One More Mile.....
My race report on the 2009 Western States
Endurance Run. I have been waiting to do this
race for 4 years. The first year I applied for the
lottery like most I did not make it in to the race.
So the next year I applied for the lottery and
was lucky enough to be selected but once the
race day arrived so had the smoke and fires.
The race had to be canceled due to safety
concerns. But finally this year was the year. I
had done all of the training built my speed, lost
some weight, cross trained, heat trained did
everything I thought to get ready for the big
race. I was ready travel was scheduled and I
was ready to run.
The race is a wonderfully orchestrated event
with tremendous volunteers like no other. I
found this out first hand. The registration was
well run and very efficient. I quickly made it
through the process and the pre-race briefing
was informative and held to one hour as
promised.
The race morning start was full of tension and
anxiety for myself as well as the other racers.
Then at the stroke of 5 with a blast from the
shotgun we where off up the slope in to the
darkness. As I ran up the slope I passed friends
new and old Chrissy Ferguson, Jean Pommier, Xy
Weiss even the man Gordie. Half way up the
slope there is Andy and Catra cheering us on.
Wow I thought they must have gotten up early
to get way up here this early.
Finally I make it to the top and the
Escarpment aid station, wait that is not the top
the is a hand over fist vertical climb and a short
run to the top. Then is is down to Lyon Ridge
along some beautiful single track trails. All along
the way I am thinking about how I am going to
describe these hills to everyone back home in
Arkansas. We just don't have anything this long
anywhere we have the steep inclines and
declines but not the length.
I arrive in to the Lyon Ridge aid station feeling
good but wishing that I had worn my Cascadias
since the start and not the Inov-8s that I had on.
After a refill of the bottles I am off through a
rolling section to Red Star Ridge aid station
where my first drop bag is located. Along this
section I get to talk to one of the HURT runners
she is very lovely and I realize that I like running
with people way more than the solo thing. So I
decide to try to find someone to talk to during
each section until I get to Foresthill and my pacer
Tom.
My long toes are already sore from the
downhills so I walk the last downhill section into
the Red Star aid station. I hear the guy on the
PA say walk the downhills that is what I teach all
of my protege runners. Ha Ha I laugh but don't
tell them the real reason for the walk. I restock
my fuels in my belt and filled the bottles then off
to the next aid station.
Down, Down, Down into the Duncan Canyon
wide open to the sun and step downhills again. I
am beginning to wonder if me toes are going to
hold out for the next 70 some miles... Then it is
up to Robinson Flat and the first time that I get
to see my crew(my wife and youngest daughter)
who have pushed me to the finish of all of my
other 100 mile attempts. But before I get to see
them I have to climb out of this crazy steep
canyon. Little do I know it is only the start of
even steeper and longer canyons. Once I get
close to the top of the climb there is a runner on
the ground with medical and aid station
volunteers assisting him. The heat and the climb
had taken its toll on many along the way.
Then I emerge out of the woods to see
medical check, my weight is right on .5 lb under.
Then I see my crew happy to fill my every need
except the one to stop. My feet are killing me. I
tell them I need my other shoes and that it is
crazy hot out there. They get my shoes and help
me cool down with some ice and sponges. I
want to just stay with them but they tell me that
I have bothered them about that damn buckle
for three years get up and get back out there.
The next 15 miles to the top of the canyon is a
big blur of rolling trail and aid stations filled with
runners in the medical tents feet destroyed and
glazed looks from the sun sucking the life out of
them. Then at the top of the Devils Thumb
canyon I think wow this is going to hurt and it is
steep! I found that the biggest thing that I will
need to work on for future mountain races is how
to protect that damn long second toe on the
downhills. I finally make it to the bottom and
then it is the big big climb to the top. The climbs
I can do well they don't hurt my toes very much
and I can pick up some of the time lost from the
downhills.
Then out of that crazy climb to another mash
unit aid station. I try to spend as little time as
possible in these aid stations for fear of being
sucked into them.
Another canyon and I make it to Michigan
Bluff and my crew again. They lift my spirits
when I see them and then they tell me I need to
pick up the pace I am getting close to some of
the cut offs. "This is not what I had planned for,
I was supposed to be faster than this" I tell
myself. It is a moral blow but the crew gives me
the spare headlight that I put in for Michigan
Bluff as a worst case scenario that I would be
that late I might need it. Leaving Michigan Bluff
I pick up the pace and start talking to a runner
from Illinois who tells me that he would be
surprised if he made the 30 hour cut off at this
pace. "Holy Crap what is going on how am I
racing the absolute cut offs" I think to myself. I
have to pick up the pace I am almost to Tom, my
pacer, he can help me pick up some time.
I do pick up pace through the volcano canyon
and up to Bath road where in the dark I can not
see the small sign and do not know which way to
turn at the street left or right how am I losing
more time CRAP! Finally after a minute a runner
comes up and shows me the way. Then about a
1/4 mile down the road I meet up with Tom.
What a lift he gives me a red bull shot which my
team has sent to me as a pick up. It tastes good
but doesn't last long, I throw it back up. This is
the start of the downfall, from this point on I
cannot keep anything down except plain water
the rest of the night. We make it in to Foresthill
school the crew is there and ready to please.
They give me some fruit (which I do keep down)
and my good headlight. Tom gets the bottles
filled and with the some words of encouragement
from the running store at home "Finish no matter
what!"(I guess that puts no stress on me but it
does become my mantra when the low points
come) Tom and I are off to Cal street into the
night.
Once we make it on to the trail I tell Tom
have to pee and when I get back he is laughing.
He tells me that there is a baggie of urine on the
trail. I tell him that they are everywhere some
kind of study. He still thinks it is funny.
The next 8 miles to Peachstone went by fairly
quickly it was dark and hilly my feet started to
hurt more and the vomiting started to pick up.
Once at Peachstone I let the podiatrist look at
my feet and there where blisters coming out
