Race Report: Twin Cities Race Walkers 10K

On September 26, I did a 10K race sponsored by the Twin Cities Race Walkers.  I wanted to see how fast I could walk 10 kilometers, I was using this as a speed workout, as part of my training for marathons.  They had a 5K race and a 10K race.  I opted for the 10K, because I thought it would be better marathon training.

The race was held on the Gateway Trail, starting and finishing in Flicik Park in Maplewood, MN.  Our course was a one kilometer out-and-back loop.  There were orange traffic cones at either end of the loop.  The first turnaround was 400 meters from where we started, so it was difficult to see the cone until from the start.  The other turnaround was 100 meters behind where we started.

Although advertised as either 5K or 10K, you could actually do any number of kilometers you wanted.  One member of the club had to leave early, so he only did one kilometer.

For running, I’ve found that I can predict my 10K time by taking a recent 5K time and multiplying by 2.1.  I saw no reason why that same ratio wouldn’t also be a good predictor for race-walking a 10K race.  In August, I walked a 5K race in 30:43.  Multiplying by 2.1 gives a predicted 10K time of 1:04:30, which works out to an average pace of 10:24 per mile.

It’s worth noting that my recent 5K race was on a track, and I might not be able to walk as fast on pavement.  It’s also worth noting that I’ve had six more weeks to train since then, I had good reason to believe I’m in better shape now.  I mostly wanted to get a rough approximation of how fast I should start.

I launched into a pace that was so fast that I started getting out of breath.  At first, I was leading the race.  Then Jeff surged past me.  That’s when I remembered that he was only doing one lap.  Trying to keep up with Jeff in a one-kilometer race seemed like a bad idea.  I kept up a fast pace, but I allowed myself to fall behind a bit.

It was 400 meters to the first turnaround.  That’s like one lap around a track.  I was on my way back when I felt my watch vibrate.  It does that when it records my time for a mile, but it was much too early for that.  I looked at my watch and saw it giving me a 30 second countdown before going into energy saving mode.  I thought I started my watch when I started walking, but apparently I didn’t.  I was working my tail off to go fast, so it was frustrating that I wasn’t going to know my pace.

At this point I wasn’t too far behind Jeff.  I no longer felt out of breath.  Having caught my second wind, I decided to catch up to Jeff.  For the rest of the first lap, I matched his pace stride for stride.  I asked him to tell me his time when he finished.

As I finished my first lap, I started my watch.  Jeff stopped, but yelled that his time was 6:26.  I couldn’t easily convert that to a pace per mile in my head, so instead I multiplied by 10.  I was on pace to walk 10K in 1:04:20.  That was pretty close to the time I was expecting.

The pace still felt tiring, but it felt more manageable than it did earlier.  I worked hard to sustain my pace in the second kilometer.  When I finished by second lap, my watch read 6:18.  I was pleased with that pace, so I kept up my effort.

We were sharing the trail with bikers and runners.  I made a point of keeping near the right edge of the trail, so I wouldn’t be caught off guard when I heard an approaching biker say, “on your left.”

I was somewhere in the middle of my third lap when my watch recorded my first split.  I had finished one mile since starting my watch.  I walked that mile in 10:05.  That was faster than I expected.  I kept up my effort.

When I finished my third lap, my watch read 12:37.  I had finished three kilometers, but that was my time for two kilometers.  I slowed down in that lap, but only by one second.  Bruce Leasure was both our race-walking judge and our timekeeper.  As I started my fourth lap, he called out my time for three laps.  It was 18:50.  He continued to call out my times each time I completed a lap.  The difference between my watch and my official splits was always 6:12 plus or minus one second.  That meant my first kilometer was actually faster than I thought.

The next time I got a mile split from my watch, it was 9:55.  That really surprised me.  I didn’t think I would ever get my pace under 10 minutes during a 10K race.  That gave me motivation to keep up my effort, but that pace proved to be unsustainable.  None of my other miles were under 10 minutes.

It was around this time that I saw a large group of runners approaching.  There were all wearing maroon.  As they got closer, I realized it was the University of Minnesota cross-country team out for an easy training run.

After another half mile, I finished my fifth lap.  I was beginning to feel ragged, but I was half done now.  I didn’t know if I could keep up the pace, but I was determined to fight for it.

Twice per lap, I had to make a 180 degree turn.  Each time I did that, it slowed me down.  Then I would light a fire under myself to quickly get back into a fast pace.  I used the turns as periodic reminders to make sure I wasn’t slowing down.  As this point in the race, my biggest enemy was complacency.

I often ask myself if my pace feels sustainable.  I’m used to doing marathons.  I’m not used to doing 10K races.  There’s a big difference between what feels sustainable in a marathon and what feels sustainable in a 10K race.  When I was in my 20s, I did lots of 5K and 10K races.  My recollection is that I would feel out of breath after two miles.  After that, I would fight for dear life to hang on.  The pace never felt sustainable.

The next time my watch recorded a split for a mile, it was 10:09.  At first, I was disappointed to have slowed down that much from one mile to the next.  Then I realized something.  My PR for walking 10 kilometers was 1:03:45.  That’s an average pace of 10:17 per mile.  Even though I slowed down, I was still going faster than the pace I would need to set a new PR.  I was more than half done.  It was time to hang on for dear life.  I fought harder to keep from slowing down.

