My Run-de-Vous 100-mile race

This was it - what seemed to be, and what possibly was, the biggest moment of my life yet. As I sat in the car, driving down to the inaugural Run-De-Vous 100-mile race, I thought about everything that had brought me to this moment. The first half marathon in the 8th grade, the first marathon in the 9th, 50K races right before I turned 15, a 50-miler in April, and that dreaded 70-miler in 24 hours only a month ago. I realized that I was about to take the biggest step in this journey and I was filled with excitement and anxiety.

The night before my erratic emotions had swung me, like a pendulum, from feeling so intimidated that I wanted to drop out, before the start, of the race to being so excited that I already wanted to set a future goal for 200 miles! Driving down to the race, however, I wasn't sure about what I wanted. The paralyzing sense of finality had consumed me and, had it not been for my parents' and coach's support on the ride there, I would have probably been stuck in that mindset for the whole race.

We arrived at Harvey Bear Ranch in San Martin, the location of the race, about 15 minutes before the start. It was pitch dark, and I noticed almost immediately that the stars were not visible - indicating the presence of clouds. That brought a smile to my face: if the clouds held up for long enough, the race might not reach the 88 degrees that some of the higher forecasts had predicted for race day. I quickly discovered that my cousins had created and mounted a poster that promoted my cause. The poster said "Nishad Singh – 100-mile fundraising run for the Crystal Springs Uplands School Scholarship Fund" and had the Crystal Springs Gryphon on it. Being reminded that this race would raise funds for my school's Scholarship Fund imbued me with newfound motivation.

I took a couple of puffs from my asthma inhaler and moved towards the Start line. With 5 minutes to go, my coach and race director, Rajeev Patel, gathered all the runners to the starting line. The Beatles' "In My Life" was played in remembrance of runner Rajeev Char's brother. Rajeev Char has been a very close friend to my family, and has provided incredible support to me throughout all of my running experiences. He finished his first 50-mile race at Run-De-Vous - congratulations!

                         (Race HQ. I went past it 49 times in the race!)

And with the end of the song, we were off. Philip Korolog, one of my best friends of ten years, started off with me. He had stayed over the previous night and helped calm my nerves before and at the beginning of the race. After tossing around a few old jokes and stories, I was able to relax and enjoy a steady pace. Coach Rajeev and I had decided that I should maintain 14-minute miles for the first 50 miles. This would allow me to run 22-minute miles for the second half of the race and still finish in time. Although those 14-minute miles seemed painfully slow at the start, I knew that it would pay off to save my legs from exerting substantial effort for as long as possible. After the first 3 laps, which passed by in an instant, Phillip, who hadn't slept the previous night, went to sleep in the car. 

Miles 6 - 18 were alone, and allowed me to really internalize my plan for the race. I went over the strategy a lot, kept checking the times, and really got a sense of what the pace should be. During these initial miles, I was able to meet with several other 100-milers. The runners couldn’t have been more supportive and excited for me. Alan Geraldi and Dan Marinsik both told me the same thing: “the whole race is in the second half.” While I believe they were attempting to help me relax and enjoy the first half, I could only internalize their input with a sense of foreboding: if the first 50 miles was supposed to be easy, what on earth would the second half feel like?  Gee! If someone had only told me that earlier I would have signed up only for the 50-mile race then! I had a quiet laugh at that thought.

Some of the things I have come to love about the sport of ultra running are the supportive runners and volunteers. There were 3 races going on simultaneously – a 50K, a 50M and a 100-mile race. It was wonderful to match steps with other runners for a few yards or miles. Tony Nguyen, the Endorphin Dude, spent a few laps with me and I enjoyed his encouragement and cheerful personality. I was amazed at finding out that Yolanda Holder was intending to walk the entire 100 miles. She went on to finish in just under 26 hours! Ed Ettinghausen ran the entire 100-mile distance dressed as a jester! So many personalities, so much talent. I was in awe of all these amazing athletes.

                                       (Ed Ettinghausen, the Jester!)

Over the next 10 or so miles, many of my friends began to arrive. Peter Buckley and Binh showed up as did the head of the Upper School and head of the whole school, Ms Tonn and Ms Richards, respectively. They both greeted me very warmly - it was so nice of them to be there!

It felt a bit surreal to have a few pictures taken with Ms. Tonn and Ms. Richards in the middle of a race!  A friend of my Mom also stopped by along with her 2 children. I later learned that her son was so inspired by me that he actually made a drawing of me running around a loop course for his class.

(With Ms. Tonn and Ms. Richards)

There was a time when I used to run with music. Here I was in one of the toughest things I was ever likely to do in my life and that too on a 2-mile loop that I had to go around 50 times. This is when I would have once believed that I would need music the most and here I was observing the play of sunlight on the distant hills or the way the other runners were running. It felt nice to be in the moment and to put my doubts on hold for a little while.

I love glass blowing and I have created some pieces that I am proud of. The concentration required to fashion a red hot, glowing ball of molten glass into something beautiful prevents one from thinking of other things. Standing on a stage and debating during a Model United Nations (MUN) conference is similar too. Likewise drumming, solo or as part of a band, allows not the thoughts to wander. I was trying my best, in those early hours, to be in the moment and to not worry about the coming miles. Que sera sera.

Around a marathon’s worth of miles into the race I felt my hamstrings start to tighten up. This was the first of many challenges I was to face in the race. I immediately began to worry about the problem and blow it out of proportion. My thoughts went something like this: “The last time my muscle tightness had set in this early (during the 70-miler) I was barely able to walk by the end of the run. If the same scenario presented itself, finishing the 100-miler not only seemed improbable, but maybe even impossible.” In that paranoid state, I realized other issues that I had been neglecting in the earlier miles. The most notable ones were that the soles of my feet were hurting, and my left calf “pinched” with each step. Having decided that I should fix these issues, I set aside 5 or so minutes to stretch my muscles.

