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Delano Day

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Location:

AL,USA

Member Since:

Jun 14, 2008

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

I've finished a couple of races here and there...

Short-Term Running Goals:

Maybe one day I'll be enough of a runner to run a race.

maybe not...

Long-Term Running Goals:

My ultimate long term goal is to die young as late as possible...

Personal:

Rule #1:  Cardio - Zombies lead a very active lifestyle, so should you.

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Race: Delano Day (100 Miles) 19:42:53
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
100.000.000.000.00100.00

Quick story:  Left foot, right foot.  Repeat as necessary.

 Not so quick:

WARNING:  This report is entirely too long, too boring, and too incoherent to be of any interest, but, if you have the urge to delve into it (along with a decent amount of free time and an appreciation of eccentric activities), here it is for your perusal:

 

A few months ago, I had an idea.  I have run the Delano Park 12 Hour Run, twice as an individual and once as a relay team member, but this year I wanted to make it something more, both in terms of running and as something a bit more worth while.  I was going to start running twelve hours before the official start of the race, thereby making it a 24 hour run, and to make such silliness worth the while, I took pledges from donors who wanted to sponsor me on a per mile basis to raise money for NTSAD, the same organization for which a group ran across the state of Alabama this past summer.  The race directors for the Delano 12 both ran the full way across AL, and one of the directors, Eric Schotz, has a son, Elliott, who is afflicted with Tay Sachs Disease.  Having such a worthwhile cause provided some much needed motivation throughout the late night/early morning hours of solo running, the latter miles of painful slogging, and many miles of pounding in training.  A few miles into my run, Eliza Schotz, Eric’s wife, brought Elliott out for a few minutes, and seeing the reason for the run drove the point home that it was time to get down to business.

 

I arrived at Delano Park about 15 minutes before I needed to start, got my aid station ready (consisting of a table, a couple water bottles, bananas, and pb&j), and nervously chatted with the small crowd that had assembled to watch me start.  Promptly at 6pm (by the RD’s watch), the Delano Day was underway with me anticlimactically trotting away from the start/finish line.

 

1 mile:  8:55

 

The first mile or two went by relatively uneventfully, albeit far too quickly, and slowly, the little group that came out to watch the start thinned out (some had to go to a prerace dinner and packet pickup before getting a good night’s sleep before their own race – the Delano 12 – in the morning).  Soon, we were down to just a couple people at the park with me, which was great to have, as I had expected to be alone for quite a bit of the night. 

 

As the daylight faded into night, Fred Trouse, a good friend from Auburn who served as a pacer for me during both runnings of the Pinhoti 100, began running with me.  Fred is always a pleasure to have along for a run, given his rather wide range of past experiences that have left him knowledgeable in so many areas.  This, coupled with the fact that he is an overly kind, intuitive, and selfless pacer, makes him a sublime pacer.  In any case, Fred and I circled the 1-mile loop time and time again.

 

Since this event was in my hometown of Decatur, AL, my family could come to watch the madness.  My Illustrious Father, Darling Little Sister, and, of course, Inimitable Mother, were all on hand for the start, and took different shifts to hang out at the park.  Whereas my Illustrious Father has been to both successful 100’s and the one failed attempt to watch the carnage, Darling Little Sister and Inimitable Mother haven’t had the joy of observing such stunts.  That being the case, my Inimitable Mother took the first shift and watched Fred and me plug away the first few miles.

 

As I settled into my natural pace, several people came by the park to say hi and see how everything was going, often stopping by after picking up their race packets and eating the prerace pasta supper.  One such visitor, Spurgeon Hendrick, a fellow Pinhoti veteran and all around good guy, happens to be sponsored by the Moon Pie company, and when he stopped by to check on me, he left a few moon pies along with some new flavored versions of the moon pie.  I know; I was spoiled.

 

At one point, Fred and I were treated with a couple of kids running with us.  Mrs. Burgreen, my high school freshman history teacher, came out for an hour or so to help cheer me on and brought along her children.  It’s not often that I feel old during these events, as I’m often one of the youngest participants, but seeing Mrs. Burgreen’s three kids, all of whom ran a little, and two of whom ran a couple laps as fast or faster than me, almost made me feel like an adult, because Mrs. Burgreen was pregnant with the first one when I was in her class a decade ago.  Regardless, it was nice to see Mrs. Burgreen; she always seems to have a smile on her face and encouraging words on her lips, and I’m glad she and her progeny came out.

 

Marathon:  4:11

 

At some point, another local bunch of ultrarunners, the Fagerman’s, came out for a few laps.  They were some of the lucky participants of the Run From the Ranger 50k last December, and it was nice to have the company while Fred took a little break.

 

50k:  5:09

 

Late in the evening, yet another Pinhoti alumnus, Philip Sustar, showed up with his family and another runner or two and set up their tent for the race the next morning.  I initially assumed that they were simply going to set up the tent and then go find a hotel for the night.  I was incorrect.  Philip ran quite a few miles with me throughout the night, made sure I always had what I needed, offered up his tent and supplies to me, and even helped me change my shoes and socks after 62 miles.  Because of helping me, I don’t think Philip even got 3 hours of sleep Friday night, and he still managed to get up and run 52 miles during the race Saturday morning (all the while checking on me whenever we crossed paths).

