Chattanooga 100
I’m sitting here at the San Antonio airport a week on from my redemption run at the Chattanooga 100 still not able to fully comprehend what happened. Our minds and bodies are an incredible thing and yet part of me doesn’t believe I actually did it. My body is well on the way to recovering, although I’m still reminded of my efforts when I slide my shoes on and off and when I first put my feet on the ground in the morning! The following are the highs and lows of my experience at the 2018 Chattanooga 100!
My first running of the Chattanooga 100 was in 2017 where I DNF’d at mile 81. I missed the cut-off by about 15 minutes and almost immediately promised myself to return the following year to redeem myself and to finish the 100mile distance.
My 2018 Chattanooga 100 experience almost didn’t happen. I started a new job, had been traveling a lot and not training enough. I felt as though I wasn’t committed enough and I was ready to drop from the race. During a long run with my local running group I was speaking with one of the coaches about dropping and she encouraged me not to. In fact, she offered to crew for me and this immediately had me recommitted to training. She would commit to pacing as long as I would commit to training, even while traveling. The stage was set, my crew (brother and coach) were going to be the ones to get me across the finish line!
Throughout my training I added more hills and then my coach made me do some brutal stair workouts at Clarks Reservation, which were critical because there is a serious stairwell in the first 13 miles of the 100-mile course. In the couple weeks leading up to the race I kept an eye on the weather but have never been bothered too much by it because I know I can’t control it but do have it within my power to be prepared for it, no matter what mother nature throws at me! The weather called for rain of varying percentages over the course of the two days of the race. In planning for the trip, I knew where I wanted to stay, and where I wanted to eat so the only thing that was outstanding was how I needed to be prepared for the conditions.
We arrived, bought our last minute supplies, went to dinner, met with some other runners (Keilynn Hopkins) at dinner and went to packet pick up at Rock Creek in Chattanooga. Picking up my packet, swag, crew vehicle pass, and pacer bib could not have gone better. It was organized and in a great location and seeing some familiar and friendly faces from the year before gave me another boost. Although I hadn’t finished in 2017 I was motivated to not letting these strangers and new friends down. The energy was palpable and it was great to hear from Run Bum as he gave a couple updates on the course and some procedures leading up to the start of the race.
Race morning came pretty quick, I was packed, organized, and had the vehicle ready to go. We arrived at the Start/Finish a little after 7 am for an 8 am start, a little later than I would have liked but once my mind goes into race day mode, I don’t let trivial things affect my mood. I’m good at letting things roll of my back and working my way through distractions and negative thoughts. The only issue was being able to prep for the race in a hurry because there’s not enough parking so that was a tough way for some final prep but we were organized enough to get through it. I checked in, listened to some last minute instructions from Run Bum and was ready to get started. I tend to always start these races at the back of the pack, just to keep myself from starting too fast, it’s proven to be a good strategy for me because I have a tendency to come out of the gate a bit too quick. The start of the race is about four miles of paved park road and I ran just about all of it because I had trained on roads that were steeper and longer, so when the road pitched up on a slight incline, it didn’t bother me to keep running.
Once getting off the pavement the trail is highly technical so I tried to urgently take my time through those sections. I also knew that there was a big down and up into and out of the canyon so I wanted to hold back a little and make sure I nailed it. I also don’t mind letting the crowds pass me so stepping aside through the technical parts is a no brainer for me. In 2017, climbing the stairs out of the gorge caused my calves to feel like they were going to explode but I had trained for it so this year when I arrived at the first aid station my calves were a non-issue. What was an issue and something I wanted to take care of were waterlogged clothes! It had rained pretty steady the whole 13 miles and towards the end was coming down really hard. I thought to myself “this better not last because there’s no way I’m making it if it does”, someone up above heard me because it lightened up a few minutes later. At the first aid station I ate, drank, was merry, refilled, and changed and then was off. I felt good about the time I spent at AS #1 and was pleased with my pace and the way my body felt. The one thing that did bother me was that one of my handhelds was leaking so my water supply was low in a hurry but there was a water stop on the next stretch so I wasn’t too worried about it. I also knew I had an extra bottle that I could switch out at the next full AS.
