After a DNF at Chattanooga 100 in November, 2018 and a DNF at Mohican 100 in October, 2020, I had some unfinished business with the 100 mile distance. I wanted a buckle. Not that any 100 miler is easy, but maybe if I chose one that was not so technical and without so much elevation, I could just focus on moving forward and getting it done.
I had heard good things about Tunnel Hill 100, and on January 1 of this year, I registered for the race. Eek! The course begins in Vienna, Illinois, heads south for 13 miles, turns around and comes back to Vienna, then heads north 12 miles and returns to Vienna. This equals 50 miles, and the course repeats to complete the 100 mile distance. By the time November rolled around, I knew more than 10 people personally who would also be running the race. This was going to be fun!
The Thursday before the race, I was a bundle of nerves all day, but by Friday morning, I was nothing but excited. Jason was my chauffeur, my crew and my pacer. The nine hour drive flew by, and soon enough we were in Vienna for packet pick up. The gym was buzzing with excitement for the next day's race and course record holder (and overall rockstar), Camille Herron, was there as the guest speaker, hanging out and autographing race bibs.
Before heading to our hotel, we met up with Kara for dinner. Kara and I have run many training miles this year together and planned to stick together in the race as long as possible. We both agreed that if either of us needed to fall back or move ahead of the other, then we would do that, but we knew it would benefit us to run together if we could.
4:30am Saturday came all too quickly, but I popped out of bed and soon it was time to go!
By the time we got to Vienna Park, daylight had arrived and runners and crews were all busy getting drop bags and final plans in place.
As I waited near the start line, friends started arriving and we were all filled with nervous excitement. So many pictures happened. Oh, and Camille Herron was there again, all smiles, pumping up all the runners.
Along with his crewing and pacing duties, Jason also had strict instructions to take a lot of pictures. A lot to me is hundreds, a lot to Jason is 30. As we all headed to the starting corral, Jason chugged all the coffee.
There were final instructions announced, the singing of the National Anthem, and I was pumped up!
Five, four, three, two, one, GO! And we were off! 100 miles or bust! After a quick loop around the parking lot to thin the runners out a bit, we were headed out on our first 13 mile out and back.
The morning was chilly, but there was a promise of blue skies and everyone was in high spirits. These early miles were filled with laughter and conversation as runners settled in to their race plans. Kara and I had decided to follow a run/walk plan of 4 minutes running and 2 minutes walking for as long as we could manage that. I wore a beeper that signaled when to walk and when to run and we stuck to it.
Heron Pond Lake was the first aid station at 5.5 miles in. No crew was allowed here yet, but they had a good variety of drinks and fruits and snacks. We grabbed a few goodies and kept on trucking.
I didn't know it, but my friend, Arturo, was there crewing another runner and he appeared on the side of the trail several times during the day, always cheering for me!
Down the trail we went, past goats and windmills, just chatting and enjoying the perfect morning.
And then we were spotted by Jason coming into the Karnak aid station! He had a sign made by my daughter, Alayna, and it definitely was a welcomed greeting. I bypassed the aid station food and headed to the truck to grab a peanut butter and Nutella roll-up and a little top-off of water in my pack. It was a quick stop before we headed out to the 13 mile turnaround point and back to Karnak.
You might wonder about the bathroom situation at races like this. Well. There are port-a-potties at aid stations, but none of us are strangers to using the forest as our bathroom when needed. This race was a little tricky for that, though. While the men can pretty much stop anywhere and "aim away" from passersby, the women have to find a large tree or bush or side trail to duck down in order to discreetly do their business. There were no large trees or bushes or side trails here. Hmmmm. I tried to use the port-a-potties at every opportunity, and when we got to the mile 13 turnaround, I had to GO! Luckily there were bathrooms here, even though it wasn't an official aid station. Just as I started to head back north on the trail, I spotted a familiar face. Jeff Stafford was there! Jeff is a fellow ultra runner and part of The Adventure Jogger podcast, and we celebrated together back in May after our Strolling Jim finishes. He gave me a big bear hug and some tips on the race ahead and wished me well.
