Location: Appalachian Trail, New York
Total distance: 88 Miles
Notable features: Point to point course with lots of ascent and descent and scrambling over rocks and tree roots.
Weather: 55º at the start, going down to 37º during the night and then back up to 60’s during the day.
Cutoff Target: 24 hours
Total Elevation Gain: 17,000’
Total Elevation Loss: 18,000’
Average Elevation: 1000’
Max Elevation: 1500’
Min Elevation: 120’
Total runners who started: 2 (not including crew)
Total runners who finished: 0
Goal Time: finish under 24 hours
Distance covered: 71 miles
What started with a random cold and mid winter sunrise run back in January snowballed to the concept of running the New York Appalachian trail. Looking back the unexpected situation with Covid shaking up everyone’s calendar certainly helped convince Greg and myself to look differently at our options for running related challenges in 2020.
From that initial wintery run there had been a variety of running trips throughout New York and New Hampshire. My summer training plans briefly interrupted by an injury I picked up in June/ July, which along with gyms being shut hampered my progress. It’s safe to say it was tough being patient and letting the healing take its course. Nonetheless I was managing to keep my fitness ticking over with some cycling and strength exercises. Fast forward and we were suddenly in September and counting down the weekends till our inaugural FKT attempt. We had planned out some longer training runs which my incredibly supportive wife, Laura, came out to drive between aid stations. Her supporting was a massive help for my training as well as helping us to fine tune what we would need on the actual day of the run. There is one thing running for 5+ hours but it takes a whole different level of dedication to drive between random spots for 5+ hours and camp up waiting for the 5 - 15 min stops we would take to pass through in.
I spent the last couple of weeks tapering with a mix of yoga, mobility work and making sure I was eating, sleeping and drinking well (I probably should have been doing all of these more often throughout my training) . The final supplies were ordered as I settled on a selection of food and drinks for the run. For drinking I used tailwind the flavourless variety, energy gels by spring energy then I mixed in some solid foods of Lara bars, hummus wraps, beef jerky and a selection of waffles. At the aid station I was able to add in some pedialyte, water and an assortment of cake we were planning on rustling up closer to the day of the run.
The plan was to start at 6pm at the edge of the New York and New Jersey border where we would complete the slowest and overall more technical section in the dark whilst we had fresh legs. With the thinking we could catch up some speed on the “smoother” sections during the daylight the following day. The day of the run was spent with the final small pieces of preparation and making sure we had everything. It was certainly different to the Pine to Palm 100 miler (you can read about that here) I did where we were limited by what I could physically fly with to the event. Laura between helping me organise a few bits was busy baking treats for the runners and crew. Driving out to the start line my nerves and excitement were starting to build. Meeting up with the rest of the team we transferred kit and food between the cars, took some photos of us looking clean and fresh before hiking up to the start line. The sun was beginning to set, flooding the area with a golden hue. We could not have asked for better conditions! No rain was forecasted, the days were due to be cool. The night was looking to be a cold one!
Greg and myself posed for a few final pictures whilst we tried to look relaxed and fresh. Standing at the line painted on the rock marking the border of New Jersey and New York we were finally ready to set off. After months of training, planning and preparation, all those hours had built up to what we hoped would be the next 24 hours of running. With no fan fare other than just the four of us we did our own count down, started our watches and headed off down the trail. Having run it a few times previously we felt the familiarity as we jogged along. Pausing briefly on top of a ridge line close to the beginning to admire the sun setting across the surrounding area. It was a beautiful sight! Before heading back into the forest and being plunged into growing darkness. As the light died the forest started coming alive with noise from all the bugs, birds and what sounded like a pack of dogs howling as the day came to a close. The odd crashing through the forest with a flashing white tail of deer as they bounded away from us. Not too surprisingly through the early stages of the run we hardly met anyone along the first couple of sections.
