Kodiak 100 2017 Race Report

"I just want to lay down beside the trail, and take a nap"

Having had an odd stomach ache for the last 5 miles, I pulled off to the side of the trail, down a short dusty ravine. My stomach promptly lost most of the water and gels I had consumed for the past 2 hours. I was having exercise and heat induced vomiting at 8,500 feet elevation going up Sugarloaf Mountain at mile 23, the most intense vomiting so far at any race. I could not keep anything down, although I had been hiking very slowly up Sugarloaf Mountain, allowing other runners to pass me up. Now I wondered if I would be able to go on up the mountain. Was this altitude sickness, which would require descending quickly? I did multi system checks, including math calculations to see if my mind still worked. I checked for significant edema, tachycardia, tachypnea, lightheadedness, and other GI symptoms, but these checks all turned out negative. I decided I would continue up the mountain, which would peak out at 10,000 ft--higher than I had ever run before in a race.

Kodiak 100 is a race that goes along the mountains around Big Bear Lake in California. I used to live in Southern California, so I was excited to run on the areas that I hiked when I was young.
The evening before I picked up my bib and headed back to my room to get some sleep. Before I went to sleep though, I checked my drop bags. TSA had left a card saying they inspected my suitcase containing my drop bags. One of my drop bags had double the gels and snacks, and one bag had no gels and snacks! TSA had mixed up my drop bag contents! Wow--I was glad I double checked the bags.

On the next morning, Friday, I dropped off my 6 drop bags and picked up my Spot tracker. At 9:00 am, we were off. The weather forecast called for sunny skies with highs up to around 80 F, and a high UV index above 10! I planned to wear sunglasses during the daylight hours, and a shade hat as well.
Since this was my 9th 100 miler to start, I have learned that since each race is vastly different, I don't set a time goal. That way, I do my best and just try to finish as well as possible. I had no altitude training and no heat training before this race. I had never been on these particular trails. I arrived in Big Bear 2 days before the start of the race.

Mile 0-5 (Grandview)
The race starts out on pavement and heads up on double track to Grandview A/S. I was careful to not run fast, and walk every time my heart rate crept into the 160s. I made sure to consume 300 calories per hour and to drink enough.

Mile 5-12 (Skyline)
From Grandview, nice single track descends down a ridge and joins up with double track which heads  up to Skyline. I was feeling ok, and tried to be in the shade as much as possible. when I stopped to take a gel, I made sure to stop in the shade.

Mile 12-15 (Bear Mountain)
From Skyline, I ate a few snacks, but I got some abdominal muscle cramps and had to slow down a bit on the single track downhill all the way to Bear Mountain. This A/S is situated on the road between Bear Mountain Ski area (which I have skied at before), and the Big Bear Zoo (which I visited the next week). There were quite a few spectators there at the A/S, and it was nice to see the people there.

Mile 15-20 (Sugarloaf)
From Bear Mountain to Sugarloaf A/S, the route has a lot of paved roads and some dirt roads as well. I was feeling ok to mile 20, having reached it in 4:30 elapsed time, which was 2:30 ahead of the first cutoff. I did sit down and eat quite a bit.

Mile 20-31 (Sugarloaf)
From mile 20, the route goes up dirt roads to the Sugarloaf Mt trailhead and climbs 2500 ft up to just shy of 10,000 ft. At mile 23, I had vomited and was suffering quite a bit. I had only packed 54 oz of water for miles 20-31, and I wondered if that was enough. Some of the dusty single track up was very steep, and with many runners passing me up, I was getting discouraged. Having lost quite a few ingested calories, I took it very slow. I did however reach the top, and sat down on a big rock and relaxed for 5 minutes. It would have been nice if there was water at the top, but there wasn't. I would ration my water for the descent and go low calorie for awhile. On the descent I picked up speed and got a second wind so to speak. I passed a few runners up and gained some speed down to the mile 31 checkpoint. 8:45 had passed since I started the race, and it was 5:45 pm. The worst of the heat of the day had passed, but I had hoped to reach this point by 3:30-4:30 pm! I was still 2:15 ahead of the cutoff though, so I had a little cushion. I would just have to pick up some speed now that I would hit the rolling sections. I ate some,  decided to rely more on A/S food that gels, and planned to continue on with the race.