To deal with the foot problem, I removed my socks to give my feet more room in the shoe. While I had never done this before, this solution had been advised by Coach Rajeev and seemed to make sense. After 1 lap, I discovered that the trick worked wonders. I did not put on socks for the rest of the race. Similarly, my regular stretching seemed to ward off any further deterioration of the state of my hamstrings.

It was the peak of the afternoon, between 2pm and 3pm, and the day was really starting to get hot. The sun was beating down since the clouds had cleared out. I put on a hat that covered my neck, put on an ice pack, and slogged along. For the second time, I felt low. My glutes and hamstrings, while admittedly not getting much worse, were not improving either, despite all of my stretching. I was very conscious of my running form, making sure that I was not favoring either foot or leg. Most significant, though was the fact that I felt like it was harder and harder to maintain what had earlier been a painfully slow pace of 14=minute miles.

Anil Rao uncle ran with me from mile 34 through mile 44. He saved the day: he pulled me through the hottest hours, helped me get to and maintain a steady running rhythm despite the heat, and pushed me to keep up the 14:00 pace. After observing my symptoms of low blood sugar, he advised that I take a whole Gu gel packet every lap (instead of half of one), and after 2 laps of this process I immediately noticed a change in my energy. After my physical condition improved, so did my outlook on the race. I realized that things were going well - I was on pace, my legs were not getting worse, and there had been no unexpected barriers as of yet. I owe it to him for keeping up my morale up during one of the larger         slumps in my race.

I was nearing the benchmark of 50 miles and the idea that the second half would be even harder than the first scared me. The pressure and anxiety started to weigh down on me a little and, by the time I reached mile 50, I felt both physically and mentally exhausted. I was satisfied that I was able to make it to this point without having any major setbacks, and decided to give myself some time before the second half. I took a 10-minute break at the camp, had some pizza, did some hamstring stretches, and got moving again. I had completed the first 50 miles in a little over 12 hours – a little bit behind on pace, but not enough to prevent me from finishing. For the next half, I would have to run between 20- and 21-minute miles to finish within 30 hours.

I ran the first loop, miles 50-52, at a conservative pace. Despite my slower speed, I was still feeling tired and sleepy. In my daze, I rolled my ankle 1.5 miles into the loop. After waiting a minute, I kept going and reached the camp, where I grabbed a Tylenol. The pain from the ankle subsided in a matter of minutes, and along with it came more energy. The next few miles, 52-56, were truly fun ones. Phillip was awake and on his scooter, Ahir had joined in for a lap, and Ryan was on the bike. We played word games, 20 questions, recalled concerts, and just had a good time.

However, I noticed that my ankle was starting to hurt more and more despite the fact that the Tylenol was still present in my body. By the end of mile 56, it was clear that something was wrong. I was unable to dorsiflex my ankle, and rotating it in any way caused much pain. After much consulting with coach Rajeev, I decided to try everything I could to see what would help. At this point I was not too worried. I suspected that a change in my form or running pattern would solve the issue. However, that notion was soon dispelled.

I covered the next lap without shoes, to no avail. I walked a whole lap with Tevas on, and nothing improved still. All this while, my pace was dramatically slowing down, and the pain was increasing. Worry clouds gathered in a dark mass around my head. I had trained for more than a year and a half for this race and the idea that an injury during the race would rob me of chance to cross the Finish line filled me with despair. I had reached a point where I was sure I wouldn't finish the race. Until about mile 70, I kept consoling myself that I'd have another go at it in November in the Javelina Jundred 100M in Arizona.

I suddenly remembered what my Mom and coach had counseled me about after my 24-hour run. They had asked to me plan, in advance, what I would do if a problem were to surface during the race. I immediately started to act on them: Calm down. Focus on the moment. Believe in yourself and your training. Ask for advice. Eat an extra gel.

At the end of the loop I put an ice bandana around my left foot, took off my Tevas so that the ice could be in contact with my foot. The ice helped a little bit, but I was forced to step in an inefficient way so as to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on my left ankle.

Looking back I realize that, counter to common advice, I was trying many new things, i.e. no socks, no shoes etc., during the race in order to deal with and conquer problems. Above all else, I had found myself surrendering to the advice of my coach. During my training he had usually been spot on with solutions to my problems and I knew that trusting him once more would ensure my finish.

The night section had just started, the moon was up, and things were starting to cool down. I had taken a beating from the sun, but now, being in a cooler environment would help me out. Colin arrived at mile 74, and brought a fresh new perspective to the race. Colin had been present for my 70-miler around the tracks and compared my experience then to what I was going through on race day. He pointed out that I was going much faster in the 100-miler, and my hamstrings weren’t nearly as tight. At mile 78, Seth arrived with some Ibuprofen. Within 20 minutes, the pain in my ankle had greatly decreased and it seemed like my right hamstring had started to repair itself because of Ibuprofen’s anti-inflammatory properties. My outlook had done a 180-degree turn. I was feeling better and better with every passing moment.

The rest of the night was the best part of the race. Nothing can describe the euphoria I was in; I began to appreciate the moon, the stars, and the exquisitely abrasive texture of the road beneath me. The psychedelic music coming from Colin's iPhone set a relaxed mood, and as the genre would change, so would the atmosphere around us. For the first time, running and walking with music did not seem to affect my cadence at all – it just seemed to enhance the moment. The miles seemed to zip by without any stopping or slowing. From miles 76 to 90, we were probably averaging a 19.5 minute per mile pace – one that was significantly faster than what I had been maintaining from mile 56 to 74.

