Results of the 2023 Centurion Qualifier

2023 June 3-4.  The United States Centurion qualifier was walked alongside the F.A.N.S 24-hour race at Normandale Lake Bloomington MN.

24 Hour Walk

PLACE	BIB	NAME	LONG LAPS	LAST LAP	SHORT LAPS	MILES
1	102	Eric Boler	54	07:22:18 AM	19	100.65
2	141	Bruno Bornsztein	47	06:52:51 AM	38	90.28
3	103	Gregg Steinman	42	07:13:00 AM	18	78.67
4	104	John Greene	41	07:25:05 AM	15	76.48
5	101	Annette LeDuc	29	07:24:24 AM	12	54.25
6	106	Radek Lopusnik	15	06:00:38 PM	0	27.18

This was Eric Boler’s Second United States Centurion Finish. Eric is United States Centurion C97.

Below is Eric’s race report.

June 3-4 was the date for 2023 FANS Ultra Races at Normandale Lake Park in Bloomington, Minnesota.  I participated along with five other walkers and a multitude of runners, each of us enduring a very hot and sunny day (90 degrees w/ few clouds). The event was well organized with an informative website and Participant Instructions pdf.  The volunteers who assisted us in achieving our goals were wonderful and ever present.  I enjoyed meeting many athletes along the way and the mutual encouragement was heartwarming. FANS is the kind of race all good ultra events are.

My day started with a stretch goal of more than a hundred miles.  For the opening 20 miles I seemed on task averaging 12:40 p/m with only brief stops for refueling from my crew at my tent, or for using the biffy which was only steps off the course. Things “seemed” to be going well enough.  But by 1:00pm the heat of the day had arrived, the sun was baring down on us, and everyone was feeling their energy drain.

For the “middle” of the walk, miles 20-80, my goal is always to hunker down, relax into a groove, and just pass the time with relentless forward progress.  At FANS 2023 the heat, the sun, and the undulating course informed me that today’s stretch goal would not be obtainable.  I worked hard to hydrate, to fuel, to keep moving with only brief stops to change shoes or massage my hamstring muscles.  My crew happened to have an umbrella in the car which helped cool me enough to warrant carrying it. I figured I just needed to hang on around that magic 14:24 p/m mark and my early pace would afford me brief stops throughout the day. I seemed to hang in there with an average pace of 14:35 p/m.

But because I was working harder and hotter than I had hoped, all that food and liquid in my stomach just kind of sat there.  It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it certainly wasn’t helpful. I looked beyond this and just kept at my forward progress.  I got through to mile 71 and then it happened.  My sixth GU gel went down and then right back up – along with everything else in my stomach.  After throwing up I felt a bit better and reaffirmed to myself that the road to 100 miles was clear and achievable.

I am always excited to arrive at the last miles of a race, the part of the race run in your head, where it is your mind which dictates success or gives in to failure. To me, this is what ultra events are all about.  On the course, in the waning miles, in the night time, in the darkness, with your body aching and your energy depleted, this is the mind battle that I love.  This is the life lesson I am here to learn. Can I keep my foot pressed down on the proverbial gas pedal? I calculated I had to average 15:00 p/m to finish, leaving a tiny bit of cushion.  This is when I go into “David Goggins” mode.  David Goggins is an athlete and motivational speaker and I paraphrase his quote again and again and again as my mantra throughout the night.  “Just when you think you are done, you are only getting started.” I breathed deeply, concentrated on my walking form, pushed my pace, endured taking in what water and Gatorade I could muster, and held on. The race directors encourage racers to buddy up or have a friend join during the night for safety.  I enjoyed having my brother with me as his encouragement and pace-calculating skills were welcomed.

I completed lap 53 a few minutes before 7:00am and not wanting to waste precious minutes waiting for the short course to open I continued around the lake for lap 54.  Having completed lap 54, I joined the FLAT short course which is lined with encouraging crew, volunteers and bystanders.  Doing the short course is easier and way more fun than slogging over those hills one more time.

In the end, I was happy and relieved to reach 100.65 miles. My goal was to prove my first Centurion Walk wasn’t a fluke, and I did it.  John Greene sailed passed his 70-mile goal.  Bruno Bornsztein dug deep within himself and collected 38 short laps racing hard to achieve 90.28 miles.  Two runners made it to 100 miles and many more reached success by achieving new PRs. All this in that heat! Congrats all around.

All in all, FANS is a fine event.  I think the course with its undulating hills (not big, not difficult, but ever present) makes for a real challenge in completing a Centurion Walk. But it’s a fun place to try.

Eric making his own shade on a hot sunny humid day.

Photo credit Betty Greene

***************************************************************

December 28 -29, 2022. Across the Years Race, Phoenix, Arizona.

C101 GREG SALVESEN 22:59:11

Race report by Centurion judge C85 Erin Talcott.

It has become a well established race, the Across the Years multi day race in Phoenix, Arizona in the US.  Runners come from all over to test their metal from a marathon up to a 6 day race.  (It used to be 10 days, but now it’s 6.)  Held in the spring training grounds of various baseball teams such as the Dodgers, the course is on a  1686.218 Meters (1.0477 miles) loop.  On “Main Street” is the start/finish line area along with the race aid station and the tent city for people who wish to rent tents.  On the “South side” is a long stretch where RVs can be parked for people who have them.  The course is a mixture of sand and fine pebbles (I can’t quite bring myself to call it gravel.)  and concrete.  The majority of it is the sand/pebble mixture, which is great for not pounding the pavement step after step, hour after hour and day after day.  But, if it were to rain it turns into a bit of a muddy mess.  

Unfortunately that is just what happened for the first day of the six day competition.  Starting about 10 PM the night before it rained, so by the time the start rolled around at 9:00 AM the rain had made a big of a mess.  This didn’t deter the runners or the 5 competitors entered in the inaugural Across the Years Centurion event.  

One of the competitors, Yolanda Holder, has already been crowned US Centurion #94, so we had four athletes looking to see what they could do.  Ray Sharp, a veteran race walker with a 50K PB of 4:21:06 (at the age of 46) but has also done an 11:19 3,000 meter time in the 1980s (which is still the American record for that distance) has attempted a few Centurion events and thus far been unsuccessful.  To muddy the waters, so to say, Ray was also entered in the 6 hour event and had run a 3:02 marathon about 3 weeks before.  Ray is 62.  

Three of our competitors were complete newbies:  Greg Salvesen, age 36 is a well known ultra runner in the area.  The locals were very excited to see what he could do walking since he’s such a strong runner.  Mary Cole was celebrating her 50th birthday on race day and was incredibly nervous as she didn’t know what would count as running versus walking.  After some advice and coaching she got in a good, and walking legal, groove.  Kelly Henkel, age 27, was giving ultra everything a try, giving the Centurion walk a try and entered in the 6 day competition for after her first 24 hours were over.  

The race started off wet and muddy, but a pleasant temperature.  about 3 hours after the start of the race the rain stopped, which allowed for many of the racers to take a layer off.  Ray took the early lead, looking strong with his hybrid race walk/centurion walk style.  But Greg wasn’t far behind with his smooth and rolling style looking calm, cool and collected and very efficient.  

For the women Kelly took the lead also looking really smooth and efficient.  Yolanda was entered in the 6 day, had nothing to prove, and thus was taking it steady and easy.  Mary got in groove and was smiling away the miles.  

