I uploaded to my blog page as well, but here it is:

The North Coast 24 Hour Endurance Run is a 12/24 hour race held in Edgewater Park in Cleveland along Lake Erie every Spring and Fall. The course is a .9 mile loop with relatively little elevation change.

I ran the Fall North Coast 24 last year on a whim, registering less than 4 weeks before the race. I never planned on running an ultra, but this race had been a gathering of folks I had met through an online running forum and I had a long run planned that weekend anyway, so I decided to sign up and see what I could do. I would up running 55.1 miles last year, although I didn’t go the full 24 hours. The best memories from that race weren’t of the miles I ran, but the people I got meet in person. We had the biggest, and most supportive group of the race. Once that race was over, I knew I would want to go back again and see what I could really do. I also caught the ultra bug and signed up for another 24 hour race in May 2013 and a 50 miler a month after that.

I was able to run 75 miles in that Spring 24 and it made me wonder what I could do on the paved, flat loop at Edgewater. Especially with several more months of training time ahead. NC24 would be my goal race, and I was going to set my goal at 100 miles. Training went fairly well, although I only had around 14 weeks to recover from the 50 miler, and turn my sites on this race. The biggest issue I ran into was the heat during the weekend long runs. I had to cut a few 6 hour runs at 4-4:30 because I just couldn’t cool down and was losing fluids at a much faster rate than I could replace them. Otherwise, I was able to complete the long runs without dropping due to leg fatigue or digestive issues.

I was able to talk Shannon and Casey into coming along this time to be my personal crew. At least that’s what I told them. But the ulterior motive is that I wanted them to be there to celebrate with me if I was able to complete the 100, and otherwise just motivate me to keep moving. They did their job well, with Shannon filling my bottles and getting me out of the aid station before getting too comfortable, and Casey meeting me with high-fives, fist bumps and motivational pictures on his whiteboard.

We drove up Friday and met the group at the park pavilion for pizza and to catch up. This was one of the things I was really looking forward to since leaving the park after the last race. It’s such a fun, low-key and supportive group. We had things to rally behind in the past year and seeing each other in person that night, or on race day was extra special.

Saturday morning we got to the park at around 7:30, 90 minutes before the start, to set up the tent, pick up the race packet, and hang out with everyone before the race. It was already overcast and starting to sprinkle. The weather report called for rain throughout the morning and starting to clear up in the afternoon. There were a lot of optimistic voices hoping the rain would go away sooner rather than later. A few minutes before the start we made our way to the start line. I was excited to get going, but not at all nervous. The race director said GO! and we were off.

The start of an ultra is always funny to me. I guess after running so many “normal” races, a start where most of the runners are in no hurry to bust out of the starting line is still novel.

I felt great through the first few laps. No fatigue left over from training and no sudden aches. It was pretty much pouring after a while, but I run well in the rain if it’s not too cold. I was hitting a good pace and didn’t feel like taking any early walk breaks. I knew I would need to settle in to an easier pace and start walking for a minute or so each lap, but I wanted to keep the good mojo going, so I kept this pace for the first hour.

At around the 8^th lap I was still on cruise control, but added a minute of walking each lap. There is a small “hill” on the course that is hardly noticeable early in the race, although it becomes Mt Everest by the next morning. I decided this is where I would start my walk break each lap and picked the run back up at a set of pull-up bars that were about a minute and a half walk away. This would make it easier once it got dark and I wouldn’t want to check my watch to see when it would be time to pick the pace back up.

I kept up the pace through the morning and into the afternoon. At around 1pm the rain let up and the sun came out. I knew I was running a little too fast, but I felt good and once the rain stopped, and I changed my shoes, socks and shirt, I was just having fun out there. I don’t know when the last time was that I got that much joy from “just” running. The sun was out, the lake was gorgeous and I was surrounded by great people.

Shannon was going to make a Chipotle run and asked if I wanted anything. At first I said no, as I had planned on what aid station food I was going to eat, and when. But I decided it couldn’t hurt and asked for a burrito with just rice, black beans, guacamole and sour cream. After a few laps she was back and I sat down for only the second time since before the race. Now, to hear legend tell it, this burrito was of gargantuan proportions. If all of that rice was dry, it would have absorbed all of the water in Lake Eire. It might have grown legs and destroyed the greater Cleveland area, had I not slaughtered it in a few bites. Also, it was delicious. And I knew I wouldn’t have an issue storing enough calories for the next few hours of the race, or much of the following week.

I got back out on the track and was happy to feel no immediate effects from the burrito. It became overcast again and started to sprinkle, much to the groans of the runners, but luckily the rain was short lived. At around 30 miles my legs had started feeling heavier. It wasn’t really anything unexpected, just the beginning of the fatigue that would be there for the rest of the race.

