What an incredible journey it has been to arrive at the starting line of the Vermont 100, fully prepared to undertake this race on my own two feet. This story actually began one full year ago, standing in the exact same place, surrounded by runners in the darkness who were about to begin their 100 mile journey.  My body was filled with dread, sheer terror.  The task seemed monumental, but I knew in my heart it was one that I wanted to do. At that time, I had been running 2-3 times a week, slowly building up my own endurance.  I simply found myself at that starting line as a medical volunteer for the race.  I watched that sea of head lamps float away into the darkness, and promised myself that a year from now, that would be me running quietly down that road.

I knew in that overwhelming feeling that I was going to need some major help to get myself prepared to tackle 100 miles on foot, and set out to find myself a coach before I ever even left Vermont.  I started researching ultrarunning coaches, and had always been impressed by the scientific approach of the CTS coaches – had already read Jason Koop’s book – and started there to find my match. I read each coach’s biography online and looked up all of their race results –  searching for someone who had raced VT before – and definitely found my match.  Andy Jones-Wilkins – an incredibly accomplished ultrarunner, had won the VT 100 outright 3 times, along with two other top ten finishes.  I learned in endurance riding that you’ve got to surround yourself with the people you most wish to emulate, and I had picked my perfect coach.

Andy got right down to work in preparing me for this incredible task.  Together, we mapped out a full year’s worth of races to build up to racing 100 miles.  I ran my first 50K just two months later, another in November, my first 50 miler in February, and a much tougher 50 miler in May.  We came together for two intense training camps during the month of May, the first in North Carolina, and the second in Colorado Springs.

It certainly wasn’t an easy road – leading up to my first 50 miler, I was dealing with a pretty severe case of greater trochanteric bursitis of my right hip.  I ended up needing to take three weeks off afterwards to have my hip injected and begin physical therapy to correct a muscle imbalance – which I have continued through to this day (love my PT so much!).

The CTS training camps were probably the best experiences of my life, to date. At the camp in NC, I had the opportunity to run many miles with head coach Jason Koop and learned so much along the way about training, pacing, nutrition, and hydration. I got to test myself on back to back multi-day efforts, and found myself capable of more that I thought.  I had the incredible opportunity to meet other CTS athletes and spark new friendships that I have since come to cherish.

At the Colorado Springs camp, which was much larger than the NC camp, I felt like I had to again step up my own game to rise to the occasion with all the incredible CTS coaches in attendance.  I had Andy there, who knew me best, and placed me into the appropriate pacing groups for the group runs – and I had such incredible luck to have the opportunity to run with and get to know coaches Adam St. Pierre, John Fitzgerald, Corrine Malcolm, Darcie Murphy, and David Henry. This was probably the most priceless experience ever – each one of these coaches/incredible runners/human beings offered something to me that I could take away and apply to my running & life skill set.  Adam forever changed my downhill running technique (and has saved me countless potential injuries), while powering up Mount Rosa with Corrine on the final day was one of my most joyful experiences ever. I again got to connect with other CTS athletes, which has come to really feel like a family within itself – we all cheer each other on, help each other problem solve, raise each other up.  Even getting to run with Tim Olsen at his own camp in Boulder felt like family, because we share the CTS thread.

Armed with all of this experience and a village of teammates behind me, I was able to arrive in Vermont this year with a boatload of confidence, and an eerily calm mind. Preparing for the race the night before felt exactly like I was back at camp, preparing for another long run day. I had a plan for nutrition, hydration, gear changes. I had backup plans to my plans. I had purposely spent much time away from camp on Friday to avoid dehydrating in the sun in the hot, open fields. My incredible crew, Kelsey Hamill and Ashton Katz, were there with me in my hotel room to organize all of my supplies and truly sent me off to bed with assurance that they had everything under control.  The only nerves I really felt were in attempting to get to sleep with enough hours to feel rested for the 4am start.