Ray crossed the 25 mile mark first in 5:03:06 feeling strong.  Greg wasn’t too far behind in 5:15:49 with fantastically consistent splits.  Kelly came across first for the women in 5:46:58 looking strong.  Yolanda crossed in 5:51:10, under the pace she wanted so she took a short break to stretch and regroup.  Mary came across in 5:53:34, also under pace, but without much cushion.   

Things continued on, all the competitors changed directions every 4 hours and there were still smiles on faces.  But then, as you know, it starts to get tough.  The gentlemen kept going strong, up to the half way with Ray coming through in 10:38:51 and Greg in 10:53:45.  The ladies were starting to see the struggle.  Kelly learned how important it is to properly fuel as she hit around 40 miles and started to feel really depleted and weak.  After chatting with her and suggesting she fuel more, she did and felt better, but the damage was done.  It had slowed her to the point where she felt should couldn’t pick the pace back up in order to make the time, and she was also thinking about the other five days she had to race, so she continued on to 50 miles walking and practiced her fueling strategy and hit the half way in 14:55:06.  She then took a nice nap and came back retired from the Centurion competition and ran.  Yolanda started to get some niggles in her IT band, and also looking ahead to the six day competition decided that pushing through for 100 miles in under 24 hours wasn’t conducive to her six day goals and took a break.  She reached the halfway mark in 15:01:57.  Mary also was learning the importance of fueling and after she made it through half way in 15:45:32 elected to rest for a while.  She was entered in the 48 hour event and was hoping to see if she could make 100 miles over two days.  

So that left it to the guys.  Sometimes when things start to go poorly they go poorly fast.  That’s unfortunately what happened to Ray.  A few laps later he started to not feel good, really drained, and since the majority of his training had been running, his walking muscles were getting fatigued past what he was used to.  After almost 13 hours of solid walking Ray decided to look ahead to the 6 day competition and retire from the Centurion event.   

Now all our hopes were resting on Greg’s weary feet.  And boy oh boy did he produce!  With only a few stops to change shoes/clothes and a bathroom break his 25 mile splits were (approximately) 5:15:49, 5:37:56, 6:00:40 and 6:06:00 (times not exact).  Greg kept up a smile and positive attitude the entire race and never faltered.  His mental toughness was exactly where it should be, ready to push through the rough patches and knowing it wasn’t in the bag until he crossed the line.  He even decided to go for the full 24 hours, finishing 103.727 miles in 23:54:53.   

Greg’s 100 mile time of 22:59:11 earned him US Centurion number 101.  He is a fantastic addition to the brother and sisterhood of Centurions and I can see him achieving much more in the world of ultra walking.  

The race organizers were very enthusiastic about the Centurion competition, and I had a lot of runners asking me about what was going on as they were really confused why I kept walking backwards around the course.  When I told them I was the official for the Centurion competition I had multiple inquiries and a few that thought it was an interesting challenge and would think about doing it.  Athletes like Greg really impressed the runners, at one point in the night he was the fastest of anyone still moving, and that really raised some eyebrows in respect.  

Mary Cole

Kelly Henkel

All Photo Credits Erin Talcott.

**************************************************************************

2022 June 4-5.  The United States Centurion qualifier was walked alongside the F.A.N.S 24-hour race at Normandale Lake Bloomington MN. The race was a huge success. Thank You F.A.N.S for allowing us to include our Qualifier with your race. Thanks to Bruce Leasure for judging the walkers and about 100 more things Bruce does behind the scenes.

24 Hour Walk

1 Kim Janssens 101.72
2 Susan Grimes 100.07
3 Martin Vos 100.07
4 Bruno Bornsztein 69.05
5 John Greene 58.13
6 Annette LeDuc 53.38
7 Jerry Young 49.02
8 Rob Robertson 43.56
9 Michael Price 41.74
10 Bruce Leasure 23.87

Perfect weather for this year’s Centurion qualifier. Not too hot and no rain. Everyone is in agreement, The lake Normandale course has the most hills of any Centurion worldwide.  In the first 8 hours there were six walkers with a shot at Centurion. By nighttime there were four.  When you think about it, Centurions are made at night. For most walkers nighttime is the low point of the race. Something is hurting. Eyes get heavy. Energy in short supply. When first light broke three were still on track. Right after sunrise Kim Janssens finished his Centurion. A well walked race and respectable time of 22:29:00 in the small mountains around Lake Normandale.  Makes Kim the ninth person worldwide to have membership in six Centurion clubs. Mutiple Badge List Martin Vos and Susan Grimes still with a chance. With one hour left in the 24 hour time limit Martin and Susan moved to the short course. Attempting a last lap around the Lake only counts if you finish the lap. On the short course you cross the timing mat every eighth of a mile. All of us watching had our watches, slide rules, calculators and fingers crossed. No matter how you added everything up it was going to be close. A real nail biter. It was scream at Susan and Martin then calculate, then scream some more. When the gun went off Susan and Martin had walked 100.07 miles. Susan crossed the mat the last time 23:58:33. Martin Crossed at 23:58:53. What a photo finish. Well Walked Centurions.

C98 KIM JANSSENS BELGIUM 22:29:00

C99 SUSAN GRIMES USA 23:58:33

C100 MARTIN VOS NETHERLANDS 23:58:53

photos courtesy of Betty Greene

C100 Martin Vos, C99 Susan Grimes, C98 Kim Janssens

Kim with judge Bruce Leasure. Bruce walks the course backwards.

Martin and Susan on the short laps

Bruno Bornsztein

Centurion C70 John Greene with Centurion C91 David Holmen. David ran over 100 miles this year. Again!

Annette LeDuc

Jerry Young.  Jerry raced against U.S. Centurion legend C23 Alan Price back in the day.

Centurion C78 Rob Robertson

Michael Price
**************************************************************************

Minneapolis, Minnesota   May 8, 2022

We have a New United States Centurion. Eric Boler C97. Eric is from Minneapolis, Minnesota USA. Eric trained for the U.S. Centurion race at FANS this year. He had a scheduled conflict. U.S. Centurion Race Walk Judge Bruce Leasure certified a course around Eric’s home neighborhood. Bruce judged the race with Eric’s wife and neighbors in support. Congratulations Eric.

C97 Eric Boler USA 22:41:11

***********************************************************************
Not Just a Walk in the Park. Owego, New York. Centurion’s Dave and Erin Talcott hosted their Centurion race September 25-26, 2021.

Two walkers became United States Centurions.

C95 JEFF BILL TOLBERT WEAVER  USA  22:54:21

C96 CHRISTOPHER JAMES BURN  ISLE OF MAN  23:09:36

 Jeff Weaver

  Chris Burn

photos by Erin Talcott

An Excellent Centurion Race report by Racer Tim Keer.

Not Just a Walk in the Park
Tim Keer
In the 1870s, pedestrianism was New York City’s favorite spectator sport. 150 years later, the spectators have moved on to other sports, but New York State was the place to be for aspiring Centurions.
The third “Not Just a Walk in the Park”, a USA Centurion Qualifying Event, took place in Owego, New York on September 25 & 26, 2021. This is a personal report, but I’ve tried to include information about all the walkers
Originally scheduled for September 2020, the event was postponed due to COVID-19, with the 2020 entrants’ registrations carried over to 2021. Many of these entrants were from overseas and, unfortunately, were still unable to attend this year.
Only six people started the event with a long-distance walk in mind. Jade Mortimer and Sunyana Graef were aiming for 50 miles and both achieved that (in 12:55:06 and 13:42:59 respectively). The other four of us were attempting to walk 100 miles: Chris Burn, Jeff Bill Tolbert Weaver, Paul Terbrack and me.

