My race report and lessons learned on my endurance quest
Ross A. Hauser

Wow, what a journey! I am a different person now compared to when I started seriously exercising back in 2001 with my wife Marion. If we are both honest, we starting jogging to get in shape because we had both gained 20 plus pounds since our college days! Career took over and we took no time for ourselves. We worked all the time – day and night. So yes, our first jog around the track was about 800 meters - that was it! In 2001, we were doing short races such as 5K and 10K’s and by 2002, we were doing marathons!

In my quest to qualify for the Boston Marathon, I made some training errors and this led to a stress fracture of my left tibia. Not wanting to lose the marathon shape I had taken two years to develop, I finally decided to really learn how to swim. Thanks to my buddy Tim Kenny who directed me to the Total Immersion training method and the help of my coach at the time, Michelle Hedden, one marvelous day in 2003 I was swimming!

Tim Kenny and other buddies talked me into my first triathlons that year. With a close family friend, Peter Blakemore, having one year between college and medical school to work at Caring Medical, he and I decided to sign up for the Ironman Triathlon. I had just learned to swim and he did not know how to swim. I had not ridden a bike since high school and he had ridden his alone across the country. Like fools, we signed up for the 2004 Coeur d’Alene Ironman. Looking back on that, how dumb could we be? Seriously! We had many memorable training experiences and through the grace of God we both completed the Ironman race. In the end, I got a medal and he got a wife! It’s a long story, but we stayed at the home of some long time friends out in Idaho (the Puller family) when we did our practice training. Krista Puller helped us both during the training for the race and at the race itself. She and Peter corresponded after the race via email and phone. They eventually fell in love and got married and now have a daughter Petra and second child on the way. Peter pursued family life after the Ironman, but I continued on the athletic quest.

After completing an ironman each year for five years, I realized that for me to get my times below 12 hours and then 11 hours, it would take more dedication and time than I could give. So after the 13 hour Lake Placid Ironman in 2008 during the torrential rain, I was completed done with the whole Ironman quest. In 2009, with the help of running buddies and my main training partner at the time Jim Donegan, I started cycling a lot and was able to do several endurance bike events including a 177 mile, 20,000 feet of climbing event called the Dairyland Dare. Because I again was in good endurance shape, I decided to attempt my first 50 mile running event, the Glacial Trail 50 miler! I had a great event in September 2009, completing the course and the 10,000 feet of climbing just under the cutoff of 12 hours. This then led to a patient of ours, Sam Rizk, who was 69 years old at the time, talking me into signing up for the Umstead 100 mile ultramarathon race. Sam had done the race three times, with his best time being just over 27 hours.

The course is run at the Umstead State Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. The website is www.umstead100.org. It involves eight 12.5 mile loops, with a total elevation change of 8,000 feet. So after doing a lot of endurance training over the winter here in Chicago, I showed up at the race on March 27, 2010 ready to run 100 miles. To give one an example of my training, I did runs of 25 miles, 27, 32, and forty miles! I definitely put in the two months of running involving 50-70 miles/week with my longest week being 98 miles! I rested for two weeks before the event, so I was trained and ready! Thanks to my coach Giulia Isetti (www.coachingbyg.com). Also many friends encouraged me and trained with me. A special thanks to Marion, Karen and Charlie who were my crew, but also some of my most faithful training buds. Of course, Jim Donegan couldn’t have been more supportive! Thanks Jim!

Doing a 100 mile event is complicated and unfortunately I really didn’t know what I was getting into (nor did my crew). We figured I would average about 12:40-12:50 minutes per mile, so each 12.5 mile loop would take approximately 2:45. Unfortunately, this was too fast a pace to maintain for 24 hours. I could have only known this by doing it, however! As they say, hindsight is 20/20! The race day weather was perfect for running, but extremely cold for my crew! You think it is rough watching your loved one do a marathon? Imagine four back to back marathons! This particular race would not allow your crew run with you until you were at the 50 mile mark! Marion, Charlie, and Karen, however, helped me after each loop and of course encouraged me at Aid station number 2 which was at the half way point of each loop! Their day was spent going back and forth between mile 6 and 12 – all day long.

