Delaware 100 - RunUltra Marathon

As we headed out (around 5:45am), we split into 3 groups, as only a few people knew the route out to the trails. There was quite a bit of chatter and a few more introductions going on as we made our way through the housing development. Although not steep, the roads were not flat. Time seemed to fly by quickly and pretty soon we were cutting through the parking lot behind a supermarket (Zingos?). Coming out the far side of the parking lot was a Dunkin’ Donuts! Woohoo!! I called out that I had cash and Visa if anyone needed something and David declared that coffee was on me when we were headed back from the trails. Not quite 6 miles up the road we cut through a park and Dave Bursler (who would be pacing me at night) pointed out restrooms. I headed over only to find them locked, but some nice looking bushes nearby. As I stood there with my back to the park I heard voice, and turning my head saw a parking lot with some cars and people. Oops.

Two speedsters, Rick and Randy were running together a few minutes ahead of everyone else, and by the time we hit the trails I had lost sight of them. We hit the trail AS (8 miles) just a little over 1.5 hours in. I made a quick stop, grabbing a few pieces of candy corn, before continuing on. Back on the trail I found myself right behind Randy with David on my tail. We cruised along at a nice pace, probably a bit slower than 12 min/mile. The trails were very nice – packed dirt, no real hills to speak of, just lots of little ups and downs. It was a very pretty area and I really enjoying being out there. After a mile or so, Randy stepped off the trail and I took off. The twists and turns, ups and downs made the trail feel like a roller coaster and I let my feet take control. I could tell I was probably running a faster pace than I should be that early into a long race, but it felt so good at the time. I dropped David for a few miles and ran the far section of the loop alone, but less than 2 miles before the AS he caught up to me and followed me in.

Again, a quick stop at the AS (18.25 mi). Threw some GU and a Kashi bar from my drop bag into my pack and munched on some donut holes. Mmmmm.... donuts!! Then back out onto the loop with the intent to pull back on the pace and run it 5-10 min slower. I’ve had previous experience with going out too hard (my first ultra, a 50k) and really paying for it later with lots of walking. I found myself thinking a lot about that experience and realizing that I could be headed in the same direction if I didn’t keep close tabs on my pace. I thought I had run the first few miles of the loop a bit slower, but once I got out to the far section I found myself cruising along at a good clip... again. Hmmm... this could be an interesting night. Would it turn from “see Jessi run 100 miles” to “see Jessi crash and burn”?

As the morning wore on, I began seeing quite a few mountain bikers, including a few groups of 4-7 bikers. They were all really nice, and some actually stopped to let me pass. I know most trails have signs saying bikers should yield to runners/hikers, but I’ve never actually had that happen. I also began to note how may pace and energy levels were varying. It seemed the Gu’s put some zip in my legs while the Kashi bars didn’t do anything helpful. I’d actually never felt that Gu put zip in my legs and really only brought them because they are easy to carry and I have a ton at home to burn through. Pulled into the AS (28.5 mi) having run the second lap in almost the exact time as the first. Guess I didn’t slow down too much, eh?

As I stood at the food table deciding what to nibble on, Carl took down my time and informed me I was now in first place. I said “What?” but was really thinking “Oh shit!”. Now I know plenty of people would be happy to be at the front, but I usually finish mid-pack. Even though there were only 11 starters, I still felt that being at the front meant I had been going too fast. I made a comment to Carl that I felt I might be going too fast and he agreed, telling me I had plenty of time to make the 30 hour cut-off and I should slow down. I knew I had plenty of time to finish in 30 hours, and my initial goal had been just to finish, but unless I had a really bad day I didn’t think I’d be happy with that sort of time. I took my time at the AS, chugging a Red Bull and eating more donut holes (rocket fuel!), filled my pack with water and food, and hit the trail for the third loop.

