Altra Olympus Shoe Review

Altra Olympus

At the end of my last post I listed a few shoes that I need to review and asked if anybody had a preference for which I should do first.  It was a tie between the Altra Olympus and the New Balance MT110V2.  So here is the first of the two.

When I first heard about the Olympus I was very excited.  Way back at the beginning of Altras incredible ride to popularity (3 or so years ago) I fell in love with the Altra Instinct.  I wore it for road and trail ultras, including 3 different 100 milers.  As much as I loved it, I wished that it had more cushioning and better traction.  So much so that I even cut the sole of a pair of Hoka Mafates and bonded it to a Instinct upper. 

My original Altrokas

When I heard that Altra was coming out with a Zero drop, maximum cushioning shoe I was psyched.  What I was hoping for was a Hoka type ride with an upper that had the typical Altra features of a large toe box and comfy upper.  Speaking of Hoka, there is no way to do this review (in my eyes) without having some sort of comparison between the two.  Most trail runners I know have at least one pair of Hokas, even if they primarily run in minimal or traditional shoes. 

When I slipped them on for the first time I was really pleased with the fit of the upper.  Then when I took my first steps I was immediately struck by the odd gait I had walking on our wood floors.  It was as if I was standing on a flat sole that canted forward when I walked. I have worn many rockered shoes but they have always felt as if they exaggerated the natural running stride.  These felt like they impeded it.

See the short steep angle of the toe spring?  Feels more radical than it looks.

My first run was on the pavement.  I hated them.  It felt like the radical ramp angle had my toes hanging off the edge of a diving board and the stride was just clunky.  The level of cushioning was great.  Not Hoka Bondi soft, but similar to the Stinson Evo.  Also similar to the Hoka Rapa Nuis, but with more height.

The best toe-box in the biz

I was pretty bummed and put them in the closet.  I wrote Golden (the founder of Altra) asking if I was the only one who was fixated on the ramp angle.  I asked because I had already read many reviews and people seemed to love the shoe and was starting to see it on peoples feet at races.  He said that no, I wasn't the only one, but many folks were saying that it was much minimized when running off road.  He also said that for the next version they will be working on a more natural transition to toe off.

Cool built in Gaiter Trap

Since I loved the fit, I wore them a few times casually.  My heel bruise does better wearing maximal cushioning shoes.  I didn't run again in them for a while.  Then I tried them on a short 8 mile run on the trails and though that he was right.  The ramp angle wasn't nearly as noticeable.   But with many shoes to test they sort of fell out of my rotation.  With it being the top pick for a review, I decided I better run some more miles in them.

Lacing system allows snug fit

So Thursday I took them out for a 12 mile run all trails.  I swear they seem like they are breaking in.  The run felt really good and I enjoyed wearing them.  Then on Sunday I took them to the White Mountains. 

Slippery when wet!

Since they fit just a tad tight on my right foot, I was worried about using them on the steep descents, but it turns out that wasn't a problem.  As a matter of fact, they were excellent.  I ran 21 miles of very steep, rocky, wet, muddy, mossy, rooty....ok you get it.  With 8000 ft of elevation gain/loss it was a great test. 

Going back up Mt. Tecumseh

The level of cushioning is so appreciated when running/hiking on trails like these. As is the super comfortable fit and wide toe box.  But the upper can be laced very snugly and they keep your foot in place.  Which prevents your toes from being smashed against the front, which is something I hate.  What's not as appreciated is the traction.  It has somewhat grippy rubber, but not awesome.  And the road based tread doesn't work in mud at all.  The good news is the fit and comfort.  I got zero hot spots or blisters and I just love how comfy they are.  Although I haven't submerged them, they seemed to dry out pretty quickly from the water/mud I did get on them.

It should be noted that I saw these shoes on the feet of several competitors at the Peak 200 race 3 weeks ago.  And two of them wearing them finished!  Also it's worth noting that my friend Larisa Dannis ran a 2:44 Boston Marathon in them, finishing first non-elite US woman!

The foam seems to be getting a bit softer and breaking down a bit.  This is a really good thing.  The stiff rigid feel I encountered at first seems to be going away.  Sometimes you actually do get another chance to make a first impression.  I still will be excited to see Altra fix the abrupt ramp angle, but in the meantime I am going to put a lot more mountain miles on these puppies.

