Route27

After writing about two marathons, a 50 mile run, I just cant resist to announce another record, the marathon trip back home. For the record, this is the longest trip home I have taken so far, and as the cliché goes, I have taken some long trips home (Caveat necessary here - does not include Around the Trip World with Mara). Here is the breakdown of the planes, trains and automobiles:

Hour::Destination::Mode of Transportation
0:00::Boat::Davao, Phillipines
1:00::Bus::Airport
4:00::Cepbu Pacific::Manila
6:00::Jeepny (yes, I took it all by myself!)::Airport Hotel and back
12:00::Phillipines Airlines::Bejing
23:00::United::Washington DC
35:00::United::Washinton DC - Chicago
37:00::Cab home!

Glad to be home. It’s a good thing I didn’t get too settled in PH

Until now, I have never called myself a runner without smirking about it. I don’t have a runners body, quite opposite actually, I havent run in High School (wrestling), and I just took it up as a recreational hobby, but I generally remain slower than most of my friends and running buddies. Granted, I have been running on and off for about 11 years now. My first “race” was the Cleveland Revco 96. I finished five marathons, yet I still felt like an intruder into the sport. I felt that the only reason I did it was by being an runner intruder, no special talent, kind of fat, ex-smoker, just completing the runs through sheer will.

Well, not anymore - I am a RUNNER! Whats brought this change about was my completion of my first ultra marathon, the JFK 50 miler. My buddy TJ talked me into it. At first I didn’t think this would put me in the category of a runner, I mean with a 50 mile race and a cut of time of 12 hours (now realizing that’s on the short side for this type of distance), you cant call it running if you can take a 15 minute mile once in a while.

But actually completing the RUN - and yes, despite the slow average this was very much a RUN, deserving all three caps. My official result: 10:44:09 - yup, thats almost eleven hours. I am limited in describing it to a non-runner, but for any marathoners our there, here is what running a 50 mile ultra feels like:

- go for a slow pace run of 18 miles
- after completing, immediately turn around and do another 18 mile pace run
- after running for more than a marathon now, there is only one thing left to do
- turn around and run a half marathon

The JFK was a great challenge and a great experience. I have seen clarity and asked clarity why I like setting goals and not letting go. It was painfull and rewarding. I don’t think I would ever do it again (don’t ask about the bout with fever)… But keep reading.

Special thanks go to the Reston Runners, Dennis Kelleher the super-duper reston supporter who was assigned to crew for me. Thank You!!

For some testimonial on what the race experience was like for other folks, check out the Reston Runners Experience Articles.

Last two days the Chicago marathon has generated a lot of heated debate on the blogosphere and forums. I tend to side with this article, although not entirely.

Nobody forced anyone to run
Chicago Tribune, Oct 9th, 2007

Hey, don’t blame the city of Chicago if you were too tired and too hot Sunday while running a marathon.

And don’t blame sponsor LaSalle Bank if you were weak from thirst and couldn’t get enough to drink.

You’ve got nobody to blame but yourselves.

“They ought to move it to a later date,” one runner whined on TV.

Yeah, how about November next time? Then you could run it in a blizzard and blame Chicago for your case of frostbite.

Sympathy for the fallen is fine, but the sponsors weren’t responsible for making them run.

No one stages a 26.2-mile race for 45,000 people and guarantees, “Oh, by the way, you’ll all be fine.”

Marathons are not for the faint of heart. You run in one, you take your chances.

If the water supply runs short, here’s a helpful hint: Stop running. It’s just a race. Don’t die for it.

Congratulations to the winners. You signed up to be in a long, hard run? You got one

This summer I among with a close group of friends have trained for this marathon with Chicago Fit headed by coach Ken Antles.

All summer we trained in hot weather, or try to avoid by starting our runs at 6 or sometimes 5 in the morning. The hottest day on record for October 7th - the day of the marathon was not kind to us. Here are some of our 2007 Chicago Marathon times, mostly way off of our target or predicted times. (See our times at the end of this post)

In case you haven’t heard about the conditions of the race, here are some media stories about this Marathon:

Death, Havoc and Heat Mar Chicago Race
New York Times, October 8th.

As temperatures soared into the upper 80s, hundreds of runners in the Chicago marathon fell ill and at least one died on Sunday, prompting officials here to halt the annual race for the first time in its 30-year history.

Marathon cut short for first time ever
Chicago Tribune, October 8th, 2007

Some runners chalked up the aborted race to bad luck, but many others seethed about a lack of fluids along the way.

“I had no water until Mile 8,” said Blayne Rickles, 57, of Denver.

The most welcome relief came in the form of spectators buying bottles of water near Mile 13 and handing them to exhausted runners, she said.

“The city was fabulous, but the race was horrible,” Rickles said.

Runner Dies, Two Critical After Marathon

Sports.aol.com, October 8th, 2007

An autopsy showed a heart condition, not record-setting heat, killed a Michigan police officer who died during an unusually hot and humid Chicago Marathon .