Happily, I was able to sleep for nearly 4 hours before my 2:30am alarm.   Once awake, I moved purposefully and with a great sense of calm.  Dressed, prepared breakfast, and was out the door by 3am headed to the start. Was able to eat my usual pre-race bagel on my drive over, feeling almost guilty at my lack of nerves.  Stood quietly in the tent at the start with hundreds of runners milling around me.  I was approached and given a big good luck hug by RD Amy Rusiecki, and again by my friends Krista & Guy Alderdice who were also running the race. Continued to stand quietly alone until the announcement “two minutes to start!”, where we moved out to the starting line.  Before I knew it, trail was open and we were calmly running down the road as a giant pack, some runners very quiet, and some chatting away.  I was running in happy quietness for the first several miles, watching the shadows on the ground that were being cast by the sea of headlamps on parade.  The giant pack began to thin as the miles ticked by, the weather was so cool and perfect at this time, I remember commenting to another runner that these felt like “free miles”, pre-dawn. I found myself running alongside another CTS athlete – Erik Glover – and had my only moment of panic of the day – as Erik was always in the faster paced groups than I was at both training camps. Was I running too fast? I did a mental inventory and decided that I felt like this was a pace I could maintain all day – and stuck with it.  In what felt like no time, I found myself running out onto the road leading up to the Taftsville Bridge, mile 15.4, and saw two friends Melody & Jeff Blittersdorf sitting on the edge of the bridge.  This was my first elated moment of the day, as I exclaimed, “MEL!!!!!”, and got my first wild applause of the day.  Just having crossed the bridge, I heard the hoofbeats of the very first horses approaching from behind.  The 100 mile horse race doesn’t start until 5am – so it takes this extra time for them to catch up to us because of our one hour head start on trail.  This was an incredibly emotional moment for me, as it was the bringing together of my two worlds – ultrarunning, and endurance riding.  This photo was taken in that moment, just before the first horse caught me – I’m choking back tears here.

I’m in and out of joyous tears for the next several miles as many friends ride by, each one absolutely elated to spot me on trail. Continuing on, I made my way into the first crew spot – Pretty House – at mile 21.3.  I immediately spot Kelsey, Ashton & Andy – and am greeted with Andy’s famous cheers on my way in. I quickly swapped out my handheld with Kelsey and checked in with Andy – I was slightly behind on my nutrition, as all of my Power Rush Spring Aid packets were found to be spoiled when I opened them.  Thankfully, when it happened, I didn’t panic and immediately thought back to my training – heard Andy’s voice in my head saying, “ok, half your nutrition is now gone – what are you going to do about it?” – I quickly formulated a plan, as I knew I had packed several extra Skratch packets at the start, and could double my liquid calorie intake.  Now that I was with my crew, Andy quickly worked to put the calories back in me – handing me multiple packets of applesauce to down before heading back out on trail.  Kelsey sprung into action and got rid of all the Power Rush packets and replaced them with other finger foods in ziplocks for me to take out onto trail with me.  Andy then walked me out of the aid station with a mental prep of trail upcoming – and off I went for my next section.

This was a tough climbing section.  The only section where I wish I had my trail shoes. (I had chosen road shoes for this race, as it is 60% hard packed dirt roads).  Coming down the steep descent of the sound of music hill, my shoes were tied much too loosely for that steep of a grade, and my feet were slipping terribly in my shoes.  I felt a tweak on the bottom/outside of my right foot, which felt like a tight cramp that wouldn’t let go. I stopped a couple more times after this section to tighten and re-loosen the laces of my right shoe, as the foot pain was starting to worsen.

Came into the Stage Road aid station at mile 30.3 feeling good, other than the nagging crampy foot pain in my right foot. Was so surprised at the vast number of crew people awaiting their runners at this aid station.  I think because it is so compact, it feels like a huge crowd, but I was again able to quickly spot Kelsey, Ashton & Andy. Of course, Andy’s immediate, boisterous cheers gets most of the other crews cheering for me, which was totally fun and a welcomed mental boost.

