| 18 Hours of Crazy Walking | |
Dateline: 06/13/99
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18 Hour Walkers prepare to start |
It started 9 months earlier. Our correspondent Christina Elsenga commented that she and others in Europe would like to come to an ultrawalk in the USA - were there any 24 hour walks? Nope, I replied - at least none I could find in my About.com websearching for the latest on walking. But, I just happen to be president of the Tough Trail Trompers and I just happen to work at a medical center which has nice level walking paths....
Full Disclosure: At the time of this report, I was president of the non-profit club hosting the event. Photos © Wendy Bumgardner
And so an ultrawalk was born and scheduled for May 30, 1999 - the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. That would give us one day to set up, one day to do the walk, and a day to clean up and rest. It would also give any travelers a good chance to attend.
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Event workers greet walkers |
Now, a problem with the Tough Trail Trompers club is that many folks in the club would want to WALK the ultrawalk rather than work at the event. Because of this, I decided 24 hours was too long - I could probably find workers from 6 am - midnight, but that overnight shift would be too difficult to staff. So, the first 18 Hour Walk it would be. Workers came from many different clubs in addition to the two host clubs - the Tough Trail Trompers and the VAEA Walk and Run Club.
Now for trails. The 24-hour events I had heard of came in two flavors - those which were done entirely on a track and those which had a longer course of 5K to 10K. Also, the volkssport walkers would want to get as many event credits as possible - one per 10K being ideal, but one per 20K still acceptable. Going around a track was not their idea of a good time.
I settled on four "different" trails, cunningly designed so I only had 12K worth of trail to mark. The pretty trail was the Riverview Trail, 10K which went through the historic area of Vancouver Washington, down to and along the Columbia River and back through town to our start/finish at the VA Medical Center. A second event credit was earned by going to the halfway mark on this same trail, turning around and returning to the VA. Another pretty trail is the VA Year-Round Walk, which tours more of the historic area, but which we didn't mark - instead issuing the year-round event maps and instructions. The fourth trail was the Around the VA Trail. This is a 1-mile loop around the VA Medical Center campus loop road, which was good for speed as there was no traffic or stops and good for safety after dark as it is all lighted and within the VA campus.
Walkers could choose to do any or all of the routes. A $20 award package included: award patch, certificate listing their final distance, medal for going 40K or 80K or more, food and drinks throughout the day. We also offered the event as a no-award, credit-only event - walkers could pay $2 for each volkssport event credit, or walk for free if they desired. This is in keeping with our local volkssport event traditions.
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Christina Elsenga racewalks. |
At dawn on May 30th, we arrived at the gym and began to set up tables and get the coffee brewing. Just as everything was in place the sprinklers came on underneath our tables and we swiftly moved everything to a non-irrigated parking lot a few feet away. We had 29 walkers register for the full package, and about 300 more arrived to walk for credit or free.
Two walkers, Christina Elsenga from the Netherlands and Sam Korff from Clatskanie, Oregon walked only the Around the VA Trail. Christina used a racewalk style. Sam both jogged and walked. This is a go-as-you-please event that doesn't enforce any style rules - folks can run if they wish.
The day was sunny and beautiful - one of the few warm sunny days in the first 5 months of 1999 in Vancouver, Washington. Many local walkers came out to enjoy the trails. Rhododendron and iris were in full bloom and the trails were at their loveliest of the year. The Around the VA Trail did get warm where it went between buildings.
The 18-Hour Walkers could enjoy anything they wished from the snack table throughout the event. We had muffins, juice, coffee, tea, water, sodas, Gatorade, Balance energy bars, bananas, apples, animal crackers, Cheez-its, pretzels, bread, peanut butter and strawberry jam. They also got free sausages and chips from "Chef" Bill.
All walkers were invited to step over to our grill, run by "Chef" Bill Mitchell and featuring German sausage, chips, and sodas at bargain prices. He was assisted by two veterans from the Nursing Skilled Care Unit, with profits going to buy meals for families visiting their veterans at the NSCU throughout the year. Joe Sutter contributed a case of Jelly Belly samples which were eagerly gobbled by the walkers. The Tough Trail Trompers also celebrated their 10th anniversary as a club with both white and chocolate cake free for all of the walkers. Volks-Ware clothing for walkers was there with a new "Extreme Walker" t-shirt design.
