Grahak Cunningham reached 1000 miles first (13 days+16:39:22); and has a 60 mile lead on second place after his eighth straight day at over 70 miles per day. Sarvagata Ukrainskyi lead for the day with 71.344 miles. Pushkar Mullauer from Switzerland reached seventy miles again for the third time this week.
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Day 13:Hot One.20
So the day started off tropically with a thunderstorm and scattered showers. So the sun came out later and baked everything with her intense 97º rays. So there happened to be a race happening with 12 tired runners rarin’ to go. Grahak Cunningham dispelled any doubts about his abilities with another superb 75.7 mile day. Sarvagata Ukrainskyi fashioned another 70.2 mile day. Pranjal Milovnik is only one lap behind third place with a fine 68.05 mile day. The runners only limit seems to be their perception of how far or how fast they can go. Another hot one awaits before showers and a lower temp or two. Destiny awaits too. We shall see.
The Oatmeal Test
I am the race director on the early shift of the 3,100 mile race, from 6 am until 11 or 12 noon, so I get an early look as to how the runners are generally feeling and what it looks like for them that day. I try and say hello to each runner as they arrive at the race just to get a pulse on how they are doing. But there is a more sure fire way of determining how the runners are feeling: oatmeal. Yes, oatmeal. Let me explain. In addition to the many snacks at the race, the runner’s breakfast arrives at around 8 am. Depending upon the runner, they might get eggs, tofu, some special liquid treat, whatever. In addition to their specific requests, more general food stuff comes out with the breakfast, such as fruit cups, bread with some high caloric spread on it, green smoothies, fruit smoothies and oatmeal. Now oatmeal is at the bottom of the food chain in regards to what the runners like most. So, if by 8:30 am or so there is only one or two oatmeal servings left, that means the runners are hungry, which generally translates into ‘they are feeling fine’. However, if the bulk of the oatmeal servings remain, that indicates that they are generally tired from yesterday and will take a while to get into their top running form. So, oatmeal is one of the barometers I use to see how the runners feel. And it works!
Day 12: Heat Wave II Versus the Tremendous Three
It got a little more hot and humid today on the concrete colossus as the competition heated up as well. When the dust and shoe rubber had settled three went over 70 miles for the day and nine made at least sixty miles. Grahak Cunningham maintained his nice lead of at least fifty miles over everyone with 73.53 on his card, which was equaled by Sarvagata Ukrainsky, the defending champ. Pushkar Mullauer reached 70.24 miles, and Pranjal Milovnik and Stutisheel Lebedyev followed with 68.6 and 67.5 miles respectively. Mr. Ukrainskyi has been fun to watch the last five days as his fitness increases and his laps get faster. After an early evening break today he hammered out nearly 20 laps at just over 6:00 minutes each with a trio under six. We will see about the next two days of Heat Wave II, the Sequel. Stay tuned.
Day 11:Cunningham Begins to Dominate
Grahak Cunningham of Australia, the highest ranked runner in this year’s event, led the group of twelve with a fury as he reached 75.73 miles. His lead has increased to 46 miles over second placer Pushkar Mullauer who carded 68.05 miles. Sarvagata Ukrainskyi gave a valiant effort but could not catch Grahak as he ran 72.99 miles, his best day of the race. The hotter sticky weather awaits for the next four days so mileages may vary- check back for the latest news.
Day 10 The Essence of ‘Moving Day’
Under bright sunny skies, pleasant temps and lower humidity the gang of twelve continued on their procession of miles while going nowhere. Day Ten revealed the first obvious average mileage per day stat. Like other sports, it is there in the open. Unlike other sports it is also just a stepping stone since the race is sooo long and the mileage does not tell the whole story this early in the contest. Sarvagata Ukrainskyi led the way with 72.44 miles, followed closely by overall leader Grahak Cunningham(70.24) and Pushkar Mullauer(70.24). Vasu Duzhiy regained some strength after suffering from deep blisters in his left foot for the last four days. One can see a visible smoothness emerging in the running gaits. Arpan DeAngelo the oldest runner in the race-(59) has developed a more fluid style after the uncertain struggle of the first few days.As the summer days have grown long the race is ever changing as well. It should be very interesting in the weeks to come. Stay tuned!!
Day 8:New Sheriff in Town
Well ,not that big of a deal but highest seeded runner in the race , Grahak Cunningham from Aussieland, ran another 70+ mile day to lead all runners- plus he took the overall lead by 11 miles over Russian Vasu Duzhiy. Sarvagata Ukrainskyi from the Ukraine had the second best mileage with 69.70 miles. Nine of the field of 12 runners went over 60 miles for the day as skies ranged from crystal-blue clear to overcast.
Day 7:First Week- What Nature Had in Store
The first heat wave of the race around the city block took prisoners, but just as the escapees never give up trying, our intrepid runners continued on. What a difference a day makes. Clear sunny skies and less humidity helped the runners get back on track. Grahak Cunningham moved to within four laps of the leader Vasu Duzhiy with a sparkling 72.44 miles. Both men are averaging just over 70 miles per day. Pranjal Milovnik remains in third overall at a 67.89 mile per day clip. Fifty-nine year-old Arpan DeAngelo has been getting better the last few days. With 64.21 miles today he is averaging over 61 miles per day and running more smoothly. Eight of the starting twelve reached sixty miles or more today.
Day 6: Moving Along
Our band of weather-weary runners continued on through the end of the heat wave and three thunderstorms throughout the day to garner their six day splits. Vasu Duzhiy led the way with 435.7 miles followed by Grahak Cunningham with 422.03 miles. The drop in temperature and humidity were a welcome relief as eight of the runners passed 60+ miles for the day. Atmavir Spacil led the charge with 66.97 miles for the field of twelve. More later.
Day 4 Summer Solstice Slows Runners
With temperatures soaring into the mid-nineties and the humidity index over 50% our intrepid runners began the survival part of their journey in shock mode. Only five passed the 60 mile plateau for the day, but caution was the norm. Again Vasu Duzhiy of Russia led the way with 66.4 miles, followed closely by Grahak Cunningham and Pushkar Mullauer. Constant cool water baths on the head and small bags of ice cubes inside the hat were the multi-day prescription. Two more days of trial by heat await before rain and cooler temps arrive on Saturday. Enjoy your summer, oh resident of the northern hemisphere!