Thoughts of a First Time Ultra-runner
By George Wortley, MD
I am living proof that just about anyone is capable of finishing a 50K trail run. It was not fast or pretty but I did cross the finishline. David asked me to put down my thoughts on running my first ultra. The first question is why run an ultra marathon? I have never been a “runner”. Running is not something that comes naturally. My running gait was awkward and my biomechanics are poor. Running was never comfortable. I have always been a relatively active person with hiking, cross country skiing and canoeing but never running. Now I find myself 48 years old, 200 lbs. and mildly short of breath climbing several flights of stairs. My job requires 60 to 80 hours a week plus on call every forth night and weekend. I could justify by poor condition by saying to myself “I have no time to exercise”. But I knew better than that. As a Family Physician I am frequently advising my patients to get more exercise. I know the importance of regular physical exercise. In January 1999 I made a commitment to myself to get back into condition.
The first time I tried to run to the end my driveway, about a half mile, I had to stop twice to catch my breath. Gradually I worked up to one mile, then two miles and finally 2 and a half miles at a time. After doing this 2 and a half mile run five days a week, I attempted some longer runs in the National Forest near my home in Big Island. First it was a five mile run on the Appalachian Trail, then seven, ten and eventually twelve mile runs on the weekend. Finding time was the most difficult part. I usually got up at 5:30 AM to be at the hospital by 7AM. On days that I ran I would get up at 4:45 AM. Needless to say I always ran alone. (In retrospect I can not remember anytime in the past year that I ever run with any other person prior to the Holiday Lake 50K) One problem of running alone is that I had no concept of pace or when to walk. I would plod along at my slow, steady pace and enjoy the scenery and wildlife. The health benefits were obvious. I had lost 15 lbs. (while eating more) and my daytime energy levels we at an all time high thanks to the endorphins. Somehow less sleep plus more exercise equaled more energy.
I am not sure why I wanted to attempt my first Ultra. Perhaps it was the physical challenge. Maybe it was the intellectual challenge of seeing if I could do it. If I could find the time to train and complete an Ultra then just about anyone could if they had the desire. In the fall of 1999 I told David Horton that I was thinking about running his Holiday Lake 50 K. For several years I have been the Medical Director for David’s races but have never run any race before. Not even a 5K fun run. David gave me lots of helpful hints (better shoes) and the start of a training plan. Finding time for the long runs (20 miles) was difficult. The snowy weather for several weeks before the race made running more difficult. Two weeks before the race I found myself trying to run in thigh high snow on Highcock Knob. Little did I know that I would be good practice for the stream crossing on the Holiday Lake 50K. The poor weather plus spending the week before the race at a Medical Meeting in Colorado did interfere a bit with my training routine. Trying to run in Breckenridge, Colorado, Elevation 10,000 ft, was an eye opener. Even climbing steps required effort.
Race weekend arrived. As usual I was late getting out of the office on Friday. I did not arrive at the Holiday Lake 4H Center until 8 PM. Dinner was almost over. I got the last plate of spaghetti. David pointed me out to the crowd of “real runners” at the race brief and told them to urge me onward during the race and most importantly “Don’t let him quit”. No pressure! We then learned that the race course was really more like 35 miles rather than 50K. I was coming face to face with the concept of “Horton Miles”. That night David gave me some last minute advise on what cloths to wear (less is better) and making best use of the aid stations (get out as quickly as you can). I slept poorly the night before the race. I kept thinking that I am in way over my head with this event. My pace is way too slow and I have never attempted anything like this in my life. When the wake up call went out at 5:30 AM it was pouring rain.