Running the third loop I was amazed to find myself periodically looking around wondering if I was on the right trail because it didn’t look familiar! Soon enough I’d see something I recognized or a chalk arrow, but it became pretty obvious that although it was a nice area I wasn’t really paying that much attention to detail. I nearly had a heart attack when I swore I saw a small polar bear on the trail ahead of me! Yikes!! It turned out to just be a really BIG fluffy white dog, but let me emphasize the BIG part! I slowed down and walked slowly past, not wanting to give anything that size, equipped with claws and fangs any reason to find interest in me (not to mention giving my heart some time to slow down).

Running the out and back segment connecting the two small loops there was a series of (for lack of a better word) undulations. Only rising and falling 3-4 feet, but sudden, steep and close together. I’d taken them at a fast pace the first time around but realized the toll they were taking on my quads and took them progressively slower each time. After that section was a soybean field (don’t think I’d ever seen one before) and a yard waste dump which was beginning to kick out some lovely aromas as the temperature rose.

Running the far trail section for the third time I was sucking down gummy worms. Apparently I must have been too hungry to really chew much and started choking after trying to swallow one whole. Note to self: chewing is good... death by gummy worm is not how I want to go! Coming out of that trail section I saw Steve’s duck blind set-up. As I got closer to the AS I checked my watch and realized I was still running about the same pace as I had on the first trail loop. On the one hand it was good that I was running a steady pace, but potentially bad that I hadn’t slowed it down. At that point I decided to give up on trying to slow down because it obviously wasn’t working very well. Apparently my legs were getting the final say on my pace and the rest of me was along for the ride.

At the aid station again (38.75 mi) I grabbed my last Gu, more gummy worms, and some candy corn. As I was getting all sugared up Rob’s Dad was there handing out encouragement. Really nice guy; it lifted my spirits every time I saw him and made me laugh when he started bowing down to me at the AS. Not knowing where anyone else was on the course and not wanting to waste too much time I took off quickly for my fourth and final trail loop. One mile out my trusty shoes started rubbing my feet the wrong way. I figured I’d go as far as I could before stopping to fix them, but I’d need to change shoes before the road section.

Maybe it was the lack of Gu or maybe the speedy miles I’d put in, but this segment was where I started to feel everything add up. Out on the far section of trail I felt my energy levels declining a bit, nothing serious, but a bit concerning with how well I’d been eating and how many miles I had left to cover. It was around this time that my stomach started feeling not so great; nothing serious, but eating seemed less appealing.

Less than 2 miles to get back to the aid station, coming off the soybean field into the forested area again I was cruising along focused on the trail ~15 feet in front of me. A loud and familiar noise made me suddenly leap into the safety of bushes as a bike flew around the curve towards me at close to 20 mph. A little further up the trail near a bridge I came upon 2 bikers taking a break. One commented that I looked a little tired and I paused to chat a bit. They had already talked to some runners because when I said I was at about 48 miles they told me that it was almost halfway. As I ran up the path to the trail AS for the last time I checked my watch. I knew I had slowed a little, but was surprised to see that I was only ~10 minutes slower than my first 2 loops.

More donut holes, a second Red Bull, candy corn, and re-stocking my pack. I was surprised to find that all I had left in my drop bag was a Kashi bar, which based on how they had made me feel, did not make me jump for joy. I usually pack too much food and eat less than planned. Oh well. Dave was there waiting for me and decided to run with my back to Carl’s house since I didn’t know the way. The Red Bull and short break left me feeling quite energized and when we hit the trail I took off at a quick pace (well, at least it seemed fast, but maybe that was the downhill helping). When we hit the roads again I was actually feeling quite good and ran most of the uphills to Carl’s house. I wound up only eating the last 3 gummy worms on this 8 mile stretch. The Kashi bars just seemed to sit in my stomach and were not at all appealing.

Passing the small park there were at least 3 kids soccer games going on, lots of noise, and tons of people! Completely different world than I’d been in for the last several hours and made the whole area look different than it had at 7 that morning. Cruising the longer downhills I noticed the cushion in my shoes seemed to have gotten squished flat. Completely flat! I started really looking forward to seeing Carl’s house again – it meant fixing my feet, new shoes, and more food choices. Very appealing thoughts at that point!

