Bull Run Walk, Slog, Crawl... 50

‘The hills are alive with the sound of music…’

Well this will be short synopsis of this past weekend’s epic Bull Run Run 50 mile event (http://www.vhtrc.org/brr/2008/results.htm). Many came far and wide to participate in this annual rite of spring through the gentle hills of Virginia. Not to be disappointed, the blue bell’s were in full bloom, the grass was green, creeks were flowing and the weather near perfect.

An old friend form the south, Jill Hughes, broke out of her six year ultrarunning hiatus to join in the fun. Pre-race she was claiming she was less then ideally prepared. Fully knowing that there was a fighting spirit beneath her Southern charm I sensed sandbagging and called her bluff.

A new friend from the north, Deb Sutton, came way of Bull Run Run via Mrs. Hughes. There were pre-race rumblings of Deb’s injured leg. Hmmm. This doesn’t smell right. Although an ultra newbie, I knew she was a seasoned Ironman triathlete. I called her bluff as well.

There was no doubt in my mind that when the race began these two would be locked into a steely focus that would stop at nothing. Well on this day that adage was all so true. There were cool temps, warm temps, rain, sun, dry trail and wet trail. And one, maybe two tiny hills. From dawn to dusk these two soldiered on with family and friends cheering them on.

As the day wore on the clock kept ticking. International news correspondents were at hand to witness Jill passing through the last aid station (mile 45) with 30 minutes to spare the dreaded cut off. The clock ticked on. The cut off loomed. Tension filled the air. With less then 5 minutes to spare ESPN reported Deb sprinting into the aid station. Time is of the essence.

With the late afternoon light bouncing off the pond to the left, up and own the hills they go gutting out the last 5 miles. Across the fields, back down the creek and a nice meander through the blue bells ends the day. Then make a right, up a few steps, across a field and onto the road to glory. Jill Hughes, affirming her return to the ultra scene, finishes in 12:37. Deb Sutton, seeking challenges beyond the Ironman, finishes her first ultra in 13:17.

So how did my day go? It went great. I ran the first 20 miles then took a turn for the worse. I stumbled, fell a few times, mumbled, puked and groaned. However every time I saw Jill and Deb they were all smiles. They remained impeccable, hair in-place and ready for afternoon high tea. Inspiring. Head down, focused we all marched on. I hit the line in 8:50 a worn out, tired man. A few steps later I was under a picnic awning chatting with old friends sipping on a soda. The pure internal satisfaction of finishing another trail adventure etched a big smile on my face.

Congrats Jill and Deb. You know how to finish with style, class and poise. A gerat day in all, reconnecetd with old ultra-friends and making enw ones. See you out there again soon!

Cheers

Joe

Running home!

The Ocean Drive Marathon (http://users.erols.com/runadvte/). A flat and fast, point to point marathon starting in Cape May, NJ and ending in Sea Isle City, NJ. I ran this marathon two years ago and had a great time. Ending in a seaside town that I spent many a summer in, I felt like I was literally running home. This year I managed to rope in a local friend of mine Dan Brown and he in turn returned the favor by roping in a bud of his from Richmond, VA, Mike Shourds. A second marathon experience for both of them!

Well the day started out just fine. We made the bus to the start on time and also ran into a work colleague of mine, Chris Schwyter. Together the four of us drank our coffee, chatted away and made our last minute race preparations en route to the starting line.

The starting line was perfect. temps in the mid-40's, sunshine and the beautiful backdrop of the Victorian Congress Hall on one side of the street and the ocean on the other. Oh... and a light breeze in the air. With a yell from the mega-phone the race began and we were off.

We'll those near perfect conditions lasted the first 1/2 mile. Than the wind hit us in the face. For the rest of the morning we ran straight into a relentless headwind. The Weather channel listed the official wind speeds ranging from 15 to 26 MPH. A conservative estimate was that we had a headwind for 24 of the 26.2 miles. This resulted in a higher then normal drop out rate for the event and 10 to 20 minutes off of the normal finishing times. Final results: Joe - 3:15:05, Dan 3:32:59, Mike 3:35:33 and Chris 4:13:47. Post race carbohydrate replenishment refreshments were had at the LaCosta bar & Lounge followed by dinner at Braca's Cafe. A good weekend had by all.

"The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, The answer is blowin' in the wind" - Bob Dylan

Sea, sand, sun... and a marathon!

A belated race report this is. On February 9th the whole Kulak clan got outta Philly just as the 15F, snow, ice and rain descending upon the Northeast. A few hours later we had our t-shirts and shorts on enjoying the balmy Gulf Coast weather on sleepy little Anna Maria Island. A few hours later I woke at 3:45 am and drove 60 miles north to run the Tampa Marathon. With a 6am starting time, this is the first time I've ever started a marathon in the dark. It actually stayed cool and dark until almost 7 am. Any early season race and kickoff to a week vacation. A real treat.

From the start the pace was just right to meet my pre-race goal of 3:10. I hit the half in 1:30 on the nose and felt comfortable. At mile 20 I started feeling confident I could finish in 3:05 - 3:07. I"M ON TOP OF THE WORLD!!! NOTHING CAN STOP ME!!! Then reality hits. I should have known! Mile 24 I cramped... hamstrings, calves, arms, brain... everywhere. Dismantled. I hobbled through the next 2 miles to finish in 3:11:26. Ouch! I took my twitching body through he food line for some home-style cajun rice and seafood, grabbed a water and headed for the car. An hour later I was in the backyard playing with the kids in the pool. The 2008 running season has begun!