I swore at the end of ETR in 2015 that I would never do it again. It was a tough course and I was mentally and physically exhausted. If you know a trail runner, you know that "never" usually changes to "Sure!" as soon as someone else wants to share in the anguish with you!
We drove up the night before the race to my parents house in tiny Wynantskill, NY which is about an hour north of the race start in the Catskills. We visited and then turned in early since our wake up time was 4:30am. Next year, we will stay closer. I'm not a big fan of a drive in the morning. The forecast wasn't great for race day, but what are you going to do?
The good:
1. Beat last years’ time by 29:12. My pace in 2015 was 17:04 and this year was 15:30. Did well in slippery conditions too, so I KNOW there’s still room for more improvement!
2. Got through aid stations quickly and efficiently. Met some new-ish friends from favorite recent races (Hyner and World’s End) as well as running clubs in Philadelphia!
3. Hiked with purpose! Started race conservatively and hiked the early climbs even though I really wanted to run those more. This paid off in the 2nd half of the race and allowed for a decent kick in the end. I felt strong significantly stronger at the end this year vs last year (and yes, I was happy it was over since the rocks are relentless). I still have room to get better on the climbs! Always room to improve, right?!
4. Passed allot of guys who a – called us girls and b – said we looked strong (which we did). Not sure why this makes me happy, but it does. I told my daughter about 4 times and tonight she said, "Yes, mommy. I know you beat the boys. Good job."
The lessons:
1. Body glide, body glide, body glide. Chaffing is worse in rain. The rubbing, combined with a new pack, resulted in a big chafe on my neck. I packed fast after a busy week and this is what I forgot.
2. I’m WAY too conservative on the downs. I say this, but those downs were steep, full of big rocks/sharp rocks/loose rocks/flat slippery rocks disguised as regular ground, cliffs, and mud. But…… then I would see a group of guys some barreling down and knew in my heart I could physically do that too, but my brain won’t let my body release the fear. Definitely something to work on. I blame my fear on motherhood and having a subliminal instinct to not die so I can protect my young….I know it’s baloney!
Monday, October 17, 2022
Eastern States 103.1 Miles - Aug 13 -14, 2022
I finally did it! 103.1 miles in 27:58 and 2nd place female.
Eastern States has been on my radar since it started in 2014. The allure of such a challenging race deep in the PA wilderness making one big loop was exactly what I was looking for. I signed up in 2018 and 2021 - both years I trained hard and the race was cancelled. I thought maybe fate was telling me Eastern States wasn't meant to be. So, I changed it up and ran Rim to River 100 in 2021. Rim to River was great, and I swore I was one and done with the 100 mile distance. It was so hard on my body. So much time for training. I did well. I knew I could do it and that was what mattered.
But Eastern States. Sigh. Heavy sigh. I could pace and volunteer again. I had nothing to prove. Then on December 4th I signed up.
Training
I only had one race in 2022 other than Eastern States and it was Tammany 10
I've never done a 3 day block like that and it was awesome to know what to expect on this course. This was a real test of my knee after an injury in late June and it held up great. It was also so much fun to hear Tom's stories about all of his ultras and Erica's positive energy makes it impossible to not feel joy on the trails. The PA courses I run are technical, but there's good sections that are runnable and it helped me to be able to strategize based on where those runnable parts were.
After a stretch of July heat training with many miles covered at Valley Forge, the Wissahickon, Trexler Preserve, and Delaware Water Gap, race day brought cooler temps and low humidity. I felt positive going into this race because I had covered 95% of the course in training runs (minus the section of Ritchie Run to Hyner - more on that later), had a good training block even with a cranky knee, and my crew and pacers were top notch.
1st Half
Erica and I stayed together for some miles and we ran some with our friend Matt. It’s awesome having friends on the course and there were too many to count in this one. We breezed through the aid stations 1 and 2 feeling good about banking the time planned for each of them. I started stretching out my legs a bit and found myself alone on the trail wondering where I fell in the group of about 40 women that had started.
