Friday, June 26
100 Mile Attempt #25
Weather - Cloudy, mostly perfect, some rain
When I didn't get into Western States I started looking for a 100 miler to run as a training run for Summit. This race came up as a good one, so I signed up - looking forward to a "new to me" unique 100 mile loop in Montana. It also was unique in the fact that I "know" the race director, Wes, from running 200 milers.
Race Day
I had my alarm set for just after 2 am, but Ben's alarm went off at like 1:45, so I just got up when he did. Even though we had done almost everything the night before, it took over an hour for us both to get ready, caffeinated, force down a breakfast sandwich and get out the door.
We still had to figure out what to do with the car key and Airbnb key since we were not planning on running the whole race together. First, we went to pick up our trackers and then I found Thor to ask if she had any ideas. She directed us to Leah, who was incredibly helpful and offered to hold onto it for us.
Multiple trips to the bathroom line and a couple pre-race selfies!
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| Me & Andrea |
Start/Belmont Mine to Basin Creek (Miles 0-12.1)
Lined up with about 5 minutes to go - still not 100% where we were going. I'm somewhat directionally challenged when I don't have the Rockies for a reference.
Decided I needed ONE more bathroom stop and jumped back in with less than a minute to go, towards the back.
The first miles were going to all be on road, which was fine by me. I honestly didn't have any goals for this race, other than to finish, and "faster" road miles give me a lot of confidence when I'm able to bank some time. Ben and I ran the whole first mile before I set up 3/1 intervals.
The morning was actually perfect for running - for 4 am and impending winter weather, the temperatures were very pleasant. We ran through some neighborhoods before ending up on a major road heading towards the chain restaurants, Walmart and the airport. The big excitement in this section was my watch hitting five miles directly across the street from the Five Mile Bar - still not sure how Wes made that happen!
The sun was starting to come up, but it was overcast so I didn't need to pull out my sunglasses. We moved out of town to a more rural area.
Basin Creek to Highland (Miles 12.1-25.0)
We were very efficient at this aid station. Ben used the bathroom, I filled my bottles, grabbed a couple of snacks and pulled out my poles - knowing this section had nearly 3,000' of vertical gain. We moved quickly and efficiently through the first few miles.
I started to pull away from Ben when he stopped to adjust his laces and saw Jason right around the corner. I could hear Ben yelling that I had left him to die (or maybe just that I had abandoned him?) and thought that I would wait for him to catch up this time. We hiked along, enjoying the trees and pretty trails. A few miles in I noticed that Ben was dropping behind and I pushed ahead. I came upon friends Helgi and Mary Deane and passed a few more people in this section on the climbs. There was some nice downhill that was relatively runnable, which I enjoyed.
Highland to Pipestone (Miles 25-36.8)
I heard Andrea before I actually saw her! I was able to run and catch up with her, which was surprising to me. We enjoyed catching up, the last time we ran together was Across Florida in November.
We did some jogging on the downhills to the aid station at Highland, "already" 25% done! We both planned for this to be a quicker stop.
All we needed to do was fill bottles and get something to eat. I think we were in and out in just a few minutes. Back into the woods we went! This section of woods really reminded me of west coast trails like Tahoe and Bigfoot. VERY green and not super technical.
Another relatively quick aid station stop, which I barely remember. Was this the aid station where I randomly saw Eliot? Our friend that used to live in Colorado? He was volunteering (plus, I think I saw him on the trail in the woods).
Pipestone to Homestake (Miles 36.8-46.3)
Back to the climbing. There were some really cool rock formations in here and a lot of our conversation was focused on that.
There was some light rain in this section, but temperatures were quite nice. We were planning on a little bit of a longer stop at Homestake.
Homestake to Our Lady of the Rockies (Miles 46.3 to 58.6)
I had my first drop bag here. I was debating what gear I wanted to have on me for the next two, long, sections. I had to grab my lights and warmer night gear. Also, while we were sitting at the aid station getting everything ready and eating, the rain started. When we headed out it was raining pretty hard, so I did have my rain jacket on. It wasn't QUITE a downpour, but I bet it rained for at least an hour?
