Brooklyn cross the finish line!!!! I was so happy that he made it! He helped us so on this journey and was awesome company. No accidents! The clock then struck 1:00 PM, knowing that there was still a runner on the course, everything came down….it broke my heart. I was so sad for our girl. She deserved a monumental celebration, and my worn-out body was going to make sure she had one! I learned how to make a balloon arch this day! Hehe. I had brought a “Congratulations” sign by chance we needed it, and yep, we needed that sucker! No accidents. I didn’t really know what I was doing but it was coming together. I was pretty much ignored by all those around me and was a bit irritated, or more heartbroken. I called out to the race director, “Bob, didn’t you miss the finish at Badwater?” He replied, “yep – it happens”. I said, “You still had others cheering you at the finish, right?”…no response. Shortly thereafter I did ask if I could have a buckle for our runner as I would never forgive myself if I didn’t and he said it wasn’t possible. I can understand that but the no support, I cannot. No humanity. Here is Bob’s finish at Badwater – he missed his cutoff, too. I am so grateful he had support though: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=447387736978366

P. Enthusiasm and Chief walked up to me said, “it’s time!!! We walked out together to our star athlete to bring her in together her very last mile. She was complaining of chest pain and wanting tums for some time. This scared the absolute crap out of me. Heartburn is very easily confused with heart issues. My hubby has gone through a lot around his heart. I did not say anything, of course, we had one mile to go and durnit we were going to make it!!! It was decided when we were close to the end I would get out ahead and ask someone to take our pictures. It was a perfect ending to an amazing race. My dear friend’s first 100 miler!!! It was OFFICIALLY the most fantastic racing adventure I have ever had with the absolute most freaking fantastic team. Would I do it again? YES! Not this race though. Even NYC stays for the last runner. It was very disheartening. Rules are rules are rules are rules…humanity should always override all rules in my book.

This race changed me. This experience made me a better person. I am extremely grateful to all of our team, it would not have been the same with any other crew…we all complemented each other in a big way. Thank you, our beautiful star athlete for bringing us together…overwhelmed with so much gratitude.