Just before the start
Two runners joined us. Brenda May ran 100km, and her husband Harold completed his longest run ever (3 hours, I believe). And three people racewalked shorter distances, including Race Director Erin Talcott, showing us what 5:25 min/km (8:40 min/mile) looks like.
We started at 12 noon on Saturday. The loop around Marvin Park was almost exactly 1km. (Almost exactly. It was slightly, slightly, longer, according to Dave, Erin’s husband, when I asked him why the start location suggested we would be walking about 160 ¾ laps, not 160.9344 laps.). A completely flat, as far as I could tell, blacktop path. Ideal.
It was 70 °F (21 °C) when we started and sunny. A few degrees warmer than I would have preferred, but not too bad. (F.A.N.S, the other USA Centurion Qualifier, took place in August and lost FOUR hours to thunderstorms delays. Ouch.)
Chris Burn started out the fastest of the four potential Centurions. Chris is from the Isle of Man and was already a Centurion in the UK, Continental Europe and Australia (C72). The USA was not permitting non-citizens to enter if they had been in the UK in the previous 14 days and even though the Isle of Man is not actually part of the UK, I assume that the same restrictions applied. So Chris and his wife Shardean spent two weeks in Canada on their way to New York. Dedication! Chris lapped me every 15 laps or so, so we didn’t get to talk much. Just a few words as he strolled past. Chris really did look like he was just out for a “Walk in the Park”, with straight or slightly bent arms, while the rest of were driving ourselves forwards with bent arms.
Jeff Bill Tolbert Weaver and Paul Terbrack were walking only slightly faster than me from the start. I noticed Jeff’s unusual name in the list of registrants and asked him about it. Bill Tolbert was a good friend of Jeff’s who passed away recently. Jeff told me that Bill would have enjoyed the Centurion challenge, and so Jeff wanted to memorialize Bill by including his name in the list of USA Centurions if he (Jeff) should be successful. I believe that this was Jeff’s first Centurion attempt.
Paul Terbrack, from the State of Michigan (just like me), is a “Not Just a Walk in the Park” veteran, having completed 95 miles in 2016 and 83 miles in 2017 when the walkers had to put up with very high temperatures. Paul is an inspiration… I discovered at the Awards Dinner on Sunday evening that he had had heart surgery earlier this year. Well, there was nothing wrong with his heart at this race. His hamstring, however, did not cooperate and Paul stopped after 50km.
I’m a relative newcomer to long distance walking. I took up running about 15 years ago, and ran enthusiastically but with little talent. In 2018, an injury kept me from running for a few months, but my Doctor said I could walk as far and as fast as I liked. I discovered I could walk quite fast, and enjoyed it. After my injury healed, I went back to running but had a disastrous trail race in 2020. While I might dislike running uphill, my knees hate running downhill with a vengeance and caused me to DNF. I decided that, as I will soon be approaching early middle age and need to protect my body, I would go back to walking. I walked the virtual London Marathon in October 2020 in just under five hours and set my sights on longer distances. I heard about the Centurion distance and set that as my goal for 2021.
I had completed two 50-mile walks before the Centurion attempt, so I certainly had no right to expect to be able to walk 100 miles in 24 hours. But I was willing to give it a try.
You need to average about 9:00 mins/km for 24 hours to complete the walk, and my “I think I can do this all day” pace is 13:20 mins/mile (8:20 mins/km) so that’s what I decided to aim for. I went through 25 miles at 8:08 mins/km pace and felt great. Stiff, but no pain.
I had planned to crew for myself, and had a table full of goodies. Shardean was crewing for Chris and was at the next table. She very generously offered to crew for me too. She was great. I’d make a request at the end of a lap “a pack of energy chews and a bottle of water, please”, and she’d hand them to me at the end of the next lap. This was really helpful… especially at night when rummaging around looking for particular foods or drink would have slowed me down.
The race also had a group of volunteers handing out assorted provisions. The beef bouillon was excellent!
The sun set at about 7pm. There was some lighting in the park… a few spots were a little dark but after already walking 50 laps I could find my way without needing to use my headlamp.
Chris’s 50-mile split was 10:41:05, Jeff’s was 10:59:25, and mine was 11:17:42. On pace for success. At some point between 50 and 55 miles, I was at my most optimistic. I can do this! But it was at about the same time that Erin asked me “Do you know you’re leaning to the left?” I hadn’t noticed. “What should I do about that?”, I asked her. I forget the exact reply, but it was something like “Stop it!”
It started to rain at about midnight. Just a light drizzle to begin with, but then the rain got heavier… fortunately just as I was walking past my table so I could grab a rain jacket.
My lean worsened. At one point, I even inadvertently drifted off the edge of the path, into the grass. I lost my normal breathing rhythm (“In two three Out two three” became “In two Out two”) and I began to slow down. After 12 hours of walking ahead of schedule, I now only needed to average about 9:30 mins/lap, but my lap times gradually increased. By lap 96 I was walking too slowly to finish at my current speed. My 100th lap took 10:30. Today was not the day I would become a Centurion. I passed through 100km in about 14:20:00 and toyed with the idea of slowing down but continuing (my main, naïve, pre-race objective was to keep going for 24 hours). But a slow lap, leaning sideways, is no more fun than a regular lap, leaning sideways, so I stopped after 101 laps.

Lap (km) Times
That’s when I realized how dedicated the volunteers and crew are. It was 2:30am and I decided to stay to support Chris and Jeff. It was cold. It was wet. It was dark. I was tired. And nothing much happened. Every few minutes, Chris or Jeff would walk past. Time passed very, very slowly! My initial enthusiasm to stay soon disappeared. I had an 8-hour drive back home on Monday, and I decided to head back to my hotel to get some sleep. I waited a few hours, gradually putting on every single piece of spare clothing I had with me, until it was light and I could find all my possessions to put them in the car.

Jeff Bill Tolbert Weaver
I wish I had been able to stay to congratulate Jeff Bill Tolbert Weaver as he became US Centurion #95 in a time of 22:54:21, and Chris Burn as he became US Centurion #96 in a time of 23:09:36.
After a few hours’ sleep back at our hotels, most of us met up at a local Pizzeria for an evening meal with awards. Everyone was there except for Jeff. We swapped stories and laughed at how slowly we shuffled across the restaurant.
I would like to thank three people, none of whom I’ve ever met, for inspiring me to train for, and then attempt, this Centurion race. After my first 50-mile walk in December last year, I reached out to Rob Robertson (USA) and Richard McChesney (NZ, based in the UK). Both are multiple Centurions, and they gave me useful advice, Richard in particular as race day approached. And the third person is Tim Erickson, editor of this Australian Centurion Newsletter. The newsletter convinced me that (relatively) normal people can become a Centurion. Thanks, Rob, Richard and Tim!
And big thanks are due to Erin and Dave Talcott for organizing a great event. I enjoyed every minute of it. (Well, that’s how I remember it four weeks later.) I was disappointed to hear that Erin and Dave have moved to Colorado, at altitude, so are unlikely to organize a similar event again soon. That’s a pity. They were so dedicated. Dave, for example, swept leaves and tree debris off the course as dusk approached and Erin was full of great advice and encouragement.
So do I intend to try again? You bet. I’m not sure when. Perhaps at F.A.N.S in Minnesota next year. Perhaps at the UK Centurion event in Middlesbrough in August. (I’m from the UK originally and still have family there.) I’ve got some ideas on what I need to focus on to improve, and I know that the Centurion community will be full of supportive advice.

******************************************************************
2021 F.A.N.S. 24 hour. Lake Snelling, Minnesota. August 28 – 29th.

