Running an Ultra Marathon
I did it on a whim. A week and a half after running the New York City Marathon I signed up for what would end up being my first ultra. It was fueled mostly by a mixture of exercise withdrawal and anxiety. I remember shaking as I registered for the 50k. My mind said, “It’s only five miles more than a marathon”. While my body said, “You need to give me a break”.
The race directors of the ‘BUS Fat Ass Trail Mixup’ were nice enough to give you the option of either running a 30k or a 50k. Either way you’d go home with a trophy and the 30k was no less formidable given the nature of the course. I nervously texted my friend about the possibility of running my age in miles. He only responded with “Wow! That’s a lot!”.
The race was in Alley Pond Park in ‘Little Neck’ along the border of Queens and Long Island. For some reason there were 122 registrants this year instead of the usual 40-50. This wasn’t your typical big city race with timing chips, aid stations at each mile, or even a course map. The race director sent a rather lengthy email with the details of the course. I read it three times and still felt like I had no idea what was going on.
On race day I overheard other runners talking about how they’ve been running ultras for decades. “Do you think you’ll do Badwater again?”, was something that was just a casual question. I knew I was in trouble but it was too late. There were arrows along the course, so there was no question of just zoning out and following the crowd. The course had a total of 10 loops. The first four were a mix of trail and asphalt, the next four only asphalt and the last two were tiny loops around the staging area. Since there were no timing chips, you had to make sure the volunteers at the staging area noted your number every time you passed by.
The first loop is always the easiest. The so called ‘formidable incline’ was barely reminiscent of ‘Cat Hill’. “I can totally do this”, I thought to myself. I can’t tell you how much my opinion changed by mile 23 or the race. The trail section was less technical than I expected it to be. Hiking in the Adirondacks with the fear of heights, and in Bear Mountain in ankle deep snow has prepared me to expect the worst from any kind of trail experience. The trail section slowed me down considerably but I honestly enjoyed that part of the race the most. A bunch of people missed a couple of arrows and got lost. The woman running in front of me kept dropping her things and nearly slipped. I didn’t even have trail running shoes, and I can attest that Brooks Ghost7 GTX shoes are tougher and more trail ready than they’re given credit for.
I enjoyed not having screaming supporters along the course. There was no one saying “Almost there! You got this!”. At times I was all alone in the woods for long stretches of time not knowing if I was going to finish within the 8 hour time limit. The camaraderie was moving. The fastest runners acknowledge and respect the slow ones irrespective of what record they’re trying to set. There was no prize money; just a small group of people who love running for its own sake.
I was there for probably 7 hours and 36 minutes or so. My GPS didn’t work and there was one clock at the staging area. In a marathon the fastest person has the advantage, while in an ultra it’s all about experience and mental fortitude. It’s going to hurt but after the marathon mark you stop caring and so does your body.
How did I feel after doing it?
Joyful! I no longer felt the need to justify my life choices to anyone and that was powerful and liberating.
Different. I can’t put my finger on it, but something about me has changed; the way I think, the way I feel, and the way I move. I’m not ready to declare whether this is a good or a bad thing, but it’s something I can get used to.
I’ve promised myself that I will focus on speed and strength and learning new things next year, but I can’t guarantee that the woods won’t beckon anytime soon.
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