Cape Cod Rail Trail Ultra

My 2022 running journey was awesome and I was eager to build upon the experiences I had heading into 2023. I talked myself out of a marathon in the spring and an ultramarathon in the late spring/early summer. With a baby boy on the way I knew that I wasn’t going to be doing any big adventures come september. So I started looking into creating my own. 

I am an avid browser of the FKT (fastest known time) website. The site has routes from all over the world for endurance athletes to take on and post their times. If one wishes to, they can try to set the fastest known time of any given route. During my searches I thought about possibly doing my own marathon in Cape Cod during our family vacation in August. Sure enough I found out the Cape Cod Rail Trail was just over a marathon in distance from end to end. While I knew I was not fast enough to set the FKT for the Cape Cod Rail Trail I felt like this was perfect. 

The thought of my first marathon distance being on Cape Cod was exciting, but a month before heading to the Cape I ended up running a marathon, unexpectedly, on one of my friends birthdays. Once that happened the next logical thought in my brain was that I needed to extend the route in Cape Cod beyond just the rail trail to make it at least 50K (31.07 miles). And so I did just that, I came up with a route that started at the beginning of the rail trail in South Yarmouth and ended at our house in Wellfleet. The Cape Cod Rail Trail Ultra was born. Here is how the adventure went. 

Miles 0-10

The nerves were high. All I could think about was why am I so nervous. This wasn’t an event I had paid to be in, this was a route I had drawn out and wanted to run, just another one of my adventures. I also got to choose when I was going to do this, so why am I so nervous? 

My plan was to run for 5 minutes then walk for 1 min for as long as possible, if not the entire distance. It took me a few miles to settle in. I knew I needed to hold myself back to avoid starting too fast. 

The first few miles there was a golf course on either side of the trail. It was overcast and the temps were still fairly cool. A nearly perfect way to start.

In my vest I carried two hours worth of nutrition and water.  I was also lucky enough to have my parents in law (Jim and Kris) biking the path as well. They would check in on me at times to make sure I was ok. My wife (Lauren), 36 weeks pregnant might I add, met me at different spots throughout the run. She had extra nutrition and water for me at each stop. 

At mile 6 I got to see the whole crew, this was a quick stop, really just a check in. I was feeling good and didn’t need to restock anything in my vest. This section was really just about settling in and getting comfortable and I felt like I was able to do just that. 

The next stop would come around mile 10. My crew had set up at a picnic table and it felt like I was running into a legit aid station at a race. Every option laid out, all hands on deck to get me anything I could possibly need. I realized at that moment how lucky I was to have them along with me for this adventure. 

Miles 11-19

The majority of this section was shaded and despite the sun being out now it still felt cool under all the tree cover. I was able to zone out and just flow. Feeling good, sticking to my run 5/ walk 1 method. Nutrition was on point, consuming something every 20-30 minutes. 

It was somewhere around mile 16 that I got stung by what looked like a wasp, you could say I was no longer in my flow state when that happened. I got stung on my knee, it took me about a minute or so to get going again and oh my did it hurt. I chose to keep moving forward and by the time I got to see my crew again the stinging sensation had subsided. At mile 18.6 my crew was set up with another awesome aide station. At this point I needed to restock my entire vest. I also took a few minutes to take in some nutrition. Cold applesauce to-go packets were tasting amazing at this point. I was starting to feel a little tired at the end of this section but getting to see the crew helped lift me up and provide me with some good energy for the next section. 

Miles 20-28 

The first 5 miles of this section were rough. Much more sun exposure, and multiple gradual uphill stretches. These uphill stretches were like false flats, energy depleting, doubt inducing false flats. Mile 22.8 was a quick stop, my wife had gotten some ice cold water and at that moment it was one of the best things. Even though it had not been that long since seeing the crew I was again grateful to see them and got another energy boost from them. 

