Dartmouth teacher Ray Williams says he has always been goal oriented.
But even he admits this time he went way over the top.
Williams was one of the finishers last month in a grueling 100-mile running race in Vermont, a race that he says was an adventure of a lifetime.
Not only did the 55-year-old athlete finish the race in under the required time of 30 hours - he was 53rd out of a field of 154 who finished - but his time of 23 hours and four minutes gave him the honour of receiving the coveted buckle.
"Everyone who completes the race in under 24 hours receives a belt buckle along with their medal," said Williams. "Two weeks have gone by since Vermont and the only injuries I have are two pretty messed up toenails."
To train for an event like a 100 miler is like no other event the experienced runner has ever completed. It took one year of physical and mental preparation, said Williams, and a lot of belief in yourself.
And in order to qualify for the Vermont 100 mile endurance race he had to have a run a 50 miler in the previous 12 months.
That 50 miler, run last August in West Virginia was tough enough, said Williams, and enough of a tease to whet his appetite to keep his goal in sight.
He also helped pace his running buddy Dave Nevitt at Vermont last year, so he said he knew what he was getting into.
His training leading up to the race included three workouts a week. One involved a two hour plus treadmill run/walk with the incline set at maxium, to simulate the mountains he would have to conquer. The second was a three to four hour jog around town and the third was his weekly run with his group, Fast Company Running Club.
"And on race day, at four in the morning, I was standing there looking around at everyone and thinking to myself that traditionally one third of this group would not finish," he said. "I knew I would finish, I had the training and the great crew of Cathy and Dave to help me. And when I started out with this idea I thought well, if I am going to do this I might as well go big and run it very well, or at least faster than Dave Nevitt had run it the year before."
Over mountains four times as bad as Maple Street, scorching 35 degree heat and trails with dangerous holes and roots that you could trip over, Williams said he kept plodding along, all the while thinking of his under 24 hour goal.
During the race which is the only endurance race where people riding horses are racing alongside you, Williams met up with and chatted with some pretty amazing people he said. But he couldn't have handled the heat, exhaustion and painful toes if it weren't for the encouragement of his friends Cathy and Dave Nevitt who came along to support him, he said.
There were 29 aid stations along the way, some manned and some not. But he was able to eat noodles, energy replacement drinks, watermelon, bars, Cola, electrolyte drinks and lots of water.
"And to ward off the heat I took handfuls of ice at the aid stations and put it in my hat," he said. "That kept me cooled down for at least 30 minutes at a time."
At specified aid stations the runners were weighed and anything over a 6 per cent weight loss the runner would be warned and observed carefully before they could continue. A weight loss of 7 per cent or more and the runner would be disqualified. Williams said he felt strong for most of the race.
But at mile 92 he started to become unglued.
"I had a pretty good pace going for most of the race. Because of my training I was okay at getting up those mountains, but at 92 miles things started to fall apart," he said.
And that is when his friends really helped to make the difference.
"Dave told me that I could walk the rest of the way and I would still come in under 24 hours," said Williams. " So that is what I did, a kind of run/walk till the finish line."
Finishing was amazing said Williams, but all he wanted to do then was to rest. He went back to the hotel, slept a solid six hours, didn't eat much and woke up for the award ceremonies.
"Would I do it again, yes I think I would," he said. "And would I encourage others to do it as well, the answer is yes. If any runner prepares for this race they can do it."
Williams has a tool that he uses when he teaches his students at NSCC. He has them envision themselves walking across the stage and receiving their diplomas. Some of his students, who are returning to school to get their GED are faced with incredible challenges. But he encourages them to remember that vision when the going gets tough.
"So that is what I did during the Vermont race," he said. "I kept thinking about finishing and seeing myself cross that line. I went through severe times but I kept on going. Mission Accomplished."
joanneoostveen@accesswave.ca
