Continued from the previous page.

JIM'S RACE

Whether because of or in spite of the proximity of our RV to the course, Jim timed his rest breaks very well during the race and met his goal of walking 100 miles in only 43+ hours. He didn't need all 48 hours to get 'er done.

The downside to that was him finishing about 4 AM. I was asleep and missed it. The upside was that he could sleep a few hours before we left for our next destination at Nellis AFB in Vegas later that morning..

After we got the camper parked and set up on Thursday, the day before the first set of races began, we walked half a mile on the pretty western part of the course to the start/finish area to check in. Although there was a line, check-in was well-staffed and went rather quickly:

Jim surveys the start/finish area as he waits to get his number and ankle transponder.

I'm glad Jim didn't spend an extra $125 for a race jacket and schwag. While he was waiting in line, I had enough time to browse through several boxes of significantly discounted shirts, jackets, and other clothing and paraphernalia from previous races. Jim bought a nice soft shell jacket from the 2016-17  race with the handsome ATY logo for only $20 (shown at left in the picture below) and I got a soft long-sleeved women's entrants' shirt for a mere $5 (second from left below).

We liked the items so much I went back the next morning after the Day 2 runners got started to buy a different color soft shell jacket from the 2015-16 race, a women's fleece jacket from 2013-14, and another shirt identical to the one I got on Thursday:

That's five nice clothing items for only $70! (I just photographed four.)

Some people say you shouldn't wear shirts or other clothing from a race you haven't run. Phooey with that. Even though I wasn't participating this year, I have run enough at this event in prior years to have no problem wearing ATY race clothing from a different year. The items we bought don't say "2018 Finisher" or anything.

Right away we began seeing familiar faces. Some we saw earlier in the year at A Race for the Ages but most we haven't seen in seven years or more because we haven't been active in the ultra scene. We talked with more of our old running friends the next morning and throughout the race.

Jim relaxes with our good friends Matt (in white shirt) and Anne Watts on race morning.

Girls just wanta have fun!  Catra Corbett (L) and Ann Trason are
well-known, free-spirited ultra runners from California. Since Ann no 
longer runs to set records, she walks multi-day events to see friends and stay fit.

Mike Melton runs a successful professional timing service; he's so busy
timing ultras now, that he can't run most of them like he used to. 

After checking in Thursday afternoon we continued to walk clockwise through the start/finish area and around the rest of the course toward our camper:

Participants wait to check in on Thursday afternoon.

Nap and warming tents on the left, main aid station on the right

Sue Scholl (½ of Amy Mower's crew), Don Winkley, and Mike Dobies
stand under the timing banner; the timing tent is to the right.

We stopped to talk with Mike Dobies for a little while (above), then continued past the runner tents and tables in the grassy area to my least favorite part of the course:

This asphalt road above is wide, smooth, and grit-free. Those are the only good things I can say about it from a runner's standpoint because it's not very scenic and it's the sometimes busy vehicle entrance to the south parking area where all the RVs are located. Crews could come and go whenever they wanted to and runners were coming in at all hours with campers.

And did I mention that the pavement ended before the parking lot, so passing vehicles who weren't going reeeeeally slowly raised dust??

Finally runners going clockwise got to turn right onto the long, straight gritty path past all the parked RVs. That section was probably fairly interesting for race participants either because of all the crew members cheering them along the course, or they were coming to their personal aid station/ kitchen/ bathroom/ bedroom if they occupied one of said RVs:

At the end of this stretch runners came to the secondary aid station, then headed up the west side of the lake toward the start/finish area again.

Before it got dark Jim made sure he had all his race supplies and equipment in order and we went over some of the things he wanted me to do while crewing. He set up a chair and little folding table behind the camper, right by the track as shown in a previous photo.

He also had a Zero Gravity chair near the camper door but he used it for only a couple short breaks. It was too cold both nights for him to get comfortable in it so he just went inside for some two-hour naps.

LET'S RUN! (OR WALK):  DAY 1, DECEMBER 28

After breakfast in our camper the next morning we walked half a mile to the start and Jim lined up with about 160 other participants.

Although it was fairly cloudy Thursday afternoon, the sky was clear on Friday. Temps were rather cool on Day 1, ranging from about 37-54F. per our thermometer. The desert sun felt quite warm by mid-day; Jim was glad it didn't get any warmer then but he had some difficulty staying warm both nights he was out there walking.

The 2018-2019 edition of Across the Years began at 9 AM for all the six-day runners and the first waves of six different 24-hour, five 48-hour, and four 72-hour events.

Anne and Matt Watts were ready for the camera but I caught Jim a little off guard.

 
Runners gather near the start on Day 1. The race began in the clockwise direction.

Jim's 48 hours were up at 9 AM on Sunday. He met his goal of 100 miles more than five hours before that and turned in his transponder.

That's common for runners in multi-day events -- they can stop when they reach a particular distance goal, or continue for the whole time allowed to rack up more miles.