When I was 100 meters away from finishing my seventh lap, I passed one of the other walkers.  It was the second time I lapped him.  As I went by, he said his goal was to keep me from lapping him three times.  With only three laps to go, I knew I wasn’t likely to lap him again, but I took it as a challenge and used it as motivation to dig just a bit deeper.  I didn’t pass him again, but I did pick up my pace.

When I got my next mile split, it was 10:03.  I picked up my pace, yet I was a little disappointed.  I was working so hard that I honestly expected to get my pace back under 10 minutes.  By now, I only had about 1.6 miles to go.  I tried to pour it on, but I couldn’t get any faster.  When I eventually finished another mile, it was 10:05.

In my last lap, I tried again to pick up the pace, but it seemed like I was at my limit.  10K races are hard.  Then I made the turn with 600 meters to go.  The remaining distance was like a lap and a half around a track.  Finally, I found something within myself and made one last surge.

We weren’t all doing the same number of laps.  Even those of us who were doing 10K weren’t all on the same lap.  As we each approached the end of our final lap, we needed to let Bruce know we were finishing, so he could record our times.  After making the final turn, I yelled ahead to Bruce that I was finishing.  I was so fatigued that I almost tripped as I crossed the line.  My time was 1:02:51.  I knew it was going to be a PR, but I was still surprised to beat my old PR by almost a minute.

After the race, I had brunch with Bruce.  During the race, he was making videos of each of us as we went by.  After the race, he was able to show me some of the videos.  He sometimes slowed it down to one frame at a time, so he could show me all the things he noticed about my race-walking mechanics.

A few years ago, I got to a point where I could walk marathons pretty fast, but I was doing it with inefficient mechanics.  This year, I’ve improved my form, but I still have lots of room for improvement.

One thing Bruce showed me should be easy to correct.  The other things he showed me will be more difficult to correct.  It’s one thing to know what you need to do.  It’s another thing entirely to know how to do it.  That’s where I’m at right now.  I have good endurance, but my walking still isn’t as efficient as it could be.  One of the keys to getting faster will be improving my walking form.

Race Statistics

Distance:  10 kilometers

Time:  1:02:51

Average Pace: 6:17 per kilometer (10:07 per mile)

Race Report: Cheese Curd Festival 10K

This weekend, Deb and I went to the Cheese Curd Festival in Ellsworth, WI.  I had never heard of the Cheese Curd festival until Deb mentioned it a few weeks ago.  My first impression was, “I like cheese curds, but it is worth driving all the way to Wisconsin?  You can only eat so many cheese curds and then you’re full.”  Then Deb told me they had other things like craft beer from several Wisconsin breweries and ice cream from local dairies.

As it turns out, Ellsworth is only a 50 minute drive from where we live.  I thought the city sounded familiar and wondered aloud if they had a race there.  Deb said, “They have a 5K and a 10K.”  Cheese curds, craft beer, ice cream, and a 10K race sounded like a good enough reason to travel.  I decided to see how fast I could race-walk the 10K race.

Some of the events we were interested in were Friday afternoon, and others were Saturday morning.  We could have made two trips, but decided to save time by staying in a motel that was just a few miles outside Ellsworth.  We drove to Ellsworth Friday afternoon.  The Cheese Curd Festival started at 4:00, but we got to Ellsworth early, so we could check into our motel room first.  Then we went into town to find parking before it got crowded.

As soon as the festival started, we bought tickets for a tasting event called Craft and Curd.  Five Wisconsin breweries each paired one of their beers with a different flavor of cheese curd.  Each pairing cost two dollars.  Afterward, you could go online to vote for your favorite pairing.  I tried all five.

Rush River Brewing Co. in River Falls paired their Unforgiven Amber Ale with a tomato/basil cheese curd.  This was probably the most conventional cheese curd flavor, so it was a good place to start.

Barley John’s Brewing Co. in New Richmond paired their Mango Double Pale Ale with a habanero/pineapple cheese curd.  The mango flavor in the beer paired will with the pineapple.  The beer was strong and hoppy enough to hold its own with the bite of the habanero.

Pitchfork Brewing Co. in Hudson paired their Third Stall Pale Ale with a Sriracha cheese curd.  I thought the Sriracha flavor overpowered the beer.

Swinging Bridge Brewing Co. in River Falls paired their Peanut Butter Porter with a raspberry cheese curd.  They called it a peanut butter & jelly pairing.  I like porters, and I also like raspberries, so I was excited about this pairing.  The beer was good, but I thought the raspberry glaze on the cheese curds needed to be stronger.

Finally, Hop & Barrel Brewing Co. in Hudson paired their Crooked Grin west coast style IPA with a jalapeno cheese curd.  The IPA had enough hop flavor to pair well with the jalapeno.

I voted for Swinging Bridge Brewing Co, but my opinion was in the minority.  The last time I checked, Barley John’s Brewing Co. was leading the voting.