On the way back to the Karnak aid station we saw Matt...
And Jon...
And just continued to enjoy the run.
Once again we were spotted coming into Karnak by Jason and he was ready with a grilled cheese sandwich for us. We also munched on orange slices and Sprite and topped off our packs with fluids again. And then we were outta there!
We had a little over ten miles to get back to Vienna, and I was feeling great. The miles were flying by and we were sticking to our 4:2 plan. We cruised back through the Heron Pond Lake aid station, stopping only quickly to use the bathroom and grab some potato chips, which we ate as we continued down the trail.
At a little after 12:30pm, we arrived back in Vienna Park. Again, we were greeted with grilled cheese sandwiches. I decided I wanted to switch shoes. I had worn my Hoka Cliftons for the first 26 miles and they were nice and cushy, but I could feel they just weren't giving me the support I needed. I made the change to my Mizuno Wave Inspires, and I would end up wearing those shoes for the remaining 74 miles of the race. Best decision ever.
We spent about ten minutes in Vienna, which seems long but flew by. I really wanted to keep my aid station stops short, as they so easily eat up valuable time.
There were just 3 miles until the Shelby Road aid station, and we really didn't need much there. There was Fireball available but I really couldn't imagine doing that this early in the game.
We continued on, happy to be on this new section of trail. The northern out and back of this route seemed to have a bit more to look at with scenic bridges and rocks bordering our path.
There was a water stop at the Breeden Trestle aid station, and when I say water stop, I mean just water.
We decided we had plenty of water and forged on ahead. We wanted to get to Tunnel Hill! As we rounded a corner, much to my surprise, there was Jason. He had found a little side road and set up his truck aid shop in front of a little market. He had hot chicken with rice soup waiting for us and it was welcomed as the day hadn't really warmed up too much. I had some hot spots starting on a few of my toes, so I opted to sit and do some preventative care before I had a major blister problem. As I was taking care of my feet, the owner of the market came out. He was a big, burly man, and I was certain we were going to be told to leave. Instead, he was excited to have us there, wanted to hear all about how our race was going, and said he'd have a fire going late into the night where we could stop and warm ourselves if needed. The people at these ultra races are always so amazingly kind!
Shortly after leaving Jason, there it was: THE tunnel. Tunnel Hill.
We made our way towards it.
This tunnel is the keeper of secrets, apparently.
And although you can see through to the other end, there are a few moments in the middle where it is DARK.
Soon enough, we were through on the other side and there was my friend, Scott, coming right at me with open arms! Scott was at my first Mohican 50, and we shared some miles this year at Strolling Jim. He is a very seasoned ultra runner and I'm so glad I got to see him out on the trail!
Kara and I stopped briefly at the Tunnel Hill aid station, but with just a quick 2 mile out to the north end and back, we didn't need much. As we headed north, there was Matt again, heading south-he was killing it! Oh, and there was Dakota, giving this 100 mile thing a go, all smiles.
And without any fanfare, there were two cones and a sign, telling us to TURN AROUND. So we did.
Back to the Tunnel Hill aid station we went. Kara wanted to stop for a shoe change and I knew Jason was still waiting at his little market, so I told her I'd just go on ahead and wait for her to get to Jason. This time when I got to the tunnel, no one was there. I had the whole tunnel to myself! In a race of hundreds of people, that had to be quite rare.
As I neared Jason's aid station, it was after 4pm and the sun was setting, casting a golden hue over everything.
I was still all smiles at Mile 42.
I sat and had hot tomato soup and grilled cheese, put on my chest headlamp, and waited for Kara. And waited some more. We kept looking for her down the trail, but there was no sign of her. I made the tough decision to go on ahead of her. The temperature was dropping with the sun, and I was starting to get cold. I had to keep moving. I figured she'd catch up to me in a mile or two and I went on my way.
The sun seemed to go down so quickly and by 4:45pm, I crossed my last bridge in daylight.
