One of my favorite aspects of running in general -- and of ultrarunning in particular -- is that we can constantly grow and evolve as runners.  With hard work (and a little luck), distances that at one time seemed unimaginable become manageable.  A goal pace that was once impossible becomes not only possible, but comfortable.  It is a constant evolution.

Over the past dozen years, I have been fortunate enough to run about 70 combined marathons and ultras, and each and every race has taught me something that I did not know before.  (Even if that "something" was simply "I should not have signed up for that one!").  And while I have run a lot more ultras than marathons in the last five years, I like to consider myself just a "runner" at heart.  Racing a marathon hard is, well, hard.  It hurts.  A hard-effort ultra hurts as well, but in a different way...

Looking back, I guess it's no surprise that I have been drawn to the Donna 110 the past two years.  It combines an ultra with a marathon.  It's in a great city.  It's a beautiful course.  And -- most importantly -- it's for a great and hugely-important cause (to eradicate breast cancer).  What's not to like about this race??  :)  
And although I ran the Donna110 last year, my experience this year was vastly different.  Last year, I ran the race for the experience.  I ran because the race is for a phenomenal cause and my family has a terrible history with breast cancer.   (There is a reason I chose the color pink for the "Zwitty" logo).

This year, however, was different.  Sure, I still ran because of the awesome experience of the race and what it stands for . . . I think I will always run the Donna 110 for as long as I am able.  But this year, I did not just want to run.  I wanted to race both days.  (The format is 84 miles on Saturday, and then the marathon on Sunday).  I wanted to push my pre-conceived "limits" and see if I could break through them...

Going into the weekend, I knew that the weather would be absolutely ideal for racing (sunny and a high of 60 on Saturday, sunny and mid-40s for the marathon on Sunday).  And I had put in a solid training cycle leading up to the race, so I had no excuses.  

One of the really cool things about the Donna weekend is that the race organizers treat the Donna 110 runners like celebrities.  They really roll out the red carpet for you the entire weekend (more on this later).  One of the many "perks" is the Friday morning "shake-out" run in Atlantic Beach.  It was just four miles, but wow, that was fun.  I ran a mile with Donna herself (Donna Deegan, a three-time breast cancer survivor who was a news anchor here in Jacksonville).  I ran with Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray for a while, and had a great conversation.  I discussed the "Galloway" racing method, and whether it applies to ultras, with Jeff Galloway himself.  And I met 1984 Olympic marathon gold medalist Joannie Benoit Samuelson.  Wow.  Now that's a pretty cool way to kick off the weekend!

(Left:  with local running legend (and Donna board member) Chris Twiggs (who is going to run the Hardrock 100 for the eleventh consecutive time this summer), as well as fellow coach Dawn Lisenby; right:  with Boston Marathon RD Dave McGillivray).

For some reason unbeknownst to me -- but perhaps knownst to you -- only a handful of people have run the Donna 110 these past few years.  (I have a strong feeling that will change starting next year).  This year, the race roster included local ultra studettes Kellie Smirnoff and her two sisters, Heather Jones-Proctor and Carrie Neveldine.  The incomparable Tim Purol (known in Florida ultrarunning as "Salt Shack") was also toeing the line, as was Christian Lisowski, who was attempting his first ever 100+ mile race.  

(Not pictured:  Salt Shack . . . he showed up basically just as we were starting the race!)  

The first 10 miles of the Donna 110 mirror the Donna marathon course pretty much exactly:  you run from the intersection of A1A and ATP Tour Blvd. in Ponte Vedra, make your way toward the beach, and run up to Atlantic Beach:

As we started the race at 9:00 am sharp, I found myself running alone very quickly.  (The other five runners would wind up running much of the first 84 miles together, which was absolutely-awesome to see).  For me, one of my goals for the weekend was to have two hard days of running, to kick-start my training for the Badwater 135 this July in Death Valley.  