The views were great along the remaining portion of this section, a couple of large ponds, and plenty of wildlife management areas. I also got to see a turkey on the side of the trail. This was a much better, painless, interaction than the one with the wasp. 

Aches and pain started to settle in, especially in my feet,  but I knew forward was the only way I wanted to move. I knew going into something like this the battle would be just as much mental, if not more, that it would be physical. Like I mentioned earlier doubt crept in at times, but I was able to right the mental ship pretty quickly each time. Some mantras that got me through were, “you can do hard things”, and  “you’re choosing strong today”. 

The miles were clicking by slowly, I continued to follow the run 5/ walk 1 method, although a couple times I walked for an extra 10-20 seconds. I told myself that was ok as long as I was moving forward. At mile 27.7 I got to see the crew again, this was the last aid station set up for this adventure. Again, all hands on deck to get me whatever I needed. I grabbed more cold water, some nutrition and a hat. I had basically finished the rail trail and knew what I was heading into for the next section. 

Miles 29-32

Once I finished the rail trail I turned around and headed back, about one mile, to Lecount Hollow Road. I quickly realized how lucky I was to have the shaded areas along the rail trail. Lecount Hollow left me fully exposed to the sun and man did things heat up! When I turned on Ocean View Drive I could only laugh to myself. The hill at that point seemed more like a mountain in the Rockies, but I knew it was going to be there and knew what I needed to do. I could have easily taken a different route but Ocean View Drive is special to me. I have run it every year since I started coming to Cape Cod in 2018, and I wanted Ocean View Drive to be a part of this adventure. 

I made it to the top of the hill on Ocean Drive and was feeling everything, the heat, the pain in my feet, the heaviness of my legs…all of it. Consuming calories became nearly impossible during this stretch. I was only taking in water. 

Although I was hurting, I got the biggest uplifting surge of energy when Lauren rode by me on a bicycle. She ditched the car for a bike at 36 weeks pregnant! Incredible. The crew followed me closely during this stretch, probably wishing I didn’t go this way this far into the adventure. I did need a water refill and I was so grateful to have them close by, they came up on their bikes and grabbed my flask so I didn’t even have to stop moving. 

I made it through the stretch on Ocean View Drive to Cahoon Hollow Road and through all the pain and discomfort I smiled. 

The finish 

The last two miles were painful, amazing, emotional and slow. My feet were throbbing, every time I walked the pain would intensify. “You got this man, you can do hard things.” I said to myself at least two dozen times in the last two miles. I even started saying it out loud. I was familiar with the final stretch of road and all of its rolling hills. I had a great view of a pond with just over a mile to go. This part of the route also had much more shade which made it feel significantly cooler and probably a life saver. 

The last mile or so is when I ditched the run 5/ walk 1 method I held on to for so long. With multiple rolling hills I started to run the downs and walk the ups. Breathing was getting hard. When I started to walk the last hill I knew at that moment I was finishing this thing, for the first time in 6 hours I could feel the finish. I also got a bit emotional which didn’t help my breathing. Once I got to the top of the last hill I could see the finish line. My amazing crew had an extra long dog leash spanning across the road and were cheering me on right through the finish as they had the entire time. Again emotions started to rise, which was making breathing quite difficult, but I was able to control my emotions so I could get my breathing under control. 

Once I was done I walked for a couple minutes and thought about how awesome the past 6 plus hours had been. From my support crew to the scenery and actually completing what I set out to do. I am so grateful for my wife and parents in law, their support throughout this was incredible. 

I learned just how much my body can handle, I showed myself that when things get hard I can keep going, even when it hurts. This was easily one of the toughest things I’ve done, and if presented with the opportunity to do it all over again I wouldn’t think twice about it, I’d lace up the shoes and go!

It’s incredible what we can endure. The human body is an amazing machine. I encourage you to find something that will take you outside your comfort zone. The lessons learned and growth that comes from doing hard things is unmatched. You can endure anything you set your mind to, you were built to endure.