Day 4,072—Today and Hooray the Huron 100 Part V: the Highway, the Mystery Train, and the Finish Line—

 

         I am done with the video ahead of schedule! Not sure how I managed it, but I completed a draft last night that seemed good. There is always so much I wish I had gotten footage of, but I didn’t. There were so many black squirrels, a few deer, a raccoon, an armadillo, and what looked like a wild cat. Also, I want to start highlighting other runners in my videos. I need to just ask them if they want to talk about themselves for a minute, so I can include different faces in each video. So much of what makes the runs memorable is the people you meet during the race. In this race, I talked to so many great and kind people that I learned from and made the experience better.

         For one, I learned about the website run100s.com, which gives a comprehensive list of every 100-mile run in the country and Canada! This website makes it so much easier to find races by state. I find almost 100 percent of my runs through Ultrasignup, but I know they don’t have every race, so now I have a resource I can use to make sure I am looking at all the options. This race has revitalized my desire to run a 100 in every state! It might not be possible in the short term, but I ordered a map I can start using to physically keep track of my progress. Also, I love the idea of publishing a book someday of 50 100-mile races in 50 states! At my current word count of write-ups, it would be a long book! But, it sounds like something I would love to read if it existed. Also, I could someday have a 100-mile race video from each state! I already started looking at a race at the beginning of August that is in Wisconsin. I don’t need two summer 100s for my goal, but I would run a different 100-mile race every month if I could. Twice a month might be too much, but once a month would give me just enough time to recover and train for any specifics.

Today it was cool because of the rain this morning. I listened to some music and liked this picture I got of an open fence. I had hopped a fence to run on a trail. Normally I am running in the morning, so there is almost no chance I will see someone else out, but today I was greeted by what looked like 100 children going for a walk on the trail. I felt guilty for jumping the fence and ran away from them without making eye contact, but I felt so much better when I saw the open gate! Tomorrow I will be able to post the video with the complete write-up of the race, so I would love it if you watched it and provided some feedback! I would like to know the specifics of things you wish I would show more. Like the food and the aid stations. I don’t like recording anyone without asking their permission first, so that’s why I don’t record a lot at the aid stations. I also don’t like looking at footage of myself eating food, so that’s why you don’t see a lot of that, but maybe I could take pictures of the food I eat if that is something people are interested in.

Part V: the Highway, the Mystery Train, and the Finish Line

Time of Day: 11:42 p.m. – 7:11 a.m.

Total Time: 22:11

Section Time: 7:29

Miles: 70.6-100

Average Pace for Section: 15:17

         I felt good as this section started. I was thinking how it felt like it could be 2 a.m., but I reminded myself it wasn’t even midnight yet. I had been drinking caffeine at each aid station, but it hadn’t been giving me the boost I was hoping it would. My stomach was bothering me some, but I hadn’t stopped eating food yet. At the same time, as the night progressed, I stopped being as hungry and was getting into the mode that I was ready to be done. I missed so many good opportunities for pictures because I was too busy running the race.

         It didn’t take long for Arcadio to catch up to me, and he asked me why I didn’t get anything from my drop bag. I told him I just wanted to keep moving, and there wasn’t anything I needed. I had a lot of treats in that bag to eat and another change of clothes, but I wasn’t thinking about food anymore. I had started to think about this mystery train that was supposed to appear at mile 90 possibly. The race director said that if it did, we would have to take a 2-mile detour to get back on course. I am not going to complain about 2 miles in general, but when you’re getting down to the last 10 miles, it makes a huge difference.

         I made it out into an open section, and I was on the side of the highway. I looked left and right, but I didn’t see a flag, so I got out the Gai app to see which way to go. I went right and saw that I was going this way for a while, and then I was going left over the road and left again, heading back to the same section. I wondered if this was a part they had to change because of some construction on the trail.

         It was so loud! The cars were whizzing by me. I had been listening to music, but I turned it off. When I finally made it to the spot where you turn around, I noticed a bike path. We were still next to a busy road, but the bike path was much better than being on the side of the highway. There weren’t as many flags, but there were some small solar-powered pathway lights. I knew I should be running the entire time on the paved surface, but I found myself wishing to go uphill, so I would have an excuse to walk.

