Day 4,008-11 —the Potawatomi Trail 200: 4 days, 20 Loops, 1 Endless Race

April 20, 2025

Day 4,008-11 —the Potawatomi Trail 200: 4 days, 20 Loops, 1 Endless Race—

Part I: Cold Nights

The Setup

It took at least an hour to get my tent up and all my bags in it. Part of me started to wonder if I did bring too much. I don’t think I considered how long it takes to eat food when I started stockpiling supplies for this race, but 200 miles (321.87 km) is such a long race. I have run 100 miles (160.93 km) now 10 times and completed 8 100-mile races. I fully appreciate that 100 miles is no joke. It is a long, long time, so doing it twice seemed like an extreme step up. Similar from going to a half to full marathon.

The first 40 miles (ca. 64 km)

I ran the first two laps at a decent pace, and I was in the top 3 for a while. I was talking to this guy Pete for most of one lap and part of a different lap. He had such a great story! I wish I could share some of it, but it was too personal. He had attempted this race two times before and wasn’t able to finish for a variety of reasons. I asked everyone I ran with about their sleep strategy, and they shared different failed attempts and a variety of ways to achieve success.

The guy who had run it the most times told me one time he didn’t sleep at all and was delirious, so his friends put in a van and he slept for 3 hours. He didn’t share specifics of what he was going to do this time, but I heard from a lot of people that they would nap for 15 minutes and that would make a big difference. One of the guys told me that a 15-minute lap was a much better answer than more caffeine.

He also said there was some controversy around the person who got the top time on the course. He showed me the spot where if you turn on the trail you cut a mile off. The speculation was this runner might have accidently cut some miles off his later laps this way. The area was expertly marked this time, no chance anyone would cut the mile by accident.

The trail was more hilly than I thought. I read that it is 1,398 elevation gain per lap but I didn’t know what that would look like. The terrain was much better compared to some of the other trail runs I have done. There were no long sections of rocks, stones, or boulders. The ground was hard, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The downhills at times made it difficult to not run and land heavily on my legs.

I ran the first lap without poles, but after that first lap, I ran with poles for the rest of the race. At first, I couldn’t figure out how to extend my poles out, so while I was using them I was still a novice at best.

The first time I saw the creek crossing, I took my vest off and slipped on my rubber rain boots. It took me a while to get my vest on and off. To put it back on you have to snap a flexible string over a plastic hook that catches. Sometimes this process seemed to take forever.

At the end of lap 4 (mile 40) it was dark and I stayed a little too long in my tent. When I opened up my tent flap some cold wind, caused me to start to shiver. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, so I went back to my tent to change into my warm clothes, but I was still shivering and my hands were so cold, so I decided I needed to warm up before I went back outside to run.

I grabbed my hand warmers and my electronic neck warmer and zipped up my sleeping bag. I was huddled with my hands around my legs and watched the tent as it continued to get worse.

I don’t remember going to sleep but I must have because time started going by faster and twenty minutes had turned into an hour, but my hands were still cold and I didn’t understand why.

Suddenly there was a large crash and something hit my ten. Everything on top of the table fell on the ground which included a cup containing water and charging cords. I reached down on the ground to take the charger and put it away from the water.

I was having flashbacks of my last race when the coolers kept tipping over. I figured one of my coolers that was sitting outside my tent had flipped and I had a mess out there to pick up as well whenever I eventually got up.

It took me another 45 minutes before I started moving again. I wasn’t feeling that much better, but at the same time it was going to get more difficult to get out of my tent the longer I lay there. I put on my warm pants, a long-sleeved shirt, two pairs of gloves, my hat and kept my hand warmers in my gloves and my pants.

It was so cold at this point. I could see my breath as I talked. When I opened my tent, I saw someone’s tent had fallen on mine. It was still there pushing against the sides of my tent. At least my coolers hadn’t been knocked over.

Lap Mile Total Time Lap Time Lap Pace Time of Day

1 0-10 2:03 2:03 12:18 TH 2:03 p.m.

2 10-20 4:19 2:16 13:36 TH 4:19 p.m.

3 20-30 6:56 2:37 15:42 TH 6:56 p.m.

4 30-40 9:37 2:41 16:06 TH 9:37 p.m.

Part II: Thursday Night 40-70 Miles

Lap Mile Total Time Lap Time Lap Pace Time of Day

5 40-50 14:25 4:48 28:48 F 2:25 a.m.

6 50-60 17:39 3:14 19:24 F 5:39 a.m.

