Last weekend I took part in my 3rd consecutive 24 The Hard Way – a 24-hour event held on a flat, asphalt, almost-1-mile loop at Bluff Creek Park in Oklahoma City, OK. In 2013 I finished 4th overall with 128.87 miles. Last year, despite being hit with a stomach bug a day or two before the event, I was lucky enough to win the race with a relatively-low 110 miles. Naturally, for the 2015 event, the goal was to run more miles in 24 hours than ever before.
The [rather ambitious] plan heading into the race was to shoot for 150 miles. I’ve made no secret of the fact that one day I’d love to qualify for the Great Britain 24-Hour Team, but to even be considered for selection I’d need to log at least 235 km (~146 miles) on a certified course. Might as well shoot for the moon as the saying goes…
150 miles in 24 hours equates to 50 miles every 8 hours, so factoring in the inevitable get-slower-the-longer-the-race-goes-on, I came up with an easy to follow schedule. I even printed out a little pace chart so I could track my progress every hour.
- 1st 8 hours – 55 miles
- 2nd 8 hours – 50 miles
- 3rd 8 hours – 45 miles
So, with the [rather ambitious] plan all squared away, all that was left to do was pack my gear and fly to Oklahoma. I always dread packing for Ultras, but now I’ve realised all you have to do is throw anything and everything into a case and be done with it. I’d decided to start with the Hoka One One Clifton on my feet, but would wait until race morning before making the shorts/shirt selection.
Travel the day before the race went without a hitch, and with packet pickup sorted and last minute supplies purchased at the local Target, all that was left was to get a good dinner and head to bed at a reasonable hour.
Sleep came easy and the few hours before the 9am start were spent having a small breakfast at the hotel, arranging gear/fuel/supplies in the tent and generally just killing time. Finally we were summoned to the start area and at 9am sharp we were set loose and on our way.
As you’d expect in a 24-hour event, the first few hours are all about finding a rhythm and staying within yourself. It’s also a good time to get into a regular eating/drinking routine and be aware of any issues that start to develop. Thankfully, the early stages of the race went well – I stuck to my plan of 2 x 11 oz Tailwind flasks per hour, and maintained a decent pace without ever feeling under pressure.
For this race I decided to remove the strap from my Garmin 910XT and stow the unit in my shorts pocket. I didn’t want to obsess over pace, but figured it might be nice to review the data post race. In my gear bag I also had a small USB charger on standby for when the battery died, and planned to stow this in another pocket later on in the race to get the 910XT back up to full charge so it could record the complete 24 hours. I’d tried out the technique in training and it had worked well.
[Post-race note: once the battery died, I didn’t bother recharging the unit and therefore don’t have full data from the race. Maybe next time…]
The big screen in the main aid station did a great job of displaying lap splits each time we crossed the timing mat. It was easy to read and displayed name, bib number, event, lap time, cumulative time and cumulative distance based on the certified 0.9617 mile lap distance. 4 hours into the race and according to the display I was ahead of the plan by about half a mile. My feet were doing fine, I had no chafing issues, but as I guessed might happen, the left glute started to complain about the distance covered.
I went through 50 miles right around 7 hours which is just a few minutes slower than my 50 mile PR – possibly a bit quick, but too late to do anything about it now. So, with 50 miles comfortably under my belt I allowed myself the luxury of a shoe change to alleviate pressure on the left big toe tendon and an extended bathroom break. The break didn’t last long and it was soon time to get going again and head towards the 8 hour mark. The next hour was the first time I realised my pace was more difficult to maintain. Lap 58 was a struggle and by now my left hip flexor was also acting up, so with miles in the bank I decided to walk most of the loop and assess the situation. Energy levels were good, but the left side was weak – might as well spend some time with the medical folks at the aid station, eh?
“Nick-the-massage-guy” worked wonders on my left leg but couldn’t believe how tight everything was compared to the right side. The active release was painful but it did improve the range of motion in my hip flexor. As I gingerly stepped down off the table, Nick suggested I take things easy for a few loops and stop back for more treatment in an hour.
