Day 4,045 —When I finished, I was in a good mood and ready to eat a veggie Burger—

I didn’t leave until 4 a.m., which meant the earliest I would get there would be 25 minutes before start time. I also had no drop bags prepared, and my clothes and food were strewed about my car.

When I got there, I ran to the shelter to use the bathroom. It was occupied, and someone was waiting in line. I got my bib and hurriedly filled out part of the 5-dollar parking fee. Most of it was left blank, but I gave them the money and ran back to my car.

I thought: 15 minutes until the start. I quickly put Vaseline on, shoved food and clothes into my vest, and jogged back to the starting line. I filled up my water bottles and stood near the front. I made it with 5 minutes to spare!

That was the closest I have ever come to being late for a race, and I will admittedly say it is because I didn’t think that much about this race. This was my 4th year, and I knew the course and the drive pretty well. I was looking forward to a good run, but I wasn’t worried about anything particularly. I don’t know if 100 miles is ever going to feel easy, but after doing 200, I think it might feel easier. This race didn’t seem like a big deal at all; even though 52ish miles is no joke, and the hills aren’t bad, and the tree coverage is superb on the Mark Twain, so the main problem is all the rocks. I have tripped and cut my hands so many times on this trail.

The race started, and I ran in the front. I never planned to keep it up, but I wanted to get away from the slog of runners that make the start of single-track races feel so tedious. I ran the first few miles in 8 to 9-minute miles, and then I started standing off to the side, letting people past as soon as I felt them close.

         My ankle was feeling better, but there was no reason to aggravate it with only 3 weeks until the Huron 100. I fell a few times and cut my right thumb, but that was the worst of it. I ran into Travis at the end of the second loop. He is the guy who helped me with my tent at the Howard Aslinger. We ended up running the rest of the race together, and the whole day just flew by for me.

         The aid stations were so great! There was fresh fruit throughout the day, and everything tasted so good. I was feeling glutenous, shoving oranges, clementines, strawberries, and watermelon in my mouth at every opportunity. I was glad to be running with and talking with Travis as opposed to going hard by myself. It was such a nice day, but I was still thinking about the tornado that ripped through St. Louis yesterday. Five people died, and every time I mentioned it to people, they mostly didn’t know what I was talking about.

         I finished the first lap a little under 5 hours, and I was happy with that. We started the second lap, and Travis and I talked about books and life as we tried to stay positive. I know if I had been pushing my pace, I would have been struggling. I would have been hurting, but now I was going at a leisurely pace, stepping aside to let other runners pass us, and cheering them on. I remember before in this race always struggling with hydration, but I was using the Right Stuff hydration liquid, and I felt good throughout the day. Travis was dealing with some stuff, so we slowed down, but I didn’t mind. The day always goes by faster when you have someone to talk to. Also, there was no reason to push myself, and realistically, it wouldn’t be smart to do so, so I cannot say I was being completely altruistic and sticking with him. I knew I needed to pace myself today and finish feeling ready to drive home and read to my kids, so as long as I was done before 12 hours, I figured I would be able to make it home in time.

I also met a runner Clay from Tulsa who was out there after he had a race cancel and was crushing it for most of the race. I felt bad for the runners who were attempting to commiserate on the second lap. One runner said it seemed like forever since they hit a certain aid station, for me it seemed like no time at all had passed, and strangely I was thinking I would be a little sad when it was over, and I would have to pack it up and go home. 

There was an aid station with 2.5 miles to go to the end, and I couldn’t remember there ever being one there before, but it was perfect. There were two unmanned water station that made this race, so much easier. It kept the aid station paced out, so you were never without water for more than 5 miles and frequently shorter than that. 

Travis suggested I go ahead at the end when another runner passed us and he could tell I wanted to go faster, but I held back. I was thinking how sometimes it is your ability to hold back that makes the difference for longevity. I wanted to finish this race with plenty of gas left in the tank. I disagree 100 percent with the ideology that suggest you need to finish races completely spent with nothing else to give. That’s how you get injured, that’s how you get burnt out. I want to run some races every year hard, but I didn’t want to put that much pressure on a race like this that is just meant to be fun.

When we saw a snake, I stopped and took a picture. When I saw a butterfly on a flower, I stopped and took a dozen phots. We finished shoulder to shoulder, hoping it would register as a tie.