50 States + DC and 7 Continents

Running marathons is fun and all, but there are so many out there to choose from.  Take a look at how marathoning has exploded in the U.S. the past 3 years since I started running them, according to MarathonGuide:
 - 2008: 477 marathons
 - 2009: 501 marathons
 - 2010: 620 marathons
 - 2011: 710 marathons
In 2000, there were only 220 marathons in the country!  In the span of a decade, the number of marathons has nearly tripled, and this doesn't even take into account ultramarathons, which have increased with an even more upward trajectory.

So, with so many races, how does one go about choosing which to run?  From my PoweredByDimSum running club teammates, I had heard of their marathoning adventures in various states and countries.  I decided to focus on knocking off states and becoming a 50 States Marathon Club Finisher.  Right from the get go, my first three marathons were all in different states.  In fact, my first 10 marathons were all in different states + DC+ Quebec Province.  After knocking off those initial 3 states (NY, IL, & PA), finishing Dean Karnazes' 50/50 book (about running 50 marathons in all 50 states in 50 days), and becoming a Marathon Maniacs member, my quest to run all 50 states became solidified.  Since childhood, I wanted to visit all 50 states and had been tempted to start collecting those state-shaped tourist magnets to commemorate each visit.  Luckily, I never started up such a collection, and could now use marathon/ultramarathon finisher's medals as state visit mementos.  I would say that's better than a refrigerator magnet collection!

I began marathoning on 9/20/2008.  With my marathon finish in Baltimore, MD, a year later (on 10/10/2009), I had run my 10th state + DC, thus qualifying me as a member of both the 50 States Marathon Club and 50&DC Marathon Goup!  As soon as I returned home from that marathoning weekend (which also happened to be my first marathon double: Baltimore+Steamtown), I sent my 50 Stater paper application and my 50&DC paper application to become an official member of each group.

After joining the 50 States Marathon Club, don't forget to also join their 50StatesMarathonClub Yahoo Groups email list:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/50StatesMarathonClub/

Although it is a bit more difficult to finish 50+DC, there is less fanfare attached to it when compared to completion of the regular 50 State circuit.  The 50 States club is more active and visible.  You'll see 50 Staters in their 50 State gear on most marathon courses, but that is not the case for the 50&DC.  Many members are in both clubs, as am I.  Membership in either club does not preclude the ability to join the other; they are not mutually exclusive.

Had it not been for US Air, I would have already celebrated my 25th state finish (Charleston, South Carolina), but that is a whole other story.  My 50 State progress looks like this:
2008: 3 States (NY, IL, PA)
2009: 11 States + DC (LA, DC, DE, VT, MT, NJ, WI, MD, VA, IN, GA, NV)
2010: 9 States (FL, TX, CA, NH, ME, CT, RI, AZ, TN)
2011: 13 States (MA, AR, AL, NC, KS, MN, WA, ID, CO, OH, WV, OR, MO)
2012: 14 States is the goal in order to complete the 50 States
Total: 36 States + DC

An easy way to keep track of which states I have run, I use this 50 States Map Maker: "Map Maker Utility" hosted on a Texas A&M server (http://diymaps.net/).  To see my personal 50 States Map, click here.  A lower resolution version of the map also appears at the top of this blog entry.

Now that I have run 24 States + DC (roughly mission halfway accomplished), I have reflected back on which particular races I would recommend for the states I have already run in the list below.  Likewise, I have done the same for those questing to run a marathon/ultra on all 7 Continents, to become a Seven Continents Club finisher.

The greatest part about my 50 States+DC & 7 Continents quest is the fortunate experiences I have had being able to visit all the great places, domestically and globally, and meet such inspirational people hailing from backgrounds so different than myself.  This quest definitely instills in you a better sense of what "America" truly is and the cultural vastness and sheer raw beauty that this land of ours has to offer.

As I continue to run races and receive feedback from other runners, I will continue to revise both of the below lists.  Also, new marathons spring up all the time, so those might be better options in the future.  We shall see.

