The Umstead 100 Endurance Run was my first attempt at 100 miles. Umstead Park is right in my backyard so to speak (~15-20 minute drive to the race headquarters) and I run there a lot. While I've wanted to attempt a 100 miles for a while, doing so at Umstead was never really in my thoughts. Knowing the loop that is run, I simply had no desire to do so 8 times in a row. With the benefit of hindsight, I feel stupid to have thought like that as I couldn't have been happier with how everything worked out. This is an AWESOME race for 1st timers and a great race overall.
The recap:
For those interested in the short version, here it is. I finished in 23:27, scoring the sweet "100 miles, one day" belt buckle for a sub 24 hour finish. En route, I ran a 50 mile personal best of 9:55, and got to see my family a couple of times. My lap (12.5 mile) splits were: 2:15, 2:21, 2:44, 2:35, 3:23, 3:42, 3:06, and 3:21. The last lap I had the pleasure of running/walking with my sister Leanne, who flew out from California to cheer me on.
The details:
Buildup
It’s safe to say that the last year has been a good stretch of running for me. I have:
- Completed a "100 runs in 100 days" challenge
- Run a half marathon PR of 1:37 (on a not flat course and it hurt like hell!).
- Finished Mountain Masochist in a personal best of 10:56 (including an extra 2-3 miles because of a boneheaded wrong turn)
- Ran my first 100K at Hellgate in 16:47.
- Finished my 7th Umstead Trail Marathon on March 6 (in 4:14:20 without really pushing it).
That being said, I was a little worried that I had logged only 6 runs of 15 miles or longer in 2010 (27 & 15 in Jan; 20 & 15 back-to-back in Feb; 31 & 16 In Mar (I ran 5 miles before the Umstead Trail Marathon). I had only run at night twice and those were simply 4-5 milers at about 9 PM. I felt that finishing under 30 hours was definitely achievable, but I really didn't want to have to walk entire laps to finish. I like running, and walking for hours on end just wasn't that appealing to me (at least not in Umstead park). I thought sub 24 hours was an outside shot, but a more likely scenario was 26-28 hours, which worked out well because my family could be at the finish line when I crossed.
Race weekend
I went to packet pickup with my sister (who knew several other people running) and tried to just soak in the atmosphere. I'm not one to mingle and socialize but love to watch. It really started to sink in what I was going to be doing and I started to get a little nervous. On the way back to the car, I realized just how cold it was and had to re-think my gear choices. I had planned on just wearing shorts and various T-shirts for the duration of the race. Early forecasts had called for low 60's in the day and mid 40's at night. It turned out to be around freezing at the start. After I got home, I did my normal nightly routine (kids bathed, dishes done, etc) and then packed my gear. I even loaded up a second iPod which the most inspirational songs I could think of to use during the last couple of laps, if needed. Given that I'd be leaving early, my wife allowed me the luxury of sleeping on the couch downstairs as both our kids have bad histories of not sleeping well through the night (yeah, she absolutely rocks!). I was asleep by ~ 11 PM and slept until about 4 AM. A little less than usual, but nothing out of the ordinary. I dressed, pre-fueled with coffee and peanut butter toast, then had to scrape the ice from my car before I could head out! Definitely colder than expected!
The only "oops" in the morning was that I left my cooler bag of sandwiches, milk and Frappucino's in the 'fridge. Not a big deal as I wasn't planning on needed it until much later anyway. I arrived at headquarters at about 5:10 AM and just milled around the building for a while. My starting line gear was Smartwool socks, a pair of well used Brooks Cascadia 4, compression underlayer briefs, Patagonia Ultra shorts, a technical T-shirt from Bull City Running and my favorite long sleeve short, gloves, water bottle with Perpetuem, a few gels and iPod. I wore a watch for the 1st lap so I could have an accurate start time but took it off for the last 7 laps. I wasn’t feeling too nervous, and was glad to be finally starting. This moment had been on my mind for the last 5 months and it was nice to have the cold to focus on instead of the task the lay ahead.
