Jimbo's Umstead gear

Here is what I wore or carried while running:





Adidas shirt: Fantastic. I think it won Runner's World best shirt last summer. It kept me cool, and there was no chafing at all. I did catch the sun a bit mire than I would have liked. I should remember sunscreen next time

Nike DriFit Shorts: Prior to Umstead, I ran several miles in these, with no probalems at all. During the race though, I did experience some chafing. Not sure why. Maybe it was the warmth causing extra perspiration. I need to experiment with underwear I think. (or wear a skirt :))

Garmin Forerunner 205: A wonderful device that I have no idea how I did without it before. I didn't expect the batteries to last the full 50 miles, but they did. I was very impressed. Here is a screen shot of the speed and distance for the full 50 miles.



Merrell Overdrive II Trail Running Shoes: Very good shoe, but definitely moreso for trail running. The surface at Umstead was a little hard, and I think it is probably more appropriate for a road running shoe. Still, I went over 30 miles in them, so no complaints. What you can't see inside the shoe are my orthotics that Dr Tomey prescibed. These have made a huge difference, and made a massive contribution to me finishing the run with no injuries, either in my calf or my achilles, both of which have plagued me in the past.


Nathan Quick Draw Waterbottle: Perfect - fits me well, I think I prefer it to the Fuel Belt hand held - it just seems to fit in my hand better. I should probably wash it now though. :)



Drymax Maximum Protection Socks: Several months ago, when I first was accepted into Umstead, I stumbled across this Youtube Video of Jamie Donaldson, who won the women's division of the race in 2008. The video is of her winning the Badwater Ultramarathon, and they used the phrase "135 miles, no blisters". I bought myself a pair of these socks from Zombie Runner. The socks lived up to their promise, and I had zero problems with my feet. Not one tiny hotspot. I am happy to say "50 miles, no blisters"

Umstead 100 (50 for me) race report - Lap Four

Lap 4

I took probably around 10-15 minutes, just taking the weight off of my feet, changing shoes (to the new Mizuno’s), and doing the usual with the water bottle. I also found my travel mug, which still had some barely warm coffee in it; a little caffeine would do no harm.

I was hurting now, and as well as the physical pain, the mental part was kicking in. Getting up and getting started was tough. I needed a boost.

At the aid station, I recognized Charles from the Raleigh Trail Runners – although we only had a 30 second conversation; that was the boost I needed. So of I went with a handful of trail mix, some M&M’s and some banana.

Just as I got going, I heard “JIMBO!!” Yay, there was Frankie just behind me. Also, Tammy was just ahead of us. Frankie asked her to take a picture of “me and my buddy Jimbo”. With arms around each other’s shoulder, the picture was taken. Less than a second later, (we were just ahead of the Jeep trail where spectator traffic comes and goes to the parking areas), Jess comes around the corner. Perfect timing, there’s me getting photographed with my arms around the 'blond chick' in full view of my wife!

Here's the photo, hope Tammy doesn't mind me grabbing it off of her website

and another one

I took a few minutes to get going. Tammy runs ahead, and Frankie and I run together for 2.5 to 3 miles or so. We were both struggling with the mental arithmetic to calculate the pace I needed in order to finish in under 12 hours. I guess the brain gets fried too. I was beat, physically and mentally. Eventually we figured a 15 minute/mile pace would get me to the finish at 11:54. Easier said than done at this point. I was boosted by passing through 40 miles - 80% done had a great ring to it, as did only having a single digit number of miles to go.

Dave James lapped us again; he was on 65 miles, 25 miles ahead of me. What an amazing athlete.
Frankie had to make a pitstop, so the next mile or so I was on my own, until she caught up with me on the long hill between mile 4 and 5. There was no way at this point I could keep up with her. I didn’t see her again other than a brief “hello” in AS#2 until after the race.

