First let me just say that I have been on/off with this race for quite a few years already. I have been meaning to do it. A close by Marathon in January... Hm. Still, January marathons are weather tricky affairs and pretty much every year there was a different (valid) excuse/reason. One year was Josh's (Jeremy's BFF) Bar Mitzvah. Another year was too cold/ugly. Every year was something. Last year was of course Beast of Burden (Winter Edition). So, I need miles this year and again this one came up and we signed up. We signed up... Who's "we"?
From our group, there was Jamey and me (Queens) and Maria/Mike (Long Island). And now is where the drama begins. But first context must be given.
Mike/Maria: Some facts (in bullet point format but discussion will follow)...
Anyway, bottom line is a lot of drama/issues etc. Anyway, Julia posted on FB that if she can get a ride from someone, then she would do this race. Mike posted immediatly that they would pick her up. I wasn't sure what the motive was. I wasn't sure if he was hoping that she would help patch things up or whether he was trying to be nice. Later, I realized that he was just trying to be nice. No ulterior motive. Still... And I was shocked that Julia agreed.
Before I continue here, I just want to mention why it took me so long to write this up. I am friends with all the above. I was really afraid that writing this out would potentially cause trouble. I didn't want to "reveal" more info than already known. Still, my desire to document this won out. I will try to document as much as possible while avoiding somethings.
I text Mike who doesn't answer. I text Julia and she tells me that they are lost. Oh well. They eventually get there and park. No spot near the restrooms so they parked further away. Jamey and I get out to say hello to them as they walk toward us. Jamey and I are smiling. Meanwhile a tension cloud is obviously walking toward us. Julia breaks away and runs toward me (us). She gives me a quick hug and yells "need to pee" and runs away. Mike and Maria still coming toward us. Mike is smiling. Takes a lot to stop that. Maria is not. Mike thinks I am coming toward him but he is wrong. I bypass him straight to Maria and give her a big hug. She hugs me (not happy) and tries to break away. I don't let her. She struggles a little. I don't let go. I tauntily chant "I'm not letting go...". She stops struggling. I sense her tension letting go. I sense her relaxing. I get a smile from her. I ask how was the ride and she replies "I already told Michael that there's no sex for 2 months". I almost fell cracking up. I then say hi to Mike. I think he's happy that I broke the tension. It was really palpatable and uncomfortable.
We check in and see some familiar faces. The car parked near us is Bill (PJ run) and Kate Stocker or as the Fred's refer to them: The Connecticut kids. Otto Lam is there as well and we say hi. I'm very cognizant of the rift going on. I'm either with the Fred's and the CT folks or with Julia and Otto. Can't we all get along?!?
A woman checks in for a guy with a walker. Mike remembers him from the Greenbelt race. Not sure what's going to happen here. I hear the woman talking to the RD and the RD saying that the walker can't be used in the trails. Not his fault. It's a trail... She replies with he will do what he can in the parking lot. They agree. Wow...
By the way, this is a no frill race. No shirt, no finisher's medal. It's just you, a timing chip and 2 aid stations. The route is usually accurate but do to a rain storm washout, there was a detour. Later we found out that each loop (out of 5) was actually 6.75 miles for a total of 33.75 miles instead of 31. Bonus miles... There are 4 concurrent different distant races going on at the same time and all of us are starting at the same time. The RD explains the 2 differences. One (obvious) difference is the amount of loops you do. The other is the start. Those who are doing the "K" race (50K, 10K) start and immediatly make a left at the start to go around the parking lot. Those doing the "M" race (50M, 13.1M) make a right turn and immediatly in the thick of it.
We start. Around the parking lot and into it. Starts with a small incline on a road then into the trails. Before that, we spy a port-a-potty but more importantly, I spy indoor plumbing. I don't think many people noticed but I do and I keep that in my head as a just in case.
The trail itself isn't bad. We run. A few small (tiny) stream crossings. Some we jump rock to rock or straight over. Others there is a small bridge for. Jamey dubs it the Class 5 Roaring Rapids. The course is pretty much straight forward. No getting lost in my opinion. We go around. One point there is a nice drop on our right side with water there underneath us. Eventually a clearing and finally we get to the mile 4 aid station (only other aid station) and Otto Lam with his camera. We grab supplies and go.
I wonder how Mike/Maria is doing. He was gonna stay with her and she doesn't really like trail running.
Leaving Otto, there's an open field and again the trails. Eventually we are running with a huge body of water on our right. We run right next to it to the road/bridge, make a right turn onto it and another right turn so now we are on the other side of the water. From there, straight for a short while. A left up this hill. At the top of the hill another left up a hill and you are almost done. Cross the timing mat and that's one of 5 loops.
