Shavi's craziest endeavor - the 50-miler endurance run (AR50: American River 50-miles)

Finally the day arrived and it was such a proud moment for both of us! Shavi finished the 50-mile run in high elevations in 10:33 hours. Even though "they" say that sleeping well 2 days prior to the race is very important, none of us could sleep properly due to anxiety. We were both up at 2:45am that day for all preparations. I had 4 bags and ice chest ready for him since I had to meet him at most of the accesible points during his run (0 miles at Start point, 3 miles at Guy West bridge, 8 miles at William Pond Park, 23 miles at Negro bar, 26.5 miles at Beals Point, 31 miles at Granite Bay, 41 miles at Rattlesnake bar and then 50 miles at the Finish line at Auburn Dam Overlook). The bags contained everything one could imagine including food, first-aid, extra set of clothes, shoes etc.

Going back 2 days from the race. It was Thursday evening and I reached home from office. At the door, I saw a familiar face and I thought I was hallucinating. It was Anu, my sweety sister who had come all the way from Virginia to surprise us for Shavi's AR50. Shavi had the same reaction when he reached home and saw her standing there to welcome him at the door:) Thanks to her for being a part of Shavi's proud moment and for all her help during the race that eased my stress.

The race day was Saturday - April 7, 2012. The last longest run that Shavi had run before this was 31-miles (Way To Cool) in March. He had gone through a very tough endurance training to get to this point. It was a rough day weather-wise, very sunny and of course hot. The highest temperature was more than 75 deg F. This made it worse for Shavi at around 25 miles but he kept going.

The runners were allowed to have 3 separate pacers. The pacer pick-up points were at miles 26.5, 31 and 41. The last 9 miles were purely elevation and very difficult. Shavi had two wonderful pacers, Leslie, who paced him for the first two legs of almost 15 miles and Paul who paced him for the last leg.

The signs we made for Shavi read:
- Only runners have balls, all others just play with them. Go Sacfit Ultra! Proud of you, Shavi!
- Beer, Nap and We are waiting! Finish strong Shavi. You are our Superstar!

Anu and I were waiting for Shavi at the finish line. We were anxious after Shavi had been feeling tight shoulder muscles and had needed a shoulder/neck run at all the points we saw him, after mile 31. He was really hot and needed lot of ice and water to ease the heat generated by his body. It was not just hard, but beyond hard. Good thing is that he was sane enough to realize that he needed to slow down his pace towards the end when it was a hilly terrain. The time was not as important as was finishing the run.

I had never been so happy to see Shavi as I was when I saw him emerging from the trails, amidst the cheering crowd, approaching towards the finish line. It was a sigh of relief for both Anu and me. I defintely have to appreciate the wonderful support to Shavi by our Sacfit running crew and all the others who were there cheering him. For me, it was simply a proud, unforgettable moment!

By completing the 50-mile run in under 11 hours, Shavi qualified for Western States 100 (100-mile run along the western state trails). Nope, he is not doing it at present but it is an honor to be qualified for it.

Looking at the results site, it is amazing to see that the first person to finish the race did it in 5:55 hours. Crazy! There were many people in the age group 60-67 who ran the race and finished great. What a special proud moment must have been for them! I could only see their happy, teary eyes at the finish line. 250 people out of the 900 people running could not finish the race. Congratulations to all those who finished and for those who did not, there is always a next time! Keep up the hopes:)

Here is the link to his Garmin graph: Garmin

Some tips:
- Eating "real" food and energy food to fuel your body at regular intervals is very important during such long runs. The aid stations and my sandwiches did a good job at this ;-)
- Beware - it could be really hot as it was this time. Ice pads for cooling and lots of water at aid stations to be poured over you can ease the heat being generated by the body.
- Changing shoes,clothes, hat during the run at meeting points for regular roads vs elevated trails is a good idea.
- Since those are trails, be ready to face Poison Oak/Ivy. There is always Calamine to fix it. Carry sanitizers and alcoholic wipes for injuries.
- Carrying a chair for the runner when he/she changes shoes etc.
- Having the right pacers who can keep you engaged while running is important.
- Have your aide carry an extra pair of mp3 player, GPS.
- KT tape Pro is great to relieve knee, shoulder, back pain etc. Remember to get KT Pro and not the regular one since the regular one doesnt stick for long.
- Use lot of Glide to prevent chaffing.
- During the race, never do anything new: clothes/shoe wise and food wise
- Fill up on carbs 2 nights before and eat light the night before. Relaxing for the entire last 2 days before the race is healthy.