Several other people collapsed, and at least two remained in critical condition Monday, as record heat and smothering humidity forced race organizers to shut down the course midway through the event.

My Personal reflections on the Marathon:

A good frirnd of mine, Martin Spit, inquired into the conditions after he’d heard the news. My reply to him was the following:

I survived. Went into survival mode at mile 18… I don’t care about my 4:24 time I’m just happy I finished – it was that type of a day. It was carnage on the course; I stopped counting after I passed 12 unconscious runners on the side of the road. The heat really added to the suck factor. 250+ people went into hospitals, thousands were treated by paramedics, it was tough.

I did beat shitbird and Eric. I was lucky to be part of the group that had ample water throughout the marathon. Industrious… I will defend the organizers… I haven’t read the reports on that yet but have been hearing rumors about empty water stations – I would not want to be part of that part of the pack.

The race start seemed pretty normal not so different from my previous four marathon starts. TJ, who was also preparing for the heat during the marathon, and I were eating a lot of salty foods for the past two days and I had a 16 ounce gatorade just prior to the start. I was running it with Todd and we were having a normal time of it. He actually finished with a great first time of 4:05. We ran past our first support group on Addison and Broadway. It was a good boost to see them, but I already started to feel the heat and I realized that running with a container for water would really help, so I asked my wife to get a bottle of water. I was to see her near mile 18.

The next relief came from Morgan. I knew where to look for her from seeing her on the last marathon near her house. She was near where I expected her and she handed us a cup of ice. I don’t have scientific proof to back me up on this, but I believe these little details have made the race much better, even survivable for me. I used the cool the back of my head and neck - it was great.

I separated from Todd as he is a naturally faster runner and kept at it for the rest of the race without seeing any my other friends running with me. At half time I was still on track for an under 4 hour finish so I decided to keep with it despite the raising temperature. I was determined to tough it out. The four hour barrier is an important goal of mine - and I still vow to break it.

I was still doing fine on time at mile 16, but my mind started playing with my by mile 17. I was angry about forgetting that the course goes out further west. I couldn’t wait to see Mara and friends on Ashland. At this point I made my first change in strategy. I have taken a gatorade drink from each of the stations and a cup of water to pour on my head and neck. I changed from running through water stations to walking through them, taking several cups of cool water, pouring it on my head, chest, back of the neck. Sometimes I took two or three cups to pour on me, it seemed to help a lot.

My 2008 Lasalle Marathon water and drink availability experience
I read the stories and heard them first hand - there was a water shortage for the slower runners before mile 8. I have not experienced any problems with lack of water or drink. Furthermore I am forever great full to the Chicagoans that come out and volunteered to offer ice to the runners. The lady in Pilsen with ice bags -t hank you. The folks with the bright green metal buckets of ice - THANK YOU. And many others who sprinkled us, gave us cold water and ice, thank you!

There were three major points that helped me get through the race. The first one was the water bottle from Mara at mile 18. I was able to use fill this up between water stops and keep cool by squirting water on my head as I ran.

Unfortunately, shortly after I saw my supporters which gave me a huge boost, the wheels came off. This happened at the same time as it did last year. I started to hit the wall. I was fighting through it when I started feeling dizzy. Of course a mind battle within a battle of the wills ensued trying to determine whether this was my body tricking me into thinking that I was getting heat stroke, or whether I was really getting too hot and needed to cool of the core.

Two factors played into my decision. One, I started seeing something I haven’t seen before - at least 12 unconscious runners lying on the side of the read. I have seen a runner down at the DC Marine Core marathon in 2003, but never in this great numbers. Second, my father in law planted a simple seed in my mind before the run: “if you dont feel well - stop”.

At that point I decided to stop pacing for under four hours and go into survival mode. I stopped running and started walking. I felt really hot. I began to feel sick. To my luck, someone opened up a fire hydrant before chinatown. With fond memories of sneaking around the cops and the fire department as a kid on the south side I ran for it, stuck my head down, and waited until I cooled off.

I continued my walk/run strategy until I was spotted by my brother, the third big factor in my race. He brought more water relief and ran with me for a while. I never thought that having him run with me for a little while would re-energize me so much. I felt much stronger and better after having him with me. It was a great boost in allowing me to finish strong.

Thanks everyone who was there on the sidelines - it helped a lot. I know for a lot of us it may be disappointing to be so far away from our goals on that day. I am happy to finish, finish strong, and have a good story… to anyone who really cares to listen about a long run on a very hot day.

