1995 Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run
by Robert M. Carosso
Training:
My training, specific for this race, consisted of sixteen weeks of around 65
miles/week, plus some cross-training with weights, biking, roller blading, &
canoeing. It was much like a typical marathon training program, with a few
exceptions. First, I concentrated more on the long runs than on base mileage;
and my long runs were very long (ranging from 26 to 50+ miles at least once a
week). Second, many of my long runs were races (4 marathons and 4 ultras,
all run very hard). During the last two weeks I tapered both my mileage and
my long runs, while increasing cross-training. Finally, I tried to include
trails, heat, and hills in some of my later long runs, as this race is run
in mid-July and has over 14,000 feet of vertical climb and over 14,000 feet
of vertical descent.
Race Preparations:
My crew consisted of my handler, Carol Adams (my Mom), and my pacer, Howie
Breinan. Howie's girlfriend, Beth, also helped out at the aid stations.
I did an incredible amount of planning for this race, as did my crew. For
my handler I prepared copies of the race packet including course maps, aid
stations & mileage lists, course profile, directions, race rules, handler &
pacer info, schedules, menus, & lodging info. I prepared additional
information including supplies descriptions & lists, schedules, race
strategies, discussions of the race collected from the internet, specific
handler station notes, & time-of-arrival estimates at handler checkpoints.
I obtained, organized, listed, labeled, & packed the race supplies including
food & drink, vitamins & supplements, clothing, shoes, medical supplies,
flashlights & batteries, spares, and other stuff. My planning also included
pre- and post-race supplies and activities. My handler was equally organized,
preparing notes, studying the race course and other materials, supplying a
folding table and chair, organizing the medical kit, and planning her own
complex logistics.
We had many briefing sessions by phone and at my house, going over everything
in advance. The extensive planning really paid off on race day, as my aid
station pit stops were quick and efficient; and I was always well-supplied.
I also made sure to take care of the little things, like changing the oil &
checking the fluids in my car, bringing plenty of cash, anticipating rain or
cold weather, etc.; trying to anticipate anything that could go wrong.
Finally, we solicited together $461 in pledges for the Vermont Handicapped
Ski & Sports Association (VHSSA), the race sponsors, from our generous
friends, family, and coworkers.
Some Bad Luck:
On Tuesday before the race, I was on a training run and I stepped badly on a
curb, turning my right foot almost completely under. I heard the ankle snap,
and I went down in pain. I walked it off and completed the run, but the next
day it swelled up and turned colors. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able
to race on Saturday. But on Thursday the swelling was gone, and although it
still hurt, I could run on it OK. But could I run 100 miles on it? ...
Race Day Morning:
241 runners lined up in the dark at 4:00 AM for the start of the race in front
of Smoke Rise Farm. I had been very anxious to run for days now, and had
hardly slept, but it did not matter. I was wide awake and bursting with
energy. I did not sleep at all the night before but just lay in bed, running
the race over and over in my mind and wishing I could sleep. At 2:00 AM, I
gave up and got up and ate a huge breakfast of Rice Chex, protein drinks,
milk, vitamins, Belgian waffles, & maple syrup.
Now, two hours later, I was more than ready to go. It was quite chilly &
damp just standing there, but I was warm and sweating within minutes after
beginning to run. The start of this race was one of the most eerie things I
have ever experienced. The first several miles were run in a deep forest in
darkness & fog; and it was a darker blackness than I have ever seen. The
tiny flashlight I carried barely penetrated and I could not see my footing
very well. It was muddy, rooty, & rocky; within a mile or two I took a bad
step on my bad ankle and wrenched it pretty bad.
At around 20 miles or so I took another shot on the ankle as we ran through
a wet, lumpy, grassy field where you could not see the footing. I thought
I might be in trouble with that ankle, but as it turned out, although I
wished it was stronger that day, it held up sufficiently throughout the race.
That grassy field and earlier trails had soaked and muddied my shoes, but a
quick shoe change at mile 27.7 was a key move; my feet remained fairly dry
the rest of the day, and I did not get any blisters. That pit stop was
typical of how well my crew worked for me that day. As I approached, I
yelled, "Shoe change!", and as I ran in I was presented with a chair, I sat,
I removed my shoes, was fed, briefed, handed water, new shoes, socks, tied
them on and I was on my way with little time lost.