Besides the gorgeous views on this section of the course (such as the Jacksonville Beach pier, pictured below), this initial section went by pretty quickly for me, and I arrived at the "base camp" for the day -- the very-nice Adele Grage Community Center in Atlantic Beach -- in about 1:20 (so about 7:30/mile for the first stretch).  

Mentally, the most challenging part of the entire Donna 110 is the 6.95-mile loop in Atlantic Beach that hosts the majority of the race.  Since (a) I ran the race last year, and (b) live in Jacksonville and train in AB all the time, I'm very familiar with this loop, and knew what I was getting myself into:

The toughest part about the almost 7-mile loop is that you have to run it nine times.  Niiiiiiinnne times.  

("I don't remember Ferris having to run the Atlantic Beach nine times.")

Luckily for me, all the runners this year had some factors really working in their favor to combat the monotony.  First, the "Base Camp" aid station, manned by race director extraordinaire Caleb Wilson and Team Zwitty all-star Bambi Pennycuff, was indoors and perfectly-stocked with everything we would need.  Second, the weather was ideal for running (sunny, light wind, and about 60 degrees).  Finally, we all had plenty of company throughout the day.  For the other 5 runners, in addition to moving through Day 1 basically as one big pack, they had crew members with them throughout the day as well.  

For me, I ran the first three loops (up until the 50k point) alone, and tried to run them at a controlled, yet fast pace.  (I came through the marathon mark at about 3:14, and the 50k mark at about 3:54; by then, I was convinced I would have a pretty good day...)

(Somewhere around the 50k mark...)

 When I was finished with that third lap, I then I had someone pace me for each of the next five laps, which was absolutely invaluable.  I've run really long road races basically by myself (such as Spartathlon in Greece and UltraMilano-Sanremo in Italy), but those races were in places I've never been before on point-to-point courses (so something was always keeping my interest/attention).  On a loop I've run at least 100 times before, it's a whole different story.  

So by the end of Lap 3, I was very glad to have my buddy Stovepipe Fletcher pace me for Lap 4 (about miles 33-40).  "Stovepipe" is really Winston Fletcher, who has been slightly excited about the fact he will be going to Death Valley this summer to participate in this year's Badwater 135 as part of Oswaldo Lopez's crew team.  

For Lap 5, my friend -- and pro triathlete -- Jen Vogel paced me on her beach cruiser.  My buddy Chris "I can't run the Donna 110 because it's only 110 miles and doesn't involve climbing 80,000 feet in the Brazilian jungle" Roman also tagged along and chatted with us for a while.  (Seriously, Chris is the nicest guy around; he just also happens to be a complete bad-ass!)  

Then Alex hopped on the bike and kept me company for Lap 6.  (During this lap, I hit the 50-mile mark in 6:54, which was a 9-minute PR at that distance for me).  At that point, I really knew I was having a good day :)

The other runners were all looking really solid as well, and moving consistently throughout the entire day.  Whenever I saw any of them, they were all very positive, upbeat, and encouraging.  It was just turning out to be a great day...

(The three sisters, in good spirits throughout the race!)

My good friend Lane Vogel -- who ran the Badwater 135 in 2013 (when it was 125 degrees) with a 103-degree fever the whole time -- paced me for Lap 7, and then Lane and Jen together hung out with me on Lap 8.  (Yes, Lane seriously ran one of the hottest years at Badwater with a serious temperature.  And people think I'm crazy... :)

By the time the sun was setting and I was alone again, I only had one lap to go :)  I finished that last lap pretty quickly, and got back to the Base Camp, Mile 73, in 11:03.  Now all I had left was the 10.5 jaunt back to the start line area in Ponte Vedra...