It was good to have another Centurion Qualifier after the COVID stricken year 2020. The following report and photos courtesy of Betty Greene ( wife of United States Centurion C70 John Greene.

*********************************************************************

2019  Six Days in the Dome – The Redux  Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  August 25-31.

It would not be normal to have a Centurion qualifier on the first 24 hours of a six day race. Two months ago walking World and National record holder Yolanda Holder made contact with me. She wanted me to sanction and judge a Centurion attempt in the dome. I checked my itinerary.  Notified Yolanda that yes the United States Centurion Walkers would sanction and judge the race. Yolanda informed me that other walkers were also interested.

I showed up at the Dome a couple of hours before the noon start. There were two Centurion members racing. C34 Mario Escobedo. C48 Ivo Majetic. Also signed up we’re Yolanda Holder, Anthony Culpepper and Bob Davidson. Bob had walked 93 miles at a Centurion qualifier in 1985. Today Bob was training a new knee.

The dome had two full size ice rinks. Room also for a giant ice oval around the rinks. A three lane 443.45 meter track around the oval. All of this under roof. All of this 55 degrees and low humidity. Great conditions for a walk. Cold for a judge. I layered up. Some of the greatest runners and record holders from all around the world were racing. Quite the joy to judge at such an event. It was obvious from the start that Mario and Bob had the six day event in mind. Ivo, Yolanda and Anthony were going for the hundred miles in 24 hours. At twelve hours all three were well over 50 miles. Ivo with almost 60 miles. Anthony with over 58. Yolanda with over 54 miles. For Anthony the second half of the race was just like the first half. Strong steady and smooth. What a great long distance walker. For work Anthony hikes up and down the thin air trails of the Rocky Mountains. It showed in his performance. For Ivo he did not find the food palatable. This caused a negative chain reaction. Ivo has so much walking history he just gutted out his one hundred miles. For Yolanda the second half proved to be both a physical and mental test. She was eating into her mileage advantage from the first half. In this kind Centurion attempt it is a wild roller coaster ride. One hour your going to make it. The next hour you don’t think you can make it. You have to be very mentally strong and have a deep desire to finish this kind of Centurion race. Three different people with three different Centurion races. I am pleased to report that for all three the race was a success. So pleased I committed to this race in Milwaukee. It was so interesting to watch, a real nail biter that I almost forgot I had not sleep in 28 hours and almost froze to death.

Anthony Culpepper  NEW Centurion C93   22:11:56
Ivo Majetic   Centurion C48   22:57:01
Yolanda Holder  NEW Centurion C94  23:51:32

Under the Dome = The Pettit Ice Center.

Yolanda Holder and Ivo Majetic.

Anthony Culpepper

Mario Escobedo

New Centurions Yolanda Holder and Anthony Culpepper.

Five United States Centurions. Left to Right. C94 Yolanda Holder, C93 Anthony Culpepper, C78 Rob Robertson (judge), C48 Ivo Majetic,, C34 Mario Escobedo.

  Enlarge

*********************************************************************

The 2019 Centurion Qualifier. F.A.N.S. 24 Hour. Lake Normandale, Minnesota June 1-2nd.

As a result of spring flooding the United States Centurion qualifier at FANS was moved to Lake Normandale in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Only ten miles from the traditional site. Paved completely around the lake. There were several hills on the 1.82 mile loop. The kind of hills that look like mountains late in the race. 18 walkers signed up for the 24 hour including four U.S. Centurions. John Greene C70, Joe Roche C74, Rob Robertson C78, David Holmen C91. Rob returned as apprentice judge to Chief Judge Bruce Leasure. David ran with the runners. Other known walkers were Gertrude Achterberg. Gertrude returned to FANS from The Netherlands, looking to complete her collection of six World Centurion Badges. Experienced long distance walkers Paul Terbrack, Ray Sharp, Karen Kramer. Canadian long distance runner Scott Burton switching to walking this year. Retired FANS race directors Paul & Pat Sackett. Long time distance walker with a new knee this year Dave Daubert. Long time race participant Gene DeFronzo. Judy Altman, Kate Rinke, Kendra Martin, Mike Price and Robert Schnetzler rounding out the list.

The race started at 8am sharp. Early Ray Sharp put on a race walk clinic. Gertrude Achterberg not far behind. By the twelve hour mark only Ray, Gertrude and Paul Terbrack were over 50 miles. Joe Roche and Karen Kramer needing a small negative split for success. The hills
and hot afternoon started to take a toll. Paul met his goal of 100k under 14.5 hours. At 20 hours only Gertrude had a chance at Centurion. Sadly it was not meant to be this year. No New United States Centurions.

I was apprentice judge this year to Bruce Leasure. I have done very little training since my Centurion in New Zealand October 2018. I did not breakdown, I just needed a little break. By judging I got to see the Centurion race from a different perspective. I always thought while
competing in Centurion races that we all looked smooth, strong and sexy. The ballet of long distance walking. It does not look that way. It looks HARD. Very hard. An all out effort with no guarantee of success till almost the very end. Gertrude needed just less than 8 miles with
two hours to go. Four laps at 30 minutes per lap. Her last complete lap was 34 minutes. When you have given everything you have in a 34 minute lap. Four more at 30 minutes each is the Mount Everest summit attempt of Centurion races. I offered to pace her to the end. We started out but after several hundred yards Gertrude tapped me on the shoulder. She was done. It was all I could do to not cry. I felt that sting in New Zealand 2017. Been in those shoes. Centurion races are tough. Physically and mentally. My hat is off to anyone who sets a goal that high. Congratulations Centurions around the world. Train well all of you Centurion hopefuls. The Centurion is a Great race. A Worthy Goal!

Rob Robertson  United States Centurion (keeper)

Photos by Betty Greene

                                            Gertrude Achterberg

Karen Kramer and U.S. Centurion Joe Roche

  U.S. Centurion John Greene

Ray making a mountain look like a hill.

***********************************************

2018 United States Centurion Qualifier.  F.A.N.S. 24 Hour. Lake Snelling, Minnesota  June 2-3rd.

The 2018 United States Centurion Qualifier was a success. F.A.N.S. 24 hour is a great race to hitch the Centurion qualifier to.  A Very well supported race for the walkers and the running event. Thanks to our Judge Bruce Leasure for both judging the race and setting up a tent for the use of the Centurion hopefuls. This years weather was perfect. Temps ranging from low 70’s to 50 degrees. Overcast almost all day Saturday. Some rain but nothing like was forecast. The wind did not pickup till very early Sunday morning. The backside of the course is a packed dirt trail. The week of the race the trail was groomed. That left the dirt loose and brought up many rocks. Lucky for all the racers, many feet and a little rain packed down the dirt. This years Centurion race had a nice international flare. Entered was Andrew Titley from the Isle of Man. A hotbed of Centurion walkers. From the Netherlands were Marco Bloemerts, Gertrude Achterberg and Arie Kandelaars. Between these four Centurions they have a combined 13 Centurion badges from around the World. Two U.S. Centurions were in the race. C70 John Greene and C78 Rob Robertson. There were three more Americans signed up. Paul Terbrack and Radek Lopusnik. Both gentlemen have surpassed 80 miles at previous Centurion qualifiers. Rounding out the list was American David Holmen. David has vast experience at running races beyond 100 miles. This would be his first attempt at walking 100 miles. A strong field of walkers.
The first six hours saw Andrew lap everyone on the 2.14 mile loop around the lake. Everyone else on the same loop and in good shape. By the halfway mark, Andrew was still a lap up on the other walkers. At the 20 hour mark five walkers were still on pace to pass 100 miles. The last two hours saw Rob overtake David for second place only for both to be overtaken by Marco one lap later. The real excitement came with Arie. Arie stayed with Gertrude giving her encouragement through stomach issues. Gertrude later retired leaving Arie just enough time to finish. A great Centurion walk this year on what Is considered a very tough course. Placement:

Andrew Titley 100 Miles 22:27:32 Total 106.8 Miles. New course record. NEW U.S. Centurion C89
Marco Bloemerts 100 Miles 23:26:11 Total 102.4 Miles. NEW U.S. Centurion C90
Rob Robertson 100 Miles 23:29:40 Total 101.9 Miles. U.S. Centurion C78
David Holmen 100 Miles 23:39:33 Total 101.0 Miles. NEW U.S. Centurion C91
Arie Kandelaars 100 Miles 23:52:14 NEW U.S. Centurion C92
Radek Lopusnik 81.0 Miles
Gertrude Achterberg 76.5 Miles
Paul Terbrack 76.5 Miles
Robert Schnetzler 62.5 Miles
John Greene U.S. Centurion C70 61.5 Miles
David Daubert 55.5 Miles
Bruce Leasure (Judge) 35.9 Miles
Christie Calin 31.6 Miles

  Enlarge     Photos by Betty Greene.

     Arie Kandelaars & Gertrude Achterberg

John Greene & David Holmen.   (Judge) Bruce Leasure going the other direction.  By walking against the flow Bruce gets to see ALL the walkers many times during the race. You just never know where you will walk up on Bruce. It is because of Bruce we have the Centurion walk each year.

    Radek Lopusnik

Race report by NEW United States Centurion David Holmen.

On June 2-3, I walked the FANS 24 Hour Race in Minneapolis.  I’ve done FANS ten times before.  I did the 24 hour race seven times, the 12 hour race twice, and the 6 hour race once.  On all of those occasions, I ran.  This was the first time I registered as a walker.

The FANS races have always had walking divisions.  Over the years, the races have become more and more competitive.  With the addition of a USATF race-walking judge, it became possible for walkers to earn a Centurion Racewalker badge by walking 100 miles within the 24 hour time limit.  Sometimes competitive walkers travel from other countries to attempt 100 miles at FANS.

When I ran the FANS 24 Hour Race in 1998, it was my first ultramarathon.  I immediately fell in love with the race.  Last summer, John Greene – who often crews for me – reminded me that this year would be the 20th anniversary of that race.  At the time, I was still recovering from back surgery, so I couldn’t do any running.  I was intrigued by the idea of walking FANS, but only if I thought I had a realistic chance of walking 100 miles.  John has walked this race several times, and I’ve also crewed for him.  I followed his progress as he kept setting new course records for walking, until he eventually reached 100 miles.  I knew it wasn’t an easy thing to do.

Last August, I walked a marathon in 5:21:57.  That was just eight weeks after surgery.  I told myself, “If I could make that much progress in just eight weeks, imagine what I could do if I kept at it for 10 more months.”  That’s when I decided that walking 100 miles at FANS was feasible.

I knew I could walk fast for distances up to a marathon, but maintaining a brisk pace for 24 hours is another story.  To reach 100 miles in 24 hours, I needed to maintain an average pace of 14:24 per mile.  That may sound easy, but it includes the time I take for eating, drinking, bathroom stops, required weigh-ins, and clothing changes.  Realistically, I probably needed to be able to walk at a 13:30 pace and have it feel effortless, even after several hours.

I didn’t have any experience training for an event like this, but it seemed like the most important thing was to do as much walking as possible.  I wanted to get really comfortable at a pace that was about a minute per mile faster than the pace I needed to sustain at FANS.  I was already averaging 10 miles per day.  From there, I ramped up my mileage by roughly 10 percent each month.

In 1999, Danny Ripka ran 136.01 miles at FANS.  At the time, that was a course record.  Danny said his training included “20 a day for May.”  That seemed like an insane number of miles to be running, but walking is much easier on your body.  When I was doing 10 miles a day, I never felt sore, stiff or tired.  Every morning, I woke up feeling fresh as a daisy.  20 miles a day seemed feasible.  At the rate I was ramping up, I had just enough time to get there by May.

That’s it.  My entire training plan was based on a whim.  I wanted to do “20 a day for May,” just like Danny.  It took me nine months to gradually ramp up to that level, but I did it.

Physically, 20 miles a day was manageable, but I no longer felt fresh as a daisy.  I was starting to accumulate some minor aches and pains.  Psychologically, it was much tougher.  I usually split up my mileage into three workouts.  Including the time to get ready for each workout and the time to cool down and shower afterwards, it seemed like all I did was train.  From breakfast to dinner, seven days a week, I didn’t have time for much else.

I did most of my training at paces ranging from 12 to 13 minutes per mile.  I tried to never get any slower than 14.  In races, I could push myself much faster.  Over the course of the last year, I walked 11 marathons, a 10K, a 5K, and a mile.  By the end of April, I was able to average 10:40 per mile for a marathon.

My longest walk was the Darkside 8 Hour Race, which was three weeks before FANS.  In that race, I averaged 12:31 per mile on a 90 degree sunny day.  On the plus side, I never got any slower than 13 minutes per mile.  On the negative side, I was completely spent after eight hours. I knew I had to pace myself more conservatively at FANS.

The FANS course is a 2.14 mile loop around Snelling Lake in Fort Snelling State Park.  The park is in the Minnesota River valley, just below historic Fort Snelling.

The park is close to the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.  It’s so close that part of the course goes directly underneath the towers that hold the runway lights.

About half of the loop is paved.  The other half is dirt trail.

Near the main aid station, there’s an area where the participants can set up tents and have all their gear handy.

Even though this was a local race, I had a packing list that took two pages.  It’s like packing for a camping trip.  In addition to multiple pairs of running shoes, spare running clothes and rain gear, I needed a tent, folding chairs, a card table, bug spray, sunblock, Aquaphor, electrolyte pills, headlamp, flashlights, and a whole assortment of stuff that I might or might not need.  For a race like this, I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.  To save time on race day, I had most of my gear loaded into the car on Friday.

Late Friday afternoon, I went to the Waite House in Minneapolis for packet pickup and the pre-race dinner.  While I was there, I was able to meet some of the other walkers.

I wasn’t the only one aiming to walk 100 miles in this race.  There were six experienced Centurions registered.  They included Marco Bloemerts, Arie Kandelaars, and Gertrude Achterberg from the Netherlands, Andrew Titley from the Isle of Man, Rob Robertson from Oklahoma, and John Greene from Minnesota.  Marco, Arie, Gertrude, and Andrew each had Centurion badges from other countries and were here to get a US Centurion badge.  Rob got his first Centurion badge at FANS three years ago.  He has since earned badges in other countries, but came back to earn a second US Centurion badge at FANS.  John was registered, but wasn’t trying for another Centurion badge.  He was crewing for me, but was also planning to walk at least 51 miles.  John and I are each working on eventually getting into the FANS 1,000 mile club.

The race didn’t start until 8:00, but I got up at 4:00, so I could eat an early breakfast, get to the park early, unload the car, and set up our tent.  We had a new tent this year.  A week before the race, we practiced putting it up in our back yard.  It goes up quickly.  Taking it down is a bit more involved, but that was a problem for after the race.