The race started at 6AM and just before the start, we took pictures with everyone, including Sam! Another patient of Caring Medical, Billy and his wife, also were there to encourage us! It was awesome, thank you, Billy! I can’t tell you how much fun it was running and walking with Sam during the pitch black darkness those first few miles of the race! I just wish I would have done the whole event with him, as I am sure we both would have finished! You see, Sam knew what he was doing. I was a 100 miler novice and the training I did in Illinois did get me in great shape and Giulia did an awesome job, but I had virtually no hill training. I couldn’t run the hills on my long training runs because the forest preserves in Illinois were all iced over during the winter! I did one 25 miler at Waterfall Glen in late January with Ray Bell and it almost literally killed me! The footing and weather were horrendous! So the rest of my long runs were done on flat ground and anyone who has been anywhere near Raleigh, North Carolina knows that the ground down there just ain’t flat! Not at all!

All an athlete can do is train, have a plan, talk the plan over with their crew/coach and go for it! I surely did that. Here were my splits for the various loops:

• Loop 1: 2 hours 40 minutes

• Loop 2: 2 hours 44 minutes

• Loop 3: 2 hours 47 minutes
  

As you can see the loops were very consistent. I would even say they were exactly on pace, because after loop 1, I had to change all my clothes and I mean all of my clothes! The sun had come out, and since we started in the dark, I went from jacket to sleeveless! I guess I should have told my crew that I was going to have to change my pants, but hey I was in a 100 mile event, so anything goes, right? After loop 2, I sat down and took a break and ate some food and changed some of my clothes, so the total times above account for these transitions, where in loop 1 there was no transition. I did not wear my Garmin and just went by feel. I did not go at any pace that was hard. I was breathing easy. By the third loop my hip flexors were already hurting. What happened next was extremely unexpected.

Some of the advice on the internet and even from the race director, Blake Norwood, says that you should start taking pain medication before you feel pain. After the third loop I took some pain medication and I don’t know if it was this or something else, but my GI tract shut down. In other words, I had to dramatically reduce my pace because I had no appetite. So my pace for loop 4 was a whopping 3 hours 21 minutes. I did a lot of walking. It was very difficult and discouraging, but it was and is such a long event that I thought if I could just get through this loop, Marion will join me for loop 5 and that will help a lot! By the end of loop 4, my appetite came back, so I was somewhat encouraged. As I came in at the end of loop 4, my total time was 11 hours 32 minutes and 45 seconds which was a new 50 mile PR for me! It also placed me 51st out of the 110 people that finished the Umstead 50 miler!

Marion was now able to join me on the course (after 50 miles) so we set out together. We mostly walked because whenever I tried to run, my hip flexors were having none of it. I now know why so many of the 100-mile elder statesmen have a kind of walking/jogging shuffle that mostly uses their hip extensors (glutei, instead of hip flexors). To go up the hills, you have to use your hip flexors, but if you utilize more of a shuffling walk/jog, you use mostly the hip extensor. My running form was not shuffling, but traditional and involved bringing my leg forward with a lot of hip flexor motion. As Marion and I went on, several of you called on the phone. Sandy and Glen from Dallas cheered me up and we had a great laugh. I felt the best when John and Mary Lou called – and I hope they don’t hold against me what we said or talked about. After they called I really thought I was going to be able to do it, but my body was having none of it.

I knew that many of you were on call to call me throughout the night. I also knew that I had Charlie and Karen ready to run the rest of the way with me. They had both taken two days off of work to help me with this event. The thought of DNF'ing before they even had a chance to run with me was just an awful feeling. Plus, as I said I was going to be able to talk to many of my Team Gauntlet friends throughout the night, it was overwhelmingly thoughtful! Thank you so much for this! I just wish I could have kept going.

Those of us who have done endurance events know what it is like to experience the body caving in! At one point - probably at mile 56 or so I said to Marion, “This probably isn’t a good sign.” We both looked in horror as my right hand was twice the size as the left! Also, my legs were just killing me! As it turned out I had already been out there close to 14 hours and my sweatband was cutting off venous return on my right hand, so I had to remove it and I put on Marion’s gloves, which decreased the swelling! It took me about 2 hours to get to Aid Station number 2. I was glad to arrive there, but told Marion, “What you don’t understand is that we just did the easy part of the loop, the real hills were next!”

