December
31, 2019
New Year’s One Day is a timed event
at Crissy Field in San Francisco. There is a 6-hour, 12-hour, and 24-hour
version held on the same day. The objective is to run as many laps as possible
around a one-mile loop in the allotted time. I chose to register for the
24-hour event because my strength is in endurance and not raw speed.
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| The Golden Gate Bridge on a lovely blue clear day. PC: Peter Delahunt |
To add to the uncertainty, two days
before the event, I learned that there would be a course change due to
construction. What was a rectangular-shaped loop the previous year was going to
be altered to include a bridge going through the lagoon and four additional
sharp turns. Fortunately, I had time to recalculate my pace chart to account
for this change.
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| Due to construction (labeled in blue), the course (in red) changed from the original rectangular loop to a loop that included four additional turns. The main loop can be completed in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The length of the loop increased slightly with the change. |
Excuse me? No, I’m not organizing
this aid station for my spouse. I’m setting this up for myself. I’m the
athlete, damn it.
But now was not the time to waste my
energy on anger. “Thank you!” I said with a quick smile.
The race director, Wendell Doman,
called us to the start line at 9 am, and we were off. The first 6 hours passed
in a breeze. I was cruising at a 9:24 min/mi pace. My plan was to
hold myself back at the easy pace, taking a 2-minute break to eat, stretch, and
change direction at the end of each hour. I waved at familiar faces on the
course, including Deanna, who ended up winning the 6-hour event, and smiled for
the photographer.
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| Cruising at an easy pace without a care in the world. PC: Marty Udisches |
Peter came with his daughter and dog
to cheer me on. After he ran a lap with me, I put him to work to fill my water
bottles. I was also excited to see Grace and Matt stop by to see me run a few
laps. Marty arrived in the afternoon to crew for me and told me that I was
running at a consistent pace. Another Japanese lady, Ayako Murai, was running
ahead of me all day, and Marty captured the pivotal moment when I finally
caught up with her. Everything was swell, and I was walking on clouds.
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| The moment when I finally caught up with the leader. Ayako and I would stay tied for the lead for the next several hours. PC: Marty Udisches |
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| Sharing a loop with Monica and Stan as the sun is setting. PC: Stan Sze |
As my body became overwhelmed with
pain, I tried to calculate how much I would have to average in the last 16 hours
given that my pace was about 10 min/mi during the first 8 hours. It became
clear to me that the possibility of a course record was precipitously falling
out of reach. What went wrong? I didn’t know what to make of the muscle and
joint pain that hit me so ferociously. I stopped at my chair every third lap to
massage my muscles.
The night hours wore on, and I
decided to check my messages on my phone for inspiration. I only let myself
have screen time if I was walking, and I only let myself walk if I was in
immense pain. After reading a few messages, I’d get the strength to run at a 12
min/mi pace for a couple of loops. Can I even hit 100 miles?
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| Eating soup while wrapped in a bathrobe to keep warm. PC: Marty Udisches |
Honoka returned to the race to crew
for me after going out for New Year’s Eve dinner. “Let’s run together,” she
said as she lost her jacket. I was surprised that she was willing to run by my
side and distract me from the pain.
Around 9 pm, Marty returned with Kevin.
They took turns pacing a couple of laps while providing updates on the lap
count. I had no idea how many laps I had completed since switching watches when
my first watch died. Marty told me my lap count and that I was leading by 2 laps.
It was too early in the night to get comfortable. My pace was stagnant, and I
was being hunted.
We talked about how beautiful the
weather was. “It’s such a bummer that on a perfect day like this, I am not
going to be able to break the course record,” I lamented.
“Well, I don’t mean to be rainbows
and butterflies,” replied Marty, “but I still think you have the record in you.”
Kevin, my pacer from AC100, ran every
fourth loop with me while he volunteered at the official race aid station. He
reminded me that I am a strong runner and that I have what it takes to recover
from the lowest of lows. He encouraged me to keep my pace under 14 min/mi to give myself a fighting chance when I get a second wind. Then, we saw fireworks in the distance marking the new year.