We had spent a long time trying to figure out where "she" (the statue) was. We had caught back up to Carolyn at some point and she ran last year, so she was able to give us some great insight into how far we still had to go. She did indicate that we were on a great pace, hours faster than when she had finished the previous year.
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| And there she is, across the valley. Well over an hour away still. |
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| Butte is down there, what looks like a lake is the Berkeley Pit! |
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| More cool rock formations |
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| Attempt at a selfie. She is 90 feet tall, and this is not proportionate haha |
We stopped at the bathroom so that we could reapply lube and actually wash our hands. I think this is when I put my pants and other layers on. We spent a bit longer than I wanted to at the aid station. I am pretty sure I had more mashed potatoes with broth, but otherwise I can't recall what else I ate. I had to move some of my snacks around, but soon we were off on the longest section of the course, nearly 18 miles without aid.
Our Lady of the Rockies to Nez Perce (Miles 58.6 to 76.3)
According to the runner guide, people were not permitted to drop at the Our Lady aid station because of accessibility issues, so once you left Homestake before mile 50, you were committing to get to at least mile 76.
On paper it seemed like we were going to have about 7 flattish miles (some rollers) to a water crossing , then a 2 mile climb which would take us to the high point of the course at 8500' and then a 9 mile downhill. Well, the 7 miles WENT ON FOREVER. Nothing felt overly hard, but it certainly felt long. We had been cruising at a pretty decent pace and we slowed to much slower mid 20 miles. I think things did shift a bit when we got to the water crossing - we both filtered, then we started the climb up. It wasn't that bad, but there were a lot of switchbacks.
I put my poles away at the top of the climb since I don't really use them when I do downhills. It was interesting that when we got to the top that we seemingly went down very gradually for a mile or two without really getting lower (not sure if that makes sense).
Finally we got to more switchbacks where we did a little bit of running. It was rockier in here and I rolled my ankle, which didn't feel great.
We finally popped out onto a wide, dirt road. Maybe it was another mile to the aid station?
Nez Perce to Konda (Miles 76.3 to 80.8)
I had spent the previous few miles thinking that I had my second drop bag at this one, only to realize upon arrival it was at the next one. I still wanted to take off my shoes, clean my feet and change socks since I kind of felt like I had a lot of silt in my socks. When I started the switch to Mount to Coast shoes, I realized that my Topo gaiters wouldn't work so I had picked up some ankle Kahtoola ones, and I just don't think I like them. If I tighten them enough for junk to not get in my shoes they irritate my ankles, and if I keep them too loose, well there is no point to even using them. So I ditched the gaiters.
We needed a bit of recovery eating after a zillion miles in the dark. Saw Scott, and he walked us out of the aid station. (I think? Was this here?) We left on a dirt road and had a very sort section of just 4.5 miles, the only segment under 10ish miles in the whole race!
We did a small amount of jogging here. Spent an exorbitant amount of time wondering what the black blob in the field was - never figured it out, even after getting closer.
I think we passed a few people in this section. We didn't spend a ton of time here, although I did have to drop my lights and anything I didn't think I would need for the last 20 miles. My pack felt SO much lighter.
Konda to Moulton (Miles 80.8 to 89.9)
I had planned on leaving my rain pants in my drop bag and dropping my top layer, but even just sitting for a few minutes it got cold enough that I decided to keep everything on.
Neither of us knew what the course would be doing next, but we DID know that at some point there would be a gnarly climb and a meadow. Wes had also mentioned that IF we were going to get lost, it would be the most likely segment for it. I had my phone on standby in case we ever felt like we were off course. This section was mostly dirt roads and jeep trails. Climbing was very manageable. We had heard it that it was about a three-mile-long climb, with the first 2.5 being gradual and the bulk/steepest in the last half mile.
