Congratulations to ALL who ran and Thank You to all who make this event happen!

This was my 3rd year at ATY, and of all the events that I do, this is my favorite for many reasons. It is like a family reunion because many of the same people run every year and the volunteers are very consistent. New runners to this event are always so excited about being there. Sandra F. and her group of volunteers would do just about anything for you with enthusiasm and a smile--they are outstanding. Family members and friends will also help with anything that is needed. Many families participate in the event together, with some new families joining the Pences, Domans, Wrubliks, Watts, and Norwoods this year. They often take a turn at the aid station as well, as did Sandy Melton, not only offering words of encouragement, but bringing in hot food for the runners. Sandy also ran her first 24 hour event with 100K in 18 hours and her longest distance yet--congratulations Sandy! I overheard her telling another runner on the course that she doesn't know why her husband signs her up for these events :). Congratulations on your PR Mike! Everyone is treated like they are special from the leaders to those just out to pursue a personal goal. Rodger and Tonya are the most gracious and hard-working hosts, although they make it look easy. How many people still have a smile on their face when the toilets overflow? :) RD Paul Bonnett always "runs" the event with perfection and is fun to watch as he flies by taking his breaks by "running" on the track. Nearby residents like Gary Cross and Kurt Leon (who was MIA this year) stop by to join in the fun and help out. Seeing the kids on the course and how much fun they are having is always a highlight. It is great seeing them each year as they grow up and change, and set bigger mileage goals. The European runners are great and I learned some new German words this year. The Andy Lovy/Chris O'Loughlin combo, and Sinead, Christopher's beautiful and very friendly daughter, are the most competent medical team. Nate, Nick and Jamil Coury are always a pleasure to talk to and to watch as they run so effortlessly. Nate and I were wearing the same racing flats early in the race... I wonder why Nate's nickname is Fro? :) I had the chance to meet Patty and Peter Coury this year. Patty works tirelessly at the event and Peter ran 53 miles in 24 hours--congratulations! I forgot to ask them for their secret formula for raising such outstanding young men... I learned this year that Burke Painter, who ran the 72 hour event, crafts the unique trophies. Dave Combs has already been sainted recently--need I say more? :) Congratulations on your run Dave--it was great to have you with us! Also, working in the timing booth for umpteen hours, the sometimes yawning but smile and wave always at the ready--Steve! Thank you for allowing Dave to have some fun with us and for working so hard!

There were many great improvements this year, including the track project, the additional screen, the leader board, the indoor shower, and the sheltered timing booth. It is always fun to socialize and watch runners on the track and see what is going on around you as you loop picturesque Nardini Manor. Being in the 72 hour race, there are two mornings when fresh runners come out. One of my goals is always to get to know everyone out there, even a little and to cheer them on, by name. Names are on the race bibs which we wear on our backs. It is so nice to be able to use the person's name without having to ask if you haven't met them before. The email greetings are a great inspiration and one of my favorite features. Friends and family in and out of the country can feel like they are right there with you thanks to the outstanding website with up to the minute results and photos and the ability to communicate from afar.

The kids: 72 hour event: Cayden, age 5, cute as a button covered 17 miles; Aaron, a polite, considerate young man, looking out for Gavin while putting in 100 miles with the most consistent race; Gavin, age 7, in between playing and doing what 7 year olds do, covers 50 miles. Once when I asked how many miles he had, he answered and then asked how many I had. When I told him 45, he said, "That is insane!" :) 24 hour event: Ethan Pence runs 40 miles--he always seems to be having such a good time out there when running with his parents and enjoys watching the event as well. Cat, 16 years old, a quiet, polite young lady, ran 69 miles, I believe her furthest mileage ever! We should all run the way the kids do--they play when they need to, rest when they are tired, eat and drink when their bodies or their parents tell them to, and just enjoy it. By doing this event, these kids are learning important life lessons, the value of family, consideration and concern for others,how to handle things going wrong, how to have fun, a sense of accomplishment--so many things that are not about the running.

The medical crew: Andy and Chris manage to put in lots of miles despite their highest priority--loving care of every runner who needs them. Chris and Bill Dickey earned their ATY 1000 mile jackets--congratulations!!! It would take volumes to describe Andy and Chris adequately and all that they do for us. It is the TLC that they deliver so well that turns it into something magical. "In doing something, do it with love or never do it at all." --Mahatma Gandhi

