By HPRS Staff Columnist Christopher Mellott

Race reports, blogs, advice articles still couldn’t have prepared me adequately for what a hundred miles would feel like or the range of emotions I would go through getting to that point. Even after a week and some change, it still doesn’t feel real. The soreness has subsided, the buckle put away, and the gear cleaned, but it again doesn’t feel real. I am not sure exactly what I expected to feel or experience after I covered that magical distance, but it sure wasn’t this.  

I chose Beebe for the 48 hours and the looped crushed gravel course. I wanted a baseline of what could be done. I eliminated challenges such as elevation, traveling vast distances, and other such obstacles so I could focus on THE problem, the hundred miles. Venturing into the unknown, and so I controlled as many variables as possible leading up to the race. While running around in circles for up to 48 hours didn’t sound as fun as a mountainous race, I knew it made the most sense for my crew and me, primarily since my team consisted of Chelsea and our small Ford Focus. 

I started on Friday morning at 9:00 AM. The morning fog had yet to lift, with the conservative pace, I stayed in a long sleeve for the first hour and a half before the sun burned off the fog and temperatures rose. I wouldn’t hit my sole goal of getting to 100 miles until 1:50 PM on Saturday. 28 hours and 50 minutes of one foot in front of the other. According to my Garmin watch, I took 194,180 steps in the two days I was on the course. I did 115 laps around the farm, ate well over 4,000 calories, consumed almost three liters of Ginger ale, and wore one pair of shorts for the entire race.

Running a hundred miles has been my primary running goal since July of 2018. I purposefully kept myself from racing as much as I would have liked to because I needed to focus on this goal. I dedicated myself to sleeping better, training smarter, and taking care of myself to accomplish this goal. I attempted to run 100 miles at Stories in February. 483 days passed since I started this goal, 3,453 miles, 208,931 feet in elevation gained. Everything dedicated to this singular goal. After 28 hours and 50 minutes, I can officially call myself a hundred-mile finisher (even if it still doesn’t feel real).

The training block started on March 25th, 2019, or 187 days before I earned my first belt buckle. I ran 1522.73 miles, gained 85,527 feet of elevation, retired at least four different pairs of shoes, Set a PR in the Marathon and 10K, averaged over 55 miles a week including my biggest three weeks of training ever. I was focused and deliberate in what I did and how I did it. As a self-coached athlete, I am incredibly proud of my training plan and also know I have so much room for improvement, which is exciting. 

If numbers and ramblings are your things then you can find my training plan and running log here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17Z30SUpiZxFpX1VfWDfGi69oXgjlQ-xe91S8GZC5LEU/edit?usp=sharing

When I started the race, my goal was to run the first Marathon in about five hours. I hit mile 27 in 4:54. I remember Sherpa talking 100-mile race strategy, and he said something along the lines of “Run your first 50 miles conservatively but know it is going to be faster than your second 50 miles”. With that idea in my head, I continued to try and stay conservative with my mile splits even though I was feeling good. At 7:17 in the evening on Friday, I hit 50 miles in 10:17, which was about a forty minute personal best in the distance. Although, this course had much less elevation gain than Badger Mountain. I was trying to eat 200-350 calories an hour. I had been doing a good job alternating between real food, gels, energy chews, and waffles along with the liberal consumption of Ginger ale. At around the time I passed 50 miles, I also changed into pants, a new shirt, and long sleeve as well as taking a jacket in my race vest. Around this time, I also put on my trusted headlamp.

I learned my lesson at Stories. I don’t run well when cold. Instead of pushing into the night in the clothes I had sweat all day in I put pants over my shorts, and wore a new quarter-zip shirt and soft t-shirt. I continued this way well into the night before I slowed more and added my jacket to the equation. Throughout the night, I took two short naps. The first was around 1:20 Saturday morning for an hour and a half and then a 30-minute power nap at 6:30 in the morning for a half-hour so I could wake with the sun. 

All through the night, I continued to eat and take in electrolytes, water, and calories. I had a burger patty, two slices of pizza, a Honey Stinger waffle, or three, in addition to tortilla chips and ramen noodles. In the darkness, the few headlamps out on the course danced like lightning bugs. Most runners I observed rested far longer than I did. Some came out in the morning and ran, others had stiffened from sleep and shuffled along. For me, I tried to continue to run some, but often did laps at my Diesel pace. (Diesel and I walk a 15:45-18:00 minute mile). All of that walking with him paid off as I was complimented on my race walk pace multiple times as I passed colleagues on the course. I don’t remember much of the race once it got past 9:00 PM Friday when we changed directions on the route (they changed every six hours which direction we ran to keep things interesting). I remember one foot in front of the other, cross two timing mats and then through the main timing area and aid station, stop at the car every hour or so to get more specific foods and drink Ginger ale and then continue. I repeated this process throughout the night and the early morning.

The sun began to rise as I crawled out from the front seat of the Ford Focus, eyes still full of sleep from my second nap. I donned my second pair of shoes, my soft, cushioned Clifton 6s. 76 miles done. Less than a marathon left to 100 miles. I was banking on the sun and my soft shoes to provide a mental lift. The sun did, and I managed to run parts of each mile, but the Clifton 6s only lasted me 10 miles before I traded them in for my tank running shoes, my Speedgoats. The soft shoe made me acutely aware of every rock I stepped on, whereas the Speedgoats provided more protection to my feet. I ran my first 70+ miles in a pair of Hoka One One Clifton 5s, which were stiffer than the 6s and my favorite road shoe. It was only fitting that I run the last part with my tried and trusted trail shoes. 

As the sun rose, so did the temperature, and after 8:00 AM, I shed all my layers, put on a crisp, clean shirt, applied more Squirrel’s nut butter, and continued moving. The several clothes change made a massive impact because I felt new again, and it put a little fire in me that I could keep moving. I also, with these changes, changed my socks and washed my feet, which had been critical to my mental state at Badger Mountain and Stories. I wore Drymax socks the entire time, which is another lesson I learned from Stories was that tall calf-length socks worked better for me than low profile ones.

I continued on into the hot midday sun. Two days in the sun and sunburn from the first day had sapped my energy, not to mention the 24 plus hours I had already been on this journey. With each passing loop, I could see the miles separating me, and my buckle dwindle. With each passing loop, I also became increasingly aware of the temperature, my crew chief’s dedication, and my desire to hit 100. I grabbed a buff and soaked it in cold water every couple of laps. I kept telling myself run two minutes of every lap, that’s it, two minutes, a hundred and twenty seconds of every lap. I counted the seconds in my head, begging myself to finish so that I could walk again. A constant battle in my mind, but it also kept me engaged. 

After 28 hours and 30+ minutes, I was finally on my last lap. Chelsea had been anxiously waiting for this lap. The Race Directors allowed the crew to walk a few laps with a runner, and I asked Chelsea to walk this last lap with me. I am a hopeless romantic who also knows romance, and love doesn’t come without work. Chelsea had given her entire self to me for the weekend to help me accomplish this goal. I wanted her there when I crossed the line. I want to tell the story of her dedication and love for all the years to come, I want it to be a story that I tell forever to anybody that will listen. 

With that final lap, I had finally eclipsed 100 miles. 100.23 to be exact as I double-checked with the Race Director, the timers, and the screen with our splits. I accomplished my audacious goal. A goal that I wanted to chase as soon as I became an ultra runner. Chelsea quietly dashed ahead to get a few photos of me because what crew chief isn’t also the head photographer?

I told the Race Director that I was done running and returned my ankle monitor (RFID Chip) to the timers and thanked them for being out there all day and night time us but also for providing a few words of encouragement every time I crossed the mat.

I had more time on the clock. 19 hours and 10 minutes to be close to exact, but I was done. I set out to accomplish this specific goal and had done it. I was still having fun at 100 miles and didn’t want to tarnish the experience with the anger or pain of running more miles under the hot sun or torrential rain that was projected later in the evening. I had planned to run 100 miles and see how I felt after that. I felt satisfied, and I left the course with my buckle in hand.

As soon as I stopped moving, my body began to rebel. I felt that I was on the verge of passing out, sweating through my shirt. Everything hurt, and I laid there, useless while Chelsea cleaned up our campsite and packed our car. I managed to get into the car. We drove to a local park where the Race Directors had kindly pointed out had showers. $8.00 for park entrance for a shower was more than worth it for Chelsea, who had to drive the uncomfortable four miles to the showers with me in 28 hours plus shorts. 

I made it to the shower, waited for the water to warm… waited some more and then determined that hot water wasn’t coming and so I splashed water onto my body trying to get as clean as possible while my teeth chattered, each splash sent a shiver up my body reminding me that I had just run 100 miles. Finally, I deemed myself clean enough and hobbled back to the car. Chelsea drove the next four and half hours stopping at Burger King and ate by herself while I slept in the car unwilling to get out of the vehicle, and not sure if my stomach could handle anything. Eventually, we arrived at our destination for the evening. Her Grandma, who graciously let me use her hot tub, made me a grilled cheese and allowed me to use her foot massager hours longer than recommended. I slept the best 12 hours I have ever had. 

The next day I eventually got myself out of the house, ran .55 miles down the road, and turned around to get my streak mile in. 

After a week of processing and writing about this race, it still doesn’t feel completely real. My legs are slowly returning to normal, and my daily runs have gotten longer, but it again doesn’t feel real. I find myself picking up my buckle just to confirm that it is real.