Lap 1
I attempted to take it really easy at the start. The 'airport overlook' spur is shorter than in the Umstead Trail marathon course so it felt great to get to turn around so soon. The first 4-5 miles I chatted with nice people about all kinds of stuff. Heard some great stories (from the Croom Fools Run 50K director, among others) and chatted with someone who mentioned expecting to finish in ~22 hours with even splits. Whoa...running too fast this early! I walked some early on, even when I didn't feel I needed to and only stopped at the big aid station at 6.8 miles. I grabbed a few small bits to eat, refilled my bottle and headed out. Knowing the 'North Turkey Creek' section pretty well, I knew of several short, steep uphills that I planned to walk every lap. I followed my plan and ran alone for most of this section after firing up the iPod. I made decent time down Powerline Hill, walked up Cemetery Hill and then cruised back to headquarters, finishing lap 1 in 2:15. Ahead of schedule but I felt good. Anything slower would have been uncomfortable to run. I called my wife to request my cooler bag when she made it over to the race. Then I made a big mistake. The sun was coming out, so I assumed things would be warming up. I took off my long sleeve outer shirt and gloves, opting instead for Moeben arm sleeves. I then got some food and drink at Sally's Asylum and headed back out.
Lap 2
I almost immediately regretted losing the gloves. The time at the aid station and the hike out of headquarters allowed my body to cool and my hands got seriously cold. So cold it hurt. By a mile into this lap, I had 
pulled the arm sleeves down to cover my hands, but that didn't help much. All I could think about was how freaking cold my hands were! OK, so 13 miles into a 100 mile race is perhaps not the best spot to be thinking how uncomfortable you are, regardless of the reason. Lesson learned. Don't let the picture fool you, I only pulled the arm sleeves up so I wouldn't look so stupid. I was NOT a happy person at this point. But I used it as motivation to keep running and eventually things got better, as they always do. I again stopped briefly at the middle aid station, this time to use the 'facilities' so I lost touch with the group of people I had been around. The rest of this loop was the same as Lap 1. By the end, I was feeling a lot better, but my stomach was starting to growl! As I pulled into the headquarters area,
I saw the wonderful sight of my kids, wife and dog (who was going nuts at all the commotion). I stopped briefly to say hi and get fist bumps (my 4 year old daughter pointed out that she was wearing gloves, a hat AND a hood!) then made my way back to my drop bag. I clocked lap 2 in 2:21 (4:36 total). Still too fast but my legs felt great and my energy level was good. However, this was the point I felt a hint that something was going to get ugly. I had to run to the bathroom to apply Bodyglide in a very, uhh, private, sensitive area (lower than abs, higher than quads…). I convinced myself everything was good, and grabbed a peanut butter and sugar flatbread sandwich, a few more gels, and a handful of donuts and wafer cookies at the Asylum. I also got to see my mom and sister this time around which lifted my spirits. I spent at least 10 minutes at this stop.
Lap 3
A rather boring lap. The sun was out, temps were up, and I felt great. The family met me at the middle aid station (~32 miles), leading to the (utterly fake) "What, 100 miles? No problem" photo seen below. 
As expected, my 2 year old son was more interested in playing in the dirt than in seeing me at this point. It was on this lap started to get a few hot spots on my feet, but nothing too worrisome. It was also on this lap where I told Zach Gingerich (eventual winner) as he passed me that he better watch out because I was going to kick it in on the next lap and that I was gunning for him (he must have heeded my warning as he went on to shatter the course record by over an hour, clocking 13:23!). I had to stop several times on the course, leading me to think I was drinking way too much. I made sure to keep up the calorie intake though, as I had a fear of crashing later (not having much experience with runs past 5-6 hours). I finished this lap in 2:44 (7:20 total). Other than the arising chafing issue, I had no other major concerns (except, you know, having to run another 62.5 miles). After this lap, I felt the need to add one more line to the ultrarunners mantra Blake had us newbies chant the night before: "Drink before you're thirsty, Eat before you're hungry, Walk before you're tired...and LUBE BEFORE YOU CHAFE!" I changed T-shirts, grabbed some real food at Sally's, and filled up my bottle with sweet tea!