Around 3 am, I was alone again, and I picked up my phone looking for encouragement. I saw a message from Jennifer, who ran the Headlands Hundred last September. “You are doing great, Asuka! Cheering you on from NY!” I found her message to be incredibly moving. Jennifer was a runner who struggled at her first 100-miler, and I happened to be volunteering at the aid station when she arrived at a time of need. Now in my time of despair, Jennifer, who I only met once at her race, was cheering for me in New York, helping me in my time of need. The messages from all my friends far and wide were incredibly motivating.
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| Struggling to hit a 12 min/mi pace all night. PC: Marty Udisches |
Around 3 am, I was alone again, and I picked up my phone looking for encouragement. I saw a message from Jennifer, who ran the Headlands Hundred last September. “You are doing great, Asuka! Cheering you on from NY!” I found her message to be incredibly moving. Jennifer was a runner who struggled at her first 100-miler, and I happened to be volunteering at the aid station when she arrived at a time of need. Now in my time of despair, Jennifer, who I only met once at her race, was cheering for me in New York, helping me in my time of need. The messages from all my friends far and wide were incredibly motivating.
Honoka returned around 4 am and ran
by my side. I told her that I tried to open my thermos for hot water earlier,
but I couldn't open it because the lid was broken. When I finished the next
lap, she had the hot water ready to make instant soup for me. The lid was not
broken. I just lacked the strength to open the lid.
In this event, you only get credit
for the distance if you complete a full loop. The completion of 95 loops (100.7
mi) under 22 hours would be a new personal record for me. The excitement of
approaching a milestone carried me through the loops. When I finished lap 95,
the race director announced over his megaphone matter of factly, “And that’s
100 miles.”
“Thank you so much!” I exclaimed exuberantly
as if he gifted me 100 miles. Honoka and I quietly celebrated my 100 mile PR of
20 hours 3 minutes.
Around 6 am, Marty and Stan returned
ready to take turns pacing me. It was wonderful to have the company, and I knew
that in three more hours, it would all be over. The sunrise over the city was
beautiful, and I could make out the skyline emerging behind the Palace of Fine
Arts.
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| The sun rising over the San Francisco skyline. PC: Marty Udisches |
I am an immigrant who has
experienced so much struggle. I have a powerful desire to want things more than
anyone else. Now go be yo crazy self.
Once I gave me permission to
break myself, I no longer felt the pains that were unbearable just moments
earlier. Instead I became keenly aware of the muscle groups that were on the
verge of cramping - my left calf and the quadriceps above my right knee. I need
to make sure these muscle groups do not seize on me.
I finished the lap at a 9:23 min/mi
pace. I had 88 minutes left to run the clock. Wow. That’s a long time to
run at this pace, but hang on as long as you can. I took off my jacket at my
aid station and kept going.
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| Running against the clock during the last 1.5 hours. PC: Marty Udisches |
I was no longer going to stop to
take care of myself. There was no time. I was still carrying an 8-ounce bottle
of electrolyte to drink on the go, but no more stopping to grab food, salt, or
stretch. This made me nervous. I need to make sure that I was running fast
enough to squeeze in the laps but slow enough that I would not lose control of
my body.
I finished the next loop under 9
min/mi pace. I took off another layer of clothing and kept going.
Marty said, “We’re doing a lap count
down! We’ve spoken to the race director and he says you have 8 more laps to
break the course record!”
Wait whaaaat?! The course record is
still within grasp? Unbelievable.
I took a moment to check my pace.
Then, Stan yelled, “No, don’t waste any effort checking your pace. We’re doing
that for you! Just keep running.”
Marty added, “We’re working closely
with the race director to know how many laps you need to break course record.”
Don’t listen to them. Keeping your
eye on the pace is the only thing preventing those muscle groups from cramping.
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| When I crossed the finish line, someone yelled out, "There's that smile!" It felt so good to be human again. PC: Marty Udisches |
Stan and Marty started taking zones.
Stan was at one side of the long rectangle and Marty was at the other. They
continued to cheer me on and shout out the lap countdown.
Honoka was at the finish line
ringing a cowbell and asking me if I needed anything from my aid station. “No I
don’t need anything,” I told my sister.
Spectators who were crewing for
another runner commented, “She’s not going to stop. She’s in the zone.”
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| Running speed per lap normalized to the average speed of 11:54 min/mi (7.24 min/km). Errors bars display standard deviation from the mean. During the hours of darkness, I really struggled to maintain my pace. |
I was possessed. I was just racing
against the clock. In my mind, there were no longer any more participants on
the course. It was just me, the loops, and the clock.
To manage the pain, I was yelling
and grunting intermittently. I am so glad small children are no longer on the
course.
Runners and spectators continued to
cheer me on. Just stay laser focused.
“Why is she running so fast?” a
runner asked Ayako and her two friends who were pacing her as I flew by.
Ayako replied, “I don’t know.”
Eventually word got around
the loop that the I was chasing the course record. Now everyone was watching
me.
“Holy crap. Did we just get
lapped?!” I heard a runner ask her buddy who was running alongside her.
I continued running at the
blistering pace banking 10-20 seconds in each loop. I knew I had 30 minutes to
finish the final 3 loops. This was just enough time that if my muscles did
cramp, I could probably still hobble to the finish line and break course
record.
I finished another lap. I was in the
final two laps now. Confident that I now had the course record in the bag, I
just ran my heart out.
I crossed the mat, and the race
director announced over the megaphone, “One more lap.”
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| Chatting with Ayako about mountain ultras. PC: Marty Udisches |
When I made my final way through the
promenade I heard through the megaphone, “Four more minutes!” I was elated that
I was so close to the finish line.
I crossed the timing mat for the
final 114th loop with 2 minutes and 52 seconds to spare. Female course record
of 120.8 miles beating the previous best by 0.6 miles.
"I didn't think that I could do it," I told the race director.
"I didn't think you would do it, either," he confirmed. "When you slowed down to 17 min/mi, I just thought, 'She's not going to do it.' Then when you started running 12 min/mi, I thought, 'Well, she's still not going to do it,' but then you started running those loops in 9 minutes, I knew you were going to get it done."
"I didn't think that I could do it," I told the race director.
"I didn't think you would do it, either," he confirmed. "When you slowed down to 17 min/mi, I just thought, 'She's not going to do it.' Then when you started running 12 min/mi, I thought, 'Well, she's still not going to do it,' but then you started running those loops in 9 minutes, I knew you were going to get it done."
Now that I have done a 24-hour event
on a one-mile loop, I think I have the courage to take a stab at the 6-hour and
12-hour events that I was able to observe while I was running. I am also curious
to see what distance I can cover in a 24-hour track event where the surface and
turns are more forgiving and the challenge of running in the night would not be
as palpable.
I couldn’t have done it without all
the race support. I am incredibly grateful to Marty, Stan, Honoka, and Kevin.
Among the four of them, they covered the hardest hours of the race. I’m also
grateful to Peter, Grace, Matt, and Monica who stopped by to cheer me on in person. And
a big thank you to all my friends who sent me supportive messages during
the 24 hours. It was truly heartwarming to feel the great vibes coming from all around.
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| First and second overall. Wendell said that this was the first time he's seen women take 1-2. On occasion, a woman will will overall, but not 1-2. PC: Honoka Eguchi |
Distance 120.8 miles (CR)
Overall Place 1/62
Gender Place 1/19
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Self-Reported Splits (Distances measured to the completion of a loop)
6-hour 36 miles
12-hour 65.7 miles
50.9 miles 8:40:20
100.7 miles 20:03:52
