You mean everyone doesn't do this?

Ran the third edition of the Delano 12-hour run, and, true to form, I kept up my own tradition of not going the full twelve hours and stopped around 10...

The day got started at about 6am, in about 47 degrees and rain.  The course is a 1-mile cinder path loop around a park in Decatur, AL, and it is an ideal place to run fast (if you can keep your head in the game, that is).  

Against my better judgement, I went out way too fast, running with a couple of running friends of mine from Huntsvillle.  After a couple of hours, I decided that I had better settle into a slightly more manageable pace after lapping a couple of guys that I knew would end up beating me handily, and we all set about plugging away at the miles.

An hour after the 12-hour started, the 50-mile and 50k options started, and guys began flying past me on a quest to get in a good time, which several did.  As the day progressed, the rain would lighten up, then come back, but it had more or less stopped completely by early afternoon, which was a nice improvement.  The course was affected by the rain in several ways.  For example, a stretch of about 15 or 20 yards was completely submerged at the start with about ankle-deep water, which some skirted around while others (such as myself) just plowed through; I just figured that my shoes were already wet....  The race directors (Eric Schotz and Jon Elmore, who are on the FRB at schotz.fastrunningblog.com and jelmo.fastrunningblog.com) along with a couple of other volunteers/spectators, did an impressive job of draining the course by digging trenches and even using a bilge pump to clear the aforementioned wet spot.  Another fun spot on the course was a short out-and-back that was needed to get the full mile from the loop and left the cinder path for about 20 or 30 yards in the grass.  Needless to say, a grassy spot in the rain that gets run through by 60 or so runners 40, 50, 60, even 70+ times a piece over the course of 12 hours gets to be a bit of a bog.  Again, some people kept swinging farther and farther outside to keep from going through the mud (and avoiding perhaps losing a shoe in the mud), but, again, being the 5-year-old trapped in a 22-year-old's body, I plowed right through the mud every time, and it got more and more fun as the day went on.  I truly think it will take weeks for all of the mud and crud to get out from under my toenails (awesome!).

While the day went on, I definitely slowed down, getting passed by more and more people, which was fine with me; I was well ahead of where I was a couple of years ago at this event, so I was happy as could be.  Once I got to the 50 mile mark, I decided to just play around, walking and running until I wanted to call it a day, and after 55 miles, I got to talking for a while, and before I knew it, 45 minutes or an hour had passed, and I figured I would be way to stiff to do any more running, so I called it a day and turned in my chip.  (So I finished my 12-hour race in 10 - BEAT THAT)

After I got done, a few people kept on chugging along for the remaining 2 hours or so.  Jamie Donaldson, the women's course record holder at Badwater (135 miles) and 5th place finisher at the 24-hour World Championships in Korea last year, won the overall title in the 12-hour with 76 miles (I think...).  It was impressive watching her plug and plug all day, not noticeable tiring much at all.  Blake Thompson, one of the guys I started with, kept putting in miles, and I must say, I expected him to crash at the pace he was holding, but I stand corrected; he managed to only marginally slow down, claiming 70 miles.  Rob Youngren, one of the guys that ran the Double Mountain Mist with me a couple of months ago (and beat me by an hour and a half on the second loop), laid down the hammer in the final hours and made up many miles, undoing the lap I had taken on him and putting many more in front of me, eventually finishing 69 miles.  Steven Speakman, a friend from Auburn, AL, who had stayed at my house the night before, was in his first foray beyond 50 miles.  I lapped him early, but he easily reclaimed that mile and kept going after I pulled out, pushing through all the mental and physical challenges that don't present themselves until after 50, to eventually claim 65 well-earned miles.