Some of the greatest quests for running excellence have yet to be achieved. From the Nike ‘Breaking 2’ Marathon attempts to the invention of a breathable waterproof running jacket that actually is both.
But through a quirk of shop naming and the American way of arranging dates yesterday ( the 11th of July) will go down in running folklore as the day 2 runners and a British guy proved you could do 7 Free Slurpees over 38 miles on foot without paying for a single slurpee*
One of the Great Race Innovators of Our Time
Jimmy McCaffrey of West Rock Fat Ass 50 fame has wanted to take advantage of the 7-Eleven free slurpee day for some time. Every year the convenience store celebrates the date 7/11 with free slurpees from 11am until 7pm.
After announcing with glee on social media his intentions to run an ultra through the most ‘7-Eleven dense’ part of Connecticut he managed to convinced Tobias Tello (who I’ve run the Mattabesset Trail with) and a Brit that says yes to everything to join him.
Bill and Ted
Unlike the iconic Bill and Ted and their Excellent Adventure we set off at 7.11am from The store in Vernon with a route meticulously planned towards Meriden 38 Miles away with Manchester, East Hartford, West Hartford, Newington and New Britain as ‘aid stations’ en route.
Hot Garbage
Its hard to find the right verbs to describe just how horribly hot it was. Combined with the humidity it honestly felt like my face was being blowtorched sometimes and running in the heat left my heart rate in the ‘heart attack’ zone of my Garmin watch. The cool air conditioned stores were sweet relief from the heat and I’ve never been in a race that had air conditioning at aid stations so I was impressed.
All day Jimmy would keep mumbling his new mantra… ‘ Hot Garbage’ to describe the situation.
CULTRA Podcast
It wasn’t long before the media got wind of what was happening. During the course of the day we had literally 3 selfies with impressed members of the public who had not come out to see us. Around lunchtime one of the USAs most famous Trail Running podcasts couldn’t get anyone out to us but Art Byram from the CULTRA podcast happened to be in a 7-Eleven buying cigarettes so it was great to bump into him.
Race Trophy and Medals
Jimmy had cleverly organised an impressive Trophy and medals for all entrants so it was simple enough to pick them up from a Trophy shop in Hartford as we ran past. This smart tactic meant we didn’t have to carry them for the whole race. There was some kind of mix up at the store and I needed to pay but Jimmy assured me he would refund my race entry cost.
The Winner by a Slurp
At 9hrs 33 minutes and cheered in by a crowd of people pumping gasoline into their cars a triumphant Tobias Tello raced into the Meriden Gas Station to no applause and cheers and claimed the Slurpee Crown. Only minutes later Jimmy arrived having made a tactical error in the last sprint finish section and weighed down by his 6th doughnut from New Britain simply couldn’t muster the last burst of speed to beat Tobias and Type 2 diabetes.
I took it easy on the last few miles having run low on water and literally not caring and missed the 11hr 7 min cutoff by a comfortable margin bagging a podium Bronze medal and ‘Fastest Brit’ for yet another USA race.
Verdict
If you asked me a few days ago if I liked road running I would tell you no. I’m a trail runner and enjoy the scenery and peace on trail. This run was the opposite. Its telling though that despite miles of baking hot tarmac roads and dodging trucks I found my first road Ultra to be great fun ( until the last 8 miles). The things that hold true for trail running transfer to tarmac, its fun, friendship and not taking yourself too seriously that I really love about running.
What I still don’t understand though is how after so many slurpees I spent most of the day so thirsty.
What we did see that day was something surprising. In a country of so many viewpoints and opinions and differences we saw something as simple as a small free blue slurpee bring communities together. The queues at most stores were long and people of all walks of life came together and smile and chat in a long queue to enjoy a cool icy drink on a hot humid day.
The whole experience was everything I’ve come to love about the USA.
*we didn’t read the rules properly and had to pay for all the slurpees before 11am.