At the turn into the housing development was Rob’s Dad – clapping and encouraging me. How awesome! :) A short bit later I was making the final turn with Carl’s garage in sight. Woohoo! 57 miles done and the sun wasn’t close to setting! I spent a good 20 minutes there, tending to my feet, drinking ensure, and deciding on what pair of shoes to wear for the rest of the race. Silly me hadn’t wanted to wear my trail shoes for the 16 miles getting to and from the trail so I’d been wearing my road shoes. I tried my back-up pair of road shoes but putting them on inflicted pain, so I decided to wear my trail shoes on the road. As I fiddled around with my stuff Rob’s Dad drove Dave back up to the trails so he could pick up his car and come back to pace me through the night.

Eventually I set off up the road, headed back the way I had come. Not quite 10 minutes out I met David and Randy heading in the opposite direction. Shortly after that I waved to Rob running up the opposite side of the road. Another 10 or so minutes and I came across Mike and a couple minutes later Kyle who I stopped to chat with for a few minutes. Another mile, mostly uphill, got me to the shopping center with the Dunkin’ Donuts and on the far corner I passed by Steve and a HUGE crowd of his supporters. From afar I didn’t recognized them and was wondering what a dozen-odd people were doing standing on a random street corner. I gave a quick wave and continued another mile or so to the crosswalk where I was told the water stop/turnaround would be. I looked around in the shrubs, saw no water stash, looked up and down the road, no people I recognized, pulled out the directions to double check, then decided the water just wasn’t there yet and started on my way back. From here onwards would be new territory as my longest training run had been ~62 miles. Fifteen minutes back I saw David again, who gave me bad news: the Dunkin’ Donuts was closing at 7pm! Seriously?? I recently became a fan of DD on account on the ones near me being open 24/7 and was thinking a midnight coffee/donut stop would be fun!

Although the scenery wasn’t nearly as interesting, I was enjoying the roads – it was nice to actually get to see the other runners, even if it was only a wave and a few quick words. Cresting a hill with ~2 miles to go in that lap I saw someone running towards me at a pretty good clip. Huh? Who runs that well at this point? Oh, it was Dave! Back from retrieving his car he’d run out to meet me and pace me for the remainder of the race!! We cruised on down the road (mostly downhill) into the housing development and to Carl’s house, as the sun was setting (67.75 mi). Once there I sat down in a chair and started on the chipotle hummus and crackers in my cooler. Yum!! A good snack anytime, but a really nice change from the Gu, gummy worms, and bars I’d been eating. Though I must admit, a bit too time consuming to eat. Maybe cold Spaghetti-O’s next time? Threw some Swedish fish and chocolate covered espresso beans in my pack and we were off for the next road lap.

I was surprised at how good I was feeling with more than 2/3 of the distance covered. And for haw many doubts I’d been having about my pacing earlier in the race I felt like I was still doing minimal amounts of walking. Unfortunately I don’t remember a whole lot about this lap. I saw David and Carl Albright running together. Large groups of kids enjoying campfires and picnics around a pond with a fountain. On the return leg I could even hear them singing songs. At the turnaround I did the same thing as the first lap, looking for the water, didn’t see it, and again decided it wasn’t there. After I mused over it’s absence Dave turned and pointed out a large Tupperware bin hiding behind some bushes I hadn’t even noticed. Hey, they were *before* the crosswalk, so I didn’t think to check them! ;-) Headed back, right about where Dave had met me on the previous lap, there was a can of Mug root bee that had been spilled. Every time I passed it I started craving a root beer. Every time! To the point I was starting to think about stopping at the Zingo’s to buy one! But I’ve already discovered that running while carrying an open container of carbonated soda is a sticky situation.