After setting up the tent, changing shoes, and shedding my warm-up clothes, I went over to the medical tent to check in and get weighed.  During the race, everyone had to weigh in every four hours.  By monitoring our weight, the medical staff could tell if we were hydrating properly.

FANS used to be held on the last weekend of June.  It was always hot and humid, and in any given year, there was about a 50 percent chance of a thunderstorm.  Several years ago, they moved the race to the first weekend of June.  On average, the temperatures have been more comfortable, but it’s still possible to get a hot day.  Thunderstorms, unfortunately, are still something you have to plan for.

In the weeks leading up to this race, we had unseasonably hot weather.  On Memorial Day, it got up to 100 degrees.  I had been worried about hot, humid conditions, but race day brought a completely different set of concerns.  The forecast high was only 65 degrees, with rain and thunderstorms in the forecast for the entire day.   A little light rain on a hot day might feel good, but it wasn’t hot, and too much rain can make the trail muddy.  Thunderstorms make everything more complicated.

I was hoping to wear the same clothes for the whole race, but had spare clothes, including a light jacket and a rain poncho.  Ideally, I also wanted to do the whole race in the same pair of shoes, but I brought two spare pairs.  I also brought extra pairs of socks.  I was worried about getting gravel in my shoes, so I wore gaiters.

Before the race started, I made a point of meeting my lap counter for the first shift.  Laps are all counted manually by volunteers.  It’s good to know who your lap counter is, so you can make sure they see you as you finish each lap.

Before the first full lap, we did an out-and-back that was about 1.7 miles.  The purpose of the out-and-back was to align the 100 mile mark with the end of a lap.  100 miles has always been a common goal for 24-hour runners.  In recent years, it has also been a common goal for walkers.

I wanted to start the race at a pace somewhere between 13:00 and 13:30 per mile.  That corresponds roughly with lap times between 28 and 29 minutes.

I did the out-and-back in 22 minutes, which corresponds to a pace of 13 minutes per mile.  My first few full laps were about 27:45.  That’s a little faster than I planned to start, but not outrageous.  I eventually settled into lap times that were averaging 28 minutes.

There were two aid stations per lap.  Each time I reached an aid station, I had something to drink.  About once an hour, I also had something to eat.  Over the course of the race, I ate cookies, candy, tea breads, cake and PBJs.  I tended to go for sugary snacks that I could eat quickly.

John walked with me for the first four laps.  Then he took a break while I walked my next two laps.  He repeated this pattern for the first half of the race.  Later, John switched to walking two laps and then resting during my next two.

Most of the walkers who were going for Centurion badges started at about the same pace.  In the early laps, I could see Marco, Arie, and Gertrude just ahead of me.  Andrew was going faster, and quickly got too far ahead for me to see him.  Rob lined up behind us, so I didn’t see him, but I assume he was never far behind me.

To keep from going out too fast, I made a point of staying behind Arie and Gertrude, who were walking together.

In this picture of Marco, you can see Bruce Leasure wearing the blue jacket.  Bruce was the USATF race-walk judge.  He walked the course in the opposite direction, so he could see the walkers as many times as possible.

About two hours into the race, I noticed a few rain drops.  Then it stopped.  After a few false starts, it turned into a steady light rain.  I wasn’t sure if it was just a passing shower, so I kept wearing the same clothes.  After about an hour, the rain stopped.

The rain actually seemed to improve the trail conditions.  Before the race, the dirt was somewhat loose.  The rain, in combination with people running and walking on it, helped pack down the dirt.  After that, the trail was fairly firm.

There were loose rocks on the trail.  I found them to be incredibly uncomfortable for walking.  When I stepped on a rock, it sometimes made my shoe roll in an unusual way.  Within four hours, I already had painful blisters on the heels of both feet.  Heel blisters are a common problem when I walk, but usually only when it’s hot or I’m going fast.  It was worrisome that I was feeling so much blister pain so early in the race.  I still had 20 hours to go.  At this point, I was pessimistic about being able to cope with blister pain that I assumed would only get worse.

At noon, we had our first required weigh-in.  My weight was up half a pound.  It could have simply been the weight of my wet shoes, but I was making frequent bathroom stops, so I concluded I was drinking too much.  I cut back temporarily to only drinking at the main aid station and skipping the one on the opposite side of the loop.

Eventually, I realized that cutting my fluid intake meant I was also cutting my sugar intake.  I was counting on getting most of my calories from Gatorade.  Instead of eating snacks once per hour, I started eating them every lap.

In the early afternoon, we had another rain shower.  This one also lasted about an hour.  Puddles started forming on the road.  The trail was dry enough before the race that it was able to absorb most of the water, but a few muddy spots formed.

I was still stopping to pee every two or three laps.  I told John I would alternate between 28 and 29 minutes laps, depending on whether they included bathroom stops.  I didn’t stick to that.  At some point, Arie and Gertrude stopped at the main aid station, and I inadvertently got ahead of them.  With nobody holding me back, I started to get overzealous in my pacing.  On my non-bathroom laps, I sometimes went faster to make up the lost time.

At 4 PM, we had our second weigh-in.  My weight was back to where it started, even though my shoes were still wet.  I was able to go up to five laps between bathroom stops, so I went back to drinking at every aid station.  Eventually, I found myself making more frequent bathroom stops again, but I waited for the next weigh-in before making any more adjustments.

John heard that a thunderstorm was coming.  I felt a few drops, but then it stopped.  Then the sun came out.  The thunderstorm passed north of us.  That was a relief.  I don’t think the trail could have absorbed any more water.

Between 4 and 8 PM, my lap times started to drift.  I slowed to 29 minutes.  Some laps took almost 30 minutes.  I found myself suddenly needing to work much harder to walk the same pace.  I also realized that I was no longer noticing the blister pain.  I had two possible theories for that.  The first is that I was subconsciously altering my stride to avoid making contact with my heels, particularly on the trail section of the course.  A shorter stride would make me work harder to go the same pace.  My second theory was that I was pushing harder to maintain my pace, so I was generating more endorphins.  Endorphins are natural pain killers.

I was getting the sense that I was putting in too much effort to maintain my pace.  I didn’t think this effort would be sustainable for the rest of the race.  I wanted to relax and allow myself to slow down a little, but I was afraid.  What if endorphins were suppressing the blister pain?  If I relaxed, I risked turning off the endorphin spigot.  That in turn, could turn on the pain spigot.  I wasn’t willing to risk that.  Instead, I risked blowing up badly in the second half by going too fast.  I was more worried about intense blister pain making it difficult for me to continue through the night.  I continued to push the pace on every lap.

I was 40 miles into the race when it occurred to me that I had already set a new PR for longest distance walked.  I couldn’t be satisfied with that.  I couldn’t settle for anything less than 100.

At least twice during the race, pizza was delivered.  After my 21st lap, I had a small slice of pizza.

I wanted to do 53 miles in the first 12 hours.  I ended up doing 53.75.  That gave me a nice cushion, but I was concerned about how much effort I was putting into each lap.

At the 8 PM weigh-in, my weight was up a pound and a half.  I went back to only drinking at the main aid station.  I was reluctant to cut back any more than that.  My body was sending me mixed signals.  On one hand, I was back to making bathroom stops every other lap.  On the other hand, I felt thirsty.

Objectively, it seemed obvious that I was overhydrating, but it was hard to see how that was happening.  Whenever I drank, I looked for the cup that was least full.  I seldom drank more than four ounces at a time.  That added up to only eight ounces per hour.  When I peed, it seemed like I was passing much more fluid than I was drinking.  Where was it coming from?

In the second half of the race, I had to start setting intermediate milestones.  When I passed 57 miles, I could tell myself I walked my age in miles.  I’ve run my age several times, but this was the first time I walked my age.  The next intermediate milestone was 100K.

By now, I was starting to feel slightly out of breath whenever I ate solid food.  Chewing took too much energy.  The fatigue was taking a toll on me.

At 9 PM, I put on my headlamp.  The race volunteers had already set up lamps along most of the course, but they didn’t illuminate the entire course.  On the trail, you really need a headlamp, but the lamps were still useful.  They gave me perspective.  I could see when the trail started bending to the left or right.  That gave me a good feel for where I was.

One of the traditions at FANS is that the lap counters ring a cowbell whenever someone reaches a milestone like 50 miles or 100K.  After my 23rd lap, I got my 50 mile cowbell.  I was looking forward to hearing the cowbell again when I reached 100K, but they forgot to ring it.  I was momentarily disappointed, but I didn’t let it bother me.

The trail section had a number of uneven spots, where the soil was bumpy.  At night, I didn’t always see them, so I often scuffed my foot over one.  That was uncomfortable, and it also caused me to waste energy.

With the trail section getting more tiring, I worked harder and harder to compensate.  I took things one lap at a time.  In each lap, I worked as hard as I could to maintain the pace on the trail section.  The road section was much easier.  There I worked hard to pick up my pace to compensate for slowing down on the trail section.  I knew my effort was unsustainable, but I was trying to keep my lap times under 30 minutes for as long as I could.

At some point, I could no longer keep my lap times below 30 minutes.  That’s OK.  John calculated that I only needed to average 33:20 per lap the rest of the way.  If I could do a lap in 30:20, I was putting three more minutes in the bank.

For the rest of the race, my pace gradually deteriorated, but the pace I needed to average was also getting slower.  By the time I slowed to 31 minutes, I only needed to average 34:10.  By the time I slowed to 32 minutes, I only needed to average 35.  That trend continued and eventually accelerated as there were fewer and fewer laps.

At midnight, my weight was unchanged, so I continued to drink at only the main aid station.  I cut back to only eating snacks every other lap.  I was taking too long to finish eating snacks, and it caused me to start each lap at a slow pace.

During the night, I really hated walking on the trail.  It helped that John was with me on half of my laps.  John wondered if he was slowing me down.  I was slowing down, but it wasn’t John’s fault.  I was running out of gas.

I loved walking on the paved part of the course.  If I could do the whole race on smooth pavement, I could easily keep up the pace.  It was the uneven trail surface that was wearing me down.

When I only had 12 laps to go, I could tell myself that it was less than a marathon to go, and I still had seven hours to do it.  That should have made it seem manageable, but it didn’t.  Instead, I just counted down the laps.  Twelve laps didn’t seem like that many, but I was now putting a heroic effort into each one.  I had been doing that for several hours already.  I didn’t seem like I should be able to keep doing that, but I walked every lap as if it were my last.  I’m not sure how I kept up that effort.  I’ve never pushed myself so hard in a race.

At the final weigh-in, my weight was up another pound.  I was clearly overhydrating, but I didn’t want to stop drinking entirely.  I was getting the majority of my calories from the Gatorade, and I needed that fuel.

I was relieved when the sun came up.  Finally, I could see all parts of the trail clearly.  I was able to do a better job of avoiding the various bumps and slick spots.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t avoid all the rocks.  They were all over the trail.

After sunrise, the wind really picked up.  The temperature had dropped into the low 50s, and the wind made it feel like 40s.  I had to put on a light jacket for my last three laps.

With three laps to go, I had to make a bathroom stop – the long kind.  I lost a few minutes, but more importantly my legs were stiff when I resumed walking.  Despite the stop, that was a 36 minute lap.  At this point, I only needed to average 39.

I never saw Rob, but he was just behind me when I made that last bathroom stop.  While I was in the bathroom, he passed me.

Andrew was the first walker to reach 100 miles, getting there in 22:27:32.  On his final lap, he wore the flag of the Isle of Man.  He went on to complete 106.8 miles.  That’s a new course record for a walker.

I pressed on through one more lap on my own, and then John joined me for the last two.  On those two laps, I only needed to average 44 minutes per lap.  I managed 34.  As I finished my 46th lap, I reached the 100 mile mark and got to hear the cowbell again.  I got there in 23:39:33.

In the last hour of the race, we can switch to a quarter mile out-and-back course.  Three of the other walkers had already reached 100 miles and were adding on as much additional mileage as they could.  Arie was still working on getting to 100 miles.  He made it with less than 10 minutes to spare.

I was still trying to walk fast, but I couldn’t do it anymore.  Despite my best efforts, a 15 minute mile was the best I could manage.  I ended up doing four quarter mile laps, bringing my total to 101 miles.  I probably had time to do one more lap, but I wasn’t paying close enough attention to my pace, and I didn’t want to start another lap if I might not have time to finish it.

After the race, my blister pain came back with a vengeance.  When I was working hard, I generated enough endorphins to suppress the pain.  Now, I could barely walk.  Soreness in my calf muscles also made it difficult to walk.  I needed to make another bathroom stop, but it was difficult to walk to the bathroom.

The wind was cold, so I needed to get something on my legs.  With John’s help, I managed to pull on a pair of wind pants over my shoes.  I knew if I took the shoes off I would never get them on again.

After everyone packed up their tents, we had a post-race breakfast on a patio near the start/finish area.  That was followed by an awards ceremony.  In addition to awards for the top finishers and various directors’ awards, they give sweatshirts to anyone who completes 100 miles in 24 hours.  This year, 12 people reached 100 miles.  Five of them were walkers.

Throughout the breakfast and awards, I felt borderline sick.  I wasn’t nauseous, but I felt like I was somehow off.  I’m sure my body chemistry was messed up.  I also found it increasingly difficult to move.  Now, every muscle in my legs was sore.  In addition, I had sore muscles in my arms, shoulders and upper back.  My vigorous arm swing stressed my upper body as much as the brisk walking stressed my legs.

This was the 12th time I’ve covered at least 100 miles in a race, and it was the eighth time I’ve done it in 24 hours.  It was only the first time I did it walking the whole way.

I was one of four walkers to earn their first US Centurion badge.  Based on our order of finish, I became the 91st US Centurion.

When the other walkers learned that I’ve also run this race, they asked me which was more difficult.  There’s no question that walking 100 miles in 24 hours is much more difficult than running 100 miles.  This is by far the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life.  There were times during the race when I didn’t think I could continue all night.  There were times when I wanted to quit.  There were times when I wanted to slow down and just walk at a casual pace for the rest of the race.  I knew if I did that I wouldn’t get to 100 miles.

I started training for this race last August.  In recent months, I spent so much time training that I didn’t have time for anything else.  There were other races I wanted to do, but I skipped them if I thought they would disrupt my training.  I was all in on getting my Centurion badge.  It’s common to fail on the first try, but I didn’t want to spend another year training for a second try.  I also didn’t want to endure this much pain and fatigue again.

Knowing that I like to travel to other countries to race, John and Rob each asked me if I would start doing Centurion races in other countries.  I admire the other walkers who have done that, but I think I’m one and done.

Race Statistics

Distance:  101 miles

Time:  24 hours

Average Pace:  14:15

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  354

Lifetime 100s:  12

Lifetime FANS Miles:  933.5

Race report by New Centurion Arie Kandelaars from The Netherlands

2/3 June 2018 – US Centurion
Fort Snelling State Park, Minneapolis, USA

-Arie Kandelaars-

After traveling to Australia with Gertrude Achterberg and Adrie Ros in April
to become Australian Centurion, which has not been successful for
Gertrude and me, Gertrude and I have now traveled to the United States
to make a new attempt to make something out of this this year
regarding the collection of Centurion titles.