Mile 31-38 (Burns Canyon)
The route from Sugarloaf A/S to Burns Canyon was one of my favorites. Maybe it was Deadman's ridge with all of the rocks to run on, or the relief that the evening breeze gave, or the beautiful sunset. I was moving quite well in this section and passed a few more runners.

Mile 38-42.5 (The Dump)
I put on my headlamp and meandered into the night. The route took me along dirt roads and paved roads.

Mile 42.5-50 (Holcomb Valley)
Quite a bit of dirt double track followed up hills and down hills with nice views of Big Bear lake. I ran with another runner along this section, as he was trying to save his headlamp batteries, and instead ran in my light instead. The aid station at Holcomb Valley was nice and I headed on in the night. At mile 50, it had taken me 14:30 to go that far.

Mile 50-55 (Hanna Flats)
From Holcomb Valley to Hanna Flats, the course goes primarily on double track dirt roads. Few ribbons or arrows were visible and often I wondered if I was on the correct route. Occasionally, I would see headlamps of runners ahead of me. The route went up and down hills. It was cold in the ravines and warm on the ridges. There wasn't much wind. Within 1/2 mile of Hanna Flats, I ran into quite a few runners who had taken a wrong turn and had come back to the correct route. I reached the aid station and had some soup, and other tasty items. They even had a bathroom there.

Mile 55-64 (Green Valley) Upon leaving Hanna Flats, the single track winds around several hillsides with very, very few ribbons. I didn't see any arrows though, so I kept on ahead, although several times I wondered if I should head back to the aid station to confirm I was on the right trail. Finally I reached Green Valley, mile 64. At Green Valley, the aid station folks told me some runners had taken a wrong turn just down the road and had come back to get directions. I was told which way the trail went, and it was confirmed with arrows.

Mild 64-69 (Snow Valley)
I followed the arrows and ribbons carefully and head up a hill above Snow Valley. Yet I got a text message from my family saying I was off course! I started to second guess myself, but checked again and sure enough there were lots of ribbons on this trail. I continued on to Snow Valley where the 50K runners would start later that morning. I grabbed some warm food, changed into lighter clothes and left.

Mile 69-79 (Champion)
The section from Snow Valley to Champion was my favorite section. The trail heads to the top of Siberia Canyon and descends steeply on switchbacks to the bottom where there is a creek. An aid station volunteer was in a sleeping bag and had water for us there. From here the single track heads up but less steep than the descent. Along the entire Siberia Canyon there were loads and loads of annoying gnats that tried to get into my eyes. I was swatting them continuously with both hands. I really liked the trail though and didn't mind the many scratches I got from thorny bushes along the way. Within 1/8 mile from Champion, a boy and a girl ran up to me cheering me on and asked if I wanted refills or oatmeal. I was amazed. Upon reaching the aid station, I sat down, and a whole cup o'noodles was brought to me. A/S volunteers went the extra mile and helped put things in my pack, filled up my bottles, encouraged me and sent me off quickly. Wow!

Mile 79-85 (Grandview)
The heat of the day was now building, except this day was going to be hotter than the day before. The sun was intense again and I sought out shady parts of the trail to run on. Finally I reached Grandview,  although at this point I was hiking more than running. I ate a little and took off down the trail.

Mile 85-87.5 (Aspen Glen)
From Grandview to Aspen Glen, the descent is fairly steep. I ran as much as I could but the heat was rough. At Aspen Glen I sat awhile and ate quite a bit of food. I asked carefully which way to head back up to Grandview, since I heard the signs were confusing going up.

Mile 87.5-90.5 (Grandview)
At the junction just up the trail I stopped and waited for another runner to catch up. I then asked her which way we were supposed to go, and I followed her to the left. I had seen other runners apparently going the wrong way up the other way, so that was confusing. The trail going back up was longer than the other trail. I reached Grandview and ate some more.

