Not Just Another 100
by Firdaus Dotiwala
Not Just Another 100 by Firdaus Dotiwala |
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After
doing the Western States 100 last year,
I wanted to do an ‘easy’ 100 (as if any 100 mile run is
easy), so I decided to choose one that did not have such a high profile,
and at the same time, I would have a lot of fun running it. So I decided
on one that was not on the other coast as most of the 100’s are,
but at the same time, was set in a beautiful environment, with a nice
homey feel about it. Thus, I found the Mohican 100 mile Endurance run:
Not as intense as the Western States 100, and not as easy as some of
the other 100’s out there. I wanted one in which there was not
too much planning required, and in which I could just focus on the training,
but then things do not go exactly as one wishes. |
Well
before I start to write about the race, because in the final analysis
the race itself was secondary to me, I have to say a very special THANK
YOU to three wonderful individuals and friends. Without them this race
would have been a huge disaster, and it is a testament to their support
against all odds, that I came out of this with a smile on my face. Yuen,
her husband Leo, and a special friend Yayoi (pronounced as Ya Yo E)
who paced me, and tolerated my antiques for an entire 35 miles through
the entire night. There was a very unfortunate family matter that Yuen
and Leo had to deal with, and my race was smack in the center of their
problem, and I would have totally understood if she could not have made
it. Yet they came through for me like only true friends can. They drove
all night from New York to Ohio (it is a ten hour journey) to crew for
me. They went from aid station to aid station to crew for me all day
and all night and early on the second day, and then drove all the way
back to New York to attend to family matters. This to me was priceless
and my race paled in comparison to their sacrifice. Yayoi is new to
ultra running and had done only two 50K’s going into this run,
placing 2nd in one and 1st in the other, so the distance was not that
new to her but the night version was going to be interesting, especially
when she would have to carry me through most of the tough part of the
race ... and how she did! But later on that. I must confess though that
I missed the most prominent person and the heart and soul of my running
to this point – Alex. But she is expanding her horizons…literally
and my blessings are with her. |
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A month before the race, I did manage to go for three out of the five training runs held there. The first of them was approximately 20 miles back to back, and the last one was a 23-mile night run. On the day of the night run, it rained like there was no tomorrow, and so we landed up running about 25 miles in all, in ankle deep water in a lot of places. But all in all, these runs helped me gain some confidence for the race. The race was scheduled for 5am on the 19th of June, and it would have a 30-hour cut off for the race. Yayoi and myself left for the race on Thursday night and rested half way to the race, so that meant that I would not have to drive all the way through in one shot. Unfortunately, Yuen could not make it with us, and she was to come later. So we got there, checked in with the race officials, and I got my number and retired to our room. The down side was that it had rained for three days straight and the trails were in pretty bad shape. Some parts of the trail were completely under water, so there were ropes to wade through those parts. The rain had brutalized most of the trail and the mud was horrendous. This race is a bit unusual, as there are 3 loops that are done twice each, and one loop is done once, and the rest of the race is on straight trails and roads. But there was a job to be done and no matter what the race was on. I do feel a bit cursed here because at Western States last year we got one of the hottest years in race history, and this year we got the one of the wettest race in the 15 years of its running. Anyway, the race started off well. I was feeling good and strong. No injuries this time and I stayed with one of my good friends, Regis Shriver, who has run 11 of the 15 years that this race has been run. However, I managed to stay with him only for about 35 miles and then he blew me away. A true blue 50+ year old guy, a cancer survivor, he ran the entire Appalachian Trail in 80 days last year and as if that was not enough he broke his run so he could do the Mohican 100 for the 10th time and then continued the 2,170 mile run, a great competitor. At the start of the race, I was just flying through the aid stations, and though my pace was way too fast, I was not too worried. The trails were torture, as footing was bad, and the mud was so bad that the shoes were being sucked off. In fact I was well on pace for a sub-20 hour finish if I continued, but that was not going to happen. So I tried to keep going as best as I could but I was quite sure I would finish under 24 hours. How wrong I would be. |
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So,
around the 50-mile mark, I was feeling good and strong. I had been feeling
a bit low on energy, but after having a little bit extra to eat, things
began to look good again. At mile 65, runners are allowed to pick up
their pacers and I joined up with Yayoi. At this point I was feeling
really good and I was already counting the hours to the finish…big,
big mistake. So Yayoi and myself were going pretty strong and we got
to the aid station at mile 70. This is where I made the first big mistake.
I should have worn my polypro here, as it was getting coldish. But I
let it go, thinking that I would pick it up at the next aid station.
However, the problem was that the next aid station was 7.5 miles away,
and by the time I got there, I was a border-line hypothermia case. |
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Here I did finally wear my long sleeve shirt and had some hot soup, and felt a bit better before it got even worse. The weather got colder and colder, and still worse was the fact that the air had a high moisture content, so it felt worse then it really was. By mile 85, things had gone from bad to worse for me and at one point Yayoi removed her long sleeve t-shirt so I could tie it around my ears. She was freezing, but she made it a point to keep me as warm as she possibly could. I could feel myself totally out of it, and I was walking most of the way, and barely at that. Finally, at the next aid station Yayoi forced me to just sit in the car so I could get some warmth and a bit of sleep. So, after about 20 minutes, we got started again. But I think the fatigue, and the fact that I just could not get warm made even walking hell. The funny thing was that my legs felt strong but I could not keep myself alert and warm to do any thing about it. So by the time I realized that there was no way I was going under 24 hours I had lost all motivation to do anything about it. Morning came and the weather got worse. It got colder or at least I was feeling that way. But I had come way too far to even think about not finishing. The last aid station was mile 96.5 and we were coming upon on one of the toughest climbs of the race – Big Hill. But the sun finally peeked out, and as if by magic, I got the feeling back and started to run, overtook one runner, then two runners, then three runners and almost towards the end two more runners. Yayoi must have thought I was nuts because I just took off. Well my finish was anti-climatic as it is a crime to feel so good at the end of a 100-mile run. So how bad was I? One Dr. Jeff Lynn who was doing a study on extreme runners checked my temperature and I was at 88 degrees. This is at a time that I was feeling much better than 2-3 hours back. That said it all to me. My body had seized to be able to generate warmth and to store it. Such are the oddities of an ultra run, a 100-mile ultra run.
I have recovered as best as I could. Just to see what kind of shape I was in, I ran the ‘Gay Pride’ 5 mile run in 34:50 and felt good doing it. So training for the mile starts and then a marathon in October, followed up by the NYC Marathon (will try and attempt to finish my 5th straight), among other trail runs that I would like to do. Yes, I have been selected for the dreaded Escarpment Run, so that is on the agenda too. Then there is the 200-mile Relay, which I plan to do with some friends. All in all I hope to finish this year on a high note and not totally drained like last year.
Until next time. Happy Trails !! Firdaus Dotiwala, June, 2004 |
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Also by Firdaus:
The Vermont 100
The Western States 100
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