I managed to keep going for another couple of hours before detouring to the massage tables again. At this time I was bang on schedule according to the plan (67.5 miles in 10 hours), but knew the chances of staying on pace for another 14 hours were slim or nonexistent. Once again, Nick worked a minor miracle, but the session lasted over 15 minutes and in my mind I realised I’d missed out on a few more miles. I thanked Nick as I trotted off towards my gear tent and steeled myself for some quicker loops to get back on pace.
I never was able to get back on track for my [rather ambitious] 150 mile plan. There was still a slim possibility of setting a new course record (just over 140 miles) and an even slimmer chance of reaching the Team GB qualifying standard (146 miles), but deep down I knew it would take something special to achieve either of those goals. At 16 hours I was just short of 100 miles, and with two good legs I think I would have had a chance. By now though I was really dragging and each loop was a combination of mostly running with 2 x 50 meter walk breaks thrown in for good measure.
The remaining 8 hours was all about staying warm and hanging on for a new PR. I was comfortably in 1st place (as comfortable as you can be in a 24-hour race), but with the asphalt trail getting quieter and quieter, and lonelier and lonelier, it got mentally tough to keep pushing. Thankfully at some point in the middle of the night the hip/glute pain merged with all the other aches and pains, and somehow I was able to keep my run~walk~run~walk strategy going. The hours ticked by slowly, but with some music for company on the quiet trail I knew it wouldn’t be long before we could enjoy the sun rise and count down the last hour or so of the race. I’d calculated I would need 12 minute miles for the last 3 hours of running to be sure of a PR, and was careful to check the display each time I crossed the timing mat to ensure things weren’t slipping away. So, with some relief, with about 20 minutes left on the clock, I passed the 133.25 mile mark set at Hampton earlier this year, and every step forward now represented a new personal best.
Gear
- Hoka One One Clifton
- Injinji TRAIL 2.0 Socks
- Patagonia Strider Pro Shorts
- UltrAspire Lumen 170
- Patagonia Tailwind Tech T
- Naked Unflavored Tailwind Nutrition
- Pearl Izumi Road N2 v2
- Ultimate Direction Midcap
- Salomon S-Lab Light Jacket
Post-race thoughts:
Naturally, I’m stoked to set a new personal best of 135.5 miles, and it’s also a very special feeling to return to 24 The Hard Way and repeat the win from last year. However, as the race-day pain and suffering subsides I’m somewhat disappointed I couldn’t get close to the lofty goals I’d mapped out.
Maybe the 146 mile qualifying standard is simply beyond my capability, or perhaps my early pace put paid to any chance of reaching the goal? I wonder if I should attempt a more even-paced race? Not sure at the moment, but one thing is for certain; I will try again and am not quite ready to give up on the dream. I do need to work on my weaknesses though, and figure out a way to fix the imbalance between my left and right side.
Shoutouts:
- Congrats to Ally for logging over 80 miles and beating her own personal best. Huge improvement over her previous best and for the first time in a 24-hour event she kept going right up to the final seconds of the race. Impressive.
- As always, Tailwind Nutrition kept me fueled all day long, with zero stomach issues and consistent energy levels. Aside from a few small cups of breakfast potatoes and chips, Tailwind was all I needed.
- 2 years ago at this very same event, I ended the race with messed up feet – blisters, hot spots and bloody toes. Since switching to Injinji socks, I’ve experienced zero issues and love that I don’t have to worry about my feet anymore. One pair of socks for 24 hours is pretty cool.
- Thanks to mother-in-law Caroline for keeping me topped up on Tailwind throughout the day, and for braving the bitterly cold night when things got exceedingly tough.
- Thanks to Race Director, Chisholm Dupree, and the whole Friends of Multisports team for putting on a first class event. Aside from the bulky timing chip, I wouldn’t change a thing.
- Final thanks to the aid station volunteers and medical team (particularly Nick-the-massage-guy) – the race wouldn’t be what it is without you all.