With every step, I was putting more time in the “emergency reserve”, and some time in between miles 75 and 80, close to 11pm, I knew I would finish. My ankle pain had been much worse at mile 56, but because I had made it this far in spite of that, I doubted that would hold me back now. The relief I felt was almost unimaginable: all of the training and hard work would finally pay off in a finish – something I had questioned the possibility of until that moment. With all of my anxiety and pressure removed, I was really able to enjoy rest of the run. Jokes and riddles were thrown around, and I was able to relax and soak everything in.

It was a little after 6am by the time I reached 90 miles. The sun was up again, and I started to see again what was around me – the whole park instead of just the 2 feet of path in front of me, or the whole race instead of that one mile I was working on. All of a sudden, those last 10 miles looked to be the most tedious of my life. I felt as if I had already finished, having gone through the excitement of knowing I would do so much earlier, and that these next 10 miles would just be slow and painful. As soon as I got moving though, I proved myself wrong. While those last 10 miles were indeed slow, and did indeed cause a lot of pain, I somehow appreciated every step. With 4 miles to go, I met up with Alan Geraldi, who too had 4 miles to go. We smoothly took care of those last miles and finished together.

I was immediately swarmed by family and friends. My Dad was the first one to hug me followed by my Mom who remarked that I had beaten her 100-mile time! (Ha! Ha ha!!). Coach Rajeev was the last one to hug me and he, together with my parents, presented me with a jacket they had had specially embroidered for my finish.

(In my new jacket)

Among all the familiar faces of my friends and family there was an unknown one. He shook my hand and informed me that he had read the article about me in the San Jose Mercury News and had come down from Cupertino to watch me finish and to shared in, according to him, a historic and momentous event. I was totally blown away by his encouragement, kindness and generosity!

(With Mom, Dad and Malhar)

(With my school friends)

(With Mom under the Finish banner)

It’s strange that I found it to be so anti-climactic when it was so clearly the opposite for everyone around me. For me, the thrill and satisfaction of finishing had hit me during the night section, after I felt that I had really experienced a 100-miler. The number of steps I had left to actually complete the 100 miles only seemed like an arbitrary measure of distance that was, in my mind, trivial. Before the race, I had been occupied with an opposing notion. I felt that finishing the full100 miles was everything, and that 99 was just as good as 0. The most meaningful idea that the race imbued in me was that the value of the journey is much greater than the destination.

In those hours when I was at my lowest, despite having my friends and family around me, I was forced to dig very, very deeply into my soul and my well of motivation and determination. It was then that I realized that no amount of external words of encouragement or the cause I was running for were helping. I felt almost stripped to the elements of my being and all that mattered was that I fight both the despair I was experiencing and the mountain of miles I had yet left to climb. The only way to fight in those moments was to take the proverbial one step. It took a lot out of me and I feel proud today, not as much of the 100-mile distance I covered, of the fact that I reached deep within me for those few extra drops of courage.

I know that those moments will define my life going forward. No matter what the future throws at me I will remember those long minutes and hours during this race and I will take heart that I have the ability to face down any challenges Life chooses to throw at me.

Looking back I realize that even bigger than my finishing the race was the unanticipated gift of recognizing how deep my relationships are with my friends. I especially want to thank Binh Phan, Peter Buckley, Willy Hawkins, Simon Willig, Drew Willoughby, Colin Smith, Ryan Kaveh and Phillip Korolog. While I really desired the presence of my friends during the race the fact that they would have to travel long distances (some even took public transport) to get there did not sit too well with me. In retrospect I am glad that selfishness took precedence. Imagine my surprise when they thanked me, as much as I did them, for inviting them since they not only got to share in my adventure but also got to run distances they had never run before. My hats off to their athleticism and friendship!

My brother Malhar and my cousins, Antara and Meghana, paced me towards the end as did young Ahir in the night.

Many thanks to Mohan uncle, Vandi aunty, Anu and Paul Singh and all my Team Asha friends who came and paced me and supported me - Balu Vellanki, Shashidhar Dakuri, Chakri Gullipalli, Chandramouli Balasubramanian, Krishna Kumaraswamy. Maitreyi aunty came with her children as did Kran Guleria aunty.

Thanks to all the people from the Weekends group who came out to support me.

Postscript

David Haas, from the Mesothelioma Cance Alliance, commented on one of my earlier posts and we recently exchanged e-mails about his involvement with cancer research and fitness. He sent me the wonderful note shown below. I am grateful he chose my blog as one of the means to spread his message.

Fitness- The Bright Side of Illness

In our lifetime we will have to overcome intense stress and obstacles that require a great deal of willpower and strength. A lot of people have to deal with the unfortunate news and devastating effects of cancer, but hope is never lost. There are many new hobbies out there that can enrich our quality of life during times of distress, and fitness is a perfect example.

It's very probable that when patients begin certain types of chemo, such as mesothelioma treatments, doctors will encourage exercise and fitness to help patients cope physically and mentally with their disease. Immune systems will be lowered and the physical act of fitness will assist patients in continuing a healthy, happy, and active lifestyle.

While exercising, not only are you conditioning your muscles to be stronger, but you're releasing endorphins that have a positive impact on your emotions. Creating a regular fitness schedule for you to follow and overcome will brighten your days while strengthening your body. Fitness also helps in relieving stress very effectively.