Back at Carl’s garage I sat down again to munch on more hummus and crackers. The three girls that had come out to crew for Kyle had become my cheering squad – any they were awesome!! Swapped my pathetic flashlight for my good headlamp and neglected to drink my second ensure. Out for the third lap. After some slow and particularly tricky mental calculations (they longer I run the harder math gets!) I realized that if I averaged ~3 hours for each of the next 2 laps I’d come in around 22 hours. Wow!! From here on out it was all about moving forward and running whenever possible.

It became slightly annoying that running uphill felt better than running downhill – less pounding on the quads and less jostling of the stomach. Each downhill took more mental energy to run all the way to the bottom, while the uphills were still mostly physical effort. It was a very quiet lap. Both Dave and I spoke very little, but it was still nice to have some company out there. On the return leg we walked and talked with Carl for a bit. He seemed to be doing well and moving along at a steady pace. Later, crossing a major road, somebody (ahem, Dave) tried stepping of the median in front of a fast moving car!! Yikes! I could see it happening but wasn’t quick enough to shout. Good thing he saw the lights!! On this lap I realized that the Kashi bars had been a big mistake. I’d had one for breakfast and an additional 2.5 on the run. Sure, they’re a great source of calories, taste pretty good, and have some protein, but they have 6 grams of fiber… each! Do the math… it’s not good on a run!

We made it (safely) back to Carl’s garage shortly after midnight to more cheering from the girls. Again, I sat down for more hummus and crackers, and had some ginger ale forced upon me. Tasted good, but I really don’t think it helped the stomach. Wound up spending too much time there and my legs seemed to have decided that I was done running. Amazing how quickly they get stiff and sore – and no amount of walking seemed to help. I was hoping I’d be able to get a bit more running in the last lap, but was OK with power walking the whole lap except for a few 100 yard shuffles.

There may not have been a whole lot of talking going on, but it was great having Dave out there with me. Just having company was helpful, but when you're company is an accomplished (and fast) ultrarunner it really motivates you to push HARD. He gave me a lot of things to think about and was very encouraging through the entire night, even when I was walking the downhills.

Less than 2 miles from the finish, as we walked downhill past a sign stating something about the Special Olympic, Dave was kind enough to inform me that I could probably qualify for the Special Olympic with how I was walking! :) Yeah, yeah, funny guy. I felt like I was power walking – it certainly was talking an effort – but when I looked over at Dave he seems to just be strolling along! As we approached the end I gritted me teeth and shuffled the last 100 yards around the corner and up the driveway - making it in just over 21.5 hours. After a few pictures I was led inside (it was ~50F outside) to a bed on the floor – a beautiful sight!!

Not much to change as I had a fantastic race, especially for my first. Next time I'll bring something with ginger for my stomach and more food choices. Also, try not to linger at the AS late in the race and let my legs get stiff. Otherwise, things went very very well for me.

Eating did sound like a nice idea, but once managed to lay down I realized there was no getting up. I spent the next few hours laying there half awake – trying to sleep but not really with the throbbing in my knees. Every now and then I’d hear some rushing around and the door to the garage would open as people went to encourage the runners coming through and finishing. At some point I eventually got up, and after having some fantastic scrambled eggs, was able to stand for more than 5 minutes without being nauseous. In the future, I’ll definitely eat before laying down. After a couple more hours I decided to hit the road. Packed up and started driving out the way we had been running, thinking I might see where Carl was. Lo and behold I found him about to run around the corner for the final 100 yards to the finish!

All in all, a great group of people at a great race made for a fantastic weekend. All the runners were so upbeat throughout the entire race. All the crew and family members of other racers cheering me on made me feel like a rock star. Best part was lying around watching the guys I’d seen and talked to through the day and night trickle in as they finished the run!!


Everyone who went out there this weekend and toed the start line is awesome!! 11 starters (7 first-timers) and 7 finishers. Rob made it 68 miles having previously only run marathons. How he made it that far, I've no idea, but he was making pretty good time too and looked strong when I saw him.