Wineglass Half Marathon, Corning NY October 2, 2011

Briefly...

Official time 1:37:45, a new PR by about 3:45; my watch showed 1:37:41 and 13.18 miles.

I was able to finish strong, running the last 10k faster than my 10k PR.

Mile splits from my watch: 7:47, 7:38, 7:25, 7:23, 7:32, 7:41, 7:26, 7:29, 7:20, 7:26, 7:23, 7:08, 6:58, 1:06 for last fraction (5:59 pace)
Weather: 41 degrees and rain, light wind mainly from behind.

The long story...

Prerace: I had decided to run in this race because some co-workers were running and it is held in the town where our company was founded. There were 4 from the IT department: running Hari in the marathon; Rudy, Scott, and myself in the half marathon. Scott and Rudy live in the Corning area; Hari and I travelled there together on the day before the race.  Scott had picked up the race packets for Hari and I.  The evening before the race Scott and his wife hosted our group along with Rudy's family and Scott's training partner Lisa for a pasta dinner. It was a real fun time chatting about the race, the cold rainy weather, and of course carb loading.

Hari, Chuck, Scott, Rudy

Race morning we met at the Corning YMCA to carpool to the respective starts, dropping Hari at his then parking at the start point for the half. We got in line for porta potties then went inside a school for shelter from the weather until start time approached. I did my usual stretching then jogged for 5 minutes or so to warm up. In spite of the cold and rain I wore a short sleeve wicking shirt and shorts, but with hat, gloves and wool compression socks in consideration of the weather. That turned out to be about right, except the gloves would have served better if not made of cotton.  This race was 3 weeks after my goal race for the fall - Lehigh Valley Marathon. I had PR'd there and hoped to be recovered for this race for another PR attempt on the same training cycle.

The race: We waited for the race clock to tick down to start time, only to hear the race would be delayed 10 minutes until the marathon start was ready. Both races would share one race clock and finish line. The half marathon course was the second half of the marathon course. I decided to run with the pace group aiming for a 1:40 finish, averaging 7:38 pace. On paper it seemed I should be able to go under 1:40, but running that pace for 13 miles seemed rather daunting. I would guage my condition on the way and adjust later as seemed appropriate. Hopefully that would mean picking up the pace rather than fading or bonking.

As I stood near the pacer for our group, Dick Beardsley moved into the crowd to run the race too. Although he is a famous marathoner, he didn't act like he thought he was someone special. He interacted with others there just like any other runner.

One more countdown and we were off. The first mile felt a bit fast but was actually almost 10 seconds slower than average goal pace. The second mile included the only hill - a modest one - and with the downhill portion we were right on the number for this mile.  By this point I was feeling what might become shin splints on my left side. I had felt the same thing in my easy run the day before, but today I would run with it until it forced me to change.  Within a mile it stopped getting my attention. The pace group had a dozen or so at the start and gradually people dropped off the back. By mile ten it was just the pacer and 2 or 3 others. The course followed country roads between the few small towns we passed through. Almost the whole route was open to traffic with only a row of traffic cones separating runners and cars. Intersections were controlled for us and all turns had someone pointing the way. The spectators were rather sparse but the water table workers were enthusiastic and on the ball to take care of us.

I carried a throwaway 16 oz bottle of my own sport drink so I wouldn't need to hit the first few tables. Many of the tables had kids from about age 8 to 12 handing the cups of drink. Even though it was cold and wet, they were always ready as runners passed by. Whenever I was going to take a cup, I would look ahead and point to the girl whose cup I would take and say "thanks sweetie" as she released the cup. Then pause to walk for a couple steps to swallow before running again to catch the pacer.

The running was actually not dramatic at all through most of my race. I just kept reminding myself to think about the current mile, remember to "run like the wind - strong, smooth, free", and to trust in the Lord to be able to run and not grow weary.  Someone remarked when we were one fourth done, then at halfway, and the pacer announced "just a 10k now". I started thinking I would be ok at this pace and would consider moving to a faster pace for the last 5k. It seemed the pacer was thinking alot the same because our pace was in the 7:20s from halfway on. I wondered about the others he was to be pacing since we were about a minute ahead of goal.

