An Around-the-Lake Acrostic (Wakefield, MA 24-Hour Ultra)

However you look at it, a twenty-four hour run is a long time to be on your feet. This was my third time doing so in a calendar year. I was well aware of what was ahead of me.

Unlike last year when I decided to do my first twenty-four hour run on two weeks notice, this year I planned for it, felt better trained and in better condition for the undertaking. I was content with the outcome of last year's first time event and felt confident that I could up the number of (3.18 miles) laps considerably in this repeat event.

Maybe the relative success of a fifty miler in June set me up to be overly optimistic about increasing last year's 76.78 miles. Maybe I had forgotten my own cardinal rule regarding any distance, particularly marathons and ultras: never underestimate the distance as there are too many variables over which one has no control. The longer the distance, the more variables.

Blisters were a major problem last year, slowing me down to tortoise laps for the last five hours. I hoped that wouldn't happen this year. It didn't.

Lack of calorie intake, instead, was the problem this year. Stomach cramps from miles 6-36, even once subsided, left me with no interest in eating anything substantial. What little I did consume was forced for some semblance of energy.

Ever so slowly, as the hours slipped away, so did my mileage goals, which were being continuously downsized with each lap.

Personally, it was the first time that I have ever considered dropping out. Ten hours into it, I felt as bad as I did last year after nineteen hours. The only reason I did not succumb to a DNF is that I have never voluntarily dropped out. Two years ago, I didn't make a cut-off time at SunMart and wasn't allowed to continue but I didn't voluntarily quit. In my mind, there is a big difference.

Inching forward for hours, I stayed on the course and crossed the finish line at 24:00:00, also known as forever. I left the finish area, telling the race director, "Next year, the marathon. No more ultra." I was sound asleep, still fully clothed, less than twenty minutes after the 7:00 PM finish.

Early the next morning, I awoke, not quite energized, but planning next year's twenty-four hour run. I was still not interested in eating. I was full from what 1 had eaten during the day and night hours. The first letter of each paragraph will reveal that of which I had a good-sized portion during this year's twenty-four hour run. Hopefully next year, I'11 be able to do without any dessert.

-- Cathy Troisi