 

Around midnight, Darling Little Sister arrived to run with me for an hour or so.  Unfortunately, she showed up right as I hit my one and only real crash of the run.  She arrived just as I was completing 35 miles, ready to run, and the only thing I could do at the time was rest my head on the aid table, sit down, and ask for warm clothes and my first round of caffeine in a week (Mt. Dew is a lifesaver at times like these).  So after around 10 minutes of recouping, I got back up and set out with Darling Little Sister for around four miles.  She is always an utter joy to run alongside, and considering the somewhat unusual circumstances, it was all the more enjoyable.  All too soon, though, her running shift was over, and she went home to get a well-earned good night’s sleep and roust my Inimitable Mother for her running shift.  In the interim, of course, Philip and Fred filled in running with me. 

 

Within 30 or 45 minutes, the Inimitable Mother showed up, and we plugged away a few more miles.  I thoroughly enjoyed my hour with her; the best way I know to describe it is that I like running with my Mama.  Before I knew it, her shift had come to an end, and she went home to roust my Illustrious Father to come out for moral support.  Around the time he showed up to check in (being the experienced crew chief from my previous 100-miler excursions), Jon Elmore, one of the race directors showed up to get his mileage in for the day.  Jon ran around 5 before taking up the responsibilities of co-race director as other runners began arriving for the race. 

 

100k:  11:46

 

Around 15 minutes before the official start of the Delano 12, I hit the 100k mark and decided to take the opportunity to get off of my feet for a few minutes, warm up, and change socks (which proved to be a gloriously wise decision).  As the race began, so did the rain.  The weather throughout the night had been perfect. Upper 40’s with a slight breeze, but the Delano 12 has a reputation of bad weather to uphold, so there was an obligatory soaking rain, wind, and (later in the day) a bout of sleet/hail.  Regardless, I donned a light rain shell, and managed to remain pretty comfortable for most of the day.

 

The first couple hours of the “official” race passed rather quickly for me, since I had the company of John Bolding, a senior runner from the Austin High School XC team.  He’s picked up a bit of an interest in ultrarunning and claims that he wants to try one out after he graduates, so I gave him a little introduction to the oddity that generally accompanies this small niche of running.

 

During the day, the miles came and went.  Having all of the other racers around was nice, and since it was a loop course, we were constantly seeing each other to offer encouragement, support, and jokes.  Even so, or perhaps because of this, the miles seemed to blend together throughout the day.

 

It was nice to see a bunch of my friends out running the race.  Almost everyone I talked to had a good day of running, and I only wish I could thank everyone I saw for the unending encouragement they offered me throughout the day.  I think Fred, who continued to plug away at the miles with me throughout the day, PR’d for the total distance that he covered in a day.  I’m not entirely sure of his total mileage, but it had to be approaching 50 (especially considering he kept on plugging away even after I had finished, even though he wasn’t officially entered in the race; he just enjoys being out there). 

 

In any case, after the final few miles (it seemed like the last 15 took forever), my Inimitable Mother and Darling Little Sister joined me for my last lap.  With a few meters to go, we even got the privilege of pushing Elliott across the finish line. 

 

100 Miles:  19:42:53

 


Chatting with Elliott at the finish

 

For what it’s worth, this is a 100 mile PR by 7:55:27.  I suspect I’ll have a hard time PR’ing by over 7 hours again in just about any event.

 

Shortly after I got done, I headed into Philip and Co.’s tent to warm up, and the combination of the fact that I couldn’t move my legs and the sudden onset of sideways sleet convinced me that I was done for the day.  In retrospect, maybe I should have gotten out and walked a few more miles.  Oh well; call me lazy…

 

While I was warming (and stiffening) up, I was giving a bit of a recap to Tony Bolan.  Tony is a friend from church who happens to be a local magistrate.  When he heard about my little overnight adventure, he sent word to the officer in charge of patrols from the police department to concentrate patrols around Delano Park throughout the night.  It was a welcome sight to see cop cars cruise by checking on things.  Tony had come out during the first couple of hours to watch, he showed up around 4am to check, and then he came out again to watch me finish.  I cannot reiterate enough how much all of the support I got from friends meant as I circled that loop time after time after time.

 

This run was perhaps the most thorough mental effort and surreal running experience I’ve ever had.  The very nature of running through the night and over this many miles causes you to cover the full spectrum of physical, mental, and emotional states, and coupling that with the knowledge that I was running for a cause served to heighten the experience.

 

Afterwards, I got to enjoy some time with a bunch of running buddies, sitting around and cutting up, well pleased with the effort.  A bunch of folks managed to go farther than they ever had before, which certainly an accomplishment.

