Hainesport 48 Hour Race Report

Hainesport Endurance Run is held in the Hainesport Township Park on a 0.9913 mile paved path and includes 12 Hour, 24 Hour, 48 Hour, 100 Mile, and relay options. The event has grown steadily over the past couple years and hosted over 200 participants this year across the various races. The course is lit overnight so you didn’t need a headlamp though several sections were on the rather dim side of things so some runners chose to use one. I went without and never felt the need to pull out my backup headlamp. There’s a nice sized pavilion at the start/finish where the timing was done. The aid station was set up before this adjacent to the rest rooms. Tent city sprouted around it as most people brought their 10×10 popups for their own personal space. The paved course is flat, but does have about 18 feet elevation gain/loss per mile.

Timed events are a great format in that they let people test themselves at ultras distances in a safe venue. Logistics are super easy since you run past however much stuff you think you might need every 10-20 minutes. It’s also a much more social vibe than most ultras since you’re passing and being passed by other runners continually throughout the event. You get to interact with a much broader cross section of the field as well since you see everyone from the front to the back of the pack over the course of the entire event.

OK, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Whenever you tell someone (runners included) that you’re running around a mile loop for 24 or more hours, you’ll get the same aghast response. Like why would anyone want to do such a thing. Doesn’t it get mind numbingly boring? Think of it less like seeing the same thing over and over (and over) again and more like your house. Are you bored with your house? Or does it provide you feelings of safety and comfort? Trust me when I say you will not feel bored after 18 hours just like you’re not bored crossing your bedroom at 2am to go the bathroom. You will not be bored knowing the restrooms are only 6 minutes away if you desperately need them. You will not be bored seeing people at all hours. And you will not be bored being cheered on by spectators and volunteers every 15-20 minutes as you near the start/finish line.

Dream The Impossible Dream

This was my first 48 hour race. Last year I managed 115 miles in 23 hours. I figured best case scenario I might be able to get to 225 if everything went perfectly. I decided to look up the American age group record, which is 232 miles. Hainesport is a USATF sanctioned race so I reached out to Vanessa and mentioned that there was a small chance I could reach this. In order to set the record, there are rules you need to follow and she was great about reaching out to the USATF to get me clarifications (cell phone use a no-no, MP3 player is fine). I felt more than a little silly even asking given how unlikely it was, but I’m predisposed to being optimistic and I just can’t help myself from thinking that I’m a better ultrarunner than I really am. I’m mostly a realist in my day-to-day life, but not with my running. And the reality is I can run 100 miles in 24 hours so who’s to tell me what my limits are? Including myself.

My dream race (aka super secret Plan A) had me starting out at an 11:24 pace, which if maintained would get me to 125 miles after 24 hours. Well, technically it would get me more than this but keep in mind this is certified course so in order to run 0.9913 mile laps you need to run all the tangents perfectly and not step off the course once. In my experience, you’ll end up running at least an extra 1% so factor this into your math if you’re trying to be precise.

I was rolling along steady as can be through lap 37 or about 7 hours in when . . . I just slowed down. I had four miles right at 12 minute pace and as my overall average pace slowly crept up to 11:30 I realized my Impossible Dream was not going to happen.

Pivot Like A Pro (Know Your Why)

At this point, I had a couple different options. I could pick up the effort and really start grinding out a finish or I could go the other way and dial back the effort. I don’t want to Goggins my way through an ultra anymore. And I assure you that boats are not being carried. Setting records or winning races don’t motivate me in the slightest. I’m not Chasing48Hours.com or Tackling200s. But knocking out another hundred miler? Yeah baby, now we’re talking! This decision also had the added benefits of not burying myself ahead of my next hundred in 2 weeks (yes, I need help with my life choices) and would get me off the course before the weather turned craptacular on Sunday (hate running in rain). Wins all around.

The other huge benefit was that now I could spend more time hanging out and socializing with the other runners. Earlier on I was hesitant to spend to much time running with others as this might be construed as pacing. I was also trying to maintain my pace. Now I could spend as much time as I wanted catching up with runners I know (Pete, Jim), making new friends (Joe), and chatting with other runners.

Yeah, I’m The Candyman

Nutrition is hands down the hardest thing to master in ultras. I’m coming around to the opinion that what you eat is less important than the frequency you eat. Pretty much all the focus is on carbs per hour, however the dose of calories is critical for me. Dropping 200-250 calories into my stomach once every hour leads to issues, while a steady drip of 50 calories per mile works wonders for me. Solids never work well, but I can eat candy continuously for 60+ hours. My nutrition plan at Hainesport was Gatorade, Coke, and Perpetuem to drink and Cliff bars, gummy bears, peanut M&Ms, Snickers, and Twix. I nibbled a bit on rice, potatoes, and bananas overnight but that was pretty minimal. Heck, I spent the last 6+ hours sipping Coke and only eating peanut M&Ms. We are all beautiful snowflakes of one, so lean into that. They say not to try anything new on race day, but I really believe you’ve got no choice but to experiment with food until you find what you can stomach (um, literally).

The Part Where I Talk About Pacing

My pacing strategy in races isn’t a set run/walk interval, rather I look to target an average pace. This gives me the flexibility to run downhills or walk longer stretches if I need to digest a snack. Overall, I ended up running for 12 hours 45 minutes, walking for 8 hours and 14 minutes, and had and idle time of 16 minutes or splits of 60%/39%/1%. My idle time was ridiculously low as I’m more normally in the 45-60 minute range for hundreds. And my stoppage time included 3-4 minutes just standing around chatting with Vanessa and John during the run. My honest opinion is people try to run too much during flat hundreds. I got my hundred done in 21:16 despite walking 40% of the time.

Another huge benefit of short looped courses is it lets you lock in your run/walk sections. For some reason, it took my about 12 hours to really get this dialed in, but once I did I was able to just cruise through the night. A lot of times deep into an ultra you won’t be entirely sure whether you should be running or walking a section and will default to the easier option (i.e. walking). A 0.9913 mile loop removes all thought. You ran a section last lap, you run it this one. Walked it last loop? Walk it this one.

The only downside of this course for me was that I could never really completely zone out overnight and just move. Between the lit course, being able to always see the entire course, and becoming intimately familiar with everything (turn here, crack there, weird moss thing over there); I was unable to disassociate myself from what I was doing. Thankfully, I felt amazing and this wasn’t necessary.

Many thanks to Vanessa, John, and all the great volunteers for putting on such an incredible event. I have no doubt I’ll be back again. Just not for the 48 hour race.