Surf the Murph aid station report

I did not run Surf the Murph (with the excellent weather course I wish I had), but I had a blast at the horse aid station. Twelve hours went by very quickly. With great smiles and successes, I saw many friends complete their goals! (Where are the reports, guys and gals?)

The day started rough. Les had issues with the trailer, which resulted in getting me supplies until after 7 AM. Duke had reached the station before we even started unloading the equipment. Luckily, these lead runners have great support crews and rely little on an aid station, so it was not a major issue. That just proves even the absolute best planning and preparation can throw you a curve.

Then came another surprise. With this flu abound my two aid station volunteers did not make it. (There were three of us assigned for this location, which is actually two stops for the runners.) That in itself (being two aid stations in one place) was funny as when many were on the second (50K) or third loop (50 miles) at the first horse trailer aid station, and I said, "I will see you one more time" and many freaked out. They did not realize that the other side of the tree was the station they had visited earlier in the day... The expression was priceless... but I did not get a picture. The two volunteers who could not make it in the morning stopped by later in the day (husband and wife), and she looked like she needed to be home... I commend her dedication to trying, but at that time, the station was slow (all the marathon and 25 K runners had been through), and I encouraged them to go home and rest, and he took care of the wife. I hope she feels better soon!

I can not thank Kurt Neuburger and Caitlin enough for being there to see Carrie Neuburger in the 25K. Kurt was supposed to run but will have surgery soon and could not do so. They were a gift from God. Especially Caitlin, a veteran aid station expert at a young age (Early teens at best). Very mature and deserves many kudos. It was also great to see Caitlin do the last 4 miles with Carrie! I bet this was rewarding for both...

Kurt started a very nice fire, and we kept it going all day! It was so welcomed early in the cool hours and later as the sun started to set! I am not a Boy Scout and would have never got the fire going. I was told he used Vaseline to start the fire. That is a new one.

Mary Knutson finely ran the 25 K. As the workhorse, she immediately came to the Aid Station to help me. Her stomach did a nasty turn on her, and for over an hour, she was practically paralyzed in pain. I was so happy she worked through it, as the afternoon would have been really long without another person at the station to keep me sane! I just remembered that I had to tell her how much I appreciated the company!

Cindy was nice enough to deliver a large pizza to us mid-day. A few runners loved the idea of Pizza at the aid station. I may not have survived it, but I know they finished strong.

The costumes were cool. I've included a few below, but I missed one of the best (the outhouse!). I could only get the camera out when it was slow enough at the station.




Below is a slideshow of all the pictures I took. The link to download is http://picasaweb.google.com/peasemines/SurfTheMurph?feat=directlink. I'm Sorry I did not get photos of more of the runners! Running an aid station is demanding, and I know you understand!

Carry on...

Superior Blues

I had journeyed to the north shore for the past three years to run a looooonnnnngggg race. First, the 50 mile in 2006 was a success, and then 2 attempts at the 100 mile, where I failed. Although this year, sitting home watching the first football game of the season (a real bore), I can not help but think about the many friends and others who are about to venture out to finish a great race. It is a great race because of many factors, but in any event I have ever been involved in, the people make it great!

The core of compassionate, caring, and knowledgeable friends who put this on year after year is unmatched in any other armature event I have participated in. Larry, Don, Bonnie, Scott, Colleen, and others put that event on without pay. I want to maintain the great successes of all those who will finish, but with that core group and all the volunteers, they would start. They can never be thanked enough...

Good luck to all, and I am saddened that I will not be there with you running or volunteering. Life throws a curve ball, and I am smart enough not to swing.

Carry on...

Glad I am alive... REALLY

I was riding my bike Saturday when an unthinkable thing occurred. I still have yet to return to the scene of the crime (really no crime, just a phrase) to work out the entire details, but long story short, I had a significant bike crash. Not with a car or a truck, but I somersaulted over the handlebars and landed headfirst. The front wheel is totally crunched. A properly fitting helmet definitely saved my life. I wish I had a better memory of all the details?

My trail running experience also saved me big time. I quickly was in a tuck-and-roll position and hit the right front head first, the right shoulder, and then down the body. My face has a nice lump on the right temple and some minor scrapes. The right hand had the most blood, while the rest of the body was more of a scrapes and bruises issue. The most problematic result is a concussion. I was dizzy and lost sense of where I was after the accident. This had happened once before, so now two concussions in my life… I do not want another.


I cannot lift my right arm, but the ex-rays verified no breaks. I can not laugh without rib pain, but there are no breaks there, either. If I use my left arm to support the lifting, I can lift my right arm with less pain each day so far… I think if I could take Advil, I would not feel like I do, but as I have surgery soon, no anti-inflammatory… Bummer.


I can only think I would be dead without that properly fitting helmet. In a post over a year ago, I reported my friend Dana died from a bike accident and was wearing a helmet. I did not report whether the helmet was said not to be properly fitted. So, I guess in her death, I learned something that I believe saved my life? We can never tell the future, but the picture above makes the helmet look good. If you saw my helmet damaged and loose, you would agree.

So now I have more than one reason to rest after my surgery on Friday… I am lucky to only have a concussion...

Carry on...

25 down, none to go!

A POSTER I MADE FOR MY WALL IS ABOVE (Click to see larger view ... REPORT BELOW).  I need help finding it and wonder if there was a 1985 medal.

UPDATE: It was hot. 37 runners were hospitalized, and 7% of the starters required medical treatment.

