A few belated words on the May 2013 Reach the Beach, MA. If you’re not aware, this is a 200 mile relay that runs a zig-zaggy course from Wachusetts to Westport. I more or less random met some folks on the internet (runnit, actually) who had a Reach the Beach ultra team and joined up with them. I had run a couple relays like this before (Ragnar New England a few years back, and Florida Keys earlier this year) but this was my first Reach the Beach.
After some discussions, I was assigned runner 3. When converting from a standard 12-person rotation to a 6-person ultra team means I was running six legs – 5/6, 17/18 and 29/30. The total mileage for each of the 6 legs was well over a marathon in length.
Legs 5/6: This leg started around 3:30pm, from Rutland State Park. We were so spread out, I didn’t pass or get passed (or really, even see) another soul in this entire leg. The first half was on dirt roads, fairly scenic. The second half was along a road with a fair amount of traffic & less exciting. I felt pretty solid about this leg, but not having had lunch prior to start was probably a mistake.
Total for legs 5/6: 14.5 miles, 2:00:24, 8:18 split.
Legs 17/18: I set off pretty quickly on my second set of legs. This pair started around 12:30am. I felt pretty strong at the beginning, running ~7:00 splits for the 17th leg. Rolling through the 17/18 transition zone the volunteers looked sleepy, surprised to see me as there was no one waiting for me. My pace slowed considerably on leg 18.
Total for legs 17/18: 8.6 miles, 1:06:34, 7:44 split.
Things got a little delirious for me after my second run. I wasn’t driving but was in and out of consciousness without ever really sleeping.
Legs 29/30: My whole system blew up on my last leg. I started this leg around 9am, and noticed from the beginning that my legs just felt dead. Pretty much right off the bat I made an error and tried to cross over this waterway that had a one-way path on the roadway, rather than the pedestrian bridge on the right. I looked right at the entrance but saw it as a fence and my brain wasn’t really able to correct the error. About halfway through this leg my team was waiting with cold water – despite having my hydration pack I was so friggin happy to see them – I don’t think I could get enough water in my system. In retrospect I should have hydrated better more overnight.
Total for legs 29/30: 11.1 miles, 1:41:39, 9:09 split
In the end, I ran 34.2 miles in just under 5 hours (4:48:37) for a total split of 8:36 minutes per mile. After my final leg we still had another six legs to go – I managed to sleep a bit in the grass here and there.
I’d love to run another Reach the Beach or Ragnar as an ultra. Ideally I’d make a few changes in strategy, bring my own cooler with food and iced coffee for the morning. It’d be great to have a fixed volunteer driver (or two!) to help with the rotation so there’s more dedicated sleeping time.
But all in all, a great time, I’m happy to have done this and to have met the rest of my team.