Late in the eleventh mile I moved ahead of the pacer to test myself for the remaining portion. I ran a bit with one college aged guy who had been ahead of our group. He told me that he had raced the before and his coach didn't want him running this pace today. Then we heard footsteps and a lady joined us before going ahead a little. I commented that getting "chicked" is ok when I am running my fastest mile of the race. It's not like I'm fading or anything. Then the guy is telling me there is about a half mile including a bridge to go over and another half mile on Market St to the finish. So, it is now time to step up the pace some more. I go ahead of the guy, get "unchicked" and pass a couple more runners before the turn onto Market, the main downtown street lined with shops, restaurants, and some spectators.

My breathing is heavy now but I can see the finish arch 2 blocks ahead. And today will not be about coasting to the finish once the goal time is safe. So I push to an effort I think I can manage for a distance equal to 2 laps on the track. There were 2 runners ahead of me on this block of Market. I passed the guy who is apparently is fading, but the lady is about 50 yards ahead. I doubted I could catch her, but decided I will push to the finish with all I can.  And I began closing on her. I cross a street to enter the last block of the course and push to a sprint effort (though probably not really sprint pace). As I got about 10 yards from her and 40 or 50 from the finish, a female spectator shouts "race that guy, don't let him pass you!"  The runner kind of turned her head but didn't really change her pace, so I passed her and pushed myself to the finish at last.  And turn off my watch, and kind of choke up over having exceeded my goal.  My watch showed 1:37:41.  A race volunteer hands me water, another asks if I'm ok and points out the medical tent. The Dairy Princess gave me a bottle of chocolate milk; she was even wearing a sash and tiara kind of thing. Someone gives me a foil blanket and points the way to the checked bag pickup and the food areas.

Wow. Tired, happy, really tired.

Lehigh Valley Marathon for Via – September 11, 2011

Summary:

Finish time: 3:37:09, 8:18 average pace.  Positive split of about 1 minute.

Placing: 182 of 667 overall, 4 of 32 males age 55-59.

The story:

This was my goal race for the year and I waited at the start with local runner friends Johna, Amy, Laurie, Susan.  Along with welcoming comments related to the sponsoring organization, there was a moment of silence in observance of the September 11 anniversary.  A local first responder sang the national anthem.  The course began on the west edge of Allentown, went through a bit of Bethlehem and finished in Easton.  It followed the Delaware and Lehigh River Canal system which connects these towns.

My goal was to finish at least 5 minutes (preferably 10) under my BQ time of 3:45.  This would require an average pace of 8:24 (or 8:12).  Because of course changes and the forecast for humidity, my plan was to try for 8:15 to 8:20 pace to midway in the race, then pick up the pace as much as possible.

I carried my own homemade sport drink and planned for refills at 3 points on the course from my volunteer support crew – Brenda, Nikki, Anna, Trisha.  According to plan they would meet me around miles 6, 13, and 20 with my drink and honey based energy gel.

The race has a big downhill just out of the start, then there is a challenging uphill in the second mile.  The flat and fast elevation profile had suffered a bit from the course changes.  A couple of miles of unpaved surfaces were eliminated from both ends of the course.  The crowd of runners seemed quieter than usual in the early miles; maybe it was the 9/11 anniversary or the common challenge we faced to get a satisfactory BQ.  About mile three I heard Johna and Amy coming up from behind and we ran together for a couple of miles until Amy stopped to answer a call of nature.

The course was relatively flat from here until we approached mile six by going up a ramp to a bridge.  After crossing the bridge we looped to the left and then back under the bridge to head downhill to the canal towpath.  On this downhill Johna and I came to the awesome YRat support crew.  I walked while I got my refills and gel while Johna continued running.  To get to the towpath we went under a train bridge with a train travelling on it.  The towpath was a bit narrow, only wide enough for 3 runners together.  This made for some occasional slowdowns until someone would break through or around to pass.  The towpath took a bit more effort to maintain pace but I was running easily enough and seemed right on plan although I was actually ahead a bit.  I apparently have a better memory for the pace I saw when checking my watch than for the time it showed at the end of each mile.