As the day wore on, the pace started slowing down and the walk breaks extended beyond the pull-up bars. Still, by the time the siren blew out, signaling that the 12 hour race was over, I had 55 miles. “Just” 45 to go to 100.

The moon poked in and out of the clouds. At around 10pm there were fireworks in the distance over the Indians’ stadium. My legs were OK, but my feet and ankles were really starting to feel beat up. My right quad was tight as well, but I knew that would pass. The feet thing seems to hit at about 35 miles in every ultra I have run. It isn’t a feeling like Plantar Fasciitis, but rather like someone had taken a cane to the bottom of them for several hours.

Over next couple of hours, I started to really feel the effects of the early pace. The lead seemed to fill the legs quickly. I was walking more and more and there wasn’t much “joy” left. I took breaks at the aid station to sit down and was having a harder time getting back up. At around 1am a couple of friends suggested going to the med tent to get stretched out. One of the heroes of the race is Dr Lovy. He and his med students work wonders year after year. Normally I would have just dismissed the suggestion to ask for their help, but I knew several runners who stopped by and, after 10 minutes of stretching, felt like a new person. I decided to gut through one more lap and then stop by the med tent. The attendant that worked on me was awesome. He put me through a series of stretched for my legs, and noticed some spasms that suggested a Potassium deficiency. He suggested I eat a banana from the aid station on my way out. My legs felt better and I headed back out to keep on.

After another couple of laps I was still slowing down. Although my legs felt better, there wasn’t much I could do for my feet and ankles. I sat in our aid station for a while and started to resign myself to the fact that the clock was ticking and I wasn’t moving fast enough toward my goal.

My friend Sue, who is an amazing ultra runner and had won the race last year, had some early issues and had to abandon her plans by the time the afternoon rolled around. It was disappointing because I was looking forward to witnessing another great performance from her this year and she looked so fast and comfortable early in the day. She came in while I was chilling out and asked if I could do some laps with her so we could chat for awhile. I looked forward to having some time to talk to Sue so I said OK and headed out. I was too tired to see through her ulterior motives. Sue had recovered from her earlier issues and set off at a good clip, which I felt obliged to keep up with. We talked for a while and I wasn’t really noticing that we were running so fast and I didn’t really feel the pain in my legs. I didn’t realize at that point that Sue was trying to pace me back to life. We ran around 4 laps together and I started to believe again that I still had a chance at 100. Sue broke off to help another runner from our group and I kept at it for a few more laps. With 7 hours ago, I had 70 miles done, 30 to go. 30 miles in 7 hours would have been easy, had I not already run 70. I still ran as much as I could for a few more miles, but my left shin was starting to lock up and my feet felt like clubs slapping against the ground. The negative voices in my head were winning.

The wind rolling off the lake was insane. It definitely didn’t help the cause. The stretch of path that went toward the lake felt like running straight uphill. I got back to our site and sat for a while. The wind was cold and cruel. It was at that point that I decided I would rather do what felt comfortable for the rest of the race and enjoy every step, rather than take a shot at the pretty much gone goal. I slipped into the tent to warm up for a few minutes. Shannon and Casey were in there catching some sleep so I laid down as well. Shannon graciously let me slip into the sleeping bag, and she went out to see if she could help anyone still on the course. I napped for, I dunno, 30 minutes or so before Shannon came to wake me up. It was hard as hell to get out of that tent! But I changed shirt, shoes and socks and got going.

At this point I just wanted to do what I could. The goal had long slipped away, so I walked when I was tired of running, and ran when I was tired of walking. I stopped at our site to sit down for a little while and my friend Angela (who was in this race despite being 7 ½ months pregnant) asked if I wanted to walk some laps with her. We strolled through 3 or so laps talking about all kinds of things, and it was awesome. Then another friend, Katrina, joined us and we walked a few more laps talking and laughing. Katrina has been a huge influence on my progress in ultra running this year and it was great to get to talk about running and joke around for a little while. Then our friends Elwin and Jen joined us and we finished up the last hour of the race. With about 15 minutes left they give you blocks with your bib number that you place at your feet when the siren goes off. This allows the officials to count partial mileage for an incomplete final lap. When they tried to hand mine, I said “no thanks, I’m done.” This was met with so much disapproval from my friends that I reluctantly changed my mind and grabbed my block.  We continued walking, and with around 2 minutes left, Katrina and I picked it up and ran until the siren rang out signaling the end of the race. We all put our blocks down where we stood and started the zombie march back to the aid station.

Afterward we had breakfast and said our goodbyes. Shannon and Casey had already taken down camp and were ready to go. Katrina had to leave right after the race and I stepped away without saying goodbye, I wish I had thought about it at the time and had the chance to say goodbye. Looking forward to seeing many of the same faces next month for the Towpath Marathon along the Cuyahoga.

