Why we created the Run for Kids Challenge

Ruth Vanzandt, Run for Kids Competitor in the 12 Hour Race sent me this picture of her Grand Nephew last week and I asked permission to post it.  Here is her answer.

"Please do use the picture of Auston.  It was taken at the Relay for Life held here in Arab last weekend.  His name is Auston Cagle and you can surely put I am his great aunt and PROUD  of it!!  He and his family are actually going to Camp SAM this weekend!"

Thank you Ruth for sharing the picture of Auston and his friend Justice.  This will inspire us all.



























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The Run for Kids Challenge – A Run of Love

This is the article I submitted to Ultrarunning Magazine.  Maybe they will use some of it.  The first of the article is about the same as the last post so if it sounds familiar, just skip that part.

In 2007 I rode in the Ride of Love, a fundraiser for Camp Smile-A-Mile, Alabama's camp for kids with cancer. The 150 mile ride ends at Children's Harbor (the location of Camp SAM) on Lake Martin, in central Alabama. Sixty riders rode as a group, escorted by two Tuscaloosa motorcycles Policemen. The ride took 12 very long hours. That is a long time to sit on a bicycle seat. The ride was tough, but nothing compared to arriving at the camp. Seeing all those kids in the midst of a battle for their lives, realizing the suffering they and their families have been through made us realize just how insignificant our inconsequential and momentary discomfort had been. I could not help but look around and know a few of theses kids would not be back next year. That was what hurt.

In 2011 I started the Run for Kids Challenge here in Birmingham, Alabama as a fundraiser for Camp SAM. The run was small but we raised about $4,000 for the camp. For 2012 we changed the date and location to Oak Mountain State Park and apparently everyone liked the change. We sold out the run with105 total runners and 71 in the 12 Hour and 50K. The 50-K runners circled this “long” (3.4 mile) course nine times, then ran a “short” 0.7 mile final loop. The 12 hour runners ran the same “long” loop and could use the short loop during the final hour.

We promoted our race as the perfect beginner ultra. The course is a on a beginner mountain bike trail with gently rolling hills and beautiful views of Double Oak Lake. The trails are very runnable, even in road shoes.  Most runners complete the long loop in less than an hour so runners are never very far from the aid station and their drop bags or coolers. Our aid station was very well stocked with a variety of bean, turkey breast and cheese & hummus roll-ups. (I read the article in the April issue of Ultrarunner) In addition, we had boiled eggs and the usual cookies, oranges, bananas, M&Ms, PBJ sandwiches, chips and so on.

At the start, the temperature was 65 deg. and mist had settled over the lake giving the park a surreal appearance. After the start, the fog burned off and, as the sky cleared, the temperature rose quickly, eventually reaching 88 by mid afternoon. Most of the run is shaded by trees with the only a couple of long exposed stretches, across the beach area and the 400 yard section across the dam. And, of course, the Alabama humidity was about average at 99.999%. At least that is what it felt like.

We had a great field of runners in both the 12 Hour and 50K races. In the 50K, the 2011 overall winner, Rebecca Massie of Robertsdale, Alabama returned to defend her title. Lisa Ievers from Auburn gave Rebecca a real run for the money. Rebecca stayed within seconds of Roy Wells, the overall race leader, for two laps before dropping back a little. Lisa was within one minute of Rebecca at the end of the first lap but slowly dropped back to about 10 minutes behind. By the end of the final 3.4 mile lap, Lisa had closed back up to within 4 minutes but Rebecca maintained her pace and held on to win by just over 4 minutes in 4:50:30. Lisa finished with a time of 4:54:40 for second. Tiffany Greene of Brandon, MS finished third.

On the men's side, Roy Wells of Brentwood, TN, national account manager for Swiftwick and former pitcher for the Seattle Mariner's, totally dominated the men's race start to finish. For a while it appeared Rebecca would stay with him but his pace was just too much. Roy finished in 4:43:20 for first place overall. Scott Weisberg finished second and 4th overall, with a time of 5:42:50. Matthew Farrar from Fort Rucker, Alabama came in third . Thirty three of the forty four starters finished the 50K.