Wednesday morning, May 30
We left early from Schiphol on the same day around 14:00 to arrive at our
Minneapolis hotel. That afternoon we are still here been exploring in the city
and See that they rent out bikes here, you in many places in the city again
parking and then can take it again to continue your journey. The seems nice to
us the next day day trip along the Mississippi, what to do in national parks and
finally finish on the course that in the Fort Snelling State Park is all around, you
will not believe it, Snelling Lake! The first round that should be about 6.2
kilometers and then 45 more rounds are taken from a small one 3.5 kilometers
so that in total on the 160,934 kilometers to come out 100 English miles. It looks
like a lot, but the advantage is that you have 24 hours can do.

Thursday 31 May
We are at breakfast pretty early to leave on time for us cycling day. We have
the day before already some route maps picked up at the local tourist office
and go on the road. The is beautiful weather, sunny and such 28 degrees. A
number of parks and hours further, we arrive at the historical Fort Snelling, so
we have to go in now be near the course where we the Centurion are going to
run. Just the same maps consulted and then direction Lake Snelling. We cycle
around the lake and at some point we come on a path of broken rubble, that
too is still very detached from structure. Despite that the bikes have wide tires,
it is difficult to be able to cycle decently on this surface. The It strikes me that
Gertrude and I have nothing against say each other and after good 1.5
kilometers, for so long is this path, look we meet each other. I say to Gertrude:
“I hope we are wrong, but me think this is our track “. We hope not, but
unfortunately for us this is really a part of it the course.

Friday, June 1st
We decided to have one today take a rest day and do nothing. We are looking
for a city park in the near our hotel and stay there just about the whole day by
the pool that there is. We were invited later that day to dine at the organization
and to pick up our stuff, such as the starting number. We are the last days
already revealed that the American population is very helpful, so me consultation
with Gertrude to try whether someone from the organization can come pick up at
our hotel so that we can do not need a taxi every other day then to the Snelling
Lake. I address the man sitting next to me and ask if it is possible for us to pick for
the Centurion and back bring afterwards. He does say one to know and point us
to a solution Danny, sure. Danny loves women, he says and as Gertrude good hair
is doing well, that’s going to be all right. I say to Gertrude: “Just go to Danny,
looking a little lascivious and some wink and then it will be okay, hup to work !!
“At the end of the day we arranged transportation both back and forth, thanks
Gertrude !! Another participant is going provide us with chairs, a tent and a big
cooler. What a great one people, those Americans.

Saturday, June 2
At half past six we are at our hotel Danny waiting, who arrives later to take us to
Snelling Lake bring. The weather forecast for today are great in terms of temper-
ature, up to 19 degrees and cloudy, however, there are also rain and thunder-
storms expected and that is slightly less. In retrospect, it turns out to be perfect
again are: temperature between 14 and 19 degrees, an hour or 3 rain, which
alone but it was good for that terrible thing path I mentioned earlier, more firmly
of structure, helped by about 170 participants out there walk over it. If we do not
get that Centurion title now, it can only be our own. Gertrude and I start at 8 am
good courage and decide the whole Centurion to stay together to each other
where necessary about difficult moments to help. This does not seem like
superfluous luxury because Gertrude has suffer from her left foot and that is also
thicker with respect to her right foot, especially the clove next to her big toe. And
I’m still not fully recovered from my injury my right hip, making Australia had
become a deception. It will be a bit “the lame helps the crippled” shall we say.
We decided not too hard of it start going in the hope of the ailments not to burden
extra and the pace to last longer. This tactic seems to work well, after 40 kilometers
we have a time of 5 hours and 28 minutes, which is an average of over 7.3 km / h.
We are well on schedule and try to continue like that. After 65 We clock an interval
between us from 9 hours and 2 minutes. Our average has dropped to 7.2 km / h, no
reason for adjustments, it concerns me is still fine. Gertrude complains nowhere
about it, but I see that she’s on it unpaved part of the course very forced running
and that they suffer has her foot. Halfway the clock silent at 11 o’clock and 21
minutes, an average of 7.1 km / h. The circumstances are perfect and we say to each
other that we are going to win this title. For the second half we still more than 12.5
hours, which comes down to an average of 6.4 km / h, must can still for one little
trained hiker.

Between 80 and the 100 kilometers goes it’s a lot harder. Especially Gertrude get it
now harder, she has besides suffering from her foot, now also burden of sleep. On
the 100 kilometer point is us average has since dropped to 6.9 km / h. We should
not continue like that otherwise it will not work. I try to keep Gertrude awake and
grab her by the hand to her where need to be able to send something. We stop just
for a cup of coffee in the hope they wake up well is becoming. The result is that after
120 kilometers at 17 hours and 45 minutes and our average has dropped to over
6.7 km / h. Every Centurion runner know that this is the limit and that we do nothing
More to admit to our average speed. Gertrude indicates that she really does not want
to continue because of her foot and she feels also ill. She says, “Go ahead, you
have enough energy left to do it to pick up, go for it, shoot up !! “First I do not want
to and say: “We are going together pick up, lazy thunder, go through “, but she
really is not possible anymore and as Gertrude again insist that for my own chance,
I walk on. After 140 kilometer I have my average weather raised to 6.8 km / h. Which
gives the citizen courage, but I also start now suffer from sleep. It will I do not happen
to be in it visibility of the finish does not have enough time left. At 145 kilometers is
my average dropped to more than 6.7 km / h.,worthless last 5 kilometers !! The must
be really faster, otherwise I will have time shortage. I now have music on my head
to get in a good flow. The number comes at the right moment from Eminem “Lose
Yourself”. The number starts with the next one text: Look, if you had one shot, one
opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted One moment Would you like to
capture it or just let it slip? I am angry and say to myself: “You will not let this
opportunity lie Candlesticks, COME UP !!! “I really get there again speed up and walk
10 kilometers over 7 km / h on average, what the me space that I need. If I have the
final round of 3.5 kilometers in go, I have more than 42 minutes. I decides to quietly
take the last round walk and finally come across the meet in 23:52:14. I made it, this
one I have dragged away from the gates of hell. The number of Eminem ends with the
text: You can do anything you set your mind to, man It seems to apply to me today,
in the head it was good, the legs were good and at the right timea little Eminem, then
you come there !! Gertrude is up to me at the tent wait and congratulate me on
obtaining from the US Centurion C92. I can not yet happy because the goal we
had not been met, we went to do it together and that is not succeeded. Now it
in the meantime a number days ago is and me back in the Netherlands, is there
anyway a satisfied feeling in me with it obtaining the US Centurion C92. We also have
a price got for the couple with the greatest distance traveled, together 177 miles, and
one for those who like it have traveled to participate to the match. Those Americans
also give a prize everywhere !! Gertrude and I now both have 4 Centurion titles to pack.
The goal for us will continue to get them all. Which means that for Gertrude Australia
and America, and for me Australia and Netherlands, still on the wish list stand. Gertrude
will be going next April and I again to Australia, on repetition, hopefully with a better
outcome than this year. When Gertrude to America I do not know yet. For me, I would
love to be next year in Weert at my own club OLAT to round the circle and the sixth and
last Centurion title. The journey takes a little longer than before planned but he
continues, on to all Centurion titles !!

**************************************************************************