Do you have the running craze? If you find yourself doing some of the following, you just might… Richard Key, District Manager of DC Metro properties recently completed the 48th annual JFK 50 miler. It is the oldest ultra-marathon in US. As a fellow long distance runner I just had to know, what was it like? Here’s what Richard had to say:  “Training was essentially similar to training for a marathon with just adding in more miles and figuring out how to keep the body fueled for 9 hours.  When you burn approx 6,000 calories it is hard to replenish them on the run.  I used a liquid carb diet during the run and at the end was drinking Coca-Cola at aid stations.  Staying motivated was the hardest part between miles 27 and 38, but I kept telling myself that if I could just get to the mile 38 aid station, that if I had to, I could walk the final 12 miles.  I also knew that if I made it that far, I would never quit because my son was going to be there and I would not be able to not finish in front of him. Now I’m off to running a 100K plus a couple on Dec 10th.” Wow! For those of you who have experienced ‘hitting the wall’ in a marathon – can you even imagine the wall in a 50 miler? Not to mention a 100K? Some more insight from Richard after the Hellgate 100K (December 10th): “It was literally, the coolest, hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Parts of my legs I didn’t even know could hurt, hurt. The race starts at midnight and I finished in just under 16 hours. It was amazing to see the sun start rising around 4am. When I got close to 40 miles I just started thinking all I have left now is a marathon. The last 6 miles were 3 miles straight up & 3 miles straight down. At the bottom of the decline, about a mile from the finish you are just cruising down this gravel road.” Next up? Richard will be preparing for his 100 miler debut next fall in the Grindstone. Now that is what I call some serious running craze!! For more information on some of these NOVA area races see links below: JFK 50 Miler Hellgate 100K Grindstone 100 Miler