7 60-70 20:20 2:41 16:06 F 8:20 a.m.

I walked at first and then ran until I warmed up. It had been so windy by the start and finish, but when I made it to the bottom of the first hill, the wind had died down.

I had been drinking 64 ounces (2.42 kilograms) of liquid (water and Tailwind) per loop, plus 32 ounces (1.21 kg) of the Right Stuff at camp. I wasn’t sweating, but I was cold.

I knew I only had two laps until morning, and once it was morning, I was planning to have my first taste of caffeine.

The morning didn’t come quickly, and it was at this point that I started listening to the new Hunger Games book. The main character is not super likable in the main series, and this book reveals the very good reason that he is such a jerk. In the movies, he is played by Woody Harrelson, but I couldn’t remember if it was him or Philip Seymour Hoffman. The book helped me stay awake, but there were also coyotes and owls. I think in the past I had confused owls’ hoots sometimes for coyotes' howls, but I was starting to hear the differences. Owls sound almost like witches laughing, which is how a guy I ran with for a minute described them.

He told me that he had completed this race over 5 times and gave me some history of how the route was marked before. Once you hit 1000 miles (1,609.34 km), you get free entry for life, so that is certainly a reason to keep coming back. I liked the race for a variety of reasons. I don’t know if I will be back next year to run another 200 miles; I might consider one of the other races.

There were lots of deer throughout the course, even though I was completing 20 miles (ca. 32 km). It felt like less when thinking of it as two laps.

Part of me was frustrated that I had let myself sleep so long after only 40 miles (64.37 km), but I prioritized not being miserable in the cold.

I started my 7th lap a little after the 50-mile race started. Sometime after 6 a.m. I had my caffeine and was feeling amazing.

I passed so many runners. I started to get frustrated, but I could have left before them if I had had a shorter break. They were all nice and cheered me on when they saw my bib.

I wasn’t particularly chatty and was talking quietly. I had some anxiety about getting 100 miles (ca. 161 km) done. I just wanted to know how I would feel once hitting 100 miles and having 100 miles more to do.

I got some pictures of the sunrise that I liked and passed two other 200-mile runners!

Friday Part III: Miles 70-110

Lap Mile Time Lap Time Pace Time of Day

8 70-80 23:07 2:47 16:42 F 11:07 a.m.

9 80-90 26:12 3:05 18:30 F 2:12 p.m.

10 90-100 29:56 3:44 22:24 F 5:56 p.m.

11 100-110 34:21 4:25 26:30 F 10:21 p.m.

Once I got back to the aid station after lap 7, I put some sunscreen on. I had forgotten the lap before, and my face was feeling hot and beginning to burn. It was a pretty big change from the freezing cold the night before, but I put on the lotion and continued to drink the Right Stuff hydration at the aid station. I also started eating more food. I had some pretzels with hummus and broccoli and hummus. I also was craving the vegan Reese's, so I started going through those quickly.

The first 3 miles take you to the creek crossing, which has some hills, but it was one of the easiest parts of the race. After the creek crossing, there are some intense back-to-back hills. One that requires a rope. I decided that mile 4 might be the hardest on the course, and it just happens to be the mile before the only aid station at mile 5. On mile 4, there are three hills in a row before you hit the aid station. The first couple of times you run the course it isn’t so bad, but once getting closer to 100 this section seemed to keep getting worse.

When I made it to a clearing before the creek crossing, there were suddenly horses on the trail. It looked like eight horses and riders were making it through the narrow single-track path. I had no choice but to stand to the side and let the horses pass. They were pretty to look at. The riders were mostly young kids and old adults, and they waved in appreciation that I stepped to the side.

I don’t know if I was being polite or safe. I didn’t want to walk past all these horses in such proximity and possibly scare one, but I was also so tired.

I pushed myself hard to hit 100 before 30 hours had gone by. I know it isn’t a great 100-mile time, but I figured if I ran the first 100 in 30 hours, that would give me 46 hours to do the next 100, which seemed to take a lot of the pressure off.

After lap 10, I ate chips and salsa in celebration, finishing almost an entire container of salsa. I texted Jake, my pacer, to see if he was at the park yet, but I wasn’t sure when he was pacing Levi.

I saw him briefly, and he gave me an update on Levi who was doing 150. Levi had supported me at aid stations at so many runs, but I had never seen him run before. He is such a nice guy. I saw him on lap 10, and he was only a lap behind me; I was going a little faster. I asked him why not do the 200, but he said he didn’t think he was fast enough. I secretly stared, wishing I had been more sensible, and signed up for the 150. 200 miles, what was I thinking?!

When I headed out on lap 11, a little of the magic was gone. I was now over 100 miles. I had gone farther than I had ever gone before! Each step was a new record. I thought it would feel more empowering, but I just thought, “How is it possible that I am going to keep this up for two more nights and two days?” My face hurts, my knees hurt; I am hungry; I am tired; I am sore, and I have rashes on different parts of my body, and I am only halfway done?!

I was thinking again about why I didn’t sign up for 150. Why was I so bold that I thought I could do 200 on my first attempt?

Part IV: Running with Jake

Lap Mile Time Lap Time Pace Time of Day

12 110-120 39:23 5:02 30:12 S 3:23 a.m.

13 120-130 43:34 4:11 25:06 S 7:34 a.m.

Jake, the race director from Shippey, came up to pace me on Friday night, and I really did need the help. I told him I was going to take a brief nap after finishing 110, so I went to sleep for my second nap around 10:30 p.m. on Friday night. I slept for an hour, and Jake was warming up by the fire when I got up. It was cold again, so I put my pants and jacket on and headed out.

Jake immediately noticed that I had my poles too high, so he corrected them so they were lower. He also told me how to hold them so that I wouldn’t need to put as much effort into pushing them down and lifting them up. I was still carrying them with one hand occasionally when I was running, but for most of this night's run, I was using them the whole time.

I was tired and more annoyed than anything else. I was dealing with my face hurting from the sunburn, as were my shoulders and back. I was also chaffed in my legs. I kept reapplying ointment, but it wasn’t making the rash go away.

Jake kept me awake with some interesting stories and learning more about his life. He told me a branch randomly fell on his wife on a totally still day when I commented on how scared I am sometimes of the trees and branches falling on me.

I was excited to show him my water shoe system, but when I made it to the other side, he realized I left my poles behind, so he was able to get them for me. That wasn’t the only time I left my poles randomly at the aid station or just on the ground. He reminded me at least two other times, and the possibility of me leaving them somewhere after he left seemed high.

He was there when I put the time down for 120 and joked that at 39 hours and 23 minutes, I had almost completed a 40-hour work week.

I felt bad going slow on those laps, remembering, he wanted to head out sometime around 6:30 a.m., but we finished lap 13 at 7:34 a.m., and he didn’t complain about it.

He helped hold my poles and fill up drinks and, in general, reminded me of the reasons why I was doing this. We both had a lot in common, growing up in St. Louis and working in education. He is teaching middle school health and PE, which is a class I have wanted to teach at times. It sounded like he is helping a lot of kids make better decisions about their health, but it isn’t easy. Health is only a one-semester class in middle school. When you consider how important nutrition and health are, you would think it should at least be a year-long class.

Jake also asked people about food for me, and I don’t know if I found a lot of vegan options but there ended up being more than I thought. There was vegetable soup the whole time at the main aid station. I also started eating apple sauce after passing each aid station.

Part V: Hallucinating in the Day

Lap Mile Time Lap Time Pace Time of Day

14 130-140 47:25 3:51 23:06 S 11:25 a.m.

15 140-150 51:47 4:22 26:12 S 3:47 p.m.

16 150-160 56:52 5:05 30:30 S 8:52 p.m.

It was difficult to say goodbye to Jake and be on my own again, but at the same time I was ready for the sun to come out, and I knew my kids would be here at some point. I hadn’t thought before that they would only see me after a 10-mile loop, which could take 3 or 4 hours for me to complete, so I realized I would need to check in with Sarah at some point today.

I started lap a little before the 10-mile runners, thinking I didn’t want to end up having to pass runners like I did for the 50, but the 10-mile group was a different crowd. They immediately started passing me, shouting “on your left!” scaring me a few times. I was still feeling okay, but the sun was starting to bother me, and the caffeine had worn off.

It seemed like I was spending so much time off to the side, letting people pass me. When I got off to let a few people pass, it seemed like a line just kept going. Everyone was passing me.

I thought possibly some 100-mile runners who started would be some good people to possibly pace with, but I didn’t see any of them, and I seemed to be going slower than everyone.

I started the morning with some caffeine like I did on Friday, but I didn’t want to overdo it. The night before when I was running with Jake, I was tired and hallucinating some, but talking with him kept my mind awake, but Saturday I started to experience daytime hallucinations.

They started out by being birds and other kinds of animals that I saw from far away. They were almost always a pattern in a tree. Some trees looked like they were about to attack me. They would have been more scared if they moved.

I would see some sort of tall creature in the trees, but it was still when I looked at it, so I knew it wasn’t real.

I would be looking at the ground and start seeing numbers in the patterns on the sand, “204.” Later, it looked like newspapers and magazines were on the ground. I also started seeing complete scenes in the thin trees. They easily became a pattern for two people talking, both wearing different colors.

I thought about taking pictures of the things I thought were something else, and part of me wishes I did, but it was easier to just focus on moving forward.

After the 10 mile runners passed me, there was a guy on a bike who screamed at me to get over. I moved over for him, and he said, “Have a good walk.”

He then moved to the first hill, and I heard him flip on an automatic motor, so he didn’t need to peddle up the hill.

A different guy started to pass me, and I moved over, and he started to lecture me.

“You don’t need to move over when you’re going slow and hurting.”

He was being nice, but all I could think was that no one else seemed to know that because people had been plowing me over all morning.

I started getting messages in the morning, and I knew Sarah might be able to meet me after lap 15. I told her I was going to be back in camp by 4 p.m.

When I got to camp, she wasn’t there yet, but I knew I needed a nap. I couldn’t keep my eyes open, and it was too early for more caffeine. I was also burned on my face, shoulder, and back.

I should have been happy I had just finished 150 miles, but I was mostly annoyed I hadn’t signed up for the 150.

I was sitting in my chair in my tent, waiting for them to arrive. They were close, and I knew seeing them would make me feel better. When they got there, they couldn’t enter my tent because there were so many things on the ground. I wanted to give my daughter and son snacks, but I didn’t have the energy to find them. As soon as they got there, I started shivering, so Sarah left my five-year-old there and went with my toddler to get a blanket for me. It took a while because they had to park far away. I was struggling to stay awake and keep my daughter distracted, but while she was excited to see me, after a few minutes she wanted to leave and wander around the park. I was able to convince her to stay close, and then Sarah and Felix were back with the blanket.

I told Sarah I needed to go to sleep, so I went and laid down. I didn’t know this at the time, but Vivian was dancing and singing outside my tent as I was sleeping. I gave myself an hour to sleep, but I was hoping I would be up before then. Only one night left, I told myself, but I still wasn’t sure I was going to finish. 50 miles at this rate was going to take a long time! If I kept doing around a 4-hour lap, it could be another 20 hours until I finished. On paper, 150 seems pretty close to 200, but when you’re thinking of it in effort and time, that 50 miles turns into almost a day of running.

Part VI: When Everything Stops Working

Lap Mile Time Lap Time Pace Time of Day

17 160-170 61:05 4:13 25:18 Su 1:05 a.m.

18 170-180 65:10 4:05 24:30 Su 5:10 a.m.

At 6 p.m. the 30-mile race started, so now I was dealing with once-gain people passing me constantly, but they were all super nice. They came up slowly and spoke softly when they passed. I also met a father-and-son team. I heard the dad coaching the son as they ran. It was a happy distraction. The kid couldn’t have been older than 18.

I wasn’t running with anyone, but people were kind and told me to “keep going!” I felt like I was bringing everyone down, but people around me just kept piling the positivity on.

I tried to listen to audiobooks and podcasts, but they all seemed stupid. I could get into it for a while, but then I would forget what it was about and, in general, have little to no interest in continuing. I had been listening to music a lot during the day, but at night I was done with everything I had heard so far. I gave up on new stuff and switched over to some stuff I loved before, like Mythos, which I listened to for a while. I finished the Hunger Games book, but I was so annoyed by hearing the verses of “the Raven” so much in the novel. They never mention that it is a well-known poem, but she references it as a song, but the lyrics are the Edgar Allan Poe poem, which I cannot say I love hearing throughout the book. It reminds me of my first year in drama class in high school. One of the other students insisted on reading the entire poem for class one day unprompted. It is an incredibly long poem.

I started hallucinating again, and I was stopping to pee every 10 minutes. I was so hydrated, yet always thirsty. I tried to sip more and drink less, but it didn’t stop the constant need to pee. At least now it was dark, and I was mostly alone. It had been a nightmare trying to pee frequently during the day.

At one point there was a guy who was visiting the park who had asked me if the creek crossing was behind me. I was about to pee at the time, but I answered his question.

At one point, there was this house that suddenly had a dozen lights surrounding it. I don’t know who lived at the house, but there hadn’t been anyone there all weekend, but on Saturday night the place was packed with people out front and people in the house. The whole thing seemed odd.