from under the first two toe nails on each foot.
He said that he could lance the blisters and give
me instant relief. I told him "what are you
waiting for do it!" The lancing helped as far as
instant relief but it was not a long term fix. From
then on when we left an aid station I had to walk
almost a quarter mile so that I could get used to
the pain in my feet and could run again.
We started to pick up some time on the clock
though the night from here to the Rucky Chucky
crossing. I told Tom that if we had time once we
got across the river I would like for a podiatrist
to look at my feet again. He said we had gained
some time and that we could. We made it to
Rucky Chucky with 45 minutes of time between
us and the cutoff. I got on to the scale and my
weight was .5lb under. After all of the puking
and running I was amazed that I had kept my
weight up.
We went down to the water and as soon as I
put my feet in the water they where on fire I
knew they where bad but not this bad. Once out
of the water I found a chair and podiatrist who
basically wiped of my feet and put a small
bandage on my right foot and said that is all I
can do. I felt this was a bad decision and a great
loss of time for us. We left the aid station
and ran up the hill to the Green Gate aid station
and sunrise. Tom and I both thought that the
sun might give me a second wind. I hoped it
would too. We where supposed to meet the crew
here with dry socks but they did not make it
down the hill in time to meet us. So off to the
next aid station with the sun rising we pick up
the pace a little once I get past the sore feet
from the stop.
When we get to Auburn Lakes Trails aid
station I have lost 5 lbs and the medical team
makes me sit and drink (and hold it down) until I
gain some of the weight back. Well by the time I
do this it is 6:55 and the absolute cut off is 7:00.
Five minutes ahead of the cut off we need to
pick up speed.
Just before we make it to the Hwy 49 crossing
I hear the PA announce 14 minutes to cutoff. We
picked up a couple of minutes and I have kept
my weight up, it is back to .5lb down. They let
us through the aid station with no delay and
there is my crew screaming at me to go go go.
They know I can do it.
Tom and I push up the big hill out of the aid
station and the sun starts beating down on us
now. We make it to No Hands bridge with 25
minutes ahead of the 30 hour limit. Tom fills our
bottles and I have to walk across the bridge to
get past the pain in my feet to start running
again.
Just after the end of the bridge we are passed
by Tim Twietmeyer and another runner going the
other way. They gives words of encouragement
and head on. Tom says if that doesn't get you
moving nothing will. It did and we picked up the
pace a little but by this time the sun was really
baking me good. I could feel the waffs of heat
sucking the life out of me.
We made it to the top of the hill so we thought
at Robbie Point. Tim was there offering water to
drink or he would pour it on you, I said over the
top please. Tim said"You have made it, it is in
the books." I wish. The road from this point has
orange feet on it leading to the finish line at the
track. But it seemed like the road was all up hill
to the track I was getting hot. I could see a
group of runners ahead of us and they just kept
going and going. I told Tom I thought we only
had a mile to go he said less than that and we
where done.
From this point I don't remember much but
Tom tells me that I told him I had to sit down
and I did on a curb next to a driveway about 3/4
mile from the finish line. That driveway is where
my race and a three year dream ended. I
remember Tom trying to get me to stay awake
and talk to him. I remember trying to get up but
I couldn't make my muscles work. I felt as
though I had not bones in my body. I finally told
Tom I just wanted to go to sleep and he wouldn't
let me. Tom tells me that Tim Twietmeyer who
had been running with us took off for the medical
tent at the finish line when I collapsed and sent
back a truck to get me. My wife tells me that
Tim when he ran past them near the finish he
yelled at them that there runner was in trouble.
This upset her and my daughter started to run
back to see what was the matter with her Dad
but my wife stopped her for fear of the worst.
The medical personnel arrived and loaded me
in the truck. They drove me to the finish line
and then carried me across the finish line and I
remember hearing my chip going off as I crossed
it. Once in the medical tent Randy the medical
person who I remember took vitals and started
packing me in ice. Then a female nurse hooked
up an IV to me and then another.
I remember seeing my daughter crying and
telling her "don't cry baby it will be okay." She
said she new it would be okay but she could help
being scared and sad.
After a couple of hours but the medical staff
finally let me go back to the hotel to get a
shower and rest. I felt a lot better after that.
Since our flight was out of SFO early in the
morning I made my wife drive us to the hotel
near the airport. She tells me this because I do
not remember the 4 hour drive back to Auburn to
get my drop bags and then to San Fran. All I
remember is throwing up non stop into a bag for
the first 30 min. I guess I threw up the whole
way and my daughter fed me ice chips to try to
keep me hydrated she tells me. Once we get to
San Fransisco the bellman wheeled me to our
room in a wheel chair and I went to sleep. I the
morning we returned the car and flew home to
Arkansas I don't remember much of these travels
either. According to my wife I started turning a
yellow color and looked really bad so she tricked
me into going to the hospital straight from the
airport. She said I needed to get some real
wound care for my feet. I am glad she did.
Once in the ER the Dr. read me the riot act
about my "100 mile run to your death" race that
I did. He was mad that he had to deal with me
and let me sit for over 2 hours in a room with no
orders. Finally the nurse got mad at him and he
ordered some lab work which came back "BAD"
according to him. I was turned over to an
internist and a nephroligist. They told me my
labs showed Acute Tubular Necrosis with kidney
function of 20% and a CPK count of 26,000 and
it should be 150. They sent me to the ICU and
over the next 4 days ran 13 bags of IV fluid
through me. I am getting better now and
according to the Doctors I will recover fully. I
want to thank again everyone who helped me
through this ordeal. I want to thank all of the
people who wished me well and had me in there
thoughts the past couple of weeks. Also I want
to apologize to all of those that I may have let
down or scared these past weeks. I am going to
take a couple of weeks off and then start back
running slowly, I already miss the running. Just
remember when you are out there running be
careful we think we are invincibly but I found out
at least I am not.
 

