JEREMIAH Outruns Todd in May

Jeremiah outran me in May with an incredible 425 miles! He also outran himself and three Outrun Challenge records. He ran every day of the month, sometimes up to three times. In his relentless pursuit, he averaged 13.7 miles a day for 31 days!

He ran more than double the miles I ran, and just for perspective, I ran 210 which is the most I’ve logged in any of my losing months. He clearly established himself as the Outrun King!

Jeremiah’s Highlights:

• 5/1-2, starts the month with back-to-back 27 milers and takes an immediate, dominating lead.
• 5/8, Jeremiah ups his version of #iRunWithMaud from 2.23 miles to 22.3.
• 5/8-10, runs back-to-back-to-back 20 mile runs - his second 100k weekend.
• 5/16, Jeremiah and I cross paths with our weekend runs at Wyco, and he invites me to run the last mile with him.
• 5/18-24, runs 101.6 miles for the week.
• 5/22, breaks Morgan’s record of being 125 miles ahead of me.
• 5/23, breaks his personal record of 336 miles in a month.
• 5/24, breaks Peter’s record of 350 miles as the most miles by an Outrun Challenger. Beats my record of 354 miles in the Outrun Challenge.

What impressed me most in competing against Jeremiah, was his ideal balance of positive confidence and witty trash talking. He made his overwhelming win look fun and effortless, but don’t be fooled by his disarming smile and easy-going demeanor. The dude is a fierce competitor and did the hard work to secure his undeniable win!

When do you throw in the towel?

"When does Todd Chandler throw in the Towel," asked Matt DeRuyter after my outrun challenger for May, Jeremiah ClownfishCheck, ran back-to-back-to-back 20 milers this weekend. That means I’m currently down 76 miles, so it’s a natural question to ask, when do I throw in the towel.

Well, not today. It’s only May 12 which means there are 19 days left in the month. I only have to run 4 miles a day to cover 76 miles. Actually, I have to run 4 miles more than Jeremiah every day. That’s more of challenge. But why would I throw in the towel when I don’t know how many miles he will run.

If he runs 0 miles a day, I’ll catch him. If he runs 50 miles a day, I won’t. The reality will likely be somewhere in-between.

I mapped out the gap in miles across the days remaining in the month to create Todd’s Chart of Worry. I’m still well within the "I got this" zone. If the gap is still 76 miles at day 10, I’ll have moved into "it stinks." At 76 miles with 7 days remaining, and I’m into "oh crap" territory.

“This is not the end. It’s not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” ~ Winston Churchill

Last Runner Standing Experiment

I've been fascinated by the Last Runner Standing race concept. It's so different from a normal race format.

1. Only one person finishes the race. Everyone else is a DNF.
2. The clock restarts every hour on the hour.
3. The slower you run, the less time you have before the next lap starts.
4. Consistency is the key.

The goal was to experience this format to see how long I could maintain a reasonable enough pace to provide myself with the right level of needed aid station time. And get in some nighttime running.

With the help of Leia and Coleen, we devised a mock version of the race to test drive. I converted my garage into an over-stocked aid station, and my son Jack was an amazing crew chief, who had supplies waiting for me with every stop. I created a flat, simple 4.16 mile out and back route and on Friday, May 8, 2020, I started the clock.

During the early laps, I couldn't believe how much time I had between laps. It gave me a fantastic appreciation for how much aid station work can be down in a short amount of time. The tough part then was waiting for the hour to arrive. I found myself sitting, or laying on the ground with my feet in the air. Chilling.

I didn't think it at the time, but looking back at my pace for each lap, I started too fast. I was relatively consistent for laps 2-4, but then I began a steady decline in pace. That happens to me in most marathons and ultras right around mile 20. Clearly, something I need to work on.

Lap 7 is when the wheels started to come off. My pace dropped by 1:52, costing me over 7 minutes of recovery time at the aid station. I did not think I was going to make the cutoff for lap 8. I had lost most of my "run" and seriously had to go to the bathroom. When I came in for the final curly Q lap around the block, my very special lady friend was standing at the corner. She cheered me on and gave me some energy to push it. I made the cutoff, shot to the bathroom, achieved my FKT for pooping, and set out for lap 9. I might of stretched my coral time by 15-20 seconds.

In this event, once you get behind, the only way to catch up is to speed up, and I was having a tough time maintaining my current speed. I've had ultras where I have taken 45 minutes to recharge, fix issues, and get back on track. With this event, that's not an option.

Areas of growth identified:

1. Endurance in maintaining a steady pace past 20 miles.
2. Rapid problem solving.

I did anticipate energy and nutrition needs and managed to stay on top of that. And I knocked down 36 miles on a Friday evening.