Kino's Recommended 50 States Marathons / Ultras
[States & races that I have run and recommend are in bold.  The others were recommended by others, or ones I selected based on my own research.  Currently finished with 38 states + DC.  Updated as of 02/21/2012.]
AL - First Light Marathon, Rocket City Marathon, Mercedes Marathon
AK - Frank Maier Marathon
AZ - Javelina Jundred 100M (Trail)
AR - Little Rock Marathon
CA - Western States 100 Endurance Run (Trail), Death Valley Trail Marathon (Trail), Big Sur International Marathon (Natural Beauty), LA Marathon (Big City)
CO - American Discovery Trail Marathon (Trail), Pikes Peak Marathon (Trail), Leadville Trail 100 (Trail), Hardrock 100 Endurance Run (Trail)
CT - Hartford Marathon
DC - National Marathon
DE - Delaware Marathon
FL - Miami Marathon
GA - Atlanta Marathon
HI - Honolulu Marathon, HURT 100 (Trail)
ID - Pocatello Marathon
IL - Chicago Marathon
IN - Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, Tecumseh Trail Marathon (Trail)
IA - Des Moines Marathon
KS - Oz Marathon, Eisenhower Marathon, Heartland 50/100 (Trail)
KY - Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon, Ironman Louisville (Ironman), Land Between The Lakes 60K (Trail)
LA - Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon
ME - Maine Marathon, Mount Desert Island Marathon
MD - Baltimore Marathon, JFK50 (Partially Trail)
MA - Boston Marathon
MI - Detroit Marathon, Grand Island Trail Marathon (Trail)
MN - Twin Cities Marathon, FANS 12 & 24 Hour Runs (Timed Ultra)
MS - Tupelo Marathon, Mississippi Blues Marathon
MO - GO! St Louis Marathon
MT - Missoula Marathon
NE - Lincoln Marathon
NV - Death Valley Trail Marathon (Trail), Red Rock Canyon Marathon, E.T. Full Moon Midnight Marathon & 51K
NH - New Hampshire Marathon
NJ - Ocean Drive Marathon, Atlantic City Marathon
NM - Jemez Mountain Trail Runs 50K & 50M (Trail), Run the Caldera Marathon
NY - NYC Marathon, Beast of Burden Summer 100 (Trail)
NC - Umstead 100 (Trail)
ND - Fargo Marathon
OH - NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run, Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, Akron Marathon, Burning River 100 Mile Endurance Run (Trail)
OK - Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon
OR - Portland Marathon, Crater Lake Marathon, Eugene Marathon
PA - Steamtown Marathon (Partially Trail), Philadelphia Marathon, Back on My Feet 20in24 Lone Ranger Ultra Marathon (24 Hour Ultra, Pavement)
RI - Newport Marathon
SC - Myrtle Beach Marathon, Kings Mountain Marathon 
SD - Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon (Trail), Crazy Horse Marathon (Part Trail), Lean Horse 50K, 50M, & 100M (Trail), Black Hills 100 (Trail)
TN - Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon
TX - Houston Marathon
UT - Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Run (Trail), St George Marathon
VT - Vermont City Marathon, Vermont 100 Endurance Run (Trail)
VA - Marine Corps Marathon, Grant-Pierce Indoor Marathon
WA - Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon, Cascade Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run (Trail)
WV - Freedom's Run (Marathon), Highlands Sky Trail Run 40M (Trail)
WI - Green Bay Marathon, Sandbox Indoor Marathon (Indoor Trail)
WY - Bighorn Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run (Trail)

Kino's Recommended 7 Continents Marathons / Ultras
Africa - Comrades Marathon 89K (56M Road)
Antarctica - Antarctic Ice Marathon & 100K (Trail), The Last Desert (250K 6-Days Trail), McMurdo Marathon (Trail), Antarctica Marathon (Trail)
Asia - Tokyo Marathon
Europe - Berlin Marathon, London Marathon, Paris Marathon, Edinburgh Marathon
North America - NYC Marathon, Javelina Jundred 100, Back on My Feet 20in24 Lone Ranger Ultra Marathon
Oceana - Buller Gorge Marathon, Gold Coast Airport Marathon, Sydney Marathon, Solar Eclipse Marathon
South America - Maratona do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro Marathon)

50 Sub-4 Marathon Club Aspirations

50<4 Club Apparel

With today (2/3/2011) being Chinese New Year's and the Year of the Metal Rabbit, speed comes to forethought.  Though my primary goal when running a road marathon is to successfully finish and avoid a road marathon PW ("personal worst", which for me is 5:00:15 set at my first marathon, 2008 Yonkers), my secondary goal is to run it as fast as I can when possible, and to PR (setting a "personal record", which many refer to as a PB or "personal best") it ideally.  Scheduling (e.g. running doubles or too soon after a 50/24hr/100) and course elevations prevent this from happening oftentimes, and those are the times I like to run with a camera and document my journey.  However, when I can pull off a fast race, it feels great to finish ahead of half of the race field.  What I personally define as fast is running a marathon in under 4 hours, the elusive "Sub-4" finish for many of us.  So during this year of the Rabbit, I hope to run in that sub-4 realm once again and maintain consistency while running road marathons in various states, something that my friend and Powered By Dim Sum teammate, Wei Chen, is adept at accomplishing.