The race was progressing nicely. I saw my @trail_sisters_philadelphia friends at Browns Run. I had visualized running more of Browns Run, but I made a new friend, Aaron, and came back to my mantra - be patient. I saw @raelynnbianca Raelynn and her gorgeous daughter at the Happy Dutchman Aid Station. The sun was up and even though the temps were good, I was getting hot. Any time I was exposed to the sun I felt my energy draining.
When I arrived at Ritchie Road I was feeling ok, but getting more and more hot. I had in my mind that this would be an easy downhill to Hyner. This was the one section of the course I hadn't seen in advance. Lies! It wasn't great for me since big sections were exposed on a gravel road.
By the time I arrived at Hyner I was feeling zapped and worried that I was feeling this way at "only" 43 miles in. This is where a mantra comes in handy - be patient. Don't get attached to feeling good, don't get attached to feeling bad. I had gone through a small stream crossing right before Hyner that was enough to get my shoes wet so I changed into new socks and shoes. My feet were looking good at this point and body was holding up great. I still wanted to take my Leki poles because I was anticipating my knees would give up on me at some point and I was hoping the poles might extend my running time. Mary had her stopwatch going and gave me my 5 minute warning so I knew my precious time with family and friends was coming to an end.
When we got to Dry Run I got ice cold water which was delicious. I saw my friend Kristen volunteering which was so nice. Kelly got me to eat and I think she saved my race. Don't underestimate the power of a banana!
2nd Half
Blackwell’s climb isn’t the hardest in the race, but with 80 miles on your legs it’s really tough. Going down started to get dicey too. But it also feels like a milestone because the hardest parts of the course IMO are done. We carried on still running some. I had some near life changing pancakes at Skytop that powered me through to Barrens aid station 8 miles later. I volunteered at Barrens twice and couldn’t wait for that cowbell! This was the last time I would see Mike before the finish and he didn’t let me get too emotional about it - if my mantra was be patient, my crew’s was “get going!”
The stretch from Barrens to the finish started with running, but my foot was getting more and more painful. Tom kept encouraging me and moving us along as I whimpered like a little baby. The final steep downhill was pretty rough but we were so close it barely registered. There was a narrow margin to breaking 28 hours so I dug deep and picked up the pace. As soon as I saw my son Michael I knew I had to give it everything.
It was a dream to finish this race after training twice and then cancellations. The course and work put into it were astounding - especially since we saw what condition it was in back in July.
This is a tough sport and the best community. I’m so grateful for the journey and memories.
What went well
1. Training
2. Nutrition
3. Knees
4. Course Preview
5. Crew
What could've been better
1. Nutrition - I need to eat more sooner.
2. Start - conga line. I tried to stay patient, and I think it's not a bad mantra, but looking back I think I could've raced harder had I started closer to the front of the pack.
3. Night before sleep
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Hyner 50k, Worlds End 100k & volunteering at Eastern States 100 - 2021
What a year to be racing again in Pennsylvania! I faced recovering from knee surgery, a heavy bout with depression, changing jobs and a deep check in with my priorities. I was really happy to have trail races and a group of supportive friends and family to help me come out stronger on the other side.
Hyner 50k - April 24, 2021
My 5th Hyner race after this race captured my imagination 10 years ago reading a Runners World article about it. I was nervous going in to this race for social and physical reasons - my confidence wasn't where it normally was, I hadn't raced in over a year, and the distance felt long for my knee. I talked to Coach Michele about dropping a few days before the race, and she encouraged me to stay with it and use it as a test before Worlds End. As usual, she was right.
 |
| The infamous climb up SOB |
I had a bad night sleep at the hotel before the race and was mentally shaky. To my surprise, when the first climb came I felt incredibly strong and that shifted things mentally for me. I woke up.....I was there to see what I had and I loved this place and this race! The trails were mostly dry and the new course avoided allot of water crossings. I'm not sure that I like this course as much as years past, but it def had those same lung busting climbs and heart pounding descents.
