ultrarunningmom

About 66 runners stood bouncing on their twos waiting for the race director, RD, to yell go! The sun was high in the sky, although, you couldn’t see it with the cloud cover. Volunteers and support crews stood along the sidelines with cameras, smiles and encouraging words.

Fifteen minutes before the runners lined up at the starting line the RD gave a brief pre-race meeting inside the large white tent located at the start and finish of the race. He gave a description of the course and where the aid stations were located.

“You 100 mile runners are going to do two loops around the course,” he said.

“Do you have any maps?” asked a first time runner.

“No, but I can count on one hand how many runners have been lost on the course over the past 11 years.”

The RD continued by telling the returning runners about the changes made from the year before. And then everyone shuffled outside to the starting line.

A mix of excitement and anxiety passed over the faces of runners standing in the chilled air waiting for the countdown to begin. They didn’t have to wait long.

At the count of five, Garmins began to beep as they were turned on and locating the satellites.

Go!

And so it began, runners of every age and size began putting one foot in front of another. They had 30.5 hours to finish the 100 mile trek over and around Antelope Island. They encountered buffalo all along the trails and dedicated volunteers who were out there all night long cheering and encouraging everyone who came through their aid stations.

All the climbing is from miles 1-20 and again from miles 50-70 since the race is a double loop, so the walking starts pretty quickly.

My left hip began to ache a little within the first five miles. I knew it would be a problem and hoped it wouldn’t slow me down during the race. Then there were blisters on both arches of my feet by mile 13. Blisters early in a race were never good. I stopped to take some tape off my feet that was causing some of the blisters. And I left my gloves sitting on the rock. I didn’t realize it until a few miles later and I wasn’t going back. All I could do was hope they were still there when I made my return trip.

Two weeks before I had run the first 20 miles of the race in 3 hours 18 minutes, which is way too fast for a 100 or so I thought. I came in to the aid station at 20 miles in 3 hours 30 minutes. My support crew was waiting for me even though I was earlier than expected.

“I need my blister kit, water refilled, and more apples,” I called out as I came in. They scrambled to tend to everything. I was out within about seven minutes.

I continued down the trail which was little rolling hills for 30 miles and then would climb into the mountain section I had just finished. I felt good. The blisters were taped up and stopped hurting after a few minutes. My hip was feeling better and only ached in various spots every once in a while.

I stopped to take pictures here and there. The obstinate buffalo were right along the trail and forced me and other runners to take small detours into the sage brush to remain a safe distance from them. They run 35 miles an hour after all. I even saw my first coyote on the trial.

My amazing crew was at every aid station refilling my water, rolling out my legs, restocking my food, and telling me how great I was doing. My goal was to get in and out of aid stations within five minutes especially for the first 50 miles. Swiss Miss even showed up with a new pair of gloves. The sunset was absolutely amazing and I tried to run faster to see it without the mountains being in the way. I missed it by just a few minutes.

I came into mile fifty still feeling great and ready to pick up my first pacer, Troy. I pulled on long pants a beanie, and packed a long sleeve shirt just in case. Troy and I set out at a steady pace and hiked all the climbs. We made good time and found the lost gloves.

At mile 70, I picked up my second pacer, Cody. It was early morning and about 30 degrees Fahrenheit. We talked and maintained a nice steady pace. He was running with me during my most difficult hours 3-6 am. In all my past races this was where I lost the most time because I was tired and pretty out of it.

But I had changed my strategy to prevent this from happening. I stopped using caffeine three months before the race. During the race, I started popping caffeine pills about 130 am. This section of the race was still my slowest time, but it was much faster than any prior races.

At mile 83, I picked up my third and final pacer, Jake. It was still dark and I was still running. I felt good and my mood was in a good place. During the last 17 miles of the race there were times when I was coming up small hills and thought, “I should walk,” but I didn’t. I told myself I was strong and the hills were too small to walk.

Mile 89 was the last time I met up with my crew before the finish line. They provided me with more Oreos (my primary fuel for this run) and refilled my pack and off I went with Jake at my back. I watched the sun come up and it filled me with more vigor. I ran the whole way back to the start/finish tent.

My dad and youngest son were there waiting for me a little ways before the finish line. They ran with me toward the finish. I ran next to another runner. He pulled ahead by a few steps, but about three feet before the finish line he said, “Come on let’s finish it together.”

It was 9:30 am and I was surrounded by my best friends, my dad, and my son. I couldn’t have asked for more. It was a perfect race.

Finish time: 21 hours 30 minuets.

Second place for women.

First place in age group.

Ninth place overall