Mile 90.5-96 (Skyline)
This section form Grandview to Skyline was very difficult for two reasons. First, the intense sun and heat were exhausting me to no end. In spots, the heat index in the sun was likely around 90. I was hiking very slowly now, and was getting very, very sleepy in the mid afternoon, having been awake about 33 hours at this point. I wanted to go to the side of the trail and have a little nap. I resisted the urge though because I had no pacer to wake me up, and I was afraid heat exhaustion or worse would give me troubles so much that I couldn't finish. Would I have to drop out at mile 96 or before? I had only gone 1 1/2 miles since Grandview, and I was seemingly making now progress while hoards of runners were passing me up. If Sugarloaf Mt ascent at mile 23 was the first wall, then at mile 92-95, I was at the second wall, and this was much worse. At one point, I sat on a log and ate a gel with water. Somebody's pacer who passed me up here reminded me not to sit too long, and asked if I was ok. Thankfully, I reached the Skyline A/S 1 mile before I had anticipated I would reach it. This gave me a dose of energy. I didn't fuel anymore here, being worried that I would get stomach cramps on the final descent to the finish.

Mile 96-100 (Finish)
From Skyline to the Finish, I met Jonathan and his pacer. His pacer was pushing not only Jonathan but also the rest of us runners along the way to run and finish this race. I appreciated the encouragement. On the descent, Jonathan asked me if I wanted to finish together. I agreed and had a good time running down that hill to the finish, at a full sprint at the finish. After 32 hours and 39 minutes, Kodiak 100 had been conquered. I ended up 47th place out of 102 starters. Only 64 % of the starters finished, and I was glad to be one of them.

I am thankful for the amazing volunteers at the aid stations, the people who marked the course, the race director, Matt Smith, for all of the friendly runners out there, and for my family who believed I could conquer this Kodiak bear of a course.

Overall, I really enjoyed running this race. I never got lost even once. The aid stations never ran out of supplies. The aid station volunteers were helpful. The climbs were modest but not over the top. The altitude really wasn't that bad even though the average was above 7000' ft. The hot days will be there year after year, but this is the southwest in Summer. It was nice that it never rained and there was minimal mud. The temps never got below about 40 F. The 9 o'clock start was nice in that I could sleep in the night before and it wasn't very hot to start out the course.

What went well:

1. The tune-up races and runs prior to this race: Badger 100, Bighorn 100, M2B marathon, Tillamook Burn 50k

2. I kept the summer mileage up higher than in prior years, and the legs had no problem with the climbs or descents

3. I tapered effectively

4. No underlying injuries

What I could have done differently:

1. Altitude training, although it isn't real feasible where I live on the coast
2. Heat training, although it didn't seem to help me much at Bighorn (because it was cool this year, haha).
3. I should have had 72 oz fluids from miles 20-31, rather than 54 oz.

One way to look at performance is the placement. For each of my 100 milers, I have either been in the mid pack or back of the pack, which is mediocre as races are concerned. Given my marathon and half marathon times, one would think I would be faster at ultras.
Yet I have finished all of the last 7--100 milers that I have run over the past 2 years. Statistically, given the finishing rates of Badger 100, Zion 100, Bighorn 100, Lost Soul 100 in 2016, and Badger 100, Bighorn 100, and Kodiak 100 in 2017, the chance that a runner (like me) would just finish each and all of these races is only 2.5 %. That means, there was a 97.5% chance that I would not finish at least one of these races. This brings up several questions.
1. Why have I been able to beat the odds to finish 7--100 milers in a row if my performance on each of these races is mediocre?
2. Why does it matter if I finish nearly all of the 100s I start?
3. Why aren't my 100 mile times getting faster?

The questions get progressively harder to answer for me.
For the first question, factors that have helped me to finish are experience, baseline fitness, determination, but above all--I really like being out on the trails with nature for hours and hours, even by myself.
For the second question, I imagine it matters that I finish because I don't want to let down myself and others, enjoy the challenge, and know that I will regret it if I stop.
For the third question, I have no idea. Yet it doesn't really matter to me because these long races are so much fun with the challenge and everything. I choose more and more challenging courses--pushing the elevation limits, heat limits, mud limits, and time limits.
If I want to place high, I will focus on distances at races from 5K to marathons because I have some speed going for me. I run ultras because they are fun out in nature, not for prizes or to be in the top %.

Bighorn100 2017 Race Report

"Embrace the mud, or the mud will keep you from the finish."

