Race Report: 2018 Darkside 8 Hour Race

On May 12th, I did the Darkside 8 Hour Race in Moreland, GA.  I’ve been a member of the Darkside Running Club since 2009, and this is the third time I’ve done their annual 8 hour race.  Each time, I’ve used it as part of my training for a longer ultramarathon.  In 2009, I did it as my final long training run before the FANS 24 Hour Race.  In 2014, it was my last long training run before the Comrades Marathon.  This year, I again used it as training for FANS.

I’m going to be race-walking the FANS 24 hour Race, so I also walked this race.  I’ve walked several marathons, but until this race, I had never walked farther than 26.2 miles.  I needed to get used to being on my feet for a long time.  I also needed to learn what I would feel like after eight hours of walking.  Would I have painful blisters?  Would my walking form degrade?  Would a pace that feels easy at first feel tiring after eight hours?  Doing longer workouts (or races) before your main event can help you anticipate the types of problems you’ll have in your “A” race.

The course was a 1.02 mile paved loop at Bear Creek Farm.  This was the same venue that was used for this event when I ran it in 2014.

I flew to Georgia on Friday, drove as far as Newnan, and spent the night there.  Saturday morning, I had to drive about 15 miles to get to the race.

I’ve been sleep well lately, but I have a long history of insomnia when I travel.  I had trouble getting to sleep Friday night.  I eventually got to sleep, but woke up after about an hour.  Then I never got to sleep again.  It’s not the first time that’s happened.  If I was sleeping well during the week, I can usually shake off one bad night.  Fortunately, I was.

When I got up, noticed some soreness in my left gluteus maximus.  That surprised me, since I only did half my usual mileage on Friday, and none of it was at a particularly fast pace.  I assume it must have been delayed-onset muscle soreness from a run I did on Thursday.  I’ve been deliberately holding back on most of my runs, but on Thursday I ran more freely.

When I entered this race, I wasn’t sure how fast I would try to walk.  Usually in a fixed-time race, you try to find a pace that’s just barely sustainable for the number of hours you’ll be running or walking.  A more conservative approach would be to pace myself as if this was the first eight hours of a 24 hour race.  Then I could see how I felt after eight hours and ask myself if that pace would be sustainable for 16 more hours.

When I saw the weather forecast, I told myself I should take the more conservative approach.  It called for a high of 91 with sunny skies.  When I looked at the hourly forecast, it said that the “feels like” temperature at 3:00 (when the race ended) would be 100 degrees.  That’s much warmer than anything I’ve trained in at home, so I had to be careful not to go out too fast and risk blowing up.  It’s not typically that hot at FANS, but last year it was unusually hot.  I told myself to treat this as a dry run of how I would pace myself if we saw similar hot weather at FANS.

That’s what I told myself.  Apparently, I’m not a good listener.

The race started at 7:00, but we were supposed to get there by 6:15 for packet pickup.  I had bib number 3.  I’m not sure, but I think that’s the lowest number I’ve ever had for a race.  It was a good omen.

There was a pavilion next to the course that was used as an aid station.  The race organizers provided water, Gatorade, Tailwind, and a few snacks, such as boiled potatoes and pickles.  Many of the runners also brought snacks.  I brought some bite-size date almond snacks that I found at Wal-Mart.

The temperature at the start was 66 degrees.  The relative humidity was 97 percent, but it didn’t feel at all sticky.  It felt cool and crisp.  I made an impromptu decision to start at a brisk pace, but slow down as it warmed up.  In the first lap, I felt at times like I was working too hard.  That lap was 11:40.  That was clearly too fast.  Over the next several laps, I gradually eased into a slower pace – first 12:00, then 12:10.

Our laps were counted manually by volunteers.  Over the course of the race, I had three different lap counters.  With manual lap counting, each race participant needs to make sure they get counted each time they finish a lap.  I’ve done enough of these races to realize that it’s always possible for a lap counter to get distracted as you’re going by.  That happened more than once, but I was paying attention and always made sure they saw me.

The first third of each loop had a downhill trend and a few shady spots.  The middle section had an uphill trend and was fully exposed to the sun.  The last third was relatively flat, but had enough small bends that I had to pay attention to walking the tangents.

Fairly early in the race, I noticed that sore left glute whenever I was going uphill.  I think I was working too hard to maintain my pace on the hills.  I eventually backed off to a pace that didn’t cause any discomfort.

By the end of the first hour, the sun was shining over the trees.  I could feel the difference.  Once it got higher in the sky, it was going to be hot.

When I first started running ultras, they were always on hot humid days.  Early on, I trained myself to drink aggressively, so I could replace all the fluids I was losing.  When I started doing ultras with more moderate weather, I had trouble breaking that habit.  On a nice day, I would overhydrate.  Eventually, I stopped trying to anticipate my fluid needs.  I drank according to my thirst.  That worked well, until this race.  This one was too hot for that.

