it’s done, I’ve completed my first 100 miler, the jury is still out as to wether it was a good or bad experience, nonetheless, it was memorable. while it’s semi fresh (not much to do with me is fresh at this point in time). I’m just over 27 hours after finishing.
warning, the recollections of these events is quite possibly highly inaccurate, I’ve spent much of the past 50 hours in an altered mind state, brought on by sleep deprivation, too much exercise, and a predisposition to making this a bit inflated. this endeavor was a bit more impromptu than my typical go at an event of this proportion. a little over a week ago, I believe it was september 10th, my DNF at the sd100 rang vividly in my memories, and I decided it needed to be resolved. so my search began, can I find an event that won’t be too close that I don’t have time to properly prepare, won’t interfere with ironman arizona on november 23(??), and will still let me get in 100 before the end of this year. there weren’t any real solid winners, but I did find the Iroquois 100 in virgil new york. an inaugural 100 mile offering in the finer lakes region.
Virgil, even the family I have that lives in the finger lakes region had been asking virgil? where is virgil? After verifying my dad and sister were up for a visit, I checked airfare, confirmed PULSE would be sufficiently staffed during my travels, reviewed my training to make sure I was ready for a go at 100, did a gut check, and jumped in.
I got in to new york a couple days early to enjoy time with my family. Early friday evening, my dad and I headed up to get the keys for the cabin, partake in the pre-race dinner, and listen to the course talk.
The rest of my cheering section (both sisters, my mom, 2 nieces, nephew, and phil) was to arrive throughout the night. Melissa and Phil were driving up after work, Tracy, Shania, Hayley, and Aiden were picking up my mom at the airport (a 12 am arrival) then driving up. I had trouble sleeping, so go to visit with everyone before the race started.
my final wake up came around 4:30 am, I had some boost, grabbed my drinks and clothing. socks, shoes, hat, long sleeves, pulse jersey, shot blocks thermolytes, and various other sportsquest supplements to help me get through the next couple days. Melissa and I got in the car and headed down to the start for final check in. as it was cold (somewhere in the 40’s I guess), we waited in the car for the 6am start. about 5 minutes before I got out, shed my sweatshirt, grabbed my water bottles, and toed the line.
The course layout was seemingly straight forward, the magic of it was I new virtually nothing about the course, I barely looked at the course map. I did know there was a bit of climbing, it was 2 loops, and there were 5 aid stations, which would be visited a total of 20 times along the journey.
There was an announcement 1 minute left . . . 30 seconds left, 6am, Ian, the race directed said go, for the next 10 – 15 seconds, the 45 or so runners stood there looking at one another as if to ask is that the official start? are we supposed to embark on the madness now? then it happened, the crowd broke, and the race was started.
6 or 7 people went off the front pretty quickly, I settled in with the 2nd group at a comfortably slow pace. the first section was just over 5.5 miles, consisting of close to a 1 mile warm up, a climb up to the top of the ski resort, a descent back to the ski lodge, then back up to the top of the resort and down into the starting area.
during the first ascent the grass was wet, and slightly slick. shortly before the summit, I turned around to a fiery red sky, the sun was cresting the mountains the valley below was shrouded in fog, and here we were nearing the top of the first climb in what would turn out to be a revealing day.
In spite of my knowledge that taking early descents too aggressively costs dearly in the later stages of longer runs, in my standard fashion, I lead the descents bounding down to the bottom then slowing for the flats and walking much of the climbs.
the second climb up, slow and steady, coming back down the 2nd time was interesting, the access road was well traveled, had a bit of rutting, and was sufficiently wet to have several puddles and make it extremely difficult to have dry feet at the end. I’d given up on dry feet much earlier, so I was splashing pretty much straight down, slipping a bit here and there in the mud.
coming back into the starting area, which severed as the 1st, 4th, 10th, 11th,14th, and most importantly the finish line, things felt good, my feet were wet, 2 water bottles, and 3 packs of shot blocks were definitively more than I needed for a 5 mile section, maybe 1 water bottle/carbopro mix and 1 pack of shot blocks would suffice for the next time through. the coolness had dissipated a bit, and my legs were feeling pretty good. I ate a bit, drank a bit, and headed out on the next stretch 6.3 miles through the forest.
This section was particularly beautiful, and challenging. there weren’t any significant climbs or descents. The trail followed closely along a ridge overlooking a valley, and on several occasions crossed a gulley which promised to be fun at night.
the pace was slow and steady, I lost the trail for a bit but was fortunate enough to stumble back onto it, and fall in behind a runner, that lasted a little while, then I decided it was time to move a little better while I was still feeling good. shortly after that I caught up to another runner. I ran with him for the next 8 or 9 miles, which turned out to be a good thing, as along those miles, I wound up attempting to stray from the path 2 or 3 times; however, steve kept me honest and on track. Coming into the 3rd aid station, pipeline, I sat down, had my bottles refilled, and waited for a bit. roughly 12 miles in, things are feeling ok. time to start on the next portion which loops around and comes back through this aid station.
this was probably the easiest section on the course, a quick descent down the road, turn onto a dirt road, then a climb up a powerline access road, followed by a gradual descent that would bring things back to the road with the pipeline aid station, I think it was slightly more than 5 miles, and a fast 5 at that. once I got to the top and began the descent my habits came back, I slid into a strong jog embracing the slight descent, passing a runner on my way through. back up to the aid station.
this time through I was pleasantly surprised, tracy, melissa, aiden, and my mom greeted me. and escorted me into the aid station where I was greeted by my dad. just over 18 miles and ?? hours in, and my legs are definitely starting to show signs of the insufficient preparation. back through the forest trail, tracy and melissa escort me a little way down the road, then I begin jogging at the creast and bid them good day.
this time through I wind up pairing up with a couple runners, 1 of which will turn out to be the first women and 3rd overall finisher. the trip back to the gatherings is uneventful, lots of steady slow pacing walking uphills and savoring the fun to be had coming through in the dark.
back at gatherings, my legs are really starting to protest, I grab some food, and refill the drinks, I think my entire cheering section is here this time, very happy to see this, it helps my spirits a bit. 23+ miles in and a lot of hours, I’m not ready to start the next undertaking, but it’s time to stop sitting around and get moving.
The next 27 ish miles is an out and back section, so it offers a great opportunity to take stock on my position relative to the other runners.
this is where the fun begins. I’m still with the eventual 2nd and 3rd place finishers heading out of the aid station, we climb up to the top of the ski resort again. I watch them crest the top and begin down. I pick up the pace slightly to make up some ground, and crest the top, head down, a strong jog, it’s downhill, that’s how they go best for me. next time I look up, nobody is in front of me. they must have made a good descent too. I go down to the end of the power line road, there are some orange streamers and downhill to the right. so right I go.
as I’m running, I’m thinking, this looks a lot like the last descent coming back into the gatherings from this morning. then I get to the bottom. impossible, and incredibly frustrating, I’m back within ½ a mile of gatherings, the last aid statoin I just came from. I turn around and climb back up, continue straight and wind up back tracking roughly 1 mile on the course and realize I’m doing the mornings loop in reverse. time to backtrack on the trail and see how long it takes to find another runner. as I’m nearing the ½ way point up the power line climb, I see someone coming towards me, ok, only 45 minutes to 1 hour exploring the ski resort. not bad, maybe. so I turn and begin slowly going back down, figuring he’ll catch up to me and I can follow. I turn around to check, and he’s gone. what the ???? I guess I missed a turn. I track back up paying close attention, looking for a turn.
sure enough there is a turn which I missed. shortly after I start down it, I catch the guy in front of me, and start running a bit. magic how much fuel a little bit of anger can provide. now I’m traveling along at a good clip, this lasts a bit, I get to the next aid station (greak peek). I’m pretty sure shania, tracy, melissa, and my dad are there (aid stations and people are foggy in my recollections at this point) I refuel a bit, then I’m back off to find the rockpile. nothing terribly exciting through this section. the course is undulating, so there is a fair amount of jogging. by now my legs are protesting pretty good.
at the rockpile I sit down, have my water bottles refilled, eat a bit, restock my nutrition and am off again. at this point it’s getting more difficult to stand up from the chairs.
the good news is it’s fall, and the colors are changing, so I get a bit of a treat with some good colors here and there. as I get close to the rockpile, just about 6.5 miles from the turn around point, I see the 50 mile lead runner coming through, shortly after that, the 2nd runner passes, another 50 mile runner. within a couple hundred meters of the rockpile aid station, I see the 100 mile leader. he is looking pretty strong at this point.
I get into the aid station, at this point, my nutrition is a bit behind, so I need to get more calories in, my carbopro mix is empty, and I only have a couple packs of shot blocks. I eat a bit at the aid station, some cookies, m&ms, and a few other random foods offered. back on the trail.
at this point I start to pass groups of hikers, heading towards a small campground. they smile and offer some encouraging words as we pass. a couple miles in I pass several more 50 mile participants and about 2 miles from the turn around point there is the 2nd place 100 mile runner. the lady I had been running with and just behind up until my missed turn. ok. so how much time did I lose on the missed turn? roughly 5 miles assuming we were pretty much matching paces.
I keep going, a little motivation and energy finding its way back into my body, lets see how much time I can make up, it’s a fun game that has a tendency to come back and make me miserable later on, but for some reason I find myself playing a lot. I pass several more people on my way to the turn around. we chat briefly.
at the daisy hollow ranch aid station, much if not all of my family is there. it’s good to see them, they are excited, offer encouragement, and ask what I need. they are like my own portable aid station, helping me out and doing some of the aid station volunteer work. it’s now 38+ miles in, and my legs are pretty trashed. mental note, more long runs for 100 mile training. more food, refill the water bottles, oh yeah, time to run again.
there are 5 runners in front of me, that are definitely catchable. several of them are doing the 50 mile run, but that’s ok, a catch is a catch. so the game begins, how many can I catch, do I run a slow steady speed picking slowly away at their advantage, or do I take advantage of the slight downhill and small rollers to run hard while I’m going through a good spell? pacing isn’t my strong point (oddly enough even the promise of more misery down the road from running hard isn’t enough to deter me from catching the runners ahead of me quickly).
as my pace quickens, my legs seem to hurt less, so that’s the trick, run and things work better? not really, as the descents get steeper, my quads remind me how displeased and ready to explode they are. great, 40ish into 100, and my legs are cooked. time to start faking it: fake it til you make it. there’s a lot of faking to be done yet on this run.
I start to pass runners, as I go by I slow and recover a bit behind them as we chat. a couple ask where I’ve been, commenting on how I was ahead of them for a while . . . I mention my wrong turn and we have a good laugh. yeah, 100 just wasn’t long enough today, so I decided to climb up and down the ski slopes a couple extra times to loosen my legs up. back to the rock pile aid station.
here I come catch the 2nd female in the 50 mile race. she is young and doing well, this is her 2nd 50 miler, the last was on roads. the best part about her is her shoes, she’s doing a 50 mile trail run in red puma soccer type shoes, the type with virtually no sole or cushion. but it gets better (apparently I lied about the best part), one of her shoes is wrapped in duct tape, apparently holding the sole in place.
I continue running for a bit, but my energy soon reaches a lull, and I’m back to walking and counting time/steps/leaves/lots of things until the next aid station. coming up to the road by the greak peek aid station, I see tracy standing with her back to the trail. she turns around as I’m coming up, and greets me with a look of moderate shock. almost as she didn’t expect me to be coming. I climb up to the road, cross, and take a seat at the aid station.
at this point, I’m a bit worried, it’s been close to 40 miles since I last urinated, I haven’t been putting in the long miles I should have been, I’ve been taking a fair amount of electrolytes, my fingers are a bit swollen, so I decide it’s time to try and flush a bit out. I drink 1 bottle of water at the aid station, and have my 2 water bottles filled with just water.
I leave the aid station with one of the 50 mile runners, he jokes about my wrong turn and how I will likely hear a lot about it, I’m sure it will come up a bit. I am taking things nice and slow until I urinate and stop retaining so much water. I drink both water bottles, and still nothing. I plan on sitting in the gatherings aid station and drinking water until I can urinate. this last section is the fun part, a fairly technical downhill dropping us on the road just under 1 mile from the gatherings aid station. the descent is a constant reminder of how fatigued my quads are, they cringe with each step, quivering and threatening to collapse.
the best part, I still have the entire course to do another time. when we get down to the road, the pace becomes a slow shuffle, just to ease us back into the gatherings. I bid the runner goodbye, congratulations on your 50 miles. I’m going to go back through and make sure the course is still the same. . .
first I need to change my socks. I don’t remember why, but I do know I’ve got some rubbing that’s been going on for about 15 miles and wanted to check for blisters. but I forgot. with some help from my dad, I don a new pair of socks. a very welcome change. same shoes, but new socks. back out for the first loop, this time all by myself. a couple miles in I come across another runner, we chat briefly, then I move on. when I get back in to the gatherings, it is dark, and I’m ready to embark on my first experience with trail running at night. good news, I’ve remembered my headlamp, so will have some light to help pick my way through the trails.
even more good news, my family has made arrangements for me to have a pacer. graham will be accompanying me over the next 18 miles of the run, at which point he will stop at the pipeline aid station and work there until 5am.
the trails leading out to pipeline are easier to follow the 2nd time around, but a bit slower going as the footing is slightly technical, and it’s now dark. we make our way through come out at the pipeline aid station, grab some food refill my water bottles, say hello to my family, and are off again.
I opt to walk down the hill to the turn, as my legs are feeling the descents through and through by now. at the bottom, we make the turn, shuffle for a bit, and then begin the climb up along the powerlines. at the top we make a left, and shuffle for a bit, my legs begin to loosen up, and pretty soon we are holding a decent pace jog.
a quad with 4 or 5 teenagers goes by us, I shrug and look at graham, he comments “that was my other option for tonight, a typical saturday night for me is to load up 18 of my buddies on a quad, and drive down random dirt roads”. I laugh, and respond back, “they’re likely having a similar conversation: ‘yeah, that’s what I typically do on saturday night, grab a headlamp and running partner then go run around random dirt roads in the middle of nowhere’”.
pretty soon we are on our way back to the road and the short climb up to the aid station. at the aid station, my sister Melissa would take over and do the next 6.3 miles of the course with me. this was a pleasant surprise. before we left the aid station, I warned her, it’s muddy, lots of roots and rocks, dark, and over 6 miles, are you sure you want to do this? she looked at me and said I walk a lot, and I’ve talked to several people and know what to expect.
with that we were off and walking (it was dark, this section of trail has some tricky little sections, and I wasn’t in a big rush at this point). besides we hadn’t seen much of each other and this was a good opprotunity. it was around 11pm (17 hours into my run) when we left the aid station. for the next 3 hours we followed the trail through the woods, talked about numerous different things, catching up on each others lives, and spotting glow sticks. under normal circumstances, simple things amuse me; after running for 17+ hours, I’d like to hope simpler things amuse me, but honestly glow sticks hanging from trees in the woods would likely be nearly as amusing had I not be sleep deprived and physically exhausted.
almost too soon, we where through the woods, and onto the roads which promised to deliver us to the gatherings aid station, but not before a moderately punishing downhill, which we walked. arriving at the aid station around 2:15am.
after some soup, and miscellaneous other foods I was greeted by my next pacer, Joel, he would pace me through the last 27 miles, and managed to keep it very interesting, sharing stories and talking, finding ways to help motivate me and keep me moving.
the next 13 miles was pretty slow, lots of walking. this section was my low point, very little running, my body began it’s revolt. there were some particularly tough sections, but my family managed to make an appearance at several aid stations that I didn’t expect them to be at, and this helped lift my spirits.
it was an amazing sight to see the sun come up for a second time, all during 1 run. for some reason this made me question the sanity of running this long? because running 100 miles is all well and fine as long as you don’t have to endure 2 sunrises.
it was quite and experience watching as the sky morphed from the empty blackness to gray, then a bit of red. the red grew more and more dominant, birds starting singing and little animals began bustling. the reds gave way to blues, and morning was in full swing.
about 1 hour after this, my body’s revolt was done. things felt good, I passed 4 or 5 runners returning from the turn around point, and my body was ready to open up and go again. the pace quickened, and before I realized it I was at the turn around. my sisters and mom were there, it was a little after 7am (25 hours into my run), and I was feeling nearly as good as I felt when the race first started.
at this point, I was ready to go, so the run back was a bit faster. we did a lot of running on flats, the downhills, and even a good amount of the easier climbs. I came into the rock pile feeling good, and had started reeling people back in. then about ½ way between the rock pile and greek peak (the final aid station) my knees began to feel a bit strained so I pulled back on the pace a bit to try and keep them healthy. at greek peak, my mom, sisters, hayley, and ayden were there waiting for me. I stopped and enjoyed the company a bit before pushing back on. on the way out of the aid station, I heard my dad wish me well.
the next time I’d see my family would be at the finish, just 1 grueling descent left then almost 1 mile of flatish road running, and the finish line. I soon caught the runner in front of me, leo. we ran a together a bit, then he dropped off the pace. we were pretty close to 29 hours, so I figured it’d be a bit easier to find motivation with more people, so I slowed my descent (not necessarily a bad thing) to run with leo on the last road section.
the descent was brutal, legs hurt with every step, threatening to explode, but somehow they didn’t and they even managed to keep from falling. when we hit the road the running started. and the pace kept quickening. rounding the final turn into the finishing area, leo started to go harder, I went with him, and we wound up what felt like sprinting across the finish line, though after further review, it wasn’t much of a sprint at all, more of a fast run, akin to 10km race pace or such.
it was done, in the books, the 100 miles I’d promised my grandfather back in june was completed, there’d be no belt buckle (I might actually have to buy pants that fit), but it was a truly magnificent experience. ian Golden did a fantastic job on picking out a challenging, but potentially fast course (with the right amount of preparation and desire to suffer), the aid stations were well supported, could have been slightly better stocked (no grilled cheese, don’t know why, but for some reason I wanted grilled cheese along the way, and quesadillas weren’t cutting it).
hats off to Ian and his crew, the truth be told, I’m sure he had the longest day of everybody. though our race started on saturday morning at 6 am, and for 2 would last until a little after 5pm sunday evening, I’m sure ian’s day started much earlier saturday, or even friday, and the fact that I saw him at numerous points along the course, talked to him at a couple aid stations to provide feedback, which I was pleasantly surprised to see had been heeded and course marking modifications were made. Ian was there for the last finishers coming through, and began the clean up process after that. though my 28 hours was grueling, I am sure Ian and his crew had a much longer and more arduous weekend, ensuring the race went smoothly, rushing in last minute supplies to help ensure the runners had a great experience. this is a great race, an amazing venue, and the race staff truly went out of their way to make it as flawless as possible. check out the site and some
photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/IroquoisTrailsUltras/IroquoisTrailsUltras2008#
results: http://www.iroquoistrails100.com/Results.aspx