The cool cloudy weather with trace rain expected made prospects for a fast time at Bighorn100 promising this year. I was excited about this race.
On Thursday before the race, I got my bib and dropped off my three soft sided drop bags and then headed with my family to Ole's for a nice dinner of spaghetti.
At 8am on race day--Friday, I gathered with my running friends for the day at Scott Park in Dayton for the race briefing and then was shuttled off to the start where I waited for an hour by the Tongue River.
It was a cool start with temps in the 60s with cloudy skies.

Miles 0-30
At 10am, the national anthem was played and we were off. Running at a 9:30 min/mile pace for the first mile was easy on the flat gravel road. Upon entering the Tongue River Trailhead single track, the trail gradually climbed up to Lower Sheep Aid Station at 3.5 miles where I refilled water and had a gel. The trail then headed steeper up to Upper Sheep Aid Station, and I was hiking at a comfortable pace in the cool weather. At Upper Sheep Aid Station, I took another gel, and a few items at the aid station, filled water, and took off, alternating running and hiking the gradual ascent to 8000' before running down at a 8 min/mile pace down to DryFork aid station. At DryFork, it had only taken me 3 hours 5 minutes to reach that point, a full 7 minutes faster than last year. After 7 minutes at the aid station, I proceeded down the trail, running at a good clip. The rolling hills between DryFork and Footbridge were nice allowing alternating running and hiking. Stopping briefly at Cow Camp aid, Stock Tank water supply, and Bear Camp aid for food and water, I felt great. Descending the 3.5 miles down the wall to Footbridge was slow going due to the steep narrow single track with many rocks and turns. Yet, I checked my watch at Footbridge and only 6 hours 48 minutes had gone by for the 30 miles of this tough course, a full 12 minutes faster than last year. I took 12 minutes to refuel and grabbed a light running long-sleeve shirt, running jacket and rain jacket as a little rain was expected.

Miles 30-48
Upon leaving Footbridge, drizzle turned into light rain. The 3 miles of single track to Cathedral Rock was muddier than I had remembered and had more hills than I had remembered. I hiked as much as I rain. At Cathedral Rock aid, a volunteer mentioned that the trail is going to get really muddy, but saw my Altra Lone Peak shoes and mentioned that they have great traction. I agreed and said, "they have never let me down."
With the rain, the muddy sections were muddier, causing me to slide sideways and frontward and backward. Even the normally dry single track was becoming slippery and non-negotiable. We had to navigate around the majority of the muddy trail in order to make any safe progress, meaning hiking on the grass next to the trail or navigating between the bushes by the trail. At this point flexibility and balance attributes were as important as strength and fitness. I gagged, vomited and stopped to catch my breath.
Spring March aid at mile 40 was a welcome site, and I was happy to see vegan soup and other delicious foods. Other runners were also mentioning that the front runners had not come through yet, and that we normally saw them by this point. The front runners crossed my path just after leaving Spring March (their mile 55), muttering about the terrible muddy trail conditions. I felt a little better now, knowing that the conditions were even tough on the fastest runners. The rain was heavier and heavier.
The muddy trail was getting worse and worse, with my Lone Peaks feeling like road shoes. I would slip one way, and then slip another way altogether. I would see a runner in front of me slipping and sliding in a dancing-like fashion, as if walking on an ice rink. At times it was almost comical; at other times, it was downright discouraging.
How would I ever finish this run, as I could not even hike fast? At Elk Camp at mile 43.5, the word from volunteers was that the next 2 miles were steep and terribly muddy. How could things get any worse though? The only tactic was to find the least muddy section of trail (usually on one side or other of the mud field.) I grabbed onto bushes and trees to keep my balance as my legs plunged into the mud pits. At one point, both of the legs were stuck in the mud up to my knees, my flashlight was covered with mud, and my hands were covered with mud. Finally I reached Jaws at mile 48, the turnaround point at 14 hours 14 minutes. It had taken me over 7 hours to negotiate 18 miles up the little Bighorn River Drainage arriving at 9000 ft. elevation. Upon reaching the aid station, I found my drop bag, and sat down on a chair. I munched on a quesadilla, drank some broth and shivered. A nice volunteer offered me a blanket which I readily took and warmed up before changing into a dry shirt, jacket, hat, fleece face mask and gloves. My headlamp was not working well so I ditched it, only having my flashlight now. I didn't seriously consider dropping at this point because I had dry clothes now, and I thought maybe the downhill would be easier in the mud.