The final 10.5 miles of Day 1 constitute an exercise of extremes.  The 3-4 mile run from Atlantic Beach to Jacksonville Beach is quiet and subdued.  Once you hit the main "drag" in Jax Beach, however, it turns into a huge fraternity/sorority party.  Being the guy who just ran 77 miles, I fit in perfectly with the circus that had just come to town!  I almost got trampled a few times by a few over-served groups of partiers, but I made sure to stop into Lynch's Irish Pub (probably Ground Zero for Jax Beach tomfoolery) for a quick photo op and a Coors Light.  

After the five ridiculous minutes at Lynch's, I was on my way back down to Ponte Vedra.  By now, it was about 9pm, and it was starting to get windy and cold.  It was during this next 4-5 mile stretch that I experienced my only real "low" point of the weekend.  Once you get out of Jax Beach, you go from being around a million people to being utterly alone.  Especially once you hit "uber-richville" on Ponte Vedra Blvd., there is just no activity around you.  

But with only a few miles to go, and the promise of a warm shower at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort (the finish line for Day 1, as well as where the ultra runners were being put up for the night by the race directors), I just put my head done and finished those last few miles.  I finished 84 miles in 13:26, and was extremely excited to see Alex along with Donna Board Member Chris Twiggs waiting for me at the hotel entrance!

As anyone who has run a long ultra can attest, one of the hardest things to do after the race is fall asleep.  Sure, I was completely exhausted, but my legs were absolutely throbbing (which tends to happen after running 80+ miles) :)

I was, however, lucky enough to have a solid 9 hours between the 84 miles of Saturday and the marathon on Sunday.  I had some great mahi tacos and a beer at the hotel bar/pub, and then settled into my bed at the hospitality suite.  While I got very little sleep, I was off my feet, and by about 3:00 am, my legs were finally calming down.  Right about that time, the other five runners finished, and joined me in the large suite (basically a few makeshift conference rooms put together).  

I was stoked to see that all of the other runners completed the 84 miles; last year, I was the only runner who got through the Donna 110.  (Well, Traci Phillips finished as well; she was pulled from the course at Mile 108 due to bad weather, but I think we can all agree that "counts")!!  This year, however, it was great to see everyone who started make it through that first day!  

In a few hours, however, it would be time to turn it on again... 

(At the hospitality suite with Alex, about an hour before the marathon start).

I probably sound like a broken record, but I really don't understand why more people don't have the Donna 110 high on their list of races to run.  Not only is it held in a great city, for a great cause, and on a great course, but the race organizers treat you like absolute royalty for the whole weekend.  In addition to staying at a resort just steps from the start line, as well as having access to the "elite" tent after the race is over, you have access to the elite charter bus for the start of the race, so you can wait until about 10 minutes before the gun goes off, hop in line, and start the race without freezing.  It was pretty cool being on a bus that seats about 100 people, with just 10 Kenyans, a few other international athletes, and myself!  
At any rate, at 7:30 am sharp, the gun went off, and we were on our way.  

By the time the race started, my legs felt amazingly-good.  I told myself overnight that I was just going to pretend that I did not run at all the day before, and try and run as fast as I could during the marathon.  Well, for the first 7 miles or so, I was holding about a 6:50/mile pace!  (I knew I would not be able to hold that for very long, but I also was having a good time and just "let it go" for a bit at the beginning.  By Mile 8, I had dialed it down to a much-more reasonable 8:00/mile.)

The only difference between the actual marathon in the first 10 miles and the Donna 110 first 10 miles is that in the marathon, you run Miles 6-9 on the beach itself.  It was really cool this year for two reasons.  First, Jen was out doing a morning tempo run, and ran a few miles with me, which was cool.  

(Starting to really "feel" those 6:50 miles!!)

Second, at about Mile 7, Joannie Samuelson (the 1984 Olympic Marathon champ) passed us.  We sped up so I could talk to her a bit.  ("Hi Joannie.  (gasp).  I'm -- gasp -- Dave.  We met at the "shake-out" run on Friday.  Double gasp.  Just wanted to say it was great to meet you.  Okay, I can't keep up this pace anymore.")  She would later cruise on to a top-10 finish in something like 3:10.  We are now 31 years after her Olympic win.  Unbelievable.  

