Well, let’s get the one nasty detail out of the way, I dropped out of this race at the 81.5 mile point after 21h27m of running. As difficult of a decision as it was, given the condition of my feet, it was the only smart thing to do. But, we’ll get to how my feet got in such rough shape.
(just a warning, this report is nearly as long as the race it self)
Pre-Race
This trip involved a 12 hour road trip which started on the Thursday before the Saturday race. Natalie, Pam & I set out to Minneapolis, enjoying the wi-fi hotspots at gas stations along the way; not to mention the bizarre ‘food’ products such as the pickled sausages (which we just poked, did not consume!). The best part of this portion of the trip was the conversation with the border guard. I said I was going to do a race, and that Natalie & Pam were coming to crew and cheer. She asked “A marathon?” to which I responded, “no, a bit further, 100 miles” The look on her face was hilarious; maybe that’s why I like this sport, just for the befuddled looks you can get from people when you tell them what you’re doing.
Other than driving through a monumental storm the trip was uneventful. Pam was reading through the 50 page race booklet trying to get a better sense of what she had really gotten herself into. Driving into Mpls, we went past an REI store that was just down the road from our hotel; this gave us an idea for a quick shopping trip before continuing the trip to Wisconsin the next morning. After a decent night’s sleep, it was breakfast at IHOP and then a side trip to what turned out to be the third largest REI store in the US! It was great to be able to try out a bunch of different trail shoes that I haven’t seen stocked at home. Having seen the forecast for the race, one thing I picked up was a neckerchief that was filled with ‘cooling beads’, what an amazing find!
The rest of the drive to the race area was uneventful except when the AC in the car was acting funky and I got some heat training. We stayed in a small town called Fort Atkinson, which is about 25 miles from where the race started. After checking in at the hotel we ventured out to the kit pick-up at the La Grange General Store. Now, when you think “general store” and small town USA, what comes to mind? Prior to getting here I imagined a place where you could buy wonderbread and cow medicine. Nothing could be farther from that! This was a little mecca of funkyness in the middle of rural America. From the mountain bike shop to the vegan café to the cooler full of micro-brewed beers, we were totally amazed. The funniest thing was that we made a special trip before leaving home to pick up some ‘special’ post race chips that we didn’t think we would find in small town America, and there was the Spicy Thai Kettle Chips right there a the General Store! The kit pick up was super well organized and I picked up both some extra fee stuff and some race branded clothes. We then changed and drove up the road to run a little bit of the trail.
The trail was gorgeous, the forest was equally amazing and it was good to see that the course markings were really well done. We ran a short out & back stopping to take some pictures. Then it was time to eat, get back to the hotel and prepare for the morning. It was somewhere along this point when Pam & Natalie were dubbed “Two Live Crew”.
Race Day
The race has three divisions, a 100k, a 100 mile relay and a 100 mile. Driving to the start Natalie gave me some advice “Now don’t go sprinting out with those 100km racers, you’ve got further to go!” – the funniest pre-race advice I’ve ever heard
Right at 6:00 am it was go time and off we went like a herd of turtles. I ran the first 7.5 miles at 9:45 min/mile (The eventual winner was 9:15 for this section) just taking it easy and enjoying the crowds and making sure everything was feeling good. The first thing I realized was that it was going to be a tough day on the feet as the temperature was already 21 degrees and with the humidity at over 90%, the grassy trail was soaked and eventually, so were my feet. I saw Two Live Crew at the aid station, waved and kept going as everything was fine. I did pick up a few chips and crackers at the aid station, starting the solid food as soon as possible.
The terrain changed on the next leg. It started with a short section of old fire road and then a pretty technical single track with lots of climbing and rocks. What I really enjoyed about this race was the diversity of the terrain. Early in the race, this section was truly one of my favourites. I ran most of it pretty much by myself, just soaking in the scenery and trying to remember milestones for the way back. The serenity of the forest reinforced why I love trail running.
At the next crewed aid station I had my first full pit stop with Two Live Crew tending to my every need. I’ll say it over and over, having Natalie & Pam there made this race so much easier as I just had to keep moving and they helped me so much, both in the tangible things like filling my bladders with ice and heed, re-stocking gels and bars; but also in the intangibles like keeping my motivation up, checking in on my status and generally kicking my butt if I stopped too long.
The next section of the course was my least favourite mainly because this is where the heat and humidity really started to take its toll. Most of this section was run through undulating grassy meadows and marshes with almost no tree cover for shade. In the open, the sun was relentless, in the small treed sections the humidity from the marshes was oppressive. It was still early in the day and I knew I would have to be coming back through here in the middle of the afternoon; not something I was looking forward to.
