Sunday, May 18, 2008

Will's 12 hour Trail Race - Redmond Watershed Preserve



Well, it's been an active week for me. I recovered from my 1st adventure race on Wednesday and rested up the rest of the week for this 12 hour race on Saturday. We had a hot spell come over us and it ended up breaking a 50 year heat record for the day as it blasted into the 90's. That may not sound too hot, but considering it had been raining and in the 50's & 60's the past few weeks it came as quite a shock to us living up here.

I really didn't know how far I was going to be able to go today. I had completed my first ultra marathon last fall. That was a 50k (31 miles). I was hoping to get further than that. 40 miles was the goal I had in the back of my mind.

The course consisted of a 5.375 mile loop (455 feet of elevation gain/loss) through the Redmond Watershed Preserve for the 1st 10 hours, then for the last 2 hours we all joined up on a small .72 mile loop (80 feet of elevation gain/loss) I ended up logging 46.25 miles and 4150 ft of elevation change.

Jenni & her parents came to cheer me on for the last 2 hours. I think I had the largest & most supportive cheering section.


Jenni made cute little signs to cheer me on.



This is my niece's school project joining me on the run.
I didn't get the full scoop on him except that we was
supposed to get his picture taken doing different things.
This is him running with me.




We started the day with about 80 people but I think only about 20+ made it through all 12 hours. With the hot temperature it seemed people started dropping off once it got uncomfortably hot. I ended up drinking over 2 gallons of water & gatorade throughout the day.

I ended up getting just 2 small blisters. One I lanced and slapped duct tape on about 8 hours into the race the other I didn't even notice until today (Sunday). I just finished drilling holes into two of my toenails to relieve some pressure so I don't think I will lose them.

All in all I had a great day and felt pretty good throughout the entire day. It got a little tough around mile 20 and again at mile 35, but with my cheering section for the last two hours I was able to stay strong for hours 10-12 and pull down another 9 miles. Jenni even pushed me a bit harder for the last 30 minutes due to a simple math error. She mentioned unless I completed 3 more laps instead of 2 I would only end up with 44.825, just shy of 45 miles, so I had to turn it into high gear and in the last 25 minutes completed 10 minute miles (2.5 miles). Which is quite the push considering I averaged 15:30 minute miles the 1st 11 1/2 hours.

I'm not sure how I stacked up against the competetion, but I'm pretty satisfied with my race. They will post results here sometime in the near future.


Here's a video if you want to see the play by play:




Update 5/23/08:
Just got my results from my 12 hour race. Overall I took 22nd out of the 73 the showed up (there were 81 registred). That put me in the top 1/3. I was not beat by anybody that did not stay for all 12 hours. 33 people stayed for all 12 hours, 40 dropped through out the day, 8 did not show up to race. Out of the 54 Men, I took 21st place putting me in the top half. I took 5th place out of 13 in the Male Open Class (under 40) & I took 2nd place out of 4 in the under 30 age group only losing out to Sam Thompson (who is profesional and sponsered by The North Face).

12 comments:

Kate said...

Wow - way to go Will. That's a lot of running for one day - wait, that IS a whole day! Very impressive!

Carolyn said...

I was exhausted just watching you! I don't know how you did it, but we're sure proud of you!

Dan Thomas said...

Dear Will,

We sure are proud of you. I am afraid it is work for me to just touch my toes. Oh well!

Love,
Dad

Kaylene said...

LOVE the "turbo charge!" That's so awesome! Congrats on running the farthest you've ever gone! A great way to end your child free days, LOL! You're going to be such a fun Daddy! Now can I start sending Jenn labor dust? :)

Jenni said...

You look HOT. Sizzlin'. And I'm not referring to the 95 degree temperature if you catch my drift ;) Hahhahahahahaha. Love you babe.

NelsonFam said...

So Mark has been riding his motorcycle more and more lately. I think in effort to get it out of his system - is this running something similar? Cause if it is... you can still run after the baby comes.

King Arthur said...

Great job out there Will. 15 miles further than your longest ever run, in that heat, is an accomplishment. Now you're ready for a 50 miler.

Saving Grace said...

Way to go brother! One question, how do you film yourself as you are running, looks so professional.

Karen said...

INCREDIBLE!...mostly because you keep doing it! You GO! It'll keep you ready for parenthood.

Sandy said...

WOW~~ All I can say is WOW, Will!
You amaze me and make me. I wish I could have been there to cheer you on.

Unknown said...

Nice job at the Watershed! It was a hot and muggy morning in the woods, but the shed is always great.

Travis said...

sorry, I am a little behind here on the comment. Awsome Job! That's a fair amount of gain for such a short course and heat never helps. 2nd to Sam Thomson, that will work :) All the best with the new baby!!