I was totally amazed at the speed at which the leaders began the race. It
was more like a 10K than a hundred-miler, with some of those guys off at a
6:00 per mile pace. I knew there would be many top national ultrarunners at
this race and I was just interested in lasting for a good finish. So I held
back at what was a comfortable pace for me, about 8:10 per mile; slower on
the uphills, faster on the downhills. I think I was in about 9th place for
the first 30 miles or so. After that I began slowly passing other runners,
just maintaining my pace.
The first 60 miles went by so easily, I couldn't believe it. I didn't begin
feeling the day's heat until about 10:00 AM, when the sun rose high and the
skies were clear. I felt a pleasant contentment as I ran through the green
forests & pastures, past the sleepy cows & grazing sheep on hilly farms with
picture-postcard red barns, by foggy swamps groaning with dozens of croaking
bullfrogs, through covered bridges, up and down the back country dirt roads.
Friendly locals watched with curiosity as I passed by; we exchanged "good
mornings" and I thanked them as they wished me good luck.
I had run farther than I ever had before, and was not even fatigued. I was
encouraged as everyone at the aid stations remarked on how fresh I looked. I
had hardly even noticed the long, steep climbs, some of them going up 900 ft.
in a couple of miles; and I just jogged over them like they weren't even
there. But I thrilled at the steep, downhill plunges, some of which dropped
through twisty, rooty woods trails or down fields of tall grass. I flew down
these drops like a kamikaze going for the kill.
At the mile 52 (I think) aid station, I met Courtney Campbell, who had won
the Old Dominion 100 back in May. He said that he and Kevin McGovern had
gone out at 5:50 per mile pace for the first 25 miles; and that he didn't
think he could go on. He also said that Kevin was hurting and predicted that
I would pass him soon. Sure enough, I caught Kevin at the top of Prospect
Hill, mile 58 (I think). He looked dead tired and said he was just going to
try to "hang in and struggle to try and finish". He said the leaders, Mike
Morton and Kevin Setnes, were more than a half-hour ahead and running very
strong, on a course record pace. I moved into third place, but not for long.
A Hot Afternoon:
I saw Jim Garcia, last year's winner and my friend from neighboring Westford,
MA, with my crew at the next aid station. Jim gave me some advice on some
upcoming tricky turns in the course, as I continued to move right along. But
now I had been out in the heat of the day for quite a while, and it was just
beginning to affect my running. It was here that I began to have to walk the
steep uphills, losing some valuable time.
Somewhere around mile 65, I was feeling nausea and light headedness. I
decided to sit down and let 3 minutes run on my watch while I ate some food
and drank some water. The next thing I knew, Kevin McGovern went flying by
at what looked like a 7 min/mile pace. I was amazed as he looked completely
fresh and strong. He asked if I was all right and I said I was, and that was
the last I saw of him until the finish, as he went on to open over an hour
long lead on me during the next 30 miles.
At Camp 10 Bear, mile 68.2, I was joined by my pacer, Howie Breinan. I had
paced for Howie at last year's race and helped him run to a fabulous top ten
finish. Now, I had Howie's encouragement and experience to guide me along my
way. Howie's girlfriend, Beth, had joined my mother in crewing for both of
us and we had an excellent team that worked like a machine. At every aid
station, my empty water bottle was swapped for a full one as I dumped my trash
and restocked my food pouch from my tray of goodies. I was briefed on the
section of course ahead and the distances to the next aid and handler
stations, asked if there was anything else I needed, and in a few seconds was
on my way again.
During the last 30 miles I saw no other runners, but I did keep passing back
and forth with the lead horse (yes, there was a simultaneous horse race on
the same course going on). The rider sometimes made friendly passing
comments as he went by, but I think I related better to the horse. At the
end, he passed me at mile 98 and beat me, but they had started an hour later
than us anyway. I think I beat all the other horses, though. I should beat
them, of course; after all, I am a human.