Lap 4
OK, time to get serious and get this thing halfway done. I had a slight surge of energy/confidence/caffeine when I left for Lap 4. A group of runners I thought had long since left me in the dust were only ~1-2 minutes ahead. I ran a good portion of this lap, if slowly, and again had to stop multiple times on the course. I spent a little more time than usual at the middle aid station this time around. When I came back to headquarters, I found myself at a lap time of 2:35 and 50 miles in 9:55. That's a personal best by ~25 minutes! 
My legs felt great...well, my leg muscles felt great. My inner thighs felt like someone had sandpapered them. I again saw my family (my amazingly awesome wife was dealing with a 2 and 4 year old, neither of which had napped!), and this time spent probably 15 minutes in the bathroom. I opted to remove the compression underlayer briefs. I wasn't sure if it was the cause of the chafing or not, but I was starting to be in some pretty serious discomfort. I downed a strawberry milk (tasted awesome!), grabbed a slice of pizza and cup of potato soup at the Asylum, and headed out. I also loosened my shoelaces as my feet were really starting to hurt (go figure!). Before I left, I mentioned to my wife that I was not happy and that I wasn't sure what would happen.
Lap 5
A brutal lap. Painful in all the wrong spots. It was made even more frustrating by the fact my leg muscles felt great and I had tons of energy! I wanted to run but just couldn't make myself. I walked a lot of this lap, definitely more than any. Removing the compression briefs didn't help and in fact I think made things worse. The lining of my shorts now rubbed right against where the chafing was. YAY! I found a way to make myself even more uncomfortable! My time for this lap was 3:23, nearly an hour longer than the previous lap! Back at the aid station, I had the pleasure of just being done with 62.5 miles when I hear people clapping and cheering. Then they announced that the WINNER was freaking done! Well, there goes my goal of winning my first 100! I put the undershorts back on, took a Tylenol, then texted my 
wife that if things continued like the last lap, it would probably derail the whole effort. I didn't think I was doing any long term damage, but I wasn't going to make myself suffer through 37.5 miles of painful walking just to say I finished a 100 miler. I also heard at this point that my sister would be arriving soon at the headquarters with the plan of staying through until I finished. Have I mentioned that my sister is awesome and also runs ultra's? She's run several 50K's, 50 milers and 100k's, including Promised Land, Holiday Lake, American River, Dick Collins, Ruth Anderson and Miwok. Having her around was a definite advantage for me. I downed a Frappucino and some more soup. Then left my iPod and grabbed both my headlamp (worn around my waist) and a handheld flashlight. The moon was bright enough and the course smooth enough that I rarely used either, though. Running in the dark was probably the most enjoyable part of the race, save for the finish.
Lap 6
The combination of the Tylenol, undershorts, and basically telling my wife I was giving up had its desired effect and this lap wasn't too bad (I hate disappointing people who have done so much for me). I ran a little more of it, felt a little less uncomfortable, and started to come up out of the 'mental valley' I was in. By this point, I had a pretty good idea how fast a given lap would be given how much I was running and walking, so I started to do the math for a finishing time (it helps pass the time, and for the other runners is much preferable to the singing out loud I often do). I was able to convince myself I actually had a shot at sub 24 hours if I was able to keep things moving along. It was also during this lap that I realized the 'pebble" I thought had been in my shoe was actually a hotspot turning into a nice blister (just behind my big toe on the ball of my foot). I grabbed a cup each of potato and chicken & rice soup at the middle aid station. Gels were simply not an option at this point. I finished this lap in 3:42. While this was my slowest lap, a lot of that was from ‘non-moving time’ trying to do something about the chafing. I downed a chocolate milk and several cookies. I saw my sister, told her to suit up and charge the batteries so she could pace me on the last lap. I felt, at this point, slightly, marginally, not worse than earlier. I changed into a fresh T-shirt and long sleeve that was a little more than I needed, but better than being cold.
