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| Before the Start |
July
24
The latest forecast is a high of 86 degrees, which ironically is the
same forecasted high in Wisconsin six weeks ago. What will the temperature climb to
today? On the plus side, it is starting
out cool in the high 60s with low humidity as the dew point is 61 degrees. At 4am, 344 of us crazy people start the 100
mile race in downtown Cuyahoga Falls.
Mile
5.5 1:03:41 (11:35 avg./mile)
Memorial
Right
from the start with overcast skies, there is some rain spitting. By 5am, it starts a steady light rain. This was a 30% possibility by the forecast
and shouldn’t last very long. The first
few miles are on streets as we make our way out of downtown. I settle into a very comfortable pace and do
not mind the light rain at this point.
At this first aid station, crews are not allowed, and there are only
fluids at this point. I click my watch
on my way through the aid station as the course leaves the pavement for a
section of the Erie Canal tow path.
Mile
10.0 1:01:29 (13:40 avg./mile) North
Hawkins
Tow
paths are always interesting to me as they are either gradually going uphill or
Under the umbrella at mile 10
downhill. I am not sure it really
matters, and I start my timed walk breaks every 15 minutes. In general, I will run for 10 minutes and
walk for 5. I get through two cycles
before the course leaves the tow path.
The rain continues at a light to moderate rate so the dirt trail soon
becomes a muddy, slippery track. The
runners who aren’t wearing trail shoes have a tough time with it, but my La
Sportiva Raptors are doing great at this point.
However, about a half mile before the aid station, I catch my toe on a
root and test the firmness of the ground.
I arrive at the aid station and get a towel from my excellent crew (my
daughter Amy and her friend) to clean off my arm, leg, and shoulder. I then drink some chocolate milk and take a
small bag of pretzels with me.
Mile 13.7 48:43 (13:10 avg./mile) Mingo Shelter
I
start a conversation with a lady next to me while we are running. Come to find out, Rhonda is a VHTRC runner,
although she currently lives in Dubai.
And, Alan and Pam Gowen are crewing for her today! Rhonda has run Massanutten 100 miler a couple
of times, but has not done any other 100 milers. What is funny to me is that she is worrying
about the cut-off since it is only 30 hours compared to Massanutten’s 36 hour
cut-off. I tell her I don’t think this
is going to be a problem since this course is not very technical, and
Massanutten is beyond technical. This
aid station is not manned on the outbound, but the timing device is setup and
registers our progress.
Mile
15.4 21:36 (12:42 avg./mile) Botzum
Rhonda decides to let me go ahead as I have a little quicker pace than her at this point. I am enjoying my nice smooth pace, and the rain isn’t dampening my spirits even if it is dampening the course quite a bit. At this aid station, I get to see Amy and Ed, and I consume a wonderfully made egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich. I eat about 75% of it while washing it down with chocolate milk. My little bag of pretzels still has plenty in it, so I only trade out my Camelbak at this point. I also remove the shirt as I think the rain will stop soon.
Mile
20.1 1:03:05 (13:25 avg./mile) O’Neill
Woods
The
rain does stop at some point during this section. I test my right ankle on a curb as I am
crossing a street at one point, but it is fine.
I also encounter my first real issue of the race—the insoles in my shoes
are scrunching up due to them being waterlogged from all of the rain and water
on the course. At one point, I stop, sit
down, and take each shoe off to straighten out the insole. The rain lasted about four hours, and at some
point I had the thought that the forecast might be completely wrong, and I hope
it will stay lightly raining all day to keep the temperature down. However, the forecast seems to have been
wrong a little, and now it has stopped raining and is clearing off some. This aid station is non-crew access, but they
do have PB&J sandwich quarters so I gobble down two of them.
Mile
23.8 49:31 (13:23 avg./mile) Oakhill
Since
the start of the race, I have been playing leap frog with several runners, two
of
Leaving Oakhill after taking off the shirt
whom are two ladies from Ohio—Michelle and Vanessa. They are running their first 100 mile race
and as I repass them on this section, they ask if I am using a run/walk
strategy. Yes, I walk all of the uphill sections,
and then try to do 10 minutes of running and 5 minutes of walking on the mostly
flat sections. The mostly flat sections
aren’t very long, but my goal is about the same. I have typically found that I can still
manage a 15-minute per mile or better pace with this strategy. At this aid station, Amy and Ed are ready for
me with a change of shoes. I would have
preferred to not change out of my first pair this early in the race, but with
the insole problem, I decide to make the change now. Hopefully, I will be able to keep my feet dry
for a while. I take half a bagel from my
crew and head down the trail.
