Complete Race List
Angel Island 50k
Appalachian Trail
Aspen Skiing
Across the Years
Big Sur Marathon
Boston Marathon:  
2000 
2001 
2002  
2003
Carmel Valley 50k
Cal Int'l Marathon
Diablo 50-miler
Foxy's Fall Century
Golden Gate Marathon:  
2000 
2004
Grandma's Marathon:  
1999 
2001
Javelina Jundred
Ironman Lake Placid
Leadville Trail Marathon
Miwok 100k
Mt. Diablo 50k
Philadelphia Marathon:  
1998
2003
2005
Providian Relay:  
2002 
2003
Quad Dipsea
Radcliffe Crew
San Diego Marathon
Silicon Valley Marathon:  
1999 
2000
Skyline 50k
Skyline Ridge 50k
Superior Trail 100
Tri For Fun
Vermont 50 Mile
Wildflower Triathlon
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This was our first attempt at a 24-hour track race. We weren't sure what
to expect: on the one hand it seemed like it would be a lot easier than the
two trail 100-milers we had completed, because it was 100% flat without
rocks or roots. But on the other hand, we were worried it would be
psychologically deadly to run around the same boring track for 24 hours.
It turns out we were wrong on both counts! It was A LOT harder
physically than we had imagined, because we didn't get the "breaks" of
uphill or downhill running to use different muscles. It was also a lot
more interesting than we had imagined - the track was pretty and full of
interesting people to pass, get passed by, talk with, cheer for, etc.
The race started at 9am, and we ran a few laps together but quickly
separated, as Daniel took off at a faster pace with Jasper. My goal was to
click off ~3 minute laps while it was light out, and reevaluate after sunset.
I did pretty much that, and made it halfway to my goal, with 63 miles at 8pm.
But I was pretty tired by that point. Around 9:30pm I suffered a total bonk.
I ended up walking for 2.5 hours. I tried running a few laps, but never made
it more than one lap at a time. But I guess I was slowly refueling, and a few
people were being really encouraging and telling me to get moving again. Just
before midnight, I walked a few laps with Yiannis Kouris (who had just broken
the world record for the 48-hour run), which was really inspiring. Everybody
paused just before midnight for a countdown and toast, and to walk one big lap
together. But I made it my New Year's Resolution to start running again, so
after giving Daniel a New Year's kiss, off I went.
I was pretty slow at first, and every single lap I had to fight a battle
with myself to run just one more. But I kept running... and I did a
calculation and realized that if I could go five miles per hour for the next 9
hours, I could still make my goal. I decided to take it in 2.5 mile chunks.
Every 2.5 miles, I would allow myself one lap at a brisk walk. Glenn Turner
was especially encouraging, and he cheered for me every time around. I was
pretty whiney in return, but I kept running. On one lap, he gave me an
inspiring song to listen to on his ipod - that was really great, and took me
around 2 full laps at a faster pace.
Around 2:30am, John Geesler (my angel of the race) who was running the
72-hour race but had suffered a disappointing middle day, joined me. He was
determined that I should make my goal. He matched my pace for 6.5 hours,
offering encouragement and conversation. He even waited for me when I fell
asleep in the port-o-potty at one point! He was really amazing. I met my goal
around 8:40am, so we walked 3 more "victory laps" together before 9am. I
really owe him a lot for keeping me going in the last 6.5 hours!
It was hard to figure out what to eat in this race, because the aid station
kept appearing every 3-4 minutes. I went in phases. I ate primarily animal
crackers for the first 4 hours, then ginger snaps for the next. I had a few
cliff shots, some fruit, and potatos. Just before midnight, I had a
cup-o-soup, which was exactly what I needed! After midnight, I settled into a
routine of eating every half hour. On the hour, I had a cup of mountain dew
and some potatos; on the half-hour I had a cup of heed (like gatorade) and a
handful of gummy bears. It seemed to work.
After the race, I had some hot chili and a lot of water, then slept on the
ground for almost 4 hours, waking up only once to use the bathroom. I woke up
feeling better, and had a meat & cheese sandwich. Daniel packed up most of our
stuff into the car, and we headed off to our hotel. Finally, after showering,
we worked up a real appetite, so we went to McDonald's and each ate two full
meals! Then we slept for almost 12 hours. We've both taken longer to recover
than after previous 100-milers. But a week later, we are feeling good and
stretched out, and we're stationary biking on low resistance. We'll probably
wait another week before running.
It was a lot of fun to finish first and second in the same race - the
first time we've ever done that! Especially exciting: the next day, I got an
email from USA track & field: the team manager for the 24hr team invited me to
participate in the 24hr World Championships in February. My distance of 126.7
miles was above the women's "A standard", so I qualified for a team uniform and
all-expense paid trip to Taiwan in February to compete. I had to turn it down,
because there's no way I'll be recovered in time, and it's right in the middle
of the semester. But maybe in some future year... Daniel's distance was also
above the men's "B standard" so possibly we could both go together in some
future year. It's exciting to think about!
Across the Years 24
Hour
Daniel's distance: 131.1 miles, 1st overall
Jenny's distance: 126.7 miles, 2nd overall
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