At first, I was only stopping to drink every other lap.  I knew I would eventually switch to every lap, but I didn’t want to drink so much that I would need an early bathroom stop.

Every hour or so, I ate some type of snack.  I probably could have got by with just Gatorade or Tailwind, but I know I’ll need solid food at FANS.  This race was an opportunity to get used to eating.  Sometimes I ate the date almond snacks that I brought.  Other times I ate boiled potatoes.  There were lots of other snacks, but I didn’t want to take too much time looking around to see what was available.  I like to get in and out of aid stations quickly.

In the second hour, I started to notice that the temperature was climbing.  By the end of my 12th lap, my throat was getting dry.  That’s when I switched to drinking every lap.  I shouldn’t have waited that long.  After that, I was always trying to catch up.

I took a little longer at the aid station after that lap.  Besides eating a snack, I needed to refill my bottle.  As I started the next lap, I started to notice a blister on my right heel.  It was on a downhill section at the beginning of the lap.  I wondered if my long stop at the aid station was somehow a contributing factor.

In the third hour of the race, I settled into a pace that was around 12:30 per lap.  By now, I was no longer paying close attention to my lap times.  I just noticed the average over several laps.

It occurred to me that I was no longer noticing any soreness in my left glute.  I think 12:30 was a slow enough pace that I was no longer working it too hard.  It’s worth noting that 12:30 is only slow in comparison to my first few laps.  It was still an aggressive pace for an eight hour race on such a hot day.  It was much faster than I plan to walk at FANS.

After 15 laps, I realized I would easily finish four more laps before the halfway mark.  My goal at this point was fairly nebulous.  I wanted to get into the upper 30s.  Doing 19 in the first half would put me well on my way to doing that.

After another longer stop to eat a snack, I felt hot as I resumed walking.  The early part of the loop was the shadiest part, and it was downhill.  It’s the last place I should be feeling the heat.  Then I noticed that it was always after stopping to eat that I felt hotter.  Muscle cells are like tiny metabolic engines.  They’re constantly converting sugars to energy, so the muscle fibers can contract.  When you take a break, the metabolic furnace keeps running, but the energy has to go somewhere else.  It turns into excess heat.  Once I noticed the pattern, it didn’t bother me as much.

I needed to make a bathroom stop soon, but wanted to wait until I was sure it wouldn’t prevent me from finishing 19 laps in the first four hours.  After my 18th lap, I realized I had plenty of time.

Inside the port-o-potty, it was hot.  I wanted to get out of there quickly, but I took my time to make sure I emptied my bladder as much as I could.  I was hoping to get through the rest of the race without another bathroom stop.

As I left the port-o-potty, I was hot and sweaty.  Fortunately, a light breeze helped cool me down as I began my next lap.  Then I realized it was the first time I had felt any breeze at all.  The sun was now high in the sky, the temperature was climbing into the 80s, there were no clouds, and there was rarely any wind.  I was already feeling hot, and the hottest temperatures were still ahead of me.

Up until now, we were going clockwise.  After four hours, we switched directions.  I was already into my 20th loop, so I needed to finish that one before turning around.

Earlier in the race, the fastest runners each lapped me several times.  Now I wasn’t seeing them much.  All the runners were slowing dramatically.  I was also slowing, but not as much.

In the first half of the race, I was establishing a brisk pace.  I the second half, I had to be careful to avoid blowing up in the heat.  After turning around to begin my 21st loop, I slowed down a bit.  Now my lap times were just under 13 minutes.

The loop felt different going counter-clockwise.  We started with the relatively flat section.  The middle was downhill, but not as much as I was hoping.  The last section was uphill.  There seemed to be much more climbing than I expected.  Did we really descend that much on this section when we were going the other way?

For the next two hours, I continued to keep all my lap times under 13 minutes.  It was getting hotter, and I was drinking more, but I wasn’t slowing down.  I finished my 24th lap right around the five hour mark.  I realized by then that even if I slowed down, I would easily finish 36 laps.  I also knew by now that I wouldn’t have time to finish 38 laps.  I barely finished 19 in the first half, and I was going slower now.  It was still unclear whether I had time to finish 37 laps.  I liked my chances, but I could still blow up in the heat and slow down substantially.

After another lap, I realized I could finish 37 laps if I averaged 13:50 or faster on my remaining laps.  I had yet to walk anything slower than 13 minutes.  I finally had a goal that was more specific than upper 30s.  I was focused on finishing 37 laps.

