Why do I want to run a 100 mile race?
And my running journey getting to this place…..
For some of you reading this newsletter, the idea of running 100 miles is just a part of being an ultra runner. And you know all the reasons. Maybe having done the distance yourself. But I am guessing for the majority of my readers (still can’t believe I have readers!!!!) this is a legitimate question and dare I say concern for my sanity.
A brief biography of my running trajectory….. I started running about 13 years ago. I was not athletic or a runner growing up (eating disorder, smoking, other unhealthy behaviors) But somehow around age 48 I decided I wanted to try running. Like most new runners I had no idea what I was doing, but I met a woman who said she was training for a half marathon (13.1 miles for my non runners here) and I thought that sounded cool. I ran all summer with the goal of running my first half marathon that Fall. It was so much fun that I decided to try another 2 months later. That one was also a blast. Needless to say I was hooked on distance running and started signing up for more half marathons, which lead to marathons… naturally.
After a few years of marathon running and even qualifying and running Boston, I decided to give triathlon a try. (that is: swim, bike and run.) I joined a triathlon training group so I could learn how to swim more efficiently. I got out on my bike for bike rides and kept running. That was fun for a few years, and I enjoyed the variety of sports, but the season was pretty short, especially living in the north. And to be honest, I never quite fit in with the community and the fancy bikes.
A friend of mine (Erika) was very into trail running at the time. So instead of hiking on trails, she would run. I loved being outdoors and soon found that running in the woods vs. on the roads was quieter, slower and so much more interesting than trying to just run faster than the last time. I started running in the woods and looking for people to run in the woods with. Trail running had not really become a “thing” yet where I was living at the time. I remember going to the Wednesday night group road run and when someone new would show up that liked to run trails someone would always say “oh, you should meet Ali!”
I remember running my first trail marathon missing a turn at mile 25. (For those who don’t know, a marathon is 26.2 miles) and so my first trail marathon was 27.2 miles actually an “ultramarathon” (which technically is anything longer than 26.2 miles.) I also remember there was a lot of tripping, falling, almost falling. But it was so fun!
The following year two of my friends (I’m talking to you Erika and David) were planning on running a 100 mile race. The idea of that was something I couldn’t really imagine. But they both agreed that I should run the 50 mile distance at the same race. Well, they seemed confident. So why not? The race was in June and I remember that winter and “spring” (or late winter as it is in northern Michigan) running long training miles and even adding snowshoe running into the mix (twice the work counts as twice the miles was my saying.)
June arrived and I ran the 50 mile race and finished with a smile on my face and feeling surprisingly good after 13 hours of running. I remember being there at the finish “the next morning" to watch Erika cross the finish line. She looked exhausted and ecstatic at the same time and I remember thinking. “Is that something I could even attempt?”
After that race I was hooked on the long distances and the community that gathered at these races. I finally found “my tribe” as they say. And where road marathons involved water stations and sport gels as fuel. Trail runs were more like eating snacks, chatting with friends with some running in between. Spending a whole day in the woods or outdoors was just something that brought me such joy and I was able to really be present. I ran a bunch of different distances and types of races as well. A few 50K (31 miles) distances another 50 mile race, a bunch of loops around my neighborhood (when Covid shutdown racing) that gave me a 52 mile distance. With all of these distances though I was able to go home and sleep in a bed. And I was good with that.
(Let me add that in 2017 in the middle of my triathlon season and the beginning of my love of running long distances I had a pretty traumatic eye injury. There was obviously a “pause” in activity but I was determined to come back to doing what I loved. However it might look… pun intended.)
(You can read about the injury in 3 parts … here, here and here.)
In 2021, I found myself living in Vermont where there are mountains and trails and more trail and ultra runners. The mountains are really good at slowing you down and making you pay attention. I began to fall less and run longer again. I was loving the 50k distances which took considerably longer on the big climbs (and with my new wonky vision) but as I liked to say “I got more for my money, being out there longer.”
In 2022 I found a timed race where you could run as much or as little as you wanted in 30 hours. This felt like a good way to give a try to running in the dark and at night and maybe get a new distance. I ran for 15 hours and 60 miles and decided at midnight that I felt good so I stopped. A month later there was a two day running event where I was able to hit 66 miles. Suddenly running 100 miles didn’t seem as crazy as it had a few years back. Or did it?
That summer I had also volunteered at one of the aid stations at the Vermont 100, a classic 100 mile running and horse riding race and seeing the runners coming through in all states of misery and joy sparked something in me. I also met an amazing couple (I’m talking to you Lisa and Scott) that would soon become friends and a bigger part of my story.
Fast forward to that December. I get a text from my friend Lisa saying that if you were a volunteer at the race there is a chance to get an entry into next year’s race without entering the lottery. She somehow convinced me to go for it. I got the entry and then had to decide. Did I really want this? And why?
As I briefly mentioned above, and as some of you know from just knowing me, the traumatic eye injury changed a lot of things in my life. And I’m not just talking physically. The main one being, is that things can really change “In the blink of an eye.” I also remember how difficult my recovery was from that injury and even my surgeon Dr. Z saying to me after my first surgery that “this would be my toughest endurance event.” I wanted another challenge, but this one would be of my own choosing and not traumatically forced on me. After my recovery and on every hard run since then I have switched to saying “I get to do this” vs. “I have to do this.”
So I signed up for the Vermont 100 in 2023 trained all winter and spring for a July race. And as a bonus my running guru and all around amazing friend Erika decide to sign up for the race as well and come all the way from Michigan, so she could be there for my first 100 mile race. Icing on the motivation cake for me. And then a week before the race Vermont suffered devastating flooding and the race was cancelled. Needless to say I was sad, but with the destruction the flood brought to Vermont it was absolutely the right decision.
Yes. I could have looked for another race, but emotionally I was tied to this race for many reasons and in order to run 100 miles I needed to feel that connection.
So this year I threw my name into the lottery, was picked and now I get another try at this distance. I’ve been running all Winter and Spring now with Summer arriving (and the race less than 6 weeks away) the miles are increasing (along with my appetite! ) Another reason I enjoy these longer distances is that I make a strong effort to fuel my body properly in order for it to perform and keep myself injury free (especially with my ED history.) It also reminds me that my body is for “what it can do and not how it looks.”
Something that I am really looking forward to while spending a full day (there is a 30 hour time limit) on the trails and dirt roads of Vermont is to explore the unknown of my mind and body. Laughter, crying, hunger, exhaustion, exhilaration, bring it all on. It’s part of being alive. And the feeling that I get after a long, hard effort of being both mentally and physically empty and calm at the same time. For my non runners out there or runners that run “normal” distances, running 100 miles has often been called “life in a day.” And I love that!
This will be a hard thing I know, but at least it will be a hard thing that I GET to do.
Good luck with training! :)
Of course I knew why but I read it for inspirations as you are the reason I run trails. For me the trails are totally a non-competitive environment. I GET to enjoy my surroundings with ease, work hard up the hill is my favorite and ease on the way down. Trail running has improved my focus, I pick up my feet, there is no shuffling here! So Thank you! I get you and super excited to read all about it when you finish this amazing journey before the next one! Get to Can do!