Around this time I started chatting with some runners about their race goal and learned we were aiming for about the same time.  I ran with a Cindy from Rochester for about 5 miles to my next support location about mile 13.  We were ranging between 8:21 and 8:06 pace in these miles and passed Johna in this section.  At Bethlehem the course left the towpath for some paved roads with some extra looping around and something like a detour through historic Bethlehem.  In this out and back section I saw Johna and then Amy who had really made up a lot of ground.  I noticed some old stone walls, building foundations and stairways.  I was expecting a big hill here, but I had misread the map so there was only a gentle uphill.  Since we were approaching my next personal aid station, I bragged about my support crew and the whole YRats group.  We eventually came to where The Crew waited with my second refill.  Again I walked through my aid station.  The pattern was Nikki swapping my sport drink bottles (even placing it in the bottle belt) and Brenda was ready with the gel and water to wash it down.  Anna took pictures and whooped it up.  Trisha stood by and watched the whole process; I wonder what she thought!

Across the river from the 14 mile mark I could see the old steel mill furnaces and smoke stacks from Bethlehem Steel.  The pasta dinner the night before had been just across the street from there.  Beginning with the second water table in the race I would walk long enough to get a cup of water, drink about half and dump the other half over my head to keep from getting too warm.  These water tables were 2 to 3 miles apart.  The relay exchanges were a little more exciting with more people and noise.  Some aid stations had junior cheer leaders for the runners.  I guess they normally cheer for youth football teams.  Mostly they looked at each other while cheering and not at the runners. 

By midway I was a couple of minutes ahead of the Garmin virtual partner.  This was where my pace was to pick up and that’s how I thought it went.  But on reviewing my splits, I was a little slower in the second half.  For most of the rest of the race I was trying to stay under 8:10 pace.  About mile 15 I told myself it was only one 90 minute race pace tempo run like in my training to the finish.  This was supposed to be comforting, but didn’t quite do it.

After the 3^rd relay exchange the course moved from towpath to an almost single track path.  This caused more congestion and slowing unless you were willing to run the edges to pass.  That’s what I did and for several miles swapped places back and forth with a Marathon Maniac.  My legs were tiring and getting sore.  Eventually they seemed ready to cramp, especially the lower quads just above the knees.  Like other times this increased until the end of the race.

About mile 20 the path ended on a gravel road with a short quick uphill turn and there I found the YRat Crew.  Here Anna brought out washcloths that were soaked with ice water.  These were so refreshing while I took in the other refills.  I walked considerably longer this time before resuming my run.  Six miles remained.  Just a 10k run.  I felt sure I could keep the 8:10 pace or better.  After a mile or so on gravel road the course moved to paved roads.  The first part of this was a steep uphill of 50 yards or so.  I chose to walk this.  Then late in mile 23 and a good part of 24 we had a long difficult hill.  I didn’t see how I could run this faster than walking, so I walked again.  Of course my pace dropped off a lot. 

Then a spectator or volunteer told us there was no more uphill.  I hoped he was correct.  The road did level out and turned downhill a bit.  Someone said there was only a mile and a quarter to go, but my watch said it was a mile and 3 quarters.  It also said I had been running 3 hours and 26 minutes.  If there was only a 1.25 miles to go I thought I could do that in 9 minutes.  But it was my watch which was correct.  I have found more often that my watch thinks I completed the race distance before I got to the finish line, so I decided to wait for my finish line push until I could see the line.  A couple more turns and the finish line came into view.  And there was also a side road out and back to do before heading to the finish.  Maybe it was now within 3 quarters of a mile.  I was pushing myself harder but my pace wasn’t increasing nearly as much as the effort.  As I finished the out and back part I saw Cindy from Rochester entering the section and didn’t think she would make her 3:40 goal.  She missed by 37 seconds.  One last turn and just the final 2 tenths up a small hill to the finish.  I knew I could push the pace that far and “charged” the line, passing 5 or 6 runners.  I stopped my watch a couple steps past the timing mats and saw 3:37:11.  I had a nice PR, sub 3:40, and a chance to rest.