With all the different starts, each day at 9 AM some people would be stopping (or earlier, if they'd met their distance goals) and more runners would be starting their races. The only runners who were out there all the time, except when resting, were the six-day participants. They got to see an ever-changing group of runners each day.

They're off and running . . . or walking.

Everyone is all smiles at the start, before concentration
and fatigue eventually set in.  Jim is by the red dot.

To keep things even more interesting, runners changed direction every four hours to reduce muscle fatigue. Courses always look a little different in the other direction, too, so that also helps with mental focus. 

After the races began on Friday morning, at 1, 5, and 9 AM and PM runners would be going in both directions for a few minutes until everyone was back in sync again.

Two-way traffic as Jim approaches the camper again

The only hard part of that for participants and their crews would be remembering which direction they were going when they stopped. When they got back on the course they had to resume in the direction they stopped until they got to the start/finish timing mat so their ankle transponders would reflect a full lap, or they could be either lose that lap at minimum or be disqualified at the worst if cheating was suspected.

Jim never had a problem remembering his direction and all his laps were accurately counted.

Screens are set up in both directions at the timing tent so participants can see their lap count, distance, time, etc. a few seconds after crossing the timing mat at the start/finish:

There was a second timing mat on the far side of the loop, near the secondary aid station and more portable potties along at the far end of RV Row:

Although Jim had a conservative walk-rest plan for his race based on what he did at A Race for the Ages (ARFTA) and The Endless Mile events, he knew he'd have to remain somewhat flexible during ATY. Unless the weather turned really cold, windy, and/or wet, he was reasonably sure he could get 100 miles in under 48 hours because he'd already done it several weeks earlier on a hillier course at Endless Mile. (ATY is almost as flat as a running track.)

Jim was either right on his approximate scheduled lap times on Day 1 or a little ahead since he was rested and eager to go. He walked steadily from 9 AM to 2 PM with several short stops at his crew table by the camper, took a 15-minute break, got back out from 2:15 to 7:15 PM, and took another short rest break.

By then he had accumulated almost 32 miles, nearly one-third of his 100-mile goal in a little over 10 hours.

I took this photo of Jim after he'd done 8-10 miles.

His short-term goal was to reach 40 miles before taking a two- or three-hour nap during the night. He came back in around midnight with more than that and promptly went to sleep.

Unfortunately, before his alarm sounded I woke him up when our carbon monoxide detector went off and I thought the deadly gas from all the surrounding RV motors and generators that were running to heat vehicles might kill us and the dogs! (It got down to 37 F. overnight.) That's certainly possible but probably wouldn't have happened. Apparently our battery was running low and I mis-read the blinking message on the detector. My bad.

To make up for ruining part of his nap I went out and walked seven laps with him on the course from about 2-4 AM when few other runners were out there and most were walking. I enjoyed the time out there.

Jim had about 48 miles when we returned to our warm camper at 4 AM (19 hours into the race = a good walking pace!). He slept two more hours and got back out on the course at 6:45 AM.

DAY 2, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29

Many runners/walkers who remain on a race course during the night -- whether on a short loop like this or in a trail race -- slow down appreciably and have trouble staying awake.

For folks who live "normal" hours where they're usually asleep during the night, trying to stay awake all night in a race completely messes with their body clocks. Jim and I have both been there, done that, at ATY, other fixed-time races, and 100-mile trail ultras.

But we've also experienced the common rejuvenating effect of sunrise the next morning! Suddenly, runners who may have looked like zombies during the night typically get an extra surge of energy and anticipation for the new day.

Anne Watts looks perky the morning of Day 2,
but she had just started her 24-hour race!

Because he was walking during the early morning hours and not generating the kind of body heat he would if he could still run, Jim's feet and hands got cold when it was dark. He was very happy when the sun came up on Saturday morning. It was still cold, but the day was full of promise and he knew he was more than halfway done after 24 hours.

Jim had 65+ miles when he came in to rest for an hour at 1:20 PM on Day 2. That distance in 28+ hours was still on or ahead of pace for him.

This course, like most desert Southwest locations, heats up quickly during the day when it's sunny even though the temperature only reached the mid-50s F. again on Saturday. Jim was warm enough at mid-day to wear shorts; he usually wears a hat and long-sleeved shirt to avoid the sun (he's a red-head):

One of the CCW loops on Day 2

After Jim slept for an hour we moved the Cameo out farther in the parking area and parallel to the course so I could continue watching from inside when I wasn't at our track-side table. We wanted to be sure we could get out the next morning before the Day 3 people began running and not be blocked in by incoming RVs. (We were also farther from everyone's exhaust the last night.)

We left the table where it was so Jim could still grab his drinks and whatever else he asked me to have ready. I went out just about every lap when I knew he'd be coming around soon to see if he needed anything.

It was less convenient for him to see the dogs or get into the camper after we moved it 100+ feet back from the track so he didn't take as many short breaks inside that afternoon and evening. That might have been a good thing! That distance sounds short until you see how much extra energy and time it can take during a multi-day event.