After the Craft & Curd tasting, we browsed the arts & crafts booths in the marketplace.  Then we hit the food trucks.  Deb had a taco baked potato.  I had a brick oven pizza with chicken, bacon & cheese curds.

After dinner, we looked at the classic cars and went back to one of the booths in the marketplace.  Deb fell in love with this cowboy themed decoration.

Later, we made one more visit to the food trucks.  I had to try a smoked bacon-wrapped jalapeno stuffed with cheese curds & BBQ.  We each had maple ice cream shakes.  Finally, we left with maple cotton candy, maple root beer, and maple candies.

I sometimes have trouble sleeping, but this was one of my worst nights ever.  The air conditioner in our motel room was too loud.  Even with ear plugs, I just couldn’t tune out the noise.  Without the AC, I would have been too hot to sleep, but with it, it was too noisy to sleep.  I managed to nod off two or three times, but each time I woke up after only about 20 minutes.  I eventually got up and started getting ready for the race, but I briefly considered skipping it.

Packet pickup for the 10K race started Saturday morning at 7:00 at Snap Fitness, which was only a few blocks away from the park where the festival was going on.  We got there a few minutes early, but had to wait a long time before I could get my race packet.  Apparently, all the race bibs got delivered to the wrong city.  They eventually got them, but it delayed packet pickup by 45 minutes.  After I had my race packet, Deb moved the car and went to a pancake breakfast that started at 8:00.

The 10K race was supposed to start at 8:00, but it was delayed until 8:30 because of the mix-up with the race bibs.  We needed to check out of our room by 11:00.  With the 30 minute delay, I was worried about having enough time after the race to drive back to the motel, shower, and pack.  Again, I briefly considered skipping the race.

I’ve only walked one other 10K race.  That was the Bermuda 10K in January, which I walked in 1:05:28.  Before that race, I did several fast-paced workouts on the treadmill.  Before this race, I wasn’t doing any training at a fast pace.  In recent months, I was doing lots of mileage, but it was all at a more conservative pace.  While I had no objective reason to think I could walk faster now, I keep surprising myself with strong race results.  It’s amazing what a good mileage base can do.

While I was waiting in line to use the bathroom, two runners who have done this race before told me it’s really hilly.  In pre-race announcements, the race director said this was a hilly course that would challenge us.  I had doubts about setting a PR, but reminded myself that the Bermuda 10K was also a hilly race.

The race started in the parking lot in front of Snap Fitness.  We had to follow highway 10 for a few blocks before turning and heading south.  The highway was open to traffic, so we had to stay on the sidewalk.  That made the first few blocks a little bit congested.  I worked hard to set a fast pace.  I was trying to keep up with the runners who lined up in front of me.

Those first few blocks were slightly uphill.  When we turned, we started up a more noticeable hill.  Some of the runners were already walking.  I worked to maintain as fast a pace as I could.

None of the early hills were unusually long or steep, but the early miles were peppered with them.  I tried to walk as fast as I could, but I wondered if my effort was sustainable.  In the early miles, I didn’t feel like my stride was that smooth.  I tried to keep my cadence as rapid as possible.

When we reached the southernmost point on the route, I began to wonder if I missed the one mile sign.  We turned west for a few blocks and then turned north to head back into town.  We eventually got to a bigger hill that challenged me.  At the top of the hill, I could see the two mile sign.  I was anxious to know what my pace was.  That gave me the motivation I needed to power up the hill.

When I set my 10K PR, my average pace was 10:32.  I was working so hard that I fully expected to be doing 10 minute miles or faster.  I was disappointed when I saw my time.  My two mile split was 21:05.  I was actually one second slower than my PR pace.

I wondered if I just didn’t have the speed to challenge my PR.  I have good endurance, but lack of speed training might have caused my mechanics to become less efficient.  Yes, there were hills, but they really didn’t seem that bad.  My impression at this point was that Bermuda was hillier.

Just past two miles, we merged with the 5K race.  They started later than we did, but they were just getting to the one mile mark of their course.  The mixture of 5K and 10K runners (and walkers) made it harder for me to know if I was maintaining a consistent pace.  I pushed myself to go as fast as possible and hoped for the best.

I passed a father and son who were walking together.  He said, “There’s a speed-walker.  That’s cool.  He’ll beat some of the runners.”  Hearing that helped keep me motivated.

We detoured a few blocks off the main road to minimize conflicts with traffic.  When I saw the three mile sign, I checked my watch again.  My time was 31:32.  My effort was paying off.  Now I was a few seconds ahead of my PR pace.

Just around the next corner, I saw an aid station.  It had been at least two hours since I last had anything to drink.  It was a sunny day, and I was getting hot and thirsty.  Still, I knew if I took any time to drink, I’d have trouble making it up.  I skipped the water station.  I told myself 10K was short enough that I could press on to the finish and drink afterwards.

The 5K and 10K routes diverged again.  With only 10K runners in front of me, it was easier to see if I was keeping up with the pack.  I picked up my effort.

A few blocks alter, we returned to the major north-south highway that runs through town.  We had to stay between the white line and the shoulder, so there wasn’t much room to pass.  To maintain my pace, I needed to pass one of the runners.  I moved around her as quickly as I could.

