Marji Gesick 2022 100-mile run

 

WARNING: Lots of words, few pictures

Ten days ago, I achieved my seventh 100-mile ‘run’ finish at the Marji Gesick in Ishpeming, Michigan. This is predominantly a mountain bike event that lets runners get on the course the day before the bike start. Rudy biked (and finished!) the 2019 event, and I signed up along with him for the run since I would be there anyhow. I didn’t finish that year, convincing myself my hip was breaking at mile 70. I was able to run within a week after that and this is my only DNF that I’m truly disappointed with. I had to come back.

When I signed up for the 2022 race, I had high hopes for a smarter and stronger race. The spring and summer were just a little plagued with nagging injuries and intense work trips, though. My running miles were nearly half of what I’d like to get in building up to a 100 miler, but I did manage more strength and mobility work with re- and prehab, and the human can do surprisingly great things people! So, I had to give it a shot, especially seeing all the inspirational stories the Marji Gesick group shares of those whose lives were really turned upside down or even lost and now couldn’t even start.

The weather forecast in the week leading up was showing a good chance of rain for the weekend. With a significant portion of the course on technical, rooty, rocky trails, this makes a finish even less likely – about half of the 100-mile starters don’t make it to the end in even a good weather year. Luckily there wasn’t as much rain as forecast Thursday night, or for the start on Friday at noon. The run starts with a ‘LeBike’ loop in which we bike a half mile course before starting down the trail. This was admittedly fun, though silly, and just a few minutes on the bike started me off with a little heavier feeling in my legs the first mile or so…but that is such a tiny portion of the day!

Just take it easy the first half and be tough the second half – sounds simple enough. I kept tabs on heartrate and tried to keep a comfortable pace, not getting caught up with other runners going by. The course starts on a pretty runnable 18-ish mile loop that includes Harlow Lake Trails and 'Top of the World', and it is easy to go just a little too fast when everyone has fresh legs and is feeling excited. Kinda wanna to go while the going is good though – I like to think I did a decent job of pacing through here. My right foot and ankle were getting weird twinges that I didn’t expect – a little alarming only 10 miles in! This kept me moving carefully, particularly on any rocky stretches. The last few miles of the section I shared with a local – Kari – embarking on her first 100 mile. I do a lot of solo running but do enjoy getting in some nice chat sessions.

Back by the start line and seeing my Dad and Rudy! I took advantage of the porta potties, restocked snacks and hydration, and started down the next section of flowy singletrack, solo again. My feet were already feeling tender, that could be a problem…pretty good otherwise, just kept moving forward. A few more people out hiking and biking on the North Trails, on a fairly pleasant Friday afternoon. Less traffic on the goat-tracky 'Lowe's Trail' and stretches of powerline though!

Around 30 miles the course runs behind a mall area and another good spot for crew. More food and a bottle refill before heading under the highway and on a mile of paved path toward neighborhood trails and ultimately the South Trails. I got to spend a chunk of the pavement time talking to Nick from Superior (across the bridge from my home in Duluth), then later got in a few miles with Ellen, who I met in 2019 when she crewed and paced that year’s super-star 100 mile run winner Andrea. Darkness fell and the rain began. It was not steady all night, but more than enough to make the more technical trails coming up even sketchier. Some early fog patches challenged visibility even more – luckily that wasn’t constant through the night either!

About 40 miles I see Dad and Rudy again, take a sit break, refill my water pack along with the bottle, grab more snacks (so far so good on the eating!), get the spare headlamp, and off into the rain to the Marquette Mountain trails. A lot more black diamond trials, and a surprise muddy spot amongst some rocks gave me my only knee scrape for the whole run (most of the soil had been sandy and not so slick to that point!). Adam from Grand Rapids, Michigan slowed down and joined me for ‘Scary Trail’ – he got to witness the little crash, getting the first checkpoint (all the checkpoints were after my drop in 2019) and my phone dialing Rudy on its own….after my phone dialed my mother at midnight, I finally put it in airplane mode! Adam eventually continued on at his own pace.  I recall being on ‘Upper Zeugs Trail’ and being convinced that a biker could very well meet their demise on these slick, pointy rocks 12 hours later. My mouth was getting dry and it was a struggle to get the second Clif bar down. Only 12 hours in, I was hoping to handle solid food a bit longer than that, but oh well.

50-ish miles and another crew spot! Filled my bottle and packed some blocks for calories. The next section was a bit more single track, then a whole lot of dirt and paved path. My feet hurting a bit more, getting tired, but I was gratefully still able to trot along – it would be a much longer haul to have to hike something so runnable! Should have filled the water pack again though, I ran out less than an hour later. Kept sipping on my bottle and took advantage of another crew’s hospitality to top it off, enough to get me to Jackson Park.

Jackson Park is about 70 miles in, and so quiet at 5-something a.m. I took the time here to put down some mashed potatoes, refill fluids, replenish blocks, reapply anti-chafe stuff, and luckily my main headlamp started flashing its low battery warning so I switched out while already stopped. It was getting hard to start moving again. Within a mile I come across my bail out point from three years ago and keep moving forward. Phew. The RAMBA trails are twisty and turning and have some interesting artifacts of formerly ‘in town’ – random sections of sidewalk, fence, building foundations. I experienced a lot of de ja vu through here after sunrise, feeling like I had already been on this section of trail or at this intersection. I became terrified of running circles out here forever. I think I stayed on course the whole time. Before long, the 50-mile bike racers began passing – it was fun watching the first fast people take on some of the technical climbs. The section concluded on Last Bluff trails. It felt like forever winding around on top of the bluff while I could see town below. I just wanted to get down there, but the course just wouldn’t drop down!!! Yeah, my feet hurt, I was tired, but otherwise physically fine – I was mentally wanting to be done, just not be out there anymore, and I don’t know why but my headspace was so negative.

Eventually came down from the bluff and into Ishpeming. Next stop with Dad and Rudy ~85 miles, a block from the finish line and over a marathon to go. More mashed potatoes, handed off the main headlamp to recharge and switch my watch that was entering low battery mode. The day was getting warm and sunny verses Friday’s cooler and damp. More fluids, more fuel, then off again. My attitude never improved. I kept on mechanically sucking on blocks (my teeth now hurt too much to chew sugar) and sipping water and electrolytes, hiking ups, trying to ‘run’ downs, but the pace kept slowing more and more. I realized I wouldn’t make it before sundown, I’d have to go into the dark again. This got me even lower and I was fighting tears as more and more bikers came along, further slowing progress.

