I ended 2011 exactly the same way as I started it. Running at David Lee’s 12 hour Freedom Park Run.
I only decided to run it on the Thursday before.
I went with Chris Knodel, who put together BCRT – my local hometown Sanford running group. Chris has a couple of Ultras under his belt, Derby 50K, and something called a Boxing Day Mad Ass Fun Run. So, he has not yet gone beyond 50k.
We set goals – I needed 51.4 to get my total mileage for the year to be 2300, a pair of marathons would be a good target (52.4), but anything over 50 would be great.
David Lee puts on a great event, and the schwag is wonderful. Last year, there was a terrific fleece, this year a superb long sleeve tech shirt – definitely a shirt suitable enough to wear casually .
There is something about running at night – the fatigue is draining (but good practice for 100’s?). Plus, this time of year it is a long LONG night – basically 11.25 hours of the 12 were in darkness. Oh, and it was cold. I really, really don’t like the cold – so quite why I decided that a night time run over NYE would be a smart idea, I have no idea.
Anyway, to keep it short, Chris and I ran the whole 12 hours together, I enjoyed getting to know him and his philosophies behind his coaching and running business in Sanford. Some of the loops through the night became a real slog, but on the whole, it all went very smoothly – didn’t make it to 51.4, but we were both happy with 50.36 miles. We even had to push a bit in the last hour or so to make that – that said, I don’t think 50 was too much of a doubt.
Quite what 2012 holds for the year, I am not sure. New friends, new races, old friends and old races – plus I’m hoping I will put on another couple of races. Let’s make it a good one!
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