During remission, it's scientifically proven that exercise and fitness will reduce risks of cancer returning. It's also proven that a frequent fitness routine will increase the length of your life as well. Doctors suggest patients include flexibility, aerobic, and resistance exercises in their fitness routine. These exercises will also decrease the risk of a stroke, heart attack, and diabetes.

Fitness can also be very fun when utilized in the right ways. Try out a variety of exercises that seem different or challenging. Adding friends to the mix will also increase the fun factor of exercising, and encourage you to continue your hard work. Exercise routines such as yoga can be very relaxing and jump start your day with a positive atmosphere, while other routines such as Zumba will give you a rush of energy and keep you having fun dancing. Hula hooping is also another unique and fun routine that can be done alone or with a friend. There are many choices for you to choose from in order to find what you enjoy most.

When creating a routine, make sure you go over all the details with your doctor. Be practical and consider your limitations, while choosing a routine that will be safely challenging for you. You may start off slow at first if you're not already an active person, but remember that everything good started from somewhere. You will notice how much healthier you feel as the days go by, and you'll come to realize it was all worth it. The positive side effects that impact your physical and mental health are priceless.

My 24-Hour Run

^{"I believe that if you set out on adventure and you are absolutely convinced you are going to be successful, why bother starting?" - Edmund Hillary.}

^{I finished my 24-hour run earlier today. It was quite a turbulent ride - maybe even more emotionally than physically. Although I finished 70 miles, 20 more than I have ever done, this run served to create anxiety about my 100 miler when I expected it to dispel any I had. That's not to say, however, that there aren't any positives, but the severity of some of my problems seem to overshadow my strengths.}

^{Before I begin, I'd like to acknowledge all of the people that showed up and paced me during the run. Thank you all so much for our support! The food you brought was great, your happy attitudes cheered me up, and you all made for a much more enjoyable run!}

A Great Start

^{I woke up at 5:30am, July 23rd,  with unlimited energy. I showered quickly, had a good breakfast, and rode over to the West Valley College tracks. We set up camp nearby the tracks, and I started running at 6:20. It was painfully slow - Between running and walking, I was maintaining a 15 minutes per mile pace.} 

^{The only thing restraining me from running faster was the knowledge that I still had a whole day and a whole night to go. One of the chief differences between endurance races and shorter ones is that one has to pace oneself in a very conservative manner.  It required some effort and patience to stick to a pace that seems very slow at the beginning. However, maintaining that slower pace always pays off towards the middle or end of the race or run.  All my long training runs and races longer than a marathon have prepared me to be able to keep both short term and long term goals in mind and not exhaust all my energy in the beginning.} 

^{More than anything, the idea of running for 24 hours excited me. I remembered the fun of having run with my Mom for part of the night of her 24-hour run two years ago. I ran 18 miles with her that night - a new distance record at the time. I have certainly come a long(er) way since then!! This observation brought a smile to my face.}

^{I did some calculations and figured that if I kept up this pace (15 minutes a mile), I would run a 25 hour 100! Another figure that came to mind was that I would have to cover at LEAST 80 miles by 24 hours in order to finish the 100 on time. (4/5 of the 100 miles is 80 miles, and 4/5 of the 30 hour time limit is hours). So that was my goal for today - 80 miles in 24 hours. Considering how good I felt at the end of the 50 a few months ago, when I was running a faster 13:47 pace, I figured that this was an achievable goal. I just had to remain under an 18:00 minutes per mile pace and I was golden.}

^{2 hours later, at 8:20am, Coach Rajeev showed up to run with me. We talked, shared some jokes, and the miles passed quickly. Around mile 13, a 16 year old sophomore, Keegan, showed up on the tracks. I had never met him before, but he had heard about my 24 hour run from one of my aunts and decided to pace me for a while. He is a really nice guy, and we hit it off immediately.  He was with me until he had to leave around mile 24. I am grateful to him and inspired by him to pay it forward and pace runners in the future.  Family kept popping in and out, supporting me along the way.}

                               (With my Coach and my Team Asha family)

                      (Coaches Rajeev Char, on the left, and Rajeev Patel)


A Problem Arises

^{My pace went up to around 14:00 by mile 25, but I started to develop a very slight tightness in my left hamstring. I decided to stretch it out a bit and get rid of the problem before anything got worse. Unfortunately, the problem kept popping up, but I thought little of it. Soon, the middle-of-the-day heat hit, and Coach Rajeev advised that I run 2 laps and walk 1 (instead of the run 3 laps walk 1 that I had been doing before). This worked fine for a mile or so, but soon after, the hamstring problem reappeared. At mile 28, I drained my legs and stretched for maybe 5-6 minutes. I got back on the track and found that the problem had only gotten worse, and even walking was painful.}

                                       (Feeling the heat)

              (Working out the tightness in my muscles. Things starting to go bad!)

^{This was how I had felt at the end of my 50 miler, so I was very worried. I took a break to eat and mull over things. I tried attributing my hamstring problem to the heat, to the fact that I was running on a track and not a trail, to the homogeneity of the trail, etc. But I felt that none of those could have been the single problem, and maybe not even all of them together. My self-doubt increased exponentially and had me convinced, in that moment, that  it boiled down to my incompetence and weak muscles; a result of my lack of training. This was the beginning of what I call the "Nishad you should have”, self-berating phase. I failed to recognize the classic symptoms of hitting the wall: fatigue and a drop in one's spirits. I got back on the track, and soon, the 2 run 1 walk system turned into a 1 run 1 walk, and then a full walk. My overall pace slowed down to 18 minutes a mile pace by the time I finished 40 miles - the bare minimum.}

                                   (What happened???? Feeling blue!)

