2018 JFK 50 Race Report

This is really all Emily's fault 😂 She's the one who decided to run JFK back in the spring, and who got us thinking, hmmm, maybe this would be the year to run it! 😉 Or if I'm being honest, I'll just say that I have a spreadsheet going of races I want to run and JFK is on it so when Emily said she was signing up, it seemed like it was just meant to be this year! 😆😏😜 Ryan was already set to run VT 100 and decided he would wait to see how he felt after that, so it was only me who signed up initially. And of course, then being me, I wanted us to get the rest of our trip set, so we quickly got our ducks in a row, getting flights booked in coordination with Emily, hotel room secured, Mom and Dad on board to come up and meet us so that they could help crew and take care of Sam, and voila, just like that I had a fall race to train for! 

Of course, in the end, Ryan broke his ribs during a training run for VT and ended up DNFing after 83 miles and, well duh, taking a long time to recover from both of those things, so JFK was just not meant to be for him. But Emily and I trained the summer away, and I, for one, at least, harbored at least a healthy bit of race fear throughout! 😆 JFK was a different animal than the other ultras I have trained for before, with three distinct race sections: 1) 15.5 miles on the AT (well, 2.5 miles on an uphill road followed by 1 mile on the AT, 2 more uphill miles on pavement and then a final stretch of 11 miles on the AT); 2) 26+ miles on the very flat C&O Canal Path, and 3) 8.4 miles on rolling pavement to the finish line. I wasn't nervous about the AT. I know how to run technical terrain and I knew that the AT in MD would be no rougher than many of the trails I run on on a regular basis. But 26 flat miles? And a pavement finish? Well, those were two different things entirely!

I feel like my training went fairly well, with a good amount of road running and even some speed work too. Farm to Farm was a great race test on pavement and aside from one weekend of sickness that meant aborting one of my final long runs, I was fairly consistent in my running and feeling like I was as prepared as I was going to be! 

Of course, I was not expecting a snow storm the night before we were set to fly to DC! As the forecasting of the storm grew grimmer late on Thursday afternoon, Ryan booked us a room down at one of the airport hotels, thinking that would at least mean we could just take a shuttle to the terminal and not have to contend with driving in crappy conditions way too early on Friday morning. We didn't expect to wake up at 3:00 am to find that our flight had been cancelled. Thankfully they had at least rebooked us, but it was on a 2:00 pm flight. Our plan had been to be get into DC early so we wouldn't have to contend with traffic or the stress of arriving late on the night before the race. A 2:00 pm flight that ended up being delayed put us in to DC right at rush hour, exactly what we had hoped to avoid. Sigh. Ahhh, nothing like taper and travel and weather stress! 😑😜

Finally on the plane! And only 8 hours after we were supposed to depart 😝😜

We had booked room at the packet pick-up hotel near the finish line in Hagerstown, and my parents were thankfully able to pick up our race packets, so that was one less stress! After the typical time to pick up our bags, get the rental car and get on our way, we settled into DC traffic and soon after, stopped for a late dinner of pizza at a random spot which was surprisingly delish! As we drove north into MD, the amount of snow along the roadside became much more pronounced. Crazy! This was going to be one interesting race! 

We arrived at the hotel around 9:00 pm, but at least we had made it! We got Sam settled with Mom and Dad, Emily and I got our race day gear organized as quickly as we could, I took a short shower to wash the travel off and then we all settled into bed for a short sleep before the alarm went off at 4:00 am.

Temps were forecast to be in the mid 30s at race start, so I chose to go with much more wintery race gear than I have with any other fall race, and I am happy I did! I stayed comfortable in my tights, two top layers, beanie and gloves all day, and the tights kept the snow and ice and mud off my legs too! But before we get to that, we had to get to the Boonesboro High School gym for the pre-race meeting!

One of the most interesting things about this race is how, despite being a very large race (800+ starters and seemingly around 1,000 registered), it had a hometown race feel, with many many people running the race year after year after year. There was one guy who was running his 50th (yes, 5-0!) JFK this year. Truly amazing! Lots of veteran JFKers out there, and typically, a very high finish rate, something like 94%.