Part VII: I Had some Help

Lap Mile Time Lap Time Pace Time of Day

19 180-190 68:59 3:49 22:54 Su 8:59 a.m.

20 190-200 72:52 3:53 23:18 Su 12:52 p.m.

It was supposed to get hot in the morning, but I left my jacket and pants on as I headed into the 19th lap. I was walking mostly, feeling miserable. I believed I was going to finish, but I kept doing the math and realized I might make it by 1 p.m. at the earliest at my current pace. It was a discouraging thought to have, even after being 90 percent done with the race. You would think it would be all over at this point, but I was still unhappy, but I also didn’t stop moving.

Both my knees were bothering me, and my right knee was swelling up and painful every time I stepped. I started using the poles to carry the weight as much as possible, so I didn’t have to ever put a lot of weight on that knee.

I was still working in the mode that if someone was behind me, they probably were moving faster than me and should pass. There was a woman behind me and had been for a little while at the start of this loop, so I got off to the side for her to pass, and she started to, but turned around and asked, “Do you need some company?”

I couldn’t say yes fast enough. I was still falling asleep and hallucinating. We quickly discovered that we were doing different races but at the same point. She is on her 9th lap, completing the 100. I was on my 19th lap completing the 200.

Sometimes things just work out. This race worked out better than it didn’t. In the past, there has been so much rain that a field that I barely noticed was named Field of Wet Dreams and had so much mud that people got their shoes stuck in it. Also, the year before the cut-off time was 72 hours, but this year they extended it to 76. The other thing was meeting Kate and talking to her until the end of the race. She helped me in little ways that changed my mental headspace. When I needed to take my jacket off, she held my vest for me. After we finished the 19th lap at a slightly faster pace compared to what we were doing before, we almost immediately started the next lap. I forgot to do so many things after that lap. Including taking off my headlamp and putting on my sunglasses, but I was finally not miserable. And it was nice to hear about someone else’s journey. She had tried this race a couple of other times before but hadn’t finished the 100 yet. She said that she was going to give up last night after 70 miles, but Mike, the race director, told her to take a break before deciding, and that changed her race.

We only ran out of things to talk about when we were about 2 miles away from the end when I asked her to tell me about her favorite books. I think she told me Migration was her favorite book.

I don’t know if it is just talking to someone you won’t have to ever see again that makes one comfortable sharing, or it is partly because of the broken headspace you end up being in. I am a big believer that you need to know why you’re out there if you’re going to be successful because if you don’t know, it will be that much easier to quit. I told her about the hallucinations I had been experiencing, and she said she was jealous. There is only one other long race that I have finished with someone else before, and this ranks with that experience. Even though I met those individuals once, I feel like I know them so well.

When we made it to the end, I could see that Sarah and my kids were waiting for me. I rang the bell to announce I was finishing and ran towards them. I gave my two-year-old and five-year-old a half hug before crossing the finish line and writing my time on the board. I hugged everyone and said “Hi” to Sarah’s parents. Next, I got my jacket and my belt buckle. They both seem totally worth the over three-day effort it took!

I sat down while watching Sarah’s parents, Sarah, and my kids slowly get my stuff put in my car. I was so worried about how it was going to happen. I didn’t even consider that I would have some help.

This was a race, run, walk like no other. Filled with interesting people who were kind and supportive throughout. Congratulations to the other runners and finishers. And thanks to the race director and aid workers! Excellent job. The markings were perfect, and there was always something at the aid station that I could eat and happy birthday Felix! You’re a good guy.

Lap Distance Total Time Lap Time Lap Pace Time of Day

1 0-10 2:03 2:03 12:18 TH 2:03 p.m.

2 10-20 4:19 2:16 13:36 TH 4:19 p.m.

3 20-30 6:56 2:37 15:42 TH 6:56 p.m.

4 30-40 9:37 2:41 16:06 TH 9:37 p.m.

5 40-50 14:25 4:48 28:48 F 2:25 a.m.

6 50-60 17:39 3:14 19:24 F 5:39 a.m.

7 60-70 20:20 2:41 16:06 F 8:20 a.m.

8 70-80 23:07 2:47 16:42 F 11:07 a.m.

9 80-90 26:12 3:05 18:30 F 2:12 p.m.

10 90-100 29:56 3:44 22:24 F 5:56 p.m.

11 100-110 34:21 4:25 26:30 F 10:21 p.m.