You're Going to Run How Far?

When you tell a person you're a runner most of them respond with something along the lines of "I only run if I being chased," or "you're crazy." Ever since I started telling people I am going to run a 50 mile race, I have heard a lot more of the later. Maybe I am crazy? To be honest if you would have asked me a few years ago to run 50 miles I would have said you're crazy!

I grew up in a house where both of my parents were runners. My mother mostly ran for fitness doing three to five miles five days a week. My father, on the other hand, was much more competitive. He was the "Marathon Man!" Growing up, he did at least one marathon a year if not more. The California International Marathon is the most notable. He has run and finished all 26 of them. Last year he even won 3rd place in his age group. As a kid, I use to love going to watch him run the CIM. We had our ritual every year. My mom and I would drive and park about a mile from the start. We would climb up a small hill and wait for the hoards of runners to come streaming down the hill and make the first turn of the race. Clapping and cheering I would anxiously scan the crowd looking for my dad's red bandanna. If I didn't spot him first, he would yell up to us and we would go crazy screaming his name. Once he passed, we would keep cheering on the other runners. My mom would say over and over "look at them, they just keep coming!" When all the runners had passed, it was time to go and get breakfast. On to McDonald's to get the hotcake and sausage meal with hot chocolate and a box of cookies to go. Now I know that doesn't sound like the greatest breakfast, but fast food was a rarity in my house so this was the equivalent of going to the most expensive restaurant in town in my eyes! With our bellies full, we would continue on to the finish line. The CIM ends at the State Capital so parking was always a bit challenging. I remember making quite a few trips around the block before we would find a space. Once we got to the finish line there was nothing to do but wait anxiously. This was always hard for me. It was usually pretty cold and I was eager to see my dad finish. When the time clock started approaching a certain time, my mom would always say, "keep an eye out, he could be coming any time now." If too much time went by, I would start to worry that something had happened to him. That's the thing when you run 26.2 miles, there is always that chance you might have to drop out. Thankfully that has never happened to him and sure enough I would see him coming down the street. I'd hoop and holler, yelling "Go Rubber Duckie!" (the nickname came from a marathon year that it was pouring rain, I was like four or five and for some reason I thought it would be funny to call him a rubber duckie. Stupid, I know, but it stuck and I still say it today.) After he ran across the finish line, I'd run to congratulate him. We'd all take pictures and he would give a detailed account of the entire race. To this day, I still can't wait for the first Sunday in December so I can go cheer Dad on at the CIM.

People would always ask me if I was a runner like my dad. Up until four years ago I would always respond with, "Heck no, he's crazy! I would never want to run a marathon." Let's just say I've changed my mind since then. I started running at the end of 2005 as a way to lose weight. My sister also started running. She decided she was going to try a marathon. Well I certainly was not about to be outdone by her, so I too said I would run one. Then my mom got on board (she had previously run three other marathons, 2 CIM's and the Boston). So all four of us trained, ran, and finished the 2006 CIM. I finished in 4:30, thirty minutes faster than I had anticipated. I wouldn't say that I was hooked on marathons at that point, but I was definitely intrigued. I ran and finished the 2007 CIM the following year but it was an extremely heartbreaking race. Based on my training, I thought I could do it in about 4:15. This turned out not to be the case. For some reason it just wasn't my day. My body basically quit on me about nine miles in. To this day I do not know how I was able to finish only 6 minutes slower than the previous year. At that point I decided I was going to stick to shorter distances. That was until I read an article in my Runner's World magazine about ultra marathons. Basically any distance over 26.2 miles is considered an ultra. It gave a five month training plan and recommended some of the best races to do. As I continued to read, I found the Helen Klein Classic. An easy 50 miler along the American River bike trail that encouraged first time runners. Some how I got it in my head that I could do this. So am I crazy? Probably! But on October 31, 2009 I am going to challenge myself to do the impossible. I am going to run 50 miles in less than 12 hours!

I hope you will join me throughout these next five months. I'll take any support and encouragment I can get. So here's to 50 miles! Cheers!