All bright and cheery at the start

After the pre-race meeting, the line of runners made their way through the streets to downtown Booneboro for the start. It was overcast and cold, but the sky was just beginning to lighten as we started off without much ceremony on the dot at 6:30 am. 

We wound up the road out of town, running steadily uphill. I stayed on the far right side of the road where I was easily able to keep a comfortable pace and not feel crushed by all the other runners. I managed to run the whole 2.5 miles except one small stretch, and we soon hit the AT crossing, where we took a right onto the trail. They had timing mats set at pertinent spots along the way, the first of which was at the start of the AT. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was fairly far up in the field, coming across in place #220. In part due to this, I think, and in part because the next mile was double-track, I felt like the group I was in was moving fairly well on the rather wet, muddy, snowy trail.

But after only a mile of trail, we hit the first aid station and the start of an uphill grind on pavement for the next 2 miles. As we wound up the ridgeline, I could see the pinkish hue of the sunrise through the bare trees, and the mountain laurel leaves covered in ice tinkled in the breeze. Bits of ice fell off the trees, crashing onto the pavement and there was a significant snow cover in the woods. I'd say I half ran, half walked this section and by the time we reached the tower at the top of the hill, it seemed the group of runners around me had sort of self-selected into a group in which I belonged, at least pace-wise. We took a short narrow trail through the laurel to connect back to the AT and it was slow going, icy, snowy, muddy, slippery. If I'd been at home running on this trail, I'd have been in screwshoes for sure, but oh well, just had to go with it and hope to stay upright! 

The trail wound through the forest, and although I kept thinking that I should recognize the trail from our AT journey, all I could really do was keep an eye on the ground to keep my footing! There were some drier, faster stretches here and there, but mostly it was a sloppy, slippery, icy, snowy, muddy mess. I was in a long conga line of runners but there were places to either get around to allow people to do the same if necessary, and it all seemed rather civil. 

There was an aid station at mile 9.3, where we came down a hill and then wound our way back up into the hardwoods. As I was coming down that final stretch to the road, a few older gentlemen were cheering at the edge of the trail and one of them said, "Great job! You're in the top 60 women!" For some reason, this struck me as entirely funny, as I normally wouldn't think top 60 would be anything great to cheer about but it did bring a smile to my face. This was a different race indeed!

I didn't stop for any food or water at the aid station, but I did stop at the port-a-potty before continuing on. This next stretch seemed to be a bit tougher footing-wise, with lots of deep muddy stretches that were hard to navigate. My feet were also soaked and I was getting cold as I ran through the wet puddles, snow and mud. I am sure my pace slowed through here, but I was running as hard as I wanted to in these early miles. I had a loose plan going in of 12:00-13:00/mile for the AT stretch then 10:00/mile for the rest of the way, which, if executed properly, would put me in the 9:00-9:15 range for finish time. My reach goal was 9:00; A goal was to PR (prior PR was Stonecat 2013, my first 50, at 9:25); B goal was 10:00 and of course, overall goal was to finish and finish smiling! Along the AT, my watch was reading sub-12:00/mile so I was feeling pretty good about that and was in no rush to pick up the pace.

The final section on the AT before the first crew spot at mile 15.0 was a long stretch of switchbacks down Weverton Cliffs. One of the photographers called out for me to watch it on one corner as multiple others had fallen on the slippery rocks, so I cautiously made my way down in my typical Danielle fashion. They had caution tape all along the switchbacks, as well as a pair of EMTs set up along the way. I thanked them for being there and asked them if they'd had to assist anyone yet. They said no, thankfully!  

Emily coming through this stretch way before me and looking solid! 