Oh yeah...If you really want to know the stats...
Weight (size 10.5) - 12.75oz - actual weight on my food scale
Fit - True to size, perhaps a tiny tiny bit on the small side
Delta - Zero Drop
Cool stuff - built in Gator velcro
Stack Height - 36mm (!!!!)
Price - $130
Construction/materials/etc. - Check out Altra for more info.

2013 Vermont 100 Race Report

It's 3:55am and I'm standing at the starting line for the Vermont 100.  It's a familiar place to me.  In 2008 I was lined up at the same place, incredibly full of anticipation for the unknown experience of attempting to cover 100 mile by foot for my first time.  Except for 2010, I have been at every start since.  Until last year, I had finished every race.  My quickest time being 20:29.

Last year was a rough one for me, as far as finishing races go.  I ended up DNFing Vt at mile 70.   It just seemed like I lacked the desire to get to the finish line.  Sure, I had problems (wrecked quads and blisters) but that's par for the course when doing one of these things.

Unfortunately the string of DNF's (Did not Finish) continued for me earlier this year at the Massanutten 100.  I got sick on Monday before the race and the cold turned into walking pneumonia by race day.  I started, but only got to mile 20 before massive fatigue, coughing fits and a tough time breathing got the best of me.  It was particularly disappointing because I  trained harder than ever and felt very ready to go.

And now again I find myself full of nervous anticipation.  I want to break 20 hours.  Badly.  But I don't know if my head is strong enough.  Will I fail once again?  I tell myself to relax and trust my training.  I know that if things go terribly wrong my real goal is to just finish.  If things go right hopefully I can get that sub 20 hour finish that has eluded me at this race.

I know that in order to get my goal I have to be quicker through the aid stations.  In the years past I have wasted a lot of time there managing blisters, sitting down too long and just being unfocused.  This year I have my favorite crew, my wife Amy and my brother Barry.  And as an added bonus, my best friend Jeremy is along for the ride.  I have given the exact instructions on what I need at each stop.  The goal is for me to spend 2 minutes max at each stop.

I have a strategy for everything.  But as anybody who has ever done a 100 mile race knows, the best strategy is to be mentally prepared for surprises.  You just can't anticipate what you are going to have to deal with for this big of an undertaking.  And I have painfully learned that even my experience doing these races doesn't guarantee a finish.

Amy and I at the start.  The calm before the storm.

The race stared promptly at 4am after a nice surprise fireworks show on a nearby hill. (Yes, I know I just changed from present tense to past tense....) It was a cool way to start the race and I felt great as I ran down the first hill and into the woods for the first time.  We had been warned that the trails were much wetter than years past due to the extraordinary amount of rain that Vermont has received this year.  Keeping that in mind, I started the race in my Brooks PureGrit II shoes.  I had planned on wearing my Altra Torins, but the Brooks offer better traction and drainage.  My plan was to see just how wet it was and then change into the Altras if possible.

Although the trails were somewhat wet, they really weren't that bad.  I was enjoying the early easy pace, but my stomach felt like it had a big bubble of gas in it for a bunch of miles.  I took a couple minute bio break in the woods off the road and felt much better afterwards.  As I was running down the hill into Woodstock I saw my old buddy, Sherpa John up ahead.  I caught up with him and chatted a bit.  He was running great and it was nice to see him.  He was wearing a GPS watch and informed me that we were running at a 7:45 pace.  I was surprised as I felt so comfortable.  I reminded myself to make sure I didn't hammer too early.

Changing into the awesome Altra Torin shoes

I reached the first Handler station, Pretty House (mile 22.5) at 7:34am.   I spent less than two minutes changing shoes and socks into the Altras, grabbing two new bottles, and an extra gel and 3 Perpetuem solids that I ate as I took off.  I also drank a Vespa CV-25.  My crew was absolutely fantastic and had everything ready to go.  About a half a mile after leaving I realized that I still had my headlight on my head.  For about 10 seconds I started to get upset, but then decided that it really was no big deal even though I would have to have it there for another 8 miles.  Just as I stopped worrying about it coach Jack came driving by and I yelled at him to stop.  He took the light from me and later gave it back to my crew.

