Pre-race
But I was itching to do something long after my DNF at IMTUF 100 to prove to myself that it was fluky day of me being sick. I needed to give myself enough time to be mostly recovered by the time that Boston rolled around in April so that narrowed my window to a race in January/February. Oh, and it would be really nice if this long thing was also a Western States qualifier. I'm doing Eiger 250 in July and it's also a qualifier, but I didn't want to put all my eggs in that basket since I've never attempted to run that far.
There were only a few options in those 2 months that were feasible from a cost/time/availability standpoint and I found myself thinking about Rocky again. I got through Rehoboth, let it fester for a couple weeks, and then decided to pull the trigger.
Casey and I went out for drinks shortly thereafter and within the hour, she had agreed to crew me for the weekend. Though I had no problems crewing myself in 2023, I was looking forward to having someone to share the experience with and motivate me if things got tough.
We left Thursday afternoon and landed in Houston around dinner time. After driving an hour to our hotel in Huntsville, we went out to the Mexican restaurant that I enjoyed 2 years prior. Sleep came easy after the giant margaritas, tacos, and travel.
Friday morning, I did a short shakeout run in the shopping center parking lot next to the hotel and was happy that I felt relatively normal (unlike my shakeout at IMTUF 100). Casey and I had a leisurely breakfast, went grocery shopping for carbs, had lunch at McAllister's, and lounged in the hotel until packet pickup opened at 3pm.
For dinner, I ordered a pizza to to pickup and thought I had ordered it from the Pizza Hut in throwing distance of the hotel. But, I actually ordered it from the one about 10 minutes away which ended up being a good oops because we saw a couple of places to check out on Sunday, re: Potato Shack and Cocktails Express (a place that had daiquiris to go).
Back at the hotel, I got everything packed up for my drop bag, laid out my race outfit, and then fell asleep pretty easily at 9pm.
Race day
I got up at 4:15am, ate a cinnamon muffin, drank a cold brew, and got dressed. We got to the park shortly after 5am, I picked up my timing chip, and made one last pit stop in the porta-potty. It was chilly, but I was comfortable in my puffy coat that I handed off to Casey right before I hopped into the start corral. I talked to the other runners around me briefly, a woman going for her first 100 finish after a couple of DNFs and a man who was returning to racing after having cancer. We all wished each other good luck and then we were off!
Loop 1
I was happy that I felt good in the first couple of miles, not crazy euphoric, but just super comfortable. Though I had run 5 loops on this course before and remembered a fair amount of it, I also knew that this first loop would be a good refresher for the rest of the day. I was further up in the field this time when I started and didn't too badly stuck in the bottlenecks in the beginning. 100 miles is a long way to go and I knew that once we got to the jeep road that it would be much easier to pass people if needed.
The aid stations for each loop were at 4.1, 9.1, 14.1, and then 20. 5 loops of 20 miles each = 100 miles. At the first aid station, I didn't stop for anything as it was cool enough that I knew I had plenty of liquid to make it at least to 9.1 miles without a refill. I turned my headlamp off somewhere in the 5th or 6th mile as the sun finally came up.
Luckily, it remained cool for quite some time and I left my thin, long-sleeved shirt for the entire first loop. At the 9.1 mile aid station, I made a pit stop at the real bathroom and felt proud of myself for staying hydrated enough to pee.
I had my eat timer on to go off every 30 minutes and was taking in at least 100 calories (or more) every 30 minutes. My plan was to alternate between 2 gels that had been working for me, Precision and Torq and then mix in easy to eat real food things like fig bars, granola bars, fruit chews, croissants, and cheese. Each bag that I packed for the loops had 4 gels and then 3-4 of the real food things. Plus, I was getting calories/electrolytes from Skratch. I knew I was going to want other things later on from the aid stations and would just go with my heart as far as any other calories that I could consume.
The second half of the loop 1 was relatively uneventful. I ended up behind a trio of runners in their 20s who were chatting and laughing and though I wasn't contributing to their conversation, I was enjoying listening to them swap stories.
Because the trails were ruined last year with flooding there were a few sections that were different as they had to reroute to avoid further damage. But it was mostly the same as it was when I ran it the first time and was very happy that it was dry this year.
Loop 2
It was getting warm and sunny so I dropped my long-sleeve with Casey and grabbed my sunglasses. I refilled all my nutrition, dropped my trash, and grabbed my headphones for a little music boost.
I asked her how her day was going and she told me that it was pretty exciting. She had just helped to hold the wrist of the 3rd place woman who fell and dislocated her pinky finger. The woman's fiancé popped it back into place and after a bit of tape, Casey said she just kept right on running.
I felt really good on the first half of the loop 2. I had my tunes, I was hydrating and eating, and everything seemed to be clicking.