The chafing was getting worse, but I had a plan. I had these little packets of “First Aid Cream, with Pain Relief”. That’ll do, I thought. Except the pain relief doesn’t kick in until after several minutes of agonizing stinging. At least it took my mind off of my quads for a while I suppose.

I needed to pee – I noticed on Tammy’s blog that she wrote, “appropriately far from the race course was inversely proportional to the time I spent on the course!” Isn’t that the truth, I found the nearest tree, and let it all hang out (actually that is not strictly true, because it would appear that running 40+ miles has a very similar effect on men as ice baths, so “all” maybe a slight exaggeration.

There’s the dog pile again. This lap’s 30 seconds were wasted thinking, “Hey, I see you’re surrounded by flies now you piece of crap you. Oh, and good riddance, I will never see you again. See ya turd!”

Into AS#2, did the usual with the water bottles, lubed up one more time. I had some potato soup which really helped pick me up, and I was off again

As I was leaving, Tammy was having a conversation with her husband, and as I was passing, she told me that I was entering, “the victory five miles”, and I should enjoy it. That was all I needed to hear. I got a huge lift. 5 miles left, just 5 lousy miles. I can run 5 miles in my sleep.

The sawtooth 79 hurt even more now, more on the downs. But that was just physical – mentally, I was strong now.

I figured at 4 miles to go, if I maintained a 15 minute pace, I would get in less than 12 hours with 10 minutes to spare, and I called Jess with my prediction, she asked how I was feeling, “on top of the world”.

Before I know it, I was at Graylin for the last time – 3 miles to go, and at least one mile of it is a nice gentle downhill slope.

Tammy caught up with me when I had a mile left, we chatted briefly as she was passing, more words of encouragement, and this time words of congratulations now. I was on an unbelievable high.

Turning right onto the Jeep trail for the last time, I started to get emotional, and I am not ashamed to admit that there were more than a few tears as people were clapping me home. Good job I was wearing sunglasses! Just before the finish line I caught sight of Jess and our friends Shelly and Duane with their cameras at the ready.

I even had enough energy to put in a little sprint to the finish.

“214 IS DONE”, I shouted as I crossed the line. The people at the finish line congratulated me, and I was on top of the world. My time (according to the Garmin) was 11:48:40. Absolutely thrilled with the time, and thrilled with the whole experience

My name is Jim, and I am an Ultramarathoner.

Umstead 100 (50 for me) race report - Lap Three

Lap 3

After sitting down for a few, calling Jess to let her know that I was half way, and refilling the water bottle, I grabbed a small ham sandwich, ¼ hot dog, M&M’s and some banana and off I go. Being beyond the halfway point it meant that I could count miles to go, instead of miles gone. A subtle difference, but it is one that gives a little psychological boost. On the way out of the HQ spur, I got to say hi to Tammy again as she was heading in.

1.2 miles into lap 3, I became an ultra marathoner (anything above 26.2 miles), and I thought of Dean Karanzes whose book “Ultramarathon Man, confessions of an all night runner”, was my main inspiration.

With the compression underwear on, I was beginning to notice that my shorts started to ride up my legs for some reason, and this was annoying me, as well as irritating the already chafed spot. Looks like I’ll be getting rid of the compression at AS#2.

Shortly after the turnaround, Frankie was coming the other way, the conversation went something like this: “JIMBO!!!”…. “LOOKING GOOD FRANKIE!!”

I ran for a while talking to someone who was running for the fallen firefighters of Fort Lauderdale FD. He was telling me about one of his colleagues who got hurt, and will be out of work for TWO YEARS. Apparently, the city doesn’t take care of these guys well enough – hence his running for this cause. Good for him and shame on the city of Fort Lauderdale. He described his current mood as “in that happy place where it hurts to walk and it hurts to run”. I knew where he was coming from, I was approaching the same place.

This is me a little before 27 miles.







I needed to pee – this time though, despite broad daylight, and a lot more park visitors, I only went a few feet in the woods. I did stand behind a big tree though.