And The Crew met me again, providing more nourishment and encouragement.

Mile splits according to Garmin:

1 to 13:  8:08, 8:21, 8:24, 8:19, 8:14, 8:18, 8:24, 8:26, 8:08, 8:21, 8:07, 8:06, 8:11,

14 to 26.2: 8:30, 8:20, 8:13, 8:20, 7:56, 8:17, 8:43, 8:11, 8:07, 8:35, 9:18, 8:11, 8:08, 0:52

Miles 1-13 totaled 1:47:27, 14-26 totaled 1:48:49.  Plus the point two in 52 seconds.

The race organizers had more than the usual challenges to make this marathon happen.  There was damage to the towpath/trail sections from hurricane Irene and then more heavy rains from the next tropical storm.  They had to change both the beginning and end of the course and get it recertified so that the Boston hopefuls could use their time to qualify.  This was completed less than 24 hours before the race started.  They did a great job of communicating the status and changes to the runners.

local coverage has photos showing some of the course, one pic of Susan Graham-Gray

http://www.mcall.com/sports/mc-pictures-lehigh-valley-marathon-20110911,0,5161402.photogallery

Marathon Pacer Report

Bob Potts Marathon, York PA   Sunday May 15, 2011  6:30 am start

I was pacing for running friend Brenda, with whom I have run many hundreds of miles over a few yearss.  She was going for a 3:55, to exceed her BQ requirement by 5 minutes.  I thought if we averaged 9 minute miles to the turnaround at about halfway, we could make the goal with only a little increase in pace on the return trip.  We ran with Mike who hoped for sub 4 hours.  The day started overcast in the low 60's, with showers predicted.  It was quite humid and warmed up into the 70's.  Conditions proved troublesome for some, as a couple runners were taken to the hospital. 

The weekend was like a field trip for our run group. We had rooms at the same hotel, carpooled, went to dinner together. Six of us running, three there to support us, and a couple more showed up for the race.

 

For the start, we crowded near the front since there was no chip timing.  My watch showed 2 or 3 seconds as we crossed the start line.  We had trouble throughout with uneven pacing.  (Yep, that was supposed to be my job.) 

The race started on the streets of York and the first several blocks were downhill.  That combined with being up front meant we were going too fast.  We kept agreeing out loud that we were going too fast, but only gradually got close to our planned pace.  As we slowed we were constantly being passed by other runners. 

Still, I thought the pace was fairly comfortable and I enjoyed the run for the entire first half.  Lots of chatting, jokes, etc.  I was not carrying any drink or nutrition, depending on the aid stations, walking each one to get a cup or two.  (I would do that different next time and carry something.)  Brenda and Mike were each carrying their own nutrition items.  We saw our great crew at about mile 9.  I took some of my honey gel mix and a drink of water.  Thanks to Rose (my wife), Denise, Kristal! It was a real boost knowing you were there.  Nikki and Dagmar were there cheering too.   

We did some guessing of where we would see the leaders on the way back and the same thing for which mile Jill would appear.  She looked to be doing great when she came by.  Now and then I would refill a water bottle for Brenda at the tables in addition to getting my own drink.  One of these times was just before the turnaround and I was pushing a little to catch up to Brenda and Mike, so I was last in our little group to make the turn.  Volunteers handed out gels at the turnaround and I took one for later.