Our location (under red dot on L) in the parking area after we moved; course is under red dot on R.

After we moved the camper Jim went back out on the course for another three hours of walking. He accumulated about 75 miles by about 5:30 PM (32:30 hours).

He had plenty of time (another (9:30 hours) to reach his goal of 100 miles and had to decide when to take another nap. He mulled it over while he ate supper in the camper. It's hard for him (and probably many other participants) to get up in the middle of a cold, dark night and go back out to walk more miles. Thank goodness it wasn't raining!

Jim put on more clothes as the sun went down and got back out on the course until about midnight. He reached 82 miles by about 8 PM. It got even colder (down to 32 F.) on Saturday night but he walked fast enough to stay fairly comfortable. By that point he could "smell the barn" (the finish).

Headquarters area on Day 1 was quiet later in the morning after the runners got spread out around
the one-mile loop course. It was also somewhat deserted in the middle of the night.

I was pretty tired myself by the second night from lack of sleep, walking the dogs multiple times so they didn't get cabin fever, and crew duties. One of us needed to be rested enough to drive to Las Vegas the next morning so I was already asleep when Jim came in from about midnight to 2 AM for his final nap.

I quietly checked my phone for live results to see how far he'd gone, then went back to sleep. He had only about 10 miles to reach his goal so I knew that even if he overslept some, he could still finish by 9 AM.

He did much better than that! He was back out on the course a little after 2 AM and finished with an official time of 42:53:01 hours a little before 4 AM. He got his handsome 100-mile finish buckle (shown below) and a large, heavy etched glass mug, then came back to the camper to sleep a few more hours.

I didn't hear him leave at 2 and was still asleep when he finished, alas, but heard him come back into the camper and talked with him before we both went back to sleep. He got into bed for a few hours and I dozed on the sofa.

Later he told me that there was some excitement in the start/finish area while he was out there that night, although he was on the other side of the course when it happened. Apparently some guy with a hammer threatened the folks in the medical tent. Security came and removed him, then they drove through both parking areas several times to see if any other suspicious characters had infiltrated the place it's not fenced in). Maybe the guy was looking for drugs? Dunno.

I got up about 7:15 AM to feed the dogs, walk them, and fix breakfast. Jim got up soon after and we were ready to leave by 8:45. Since we had to tow the Cameo along part of the course we wanted to get out before the next wave of new runners started at 9 AM.

I was just amazed at how many RVs and other vehicles were in the south lot that morning! This event has really grown, and so has the number of participants who've learned that it's nicer to have a warm place in an RV to sleep at night than in a tent!

RESULTS

You can find the final results of all the 2018-2019 ATY distances at this link.

Although Jim knew his time and distance when he stopped at 100.781 miles, he didn't know how he stood among other 48-hour runners/walkers until all the races ended on New Year's Day at 9 AM. He finished 31st of 58 males in the 48-hour race and was second of four men over 70 years of age.

And remember, that's just walking the entire time -- no running.

Here's a copy of Jim's results from the link above. I highlighted some of Jim's stats. From L to R the headers are finish place by sex and distance (this is men's 48-hour), race number (assigned chronologically from a runner's first time at ATY), name, age, # of laps, distance in miles and kilometers, fastest lap time, average lap time, slowest lap time (when people are resting), and hours at the time the runner/walker finished:

I'm very proud of Jim's accomplishment and he's pleased, too. He stuck with his tentative walk-rest schedule very well even though he'd never done it exactly like he did this time. He averaged 26:48 minutes per lap with all his breaks. His fastest lap was 17:02 minutes. He usually walked between 17-18 minute miles when he didn't stop for any reason.

As I've said before, it's amazing how many miles you can walk if you just keep at it!

Note that one way to improve your standing in a fixed-time race is to keep going for as many miles as you can muster in the given time. Another way is to do just a few more miles beyond a goal distance like 100 miles. He did that at ARFTA in late August and moved up several places. That's a great tip we learned from Gary Cantrell AKA "Laz" at Hinson Lake more than a decade ago.

I can't help but imagine how many more miles Jim could walk in a 48-hour event if he trains like he did when he could still run eight years ago. After 30+ years of running he was so fit. All that time off after injuring his knee, plus getting that much older, has taken its toll on his speed, stamina, and endurance.

Main aid station on Day 1. The guy in the "suit" is a runner who wore that outfit the whole time we
were there. Other runners like Ed Eddinghausen dress in costume for six days at this event.

Jim would like to walk more 100-mile events but says that if he does ATY again or another race, he'd rather sign up for the 72-hour event so he could sleep more. The main problem is the lack of 72-hour events he's interested in doing because of their location or time of year (not too hot, not too cold . . .). The selection of suitable 48-hour events is a little larger.

We'll see what 2019 brings!

On that note . . . I plan to end the 2018 journal here and begin the 2019 one with the drive to Nellis AFB in North Las Vegas, NV. We arrived December 30 and stayed for two weeks. Stay tuned!

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, Cody, Casey, and Holly-pup

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© 2018 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil