Team Iron Andy Takes 1st Place!

Team Iron Andy (Jason and I) competed in the 24hrs of Boulder race this past weekend. We worked as a two-man team in the 12hr division. Being an ultrarunner, I thought this would be easy for us...especially considering the rest breaks! Well it wasn't.

The race started at 9am and ended at 9pm. That provided 12 hours for which to accumulate as much mileage as possible. Each lap was about 7.1 miles. We decided to run laps, one after another. Each lap, we estimated, would take just under an hour. That would give us an hour of 'recovery' before having to run again. Well, having never done that before, we ran at a much higher pace from the beginning of the event. Averaging 7:30/mi becomes increasingly difficult when you pretend that your 'recovered' and attempt to do it over and over again. Gradually, our pace slipped. The running became just as painful as any ultramarathon.

Fortunately, no other relay teams were within

reach of our accumulated mileage. We were able to run more miles than every other 2-man team and also a few 5-man relay teams as well. Team Iron Andy takes 1st place!

Ken Forest, a close friend, provided crew support throughout the day. Ken was awesome and became more of a crutch as the hours and miles began taking their toll on our bodies. We spent much of the day trying to recruit him for full-time crew support at Run the Coast. When the clock ran out, we had run 78.5 miles as a team.

It was our first chance to compete publicly as 'Team Iron Andy'. Everything we do, including races such as this, are meant to prepare us for Run the Coast next year. We proudly wore our new Team Iron Andy uniforms. We hope you will become involved or support our efforts. It is with great pride that we share our adventures. We are proud to be supporting those with diabetes by asking for donations, on our behalf, to the Iron Andy Foundation.

See you on the trail!

-Jerry

For more information, visit Iron Andy Foundation