I lined up at the back of the pack at the start. The trail was very muddy but at least it had stopped raining. I have always run alone and I preferred to run solo during the race. I like the solitude of a long run but in retrospect I would have been better off to run along with some other people. Never having done anything remotely similar to this I could have used the help with pace and knowing when to walk. At aid station 4 I encountered the oncoming front runners. Most of them knew me from my past role as race physician. They all encouraged me on. It felt real good. At the State park the oncoming runners told me I had “about 1 mile to go” to the half way point any only 10 minutes to get there before the cut off time. It was now time to dig down and get going or the dream would be over. I pass several runners on the long muddy hill. As I crossed the midway point Nancy Horton told me I had better get started on the second half since I had just made the cut off by “2 seconds”. I was not really sure if I actually made the cut off or if she was being kind to me and spotting me a few minutes so that I could go on. Several runners who had gotten there before me we dropping out. I never considered stopping at the halfway point. It would have been real easy but David had pointed me out to the crowd the night before and told them “don’t let him quit”. If I ever wanted to show my face at any race again I had better go on.
The second half was tougher. I was tired, sore and my right foot was beginning to get a little sore. I was trying to “pick up the pace” With no other runners in sight I probably ran more than I should have up several hills. At the big stream crossing I was within 100 yards of a group of what looked like 6 runners. Rather than walk the log I ran through the knee deep water. It was refreshing and it did clean about 2 pounds of mud off my shoes. Check point 7 has a noon cut off time. As approached the aid station a group of about six runners were leaving. It was 11:48AM. I had made the cut off. My next decision was weather to try to catch the group ahead of me and try to “draft” off their experience or continue my own pace. I feared that if I sprinted to catch them I would be too exhausted to continue. That was last I saw of any other runners until the finish line. I remember several reoccurring thoughts during those final miles. While my body was hurting, I was too close to finishing to give up. “Don’t let the dream die now” I kept telling my self. I kept thinking about all those cold, dark mornings at 4:45 AM when I got up to run. Was it as for nothing? About a month prior I had attended a Sports Medicine meeting. One of the lectures was on the neurobiology of pain in athletes. Its title was “Does Pain Limit Endurance Performance?” I thought “How Obvious”. They should have named it “Does A Bear Shit in the Woods?”
Checkpoint 9, the final aid station before the finish. “How far? I ask. “Three and a half miles” the answer. “How much time?” “Fifty minutes.” Unless those are Horton miles I have a chance of finishing. The last mile is a quagmire of mud.. There looked to be a way that I could bypass the mud and shorten the course by a half mile if I cut across a field. “No, I better not. Do not want to be DQ’ed at this point in the race.” As I came down the final hill I saw several runners at their cars. Someone shouted “looking good”. They started applauding. It felt real good. As I approached the finish line David Horton was there cheering me on. He got out his camera. I started to sprint the last 50 yards. “Don’t hurt yourself,” he shouts. As a cross the finish line David says, “you are now an ultramarathoner.” But then he said “You missed the finish time by 7 minutes. If it was dry day you would have had it.” It actually made little difference to me that I had finished in 7:37 rather than 7:30. I HAD FINISHED !
At the time I finished I only felt fatigue. No sore bones or joints. I drove home and took a shower. As I stepped out of my shoes I noticed a pain in the outer aspect of my right foot. I ate dinner and went to bed. The next day my foot was swollen and really sore. I was scheduled to work 12 hours at an Urgent Care Center in Lynchburg on the day following the race. I limped from room to room for 12 hours. That was almost harder than the race. Later that night I had my foot x-rayed. I have a small fracture in the fifth metatarsal.
Was it all worth it? Yes. I am now in the best physical condition of my life. (Ignoring the sore foot) I have proven to myself that I have the physical and mental discipline to complete an ultramarathon. I have discovered many beautiful trails, formerly unknown to me, to run on. I think I have a much better understanding of exercise promotion and running injuries. Would I do it again? Yes. Next time I would do it for time rather than just to finish. I still need to learn much more about race pace. I write this with the hope that some other middle aged, overweight couch potato will take up the challenge and go for the “Dream”. IT IS POSSIBLE. GO FOR IT!