12.21.12 , the day the world was to end (and much to my dismay, did not) Brandon, Cobb, Marissa, Niko, and I lined up on the track at Stout Gym promptly at 1900 to begin the 12 Hour Endurance Challenge (which seemed like a much better idea when we planned it a month ago when it wasn't even jacket weather yet!). It was a brisk 48 degrees, but were all hopped up on adrenaline and excitement we didn't seem to notice the chill and busily set up camp, distributed the bibs, and chatted about our goals while we lubed up our thighs and changed into our running shoes.
Resolving that we were all that would show, we decided to toe the line. At 1903, the sound of the space gun keychain (bew, bew) announced our official start and we were off! Brandon, Cobb, and I stayed together for the first 4 laps, mile one complete! We made a mark on our bib with a Sharpie (the way we would denote each mile of our challenge) and each began our plan to conquer our goals.
About a half hour in Cyn and Bri showed up to run. At an hour in Debby and Regina showed up just to cheer us on, it was too cold to stand around and they quickly left.
Two hours in and the gym closed for the night. Fortunately, they remembered us, and the stadium lights continued to burn bright. Scott showed up, set up camp and joined the run. I rounded 11 miles and took my first break. I decided it was a good time for a sandwich and a beer. Bad idea; I got so nauseous, I required a longer break and ended up taking a 40 minute nap right there on the football field at the start line. At 35 degrees it was difficult, but it made me feel good enough to continue on. I continued my regimen of 2 miles at a 10 min mile pace, followed by walking one lap; I knocked out another 8 miles, easy and decided it was time for break number two and enjoyed another snack, which left me even more nauseous.
Around 11 pm, we were four hours in and Cyn and Bri called it quits and headed home, each completing a half marathon. It was getting ever colder, by now the rest of us were huddled in at least 3 layers and had broken out the balaclavas to keep warm, even while running, and huddling in sleeping bags and extra jacket when we weren't.
Around midnight Cobb, Marissa, and Niko made the decision to head home. I was burping up vomit and had slowed to a walk. I was struggling to reach 20 miles. Brandon was trotting along merrily, easily rounding 22 miles. At 1am Butters showed up, lagged fresh from the airport. He changed into his running gear and joined Scott, Brandon, and I on the track. Around 2 am, Scott called it a night, after running 15 miles and headed home to get warm.
3 am, I was struggling, I felt awful and it was below freezing. Butters and Brandon added another layer and trotted on. I took a break and accidentally fell asleep only to be woken almost an hour later. I was so cold I went to the car for a few minutes to thaw out.
At 4 am, Butters called it a night and headed back to Las Crucas. Brandon ran on; never losing his pace, maintaining his 4 miles an hour and still getting a 10-15 minute snack/bathroom break at the end of every hour. I got back on the track and walked along, finally reaching marathon distance at almost 5:30. Since I was no longer running, I made myself useful and broke down camp and packed up the car, while Brandon continued to run.
Just after 6:30 I reached 27.25 and decided to call it a night. I cheered Brandon on from the sidelines as the sun came up and he kept running. At a quarter to 7, he rounded his last lap and sprinted out the last 100m. When he crossed the lap line for the 200th time, he collapsed, having just completed FIFTY miles in just under twelve hours!!!
We crawled in the car and cruised to Denny's where Brandon inhaled a bacon cheese burger and we began the defrost process.
If you had asked me a year ago if I wanted to go run for 12 hours, I wouldn't have even wasted a laugh at the thought, and now I help plan and coordinate such gross affairs. If you had told me that we were going to run marathon plus distances without losing momentum, I would have said you were nuts, and yet here we go. If Brandon would have said he wanted to run 50 miles, I would have questioned his mental stability, and now here I am, his biggest cheerleader. I have seen it happen, and now I KNOW, nothing is impossible if you try!
"Just put one foot in front of the other..."
"One cannot fully understand the limits of their physical potential until they discover an extraordinary boundary, then push past it." ~ Eight Millimeter
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