^{I had reached the halfway checkpoint, 40 miles, at 12 hours, it was around 6:30 pm. While I was technically 'on pace', I had slowed down tremendously and couldn't seem to pick my pace back up. I took several breaks, stretched, changed shoes, and drained my legs. The pain was slowly increasing, and my outlook on my running ability was only getting worse. I wasn’t worried about the 24-hour run itself, but I was now worried about my hundred miler: I believed that this 24-hour run would be a direct reflection of my ability on race day.}   

^{I didn’t have any long training runs left until the race, and so I felt like I had no chance to fix the muscle problems I had. I remember wishing over and over that I had trained more before, worked specifically on my hamstrings in the gym, or had done anything to improve my possibilities of success on race day. Truth was, I had spent time in the gym and trained as much as I should have. But at that moment, the negative thoughts seemed like truth and served to demoralize me and question my excellent training.}

^{“Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed.”- Michael Pritchard}

^{I reached mile 46, four hours later, feeling thoroughly depressed. It was now dark and there was little light on the tracks. I had been going 1.5 miles per hour, or 40 minutes a mile pace. This was the slowest I had ever gone in my life. I tried running on the grass football field inside the track, but the long grass made me go even slower. By this time, I was 16 hours into the run. My coach, friends, and family were all being incredibly supportive and kind, but nothing seemed to lift me out. Finally, a thought struck me: I should try taking a painkiller.} 

                                       (Berating myself!)

 (Listening to my coaches and my Mom trying to get me out of my blue funk)

               ^{(Vitamin K to the rescue! Keegan and Krishna help boost my spirits)}

Things Start Looking Up


^{I remembered having seen runners at the Ohlone and Quicksilver 50k taking Ibuprofen at the aid stations. I had never even considered it – I had this strange notion that I didn't want to mess up my 'natural' finish. However, at this moment, I felt like I had no choice. I remember feeling ashamed of having to mask the pain, but I pushed the shame aside as I knew Tylenol was necessary for me to go on. After all, my muscles would get the benefit of doing more miles if I could move faster. I popped 500 milligrams of Tylenol, and within 10 minutes, my legs felt much better. Coach Rajeev and Coach Char (who had been running with me since early afternoon) talked to me and used some sound logic to get me out of my blue funk.  However, my brain still seemed to be stuck on the "should have" and "not good enough' track.}

^{My friend Colin showed up at mile 49 around 11pm. The combination of Colin and Tylenol changed my mindset on the day completely. Something about seeing him and his reassuring presence got me to have a turnaround.  My mind clung to a simple thought : “you’re fine- just get going”. I set on a new goal of 70 miles, and set out to do it.  We managed to maintain right under a 17:30 pace until mile 60, cracking jokes and having fun. I had a great time, and my perspective on the race gradually changed. I had already done 10 miles more than I had ever done before, and by the end, that number would increase to 20!} 

                                   (Starting to feel a little better)

^{Even though I wouldn't reach my goal of 80 in time, I was on pace to finish the 70. Colin has been a pillar of support throughout the long months of training.  He has showed up to run and pace me for some of my longest training runs. When unable to be physically present, he has called me during my races and given me additional strength.  Colin had apparently practiced staying awake the whole night, the week before, so that he would not fail me on this crucial training run!  He has taught me very valuable lessons on how to be a true friend and his generosity of spirit touches me.  He came around 11 pm and was with me until 6:20 am.  Thank you, Colin!!}

^{Right around 2:30 am the Tylenol wore off, and my legs started to feel the pain again. After much internal debate and advice from my Coach, I decided not to take another Tylenol. Facing the pain and finding alternate ways to cope is part of the training regime. I realized I too didn't want to mask the pain that I would inevitably go up against in the 100. Here was my chance to struggle against it so I’d know what to do during the 100.}

<sup>I was getting a little sleepy, so I took a 12 minute nap, got up, and had a caffeine pill. The next 10 miles were painful for sure, but were not nearly as bad as miles 40-50 during the day due to the proximity of the finish. My jokes got much worse, and Colin's were much less funny, but we still had a good time. The night passed by much quicker than the day, and around 5:30 the sun rose. It was a slow but assured ride to the finish, which arrived at 6:09. We dillydallied around the track for 11 minutes to finish the 24 hours, and packed up and headed home.

I took a shower, ate some food, and tried to sleep around 7:10.</sup>

                                  (The Incredible Colin and I after my Finish!)

So, what has this experience taught me?

^{I just woke up after that 40 minute nap. I think the caffeine pill kicked in towards the end of the run and is still in effect, making it hard to sleep. Looking back at the run, I'm not sure whether I am disappointed or not in my performance. I went much slower than I ever have, didn't reach my initial goal, and discovered a huge hamstring problem that will definitely come back during the 100 miler. At the same time, I did go much farther than I had before, found out that I didn't fatigue easily, and that with friends and Tylenol, I can have a great time. As far as training runs go, this one was the most valuable.  I now see what I’m in for and what my potential pit falls could be.}

^{One thing is for sure though: I am more worried about my 100 miler than I was before the run. The size of the task I have taken on hit me and it is daunting. Today, the 100 seems to be way bigger than I am.} 

^{I have such mixed feelings that I feel the need to organize my thoughts.  I'm going to break up the insights I have gained from the 24-hour run into two categories:}

^{Things that are on my side:}

^{* I ran more miles in my 24-hour run than my Mom and coach did in theirs, and they went on to finish their 100 milers.}

