By Kent Hikida
I ran track and cross country in high school and have run on and off including six
marathons over the past 40+ years. I was excited to run in the Lebanon, NH Red,
White, and Blue 6.2-mile race on the Fourth of July.
I completed the Covered Bridges Half Marathon a month earlier and was feeling
confident about running half the distance on the Northern Rail Trail. It was a hot and
humid day, but the course was mostly shaded and unpaved along the Mascoma River. I
remember the starter saying, “this is a very informal fun run, and if you’re registered for
the 5K, but you want to run 10K, or if you’re registered for the 10K and you want to run
the 5K go ahead, just let them know at the finish line so they can adjust your finish time.
And if you want to take a dip in the river along the way I won’t judge.” That put a smile
on my face and I thought this would be fun. Little did I know what was in store for me.
The run started well and I didn’t push too hard and I established a decent pace, but my
smartphone running application volume was low so I couldn’t hear my splits and didn’t
know my pace. I took water at every water station, and near the turn around when we
ran on the road there was no shade and I could feel the heat building.
I was cruising along when I hit mile 5 and I thought I had enough in the tank to speed
up, but about half a mile from the finish line I totally bonked and collapsed, and I could
not get to my feet. The next thing I knew, the EMT’s were loading me on a gurney and
into an ambulance to take me to Dartmouth Hitchcock (DH). I was dehydrated and my
electrolytes were depleted. This was not the 4 th of July fireworks that I intended at the
beginning of the day. The EMT’s checked my vital signs and started me on an
intravenous drip, and I felt better almost immediately. At the DH emergency room, they
determined that one of my electrolytes was low and they replenished it.
The next week I had a regular check-up scheduled with my physician who also runs. He
said I should have allowed an extra minute per mile due to the heat. I normally run
around 9:00 minutes per mile, but it turns out I was running an 8:30 mile when I hit
bonked, and I literally ran out of fuel. His advice, “Don’t try to set any records when it’s
hot and humid, make sure you hydrate and refuel.”
Since then, I’ve fully recovered (except my wounded pride), and I’m back to running 4-
miles a day and a long 10K weekend run. Thanks to my fellow runners who alerted the
EMTs, to the EMT’s who picked me up, and to the DH ER staff who rehydrated me and
got my electrolytes in balance. I used gels during the half marathon a month before, and
I don’t know why I didn’t bring a couple for this 10K.
It was a tough lesson to learn, but next time I’m going to take it easy and not speed up,
stop and walk at the water stations, and refuel with gels. I look forward to seeing
everyone back on the course next year, and don’t bonk like me!