NOVEMBER 19, MONDAY 2012

I started the 80 mile run on Wednesday November 14 at 9:00 a.m.   and finished Thursday November 15 at 8:50.43. a.m.

My physical bio:
       I am a male 5 feet 8.5 inches tall, weigh 160, Very good health. I had heart problems in 1999 and had to have a stent put in a blocked vein. The stent lasted 2 years. I was having the same pain that I felt before the stent and so I went back to my doctor and he found 2 viens on my heart that were 95% blocked.
He said that I had 2 options, 
       1. take pills the rest of my life and take it easy, no  strenuous activity.
       2. Go ahead with a heart bypass. 
Needless to say it did not take me long to make up my mind. I immediately said, "I want the by-pass"
The by-pass was done in 2001. I began walking and then jogging. I ran a marathon again in 2007. 
In 2010 on my 78th birthday I ran three marathons in three days to raise funds for the Boys & Girls Club of Sequim, Washington 
 
My aid crew did an excellent job helping me accomplish my goal.
The aid crew were my 2 sons, Philip and Bruce. my daughter Kim and her husband Dick and my 2 grandsons Jason and Douglas. Jason is Kim and Dick's son, Douglas is Bruce's son.

Time to start

Dick and I ready too start :)

    The first 100 steps of the 80 mile run starting at 9:00 a.m.!!!!

Dick decided to run with me the first 20 miles which turned out be 30 miles when he stopped.

                                                      Six mile aid
Then Jason ran with me for next 50 miles. Douglas started walking with Jason and I from about 65 until mile 70 then Bruce started walking with us the last 12 miles.

Dick and I started out at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday morning we were taking our time and talking about how slow we should be starting out. We shuffled along for 10 minutes and started the 5 minute walk. We were so surprised to see that we were at 13 minutes for our 1rst mile!!!!!! We immediately slowed down even more and we were averaging about 15 minutes per mile for the next 30 miles.

The aid people stopped every three miles for the first 30. It was great too have aid every 3rd mile.

   
It was about 50 degrees during the morning with some sunshine. Then in the afternoon it stayed cloudy which was great.

                  My 50 mile running partner Jason resting up for his turn

Dick and I cruised along on the first thirty mile route with no problems. I drank water every 10 to 15 minutes and ate a potato and a peanut butter sandwich every hour. The food was easy too eat at this point in the run.

As we approached the 26 miles aid station on our way back to the start/finish line Mary the director of the North Olympic Peninsula Boys & Girls Club and Mike the Editor of the Sequim Gazette came and ran about 3 miles with us. It was great to see them. Dick and I were back at the finishing/start for 30 miles in 7 hours and 55 minutes. I was feeling great.

                                          Dick at the end of 30 miles

        Chuck changing sock and drinking and eating for the next 30 mile leg
I changed socks and T-shirt and then drank water and ate a peanut butter sandwich. Then Jason and I were on our way for the next 30 mile leg. It was dark by this time when we started and we were going slow on our second 30 mile leg.

The aid people Kim, Bruce, Phil, Douglas and Jason

 decided to have the aid motor home stop every 2 miles for the rest of the run. I started  to run my 10 minute and walking 5 minutes and was doing OK.

                          Jason contemplating running with me for 50 miles!!
 Jason and I talked our way through the night to 40  miles. At one of our #1 bathroom stops Jason stepped into a hole on the shoulder of the road and just about fell down. Of course it was very dark and we or he had his headlight off. I did not put mine on and the aid people complained all night because they said they could not see me. To me it was just something more to carry. That little incident carried us on for about 4 more miles.

It was little things like that that happened to distracted me enough to forget how I felt. My mind was still fresh and I was not in any pain at this point.

  We were jogging along just before the 40 mile aid stop when a car stop on the other side of the road and a female said, "Chuck may I run with you for a little ways? I would like to pace you."

 I did not recognize the voice but I answered, "OK". The car then made a u-turn in the road and headed back the other direction. After we got some water and a Clif blok  and had gone on the route for about 10 minutes a car stopped on the shoulder and a female got out dressed in her running clothes with a headlamp and introduced herself. She lived on the Kitchen-Dick road and had read the article in the Sequim Gazette about my running 80 miles on my 80th birthday to raise funds for the Boys & Girls club in Sequim.  Her name was Twyla. She had just run the Chicago Marathon in October and decided to come out and run with me. She ran with us for about 10 miles and then called her husband to come and pick her up. She certainly helped the time to go by fast with her new energy and sense of humor. She worked as a dental hygienist for a dentist in Sequim.

