50 Miles for the Smile Trail Sunmart 50 Mile Race Report

50 Miles for the SMILES Trial was a convenient combination of an idea and a need that came together at the right place and at the right time.

The idea for a 50 mile run was all Clea’s. As recently as August of this year, I declared to her (with great conviction) that I would never attempt to run 50 miles! This declaration was in response to Clea’s “seed planting” campaign. She had decided that it was time for a new adventure. It was time to take to the trails—time to test our limits. But I have experienced my “limits” on a couple of occasions. The land of Stephanie’s limits is not a place where I am eager to return. As far as I was concerned, Clea’s seeds were not finding ground.

But then came the need, and it was a desperate one. During Clea’s season of “seed planting,” I first heard about the SMILES Trial – a treatment trial that could potentially help the women with LAM. This trial is the very thing that the LAM Foundation had been working towards for more than ten years. It is what so many women with LAM have been waiting and hoping for. The Foundation was $700,000 away from making it happen. Because the LAM community is so small, all of us were asked to help.

I think that everything came together on the evening that I received from the Foundation a book entitled “Personal Journeys.” The book included the stories of many women with LAM. I realized that for some of them, everyday living is a personal endurance trial. Then I was reminded how the Foundation’s development director, Glenda Randall, traveled all around the country by car in order to raise awareness and funds. My thought was that, if Glenda can drive 2,000 miles, and if all of these women can endure such personal journeys, then maybe we can complete a 50 mile journey of own. Maybe we can use that journey for something bigger than the two of us. The next day, I told Clea that I had changed my mind – Count me in for 50 Miles . . . or more accurately, 50 Miles for the SMILES Trial.

I am not going to write a lot in this section about our run training, primarily because we documented all of it on the HYPERLINK "http://www.50milesforsmiles.org/steph&clea.htm" website. I will say, however, that in addition to improving my physical endurance, the “SMILES Trial” part of our project led to several other areas of unexpected improvement.

If I had to summarize my personality with a short list of descriptive words, near the top of that list would be “stubborn” and “independent.” It has always been my way (and the way of my family) to do things for ourselves. In other words, it is not my nature to ask others for support. To do so is well out of my comfort zone and is definitely not something to which I am accustomed. But if we were really going raise any funds for the SMILES Trial, my philosophy was going to have to change.

I started small – approaching family, friends and a few select co-workers. I was blown over by the positive response that I received. My husband, Greg, was a huge help. He broadened the scope of our efforts by spreading the word with folks at work and with people in the community. The Foundation benefited from, not only those closest to me and Clea, but also from folks I hardly knew or had met only on a few occasions. The Hill Country Trail Runners stepped up with good advice and resources. And in perhaps the single biggest showing of support, my cousin Kathleen and her friend Jill signed on to be our HYPERLINK "http://www.50milesforsmiles.org/50KTeam.htm" “50K Team” – to run 31 miles and to raise additional funds through their connections in the Houston area. In short, the fundraising aspect was a bigger success than I ever imagined.

Clea, Greg (our 50 mile support crew), our friend Meredith and I all headed to Houston on the afternoon of Friday, December 9. We picked up our packets in Houston, checked in at the LaQuinta in Huntsville and met Kathleen, Jill and Bob (the 50K support crew) for a pre-race dinner at Chili’s. I don’t know whether it was that we were in Huntsville, Texas or the impending 50-miler, but dinner had a certain “last meal” quality about it. We all ordered whatever we wanted, including chocolate cake for dessert. Greg and Bob (both having endured an entire day of women running talk) enjoyed a well-earned margarita.

Race day began early. We checked our supplies one last time and headed to Huntsville State Park. Unlike any other race I have attended, this one offered a full breakfast to runners. Clea grabbed a biscuit and Meredith showed us how to assemble our supplies at the “check point” that we would visit three times during the race. Then, when it was time, we gathered, the horn blew, and everyone set out on the first of four 12.5 mile loops.

Our first loop was uneventful. Like many races, the start is congested. This one was perhaps a little worse because the trail is narrow in places and folks have to run single-file. We spent a lot of time stuck behind other runners, but Clea told me not to worry – things would clear out by the second loop.

During our first loop, we enjoyed ourselves. We gave names to certain portions or landmarks on the course. The “Jeep Trail” was a long, wide and somewhat muddy out-and-back near the beginning of the loop. We saw Meredith heading the other direction on the Jeep Trail and wished her well. She is an experienced trial runner and was already on her way to a very fast finish.

After the Jeep Trial was a 3-mile trip through the woods to the “Stretch.” The Stretch was a seemingly endless point-to-point between water stops. There are a lot of roots along the trails in the Stretch, and so we had to concentrate entirely on our footing. After the Stretch comes the “Trick.” This is the last mile of the loop that tricks you into thinking you are near the finish/checkpoint. In reality, you have about a mile still to run.

