50 Miles, One Saturday: Robert Zinda on His First Pavement Ultra

On Saturday, HatchPath's Chief Financial Officer Robert Zinda ran 50 miles of pavement through Door County, Wisconsin, the thumb of the state, for his first pavement ultra. Nine hours and nine minutes later he crossed the finish line. What he wrote down afterward is not really about the mileage. It is about the pace you hold at the start, the dark place every ultra takes you into, and the stranger who gets you through it.

The Plan Versus the Reality

Going in, the plan was a 9:30 pace if his legs felt good and the weather stayed cool, with a realistic target of around 10:30 per mile. What he did not plan for was feeling incredibly strong out of the start. It was cool, the legs were there, and so he held on to the pace for as long as he could muster.

That held for the first 21 miles, at just under 10 minutes per mile. Then the hills arrived, and hills in mile 21 are a different animal than hills in mile 3.

Miles 25 to 35: The Dark Place

Every ultra takes you into a mentally dark place. Robert's lined up with the biggest hills on the course, the peak of the heat, and half the race still ahead of him. Miles 25 through 35 were, in his words, easily the darkest.

The strategy in that stretch was not heroic. It was small and repeatable. Focus only on finishing the next section or the next mile. Think about his daughters. And be a source of sunshine to the other racers who were obviously deep in their own dark places.

That last one is where the race turned. Around mile 30 he made it a point to talk to every person he passed, and that is where he met Meg, a runner with an extensive race resume who was there seeking redemption from a hot DNF in California.

Meg, and the Next Fifteen Miles

They shared the next 15 miles together, talking about kids, life, and races. With about 5 miles left, Robert told her to go on without him, since he was holding her back. She did, and he is direct about what her company was worth: without her, he would have run the race 20 to 30 minutes slower.

The Finish

With 5 miles left, the light at the end of the tunnel was visible, and he did his best to pick up the pace. The last 3 miles came in under 10 minutes each, and he finished strong.

• Official time: 9 hours and 9 minutes
• Average pace with aid stations: 10:50 per mile
• Average pace without aid stations: 10:28 per mile
• Distance: 50 miles of pavement through Door County, Wisconsin
• Last 3 miles: sub 10 minute pace, finishing strong

Why He Keeps Doing This

Robert calls this race the perfect example of why he loves ultras. You put in months of solo effort where nobody is watching you train, to run a solo race where on the surface it is all on you to finish.

Realistically, though, the race is finished and enjoyed because of other people. The runners he met along the way. His wife, encouraging him at every aid station she could get to. A solo sport that has to be done with a team you are not even aware of before it starts.