Kettle Moraine 100 - RunUltra Marathon

starter said go and off we went into the wild frontier!! bigger crowd than i was thinking there would be, not sure why i didnt think it would be crowded! so off we are going and i got caught in the back of the pack kinda at the start so just put my head down and "ran". first hill, blam-o, half the people stop and walked it. wasn't that bad of a hill at all so i didnt think many would walk it but sill me looking down at the ground almost ran right into someone! so quick side step over and then became kind of a dodge and weave pattern. hit the first unmanned-manned aid station and checked my pace and was waaaaaaaaaaaay ahead on time. found out later that the lead pack went out at like 730-800 min pace! ended up being with two guys for abit who had did the 100k in 2011. it was one of the guys birthday so we chatted birthday stuff.........not sure what that was all about! after a few mile of complete nonsense talk like only guys who are running and running in the woods can do, they stopped for a pit stop. never saw them again, hope they did alright. first crew accessible aid station came up and there was freezies, Janet, and Gina to help me out!! filled up the bottles, made sure i had two gels, and off i go! ended up running in a small group that contained two guys named josh after that. that was confusing.........!! the one josh, younger josh, was actually running without any hydration at all. nothing. i have hear ultra runners are odd and all but come on, no hydration??? the other josh, second place josh, had two hand helds and a camel back...........see the difference? younger josh...hope he finished....obviously second place josh, well, finished second! the next stretch was the part that contained the open exposed meadow and fields.........was good to get that part done before the temps starting rising. next crew aid station, there is Janet, Gina, Freezies, and Second Shift Crew, Deb/Sue/Kimmers!! was still feeling pretty darn good at this point but also knew that coming up was a stretch where there were some good inclines, single track, rocky, switchbacks that were going to be slower. also was a short distance to the next manned station as well. got to the next station and Crew 1 had gone home for the day (Gina, Janet, Freezies....all three had a race the next day so i told them they had to be home by 1 PM to rest up. Gina and Freezies did the Lake Mills Triathlon and Janet did a 75 mile bike event!). So quick stop a the station to top off fuel and off to hit the switchbacks. lived up to what i had thought as it did slow me down and actually put me into a bit of a pain cave. recoverd as i came into the scuppernong turnaround however. took a bit of break, topped off (still manned by crew 2, Deb/Sue/Kimmers) and off i go! i have heard that at this point i was in the top 10 overall, mile 31ish....

so now heading back to the starting area, back thru the woods and the single track with switchbacks. my middle toe (the roast beef piggy toe) had started bothering me some, but only if i raised my toe inside of my shoe and touched the toe nail. so basically knew that that toe nail was going to be a goner (more on that toe later....BEN). came into the ZZ aid station and had to sit down, and by sit down i mean had to use the bathroom. got yelled at by crew 2 for sitting to long so had to come out, get refueled, prove i had two gel packs and off i go (crews were to make sure i was topped off with fluids, always had 2-3 gels on me, and make sure i at least nibbled on some actual food at the crew accessible aid stations). got to 67 aid station and was going to be headed out back into the meadows and the exposed conditions. wind seemed to have picked up as well and was now also a head wind. so thru the exposed meadows, headwind, alone, with warmer temps than before. my plan had called for me not to lose any time on this stretch but also not to gain any time either, basically just conserve. but.....nope....started dropping time, was feeling low so decided to try a pick me up....and called home to talk to the lovely spouse and wonderful son. it sounded like they were driving so i asked where they were going and they told me they were coming out to see me on the course!!! AWESOME!!! only problem was that i was ahead of plan so told them the best spot to meet me was to be at the emma carlin spot and to contact pete for updates. came thru and into emma and there is my son waiting for me with a squirt gun! he totally started getting me and i loved every minute of it as i was in a pretty dark spot at that time and that picked up my spirits a lot!!! Crew 2 (Deb/Sue/Kimmers) were on their way out and Crew 3 (Pete/Webbies) was now crew on spot (both had competed in a 5k earlier in the day, webbies placing 4th in his age group and pete getting some hardware in his!!) fluids topped off, real food eaten, proof of gels, kisses to spouse and son, and away i go! dipped into another dark spot and was doing more walking than running at this point. came to the 50+ mile mark at an unmanned aid station and was still 30+ mins up on goal pace. went to the bathroom, collected my thoughts, topped off bottles and walked on. single track, rocky, switchbacks, and some good climbs. faded in and out of feeling good and bad. during this stretch on three different occassions my toe caught a root and i stumbled. never went down but on one of the down hill switchbacks where i stumbled if i would not have gotten my hand up i wouldve gone head first into a HUGE tree! that "woke" me up some and actually started feeling decent at that point. came to the next crew station and was greeted by Pete, webbies, his daughter, and of course my wife and son. Toby (my son)was getting cranky as it had been a long day for him at that point and he also wanted to run up the big hill behind the aid station and mommy wouldn't let him. he got excited to see me because he knows normally i would go with him up a hill, but i had to decline!! they left shortly after i left the aid station and i guess he fell asleep pretty quickly on the long drive home. so, got my fluids topped, proved the gel and 7.5 more miles until the second out and back section began..................or did it???

back on the nordic trails now, wider ski trails. alternating between feeling good and bad. have heard rave review about the next aid station and them having grilled cheese sandwiches there. was excited. so got there sat down and bit into one.....one of the coldest grilled cheese sandwiches ever!! ugh, tossed the part i didnt eat, drank some water and a half cup of cola then set off with another guy from chicago, Todd, who was hurting and finishing up the 100k. deal was to run the downhills and flats and walk the uphills. never realized how hill that 5 mile stretch was........just neverending it seemed, but soon enough crossed the 100k point and was just a few mins over goal pace. mentally felt great. physically, legs were tight but still good. Crew 3 still there (Pete/Webbies) and they were also joined now by a member from Crew 4 (Miami W/#s) and the first two pacers (Ben and Lisa). half cup of root beer, potty break, rinsing of the head with a hose, shirt change, proof of gels and I head on out with Ben as my pacer.

what a difference a half mile makes! just prior to leaving the aid station and after changing shirts (into a long sleeve), i caught a chill. well half a mile later i was still shivering and now my legs were not cooperating with running at all. things were turning sour and turning quickly. Ben was being awesome with it all as you could tell he wanted to run, was ready to run, but i just....couldnt. everything hurt and i was just...cold. soon by back started cramping and had to hunch to get that to feel better. tummy started revolting some and thought i was going to toss the cookies so to speak. those hills. oh....my.....lord....those hills weren't there on the begining miles were they?? they must have re routed the course for the second stretch right???? no way they were there. cold, still very very cold and not warming up at all. tried running some, nope. lights were going out in a big big way. the grilled cheese aid station was 5 miles from the start of each section (the nordic ski section was used for the beginning of each loop so you ran this part 4 times for the 100 mile event). at this point i knew that if something didn't change soon, i would be done. after about 10 years, or so it seemed, we FINALLY made it to the cheesy aid station and sat down. Ben brought me over some chicken broth while he sampled five of everything they had there! i think the only reason i did not drop at this point is because i figured all they would do would just cart me down to the next manned, crew accessible aid station, so i figured hey, if i am going that way, why not just try it and see if i can pull myself out of the dark hole and come back. so the plan was discussed, well, in my head anyway and off we went! yeah....more of the same! cold, shivering, tummy revolting, everything cramping.........and now its pitch dark! almost a full moon tho so you could actually see! being on the wide ski path helped out too, but hey, whats that? a race official is telling us we need headlamps on and actually brought some to us?? wow, they think of everything......wait, no, its pacer 2 Lisa who came up the trail to find us to give us our headlamps! she also was kind enough to let me put her size doulbe extra tiny jacket :) around my shoulders to try to warm me up! shortly after that (seemed like forever to me!) we saw the other pacers (Nic and Stacey) coming at us looking like intergalatic space monkeys or something like that.........they all walked me in and made sure i was alright.

got to the aid station (Mile 70), laid down and told Pete (more like mumbled) to take my chip off, i was done.

nothing. 12 hours 40 some minutes to go 100k, 3 hours to go the next 7. all this to find out that i have the best wife, the best son, and the best friends in the world. i owe each of them my sincere gratitude for helping me out and making sure i was keeping safe.

100 miles. trails. nearly every turn was marked, and marked clearly. need i say more? top notch all around.