As Marion and I started up the first step hill she said, “No wonder your legs are like they are!” I struggled for another hour but it was getting harder and harder for her to get me up the hills, as my body was shutting down. Besides being exhausted, my legs were killing me, as I could barely flex my legs. Even though Marion gave me her long sleeve shirt and gloves, I was really starting to get hypothermic. If I had been running instead of taking one step at a time, I probably would have been okay. The temperature was dropping from the mid 50’s, which it was most of the day, to the upper 30’s. It was now pitch dark (Marion was wearing her head lamp, thank goodness). I had been out there for 15 hours. We talked about what to do. I told her if I had to finish the loop I could, but to finish the 100 miler meant I had to be out here another 13 hours! Can you imagine? I couldn’t! The last 4 hours were extremely rough. It wasn’t like I was quitting the second I had a pain, but who even knew if I suffered another hour, two hours, or ten hours if I would even make it to the end? We knew it was time to call it quits. I was rescued at mile 60 by a four-wheeler who was delivering supplies to the aid stations. But Karen and Charlie were now out on the course trying to find us. They eventually met up with Marion about five miles out onto the course, so they ran/walk back to the start with her. Back at race headquarters, I was being well attended. By the time they found me I was wrapped in blankets lying on a cushion on the floor, had been given first aid and hot drinks and food by the volunteer staff, been checked over by the medical staff and was definitely feeling better! With their help, I eventually made my way over to the large fireplace and soon my body temperature was returning to normal. Unfortunately my crew had the arduous task of getting all of the chairs and gear back into the car. I can’t thank Charlie, Karen and Marion enough for all their help! They were awesome. We can all say that we got a great ultramarathon education. We love folks who do ultramarathons, as they are very calm and pleasant people. Almost every person over the age of 60 finished the 100 miler! It was the old tortoise and the hare phenomenon! They would just plod along slowly making progress, whether by shuffling or walking, but they did it! They were amazing!

I just have to tell you one more story. So we got into our beds at the hotel say about 11PM. By 6AM, I was pretty hungry, but grateful I did get some sleep and was already feeling a lot better. I did not say I was walking better, but feeling better! I still was hobbling around a lot and still could not bend my legs too well! The hotel had a continental breakfast and I saw one older gentleman there. Remember it was about 6AM, just about the time I thought I would be finishing the 100 miler! That was my original goal anyway. But in hindsight, it should have been to just finish with Sam! But I digress. Back to the guy at breakfast… I asked him if he did the race. When he said, “yes,” I assumed the answer to my next question, “How many miles did you get in?” would have been about the same as mine, like 50 or 60 miles. This person was completely dressed and showered. I was astounded when he said, “The whole hundred miles.” Talking to him further, Tony was an orthopedic surgeon from the Atlanta area and had finished the Umstead 100 (his 9th 100 miler) in 22 hours and 30-some-odd minutes. He was dressed and packed and waiting for a ride to the airport! Imagine this! The guy is 62 years old and he had enough confidence to know that he would be ready by 6AM when he was done with the 100 miler at 4:30AM to be picked up to go the airport! Amazing! Here I was 15 years younger and only ran half as much as he did and I was in no shape to go to any airport! But this is how it was with the 100 mile runners! Many of them did not even wear running clothes. They just wore what looked like regular old shorts or even hiking clothes.

So it has been quite a journey. I hope to take some time to pursue some other adventures and hang up my endurance shoes for a while. But I have learned a lot.

Here are some of the things that I have learned on my endurance quest:

• I can do a lot more than I thought I could!

• I gained a lot of much needed confidence!

• I made some of the best friends I have ever had!

• Can you believe it? I learned how to swim! That in and of itself is amazing!

• I now enjoy many outdoor activities with my wife and friends that I never would have been exposed to!

• It has helped me experience God because his creation is awesome!
  

To run a hundred miles in one day, I would offer this advice:

• Go there to finish, not have a specific time. In my event, I should have stuck with Sam and enjoyed the journey with him, instead of going at a pace to break 24 hours.

• Do several 50 milers before the event.

• Train specifically for the event for one year.

• The first 50 miles primarily walk and see how you feel. I did not have enough in the tank at 50 miles. I did way too much running.

• Learn how to shuffle! This is my best advice. I recommend that you actually spectate at a hundred mile event and observe the participants, especially those over the age of 60. Do the ultramarathon shuffle! It is amazing the speeds at which they can shuffle along (kind of a cross between running and walking).

• Definitely be on the crew of someone doing a hundred mile event so you get a feel for what it is like being up all night and having to continue to walk/run.

• Have a lot of fun. I should have spent more time at aid stations instead of being in a big hurry!
  

Thanks for reading my report!

Until the next event!

Ross

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