Second stop in Jackson Park, 90-ish miles. It is the middle of the day and the park is bustling full of bikers, and crews. I get a quick sit-down, restock, and head out again. At some point through the next section of singletrack, Adam flew on by – he must have taken a nap!!

About 5 pm – 95 miles? My final crew stop on Cliff Drive. I went ahead and broke down into a few minutes of pity party. More mashed potatoes, replenish stuff, extra 5 minutes sitting in the van as a rain shower flashed through. Got my headlamp, figured 5 hours for the last 15 miles. I trudged back out. I did feel a little better after getting rid of some built up agitation – despair did keep creeping up, but I was mostly able to give it a back seat…at least for a few more hours! The first four 50-mile runners went by me in this final stretch (three of them female!). It was fun to see them sail along the singletrack, despite being jealous of their freshness. I hate to admit that my greatest frustration was all the bikers. This is a bike event, and I really wasn’t mad at them, just at having to stop hundreds of times to let them go by. I had a hard time biting my tongue in the final hour in particular, when it seemed every single one encouraged me with ‘Almost there!’ and all I could think was ‘I would be there by now if I hadn’t been stopping every 90 seconds’. Every start felt stiffer and slower. It all adds to the inexplicable challenge that is Marji Gesick – it is not the most technical, the most climbing, the slowest hundred I’ve experienced, but for some reason it was just the hardest. My less-than-ideal training maybe added some hours, but I think it would have been tough no matter what. Yet I kept putting one foot in front of the other, telling everyone that went by me ‘Good job!’, taking in the bare minimum of calories and water, trying to will positivity. The aptly named ‘Cry Baby’ trail nearly crushed me – just a few miles from the finish, but weaving up and down and around forever, so many bikers going by. It seemed to be turning off the ridge, then back up we would go. A blister was forming on my heel, my left calf was getting angry.

It didn’t go on forever, and eventually I hit the road and made the final climb up to Jasper Knob, the final checkpoint, the ‘finisher’ token, about one mile to the end. I thought I was running, but Rudy joined me with a quarter mile to go, easily walking alongside me. I have nothing to prove, walking was no slower and it didn’t feel like something in my calf would rip.

The finish line had so much energy, so much enthusiastic cheering, but I was content to walk it in. 33 hours and 54 minutes after hopping on the bike for a silly little loop, then on my feet for somewhere between 106 and 113 miles with 12,000 to 15,000 feet of climbing – there’s a lot of GPS discrepancy with that much distance, time, twists, turns, up and down. I had hoped experience and holding back early would be enough to get me to the finish line, and apparently it was. There are so many things I could have done better, but I made it.

Digging out the all important tokens

The finish isn’t complete without turning in the tokens from checkpoints along the course that racers don’t know the location, or quantity of, beforehand. I dug four out of my pocket, the correct number this year. Funny I dropped one on the ground here – I was so worried about dropping one on the course whenever I took my phone from that pocket – but it only happened when Rudy was right there to pick it up for me! Bonus, first female to finish (only 2 others did this year). 8^th of 18 finishers – 39 started and 67 were signed up. One. Hard. Race.

Western States Endurance Run 2019

After 6 years and the accumulation of 32 tickets in the lottery, I finally got in to Western States - which I relate to non-ultra runners as the Boston Marathon of 100-miles. As usual, I did not train like I wanted do - opting to work a lot in the spring so I could take a big chunk of summer off for this epic journey. A good number of miles were covered, but only a few good hill sessions (better than nothing!) and no tune up races. WSER actually hosts a training weekend where the final 70 miles of course are covered over Memorial Day Weekend and I made it to that - super glad I did!  So, my June trip west was pretty great - not a fantastic run, but overall good and I completed a fifth 100-mile run and scratched this one off the bucket list!

Before the Race

On June 11, I started the road trip west with my dad. We got in some good hiking, with stops in the Black Hills, Big Horns, and Boise, but failed on the heat training! Seemed that most of the country was cold for most of June.

We picked up Rudy in Portland June 20 and headed south through Oregon and Northern California, meeting up and biking with friends.

A few days before the race we met my college buddy Erik in Truckee, then finally Squaw Valley on Thursday for all the pre-race talks and registration, but mostly chilling out at the suite in the village.

Rudy's photo of me getting the official pre-race photo

Basic pasta for an early dinner on Friday, followed by not much sleeping, and feeling anxious and sluggish, as to be expected! Awake and nervous with my first alarm. I had some oatmeal, though I was not remotely hungry, and buried my phone in my pack so I wouldn’t be debating if I should take a picture – all the race photos are by Facchino Photography.

Climb to Emigrant Pass

I started out well in the back of the pack for the first climb up to Emigrant Pass. Happened to meet Greg from Minnesota and chat out some of the jitters with him for about a mile. Kept it nice and steady – not in a hurry, there was long day ahead. Still, made good progress with ~70 minutes for the 3.5 mile, 2,000 foot elevation gain to the escarpment.

I got a hug from Karen (who was part of the Trail Sisters panel discussion Thursday!) at the top. Lots of spectators and commotion helped fuel the sense of accomplishment and eagerness for the trail ahead.

Snow! Snow! Snow!

Nice little descent through wild flowers before getting into the trees and existing snow base. Theme for the next couple hours: Preservation – I didn’t know Minnesota winter running was training me for this! The snow was fairly firm but slippery with steep ups, downs, and side banks – witnessed a lot of intentional and accidental falls and butt sliding, though I managed to stay upright and not work myself too hard to keep moving. This stretch would have been pretty discouraging if we didn’t know most of it would be behind us by the first aid station.

As we came down in elevation, stretches of trail became streams of chilly snow melt – didn’t worry about keeping feet dry since a water crossing was promised in Duncan Canyon – so this was ‘refreshing' to run through!

Lyon Ridge to Red Star Ridge

3 hours for the first 10 miles – snow sections were even slower going than the climb!