Amy helping me make another super quick aid station stop

Stage road was the next Handler station, at mile 31.4.  I arrived at 9:09am and was out in one minute.  In that time I got two new bottles, drank a Vespa, ate 3 Perpetuem Solids and restocked on my gels.  I was in great spirits and ready for the 17 mile stretch until I saw my crew again.  My shoes were working very well, my feet were great and my fueling strategy was working excellent.  The day was not nearly as warm as I had expected and there was a nice cloud cover keeping the sun from being to hot.  As far as I was concerned, the conditions were perfect.

Somewhere in the next few miles I caught up with Amy Rusiecki who was going through a rough patch already.  I usually keep to myself and don't do much talking to anybody else during a long race, but Amy said that her hamstring was hurting and she was upset that she already felt bad so early in the day.  We had a nice chat and I reminded her that last year she wanted to drop, but stuck it out and got second place.  During our talk she seemed to pick up the pace and started to feel better.  It's amazing how much our brain is in control of our bodies, regardless of how hard we train or how fit we are.  I was able to physically see a change in her demeanor, running and attitude just by having something to take her mind off of her current pain.  It was cool.  And she went on to finish 3rd woman with a time of 19:53!

Weighing in at the medical check

As the miles clicked away I was happy that I never really slipped into any type of low patch.  I was starting to chafe a bit, but it was nothing serious (yet....) and I just kept plugging away.  It just a hair under 3 hours until I arrived at Camp 10 Bear at mile 47.6.  It was 12:10 and I had covered almost half the course in 8 hours and 10 minutes.  I was over one hour ahead of my planned time and I felt great.  I got checked in by the medical staff, where I weighed 2lbs less than my starting weight.  That was a good sign that I was staying properly hydrated.  With the usual drill of two new bottles, a Vespa and some new gels I was on my way out for more.

I don't remember much about the next 11.5 miles except that somewhere along the way I got hit with a huge wave of nausea.  I thought for sure this would finally be the first time I've thrown up in a race, but nope, it didn't happen.  After a few dry heaves I felt better.  It was strange and I was grateful to not have to deal with being sick.  As I arrived at the Seven Seas station, mile 59.1 I decided that I needed some real food.  I ate some brown rice with tofu and avocado and felt much better.  My crew got me out in 2 minutes and then made the mad dash to the next handler station, the famous Margaritaville.  It was only 3.4 miles away for me to run but it was 17 miles of driving for the crew to get there.  When I got into the station they were just pulling in.

Wet macerated feet

Here is where I made the decision to take a bit longer than normal and fix some issues.  Since my feet had been wet from the trails for hours and hours, they were starting to get macerated.  The military calls this condition "swamp foot" and if not addressed it can be extremely painful as the waterlogged creases on the bottom of your feet start to blister.   I took my shoes off then rinsed, washed and dried them.  I changed the insoles for dry ones and powdered the hell out of my feet to absorb any moisture.  I put on a dry pair of Wright Socks and was ready to go.  Since the chafe was starting to get pretty bad too (you really don't want more details on where I was chaffing...), I decided to change my shorts as well.   After everything was done I had spent 8 minutes, my longest stop of the race.

Feeling much better after dry socks and new shorts

I'm convinced that it was one of the smartest moves I made all day.  Although I was starting to get pretty tired I felt like a new man with clean dry shorts and shoes.  The new shorts didn't eliminate the chaffing, but it did improve it.  Sometimes the little things make a huge difference when you are so raw.

The next 8 miles felt great.  Mentally I was super excited.  Last year this stretch is where everything fell apart for me.  This year I was cranking.  There are some long downhill stretches and I felt like I was flying.  I was trying to preserve my quads, but I also knew that if I wanted to break 20 hours I needed to take advantage of these quicker parts because the last 30 have lots of hills and are slow.

I pulled in to Camp 10 Bear, mile 70.5 in high spirits at 4:41pm and was super psyched to be there so early in the afternoon.  I lubed the chaffe, ate some more rice and tofu, drank a Vespa, and got new bottles and gels.  I was out in 2 minutes accompanied by Matt Wilson, my pacer for the last 30 miles.