Now for the return trip where we would go a little faster.  I thought we should delay our pace increase since we had run some fast miles early and were something like 30 seconds ahead of plan.  Soon we saw Crystal and Anna looking relaxed and happy on their way to the turnaround.  Mike stayed with us through something like 15 miles.  In spite of saying we would not speed up, the pace picked up a lot for a couple miles.  I will blame it on a story from Boston that I told to Brenda.  Reliving the strong memory got me going faster.
We continued on, passing back through aid stations and coming to our crew again at mile 18.  Brenda decided to switch from her water belt to one with her coconut drink, so I ran ahead to get that for her and take care of my fuel/drink.  Denise had nice cold, wet washcloths ready that were so refreshing. 

Nikki began running with us there.  By then Brenda and I were working to keep pace and by mile 20 or so we were beginning to struggle/suffer.  It was great to have Nikki's help.  She was fresh emotionally and really chatty, while we were on the decline.  She took over caring for Brenda's water bottle and doing the talking/story telling.
Gradually we had to focus only on the current mile. Nikki did the encouraging/chatting, I tried to set the pace.

It seemed to me that Brenda was really suffering and I wondered if we could make the goal time.  I was hearing her breathing now even though we weren't going so fast.  I was hurting too.  I prayed we would somehow make it.  My watch had been acting up and I was doubting whether the pace display was correct.

We slowed for a couple miles and I insisted Brenda walk the aid station to drink and recover a little. By 3 or 4 miles to go, it seemed from the miles remaining and the clock-time that we still had a shot if somehow we could keep to 9 minute miles.  So we kept on, Brenda silent and with an expression of misery (though still running well), Nikki saying "you can do it!", and me in front pacing & listening to make sure they were keeping up.

Eventually we were into the last mile and just trying to stay on pace.  Then onto the road, up the hill to the track and a half lap to finish.  As we made the last turn, the clock showed we had about 30 seconds and we pushed to the line - with seconds to spare.  That we met Brenda's goal was more than I can take credit for, surely an answer to prayer.

 

Congrats to Brenda for running an impressive PR, getting her BQ, and age group award. 

She proved again what she is made of.  And it's more than just sugar and spice... 

 

Jill also achieved an impressive PR, getting a BQ by 10 minutes.  These ladies have given me reason to go for a faster BQ of my own so we can go to Boston for another group fieldtrip.

mile splits according to my watch. (after the middle of the race it was showing some paces I couldn't believe, so not sure how well these match Brenda's numbers)
8:14, 8:41, 8:54, 9:04, 9:13, 8:53, 8:59, 8:53, 8:46, 8:54, 8:48, 8:57, 8:54, 9:04, 8:32, 8:33, 9:06, 8:51, 9:19, 9:18, 8:33, 9:47, 9:25, 9:04, 9:09, 8:42, 8:50(0.26)

 

My new realization of marathoning: 15 happy miles, 5 or 6 miles of work, and the remainder is suffering.

Boston Marathon April 18, 2011

It was a very satisfying and challenging event for me.  For months I looked forward to this race and did my own style of research/analysis preparation to the max.  My training miles and effort were higher than last year when I ran my qualifying time.  The event organization was very good, the spectator support was amazing.  The course was tough.  Here’s a summary of my race experience.

In short: I finished with a time of 3:45:34, just over my goal of 3:45.  I started a little faster than planned and was working too hard too soon but managed to keep plugging away to the finish.

Overall place 12124 of 23879 finishers, gender 8554 of 13806, age group 435 of 1132.

Mile split paces from my watch: 8.23, 8.12, 8.13, 8.20, 8.31, 8.29, 8.23, 8.31, 8.21, 8.21, 8.29, 8.20, 8.29, 8.39, 8.34, 8.43, 9.00, 9.12, 8.47, 9.10, 9.34, 8.26, 8.25, 8.35, 8.18, 8.32, 2.36 (0.39 mi watch)

5k splits paces from BAA results: 8:12, 8:29, 8:25, 8:28, 8:48, 8:59, 9:05, 8:30, 8:22 (last 2.something k)

The long story…

My goal was to average 8:30 per mile pace until the hills starting around mile 16.  I planned to give back a little time in the hills and finish with an overall average pace of 8:35.  But I hoped to be strong enough to run the last miles enough faster to go under 3:45.