How will we know when we are there? Well. We knew. It was chunky rock, and steep. Andrea powered right up the hill, and I definitely had to stop once or twice to take a few deep breaths. We celebrated getting to the top for Andrea to congratulate us on getting up the hill - until I realized we had only done about a quarter mile... then we turned a corner and there was part two of the climb. UGH.
But we did it, like champs. I didn't even pull out my poles, although I will admit that I wanted to think I could be faster up the hills if I had them.
We got to the meadow, and on a clear day it was probably beautiful. However, it was lightly raining and anything dirt was kinda muddy and the grass was slick.
We saw another huge climb, but thankfully we bypassed that and went back into the woods. We got passed by an older guy in this section as we were probably being a bit too cautious on some of the descents. I didn't need to be rolling my ankle again with ten miles to go. Got a little loopy in this section - definitely belted out some Alanis Morisette. JUST.WANT.TO.BE.DONE.
The sheer joy when we saw the dirt road.
FASTEST STOP OF THE WHOLE RACE. I didn't even top off my bottles since I hadn't really been drinking that much. Andrea grabbed me a granola bar and I think I slammed a cup of coke. We were in the home stretch!!!
Leaving the aid station was on dirt road, although we knew it would become paved eventually. It was SLICK from all the rain. Andrea and I finally separated at this point - she was running a bit faster/more than I was and I was fine to put headphones in for the first time the whole race.
I did get passed by a couple people early on, but I set up intervals on my phone and when the road finally became paved it was a bit easier to run. I started with one-minute intervals since there was a shocking amount of rollers here. When we got closer to town I increased to 90 seconds, then eventually two minutes. The sun was sort of coming out and I was a little sad I had left my sunglasses in the last drop bag. I almost took off my top layer, but every time I got ready to do that, I would feel cold again, so I just dealt with it.
We were running above the city and I could see exactly where we were going - Andrea quickly disappeared from sight, but I saw other people! Over the course of the next 4-5 miles in town, I bet I passed at least a half dozen people on the bike path. I felt really good!!
CROSSED THE FINISH LINE!! Early in the race, Ben had asked what my goal was. I really never DID have one, other than wanting to finish. I finally said under 36 would be nice. But when I got to town I thought getting close to 34 would be cool. Gave Wes a hug and got my buckle, telling him "that was hard."
Finally recognized the main street that we were running on that was less than two miles from the finish. Passed another 4-5 people in this section?
Overall Time - 34:10:00
Overall Place - 77/115
Gender Place - 19/36
Garmin Time - 34:09:42
Garmin Distance - 100.50 miles
Elevation Gain - 14,694-
Miles 1-10 - 11:57, 12:51, 13:18, 13:01, 13:12, 13:09, 14:09, 13:38, 13:55, 13:51
Miles 11-20 - 13:43, 13:53, 22:35, 16:19, 15:46, 18:45, 18:45, 16:15, 16:40, 19:13
Miles 21-30 - 17:30, 14:51, 16:32, 17:07, 25:24, 22:29, 22:06, 20:17, 21:33, 18:58
Miles 31-40 - 19:44, 21:10, 16:40, 17:41, 16:26, 14:13, 22:19, 19:17, 19:53, 20:30
Miles 41-50 - 19:53, 18:29, 18:42, 20:08, 15:57, 15:11, 40:06, 22:31, 21:09, 20:31
Miles 51-60 - 21:10, 21:11, 22:45, 25:10, 23:29, 21:48, 24:15, 23:13, 57:34, 25:08
Miles 61-70 - 22:51, 32:05, 23:53, 23:27, 22:17, 31:11, 26:13, 23:51, 21:15, 33:12
Miles 71-80 - 23:28, 24:35, 41:16, 21:44, 20:20, 17:31, 42:22, 20:06, 19:48, 20:17
Miles 81-90 - 19:24, 37:50, 21:56, 22:17, 24:57, 22:47, 21:58, 20:45, 20:47, 21:22
Miles 91-100.5 - 18:04, 15:55, 14:34, 15:29, 15:05, 13:46, 13:29, 13:07, 13:59, 13:29, 12:07 (!)