After two more 13 minute laps, I had 140 minutes to walk 10 laps.  Now I just needed to keep my average lap time under 14 minutes.  At FANS, I need to average 14:24 per mile to reach my goal of 100 miles.  I was already determined to keep all my lap times under that pace.  Keeping them under 14 wasn’t that much harder.

Now that I knew how many more laps I was going to do, I effectively changed a fixed time race into a fixed distance race.  I knew I had time for 10 more laps.  Fractional laps don’t count, so I would be done as soon as I finished my 37th lap.  Now I could count them down.

In the late miles of a fixed distance race, I usually find that the late miles seem to take forever.  They seem longer.  Oddly enough, I found that I not only was counting down the remaining laps, but they seemed shorter.  I was clicking them off quickly.  I think it helped that the first two third of each lap were either flat or downhill.  I just had to summon up a big effort to get up the hills at the end of each lap.

The sun was close to its highest angle.  The pavement was heating up.  At times, I could feel the heat rising from the pavement.  I felt like I was getting cooked in three different ways.  I was getting baked by the air, fried by the pavement, and broiled by the sun.  Still, I didn’t slow down.  I just drank more after each lap.  A few laps were slower than 13, but only because I was taking longer to drink at the aid station.

The volunteers were great. They were filling cups will ice cubes and always asked me if I wanted some ice in my bottle.  In the past, I’ve coped with heat by putting ice cubes in my hat.  I didn’t do that in this race.  I knew as the ice melted, the water would run down my back and legs and into my shoes.  I didn’t want to have to cope with the problems that would cause for my feet, so I had to endure the heat without any ice.

It occurred to me at this point that I never noticed that blister again.  I also wasn’t noticing my sore left glute.  I was hot and tired, but those were my only concerns.

On one of my laps, I noticed the scent of manure.  We were on a hobby farm with dozens of horses. Why didn’t I notice the smell before?  Oh yeah.  There was absolutely no breeze before.  I wasn’t fond of the smell, but it meant we were starting to get some wind.  On balance, that was good news.

They had a leader board that listed the top three men and women.  They updated it once per hour.  After six hours, I was trailing the third place male by three laps.  I was surprised I was that close to the leaders.

Over the next few laps, I realized the wind wasn’t such good news after all.  As it blew across the pavement, it picked up heat.  The wind was making me hotter.  Now I felt like I was in a convection oven.

With four laps to go, I wondered if I could endure the heat that long.  In the final hour, it really took a toll on me.  I told myself I that I just needed to finish three laps and then start the fourth one.  That was a psychological trick.  I knew if I started the last lap I would finish it.

The aid station was getting crowed.  Were the others lingering longer at the aid station?  Were they taking longer breaks?  No.  Either they reached their goals and stopped, or they couldn’t take any more of the heat.  Fewer and fewer runners were still on the course.

After my next lap, I found myself getting short of breath as I stopped to drink at the aid station.  Drinking was difficult.  Actually, just standing there was difficult.  As I started my 35th lap, I felt sluggish.  Within 100 feet, I forced myself back into a brisk pace.  Then I felt better.

The next time I reached the aid station, I leaned against the table with one arm while drinking with the other.  I didn’t get as short of breath that way.  It was again difficult to start the next lap, but once I got into my rhythm I was able to continue.

One lap to go.  I drank as quickly as I could, so I could launch myself into that lap before getting too short of breath.  Standing still bothered me much more than walking did.

I had 21 minutes to complete my last lap.  I did it in about 13.  When I got to the last short climb to get back to the aid station, I struggled to get up the hill.  I don’t think I would have been able to do another lap.  I was completely spent.

I crossed the line and stopped my watch.  It took me 7:52:12 to finished 37 laps.  That’s 37.74 miles.  I found a chair and immediately sat down.  One of the volunteers handed me my bottle.  She had refilled it with Tailwind and ice cubes.

One of the other runners brought watermelon balls as a snack.  There were quite a few left over, so he asked me if I wanted some.  I ate five or six.  They were ice cold.  That really hit the spot.

They updated the leader board for the last time.  The same three men had been in the top spots for the last few hours.  They updated their lap counts.  Then they added another name.  My 37th lap lifted me into a tie for third place.  My bib number foretold how high I would place.  As a walker, I never expected to compete with the runners.

After the race, everyone got Darkside insulated mugs.

When I was able to get out of my chair, I visited with a few of the other runners.  A few asked me how long I’ve been race-walking.  I told them about my back surgery and how I couldn’t run for 12 weeks but still needed to finish marathons within the time limits.  Not being able to run was no excuse.  That’s the motto of this club: “No excuses.”

When I was ready, I made my way back to my car.  I still wasn’t noticing any blister pain.

When I got back to the hotel, the woman at the front desk asked me how my race was.  I said, “Hot!”  She asked me if I wanted a bottle of water.  That was nice.  I was dehydrated.  I was also covered from head to toe with salt crystals.