Arriving at the second aid station and we picked up the pacers joining us, Dan, Dan and Mike for an extra set of eyes in the dark. Unfortunately Greg’s foot was beginning to cause him some issues and in the midst of it I managed to have a trip hitting my knee and bashing my hand. The skin ripped on my hand with blood beginning to drip down my fingers. Not a great start given we were so early in the milage and the night. We met the crew at a road junction where they helped clean me up. Patched up and we were back on the trail.
During the night we lost time with our pace not being quite what we hoped or expected. We were at third aid station and we had already lost a decent amount of time but there was still the potential to catch up some of the lost time. It was also during this stage where we bumped into a number of camp sites, with dogs barking and growling to the sound of our foot steps. Despite being a dog owner the sound of a dog growling and barking angrily in the darkness wasn’t exactly reassuring, particularly as it became louder and closer. In parts people had set up camp almost immediately off the trail. We past one man asleep in his chair outside of his tent and I am pretty sure his eyes were open, at least it wasn’t halloween….
An extract from Greg’s experience:
“If Nikki can endure great pain daily, I can do it for one day" This is what ran through my head at 1am on the Appalachian Trail on Sunday morning. I was 25 miles into our 88-mile trek to be the first to do the New York Appalachian Trail in a day. My foot had hurt all week (long-time plantar fasciitis), including on a short walk the day before. It was hurting badly by mile 15 of the run, and by mile 25 at our 3rd aid station, I pulled Becca aside who was crewing us throughout the night and said "This is the worst it's ever been. What should I do?" "Greg, all you can do is listen to your body.", she responded. I threw every treatment I could at my foot at the aid station - massage, yoga, CBD cream, new shoes. But none of it really seemed to do too much. I just listened to my brain and my heart instead (those are part of my body, right?) and took it one painful step at a time.“
At the third night stop we ended up pausing for a while with Greg’s foot causing some issues. After sorting out some of the essentials and feeling the temperature plummeting as our bodies cooled in the cold night air, myself and some of the pacers wrapped ourselves in towels round our legs and wore puffy jackets up top. The night had cooled down substantially and by the time we left my teeth chattered away despite being wrapped up with a jacket, gloves and hat on, it was time to get going. Thankfully the immediate uphill helped with warming up quickly and soon we were stripping off the extra layers. The extended break had done Greg a wonder of good. Our pace improved and we were making better progress as we headed towards Bear Mountain. As we headed on up the mountain the sun was beginning to rise. Despite all the extra eyes on the trail we some how cut a section off the trail ending up at the summit prematurely. Realising our error we doubled back before finding the right trail that took us in a long sweeping loop back to the summit of Bear Mountain. We paused briefly along the trail to see a full moon lighting up the valley along with a cloud inversion siting beneath us. The sun was beginning to rise with the dark night sky beginning to turn a blue grey as we made it down the steps of the mountain. The whole area was still and quiet in the early morning hours, a change from the normally full parking lot and bustling paths. There was even a family heading up for sunrise. Unfortunately because of it being early in the morning we were not able to take the route through the zoo. That will have to wait for another day! We were met near the base by the next round of running pacers, Dave and Chris, who had headed out to meet us, they had been there quite a while unfortunately due to us being pretty behind schedule by this stage.
Heading over the bridge and the Hudson river at the fastest we had travelled for quite a while we arrived for breakfast at the aid station at the base of Anthony’s nose. We grabbed a bunch of supplies for our packs and the next stage of the run and most importantly breakfast along with a much needed coffee. It’s amazing how much difference a new day and sunrise makes.
With headlights off we could finally run and see where we were running, which felt like a luxury after the hours of darkness. With the sun up it felt like we were back on familiar ground again as we made our way along the second half of the route. With new pacers the time passed quickly chatting away. Despite already completing one ultra and being about halfway I felt pretty good. Over time we split into two groups with the differing paces. I was looking forward to the next stop where Laura was going to greet me, amazingly she met me mid stage at a road crossing with another cup of coffee. Perfect. I sipped some down as we chatted briefly before crossing the road. Myself and Dave headed off back into the woods on and up the trail. The forest was a beautiful temperature in the morning as we made progress along the trail. Not long later and we arrived at the official aid station. Laura had picked up on the fact that I had misjudged my previous stage on both water and food, so started filling up my running vest with extra goodies for the next stage. We waited around a bit and not long after Greg turned up. He decided to take a bit of a longer stop at this aid station so after getting ready I decided to head on. Dave kindly joined along for the ride (of the running kind). Passing the time talking about his time spent filming in Bhutan and visiting far flung monasteries. Passing along the trails in their full fall colours was an incredible experience. It was mid morning as we came to the point I would not longer have a pacer for a few hours. It had been awesome but I was equally looking forward to a period of just being by myself on the trail.