Originally, I had thought that I would go back to the bnb to shower and change, but I also wanted to watch people finish, so I didn't leave. I did find Leah so I could grab our drop bags and put them in the car. I knew we had a black Subaru, but apparently so do a lot of other people and I couldn't remember where we parked, so I had to wander up and down the lot for a good 5 minutes hitting the unlock until I found the car.
Walked back over to the finish area and sat with Andrea and Elliot. Ben was going to finish!!! I walked up the hill to bring him into the finish:
Gear:
- One pair of Mount to Coast H1s, wore the whole race. Two pairs of rabbit trail socks. Kahtoola gaiters for 70ish miles. ZERO BLISTERS.
- CVG shorts, Zensah high neck sports bra with a rabbit EZ tee and over that a rabbit sunshirt. I did get a little bit of chafing on the bra line, but I didn't notice until after I was done.
- Patagonia rain jacket and REI rain pants. The pants somehow have some new holes that will need to be patched up before Summit
- Patagonia R2 - I skipped the R1 for the first time and went right for the warmer layer.
- Runners Roost hat for the first 45, Bula fleece lined hat for overnight, UltrAspire hat for the last 20. Alternated with some cheap stretchy gloves and my Smartwool mittens
- UltrAspire Traverse with two 800ml flasks, Katadyn filter, Leki poles. I think I used them for maybe half the race? Not at all the first 12 or the last 30+ and also just carried a lot. Glad to have the quiver to keep them stashed.
- Petzl headlamp and tried out the UltrAspire waist light for the first time. I think I need to mess around with the settings a bit as I couldn't seem to get it as bright as Kogalla (and I don't even use that on max brightness).
- Of note, I carried a battery pack on me the whole time, but I didn't actually have to use one?? That's never happened in a 100.
- For fuel I used my LMNT raspberry, Hi-Chew and Nerd Clusters, Trail mix.
Thoughts:
- I'll start with Wes, the race director. He cares SO much about Butte, about the race, and EVERY SINGLE RUNNER. The final runner was going to come in over cutoff and he still gave her an unofficial finish and buckle BUT was so considerate that he turned the race clock around so she wouldn't have to look at it when she crossed. What a guy!
- Now that I am done, I am a teeny tiny itty-bitty bit sad that I didn't finish sub-34 so I could use this as a qualifier for Crazy Mountain.
- Also, this race was not a qualifier for Western States this year but looks like it will be for next year! The 40-hour cutoff makes for a great race for everyone - takes away the pressure of a tight cutoff and gives people the confidence to go for a more "mountain" 100.
- The aid stations were great, but wow, it was "almost" like doing a 200 with how far apart they were, especially from Our Lady to Nez Pearce. The volunteers were absolutely incredible. There was supposedly at least one medical professional at every aid station, but since I never needed that, I don't know for 100% sure.
- People were allowed to have a drop bag at all aid stations, but I opted to only have two, and it worked out just fine.
- I was REALLY thirsty during this race, especially the first 50 or so miles. I was using 800ml flasks, and I ran out at LEAST the first three segments.
- This might be the first 100 I've ever done where I never hit a really low point? I got a tiny bit tired right before sunrise, but not that bad, and between a five-hour energy and some caffeinated gum, I got through it. No horrible hills or surprises, the mileage lined up and the weather mostly cooperated. I had a REALLY enjoyable experience! I think other than the 100 I ran with Steph a few years ago, the 70ish miles I did with Andrea is probably the longest I have ever spent with anyone other than Ben on a race course - I really enjoyed her company!
I haven't bought the professional pictures yet, but I will, and will add when I get them. (The pictures are wonderful, but I really think I need to go to "how to take a good picture" school or something)