Wei is one of 93 members of an elite group of marathoners (along with 50 Stater/Marathon Maniacs friends Steve Boone and Mark Ott) who are members of  the 50sub4 Marathon Club.  The meaning behind 50sub4 is: completion of a marathon in all 50 states in under 4 hours for each marathon.  Though simply running a Sub-4 is impressive, it is something that most marathoners are capable of.  What makes a 50sub4 finish so alluring is that it rewards speed, consistency, longevity, and logistical planning skills.

While regular 50 States Marathon Cub admittance is irregardless of finish time (you only need to finish a marathon/ultra in 10 different states and pay annual dues to become a regular member), the exclusive 50sub4 Marathon Club requires 10 states to be run in a sub-4 marathon time, in order to be admitted as a regular (non-finisher) member.  Once all 50 states are completed, a member is considered a "finisher".  The club makes available its Current Membership Roster (93 members) and its Finishers Roster (12 finishers).

Of those 93 members, there are only 12 (there are more in this world, but only 12 have actually registered to join the club as members) who have completed this difficult 50sub4 task.  The most recent finisher was fellow 50 Stater/MMer Gary Krugger, who finished both the 50 states and 50sub4 on 10/30/2010 at the 5th Annual Spinx Marathon in Greenville, SC.  That race was also significant because Gary's Maniacal girlfriend, and also fellow 50 Stater/MMer, Morgan Cummings, became the youngest woman to finish 50+DC.  Gary is more of a sub3 marathoner, the likes of Joe Bowman, and has a legitimate shot at the more prestigious and daunting task of becoming a 51sub3 club member!  As far as I know, there are only 2 members (Joe and Toby Skinner) of this elite club, maybe 4 if Maniac "Marathon Junkie" Chuck Engle and Michael Wardian have both completed the task?

As mentioned earlier, when running marathons, my primary goal is finishing, which goes along with my primary focus of becoming a 50 State Finisher.  However, it would be nice if I could start reeling off more Sub-4 state finishes.  I have made it a secondary goal of mine, when attempting to conquer the states.  This 50sub4 goal will take much longer than simply finishing a tour of the 50 states.  While the 50 states circuit is expected to take me 5 years to complete (2008-2013?), finishing all 50 states in a sub-4 time will require roughly 10-15 years (if all goes well).

Currently (as of this blog posting date, 2/3/2011), of my 41 marathon finishes (not counting my 9 ultras), I only have 2 sub-4 states completed.  Surprisingly they occurred within a 3 weekend span, with a 4:00:28 finish (missed a sub-4 by 29 seconds) at MCM in between.