Miles 48-66
After 40 minutes at Jaws aid, I trudged on. The rain showers continued and the muddy trail was actually worse on the way down as there had been more foot traffic since I came up. I passed quite a few runners on the way down. I encouraged them as much as I could while trying not to fall in the mud myself. At times I tried to tell other runners where the least muddy path was. I slipped, fell, and seemingly danced in the mud at times as I struggled to keep my balance. The muddy trails continued through Elk Camp, Spring Marsh, and Cathedral Rock down to Footbridge at mile 66. At Footbridge, it had taken me 21 hours and 21 minutes. The volunteer there said I didn't look so good. She rephrased that saying I didn't look terrible, but I looked a little pale. I quickly said that I just need to eat some food. After eating grapes, cheezits, potatoes, and M&Ms, I saw that I had spent 29 minutes there and had to get going. I was now 2 hours 10 minutes ahead of the cutoff times. I would be chasing the cutoff times all of the way, if I continued. The rain had stopped though.

Miles 66-83
The trail going up the Wall was really muddy, but it slowed me to a decent pace so that the ascent didn't seem bad at all compared to last year. I only had to stop a couple times to catch my breath. At Bear Camp aid, I sat down, ate a gel and other food before taking off for Stock Tank. The trail continued quite muddy all of the way to Stock Tank before drying up a bit going towards Cow Camp. By this time, I was getting really sleepy and hiked relatively slowly. I rain the downhills as much as I could but the ascent up to DryFork was excessively slow as I apparently hadn't fueled enough and was bonking. At DryFork, I had been on my feet for 28 hours 8 minutes and after an 11 minute aid stope, I was only 41 minutes ahead of the cutoff. This was going to be close. I didn't consider dropping though because I wasn't really that sore, and I figured I could run most of the downhills.

Miles 83-100
The climb up to 8000' was tough and I hiked slowly up and power-hiked down to Upper Sheep aid station.  At Upper Sheep aid station I was 40 minutes ahead of the cutoff, and quickly took a gel. After vomiting what I just ingested, I ate potatoes instead and I felt so much better. Now I had enough energy to actually hike fast up the Haul and then run most of the way down to Lower Sheep aid. At Lower Sheep I was feeling quite well, and proceeded on. I was a little surprised at the rolling fashion of the trail to Tongue River TrailHead, as I expected it to be mostly downhill and longer than I had remembered. I reached the aid station mile 95 at 32 hours 11 minutes, and with a 4 minute stop, was only 15 minutes ahead of the cutoff. The volunteers there looked as tired as I was but were so very helpful with having fresh fruit and other food, and providing directions towards the finish. The last 5 miles would mostly entail power hiking at 15-16 min/mile pace. At mile 96, I texted my family letting them know I would be there soon. At mile 98, a happy boy brought me and others a popsicle. At mile 99, two excited girls did a cheer for each runner coming by, and I tipped my hat to them.
At mile 99.5, I saw the bridge and road and started to run. I went back to hiking a few times though as I was tired. As I reached to park and everyone was cheering, I couldn't help it and dashed ahead and sprinted the last stretch to the finish. After 33 hours 38 minutes, I had finished the 2017 Bighorn 100! Of my seven 100 mile finishes, this was my slowest, being just 22 minutes ahead of the final cutoff. Yet, I will probably value this finish the most of all--because I worked the hardest for it, physically, mentally, and emotionally. 328 runners checked into DryFork at mile 13, and only 175 runners finished which means nearly one-half of the starters DNF. This years average finish time was 2 hours slower than 2016. I heard opinions on the trail that this year's Bighorn had the worst mud in its history. It was certainly worse than the mud at Zion100 in 2016 when they closed it down early. It will be a trail run to remember for years to come.

During each tough 100 miles, I seem to doubt whether I will ever run another 100 mile race. At the end when I finish though, I contemplate the day and decide to hold off on making any judgment about that until another day, because somehow, the job got done. Maybe it was the helpful volunteers, the friendly runners on the course, the encouragement from family and friends, or my determination.

Finally, I usually like to discuss what went well and what things I could have done better.