Jamey was contemplating stopping at the indoor plumbing near the car but decided not to. He did stop at the car to drop something off tho. He thought he can deal with it. My stomach was in an "interesting" state as well. I took an immodioum in the AM partly as a preemptive strike and partly because I felt like I really needed it. I just wasn't sure. The whole first loop, my stomach was on/off sending signals. Still, I held off. Anyway, we both held off and circled around and continueed and both regretted it. Jamey was going to stop at the porta-potty. I wasn't fully sure what I was gonna do. Then I remembered the indoor plumbing that I spied. Remember those? I did. We went looking and it was indoor plumbing, clean and best of all... OPEN. No lines too. We both went and I took another pill. At this point, it was a neccessity and I will leave it at that.
During the second loop, Jamey and I were alone. Eventually we were joined by 2 women. The first was named Rebecca (another rebeccathon ALA JFK 50?) and Shay pronounced shy.
I was leading the quartet and we were all talking. They were afraid or better said weary of the water crossing. I immediatly offered to carry them across. They laughed but I did offer and they ended declining. I would have. I think they were sure we would both fall.
Anyway, we were talking and I mentioned that I take a self defense class with my wife on Sundays and Rebecca said "Oh, Krav Maga?". What?!? How the hell did she come up with that? I asked her how the hell she came up with that and she said, "well aren't you Israelli?". That's strike 2 here... I mean seriously??? I said "WHAT?!?" and she delivered the coup de grāce with "besides your accent you look Israelli". I stopped to look at her...
To anyone reading this, Yes - I am Israelli BUT I don't look like one AND I don't sound like one AND she was in back of me so how can she really look at me? I mean sometimes during turns she would be able to see a profile but c'mon...
She explained it with the fact that her best friend growing up was Israelli. Still... Only one other time did someone tell me that my "accent" was a dead give away and I thought that person was nuts.
Anyway, she floored me. She really did... Anyway, we had a good time talking.
Since they were doing the half-marathon, we left them at the end of our second loop which was it for them and continueed on.
We made friends with 2 guys and on/off leap frogged with them. They taught us and especially this foreigner the concept of a shaggy dog or a joke that takes a long time to get to the punch line. I had one. One of them had a real long one.
I should mention at this time that the course was getting more and more slick. There was mud and there was ice that was melting by the sun and the beating it was getting.
I was wondering how the Fred's were constantly and during the 3rd loop, I got my answer. Unfortunatly, Maria's knee started hurting bad. She dropped to the 13.1. She was upset and her knee hurt and I think(!) to an extent that she hated dropping in front of Julia. Mike at this point, sprinted to catch us. Due to the fact that we lost about 10 minutes in the indoor plumbing, he suddenly did just that. Awesome. He was running well. We weren't so much. Still he stayed with us. He could have dropped us without a problem.
As we were finishing our 3rd loop together, a guy comes running up the hill. He was huffing and puffing. Oh yeah, he was busy winning the 50K. Nice. He couldn't talk up the hill, rather used hand gestures. Damn...
The three of us did have a great time together. I started talking to a guy and a girl. I could have sworn he had just passed us. Turns out he as told that his doppleganger was here. I believe it.
We leap frogged with them too. I don't remember how but it came out at the aid station that Mike was the guy who had an amazing sub sandwich at the start/finish. We kept joking that the guy was gonna go get it.
On our 4th loop, a little after the 4 mile aidstation, I got a text from Julia. She's lost and needs help. Sucks. There was nothing I could do. Well, except stress over it of course. I talk tough but I do actually care about people. What was I supposed to do? I texted her that I am 15ish minutes from start/finish and would tell RD. She kept asking for help. I felt helpless. We trudged on.
We got to the start/finish and I went straight to the RD. I explained the situation and asked him to call her. He immediatly did. I really couldn't do anything more than that. I don't know this course at all... He called her and there was no answer. Damn... I knew I did the most I could do but I still felt helpless and worse of all, responsible even though this was NOT my fault.
I was hoping that either he would get through to her or we would find her. I tried her as well but nothing. I finally got a text that she's found. COOL!!!
People are pigs tangent: There was a small section that was a drop on one side and a mountain on the other. It was narrow. There was Poop there. I don't know if a dog went nuts there or if a human being had some serious gastric distress because this wasn't normal and it was all over the place and it was disgusting and we had to be very careful.
Anyway, we finally finished the 5th loop. Yay. Our time wasn't great. Whatever. We also found out that the RD let people drop distance and many people took that option. Like Maria not DNFing but instead completing the 13.1, many people did things like that. Many 50Kers finished the 26.2 or less. Many of the 26.2ers finished smaller distances etc.
Dotty Stoker, an experienced runner, fell (major face plant) and dropped to the Marathon distance. Others fell as well. I guess we get props for soldiering on. We also get a crappy time. Oh well.
Mike gave me a 1.5 liter of coke that he's been carrying for a while and we took some pictures. Jamey and I made a quick stop at Wendy's and headed home. Jamey couldn't believe I finished the entire bottle. Mike, Maria and Julia got to spend the day together. After the race, they went to Yonkers to visit Maria's parent's (JC's as well) and then eventually they dropped her at home. I think it was a 13 hour day for the Freds - Wow.