7 Headlamps and salted Coke
My first 100 mile run at the Vermont !00
I did it! I ran my first 100 mile run at the Vermont 100 Endurance Race this past weekend. It was everything I expected and more. Truly “life in a day.”
A little background on the race. The Vermont 100 is one of the oldest ultramarathons in the country. It is run on the beautiful dirt roads, jeep roads and horse trails in Vermont. It has an elevation gain of 17.000 feet (which if you need a visualization a 100 story building would be approximately 1,000 feet tall so picture 17 of them!!! There were about 350 runners in the 100 mile distance (there is also a 100K (62 mile) distance. Another unique feature of the race is that there is also a 100 mile horse race going on simultaneously. We don’t follow the exact same course but often see them out there. The race starts at 4 am on Saturday morning and you have until 10 am on Sunday to complete the distance (30 hours in total.)
To see why I chose to run this race check out my Why I want to run 100 mile post. I have run a variety of distances and types of races with my longest distance being 60 miles so this was a big jump up in distance and time on my feet. So many logistics are involved in the 100 mile distance and so I had avoided it as I tend to be a runner who likes to show up and just run. I was nervous about running at night, would my stomach cooperate, would I be tired running at 2 am or worse….get lost? All these thoughts floated through my brain. But I decided to approach the adventure with curiosity and not fear.
My training had gone really well, no major injuries or illnesses, getting in all the workouts and long runs, so I was feeling physically and mentally ready to do this thing. Although there are aid stations throughout the course (with AMAZING volunteers!) but it can be really helpful especially for a first timer to have a crew that can motivate and help you problem solve, resupply your nutrition, clothing changes. So I put together what I now call my “Stellar Crew” of Scott, Lisa and Cindy. They would drive to designated aid stations along the course and be there when I came through with whatever I needed. This a huge undertaking as they are also staying awake for 30 hours and driving 100 miles to keep me going.
Okay enough background. The night before the race I slept at Scott and Lisa’s house about 1/2 hour from the start. I got there around noon and we sorted through all the gear I brought (you would have thought I was going on a weeklong vacation!!!!)
Lisa asked, “Do you have a backup headlamp.”
So I told her, “well actually I have 7!”
Laughter ensued. I wasn’t sure which I’d like since I haven’t run much at night so I ordered a few new ones to try, figuring I can swap them out when I see my crew at night. Nothing new on race day, right?
I had a yummy pre-race dinner of pasta and fried eggs from their backyard chickens. Sounds weird but it usually sits well for me. Carbs, protein and nothing green! I went to bed around 9 pm but I think I may have slept for an hour or two before the alarm went off at 2 am. I had my traditional prerace Pop tart breakfast (brown sugar cinnamon for those curious), took a bottle of electrolyte drink to sip on the way, and all 4 of us got in the car at 2:45. (They all wanted to see me off… as I mentioned… stellar crew. Nibbled on a banana waiting for the start, clicked on my headlamp and then at 4am in the darkness we were off!!! The first few miles was a gentle downhill and I reminded myself to take it slow, it’s easy to go too fast and I had a LONG way to go. We turned onto a rocky, rooty jeep road and headlamp choice was okay but not as bright as I hoped so I took it slow. No falling for this klutzy runner 5 miles into the race. Suddenly things began to lighten up a little and the birds started to sing. First sunrise!! It was so magical to be running in the darkness and suddenly the world is waking up.
We left the woods and got onto a dirt road and I kept nibbling and sipping, nibbling and sipping. Nutrition is key when doing these distances and I had practiced my fueling just as much as my long runs. I chatted with folks as the day began, everyone so friendly. I met Roy who had run the race 14 times. He told me he was 62. I told him this was my first 100 miler and I was 62 as well! He gave me big kudos for attempting my first 100 at my age and we shared a few miles together. Then I came upon Mike and JT, both first time 100 milers like me. We stuck together and chatted until the first aid station at mile 20 and then saw each other throughout the day and night, in different seats on the struggle bus. (Spoiler alert: we all finished within minutes of each other!)
At Mile 20, around 9 am I got to see my crew for the first time. I was feeling great, energized and excited. I restocked my food and drinks and took off. I would see them again in about 11 miles. The course goes down and then up and down and then up on steep gravel roads and rocky, rooty, steep trails. I was grateful for all my running and hiking up the hills and mountains during my training.
I am still eating and drinking what I think is consistently, mostly sticking to my snacks with the occasional aid stations treat, potato chips, pretzels, salty things to balance the sugary gels and chews I have. The next crew stop is mile 30 and I don’t spend too much time. It’s getting a little warm now, but thankfully not humid, but when Scott dumps a bucket of ice over my head it feels amazing! They remind me to take my eye drops, which I need to do every few hours as a preventative. Because of my surgeries my eyes get extreme dry, red and irritated when I strain them or there is dust. (They are so on top of things and remind me every time I see them!) I won’t see them again until mile 47 so it’s a long stretch and will probably take me 4-5 hours. These hills are no joke. My goal was to try to keep close to 4 miles an hour for the beginning knowing that it will probably drop to 3 after awhile. (Especially at night.) We decide at the next aid station I will stop and eat some “real food” before heading into the night.