However, as I neared the middle part of loop 2, my stomach started rumbling. I knew I was near the real bathroom so when I got to the aid station, I raced inside. A few seconds later, I immediately had to puke. And wow, I was hydrated because I had never thrown up so much liquid in my life. Luckily, it seemed it was only liquid and made me feel a million times better once I was finished.
The reset seemed to put me right back into good shape for a mile or two, but then I went downhill fast. I started to feel really, really terrible both mentally and physically. I got worried that I was only 30ish miles in and that I was going to have to death march the last 70 miles. Fortunately, I was feeling so miserable that the two times I tripped and fell in this section I was going slow enough that I didn't hurt myself.
It was so frustrating to feel so awful so early, but I tried to just stick with my plan, eating and drinking on schedule and going as fast as what felt reasonably comfortable even if it meant taking a few extra walk breaks.
Somewhere around mile 35, another runner had stopped to check on the woman who's finger had been dislocated as apparently he had been near her when she fell. I saw her taped fingers and probably was way too excited to share my connection to her - Casey having helped her 15 miles prior. We started chatting and since I was in such a low point myself, I found myself happily distracted for a few minutes.
Well, a few minutes turned into a few miles and by the time that we reached the end of loop 2, both of us were in much better spirits. We both were not wanting to impede on each other's races, but also really grateful for the company and agreed that if we took about the same amount of time at the aid station, we should keep running together.
I refilled my nutrition bag and Casey reminded me that I needed to register for the Rehoboth Marathon. They were offering a $20 discount between noon and midnight on that Saturday only and so I found myself registering for a race while running a race. I forgot to take my headlamp out so there was no need to remember it for loop 3 since was it was already in my pack!
Though I had been mostly sticking to my own nutrition at this point, I did take a couple of cups of virgin Mai Tais from the main aid station. The cold and sweet hit the spot in the middle of the warm afternoon.
Loop 3
As I was walking out of the main tent area, a guy stopped me and asked if I was the one running with Jo and I said yes? This was Erik, Jo's fiancé, and he told me she had just started the 3rd loop and that she was excited to run with me. So I shuffled a little faster until I finally got her within my sight and then yelled out to her.
I think both of us would agree we finally got our situations turned around in those next 10 miles before we met up with her first pacer. We talked about any and everything. Conversation flowed easily and it made the miles pass by so much faster. I was worried about infringing upon her pacers and didn't want to be the annoying third wheel. But she was genuine in her encouragement to stay with her if I wanted to so I took her up on it.
This was the section that my vet called me mid-race when I still had my headphones on (but no music playing). I thought something happened to Adam because hardly anyone ever calls me so I took the call. I laughed as I said something to the effect of um, I'm a little busy right now, can I call you back when I'm in a better place to talk?
We picked up her pacer, Sarah, at mile 49.4 and both of us were in a good enough space to be pushed a little. I started to eat a little more food from the aid station, mostly bacon and bananas in those middle miles. The gels were still going down reasonably well, but I knew topping off calories would help too. I started drinking Mountain Dew from the aid stations fairly early on and had no issues with it as long as I walked for a minute or two after consuming it.
Sarah had fresh legs and a fresh brain and it was good for both Jo and I to be pulled along by her. I know I wouldn't have run those miles as fast on my own. The 3 of us chatted like old friends and there were definitely portions of this section that I almost forgot I was racing.
Aside from the soles of my feet aching and the madness of loop 2, I really didn't have too many other malfunctions. I kept loosening my shoes to give them more space and it seemed to help for another 10 miles or so before I'd need to do it again. Despite the risk to my kidneys, I did take a few Aleve and Excedrin during the race which helped immensely with the feet aching. Strangely enough, I didn't really have any problems with my toe/ball of foot problem that I'd being seeing the podiatrist for. Running is weird.
Jo didn't have a light and was worried that she would be caught in the dark before we finished the loop so we tried to speed up as much as we could. Luckily, we finished loop 3 with about 20 minutes of daylight left!
Loop 4
In races long enough to need a drop bag, I like putting reminders to myself in my drop bag, especially for the later miles when my brain starts to get mushy. Thanks to the love note to myself, I remembered to change my t-shirt and buff, stuff a long-sleeved shirt in my pack, and get rid of my sunglasses. Casey helped me with each loop by refilling my Skratch in bottles and taking my piles of trash.
I knew where Jo's tent was setup now so as soon as I was done with my own pit stop, I walked down eating a cup of mashed potatoes to find her so we could start the loop together. Though I wasn't sure if we'd end up sticking together until the end at this point, I was still really happy to be running with her.
At the Gate aid station, mile 4.1 into the loop (mile 64.6 at this point), a cute duo of perfectly behaved golden retrievers were sitting on a blanket next to the tables. I asked the guy standing next to them helping at the aid station if I could pet them and he said with a laugh, "I dunno, they are pretty ferocious". Clearly I spent the next 60 seconds making a couple of new furry friends.