PR's By State
Sub-4 State Count: 18 (as of 02/18/2012, these states are listed in bold.)
AL - 3:52:07, 2012 First Light Marathon, 1-for-1
AK - ?
AZ - 14:54:48, 2011 Javelina Jundred (100K Trail)
AR - 3:58:37, 2011 Little Rock Marathon, 1-for-1
CA - 4:35:08, 2010 LA Marathon, 0-for-2
CO - 4:27:04, 2011 American Discovery Trail Marathon, 0-for-1
CT - 4:43:26, 2010 Hartford Marathon, 0-for-1
DC - 3:54:03, 2011 National Marathon, 1-for-2
DE - 4:20:37, 2011 Fortitude For First Descents Marathon, 0-for-2
FL - 3:39:52, 2012 Miami Marathon, 1-for-3
GA - 4:10:55, 2009 Atlanta Marathon, 0-for-2
HI - ?
ID - 3:54:33, 2011 Pocatello Marathon, 1-for-1
IL - 4:52:16, 2008 Chicago Marathon, 0-for-1
IN - 4:14:27, 2009 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, 0-for-1
IA - ?
KS - 3:52:49, 2011 Oz Marathon, 1-for-1
KY - ?
LA - 4:35:36 2009 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon, 0-for-1
ME - 4:48:54, 2010 Maine Marathon, 0-for-1
MD - 3:43:13, 2011  Baltimore Marathon, 1-for-3
MA - 5:27:00, 2011 WMAC Fat Ass 50K (31M)
MI - ?
MN - 24:00:00, 2011 FANS 24 Hour Run (102.89M)
MS - 3:35:33, 2012 Mississippi Blues Marathon, 1-for-1
MO - 3:55:14, 2011 Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Marathon, 1-for-1
MT - 4:34:36, 2009 Missoula Marathon, 0-for-1
NE - ?
NV - 3:58:08, 2011 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon, 1-for-3
NH - 4:55:18, 2010 New Hampshire Marathon, 0-for-1
NJ - 3:59:43, 2009 Asbury Park Relay Marathon, 1-for-1
NM - DNF, 2010 Jemez Mountain Trail Runs 50K
NY - 3:56:07, 2009 NYC Marathon, 1-for-4
NC - 11:49:51, 2011 Umstead 50
ND - ?
OH - 24:00:00, 2011 NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurace Run, 104.79 miles
OK - ?
OR - 3:36:53, 2011 Portland Marathon, 1-for-1
PA - 3:48:17, 2011 Pocono Mountain Run for the Red Marathon, 1-for-4
RI - 4:27:06, 2010 Newport Marathon, 0-for-1
SC - 3:26:29, 2012 Myrtle Beach Marathon, 1-for-1
SD - ?
TN - 4:41:13, 2010 Flying Monkey Marathon, 0-for-2
TX - 3:28:18, 2012 Houston Marathon, 1-for-2
UT - ?
VT - 4:11:17, 2009 Vermont City Marathon, 0-for-2
VA - 3:39:15, 2011 Marine Corps Marathon, 1-for-3
WA - 3:59:39, 2011 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon, 1-for-1
WV - 3:56:39, 2011 Freedom's Run, 1-for-1
WI - 4:03:09, 2009 Lakefront Marathon, 0-for-1
WY - ?

PR's by Country
Sub-4 Country Count: 2 (as of 12/04/2011, these countries are& listed in bold.)
CANADA - 4:34:38, 2009 Marathon Oasis de Montreal, 0-for-1
GERMANY - 3:38:21, 2011 Berlin Marathon, 1-for-1
HONG KONG - 4:11:17, 2011 Hong Kong Marathon, 0-for-1
JAPAN - 4:11:10, 2011 Tokyo Marathon, 0-for-2
USA - 3:26:29, 2012 Myrtle Beach Marathon, 1-for-14

Sub-4 Continent Count: 2 (as of 2/18/2012, these continents are listed in bold.)
Asia - 4:11:10, 2011 Tokyo Marathon, 0-for-3
Europe - 3:38:21, 2011 Berlin Marathon, 1-for-1
North America - 3:26:29, 2012 Myrtle Beach Marathon, 1-for-15

50&DC Marathon Group - 2011 Humanitarian Award Recipient

2011 HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Awarded by the 50 States & D.C. Marathon Group.
[This article was originally written by Frank Jobe and featured on the 50&DC Marathon Group website (http://www.50anddcmarathongroupusa.com/awards.cfm) on 12/29/2010. For the purposes of this blog, it has been revised below.]

[2010.12.25] Photo taken by Richard Chung in front of the Tortoise and Hare statue at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx, New York City.

When you hear the term cancer, any thoughts you may have will likely be unpleasant ones.  When you hear the term pancreatic cancer, your thoughts may become grimmer yet, possibly along the lines of "low survival rate" or "short life expectancy after diagnosis".  Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death with a five-year survival rate of 6% (mortality rate of 94%).  According to the National Cancer Institute, over 43,000 Americans were estimated to have been diagnosed with the disease in 2010 with roughly 37,000 losing their lives.  75% of patients die within the first year of diagnosis.  The average life expectancy after diagnosis with metastatic disease is just three to six months.

The disease is hard to detect because of the location of the pancreas—it is deep in the abdomen and the symptoms are often vague.  There are no early detection or screening methods as there are with colon, breast or prostate cancer.  The mortality for pancreatic cancer is so high because patients are typically diagnosed when the cancer has already spread to other organs.

Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer death largely because there are no detection tools to diagnose the disease in its early stages when surgical removal of the tumor is still possible.  Early diagnosis and early treatment are two areas that need to be improved upon.  However, more funding for pancreatic cancer research is needed to enable scientists to fulfill these two research goals.  Despite being the fourth leading cause of cancer death, pancreatic cancer research funding was not one of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) 10 Most-Funded Cancers.  The NCI spent an estimated $89.7 million on pancreatic cancer research in 2009.  This represented a mere 2% of the NCI’s approximate $5 billion cancer research budget for that year, which constitutes the bulk of the U.S. federal government's cancer research funding dollars.

