2019 Jackpot Running Festival 48 Hour

Last year when planning my fall race I really wanted to do something new. I have been enjoying longer and slower running much more over the past year than the "shorter" ultras so I was intrigued by races longer than the 100 mile or 24 hour. I had set my eyes on the 150 or 200 mile at Tbunk, but quickly realized I would miss my daughter's entire 5th birthday weekend so that was out. I ended up doing a 100 mile trail race and finally put together a really good one. I however was left with the feeling that I wanted something longer. So I decided to sign up for the 48 hour race at the Jackpot Running Festival in Las Vegas that I have ran an event at three consecutive years now.

The Jackpot Running Festival has become one of my favorite races for a few reasons:

1) We have family in Vegas that I love to get to see and makes it easier to convince my wife to do a "Runcation" when she gets to visit her sister :)
2) Race director Ken Rubeli puts on a great race that is well organized.
3) Temperatures are generally in my preferred range of 40-70.
4) The USATF 100 Mile National Championship is run at this event so you get to see some top athletes competing.

The course is a 2.5 mile loop with an advertised 126 feet of elevation gain. There is one "main" hill, but it does have some other rises along the loop that you feel if you attempt to run them as time goes on. Much of it is paved and the rest is gravel and one short section more like a rocky single track.

Going into this race I felt very good in regards to my training. I was doing a 50+ mile run most weekends alternating a weekend at cruising pace (just under 9:00 per mile) with a weekend at or near race pacing. For race pacing I started from the beginning of each run walking a percentage. While a little lower in training, I wanted to walk at least one third of the race right from the beginning.

I also once again did a 6 week keto diet to get my body in a fat burning rhythm and increase my efficiency at it. It also helped drop that extra holiday weight. Even on pre-race night I just had some chicken, broccoli, almonds, and a bit of 86% dark chocolate for dessert.

Customary picture with Elvis and the Showgirls

As the race started I believe the temps were in the mid to high 40s, which felt great compared to the negative temps I have been training in. Based on where the hills are on the loop I started with my run/walk strategy each 2.5 mile loop:

Run  Mile 0 -> Mile .4
Walk Mile .4 -> Mile .6
Run  Mile .6 -> Mile 1.2
Walk Mile 1.2 -> Mile 1.5
Run  Mile 1.5 -> Mile 2.1
Walk Mile 2.1 -> Mile 2.25
Run  Mile 2.25 -> 2.4
Walk Mile 2.4 -> Mile 2.5

My goal was to keep my pace around 11:00 per mile average between my running and walking at the beginning of the race. Then as the race goes on allow both my running and walking pace to slow to what feels comfortable. My first couple of laps were a bit fast around 10:30 per mile average, but then I was able to get back to my expected 11:00 per mile average. I mixed up Tailwind in a dispensing jug and filled my 8 oz bottle each lap which was plenty for these lower temperatures. Not long after the race started my wife Kendra, sister-in-law Abbe, nephew Max, and Niece Emma all came to watch/crew me.

My crew handing me a bottle each lap

 As the day progressed the wind picked up and then into the night it got colder and some rain started to fall. Even though the wind advisory ended at midnight it sure felt windy later than that. From a running perspective though nothing had changed for me besides how many clothes I was wearing. I was still walking the same segments and running at around the same pace. For the first day of the race two runners were in front of me, Andrew Glaze and Phillip Espinoza. During the early part of the first night I had taken the lead. Later I found out that Andrew had to leave for a family emergency, but Phillip was still out there and moving well. I was the first to hit 100 miles at 18:47 into the race. That was a bit quicker than my plan of closer to 20 hours, but everything felt great still so I kept with the same pacing/walking routine. Finally in the early morning hours the rain and wind subsided.

Running for a bit with Phillip

On day two at 8:00 am the rest of the races began and there was all of a sudden a lot of activity on the course once again. There were some fast runners in the 100 mile USATF national championship as well as the 6 hour race speeding around. I just kept at my same pacing I had been doing. I covered 126 miles in the first 24 hours which was once again a bit further than the 120 I planned for, but my body still felt good. My lead was 20 miles at this point so I was completely focused on my own race. The wind came back again for a bit but eventually day two turned into a nice day, at least based on my Wisconsin standards in February.

In terms of nutrition I did not drink or eat anything other than Tailwind for the first 100 miles. When I passed the aid station at 97.5 miles I requested a grilled cheese sandwich after my next lap. So when I finished 100 miles I had a celebratory half of a grilled cheese. It was magnificent. From that point forward I grabbed a snack from the aid station each loop aiming to get about 75 calories each time. Most laps I was eating 3/4 of a creme sandwich cookie or a vanilla wafer. When the egg burritos made an appearance they were also amazing. For the last few hours of the morning I had switched to Bai coconut water and then once it was daylight and Kendra returned I switched to VegaSport Hydrator which is a very low calorie electrolyte beverage to complement my mostly sugary snacks.