The jeep road section is the most runnable and Sarah pushed us to run the next 5 miles. It wasn't easy, but I felt surprisingly ok to go a little faster here. I decided I'd call Adam at the Nature Center aid station which would be around mile 70 and that gave me a little extra motivation to get through the miles. I talked to him and Megan briefly and he reassured me that I sounded good. I was tired, but moving and felt reasonably confident that I was going to get it done and get it done within 24 hours.
My stomach started to sour a bit in the next section and I took the one gel I had with caffeine in it here, hoping to have it pep me up a bit. It tasted really weird and I immediately gagged. I consumed about half of it and though it didn't come back up, I did have to stop for about 30 seconds and let the gagging sensation stop. Ultra running is so glamorous.
Jo's pacers planned to swap out at mile 74.7 and I was a little afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up if Erik was really pushing everything out of her. I knew if I started the last loop, I would finish so I told her that at the very least I'd try to hang on until then. I got another cup of mashed potatoes at this aid station and felt immediately better with warm calories.
Everything seemed to be going really well as we wrapped up loop 4. I grabbed a handful of bacon from the aid station and refilled my pack for the very last time, remembering to change out my headlamp batteries just in case. It was cool enough that I wasn't really going through much liquid, but I was trying to continue to sip as much as I could remember.
Loop 5
I met Jo again at her tent and she, Erik, and I made our way out on the final loop. I joked as we went through the first few sections that we never had to run through this again and through that again. Though there were still 20 miles left, it really did feel like we were in the home stretch.
We were jogging as much as we could and power walking the modest inclines, getting it done one step at a time. Any time Jo needed to stop for something, I was using that to just keep walking, partially to give her a little push, partially to just keep a more even cadence.
Out on the jeep road section, Jo grew really cold and mentioned it a few times. I was wearing a short-sleeve, but for any one who knows me, knows that I am always in the least layers. I gave her my long-sleeve to wear and helped pull it over her pack. As we were headed to Nature Center, I decided to text Casey to ask her if she could meet me at mile 89.8 with my bag to bring my emotional support jacket. I didn't really think I would need it, but if we were doing a lot of walking, I didn't want to be dumb if I could just carry it.
Seeing Casey mid-loop was fun and instead of my jacket, I actually ended up just putting my thin long-sleeve back on that had dried out during the day. My feet were really sore by this point, but I reminded myself that something was bound to hurt and everything else was still feeling shockingly okay.
The last 10 miles of a 100 are a slog and this one was no different. Jo was in a lot of pain, but in some warped way, her pain distracted me from any of my own. I tried my best to encourage her and because her watch died, keep her updated with the mileage we had left and pace. I hardly ever look at my own watch while racing, but we started to set little time goals and the push to get under 23 hours was on!
When we got to 5 miles left, I started giving her updates every time we chipped off another 0.5 miles. We both had planned to eat every 30 minutes throughout the race and kept this up all the way through the final hour. I've never had the eating portion of my race go so well and whaddya know, I only felt really awful for the time immediately after I puked on loop 2.
I had no skin in the game about placement or time for this race as we came into the finish. We weren't on the podium, it wasn't going to be a PR for me, and we were solidly under the 24 hour mark. So I was all set to just hang back and let Jo go ahead when we got to the finish line area. She did run 84 miles with a dislocated finger and I cheesed off of her pacers for 50 miles.
But then she suggested that we run it in together and I couldn't have been more happier about this. When we got to a mile to go, we started to push as much one can at mile 99. When we reached the final stretch of grass in the finish chute, she grabbed my hand with her good one and I couldn't have pictured a better way to cross the finish line.
22:39:24
We took a few photos together, I got my shirt back, and we exchanged contact info. She told me she was signed up to run Cruel Jewel this year so hopefully we get a chance to see each other again very soon!
Post-race
Casey grabbed all my gear for me and walked me to the car, my body immediately going into stiff mode post-race. Everything started to hurt a lot more and I ended up lying on the hotel room floor for awhile until I climbed into the shower. After the shower, I tried to sleep, but only napped for about an hour before giving up and deciding to go get some breakfast. I had been carb-loading for the 3 days prior and ended up having 19 gels throughout the race so I was done with carbs and sugar. I filled up my plate with eggs, sausage, and bacon.
The rest of the day was spent being mostly useless. We hobbled to Target for foot masks, picked up lunch at the Potato Shack and daiquiris at Cocktail Express, and then laid in bed watching Friends all afternoon between naps. Eventually, we went to a ramen place for dinner and then felt really old watching the Grammy's.
Our flight was super early in the morning, but that meant there was no traffic and as a bonus, we got upgraded to first class so I was not mad about drinking a mimosa while watching the sun rise from 30,000'. Much like everything in life, the weekend wasn't perfect, but it was pretty darn good and I sure feel lucky to have these experiences.