Matt at Western States this year (Photo Luis Escobar)

I actually have not used a pacer in over 2 years.  And I had no plans on doing so here.  In the few days leading up to the race Jack emailed me explaining that Matt was coming up all the way from PA to pace me and that he was a great guy was had just run Western States in a little over 20 hours.  Jack said that he would kick my ass to the finish line and get me home in under 20 hours.  Frankly I was a little bit reluctant and told Jack, thanks, but no thanks.  But it seemed that he wouldn't take no for an answer.  It sounded like a recipe for disaster to me.   At the same time, I am learning that the Universe answers all requests and provides us with all the resources we need to achieve our wants and needs.  It's up to us to choose to recognize those gifts or ignore them.  I decided that this must be one of those occasions and gave in to the fact that Matt was going to pace me.  As I'll explain, I'm glad I did.

As Matt and I got to know each other a bit better I found him to be very easy to talk to.  I was actually a bit intimidated by him because he is such a strong runner.  I wanted to be strong and run well even though I was getting tired.  I tried my best not to whine too much, but I have to admit I did so a bit.  Matt was super good about watching our average pace and keeping me moving in the areas that were flat or downhill.   The nice part was that he wasn't sharing with me the actual math, he was just telling me if we were on pace or not.  When I did have to hike up the steep hills he was very reassuring by telling me that we were still moving well and on track.

Tired and confused at mile 77

We next saw the crew at the Spirit of 76 aid station (mile 77.4) and we actually ran the steep hill that comes into the station.  It was still light out and it was only 6:09pm.  One of my stretch goals was to make it to Bills Barn, mile 89 in the light, which I've never done before.  Now I had about 2 1/2 hours to try to accomplish that, but I was starting to get pretty tired.  We were at the station for less than 2 minutes, did the usual bottles, Vespa, etc and headed out.

70% hardpacked VT roads = sore feet

My Altra Torin shoes were working great, but the pounding of the hard packed roads was starting to get to me.  Matt was wearing Hokas and we talked a bit about shoes. I decided that I would change into my Hokas at Bills for the final stretch once we got there.  This thought kept me going as we continued to pound out the miles.

This stretch has lots of very steep hills that are not runnable for me when I'm this tired.  I concentrated on power walking at a brisk pace and found that I was starting to catch people.  About a mile before Bills, while going up a miserably steep road I passed Bob Ayers from Vt.  Bob is a super nice guy and incredibly strong runner.  He was gracious and told me that I was doing great and I needed to enjoy the good ones when they happened.  Seeing him picked up my spirits a bit.  I've never been even close to him at any race.  It was a good sign for me that I was moving well.

Shortly after I passed the early woman's leader (who was now in second place ), Traci Falbo.  She was struggling a bit.  As I went by I said "Welcome to VT, these hills are brutal aren't they?"  She was in no mood to talk and gave me a look like she wanted to kill me.  I later apologized explaining that I was just trying to keep things light, but she was in no mood to engage with me.   I didn't take it personally.  When you are doing one of these races and in a bad spot you are incredibly raw.

Shortly after the top of the hill, with Bills in sight, I saw my friend Adam Wilcox for the first time.  I didn't realize it was him as the sun was just starting to go down.  He was facing a tree with both hands resting on it and had one foot lifted up behind him.  His pacer, my other friend Ryan Welts, was removing his sock and shoe to remove what Adam thought was a pebble in his sock.  It turns out there was nothing there, but the blisters felt like a pebble and they were trying to fix it.   Adam seemed a little surprised to see me and not really that happy about his situation.  I could tell he was hurting, but he wouldn't admit it to me.  I wished him luck and kept going.

Bills Barn, mile 89

I was elated to get into Bills while it was still light out!!  It was 8:28pm and I had now run 89 miles in 16 hours 28 minutes.  Matt went ahead to tell the crew that I needed my Hokas.  As I was approaching the station I saw our car and stopped to see if my Hokas were there.  That way they didn't have to run back to the car to get them.  I looked in my shoe bag and they weren't there so I assumed they had them with them and headed in.

Jeremy, keeping everybody entertained.

When I arrived I weighed in at one pound over starting weight and medical cleared me to keep on.  I went over to the crew to discover that they did not have my Hokas.  As I took off my socks and washed and prepped my feet Jeremy went on a mad sprinting dash to get the shoes.  I lost zero time as he had them back before I had my new socks on.  He was breathing hard and said, how the hell do you do that for 100 miles??  I only wish that I could run that fast for 100 miles!!! 