Jason and I worked our way back to the starting/finishing line to begin our last 20 mile leg. It was about 1:30 a.m. in the morning. I walked back to the mobile home to get a hot Chia tea. I had mentioned that a cup of tea would be great because I was getting cold. It was in the low 30's by this time. Shirley had made me a big cup of Chia and it was great.

I started out with a sore knee and I thought to myself. "Oh God, don't let this end this way." I kept on walking and the knee did not hurt after a while and I managed to keep on at about 2.5 miles per hour.

I stretched and put some arthitist cream that Kim was carrying with her and put a lot of that on my calfs and knees and it seemed to help a lot.

 It was getting colder  and when Douglas started to walk with us I put on tights. And also Jason gave me he light down jacket which was great. I was very cold for about 4 or  5 miles. Then clouds started to move in and it warmed up a little. All the aid people kept telling me that when it got light I would get a burst of energy. NOT, NOT!!!!!!

It was around 16 to 20 miles that I hard a problem eating. I needed the calories but it seemed that my body said no to food. Jason had run several long distance runs  in and around Flagstaff. He had some bagels and he cut it in quarters and just about had to force me to eat it.

 I did manage to swallow it down with the help of some water and lo and behold it did not taste bad!!!! This was my diet for the rest of the run. Douglas dropped out and now his father, my son, was walking with Jason and I.
We were walking along the Discovery Trail at about mile 74 when I had to go to the bathroom desperately. It was light out and there was now where to go. I walked over to a wooden fence leaned my head against the fence as if I were resting and just went right there in broad daylight. What else could I do. I wasn't going to go in the tights. UGH. Anyway no one saw me except my running partners.

                              Daylight about 8:00 a.m. November 15, 2012

I was really getting tired about this time. But I am so fortunate that I did not have any bisters or sore places that were giving me problems. My mind was still clear and I did not bonk out. Oh, I did have a time when I was having a problem with my stomach hurting. I could not figure out what was going on so I decided to take off my fuel belt which I had strapped around my waste that was carrying 2 bottles of water. I handed it to Douglas and after about 10 minutes I suddenly felt fine.

I had to do a dog leg at about 75 mile which was about 7 tenths of a mile down and back. I had told Philip that I was not going to do it because I was too tired but he put up such a fuss that I had to give in and walked to the turnaround on old 101 to get my 80 miles. I tried to jump up on the barrier in the middle of the turnaround and just about landed on my face. But I managed to hang onto a post that was there and just barely kept from falling.

We walked back to Evans road and then it was not too long when we saw the motorhome parked and the last aid station. It was 2 miles to the finish line. Joy and  bliss. I had made it. We were just about a mile from home when Rosaura came jogging out to meet us. also the men from my churches men's bible study came driving by to cheer me on.

When I was about 2 tenths of a mile from home Jason called everyone to stop and let me run to the finish line by myself. I thought it was a great thing to do. So I ran on and Dick and Ray a friend put up a sign that read 80 and they had a long piece of scotch tape hanging on it and stretched it as crossed the finish line.

                                          What an adventure it has been.
 I started my training on January 23, 2012 and with a lot of help from my wife who helped me immensley with the right nutrition and had cold baths waiting for me at the end of the 30 mile training runs. And her making sure that I got out the door and did my training when I got lazy about.

                                                       SHIRLEY
With out her I would not have made the dream come true and then to my wonderful running partner Dick who was a great help to me on the 30 mile run. Dick you are a stud!!! And also to my son Bruce and his son Douglas for their help in keeping me going with their terrible sense of humor. DNF thanks son.

The aid crew Kim, Philip, Bruce, me, Dick, Jason, Douglas and Shirley in the wheelchair.  WHAT A CREW, OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

And a big THANK YOU JASON for knowing what to do to keep me from bonking out completely on the last 20 miles with just the right kind of food that kept me going. And then to my 2 dear children Kim and Philip for driving the aid vechiles for 23 hours , 50 minutes and 43 seconds without sleep and with such a good attitude<well most of the time> . To all who thought of me along the way and gave me such great wonderful encourage.

                              Kim, Philip,Bruce, me, Dick, Jason and Douglas
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.
Chuck