I had another bottle of water in my room.  I put the new bottle in the refrigerator and immediately drank the one that was already cold.  Then I took off my shoes and socks.  In contrast to my last race, there wasn’t any blood.  I had blisters on the heels of both feet, but they weren’t blood blisters and they weren’t unusually painful.

Now I needed to pee.  That was a good sign.  My kidneys were working, and my urine wasn’t dark.  I pushed myself right to my limit in this race, but I was going to be fine.  I just had to work on gradually rehydrating.  I also needed to replace electrolytes.

I had a good effort under tough conditions.  I established a PR for an eight hour walk.  It was also a PR for the farthest I’ve walked.  I answered a few questions about FANS, but not all of them.  After eight hours, my blisters weren’t bad, and my form was still efficient.  Could I have walked for another 16 hours?  Not at this pace.  Can I get through the hot afternoon hours, recover, and keep on through the night?  Not at this pace.  In that race, I need to start at an easier pace.

Race Statistics

Distance:  37.74 miles

Official Time:  8:00:00

Actual Time on Course:  7:52:12

Average Pace:  12:31

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  353

Darkside Races:  8

Race Report: Rock N Roll Savannah Marathon and Peachtree City 50K.

This weekend, I traveled to Savannah, GA to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah Marathon.  The weekend didn’t go the way I expected, but I eventually finished a race.

This was my first trip to Savannah, but I could only stay two nights, as this trip was sandwiched between two longer trips.  I stayed downtown at the Hampton Inn.  A week before the trip, I got an email reminder from the hotel.  When I saw the dates of my reservation, I panicked.  I was flying to Savannah on the 6th and flying home on the 8th, but my hotel reservation was for November 5-7.  Normally, there would have been plenty of time to change the reservation (assuming they weren’t fully booked).  This was a rewards stay (i.e. I used Hilton HHonors points to get two free nights).  Rewards stays can’t be cancelled or changed within 21 days of arrival.  Oops.

I called the hotel.  Because it was a rewards stay, they told me I had to call the corporate number.  I called the HHonors Diamond hotline and they were willing to bend the rules for me, but they had to check with the hotel.  After a few minutes on hold, I found out the hotel was also willing to bend the rules for me.  It was a busy weekend, but they could find a room for me on the 7th.  I don’t think they would have done that if I wasn’t at the top level of their loyalty program.  Loyalty pays.

In the days leading up to this trip, I watched the forecast.  I saw it would get up to 80 degrees during the race.  Given the proximity to the coast, I assumed it would also be humid.  I’ve heard of a number of races that have been cancelled under similar conditions.  I was hopeful that Savannah is used to hot humid weather and would be less likely to overreact.

Then I got an email from the race organizers.  It informed us that it was going to be hot and had advice for coping with the conditions.  I considered this to be a good sign.  They knew it would be hot, but they weren’t cancelling the race.

Earlier in the week, I did a quadzilla in New Mexico.  During those races I was experiencing increasing discomfort in my right leg.  I had three days off to recover, but I didn’t know if that would be enough.  I approached this race the same way as those.  I would run as long as I was comfortable, but I’d switch to walking if running became painful.

Packet pickup was at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center on Hutchinson Island, which is across the Savannah River from downtown.  This was the view from my hotel room.

To get to the expo, I had to take a ferry.  The closest place to board a ferry was a landing behind the town hall.

I chose a restaurant by walking down Bay Street and looking at menus.  I ended up having a BBQ pork pizza at a bar that specialized in BBQ.

The course was point to point, starting downtown on Bay Street and finishing at the south end of Forsyth Park.  The start corrals were right outside my hotel.  This race has a generous time limit, so I was able to carry a camera and take pictures.  I didn’t rent a car, so the race was my only opportunity to do sightseeing outside the downtown area.

In contrast to all my recent races, the weather was warm from the beginning.  The overnight low was 69 degrees, but sky high humidity made it feel much warmer.  Humidity must have been 100 percent.  There was fog everywhere.  I knew it would get into the low 80s by the end of the race.  For once, I didn’t have to worry about keeping my legs warm.  I wore shorts and a singlet from the start.  Knowing it would be warm when I finished, I didn’t need to bother with a gear bag.

In July, I started wearing an elastic bandage to protect my right leg from further injury.  That worked, but caused an imbalance in my stride that caused me to injure my left leg.  In August, I switched to wearing KT tape on both legs.  That worked wonders for my left leg.  My right leg was doing OK until I ran marathons four days in a row.  On the fourth day, pain in my right leg forced me to stop and put on a compression wrap.  The wrap is convenience, because it’s easy to adjust, but it’s hot.  In Saturday’s weather, it wasn’t really an option.  I considered going back to wearing the elastic bandage for this race but made a last-minute decision to stick with the KT tape.