One of the changes that Run Bum made this year was moving the start time up to 8 am from 2017, which was 12 noon. The later start has some benefits but it was such a great feeling to run into Ascalon and still have it be light out. In 2017, I was preparing for a night run with gear and torch but this year, it was hardly lunchtime! The course from the Start/Finish to Ascalon was a good mix of technical and very runnable trails with some decent up and down. I found it pretty fun but there were some spots that were tough because the leaves were down, they were wet, and covering some rocky climbs that made it difficult for me to be confident running without worrying about twisting an ankle. At Ascalon, I probably took a little too much time but wanted to be sure that I took better care of my toes and feet, something I neglected to do in 2017. Andrew, my brother, was getting after me to get going but I wasn’t going to rush it. Plus, I knew the next stretch was going to be a long and tough slog. It was going to be nearly 17 miles before I would see my crew again! I set out and my mind was ready for the grueling climb from Ascalon to the 2nd Hinkle Rd water drop. Last year, I did this portion in the dark, which helped because I couldn’t see what lay ahead, this year it was daylight and I knew it was tough but was ready for it. I pride myself on being good with navigation and compass heading but after an endless number of switchbacks, climbs, and descents, I had no idea which way I was going or where in the world I might have been. I was thoroughly confused! We came down off the mountain and entered the dreaded hogsback section of the trail. In dry conditions, this section could be pretty fun but in wet, rainy conditions, the challenge is multiplied ten fold! I should tell you that I had no recollection of running these in 2017, none at all! But I can tell you now that I will never forget them! These are a series of large humps that force you to use a lot of energy to get up the steep embankments (even more energy in mud and slop). It would be comparable to running up the side a levee or running the tracks of a roller coaster with quick humps. Shortly after the hogsback is the water stop which was a very welcome sight!!! I didn’t say anything to the small group of runners but last year I recalled this next section being very long, much longer than the 7 or so miles that’s listed on the course notes. Last year it felt like close to 10 or 11 miles and I remember in 2017 feeling very frustrated at not getting to the next station sooner. I had my mind right and was ready for it so there I went. Determined to conquer this next leg. The group of runners went back and forth taking the lead through various sections of the trail, some technical and some very runnable, when I got to the runnable section I felt a burst of energy and took off, still thinking I had several miles to get to Nickajack…I was SHOCKED to come out of the woods and into the aid station so quickly and so were my crew. My friend Sam, who was volunteering screamed at the top of her lungs for Andrew because they were sitting in the car, thinking I’d be a while longer. Feeling good, I did a wardrobe change, checked my feet, stretched, ate, and kept it moving. This is the point where I picked up my night gear.
The next stretch was going to be a long one because I wasn’t going to see my crew again until the halfway at Covenant College but there was a full aid station at Lula Lake. I set out from Nickajack and was careful again because now it was night time and I needed to let my eyes adjust to running with a headlamp so I took it easy for a while but had enough energy to comfortably power hike through the next two sections. Any time I got to a point I felt like the trail was runnable I was off but otherwise, I power hiked the majority of this section from Nickajack to Lula Lake and then Covenant College.
At Lula Lake, I replenished on food and kept it short, thanking the volunteers for sticking it out in the cold and rain. What a hardy bunch, throughout the race, they never cease to amaze me, seeing their happy smiley, and helpful faces as the runners come in to chow down on food that to any other normal human would be untouchable! However, to us ultra runners, the food and service they provide is lifesaving! I was eager, excited, and tired but knowing my crew and pacer were at Covenant College waiting for me kept my mind in it, I knew I was in good shape as I did my best to keep track of time and stay well ahead of the cutoff. The other thing that helped me mentally was seeing the runners who had made the turn and were coming down the mountain. Their encouragement and intel about how much further kept my spirits up during the monster climb up to the college. Again, this is not a climb I remembered from 2017!
Mentally, arriving at Covenant College was amazing. I felt confident with my time, effort, and the cutoff cushion I built. This stop was way too long but again, I HAD to make sure I got new tape on my feet and to address my blister situation. As well as dry off, change my clothes, warm up and get enough food. Looking back on it, it’s not like I was sitting around, I was doing things the entire time but it just took a while to get them done.