Patience was top of mind through the finally runnable course! Big expansive views from the wide open ridges, and feeling the sunshine were easy distractions from trying to make up time.

I did manage to hit a rock at the base of my big toe, and while not immediately debilitating, the soreness seemed to persist enough to get me worried it may become an issue later…

Duncan Canyon

The first big down, then up, getting warmer, and start taking on ice!

Happily I did not fall on the foot tingling Duncan Creek crossing that I took gingerly just before the next big climb to Robinson Flat.

Couldn’t decide if arm sleeves were actually better for keeping sun off or keeping arms warm. After the ice I stuffed in them quickly melted, they were removed.

Robinson Flat

Caught a glimpse of Maria and crew of another Minnesotan – Troy – apparently we were pretty close for the entire race, but never actually saw each other!

Here I filled my water and after some debate, made my first race shoe change ever! Swapped the newer Altra Timps for my old pair, which carried me to the end. Forgot about the rock impact, could see a little bruise but not acting up, so that was a relief!

In general, feeling fine – taking in gels, fruit, potatoes so far – Pay Days and Oreo the closest thing to real food

The Canyons!

Pushed up hills, careful down hills, lots of back and forth allowed a little getting to know people – quiet Japanes dude, Will from Basalt, Colorado, Brandon who was constantly messing around with his gear, Italian guy wearing shorts past their respectful life.

Devils Thumb Popsicle and the crew accessible aid stations of Michigan Bluff and Foresthill served for motivation on the bigger climbs. And it was warm – much cooler than average for a typical Western States – I think we hit some low 80s – I would have suffered much more if it was normal weather!

Forest Hill

I inexplicably started losing time through the canyons, so not much dallying in the mayhem of Forest Hill, I did seek out some real food though – a custom made for me bacon avocado wrap hit the spot!

Headlamp and pacer time –Erik joined me trotting down the ½ mile of paved road as I slowly downed my snack.

California Street

Lots of descending – more technical sections than I remember – had to push to go even a moderate pace, even downhill – Erik was patient and encouraging. We kept it moving but I kept slowing – I think we didn’t spend any time at Cal-1, but the remaining aid stations seemed to suck up more and more time as I was increasingly hungry, thirsty, and sleepy. My pathetic pace was highlighted by another Minnesota friend – Steve – repeatedly passing me, then throwing up and even sleeping at a few aid stations just to recuperate and run by me again! I did not envy his sour stomach though…

River Crossing

Quick and quite the production, but surprisingly a nice opportunity to take some calming breaths and soak in the experience.

Erik tried to convince the rower going downstream sounded funner

Just a little teetering getting in and out of the raft!

Next a big climb to Green Gate followed by more steepish/loosish downs that I was babying my unsteady legs on.

Runnable Trails?

Not as smooth and cruisy as I remembered – At the Memorial Weekend training camp I was strongly running the Auburn Lake Trails! So many stops to pee - I’m sure it was at least once an hour. Also kept pulling over to let others run by. The wee hours of the morning were certainly my low point, beings so frustrated that I would never make it to the finish, especially since it seemed I was constantly stopping for one reason or another.

Legs were pretty sore and blisters were threatening to develop on my inner heels, but my right outer knee getting very tender was my greatest excuse for continuing to slow down, stiffen up, and slow even more. In hindsight, I think a few minutes of stretching the IT band may have improve that situation! To Erik’s credit, he asked if I needed a stretch more than once, but I didn’t want any more stop time – I was blindly plugging along to the finish, no matter how slow.

Getting sleepy, didn’t dawdle at aid stations, but got some Coke or coffee at most, and some calories at each – managed some grilled cheese or quesadillas – even a couple tater tots!! But mostly the sugary stuff and my teeth were hurting by the time dawn arrived, which came on quickly in the sparse woods.

Finishing up

Erik traded off with Rudy for the final 6 miles. We just kept moving forward. I was glad to know about the final climbing! I had long ago convinced myself I couldn’t go any faster – I didn’t think of it as pain at the time, but must be the pain I failed to push through to run like everyone else going by me – how were they all making it look so easy?

I wanted to walk backwards on the paved downhill, but managed to ‘jog’ after Erik joined us at Robie point for the final mile to the high school. I even picked it up a tiny amount on the track into the finish line, mostly to hold off the guy behind me – despite my recent slowdown, there is still a flicker of competition in me – which stains my sense of accomplishment with disappointment that I should have been able to push harder.

Hugs, tears, disappointment, relief

Post-Race

First priority was rinsing off arms and legs. It wasn’t a perfect job since poison oak reaction started showing up a few days later – but I’m pretty sure it improved the severity! I had it a bit worse after the training weekend.

My stomach was fine so I actually enjoyed the hash browns, scrambled eggs, and pancakes served – sadly no bacon when I went through the line.

A couple hours spent lounging around the track infield, then barely kept eyes open through the awards ceremony. Gathered a buckle and skedaddled to the hotel to get feet up and have a real shower followed by a 3 hour nap.

Recovery

Nothing special Sunday evening – feet up, a few modest meals, walking around always started terrible but tended to loosen up after a couple minutes. Monday morning was similar. Paid farewell to Erik, sent Dad home from the Sacramento airport, Rudy got in another ride around Truckee, then we headed home in a not entirely direct route to visit friends in Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.

I managed to complete a pair of socks on the way home

The legs came around quickly, lending more regret at not pushing hard enough!

Home a week later to settle back in to a routine, already motivated to better myself for the next one!

While my Western States run wasn’t perfect – the experience was worthy of the trip and I am thankful to have had so much support and excitement from friends and family – and to have no disasters!

IMTUF 2018

The 2018 Idaho Mountain Trail Ultra Festival (IMTUF) 100 was a pretty challenging event for me. I got in OK training over the summer, but really, not enough to have a good showing at a mountain 100 mile run. I have to say I'm happy with how it went, despite preparations being a little on the inadequate side - I finished! Officially! And can jump in those lotteries for Western States and Hardrock once again!