^{* Tylenol works! (Or it did once, at least).}

^{* I didn't feel tired, and I think I have a nutrition plan down: 1 Gu and 1 salt pill every so often, tons of water, and additional food where needed.}

^{* Having friends around really helps distract me from the physical pain that is inevitable in such long distance so. Hopefully, a few of them will come to the race.}

<sup>* I had faced the dreaded "wall" many times during the 24 hours but managed to get up and continue to move.
* I do not quit or give up easily and this is very reassuring. Even during my most emotionally difficult phase or hours of physical pain the thought of quitting never passed my mind.
* I discovered that stress and anxiety are more detrimental to me than physical pain (although, admittedly, there is often a cause and effect relationship between the two).  I can develop a way to face my fears and doubts as all of them are mere thoughts that I create.</sup>

<sup>* I am prepared for some setbacks, so they will not take me by surprise
* Seeing that I didn’t have any digestive problems (a lot of runners face these),  I now know that the foods I ate during the 24 hour run are safe for me to eat during the race.</sup>
 

^{Possible set-backs:}

^{* I do not have as many  miles in overall as my coach or mom did before their 100 milers. My coach had run something like four  50s, one 100k, and his 24-hour run!}

^{* My hamstring problem was very painful and served to hinder my speed.}

^{* Even though I only had to run for 24 hours (and not 30), I could not keep up the pace I would need to in order to finish the 100. I have to improve by 2.5 minutes per mile, AND go an extra 30 miles on race day.}

^{* The race will be on an asphalt path, not the soft track material. My legs are going to take a lot more impact, and therefore, my hamstring will very likely seize up much earlier.}

 ^{* The distance past 70 miles will all be new territory. This means I have to be much more self aware and know when to slow down or speed up. I have to maintain a balance between listening to my body and sticking to the plan. I may have to make several more adjustments after mile 70 and fatigue may interfere with sound judgment.}

^{* I do not have any more very long runs: this was my last real chance to improve and understand when my hamstring might act up.}

^{* I tend to over analyze the situation: I often will calculate pace, miles, time, etc when I get tired or bogged down.  It's funny but I begin to act like I am psychic and can predict the outcome of the race when I’m only partway through.  This increases my mental fatigue and slows me down further. Time and again I have been told that one cannot predict finish times on a 100- mile race or even a marathon based on a 50 miler or half-marathon finish times. Yet all that knowledge doesn’t make me stop calculating and freaking myself out.}

^{* Porto-potties, the bane of my existence. Only one porto on the course....}

^{*And then there's pressure. I don't know how it will effect me: I would be confident that it would improve my performance if I did better than expected in all of my previous races. It's true for the most part that I do improve in races: the 50 miler went very well, for example, when compared to the first 50 from yesterday. But my Ohlone 50K was a nightmare. It was probably the hardest race I have run. My blood sugar was low the whole time, and I finished in a very slow 9 hours. Comparing this to the 50k on the tracks makes me believe that it’s possible that I run better without pressure than with it. I'm really not sure, and I guess that's something I will have to find out on race day.}

<sup>In a lot of ways, I wish I could just fast-forward to the race and do it now instead of go through this month of anxiety. But at the same time, I learned from yesterday that my physical training and preparation may not cut it alone.  Mental and emotional training is required too. 


So, until then, I have a to-do list:</sup>

^{Stretch my hamstring, find out what kind of Tylenol dosage is healthy for me to take, and work out who's pacing me when. I think that I will be fine if I do the first 30 miles alone and just focus on maintaining a reasonable pace.}

<sup>I’ll try to make myself relax so I can enjoy the run. The miles will go by much quicker if I’m a happy camper.

I will work on a strategy to deal with negative thoughts. Since negativity is attached to your blood sugar levels, I know now that I should eat and hydrate consistently to avoid having my blood sugar plummet.</sup>

<sup>One of the biggest lessons I learned was that ultra marathon running requires as much mental strength as it does physical.  I am now more in awe of my coach, my mother and all the other ultra distance racers than ever before.  It was harder for me to deal with my emotional stress than the physical, and I think this may have something to do with my age and thereby, lesser accumulated wisdom : ).  I suspect that when one is really down, logic does not always help.  Our perception of "truth" is always greatly influenced by our emotional state.  Looking back I now see how I got stuck in a negative loop. I ended up using my mind to fight against my mind. I broke out of that cycle, however, when Colin arrived. So now, I have one method of coping with my negative thoughts: getting friends to come.  Yet another is to supplement those thoughts that are not helpful with other thoughts that are equally compelling and helpful.


Why am I still doing this?</sup>

^{Given the inevitable physical and emotional pain, I wonder why I’m still going for the 100. I think it has something to do with surmounting the insurmountable. There’s something about challenges and giving them my all, regardless of the outcome, that gets me going.  I suppose that failures are inevitable on the road to adventure.  Pursuing my passions mean more to me than always playing it safe with a sure success.  Now don’t get me wrong- I love succeeding!  Like most everyone out there, success fuels me on to the next adventure.  However, I have noticed that when I set very attainable easy goals for myself and play it safe I experience a sense of cheating myself out of a world of exciting possibilities. Fact is, I learn a lot more from my perceived failures, such as this 24 hour run, than perceived successes.} 

^{My mother had shared with me a quote from one of her favorite authors- Neale Donald Walsch -  and I think it expresses what I wish to convey.}

       ^{"The voice of caution knows nothing of real joy. What joy is there in doing what there was no doubt you could do? Try something you could fail at..,, that just could be living".}

^{Nishad Singh}

^{Note:  I began writing this report a few hours after I had finished my 24-hour run.  As I continued to write and days passed by I noticed that my perception of the run changed.  Reading over what I had written makes me realize that I began the report with the feeling of failure and now my feelings have shifted to somewhere in the middle acknowledging both the good and the not-so-good!  To me, this serves as an example of how our perception of an event determines whether or not we label it as a successful one.}

Paying it Forward

AD ASTRA is Latin for "To The Stars".

