Race morning, I was nervous to the point that tears welled in my eyes. Nerves kept me up the night before so I was in that half asleep, half awake daze.
Running wise, it had been a tough season for me. I had issues with my foot that created a domino effect of an altered gait, a slower pace and so on. Simply put my body was a hot mess. I had no business being at the starting line of this 100k race.
Seeing a few familiar faces at the starting line calmed my nerves somewhat. Amber was there for the 50K and to support her running partner, Myndi. There were definitely fewer runners than the typical 50K. At the last minute Amber handed over her sunglasses because I mentioned I forget mine in Calgary.
Once I started running, my nerves began to dissipate. The first leg of the race was pretty generic. Down a paved hill. Conga line up a hill. Some ups and downs. All good.
My plan was to take it one leg at a time. No use in thinking about the many, many kilometres ahead. The next few legs (as the rest of the race) became somewhat a blur. I talked to runners from Ontario, Calgary, and Edmonton-area. There was one woman who I ran with quite a bit in the early legs who was retired military. Another guy from Sherwood Park area had run Lost Soul 100k every year for the last few years because he was determined to get into Western States. 100K runners who finish under 21 hours earn a lottery ticket for the race.
Generally I was feeling pretty good through the first 54K. My legs were holding up and I didn’t have any real pain or discomfort. It was wonderful to see Amber at a few of the aid stations. She helped with water and made sure I ate something.
I felt a little loopy coming into headquarters after the first loop. I sat down for a few minutes and stuffed some food down. The next 46 kilometres would be the real race.
I started off with an easy jog on the next leg following the first loop. At this point in the race, I had covered more than half the distance. Harold, fresh from a shower at the hotel, had caught up with me and we chatted for a few minutes. He was moving quickly and encouraged me to keep moving. I wished him well as I hung back. I told him I wanted to go at my own pace and I would see him at the finish line.
I wouldn’t see anyone else I knew until many hours later. I mostly power hiked the next few legs as my right knee was starting to give me some grief. I kept hearing Natalie’s voice saying that she walked the entire second half and finished the race. Now I wasn’t planning to hike the entire half but I knew I should give my legs a little reprieve. I knew I would finish as long as I kept moving.
Somewhere along the private land portion of the race I bumped into Bill K from Red Deer. We ran together for a good hour or so until he left me in the wind on a big coulee. He had fallen on the first leg and messed up his back so that’s why he was way back with the stragglers.
All I could see were headlamps in the distance when night fell. My headlamp did not disappoint. I had no issues whatsoever seeing the flags on the course. Although I must admit twice I went off track and had to double back because I missed the flags. Thankfully in both cases it was only about 200 or 300 metres.
I thought I would be nervous running in the dark but it didn’t faze me. I was so focused on putting one foot in front of another that I had no time to think about the things that go bump in the night. You could hear a chorous of coyotes yapping and crying in the distance. That was a little unnerving but I didn’t pay them too much thought.
Speaking of animals – two snakes and a bobcat crossed my path during the night section. Again I had other things on my mind.
Around midnight, it began to gently rain. My rain jacket was at one of the aid stations but I had a light jacket with me. There were sections – like the marsh area by the river – that I did not want be when it rained. It was bad enough when it was dry. For the next few hours, it rained on and off.
By the time I reached the final leg it was coming down really hard. Just before I reached the final aid station my Garmin had died. I was so mad because I didn’t get an alert that the watch was running low on juice. I had carried my battery pack for the entire race just in case.
I filled up on some hot veggie broth and more baby potatoes at the aid station. I tried to charge my Garmin but I didn’t want to hang around the station anymore than I had to. Barry had gone for a drive that day and ended up in Lethbridge. I didn’t even recognize him when he showed up at the third to last aid station.
Both times he chatted non stop but all I could hear was “blah, blah, blah.” He handed over his watch so I could wear it for the final 6.6K of the race. Life saver! I was so relieved because not having a watch would really throw me at this point. I told Barry I would likely be done in an hour because I planned to run this last second hard.
Rain, mud and falls
I started out on the last leg – again in the wrong direction until someone hollered that way – ready to be done with this race. The broth had warmed my spirit and I was ready to get it done. I had seen Bill K as I went into the final aid station and he offered more words of encouragement. I had thought I would catch up with him on the last leg but boy was I wrong.
The water had pooled so much on the trails that I was running through water up to my ankles. Not comfortable. It was amazing how quickly things got muddy. I lost my footing on one hill and I slid down on my butt.
Things got really interesting when I came to this one short but steep hill that you had to climb out of the river valley. It took me three attempts to reach the summit to the road. The mud made it impossible to get my grip. I kept sliding down and down. So muddy. On my final and successful attempt, I watched my poles slide down and down. At this point, I did not care. I only had 3k left and I wanted to get off this damn course.
A runner came up behind me as I emerged from the valley. I considered waiting for her to make sure she got out okay. In the end I wished her luck and kept moving. The next day I chatted with her at the finish line. It turns out she had it worse than me. Her headlamp had died and she had to find an alternative route to the finish. Thankfully she made it!
There were no crowds or someone announcing my name when I crossed the finish line around 5 in the morning. I was soaking wet and muddy as hell. I sat down in one of the tents to drink hot veggie broth and eat a veggie burger. A few 100-milers were hanging out. The race had stopped at this point because it was too dangerous to continue. Once it gets wet in the coulees, it’s nearly impossible to navigate safely.
The race resumed around 7:15 a.m. People were pulled off the course and had to wait. 100-milers were given the option to finish 100k or resume the race in a few hours on the 50k route, which was changed to more of a road race. I was just happy I made it through before I was pulled off the course.
Missteps and successes
I carried a lot and drank a lot of water throughout the race. I carried so much that I still had water left when I entered the aid stations. I was in the mindset that it was 35 degrees in Lethbridge (it wasn’t) and I needed to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. I knew I was well hydrated because I had to pee quite often.
My pack was too heavy – filled with junk and food that I didn’t need. I ate these chews in the first half of the race that turned my stomach. I should have started earlier with the boiled potatoes.
I didn’t really have a plan when I got to the aid stations. That’s when I thought- later it would have been really great to have a crew. (I asked a few people to crew me but everyone said no. I don’t blame them, crewing is tough.) I was disorganized at the stations and unsure of what I wanted to do and what I should do.
Final race thoughts
All in all I am happy with the outcome – I finished my first 100k. That was my only goal. I wanted to prove to myself I can do hard things. Sure I could have run more, moved faster. There’s always room for improvement.
The volunteers at the aid station were amazing. One particular woman was so kind to me when I was talking loopy language to her when I was trying to ask for boiled potatoes. In case you were wondering, the volunteers wore gloves and handed racers food. It wasn’t the usual free for all because of COVID. I thought everything was handled smoothly and safely.
Can’t wait until next year!
Have you run a 100k race? Where was your first 100k? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.