I currently don't have the motivation to complete a big narrative on this one, and I've convinced myself people likely don't want to take the time to read every little detail, so pretty much just putting down notes of the highlights:

September 15, 2018
Weather is supposed to be 30s in the morning, partly sunny and warming to 70F during the day - 30s again overnight. Debated shorts v. tights - went with shorts. No debate for top clothes - short sleeve t-shirt, sleeves, and knit gloves - also a buff while I had the headlamp on.

Start 6 am
Mellow start with a mix of gravel road and easy rolling trail
Skunk smell a couple miles in - did the leaders cause that?!?!
About an hour of dark
My layers were too light - hands and arms cold for a few hours
Light jacket in the pack, but didn't want to stop and foolishly kept thinking I'd be warming up quickly - not the first time I've made that mistake!
Some chatting with fellow runners, but that died off quickly - only 175 starters
Focused on not tripping and not freezing

Willow Basket ~10 miles ~8am
Warm up  hands by the lovely fire a few minutes, did not take the opportunity to dig my jacket out, then continued on
Sipped some maple syrup - honey - decaf coffee (to take the sweet edge off) concoction
Fun out and back to Loon Lake - got to see a couple familiar faces - Steve Sorenson and John Taylor being a couple of the other Minnesotans out there
Sharpie at the lake to mark your bib as proof of actually taking this extra little excursion - luckily it was an easy X that my numb hands could readily handle
Already pee'd three times in three hours - guess I did a good job starting out hydrated!
Rolling gradual ascent along the Sechesh River

Chinook Campground ~17 miles ~9:30 am
First crew stop!!

Rudy packing away the headlamp while I warm up my digits

Enjoyed hot broth, hands thawed enough to eat, so grabbed a snack pack and continued on.
More rolling cruisiness to another Willow Basket stop - glanced at the snacks, but not compelled to grab anything new
Finished up the course's easy-ish miles to the marathon mark, then tackled the first big climb to Diamond Ridge ~1000' up in a mile
Lots of cool white boulders scattered about (quartzite I think)
Short stretch along the ridge with eerie wind whistling through the leafless trees
Long and dusty descent to drop the couple thousand feet of altitude gained over the first quarter of the course
Couple miles on (mostly) gravel road and random trails

Upper Payette Lake ~33 miles ~1:30 pm
Crew again!
More broth
Assembled a snack pack of potato chips, gummy bears, swedish fish, and peanut M&Ms
Got to see Chris Scotch, and hear his wife Helen was doing well!
Left the aid station with Steve - nursing a nagging injury and happy to hike some miles with me and get caught up on summer fun.
Back on smoother trails and fell in with another little train of runners - a couple guys from Buffalo NY area and a lady from San Diego
Weather actually cloudy, cool, and windy
Went ahead and stopped to put on my jacket
Almost too warm, debated another stop to put my jacket over my pack to get more ventilation Eventually light rain started up, so finally stopped to get the jacket over the pack to keep things a little drier - pulled the gloves back on too
Maybe 50F, light rain, but steady and soaking - a little too much for the wind breaker, now wet and sticking to my rapidly cooling arms
Went by Duck Lake, some encouragement from backpackers and campers already set up for the evening

Duck Lake ~43 miles ~5 pm
Rain intensified - 5% chance of precipitation for the day came through!
Plenty of runners huddling under the little tents - very few with rain gear
Kept it simple with the eating to that point, but was wanting some fuel since I didn't have clothes to add to the situation yet - broth, hummus wrap, quesadilla.
Started to leave
Steve yelled my name and asked if I wanted hand warmers. YES PLEASE!!
So Lucky
Five miles of road (not very heat generating)
Rain dissipated, but still wet and cold and the hand warmers kept me out of absolute misery

Snowslide ~48 miles ~6:30 pm
Crew!
Spent ~20 minutes by the fire, eating (more broth and quesadilla), getting fresh batteries in the head lamp, and preparing for the big climb we were warned of at the pre-race meeting
Rain was done and jacket dried quickly, so off I went without additional layers, except mittens
1000' for a mile to Snowslide Lake, and another 1000' for the next mile above the lake

Halfway up the big climb!

Slow and steady
Made it to the pass and amazing views in the light!
Short stop to put on my headlamp, then started down the other side with Steve, and Tony from Boise, here with Emily (who I had been around since Duck Lake).
Got to hear some details on the sections to come from Tony - good to start thinking about the long night ahead!
Soon dark enough for the head lamp - which seemed dim! I saw new batteries go into it, just getting old, or a bad connection?
Back up hand held, much better, but only for about an hour
Luckily not too technical - some stream crossings, rocks, and roots, but fairly runnable
Back to the headlamp, which lasted well enough to the next aid station
Enjoyed a lovely half moon too - set fairly early though

Lake Fork ~59 miles ~10:30 pm
Time for Rudy to join!
Swapped headlamp for Marcus's
Put on rain jacket and pants for a night of hiking in the cold
Fueled up with rice and broth, and a last minute slice of veggie pizza.
Grabbed a couple bars for the road
Started on the march up a couple miles of road.
Fall Creek Trail - mostly just as steep as Snowslide, but so much longer!
Pizza slice may have been too much, felt icky - even tried to throw up but couldn't
Tired in general, lots of breathers, star gazing breaks, laid on the side of the trail a couple minutes
An hour of climbing later, tummy OK enough to put a caffeinated gel down - totally helped
Lost a lot of time through this section and the next, just wasn't moving fast or getting through aid stations efficiently - not dawdling, just taking the time I felt like was needed

South Crestline ~mile 67 ~very middle of the night
Shared a little ramen with Rudy (I mostly took the broth) and choked down another gel
More Crestline climbing
Managed to eat both 'backup' bars from Lake Fork aid station, concoction, gels? and plenty of hard candies (during the whole event I consumed about a million root beer barrels)
Eventually descending, descending, and descending forever to hit the next aid

Box Creek ~mile 74 ~6 am
Beloved as being packed in by goats, which nearly everyone get selfies with
Not feeling fun and didn't manage to get my picture with a goat
Sipped more broth, a couple bites of Rudy's quesadilla, a little handful of gummy bears
Departed into the final hour of night
Side note: happy that my newish Coros Pace watch lasted 24 hours in GPS mode, and kept the time of day for me the rest of Sunday!
After sunrise, Rudy expressed a little concern about cutoffs and encouraged running the easier stuff Short ups and downs made for a good mix of hiking the climbs and running the rest
First minute of each run segment hurt, but typically loosened up
Little worried about sabotaging my legs for the bigger descents ahead