I wish to run 'to the stars' some day, but during the process, give back 'to the stars' of my life: my teachers. The teachers I had for my elementary and middle school, The Nueva School, and the teachers at my current school, Crystal Springs Uplands, have and will forever shape me. I also wish to acknowledge my Coach, Rajeev Patel, my cross country coach, Albert Caruana, my soccer coach, Iman Siadat, and my tennis coach, Anthony Jones. I have immense gratitude for my glassblowing teacher, Manigeh Khalaji, who's philosophical and kind words will always be with me.  Jim Munzenrider, my immensely talented drum teacher, recognized the fire in me and my love for music and introduced me to the world of percussion.  Music, laughter, letting go and following your muse is what he gifted me and I am forever grateful to him.


The two people who have mentored me and shown me the path to doing something so unorthodox are Catarina Williams and Simon Olavarria, my Model United Nations directors. My three school advisors, Hillary Freeman, Ms Chang, and Mr Holubar, for always being available to provide support and guidance. These are only a few of the many wonderful teachers I have had the privilege to be mentored by. 


It is my intent to raise funds via running and give back to all of these stars and their programs. It is also my hope that I will be able to reach out to those less privileged than I so that they too can reach for the stars.

Hi, I'm Nishad Singh, a 10th grader who lives in Saratoga, CA. 


Since elementary school, I've always gone to school up north. My current school, Crystal Springs, similarly, is a 40 minute drive north in San Mateo.

I was born with asthma and thus sometimes had difficulty keeping up with kids my age.  I would try but inevitably would have to slow down.  Well, I was 11 years old and running at school during a track work out when I got all winded and wheezy again.  


Now, I loved the feeling I got when I ran- wind in my hair and all that bit. So, here were two truths 1) I love running 2) I can't run fast.  So being a Nueva kid I decided to do it my own way.  Why was I limiting myself to what all the other kids were doing?  I decided I would run -- run slow but run longer.  Thus the endurance athlete in me was born!!!

I trained and ran my first half marathon "The Silicon Valley Marathon" in the Fall of 2007. I had just turned 12 in September. 

I guess this was when my running career started off. I continued to run diligently and completed another half marathon with a better time the following year. It was after this second half marathon that I ran between 1 and 3 miles everyday, always aiming for speed, for almost the entirety of the summer.The results were amazing -- I was slimmer, had gotten much faster (my mile time had reduced from 9:20 to 7:30), but most importantly, my mentality about myself and athletics changed. I had become much more confident in my skills, and I  knew once and for all, that it was my choice to be stuck at the back i.e. I was not pushing myself hard enough. Was this maybe due to my fears about asthma and the chest pains that came with labored breathing?


Looking back, even though I've never thought of it in these terms before, I think the running that I did that summer was the catalyst for all my running afterwards.

I became a Crystal kid when I turned 14 and joined the school's cross country team.  My coach Mr Caruana was awesome.  He recognized that I was slow but a hard worker and always encouraged me. It was all overall great experience: my training in the summer had prepared me for the season, and I met almost all of my best friends. Because the Crystal cross country coach (Coach Caruana) started off very easy with us, I was doing fairly well. Except for the few running prodigies who would go on to run 5:10 miles in their freshman year, I maintained a respectable position in our Junior Varsity lineup. 

At our first race, which was somewhere 2 hours south, I was one of the four freshman chosen to run. It was a 2 mile course, and I ran an overall 7:48 pace. I remember being fairly pleased with

that race: I was last out of the 4 freshman from Crystal but I had met my personal expectations of myself.

The training soon picked up, and for the first time, I felt like I was pushed to my limits. The effects of the increase of training were not as progressive as my summer training was, but still evident. During that season, people improved at the same rate. This meant that I didn't have to 'worry' about my spot, and could just enjoy running with friends. A few of my good friends -- Colin, Simon, Binh, and Ryan -- and I competed between ourselves at the meets. I usually ended up right behind Binh but in front of the rest, with a few exceptions. These 'exceptions' started popping up towards the end of the season when my asthma started to come back. I usually took one puff from my inhaler before any run, and carried it along just in case. 

In the last few meets, however, I started to have a greater need for them during the run. Being conscious of the limit to how many puffs I can take in a certain time, I often didn't meet my asthma needs, and had to slow down.


Towards the end of the season, I planned on running a marathon. I had run 2 Half-marathons before that, and was pretty sure that the daily cross country training had readied me for a full. I had a few training runs, the longest being somewhere around 16 miles, and then I went for

it. The race was called Run the River, and I remember it being on the weekend after the cross country season ended. Thanks to the help of my incredible coach, Rajeev Patel, I finished with 5 hours 26 minutes with few problems. 


He is my coach to date, and I cannot thank him enough for all the help he has given me. He has been running for some 20 years, and has completed countless halfs, marathons, 50k's, 50

milers, 100k's, and a few 100's and the GUCR 145 miler. He has vast, inhuman stores of knowledge on everything you need to know, from nutrition to injuries. He has the fastest mind of anyone I have ever met, and never ceases to come up with funny jokes, riddles, puzzles, and lessons on our runs. He's planning on running this year's Spartathlon, so good luck to him!

