I started posting my JFK race reports on Facebook in 2012. 2012 was the second year I used the 5 am start time. In the 15 years through 2010, I started at 7 am. In 2010, I finished with 30 minutes to spare at 11:30:22. I wasn’t stressed hitting the cutoff, but the later aid stations ran short on supplies, especially caffeinated soda.
Following is my 2012 post from Facebook.
A good day at JFK.
Going up South Mountain at about 7 am. I realized it was going to be a good day. The morning frost was going away. There wasn’t going to be a headwind on the C&O Canal Path. Sunny skies and mid-50s were in store.
Dan Huffman of Spotsy finished his 20th straight JFK.
The top two men broke the course record with the winner at 5:34.
The top two women broke the course record with the winner at 6:11.
There were 12 women under 8 hours compared to my first run in 1996 when there were 2.
I ran OK. I didn’t fall. I was faster by a couple of minutes on the AT portion of the trail. But. my lack of long training runs got to me, and I was slower by 15 minutes over last year, finishing at 11:38:52 for my 17th consecutive finish.
I was lucky I ran the 5 am start. If I had run the 7 am start, I would not have made the cutoff at mile 34 by 10 minutes and mile 38 by 5 minutes, though I finished 21 minutes ahead of the final cutoff. So, it looks like the early start again next year.
As I tell people running ultras or marathons, “don’t try something in the race that you haven’t tried in training.” I usually use Oreo cookies. This year I tried a different cookie, and around mile 23 or 24, I started to have digestive issues. So after fixing the problem, it was bananas, potato chips, and coke for the remainder of the day.
Lastly, I finished in time for hot water in the showers, and there was still pizza and Twinkies left. So sad that there will be no Twinkies in 2013.
Many thanks to my daughter Megan. I think this was the 8th year that she crewed for me. I met her at four spots for new bottles of Gatorade, bananas, chips, cookies, and gummy bears.
So mark your calendar. The race date for 2013 is November 23, and registration will probably open on May 1.