Frankie caught up to me on after my pit stop, and the miles again started to fly by. At 28.7 miles, I entered virgin territory, in other words, every single step I take will be the furthest I have ever run.

As the miles were piling up, it wasn’t long before the dog pile was spotted again. This lap’s 30 seconds were, “It’s starting to dry out, and STILL no one has put their foot in it”

Somewhere around mile 30, Frankie, who like me was listening to music wearing just one earpiece, suddenly put in her other earpiece, and really started to pick up the pace, dancing around and waving her arms in the air – apparently the Eurythmics does that to her, I will have to remember to put one of their tracks onto my music player.

31 miles/50K – we hit that a little under 7 hours, which was something to celebrate. It was also around that time that the talk started that I could finish the 50 in under 12 hours – to be honest, talk of finishing unnerved me a bit, I didn’t want to jinx anything. Apparently though, for a first 50, that is ‘awesome’

At AS#2, I made a decision to switch shoes, from my Merrell trail shoes to an old pair of Kayanos. The cushioning is probably shot in the Kayanos from 100’s of miles of wear, but they fit like a glove, and I felt they would be a little more comfortable around my toes. Also, I had to get rid of the compression underwear, the shorts riding up my leg was really annoying. Change shorts, change shoes, M&M’s, banana, and a piece of potato dipped in salt (sounds awful – it was, but apparently, it is a good way to get salt back in to your system with some energy giving carbs, it also make you thirsty, and forces you to drink). And off we go again.

Frankie left AS#2 ahead of me, and even though she was in my sights, I didn’t have the energy to put in a burst of speed to catch up, and besides, she pulled away further each walking stretch with her very fast walk.

The Sawtooth 79 section was beginning to hurt on the downs now as well as the ups, mainly in my quads. I was also starting to notice the lack of cushioning in the Kayanos, oh well, they will have to do till I get to the main HQ.

Even though I didn’t want to think of it too much, thoughts of an ‘awesome’ sub 12 hour finish were pushing me on, but it was pretty clear that fatigue was starting to kick in.

I got a bit of a second wind when I was boosted by the sight of the Graylin trail sign. I ran all the way down the gentle hill. I even caught up with my friend again, although as soon as the slope turned upwards, she surged ahead once more.

At the bottom of Graylin, there are about two miles to go to the Race HQ, and aid station. During this time there are runners coming towards you until you get there. Plenty of “You’re looking good”, and “good job” and “keep it up”, really helped to keep me going even though I was flagging.

I called Jess and left her a voicemail to let her know I was coming in soon.


And that was it for lap 3.

Umstead 100 (50 for me) race report - Lap Two

Lap Two

I am writing this up in long hand sitting on a plane on my way to the west coast for work (well, actually, I am not on the plane now, I am now typing my notes in a hotel room). I can never be bothered to get my lap top out while travelling, I’ll type this up later (like now).

Note to self: it is not wise to plan to sit in a plane so soon after an Ultra.

Right then, Lap 2. After my pit stop, it was off to race HQ to grab a gel for my water bottle. Overall rest time at the end of the lap was probably 5 or 6 minutes. Refill water bottle, grab some banana, and off I go.

Just after the turnaround at the end of the airport spur, I was lapped for the first time. It turns out I was passed by David James who was the eventual winner of the 100 with an overall time of 15:05. He was flying, at the time I thought he would never make it to the end if he keeps at that pace. It also crossed my mind that perhaps he was a fast runner who just got to the starting line late, and was trying to make up for lost time – but no, I was being lapped, as he passed he said, “Great running, keep it up” – certainly gave me a little boost. I was on my 14th mile, he was on his 27th. Incredible.

Somewhere around mile 15, I noticed a woman coming out of the woods, (one thing that was starting to stand out, was that all ultra runners, regardless of gender seem to have the same attitude when it comes to outdoor facilities.)