The daylight hours of day two went pretty smooth. While it started taking a bit more energy to get going after each walk break, I was still keeping similar pacing. I had slightly changed my walking spots to ensure I was walking everything that resembled a hill and it also broke up the running and walking into even smaller pieces while still keeping roughly 2/3 running. My brother-in-law Bryan came out to watch with the kids again and Kendra and Abbe were there a large portion of the day. I am glad it was a nicer day without the heavy wind for spectators.

Trying to just keep an easy steady pace.

As the daylight left us and the second night started I had 180 miles in the first 34 1/2 hours of the race. That is an average of 11:30 per mile through 180 miles. And at this point the legs started to become really heavy. After slogging out 4 more laps to bring me to 190 at just under 17 minute pace I decided to try taking my first rest. I was hoping it would rejuvenate me a bit so that when Kendra and Abbe came back around midnight that I could knock out some more miles. Through the first 37+ hours I had not sat other than three shoe changes. So I went to the heated tent, laid down on a cot, and set my alarm for 30 minutes. In a laying position my knees were now in a huge amount of pain. I just laid there squirming in pain until I finally fell asleep with 5 or 10 minutes left before my alarm. When it went off I tried to fall back asleep, but I couldn't so I decided to get up and back at it. So I had stopped for about 50 minutes total and only managed 5-10 minutes of sleep and my legs were now VERY tight. Ugh.

I hobbled around that first lap at snail pace and then started to loosen up enough to at least manage a decent walking pace on my second lap back. But my knees, especially the left one, were on fire now. They were so tight and so sore I was worried about doing damage. At this point Kendra and Abbe returned with a hot breakfast sandwich for me and I was very happy to have one of them accompany me on each lap.

My beautiful wife and a hot breakfast sandwich. Now which was I happier to see? :)

We walked a couple of laps at around 20:00 per mile to finish out 200 miles at 41:38 into the race, but this pace was getting hard to hold at this point. So half-way through the next lap at my aid area I decided to try elevating my legs for ten minutes in the car to see if it helps. This time I fell asleep instantly in the warm car. Ten minutes later I awoke, put the shoes back on and started hobbling to finish out the lap. After moving a bit my legs were able to walk with less pain but by the time I got back to the car on my next lap they were back to the same condition of inability to keep moving forward. So I took another 10 minute break.

Abbe providing me some company while hobbling some late laps and eating breakfast burritos.

After this break I managed two laps of walking. Then I took one last break before getting three final laps to bring my total miles to 215 as the clock approached 48 hours. That is 8 marathons plus a bonus 5.4 miles!

Let's look at some numbers.

Lap Times

I was expecting to gradually start slowing my pace as early as 12 hours into the race. But I really just stayed steady through about 36 hours. And then things fell apart a bit. While my pace through 180 miles was 11:30 per mile, over the last 35 miles I averaged roughly 22:40 per mile (including breaks). Ouch.

Approximate Marathon Splits

I really feel like the graph of marathon splits tells the story. I was consistent all race until the last 10 hours.

Overall I am very happy with my race. I had in my head that 200 miles would be a successful first attempt at 48 hours and I was able to exceed that number. Will I be attempting 48 hours again someday? Most likely. What will I do different next time? That is difficult with only one data point. If I would have just slept a solid 3-4 hours at the beginning of night two could I have come back with more in my legs? Not sure. If I would have walked even more from the beginning could I have maintained my pacing the entire 48 hours? Again, not sure. I will not be doing it again this year so I have some time to think about it.

Things that went well:
1) Hydration / Nutrition - No issues. There was a couple laps on the second day where it got sunny and heated up. I did not use the restroom for 4 laps so I drank extra electrolyte drink and I think it caused an imbalance, my head became foggy. I backed off the drink the next couple laps and all returned to normal. Other than that, everything went perfect with no stomach issues.
2) Walk/Run Strategy - I really think alternating walking and running at short intervals preserved my legs for much longer than if I was just running at a slower pace. I felt WAY more fresh than I normally do with 126 miles covered in 24 hours.

Things that did not go well:
1) The last 10 hours things fell apart. I was able to keep moving for the most part, but it was slow.
2) My big toes were destroyed. I had changed my socks and shoes three times each, but when the race was over I discovered my big toes had massive blisters. On the right big toe there was as much blister as toe sticking out from my normal pre-race taping. I will need to play around with my taping method. This did not slow me down during the race, but quite painful afterwards.

Finishing up this report 12 days after the race my right big toe is still shades of purple as it continues to heal and I have a bit of stiffness in my knees still, but hope to get back at it here in the next couple days.

What is next? I'll stay closer to home for my spring race. I was planning to probably run the Kettle 100, but it is under new race management and filled up in three days this year. I am #65 on the waiting list so I needed to look for something else. There are a few other local races so I can make sure my body recovers and then sign up for the next one. In August I am running the 24 hour race at the Six Days in the Dome. It should be an ideal chance to finally set a new 24 hour PR since it is controlled conditions inside the Pettit National Ice Center.

Thank you once again to Kendra, Abbe, Bryan, Max, and Emma for coming out to support me at this long race and to Nancy for watching our kids for five days just so I can go run a few laps around a park.