In the distance, I could see where the runners ahead of me were turning to head east.  Before the race, I studied the course map.  I didn’t know the streets, but I was familiar with the general outline of the course.  Each time we reached a major turn, I had a sense of where I was on the route.  I estimated we were getting close to four miles.

As soon as I reached the turn, I saw the four mile sign.  I got there in 41:42.  That was encouraging.  I sped up significantly in that mile.  If I could maintain that pace, I would easily set a PR.  I was tired, but I only had 2.2 miles to go.  It all depended on how many more big hills there were.

We started down a big hill.  I could see ahead of us that the road would eventually turn uphill again, but not for a long time.  I walked downhill as quickly as I could, and I enjoyed the rest break.  Two runners passed me.  One said to the other, “We really needed this.”

I couldn’t believe how long we kept going downhill.  I feared what might be coming later.  When the road eventually turned uphill again, it didn’t seem like the climb in front of us was nearly as big as what we just descended.

The hill was still somewhat tiring.  I reminded myself that I only had about a mile and a half to go.  I didn’t need to conserve energy.  I was taking long powerful strides, but my cadence was slowing down.  I forced myself to pick it up again.

As I neared the top, I saw a sign saying there was an aid station ahead.  I realized I would need to skip this one too.  Somewhere in the previous mile, I found my rhythm.  I didn’t want to risk interrupting it to drink, even if I had the time.

I saw the next major turn on the course.  Now we were going to head south almost all the way to the park, where we would finish.  The aid station was right after the turn.  The five mile sign was right after the aid station.  That mile wasn’t as fast as the previous one, but it was fast enough.  I gained a few more seconds.

The road turned downhill.  It was gradual at first.  I saw a group of four runners ahead of me, and I tried to catch them.  I passed one when he took a walking break.  I couldn’t catch the other three.  The road turned more sharply downhill.  I worked to go as fast as I could, but there was no way I could catch a runner going down this hill.

I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I kept looking ahead to see when we would begin climbing again.  I couldn’t see any hills yet.  The descent kept going and going.  Then the road leveled off.  A runner who had already finished was going the other way.  She said we only had 400 meters to go.  It soon became apparent that there wasn’t going to be another big bad hill.

The last two miles seemed to be mostly downhill.  Thinking back, I realized the first two miles were mostly uphill.  It was never that steep, but the road would go up, level off, and then go up again.  That’s why my first two miles were so tiring, yet weren’t that fast.  It was an uphill trend in the early miles.

Finally, as I was nearing the last turn, the road turned ever so slightly uphill.  Right at the turn, I saw the six mile sign.  My time was 1:02:57.  I was on pace for a PR, but not by as much as I expected.  I suspect that mile marker was misplaced, but at the time I had to trust it.  I worked hard to maintain a fast pace over the last two tenths of a mile.

I could see the traffic barriers at the northwest corner of the park, but I couldn’t see the finish line yet.  There wasn’t any big balloon arch or anything – just a chip mat in the middle of the street.  You had to get close before you could see it.  A runner flew by me as he sprinted to the finish.  There’s no way I could match that pace; I just kept up my effort.

As I got close enough to see the clock, I realized I would break 1:04.  I finished in 1:03:45.  That’s a new PR by a fairly wide margin.  Early in the race, I had doubts, but I never let up in my effort.

For post-race snacks, I got a water bottle, a banana, and a bag of cheese curds.  That more than made up for skipping breakfast.  The curds were filling.

For doing this race, I also got a T-shirt and a bag full of swag.  For a $35 dollar entry fee, it was a good value.

Deb and I walked to the car as quickly as we could and drove back to the motel.  I ate about half of the cheese curds in the car.  The rest had to wait until after I showered.  We had no trouble checking out on time.  Then we went back into town for the next tasting event.

At 11:00, there was a Milk and Cookies tasting.  There were seven flavors of milk and eight kinds of cookie.  You could pair them in any combination.

While I was in line to buy milk and cookies tickets, Deb got in line for the big tent where you could buy baskets of deep fried cheese curds.  We didn’t get any on Friday because the line was too long.  Deb didn’t have room for both and decided the cheese curds were more important.  I decided to try just two milk and cookie pairings and then join Deb in the cheese curds line.

For my first pairing, I had a chocolate chip cookie with whole milk.  That was the favorite pairing from the previous year.  Then I got exotic and had an “Elvis” pairing of a peanut butter cookie with banana milk.

After eating our deep fried cheese curds, we were both full.  We took one last look at all the craft booths and then we left.  We were originally planning to go to an ice cream tasting at 1:00, but we were both full.  We were also tired.  It was time to drive home.

We went to Wisconsin mostly for food and fun.  The 10K race was an afterthought, and I almost skipped it.  I’m glad I didn’t.  I not only improved my 10K walking PR, but I got some training that will help me improve my marathon times.

Race Statistics

Distance:  10 kilometers (6.2 miles)

Time:  1:03:45

Average Pace:  10:17 per mile

Race Report: 2018 FANS 24 Hour Race

On June 2-3, I walked the FANS 24 Hour Race in Minneapolis.  I’ve done FANS ten times before.  I did the 24 hour race seven times, the 12 hour race twice, and the 6 hour race once.  On all of those occasions, I ran.  This was the first time I registered as a walker.