There were 21 start corrals, with staggered start times.  Corral assignments were based on your estimated finish time.  When I entered this race, I was healthy, and I was running much faster.  My estimated finish time was 3:25.  That was a reasonable estimate when I registered, but I can’t run that fast now.  Based on that estimate, I was assigned to corral two.  You’re not allowed to start in front of your assigned corral, but you can move back. I started in corral eight, in part because the entrance to that corral was right in front of my hotel.  That had me starting somewhere in the middle of the pack.

By the time my corral crossed the starting line, roughly 20 minutes had elapsed since the leaders started.  The race is chip timed, so I didn’t think those 20 minutes would be important.  I was wrong.

The course is fairly flat.  I think the biggest hill is about 45 feet.  In the first mile, we went up a ramp, and I could see runners rising ahead of me.  Then they disappeared into the fog.  Did I mention the high humidity?

Because I was in the start area for so long before we started moving, my legs were initially stiff.  In the first few miles, I saw a few runners I knew.  Each time I saw someone I knew, I ran or walked with them so we could chat.  Before I knew it, my legs were feeling better.

The first time I reached an aid station, it was hard to get to a table through all the other runners.  I bypassed the first few tables and got a cup of water from the last table.  Hydrating was important in the oppressive humidity.  Some aid stations had water and Gatorade.  Others just had water.  When Gatorade was available, I drank two cups.

I didn’t check my pace until three miles.  I started a little slower than 10 minutes per mile.  After a few miles, I slowed to 11.  At that pace, I didn’t feel like I was working too hard, but I was covered with sweat.

I had to wait for the fog to burn off before I could take any pictures.  We went by this church after about five miles.

We passed a number of town squares and other green spaces.

Around eight miles, I saw a runner down on the side of the road.  There were already several people attending to him, including a police officer, so I kept running.  From what I could see, he didn’t look good.

Sometimes, as I was approaching an aid stations, I saw volunteers handing out little packets of salt.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in a race.  I eventually noticed the aid stations that only had water were the ones preceded by volunteers handing out salt and/or gel packets.

By the time I ran 10 miles, I was noticing some minor pain in my right leg.  I regretted not wrapping my leg.  To minimize the discomfort, I shortened my stride.  I was able to keep running, but the short stride forced me to slow down.

Just past 11 miles, the course split.  Half marathon runners continued straight, toward the finish in Forsyth Park.  Marathon runners turned left to begin a long out-and-back.  In pre-race announcements, they told us we had to reach this point by 10:30 AM, or we’d have to switch to the half marathon.  I got there before 9:30.

If they were going to shut down the race because of the hot conditions, this would be the easiest place to divert all marathon runners to the half marathon course.  Since they didn’t do that, I assumed at this point we were safe.

Shortly after beginning the out-and-back, I was passed by a pace group.  It was the 4:30 group.  That surprised me, because I didn’t know they were behind me.  I was running slower than a 4:30 pace.  Then it occurred to me that they must have started a few corrals behind me.

Shortly after I saw the 24 mile sign for the return trip, I saw the lead runner.  Eventually, I also saw the second and third place runners.  They were far enough apart that they probably couldn’t see each other.  Eventually, I saw more and more of the faster runners coming back.  After a few dozen faster runners had passed, I saw the 3:30 pace group.  If I was healthy and in the same form as last year, that could have been me already on the way back.

When I reached 14 miles, I saw that I had slowed to 12:30 over the previous mile.  I wasn’t tired, and I wasn’t bothered by the heat.  I had to run that slow to keep from aggravating the groin injury in my right leg.

Next, I saw the 4:30 pace group coming back.  That couldn’t be right.  They just passed me.  How could they suddenly be six miles ahead of me?  Why were they so close to the 3:30 group?  I got my answer soon.

A short distance ahead – at a point where we were supposed to turn left – we were instead directed to make a U turn.  There were race officials and police there, and they weren’t letting anyone turn left.  I learned the race had been “black flagged.”  The race was being called because of the hot conditions.

Runners who had already made the left turn were able to finish the race.  I arrived about nine minutes after they started diverting runners back toward the finish.  I could write a whole post about my thoughts on cancelling races because of heat.  I won’t go into any of that here.  Whether or not I liked it, I wasn’t going to be able to finish this marathon.  For everyone diverted, the course was shorted by about five miles.  Adding insult to injury, we still had to cover roughly six miles to get to the finish, knowing it wouldn’t count.

As upset as I was about the situation, I was also upset with myself.  Because I started in corral eight, I started much later than I would have in corral two.  Had I started in corral two, I probably would have been able to finish the race.

