Time for bed

Well, this blog ended up a dud.

Shannon and I are already home and ready for bed, not even 13 hours into the race.

My decrepit legs left me in a deflated mood and I didn't try to document the the day like I had hoped.

Shannon also had a sub-par day, calling it quits after a measly 43 miles. She hadn't trained at all for this race, and still had a lingering knee pain from the marathon. So it was easy to talk her into dropping out and getting some Korean sizzling rice soup, a shower, and a warm bed.

Still it was great to see the amazing Connie Gardner, Cheryl Yanek, Valmir Nunes, and Jonathan Savage.

Crotan 24 is a great race log some serious miles, if you are in shape to do it. It very flat and easy, and well supported.

Aid station

Finished!

Seems that my legs have an 18 mile limit regardless of the speed. Was doing a steady 9:45 pace from the start. Maybe too fast for an ultra, but legs started hurting at mile 8. Mile 18, right hip was filled rusty nails so had stop running. Walked a very slow loop, but it didn't clear up. Calling it a day. Last time I saw Shannon she was a lap ahead about to puke from eating too many veggie burgers.

Connection problems

Posting is having problems. May have to abandon the live blog for now

Shannon with connie

I don't need to walk around in circles

But I am going to anyway:

Don't get too excited

This is not an official blog for the Croatan 24 race.

I'm just a another aging runner schlub with arthritic knees and a sometimes talented ultra runner wife who will be running the 2013 edition of the Croatan 24 Race. My other blog is at  http://www.running-down.com/.

I heard this quote somewhere:

If you can't play sports, then run
If you can't run, then run far.

The last 7 marathons I have signed up for have been failures. So I guess it is time to "run far".
This is my first serious foray into the world of Ultras. I've done a few short ones (40 milers) but those were really just extended marathons, not something that literally takes all day.

I'll post some photos and give some banal observations as long as my phone battery and coffee hold out.

Don't expect too much. This is just something for me to do after my legs fall apart 2 hours into the race.

Shannon is prepared

While the competition is struggling to unwrap their Starburst, Shannon will be zooming by with this secret weapon: