Showed up undertrained for 100 miles in 24 hrs. Goal: Amass as many miles as possible between 62 and 100 without ruining myself. Definitely wanting to beat last years 24hr attempt.
6,12,and 24 hour participants . Over 183 runners total.
I’m 24th place after 1st lap out of 71 24 hr runners.
10am start time May 28th … End 10am May 29th
Awesome to be joined by my friend Gene also know as Deadstick in F3 circles. His grandson Tobias joined us and was hoping for a Bigfoot siting. Would’ve been miserable without their companionship and support.
Set up camp site and prep personal aid station just beyond the event aid station. Lay out food, hydration, shoes, socks etc that will be needed as day goes on. Sounds good but I still didn’t nail the prep.
Running gear: Vest for holding my hydration when I decided to use my carbon trekking poles. Headlamps. Extra batteries. No earbuds for music. I like to hear whats happening around me. Thats it.
Sleep , I never can pre event. Weather is perfect for tent sleeping though. Man in tent 20 feet away snored all night long. I definitely didn’t sleep much. Note: bring ear plugs next time.
Race prep morning of. Eat light breakfast, drink coffee(cream and sugar) hope to go to bathroom(didn’t happen) , gear check, dress for race, bib with timer chip pinned, watch charged, etc.
The plan was … Run ALL you can, then run WHEN you can, and finally run IF you can .
ALL you can meant run smart for as long as possible dont waste too much power on the major climbs and descents because you will need those legs to maintain your footing in the dark and when major fatigue sets in.
WHEN you can. When is it most opportunistic to run? Definitely on the gentle downhills and flats, some on gentle uphills. Sometimes running a long gentle uphill and power hiking down a hill to save the quads for later is good as well. Use the daylight to move faster in the cooler times just before dark.
Oops! Forgot my headlamp when leaving aid station and its getting dark. Just enough light to make one more lap I think.
I don’t wear my glasses or contacts when running. Running by headlamp with fair eyesight will slow me down. By now my brain has memorized the course and best routes for foot placement. Cruise control turns on. I still attempt to remain sharp because the course changes especially around the muddy mucky sections . Some get better others get much worse. At some point in the event I just started running through the muck instead of trying to skirt it.
Run IF you can. After 15 hours running is doable for me but in short spurts on the prime cuts of the trail. Legs are heavy, system is fatigued, and by now my feet feel like they’re on fire. The wet muddy trail has done a number on the feet. Its now 1 am and I can’t wait for the sun to come up. But even then the joy of sunshine is fleeting. 20 hours in with 4 more hours until time is up and it starts warming up sapping even more energy.
Several shoe changes but not sure it even helped. I am thankful Deadstick(Gene) thought to rinse the mud out of my shoes . Ended up putting my favs back on even though they were wet ,but clean ,atleast until the first muddy section.
Dang! Meant to get my trekking poles,my legs could use a break. Well into the mileage now but will forget them 2 more times through the aid station due to mental fog.
This is when I start reasoning with myself…”I can stop, not gonna make that 100 miles anyway. Just stop and let it be over, 68 miles is good enough “, things like that. Last years attempt at a 24hr run ended with 76 miles. I tell myself ” anything better than that is my limit”. Rationalizing gets my brain firing and motivates performance. The straight black coffee helped some too and I don’t drink black coffee. I treat it like a medicine and down a few ounces over the next 3 laps.
God? Yes He is there. Talked to Him a lot. Lots of things to be grateful for during my time on the trail. So many thoughts creep in during the soul sucking lonely hours. God restored order. Thankful for my salvation, my wife / marriage, my wonderful kids and family/extended family ,and my ability to continue forward motion.
System check: feet still on fire but for most part skin is intact enough with no major damage, general fatigue off the charts, legs sore but “moving good” according to the other runners I am able to pass. Heartrate is OK, breathing shallower – deep breaths almost bring on vomiting at times, no excess swelling in hands or feet, no numbness except from a mental aspect, urine normal color and frequency. Gut distended from fluids and food with little to no output during the event. Feeling heavy overall. No significant or consistent hallucinations although I did say “good job” to a few trailside tree stumps looking like resting runners and they cheered me on as well.
The aid station was on point with great volunteers and good food. I think I ate 2 whole watermelons during the event. Grilled cheese, PB And J, pierogies, taters and salt, chips, cookies, burgers, bean burgers, bananas, pickles and pickle juice shots, warm ramen noodle soup through the night sure felt good. Pancakes and bacon in the morning a tasty treat, Gatorade, flat sodas, and much more. Live band , cheering supporters.
I pride myself in having an “iron gut” or so I like to think. I eat and drink a great variety during this event and everything says put. Some brief nausea at times though.
My personal aid station was my camp site canopy with my friend Deadstick (Gene). He checked my status as times got tough making sure I seemed right in the head. He got me what I needed and refilled my repurposed bottles with Infinit Go Far carb and electrolyte mix or Tailwind mix. No caffeine mix for me. Coffee at the main aid station took care of that if needed. A pocket full of peanut butter filled pretzels here and there as well as chocolate covered espresso beans.
The course: A certified 5k trail loop with technical trails, meadows, service roads, long climbs, shorter technical steep climbs and descents. The rains prior to day of event have left the course wet and muddy. Thick black mud holes to navigate through or along the edges. Either way I am getting wet and muddy. Poison oak covers the sides so dont cut around the muddy trail. Downed trees to cross ,rooty and rocky areas. Beautiful creeks and river. That river, so nice. My last lap I was going in for 2 minute soak in cold mountain water. This would also be appreciated by my friend Who would be driving me home for 3 hrs. Unfortunately, there was a man fly fishing in the spot with access. Never saw anyone in that spot the whole time. Bummer.
I learned that I wasted a lot of time standing around the aid Station and my personal aid station. Had I planned better I could have used my time more efficiently and probably tacked on another three laps putting me over the 90 mile mark. It’s so easy to lose track of time during 24-hour events.
In the end….
84.50 miles total
24th place after 1st lap to a
4 way tie for 6th overall and 3rd place in age bracket. Just kept grinding out miles and didn’t let the course win. The race director said most people set on 100 miles give up when they realize they’re not gonna make the 100 miles. I chose not to stop until I had no time for another lap.
Leave it all out there. Keep going after those miles. You can accomplish more than you know.
Steve, Husband, Dad , Katniss
Great effort and summary Katniss (Steve). Tobias and I enjoyed the camping and fellowship! Glad I could help! This was a first to witness this type of race for me, so I’ll be better prepared to help the next time you try this crazy thing!
Deadstick, (Gene)