Ok here goes my attempt at telling a story. About two years ago I was a really strong ultra runner in my mind. Then I destroyed my ankle at a 5k trail race and couldn't run for almost a year. I got fat, slow and dejected. Then I got back into running this past summer and fall ran a couple of races couldn't lose any weight and was just going through the motions. So I knew I needed to do something to put my best foot forward for the WSER that is coming up in June. So I talked to a couple of people about Crossfit and Christian helped me find the local affiliate. Then in the middle of February I went into Crossfit NWA and told the two owners my story and that I wanted their help to get FIT. They looked at the fat me and started drooling thinking of all the pain they could put me through. They were right. Well I made a commitment to Crossfit and to myself to try and give 100% effort every time I walked into the gym. There have been some days that I didn't want to give it all that I should but my trainers Lee, Troy and Brad made sure that I did.  
That all said here is what I have gotten out of Crossfit. I have lost 31 lbs. Went from 230 to 199. Body fat went from 27% to 18%. 5k time went from 27:30 in November to 21:48 last weekend on a hilly course. 10k time went from 56:04 in October on a flat fast course to 48:05 in March on a really hilly course. Marathon time went from a PR of 4:09:00 in previous 22 marathons to 3:57:30 at the Hogeye marathon lots of wind and hills the first weekend of March. Then two weeks later at the Ouchita Trail 50k I ran 6:03:48 which was good enough for 5th overall out of 100 runners and 2nd master. The winner of this race race a 5:03:40 it is a trail race with a vertical 800ft rock climb.
 