NOTE (All pictures I reference in this post come after the post - Links to all photos I (or others) took is: http://picasaweb.google.com/runallday/Grandmas# )

Well, this is long… It could be boring. To summarize, I finished my 25th consecutive year at Grandma's. No clue how I did this year after year. This year was hot; well, that is an understatement. But I survived. I was emotional. I cried many times throughout the race and broke down in tears, coming into the finisher shoot. It must have looked strange to many, but it was so emotional for me! When I met Shelley at the finish, I bent over, covered my head, and cried… It was over! That is the short version. Much more later…

First, I want to start by looking back:

I recall things from 1985, as it was my first Grandma's, and I set a goal of 25 years…

I could not find a place to stay, so I stayed at the Best Western in Hinkley.
Michael Jordan (Basketball) was a rookie in the NBA!!!!
New Coke/Old Coke fiasco
We celebrated the Dow Jones breaking 1,500!
VH1 started
Wade Wilson replaced Tommy Kramer as Viking quarterback.
Dukes of Hazard was canceled. (Yes, I watched it…)
Billy Joel married Christy Brinkley (I had a crush on her!)
But Moonlighting started (I always liked Cybill Shepherd) – This is the first time I heard Al Jarau
This is also MacGyver's first year. (I loved that show as well)
I purchased my first computer – A Macintosh 512K – I PAID $2,100 OUCH!

In Between

I lived in 4 states (North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Illinois)
Went through 5 US Presidents (Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush, William Clinton, George Walker Bush, Barack Obama)
Three so-called stock market crashes…
Nine Jobs (From a cook, waiter, and manufacturer to my current job as a City Planner)
Lived in 12 different homes
Went through 10 cars – Including ex-wife and Son's cars (Chevy Malibu, Ford Mustang, Honda 600 Sedan, Chevy Station Wagon, Dodge Daytona, Mitsubishi Expo, Ford Fiesta, Kia Sephia, Mazda Millennia, VW Passas)
Went through 5 girlfriends, one wife
Son was born, raised him, now 20…
Couple in the 3:20's finishes
A couple of 6-hour finishes, many in-between

Now for the report. I have been so obsessed with the race. I had worked hard for 24 years and did not want to lose the goal in the last race. I left Minneapolis, and it was an easy drive. We arrived at the expo at 8:30, and I picked up my number. Bittersweet, as it was my last time….

When we walked out of the expo, we saw the vendor who makes special racing bibs. See the picture (the one that says "25th Consecutive Grandma's, a Picture of Forrest Gump and run Londell run"). That's cool. I had to have it. We went for a little walk and then went into the expo to eat the food I brought and go through the bag to get set for the morning.

Everything looked good. We parked the car in the DECC parking lot and settled in for a nice nap. So many things were going my way.

Then I woke up. At 4:30 AM, the temperature was 62 degrees. As I slept in the car, I woke to the view of the moon over the adjacent building. It was cool! Then I got up.

I went to the bathroom three times! I was nervous. As I prepared, I remembered that I had to take my number. Then, at 5:15 AM, my biggest supporter asked, "What about your chip?" We had no clue! Two of us tore through everything looking, but it was not to be found. I quickly realized I might have left it on the table when we ate Friday night! What an idiot!

I ran all over trying to get into the DECC. No one could help me. At 5:40, I returned to the car, feeling just a bundle of nerves. I dumped my bag onto the asphalt parking lot and looked down, and there it was! Two of us went through that bag and missed it. I was about ready to have my first cry of the day. But all was saved, and I made it to the buses at 5:50 AM, 10 minutes to spare. This was the first time ever I did not have a school bus! A plush tour bus. Things were looking up!

The ride could have been more uneventful. I got to the start, went to the biffs, and my stomach was settled. I packed toilet paper in my bag anyway. But the sun was hot. The forecast was maybe 80 degrees for the day, and at 7 AM, the temperature was 72 degrees. I knew that I needed to run smart, not fast.

I went with the heart rate monitor as my guide. I was going along just fine and getting many comments about my streak. Then I heard a voice, "Are you Londell from Chippewa?" Carl Gammon's friend Janine Knutson was there. She was looking excellent. I was able to get a picture of her. (Thanks to Mike, I took a camera.) Shortly afterward, there was Greg Allen. Greg is on #26 consecutive Grandma's… SUPER. He knows what it is like to make it so many years, through thick and thin…

I kept the heart rate in the 120-135 range until about 15 miles. For example, a few years ago, it was elevated to over 155 at Afton, and I could not get it down. I knew the heat was taking its toll. I also knew 15-minute miles would get me in less than 6 hours. So I walked, ate ice, and rubbed my body with ice. After 20 minutes, I could start a walk/run pattern, walking for 3 minutes and running for 6 minutes. I met up with Katie Altrichter from Bloomington, IL. She was hurting, and I needed a friend. We helped each other the rest of the way. She is sure I helped her, but if she only knew, she would also be helping me so much. Good running buddies always make the run easier!

This walk/run plan and Katie kept me under the 15 minutes per mile I needed until mile 23.5. I started to feel cramps, and Katie was really worn. We decided to walk more as allowed and finish, which we did.

Shortly after 24, I got a big lift. Wayne was there and prepared to walk in with me. This was a lift I needed, and I decided that I was close enough to just keep running.

I saw so many people on the side of the road being treated for what I assumed were heat-related issues.; I saw more ambulances than I had ever seen in my 25 years, and people seemed to drop like flies! It was a war zone. It was not how I wanted to finish my last Grandma', but if you really think you can run 25 years in a row, you better be ready for anything.

I guess I was… This is an emotional time, and I cry as I write this… Now, it is time to rest and look for the next challenge… whatever that may be! But first, get the knee fixed and bask in the reward of accomplishing a goal I set so long ago! What a rewarding feeling!

Thanks to all who supported my effort. It meant more than you can imagine!

Carry on…

Pictures from Grandma's