2019 North Coast 24 Endurance Race

Hot Time, Summer in the City

I've been building up to this race all year as my primary goal race. I had hoped for good weather to optimize my chances of finally reaching my 100K goal, but that was not to be. Even a high of 83F, which was the last forecast I saw, would have been better than the high of 90F that we actually experienced. The heat ruled the day, not only for me, but for all the runners. I had trained for the possibility of heat and had scheduled three 6-hour races over the summer to get used to racing in hot conditions. I had also increased my training mileage to the highest in several years. I was much better prepared this year than any year in the past with the possible exception of 2013, my first year here and first ultra marathon. Now it all depended on my mental status, desire, and ability to cope with adverse conditions.

The trip up went smoothly until I went to check into the Travelodge in Lakewood. No record of my reservation, but I always stay there in preference to the Day's Inn a block over. I still don't know how I managed to botch this and never notice it when I printed the email confirmation, but my reservation was for a smoking room at the Day's Inn. Nothing I could do about it now, so the Day's Inn is where I stayed, while many of my friends there for the race were at the Travelodge. That might have been an omen or portent of what the race would be like. We were still able to get most of us together for dinner at the Edgewater Park pavilion.

Saturday morning began reasonably smoothly, up in plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast, then the short drive to the park. I was one of the earlier arrivals in our group. Eventually we were all there, took the requisite group photo, picked up our bibs, and wandered down to the start. This being my seventh North Coast 24 race, I saw many friends and acquaintances there as well. Of course I'm on a first name basis with the medical staff from past visits in prior years.

I started the race feeling good and was running easy in a run two minutes, walk one minute pattern. While not normally recommended, I was building a cushion which I knew I would give back sometime later in the race. At my level of fitness that's almost inevitable regardless of how slowly I start. In any case I was keeping my pace under 14:00 which, if held for 24 hours, would give me over 100 miles. Obviously that was not going to happen, but I had hopes that I could hold that long enough to give me the cushion I needed to reach my goal. By noon I could feel the heat increasing. I cut way back on running. Finally about 4:20 into the race with my hands starting to swell I took some preemptive action and stopped in the medical tent to find the best way to adjust my eating and drinking to head off potential problems. Adjusting the amount and balance of sports drink and water helped and that never became a problem. The next issue occurred about six and a half hours and 25 miles into the race when my lower back started to tighten. That prompted my next visit to the medical tent where a good half hour of stretching and follow up on my eating and drinking addressed that issue. Aside from a couple short stops to let them know my status, that was my last stop there. By this time the temperature was approaching 90F.

This was when the race became purely a mental effort. I was walking steadily but feeling the fatigue and wanted to stop for a break. A couple of the early breaks weren't anywhere near enough as I was encouraged to get back out and walk another lap or two with one of the other runners in the group. I had asked them not to let me rest more than 15 minutes before getting me back on the course; it's just that a couple times it was only 7-8 minutes. The race became a series of walking 4-5 laps and resting for 30 minutes (or more). The laps were adding up but the long breaks also meant the available window to cover the 71 laps I needed was dwindling. I kept walking as long as I could maintain a controlled, purposeful stride, then I took a break. Eventually I was at a point where I felt more like I was shuffling even after a break, and that's when I decided the effort to continue and possible push myself to a state of exhaustion and it's resultant risk was not worth pushing for a personal best.

After 18:50 I stopped and turned in my timing chip. Since I was heading back to the hotel and didn't know if I would be back for the finish and awards, I made a point to thank the medical staff, volunteers, and race director. As it was I woke up too late for the finish, but did get back in time for the awards. Since there were two well known runners in my age group that I knew could put up many more miles than me, and I had watched a third lap me many times, I had no expectations of an award. I had already picked up my finishers medal. There was also one other runner in my age group but had not identified him during the race, so he was an unknown. As it worked out, those extra laps I pushed myself to walk to first match last year's total, then that of the year before, and finally for a nice round total of 60 laps (52.932 miles) were very important. That kept me ahead of the fourth runner in my age group. Coupled with the favorite stopping early, that left me in third place and owner of a bronze medal for my age group in the national championship race.

I still have two more races this year, but my racing schedule has been very heavy, perhaps a little too much, so these will be more social events. They will also give me added input to help me decide where I want to place my emphasis next year. I'm leaning more toward consolidating my recent gains and focusing on 6-hours to 12-hours, rather than selecting a 24-hour race for my main goal. That also brackets 50K, but places 50 miles slightly outside the range, which is fine since cutoff times can still be an issue in many 50 mile races.