I held off on turning my headlamp on as darkness settled in. Being all by myself, I kept entertained by seeing how long I could go without needing to turn my light on. Some runners had them on, some didn't. It became increasingly difficult to see and finally, I gave in. I didn't want to risk stumbling into a hole or worse, off the side of the trail. I turned my chest lamp on, stuck in my ear buds, and rocked out the last few miles in the dark back to Vienna.
Shortly after arriving in Vienna, Kara appeared! I decided to change all of my clothes so I could start out the night dry and warm. Jason had a glorious slice of pizza waiting for me, and as I headed back out with Kara, we passed by Camille who laughed and cheered for me eating my pizza on the run.
Earlier in the day, around mile 28, we decided that instead of a 4:2 run/walk, we would switch to a 3:3 run/walk. This ended up suiting us very well and we stuck with it for many hours. Shortly after leaving Vienna and heading south once again, we came across Jared. He was tall and bearded and was wearing Detroit Lions mittens and running leggings with dollar bills all over them. We struck up a conversation, and once he learned that we were from Michigan, he decided to join us. Jared spent his younger years in Michigan and moved to Alabama in 5th grade. He still brings his family back to Michigan every year for vacations and was very excited to be running with us. We were excited to be running with him, too. It's always fun meeting new people on the trail! Plus, he had 100 mile race wisdom to share with us. We talked as we ran, always obeying the beeper and only walking when it said we could. It was a dark night, but we took turns only using two of our three headlamps at a time and hardly noticed the darkness. Somehow we landed on the topic of the Edmund Fitzgerald. This lead to many jokes about Gordon Lightfoot late into the night. Maybe this running thing was getting to us!
Back at the Heron Pond Lake aid station at mile 55.5, we were met with pancakes. Yum! We grabbed them quickly and kept on moving. Just five more miles until the Karnak aid station where Jason would be waiting, along with Jared's wife. We talked of races and life in general and the miles seemed to fly by in three minute segments of running and walking. The best part of nighttime running is well, it's dark. No need to look for a bathroom or secluded spot. You can literally step off the trail at any time and just "go." Please note that I said "step off the trail" and not "go right on the trail", as the guy I had to dodge did. I'm not even kidding.
We were in and out of Karnak, just topping off our packs and grabbing some quick grilled cheese sandwiches. We had just a two mile out and back to the turnaround. We look happy, right?
Of course when we got to that 62 mile mark, we all had to go to the bathroom. Like, we needed the bathroom, if you know what I mean. Soon we were headed north, back to Karnak for our final time there. I picked up a bean burrito, mostly for warmth, but it literally tasted like hot vomit. I closed it back up into the tinfoil and stashed it in my pocket. Luckily, I had stuck a few Oreos in my pocket earlier and I munched on those as we went along.
By the time we left the Karnak aid station, we had more than 65 miles under our belts. We had about 11 miles to get back to Vienna, with a stop at Heron Pond Lake aid station in 5.5 miles. Morale started to drop and we all got really quiet. We starting cursing the beeper every time it was a running segment. I decided to try to lighten the mood by playing the Name Game. I say Michael Jackson, you say Joe Montana, the next person says Miranda Lambert, always using the first letter of the last name as the first letter of the next name. I think we played that game for nearly an hour, with the most memorable name being used by Jared: Gordon Lightfoot. We all cracked up when he called that out!
As we neared the Heron Pond Lake aid station, we started thinking about their pancakes. Would they still be making them? We really hoped they were, we NEEDED them. Thankfully, when we arrived, they were taking a fresh batch off the griddle. Score! We each grabbed two and continued on. In a little over five miles we'd be back in Vienna and then we'd have just one more out and back to go.
It seemed like it took forever for those five miles to pass. We were still obeying the beeper, but things were getting a bit tougher. On a couple occasions, we could hear the sound of someone vomiting ahead of us. Like, loudly. Get it all out!