Mile
27.5 43:32 (11:46 avg./mile) Valley
Picnic
With
the rain stopped and still with relatively cool temperatures, I guess I got a
little excited with the pace on this section.
That and I think it is mostly downhill.
I get into this non-crew access aid station and consume a couple more
PB&J sandwich quarters before crossing yet another road.
Mile
31.1 45:38 (12:41 avg./mile) Robinson
Field
My
quicker pace lingers on a little as this is fast than I should be going at this
point. During this section, I strike up
a conversation with Lyn, who is from Mars, Pennsylvania. Since I went to school in Pittsburgh, I know
that Mars is north of town and that there is an ice rink there as we practiced
hockey there sometimes my freshman year before the ice rink opened in
Monroeville. She is a graduate of the
University of Hawaii and her son was born at Tripler. She refers to it as Crippler, and we trade
our less than stellar experiences with Tripler.
My wife, Martha, is also a University of Hawaii graduate, and our son
was also born at Tripler. At this aid
station, I grab two more PB&J sandwich quarters since crew cannot access
this station either.
Mile
35.1 1:03:24 (15:51 avg./mile) Pine
Hollow
 |
| At Pine Hollow |
This section is mostly on single track trail with some relentless rolling hills. Thus, my pace naturally slows. Additionally, things are warming up with the clouds moving out of the way for the sun half the time. I get into this aid station in good shape, and Amy and Ed have a grilled ham and cheese sandwich ready for me. I eat most of the sandwich and wash it down with plenty of CR01. I take a new bag of pretzels with me leaving this aid station. I need to keep my salt intake high as I am definitely sweating profusely through the heat of the day.
Mile
40.9 1:30:23 (15:35 avg./mile) Kendall
Lake
This
section is probably the most challenging section of the course. We run for about 45 minutes and then we can
see the last aid station a couple hundred yards away. That is unmotivating as the course essentially
did a large loop without going anywhere.
This entire section has the largest hills on the course, and they are
constant. There are no easy flat
sections of trail on this section. So, I
am glad to get into this aid station, which is another non-crew access
point. I eat a few dill pickle slices
before eating another PB&J sandwich quarter. I leave this aid station about the same time
as Michelle and Vanessa, and Lyn is just ahead of me.
Mile
45.0 1:01:57 (15:07 avg./mile) Olde
Route 8 (Tiki)
This
section contains a portion of a tow path and a few hills, before the course
dumps out on a paved fitness trail. The
pavement will take us all the way to the halfway turnaround point. I leap frog again with Michelle and Vanessa,
but Lyn has left us behind at this point.
On the pavement, I resume my run/walk strategy, although I am very
tempted to increase the percentage of walking.
At this non-crew access aid station, I eat more PB&J sandwich
quarters and then take a grape popsicle with me.
Mile
50.5 1:33:16 (16:57 avg./mile) Silver
Springs
 |
| Approaching the halfway line |
Mile
55.9 1:20:05 (14:50 avg./mile) Olde
Route 8 (Tiki)
After
a couple of miles on the paved fitness trail, Scott Lee catches up to me. I had seen him earlier with his VHTRC visor
on, and he has seen me with my VHTRC shirt on for the first 10 miles. We run/walk together into the aid station
comparing notes on who we know really well in the club. He is from Haymarket in northern Virginia and
is doing the grand slam this year. The
Vermont 100 is canceled this year, so Burning River is one of the designated
replacements. So, he did Western States
last month and will do Leadville next month and Wasatch Crest in
September. While enjoying the
conversation, I am surprised to see the aid station so quickly. I don’t grab much to eat at this aid station
as my stomach is not feeling great, and I am sure my last sandwich is still
being digested.
Mile
60.0 1:06:13 (16:09 avg./mile) Kendall
Lake
Two more miles or so on the fitness trail and then back to off road stuff. I continue my good pace, managing to get to mile 60 in decent shape. I am trying to find the right food to make my stomach feel better, but I am still going to eat. I grab two more PB&J sandwich quarters. I am really happy getting to this aid station with it only being 6:12pm. Now, I just have to navigate the next tough section to Pine Hollow. At some point on this last section, Scott let me go ahead of him.