Traveling to attend were: Christina Elsenga from the Netherlands, Spencer Lane from England, Leroy Wright from Texas, Joe Sutter and Jo Hefner from California, and John Zuiker and John Slot from British Columbia.
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Wendy congratulated Spencer Lane on 40K. |
Walker had their own goals. For some, it was simply to enjoy a beautiful day on a 10K walk. For others, they wanted to see if they could walk a full marathon (42K) if they had a long time in which to do it. Others wanted to see how far they could go in 18 hours. Ken Searl made up a chart to show how easy it would be to walk 100 kilometers in 18 hours. No special speed is needed, just endurance.
Throughout the day, the walkers could picnic on the lush (and as we have seen, well-irrigated) lawns of the VA, watching the Babe Ruth baseball game on the ball diamond next door.
As the sun set, the crowd thinned and only the dedicated continued their walk toward their goals. There were many marathon finishers in the afternoon, some like Charlotte Copeland finishing her first marathon distance ever. At 9 pm, all trails except for the Around the VA were shut down so we could keep better tabs on the walkers.
Mike Cashner came to staff the checkpoint, and kept the walkers and workers amused with his witty remarks. To ensure a full distance was walked each circuit, the walkers had to touch the brick in front of Mike and as their reward we had the pile of Jelly Bellies right there for quick energy.
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Karen, Ken, Christina, Jack, and John |
Christina finished her 100 kilometers at around 11 pm and called it good. She took advantage of the showers available in the gym. As it neared midnight, we cheered our final finishers.
Of those registered for the full package, here are the achievements. In volkssporting, everyone is a winner and this was not a race, so each deserves full congratulations:
| Name | Country | Total KM |
| Carla Danielson | USA | 20 |
| Sybilla A. Cook | USA | 20 |
| Walker Paynter | USA | 40 |
| Carla Whitson | USA | 40 |
| Charlotte Copeland | USA | 40 |
| Daryl Pulley | USA | 40 |
| John M. Kreher | USA | 40 |
| Mary Brillhart | USA | 40 |
| Norm Fleck | USA | 40 |
| Patsy Cob | USA | 40 |
| Karen Henderson | USA | 42 |
| Arlene Cooper | USA | 50 |
| Arlene Schmidt | USA | 50 |
| Brenda Buennagel | USA | 50 |
| Spencer Lane | GB | 50 |
| Leroy Wright | USA | 55 |
| Michele Druschel | USA | 70 |
| Darlene Gubele | USA | 80 |
| Eric Glosenger | USA | 80 |
| Jackie Hill | USA | 80 |
| John Slot | Canada | 80 |
| Ken Searl | USA | 82 |
| Dennis Barrett | USA | 85 |
| Sam Korff | USA | 85 |
| Jack Odgaard | USA | 87 |
| Joe Sutter | USA | 90 |
| Christina Elsenga | NL | 100 |
| Joseph T. Kelly | USA | 101 |
| John P. Zuiker | Canada | 105 |
Those left at midnight: Mr. Gubele, Darlene Gubele, Christina Elsenga, Michele Druschel, Jack Odgaard, Joe Kelly, John Slot. Front row: John P. Zuiker, Jackie Hill, Dennis Barrett, Karen Henderson.
More
18 Hour Walk 2000
Long Distance Walking
Marathons and Ultra Events
Marathon and Ultra Training and Technique
Volkssport Clubs
Volkssporting
Christina Elsenga's Event Reports:
Walking the Nijmegen Vierdaagse The granddaddy of all walking events - the 50K/day/4 days walk in the Netherlands.
Walking in Viborg, Denmark Seven-day walk in Denmark.
Nijmegen-Rotterdam 160 Kilometers Christina Elsenga walks across the Netherlands.
Shiedam 100 Miles in 24 Hours