I finished with 85.3 miles officially. 15 off my goal. 30^th place overall. The lap splits came out today and through the first 30 laps, 27 miles, I averaged 10:30 per lap. In contrast, laps 31-50 averaged 13:02 per lap. I went out way too damned fast and eventually paid for it. It stings a little today, but it’s a lesson learned. Perhaps it was a bit arrogant to go for 100 in 24 hours in my fourth Ultra. Can’t go back now and redo anything in training, or re-run the first 30 miles or the last 7 hours of the race. I do think I was prepared, just executed poorly.

That aside, it was a wonderful experience and what counts is seeing friends, having some laughs and cursing the fury of Lake Eire once again. To the runners, there were some great performances out there and I’m impressed by every one of you. To the best crew in Ultrarunning, thanks for everything…the encouraging words, the stacks of Pringles, the chilled fruit when it got hot and the hot coffee when it got cold, and all of your support. Most importantly, thanks to Shannon and Casey, my personal crew, for braving the long drive, the unpredictable weather, the Bates Motel, and the weekends in the Spring and Summer where I would disappear for 4-6 hours, only to come home sweaty and tired. I told you I wanted you to come because I needed your help filling bottles, etc, but I just wanted you there so I could see your faces when I passes lap after lap. Thanks for the cheers and fistbumps, and your support.

One of the reasons I think it's good for folks to write race reports is that we all learn from each other.  What went well?  What went wrong?  What was great?  What sucked something awful?  Yours included a lot of detail that will help someone who hasn't run a really long race.  I'm planning to do a 24 hour race at some point in my life and reading race reports from those who have run in them is probably more valuable than hanging out on an ultra running forum.  Thanks for posting.

One of the reasons I think it's good for folks to write race reports is that we all learn from each other.  What went well?  What went wrong?  What was great?  What sucked something awful?  Yours included a lot of detail that will help someone who hasn't run a really long race.  I'm planning to do a 24 hour race at some point in my life and reading race reports from those who have run in them is probably more valuable than hanging out on an ultra running forum.  Thanks for posting.

Brad, my suggestion is to not just run one. Plan to run 2 or 3 at least. The tricks are these:

1. No one can tell you exactly how you are going feel at any point in the race. YMMV is the golden rule here.

2-4 I have 3 points here, but they're so intertwined that I want to tie them together. 2-If you're a decent runner, you're going to pick a tough goal in your first race and it's very possible you will fail (see #1). 3-That goal will seem extremely do-able until the very second you realize it's slipped through your hands. 4-Anything can happen. While 24 hours seems to be almost arbitrarily tied to 100 miles, there is a fact that in reality ties the two together. Anything can happen in the first 3 hours, or 20ish miles, that will end your race there and then. Look up Anton Krupika at the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc last month. Any amount of training can' prevent a disaster from happening.You can survive a small disaster in a 5k-marathon. But when you're looking at miles and hours to go, it completely crumbles your mental Jenga.

5 Forget 2-4. There is always a mental capacity to overcome any disaster. It's just that the odds are against us, especially as the race gets longer and longer.

6-Nothing like being scared as hell of a goal.

7-Nothing like reaching that failure, and turning around to plan on how you will triumph next time.

8-None of this matters when you're surrounded by amazing people.

Van, 2014 will be another Ultra year for sure. I have a marathon plan that might or might not play out. But if it doesn't, I have 2 Spring ultras to build upon, and the Fall is a blank slate. I'm only more driven by this, not discouraged (beyond these few days of moping and self-pity). Whatever it takes, the two ends of my belt will find a piece of hardware to tie them together soon ;-)

Great job, Eric. I enjoyed reading your RR and it sounds like everyone had a lot of fun. I did the Equalizer Run 24hr race last year when I was woefully underprepared. I'll be doing it again this year as it was a blast. Your RR will help me be mindful of not going out too fast. NC24 sounds like a fun event and I just might have to put it on my calendar for next year! Thanks for sharing the RR.

Eric

Eric, every time you passed me, you looked so focused.  Yes, you would smile if you saw me (I loved the picture I got of you devouring skittles), but otherwise you always seemed very intent on the task at hand.  And you looked good, right up to the end.

Those were very rough weather conditions.  It's one thing to run for a couple of hours in rain, cold, and wind, it's another thing to run for hour after hour in it.  And the wind when it comes off Lake Erie is a particular kind of nasty.

Maybe the trick next year is to eat TWO giant burritos?  LOL.

I expect you back next year (we've GOT to be due for some better weather next year, right?) to get that 100.  Plus we have to hang out some more.

85 miles is nothing to sneeze at!   That's great.   And I am impressed by the large burrito comsumption wihtout issues lol

Awesome Eric..and 85 miles..wow