It’s late afternoon, around 4 pm when I see them at mile 47 so I’ve officially been running 12 hours. I’m still feeling good and eating and drinking. My legs and feet seem ok, just normal tired. This aid station is a big one and quite the party. I grab some Coke, a grilled cheese sandwich square, and see two of my friends Katie and Joe who are volunteering at the aid station and head off for another long section. I won’t see my crew again until around mile 59, or another 3-4 hours. Immediately out of the aid station is a big, but gradual climb, the kind that feels like it goes on “for about a month.” After a few miles we crest the hill only to turn right and guess what? Another hill, except this one is straight up, I’m talking like 80% up and completely exposed to the sun. A few others are around me on this climb and we named it the death march. Little did we know that when we got to the “top” of that climb we would enter the woods and hit a trail with that same 80% angle. (On the bright side it was shady!) Emerging from the woods there is an aid station (thank goodness, as my water is gone!). I refuel and head down a lovely little downhill (for about a quarter of a second) before you guessed it. Heading uphill again. Looking at my watch I see that we are only maybe 2 miles or so from the crew stop and I can’t wait to see them. This section is where I can pick up my pacer. (For those unfamiliar, a pacer is someone that can run with you after a certain point in the race. It is incredibly motivating and sometimes crucial for safety in the night miles to keep sleepy runners from going off course.)
Suddenly I can hear shouting and cheering and my spirits get a huge boost. I can’t be too far from the aid station and seeing my people. Sure enough, just ahead is the aid station. (Side note: it is the same aid station “Margaritaville” that I volunteered at in 2022 and met Lisa and Scott who are now my crew and pacers for this race. Talk about full circle.) That section was a tough one. I head to where they have parked the truck and set up stove and a chair. I sit down and that’s when the wheels fall off. I feel dizzy, nauseous, lightheaded, shaky, you name it. I lean my head over, hands on knees and try to steady myself. When I lift my head up I could see on Lisa and Cindy and Scott’s faces that I look as good as I feel. Green they later would tell me. Scott makes me some instant mashed potatoes and I try to eat some, literally forcing the spoon in my mouth and choking it down. I get down about 3 spoonfuls down and the next one I just spit onto the ground. My swallow reflex seems to have disappeared. I tried sipping on some ginger ale and that tasted weird. At this point I am slightly freaking out, but trying to hold myself together. I feel like I need to go to the bathroom but even though they are only 50 feet away I don’t think I can make it. Scott pulls out a foam mattress they had in the truck for their naps and puts it on the ground. I get up from the chair and hobble over to the mattress and collapse into a ball. Cindy puts a blanket over me as I have started shivering now, and I truly can’t believe this is happening to me. I trained too hard for this. I have done much harder things. Remembering my recovery from my eye surgeries, knowing that my mind is strong. I just need my body to follow. And suddenly the phrase comes back to me that many have told me about running 100 miles.
“One minute you will be feeling amazing and that anything is possible. But remember it won’t last. Conversely one minute you will feel awful. But remember that won’t last either.”
So I lie on the ground repeating this to myself, breathing slowly and trying to keep myself calm. The whole time this is happening my crew is never doubting. I keep apologizing and whining and they keep reminding me that it will pass. I just need a reset. I honestly don’t remember what they said, but they wouldn’t let me completely break down even though the wheels were clearly off the bus. Finally I sat up and said, “I think I need to poop.” Scott was really excited. And I needed Lisa to walk me to porta potty 50 feet away. I was successful!!!! I came back to the chair and Scott had prepared some ramen for me to eat.
“You need to eat something before heading out into the night.” They are still hopeful that I can do this. I am not giving up but can’t imagine how I will go another 43 miles. I start sipping the ramen and I am able to swallow it. Baby sips. They say my color is coming back. I’ve stopped shivering, and I’m not so dizzy anymore. At this point I have spent at least 30 minutes here trying to pull myself together.But my stellar crew never gave up. It was Lisa’s turn to pace me the next 11 miles before we would see the crew again. It was around 7:30 and the sun was starting to fade, so I grabbed a different one of my “7” headlamps, the magical cup of ramen and hoped for the best. Once we decided to go there was no going back.
Lisa was amazing on this section, telling me stories, getting me to shuffle for a few minutes before reverting back to hiking, shuffle, hike, and reminding me to try and nibble on food and sip water. I tried little sips of my electrolyte drink and a nibble of applesauce, a potato chip, nothing really wanted to go down. A few miles into the slog I need to poop again. This was exciting as it meant at least there was something left in me. Thankfully the woods were all around and it was dark. I spent so much of this run babbling and apologizing to Lisa and she graciously ignored me and kept us moving forward.