Low funding hinders scientific progress.  94% of pancreatic cancer patients die within five years from their diagnosis; a statistic largely unchanged in the past nearly 40 years.  In fact, pancreatic cancer is the only one of the top 10 cancer killers that still has a five-year survival rate in the single digits.  Additionally, in the same time frame, the five-year survival rate for all forms of cancer has risen from 50% to 68%, and some cancer survival rates are now 90% or above.  The sad truth is that there are few survivors to advocate for more research funding.

This year's recipient of the 50 States & D.C. Marathon Group's Humanitarian Award is Hideki Kinoshita, an individual who has lost two loved ones to this disease.  His concern for effects of this disease and his love for running were coupled together in a quest to run 14 marathons in 13 weeks.  He partnered with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to establish a fundraising goal of $10,000 to help in the research and awareness of this dreaded disease.  He set out to run one marathon a week for thirteen weeks (3 months) and in one of those weeks, he ran a back-to-back double to complete his goal of fourteen marathons.  Hideki experienced some unexpected results along the way: Four marathon PR's were set, the longest distance he ever ran was completed at 60K (37.2 miles), he met a lot of great runners along the way, and exceeded the $10,000 goal.

This 31 year old runner from New York/New Jersey has also participated in a seven person relay that raised over $26,000 for this cause and has since completed a 50-miler, a 24 hour run, and then a 100-miler.  He is halfway finished with his goal of running a marathon in all 50 states plus DC and plans to challenge himself to additional 100-mile endurance runs.

He continues to raise awareness and funding for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and aims to run for the organization's TeamHOPE charity runner group for his 50th marathon in Miami on January 30, 2011 and for his 65th marathon in Seattle on June 25, 2011.  His goal for both races is to raise $2,500.  To make a donation, visit his fundraising websites: http://www.tinyurl.com/runkinomiami and http://www.tinyurl.com/runkinoseattle .

Congratulations to Hideki Kinoshita, recipient of the 2011 Humanitarian Award.  To learn more about his 14 marathons in 13 weeks endeavor, visit his fundraising website: http://www.firstgiving.com/kino555 .  To learn more about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and TeamHOPE, visit these websites: http://www.pancan.org and http://www.pancan.org/teamhope/ .  To follow Hideki's races and progress, visit his website: http://www.runkino.com .

Note: The above facts and figures were obtained from the American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Hello (Running) World !

[2009.11.21] A picture of me at the finish of the NYRR Knickerbocker 60K (37.2 mile) Ultra in Central Park, NYC.  I am holding up a finisher's award (a paper weight).  The race was my furthest at the time.  It took me 6:49:13 (11:00 min/mile) to complete.

[This blog entry was also featured on NYCRuns.com (http://www.nycruns.com/ny-stories/item/605-hello-running-world) on 9/27/2010.]

Hello (Running) World

I am a runner, based in New York City, who is fairly new to the running, marathon, trail running, and ultra running scene.  I ran my first race on 6/3/2007 and my first marathon on 9/21/2008.  I am Marathon Maniac #1382, known in the running community as Kino. I just celebrated my 2 year marathon anniversary this past week.

I delved into the sport of running thanks to the influence of two runner friends: Yasu and Melissa.  I credit the two of them with introducing me to the sport of running.  Both had been training for the 2007 NYC Marathon.  They convinced me to register for my very first race: the 2007 Japan Day 4-Mile Race with the New York Road Runners.  It was a painful 4 miles, and the furthest I had ever run.  I ran it in 35:31 (8:52 miles/min) and was discouraged with my performance.  I hated running "long" distances (in hindsight, it's hard to imagine 4 miles as being considered "long", that's shorter than the distance between many aid stations at ultramarathons) and although I enjoyed the race atmosphere, I did not picture myself running races on a regular basis.

Prior to this first race of mine, the longest distance I had run was 2 miles in combat boots and in BDU's (battle dress uniform), as a PT training run while as an Army ROTC cadet in the Blue Jay Battalion at Johns Hopkins University.  Even that felt like an eternity.  I hated each moment of it and did not plan to ever run an official race.