it also coincided with me beginning to not feel on top form. I just wasn’t feeling particularly hungry or thirsty and was having to try pretty hard to remember to do either. My mouth felt and tasted consistently sweet. I arrived at one of the unplanned aid stations. Laura had decided it would be a great point for a pick me up. Resting under the bridge trying to smile and to get some calories in. I felt ruined. Describing it to Laura with a few choice words on how I felt. Some coffee and a load of water helped kick start me. The next section was uphill for a few a while. I grabbed my running poles and loaded up my pack with a bunch of wraps and some delicious cake Laura had baked up. Feeling slightly sorry for myself I jumped off the back of the car and made my way up the hill. I started to feel better bit by bit as I munched down some food. It wouldn’t be long till I would be joined by Mark who had agreed to come down from Massachusetts to pace for me towards the end of the run. We were massively behind time by this point and after doing the maths I realised it would be a night time finish at the rate I was going. I needed to make up even more time. There were yet more miles of running flowing through the trees as the day progressed I felt stronger and stronger again. Fortunately it was just part of the ebb and flow of these longer runs and the highs and lows that accompany it. I had been a bit worried that it was potentially the same wall I hit of Pine to Palm at mile 80 where everything slowed right down and basically the wheels fell off the cart. Between the running and some force feeding at the aid stations the come back was on.
Soon enough I was joined by Mark for the final sections, he provided the boost to my speed with a huge amount of energy and a definite mental boost. We caught up on how the year had been and of course how the run had shaped up. All in all it seriously helped pass the time. It also gave me the opportunity to reflect on the experience and ultimately what I wanted to do. When I met him there was still about 23 or so miles to go. I did the maths and realised it wasn’t just going to be a late finish but with where we were finishing would likely mean finishing up at home in the early hours of the morning. The FKT by this stage was well and truly not on the cards, it just had not been our time on this occasion. After much discussion over the couple of hours I made my decision on what would happen at the next checkpoint. In many ways it made the rest of the run time to relax and really enjoy the beauty of what we were running through. The scenery was spectacular with flowing trails through the forest and the area covered in fallen leaves. The cherry on top came with the setting sun and yet another gorgeous evening of golden light flooding the forest it was incredible to run through. Some might debate how my “running” looked by this stage but it was still my slow version after almost 24 hours of running and 36 hours of being awake. Mark pulled out one last surprise of swedish fish sweets.
As we came into the final miles we picked up the pace with the prospect of stopping being so close. Coming round the corner to cheers from the crowd of the support crew and the run was over.
We had not completed the planned run or achieved the FKT we envisaged months earlier but I finished after 24 hours of running feeling great. Sure I could have continued and aimed to finish the full distance but I felt the balance of risk and reward for me had shifted. Instead I finished short, I was happy with how the day had shaped up, the overall experience and rather than finishing late into the evening I enjoyed the moment with Laura, Mark and some of the support crew all washed down with a small dram of whisky.
Have you done something which did not go to plan? Or changed plans to enjoy the moment rather than the finish line?
A massive thanks to all the team who supported us, Greg for pulling it all together. Elizabeth for supporting Greg. Mike for your organising of the pacers. John, Becca and family for the night crewing. Dan, Dan, Dave, Chris, Mike and Mark for the pacing! Rachel & Katie for inspiring the Big Run and Nikki’s cause. And of course Laura and Onyx who supported me throughout the training and the run!! The experience was made by the people along the journey.