North Crestline ~mile 80 ~8:30 am
~2 hours before that aid station cutoff
Not a lot of people around
More broth, candy? Rudy had a big fluffy pancake
Refilled water, ditched the rain gear
Five miles down a rocky road - probably only ran half of it, like most others around us
An older guy paused and wondered why we didn't seem worried about cutoffs
Feeling confident at that point we would have time to spare, even with a lot of walking
Muscle soreness was was expected, but a little worried about deeper achiness in left foot and right shin - hard down hill was not helping that!
Terrible Terrence - essentially a former logging road that now resembles more of a goat trail - worked on over the years by the race, and really not that terrible!
Water crossing at Upper Payette Lake Dam, couple inches, not a problem
Few more miles dirt road jogging

Upper Payette Lake ~mile 89 ~noon
Gloves off and puffy hands!
End of Rudy's pacing duties and time for Marcus to take over

Marcus was at the aid station early! In case a was a couple hours ahead of schedule instead of the couple hours behind I was...

Put down some pickles, fruit, and one yummy pierogie
Maple concoction empty - opted not to refill
Back to the road
Mostly easy up or level for a bit, but still walked
Eventually hit some trail and a much steeper than I hoped, but not horribly long climb to Cloochman Saddle
Required one breather - good for Marcus to catch a few photos.

Might actually be from Bear Pete Ridge, but all amazing scenery on Sunday afternoon!

Cloochman Saddle ~mile 94 ~2 pm
Just spent

I'm not actually trying to match Marcus's jig

Caffeinated gel and a little piece of banana bread, put more chips and M&Ms in a bag
Final 4 mile climb to the course high point of Bear Pete ~8,400'
Looong climb, then along the ridge for a loooong time, wondering when would we ever be to the top! Actually just went up to a saddle

Bear Pete ~mile 98 ~4 pm 
Just filled my flask with water
Nearly devastated that it was 5.5 miles to the finish and not the 5 miles we were promised at Cloochman!
Less than 2 hours to make it - had to do some running!
But morelittle climbs - no! Just means steeper down hill later!
Soon the descent started and we maintained a decent jog for the final miles of trail
Singing poorly about how much I love running
'Enjoyed' a few more root beer barrels
Hit the gravel road where Rudy was waiting to join for the final 1.2 miles to finish
Kept the 'run' up - tired and slow and so ready to be done!
Another forever stretch
Sparse cheers from a few passers by that I didn't really respond to

Finished! ~mile 103 ~5 pm
35 hours, 7 minutes, 59 seconds - 104 of 125 finishers - 18 of 23 women
Spit out the last root beer barrel

Sweet relief

Now the smiles, and hugs, and a chair. Got to chat with Helen (finished just over 28 hours!) and Steve (finished!) and that lady from San Diego (she didn't make the whole run) who was ridiculously hospitable and provided extra layers and chips and salsa while Rudy fetched some chili and cornbread. Real food!

Another bowl of chili, then the slow process of changing into a swimsuit and getting in the hot springs - didn't know if that would be appealing post-100-mile, but it very much was wonderful!

Already late afternoon - gathered up our stuff, found John Taylor (finished, but after the official cut off - good showing by Minnesota!), and headed back to McCall for shower, more food, and probably the best post-ultra sleep I've managed. Sore and stiff, but nothing truly painful.

Thoughts for having a better mountain ultra in the future:
More course study!
More layers!
More hiking!
Trekking Poles?
More gear/clothing/rainwear options in pack and drop bags

So grateful for:
Rudy! and Marcus!
All the other runners and volunteers - everyone was above and beyond kind!
Very few stomach issues - tolerated quesadillas well!
Lots of minor issues to learn from, but really, no disasters
100 mile finish #4 - still so much room for improvement

Friends and Family Tour

Most of June was spent visiting people, and a few places, near home that we really don't see enough of during 'regular life'. Since a lot of time was spent just hanging out, chatting, etc. this is going to be another extra generic post!

June 4-5
Just a little post race hanging out, which included talking with another van guy biking the trails, and a quick stop at the General Store that graciously supports local events for cold drinks and treats for later, before a couple hours of driving to get just outside Chicago and start the friends and family tour. We had a few days with Rudy's childhood neighbor and friend Shawn, his wife Lucy, and their 15 month old twins Vera and Elise - oh, a couple cats too! We had some nice weather and plenty of time hanging out on the porch, eating, chilling, soaking feet and otherwise recovering. We also got to be introduced to some Rick and Mortie, and also wathced Batman vs. Superman

June 6-7
Another big drive with five hours to Black River Falls, WI, where we happened upon a nice rest area with a 1/2 mile path to a scenic overlook (I neglected to take the phone along!) We ate bean burritos here and played a round of Hand and Foot - Rudy win, before heading to a nearby Casino for free parking the next couple nights. Destination for this area was Levis, where Rudy biked, and I got in some hiking. So nice and sunny, a little buggy, but not unbearable. I also managed to lay in the sun, get in some outside yoga, and start on the race report before we made barley and red sauce and played more Hand and Foot - Rudy wins again!

June 8-10
Little bouts of rain early morning, but no storming. We next headed to Eau Claire and Lowes Creek County Park. We ended up biking with older couple on the relatively flat and fun trails - good for my recovery :) And then we finally get into Minnesota! First stop was Minneapolis to visit our friends Chester and April, and their little ones Olive and Oscar - also dog Hugo. We took some nice strolls, lots of grilled meals, and plenty of good conversation for a couple days! We also spent an evening with Rudy's brother Erin, and his daughter Kailey (wife Kjirsten was on a work trip :/). Hot weather was good for more grilling and hanging out on the deck!

June 11-14
Before we departed Erin's, there was a nasty hail storm at 8:30 am - I haven't seen too many green sky crazy storms, and this was intense!

The hail is piling up!!

