Over the Line...

The Crazy Craig Climate Challenge team wrapped up its conquest of the JFK 50 Mile course at about a half hour after dark last Saturday, November 18.

What a incredible run! Our NWF team covered 150 miles in a little over 29 hours. It was a great personal accomplishment for me and a wonderful effort on the part of our NWF team and everyone who supported us. I gave myself a little runner's pat on the back for finishing this run by immediately signing up for next spring's Boston Marathon.

Andrew Pinger crossed the finish line with me. From about mile 24, we had an ongoing, enjoyable, disjointed, absurd conversation about par for two people more than tired and sore. Pinger found me wandering in the Potomac River floodplain, staring at treetops and uttering raspy, loud whispering sounds. I was trying to augment my bird list for the course. Andrew got me somewhat back on track.

Team member Dave Strauss surged ahead of me at around the 3 mile mark when we began to traverse the fourteen mile long Appalachian Trail section. I never saw him again until I crossed the finish line at 5:20 PM. Seeing Dave at the finish was one of the greatest joys for me. No, I wasn't all that happy that he was so much faster, but Dave has a way of wandering off course, or slamming his toes into rocks and his shoulders into trees. This day, he was at the top of his running form.

The day was nearly perfect with temperatures well above freezing but never warm enough to become overheated. Easy enough with my 12:30 minute per mile pace.

People made the day from before sunrise to our finish after sundown. My wife Jean was with me in spirit all the way and supplied smiles, hugs, liquid and food throughout. Our Reston Runners colleagues gave us inspiration, enthusiasm and a lot to laugh at.

Dave, Jean and I started the day at a nearby Denny's which Dave insisted be called Lenny's. Breakfast included the most watery oatmeal ever known in the city of Hagerstown but our waitress had a good sense of humor and brought out the non-stop coffee, bacon and pancakes on time and tasty! A couple of other runners/breakfasters joined the verbal fray of good-natured insults and what might have been severely worrisome race updates-- that the start location had been changed; that the course had been modified to include two water crossings, etc.

We arrived at Boonesboro High School with plenty of time to line up for the Reston Runners team photo, throw jibes at our team mates, exchange last minute course strategies and then line up to use the rest room. Runners do not like to carry breakfast with them on the trail. For whatever reason, the bathroom line for men at the highschool moved at a glacial pace. Well, given global warming, that phrase doesn't really fit the slowness of movement. With a race start over a half mile away, there I remained, in line at 6:45 AM for a 7 AM start. But within minutes, Dave and I were out the door, running that extra half mile, striving and striding to get to the front of the line before the gun went off.

While running up main street in Boonesboro with the race about to start, I was dodging others who were less concerned about being at the front of the pack of 800 runners. I was trying to keep up with Dave-- no problem at this point before the race. I was operating my trusty little SONY digital recorder, making notes from the field, tallying overhead flights of starlings and rock pigeons, questioning whether I was hearing eastern meadowlarks or starlings imitating meadowlarks, and approaching the start.

At 7 AM, the gun went off and the crowd surged forward. Dave and I were only 50 yards behind the front runners, cruising over curbs and sidewalk and on our way! The two mile uphill along Rt 40 began.

Crazy Craig

Dave's Race Experience - The Final Eight Miles

Simply put - this was the hardest part of the run. My body had run out of fuel and was working solely on determination. I often thought about walking the rest of the way or sitting on the side of the road and taking a long, very long break. However, I persevered through the rolling hills of Hagerstown. The last mile was a pick-me-up. As I was approaching the finish line, I could feel my pace picking up and getting excited from the crowd and the anticipation of finishing. As I crossed the finish line, Hannah (my youngest daughter) was there to greet me with my medal. Debbi, Rachel and my parents were also there to cheer me on and greet me at the end!

After I finished, I saw Anne Senft her husband Tom - they were filming the event to capture the Crazy Craig moment - as you can see from the last blog entry.

THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING THIS A SUCCESSFUL CRAZY CRAIG CLIMATE CHALLENGE. WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT!

VIDEO: At the finish line!

Watch the video!

Dave's Race Experience - The C&O Canal

The C&O Canal has to be one of the most beautiful trails in the country. The Potomac River on the left and the landscape of rolling hills, cliffs, houses, fields (all depending on where you are) on the right. However, after 4 plus hours and 26 miles - it does get a little old and boring. To me, this was the transition part of the race. From feeling strong and energetic coming off the mountains - to spending time on the C&O Canal with similar sceneries and the same physical motions, tested my mind and body. I was fortunate to run into Jeff Hutman along the way. He lives right on the C&O Canal and was prepared to meet up with us along the route. He was stocked with goodies - Gatorade, Clif Bars, peanuts and M&M's. He asked me if I wanted anything. I was full of food, but lacking in conversation so I asked him to tell me a story (one gets quite desperate for something other than the shuffling of the feet or the continuous sound of my own breathe). We spent a few minutes together and after a few pictures, I was back on my own. I finished the grueling, relentless C&O canal with 42 miles under my belt. This is where I really hit the wall...

Dave's Race Experience - Through the Mountains

As the gun sounded there was lots of hollering and cheering from the over-caffienated, adreneline-rushed runners. We ran/walked for 2.3 miles on Old National Pike (formerly Rt. 40) until we reached the trail head at the top of the road. Craig and I tried to run together, but I got caught up in the excitement and ran ahead. Andrew was trailing along at a leisurely clip. That was the last I saw of my NWF buddies.

The next 14 miles were exhilarating. My body felt good, my pace was strong and the scenery was awesome. The first part of the mountains was along a paved path for 3-4 miles until we reached a water tower somewhere way high up. As you could imagine - lots of walking to get up the hills (when you run ultras - the recommendation is to walk the hills - great recommendation). After reaching the tower, we were back on single track trails. This is where it gets fun, but also a little dangerous. When you are running on the trail, you are constantly jockeying between, on or around the rocks to keep pace with the rest of the pack. Every few minutes you would hear someone screaming bloody murder - either from a twisted ankle or a bad fall. It reminded me of a good horror film. Other than several stubs to my toes, I was able to stay on my feet. That's a first for me. I am one to fall on a regular basis. There was one rest/food/water stop half way through the the mountains at mile 8ish. I met up with my crew, got some more GU's (fuel in the form of a gel) and went on my merry way. I finished the mountain part of the race with some soreness in my legs, but nothing that I couldn't handle (at this point).

Dave's Pre-race Experience

It was 4:23 a.m. when the alarm decided it was time to begin what I would consider my longest day. Craig, Jean (Craig's wife) and I started our morning off with a full breakfast at Denny's. Not the best food, but who's going to be picky at 5:00 a.m. in the outskirts of Hagerstown, MD. We finished the watery oatmeal and coffee and headed to Boonsboro for the pre-race instructions and the long half mile walk to the starting line - at least it should have been a walk - however, Craig got caught in the bathroom line and we ended up doing a run, jog, walk to the start line. As we worked our way throught the pack - the gun sounded!