Once back in Vienna Park, Jason and I discussed when I wanted him to join me for his pacing duties. I said he could either join me at the Shelby Road aid station and run 18 miles with me, or join me at Tunnel Hill for a much shorter section. I waited for what seemed like a long time for Kara and Jared and soon started to get cold. Finally they were there and we headed north. Jason was planning to meet me at the mile 79 aid station, and I sure was glad when I got there and he had decided to join me. The farthest I had ever run before was 62 miles, so this was unknown territory. Things were starting to get really hard. With just 21 miles to go, I knew I needed to keep pushing, and it was painful. With Jason now with me, Kara and Jared paired up together. Our two twosomes stayed close together all night. Jason and I chatted about the day and other runners and I was excited he was going to be running through the big tunnel with me. I wasn't really sticking with the 3:3 plan at this point, but I was running in spurts, as much as I could handle at a time. By now, it hurt nearly as much to walk at a brisk pace, so I was trying to run whenever I could muster up the strength.
We came through the spot where Jason had parked earlier in the day and saw just the remnants of the fire that had most likely warmed passersby, but it was now 4am and most normal people were asleep. In another mile we were through the tunnel and at the Tunnel Hill aid station. I didn't really feel like eating much, but opted for a cup of ramen to go. This was mile 86 or so and I knew I needed to continue eating and drinking to get through the next 14 miles.
Now it was time for the two miles to the northern turnaround. Never in my LIFE has two miles felt like such an eternity. I think it was around this point that I cried for the first time. I was so tired. Not just tired from running, but tired from being awake since 5am the day before. I was having a very hard time keeping my eyes open. All my eyelids wanted to do was close. I was falling asleep running and couldn't keep myself moving forward in a straight line. Jason made me hold on to him and I just lost it. I was walking and sobbing uncontrollably. Where in the hell was the turnaround?! I kept asking Jason if he could see the cones and the sign ahead in the distance. Around every corner I was sure we'd see it. He tried to distract me with pieces of chocolate and gummy bears and I vaguely remember wondering where he was pulling all of this candy from.
Finally, just before 6am, we were there. The northern end. Now all I had to do was get my butt 12 miles back to Vienna. In the two miles back to Tunnel Hill, the darkness faded and the sun rose. We turned off our headlamps for good.
I have heard that sunrise on the second day of a 100 miler revives you, but that was not the case for me. My body was in pain, but my main struggle was still just staying awake. I was still running at least a couple minutes of every mile, but I spent the time when walking holding Jason's arm, crying, or I'd be stopped and bent over, trying to find comfort for my feet and legs. Looking back, it was my own little rhythm: walk, run, walk, cry, stop and bend over, walk, run, walk, cry, bend over. We came through the Tunnel Hill aid station and I didn't want anything to eat or drink, I just wanted to get this thing finished. Ten miles to go.
Jason stopped to eat and use the bathroom, so I forged on ahead. I knew he could easily catch up to me at my snail's pace. As I was coming through the end of the tunnel, Jason was behind me, calling my name.
Eight miles to go. I was not happy. At one point I remember being next to Kara and we were both sobbing together. We were a mess.
And then, around 7:30am, to top off my misery, it began to rain. At first it was a light and tolerable rain. But then, it started to soak through. And then it really started to rain. I was dressed for warmth but not for rain. And then I had to pee. In the daylight. With no bathroom in sight. What did I do? I told Jason to stand still and I squatted right next to him. He said, "People are coming!" I said, "Squat down lower!" My apologies to those runners if they caught a glimpse of my bare behind.
As we got nearer to the Shelby Road aid station where Jason would be done pacing, I asked him to run up ahead of me and get my two extra coats and my warmest winter mittens out of the truck and meet me back on the trail. He trotted off out of sight as the rain continued. I was very cold. I couldn't bend my fingers and I could feel that the rain had soaked through my winter hat. I started to worry about hypothermia. I ran a little. That hurt. A lot. Maybe a fast walk? Nope. That hurt, too. Ok, let's go with just a walk. Forward motion. That still hurt. I ran a little more. WHERE WAS THE AID STATION. I continued on like this for what seemed like an eternity, until finally, Jason was in sight. He was holding the last of the signs that the kids had made, along with lots of dry clothes. I quickly took off my pack, my wet mittens and coat, threw on a puffy jacket with a waterproof winter jacket on top of that, zipped it all the way up, put my pack back on, and jammed my hands into the mittens. Inside he had stuck a hand warmer! BLESS HIM.