On top of the shoe change, I got my usual bottles, Vespa etc. I also did my best to try to fix the chaffing which now was starting to get pretty bad. Amy keeps notes from each station and for here they say "Surprise!, flying!, ready to kick ass".  Matt and I headed out excited that only 11 miles stood before me and the finish line. 

Heading out of Bills, with Hokas on feet.

The next 6 miles to the last handler station, Polly's (mile 95.9) were tough.  I was struggling to run even when it was flat and I was walking more than I wanted to.  My chaffing was killing me, so much so that I took off my shirt and stuffed it down my shorts to create a barrier between my thighs and my ....never mind....  My makeshift repair did make it a bit better and I was just trying to stay focused and get through the pain.  The entire time Matt kept being extremely supportive letting me know that we were way ahead of the 20 hour goal and prodded me to get into a running shuffle as much as possible.

Trying to eat quickly and get the hell out of the aid station

I got to Pollys at 10:05pm, 18 hours and 5 minutes into the race.  Now I only had 4.1 miles to finish.  I remembered this section as pretty slow and tough, but it actually had more flat and downhill than I remembered.  For the next two miles I was doing the math and realizing that I had a real possibility to break my all time PR for a 100 mile race of 19:19.   When Matt and I came upon the 2 miles to go sign I looked at my watch.  It was 10:35pm.  If I could do the last two miles in under 25 minutes I could break 19 hours!!

Matt and I had actually run these miles on Friday before weigh in and I knew what they were like in the day.  They were hilly, but certainly runable.  I looked at Matt and said, "Lets go get a PR!"  Matt said "Hell yes, let's do this!" and I took off like a bat out of hell.  As I went flying down the trail, through the muddiest part of the course I started passing people.  We went by at least 3 runners with their pacers, two of which we actually startled because we were running so fast!

As I went by Adam and Ryan, whom had passed me a bit earlier, they were supportive and gave me words of encouragement.  But I know Adam's fierce sense of competitiveness and was running scared, positive that he would come flying back by me.  But nobody did.  I ran the last two miles in 18 minutes and crossed the finish line in 18 hours and 53 minutes.  I was floored when I learned that I had also finished in 9th place.  9th place!!! I never dreamed that I could do that at such a competitive event.

Crossing the line

Matt and I at the fnish

It's official - 18:53:56 and 9th place (2nd in age group)

Now the pain begins...

As I sat down in a chair the intense pain in my legs took over and an incredible wave of nausea overtook me as well.  I was sure I was going to throw up and even told Amy to move her feet as I was going to lose it.  After moaning and groaning a bit, the crew decided that I should go to the medical tent to lay in a cot for a bit.  I was shivering uncontrollably.  The extent of the chaffing became evident as the adrenaline wore off and the pain set in.  But I don't think any amount of pain could overshadow the feeling of accomplishment.

Special "Top Ten" Buckle

Standing with the fast crowd!

The next day at the awards ceremony I got to stand with the top ten.  I was pretty honored to be up there with such runners as Ian Sharman, Brian Rusiecki, Nick Clark, Jason Lantz and of course my good friend Adam Wilcox, whom I knew would be top 10.

It was an incredible day.  And I would not have been able to do it without Amy, Barry, Jeremy, Matt and Coach Jack.  A million thank you's go out to them and everybody else who has been so supportive of this endeavor.  Success is that much sweeter after failure, and I learned that the saying "Never give up" really holds pays off in the end.



Stats for the day:
Shoes - Brooks Pure Grit II - first 22 miles, Altra Torin - 66 miles, Hoka Bondi Speed - last 11 miles.
Socks - Write Sock cool mesh - 2 pairs
Gold Bond Powder - in socks and on feet after cleaning them
Shorts - Brooks
Shirt - Columbia Omni Freeze cooling shirt

Food: Vespa CV-25 - 8 Pouches, Vfuel gels - about 10, Hammer Sustained Energy - 9 bottles (3 scoops per bottle), 9 Perpetuem solids and about a cup of brown rice with avacado and tofu. 

Altra Lone Peak shoe review

Altra Lone Peak

When the Altra Instinct came out I was psyched.  Finally there was a cushioned zero drop shoe with a fantastic toe box.  You can read my review of the shoe here.  When I first discovered Altra, the shoe I was really looking forward to was the Lone Peak.  After reaching out to Altra and telling them about my PPS they emailed and said that they would like to sponsor my attempt.  They sent me a pair of the Instincts for free and gave me a discount on 2 additional pairs.  I wore them for the Western States 100, the Vermont 100 and part of the Leadville 100. 

