Bataan Memorial Death March - Run


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico
United States
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 10h 44m 11s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = Male Heavy
Age Group Rank = 369/427
Pre-race routine:

Wake up, jump in the car, go back to sleep while Sherpa-Mom makes the hour drive to the Missile Range. Ate a breakfast burrito along the way. Hydrated a bit.
Event warmup:

Carrying the ruck sack from the car to the start area.
Run
  • 10h 44m 11s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 24m 35s  min/mile
Comments:

So the real challenge in this event was keeping the feet healthy. Mine were fine for the first 3-4 miles, but deteriorated from there. I did some maintenance with duck tape at mile 6. This held them together up the hill. But by mile 16 there were enough blisters that I didn't dare take my boots, lest I have to cover the whole foot with duck tape.

The down hill section up to mile 20 did little to help the feet. But we stopped at every water station, set the packs down, and cooled our heals for a few minutes. So I was still able to maintain a fairly normal stride into the sand pit. The sand pit changed that, and by the end of it, I had settled into what was becoming a fairly standard Bataan shuffle.

Nutrition for the whole event was amazing. I really had no plan, and just took what it seemed I needed. This usually amounted to lots of Gatorade, oranges and bananas, supplemented by Ibuprofen and Thermosalts every hour or so.

Finish line weight of my pack was 50lbs. Dropped my rice and beans in the food bank box, and began the full scale gimping to cheeseburger and beer. With the endorphins gone, the feet really started screaming. Once the boots were finally pried off, my feet were every bit as gruesome as I thought they would be, with a couple blisters that in spots I hadn't felt as the inside of my feet had gone completely numb.

There is so much else to talk about, all adding up to make this event an awesome struggle. But in the end, it was the survivors of the actual Bataan Death March that saw us off in the morning that gave me the inspiration to continue on through the hardest spots.
What would you do differently?:

Boots 1/2 size bigger.
Post race
Warm down:

Gimp to food and the car. Ride back to the cabin, picking up BBQ dinner on the way. Slept very poorly as my whole body was tender laying down.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Feet

Event comments:

Two comments: Water stations could have been better stocked with things such as flat coke, gels, chicken broth, chips, endurolytes. Instead, with one exception, aid stations had water, gatorade, bananas, and oranges, (There were several medical tents along the way, but I was afraid of going in and not coming back out.)

Second, no finishers medal. The Bataan Survivor seal is a very striking image and would have made an excellent medal.




Last updated: 2010-09-23 12:00 AM
Running
10:44:11 | 26.2 miles | 24m 35s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/427
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course: A Figure 8. Mostly on hard packed dirt and loose sand/gravel. The first 7-8 miles are slightly down hill. The next 2 miles are uphill on asphalt as the course heads around Mineral Hill. The course continues up hill on a dirt trail for another 2 miles. Around the back side of the hill the course slopes down, but it goes back up for a bit before we get back on the asphalt to retrace our steps down hill. This takes us up to round about mile 20. From mile 20.5 to 22 is the infamous "Sand Pit." A dry creek bed that is entirely loose sand. With very little wind through this section, it got quite hot. This on top of very sketchy footing. The last 4 miles are on hard pack dirt as we continue back to base and around the outside of base housing.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4