JFK 50 Mile (alternate title: Survivor AT)

After proving my qualifying time and receiving an acceptance earlier this summer, goals for fall running changed. I no longer thought about setting personal records in Hampton, Newport or Thunder Road. Those marathons were now training for the JFK 50.

I made plans to run with 2 fantastic women: Katie, who I met during the early miles of my first 50 miler, and Monica, a coworker turned race partner who completed 2 Ironman races alongside training for this event.  We are all self-admitted “girly girls”, so it wasn’t surprising to find ourselves wearing the same shade of pink shirts on race morning- totally unplanned, very fun!

No headphones allowed due to terrain

Walking a half mile or so to the start from the briefing area reminded me very much of the walk to the start of the Boston Marathon- nervous tension in the air, excited chatter among participants. The first 5K was a steep road incline that gained 1100 feet in elevation. By the start of the Appalachian Trail (AT) section, we were all gasping for air. I had a reality check when someone mentioned the Alpine Rescue Team’s availability for injured runners on “the mountain”…in my mind, we were just going to be on a big hill, not an actual mountain.

I’m no expert at technical trail, but it was immediately apparent that the best preparation I had for this portion was all of the hiking Trey and I did in New Hampshire last month. The terrain was similar to the rocky single track at Mount Monadnock, only this had a layer of freshly fallen leaves that made the path difficult to navigate. I felt like I slipped or turned my ankle every third step and was forced to go frustratingly slow. Seeing folks ahead stumble and hearing several hard falls behind did not help confidence. We learned later that medic had to provide a number of stitches for wounds and splints for broken bones. I just wanted to get off the trail in one piece, at whatever pace. Flashbacks of friends saying, “you’re running the Appalachian Trail?” months prior now made sense.

After about 4 hours, we got off the trail at mile 17 (yeah- you read that right, math major) we finally began the canal towpath portion. Why do people complain about this section? Scenery along the Potomac River was beautiful, the surface was forgiving…and after flirting with death on the switchbacks coming down the mountain, it provided a nice opportunity to relax.

If you get to the aid station that completes the towpath after 3pm, the policy is that you have to wear a reflective vest the rest of the way. The one handed to me was bright orange and horrible. Didn’t these people know I was trying to look cute during all 50 miles?

How do I feel? Like I’ve been hit by a truck.

The course description in the JFK entry mentions “gently rolling” roads during the final segment. After 42 miles, these roads were not gentle to my already beat up legs in the slightest. My body didn’t begin hurting until this point- the combintion of the hills with the hard surface was brutal. Even though it was painful, I still felt better than a lot of folks we saw (or maybe we looked that bad too and just didn’t know it?!). A testament to incorporating crossfit into race training, we passed at least 20 people in the final miles. Since I’ve already completed B&A Trail Marathon, this didn’t count as my Maryland…but that didn’t damper my excitement when I finished mid pack in 11:07:39.