Running from Boston to New York
Images by Kevin Ellison
‘Am I nervous?’ ‘Why are you doing this?’ The two main questions everyone asks, and both are hard to answer.
I should be nervous, right? Running 550k / 340 Miles, or maybe more, across the US, from Boston to New York in 11 days - an ultra a day. The most I’ve ever done was half of that. So why am I not nervous?
The closest I get to explaining this, to you, and to myself, is that I just can’t wrap my head around the distance. The idea of running that amount seems foreign to me. I can’t even get nervous as I fail to understand what we are about to do. So why do it? That’s just it… Curiosity, I guess. Finding out what will happen, what my limits are, maybe. Discovering new places, and new emotions…
So the adventure begins…
It is 7am on a sunny autumn morning in Boston. Six women set off together. Running along the Charles River, a bike path also referred to as the Charles River Greenway, into Boston’s western suburbs. After about a Mile or so running as one team, we separate into two groups. The two girls, Mireille and Jevi keep going steady, as the four of us, Andrea, Paige, Liz and I start to speed up to a slightly more comfortable pace, around 6min/km / 9,40” min/Mile. As we chat along and get to know each other we forget about the massive distance ahead of us and go into the training pace we are used to, meaning we probably start off a bit too fast clocking some 5.30” kilometres / 8,50” min/Mile.
On day 3 of our 11 day journey, having covered over 100 kilometres / 62 Miles already, we are starting to slow down, intentionally. As we are starting to understand the magnitude of our endeavour… The many Miles on the road are tough on the muscles and joints; the repetitiveness of the movement and the same impact with every step. Pains and niggles have started to appear and we realise we still have a very long way to go.
Day 4 we, finally, hit the trails for the first time. I welcome the soft surface of the iconic Seven Sisters Trail and the variation on my muscles with open arms. The change of scenery is also nice. Forrest, single tracks covered in beautiful orange, yellow and red autumn leaves. A 300 meter / 1000 feet climb brings us on top of the Mount Holyoke Range State park, which offers us the first panoramic view on the urban environment we came from and the trees and trails ahead of us.
The first problems appear
All is going well and the Miles seem to pass quick, until we hit the road again about half way through another 50 kilometer day and an old ankle injury starts playing up. My ankle swells up and pain shoots run through my leg with every step my foot hits the hard surface of the road. When we arrive at the Marathon Sports store in Northampton after about 30k I have to face the truth knowing I won’t be able to continue. I make the hard decision to stop, in the hope that with a little bit of rest I’ll recover fast, and be able to continue the rest of the journey the next day.
At this point in our journey, also Paige and Jevi starting to have ankle issues and Liz is struggling with knee pains. Endurance, fitness and muscles are trainable, but the impact on the joints not so much, especially not in the short, 6 week, timeframe we had to prepare for this trip.
With the ups and downs of the trail, variation of terrain, the group format starts to change too. We are not running one steady pace anymore and each of us attacks these trails differently. Personally, I am not the best climber, but I make up for it on the downhill. Liz, struggling with knee pains, finds the downhills very hard as they hurt her the most, but you can tell she is experienced in this uneven terrain and climbs up so fast even our support crew finds it hard to keep up with her. I enjoy running the trails, although it’s slower than the road, the time seems to pass faster.
The longest day
We are still covering 50 to 60 kilometer / 30 to 40 Miles a day, which means our days on the trails are long; 50k can easily be a nine hour day. We have our longest day on day 7, covering 61 kilometers with almost 3,000m of elevation, taking us 12.5hours.
The Appalachian trail is pretty hard with rocky terrain that forces us to climb on all force, and single tracks downhill, challenging the fastness of our feet and ankle mobility. We are crossing rivers, loose our route a few times, miss the check point to resupply, and I almost step on a snake. The sun sets as we still have 10 kilometres / 6 Miles to go. Andrea and I run this part alone. We had been told there are bears in the area. With only the two of us in the dark woods, this information remains on our minds the entire time.
We run a bit faster and try to make enough sound by talking to each other out loud and hitting my poles on the rocks so the bears would keep away, while not daring to stop or slow down so the bears wouldn’t catch us. Liz must also still be out there, accompanied by our cameraman Peter, although we havent seen or heard from her in a while so we can’t be sure.
When we finally arrive at our RV, hungry, thirsty as we ran our of everything in the last hour, and exhausted like we’d never been, we collapse on the couch, tears running down my face and I can’t even explain why…
About ten minutes later, Liz shows up, also exhausted, hungry and tired after this incredibly long day.
Breaking point
That day had been a breaking point for most of us, mentally more than physically. I remember going to bed at night thinking I won’t be able to go through this again the next day… The morning I wake up, it’s like I’m functioning on autopilot, I change into my running clothes and start again… but this time I’m not sure if I will finish. I might just run to our first checkpoint at about 10 kilometers, I think to myself, but once you get going, I guess you just continue…
After the tough yet beautiful Appalachian trail, we soon arrive to New York State and run into New York City on our final day. Crossing the George Washington bridge is something magical. It symbolises the end of this amazing unforgettable journey. The skyscrapers on the background, where we know that somewhere in the midst of them, lies our finish line.
I get emotional but can’t really explain the emotions; sad that the journey is ending and happy we did something never done before - running from Boston to New York. Non of us were really sure it was possible to do; doubting ourselves, our abilities, and in this moment, letting go of those doubts and realising we can, we are capable. WE DID IT! Even though we have about 20 kilometers / 12 Miles left, we know we made it. We achieved something incredible.
The final stretch
The final 8 kilometres / 5 Miles we run together as one team, 6 women, from all different backgrounds but with the same drive to achieve something incredible, and the people who came to support us on this last stretch. We run through Central Park, across the NYC marathon finish line. We leave the park and continue to run from 59th all the way to 14th street, zigzagging through the crowds and getting energised by the electrifying lights on Time Square. We encounter numerous of traffic lights, making us stop and start every few hundred meters, but these are just minor obstacles in relation to the obstacles we have already overcome along the way. Then we hear the cheering of the crowd gathered in front of the Paragon Sports store, holding up a banner representing the finish line of this unforgettable journey. With our heads high and hands in the air, we finish together, happy and proud to have made it and that we have supported each other all the way from Boston to New York.
Memories for life
The beauty of an adventure like this is that you have the opportunity to surprise yourself, to show yourself that you can do so much more than you think possible. Every single one of these woman have pushed themselves beyond their perceived limits and leaves this adventure knowing their strength, physically but above all mentally, and with memories that last a lifetime.
Watch the full documentary now on YouTube: FALKE Sport | Boston - New York Women’s Expedition