I really wanted to be efficient at aid stations and keep moving. I had told my Rugged Running coaches Michele and Salynda that my A goal was 7 hours. At one point I realized I was doing better than I expected and decide to keep pushing hard knowing I was going to either blow up or get a PR. I ended up improving my time by about 40 minutes!
Worlds End 100k - June 5, 2021
I had an incredible day at Worlds End for my 3rd 100k and my 3rd time celebrating my bday by racing Worlds End Ultramarathon. It was fun to meet a couple Trail Sisters who were out there running the 50k. We were staying in the cabins adjacent to the race start and finish, which is so convenient.
Mike Werner and Mary were rock star crew - they were a well oiled machine and made me so happy at every aid station. Mary was pretty strict and reminding me I was there to run, not relax! This was my first time doing the race without a partner or pacer and I didn't have very many people around me. I did meet a couple guys from Wissahickon Wanderer and Matt and his pacer Jason who were also going to be at Rim to River in November.
As usual there was amazing race organization and super pumped up aid station support who made every runner feel so special. It was hot out there for early June and I was grateful for the many water crossings to cool down despite the resulting extra chaffing (worth it). This year had a high drop rate because of the heat, but I liked it.
Right before aid station 9, I was surprised by a huge coiled up rattlesnake that loudly rattled at me and I screamed and jumped in the air like the world was truly ending. It’s always fun to run with people and make friends on the course and this year was no exception.
My feet and quads were trashed, but recovery was faster than in years past.
Eastern States 100 Pacing and Barrens Aid Station volunteer - Aug 13 and 14, 2021
This year I paced my new friend Adam Weiser for his attempt at this beast. He had a great race until he faced stomach troubles. I learn allot form his experience and know he will tackle it in 2022! Lesson - can't fall behind in nutrition. It's very hard to come back from.Again a couple of my friends and I drove from Philly to volunteer at Barrens aid station. It's a humbling experience seeing runners at mile 90 of a very demanding race. Oh - and so much cowbell!
2021 Rim to River 100 mile Race Report
Summary
Race day went about as well as I could have asked for. Chilly temps in the high 20s started and
ended the race, but in between it was optimal weather with sunny skies and
temps in the high 40s. It was about 5
degrees cooler on the river. The course
was leaf covered so I had a swishing sound accompany every step, but luckily
there weren’t constant rocks and roots underfoot like the typical PA terrain
I’m accustomed to and only one stream crossing.
The trails were mostly dry, so it was a great setup for my feet! Overall, I would describe the course as
runnable with rolling hills and a couple bigger climbs. I fell only once snagging my toe on a rock
and doing a superman to the ground. No
lasting injuries.
We had scoped out the aid stations on Friday, so it was good to have familiarity of them on race day. At the race preview the RD showed us handcrafted mugs for the top 10 women and nice prizes for the top 3 men and women. That mug was strangely motivating for me! I had prepped my crew to get me in and out as fast as possible and planned for 5-10 minutes at each stop, anticipating that there would be a couple longer stops later in the race. My daughter Mary is strict so I knew she would keep them on point!
1st Quarter - I ran under an 11-minute
average pace through mile 27 and was feeling great energy levels and my normal
right leg pain in my hip/glute that I feel when running fast (for me). I was with my friend Matt that I had ran with
at Worlds End and we chatted and kept each other company most of the way. We both admitted afterwards that we ran
faster than planned but were happy to have some time in the bank from easy flat
miles. The scenery was incredible,
including a sunrise from the ridge overlooking the mist on the river.
2nd Quarter - Through miles 50 the course
started climbing a bit more and there was a 10 and 11 mile stretch without aid
stations, which felt long. I slowed to
about a 13:30 min pace and felt some fatigue, but at this point was still well
ahead of my A goal of finishing in 22 hours.