The FANS races have always had walking divisions.  Over the years, the races have become more and more competitive.  With the addition of a USATF race-walking judge, it became possible for walkers to earn a Centurion Racewalker badge by walking 100 miles within the 24 hour time limit.  Sometimes competitive walkers travel from other countries to attempt 100 miles at FANS.

When I ran the FANS 24 Hour Race in 1998, it was my first ultramarathon.  I immediately fell in love with the race.  Last summer, John Greene – who often crews for me – reminded me that this year would be the 20th anniversary of that race.  At the time, I was still recovering from back surgery, so I couldn’t do any running.  I was intrigued by the idea of walking FANS, but only if I thought I had a realistic chance of walking 100 miles.  John has walked this race several times, and I’ve also crewed for him.  I followed his progress as he kept setting new course records for walking, until he eventually reached 100 miles.  I knew it wasn’t an easy thing to do.

Last August, I walked a marathon in 5:21:57.  That was just eight weeks after surgery.  I told myself, “If I could make that much progress in just eight weeks, imagine what I could do if I kept at it for 10 more months.”  That’s when I decided that walking 100 miles at FANS was feasible.

I knew I could walk fast for distances up to a marathon, but maintaining a brisk pace for 24 hours is another story.  To reach 100 miles in 24 hours, I needed to maintain an average pace of 14:24 per mile.  That may sound easy, but it includes the time I take for eating, drinking, bathroom stops, required weigh-ins, and clothing changes.  Realistically, I probably needed to be able to walk at a 13:30 pace and have it feel effortless, even after several hours.

I didn’t have any experience training for an event like this, but it seemed like the most important thing was to do as much walking as possible.  I wanted to get really comfortable at a pace that was about a minute per mile faster than the pace I needed to sustain at FANS.  I was already averaging 10 miles per day.  From there, I ramped up my mileage by roughly 10 percent each month.

In 1999, Danny Ripka ran 136.01 miles at FANS.  At the time, that was a course record.  Danny said his training included “20 a day for May.”  That seemed like an insane number of miles to be running, but walking is much easier on your body.  When I was doing 10 miles a day, I never felt sore, stiff or tired.  Every morning, I woke up feeling fresh as a daisy.  20 miles a day seemed feasible.  At the rate I was ramping up, I had just enough time to get there by May.

That’s it.  My entire training plan was based on a whim.  I wanted to do “20 a day for May,” just like Danny.  It took me nine months to gradually ramp up to that level, but I did it.

Physically, 20 miles a day was manageable, but I no longer felt fresh as a daisy.  I was starting to accumulate some minor aches and pains.  Psychologically, it was much tougher.  I usually split up my mileage into three workouts.  Including the time to get ready for each workout and the time to cool down and shower afterwards, it seemed like all I did was train.  From breakfast to dinner, seven days a week, I didn’t have time for much else.

I did most of my training at paces ranging from 12 to 13 minutes per mile.  I tried to never get any slower than 14.  In races, I could push myself much faster.  Over the course of the last year, I walked 11 marathons, a 10K, a 5K, and a mile.  By the end of April, I was able to average 10:40 per mile for a marathon.

My longest walk was the Darkside 8 Hour Race, which was three weeks before FANS.  In that race, I averaged 12:31 per mile on a 90 degree sunny day.  On the plus side, I never got any slower than 13 minutes per mile.  On the negative side, I was completely spent after eight hours.  I knew I had to pace myself more conservatively at FANS.

The FANS course is a 2.14 mile loop around Snelling Lake in Fort Snelling State Park.  The park is in the Minnesota River valley, just below historic Fort Snelling.

The park is close to the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.  It’s so close that part of the course goes directly underneath the towers that hold the runway lights.

About half of the loop is paved.  The other half is dirt trail.

Near the main aid station, there’s an area where the participants can set up tents and have all their gear handy.

Even though this was a local race, I had a packing list that took two pages.  It’s like packing for a camping trip.  In addition to multiple pairs of running shoes, spare running clothes and rain gear, I needed a tent, folding chairs, a card table, bug spray, sunblock, Aquaphor, electrolyte pills, headlamp, flashlights, and a whole assortment of stuff that I might or might not need.  For a race like this, I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.  To save time on race day, I had most of my gear loaded into the car on Friday.

Late Friday afternoon, I went to the Waite House in Minneapolis for packet pickup and the pre-race dinner.  While I was there, I was able to meet some of the other walkers.

I wasn’t the only one aiming to walk 100 miles in this race.  There were six experienced Centurions registered.  They included Marco Bloemerts, Arie Kandelaars, and Gertrude Achterberg from the Netherlands, Andrew Titley from the Isle of Man, Rob Robertson from Oklahoma, and John Greene from Minnesota.  Marco, Arie, Gertrude, and Andrew each had Centurion badges from other countries and were here to get a US Centurion badge.  Rob got his first Centurion badge at FANS three years ago.  He has since earned badges in other counties, but came back to earn a second US Centurion badge at FANS.  John was registered, but wasn’t trying for another Centurion badge.  He was crewing for me, but was also planning to walk at least 51 miles.  John and I are each working on eventually getting into the FANS 1,000 mile club.