Bottom line Crossfit, works great for me. But like everything else in life "you get out of it what you put into it". I truly believe that to be a good runner you need to include some core training, strength training, something to raise the metabolism and so far for me it is Crossfit.
G
 

  Brooks I.D. stands for Inspire Daily. These two simple words guide the principles of the program. Brooks I.D. is made up of over 600 members who are active in their running communities and share a passion for the Brooks brand.  We are runners who are winners in their own right: Winning our age divisions, accomplishing our personal goals, pushing our own limits, and, by extension, encouraging others to do the same. We are coaches, mentors, and leaders.  I am very excited to be joining this team.  I have run in Brooks shoes for quite some time and really have found no other shoe to compare.

 Just ran the Ouchita Trail 50. I ran the 50k option this year and finished 5th overall and 2nd master. Thanks to all of my sponsors, Rush Running and Crossfit NWA. If you haven't tried Crossfit you are missing out. Since starting Crossift I have set PR's at three different distances. It is an awesome total body workout that is designed to make you stronger, faster and more durable!  

www.twitter.com/oneday100miles

Well myself and the crew got all packed up for the big race of the year.  I took two weeks to get everything in its place to go to the 35th running of the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (WSER).  We left Arkansas on Wednesday morning ready for a long trip to Squaw Valley, CA near lake Tahoe.  Everything was going well until we reached our first layover in Salt Lake City, UT at 1 AM.  I got an email from RD Greg S.  that the 35th running of the WSER had been cancelled.  Wow want a downer 2 years of waiting and training up in smoke literally.  The race had been caneclled due to the over 1000 forest fires in Northern California.  So to make lemonade out of lemons we got up the next day and continued on our way to Squaw to what would be a great weekend of fun outdoor sports river rafting, MTBiking, Water skiing and tubing, hiking and of course Putt Putt golf.  By Friday the race committee had decided to allow all of the racers from this years run entry into next years run.  A great relief for all of us since the entry process is so difficult these days (Lottery, then qualifing race plus trail service.)  So I since we returned home I have been back in to the base trianing mode getting ready for some short races and then a big fall schedule with teo possibly three 100 mile races in the works.  Till late God Bless and Good Running.

Two weeks till the big day.  Yes in two weeks I will be running in the Premier Ultra Marathon the Western States 100 mile Endurance Run.  Wish me Luck.

This I will be running for the Lance Armstrong Foundation as my charity.  I will be raising money to help fight cancer and aid in cancer research.  If you would like to contribute you can visit my page at http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2008/jeffreygenova  Thanks for all of your support is this big year.

This year I am planning on running five 100 mile races as well as a few marathons and some 50 milers.  The biggest race of the year for me is the Western States 100mile Endurance Race in June.  With my home state 100 miler the Arkansas Traveler second on the list in November.  Then third being the Mother Road 100 miler in Oklahoma along historic route 66 this fall.   Most of the other races are going to be used as tune ups for these races.  I will keep everyone posted on the progress here.

Happy new year to everyone!  I am starting the year off with a bang.  Lots of running in preparation for the Western States  Endurance  Run in June.  I am planning on an Ultra a month starting in February with the White Rock Mtn 50k (8500 ft of elevation change).  Then the three days of sylamore in March.  With the McNaughton parks 100 mile run in April.  May is still in the planning stages and then the big race in June.  Good luck to everyone else in there dreams for 2008!