The Europeans: Heike (prounounced Hi KEY), the friendly, smiling, happy, warm-hearted, colorful and cheerful person she is. Such a good runner herself, she consistly encouraged me, saying, "Super Juli!" with a thumbs up. I wish I could describe her accent, her loving way, her charm adequately in words. Dagmar (pronounced DUCK Mar)--we met in the restroom before the race and I welcomed her and told her I was glad she had come to run. She apologized for her English and I said I would try to learn more German. She taught me a few words--all clean! During the first night she was running very well, and it was hard work to lap her. She finally said to me, "Juli, you are good!" I was so surprised and responded, "YOU are good!" I thought she was going to tire me out before morning. William--wow, what a runner! Achim who ran so well and had to leave early, husband of Dagmar. Martina, regular contender and winner of this event--tireless, robotic, amazingly consistent, follows a strict plan. This is where I have to fess up that I am not ALWAYS a positive person and that my experience and knowledge of her was that she could be nice if she wanted to, but she lacks good sportsmanship. I admit that I was so wrong and have learned from it about drawing conclusions based on limited information, about not giving a person enough of a chance, about expecting others to compete in a certain manner. Before the race, I made an effort to talk with her and she was very friendly. During the race, she started to use "the glare" on me and not responding if I said something, so I stopped talking to her. This bothered me. Andy suggested I make more of an effort--good advice. I pulled up along Martina and spent some time talking with her. I found out more of who she is as a person, her profession, her home life. I admire her determination, her "never say die" attitude, her competitive spirit. She was not happy about the surface being so soft or the warm weather. I told her about ice bandannas and suggested she try that to cool off. At one point in the third night she chased me down and I was stunned because I didn't think she could run that fast. I admit I egged her on because she pulled up beside Aaron and I unexpectedly and when I heard Aaron greet her, I took off, encouraging Aaron to join me. As I passed John Geesler I said, "No one told me Martina could run!" John answered, in his direct way, "She CAN." I kept running, feeling her near my shoulder for three more laps, wondering how long she could keep it up. To my surprise, she suddenly appeared in front of me. In my tired mind, I realized that it had been someone else running beside me. Val saw what I was doing and reminded me to run my own race. From then on, if she started to run when I tried to pass, I stayed just behind. About 4 hours before the end of the race, she started to run again and I matched her speed. I pulled up beside her and thanked her for pushing me, because I had doubted I could reach even 230 miles the way I had been feeling. I asked her to keep it up so we could both reach a higher goal. She agreed and said she had to remove her jacket because she was getting hot, but she had to stop since "I have no vun" and she encouraged me to take another lap and meet her. This was incredible! I called to Sinead to help Martina and she agreed. Martina was taking longer than I thought she would because she is very particular, so I went ahead, thinking she would be along, but I didn't see her again for a while. The last time I saw her before the end of the event was within the last hour and she was pushing hard. I admire her drive and refusal to give up against the odds. She is really something and a lot can be learned from her. At the end of the event, I approached her to congratulate her and she gave me a hug and a huge, heartfelt congratulations. She said she enjoyed competing with me, even if it was not as much fun as the fight she had with Yannis Kouris in a recent 6-day event! I told Martina I had learned a few things from her, and she seemed surprised and complimented. I told her I learned how to stay "avake" more, but I didn't know how to explain what she had taught me that was more important--to accept people as they are and think carefully about making judgements, to reach out even if you are afraid you might be rejected. I believe I understand Martina and what drives her a lot better, and she should be free to be herself and to do things her own way.

My husband, Val: couldn't get him to sleep or socialize for more than a few hours, made me think with my head instead of my heart when I needed to, reminded me again of why I married him 28 years ago, willing to help anyone who needed him, smiling, encouraging, enjoying himself, finishing his own highest mileage of 44 miles in the 24 hour event--congratulations Val! I love you!

Strategy for the run: Have a bag of tricks to choose from like the iPod when I needed it, ate and drank mostly from the aid station (it is so complete!), no specific plan except to listen to what my body was telling me. Eat as often as I could, even when it felt like I was choking down the food, eat while off the course as much as possible since it is easier to digest when you are not moving, use electrolytes when my stomach started to swish or the back of my calves started to twitch (probably no more than 25 salt stick or endurolytes), drank heed, succeed, 7-up, Coke, Ginger Ale, lots of water, about 6 gu packets. Rested off-track when running was unproductive and nothing seemed to help, like more food or caffeine. Rested/slept about 11.5 hours, showered and washed my hair twice, brushed teeth--staying clean and dry is critical. Stay warm at night--much milder weather this year helped. The cold at night really brought on my exercise-induced asthma and sometimes even during the day--used the inhaler about 6 times. I was able to keep it under control with that and Chris' special maneuver to open the lungs except towards the end of the race I was wheezing, coughing, and breathing hard. Val did myofacial release x 1 as Chris showed us for the calves. Not be so stubborn and listen to Val's advice. Changed shoes 3x--racing flats and road shoes. Elevated feet whenever resting, above the heart. For Steve H.--wore contacts the whole 72 hours and forgot to even use the eye drops I brought--a little dryness of eyes but no major problem. No matter what happens, have fun and enjoy everyone's company without losing focus to push for 250 miles.

Things I would do differently: cranberry tablet before the race to help with lactic acid, more efficiency on rest times, socializing only on the track while moving, a cold-air mask for the night to reduce asthmatic symptoms. Blisters were bad--I would like to hear others' thought on this. Would trail shoes have been better? I did not use injinji socks or tape at the outset, Andy's foot formula applied only once, taping by Chris after blisters started, continued under tape. Noticed Rick Cheevers ran in sandals a lot and crocks--any comments on how this worked from Rick if he is on the list?

So much more to say about runners like Nattu, Paul C, Serge, William, Tracy Thomas, Hans, Phil, incredible walker, Uli, the famous Karsten, oldest runner and fun-loving Dan Baglione (100 miles--wow!), new lister Summer, Christian Griffith, Davey Crockett who wears the hat (nice report Davey), Ray K, John R who had problems with hypothermia at night, Deb S who has hair like Rapunzel and wins in my book for Best Daytime Running Outfit, Lisa Bliss, always smiling, always pleasant, ran very well, hair always perfect :), Kay who I met at San Francisco One Day, Carl Hunt, birthday soulmate Jim, George Nelson, Shea with his mohawk, Jean-Jacques, whose name I LOVE to say, Dennis with his long stride and constant smile, Grand Slammer Dan Brendan who was missing Hugette, John Hobbs, Christina, Leigh who finally met Ray K, Lauri who ran all three 24 hour events, family members and friends Stephanie, Mina, Edeltrad, Tim Englund who couldn't run but came to support, Babette and Austin. Mike who goes by Mikhail and crossed the finish line in his skivvies--no wonder he changed his name! Wearing out my welcome--

Happy New Year! Make it your best ever!

Juli
Foto%3ATim+Englund
Foto:Tim Englund