What went well:

1. The build-up of races in the Spring with Badger100 in March (11 minutes slower than my 100 miler PR), Tillamook Burn50k in April (18 minute 50K PR), and Mountains2Beach Marathon in May (21 minute Marathon PR and BQ with 3:09 finish time). I felt rested enough for Bighorn and race fatigue was not a significant factor.

2. The hill training was adequate and the hills seemed easier than in 2016 despite the mud, maybe because of the slower pace

3. The heat training in the month before the race probably helped my VO2max enough to make the altitude not seem so pronounced as I didn't get any altitude training in, other than 2 ski days in February at Mt Hood Meadows

4. The even effort pace during this race helped me to keep my pace up during the second half of the race.

5. My drop bags had enough dry warm clothes

6. My negotiation of the mud was good, as I was familiar with the course.

What I could have done better:

1. The biggest factor in not achieving my time potential of 100s continues to be calorie intake. Looking at top ultra runners, Scott Jurek commonly took in 300 calories an hour, while Jim Walmsley takes in nearly 500 calories an hour. I read that people can only take in 200-250 calories an hour without GI upset tough, so maybe top ultra runners have especially accommodating GI tracts. I have mostly been doing low-calorie intake trail runs focusing on fat-burning.Yet it appears that I would have done better had I trained some times with high calorie intake to fine tune exactly how much I could ingest safely so I could run fast for the duration of the run. GU gels with water work well for me so I should use those more on training runs.

2. I was down to one light source at times, and had no back up in the early morning, so I should have thought this through more. Thankfully, my last light never went out although it dimmed some.

3. I should have used some sunscreen the second day when it got sunny, as the reflection off of the white rocks caused a mild sunburn.

4. I should not have taken in the gel with caffeine in it the second morning, as it made me very sleepy after I took it. I just don't take caffeine well, and almost always avoid it. You know what they say, "never experiment with something on race day."

Badger Mountain Challenge 100 2017 Race Report

"No, I will press on, even if its just so I can run in that culvert two more times."

"It seems so irrational and unusual, but special and intriguing at the same time."

At mile 36, I became aware that my knee was hurting and was likely a tendinitis flare up. Every steep uphill climb and downhill climb it felt worse so that I even had to hike the downhills that were supposed to be fast. Was it because I had run a fast speed workout the week before? Was it that I had averaged only 30 miles per week for the last 4 months leading up to this race? I knew it wasn't the shoes because I was wearing relatively new low-drop Altra Olympus 2.0 shoes. I was in one of the most remote parts of the course between Orchard and Jacobs road aid station. Up to this point, my times were on target for a sub-24 hour finish. Now I was contemplating stopping at 50 miles and calling it a day. It was decision time.

The Thursday night before the race, they had a nice supper with Pizza, salad, and cookies. I loaded up on two plates of salad and cookies, and talked with a running friend, John. It's always nice to see familiar faces and to feel at home in the running community. The race director gave out some helpful tips for the runners, and had an opportunity for people to ask questions, and such. That evening I checked the weather forecast--rain on Friday.

Friday morning, it was raining as expected, and was cold. At 7am I started off with the 100 miler and 50 miler runners going up and down Badger, then up and down Candy, and then on 4 miles of road to mile 10 at Jacobs' road A/S. The pace was solid--just under 10 min/mile. After Jacob's road, the path winds around vineyards and has multiple short and steep hills--reminds me of the hills at Lost Soul 100. On this day, however the rain continued and made muddy slopes of these hills. This was shoe-sucking mud. It reminded me of the mud at Zion 100 and Bighorn 100. It was very slippery, making me glad I was wearing the better traction 2.0 rather than 1.5 Altra Olympus shoes.

When I arrived at McBee Parking, I was 15 minutes ahead of schedule at 3:15 elapsed time, and feeling great. After a quick stop I climbed up McBee ridge with ease, ran to Chandler Butte and then back down to mild 30: McBee Parking A/S at 5:57 elapsed time, 3 minutes ahead of schedule. At the 50K mark I was at about 6 hours 10 minutes, right on schedule.

At mile 36 now, everything changed. With a sore knee, how could I finish when I couldn't even run without pain? When I walked, it felt ok, but when I ran, it was a different story. I decided to give it some time until the 50 mile point before I decided to stop there or continue on. Maybe the knee would get better eventually, like at Zion 100...