The one mile out to the overlook of Fayette bridge was crowded with
tourists, but worth it for the view. I
took a wrong turn before the Fayette aid station into a parking lot, but
luckily it was less than a mile detour. Caleb,
the race leader was coming out of Fayette AS and he told me he did the same
thing last year. After a quick
turnaround at Fayette aid station on the way to the mid-point at Ansted AS I
saw the 1st place woman Holly run by looking very smooth and the 2nd
place woman Whitney was less than an hour ahead at this point, and also looking
strong. I powered through doing allot of
baby steps on the uphill miles 49 and 50 and felt proud of myself for it!
3rd Quarter – The course is a lollipop so
after mile 50 we were backtracking. Adam
and I ran 7 miles back to Fayette aid station where we saw crew again. During that run he was pushing me and at one
point I waited for him when he took a photo and he yelled at me to never wait
for a pacer! It was still warm and light
out at Fayette which was mile 57. I
wasn’t thinking far enough ahead to remember that I wouldn’t see crew again for
another 22 miles. I got my headlamp and
Houdini jacket, but in hindsight shouldn’t taken another layer, gloves, and
poles. Adam and I took off for the most
extended climb of the race, which was about 1k in 2 miles, but about half of
that on the road. We baby stepped uphill
a good bit, turned on headlamps, and were efficient at the Long Point AS. I had
a semi frozen rice crispy treat and was surprising because I didn’t feel
cold. I’m not sure exactly when, but somewhere
after Long Point I ended up dropping Adam.
The course was rolling at this point, and I was still
cruising come into the very fun Christmas themed Arrowhead AS at mile 71 where
I had a delightful warm cookie. I spent
a little too much time here and it was tough to get going again because I was
feeling stiff and stopping made me notice the cold – especially my
hands. At mile 73 or 74 my right knee
became very painful. There wasn’t a pop
or anything like that, so I knew it wasn’t an acute injury, but it was clear to
me that it was significant. I tried to
run/walk but saw that my hike was as efficient as my run with less pain. I kept trying to run occasionally in hopes
the pain would pass because it was primarily downhill the next 6 miles to
Cunard and I still felt great otherwise.
I hiked the majority to Cunard and went directly to the
bathroom instead of checking in with my crew.
The bathroom had a heavy metal door and I ended up getting locked in for at least 10 minutes! This was the low of the race
because I was yelling for help and kept thinking – I can’t believe I’m going to
lose this race because I’m stuck in the bathroom. In frustration I kicked the door and it swing
open – thank you sweet lord. I met my crew,
and it was a cluster because they saw Adam who had hitched a ride from Arrowhead and
appeared without me so they were worried about me. The kids were looking tired. I changed into warm clothes (which took a
long time), got some pain meds, applied Voltaren, and warned Tara that I was
hiking.
Last Quarter – The course was familiar from here and
I knew there would be a long flat section.
We really power hiked. Tara was
primarily doing a jog while I was hiking, and we averaged under a 15 min pace. We were back on the river, so it was pretty
cold, but we were bundled up and ok. I
had the 4th pace woman and finishing under 24 hours on my mind. The next section was a good bit of climbing
and this was my slowest section of the race.
Tara was keeping me moving and motivated though – especially when she
told me the last section was 7.5 miles instead of the 9 I had thought, and did the math to help me
feel confident that under 24 hours was going to happen. We got to Mike at the last aid station and
did a quick turnaround to get back out.
The last 7.5 miles with Mike were long and I think being
with him allowed me to have more raw emotion than I might’ve with someone else
or alone. Every little climb started to
feel like Mt. Everest which I made very clear how I felt about. I had a mini meltdown over my headlamp and
made Mike fix my hair at one point which we’re still laughing about (it was
worth it – my hair was a disaster). It
was special to have him with me after so many years of building up to this
moment. I think we were both in
disbelief the finish was so close. As we
neared the finish line, we could hear Tara and Mary cheering and Mike told me
no matter how much pain I was in I had to run across the finish line, which I
did. I ran into Mary’s arms and finished
at 5:14 AM, 23 hours and 14 minutes after we had started. My B goal was to finish under 24 hours, which
I was very happy with. Finishing this
race was one of the most satisfying feelings I’ve ever experienced.
