Holly and Amanda's Amazing Race - Part 1

Note from Art - this is the part 1 about my friends Holly and Amanda and their participation in the JFK 50 miler. Holly's text is in black, her mother's in blue.

Race day…the day begins with the buzzing of our alarms…it is 3 AM. To our surprise, we are wide-awake & ready to begin. We dress & pack & by 3:45 we are on our way to the start. In about 30 minutes my mom & Emma are dropping us off in the Boonsboro High School parking lot. A few hundred of us gather in the gymnasium to hear our final instructions. By 4:35 we are all walking into downtown Boonsboro to the starting area (a distance of about 1,000 meters & no it does not count towards the 50.2 miles!). The temperature on the clock of a local bank reads 16°F…it is cold & snowing lightly.

3 AM - alarm clock and wake up call sounds. Drag myself and Emma out of bed, bundle up for the biting cold. Experiencing either a heart attack or severe anxiety from the pressure of crewing for Holly and Amanda at the JFK 50-miler. The pressure of knowing that Holly and Amanda were depending on me to be at the prearranged spot at the approximately prearranged time (so that they could swap gear and whatever else they needed, words of encouragement, kiss on the cheek) was immense. We drove to the Boonesborostart point. Dropped off Holly and Amanda with tears in my eyes, they walked toward the school and I wished I'd taken a photo of them at the start of the race. Drove myself and Emma back to the hotel to shower and change clothes.

5:00 AM…headlamps on & the race begins! The first 2.5 miles are on a paved road that climbs up about 500 feet to meet the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) The next 13 miles basically follow the rolling & sometimes very rocky section of the North-South footpath. At about mile 14.5 the course gets dangerous as we go down a series of very steep switchbacks. This was the course description…our race day perceptions…the first 5 miles are pretty much up hill. This makes us nervous, knowing that what goes up must come down! The pack walks the up hills & runs the flats & down hills. Amanda & I decide we are sheep & follow suit (after all this is our first time!). For all the pre-race worries this portion of the course caused us, it really isn't as bad as we imagined. By the time we reach the really rocky portion of the trail, the sun is coming up & we can see. To my surprise, I find this part of the course to be wonderful. It is peaceful & lovely. We watch the sunrise from the A.T. overlooking Boonsboro, Maryland. It is a breathtaking sight.

By 6:30 AM we were back on the road driving to the Weaverton Cliffs 15.7 mile stop point.

7:00 AM…two hours after our start, the rest of the pack begins. By 8:30 the leaders are passing us on the trail. So as we are maneuvering our way over & around rocks & slipping on leaves, we are also jumping out of the way for the "fast pack", knowing that one of these guys will win this race. We shout out words of encouragement to them & they return the kind words. It is awesome to see these guys running so fast down these steep & dangerous trails.

Around 9:30, after 15.5 miles we are thrilled to get off the A.T.! The crowd is thick & so supportive. We easily find my mom & Emma, who had been there for hours. We get hugs, change socks & shoes, drop off our night gear, grab a drink, get more hugs & are off running again. Before starting our journey on the C&O Canal Towpath we happily have some snacks & drinks at a fully stocked aid station. These aid stations, along with our support crew, will be our lifelines on this long journey.

The Weaverton Cliffs stop was beautiful, it was that the Appalachian Trail drops off from the mountain onto another narrow pathway. We got there early as I was worried about finding a parking place. After about 1 hour of my arriving there was no place to park and people were blocking in other cars. Emma and I set up our spot, two chairs, two sets of changing gear bags and a bag of medical gear, water and snacks. Oh, plus two big fuzzy blankets because it was about 20 degrees! I was getting more and more nervous as time went by and when I finally spotted Holly and Amanda both Emma and I cheered with glee! They both changed their socks and shoes, grabbed a few gulps of Gator Ade and off they went. See you at the Antietam Aqueduct! We all yelled.

The next 26.3 miles are almost totally flat, unpaved dirt surface, free from all automobile traffic. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal construction began July 4, 1828 in Washington D.C. I wish I could say that I will use my time here to think about the history, however, I will not. The C&O portion is so long (a full marathon in itself) & it all looks the same. It looses its appeal & soon becomes boring. We both need to hear the sutra…"Aches & pains are just distractions of the mind…focus on the goal…we will complete the JFK 50-miler today…we will get our medal. This is a test of our physical & mental strength…we are strong." It helps. As we run by Harpers Ferry I briefly reminisce about a trip made about 10 years earlier. I was in such bad shape I was unable to hike 100-yards up the mountain (technically a hill). I take some pleasure in how much things have changed!

About 12:30, coming upon mile 27.1, we are running across the historic Antiietam Aqueduct, a triple-arch stone aqueduct built in 1833 to carry the C&O canal over Antietam Creek. Amanda's foot catches the stone & she falls off the aqueduct into the dry canal bed below…a fall of about 5-6 feet. As soon as I realize what has happened, two other people have already gotten to her. She is face down & her arm seems to be twisted oddly beneath her. I am certain it is broken. She gets up teary & shaken. Cut, bruised & swollen, she continues moving forward. Shortly thereafter we find my mom & Emma who gives extra hugs. Emma is having a great time, jumping in leaves, collecting nuts & playing with new friends. We change socks (& shoes again for me), have a bite to eat & move along. Again, we both need to hear the sutra…"Aches & pains are just distractions of the mind…focus on the goal…we will complete the JFK 50-miler today…we will get our medal. This is a test of our physical & mental strength…we are strong."

Emma and I navigated the narrow, windy country roads ( swear most of them were only wide enough for one car to get through) and found our way to the next stop point, a beautiful spot along the C&O Canal. It was extremely hard to navigate the road and read the map to see which way to go at the same time. All the while Emma sat in the back seat watching a DVD, oblivious to my anxiety attack. I was so worried that we wouldn't get there in time to meet them. Mile 27.1 We got to Antietam Aqueduct about 3 hours before we expected Holly and Amanda to arrive, but I was so worried about missing them that we gathered up all the gear, 2 chairs, 2 bags of changing gear, a bag of medical gear, water and snacks; PLUS two big fuzzy blankets for the cold, and trudged up and down a hill till we got to the canal path. Emma quickly made some friends and set out collecting a huge pile of horse apples, grapefruit-sized lumpy green balls. My feet were frozen and my hands as well. I was bundled up in a big cow blanket and cheered on the other runners. About 1/2 hour before the cut off point I spotted Holly and Amanda. This time Amanda had an injury and I learned that she'd fallen. I thought for sure she'd broken her wrist. Again, with tears in my eyes I hugged them both, gave them the gear they needed and sent them on their way. "You're doing great! Love you guys, see you at the next stop!" gathered up our bags and chairs and trudged up and down the hill again, fell on the up hill and had a park ranger help me up. I told myself that they had just finished one marathonand were now at the start of a second.

Continue to part 2 of the race report