After that, I took a few long walking breaks, while talking to other runners.  Some, like me, were going to miss out on long-term goals.  Others were doing their first marathon.  For one, traveling to this race was an anniversary present.  Everyone was upset and disappointed.  I felt like walking the rest of the way.  My only incentive to keep running was my desire to get to Forsyth Park sooner rather than later.

In those late miles, I compared notes with other runners.  I learned that a runner died.  I think it was the same runner I saw on the ground around eight miles. That, and the large number of runners needing medical attention, contributed to the decision to call the race.

We got from 20 to 23 miles surprisingly fast.  Apparently we also skipped another short out-and-back segment.  After talking to other runners with GPS, I concluded that I actually ran about 19.8 miles of the 26.2 mile course.

When I eventually crossed the finish line, there were volunteers handing out finisher medals, even though we didn’t really finish.  I didn’t take one.  I skipped most of the post-race food.  I had a power bar, a bottle of chocolate milk and a bottle of water.

I skipped most of the finish area and found my way to the tent for the Augusta Striders.  My friend Katie and some of her friends from Augusta were there.  They did the half marathon, so they were already finished.  As I was telling Katie what happened, I started brainstorming.  I tried to come up with a way to make up for this race.

The best plan I could think of was to see if I could fly to Atlanta later in the day.  There was a 50K race in Peachtree City Sunday morning.  Peachtree City is about 25 miles south of the Atlanta Airport.  I was scheduled to fly home Sunday afternoon with a stopover in Atlanta.  My flight segment from Atlanta to Minneapolis was late enough in the day that I could still make that flight if I ran the race Sunday morning.

As I was leaving the park, I bumped into my friends Claire, Peggy and Susan.  Their hotel was in the same general direction as mine, so we left the park together.  I didn’t have my phone with me, but Claire used her phone to do a flight search for me.  There were two flights from Savannah to Atlanta that I could still catch.

After walking back to the hotel, I sent a message to Heather, the RD of the Peachtree City 50K, to find out if I could still get into the race.  I was pretty sure I could register the morning of the race, but I wanted to make sure.

Next, I priced a rental car and hotels in Peachtree City to make sure I could get reasonable rates booking at the last minute.  I was happy with both the rental car and hotel rates.

Finally, I called Delta’s Diamond hotline.  I’m also at the top level of their loyalty program.  I explained that I wanted to fly to Atlanta a day sooner, while retaining the same flight segment home from Atlanta.  Both the 4:45 and 6:00 flights to Atlanta still had seats available.  I wasn’t sure how much it would cost to make the change.

The Delta agent asked me which flight I wanted.  I asked if there was a price difference.  He said, “I can make it the same.”  I liked the sound of that.  Their computer system wasn’t letting him do what he was trying to do, so he needed to call me back.  While I waited, I started packing.  When he called back, I found out he was able to switch me to the 4:45 flight on Saturday, and it didn’t cost me anything.  I think he overrode the pricing for me.  Again, loyalty pays.

I quickly made my hotel and rental car reservations and finished packing.  When I was done, it was a little after 2:00.  That gave me plenty of time to get to the airport.

Throughout this process, I avoided asking myself if I would be able to run another 31 miles on Sunday after running 20 miles on Saturday.  I knew it would be hard on my legs, but I preferred to focus on the travel plans.  If I could get there, I would find a way to run.

I had another program.  I only packed one set of running clothes.  I could rinse them out, but the clothes I wore on Saturday weren’t necessarily appropriate for Sunday’s race.  The weather in Peachtree City was going to be much cooler.  There was also a chance of rain.  Had I realized what I was getting into, I might not have tried.  Fortunately, I didn’t think everything through.  Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.

When I got to the airport, I still hadn’t had much to eat since the race.  I had a late lunch in the food court at the airport.

By the time I arrived in Atlanta and picked up my rental car, it was after 6:00.  It was already getting dark, and it was starting to rain. Fortunately, I already knew my route.  I’ve driven to Peachtree City a few times before.  I also knew my way to the hotel.  It was a Hampton Inn where I had stayed before.

The last time I ran a 50K race, I took almost eight hours to finish.  On that occasion, I was pacing myself conservatively, since I had a race the next day.  This time I was running with tired legs after doing 20 miles the day before.  I had to assume I might need eight hours again.  The race started at 7:30, but there was an early start option.  I could get a 2:00 PM checkout at Hampton Inn, but even with the early start, I anticipated getting back to the hotel later than that.  I would also need time to shower and change into dry clothes after the race.  That would probably take until 3:00 or later.

When I checked in, I explained my situation and asked if I could get a 4:00 PM checkout.  The hotel was going to be fairly full on Sunday, so the employee who checked me in couldn’t make any commitment.  She told me to ask in the morning.

