Race Report: JFK 50 Miler 11/22/08

46th Annual JFK 50 Mile
November 22, 2008
Boonsboro, MD

Finish time: 8:23:32 (10:02 min/mile pace)
Placement: 69th out of 1263 registered runners, 14th out of 62 for Males 20-29
My first real ultra.

8:23:32 - about 1.5 hrs faster than planned!

I believe there are two words emanating from the minds of everyone who ran JFK on Saturday.

1. Oww.
2. Brrr.

Oww obviously because it's a 50-mile run, and if you're like me and this is your first real ultra, after you finish running 50 miles you hurt. Everywhere. In every way imaginable. But it's that good kind of hurt that is well deserved, so the day after you enjoy every painful step and you laugh as you almost fall down the steps from not being able to hold yourself up. Scray? Yes. Painful? Absolutely. Worth it? 100% without a doubt!

Brr is because of the frigid temperatures we endured all day. As we walked from Boonsboro High School to the start line at 7am, the sign at Hagerstown Bank read 19 degrees F. I really wish I had a camera to get a picture of that. It seems like many did. (I really need a good small point-n-shoot by the way, I'll ask Santa so I can be a better visual blogger.) Yes you heard me correct. 19 degrees. Did I mention I wore shorts? Oh yeah. By the end of the race my red shoes matched my new red legs. That's about as fashionable as you'll ever see me.

Overall, it was tough. The Appalachian Trail was awesome. I flew through it. The C&O Canal towpath was long and monotonous. I pushed through. The roads at the end were a welcome change of pace. In the end, I prevailed and I couldn't be happier.

In the spirit of me still reveling in my well-deserved laziness, I don't really feel like giving a step-by-step analysis of how the day went, so for now I will leave you with some finish line shots. I'll post the more detailed entry once the official race photos become available online. Until then... time to go defrost and get some rest. Goodnight!

Cold, sore and happy.

The mom.

Dancing at the finish line (clearly they didn't just run 50 miles).