The race didn’t start until 8:00, but I got up at 4:00, so I could eat an early breakfast, get to the park early, unload the car, and set up our tent.  We had a new tent this year.  A week before the race, we practiced putting it up in our back yard.  It goes up quickly.  Taking it down is a bit more involved, but that was a problem for after the race.

After setting up the tent, changing shoes, and shedding my warm-up clothes, I went over to the medical tent to check in and get weighed.  During the race, everyone had to weigh in every four hours.  By monitoring our weight, the medical staff could tell if we were hydrating properly.

FANS used to be held on the last weekend of June.  It was always hot and humid, and in any given year, there was about a 50 percent chance of a thunderstorm.  Several years ago, they moved the race to the first weekend of June.  On average, the temperatures have been more comfortable, but it’s still possible to get a hot day.  Thunderstorms, unfortunately, are still something you have to plan for.

In the weeks leading up to this race, we had unseasonably hot weather.  On Memorial Day, it got up to 100 degrees.  I had been worried about hot, humid conditions, but race day brought a completely different set of concerns.  The forecast high was only 65 degrees, with rain and thunderstorms in the forecast for the entire day.   A little light rain on a hot day might feel good, but it wasn’t hot, and too much rain can make the trail muddy.  Thunderstorms make everything more complicated.

I was hoping to wear the same clothes for the whole race, but had spare clothes, including a light jacket and a rain poncho.  Ideally, I also wanted to do the whole race in the same pair of shoes, but I brought two spare pairs.  I also brought extra pairs of socks.  I was worried about getting gravel in my shoes, so I wore gaiters.

Before the race started, I made a point of meeting my lap counter for the first shift.  Laps are all counted manually by volunteers.  It’s good to know who your lap counter is, so you can make sure they see you as you finish each lap.

Before the first full lap, we did an out-and-back that was about 1.7 miles.  The purpose of the out-and-back was to align the 100 mile mark with the end of a lap.  100 miles has always been a common goal for 24-hour runners.  In recent years, it has also been a common goal for walkers.

I wanted to start the race at a pace somewhere between 13:00 and 13:30 per mile.  That corresponds roughly with lap times between 28 and 29 minutes.

I did the out-and-back in 22 minutes, which corresponds to a pace of 13 minutes per mile.  My first few full laps were about 27:45.  That’s a little faster than I planned to start, but not outrageous.  I eventually settled into lap times that were averaging 28 minutes.

There were two aid stations per lap.  Each time I reached an aid station, I had something to drink.  About once an hour, I also had something to eat.  Over the course of the race, I ate cookies, candy, tea breads, cake and PBJs.  I tended to go for sugary snacks that I could eat quickly.

John walked with me for the first four laps.  Then he took a break while I walked my next two laps.  He repeated this pattern for the first half of the race.  Later, John switched to walking two laps and then resting during my next two.

Most of the walkers who were going for Centurion badges started at about the same pace.  In the early laps, I could see Marco, Arie, and Gertrude just ahead of me.  Andrew was going faster, and quickly got too far ahead for me to see him.  Rob lined up behind us, so I didn’t see him, but I assume he was never far behind me.

To keep from going out too fast, I made a point of staying behind Arie and Gertrude, who were walking together.

In this picture of Marco, you can see Bruce Leasure wearing the blue jacket.  Bruce was the USATF race-walk judge.  He walked the course in the opposite direction, so he could see the walkers as many times as possible.

About two hours into the race, I noticed a few rain drops.  Then it stopped.  After a few false starts, it turned into a steady light rain.  I wasn’t sure if it was just a passing shower, so I kept wearing the same clothes.  After about an hour, the rain stopped.

The rain actually seemed to improve the trail conditions.  Before the race, the dirt was somewhat loose.  The rain, in combination with people running and walking on it, helped pack down the dirt.  After that, the trail was fairly firm.

There were loose rocks on the trail.  I found them to be incredibly uncomfortable for walking.  When I stepped on a rock, it sometimes made my shoe roll in an unusual way.  Within four hours, I already had painful blisters on the heels of both feet.  Heel blisters are a common problem when I walk, but usually only when it’s hot or I’m going fast.  It was worrisome that I was feeling so much blister pain so early in the race.  I still had 20 hours to go.  At this point, I was pessimistic about being able to cope with blister pain that I assumed would only get worse.

At noon, we had our first required weigh-in.  My weight was up half a pound.  It could have simply been the weight of my wet shoes, but I was making frequent bathroom stops, so I concluded I was drinking too much.  I cut back temporarily to only drinking at the main aid station and skipping the one on the opposite side of the loop.

Eventually, I realized that cutting my fluid intake meant I was also cutting my sugar intake.  I was counting on getting most of my calories from Gatorade.  Instead of eating snacks once per hour, I started eating them every lap.

In the early afternoon, we had another rain shower.  This one also lasted about an hour.  Puddles started forming on the road.  The trail was dry enough before the race that it was able to absorb most of the water, but a few muddy spots formed.