Surviving the heat required drinking a lot of water. Fortunately, there were
so many aid stations that I did not have to carry very much. Because I was
moving along so quickly (averaging 10 min/mile over the whole race) and the
average distance between aid stations was around three miles, I was getting
to one about every half-hour or so. Since I need one waterbottle (pint) full
per hour, and I would drink some while at the aid station, too, I needed less
than half a bottle between aid stations, usually. So, the rest got poured on
my head and my body, helping to keep me cool. I kept my hair wet at all
times. Knowing the distance to the next aid station helped me gauge how much
water I had to spare for drinking and how much could be poured on myself.
My weight was fairly stable, indicating that I was drinking approximately
correct amounts of fluids. At the medical stations I was: up 2 lbs. at mile
44.2, right on at mile 68.2, down 2 lbs. at mile 84.4, and down 3 lbs. at the
finish. I was well within the allowed 6% body weight loss (about 7 1/4 lbs).
Much of the course was shaded, but not all of it. Most of the time there was
a side of the road shaded by the trees, which was where I would run, and a
sunny side, which I would avoid. (Contrast this with a typical marathon or
10K, where you run all the tangents on the roads.) During the afternoon, I
also used the strategy, "run the sun, walk the shade", for the uphill parts.
In other words, if there was a steep uphill part with no shade, I would force
myself to run it until I got to shade again, and then I could walk.
These strategies helped, along with ingesting the right amounts of water and
electrolytes, but by mile 85 it was after 5:00 PM and it was now seven hours
since I first felt hot; it had reached 88 degrees F and the sun was still
quite high in the sky. I felt sick and my stomach did not want me to
continue forcing in more and more water and more and more food. My legs hurt
fiercely and I was continually going in and out of bad patches where I would
be light headed and disoriented. I really wanted to be done with this race.
The worst was at mile 90. I could no longer tolerate any kind of food, but I
decided I could make it to the end on plain water, and keeping a hard candy
dissolving in my mouth at all times. I hurried even faster through the aid
stations now, and was still running all of the downhills, flats, and easy
uphills, although I was walking all the steep uphills. I arrived at the last
aid station at mile 96.1, looking at my watch and feeling much improved. It
was now about 8:00 PM and had finally gotten somewhat cooler out. I told my
pacer that I just wanted a new water bottle and that I was going to blow
through this aid station fast and push hard to the finish. Howie had gotten
me here through the tough part, and now I was ready to hammer out the rest of
this race.
A Fast Finish:
The three miles from 96 to 99 climb 720 feet up a woods path, and then plunge
down the last mile to the finish line. Despite screaming pain from my quad
muscles, I had enough adrenalin now to run about half of these three uphill
miles, alternating with some very fast walking. After cresting the top of
the last hill, I poured on the speed and sprinted the last mile at breakneck
speed, still aware of my watch and determined to break the 16:40 mark (which
would be a sub-10 min/mile pace) for this run. Just as dusk was settling
into the woods, I came barrelling out into the clearing, whooping and yelling
at the top of my lungs, and sprinted full speed across the finish line to the
cheers of spectators.
I felt so good and so happy, and basked in the cheers, hugs, and other
accolades at the finish, as I realized that I had really just run 100 miles
and taken 4th place and was under 16:40 and under last year's winning time...
That all lasted about ten minutes. Then I crashed like an anchor hanging on
a meteor. I got on one of the army cots under an army blanket and squirmed
and whined for hours as my Mom fed me chicken soup. I had extreme muscle
pain and tension everywhere, and severe dizziness, nausea, lethargy, fatigue,
and chills. Also heat rash and very tender toes & feet. And joint pain. I
think even my hair hurt. But the chicken soup went down OK, about 4 or 5
cups of it, and it did its work to cure my ills. In a few hours I was able
to walk, OK, hobble about, and I watched as my friends Chris Haley and Bob
Dion and others came in to the finish.
Aftermath:
The Sunday brunch and awards ceremonies were the best I have ever seen at any
race. It seemed like every runner hung around and cheered for every other
runner. Having run a hundred miles, I understand now what a long distance
like that means. You run it hard and fast and get in early and hurting, or
run it slow and easy and you're out there a long time (and hurting), or just
something in between; but no matter how, everybody runs 100 miles. Every
finisher, from the winner to the last one in, deserves the same praise and
pride in the accomplishment. And when it's over, we all share in a unique
kind of camaraderie and joy that goes beyond racing, beyond even the sport of
running -- it is the spirit of human achievement.