We set out and I found it really tough to get started, I was stiff from the long break but then the lack of sleep tired feeling had crept in. My pacer would not let me rest on my laurels and pushed me to “run” at every opportunity, whether I was ready or comfortable with doing so or not! By “run” I mean that I felt like I was running but if recorded it probably would have been closer to what a geriatric patient moving along at a snails pace looks like (more on this at the end)! At some point during this section, I felt the need to go #2 in the woods. DISCLAIMER: If there are small kids reading this you may want to skip ahead! You’ve been warned. I don’t mind peeing in the woods but taking a dump, in the dark, more than 50 miles into a 100-mile race is not fun or easy! Fortunately, for other runners, there was nobody in close proximity! I found a tree to lean against because I couldn’t squat and hold myself up, pulled my pants down and let it rip. It was work and it was tough work and it would not stop! In 2017 I didn’t poop at all so this was a new experience for me. Sometimes you can poop without wiping and I thought this was going to be the case. My desire to keep on moving forward clouded my better judgment, as did my laziness to take the TP out of my pack. I tried pulling my pants up and running but within 5 steps realized I NEEDED to wipe; I got the TP out of my pack and finished the deed. The seconds that followed were the most excruciating and painful of my life because my butt was chafed, VERY chafed! I felt the BURN and it was not the good kind! I had been addressing my chafing throughout the race but apparently not well enough! This most painful episode was the only time I thought about quitting because if it had lasted, it was not a pain I wanted to endure for up to 40 more miles! My pacer was awesome, she handled this like a trooper and I can only imagine what was going through her head over! It was her encouragement at this moment that kept me moving, her saying “it’ll pass just walk it off” was all I needed to hear and snapped me out of it. We were off again and relatively quickly the pain and discomfort fell to the wayside.
The next little while was pretty uneventful but I have to say it was a welcome distraction to have a pacer with me, we talked about a lot over the next few hours on a range of topics and I will forever be indebted for her being there. Every time I stopped, whether at an aid station for a few minutes or on trail for a few seconds, I completely underestimated how difficult to it would be restart again. My muscles and joints stiffened and my body cooled so I would actually hope for a decent uphill climb in order to warm my body up again. At this point, the rain had continued on through the night so I really could not tell whether or not it was raining!
At some point, we came up on a large group of runners that had lost the trail and it appeared they had been waiting for a while and had been significantly delayed. I was proud of how we handled this situation; we assessed it, looked at our map on trail run project and kept moving forward. I knew where we were and also knew there were two ways to make the climb, we were decisive and kept going, not allowing this obstacle or the other runners to slow our progress. (We wondered out loud how long the group had been stranded because they were way ahead of us!). Ultras tend to be much less competitive and way more supportive then other races so we made sure everyone in that group found their way.
By this point, I was thoroughly exhausted and although we had made good progress my pacer was using her Jedi mind tricks to keep me going. Somehow I had lost some of my cushion and was in danger of missing the cutoff at Ascalon again so our stops at Lula Lake and Nickajack were pretty quick. There was a cutoff time for Hinkle Rd and we were certainly close to it but had a little bit of time to spare. I slipped and slid my way back through the hogsbacks, luckily, the only injury was to my pride but I think I recovered well quite well! My pacer was thoroughly impressed (or maybe she was lying about that too)!?!? At one point, my feet slid forward and somehow I managed to pirouette down the second half of the hill, dodging trees! It was special and I wish could have been recorded!
The best part of my race came on the next portion from Hinkle to Ascalon, we passed several runners that were ill prepared for the conditions and we both feared they may be borderline hypothermic so we checked on them and encouraged them to keep moving forward! During one uphill climb I was so focused and moving with such determination, I felt what it meant to be in the “zone”. Looking back on it, it was an awesome and powerful feeling. Mentally, this is the toughest section for me because the switchbacks never end; you stay at the top of the mountains for nearly the entire time on this segment. I constantly was asking about time and distance to the next stop in part to keep my pace up but also to keep track of the cutoffs. In the back of my mind, I felt like we were going to miss the cutoff and I would have been devastated, I thought we had moved along pretty well but my pacer wouldn’t allow me to let up at all. She kept the pedal down for us both! We made it to Ascalon with some time to spare but not a lot, my mind was in a good place so I got some food, changed some clothes and kept it going. We were determined to gain some time back.