I was still stopping to pee every two or three laps.  I told John I would alternate between 28 and 29 minutes laps, depending on whether they included bathroom stops.  I didn’t stick to that.  At some point, Arie and Gertrude stopped at the main aid station, and I inadvertently got ahead of them.  With nobody holding me back, I started to get overzealous in my pacing.  On my non-bathroom laps, I sometimes went faster to make up the lost time.

At 4 PM, we had our second weigh-in.  My weight was back to where it started, even though my shoes were still wet.  I was able to go up to five laps between bathroom stops, so I went back to drinking at every aid station.  Eventually, I found myself making more frequent bathroom stops again, but I waited for the next weigh-in before making any more adjustments.

John heard that a thunderstorm was coming.  I felt a few drops, but then it stopped.  Then the sun came out.  The thunderstorm passed north of us.  That was a relief.  I don’t think the trail could have absorbed any more water.

Between 4 and 8 PM, my lap times started to drift.  I slowed to 29 minutes.  Some laps took almost 30 minutes.  I found myself suddenly needing to work much harder to walk the same pace.  I also realized that I was no longer noticing the blister pain.  I had two possible theories for that.  The first is that I was subconsciously altering my stride to avoid making contact with my heels, particularly on the trail section of the course.  A shorter stride would make me work harder to go the same pace.  My second theory was that I was pushing harder to maintain my pace, so I was generating more endorphins.  Endorphins are natural pain killers.

I was getting the sense that I was putting in too much effort to maintain my pace.  I didn’t think this effort would be sustainable for the rest of the race.  I wanted to relax and allow myself to slow down a little, but I was afraid.  What if endorphins were suppressing the blister pain?  If I relaxed, I risked turning off the endorphin spigot.  That in turn, could turn on the pain spigot.  I wasn’t willing to risk that.  Instead, I risked blowing up badly in the second half by going too fast.  I was more worried about intense blister pain making it difficult for me to continue through the night.  I continued to push the pace on every lap.

I was 40 miles into the race when it occurred to me that I had already set a new PR for longest distance walked.  I couldn't be satisfied with that.  I couldn't settle for anything less than 100.

At least twice during the race, pizza was delivered.  After my 21st lap, I had a small slice of pizza.

I wanted to do 53 miles in the first 12 hours.  I ended up doing 53.75.  That gave me a nice cushion, but I was concerned about how much effort I was putting into each lap.

At the 8 PM weigh-in, my weight was up a pound and a half.  I went back to only drinking at the main aid station.  I was reluctant to cut back any more than that.  My body was sending me mixed signals.  On one hand, I was back to making bathroom stops every other lap.  On the other hand, I felt thirsty.

Objectively, it seemed obvious that I was overhydrating, but it was hard to see how that was happening.  Whenever I drank, I looked for the cup that was least full.  I seldom drank more than four ounces at a time.  That added up to only eight ounces per hour.  When I peed, it seemed like I was passing much more fluid than I was drinking.  Where was it coming from?

In the second half of the race, I had to start setting intermediate milestones.  When I passed 57 miles, I could tell myself I walked my age in miles.  I’ve run my age several times, but this was the first time I walked my age.  The next intermediate milestone was 100K.

By now, I was starting to feel slightly out of breath whenever I ate solid food.  Chewing took too much energy.  The fatigue was taking a toll on me.

At 9 PM, I put on my headlamp.  The race volunteers had already set up lamps along most of the course, but they didn’t illuminate the entire course.  On the trail, you really need a headlamp, but the lamps were still useful.  They gave me perspective.  I could see when the trail started bending to the left or right.  That gave me a good feel for where I was.

One of the traditions at FANS is that the lap counters ring a cowbell whenever someone reaches a milestone like 50 miles or 100K.  After my 23rd lap, I got my 50 mile cowbell.  I was looking forward to hearing the cowbell again when I reached 100K, but they forgot to ring it.  I was momentarily disappointed, but I didn’t let it bother me.

The trail section had a number of uneven spots, where the soil was bumpy.  At night, I didn’t always see them, so I often scuffed my foot over one.  That was uncomfortable, and it also caused me to waste energy.

With the trail section getting more tiring, I worked harder and harder to compensate.  I took things one lap at a time.  In each lap, I worked as hard as I could to maintain the pace on the trail section.  The road section was much easier.  There I worked hard to pick up my pace to compensate for slowing down on the trail section.  I knew my effort was unsustainable, but I was trying to keep my lap times under 30 minutes for as long as I could.

At some point, I could no longer keep my lap times below 30 minutes.  That’s OK.  John calculated that I only needed to average 33:20 per lap the rest of the way.  If I could do a lap in 30:20, I was putting three more minutes in the bank.

For the rest of the race, my pace gradually deteriorated, but the pace I needed to average was also getting slower.  By the time I slowed to 31 minutes, I only needed to average 34:10.  By the time I slowed to 32 minutes, I only needed to average 35.  That trend continued and eventually accelerated as there were fewer and fewer laps.

At midnight, my weight was unchanged, so I continued to drink at only the main aid station.  I cut back to only eating snacks every other lap.  I was taking too long to finish eating snacks, and it caused me to start each lap at a slow pace.