Next I rinsed out all my running clothes, pressed them dry between towels and hung them up to finish drying.  Hotel rooms are usually dry, so I was confident, they’d finish drying by morning.  I removed the insoles from my running shoes to give them a better chance to dry.

It was already past 7:00 when I went to dinner.  I usually go to Mellow Mushroom, but I wanted to try someplace new.  I quick Google Maps search led me to Brixx Wood Fired Pizza, where I had this Caribbean jerk chicken pizza.

I got back at 8:00 and went to bed at 9:00.  I needed to get up early again.  I still needed to register for the race, and I was taking the early start, so I needed to be at Luther Glass Park at 6:00.  Without knowing if I would need to check out in the morning, I also had to allow time to pack.  I set my alarm for 4:15.

When I woke up Sunday morning, the first thing I did was check the weather.  It was worse than I feared.  It was 54 degrees, and that was as warm as it would get.  The temperature would gradually drop into the 40s.  That wouldn’t be so bad, but it was raining, and it looked like there would be intermittent light rain throughout the day.  I didn’t have any warm clothes.  I had to race in shorts and a T-shirt.  I had gloves, but they weren’t good in rainy conditions.  I had some warm-up clothes that I could use as outer layers, but none of them would hold up well in rain.  I had a plastic rain poncho, but it wouldn’t cover my arms or legs well.  It was most helpful for keeping my head and torso dry.  I wore what I had and hoped for the best.  Eight hours in cool rainy conditions with inadequate clothes is my worst nightmare.  I much preferred the heat and humidity in Savannah.

When I spoke to the hotel manager, I got better news.  He was sympathetic to my situation, but mostly he appreciated my Diamond status with Hilton.  Again, loyalty pays.  In the reservation system, he could only give me a 2:00 PM checkout, but told me it wouldn’t be a problem if I needed more time.  That was a relief.  I knew I’d have a chance to change into dry clothes before driving to the airport.

Besides inadequate clothing, I also had inadequate gear.  I would be starting the race in the dark, but I didn’t have a light.  I was also out of KT tape.  I brought a roll that only had enough strips left for Saturday’s race.  Ron Clay solved my light problem by bringing an extra flashlight for me to borrow.  In place of the KT tape, I wore a compression wrap on my right leg.  I got the tension just right.  It allowed me to run with far less discomfort than I’ve had in recent races.  It never felt too tight, and it never came loose.  It stayed in place throughout the race.

Another runner helped me stay dry.  When Henry heard my concerns about inadequate clothing, he lent me a spare raincoat he had in his car.  In addition to keeping my torso dry, it had long sleeves that kept my arms dry.

Peachtree City has an extensive network of paved golf cart paths.  The course was a 5.18 mile loop made up of several of these paths.  There are tunnels under the major streets, allowing us to avoid most of the traffic.  For 50K, we needed to complete this loop six times.

I’ve run other races on this course, but I’ve never started in the dark.  I started with two other runners.  We each had flashlights and helped each other to find the course markings.  We started out walking at a fairly slow pace until there was enough light to see.  That got us about halfway through the first lap.

When there was light, I started running with a few other runners who happened to be passing.  They were doing roughly 12 minute miles.  That was a pace I could run comfortable with the compression wrap.  One of these runners was doing her first 50K.  Her name was Kelly.

Besides the aid station in the start area, there was also one halfway through the loop.  The first time I went by, it was set up, but nobody was there yet.  I filled a cup and drank.  Then I put the cup in my pocket to take it with me.  I didn’t want to waste cups, so I used the same one for the whole race.

I finished my first lap in 1:20.  At that pace, I would need eight hours to complete the race.  It’s worth noting, however, that I started out walking.  I was hopeful my next few laps would be faster if I was mostly running.

I ended up running most of the race with Kelly.  Her pace, conveniently, was just right for me.  It didn’t tire me too much, and it wasn’t hard on my leg.  Our next few laps were faster than the first one.

It wasn’t raining hard, but the rain was always there.  Sometimes, it seemed like the rain would stop, but then it picked up again.  Although my legs were bare, the rain coat kept me warm enough.  When the rain tapered off, I partially unzipped the coat to let out excess heat.  When the rain picked up again, I zipped it up again.  I was able to stay reasonably warm, although I can’t say I was every completely comfortable.

One of the tunnels had a deep puddle that was impossible to avoid.  Over time, other puddles grew and multiplied.  I couldn’t avoid getting my shoes wet.

Kelly occasionally took short walking breaks – usually when she needed to eat a gel.  I let her set the pace and walked when she walked.  Overall, it was a good pace for me.  A couple times, I needed to take bathroom stops.  Kelly went ahead, and I worked to catch up to her.  My ability to pick up the pace was limited, so it sometimes took a while.

