Maybe a bit of history first.
Let's go back to last year. As a new New Yorker, I was doing my first runs in Central Park. Not sure where the East side ends and the West begins, how long each loop is. Hills showed up unannounced. I didn't know how high they were, how long I was going to have to climb. And one day I came across a race. Only a handful of people. It was the Knickerbocker 60K-2010. Looked interesting. I put it aside as a backup in case I didn't get into the marathon.
Fast forward a few months. I became an NYRR member working towards my 9+1 guaranteed entry. The hills were a bit more familiar. I learned to fear the Cat Hill. I improved my times on shorter distances. I was in the lottery, so Knickerbocker was still a backup.
A few more months. I did not get in! Knickerbocker 60K finally became my target race for the season. Yet, I didn't even know how to train for it. 30 mile long runs instead of 20? I struggled at 16 at the time.
A few more. I kept improving my times. Got some 20 milers under my belt in the thick of the summer. I finished my 9 races to qualify for the NYC Marathon. And the day of the Knickerbocker 60K approached. I mastered the walk-run method. I ran the flats, walked the uphill. My longest training run was 26.2 miles.
And then the race day came. November 19, 2011.
KB60K number pickup happens only on the day of the race. NYRR is open from 6:45-7:45 for number and T-shirt pickup and race day registration. So, I woke up at 5AM, had a light breakfast and took the subway to NYRR. Even though I initially kicked myself a bit for arriving too early, I was glad afterwards, because the race was pretty popular this year. 437 people started the race. I didn't see how busy the number pickup was at the crunch time, but there was a port-a-potty line at least 30 deep a few minutes before the start. So, yes, I was in the cold for a few minutes, but I got to use the bathroom and thus saved a few minutes otherwise I would have to spend during the race.
Unlike other NYRR races there are no corrals at the KB60K start. I was really afraid of going out too fast and then suffering (I did a marathon like that and it wasn't a good experience), so I lined way back in the pack. With the start the group charged ahead at a surprisingly fast clip. I don't know if people were trying to gain some time in the first laps why they are fresh or they didn't mean to finish anyway, but I did my best to ignore the crowd and stay on pace. I was aiming for 11:00, but I was feeling OK at 10:30, so I settled there.
First few laps were uneventful. I kept running the flats and the downhills, refueling while walking the uphills, stopping and getting fuel from my dear girlfriend at every lap, who by the way was there for the whole thing (seen with one of her signs on the picture below). I didn't get too tired. First 5 of the 9 - 4 mile loops went by in 43:28/42:54/42:23/42:24/43:34. Unfortunately, I started having some stomach issues at lap 4. I didn't feel like I could eat more gels and nothing else we brought or the race provided really looked appealing. I switched to a Gatorade only diet, which possibly was my biggest mistake.
I was feeling depleted when I started lap 6. I had to walk more. I was cramping pretty bad and the last 16 miles seemed like an eternity. Here is the funny thing about ultramarathons. You keep calculating how far you have gone and how much you have left. You think "OK, I have done 1 quarter, 1 third" and then you say "yes, I just passed the halfway point! Woohoo!". And then you realize that there are 18 more f'ing miles left! I believe this picture on the right describes the situation pretty accurately.
First my girlfriend Courtney. She is not a runner and she doesn't understand why I do these things, but she was there for the whole 7 hours of it. Waiting for me to pass again and again, getting wobblier and stinkier by the minute. After the race she told me that she was afraid at every lap that I wasn't going to show up the next time, crawl to the side of the road somewhere and die. I have to admit that there were points when this or that grassy area looked like the perfect spot for a nap, but I don't think I looked like I was about to die.
Then the spectators. They were there to support their friends and family or get their weekend long run (like my friend Ashley), but that didn't stop them from cheering everyone on the course. Just an eye contact and nod, a "Looking good runners", "Keep moving" or a high-five gave me the will to go that extra tenth of a mile until I saw someone else. And signs like "Because 37.3 would be crazy" or "It's like Nascar, only slower" provided the much needed comic relief. The distance and the small size of the field creates a stronger community atmosphere both among the runners and the spectators, which makes the race special.
And last but not least, the NYRR staff and the volunteers. No offense to other races, but these people were the friendliest volunteers ever. Water stops, turns and every crosswalk on the course was a cheer zone staffed with 5 or more volunteers. Each shift was out there for more than four hours in the aforementioned cold weather and they never stopped cheering. They kept pushing people forward. If you are reading this, thank you very very much.
Getting back to the race. My pace plummeted starting lap 6: 46:32/51:22/52:47/53:09. I was mostly walking, trying to push myself to run while counting the seconds in my head. Trying to get a quarter mile here and there or a minute or two. Fortunately, I can walk 13-14 min/miles, which saved a lot of minutes. Coming up to the final straight another runner was passing me. He said "Do you have a jog in you brother?", so I joined him. We soaked in the applause from the crowd, part exhausted, part proud of what we have just done.
Post race Courtney and I stood at the finish area and cheered on the finishers, just like everyone else cheered for me. Then, I insisted on walking home, because, again, I did once got on a bus after a marathon and my legs were not happy the next day. I refueled with a philly cheesesteak sandwich from Subway and kept on munching the whole night. The next day all I have is some soreness and tightness, nothing major.
270 of the 437 starters arrived at the finish line. Pretty low compared to the 99+% finish rate at the NYC Marathon. The field seemed to thin around lap 5. I was 205th with my 7:15:40, which comes to 11:42 min/mile officially. According to my Garmin, I ran 38.1 miles at 11:25 min/mile pace.
Thus ends another season of running. I don't think I will do another race this year. One question I have been getting a lot from friends is, "Would you do this race again?" Having slept on it and relived the day while writing this report, my answer is: "Yes! Definitely!"
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