During the night, I really hated walking on the trail.  It helped that John was with me on half of my laps.  John wondered if he was slowing me down.  I was slowing down, but it wasn’t John’s fault.  I was running out of gas.

I loved walking on the paved part of the course.  If I could do the whole race on smooth pavement, I could easily keep up the pace.  It was the uneven trail surface that was wearing me down.

When I only had 12 laps to go, I could tell myself that it was less than a marathon to go, and I still had seven hours to do it.  That should have made it seem manageable, but it didn’t.  Instead, I just counted down the laps.  Twelve laps didn’t seem like that many, but I was now putting a heroic effort into each one.  I had been doing that for several hours already.  I didn’t seem like I should be able to keep doing that, but I walked every lap as if it were my last.  I’m not sure how I kept up that effort.  I’ve never pushed myself so hard in a race.

At the final weigh-in, my weight was up another pound.  I was clearly overhydrating, but I didn’t want to stop drinking entirely.  I was getting the majority of my calories from the Gatorade, and I needed that fuel.

I was relieved when the sun came up.  Finally, I could see all parts of the trail clearly.  I was able to do a better job of avoiding the various bumps and slick spots.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t avoid all the rocks.  They were all over the trail.

After sunrise, the wind really picked up.  The temperature had dropped into the low 50s, and the wind made it feel like 40s.  I had to put on a light jacket for my last three laps.

With three laps to go, I had to make a bathroom stop – the long kind.  I lost a few minutes, but more importantly my legs were stiff when I resumed walking.  Despite the stop, that was a 36 minute lap.  At this point, I only needed to average 39.

I never saw Rob, but he was just behind me when I made that last bathroom stop.  While I was in the bathroom, he passed me.

Andrew was the first walker to reach 100 miles, getting there in 22:27:32.  On his final lap, he wore the flag of the Isle of Man.  He went on to complete 106.8 miles.  That’s a new course record for a walker.

I pressed on through one more lap on my own, and then John joined me for the last two.  On those two laps, I only needed to average 44 minutes per lap.  I managed 34.  As I finished my 46th lap, I reached the 100 mile mark and got to hear the cowbell again.  I got there in 23:39:33.

In the last hour of the race, we can switch to a quarter mile out-and-back course.  Three of the other walkers had already reached 100 miles and were adding on as much additional mileage as they could.  Arie was still working on getting to 100 miles.  He made it with less than 10 minutes to spare.

I was still trying to walk fast, but I couldn’t do it anymore.  Despite my best efforts, a 15 minute mile was the best I could manage.  I ended up doing four quarter mile laps, bringing my total to 101 miles.  I probably had time to do one more lap, but I wasn’t paying close enough attention to my pace, and I didn’t want to start another lap if I might not have time to finish it.

After the race, my blister pain came back with a vengeance.  When I was working hard, I generated enough endorphins to suppress the pain.  Now, I could barely walk.  Soreness in my calf muscles also made it difficult to walk.  I needed to make another bathroom stop, but it was difficult to walk to the bathroom.

The wind was cold, so I needed to get something on my legs.  With John’s help, I managed to pull on a pair of wind pants over my shoes.  I knew if I took the shoes off I would never get them on again.

After everyone packed up their tents, we had a post-race breakfast on a patio near the start/finish area.  That was followed by an awards ceremony.  In addition to awards for the top finishers and various directors’ awards, they give sweatshirts to anyone who completes 100 miles in 24 hours.  This year, 12 people reached 100 miles.  Five of them were walkers.

Throughout the breakfast and awards, I felt borderline sick.  I wasn’t nauseous, but I felt like I was somehow off.  I’m sure my body chemistry was messed up.  I also found it increasingly difficult to move.  Now, every muscle in my legs was sore.  In addition, I had sore muscles in my arms, shoulders and upper back.  My vigorous arm swing stressed my upper body as much as the brisk walking stressed my legs.

This was the 12th time I’ve covered at least 100 miles in a race, and it was the eighth time I’ve done it in 24 hours.  It was only the first time I did it walking the whole way.

I was one of four walkers to earn their first US Centurion badge.  Based on our order of finish, I became the 91st US Centurion.

When the other walkers learned that I’ve also run this race, they asked me which was more difficult.  There’s no question that walking 100 miles in 24 hours is much more difficult than running 100 miles.  This is by far the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life.  There were times during the race when I didn’t think I could continue all night.  There were times when I wanted to quit.  There were times when I wanted to slow down and just walk at a casual pace for the rest of the race.  I knew if I did that I wouldn’t get to 100 miles.

I started training for this race last August.  In recent months, I spent so much time training that I didn’t have time for anything else.  There were other races I wanted to do, but I skipped them if I thought they would disrupt my training.  I was all in on getting my Centurion badge.  It’s common to fail on the first try, but I didn’t want to spend another year training for a second try.  I also didn’t want to endure this much pain and fatigue again.

Knowing that I like to travel to other countries to race, John and Rob each asked me if I would start doing Centurion races in other countries.  I admire the other walkers who have done that, but I think I’m one and done.

Race Statistics

Distance:  101 miles

Time:  24 hours

Average Pace:  14:15

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  354

Lifetime 100s:  12

Lifetime FANS Miles:  933.5