Later that school year, my Mom decided to run the 50k in Coach Rajeev's race: Ruth Anderson. For the 50k, you have to complete 7 loops around this path that encircles Lake Merced in San Francisco. It's somewhere close to 4 miles long, with an aid station situated at the start and

halfway through the loop (every 2 miles). I was planning on pacing my mom for 2 laps, or 8 miles, just to keep my running up. 


I had finished my soccer season and was now doing tennis but I was somehow still in alright shape. After the 2 laps, I was feeling pretty good, and decided to give the full 7 laps a go. 

Coach Rajeev signed me up halfway through the race, and I continued on to finish. However, it was nothing like the marathon for me. The marathon passed by quickly, but the 50k seemed to drag on forever. From mile 13, I had tight hip flexors, but thankfully they didn't get much worse. Everything else did. I finished right under 7 hours, incredibly sore, but also grateful towards my body. With minimal running training, I was able to finish a distance longer than I had run before. 

After that race, I decided to start some training for the Quicksliver 50k which was coming up.

Thanks to the awesome coaching of Coach Rajeev, I was in pretty good shape when we started Quicksilver. I was running with my Mom and Coach Rajeev, and we had a great time along the way. Because there were a lot of hills, we were forced to walk a lot. This irritated me a lot at first, but around mile 6 I gave in and enjoyed the journey. Then miles went slowly, but they were by no means painful. We finished in 9 hours I think (gasp!) and my legs weren't feeling nearly as bad as they were after Ruth Anderson.

My next race, the San Francisco Marathon, was going to be a while from then. I thought it would be fun to do it with a few friends, and so 3 friends decided to train with me: Willy, Phillip, and Drew. Unfortunately, Willy and Phillip, for many non-running related reasons, couldn't run in the marathon. So it ended up being just Drew and I. We had a great time. Coach Rajeev was pacing the 4:30 group, so our initial goal was to stick with him the whole way. Even though we

started and finished with him, finishing at 4:25, we were actually rarely with Coach Rajeev. Around mile 5, we decided to take off and go ahead. It felt like we were flying, so we must have had a pretty big lead. But around mile 13, both of us desperately needed to go to the bathroom. We ended up having to walk very often, and we ran incredibly slowly. Our pace must have changed from 9 minute a mile to maybe 14.

It wasn't until 16 that we found a set of port-a-potties that didn't have a 20 minute line. When we came out, we figured that we were much behind Coach Rajeev and the 4:30 group, so we flew for 3 miles to finally catch up. That was the hardest stretch of the race for me because of our speed and a knee ache that I had developed. We managed to catch up to the 4:30 group around mile 19, and then stuck with them until mile 23. Even though both of us had taken a beating from those 3 fast miles, we picked up the pace a little, allowing us to finish 5 minutes before the group. 

As I look back it has become clear to me that I tried very hard to be a fast runner and make a meaningful contribution to my cross-country team. The truth is that I came a long ways from before and had a wonderful time being a part of the team. However, much as I tried, I was unable to run as fast as I would have either liked to or was capable of. Once again the simple truth hit me - I love running and I have asthma. The times that I have enjoyed running the most have been when I am doing very long distance runs or races and I am able to slow down to accomodate for my breathing.


Thus I recognized that the long distance runner in me needed to be encouraged and nurtured. This was my path to self-empowerment.

50K Training run on the Tracks

Hi All!

Today I went on a 50k Training run around the tracks. Last night, I slept early and ate a ton of pasta. When I woke up, I still felt incredibly full, so I only ate a small breakfast. I jogged over to the track at around 6:20, and began running.
Today was an experiment for me - I was trying running with music for the first time in several years. Spoiler: It didn't work out. To be honest, I wasn't very surprised. I stopped listening to music while running those years ago for the same reasons that I stopped around 7:00 today: It prevented me from zoning out. I 'zone out' during my runs because I have nothing in particular to focus on, and my mind is free to wander and reflect on my day or week. With music, my ability to do this is hindered in two ways: the cadence of my feet and the tempo of the song don't necessarily match up, leading me to constantly change my pace to fit every new song. Also, I end up focusing on the each detail of the music so much that time feels like it slows down instead of speeds up.

After I took out the earbuds, I ran a few laps before zoning out. An hour and a half passed before I knew it, and I was at mile 15. I felt golden, and I hadn't even taken any Gu's, salts, or water. I checked my Garmin watch, and it told me that I had been running at 9:20 pace. This was a 20 seconds per mile improvement from the first 40 minutes when I was wearing the earbuds and listening to music. I still find it incredible that I was able to comfortably run faster when I didn't focus on running than when I did.

Two of my friends, Colin and Simon, showed up at mile 16. While I had a great time being with them (they paced me until the finish, switching off laps), I noticed that the miles seemed to go slower. The supposed 'distraction' from the running actually made me focus on it more. I ended up slowing down and finished 33 miles (a little bit over a 50k) at 1:00 pm, approximately 6 hours and 40 minutes.

Despite the gradual decline of pace, I can confidently say that this was my easiest 50K yet. While I thought that it would seem to drag on forever (because I wouldn't have the adrenaline boost of a race), it did the opposite. I can mainly attribute this to the zoning out I experienced before my friends arrived. Without the constant excitement of a race around me, it was easier to lose my focus on running and let my mind drift to wherever it pleased. I ended up performing BETTER, WITHOUT that additional adrenaline. I learned something very valuable from this experience: keeping my mind on running and stressing over the little details will only decrease my performance. Letting go and relaxing, on the other hand, may not only increase my pace, but also make the race seem shorter!