The first 3 or 4 miles I couldn’t go slowly enough to keep my planned pace.  Runners are cautioned about running too fast during the first several downhill miles at Boston since that will cause problems later.  I knew what to do, but couldn’t seem to do it.  Hundreds of runners passed me through those miles.  I averaged 8:12 pace for the first 5k. 

I was feeling too warm by mile 4 or 5.  By mile 8 it seemed like I was feeling the effects of starting too fast.  Or maybe it just wasn’t going to be my day.  My legs felt they had worked too hard already.  So mentally I started doubting myself and remembering how I faded badly at MCM.  Already I was thinking about what I would tell Rose and Keith later on the course and what excuses I would have after the race.  But there was also a voice saying ‘this is THE Boston Marathon, you can’t just slack off without giving it a real try’.  I was still able to run at goal pace, so I would not do any excuse making yet.

I began thinking through the things I could do to cope with what felt wrong and I started making adjustments.  Stick to the planned pace.  Drink more Gatorade and water, dump water on my head and upper body for cooling.  Walk through aid stations to make sure I drank more than I spilled.  Take my energy gel on schedule.  Look forward to what I know is coming up - Wellesley College scream tunnel at mile 13/14 and family at mile 22.

And I thought about those who sent encouragement, well wishes, inspiration.  Would I be willing to say I wasn’t strong enough or brave enough?  And I switched back and forth between preparing excuses and telling myself ‘don’t give up yet’.  Then, beginning in the hill section I decided to make use of the spectator support.  Since I had my name on my shirt, running near the side of the road gave people a chance to cheer for me by name, and they did.  Probably I heard my name at least a thousand times.  That really helped.  And high-fiving little kids and big ones.

To my surprise, the hills were not so bad.  It seemed the change in running stride was good for me.  (Looking at my miles splits, I can see why the hills didn’t hurt much.  I really slowed down; for one mile I was a minute off average goal pace.)  After Heartbreak hill, I scanned the crowd for Rose and Keith.  Even though they were where we planned and I looked right at them, I never recognized them with my eyes or ears.  But, looking for them for an extra mile or so kept me distracted from thinking about whether I could continue.

Beginning in the hills and increasingly toward the finish, I was passing other runners.  Some stopped to stretch.  More and more were walking.  As I watched the miles slowly click off, I began to think I could finish on goal.  While my legs hurt a lot, they were working ok.  Then I realized that my gps watch was measuring the distance a little shorter than the course markings.  I couldn’t do the math mentally to figure out how much time I had to gain to make up for that.  I had finished the hills thinking I was only 5 seconds behind plan and guessed making up 30 seconds would be enough.  My last half mile was fastest, around 7 minute pace, but not enough to break 3:45.  My watch said I ran 26.39 miles rather than the 26.2 for the marathon.  (At 7 minute pace, a tenth of a mile takes 42 seconds.)  

As the course approaches the finish in downtown Boston, the crowd builds as well as enthusiasm and cheering volume.  I was amazed at the cheering for me specifically by name.  More than 12,000 people had already finished and yet people still looked for my name and cheered as if they were waiting just for me to come by.  It felt like I was a star.

It was so good to run through the Boston Marathon finish line and I was glad that I had not given up when things got tough.

The hay is in the barn for Boston

My final track session today was not much of a workout.  Just some 1200 repeats at goal marathon pace.  Well I guess they were a little faster.  My goal pace is 8:30 to 8:35 and my average was 8:28 today.
I don't know what finish time I can expect.  Looking at my training over the last couple of months, I think I should be able to PR at Boston.  That will require going under 3:42, an average pace of 8:28 per mile.  For now my plan is to run at a pace to make another BQ time which would be 3:45.  If I can speed up some after the dreaded Newton hills, maybe it will bring a PR.
And since some friends will run the Bob Potts Marathon on May 15th, I hope to run that one too and go for a time of 3:40 or faster.  Of course that race will depend on how I recover from Boston.
I have been reading all I can about running the Boston Marathon and the details of getting to the start, surviving the wait, etc.  I am excited.  And I think appropriately afraid of the work ahead.
Oh marathon racing! What sweet and frightening anticipation.