Mile
65.8 2:09:17 (22:17 avg./mile) Pine
Hollow
I
really struggle on this section, but it is the toughest section. I refilled my Camelbak at Kendall Lake, but
regardless, I still drain it before reaching my crew at Pine Hollow. But, when it is empty, I think I am close to
the aid station, but I cannot be sure.
Also, it is really warm out here and any breeze is not penetrating into
the woods and the single track trail.
Finally, with no water left, I make it out of the woods and only have a
simple climb up a field to the aid station.
I make it to my crew, sit down, and begin taking care of several
items. First up is changing my
salt-crusted shorts. I wrap a towel
around and remove the shorts and then quickly put on the other pair. Next, I put a shirt back on for the first
time since early this morning. It is now
8:20pm, so dusk is coming soon, and hopefully the temperature will begin
dropping although it is only supposed to drop to 71 degrees tonight with the
humidity so high. Finally, I eat some of
the Ramen that my crew has made for me, and then I wash it down with over a cup
of chocolate milk. I mention that my
stomach isn’t feeling great so hopefully the chocolate milk will do the
trick. Before leaving my crew and this
aid station, I strap on my headlamp and plug in my ear buds to my iPod. I am ready to take on the night!
Mile
69.8 1:58:13 (29:33 avg./mile) Robinson
Field
I
leave Pine Hollow with good tunes and a little refreshed from the break. This lasts about 10 minutes when I feel hot
again. It is near dusk, but the humidity
is thick, and I realize that I am not going to be able to drop the hammer and
take this one home. Rather this is going
to be a slug all the way to the finish.
I walk quite a bit, and I am looking for good places to sit down and
cool off a little. The fallen logs are
plentiful, and when I do sit down, the next runner comes by and asks if I am
okay. Finally, I get to this non-crew
access aid station and sit down. The
wonderful aid station worker brings me broth and then a Coke. I didn’t think I sat too long in this aid
station, but now I think I must have been there for at least 20 minutes. My time split reflects this time sitting in
the aid station, but I don’t worry about that.
It is all about finishing, no matter how slow as long as it is under 30
hours.
Mile
73.4 1:40:37 (27:57 avg./mile) Valley
Picnic
With
my unhappy stomach, I try various solutions.
I have eaten a few Tums, and so now I turn to ginger chews, which I have
been told will cure any stomach issue.
It doesn’t really turn things around, but it doesn’t make it worse
either. When I stagger into the aid
station, I make my way to the porta john.
I do my business and as I am finishing up, I realize that I am about to
throw up. I stagger out of the porta
john, hit the dirt, and proceed to heave twice.
At this point, an aid station worker comes over to ask if I am
okay. Then she asks if I feel better
because sometimes people feel better after they throw up. When I tell her that I don’t feel any better,
she helps me over to a cot in the aid station.
On this cot, I will lay for the next hour. During this time, the aid station worker
checks on me several times, and a thunderstorm starts pouring down the rain and
lightning. After an hour and not feeling
any better, I make the decision to drop.
The nice aid station worker calls my crew, who are waiting at the next
aid station, and they come and get me.
170 out of the
344 starters finish under the 30-hour cut-off
I get back to
my hotel room around 2:30am. After lying
on the floor of my hotel room for 30 minutes or so, I then throw up again, heaving
several times. It is only then that I am
able to take a quick shower, mostly sitting down, before I crawl into bed for a
much needed rest.
It was a nice
muggy day in the Midwest on this late July in 2021. This finishing rate is very low for most 100
milers these days. The heat obviously
had something to do with it. For me, I
think it was definitely a factor, but basically I was unable to manage my
electrolytes as well as I need to manage them.
I have been experimenting with different salt supplements, and for this
race, I didn’t take any. Instead I tried
to eat enough salty food and that wasn’t enough given the conditions.
My next race
isn’t really a race. Rather it is the
Grand Canyon, rim-to-rim-to-rim in one day.
Martha and I will be in Arizona in September, and if the weather
cooperates, I plan to run this by myself on September 22nd. Until then…
Never stop
running,
Darin
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