This was probably my fastest aid station – quick bottle change, switched out trash for fresh food, and off I headed towards more climbing. Those 17 miles went quickly by, though my foot began to ache more and more.  I was so happy to be playing leapfrog with many of my riding friends – the horses have mandatory hold points along the way, causing a constant passing, and re-passing of the same people.  This definitely helped to lift my spirits and pass the miles quickly.  I began having a hard time with gravel getting into my socks at this point, and the back of my left heel especially was getting rubbed raw by the friction.  I was also starting to have a hard time eating dry foods at this point (pretzels, etc.), as my mouth wasn’t making the saliva I needed to be able to safely swallow.  Came into Camp Ten Bear (mile 47) for the first time feeling a little bit down.  Was so relieved to see Andy there, who quickly listened to what I was dealing with and had an instant action plan in place.  Before I knew it, I was sitting in a chair with him changing my socks and SNB’ing my heels as I ate fresh peaches and drank a Capri Sun, took a dose of Advil, and switched out the food in my pack for things easier to swallow.  Again, Andy walked me out of the aid station with a second Capri Sun and the promise of birthday cake to go with it at the next aid station (yes, I believed it for a moment), mental prep of trail to come, and I was on my way into the second half of my race.

This section of trail was full of more relentless ups and downs, but it was made much more fun by a pair of runners I had met and paced fairly well with during that time.  We shared some good conversations and this is also where I saw Dawn, Lani & Patti multiple times – the video of this emotional first meeting I have shared in a previous FB posting.  It was fun making pacts to run together with others to certain landmarks along the way- it got us through in cheerful form to Margaritaville, at mile 58.5.  I was again so thankful to see my crew, but continued to have concerns about the crampy pain in my right foot as well as gravel in my socks.  I sat down to do another sock change and asked Andy to keep an eye on one of the runners I had been pacing well with, and he alerted me when he was heading out of the aid station.  I was ready to head out and again walked my way out with Andy at my side – we parted ways and I started running up the hill.  Quickly realized my grave mistake, as my Garmin was nearly out of battery and I had planned on retrieving my power pack at this time.  Spun around and came running back down into the aid station, just as Andy was pulling out in his car.  The look of shock on his face was somewhat priceless, as he yelled to me, “What are you doing!?” I quickly explained my error and ran towards Kelsey and Ashton, who were just about to leave, and they were able to switch out my watch to my battery pack and send me back up the trail.

I was somewhat sad to have lost my running buddies, but ran on solo, heading back towards the second time through Camp 10 Bear.  Had a moment of joy when I spotted them running with just ahead of me – I had caught back up! Unfortunately, their pace had slowed, both citing fatigue, and I ran on by, so my joy of catching them was short lived.  I began feeling more and more energetic at this point, despite my foot, and powered forward.  Began passing many runners who were slowing, exchanging short encouraging conversations on our journey forward.

Ran down into Ten Bear at mile 69.4 physically feeling good, having gained speed in the last section of trail.  Unfortunately, eating was becoming increasingly difficult, as the lack of saliva was making nearly all of the foods I had brought with me unappetizing.  This is where Andy got creative, and bless his heart, he got me eating again.  After giving me a ginger ale to drink, he announced, “We’re going to eat a PB&J together in solidarity”.  One square for you, one square for me. We ate those (God awful) squares together, until the (God awful) sandwich was gone. Then I drank more ginger ale before heading back out on trail.  Andy worried about my electrolyte intake as I continued to report the deep crampy feeling in my foot.  He encouraged me to eat free salt at aid station tables and after yet another sock change (the last one of the day), I was off with my awesome pacer Emily for the last 30 miles of the day.

Emily was a breath of fresh air for me, she offered to lead, follow, or run beside me, all of which we did during different sections of trail. We shared some good conversation, laughed together as we negotiated what I would be eating before arriving at Spirit of 76 so that she wouldn’t get in trouble for my lack of nutrition.  My appetite actually picked up as the sun went down, and I was drawn to all the fresh fruits on each aid station table.  My favorite ended up being the frozen grapes, and I loaded my vest pocket with them to eat as we ran. Spirit of 76 was the only aid station where Andy was not – And Kelsey and Ashton both worked quickly to assure I was on top of my nutrition and hydration, switched me out again for a fresh handheld, and we were on our way to the last 24 miles of trail.