By the time we reached our fifth lap, we were slowing down.  Our running pace was slower and we took longer and more frequent walking breaks.  Kelly was getting into the tough miles.  By now, we had covered more than 20 miles.

If you’re not familiar with the loop, it’s sometimes hard to know exactly where you are.  The most obvious landmarks are the tunnels.  There are six on each loop.  Three come within the first two miles.  The last three are fairly close together in the last mile of the loop.  With two laps to go, we had 12 tunnels left.  We started counting them down.

During our fifth lap, the rain picked up.  There was also more wind, and the temperature was dropping.  Henry’s rain coat kept the rain out, but my legs were exposed, and my gloves were wet.  I struggled with the walking breaks.  I needed to run to stay warm.

The fifth lap took as long as my first lap.  My overall time would be well under eight hours, but I wasn’t going to break 7:30.  By biggest concerns, besides finishing, were coping with the cold conditions and getting back to the hotel as soon as I could.

We did much more walking in the last lap.  I was inclined to want to run it, but Kelly had already reached the marathon distance.  She was struggling and needed to do more walking.  I was cold, but I didn’t want to abandon her to run the last five miles by herself in the rain.

In the middle of the loop, there’s a section alongside Lake Peachtree that’s more exposed to the wind.  We walked this section, and the wind was cutting through me like a knife.  My legs were cold, and my hands were almost numb.  Walking so much was killing me, but I didn’t want to say anything.

It was Kelly who said something.  She said, “I’m going to need to walk for a while.  Why don’t you go ahead?”  I was conflicted.  I had wanted to stay with her until the end of the race, but I was suffering with the cold conditions.  She only had about two and a half miles to go, so I knew she’d make it.  I started running.

I couldn’t run fast, but running generated more heat than walking.  I ran for the rest of the race.  When I passed the aid station for the last time, I didn’t stop.  I didn’t need anything else to eat or drink.  I just needed to keep moving.

There’s a short out-and-back section at the end of each lap.  On the first lap, it seems really short.  It seems longer on each subsequent lap.  I think Heather was secretly moving the turnaround point.  As I was finishing the out-and-back, I saw Kelly beginning that section.

Besides the six tunnels, there are also two small bridges. One is in the middle of the loop.  The other is at the beginning of the out-and-back, so you cross that one twice per lap.  As we passed, I told Kelly, “No more tunnels, two bridges. You got this.”  She smiled.  I knew she was OK from there.

I finished in 7:34:30.  All finishers received a medal and a mason jar with the Darkside Running Club logo.  The jar contained hot cocoa mix, marshmallows and a mint.  Most finishers also got T-shirts, but you had to enter in advance to get a shirt.

I couldn’t afford to stay in the finish area.  After taking off Henry’s rain coat, I was freezing.  I put on my plastic rain poncho for the walk to the car.  I was parked across the street in a nearby shopping center.  I walked to the car as quickly as I could and drove back to the hotel.

When I walked into the lobby, I saw the same manager I spoke with in the morning.  It was just a few minutes past 2:00.  He asked me how I felt.  I said, “Slightly hypothermic.”  He told me to take my time.  Everyone at the hotel was supportive.  They all knew my story.  To the hotel staff, I was "the runner."

When I got to my room, I couldn’t open the door.  I didn’t have enough dexterity in my hands to insert the key card.  One of the housekeepers helped me open the door.  Getting undressed was clumsy.  I couldn’t unpin my race bib from my shirt, but that could wait until later.

I originally planned to take a quick shower, but I realized it would take time for my hands to warm up.  I drew a hot bath.  It was hard to gauge the water temperature with my cold hands.  I had to guess.  I had to stay in the tub for about 10 minutes before color returned to my hands.  After that, I was alright.  I got dressed and finished packing as quickly as I could, but it was after 3:00 by the time I checked out.  My flight home wasn’t until 7:10, so I had all the time in the world to get to the airport.

This weekend took a lot out of me.  On Saturday, I ran in heat and humidity for four hours.  On Sunday, I ran in cold rain for seven and a half hours.  I had to run roughly 51 miles before finally finishing a race, but I stayed on schedule.

Saturday's race was cancelled because conditions were deemed too dangerous.  That was a one-size-fits-all decision.  For many people, the heat was dangerous.  For me, it was merely an annoyance.  By contrast, Sunday's conditions were merely annoying for most people, but were probably dangerous for me.

During Sunday’s race, I rarely noticed any discomfort in my right leg.  After taking off the wrap and warming up my legs, I started noticing considerable soreness.  I think I’ll need to wrap it for my next race.  Fortunately, my left leg is doing much better now.  I need to deal with it one race at a time.  This was my 298th marathon or ultra.  Istanbul will be 299.  Flying Monkey will be 300.