It was during this section, from Ascalon to Hinkle to Start/Finish aid that I began to realize that my pacer might have been lying to me or at the very least making stuff up! It was also during this time that my frustrations with the course boiled over. We had done so many friggin’ switchbacks! And weren’t getting any closer to the next water stop at Hinkle Rd. My pacer ran behind me the entire way so because she was such a constant for such a long time I was startled when I turned at one point and didn’t see her. Anywhere! For a brief moment fear overcame me because I thought I had missed a turn or was of course. As soon as I yelled for her, she came trotting along and all was right with the world again! Turns out, girls have to pee on trail too! Who knew?!?
Once we made it to Hinkle I felt better because I knew the course and route to the Start/Finish AS was not too difficult or long and there was some really runnable sections and felt good about gaining some time back (thanks to my pacer pushing me again to run/walk/power hike). One of the enduring memories for me from this experience will be hearing my pacer say, “Ok, let’s get a solid minute of running in.” I’d reply, ”What do you mean?!?!? I thought I was running!!!!”
By this point in the race I was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. In short, I was helpless and unable to make decisions for myself, which made it all the more better having a pacer to tell me when to run, when to eat, and when to rest (never told me to rest!), although she would NOT let me sit down! There was a large climb coming up to the Start/Finish AS but no matter how tired I got over the course of the race I felt like I was able to crush just about all the hills…. video of me going uphill may tell a different story but when your mind is operating beyond the physical body these are the feelings you get. A great example of this is when I was coming up to the finish line, I felt like I was running with long strides but the video my brother took and posted on Facebook tells a MUCH different story! I have to say, my body felt better and stronger going uphill than down, mostly because my right knee was bothering me, so I actually found myself looking for an uphill climb to relieve some pain and boost my confidence.
Before leaving the last AS, I was still concerned with missing the cutoff but the sweet lady handing me food was very encouraging and said not to worry about time because the clock was not running, so I didn’t worry about it. The funny thing is that I was wearing a watch the entire race and easily could have checked the time to see what I had remaining and then figuring out how hard I had to push in order to make it before the cutoff. It never dawned on me to look down at my watch because I trusted my pacer and I trusted my own ability. Maybe there was a part of me that didn’t want to know, I’m not sure I could bear having the knowledge that I was going to miss the cutoff and not be able to do anything about it. The last 8 miles was daunting, not only because of my exhaustion but because the first four miles were technical with nearly no space for me to “run”, or what I felt like was running. On occasion, when I was “running” I could see my pacer out of the corner of my eye and would think to myself she doesn’t look like she’s running! At this point, I would sigh to myself! So this section was tough because it was spent climbing up and down rocky and rooty trails but with some tremendous views and overlooks of the gorge and Cloudland Canyon. We finally made it to the final paved section of the race, which is the same stretch we started on. At this point, my pacer had implanted in me that we were going to make it but that I had to keep running to be sure. I couldn’t remember if this section was two miles or more and I wanted to run but couldn’t muster the strength or energy. The one critical error my pacer made was saying we had two hours to go two miles or so. Once I heard that the sense of urgency and competitive spirit went away. I literally could not remember how long it was even though I had run it in reverse about 24 hrs earlier! Looking back now, I wish I had sprinkled in some running, if for no other reason than to finish faster!
Looking back and thinking about this race, I appreciate how much time and effort Run Bum put into creating this course. He cares for the land, the racers, the volunteers, the residents living along the trail, and the people that use it the most. Unlike some RD’s and races that use a predetermined course because it’s easy to set up, Run Bum thinks about the strategic aspects of running and builds a course to suit the event. He knows when to make the course tough and when to make it runnable. I really feel like this course tells a story, one that’s unique to each runner but one that every ultra runner can relate to. It allows for a runner to highlight their strengths, find their weaknesses, push beyond their comfort zone, and establish new limits they had not known before.