The 12 Hour race had some pretty dramatic moments. John Brower of Jackson, Mississippi lead the first lap by about 3 1/2 minutes over Wayne Phillips of Jacksonville, Alabama and Josh Merry from Dawsonville, Georgia. John held the lead until mile 24 when Wayne took over and Josh pulled into second. At the end of lap 11 (37.4 miles) Wayne had what appeared to be a commanding 21 minute lead. On lap 12 Josh began to close, cutting Wayne's lead to 11 minutes. Wayne held on to the lead until lap 16 (54.2 miles) where he decided he had had enough and stopped. Josh continued for two laps on the “short loop” for a total of 55.76 miles to take the win. Wayne finished second and Isaac Espy of Norhtport, Alabama ran a steady race all day and finished 50.81 miles to take third.

The women's race was really close. Seven competitors were within striking distance of the lead in the early laps. By lap four Mary Valdez of Crestview, Florida had pulled well ahead of the rest of the field. By lap 6, Kellie Smirnoff of Jacksonville Beach Florida had taken over the lead and by lap 10 (34 miles) had Kelly had pulled ahead of the second place woman, Molly Freeman of Atlanta by 21 minutes. As the runners came through to finish lap14, Molly had taken over the lead and the next 4 women were within 15 minutes of each other and three of the four only 3 minutes apart.

Molly stopped at that point at 47.42 miles, leaving Kelly, Mary, Helen Summerford of Ridgeland Mississippi and Beverly Brower (wife of John Brower, early leader of the men's 12 hour) to fight it out for the top four places. Kelly completed one more long lap for a total of 50.81 miles and still in the lead but decided to stop. Helen, Beverly and Mary shifted to the short loop and continued battling for the the top spot. After three short laps all three women were within three minutes of each other. Mary Valdez stopped after the third short lap at 53.1 miles total. Helen and Beverly took off for one more lap. When they came within sight of the finish on the fourth loop both women were running almost side by side. The finish line was the scoring table (actually a trash can next to the table) and Helen edged out Beverly by three feet. Both women had covered 53.85 miles, but it was not over yet. Beverly, not wanting to give up, took off on another lap with just 6 minutes, 58 seconds to go. She had run the previous lap in 6 minutes so it was going to be close. As the clock ticked down to 12 hours Beverly was not yet in sight and missed the cutoff by just 90 seconds. A pretty amazing finish after 12 hours of running.

David Tosch

RD Run for Kids Challenge

A Run of Love - The 2012 Run for Kids Challenge

In 2007 I rode in the Ride of Love, a fundraiser for Camp Smile-A-Mile, Alabama's camp for kids with cancer.  The 150 mile ride ends at Children's Harbor (the location of Camp SAM) on Lake Martin, in central Alabama.  Sixty riders rode as a group, escorted by two Tuscaloosa Policemen on motorcycles.  The ride took 12 very long hours.  That is a long time to sit on a bicycle seat.  The ride was tough, but nothing compared to arriving at the camp and seeing all those kids in the midst of a battle for their lives.  Then, when you consider our inconsequential discomfort compared to the suffering every one of these kids and their families have been through, and you know a few will not be there next year, that hurts.

I have not been able to do the ride again, (we raised over $98,000 in 2007, and in 2010 the ride raised $182,000) so I decided to do something else to help.  In 2011 we held the first Run for Kids Challenge.  The run was small, with 32 finishers in the 50K and 12 hours but we were able to raise over $4,000.  We had all the usual first year mistakes and miscalculations, not to mention 100 deg. heat on Memorial Day, but all-in-all the event was OK and everyone seemed to enjoy the run.  The run was held at Veteran's Park, a Hoover city park, and the use of the park cost over $800 and that was only for 4 hours and did not include a pavilion.  We decided to move the race.

For 2012, we selected Oak Mountain State Park, just south of Birmingham in Pelham, Alabama as the site for The Run for Kids .  This beautiful 10,000 acre park proved to be a huge hit with everyone.  The race was held on the new Lake Trail, built by BUMP (Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers) who maintain all the mountain bike trials at Oak Mountain.  The race started at the southwest end of Double Oak Lake, the swimming and canoeing lake, followed a rather circuitous route along the front of the lake, including crossing the beach area, before heading around the back side on a single track trail.  A few of the male runners mentioned they enjoying the scenery along the beach later in the day.  This picture was taken last fall, not race day.

Everyone love the course and the park.  There is lots to do in the park, especially for family member with kids.  The single track trail is in great shape and very runnable, and shady, except for the section that crosses the dam and a few sections along the front side of the lake.

We did a lot better this year, although we still made a few mistakes, like leaving the run numbers at my house Saturday Morning.  Will, my son, made a quick trip back to retrieve them and we did have to delayed the start about 15 minutes.  Mid afternoon, we ran out of boiled potatoes and my wife, Marye Jo, made another quick trip back home and boiled more potatoes and rushed them back to the race.  We had 105 total registered runners this year, with 71 entered in the 50K and 12 Hour races.  We had set a limit of 100 runners figuring that was about all we could handle this year, but we were not going to turn anyone away race day.  I think we had better find a few more volunteers before next year.

Next I will have the race report itself.  We did have a race, too!

Run for Kids Pictures and Results

I have posted the pictures I took during the race Saturday, on the Run for Kids website.  Here is a link to the pictures.  2012 Run for Kids Pictures.  I hoped to take a lot more, but!  Also, Suman Silwal has put together a very good video from the race.  It is on his website  mruns.com. Thank you Silwal for an outstanding job on the video and for sharing it with us.


I think these results are now correct.  Here is a link to the results page on the Run for Kids Challenge website.  PFD Results

I want to thank all our sponsoring restaurants that provided the gift certificates we raffled off Saturday.  If you live in Birmingham, please go by these establishments and thank them for their generous contribution to the race.  You might have dinner while you are there.  They are all really good and some of Marye Jo and my favorites.


Cantina Tortilla Grill,  Bistro V,  Carrabba's Italian Grill,  Brio Tuscan Grill, Edgar's Bakery,  Brava Rotisserie Grill,  Crazy Cajuns Boiling Pot & Nabeel's Cafe and Market.  


I listed Nabeel's last for two reasons.  First, Nabeel's not only donated two $50 gift certificates, the certificates came in a Nabeel's Cooler containing a bottle of Nabeel's Famous Salad Dressing and a Nabeel's T-Shirt. Second, Anthony Krontiras, Owner of Nabeel's, ran the 12 Hour Run. He was #33, wearing the fluorescent Green Gnome shirt.  Thank you so much Anthony and great job.  By the way, Nabeel's is located in Homewood, right across from Homewood Park.

And please don't forget Paul Champion.  He was the man passing out all that wonderful Sorbets and Ices from the truck beside the pavilion.  He also kept a team running in the 50K.  His store is located behind The Olive Branch in Cahaba Heights, on Cahaba Heights Rd. and across the street from the Vestavia Police and Fire Department.


Sometime in the afternoon Melissa Allphin, the representative from Camp SAM, did the honors and drew 5 winning names in the raffle.  Here are the results.
1.  Stan Mackin, Birmingham:  Nabeel's & Brio
2.  Dan Ripple, Birmingham:  Brio & Nabeel's
3.  Linda Scavarda, Toney, AL:  Bistro V & The Cantina
4.  Mohammad Givi, Birmingham:  Carrabba's, Brava & Crazy Cajuns
5.  Neal Gerhart, Montevallo, AL:  Edgar's, Carrabba's and Brava


Thanks to all of you for making the 2012 Run for Kids such a huge success.  We are already planning next years race.  We are determined to make it even better.  And, I promise to bring the run numbers to the race next year.  The date will be May 4, 2013 at  Oak Mountain State Park.  Go ahead and put it on your calendar right now.


David
 .

Preliminary Results - Run for Kids Challenge

What an incredible day with amazing performances from everyone.
Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for making this years run such a success.  It will be a while before I have time to determine how much we made for Camp Smile-A-Mile but as soon as I know, I will let you know.

The "preliminary" results are posted on Ultrasignup.com.  (Top Right corner of the page) There  are still several errors with the posted results and quite a few, mostly late registering runners are not in the results at all.  Check the "Splits" and "Results."  In some cases they are different.  Please let me know if your results are not correct.  I am aware of most of the problems but there may be some I do not know about.  Mark, at Ultrasignup is doing his best to get everything straightened out, hopefully, today.

I have been asked about the person taking all the pictures Saturday.  Here is a link to his website mruns.com.
As soon as possible I will add my pictures to the Run for Kids website.  I have about 200.

Fueling During a Long Race (50 to 100 miles)

In this section I often refer to "Long Races."  What I am talking about are races that will take at least 12 hours to complete.  For a runner like me, that is everything from a difficult 50 miler up to 100 miles.  This is an updated post from two years ago.  Substantially updated!

In an ultra, especially the longer ones, it is necessary to eat and drink all during the run.  This is a foreign concept to most road racers and for runners in general.  Just about everyone uses carb type gels these days in road races of all length, and if you are not, you should start.  They really work.  Most runners can tolerate them for a several hours and you probably can run a 50K eating nothing else.  Personally, I would not recommend it.  I can tell you from experience that after a while the thought of a GU will make you sick.  I suggest you start trying various other foods during your training runs.  As soon as you venture beyond a 50K your "mid-race" diet will change.

Aid stations in 50K races will typically have the following things:

    Water and energy drinks

    Peanut butter and  jelly sandwiches

    Candy

    Potato Chips and Pretzels

    Cooked potatoes and a bowl of salt to dip the potatoes in

    Cokes, Sprite, etc...

    Cookies and Crackers

    Bananas and other fruit

    Energy Gels

 Here is a list of things you will typically find at aid station in 50 to 100 mile races:   
    Water and energy drinks
    Sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, ham and cheese, etc (sometimes grilled)
    M&Ms, Gummy Bears, and other types of candy (hard and soft)
    Potato Chips and Pretzels

    Soup or Broth  (Usually over night in 100 mile races)

    Cooked Potatoes and a bowl of Salt to dip them in.

    Cokes, Sprite, etc.

    Several types of Cookies and Crackers.
    Energy gels

    Bananas and other fruit.

    Even Coffee  (Overnight)

    Several types of Burritos (chicken and bean, eggs and sausage or ham)
Some not-so-typical aid station foods found in 100 milers:
    Fried or boiled eggs
    Hummus roll-ups
    Chicken tamales
    Chili
    Bacon and ham and eggs with pancakes  (I would sit down to eat that)
    Some aid stations have grills ready to prepare what you want.


At the Tahoe Rim Trail 100, Diamond Hill aid station is located at mile 30 and 70 and they kept grills going all day and all night.  They were ready to make about any thing you wanted.

You will need to figure out what you like and what you are able to eat while running, so start practicing.  When I started training for the Pinhoti 100 in 2008, I would take an assortment of food in my car to Oak Mountain for all my long training runs.  After several hours of running, I would stop by my car to refill water bottles and try a few new snacks.  (It is important to try the new foods well into a long run, in my case it was usually 5 hours after I started with two or three hours to go.)  I also carried various snacks with me on the run.  Starting about three hours into the run I would start eating cookies, sandwiches and other "real" food.  Usually I just keep running or at least walking while I eat.  What I found out in training and in races is that I can eat anything that looks good to me at the time.  I have never really had a problem eating anything that looks good.  If it doesn't look good I just don't eat it.  (I have never tried a barbecue sandwich or a chili-dog, and furthermore, I will not at least until the race is over!)

One other word on stomach problems.  Sometime during every long race I have run, my stomach starts to feel a little queasy.  I have learned two tricks that settle your stomach in a hurry.  I always carry  Ginger Chews candy and eat one when I start to feel sick.  You eat one and a few minutes later you usually begin to feel better.  I do not know of any local stores that have  them, but Zombie Runner sells them and they are cheep.  I also carry Enlyten strips with me all the time on long races, especially 100 milers.  They do a really good job of settling you stomach and work quickly.  You just eat a couple of strips like candy and in a few minutes you feel fine.  I usually try ginger chews first and if they don't work the Enlyten strips will.

One very critical issue regarding food is what to eat, or more importantly, what NOT to eat the night before an ultra, especially long ultra.  Everyone that ever slipped on a pair of running shoes knows to eat carbs the night before a race and this is important.  Running ultras creates new issues, however.  Because you are running for many hours you do not want to have heavy, slow digesting food sitting in your gut.  Stay away from any type of ruffage.  A grilled chicken or salmon salad might be a great, healthy meal any other time, but don't eat it the night before an ultra.  Some people go as far as suggesting runners eat nothing more than soup or even a drink like "Ensure."  Just eat light and eat what can be easily digested.  It is also a good idea to eat early.  The day before the Rocky Raccoon 100 I ate dinner about 2:00 PM at Applebee's in Huntsville.  I ate a bowl of Chicken Tortilla Soup and a grilled chicken sandwich.  If I had eaten later I would not have eaten that much, but dinner was 16 hours before the 6:00AM start.  I drank a "Boost" before I went to bed, as I recall, about 8:00PM.  I got up about 3:00AM, made a cup of coffee, heated some water and ate a bowl of oatmeal and drank another Boost.  I also ate a small muffin I had purchased the day before.  I was ready.

In addition to figuring out what you like to eat during runs you will also need do experiment with various energy drinks.  I used HAMMER PERPETUEM up until mid 2011, and really liked the way it tasted.  Studies have shown that endurance athletes running for more than 4 or 5 hours need protein and carbohydrates.  Many of these mixes have a ration of 4 to 1, Carbs to Protein.  I have a problem with the protein while running and I know others that have the same stomach problems with Perpetuem.  They say it works great on the bike segment for an Ironman, but they simply cannot run with it.  Try some of the energy drink mixes available at running stores and bike shops while training.  Try Perpetuem too.  It might work for you.  


Most of these mixes have carbs and protein plus a lot of other supplements.  I now use Carbo Pro which is 100% Complex Carbs.  It has almost no taste at all and I can drink it for 27 straight hours with no problems.  (Well, at least at Rocky Raccoon) I eat enough other stuff, like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and other stuff at the aid stations to get the protein, I guess.  There are many brands and types of energy drinks to choose form.  Most are available in individual servings, so buy an assortment of brands and flavors and try them all.  Try the carbs and protein combinations and try straight "complex" carbs, too.  Experiment with different water/powder ratios.  I carry 10oz water bottles on a Nathan Speed 4R belt during long runs and races and mix the Carbo Pro at a ration of two scoops of powder to 10 oz of water.  At this ration one 10 oz bottle should last about one to one and a half hours.  In races, I add powder to all four bottles but only add water to one bottle at a time, (unless it is going to take a long time to get to the next aid station.)  As you approach the next aid station, pull out the next bottle containing powder and add water.  That way, you are not starting the race with 2.5 lbs of premixed liquid.

My eating and fueling rules:

  1. Experiment during training runs and know what you can eat.

  2. Eat a little at regular intervals along the run.

  3. Grab a sandwich, a banana, a cookie and maybe a cup of soup at the aid station.  Stick some in a pocket for later (soup is not recommended) and eat what you want or can while walking away from the aid station.  Continue walking while you eat.  That gives  you a break from running and gets you legs moving again after stopping a few minutes at the aid station.  It is easier to eat walking, so a little later when you hit an uphill segment, grab that cookie or banana out of you pocket and have another snack going up the hill.

  4. Always eat on the move.  Never sit down to eat.  Sit down to changing shoes and socks or while going through your drop bag.  (Take the time at "drop bag" aid stations to be sure you have pulled out what you will need to reach the next aid station with your drop bag.)  Once you have finished changing or gathering supplies, grab you food and head out.  There are exceptions.  Read my account of my stop at Winfield (50 mile turnaround) during the 2009 Leadville 100.

  5. Have your own supplies of things you like in a drop bag or cooler at the aid station. 
        (at the Run for Kids there is room for a cooler at the aid station.)

  6. Don't forget to eat and drink.  Don't Laugh, in 100 mile races you can forget who you are, where you are and what you are supposed to be doing.

Another Run for Kids Update

Amazingly, no one had donated $25 for a chance to win almost $500 worth of gift certificates from all those restaurants sponsoring the Run for Kids.  So, we are making a change.  We are going to make the gift certificate giveaway a Raffle.

We have almost $500 worth of $50 gift certificates to some great Birmingham restaurants.  They will be given away at the Run for Kids Challenge on May 5th.  We are selling raffle tickets for $5.00 each, for a chance to win $100 in gift certificates.

Anyone can purchase tickets, even non runners however you must be present at the race, at the time of the drawing to win. (That is, you must be in the vicinity of the Cedar Pavilion when we draw the winning names at about 9:30 or running on the course.)

We will draw four names from those that have purchased raffle tickets.   We will place the name of each restaurant on a slip of paper and put them in a box.   The four raffle winners will then draw two restaurant names out of a box and receive the gift certificates for the selected restaurants.

Raffle tickets may be purchased at Ultrasignup at registration or anytime.  Use this link to purchase tickets.
Buy raffle tickets at Ultrasignup.com.

Checks may also be mailed to:

Run for Kids Challenge,
   c/o David Tosch,
   4697 Bridgewater Rd,
   Birmingham, AL 35243.
Please do not mail cash.

Additional tickets may be purchased Friday afternoon May 4, at late registration and package pickup at Oak Mountain State Park, and Saturday morning right up until time for the drawing about 9:30 AM.