As the summer wore on the release for the Lone Peaks kept getting delayed.  I couldn't wait for the additional traction and protection that the shoe promised.  When they finally came out my summer of racing was over.  Altra Co-Owner Brian Beckstead reached out to me recently and told me that Altra would love my feedback on the shoe now that it was out.  Originally they had promised to send me a pair for free when they were available.  For some reason, perhaps because my race schedule for the year was complete, Brian said that I could buy a pair at a discount.  At this point I have been using several other shoes as my go-to trail shoes, most notably the New Balance MT110's and Brooks Pure Grits.  I really did not need to buy another pair of shoes, but I had been waiting for these shoes to come out for almost 6 months and I do love the Instincts.  So I decide to take Brian up on his offer and bought a pair.

Notice how hard I'm pushing on the heel.  The sole feels like it's made out of steel.  It doesn't flex.

For comparisson, my Instincts with similar (if not less) pressure applied at the same point.

When they arrived I was super surprised at how stiff they were.  The addition of a rock plate and the additional stack height had turned the familiar shoe into a very rigid one.  I ordered the shoes a 1/2 size smaller on Brian's recommendation and I'm glad I did, as they fit well.  Once again, the toe box is excellent.  Nice and wide with plenty room to splay my toes.   But wearing them around the house the felt noticeably stiffer than the Instincts.  I put them in the closet where they stayed for a while. 

Much better traction than the Instinct

Finally I decided to give them a whirl and took them out for a 16 mile jaunt.  Within the first 100 feet I knew that they were a different animal than the Instincts.  My foot felt like it was trapped in a container, rather than being part of an instrument meant to enhance running.  My heel was rubbing up and down against the rear of the shoe with every step because the sole was so stiff that the shoe wasn't flexing with my steps.

Great Toebox

As the run continued onto the trails the shoe felt better, but still too stiff.  My foot had no ground feel whatsoever and the lack of lateral flexibility was frustrating.  The increased traction (over the Instincts) was a noticeable improvement.  One thing I noticed right away was that the rudder type thing on the back of the shoe was rubbing my opposite calf a lot and became rather irritating.  If I use these shoes again I am going to cut it off first.  I can't see that it serves any purpose. 

Calf hair remover....

Eventually I ran through a stream and discovered another issue.  The shoe doesn't drain.  More specifically, the insole is made of a squishy rubber that seems to absorb water like a diaper and then holds it against the bottom of your foot for the rest of the run.  It never dries out.  My feet were wet for the entire run, even though I ran through the water within the first few miles.  This would be a fatal flaw for me if I was going to run 100 miles in them.  I can't imagine how bad my blisters would be.

Honestly, I'm disappointed.  I love my Instincts and had such high hopes for this shoe.  It is so over built for my needs and feels just like the shoes I've been so happy to get away from since moving towards more minimal shoes.  Here's how it ends up for me:

Pros -
Excellent shaped last
Tons of toe room
Zero drop
Huge amount of protection from rocks, etc.

Con's -
Stiff sole
Stiff upper
Doesn't drain
Doesn't move with my foot

If you are looking for a Sherman Tank off road shoe with a zero drop this is your shoe.  For me, it's just to much shoe and lacks the elegance that I'm looking for in an off road shoe.

2011 Run Across NH - Part 1

Saturday, October 15 marked the third time I have attempted to run across the length of NH at its widest point. The first time, in 2008 I ended up stopping about 70 miles in as a result of a stress fracture. Although I had decided that trying to 124 miles of pavement was stupid I was there again in 2009 to try again. This time I bailed about 65 miles in knowing that I was headed down the same road towards another stress fracture.

First year, trying to fix what eventually became a stress fracture.

In 2010 my friend Sherpa John decided that he was going to attempt it through rugged mt trails and I just was to busy to attempt it with him.

Originally the "Potentially Painful Summer" was going to be an attempt to run 4 100 mile races in 4 months. Shortly after conceiving the idea I decided that it would be the icing on top of the cake to finally complete a run across NH. I knew that it would be hard but that is why I decided to attempt it. Little did I know what my body and mind would feel like by the time I got to that point in the year. Good thing I didn't have a clue.