Results
 |
| Was on pace for a finish in the 22nd hr until rt knee went bad @mi 74. Last 25 mi were ~7.1 hrs. |
 |
| Placed 3rd female & got an under 24 hour buckle. Congrats to all the finishers - especially the ladies! |
Went well
1. Nutrition - 17 spring Gels, 1 bobo bar (these
weren’t working for me), aid station food was mostly mashed potatoes, pbj,
broth and a couple chips and one delightful warm cookie. Tailwind throughout the race. Stomach felt GREAT all race and only grumbled
in the last mile.
2. Good pace - especially first 27mi. I felt faster and stronger than I
expected.
3. Mentally strong and I really enjoyed the
experience. It was really motivating to
have my family (Mike, Michael, and Mary), Tara and Adam there at aid stations
and pacing. I also had about 40 people
that were being updated via text and I really felt their support when Tara and
Mike were telling me how excited they all were for me.
4. Allot of baby steps uphill - went great and
felt like I was efficient with energy. The
baby steps were a game changer for me.
5. Hiking went well when I needed to and I’m
glad I am a strong hiker. I wish I could’ve
kept running but was very grateful I could hike.
Went
not as well
1. Forgot important items at Fayette – mi 57 aid
station which was 22 miles form the next time I would have crew and access to
my stuff.
·
Gloves - Got cold when I had to start hiking at
75 and temps dipped into 30s.
·
Poles – This was a big climbing section. Think I was ok without poles from a speed
perspective, but I wonder if I had them if I would’ve saved my right knee.
2.
Right leg
· Started with Right hip/glute in first quarter when pace was fast. Voltaren and slowing pace helped with that pain. Right ankle turned a few times, but never one bad one. Became a bit sore. At mi ~73-74 Right knee (the “good one”) had sudden high levels of pain while running. This came on very fast. My right leg was fatigued, but no pain. This was unfortunate bc this section of course until ~mi 85 was largely downhill or flat.
o
Tried running for short periods to see if it
would “loosen up”. Did 30-90 secs of
running. Downhill was worse. Concluded that hiking was as efficient as my
pathetic running and largely stopped trying to run.
o
Mentally this was frustrating, but I did not
allow myself to ruminate on the negative.
I told myself I had to problem solve and this is what can happen in a
long race. I made the best of it and was
VERY grateful I could still hike well.
My focus became hiking efficiently.
3.
Cunard Aid station at mile 79 was a bit messy
·
Got locked in bathroom for at least 10
minutes. I had gone there 1st
without checking in with crew so they didn’t know I was there. I eventually kicked the door in frustration,
and it opened. Many others got stuck for
longer, so I see myself as fortunate. This
was maybe the lowest point in the race at the time. I was no longer able to run and now I was
stuck. I didn’t know how far the 4th
woman was behind me and I was starting to worry about making the 24-hour time
that I really wanted to get the nice buckle.
·
I had dropped my pacer Adam around mile 64 and
he got a ride from AS 8 to Cunard. He
saw Mike and the kids before I got there, and they got super worried and were a
bit frazzled by the time I got to them. They were also getting tired. I think we wasted time debriefing on what
happened.
·
Once I got to the crew after escaping from the
bathroom, I wanted a whole new set of clothing, and this took a while for them
to get what I wanted and for me to change.
Mary mistakenly filled my water bottles w plain water instead of tailwind
and I wanted an Aleve which mike had a hard time finding. I was getting my poles which are a PIA to
open and lock and I’m really the only one who can do it consistently, but I was
tired and cold. I was stiff starting
back up again.
·
Lesson learned – I need to have my things more
organized so it’s easier for the crew.
They also were learning.
Conclusion
I’m really pleased with how my 1st 100-mile race
went. I loved the course, felt prepared,
and managed challenges as best as I could.
I learned lessons that I know will make my next race where I need a crew
more efficient. I wonder what I
could’ve done had I not had to hike so much of the last Q of the race, but I
don’t have any regrets about the decisions I made out there.
If you've run some ultra distance and want to see what you've got this just might be the race to give it a shot.
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