The Vermont 100 or was it 50k?

Last weekend I won the Vermont 50K. Since I didn't let anyone else know about this option in the Vermont 100, my competition was pretty small-most runners opted to run the FULL 100 miles. I, however, realized the errors of my ways and figured that if I stopped at 50 kilometers I could: 1)go to the Norwich Farmer's market, 2)have lunch with my parents, 3)drive home from VT, 4)take a nap, 5)watch The Dark Knight Rises, 6)eat dinner and 7)sleep. AND all of this could be done before I would be finished the 100 miles. People who run 100 miles are CRAZY! And not because of the distance so much as the time commitment. There are very few things that are fun for 20-30 hours and running is certainly not one, in my humble opinion. With that being said, I do think that everyone should somehow get involved in the Vermont Adaptive Sports program which does amazing things to allow people of all abilities gain access to sports from which they otherwise would have been excluded. You don't have to run an ultramarathon to get involved, but making a donation or volunteering as a guide will be greatly appreciated.

I started the morning thinking I would be one of the crazies completing the full distance, especially after DNFing last time I attempted it. Things started going south around 22 miles where I stopped being able to eat anything without feeling sick. My body and lungs could have probably kept going but my stomach(and psyche) could not. I had been running high 8's for the first 22 or so then slowed dramatically and actually had to walk the entire two miles prior to my early exit. Those two miles made me realize just how long I would have to be out there just to finish this race. Just couldn't handle it this year. My biggest regret of the day wasn't that I stopped early but that I let down Rich who had been training months to run his first ultra as my pacer. However, my hope is that he maintains his fitness and carries it through to the Bay State Marathon where I'll be pacing him for the last half in his attempt to break the elusive 3 hour mark. With how fast he's been running recently, I don't think he'll struggle with that.

As anyone who tried looking up Amber at Lake Placid will have figured, she didn't race it this year. Things didn't come together the way she had hoped in the weeks leading up to the race and she made the smart(and yet) tough decision not to race. It did free her up to help fundraising for Concord charities by being dunked in the Dunk Tank as part of Market Days.

Up Next: Ironman Mount Tremblant(Danny) and Timberman 70.3(Amber) August 19, 2012. You can follow both at Ironman.com