Croatan 24 is done and now in the books! My number one goal of staying on course for the duration was met and how much I learned within that 24 hour period is still sinking in and will be for quite some time.
The race is held in the Croatan National Forest - a tidal salt marsh on the shore of North Carolina. It's a beautiful course in a wild and beautiful area. Each lap was 1.31 with lots of bridges over the marsh and spectacular views of the area - even with such short loops the course was never boring. I enjoyed the short loops as it broke things down nicely and made it seemed as if the miles were piling up quickly. That might have been an optical illusion though.
The race was held on Veterans Day and there was a ceremony before the race honoring vets and the first loop was led by veterans holding the flag of their service. The race also served to benefit the MARSOC Foundation (https://www.marsocfoundation.org/) Here is a quote from their website describing their objective -
The MARSOC Foundation was established to provide benevolent support to active duty and medically retired MARSOC personnel and their families as well as to the families of Marines and Sailors who have lost their lives in service to our Nation. -
It's always an honor to run for a worthy purpose. A big thank you to Race Director Brandon Wilson and his family for hosting this event and the purpose that it served. Brandon's efforts help our armed forces and made for a wonderful event. Another big thanks to all of the volunteers who really extended themselves in this race. I remain impressed and touched by their commitment to the racers. Thank you all!
I had a good day. I ran with walk breaks through the day - steady. A few pauses at the start/finish area that served as the one aid station but nothing overly long - mainly to refill by water bottle with Tailwind - which worked remarkably well. I had no solid food until almost 17 hours into the race when my stomach became a little sensitive. I realized that I was actually going beyond my planned 250 calories and once actually doubled up without realizing it (drinking two bottles within the hour) Hoping that a little solid food would help I ate a little vegan food offered by a friend and that did not go to well. The next few loops were walking and throwing up - but I did keep walking. A little coke and a few cookies gave me some caffeine and helped settle my stomach and the stomach issues seemed to pass. At no time though did I experience a drop in energy or really feel hungry. With a few adjustments Tailwind will remind my source of race calories. Taking the guess workout out of fueling is a big issue for vegan runners and Tailwind has been a great source of peace of mind and calories for me - not to mention the personal touch and concern they show to those who use their products.
Since my main goal was to complete the whole 24 hours miles were a secondary concern - but of course I still wanted them (lots of them!) 70 miles was my low bench mark number with an outside thought of 80+. I will happily take my 75.33 official mileage with no complaints. Unofficially I ran 77 - our last loop came in less then 2 minutes after the 24 hours. We left (Moca and I) for the last loop with 14 minutes left in the race and gave it a great effort to get it in - Moca really wanted a 100k and she wanted it official. We were close. She got the distance but not in the record books. She ran a great, strong race though with an impressive finish. I think we're both hooked on timed events so a rematch with the clock is in short order.
I will post a follow up with some of the things I've learned as I process them - there are many. I want to end with a thank you to Tom Green, Paula Carrigan and Michael Strzlelecki for their advice and support - words from each of you entered my thoughts in the times that I needed them and helped see me through the day. Thanks guys.
And that's a wrap. Thanks for reading!
Peace,
Eric
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