After getting through this brutal section I think I must have sounded like a tyrant asking for my handheld bottle to be filled with ice and water just to be able to douse myself on the next stretch. Once again though, Two Live Crew got me re-fuelled and back on the course. Then it was off to the 31 mile turnaround point where I would see them again. This was pretty ordinary as far as ultras go. The heat was still oppressive but nothing out of the ordinary was taxing me. I did drain my hand-held twice between craving the ice cold water and dousing my head with the blast of ice water. I was still taking in food OK and I kept up on the salt pills and drinking.
Along the way you end up talking to people and this was a very social stretch. One fellow and I had been close together from the beginning and when I caught up to him we ended up chatting until he stopped at one of the un-manned aid stations. Another that I had been running with earlier was already coming out of the 31 mile turnaround just as I was coming up the last hill. I saw him two more times and we kept encouraging each other. With this course being made up of two out & back sections, you had the opportunity to see the leaders as you approached the turn around points. It was about 1.7 miles from the 31 mile turn around that I saw the first of the leaders, which I expected to be a 100km race, but it was a 100 mile guy, followed by a relay and then another 100 miler before the lead 100k. These guys looked so amazing compared to how I was already starting to feel; totally in awe of their athleticism. There was a section of the trail here that was so picturesque. Imagine hundreds of lilac trees with their petals blowing in the wind making a carpet of flower petals. Both the visual and the scent were amazing.
Once I got to the aid station all I wanted to do was sit in the air conditioned car (which I didn’t do) so I could feel cool. Pam fetched me a cup full of salted potatoes and I munched on them along with a peanut butter & jelly sandwich while my pack was re-stocked. I remember taking a drink of water and complaining that it was too warm and that the pretzels tasted like crap. After downing some ice cold water I felt better, but I didn’t really feel like getting out of that chair, but between the reminders from both Natalie & Pam I realized I’d out-stayed my welcome and I didn’t want to be like that annoying house guest that hangs around way too long. Pam filled my hat with ice and off I went trundling down the trail.
As I was on my way back to the Highway 67 aid station that I started to feel the first blister forming and I knew I would have to start tending to it soon. This is also the section where my stomach started to hint at rebellion; nothing serious, but just a warning. In hindsight, I probably guzzled too much water at the turn around and it was sloshing; plus it was so hot I kept drinking and chewing on ice. On some of the rocky downhills I could really feel the blister on my left heel and I was almost considering finding a sharp rock to poke it for drainage. As soon as I got to the next aid station, I had Natalie get the blister kit while I pulled my shoes and socks off. Draining and patching my heel along with the clean socks was such a refreshing moment; amazing how such a small thing can make you feel better. While getting ready to go again, I was already dreading heading out into the meadows again, as it was now in the mid afternoon and the sun was full on. Even though there was a strong wind, it felt like a blast furnace in the open areas.
This next bit is when things took a turn for the worst. My stomach really started to rebel. It was like the worst side stitch I’ve ever had multiplied by 12. A few miles in, the inevitable happened, the wretching. First it was dry heaves, then it was full on puking. Over the course of about two miles I shuffled, heaved and then finally got it out of me. Ugh. I started taking in what I could in terms of food and fluids to try and get my stomach settled. Of course, the last bout of heaving happened just before the aid station where Natalie saw me hunched over, which of course only added to her worry that was already high because I had been on this leg way too long.
Two Live Crew performed a field evaluation on my situation using the guide in UltraRunner and prescribed that I eat and drink Heed only, not water for a while to help stabilize my system. Again, Pam brought the magical potatoes that tasted so good! As I was getting ready to go, it started to rain. Within 20 minutes it was a full on downpour as a massive thunderstorm settled in. So now I’m back in the forest section on the singletrack in the pouring rain questioning my sanity as my stomach is still feeling a bit off and then as if by magic I just started feeling better. The rain also cooled everything off which I’m sure was a big part of the equation. The rain was so intense that the trail which is about 14 to 18 inches wide on this section turned into small rivers rushing down the hills. It made both the climbs and descents rather treacherous as the ground was now mud with rocks under rushing water – not a great combo for staying upright. Even with the rotten weather I managed to keep moving at a decent pace. The wetness was, however, starting to take a toll on my feet.
I frankly don’t remember much of the next aid station stop other than I know I was starting to feel much better, but getting worried about my feet. I knew I had 7.5 miles to the 100km point where I would then have Pam out on the course with me as a pacer so I just kept going. This was a highly runnable section of the course and I managed to keep moving as best I could at this point in the race. There is an aid station 5 miles out that is essentially a small slice of heaven in the woods. A buffet of food and beverages. I had a bean burrito and a handful of cashews and was off running again. I think I surprised the crew as I got in to the 100k point earlier than they expected. A quick bathroom break, a change of socks and some food and off I went with Pam running with me for the next 7.5 miles.