I’m not sure how but we made it to mile 70 (my official furthest distance I have ever run.) We were still 1-2 hours ahead of the cutoffs. (Side note: the aid stations have cutoff times that you need to leave them by in order to keep going on.) It was around 11 pm now and we were switching pacers, and headlamps and Cindy would get the pleasure of listening to my babble. I somehow remembered that bananas might work for me so we took a few slices and I put them in my pocket. Then I grabbed a salted Coke and we took off. Immediately leaving the aid station in the darkness, we climbed a long winding rocky trail, and Cindy is an excellent trail runner and hiker, so I had to remind her that I had 70 miles on my legs and no food in me, so slow it down. We only had 6 miles until we saw the crew again but that would still take about 2 hours. My spirits were picking up here a bit, although I was still feeling pretty tired from the lack of calories. At mile 76 we saw the crew again and I grabbed another salted Coke and some more bananas. I tried to nibble on some grilled cheese but I would chew it and then spit it out. It was around 2 am now and we had another long stretch before seeing the crew again at mile 88. I took another salted Coke with me and off we went.
This section is a little fuzzy in my memory but I do remember Cindy encouraging me and telling me stories, singing an old Chex commercial (among other things) and keeping me moving forward. The hills are relentless but maybe because it is dark they don’t feel as bad. At some point my headlamp dies so I pull out my back up headlamp that I have on me and that one lasts for about 5 minutes and then dies. I have to laugh. Luckily Cindy has a back up headlamp that works so I don’t have to use my phone flashlight. I forgot to mention that there was an incredible full moon that night so we had that to illuminate things as well. Although deep in the woods it didn’t help. Let me also say here that the course markings were AMAZING. I am the queen of wrong or missed turns and not once did we go off course. They had yellow paper plates with glowing arrows and glow sticks hanging from the trees for the night sections.
Suddenly it is getting lighter and birds are starting to sing again. This is my second sunrise. Amazing when I realized that I ran through 2 sunrises and had almost 80 miles on my legs. And very few calories.
We head downhill for quite a while at this point, and while that may sound lovely it is actually worse on my body at this point than the uphill, as my quads are trashed and with each step I can feel my toes smashing into the front of my shoes. Not to worry, around mile 85 we begin another climb and I feel like it lasted all the way to the next crew aid station at mile 88. This station was quite a sight. Perched on a hilltop with 365 degree views, a barn and my crew waiting for me with more salted coke! It is also the second to last aid station. The next one is about 6 miles away, and based on the cutoffs I still have over 3 hours to get there. Before I leave my crew I realize that I might actually be hungry!!! So I grab a bag of potato chips to go with my Coke. Then Cindy and I head off into the woods.
The chips and Coke are amazing and my spirits are high with the sun coming up, so I try to get an energy gel down. It doesn’t taste great (So. Much. Sugar. At this point) but I am able to eat it. A mile or so later I get an applesauce packet in and for the next 6 miles I continue to sip and nibble.
We reach the last aid station and I am beyond excited. Although we still have 5.5 miles to go there is plenty of time ( 3 hours or so) still left. I grab one more Coke (I know, gross, right?) and head off with Lisa for the final stretch.
Once again Lisa keeps me moving forward, reminding me to nibble and sip, “how about a little run to the next sign?’ I rally the best I can and shuffle jog on the flats, of which there are not many. The last 3 miles seem like a cruel joke that the race director has decided to play on us. It is all climbing, dirt roads and trails and switchbacks. But I’ve got time. I just need to keep moving forward. And then we come upon the sign that makes me realize this is really happening.
“99 miles down. 1 more to go.”
It’s a bit before 9 am and as long as I keep walking I can do this. Soon enough we can hear the cheering but we are in the woods and I don’t see a finish line. Then like a mirage as I run along the trail it suddenly become a finisher chute, lined with flags and cheering people. As soon as I make eye contact with the first random stranger cheering for me I lose it and start crying. I’ve run 100 miles in 29 hours and 18 minutes. I’m in a daze as the race director gives me a hug and my belt buckle, then I grab my crew tightly and hug them, knowing how key they were in my finishing this. And standing off to the side just watching and smiling, and taking pictures is Michael. So grateful for all my people. And getting to experience “life in a day.”
I’ve had a few days to ponder this whole experience and what keeps coming to me is how powerful the mind is over the body. Clearly my body was in bad shape but my mind was not letting that get in the way of my dreams and goals. Even when I didn’t know how I would finish this thing I never wanted to quit. So do hard things. It is so worth it.
Thank you for being here with me today and reading my ramblings. Please let me know if you liked today’s post by tapping the “heart” and add a comment if anything in particular resonated with you. I always enjoy hearing from you!
Thanks for sharing your day in the life of life in day! This is a good reminder for me right now: …But I decided to approach the adventure with curiosity and not fear
What grit! I love how you were able to trust your body even in the depths of such slef-doubt and recover enough to keep moving. What an achievement!