Day 4,350—Today’s Run and Part II of the Thunder Kiss 100—

 

       I felt stronger today and refreshed after getting more sleep yesterday. I had class last night, and I worked on editing the video for a few good hours. I was also able to track the run laps, and the results were finally updated! The guy who won was close to 45 minutes ahead of me, so about what I thought, but good to know it wasn’t that far. Maybe if I could do it over again, I could run it closer to 25 hours, but who knows? Possibly, if I had started faster, I would have crashed. Today was finally nice. Sure, it was still windy, but the weather was in the 40s, and I immensely enjoyed being out in the sunshine. I thought about how I don’t officially train hills, but I run hills almost every day, Monday-Friday. I won’t say I am doing it on purpose. It is just the only option if I am going to get a variety of routes in, and I am thankful for that fact. I know it isn’t even a week after the 100-mile race yet, but I want to make this a good running week.

The Thunder Kiss Part II

Start Time: 7 a.m.

Date: 3/14/26

Number of Runners: 50-70

Temperature: 40s-50s

        There were at least a dozen other runners in front of Travis and me when we got ready. The race director said the race's name came from a song and that they planned to play music at the start. The guy who explained the loop also made the comment that would haunt me for the first lap, “It is about a 20- or 21-mile course.” I knew there was nothing I could do about it, so I pushed it out of my mind and talked with Travis about the merit of bringing poles for the first lap. It was supposed to be under 3,000 feet, but I knew Travis was worried about all the hills and how technical the race would be. I was anxious to get a feel for the course and see how many miles a lap would be.

        We started out fast but at a conservative pace. I mostly stayed with Travis, and some 20-mile and 100K runners started trading spots with us pretty frequently, but after the first half of the course, we were all spread out more. I made it to the first aid station pretty quickly, filled up my water bottles, and tried to eat some food. The first section wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t tough. The next section, all the way to the soccer field, was the easiest and prettiest. I loved the spot next to the stream, and the ground was soft with all the pine needles. When we reached the top of what felt like a mountain, I could look down and see what looked like hundreds of houses lined up.

        There was a spot where it wasn’t a bridge but two logs. I walked over them, but most people found an alternative way. I didn’t talk to many people, but I did talk with a local runner for a few miles, and she mentioned some other ultra races in the area. There is a point-to-point that sounds amazing, but when she said it was in November, I realized why I didn’t think it would be a possibility for me. At first, I was annoyed about the out-and-back, but that section turned out to be my favorite, so I didn’t mind doing it again. It was a little harder on the way back with more uphill, but not that bad. When we made it back to the first aid station that we had reached earlier in the day, I filled up my water bottles because I remembered this was supposed to be the longest section.

        I hadn’t hit 13 miles on my watch yet, so I was very confused about how this lap could end up over 20 miles. This section ended up being about 6.75 miles on my watch, putting my first lap at 19.55 miles, which I found shocking. I was at first elated that it wasn’t 21, and I didn’t think it was actually under 100 because the last section had elevation types that are often unreadable on GPS. There were rolling hills that were so steep. The best I could hope for was a controlled fall rather than a run-up-and-down. Those were one of many aspects that made this section exhausting, and it felt like it would never end. I eventually ran ahead of Travis and focused only on finishing the lap. I kept thinking it was close to the end and would try to push through, but there were sections with all rocks and on narrow tracks next to a huge drop, so being careful wasn’t an option. Travis kept telling me the elevation, and we mused that the miles would be fewer but the elevation would be higher.

        I couldn’t help comparing it to the Shippey as I ran. They are both 20-mile loops with a decent amount of elevation. The Shippey has over 18,000 feet, so I figured this should be easier. They were completely different types of elevation. The Shippey has incredibly steep ups and downs, at least 3-5 huge hills without switchbacks. While these are exhausting, you do get over them and move on to the rest of the course quickly. The Thunder Kiss had very few long, steep inclines; instead, it had so many small ones and switchbacks that went on forever. It also had sections that had so many rocks and roots that they were tricky to navigate and hard on my feet. There had been a recent rainstorm, so there was also mud and puddles of water scattered throughout the course. It wasn’t a bad first loop. I hadn’t eaten a lot, but I was good on hydration, and I didn’t feel like I had overexerted myself. I was also happy that I wasn’t going to run 105 miles, but miffed that I might end up with around 98 miles instead of 100.

Lap 1

Time: 4:04:20

Time of Day: 11:04 a.m.

Miles: official 20 miles (unofficial 19.55)

Average Pace: 12 minutes and 13 seconds a mile