Finding that extra bit of motivation to conquer long runs during marathon training can be a struggle. It’s easy to find yourself running the same routes repeatedly, or seeing the same sights and people nearly every weekend.
Cristina Lopez found herself in this exact situation, but desperation bred inspiration and a run she won’t soon forget.
Max Nacheman saw a red dot in the distance as he approached mile 35 of the JFK 50 Mile. The D.C.-based first-time ultra runner was trudging along a lonely stretch of the course between aid stations and was tired. His knees hurt. Struggling to hit 10-minute miles, he could see his goal time slipping away.
“There was me and one other guy, but we couldn’t see anyone ahead of us or anyone behind us,” Nacheman said. “And we weren’t really talking…we were just suffering next to each other.”
I rolled over on an air mattress in my empty apartment and glanced at the clock that read 4 a.m. I couldn’t fall back asleep — my entire body ached, chills ran through my bloodstream and I had severe nausea. I was just hours away from a 15-hour car ride to Wisconsin and there I was — grappling with the flu. But the car ride was the least of my concern. In just a few hours, I was supposed to lace up my shoes to go for my last run before I moved to Madison.
The sky got lighter but my body still ached. The nausea had only gotten worse and the thought of going outside exacerbated my chills. Nevertheless, it was my last opportunity to “run the District,” the phrase I’ve used throughout the years as a Washington running blogger, and I planned on taking full advantage. So I layered up and stepped out the door.
The greatest risk to Ashley Donovan and Adam Meyer, as they ran to Washington, D.C. from Portland, Ore., wasn’t the wear and tear on their bodies. It was the wildlife — close calls with a rattlesnake and roughly a dozen dogs on the road.
Since July, the duo not only trekked thousands of miles across the country on foot (3,165 miles to be exact), but also met with more than 100 community leaders in nearly a dozen states.
Dr. Breanna Gawrys, a captain in the United States Air Force, will conquer the 2014 marathon on much more training and sleep than she did during the 2013 Marine Corps Marathon.
“I was working a lot more — like 70-80 hours per week — so I didn’t have a whole lot of time to get the training in so this year is going to be a lot better,” she said.
There was no calendar hopping this year for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon, the first of the region’s races to bear the brunt of the federal government shutdown last year. The race ended up postponed until early November, but temperatures were cooler in the fifth running in 2014, with runners bundled in spandex, hats and gloves in early October.
While many weren’t expecting the low temperatures, most runners were thrilled to race in the crisp and cool air so early in the fall.
When Anthony Belber was brought on as an assistant track coach at the Georgetown Day School 17 years ago, the GDS Hoppers could hardly fill a school bus.
“The first year I coached, we only had four girls and 10 to 12 boys in cross country,” he recalled.
Working out the logistics for a 50-state marathon goal is almost just as difficult as completing 50 marathons. The list begins to add up quickly: race registration fees, cost for travel and accommodations, maneuvering time off of work, and the list goes on.
Race series have sprung up to give traveling runners a chance to knock out several states in one trip, often with races five days in a row. One such company, Altis Endurance Sports, based in Annapolis, brought that approach to the Potomac River, with five back-to-back trail marathons, in Meyersdale, Pa.; Keyser, W.V.; Frostburg, Md.; Annandale, Va. and Washington, D.C.
When most race registration websites encourage runners to sign up their particular event, Riley’s Rumble Half Marathon cautions participants.
“Don’t be seduced by the lush bucolic countryside of rural Montgomery County,” it said. “This race will challenge the best runners. If you want the 3 H’s (hills, heat, and humidity), this is the race for you.”
The second race of the D.C. Road Runners Club Bunion Derby race series was underway Saturday evening at the Hugh Jascourt Memorial 4-Miler. More than 80 runners turned out on Saturday evening on the C&O Towpath near Fletcher’s Boat House to celebrate its club’s founding president’s birthday, Hugh Jascourt. And with a welcomed break from the humidity, many were pleased to compete on the low-impact, out-and-back course along the canal.
[button-red url=”http://www.zippyraceresults.com/search.php?ID=4076″ target=”_self” position=”left”] Four Mile Results [/button-red]Kate Katz of Arlington, Va. took the lead right off the bat in the women’s division and held it till the finish with a time of 26:32, making it her second win in a row in the Bunion Derby series.