At Leonia High School, my athletic commitments all revolved around team sports.  In the fall, I played JV & varsity soccer.  During the winter, I stayed indoors and played JV & varsity basketball.  Come spring time, I played on the Freshman, JV, and varsity baseball teams.  Individual sports, such as running and tennis, had no allure to me.  Now, reflecting back, I regret not choosing Cross Country as my fall sport at least one of those seasons, instead of soccer.  Whatever formalized coaching I could have received might have provided invaluable knowledge and insight to me.  On the other hand, a rigid training system might have forever turned me off and pushed me away from the sport, so who knows how things would have turned out?

It is funny to reflect back because up until Fall 2007, I HATED running.  So what changed?  On 11/4/2007, I went out to spectate at the New York City Marathon and cheer on Yasu and Melissa, the very two friends who had been encouraging me to take up running.  From the vantage point at Engineer's Gate in Central Park (E 90th Street and Central Park East Drive) and also at the E85th Street bend within Central Park, I saw many of the 38,000+ runners pass by (the 2007 NYC Marathon set the world record as the largest ever marathon with 38,557 finishers, a record that lasted until it was surpassed by the 2009 NYC Marathon).  It was my first time witnessing an actual marathon in-person.  Prior to this, I had only seen marathons on TV and held the preconceived notion that a marathon was an undertaking feasible only by elite athletes.  Upon seeing the masses of ordinary citizens (young and old, gaunt and heavy set, and even those in full body costumes) eclipsing 24 miles, on their way to completing the full marathon distance of 26.2 miles, I came to the realization that I, too, could accomplish this same goal.  The "If they can do it, then I can too" mindset set in.  "The marathon" was not something reserved just for exceptional athletes, but could be an achievable goal for a non-elite as myself.  At that moment, I was inspired to run my first marathon within one year's time.  The very next day, I became a New York Road Runners member and registered myself for a slew of races.

I was hoping to make my marathon debut at the 2008 NYC Marathon, but it was too late for me to achieve guaranteed entry via NYRR's 9 race Program for Guaranteed Entry (now the 9+1 Program for Guaranteed Entry).  I tried my luck in the marathon lottery application, but was rejected (the chance of a local being admitted through the lottery process is slim, somewhere in the 20%-30% range).  Luckily, the town in which I worked, hosted a marathon that was easy to enter and only cost $25 to register for (that amounts to less than $1 per mile, talk about a bargain!).  It also happened to be the second oldest active marathon in the world: The Yonkers Marathon

My marathon debut took place at Yonkers, NY on 9/21/2008, a date I will always remember.  I finished the marathon and just simply took off running in an almost Forrest Gumpian manner.  I completed my second (Chicago Marathon) and third (Philadelphia Marathon) marathons within the next 63 days.  Unbeknownst to me, this achievement of running 3 marathons in less than 3 months had pre-qualified me to become a member of the Marathon Maniacs.

After a two year whirlwind of marathons and ultras, I have somehow finished running 1/3 of the 50 states (17 states + DC finished) and coincidentally also 1/3 of the way to Marathon #100 (34 marathons + ultras completed).  I am very open to sharing my experiences and am frequently approached by fellow runners to provide recaps for certain races that I have run.  As such, I was inspired to start this blog to form as a collective repository to share my thoughts and experiences in various races I have participated in.  Without recording down my thoughts, it will be difficult for me to recall the specifics of each race (I have already logged over 100).  I hope that all who come across this web log ("blog") find these posts to be of some use.

Please follow my endurance adventures on my blog (http://www.runkino.com/), through my facebook fan page (https://www.facebook.com/runkino) , & via my twitter account (http://twitter.com/runkino).

Thank you for stopping by!

Keep On Running,
Kino (of RunKino.com)

Marathon #21: 2009 NYRR Knickerbocker 60K Ultramarathon (2009/11/21)

[As of 2012, the Knickerbocker 60K has been renamed as the "NYC 60K".]