After the Trick comes the finish line, or in the case of our first three loops, the checkpoint. Here, we refilled our water and Gatorade, grabbed some additional Gu packets, shed layers of clothing and used the facilities as necessary. We finished the first loop in just under 2:15 minutes. This was, exactly, the time Clea had predicted (she is an excellent pacer).

We both felt good when we set out on loop two. We enjoyed seeing Kathleen and Jill (our 50K team) on the Jeep Trail. When we finally caught up and passed them on the Stretch, they had a group of racers running with them and singing crazy runner-modified Christmas songs. Although we were reluctant to leave the fun behind, Clea and I continued on .

During the second Stretch, my toe caught on a root and I took a nosedive. Luckily, I caught myself on my forearms and saved the knees. Clea calls this manuver "Steph's typical stop, drop and roll." After the roll, I dusted off and kept going (making a mental note to never again look at my watch or even to look up during the treacherous Stretch). By the time we finished the second Stretch and came to the Trick, I was beginning to feel the edges of fatigue. I was determined to keep it at bay, however, and so at the second checkpoint, I grabbed my mp3 player for some “happy music” and ate some little peanut butter sandwiches. We actually ran a little faster on loop two than loop one (I think it was the congestion that slowed us on loop one). After adding time for checkpoint stops, we began loop 3 with the clock reading approximately 4:45. In less than an hour, it would officially be our longest run ever.

It was during loop 3 that the race became more of a mental battle than a physical one. Runners were now spread out, and so we would go for miles without seeing anyone else. I remember that the potato chips and peanut butter sandwiches at the loop 3 aid stations tasted wonderful. I remember that Clea and I tried to find things to talk about. We agreed that, as long as we did not dwell on being tired, we did not feel as tired. Clea announced that she was having “feet issues” (which we later found out were being caused by the King Kong of all blisters) and so we walked more during the third loop than previously.

During the third Stretch, Clea and I both noticed that watching the ground so intently was beginning to play tricks with our peripheral vision – sort of a dizzying effect. To guard against another fall, we were careful to run single-file. Greg was waiting for us with his “Mock-u-mentary” camera at the water stop before the third Trick. I waved at him and almost tripped over a piece of concrete. Despite this small scare, it was good to see the friendly face and to hear his encouraging words.

It was near the beginning of the fourth loop that the endorphins kicked in. Although I was physically pretty tired, I was now sure that we were going to accomplish this feat. We were going to FINISH! Clea was still having some issues with her monstrous blister, and so I am not sure that she shared my runners high, but I tried to convey it in the hopes that it would buoy us both along to the finish.

On this loop, we played the happy game of saying “good-bye” to all of our now-familiar landmarks. Good bye Jeep Trail, good by Alligator Bridge, good bye Trick. We walked some, but mostly we kept moving. The finish line was calling us home. Kathleen and Jill had waited to run across the finish with us. The folks in the Hill Country Trail Runner tent (most of them long-ago having finished) cheered us on as we passed. We finished under 9.5 hours -- 30 minutes better than our goal time.

Today is the day after 50 Miles for the SMILES Trial. I am enjoying that well-earned sense of exhaustion that follows all endurance events. Overall, the project was a huge success—we completed our training, we finished the race, and most importantly, we raised over $7,000 for the SMILES Treatment Trial. The Foundation has, with our help and with the help of many, many others, been able to raise a sufficient amount to make the SMILES Trial happen. Mission accomplished.

As for the Stephanie Jigsaw Puzzle, these are the pieces that I found during our training and along the trail in Huntsville—pieces representing courage, generosity and a deeper appreciation.

In taking the necessary and uncomfortable step of asking others for support, I have learned a couple of things. Now, when I see a girl-scout selling cookies or the fireman holding out his boot, I recognize the courage and conviction that is inherent in their request. I have a new respect for this type of courage. I think I have acquired a measure of it and I hope that it will continue to grow. I have also been blown away by the generosity of others. People have selflessly stretched themselves to help, even when they sometimes could not afford to do so. For this type of generosity, I now have much greater respect and admiration. Even more, I have a desire for others to see it in me.

Finally, there is the deeper sense of appreciation. 50 Miles from the SMILES Trial has enhanced my awareness and appreciation for a number of truly spectacular things in my life. I have wonderful, supportive and generous friends (especially Clea!). I have a spectacular husband and family. I have the health and endurance to keep my feet moving for nine and a half hours over a lonely Huntsville trail. In the completed picture of myself, I am the type of person who never takes those things for granted.

As I mentioned in the beginning, the Stephanie Jigsaw Puzzle is not yet complete. Thanks to 50 Miles for the SMILES Trial, however, I am much closer to completeness than I was just six months ago. I am definitely a better person for the experience.