50 Miles

I finally cleared this off of my bucket list. For quite awhile, I have wanted to complete a 50 miler and on my 47th birthday I accomplished my goal. Not really sure why it has been a goal but since I turned 40, I have scoured the internet looking for a 50 miler that I might be able to do.

Unfortunately, most I found had time limits that as a walker, I could not meet. Because of a bad left knee, I have to limit the amount of running I do for fear that I will mess it so I can not walk pain free like I do now.

Most had between 13 to 14 hour time limits which are reasonable but very hard to do if you are mainly walking. Walking 15 to 17 minute miles for 50 miles sounds doable but most 50 milers are not on flat courses and maintaining that pace for half a day is pretty hard especially with some breaks etc.

So I did not want to pay for a race and travel to it, just to be pulled of the course. Then I decided to do a solo 50 miler from Bakersfield to Tehachapi in the tradition of the Comrades Marathon and the JFK 50 Miler. I even set a date for it: May 8th.

But as I looked in to doing it, I was concerned about the route (Private property and/or freeways that I would not be able to access.) plus the date was pushing the weather situation. I am not a fan of the heat and May 8th can be when the weather really heats up (May 3rd it hit 88). Also doing it by myself was not very appealing either.

Then on a long walk one morning it hit me, do the 24 Hour Relay For Life. When planning my own fifty miler, I was thinking of fund-raising for the Kern River Parkway Foundation (They plant trees on the bike path among other things). So that morning I decided to do my 50 miler at the Relay for Life.

too be continued ...