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SOME RESULTS:

Andrew Kucharski | Bib # 14149 | Chicago, IL - USA | Age 35 | M
START 5K 10K 15K 20K HALF 25K 30K 35K 40K FINISH
0:07:07 0:29:16 0:57:06 1:24:54 1:53:03 1:59:13 2:21:26 2:52:36 3:31:16 4:09:09 4:24:09
TIME Chip Time: 4:24:09 Clock: 4:31:16 Pace: 10:04

T. J. Radtke | Bib # 8150 | Reston, VA - USA | Age 37 | M
START 5K 10K 15K 20K HALF 25K 30K 35K 40K FINISH
0:06:58 0:26:50 0:54:40 1:25:11 1:57:00 2:04:02 2:29:38 3:04:53 3:42:43 4:23:32 4:38:13
TIME Chip Time: 4:38:13 Clock: 4:45:10 Pace: 10:36

Ken Antles | Bib # 5405 | Chicago, IL - USA | Age 37 | M
START 5K 10K 15K 20K HALF 25K 30K 35K 40K FINISH
0:02:47 0:26:12 0:51:54 1:19:52 1:54:42 2:00:59 2:27:49 3:05:16 3:45:20 4:29:48 4:45:09
TIME Chip Time: 4:45:09 Clock: 4:47:56 Pace: 10:52

Eric Bohms | Bib # 6031 | Chicago, IL - USA | Age 36 | M
START 5K 10K 15K 20K HALF 25K 30K 35K 40K FINISH
0:02:47 0:26:12 0:52:15 1:20:41 1:52:58 1:59:35 2:26:00 3:03:00 3:42:21 4:27:37 4:42:59
TIME Chip Time: 4:42:59 Clock: 4:45:46 Pace: 10:47

Steve Kindred | Bib # 7433 | Chicago, IL - USA | Age 37 | M
START 5K 10K 15K 20K HALF 25K 30K 35K 40K FINISH
0:02:47 0:26:13 0:51:41 1:17:24 1:44:18 1:50:04 2:10:09 2:35:11 3:00:20 3:26:55 3:37:52
TIME Chip Time: 3:37:52 Clock: 3:40:39 Pace: 8:18

Brad Conver | Bib # 6421 | Reston, VA - USA | Age 39 | M
START 5K 10K 15K 20K HALF 25K 30K 35K 40K FINISH
0:04:44 0:27:15 0:54:31 1:23:29 1:56:42 2:03:54 2:32:30 3:11:04 3:49:38 4:31:14 4:49:21
TIME Chip Time: 4:49:21 Clock: 4:54:04 Pace: 11:02

Lynne Roberts | Bib # 7018 | Chicago, IL - USA | Age 36 | F
START 5K 10K 15K 20K HALF 25K 30K 35K 40K FINISH
0:02:47 0:26:13 0:52:15 1:18:07 1:44:36 1:50:23 2:11:43 2:41:16 3:11:23 3:43:30 3:56:50
TIME Chip Time: 3:56:50 Clock: 3:59:36 Pace: 9:01

Todd Hirschtritt | Bib # 16113 | Chicago, IL - USA | Age 31 | M
START 5K 10K 15K 20K HALF 25K 30K 35K 40K FINISH
0:07:07 0:29:16 0:57:06 1:24:53 1:52:17 1:58:01 2:19:16 2:47:40 3:18:13 3:51:45 4:05:39
TIME Chip Time: 4:05:39 Clock: 4:12:45 Pace: 9:22

Marla Wasserman | Bib # 16327 | Chicago, IL - USA | Age 31 | F
START 5K 10K 15K 20K HALF 25K 30K 35K 40K FINISH
0:14:54 0:31:54 1:03:17 1:35:09 2:09:27 2:16:19 2:40:45 3:11:48 3:44:15 4:17:37 4:32:08
TIME Chip Time: 4:32:08 Clock: 4:47:02 Pace: 10:22

After a year break team Easy Riders returns for a two day Cowalunga tour 2007, 130 mile bike ride in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin to benefit the Respiratory Health Association.

Our 2005 Cowalunga Pictures and 2005 Cowalunga blog Post.

Finally had a chance to get away and get a little backpacking in this summer. Check out our three day adventure around Grand Tetons. Of course the Ranger screwed us by trying to send us on an old trail that was supposed to be a shortcut around “the wall” but thats the stuff that campire stories are made off…

Here is how it started

Given busy work schedules, etc. we’ve decided on an extended weekend trip this year instead of the usual 6-night venture. Art has stepped up and come up with a pretty cool itinerary for a trip through the Teton range, after Brandon sold him on the location. Basic idea is to take off Thursday/Friday/Monday and do a 3-night trip with travel days and some time in Jackson Hole on either end. Hikes will be about 10 miles / day, with lots of time for fly fishing in the afternoon.

I think this accomodates almost everyone’s issues. Pete- you get to fly fish. Curby - you get to go before football starts. TJ - we’re out on Sunday and can do our 17-miler in beautiful Jackson Hole instead of pounding pavement on the W&OD. And all you work-aholics - you don’t have to take off a whole week.

Thanks Brad. Finally for the quote of the trip… will it be “chunky but Funky” or “Ranger Bullshit”?

Here are some pictures from the Trip