Oil Creek 100 Trail Run - 100 Mile - RunUltra Marathon

I will try and break this down by mile sections:

This report isn't full of crazy grueling info. I really had such a solid day out there and was very happy with how everything worked out.


Mile 1-7ish - It was pretty cold at the beginning and very dark. I think it was 26 degrees or so. I was running with Chrissy and a few folks to the first AS1. We were taking it VERY easy as there was absolutely no point in rushing this. We had a long day ahead of us. This part of the course is very manageable which becomes important later as you have to cover it 3 times. We took this very easy, I thought. Goal accomplished

mile 7-13ish - Immediately after AS1 there is this monster switchback mountain (that is the hills name). It was a tough climb even on fresh legs. I kept thinking to myself how difficult this is going to be later. Somewhere on this climb is where I lost Chrissy. It was dark out and you couldn't really see anything, so I didn't realize until a while later that she wasn't there. I was running with a few folks on and off here. Everyone was very nice. Everyone seemed to have a goal of just finishing so I was okay hanging with these folks. This portion of the course is also very manageable. There are hills but there were lots of runable sections and soft downhills which were nice later in the night.

AS2 - this is where I get to see the crew. Fred and Linda were there. The Animal Camp crew was there as well. Normally I'm not a pomp and circumstance kind of gal but sometimes on these long runs when you're out there all alone for a while hearing someone cheer your actual name and acknowledge that you're coming is great. Of course, everyone cheers for everyone, but there's something nice about seeing people you know out there looking out for you. Didn't really need anything at the AS so I grabbed a few bananas, filled my water bottle and off I went. Later I realized I forgot to ditch the headlamp here.

Mile 13ish to 22ish - This second half of the course is way more difficult than the first half. Immediately after AS2 you climb what I think was Heisman hill or something. Nothing too steep just long. The folks at the aid station told me that the boys (Tim, Steve, and Chris) were about 30 minutes ahead. No way I was catching them as I thought I came into that aid station too fast already.

Mile 22 - 31 - Immediately after AS3 there was Death March hill. This was a short steep SOB. Again, I thought to myself that it was going to be tough doing this later and I thought that later I would have to use my hands to get up this bugger. After that was Rockefeller something, another bitch of a climb. This one was long and it got steep. This section was also slower going. Lots of switchbacks and steep downs and with all the leaves you just had to be careful.

AS4 - This is the main AS, another place to see the crew. Again, I didn't need much. I forgot to take my headlamp off last AS, so I took it off this time along with my arm warmers. My head was a little sore from wearing the lamp but live and learn. Headed out again. The boys were about the same distance ahead of me and Chrissy apparently wasn't too far behind.

Mile 31 - 38 - This was pretty easy going. I was talking the pace pretty slowly and I came into AS4 at 8 hours which is where I wanted to be, so I just kept it going as is.

mile 39 - 45ish - I think it started spitting here - unsure. Nothing special was happening here. I pulled into AS2 to see the crew. I think I grabbed my headlamp and my arm warmers. Chris just left the aid station and tim and steve were like 35-40 minutes ahead. Chrissy had been running with a girl so I asked Linda to check the status on that and if Chrissy was still with someone then I was hoping she would pace me at mile 62. I didn't 'need' her but if Chrissy had someone then I was going to take advantage of having someone out there with me. It got loney at times - I like the solitude but I also like being with people.

Mile 46 - 54ish - I'm pretty sure it was raining at this point, although nothing too horrible, almost refreshing. So far, I was still going strong and maintaining a steady pace. I felt good physically and mentally. I caught up with Chris and stayed with him for a few miles but he was walking way too much and unwilling, it seemed, to run the easier sections. I had to leave him - I just didn't want to waste time feeling good.

Mile 55ish - 62/ AS4 - I pulled into AS4 and the loop took 9 hours, so I was still in the time frame I wanted to be in to comfortably complete this thing and not feel like I was racing a clock. I pulled into AS to find out that Chrissy had dropped at mile 55 and they drove her in. Apparently my crew underestimated me here. I pulled in and no one was ready for me. Apparently Tim and Steve had just pulled in and out of the aid station, so they figured that I would be a certain time behind them. BAM! I wasn't. I was holding steady! They were slowing. Linda hurried her bum up and went out with me for the next few miles. At this point, it was raining. I didn't grab a coat so I pulled out my trash bag and put it on.

mile 62-74ish- The rain was making the terrain a little more tricky, as if running 100 miles isn't hard enough already. Linda had fallen in this section and I was concerned. It was dark, raining, and we were on trails. I didn't want her to hurt herself for her upcoming race. She was being a trooper, but the entire rest of the loop I already had in my head that she shouldn't come out for the full loop. The second half of the course is way harder than the first. It just wasn't worth the risk for her and I was still feeling pretty good. This is where I think I started to slow down a teensy bit. You almost had to b/c of the terrain, darkness and rain, but I think at this point I was relying on gel surges to get me running. At some points it was difficult to get the running going. However, I don't think I ever stopped trying and if I wasn't running I was walking pretty fast, at least I thought I was. I still felt good here but I could tell that I needed to really start paying attention to food and whatnot. It's as if I could feel every bit of surge from every bit of fuel. After Linda had fallen she realized that she had lost her Garmin. That sucked.