Next race: Boston Marathon April 18, 2011

I am in the final weeks of training for the Boston Marathon. 

This is a goal race for many marathoners and I was really pleased to have qualified last May.  I increased my training and completed the Bob Potts Marathon in York, Pennsylvania with a time of 3:42:01.  That was a little better than the 3:45:59 required for men aged 55 to 59.

So here I am training to repeat as a qualifier this time at Boston.

In addition to the run training I am searching the internet for tips on pacing, overcoming the hills, and all the logistic challenges of getting to the starting line on race day along with about 27,000 other runners.

It might be my only appearance at Boston since it is getting harder to qualify and even to register.  I hope to make a pleasant memory on marathon weekend and especially on Patriots Day.

It runs in the family!

Running - It’s in my family tree.

About 8 generations back on my mother’s side there was an ultra-runner. Tracing back through her father, Oscar Marshall, we can find Edward Marshall.  He was recruited to go as far as possible on foot in 18 hours in order to set the boundary for a land purchase in what is now eastern Pennsylvania. 

Really it seems to have been a land steal that was filled with scheming and deception. Although Edward Marshall was employed for this purpose, it is unclear whether he knew of the dishonesty involved.  In fact he probably didn’t even receive what was promised for his efforts.  And he paid dearly in the subsequent months or years.  His family was attacked in the backlash to the land grab.  Edward’s wife and son were killed and a daughter severely injured.

Being a runner myself, my interest is in his impressive physical accomplishment as an endurance athlete.  It seems curious, even ironic to me that this run was part of a plan to get land from Indians for white settlers.  I am descended from these white settlers, yet I have at least one Indian in my family tree.  Nancy LeBree is in the line of my mother’s mother - fewer generations back than Edward Marshall.  You might say one of my grandfathers was involved in stealing from one of my grandmothers.

The following excerpt is from http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/WalkingPurchase.html.  A google search for ‘walking purchase’ or ‘Indian walking purchase’ should yield several other sources to read about this.

According to Steven Harper’s Promised Land, the 1686 treaty gave the settlers claim to land north of the previous treaty’s boundary line between the Neshaminy and Delaware rivers for “as far as a man could walk in a day and a half.” On September 19, 1737, three strong runners, James Yeates, Edward Marshall, and Solomon Jennings, began, in the words of Lenape interpreter Moses Tetemie, “what ye Indians call ye hurry walk.” The native spectators noted the quick pace and unexpectedly direct route the three were taking, and according to W.W.H. Davis, “showed their dissatisfaction at the manner in which the walk was conducted, and left the party before it had been concluded.” The approximately 65 mile “hurry walk” proved so grueling that only Edward Marshall managed to complete it, who Davis writes, “threw himself at length on the ground, and grasped a sapling which marked the end of the line.” Marshall’s athletic feat, combined with liberal interpretation of how the boundary line should be drawn to the Delaware River, took from the Lenape an area slightly smaller than Rhode Island.

The route was surveyed in advance and even cleared to allow maximum progress. The runners were accompanied by horseback riders who brought along food, drink, and other supplies. Yet there were rivers to cross, mountains to climb, and rough ground to cover.

I learned of this part of my family history only last summer. While reading about what Edward accomplished, I felt that I wanted to repeat his effort. Of course it will be impossible to retrace the exact route due to highways and other development since the 1700’s. I hope to follow the route as much as possible and meet the same time limit. I have been in contact with members of a hiking group that does a weekend hike to retrace this route. My intention is to join their hike and learn enough of the route to be able to do the run myself with a few friends along for support. Hopefully I can do this near the date of the original event.

My longest single day efforts have been 33 and 50 miles. I will need to step up the training to have a chance to measure up to my great-great’s example.

What a goal race this will be!