I could not have done this without Chelsea. She doesn’t love camping, yet she camped on course for two nights and catered to my every need. She woke up in the middle of the night more than once to take care of me as I came to our car. She recorded what I ate so I have data to look at later, she was the coach telling me to slow when all I wanted to do was go faster, she listened to me whine and took everything in and helped get me to a hundred miles. She continues to be the greatest crew chief, and I look forward to my next race partially because I am excited about how much more efficient we can be. I am so grateful for her selfless dedication.

A looped course for a set time was great for a 100-mile attempt. It was flat, easy to navigate, and would allow a novice crew to ease into crewing. Hours and hours around the same .87 mile loop was monotonous. I trained on the treadmill, ran without headphones for hours to get used to the monotony. The 48 hours really allowed runners to practice different strategies and would let them figure out what works best. I think Stories really was a more fun race and a great twist on the looped types, of course. This race was perfect for Chelsea and me. 

I love meeting and running with other runners. I met people from as far away as India, I ran with runners whose goal was to run their age as they both had a birthday in the week. The community of ultrarunning is extraordinary, and I recommend finding people to spend time with other than wearing headphones the entire time and missing some of the incredible stories.

While this was an incredible experience and I am already trying to plan my 2020 calendar and trying to add another hundred to my list of finishes, this race was certainly not without its lessons.

Lessons:

Trekking poles: I was grateful at Stories for my poles. I knew what the course was going to be like at Beebe and did not bring them. I should have. While I managed without them, I feel I could have moved more efficiently with them. In the future, if a race allows the poles, then I am bringing them no matter what the course looks like. I want the option.

Varied nutrition flavors: I love lemon-lime. That being said, my Nuun Sport, Nuun Endurance, and Honey Stinger chews were all lemon-lime. I needed some variation. This could have been an issue if I didn’t want to eat. Fortunately, it wasn’t a problem this time. In the future, I will make sure that I have a multitude of flavors, so I don’t get tired of the same one. 

Crew chief: Theoretically, you have gone over your entire race with your crew. The race strategy, nutrition plan, contingency plans, and everything in between. At various points, I felt okay without eating and didn’t want to eat. Chelsea made me eat something, literally anything before she would let me leave our spot. She also told me on multiple occasions to slow down. She knew the strategy and the pace chart and knew if I ran to fast, I could blow up. As Chelsea put it, “Listen to me, I love you enough not to let you die” Listen to your crew chief. You trust them enough to get you to the finish line, trust them enough to know the plan.

Rest time: The plan for this race was the same as Stories. Ball out and get the mileage done before I slept. I got past 100K and called an audible. I needed to get off my feet. I felt that a short nap would allow me to feel better and possibly run longer. I did feel better. In the future, I am going to try and plan some rest, or at least more extended aid station stops. This, of course, will vary based on the race I am doing, but trying to plan some short rest may be beneficial.

Scout the site: This one is entirely on me. Chelsea had done her work, looked at the map, and decided where we should camp. Even in the dark knew precisely where we should set up our tent and park so she would literally be feet away from the course. I didn’t listen, and we got a sweet spot for the shelter, but anytime I needed something, I had to get off course and then return, adding steps and time to my race. If I had either listened to my crew chief or looked at the map for camping spots, I could have gained valuable time back.

A quiver of shoes: This course was on a crushed gravel road, and my Clifton 5s worked well for 75 or so miles I am so thankful for the Speedgoats. The extra protection from rocks at the tail end of the race made it a little bit more manageable. In the future, depending on the race, I would continue to bring different types of shoes. 

Take care of your feet: I did research for an article. I remember looking at all the gross pictures of destroyed feet to reread that article before my race. I taped the areas I tend to have blister issues. I changed my socks and cleaned my feet throughout the race. I wore shoes that were broken in and rotated them. I took care of my feet and then carried me to my goal. If you are having issues with your feet or trying to prevent problems, Sherpa and I co-authored this article

https://humanpotentialrunning.com/races/your-heels-are-your-wheels/

Gear:

rabbit clothing: I wore a rabbit X Hoka One One long sleeve in the early parts of the morning and then t-shirts by the company for both days until the sun set. I also wore one pair of rabbit shorts for the entire race. I have loved every piece of clothing I have purchased from rabbit. To be transparent I am also an ambassador for the company but if you read my piece on being an ambassador you will know that I am not an ambassador for companies that I wouldn’t pay full price for their product. 

Hoka One One shoes: I wore my Hoka Clifton 5s for 75 or so miles, my Clifton 6s for 10 and then Speedgoat 2s for the remainder of the race. I train in these shoes and having a quiver of shoes that are broken in and I am used to not only kept my feet feeling good but gave me a boost whenever I put on a new pair.

Drymax socks: I loved my socks at Stories and so I bought three more pairs. These socks provide the perfect amount of cushion, don’t cause me any issues and come in some fun designs. I ran in two pairs then entire time and I had one minor blister.