There was a huge stretch of spectators and crew as we came out of the woods and I scanned the crowds hoping I could find Ryan, Sam, Mom and Dad easily. Luckily, despite wearing nothing splashy, I apparently have a distinctive gait 😉 so Ryan was able to see me easily and called out to get my attention. I had had thoughts of possibly changing socks here, but it was way too busy and Ryan said, 'Don't overthink it! Just keep going!,' so I just made a quick stop to swap out gels and drop some trash and continued on to the official aid station a half mile down the trail for a water refill.

Sam got a high five from Tinkerbell!

Headed out of mile 15 for the next stretch!

There was another half mile of AT to navigate before we popped out on the start of the canal path. An aid station was set up there, and another timing mat. The volunteers at all the aid stations were great and I was able to quickly get my bladder refilled and get back on my way. Looking at the race tracker, I lost some places between the start of the AT and Weverton Cliffs and left in place #236, but I felt pretty happy with how I had fared along the AT and was feeling good. And so it was that the marathon on the C&O canal path began! 

I knew going in that I was likely to find this the most challenging section. There were no headphones allowed in this race, but if there had been, I most certainly would have used them for the canal path! It would have been a welcome break from the monotony. At first, it was easy to find things to look at. The Upper Potomac River was experiencing major flooding and the river was roaring. The first few miles were on the AT and I enjoyed looking up at the bend in the path where the AT branched off to see Harper's Ferry set high above. There was also the canal basin that runs along the inside of the canal path with lots of labeled locks, which were part of the system of aquaducts, along the way and some cool rock formations and cliffs on the opposite bank. I saw a pair of golden crowned kinglets in the first mile or so, flitting about in the branches above what was a very algae-covered stretch of the basin as well as one thrush, but otherwise, no wildlife was seen. I also did a lot of leap-frogging with runners along the whole trail, but never ran with anyone per say. Honestly though, I'm a solitary racer and can only think of one race - Pinhoti - where I ran for an extended amount of time with another runners. I really did enjoy Brian's company in that late night stretch at Pinhoti, but otherwise, I am not much for small talk and just like to run along and do my own thing. 😀 So antisocial, I know! 

I knew I'd be seeing the family at mile 27, and that there were aid stations every 3 miles or so along the canal path, so that broke things up nicely. The first aid station was very boisterous but I had no real reason to stop so I just ran on through.  I was doing a decent job of eating a gel every 3 miles, but started to feel like I needed *something* so I started in on coke at the aid station at mile 21 😉 I hit mile 25 with my watch reading 4:39:xx and felt pretty good about that, although in the end, my watch indicated the race distance was 51.0 miles on the dot, so not sure if the second half was long or what 😏 Regardless, felt pretty good about that split, and knew I was right on track if I could keep from slowing too much. 

The canal path was much wetter and sloppier than I anticipated so that kept things a bit more interesting, but it was still pretty much flat running with no end in sight 😜

This was pretty much my view for the first 11 miles along the canal path 😝 So flat!

My crew, waiting patiently 😃

I was clicking along nicely at a fairly even pace of around 9:45s for the first 11 miles and finally came through mile 27, happy to be able to see everyone and a bit tired but feeling fairly decent overall! 

I stopped and picked up some gels and dropped my trash and then Ryan urged me on. The true aid station was a little further up the trail and I stopped there for a cup of coke, to use the bathroom and to walk and eat my Snickers bar, the only real food I ate during the race. The next 11 mile stretch on the canal path was much muddier and sloppier and as I said to one guy I passed who was like, 'This is killing me,' it was a flat, energy suck. Seriously. It was endless. I stopped at the mile 31 aid station to refill my bladder and soon after started to play games with myself like, run to the next aid station, then you can stop and get some coke and walk for a bit, or only 5 miles to crew and 9 miles to get off this f*&#in path! The monotony of terrain started to really get to me and it became a mental game to keep up the running when my hips were starting to hurt from all the flat running and the pathway was muddy and sloppy and making it hard to move at a consistent pace.

Not my photo but a good representation of the canal path in the later miles.

Finally got to the crew spot at mile 38 and was so thankful, both to see everyone and to know that I only had 4 miles left on the canal path to go after that!! 

My happy crew!

More Coke!