We were running parallel for a minute or so, at which point she started to look at her legs, and then she said, “Tick check”

I think, “Huh? Tit check? You’re not looking in the right place”. I remove my headphones and say, “Excuse me?”

“Tick check”

“Aah. Got it.”

This was my introduction to my main source of motivation for the next couple of laps, this was my new friend Frankie.

The miles started to fly by; both the conversation and pace were relaxing and comfortable. Soon we were upon the dog pile. “Surprised no one has stepped in it yet, and remarkable how fresh it looks considering I know it is at least 3 or 4 hours old” That was the 30 seconds wasted on lap 2.

At about mile 18, I did think to myself that in my last organized event, (OBX marathon), this was the point where the wheels fell off; my right calf muscle went, resulting in me limping the rest of the way.

Before I knew it, Frankie and I were approaching AS#2.

I was beginning to notice some chafing where the inside of my thigh meets my crotch. Nothing too bad, but it was the first time I had experienced anything like this with the Nike Dri-Fit shorts. No problem, just apply some lube and try not to think about it.

Refill the bottle with water and this time an “Acel Gel”. During my long training runs, I had been mixing/alternating between Acel and Hammer gels, so during the race, I was doing “Hammer, Hammer, Acel”. I grabbed some banana, M&M’s and some trail mix, and off we went.

Again the miles flew by, and Frankie and I chatted about running, everything and nothing. It didn’t seem long before the “sawtooth 79” section was done, and we were heading down Graylin.

With about a mile to go, Frankie pulled ahead, her blistering pace on the hills left me in the dust as I was starting to slow.

The chafing was still bothering me, so as I was approaching the race HQ, I made the decision to put on compression underwear. This is where I was praising myself for being incredibly smart – a) for thinking of bringing the compression underwear in the first place, and b) for bringing a towel so I could change without revealing too much!

Lap: Two
Accumulated miles: 25
Lap time: 2:46:36
Accumulated time:
Pace for lap: 13.17 min/mile
Accumulated pace:

Umstead 100 (50 for me) race report - Lap One

I was travelling across the country today, and I wrote longhand 30 pages of notes about the day. I had so much to remember, normally within a few days of the race, I forget everything, so this time, I wrote it all down. I will type these notes up lap by lap over the next few days.

Lap One.

Before the start, I had a game plan, I was thinking 11:30 min/mile, and add a minute each lap. I know that I was comfortable at 9 min/mile over short distances, and ran the first 18 miles of my last marathon at 10 min/mile, so I figured 11:30 would be a good pace to start (I did plenty of training runs at 11 min/mile), so I felt that would be a good comfortable pace that could be sustained.

That plan went out the window as soon as I was standing at the start line; I looked around and saw all these seasoned ultra runners surrounding me. My plan immediately switched to “do what they do”.

So headlight on, and we’re off. After about 100 yds or so there was a very slight incline, perfectly manageable at the pace I was going, however, many of those folks who knew what they were doing started to walk and that is what I did. And that’s how it went, jog on the flat and the downhill sections and walk the inclines – even the baby inclines. I was very happy at that pace.

Around mile 4, I needed to pee, even though it was still barely dawn, I still felt I should venture deep into the woods where I wouldn't be noticed - no idea why, it wasn't like I was the only one who uses the outdoor facilities!

The hill between mile 4 and 5 was uneventful other than the first spotting of the soon to be famous dog pile – still fresh and glistening. The thirty seconds of time wasted on this lap were, “I really wish people would pick up after their dogs”, and “the poor puppy has eaten something that disagreed with it”.

Into AS #2 (aid station 2). Refill water bottle, add a hammer gel to the water, take off long sleeved shirt, exchange regular glasses for prescription sunglasses and off I go again with a handful of M&M’s and some peanuts.

After the aid station, the “sawtooth 79” section started. So called because between miles 7 and 9, there are a lot of hills many of them beasts, mostly short hills, but for the whole two miles, there were hardly any flat spots at all.

