2013 24 The Hard Way

Not sure where to start with this recap to be honest, so here goes nothing…

I signed up for 24 The Hard Way back in July, about a month before I tackled the Leadville Trail 100. I had a lot of fun at the 24 Hour Run for Cancer in April where I managed to run a new personal best of 112.5 miles in just under 22 hours, but a few days post-race I found myself wanting more. After browsing the popular Ultra calendars, I soon came across “24 The Hard Way”; a fun-sounding event in Oklahoma City which had been selected as the 2013 24-HR U.S. National Championship race. Perfect.

Leadville was soon behind me, and after an enjoyable couple of recovery weeks it was soon time to lace up the shoes, resume training and have fun at a few local races:

The 12-HR Adventure Trail Race went well, where I managed to snag a rare win and run a solid 71.5 miles.

The following week I placed Top 3 at the Neptune Festival 8K in a surprising 29:02 on tired legs.

One week later I was racing again – this time at the Cardiff Half Marathon in Wales. Expectation was low, but I came away with a new lifetime best 1:17:55.

I took a much-needed week off after the Cardiff Half to enjoy family time in Wales and Scotland. The mental and physical break from running was great, but must admit it was difficult to get back into the swing of things on the return to the USA. I struggled on several runs – feeling slow, lethargic and awkward – then, just over a week post-vacation and less than a week before 24 The Hard Way, I came down with a cold. Hmmm.

As race day approached, my confidence started to wane. I rested, hydrated and rested some more, but frustratingly still felt wiped out. Rather than waste a couple of plane tickets and a race entry, the only option was to fly to Oklahoma, take my place on the start line and see how things panned out.

Friday was a tad better. It was good to catch the early flight, arrive at the hotel by mid-morning then spend the rest of the day picking up supplies, organizing race-day gear and relaxing. Dinner was my usual burger and Guinness, and after a pleasant hour or so with online friend Glenn McDaniel, it was time to hit the hay.

Packet pickup was quick and easy. Ally set up the crew area (pictured left) just past the start/finish aid station, and after a quick relax in the car it was time to head to the start line for the pre-race meeting. At 9am sharp we were off.

The early miles were pretty uneventful – just a matter of getting familiar with the almost-one-mile loop and settling in to a comfortable pace. Despite not feeling 100% I was still able to maintain a good rhythm and stay quite relaxed. At the end of the 1st hour I took a planned walk break. It felt weird to walk so early in the race but figured it would preserve my legs for when the going got tough.

Ally was on hand with nutrition and fluids whenever I needed them. Each time I completed a loop, I’d run through the aid station, pick up either a flask of Tailwind, some water or an Island Boost pack, then be on my way. The first 3 or 4 hours passed by fairly quickly but I remember feeling distinctly out of sorts and definitely not firing on all cylinders. I must admit the thought of quitting early entered my mind more than once, and I even mentioned it to one of the other runners, Al, who was making steady and consistent progress. Al replied that it was too early in the day to make a rash decision and to “give it a few more loops” to see how things developed. I’m glad I did. Thanks, Al!

As the afternoon rolled on, the rain started. Nothing too heavy, just a steady drizzle that did little to dampen the spirits of the runners. Actually, aside from the humidity, it was quite refreshing, but compared to the other two 24-hour races I’ve taken part in, the hours ticked by slowly. I remember 6 hours in thinking “Ugh, I still have 18 hours to go.”

Energy-wise things were good. Tailwind, Island Boost and coconut water were keeping me going nicely, and at no point did I feel like I “needed” calories. At some point switched to Hammer Perpetuem for several loops as I figured the protein would be beneficial, but soon after that I was back on the coconut water which Ally had convinced me to buy “just in case” I fancied it during the race.

I went through 50 miles in around 7 hours 20 minutes, still managing to log splits in the 8:30/mile range, and finding myself looking forward to the dark hours which were fast approaching. Chatting to the runners on the course helped pass the time and before long it was time to grab the Black Diamond ReVolt Headlamp.

Between 10 and 11 hours I had quite the rough patch. It was a real slog to keep moving and as much as I tried not to, I kept focusing on the negatives such as my cold, sore throat and wet clothing/shoes. Once again, I found myself considering calling it a day after 12 hours and putting an end to the rough patch, but after a quick stop to change shoes and clothes, things started to feel better. I’ve found this happens quite a lot in ultras! Now as I got going again, my thoughts soon turned to the 100 mile barrier, and after a few speedy loops I calculated that a sub-16 was potentially on the cards. *All* I had to do was keep up a consistent pace and try to stay under 10 minute miles. Easy, right?

Ally kept me on track with my fluid and nutrition needs, but as the loops got slower and slower (loops 91-95 were all in the 10:15-11:40 range), I figured the 100 mile PR was slipping away. I mentioned this to Ally, but she was having none of it, and said a sub-16 was still there for the taking and to go for it. The result – 7 consecutive loops under 10:00/mile and a new 100 mile PR of 15:56! I guess anything is possible if you believe hard enough.

Now it was time to relax just a bit, but with the definite goal of beating my current 24-hour best distance of 112.5 miles. With almost 8 hours remaining on the clock, I hoped this would be pretty easy to attain, but as my pace slowed during the next few hours, I found myself struggling again and just looking forward to the sun coming up.

For most of the race I kept my eye on the monitors at the main aid station which displayed the overall standings and the lap split for each runner as they passed over the timing mat. There were a few technical issues early on in the race, but from what I could tell I was somewhat surprisingly maintaining 4th or 5th position for much of the race. Even more surprisingly; somehow during the 19th hour I managed to sneak into 2nd place overall…but still a massive 7 miles behind race leader and eventual winner, John Cash. The 2nd place was fairly short lived, however, as my right foot/ankle started hurting. Steady running turned into a mix of run/walking, then the run/walk mix frustratingly turned into just walking.

The pain was located on top of the right foot and the familiar “I’ve tied my shoelace too tight” feeling. I stopped to change and re-lace my shoes, but the damage was done and running was just too painful. An awkward power walk was all I could manage from here on in. The good news was that I’d run further than ever run before and every mile I could now cover would count towards a new personal best. However, with the temperature dropping every hour and me finding it difficult to generate any significant body heat, progress got slower and slower. The hot coffee at the end of each loop helped a little, but with 22 hours and 45 minutes on the clock, thoughts of seriously messing up my foot won me over and I decided to bite the bullet and call it a day at 133 loops and a little under 128 miles.

4th Place Male. 1st Place 45-49. Custom “24 The Hard Way” ring.

Official Results

Note: official distance was updated to 128.87 miles/134 loops after the Race Director spotted a timing chip error during Hour 17.

Other Race Reports:
Nick Seymour
Chris Roman
Cherie Yanek
David Ploskonka