I have attempted 7 different ultras and finished 5 of them (in the ultra world the DNF rate is ridiculously high) in 5 states over very varied terrain and surfaces (and I am currently writing entry en-route to my 8th ultra attempt in my 6th state, the Javelina Jundred 100 in Arizona).  I can easily say that Knickerbocker 60K (37.2 miles) is the easiest ultra I have attempted, by far.  It is even easier than trail 50Ks, which are 10K shorter in distance.  Why is it, do you ask?  The K60K is run along entirely on pavement, which is very rare.  The only other "all pavement / mostly pavement" ultras I can only think of, are the Comrades Marathon (actually an 89K / 56mi ultra) in South Africa, the Mother Road 100 in Oklahoma, the TATUR Midnight Madness 50 also in Oklahoma, the Back on My Feet 20in24 Lone Ranger Ultramarathon in Philadelphia, and the insane Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race in Jamaica, Queens, New York.  Additionally, the K60K is run over familiar territory (all those from NYC have run Central Park countless times).  The Park is so close with no need to wake up extra early to drive, just take the subway there.  Your friends & family don't have to go out of their way to come cheer.  Finally, the short 4mi loops mean you have easy access to your drop bag.  In fact, you have access to it once per every 40-something minutes!  However, one disadvantage of a multi-looped course is that mentally it is very easy to wussy out and call it quits.  You are back where you started and don't need to hitch a ride to the finish line, or walk to the next aid station to DNF.  One time I had to spend an extra hour climbing a mountain just to freaking DNF myself!

I remember leading up to my K60K, I was really nervous about it.  If you think about it, it's practically a marathon (26.2mi) + another half (well, 11mi instead of 13.1mi).  But really, it's not all that bad.  Just remember what I mentioned: The Knickerbocker is an all-road race (no portion is on trails) over the very familiar Central Park lower 4mi loop (no Harlem Hill, which is the most difficult part of the park).  I ended up completing the race in a time of 6:49:13 (11:00mm).  The race featured a nice intimate gathering of ultra running purists.  There's no big prize money to be had in this race.  There are no bragging rights to running a fast 60K because it is such an unconventional distance.  The course is not glamorous and the race doesn't even provide a finisher's medal (instead you receive a plastic paper weight).  The race entry fee is a mere $25 for New York Road Runners members.  Basically, the race attracts those who want to run an ultra on a November Saturday morning, just for the sake of running.

I arrived a bit early and was able to chat with my Marathon Maniacs trio of Front Runners NY friends whom I met at Steamtown: Tim Guscott (#1539), Richard Ervais (#243), & Zander Ross (#627), along with a Maniac I met while running the Hamptons Marathon: Guy Klarfeld (#942) whose wife is a Half Fanatic.  I met Karl Leitz (#714) for the first time during this pre-race chit chat downtime.  He's one tall Maniac, but not George Tchakanakis (#1333) tall.  I also got to see my PoweredByDimSum (PBDS) teammates, namely a couple of my friends from back in the day who I have never had the chance to run with: Marco Cheung and Jackie Choi!  I have known Marco since high school through our friend Ryo, and I grew up with Jackie since our middle school years in NJ.  This race also reunited me with ultra madman, Johnny Rodriguez Jr. of NJ, the fearless leader of the Crash and Burn Ultrarunners!  Rick Thiounn, Lucimar Araujo, Thomas GojiYerba, and I first met him at the finish of the Turkey Swamp 50K in Freehold, NJ, back in August.  I remembered him because he told us a crazy story where he tricked his son into running his first ultra, by convincing him to join good old pops on a jog, which turned out to be a 50K along the treacherous Appalachian Trail ("the AT")!  Along the K60K course, Johnny introduced me to his buddy Frank Harczuk who, like me, was also setting a distance PR with this 60K.

At Aid Station #2, I met Maniac David Lin (#1520), who was volunteering for the race.  I recognized him from the Asbury Park Relay Marathon, which was held for the first time only a month prior to K60K.  He was kind enough to mention me and my 14 marathons in 13 weeks fundraiser for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) in his Running to Dinner blog entry on K60K!

The race starts off with a mini out & back, to tack on 1.2 miles before embarking on the 9x 4mi loops.  It's a weird distance of 1.2mi + 36mi = 37.2mi = 60K.  Why did NYRR choose a race distance of 60K over a typical 50K ultra distance beats me.  NYRR has never explained this.

So you'll run a dizzying 9 loops.  You'll be on your feet for a long time and will start losing count of these loops.  Make sure to keep count and verify with the volunteers that they have the same lap count as you do.  Each time you go through the chute, confirm with them, "That was lap 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8 (for the last one, you'll be sprinting) for me, right?"  You definitely don't want them to mess up and have to end up running an extra loop!

Everybody gets to have a drop bag a little past the start, just south of Engineer's Gate (Central Park East Drive & E 90th St).  Don't worry, your stuff is pretty safe.  I had my wallet & cell phone in there and nobody took it.  If you officially check-in your belongings with NYRR, they will keep it under a tent, but will NOT allow you access to your gear at all during the race, so don't do it.  If you do check-in anything, choose to check-in your valuables.