 

I haven’t managed to total up all of the donations and pledges, but I think that somewhere around $1000 was raised for NTSAD through the run, and I’ll gladly repeat the effort if it can in any way help facilitate research or support for families and those afflicted with Tay Sachs.

 

A day later, muscularly, I’m not too sore, but the joints are screaming at me.  Totally worth it.

 

Well, yet again, I warned you that it was long and boring, but somehow you’ve made it to the finish.  I am fairly certain that I’ve left out or forgotten quite a bit of what happened, but such is the nature of the beast.  My apologies if it was a bit long, winding, and incoherent, but that’s how the run was, too.  (and I’ll post up pictures as I get them…)

 

Comments
From Paul on Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 20:06:17 from 174.23.180.177

Yes, interesting. That's a good 100-mile time.

From Jon on Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 20:35:12 from 75.169.141.26

Wow- awesome!

From seeaprilrun on Mon, Mar 15, 2010 at 08:20:22 from 68.103.242.46

Totally wild! Good read! 100 miles yikes!

From Carolyn in Colorado on Mon, Mar 15, 2010 at 09:45:32 from 24.8.167.243

Absolutely amazing and inspiring! Congratulations on an unreal PR. But I have to ask, are you human?

Also, what wonderful running family and friends you have.

From flatlander on Mon, Mar 15, 2010 at 09:57:22 from 198.207.244.102

Thanks for the report. Good cause, great race, very inspiring.

From Little Engine That Could on Mon, Mar 15, 2010 at 10:00:37 from 68.98.198.29

Thanks for the great write up Jon. Once again you have accomplished an amazing feat....feet?? (That is so bad I should be embarrassed to have typed it).

Congrats on your PR. Congrats on making it 100 miles. Piece of cake eh?

Since you make those look easy I thought I'd share another easy 100 with you: http://motherroad100.com/

:)

Again, great job!!!

From Burt on Mon, Mar 15, 2010 at 15:53:09 from 206.19.214.144

Nice 7 hour PR Mr. Nevels. That's awesome to be able to do that in your own back yard practically. Did you heel click while pushing the stroller across the finish line?

From JD on Mon, Mar 15, 2010 at 16:36:13 from 70.96.78.157

At the risk of using an over used cliche'...YOU ROCK NEVELS!

From Kelli on Mon, Mar 15, 2010 at 19:32:59 from 71.219.89.82

WOW, Nevels, you are impressive!!! I am so glad that you had such great support from your family (and happy to hear that you love running with your mama), friends, and the community! You are a machine and just plain a super good guy!

Rest well, you deserve it!

From Tracy on Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 21:20:34 from 173.23.75.96

Wow! Impressive and inspirational read--and all for a great cause. Congratulations on this great accomplishment! What a great support system you have!

From mike mcclellan on Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 03:38:14 from 192.28.0.20

Cngrats on another 100 Jon! You looked strong every time that I saw you.It was cool to see your mother out there also.

From Brent on Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 07:39:52 from 168.178.30.194

Trailing Aristotle - 10,000 commando points for the mental and physical conquest, nice read - the mental goings, for 100 miles, can't get the mind around it. Kool to have running support.

Stay Kool, B of BS Rools out

Nevels - one question - how pairs of shoes in one year?

From Kelsey on Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 15:19:22 from 75.202.239.150

Congrats on another inspirational run! You're awesome. I PRed by 1 sec in the 5k during my last race (last year). Your 7 hours only shames it a little bit.

Let me know the details about paying up. How much. who to write the check to and where to mail it. I owe you your non-injured bonus as well! My messages from here go to my junk mail so I tend to miss them. Please send then info via a comment on my blog or email to kscheitlin@fsu.edu. Thanks!

From Nevels on Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 19:50:01 from 75.143.79.30

Thanks all. Fun run with a good cause for motivation and a good outcome.

Carolyn: I know I'm sub-human. Maybe one day I'll make it up to the next level.

Deborah: A friend of mine won the Mother Road 100 women's division a year or so ago. I've been tempted...

Burt: I actually didn't push stroller, Inimitable Mother did (it would have stopped me in my tracks), and I didn't heel click, because I thought I would end up going further. Woops...

Brent: I probably use fewer pairs of shoes than I should (relatively restrictive grad school budget), but I try to get around 700 or 800 miles out of a pair, and I probably go through 3 or 4 pairs per year (plus trail shoes)

Again, thanks to all of you, and you're right, the support system I had was amazing. Having Fred for SOOOOO many miles was amazingly helpful, and getting to run with Darling Little Sister and Inimitable Mother definitely provided some wonderful enjoyment during the wee hours of the run (and it was a treat to get to run the last mile with them)

From Carolyn in Colorado on Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 20:00:43 from 24.8.167.243

Not sub-human, super-human.

From Nevels on Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 20:09:50 from 75.143.79.30

I'm not so sure... even a dog knows when to quit running... something I have yet to figure out...

From Benn Griffin on Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 09:08:08 from 159.250.65.33

Hey Nev - just realized you had a 7h55m PR! HAHAHA That is the sickest performance since the beginning of EVER. Awesome man!

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