Another Perspective
by Howie Breinan
Just got back from the VT 100 where I paced Bob Carosso. Here
is a quick synopsis of the race, his run, and some results where I can
remember.
The day:
This was a good day for a race. The morning was awesome: very cool and
overcast with a beautiful morning mist which looked beautiful stretched
across woods, fields, streams, and farmhouses. Around 8:00, the mist
started to burn off and it warmed up. The temp got into the 80's, but
the humidity was low, unlike last year. However, there was little cloud
cover, and many runners found the heat to be tough. At least it was
not oppressive. The night was excellent. It cooled off nicely, but not
enough to chill the runners during the night. The second morning was
greeted by even more mist. It stayed pretty much overcast until the
finish.
The race:
(More or less what I saw from where I was)
Courtney Campbell and Mike Morton went out at a blistering pace. Kevin
Setnes followed taking his time and looking relaxed at 12 miles. Local
Kevin McGovern in his first 100 was next. At 27, Mike was still leading,
but Courtney had twisted his ankle and came limping through with K.
McGovern a minute or two back. K. Setnes was a couple more back. Mike,
McGovern, and Courtney all were looking a bit tired. Bob had moved up
to 6th. I can't remember who was leading the women's race, but I think it
was Diane Ridgeway?. Goose was a couple minutes behind, looking strong.
At 40, Setnes had taken the lead, looking good. He was followed a few
minutes later by McGovern, looking tired. Mike and Courtney were another
few minutes back, also looking tired. Bob came in around 30 minutes back
in 5th. Goose had now taken over the lead, still looking strong. I would
not be able to see or follow the women again due to the blistering pace
being set by the leaders.
At 55, Mike had made a strong move, and now looked pretty good. He was
still working hard, but no worse for the wear. He was now 5 minutes up on
Setnes. McGovern started to tire, and came through 25 minutes back feeling
like he was getting ready to shut down. Bob had moved up to 4th, about 35
min. back, still looking awesome! Courtney, still with ankle problems and
now with a sore knee (probably from limping on the ankle), walked from the
previous station, and came in far back. He sat down for almost an hour
before continuing, but was later pulled for weight loss.
From 60 to 68, Mike and Setnes continued to run strong, with Mike
extending his lead by a few minutes and passing 68 on course record pace.
Bob told me he caught McGovern around 60, but then Bob started to tire and
Kevin pulled himself back together. By 68, Kevin was again 5-10 minutes
ahead of Bob.
As I was pacing Bob from here in, I could only follow the race by
viewing the timing sheets at each station. I continued to hear that Mike
was on record pace, and he was slowly, consistently pulling away from
Kevin Setnes. K. McGovern had recovered beautifully. He was consistently
pulling away from Bob and staying about 30 min back of Setnes. At 85
we got the word that Mike had held his pace and crushed the course record.
What an amazing run! 14:08!
I heard that the second woman caught Goose again around 44, but
Goose turned it on and ran steady to the finish for an easy win.
Pacing Bob:
Bob went out fast, but not ridiculously fast. He ran very strong to
60 miles, then slowed a bit. He ran well with me from 68 to 78 before
starting to crash. However, he pushed through beautifully on guts and
the strength of his downhill running. Even when he was about dead, he
could run fast on the downs. He was just awesome at keeping going on
the downs, and even pushing himself up some uphills at a slow jog despite
the fact that he hates uphill. At 95 there was a mile downhill where he
picked it up, then he rode adrenaline in to the finish in his effort to
break 16:40. Despite the slowing from 68-95, he came in at 16:38.
Fantastic! 4th place in a strong field.
Congrats to all, especially Mike M. and Goose. I was glad to meet some
more of the list, but I again missed many of you. Hope to see you again
in our great New England 100. The VT 50 promises to be even better this
year (October 1). There is a new course with about 75% trail! This will
be a great warmup if you want to do the 1996 100. Hope to see you there!