No major damage at Erin's place, but him and Rudy did help clean up a tree that landed on a neighbor's car. We next stopped by Greenfield to visit Chicago-Shawn's brother Nate, his wife Krista, their toddler and newly home premie twins! Luckily things were pretty quiet for a couple hours for some catching up before we continued on to Hutchinson to visit past unicycling friends Andy and Irene, and their daughter Ani. They are now full time organic fruit farmers, pretty awesome to get a glimpse into some of the workings of the farm!



Although our original plan was to hang out for a day, we ended up sticking around for a few, mostly helping out and not being in the way (at least I like to think so.) Rudy participated in cleaning up some of the minimal damage from the recent storminess, some simple welding, and lots of strawberry harvesting. I mostly chipped in with preparing meals (so much home grown and made from scratch goodness!), processing strawberries, and experimenting with some strawberry treats, including sauce, gelato, and pies. And Rudy made a cheesecake. Despite everyone being pretty busy, Andy and Irene were still great about showing us around and making us feel welcome - pretty inspiring!

June 15
We contributed a little more help on the farm before moving on to Alexandria to visit Rudy's cousin Dick and his wife Heather, and their kids: Lilly, Layla, Ritchie, and Jackson. Plenty of catching up, and Rudy was good with helping with projects while I made myself useful by entertaining kids, mostly consisting of strolling around and pushing them on the swings - there were some games and watching The Nanny Diaries too. Heather made some fantastic roast chicken with roast veggies and mashed potatoes, and a coconut cream pie to go along with the leftover cheesecake we had - so much good food!

June 16
An excellent breakfast of pannakakku and more more playing and helping until early afternoon when we head toward St. Cloud to visit past trials-riding friends Brian and Jenna, and their girls Camille and Lydia. Lots of visiting, a great dinner of gnocchi, chard, and white beans, and a blessedly earlier bed time!

June 17
A little jog for me - slowly recovering from the 100-miler - and then waffles! Next destination was Cayuna - again, the relatively easy trails were nice for me.

View from Miners Mountain

We got in a couple hours on bike before afternoon storms started and we continued on to see Rudy's Aunt Jan, and her husband just outside Cross Lake. There were more visitors here and we were able to see Tom Jr., and Rudy's Uncle Larry and his wife Mary Kay. More grilling (including apparently hard to find Vienna hotdogs - good, so far as hotdogs go!) and great visiting. We also got to watch the Barkley Marathons documentary - craziness.

June 18-20
Happy Father's Day! After breakfast and more chatting, we headed to Lake Winnibigoshish to see Rudy's Dad at their cabin for a couple days.

A blustery day at Winni

His dad's really long time friend Duke was there too. We were treated to some fresh walleye, mellow days, and venturing around on surrounding forest roads. The weather was a lot of cool and windy, but eventually got better just in time for us to head toward Grand Rapids and visit Rudy's former coworker Mike and his wife Linda.


June 21-25
Happy Summer! We spent a good amount of time in the Grand Rapids/Hill/City/Bovey/Swan River area - got to check out the Grand Rapids farmers market - not a lot of produce yet, but good to see more folks than I expected selling locally produced goods - we just bought a bunch of baked goods, and biking the newish singletrack near the high school. I only got in 5 of the 6 miles there, and the trails were relatively flat, but I had fun! We managed to visit Larry and Mary Kay at their home on the golf course. Their daughters Jenny and Katie stopped by with two boys each as well, it was great for me to finally meet them! We also stopped by the Lillesvies and ogled their garden and solar panels. Then my dad, the Grays, my brother (grilled us some delicious shis-kabobs and entertained us with Dr. Strange and Deadpool), also Rudy's childhood neighbors, and mom and Aunt Mary, and finally my Grandparents (whom we actally got to see a few months ago in Florida!)

June 26-27
Some final visiting with the Grandparents before we head out for a day being of tourists along the North Shore - this is essentially our back yard, yet we have not spent much time there during the past ten years! We stopped along the way at Lookout Mountain in Virginia - a pretty little area on the Laurentian Divide with lots of little trails! Sadly there were scattered showers and the trails were too wet for biking, but a couple hours of hiking was a nice alternative, the mud and mosquitoes were tolerable.

View from Lookout Mountain

Some familiar wild flowers!

For the evening we drove another hour to a State Trail lot, made bean burritos, and started season three of Gotham.

It was a gorgeous morning to make our way to the Sugarbush Trails just outside Tofte - so nice to see the North Shore again! Here also the trails were too wet for biking, so we got on the Superior Hiking Trail and headed up Carlton Peak.

The views from Carlton Peak are well worth the extra climb

We continued north, had lunch at the Onion River rest stop, then more hiking along the river there.

Onion River making its way to Lake Superior

We got in some wandering around Cutface Beach and Grand Marais, and made a stop at the Pincushion Trails, which we assumed would be wet, but the little stretched we walked was not terrible, maybe could have biked? Oh well.

Thompsonite in basalt

Cutface Beach

Lake Superior - still cold

Grand Marais is great for strolling

At the end of the day we went back to Sugarbush for dinner - pasta - then decided to camp at the State Trail again - quite mosquito-y! Got in more Gotham.

June 28 - July 1
We returned to Bovey for a few days with Rudy's mom. The weather forecast called for a good chance of rain, but there really wasn't too much precipitation. We got in some leisurely running and biking, along with some reading, financial planning, and progress on Gotham. Rudy also got in some productive tasks such as making a cheesecake! and removing some big stumps and getting some veggie plants in the ground

July 2
We return to Duluth and the big road trip is officially over. Time to re-adjust to regular life and reflect on the past year - more to come!

Kettle Moraine 100-mile Run

After a failed effort at completing a 2018 Western States qualifier in February (DNF at mile 80 of Rocky Raccoon), I thought I wanted more time for recovery and training before making the next attempt. Recovery went better than expected, however, and within a month, the idea of trying to run Kettle 100-mile in June was actively bouncing around in my brain. In another month, I had successfully strung together some 3-4 hour trail runs and convinced myself to give Kettle a try. The course is slightly more technical than Rocky, but not so arduous to require special training, so as long as I could run, I could adequately prepare, in theory. Although I still started the focus on this race closer to the event than ideal, I got a good confidence boost from getting in some 75 mile weeks, including a couple back to back 30-mile, 20-mile weekends. More importantly, I put in some ‘mental’ training with reminding myself I had to start easier, not be competitive, WALK HILLS! and do everything I could to keep myself moving toward the finish.

