Ultra-distance athletes stand out in the field, finishing Vermont race in extreme heat – Poughkeepsie Journal

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Completing a 100-mile trail ultramarathon race is a rare feat even in the ever-expanding world of ultra-endurance sports. It is, to paraphrase author and ultra athlete David Goggins, to be uncommon even among the uncommon.

Two local ultra-distance athletes — Poughkeepsie resident Etan Levavi and Vassar College cross-country and track coach James McCowan, an Ulster County resident — were not only uncommon among the uncommon at the Vermont 100-mile trail race earlier this summer. For more than half the race, they shared the same space of sun-scorched earth during the all-day, all-night race in steamy New England.

Levavi finished ninth overall and fifth among open men in 20 hours, 38 minutes, 43 seconds. McCowan was 20th overall and fifth in the 40-49 division in 22:39:58. Although both times were slower than their pre-race anticipated goals, they were among the elite finishers in a race that saw more than half of its participants falter and not finish due to the extreme heat by any standards, but especially for northern New England.

Under normal conditions, the finish rate for the Vermont 100 hovers at about 75 percent. For 2019, when the heat index blazed to 105 degrees or more at times, only 48 percent of the starters made it to the finish line. So Levavi and McCowan not only exceeded the norm of the race overall, both were among the top finishers in the entire race.

One of the unique aspects of such a long race in the woods is the complex logistics of each participant. The cliché of the “loneliness of the long-distance runner” does not apply; although their names appear as individuals in the final results, Levavi and McCowan were most definitely part of a “team” in reaching the finish line.

In their post-race reports, both gave enormous credit and gratitude to their crews — men and women who paced them for mile after endless mile, and who tended to their every need at aid stations spread out across the course. Friends, family members and in McCowan’s case, former Brewer athletes whom he coached, dedicated the better part of the race weekend to see to it that these men got to the finish line in one piece.

“I was elated to be cheered on by my teammates who were waiting at the finish,’’ Levavi wrote in his post-race report. “I’m grateful for the support in facilitating my pursuit of this sport.’’

In the immediate aftermath of the effort, McCowan referred to his young children as “goofy and punch tired in the middle of the night.” He added: “My entire body pulsed with the agony of the effort, but I was filled with appreciation and gratitude for my committed crew and former students.”

Both runners entered the race physically and mentally prepared. Levavi had a multi-tiered goal plan that started with a truly elite target of an 18-hour finish (this would have placed him third overall in 2019). Although it became obvious that would not be possible given the extreme conditions, he still sliced nearly six hours off his previous personal-best time of more than 26 hours.

For McCowan, the Vermont 100 represented the next huge step in what has been a rapid ascent in the ultra-running world. He ran his first 50-kilometer (31-mile) race in the spring of 2017; his first 50-miler was a year later at the Rock the Ridge near his home in the Shawangunk Ridge; his first 100km (62-mile) earlier this calendar year.

He and Levavi have been well acquainted on the long-distance trails. Levavi was a mere 50 seconds ahead of him at the 2018 Rock the Ridge; in a 50-mile race, that’s the equivalent of a photo finish. And so it was not surprising while also inspiring that the two local ultra men would spend the middle 50-plus miles of the Vermont race around each other.

McCowan said they rarely ran together shoulder to shoulder.

“A big part of ultras is sticking to your own rhythm,’’ he said, “and we rarely were moving the same pace at the same time. Even so, it was always encouraging to see each other.”

It was fitting that McCowan had former athletes crewing and pacing for him. He preaches to his student-athletes that their sport — and really, life in general — is about problem solving. Completing a complex 100-miler in the sizzling woods “seems to really distill that experience,’’ he said.

He and Levavi were in problem-solving mode pretty much from the start, mostly due to the excessive heat. Balancing fluid and food intake, while trying to maximize pacing in the cooler and shadier parts of the race, were vital to being in the minority of the runners who actually got to the finish line.

“An hour and a half into the race,’’ Levavi said, “I knew it would be a tough day. I was sweating heavily even before sunrise — not due to heavy exertion but due to temperature and humidity levels. I immediately prioritized replenishing my electrolytes and fluids. I upped my fluid intake significantly and backed off the (pacing) effort.’’

The heat took its toll. At aid stations between 50 and 76 miles, McCowan suffered so much from heat-related issues that “EMTs hovered, eyeing me suspiciously.” This is where his crew really bolstered his efforts. According to him, they formed the perfect combination of precise care and tough love to bring him back from flagging spirits both mentally and physically.

Similarly, Levavi grew frustrated that the “Spirit of 76” aid station seemingly never arose for him. Such was the mind-numbing and grueling nature of the middle and latter stages of the race. Both Levavi and McCowan — with significant help from their crews — rallied and got to the finish line ahead of the majority of the field.

So … what’s next?

“There are always new borders of the body/mind to explore,’’ McCowan said.

Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club member Pete Colaizzo, the track coach at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, writes on running every week in Players. He can be reached at runhed246@hotmail.com. For more club information, go to www.mhrrc.org

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