Pam was great at helping me get running after walking up the hills. Whereas I would have shuffle walked longer, she’d say things like “hey, this looks runnable!” and I’d feel compelled to agree and get running. A big motivator on this section was knowing that when I got to the aid station I would have another burrito and a cup of coke; I mean what else would be an appropriate way to celebrate running further than I ever had? Just for good measure, I also took a pocket full of mixed nuts for later. We kept running, talking and generally relentlessly pursuing forward motion. This was also the time when the people doing the 38 mile ‘fun run’ were out on the course. One woman was kind enough to say “don’t worry, I’m just doing the fun run, I’m not a 100 miler feeling this good” as she went flying past. Before I knew it, we met up with Natalie again at the 70 mile aid station and it started to rain again as I left. For about 2 miles the trail was a gorgeous forest path covered in pine needles. I’m assuming it was gorgeous based on what I could see in the beam of my headlamp as it was now completely dark. In the distance you could hear the frogs croaking and making all sorts of noises. The gentle forest ended and so did the bulk of my running for the day. Like earlier in the day, the rain was causing the trails to become small rivers and the climbing was relentless. My feet were hurting and the constant stepping on the rocks along with the puddles was not making them feel any better. After some really long climbs in the rain the trail widened to more of a meadow and I had the most amazing firefly show I’d ever witnessed. Truly wonderful to see them all fluttering about. The meadow section was fairly smooth and I managed to run parts of it until I’d hit another rocky bit. I could hear the sound of a generator so I knew the aid station was close and Pam would jump back onto the trail with me.
Pam was ready for me and eager to get me through this section. I’m glad she was there as it was probably the most technical section of the course. Now given, it was already 19 or so hours into the run and I was tired and my feet were screaming, so it might have just felt that way. We kept moving as best as we could, with Pam putting up with my whimpering when I stubbed my toe on yet another rock or just generally felt exasperated at the top of some hill. At about 20h40m into it, the thought of dropping out entered my head. Or maybe the message from my feet finally made it to the brain (what little bit of it was still functioning that is). When I told Pam what I was thinking she was encouraging and supportive and said it was my choice and she would do whatever she could to get me to the finish. What I struggled with was knowing how bad my feet were feeling and that when I got to the 81.5 mile point I would have run the whole trail and would know what to expect on the way back. What I couldn’t wrap my head around was how to push past the agony of this 4.4 mile stretch and do it again. It was probably about the last 20 minutes before the aid station that the decision to drop was taking a firmer hold in my mind. Not even the prospect of clean socks and fresh shoes at the turn around was sounding that appealing at this point. The rain was still off and on at this point and the trails were still pretty wet. There was a small bridge just before the aid station that was nearly flooded out, the volunteers had set up some solar yard lights to light it up as we jumped over the overflowing stream to get on the bridge.
One last climb and we were at the aid station. I sat down on the picnic bench and told Natalie that I was ready to drop out because of my feet. At first I wanted to see if I could salvage them with some emergency care but that thought faded as I reminded myself of the rocky trail I’d have ahead of me. I sat there for what felt like 20 minutes deciding what to do. In reality, it was only 3 or 4 minutes of talk with Natalie & Pam before I made the decision. Telling the volunteer that #70 was dropping filled me with dread and relief at the same time.
Once we shuffled back to the car and I took off my shoes and socks and saw my feet I knew I made the right decision. They were, and still are, nasty. Another 18.5 miles I think would have led to some serious long term problems. As it is, one or two of the blisters are probably infected. It hurts to even take a step. My legs feel relatively good and I know that if my feet hadn’t gotten so bad they would have carried me the rest of the way. But when the feet feel like that, there is just know way I could have pushed past it without making a dire situation worse.
It has now been about 36 hours since I made that decision, and even though I think I made the best decision I could have, it still doesn’t feel that great. That’s the challenge of attempting an event of this magnitude, you don’t usually have that many shots at it in a year because of the timing and the training involved. I will come back and finish this distance, either at Kettle Moraine or elsewhere, that much I am confident. In the interim, I have to focus my efforts on fixing up my feet and not letting them be a limiting factor in my pursuit of this goal.
Thanks to those of you that were sending notes to Natalie during the race, she relayed them to me and it meant a lot that I had friends cheering for me along the way.
This report would not be complete without a huge THANK YOU to Pam for coming along on this trip with me. She seemed to anticipate my needs at the aid stations and her persistent determination to keep me relentlessly pursuing forward motion while pacing was amazing (I won’t even hold the getting us off trail against her).
Natalie of course, you pulled me through this journey in so many ways. From the wake up reminders on the days I would have rather stayed in bed to the pancake feasts when I got home from my long runs; you have been behind me all along this crazy road. Knowing that I was going to see you at the aid stations and get those good luck kisses kept me going. I am sorry that you weren’t able to capture the elusive trail diva on video tape this time, maybe next race