From mile 36 on, I had to walk more than run. Thankfully, I am can walk fast for miles and miles if needed. At mile 47, just 3 miles from the turnaround point, the knee pain just continued. This wasn't fun any longer. If I stopped at 50 miles, which would be around 10 hours, I would place fairly well, have a 50 miler PR (since I haven't run one yet), and not have to walk most of the last 50 miles.
As I summited Badger Mountain at mile 48. I thought about how I would tell the volunteers and RD that I would stop at 50 miles. I thought about what I would say when they asked me, "Are you sure?" I know I would say, "No, I am not sure." Sometimes the best thing to do is to just keep moving. I remembered how much I enjoyed running through the endless dark culvert West of Candy Mountain, singing songs in there and hearing the echoes from the culvert walls. "No I will press on, even if its just so I can run in that culvert two more times." As I descended Badger Mountain at mile 49, I was running again, my knee didn't hurt (maybe because adrenaline was taking over. Upon arriving at mile 50, I went straight to the food tables and got my drop bag. It was 5:05 pm, just 10 hours 5 minutes since I began the run. In 2015, my 50 mile time was 10:45, and in 2016--it was 10:30. It would have been a great 50 mile time for me, but I didn't care. I had signed up for the 100 miler, and I had to finish the job--if at all possible. Fueling had gone well up to this point, leaving me full of energy.

From miles 57 to 64, my outlook went from positive to doubtful quickly. Stomach issues took off 30 minutes of time in the next 7 miles. Gatorade has always worked well for me, but that was the only recent addition to my intake for the last 50 miles. So I had to resort to water and salty foods. I opted for delicious potato soup and potato chips at the next aid stations. My time was slowing down now and I started to question myself whether I had made to right choice to continue. I reasoned that If I can just make it up to McBee ridge, I would be able to "see the finish". Upon reaching McBee parking mile 68.5 at 10:58 pm, I swallowed the fact that I was 1.5 hours behind my schedule for  sub-24 hr finish.

Despite reports that there wasn't much wind or rain on McBee ridge, I knew from the past 2 years that McBee ridge always has 20-50 miles winds and at night the wind chill is enough to send the runner into hypothermia quickly. On went the ski mittens, ski jacket and wind shell. Upon the reaching McBee Ridge, the wind was howling at 30 miles per hour with a temp in the 30s around midnight. The wind chill must have been around 10F--maybe colder than my recent Mt Hood skiing outing. If I was able run much, I would have been ok. Since I had to walk most of the time, I had to just think of every way to cover up any exposed skin. At Chandler Butte, they had really nice heaters and soup. I only stopped for 7 minutes before heading back into the windstorm. Running on McBee Ridge at night with so many other runners is one of the most amazing things experienced. You see the lights of Tri-Cities, while you realize other crazy people are out there in the 30 mph wind with wind chill close to zero, on a mission to complete a run. It seems so irrational and unusual, but special and intriguing at the same time.

After descending the ridge to McBee parking mile 80, it was 3:16 am, a full 2:16 behind my schedule. After a quick food stop for a quesadilla, banana, etc. I headed back out into the night. From here on out I was on cruise mode--power hiking. I reached the 89 mile mark at Jacobs Road A/S at 6:09 am, stopping only to refill the water and to grab a couple of quick snacks. The sun would be up soon, and the finish.

On Jacobs road I ate a raspberry newton, and this gave me an extra dose of energy. I sang inspiring songs through the culvert, hiked fast up, up, up Candy Mountain, ran all the way down Candy mountain cheering the 50k runners who had just started, and kept running, running, running to the base of Badger Mountain, I ran past the West Badger Aid station at mile 96.5, and continued to cheer the 50k runners coming down Badger Mountain. On the final descent, hundreds of 15K runners were coming up the same path as I was running down. Just like last year, I got to encourage them while they seemed to be inspired by a 100 miler running to the finish. After 25 hours and 36 minutes of running, 100 miles was finished. This year would make three Badger Mountain 100 finishes in a row.

I am so thankful to the race director for putting on such a great race, to all of the volunteers who were out in the elements for hours and hours providing all kinds of food for us and giving us encouragement, and keeping us warm. I am also thankful to the other runners on the course for the encouragement and inspiration.