Umstead 100

Umstead 100

Umstead 100, my first try at the 100 mile distance. It was an amazing experience. The most challenging thing I have ever done. I learned a lot of lessons on the course. I thought I had a race plan to get me through. I arrived in Raleigh on Thursday evening on the same flight as Emmy, Cherrie, and Cherrie’s mom. Arrived at the Hampton Inn, without a car. Took the shuttle to the Noodle Shop, for the first of 3 visits to the noodle shop. After dinner went back to my room to watch some baseball,Giants vs. Dodgers for the nightcap of opening day of the baseball season. My plan was to sleep in Friday, but the shades in the room wouldn’t close all the way and it was too late to sleep past 8:30. Woke up, went to breakfast and then decided to try to sleep again.

At around 11am I came down and ran into Emmy and we decided to head to the mall. We ran into Cherrie and her family. Then we went back to the noodle shop for lunch.

At around 20m we headed to race hq for packet pickup, probably should of waited till 3pm and just stayed for the race briefing, but headed back to the hotel at 3pm and was late going back it the race HQ. The dinner, was not too good. Just some pasta, bread, and a bad salad.

Race day: The race was eventful, I would say it it could be broken into many parts. Susannah and I arrived at the race HQ’s very tired, she didn’t get in till around 1 am. So she brought me to the race HQ, grabbed some breakfast. I was a little disappointed in the food. The bagels were ok, and they had peanut butter and jelly. Then I went to the bathroom, not realizing there were only 2 stalls the line was long. That is were I met Shannon, my fellow Brooks IDer. It is also were I took my last poop for over 40 hours.

The race started with fire crackers going off, I was a bit startled not expecting it so soon. Started running in the dark, and soon ran into Kino. That was good to start running with someone I knew in the dark. I was feeling good, but a little slower pace than I had planned on starting out. I hung with Kino for about the first 5 miles, but I started feeling good and I think he had to go to the bathroom. I met a guy from New Jersey and ran with him for a bit till the first aid station. I was feeling good, and as the day warmed up into a perfect North Carolina day I started feeling really good. My splits were looking good, I walked all the hills. It was a great run. It was part of the plan 10 and 14, I wouldn’t crash that bad. I had a buffer for needing to walk some laps.

After the start of lap two I meet Jodi from Chicago and ran with her and then met a bunch of other mid-westerners from Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis. It was good running with some experienced ultra runners, from my part of the country. Should of stayed with them longer than I did. I was feeling good, and couldn’t hold back. I was thinking I could do 10 hour first 50 and 14 hour second 50 and I would be golden.

After running ahead of the Midwestern group I passed Emmy and kept flowing well. Thinking I was pacing were I wanted. As I hit the 10 mile mark on the fifth lap, someone on a horse warned me of a crazy person in orange who was attacking runners. He punched a runner in the face. That was a bit scary, and probably sped up my pace a bit. Then I realized i was going to easily break 10 hours for the 50 mile mark. I passed the 50 mile mark in 9:55, four minutes off my PR. Perfect buffer, in case of a crash.

At the race hq aid station, I grabbed my dates, put some sun screen on, and went back out. Slowed up a bit for mile 51 just to deal with food. I kept on running, feeling good. Then I started talking to runner from Georgia who was a lap ahead of me. That picked my pace up a bit, probably a bad move.

I finished the 6th lap, still feeling good. Susannah was finally there. She had brought me some Newmans chocolate filled vegan Oreos. Those were good, then I picked up my first pacer. he was good starting out, kept me running, I was feeling good, until I would say mile 70, then it came back. But by mile 80 I was jelly legs. As it got later and colder I started feeling it. At first it was run, then walk then it was walk and then walk slower. Then it started getting cold, at aid station #2 I grabbed some stuff, but still cold. I didn’t have enough at that aid station. I felt the best plan was to keep moving.

Lap 7 is when the shit hit the fan, I was freezing, not enough clothes. Mile 86 or 87 I did like a 53 minute mile. I was given a blanket by the sweeper cart. Finally when, we reached race HQ Cherrie and Emmy were finishing. I was convinced I couldn’t go further but everyone pushed me out. I called Susannah and she said I had to go, Emmy said to go, Cherrie said to go, race volunteer dude made me go, and then I had the greatest pacer in the world she picked me up. Took my stuff, she even carried the container of cookies for me. She carried my jackets when it warmed up.

I was almost sleep walking the airport spur. I grabbed a walking stick and just pushed away. I felt like an old man walking, even after 70 year olds passed me. I felt like it took me so long on the spur people completed the whole loop, the time it took me to complete the spur. I walked in the dark, as the light came up I started feeling better. We slugged along, I was worried I would end up with the rock. It looked like we would male the 30 hour cutoff. I felt hopefully, I couldn’t move fast, but I could move.

At around 10, I called saying I would finish soon. I walked, with my stick. It was getting warmer and I made it to the finish. It was so exciting, Blake the race director gave me my buckle. I hugged Susannah. Glenn and Kino were at the finish line congratulating me. It was awesome, I finished, took 5 hours longer than I hoped, but still finished. My first 100 miler, we will see what comes next.