Vermont 100 miler -last year's pacing report

As I get ready to travel to VT tommorrow, got thinking about last year when I paced Frank --I had a blast. In many ways, I am very happy pacing...but want to at least try the whole thing this year ---and we are lucky that Rob is driving up and will be at camp ten bear -mile 70 -by 8 p.m... so here's my pacing report from last year -
and see Frank's blog -for his report and photos...

Sunday July 22, 2007

Just got back from VT after running all night with Frank -I am in awe of him finishing his first 100 -he finished in fine shape in 28 hours and change. But what a long night it was for him. The day was so gorgeous that I actually walked 26 miles and could see how hilly the second half of the course was --I got to see Frank at Margaritaville at the top of the mountain at mile 63, after he had climbed a long stretch.
I had waited with his wife Pat for what seemed like forever!! (seeing Christine from the Finger lakes running club come through
I met Frank at mile 70 --Camp Ten Bear --he flew down the hill at dusk @8 p.m amid flaming roadside flares, as he was trying to beat the darkness. He was shivering from sweating...and neither one of us had enough clothing.
Pat had given me a turkey sandwich to give to him, so he ate that, changed his clothes, got weighed, got his headlamp, and off we went
As a pacer, this was all new to me and I was about to learn what it takes to go 30 miles when you feel as if you can't go on -30 miles in the cold and darkness, on no sleep So many issues can do runners in in those last miles -hypothermia, blisters, sleep deprivation,
and least of all, the legs. Frank and I made our way to mile 77 aid station -up a single track hill and dirt hill -as I recall, it was all hills.
We talked to Zeke and Yuen, who were manning the red, white and blue-themed station --then the hard part came, as Frank started falling asleep standing up. Miles 77 to 82 were slow, as we had to stop several times -he wanted to lie down on the side of the road!!!
We leap-frogged a young boy from Ithaca, and an older man who offered him no-doz, and Christy and her pacer from Dirty girl gaitors!
We got some coffee at mile 85 and I told Frank to start running alittle to wake him up ---so we did jog and Frank kept time --he loved the smell of the Christmas trees along the roads...we planned for 15 minute miles and prayed for the lights of the aid stations to come up in the darkness. We went from aid station to aid station...I loved seeing the stars in the sky.
Finally we got to mile 92, and Frank had a breakfast sandwich and changed his socks. I mentioned to the aid station workers that he was having sleep problems and they made him eat! I will never forget seeing the runners littering the ground --all glassy-eyed and curled up in sleeping bags! Frank felt better as we left Bills garage and mile 92 --the sun was rising, which he had been looking forward to...I kept trying to find little things that he could look forward to along the way ---we made our way along a grassy trail and Frank actually started running fast!!!! I could not keep up with him -he was all of a sudden scared that he would not make the cutoff. But then we figured out that we had plenty of time, when w had to walk a monsterous hill at mile 94, which took 25 minutes or so. Frank's stomach was hurting from the sandwich -ugh --at mile 95 we started running again, and we ran 2 miles without stopping --Frank turned to me and he said 'I think we'll finish this sucker'. And the next three miles were slow, but no question that he knew the end was in sight -much to our surprize, at mile 98, we did not follow the nice dirt road but we went into the woods to climb 2 miles of single track!!! At mile 99, Frank told me he couldn't go on -his quads were beat. His legs wouldn't move.but i tld him he had to go on, and I think I was a bit mean (hope he doesn't remember). All of a sudden we saw the light of Silver hill meadow and the finish area --it was about 8:30 in the morning and Pat was waiting with a camera.
It was over and Frank did run through the finish line. Pacing that night was one of the highlights of my running career --even though I had driven up myself and drove myself home, it was worth it, as he said he couldn't have finished without my help and so that was rewarding.
Socially it was blast --I had more fun slogging through the night an talking to people along the way. I really would pace Frank anytime, except now I want to do the whole thing. and P.S. this year we have Rob driving up:)