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Having completed his second ultra-marathon, David Kennedy of Honesdale knows all about pushing past the pain.
It’s all about the will to finish; the Oil Creek 100-miler in Titusville tested the seasoned endurance runner both physically and mentally.
“The physical challenges are kind of obvious. To run a distance that long, eventually the muscles are going to hurt and they’re going to get sore,” the 31-year-old said.
“In the beginning stages, you don’t feel the pain as much, but as the miles add on, it hurts more and more ...Eventually, after 75/80 miles, everything hurts ... you can’t get away from the pain,” he said.
Of the 118 who started the 100-miler, 63 finished. While Kennedy finished 11th overall, close friend, Pastor Chris Freet of Honesdale, had to drop out at mile 76 due to health issues.
The course had three 31-mile loops, Kennedy said.
Nagging knee pain in the first 31 miles had Kennedy concerned.
“I was a little worried, because that was awfully early in the race to be hurting. And I think what happened was I ran the downhills a little too hard early on. That was my first mini-wall. I was worried I was going to have a really long, painful day. So, I just tried to stay positive and get back out for the second loop and hope things would loosen up, which they did.
“And then the next 50 miles, I felt really good and that’s when I made my best gain on the race. I ran steady and pain-free for the most part,” Kennedy added.
To keep the fire burning, runners have to continue taking in calories.
“That’s the fine line that’s different for everybody because you want to eat as much as your body will accept so that you continue to burn calories going in rather than having to work off the reserves within your body. But, if you eat too much, ...you bloat or get nauseous,” he said.
Intaking simple sugars like chips, energy bars, and energy gels was a winning combination for Kennedy along with boiled potatoes. “It’s easy on the stomach and high in starch,” he said.
But as the day wore on and evening settled, exhaustion crept in.
“About 8:30 at night, when I came into the 76-mile point, I was starting to feel tired. Mentally, I was tired ...I wasn’t nauseous, but I just wasn’t hungry any more. The struggle there was to keep forcing food and calories to continue on,” he said.
By mile 90, Kennedy was dreading the last leg of the race. Tired, with aching quads, Kennedy knew he wasn’t taking in enough calories. “I try and stay positive the whole race. And if I start getting negative, I know that I’m not keeping up with my nutrition. So I forced some more food and gels and got in to the next aid station,” he said.
How do you psych yourself past physical pain?
“I think you just take it mile by mile, step by step. I never hit a big wall in this race. It was a lot of mini walls. I mean, if the pain isn’t a definite injury, you just kind of try and ignore the pain and continue on, focus on ... the next aid station or the next hill, just keep ...moving forward.”
Putting on another shirt, Kennedy started to warm and perk up. “We had a 7-mile loop at the end,” he said.
Feeding off of the fact that he had so few miles remaining, Kennedy says he “pushed it on in. The human body is capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for ...If the will and the desire is there, the body will respond.”
It’s a race he finished at 3 a.m. — in 22-hours, 5 minutes and 18 seconds.
Having completed his second ultra-marathon, David Kennedy of Honesdale knows all about pushing past the pain.
It’s all about the will to finish; the Oil Creek 100-miler in Titusville tested the seasoned endurance runner both physically and mentally.
“The physical challenges are kind of obvious. To run a distance that long, eventually the muscles are going to hurt and they’re going to get sore,” the 31-year-old said.
“In the beginning stages, you don’t feel the pain as much, but as the miles add on, it hurts more and more ...Eventually, after 75/80 miles, everything hurts ... you can’t get away from the pain,” he said.
Of the 118 who started the 100-miler, 63 finished. While Kennedy finished 11th overall, close friend, Pastor Chris Freet of Honesdale, had to drop out at mile 76 due to health issues.
The course had three 31-mile loops, Kennedy said.
Nagging knee pain in the first 31 miles had Kennedy concerned.
“I was a little worried, because that was awfully early in the race to be hurting. And I think what happened was I ran the downhills a little too hard early on. That was my first mini-wall. I was worried I was going to have a really long, painful day. So, I just tried to stay positive and get back out for the second loop and hope things would loosen up, which they did.
“And then the next 50 miles, I felt really good and that’s when I made my best gain on the race. I ran steady and pain-free for the most part,” Kennedy added.
To keep the fire burning, runners have to continue taking in calories.
“That’s the fine line that’s different for everybody because you want to eat as much as your body will accept so that you continue to burn calories going in rather than having to work off the reserves within your body. But, if you eat too much, ...you bloat or get nauseous,” he said.
Intaking simple sugars like chips, energy bars, and energy gels was a winning combination for Kennedy along with boiled potatoes. “It’s easy on the stomach and high in starch,” he said.
But as the day wore on and evening settled, exhaustion crept in.
“About 8:30 at night, when I came into the 76-mile point, I was starting to feel tired. Mentally, I was tired ...I wasn’t nauseous, but I just wasn’t hungry any more. The struggle there was to keep forcing food and calories to continue on,” he said.
By mile 90, Kennedy was dreading the last leg of the race. Tired, with aching quads, Kennedy knew he wasn’t taking in enough calories. “I try and stay positive the whole race. And if I start getting negative, I know that I’m not keeping up with my nutrition. So I forced some more food and gels and got in to the next aid station,” he said.
How do you psych yourself past physical pain?
“I think you just take it mile by mile, step by step. I never hit a big wall in this race. It was a lot of mini walls. I mean, if the pain isn’t a definite injury, you just kind of try and ignore the pain and continue on, focus on ... the next aid station or the next hill, just keep ...moving forward.”
Putting on another shirt, Kennedy started to warm and perk up. “We had a 7-mile loop at the end,” he said.
Feeding off of the fact that he had so few miles remaining, Kennedy says he “pushed it on in. The human body is capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for ...If the will and the desire is there, the body will respond.”
It’s a race he finished at 3 a.m. — in 22-hours, 5 minutes and 18 seconds.