In the drop bag, pack emergency worst case scenario stuff like extra socks & sneakers, additional shirts (I changed into 3 shirts, but not because I was super sweaty or disgusting; I was just trying to be a Brian Hsia and represent 3 different causes, which were the Maniacs/PBDS/PanCAN), a poncho, an anti-blister kit, Kinesio tape, BodyGlide/Vaseline/NipGuards, packets of your fav electrolyte drink mixes, your fav ultra foods like Granola bars/bananas (I think NYRR gives bananas)/etc, etc.

Be prepared to change gear in case of rain/hail/sleet/snow.  Also, the race usually starts off VERY cold.  We were blessed with very unusually moderate temperatures, so runners busted out speedy times.  It's the same weekend as the Philadelphia Marathon, and you all know that Philly is a cold weather race that is afflicted with black ice at water stations and frozen water in the water cups.

There are two aid stations.  One is at the start (which is also the finish).  That one has food and flat Coke (yum).  Not sure why, but to me flat soda tastes awesome during ultras.  Take advantage of the food!  This is not a marathon.  You need to eat and constantly fuel yourself.  Think outside the bounds of a traditional 26.2mi race.  Eating stuff like pretzels and potato chips are okay and actually encouraged!  Your body needs the extra salt to re-salinate after all the sodium lost due to sweat (just feel your face after a race and notice the caked on layer of salt).  If you don't salt up, you WILL cramp, and cramp badly.  You also run the risk of developing hyponatremia!  I like to take a packet of salt/a couple SaltStick capsules/pinches of rock salt prior to the race and after every 10 to 13.1 miles.  Some ultras even have super salty chicken broth, which rocks, but as I recall K60K does not.

Along these lines, you need to replenish certain minerals such as magnesium and potassium.  Hammer Nutrition's Endurolytes capsules (I take 2 to 3 per hour, 4 if I'm really desperado) or even a banana does the trick.  In my "Ultra Tips" posting I mention these various salt + mineral products.

As with a 26.2 miler, you still will need to carboload prior to the race. I particularly like to carb up the 2 days prior to a race and not just the night before.

So the other aid station on the west side of the park, at about 2 miles apart, is just a regular fluids aid station with water & Gatorade and cheering fans + volunteers.  There is no food here.  At the main start line food aid station, feel free to stop and eat and take a short break to munch on stuff.  You don't need to feel pressured to shove food in your face and keep moving.  But do NOT sit down.  You stiffen up if you do and it makes starting up again hellish.

As for pace, don't be a fool and go out too fast.  Do not run your marathon PR pace at any point. You will pay for such foolishness.  For example, my marathon PR is an exact 9min/mile pace, and for the K60K I ended up averaging an 11min/mile, but that included a lot of walking up hills.  I don't have a general rule of thumb, but dropping down a minute from your PR pace would be a wise choice.  I cannot stress enough about starting off slowly.  Going out too fast is an appetite for crash & burning and that's no fun.  Run, cramp, shuffle, walk, run, cramp, shuffle, walk, ... is no way to enjoy a race.  I've been there too many times.

You run around the lower 4mi loops CW (clockwise).  This means Cat Hill is no longer a hill. But you do you have the rollers on the westside (what were those hills called?).  So strategize wisely.  It is totally okay to walk the hills on ultras, even if you're not tired.  Sometimes it's just not worth tiring yourself out by climbing them.  And funny or not, sometimes walking is almost as fast as shuffling up a hill, with much less energy exhausted.

You are running around a lot in a loop and constantly turning in a single direction, which would be the right hand direction.  As such, this puts uneven stress on one side of your body.  It doesn't help that the inner course at Central Park is cambered/camphered/sloped/angled/cantilevered/whatever the correct term is for this (I still don't know what the proper term is), so don't run a tight circle or worry too much about running tangents.  I tried to do this and my right ankle hurt a lot after the race!

To whoever reads this Knickerbocker 60K race report, you probably did so in preparation for your race.  Many runners use the K60K as their foray into ultra running.  If this includes you, best of luck!  Don't let the K60K race be your last ultra.  Try a trail ultra out.  It will be a lot more fun and scenic, and at the same time more rewarding yet challenging.  You'll then understand why us ultra runners simply love this sport!