After exiting the beach surface itself, we were in Atlantic Beach, and I was back visiting my old friend . . . that 6.95-mile loop, for the tenth time in the past day!  (At least I wouldn't be getting lost) :)  Actually, I felt pretty good on this "final" loop, and it brought back a lot of memories from the prior day.  I felt like I was running with some inside information or a secret that no one else around me really knew about!  

In the middle of the loop, I hit the half marathon point (13.1 miles) in about 1:42.  It was right then that I started thinking, "Hey, I think I might actually be able to break 3:30 for the marathon" (which is exactly 8:00/mi average).  

Even though I was feeling pretty good, though, my rational mind was really getting in the way.  As much as I wanted to trick my body into "forgetting" I ran 84 miles the day before, my legs were starting to bark at me by about Mile 15, and by Mile 20, the "3:30 pace group" had passed me and I was about 2-3 behind them.  That meant I had to make up a few minutes of time if I had any hope of finishing under 3:30.

I often tell the runners that I coach that running is a constant evolution, and as you get better and break through to higher and higher levels, you need to trust your training, and accept the new higher level as "the new normal."  That is sometimes easier said than done (like when you are on Mile 104 of a 110 race and you have to throw down a bunch of 7:30 (or faster) miles in a row...)  

I'm not quite sure what happened for that last 10k, but something came over me, and just absolutely refused to slow down.  Each mile actually became faster than the previous one.  I was finishing around the same time as the half-marathoners who were walking (often in large groups), and I must have scared more than a few of them, because I must have looked like I was absolutely possessed at that point!  I was gritting my teeth, snarling, and breathing really deliberately and with a deep gutteral sound.  

At Mile 25, when you crest the JTB bridge and have less than a mile to go (mostly-downhill), I looked at my watch and knew I was going to make it.  When I hit that final home stretch on San Pablo Rd. right in front of the Mayo Clinic, I started crying (for the first time at a race in a long time . . . I thought those days were long gone for me . . . these days, I'm much more likely to get all teary-eyed from my runners' performances, not my own).  Whatever it was, I just had a lot of emotions that were going to come out :)

I crossed the finish line in 3:28, sort of in a stated of shock, and my Donna 110 race was over...

The surreal feel to the day continued as soon as the race was over.  My finish line "drop bag" (with my change of clothes) was in the "elite/ultra" tent, and I was escorted to the tent alongside Joannie Samuelson!  (You don't get to spend a half-hour with an Olympic champion too often right at the end of your ultra!!)

After leaving the tent, Alex finished her marathon, in a PR time of 4:18!!  And we then hung out with Donna 110 race director Caleb Wilson, as well as Winston Fletcher and his wife, had a few beers, and I got my buckle at the awards ceremony.  All in all, it was an incredible weekend!!  

As far as the other 5 Donna 110 runners, 4 started the Donna marathon, and all finished.  (The only runner who didn't start had an acute ankle injury from the 84-mile first day, and obviously made a wise decision not to start the marathon portion of the race...)  

(Kellie Smirnoff, with her sisters Heather Jones-Proctor and Carrie Neveldine, showing off the beautiful custom-made Donna 110 belt buckle!)

Congrats to everyone who ran the Donna 110 or the 26.2 With Donna this past weekend!  This is a special race, and I highly-encourage anyone who wants to run a first-class ultra for a great cause to sign up for next year's race!!!  Amanda Napolitano, Chris Twiggs, and Caleb Wilson put on a fabulous event!

As the Florida ultrarunning season rolls right along, I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of you down in the Everglades this weekend for Bob Becker's EVERGLADES ULTRAS races (50-mile, 50k, and 25k).  

Hope everyone has a great week!!

http://www.zwittyultra.com