Another month has ticked by since my last update. At the time of writing I was in pure taper mode for the 2015 Virginia 24-Hour Run/Walk for Cancer, and pretty excited about once again pushing my mind/body to the limit. Leading up to the race I set myself a couple of [ambitious] goals –
1. Break the course record of 126 miles which I set last year.
2. Set a new PR (Personal Record) for miles covered in a 24-Hour event.
It was an extremely challenging day on the trail, mainly due to 20+ hours of constant rain and nighttime temperatures dipping down into the 40s. Four weeks on, and sadly much of the race is now a blur. I wish I’d written a race recap when things were fresher in my mind, but life got busy, and the blog took a backseat once again.
Long story short, I did indeed break the course record and in doing so managed to run 133.25 miles and snag a new PR. Now that I’ve had a few weeks for everything to sink in, I’m obviously delighted with the performance and somewhat amazed with how things turned out on such a rough day. Thankfully, Race Director George Nelson wrote an excellent article about the race, so if you’re interested in the nitty gritty, just keep reading…
Despite the worst weather we’ve ever had in the 12 years of the race, this year’s Virginia 24 Hour Run for Cancer was still an amazing success! We set new race records for attendance, men’s winner, women’s winner, and Team winner, plus six new Virginia 24 Hour age group records!
The race is held each year at Sandy Bottom Nature Park in Hampton, VA, on a 3.75 mile long series of wide, flat dirt trails. The course is USATF-certified and was held this year on 25-26 April, starting at 7:15 am. Weather for the first 4 hours was overcast and in the upper 50s. But after that a steady rain began which continued for most of the remaining 20 hours. At times the rain became quite heavy and in the evening the temps dropped into the 40s, making for miserable conditions for the runners/walkers. To make matters worse for the last 12 hours, the trails turned into seemingly endless “mud pits” in many places!
Regardless, many people persevered, pushing deep for personal goals. A record 212 people participated, with 70 completing at least 50 miles, 14 completing 75 or more miles, and 7 running 100 or more miles. Most amazing were the new men’s and women’s course records. Steve Speirs ran 133.25 miles, a new record by 7.25 miles. And Megan Stegemiller ran an astounding 131 miles, a new record by 22.25 miles! Although the race cannot be used for US 24 Hour Team qualification, her total was 6 miles over the minimum qualifying standard. Both won last year and were increasing their own records. The cold, wet conditions seemed to help rather than hinder their performances!
In addition, Team Run4Life set a new Team mileage record of 834.25 miles, breaking the 4-year old record of 803.5 miles. And finally, another six Virginia 24 Hour state age group records were set. 11-year old Dean Richter ran 18.75 miles for the M10-14 record, 26-year old Megan Stegemiller set a new Open (F20-34) record, 35-year old Andrea McHugh ran 88.25 miles for the F35-39 record, 40-year old Kathleen Cusick ran 117.25 miles for the F40-44 record, 72-year old Terri Hayes got the F70-74 record with 37.5 miles, and 78-year old Tami Graf ran an amazing 45.25 miles to set a new F75-79 record!
The women’s race started off, as expected, in a two person duel between Megan and Kathleen. Both had impressive credentials, winning or placing 2nd-3rd in several recent 100-mile races. However, after about the 8-hour point Megan started to steadily pull away and kept increasing her lead the rest of the race! 3rd place Christie Sumner ran a smart, steady pace all day long, achieving a personal record of 92.25 miles, but never threatened the leaders.
The men’s race was never in doubt, as Steve had no serious competition the entire day until the last 2 hours, when he realized Megan was closing on him. That spurred him on and he pulled away to ensure the overall win by 2.25 miles. 2nd place Tim Scott set a personal record with 106.25 miles, and finally overcame the 100-mile barrier at this race for the first time, after six previous tries. After starting off at too fast a pace, he recovered well and finally pushed through. 3rd place went to Scott Horton from Tennessee with 105 miles.
Every year I give an award to the runner who I determine ran the best effort in their first attempt at an ultra. This year I gave it to 45-year old Shanna Oden who ran 65 miles. She ran a steady, even pace and continued into the final hour, looking strong all the way to the end.
I also award 500-mile jackets to those who keep returning to the race over the years to accumulate a total of 500 miles. This year I gave out three – to Stuart Kern, Tim Scott, and Glenn Hrinda.
As always, the entire Sandy Bottom Nature Park Staff did an outstanding job of supporting the race from preparation/set-up, throughout the race itself, and during clean-up afterward! Every need was anticipated and taken care of. And their participation as a Team again greatly enhanced the event!
Finally, I cannot say enough about the fantastic support and dedication of this year’s volunteer lap counters! Without them, the race could not be successful. They did an almost flawless job of accurately recording laps, in spite of the atrocious weather. Many thanks go to: Jon Olyszk, Steve Peters, Jackie Crawford, Pete Navin, Ulaine Jean-Baptiste, Ashleigh Tyler, Natalie Soares, Dawn Marshall, Nichole Thomas, Dawn Brand, Paige Kurtz, Maria Poranski, Alison Tichenor, Joan Lutz, Barb & Pete Biasi, Ed Rietscha, Phil Burke, Will Palagyi, Dean Wewetzer, Roslyn Gervin, and three Bethel High School students (Noah Guion, Jacobe Avery, Tyler Townsend).
Next year’s race will be 30 April – 1 May! Hope to see you then. I guarantee better weather!
Since the 24-Hour race I’ve focused on recovery and easy-paced miles. No sense in rushing back when there are zero big races on the horizon as in 2013 and 2014 when the Leadville 100 and Western States 100 loomed large. Anyway, here’s how the last 4 or 5 weeks have panned out.
April 27th – May 3rd [0 miles]
No running this week, just a couple of short walks and plenty of outdoor activity to get the legs moving.
May 4th – May 10th [26 miles]
Family visiting from the UK for a couple of weeks, so just half a dozen runs in the 4 mile range to ease back into some gentle running. Happy to report no apparent issues from the 24-Hour, although the right achilles was a tiny bit stiff at the start of several runs.
May 11th – May 17th [24 miles]
Five runs this week including a 4 mile beach run that stressed the calf muscles just a little bit and a slightly quicker-paced 4 miler in the 6:40/mile range.
May 18th – May 24th [51 miles]
More time on my hands this week, so managed to increase the mileage to just over 50, including a [short] 10K race and a 10 mile “long run”. The Elizabeth River Run 10K was a bit of a struggle, but somehow I managed to average 6:00 minute miles and end up with an age-group win.
May 25th – May 31st [? miles]
This week has been more easy running as I prepare for the Dawn to Dusk to Dawn 12-Hour event this coming weekend. It was a bit of a last minute sign-up, but I’ll be heading to Pennsylvania on Saturday with Ally to take part in my first track ultra. Start time is 7pm and I’m looking forward to logging as many miles as possible before 7 o’clock the following morning. Watch this space for a follow-up post…