I had a little over three miles to go and I would be on my own from here to the finish. No time for tears now. I realized if I could just run in small bits, I could get this race done in under 27 hours. Let's go. I picked up my walking pace and added in running whenever I could. I didn't think about the pain, I just wanted to be done. I had to keep going. I was frustrated that my mind wanted my body to move faster than it was actually able to. I glanced down at my watch and it read 97 miles. 97 miles. Imagine looking at your watch and having it tell you that you've gone 97 miles. I couldn't really comprehend that I had run that far.
Up ahead, I could see a little commotion. What was going on? And then it became clear. There was Camille Herron, greeting every single runner at mile 98 with a giant hug and a smile and words of encouragement. She came running up to me a tackled me with a big old bear hug and I commented on how she was always smiling. She seriously was so uplifting the entire race, and this greeting here at mile 98 was just what I needed for that final push.
I took off running as she went after the next runner. Well, maybe I didn't "take off", but there was running. Sort of. Slightly faster than my current walking pace. All I needed to do was stay awake and keep my legs moving. Stay awake. Stay awake. Go, go, go. Oh, the pain.
And then, through the trees, a flash of yellow.
They could see me.
As soon as I heard the cheers, the tears came.
Tears of pain and exhaustion and pride and elation.
I kept going with my shuffle run. I could see the end just ahead. I was doing it!
I crossed the finish line in 26 hours, 51 minutes and 15 seconds.
I had run 100 miles. ONE HUNDRED MILES.
Race director, Steve Durbin, was there with a big hug and a smile and a buckle. I had finally earned a buckle.
And then Kara was there, too, crying as hard as I was. She made it, too.
Jared had finished a few minutes before us and we thanked him for all of the shared miles.
And then? Then all I wanted to do was sit down. My legs and feet were so done. My mind was so done. If you've ever delivered a baby, you know that there is intense pain during labor, excruciating pain at the moment of delivery, and then the baby is out and the pain subsides substantially. I would like to tell you that this does not happen at the end of running 100 miles. The pain does not stop when you get off your feet. In fact, now that you're not running anymore and don't have to think about forward motion or eating or drinking or anything else, all you can think about is the pain. Every part of my body from my hips to the tips of my toes was screaming at me, wondering what the heck just happened.
The nine hour car ride home was not fun. I'd squirm, fall asleep, wake up and eat a little, ask Jason if he was ok, fall back asleep, wake up and eat again, ask Jason if he was ok. I was so worried that he was going to fall asleep driving but I literally couldn't keep my eyes open. Clearly, if there was a real need, we could've pulled over for a nap, but he got us home like a champ and we were greeted with the five happy faces of our kids.
I had really done it. I had trained for this race, I went to Vienna, Illinois and I made it happen. As miserable as I was at times, I never once thought about quitting. There was no option in my head but to cross that finish line. I think I did a good job with my fluids and nutrition, and thanks to my preventative blister care early on in the race, I came away with zero blisters. Aside from tender feet and sore legs the last two days, I have no lasting damage.
I want to say thank you to Kara for sticking with me for all those miles, thank you to all the friends who shared runs with me this year, thank you to friends and family who sent me well-wishes and prayers both before and during the race, and thank you to Jason. Jason followed me around all weekend, taking care of everything, and then literally got me through 18 horrible miles near the end of the race. He trained for weeks to be able to pace me in this race, and at one point I had to laugh because he never got to run-he could walk as fast as my shuffle run!
Today I am back to normal life. Well, normal life plus a big, shiny buckle on my belt.
