The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy … It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed. – Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon Champion
Wednesday begins the “Mountain Stage” of the ENDURrun, named after the number, and size, of the hills found in this and the next stage.
We runners are all a little nutty, but we’re good people who just want to enjoy our healthy, primitive challenge. Others may not understand running, but we do, and we cherish it. That’s our only message. – John J. Kelley
I awoke Tuesday to find the sky overcast and dark, and the pavement outside looking quite wet. Seeing as this is a trail race, and trails are typically made up of dirt (with some wood chips and maybe gravel thrown in here and there for good measure), I envisioned the race being a wet, icky, soupy mess.
It is very hard to understand in the beginning that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants to quit. - Dr. George Sheehan
At first glance, Stage 2 looks to be the second easiest of all the stages. It’s the second shortest distance, for sure. But that’s where the “easy” part of it ends.
Remember, the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running. – Sarah Condor
At 5:45am the alarm goes off. My sleep was surprisingly good. Usually before a race, I sleep like crap, as I’ve been doing the past few nights. After today, though, I will have NO problem sleeping. Quick check on the weather… looks wet and steamy out.
If you run, you are a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far. It doesn’t matter if today is your first day or if you’ve been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run. – John Bingham
It’s 9:34pm on Saturday August 6, and I’m nervous. No, not nervous. Scared is closer. Scared of what is to come, tomorrow, and the rest of the week.
The marathon is kind of like the Ph.D. of public fitness accomplishments. There are very few times as an adult that you can go out and do something that’s authentically difficult and be publicly lauded for it. – Marcy in Cate Terwilliger’s “Marathon Woman”
Ever since I’ve started running and entering races, I noticed that I have two interesting quirks that occur on race day. Firstly, I never sleep well, if at all, the night before a race.
Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction. – William James, philosopher
Today’s stage is, on paper, the easiest races of all the stages. It’s everything the other stages were not. It’s flat, point-to-point, and a net downhill run, taking place along just three streets.
There is no time to think about how much I hurt; there is only time to run. – Ben Logsdon
The description of the fifth stage of the ENDURrun is as follows: “This demanding and hilly 25.6km cross-country course is run through the Chicopee Ski Resort and boasts incredible alpine scenery. This multi-loop course includes many extended hill climbs.” Ask anyone who’s run this stage before, and they’ll tell you that this is a HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT of what the course is about.
The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as fighting well – Baron de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games
Trail Race. 30km. 5km loop. Each loop run six (6) times. Hilly and demanding course, with parts asphalt, grass, dirt, and wood chips. Eight (8) hills per 5km loop, for a total of 48 hills to ascend and descend. This stage separates the men from the boys, the women from the girls, the runners from the casual joggers.
I race in order to dig deep within myself and see what I’m really made of – Maggie, runner from Idaho
Monday. Traditionally bad-mouthed the world over, as it is the first day of the work week, and many people are probably still mentally wishing that the weekend was still in effect. Nobody likes Monday, especially me. However, this Monday was different, and I liked it. Today was Stage 2 of the ENDURrun, and, after a ton of sleep the following afternoon and evening, coupled with some liberal doses of cough and cold syrup, I was actually feeling quite normal, and not hacking up a lung.