This was unlike any race I have ever ran and possibly to toughest to date.

But housekeeping first! Over 70 racers began the challenge with few DNF'ing. You had the option of running solos or in a two person team. Race temps were as low as 30's at night and as high as 50's during the day. There was no expo. Packet pickup was at the race location, and began a few hours before the race started. Each racer received a quality long sleeve hoodie shirt with the Race logo on the front and the sponsors and name of each participant on the back. Each racer also received a performance reversible beanie by Headsweats with the race logo on the front and race director logo on the back. The finisher medal was in the shape of Joe Relaxo with the year hanging below. It is designed to add each year you participate. Aid stations were not necessary as this was a looped event. However, the race director secured two restaurant sponsors who brought soup and sandwiches to the race location three different times. The race was located in downtown Pensacola at the Maritime Community Park with the staging area right on Pensacola Bay. Therefore, 80% of the run was was boardered by the water with the other 20% following the road. You could not ask for a better setting for a race like this. We saw two sunsets and one sunrise over the course of the race. The course was concrete and some brick. The unforgiving nature of the sidewalk began to wear on your body over the 24hrs. The runners were able to stage their gear on a grassy area at the start line. This was nice as it promoted socializing with other racers and I actually met several new runners from my community. The runners had access to clean, large bathrooms which was very nice.

This race was both mentally and physically tough. The goal of the race is to run 1 mile every 30 minutes for a 24 hour period. You completed a total of 48 miles at the end of the period. Every mile had to be started and completed in that 30 minutes period, and there was no banking miles. I logged a total of 1,776 ft. of elevation gain for the 48 miles, so each loop was negligible. The race began at 7pm on Friday night and ended at 7pm on Saturday night. Personally the toughest mental part was between midnight and sunrise of the first night, the last few hours of the race, and the waiting. I ran between a 7-9min/mile on each loop. So that is approximately 15 minutes of waiting before lining up in the corral for the next mile. Sometimes it went by very fast, but most times it went by excruciatingly slow. And believe me your mind did not SHUT UP! Especially during that cold, windy, wet early morning. There was an amazing burst of energy for every racer at sunrise on Saturday morning. But Friday night was extremely difficult mentally and physically and I wanted to quit several times!

I had a night kit and day kit. Other than underestimating the cold Friday night/Saturday morning, my hear worked well. I started the race in Altra Escalante, changed to Luna Mono Gordo sandals after mile 32, and ended the race in Altra Duos. I refer real food nutrition on longer races, so I had black bean wraps, Pringle's Salt & Vinegar, and gummy bears. I had tailwind and water for hydration. I personally pushed every mile of the race. My goal was not to just participate but to run strong and I ultimately finished in the top 10% (official results have not been posted as of this date).

I recommend this race to anyone wanting to challenge themselves. It will test your toughness as long as you approach it with the intent to run hard every mile. I managed a 9:08 Avg. Pace for the 48 miles (that includes a celebratory walk for the last mile with friends).