The day before the race was clear and cool where we were camped along the Menominee River on the northern border of Wisconsin with Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We were up and out relatively early to meet one of Rudy’s former work colleagues in Milwaukee for lunch. It was super sunny and hot in Milwaukee and I was more than a little worried about the heat after spending the previous two weeks in northern Michigan, seeing more 40F days than 60F! After lunch, we made our way to Whitewater Lake Campground, ten miles from the race start and secured ourselves a spot. As soon as 4 pm came around, we made a quick trip to packet pickup. I glanced around for familiar faces, but not too many people had arrived yet, so we went back to camp, expecting my dad to show up soon. The rest of the afternoon was spent reviewing some logistics with Rudy and finishing drop bag assembly. Just did basic pasta for dinner. Dad and his girlfriend got in as we finished eating – they were held up by a truck fire north of Madison! Only a little bit of chatting before turning in for the night by 10pm.

Race Day was Saturday, June 3. I woke at 4:00 for the 6:00 start and had my standard pre-race breakfast of coffee, banana, and oats with chia, peanut butter, and honey – just cold soaked this morning, already 60F and I didn’t need to add heat to my body. The forecast I looked at called for a clear morning, then heating up to the mid-80s with a greater chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. I took care of sunscreen, body glide, and double checks before the easy drive to the Nordic Trailhead in Kettle Moraine State Forest that served for the start/finish area. Parking was also easy, as was delivering drop bags, and getting my ankle chip. I spotted Mary from Duluth – finally in person! Then not much waiting for go time.

Duluthians ready to go - Mary in pink, Leslie in green

The start was pretty pleasant with the route beginning on rolling hills on wide ski trail. I got to stick with Mary and get to know her a little better. I kept going through Tamarack aid station, just a few miles in. Mary stopped for water, but quickly caught back up, and we joined up with ultra legend and Gnarly Bandit contender Angela Barbera too. We hit Bluff Aid Station just over an hour in – mileage of 5.6, I was expecting 7.6 miles! Rudy missed out, he was planning to bike to the first leg aid stations, but I did get to see my dad, let him know we were two miles short, then carry on. I had lost Mary and Angela – I get a little overwhelmed and distracted at aid stations, especially the early ones. Shortly after the aid station, and an excessively marked intersection dubbed ‘Confusion Point’, we were finally on the Ice Age Trail. A little hillier and rootier, still quite runnable though. I fell in with other groups of runners, mostly hanging back and eavesdropping on their conversations, and enjoying the scenery. Eventually, I struck up some chatting with Gary from Canada, going for his first 100, after only a few years of running and one year since his first ultra!

The 'red barn' with tons of phlox along the trail

When we hit Emma Carlin aid station, my watch was two miles off still, but I got to see Rudy this time. Then on to more rolling singletrack. In general, the course had more slightly steep and slightly long hills than expected, which I appreciated for being obvious walkers. Definitely a pretty area and the bugs were not bad at all! Gary and I continued pulling each other along, commenting on the train we were approaching just as we noticed we would be crossing the tracks, but the train was through by the time we reached it – though I don’t think stopping a few minutes in the midst of 100-miles really hurts anything.

About five miles of this section included wide open prairie, on mostly good trail with nice boardwalks over the wet sections. Happily we didn’t have the sun out through here, but there was lightning not too far off, and we pushed the pace a little to get out. The thunderstorms started up mid-morning, depositing an inch of rain over the next few hours. The trail started getting muddy, but much of it seemed to have a good sand base, and I just ran through puddles without issue.

Getting soggy

Hwy 67 was the next aid station, followed by two miles of more nice rollers to the Hwy ZZ aid station. I think I just restocked gels and fig bars, and took in some salty snacks before starting on the five mile loop to Scuppernong aid station, just across the parking lot from ZZ. The portion near ZZ was pretty hilly and pretty muddy, Gary and I were encouraging each other on how ‘fun’ some of the steeper descents would be on the return trip. Over half the loop was nice gentle ski trail, though. I hit ~30 miles at Scuppernong just under six hours, feeling fine, and the rain seemed to be done for now. I think this is where I lost Gary (he ended up finishing about an hour behind me – successful first try!), as I believe I was alone, trying to enjoy the relatively dry and flat ski trail while it lasted. As expected, the singletrack near ZZ was even more muddy with some sketchy descents and challenging climbs, but not nearly as death-defying as anticipated!

More mud in the section to Hwy 67 too, and the sun started coming out. As feared, the sunshine was out in force for the prairie. Mercifully, there was a breeze, but also more mud, much more mud, I was grateful I had escaped much of it the first time through. Luckily it was not sticky or super-deep, there was sliminess in spots though, and maybe a little sucking, my gaiters do a good job of keeping my shoes on! I worked on relaxing through the mud and keeping my effort easier with the heat. I started getting ice at every aid station, but still started to feel the effects of the hot sun setting in. The sno-cone machine at Bluff aid station was a miraculous sight! I got a blue one.

The Prairie

More solo time in second half may have contributed to the slowing pace, but mostly it was the temperature. I was feeling hot and nothing sounded appetizing, I tried to get a gel down every hour or so and fruit at aid stations, looking forward to sundown and a cooldown. During the final section back to Nordic, I noticed a sign that said ‘5’, I assumed it meant 5k left, since I was already a couple miles in to the section that was less than six miles in the morning. My GPS was done by this point so couldn’t really check. Then, the sign at Tamarack said ‘4.8 miles to Nordic’, and I figured it was from prior years when the section was really 7.6 miles. Then, I hit some very steep ski hills between signs 4 and 2 – I didn’t remember these, and didn’t think I was that distracted with chatting with people! It was fun that a couple were named, the toughest one for Tom Bunk, a local legend who succumbed to cancer a couple years back. Just before sign 1, a spectator running out to meet another runner told me ‘One mile to go!’ I don’t remember the times between the signs now, but at the time, it did make sense they were more like mile splits than kilometer splits. I then figured the section must have been altered a little to get the mileage closer to 100k and 100 miles. I discussed this with some one later and they thought the same thing was done last year, race documents didn’t seem to be updated for the change though. I did like the idea of running more like 95 miles (being out for an hour or more less), but I easily made peace with the mind shift back to getting 100 miles in.