The one thing that I was never crazy about for the RANH (Run Across New Hampshire) was the route. It has always gone from Route 9 in Brattleboro to Route 4 to the final destination at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye NH. It is basically a highway. A few weeks before the run I decided that I was going to change the route to reflect more what I hoped to see for this journey. From the start John and I had talked about this run as an opportunity to see NH from a different perspective than what you would see in a car. That sounds so much better to me! So I plugged in the starting point and the ending point into google maps, clicked the "walk" button and it came up with a route of back roads and routes that I have never seen. It even incorporated 24 miles of the Rockingham Rail trail, which I have run once in the winter.



View Larger Map
 
In the week before the race Amy and I drove the first 45 miles of the route and I even marked the road with arrows so I wouldn't get lost. Once I saw where I was going to be running I became even more excited. It was as good as I hoped it would be. Many of the roads were deep back roads and some were even dirt. A lot of them ran along rivers and streams and the fall foliage is in full bloom.

One of the biggest obstacles to doing a run like this is figuring out how I am going to get support. When you run all day and night there are certain things that you need to keep going. Like food and drink. For long runs like this I need to consume 300-500 calories an hour. That's not easy to take care of without good support (or a HUGE backpack...) You also need somebody to help you get through the many possible problems that can happen like fixing blisters and changing shoes/clothing. Months before the run I was at my friend Sherpa Johns going away party. I was seated with Josh, Loni and Leah, also known as Team Robert.

I had just posted about my idea for the Potentially Painful Summer and they had read that I was going to once again try the RANH. They told me that they were absolutely on board with helping me out and wouldn't miss it for the world. I didn't even ask them, they volunteered.

I was blown away at their reaching out to help me. I have become friends with all three over the years, but still was humbled by their willingness to give up a weekend to help a cranky guy run 110 miles of pavement. When the time came to help they were a huge positive influence on the run. Also helping out would be my friend Adam and of course my biggest fans, my family. The plan was for Adam to start, hand me off to Amy for the majority of Saturday and Team Robert to take me through to the end.

Adam Wilcox

On Saturday morning Adam and I left the house at 3:45 and drove to the bridge at the NH/VT border in Brattleboro. At 5:02 I took off. The plan was for Adam to drive up 5 miles and wait. The weather was excellent and my body felt great. I worked extra hard to go slowly. The plan was to conserve as much energy as possible so that I could have as much energy at the end. The plan was also to not tax myself like I would do if it was a race. I was determined to go against my normal tendencies and just enjoy the day. It took me exactly an hour to catch up with Adam the first time. There are some pretty big hills in that first 5 miles and I walked them even though I didn't need to. I was already starting to wonder why it took me so long and I caught myself and let it all go.  Pace just didn't matter and I was determined to not let it be so.

I drank a Boost and headed out again. As I watched the sun rise over the fog laden hills I was very happy to be finally running in this final installment of my Potentially Painful Summer (PPS). I ran alone, thinking about that moment that I decided to do these runs and what I was hoping to accomplish. For today I would enjoy simply putting one foot in front of the other. As I ran through Keene I got excited that I didn't have to take that left turn onto Route 9 to run the 50 miles of boringness into Concord. Instead I stayed strait and knew that I was only about 5 miles from seeing the family for the first time today. When I got into Marlboro, around mile 20 it was a little before 9am. I was just starting to worry that I would be there before Amy would because I told here it would be at least 9 before I got there. Luckily she had just got there and was ready for the hand off. i was starting to get tired, but also excited for this section. This is where the real back roads started. The sun was now coming up, the leaves were bursting with color and I was starting to explore a part of NH that I had never seen.

Support wagon

It was only 20 miles in and already a big concern had popped up. My right ankle/shin was starting to hurt. It was the same tightness that eventually stopped me on the two previous runs. My body must just hate running on pavement. I had been wearing my Altra Instinct Shoes which fit perfect and felt great, but I decided that since I had about a billion different pairs of shoes with me, I might was well try something different. I put on my new Brooks Pure Grits, which I had been running in the previous week. Although they are off road shoes, the sole has a nice cushioned feel and they were great on pavement. Right away the pain decreased. I did my best to just not think about it and enjoy my surroundings. There was no point in worrying about what might happen later in the day. My goal was to stay in the moment as best as I could and just see what comes my way.