         At the end of the bike path, there was a water-only aid station at mile 76.4. Johanna caught up to me and started on the trail before I did. Now both Arcadio and Johanna had passed me. I was happy for them, but at the same time, it motivated me to try to move faster. I ran a few miles, close to 20 minutes, and I was getting annoyed with myself that I wasn’t moving any quicker. A lot of it had to do with how I was adjusting to the darkness. I would see a section of downhills and be careful instead of sprinting.

         The next aid station was at mile 80.8, and it took longer than I expected. Now, I was focused on maintaining my pace and not letting any other runners pass me. I wasn’t going to beat myself up about the 3 people who I ran with before that were now ahead of me. I needed to focus on my race. I reminded myself that I was still doing well and could finish this thing in under 22 hours!

         They made me an Impossible sausage at the aid station, and I ate about half of it. It was still hot when they gave it to me. They also had vegan eggs! But nothing was made yet, and I wasn’t about to sit around for 10 minutes when I needed to get back out there, especially with how slow I was going. The next aid station was at almost 8 miles, so I fully stocked up on hydration and threw away half of a sausage before I left. When I made it the 8 miles to the second to last aid station, I was excited.

         I had been struggling, but I was getting so close to the finish! I was still worried about this mystery train and would feel so much better once I passed it. I figured I was only a few miles away at the most once I headed out from the 88-mile aid station! I asked if there was any news from one of the workers. She told me that multiple runners had made it to the 93.5 aid station without seeing it, so I was hopeful that I would make it through without adding the 2 miles.

         I ran as fast as I could when I started, thinking I would let myself slow down once I passed the train tracks. I was past 90 miles, and I still hadn’t seen anything yet, so I was getting worried. Finally, I saw what looked like a lot of reflectors way out in a field. I continued to walk forward until I saw out of the corner of my eye a flag going back into the trail on my right side. I took off, thinking that had to be the right way to go, but I was disappointed that I hadn’t found the train yet.

         Now, I was way past mile 90, and I started to hallucinate trains everywhere! I would look out and see some buildings and think it was a train standing still, and I was too late. Sometimes I would realize later it was an RV, a row of cars, or a building, but other times I would never know for sure what I had noticed. I had started to convince myself that I must have taken the alternative way by accident! I had already added two miles, I figured. I looked at the route on Gai, and it was clear I was on a course, but not clear I was on the right one. I was so happy when I saw the last aid station! This confirms I was 6.5 miles from the finish! The first thing I asked was where the train was.

         “There was no train! You didn’t miss it.” One of the workers told me.

When I went on to explain I hadn’t seen any train tracks, they didn’t have a lot to say.

         “ARE YOU OKAY?!” One of the workers was shouting at me.

         “HAVE YOU EATEN RECENTLY?”

         “WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WENT TO THE BATHROOM?”

I confirmed I had been routinely peeing, but I wasn’t as hungry at this point in the race. When I went to leave, he acted like I hurt his feelings. I looked at him with a question on my face. I didn’t know how I looked, but I knew I felt okay to run in the last 6 and a half miles, and I did start running as fast as I could.

         The miles were going by, and even though each one seemed to take forever, I saw my mile pace was going down! I ran a 12-minute mile and then an 11-minute mile. It wasn’t long until I climbed over some train tracks. No train to be seen, and I was almost a mile 96 when I saw it. I was just thankful nothing was blocking my path and kept going. Part of me was hoping I would catch up to one of the runners who had passed me earlier. How were they all still pacing faster than me?!

         When there were fewer than two miles left to go, I saw Johanna. I passed her and hoped I would catch up to Arcadio too, but I was running out of time. I ran as fast as I could those last two miles. It was a trail and all downhill. Then there were a hundred signs with personal messages. I read as many as I could and felt the emotional push from the many will-wishers.

         I was at 102 miles on my watch, so I figured it had to be so soon! And then, I saw it on the top of a hill. I heard someone say, “A runner is coming!” People started to cheer, and one of the race directors got his camera out and was recording. He greeted me warmly when I made it and confirmed that I had finished 5th overall in 22 hours and 11 minutes.

Tomorrow Part VI: Reflecting after the Race and Driving Home