Headed back out, pretty much at max muddiness

I was back to Nordic Trailhead and the 100k mark at about 13.5 hours. Luckily I was not at all tempted to call it at 100k. I think I just grabbed some fruit from the aid station, got a headlamp into my pack, and headed back out. One of the race directors was yelling ‘100-miler out!’ whenever one of us departed, eliciting cheers from everyone hanging out and providing a nice little boost to the runners. Back through the steep ski hills as the day’s light faded. I managed to reached Tamarack just as it was about as dark as I could stand, and was able to abuse a volunteer’s hospitality with getting my headlamp out of the pack.

The sun was down, but I was not cooling off. The forecast called for a low of 60F, but I don’t think it even got below 70F. There were some nice distractions of whippoorwills and fireflies. As I approached Bluff aid station, I had the idea to try ice in soup, that ended up being pretty satisfying! Back at Confusion Point, the course went left for a new out and back leg on the Ice Age Trail. The singletrack was somewhat hilly, but nothing crazy steep and the mud was not bad at all. I could see the trail skirted lots of little ponds and the frogs were singing fantastically! I was getting increasingly thirsty, but my stomach also felt pretty bloated, so water consumption was tricky. My frequent sipping and occasional forced gel didn’t seem to worsen anything.

At the Hwy 12 aid station I tried ice in mashed potatoes – not as good as the iced soup, but still more non-sugar, cool calories. Preparing to head back out, I overheard that the next section was arguably the toughest of the course, and it was. At least at that point in the race, it seemed pretty hilly – with a few of the steeper slopes having some slimy mud. There were some runnable stretches in the middle though, and lots of frogs! I started noticing hot spots on my inner heels and my left arch was a little tender, nothing bad, but I kept thinking about how quickly I deteriorated at about this point in the last race – still a long way to go! I continued to feel hot and bloaty too, but kept putting down hard candy and gels. Toward the end of the section were seemingly endless steep ups and downs with railroad tie steps that were slow for me to navigate, but at least there were quite a few people coming back to cheer on.

I hit the Rice Lake turnaround about 19:20 with 19 miles remaining. 24 hours seemed unlikely unless the temperature dropped and I really bounced back. I was even feeling sleepy, first time this has been an issue for me – I think this is probably where I had some Coke. There was a little lightning in the distance, providing hope for some more rain, but I never got it. Not much to say about the return trip, nothing changed: kept thinking I needed to eat, but my stomach felt distended and I was so thirsty! I kept at the fruit and gels, and trotting flats and descents. I felt out of breath with every little climb though and I was ready to have some company with Rudy – greeting the other runners heading out was good, but less personal in the dark.

A few miles back into daylight, I finally returned to Bluff, where I ditched my headlamp and picked up my pacer. I decided to get a little more water to get to the finish. Rudy grabbed a pitcher and added ~20 ounces to my pack. A few minutes later I discovered I had ended up with Heed – BLECH! No disastrous results though, and I figured the extra calories would not hurt. We just kept moving forward, my uphill walking was slow, but I could still jog at a pace that was faster than most walkers. Despite the sips of Heed, I was starving and deciding to get in one more gel in the last few miles. We kept plugging along, no bouts of despair or magical spurts of energy, but I was happy to see we ended up completing the final 7.6 miles just under two hours for a finish of 25:24:47, 34^th place, and 6^th woman. 

Rudy pulls me into the finish once again

I gathered up some congratulations, my finisher kettle, some calories, then the shoes came off and to get them and my feet hosed down – way overdue! Finally, we enjoyed the breakfast provided, being careful not to overdo the food.

We stuck around a little, chatted with a few familiar faces from Minnesota, made a quick trip to a nearby campground for a real shower, then returned to Nordic for the final hour of finishers. I did attempt a nap, but my legs kept jolting just as I drifted off - Rudy slept like a champ, as usual while I hung around the finish line. For the 100-mile race, there were 242 starters and 101 finishers – an incredible drop out rate. I’m guessing it was mostly the heat, but I could see the mud creating a lot of issues too. I ended up with big blisters on my inner heels, just from mud abrasion, and my feet were super pruney with the toe nails packed with dirt. No major problems though!

Nutrition Summary:

<250 ounces water

~3000 calories

6 or 7 plain gu gels

1 cherry lime gu

1 espresso gu

4 fig bars

4 or 5 pieces hard candy

1 sno-cone

~8 oz Coke

~10 oz Heed

~1 orange

~1 cup canned potatoes

~3 cups watermelon

~1 cup mashed potatoes

~1 cup noodle soup

~1/2 cup veggie soup

~5 baby dill pickles

a couple green olives

2 chunks of hummus wrap

3 dried dates

3 dried apricots

~10 dried cherries

Some positives:

No cramping

No major muscle/tendon/ligament issues

Very little foot problems for having wet, muddy feet all day

Energy OK

Fun

Some struggles:

Too hot, couldn’t cool off – more ice and water? Also, more heat training, I knew it wasn’t wise to be in the UP right before this, but I don’t regret that

Thirsty, but waterlogged/tight stomach

Difficult to eat – but I did force calories in and was always relieved that no problems resulted, just had to force it!

Tired – never the threat of falling asleep or hallucinating, but probably felt a bit more sleepy than I have at other events

Chafing on my back where I was putting ice, maybe a little ice burn? I know you are not supposed to put ice directly on the skin, but I always have – probably better to put ice in a buff around my neck, or just more inside my pack

Little splotches of heat rash wherever I had clothes on, not a nuisance during the race and faded within a day after

I think the blisters on my inner heels were solely the result of dirt getting packed in there, and my feet were looking rugged when I finally took shoes and socks off. Although these little problems didn’t change my outcome, cleaning up my feet when the bulk of the wet conditions were over probably would have been wise – though I didn’t know what the rest of the course would be for muddiness or if more rain would come

Learnings:

Consistent running works! Even though I got away with less than three months of formal training, I think focusing on an event for at least a few months is important

Keep the calories coming in, even if it sounds like a terrible idea

If feeling hot, try to go overboard on sponging off and taking ice