As I was walking up a steep dirt road I pulled out my phone to take a picture. I had brought my camera, but I had left the memory card in my computer. As I snapped a pic, John texted me from Colorado to see how I was doing. I sent him the picture of the beautiful back road and felt very happy to be traveling this route.

At one of the stops Amy had taken the memory card from her camera and put it in the one I was carrying.  I started taking pictures as I passed through Harrisville.

 
Amy continued on as Adam had with supporting me every 4 or 5 miles.  I remember asking her to go a little bit shorter distance because my ankle was already hurting and I wanted to make sure that I could work on it if things got worse.  At 10:35am I had traveled 28 miles.  I hit the 50k (31 miles) at 6 hours 15 minutes into the day.  Considering that I was taking lengthy stops to eat and just chat with the family I felt like I was moving along just fine.  I was enjoying being alone on the back roads of NH enjoying the day.  It sounds corny, but I was very grateful to be alive and in good health.

At 35 miles I was heading through Hancock NH.  I posted on twitter that I was slowing down a bit and my shin was sore.  The good news was that it was staying at the same level of pain and wasn't getting worse. Amy fed me turkey/avocado wrap which was delicious and kept my spirits up by reminding me to not worry about my shin and just stay in the moment.  Many of the roads ran along streams and there was almost zero traffic in these areas.

Even though the pavement was taking it's toll already, I still found many things to keep my mind occupied.  I laughed out loud at this witch whom had run into a tree.

In all the years I've lived in NH I've never seen a sign like these:

Are there really that many bobcats in NH that there is an entire sanctuary dedicated to them?  I had no idea!  The signs scared Izzy and she was on the lookout for big game when she drove through the area.  Of course, no tour of NH would be complete without a covered bridge.  This one is in Greenfield, about 40 miles into the run.

As I toddled along I really was enjoying the scenery.  It was so nice just going out for an all day (and night hopefully) run with friends and family along to cheer me and support me.  There was no pressure like at a 100 mile race.  I had purposely blown off all the publicity that was available.  A group of radio stations had wanted to follow me across the state and give live updates on where I was all weekend.  Months ago the plan had been to do it as a fundraiser, but by the time the last few weeks had rolled around I didn't think that we could do it and raise a substantial amount of money.  So instead I just decided to run for me.  And now I had all the time in the world, which felt incredible.  As I ran I took more pictures.

There were many houses with big fields and ponds in beautiful settings.  Someday I am going to live in a location like this.

I hit the 44 mile mark at 2:17pm and tweeted that my shin was achy, but the scenery was beautiful.  At 4:20 I posted that I was in New Boston, 52 miles in and that "I hate pavement".  My mood was turning a bit as I was getting frustrated with my shin.  I was also succumbing to my natural tendencies to worry about time.  11 hours to go 50 miles is very slow to me.  And even though it wasn't that long ago that I was not concerned about time, now it bugged me that I was traveling so slowly.  Sometimes being "Type A" isn't a good thing when it comes to endurance running.

But I was getting close to the point where Amy and the kids would hand me off to Team Robert.  As a ran along a particularity sucky section of Route 13 (almost no shoulder and lots of traffic), I was shaken out of my funk by my friend Ron and Meredith who pulled over, jumped out of the car and ran at me with a brown paper bag!

I had posted on Facebook a couple nights earlier that I was really craving a Greek Gyro sandwich and it kind of turned into a bit joke.  Of course, they had brought me a Gyro.  Although I wasn't sure it was the best idea I ate the entire thing.  It was completely delicious.  I was sure it was going to make me shit my pants later, but I really didn't care.  This was the kind of thing that made the day so fun.  So, at mile 57 I ate supper by the side of the road. 

I wonder if GU will come out with a lamb and feta cheese flavor...

Three miles later at 6:02 I was at the beginning of the Goffstown rail trail where Josh, Leah, Loni and Grant.  Amy had been awesome and she kept my spirits up all day.  It never escapes me how much she does for me and how supportive my family is.  I am very thankful for them.  So it was now 13 hours into my run, the sun is starting to fade and I've gone 60 miles.  Oh yeah, and my shin really hurts....


Part II - Continued HERE.