I really enjoyed coming to the end of that section so I could get to the long trot down Graylin trail. Getting to that T-junction, and seeing that street sign really gave me a lift, because I felt that the worst was over, and knew I was facing a long downhill stretch followed by the last couple of miles of trail – but this time, you have people in the race coming towards you, and a few people saying “good job” does no harm whatsoever.

Toward the end of the lap, it became apparent that the men’s room was needed. As I got closer to the end, it became quite urgently apparent. As I crossed the line at the end of the lap, it became a sprint to the bathroom. I made it. Just. I had planned a few minutes rest at the end of each lap – I spent it this time on the john. Apparently, the one topic that all ultra runners converse about is “voiding” for some reason, hence the addition of this paragraph. :)

Lap: one
Accumulated miles: 12.5
Lap time: 2:48:09
Accumulated time: 2:48:09
Pace for lap: 13.05 min/mile
Accumulated pace: 13.05 min/mile

Umstead 100 race report initial thoughts....

There are big things to remember – like finishing alive in less than 12 hours, the pain in my quads the following day the wonderful people you meet who encourage you and help you on your way, the fantastic volunteers, and the terrific organization of the whole event.

There are also little things, and I have no idea why this stands out, but there was a piece of dog crap at on the trail at about 5 miles. First time I saw it, I thought “that dog’s owner needs to visit the vet”, – let’s just say it was a little soft. For some strange reason, I saw that little pile every lap, and despite coming close each time, I managed to avoid it. I was also surprised that everybody else had also managed to step over it. Why did I write that? Why does this stick out in my memory? I have absolutely no idea. Perhaps it is a symbol of the kind of trivia that fills my mind to keep from thinking about the pain or the number of miles still to be travelled. So, a big thank you to the dog pile, you kept my mind occupied for at least 30 seconds per lap.

Before I get stuck into the race itself, I am going to mention the wonderful people. Just about everyone I met, from the elite front runners to those closer to the back, to those fantastic volunteers and organizers took a moment to pass the time of day, encourage you or just smile at you. It was all quite humbling really. When you are being lapped by the eventual winner of the 100 miler, and he says as he passes, “Good running, keep it up”, it is quite amazing how much of a boost it gives you.

I also need to give a shout out to Tammy, whose blog and Umstead race report from last year formed a big part of my research. Although the list of stuff she takes to the race made me panic, because I didn’t have half of it. It was very nice to meet her, and even though I have not seen any results, I am certain that she did very well in her 100 mile race.

Finally, while we are talking about people, a very special thank you to my new friend Frankie, who kept me company for the best part of laps two and three. Her conversation, encouragement, humor and enthusiasm really kept me going. I also found that I cut my pace back to match her pace, there is no doubt in my mind that easing back a bit in the mid stages of the race left me with enough energy to tackle the last few miles. As I was slowing down in the last lap, Frankie surged ahead, (she has an amazingly fast walk). The miles flew by – I know that she will have got through her first 100 with plenty of time to spare.

Watch this space; I’m working on a race report with pictures, and should get it done by the end of the week.

Final thoughts prior to Umstead

About 12 hours from now, I will be 4 hours into the run. Hopefully, I should be comfortably into the second lap.

Good news, the cold has totally gone, even better news, the weather is predicted to be perfect tomorrow.

This evening, we went to the race briefing and pasta dinner. Two things stand out - the incredible organization undertaken by Blake Norwood and the people who put the race together, and the fantastic shirt that I will proudly wear when I have finished.

There is a photographer there, who is doing a master's degree in photography, and for his thesis, he is taking photos of runners' faces whne they have finished, his whole project is taking pictures of fatigued faces. An interesting concept to say the least. Needless to say I signed up, mainly because it was free, and I'm curious to learn what I will look like after 50 miles!

There is an 80 year old man, and a 74 year old woman who are running the whole 100 miles. That's quite incredible when you think about it.

Anyway, I know I will struggle to sleep, but I suppose I should try.