Lap 7 - aka The false hope that you are almost done
Something kicked in and I ran a good portion of this lap. I ran like a man possessed. I actually ran some of the uphills, because I found I could. My legs felt freaking awesome. Yes, they were sore and tired, but nothing like they've felt at the end of Masochist and Hellgate. I again stopped at the middle aid station to apply Vaseline "liberally to affected areas” which took time, but I somehow convinced myself that I was almost done. I met a guy here that was on lap 6 who had finished the Brazil 135 in 57 hours. H**y F*****g S**t! That's like the guy at Hellgate who 'wondered if he could finish' when his last race was the Hardrock 100! Ultra people are simply awesome. I came "flying" into the headquarters with a lap time of 3:06. When I arrived, I saw I had just under 4 hours for the last lap to get in under 24 for the race (87.5 miles in 20:06). Wow. My sister was surprised I had come in when I did. I still took time to drink a Starbucks DoubleShot (a mistake) and some more soup. By the time we headed out I think we had maybe 3:45 to finish in under 24 hours.
Lap 8
About 3 steps into lap 8, I crashed from the effort of Lap 7. Legs still felt OK, feet hurt but not a deal breaker, chafing was getting bad again and it forced me to walk more than I wanted to. But mostly, my stomach was growling from a lack of significant solid food, churning from the Doubleshot, and my head spinning from what felt like a blood glucose level of 1. My sister was awesome in keeping me going when I didn't want to. I ran when I could, walked when I had to. I spent a few minutes at each of the intermediate aid stations trying to refuel properly even knowing most of it wouldn't kick in until after I was done. We left the middle aid station with 2 hours to go for 5.5 mile. Even with a very healthy dose of walking, the math was in my favor (which utterly shocked me, both that I could do math at that point and that I had a very good chance at sub-24 hours!). I ached, I complained that I ached, then complained to myself that I was complaining…my sister probably wanted to slap me (and she would have been totally justified in doing so), but she kept me moving on the downhills and flats. We started counting down the miles to go. At the last unmanned aid station, I began to get the fire back, knowing how close we were. My sister has a super cute 1 year old boy, so she hasn’t been able to run much lately. I took full advantage of this fact and pushed as hard as I could on the last few hills. She let me feel good by pretending to not be able to keep up with me. She is awesome beyond description. We hit the turn at the water fountain, made our way down into the headquarters and I somehow found the energy to finally run the last little uphill under the banner. 23:27:19! I got my buckle and fought back tears as I wandered to my drop bag. Damn that was fun! (yes, I was already forgetting the intense chafing pain and I KNEW I was doing it!). The last lap was 3:21.
I managed to change into dry clothes, grabbed some pancakes and liquid, then promptly fell asleep for about 20 minutes. At about 6:30, my sister woke me up so we could get to the park gate for the 7 AM opening. I wanted to get home and see my family! Sunday was kind of a blur. I cleaned up, slept from ~9:00-noon, ate, fell back asleep from ~2 until 5 PM, then was in a haze the rest of the evening.
The aftermath
Overall, it was an absolutely awesome experience. Completely different from my first 50K, 50 mile, and 100K races. All those hurt more in ways that were dictated by a lack of proper training. My legs simply couldn’t keep up with the hills/trails/distance. This one hurt, but in a much different way. I never felt like I physically wouldn’t be able to finish. Maybe because it is considered an ‘easy’ 100 miler (like running 100 miles is ever really easy) without significant elevation changes. Maybe because I had such great family support and such great race volunteer support. Who knows. Whatever the reason, I absolutely loved it and want that 1000 mile buckle now! One of the things about ultra’s that has always bummed me out was that a lot of them take place on technically difficult courses that force me to walk significant portions. I like running, not walking. I am thrilled I picked Umstead as my first 100 attempt.
So I made another, deliberate 180 degree turn and charged back. Turns out, there was a fallen tree that I skirted around to the left when I should have gone right. The real trail made a good 120 degree turn at that point. The trail I ran was on older, not really used, section that eventually meets up with the real trail. And I somehow went right and started doubling back. My actual path (in the image) was Blue, Red, Green. The Red was my mistake. 