We were in the dark now, more sections of long, relentless climbs.  I had taken another dose of Advil during this section and as my foot pain subsided, I was able to begin running well again.  Emily followed my lead and was willing to run for as long as I wanted – even long uphills – to continue making progress toward Bill’s barn. It was in this section that we began passing many runners – we would pass them running uphill, and I could hear a voice in my head that I had heard on a Ginger Runner Live episode, saying, “you’ve got to crush their soul!” as you pass and continue running, assuring not to be passed back. I’m pretty sure it was either Ann or Sally who had talked about this on their interview. It stuck with me, though, and provided joyful laughs as Emily and I made our moves on multiple runners in the night.

We made our way up to Bill’s barn at mile 88.3 and made it a fairly quick stop.  My foot felt good, my socks weren’t bothering me, some kind volunteers let me cut the porta-potty line to waste less time there waiting.  Andy had gotten me vegan broth to sip on, and I was elated to find a plate full of pickles which I began happily devouring before heading off to our last twelve miles of trail.  This continued the ups and downs, but with some rougher footing through here than much of the course up to this point.  We continued to pass other runners and wished everyone well on their journey as we went on by.  I will never forget seeing some of the faces of determination and grit on those people I saw during this section of trail.  Some sheer agony, all with intense focus. Passed one man on this section who was vomiting profusely in the middle of the trail, his pacer standing diligently over him.

Made it to Polly’s, mile 94.9, and honestly don’t remember anything about being there other than to switch out my handheld for the last time and to wish Kelsey and Ashton adieu as we would see them soon at the finish line. Emily and I really picked up the pace here, though my foot was beginning to really hurt again.  I got many comments from those I was passing, “Damn, keep it up, go get ’em!” and my only response was “This is what we call, screw it, we’re chasing 24!”. I knew we were on pace for a 24 hour finish, but didn’t want to chance anything, as I knew from past years that the last 5 miles sometimes run long and wind through the woods for what feels like forever.  Just as I passed through Sargent’s (final unmanned aid station at 97.5), I caught my toe on a rock and went crashing to the ground.  Fell hard on my left shoulder, skinning my shoulder, elbow, and both knees.  My headlamp flew off my head, and my handheld was caked in trail dust. Emily quickly sprung back to my side and helped me up, dusted me off and found my headlamp for me. I felt out my body and decided it was all superficial injuries, and we continued forward.

I was much more hesitant to run now, as I was in pain and afraid to take another spill in this wooded section just before the finish.  I was passed by at least 6 people in the last two miles, all with sheer forward determination.  We made it then to the point in the trail where there were gallon jugs illuminated by lights lining the trail, and I knew in this moment we had made it to the finish.  A radio control man on trail asked for my number and radioed it up to the finish line – and before I knew it, we had arrived.  I was so happy to see Amy standing just across the line, and she gave me the biggest hug when she saw me come through.  “I did it!” was the only thing I could say, I was elated, yet tired and in a good deal of pain. I was immediately greeted by Kelsey and Ashton with congratulatory hugs, and spotted Andy just beyond them and went to give him the hug I’d been waiting for all year.

The rest is somewhat a blur, as Kelsey and Ashton drove me back to the hotel to catch some sleep before the awards BBQ. Woke up and was barely able to weight-bear on my right foot- it had turned a deep purple below my ankle and had begun to swell.  I was so thankful that I was able to complete the run, but certainly full of panic as I was unsure as to what the injury may be. Thank God for experienced friends who were able to guide me through that as well, and I’m happy to report that one week out my foot pain is now minimal.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to my coach, Andy, my crew, Kelsey & Ashton, and my entire CTS family that rallied behind me and sent me into this race with the tools and confidence I needed to complete the course successfully.  I carried little pieces of each of you with me throughout the day, and could not have done it without every one of you.  There are certainly many lessons I have learned from this race that I will apply to the next round – The Grindstone 100 coming up in October.  Here’s to bright futures and many happy trails to come!

 

My Strava activity from this run:

https://www.strava.com/activities/1720753500