AS2 - we pull into this aid station and I tell Linda she should not come any further with me - I just didn't want her to get hurt. I was doing fine and it wasn't worth the risk. Soon after leaving this aid station I realized I didn't grab my coat and it was f'ing pouring. How dumb of me.

Mile 74 - 82ish - Somewhere in here is where I had a mini mental melt down. I had forgotten AGAIN a coat and it was pouring. I was freezing. I had tucked my arms into my trash bag and I was running like I was in a straight jacket. I started to shiver and wanted to close my eyes. The trash bag wasn't preventing my arms, neck, or head from getting wet. I thought to myself that this race was going to end pretty soon because I was getting really cold and I think I was moments away from hypothermia, if not at an early stage already, and I was out there all alone. I was pulling up to one of those unmanned aid stations that just had water. I was praying that there was something there I could use to keep me from getting more wet. There was a rubbermaid tub in there and it had ONE trashbag in it. I took it and wore it like a hood. It protected everything I needed. This was a race saver! Game was back on; however, I was still a little shook up from the hour or so of shivering and running in a straight jacket. My legs were starting to get a tired. I was still running but I had to be careful. I had to pee so I walked off the trail a bit, unsure why as absolutely no one was around, but my feet were unsteady and on a slant. I ended up peeing on myself and I really couldn't do anything about it because I couldn't really make any swift wierd movements without possibly getting hurt, so I continued to pee down my leg into my shoe. Thankfully it WAS raining. Urinating on myself did bother me, though. I was upset about it.I kept running and then a fellow runner was getting ready to pass me and I realized it was Steve. I'm unsure how I got ahead of him but I was. In any case, I broke down, started crying a little, explaining to him my pre-hypothermia and my unrination issue. I apologized for having the breakdown but he was cool with it. He tried to make me feel better by telling me a story of a guy who pooped on himself during a hundred by accident. It did cheer me up. As we were pulling into the next aid station he was trying to explain to me how we had plenty of time to do the remaining 16ish miles in the 8 remaining hours. I kept arguing with him that it wasn't possible. For some reason I thought I had 31 miles to go. We argued/discussed this for a long while. Finally, I understood what he was saying. He was awesome to continue to explain this to me even though I refused to believe him. We debated this for a pretty long time, too. During this whole race I hadn't really paid attention to miles or times. I was trying to stay as relaxed as I could be and not worry about all that stuff. I figured if I kept moving forward I'd be okay.


Mile 83-93 = We stayed together for the rest of this loop. At the end of this loop Steve had to go to the bathroom (#2), so I said I would just walk until he caught up. After a bit, I saw a headlamp behind me and I assumed it was him so I picked up the pace a little. 20 -30 minutes had passed and then I realized it wasn't him. I let this other guy pass and slowed down again to wait for Steve. Apparently I had been hauling ass on this section. After the guy passed me, I slipped and fell. I decided that I would wait in the position I fell until Steve came. Fortunately he came pretty quickly. Steve pulls up screaming " Carrie is that you? Are you okay?" I'm like "yea, I'm just waiting for you." lol it was funny. You may have had to be there to appreciate it.

AS4 - as we pulled into this aid station, the last aid station, we saw Tim. I waited for Tim to leave for our last 7-8 miles. I think I waited a good 5-7 minutes. I will never do this again. Rather, I will walk and let them catch up. Waiting this extra time caused my legs to seize up and running became extremely difficult. Up until now it hadn't been, maybe a little tough but not seemingly impossible as it felt now. Tim was going to walk the rest of the way and I was okay with this. Linda came out with us on this last loop as well, which was good because Tim and I were seeing shit. I think Linda was too as she was sleep deprived but she had more brain working than we did so she still had logic and helped us realize we were seeing shit; although, sometimes I think she was just as bad. lol I could sware to you that I thought I was seeing what I was seeing - it was crazy, a little like a soft acid trip. So we powered through this loop and worked our way back. Tim suggested running in and I can't believe I was able to. Linda grabbed our bulky stuff and we ran in to complete the 100, 100.6 really. It was unbelieveable. It was such a great feeling.

hmmmm. Even though I did have a solid day and couldn't ask for anything more for my first 100 there are some things I would change or have paid better attention to. I will never wait for anyone again - I will walk and they can catch up. After so many miles if you stop too long you can stiffen up way too quickly.

Also, I would either try and be more diligent about remembering what I need for the weather. Also, maybe tell my crew to remind me that I needed a coat or something. You just aren't thinking right out there. My crew had never done 100 miles either so it's not like they were any wiser than me about it. It was just dumb on my part to leave that AS without my rain coat WHILE it was actually raining. I pulled through but I will have to remember this type of stuff for the next one.

cleaned up, sat down, ate something and watched all the other finishers come in.


I have no answer to this. I have no complaints. I will work on speed later. lol


A great race! Very organized. I would definitely do this again. Loved every second of it!!!