I made Ryan walk with me for a ways here. He told me everyone was hating the path and the mud at this point and basically to just suck it up and get it done! Ha. 

Muddy

I know I slowed along the canal path in the final miles, but I was definitely passing people who were moving even slower. The last few miles just seemed to go on and on but finally up ahead, we could see the dam and knew that we were reaching the end. Hurray!!! 

I stopped at the aid station at the end of the canal path and had a cup of coke, used the port-a-potty and then steeled myself for the final 8.4 miles on the road. According to the tracker, I ran the C&O canal portion (26.3 miles) in 4:32:22 and came through the mile 41 aid station in place #164.

The road stretch had an aid station every two miles, which we had laughed about before the race, but which was lovely while actually running the race as it meant it broke up the road portion into small doable stretches and allowed for more coke drinking! I had had the last gel my stomach would accept right before the end of the canal path and subsisted on a few cups of coke for the remaining miles 😛

The first part of the road was a long uphill and I walked with a gentleman doing his first 50 here. Partway up the hill, a local had set up his own aid station with beer and soup at the end of the driveway 😆😀 I did not stop to partake, but it was a nice gesture! At the top of the rise, I took off running. The road was rolling, through small neighborhoods and fields, one of which was filled with pumpkins and several others with herds of cows. I slowly but surely passed a few people along the way. I did stop and walk at mile 43 to drink a cup of coke and then again at mile 47 to use the port-a-potty, and well yes indeed, I did stop at the final aid station 1.5 miles out for a final cup of coke, but otherwise, I was running, not walking, I swear! My legs didn't feel exactly spry but I was able to keep up a decent pace, or at least decent for the end of a 50 miler! After the last aid station, we ran along the edge of a major road and I kept trying to push the pace but my legs were not super cooperative 😉 Finally, there was one last right hand turn and an uphill to the finish line near the high school and I was done!

Finish line stretch

💗💗

Emily finishing in 8:27 and 14th woman!

The finish!

Happy runner, happy crew! 💗

My stats for the race

I ended up finishing with a smile on my face and an official time of 9:09:32. There was much chatter after the fact about how conditions this year were the worst people had seen in all their years running the race. I thought the race overall was fun but challenging, even more so with the crazy sloppy winter conditions, but really mostly because of the range of terrain and the marathon on the C&O canal path! The race was super well run, well supported and well organized. Because both Emily and I were fairly far up in the field, Ryan, Sam, Mom and Dad did not have issues parking at the crew spots and things seemed to go rather smoothly in that regard. Overall, a really good experience! 

While it's impossible to compare one ultra to another, I was really happy to get so close to my reach goal of 9 hours, and to get a 50-mile PR by ~16 minutes. While some might say this race was easier with the amount of pavement and the long flat stretch on the canal path, I'd argue that those two features might have made it more difficult! Regardless, considering the conditions and my goals going in, I'm super happy with how it all turned out, and proud to have run what I felt like was a solid race with not a lot of stopped time, good pacing and a good, focused attitude throughout. Well,maybe minus my anger about the endless canal path later in those miles! 😉😊😆

RESULTS

9:09:32

29/205 women

153/762 finishers (868 starters)

After a quick stop at the high school to change and grab some food, we headed back to the hotel to shower and back out for an early dinner. As we were researching this race, I found what sounded like an amazing brewpub and it turned out to be the perfect spot for dinner. If you're ever in Hagerstown, stop in to the Warehouse Tap Room. YUM! 😋

Ryan's crazy double patty jalepano burger

My delicious chicken bacon waffle sandwich and a yummy shandy

I followed up my meal with a Waffle-wich! And why yes, I did eat it all by myself 😂

Eat All.The.Things! CHOMP!

All in all, a most excellent race experience and so fun to have Emily along for the ride! Many congrats to her for a smokin' race time of 8:27 for 14th woman overall!! And of course, most importantly, I am insanely grateful to my mom and dad for being up for an adventure and being part of our crew, and to Sam and Ryan for always being there for me. I am one lucky lady 💗💗