Mission 100k Recap
Before I get in to sharing how my Mission 100k Trail race recap, I wanted to share some of the back story here.
Something that most people don't know about me is that I have a Ultra bucket list. This list has races, distances, course types that I would like to do. I use it to help shape my running calendar each year. This helps keep things both fresh and interesting.
One of the distances on this bucket was the 100k distance. I done the other common ones such as 50k, 50 mile, and 100 mile distance but 100k had alluded me until yesterday.
Enter the Black Canyon Ultra which was both a race and a distance that I had wanted to do. I even got on the wait list for the event but Covid had other plans. Late January/February, they started sending out emails about the race. Covid was changing the entire race experience. It was not going to be the race which I had watched numerous YouTube videos. In the end, I pulled out. If I am going that far to run the race, I wanted the full experience. I wanted to experience that I saw from '18 and '19.
Disappointed but I moved on.
A few weeks later, I was browsing Facebook when I stumbled over an advertisement for the Mission 100k. My interest was immediately peeked because it checked my 100k box. I clicked on the link so I could read more about the details. Ok, the race was in Elizabethtown, NC - a couple of hours away. But what sold me was the entry fee. Something unheard of like $45. I thought "well if the world gets turned on its head yet again, I am not out that much. At least, this wasn't like Black Canyon where I would be out several hundred along with my travel expenses. I signed up that day.
So now you know why I was in Elizabethtown, NC at 5:45 AM on a cold March morning freezing my buns off.
I knew pretty much nothing about the course going in to the race. I knew that we would be running 10 x 10k loops. They had shared a video of the course but it didn't really do the course justice. During the pre-race briefing the race directors Tom and Colin told us that this course didn't have much in the way of flat ground. We would be running up and down hills all day. Thinking about this comments now, he wasn't kidding. That's all that we did.
Leading up to the race, I thought I might get away without wearing a head lamp, but those dreams were squished when I realized that the clock jumped forward by an hour the week before. I was definitely going to need my head lamp.
It is safe say to say that I had a few butterflies my stomaching while awaiting the start. I was about to head out on a course sight unseen. Worse, the first time would be at night. Meaning, my attention had to be solely focused on staying up right. Getting a clear read on the course would have to wait until dawn.
Colin led us off the starting line. A quarter mile later, we hit the trail. I quickly realized everyone around me was in the boat. None of us knew anything about the trail and everyone was willing to stay in a group. I guess because 20 eyes are better than two eyes. I wasn't about argue. This worked with my race plan. I was hoping to find a couple of buddies help with getting through the laps.
The course consisted of about 5 miles on a single track trail, and about 1.2 miles through a field. By the time we popped out in to the field, the leaders were about 600 yards or say ahead of me. It was also when I was reminded of the gusting wind that we encountered at the starting line. It blew right in to our faces, and chilled our warm legs in to the tightest of muscles. The wind never quit blowing which made the field section miserable the entire day.
But at least it was bright enough that I could turn off my head lamp. However, it took my another two laps before I got it off my head. Each time that I hit my aid station, I some how missed removing it.
The third lap, I hooked up with Jeremy for a few miles. We learned that we both were going to the Yeti 100 later this year. It was good to chat with someone. The miles went by faster. Toward the back half of the 3 lap, he fell off the pace.
Finishing up the 3rd lap and getting ready to start the 4th lap, I found the leaders eating and drinking from the aid table. I figured that I could us a few extra calories so I opened a bottle of water and torn in to a Honey Stinger cookie. The temperature was still in the low 40s. When I attempted to bite in to the cookie, I quickly realized that it was like a brick. I had to use two hands to break it. I drank the rest of my water and decided to eat my cookie along the way.
I had a small lead entering the woods, but a short time later this tall runner cruised in behind me. I offer to let him go by but he said that he was happy to follow me. I didn't argue. This let me set my pace which I was happy to do.
We chatted back and forth over the next 4 miles. I learned that this was his first ultra. In fact, he had never run more than 18 miles. He ask about my experience as he had noticed my Camel Bak.
We cruised aid station at 4 miles where he stopped. This was the last time that saw him.
After this, I never saw anyone else from the 100k for the next 38+ miles. That's a long time to wonder where everyone is and how they were doing. Of course, my brain was constantly telling me that I was slowing down and they were catching me. My brain only seems to know how to re-enforce the negative instead of the positive.
Colin came up to me a couple times, and he told me that I was crushing the course. I certainly didn't feel that way. My legs were telling me that I was running slower, and slower with each progressive lap.
By the end of the 4 lap, I had a pretty good handle on the flow the course. However, this didn't stop me from stumbling on lap 4 and falling twice on lap 5. The first time I landed in the soft dirt. The second time I ended up the brush. A stub on a stick left a huge bruise on my left bicep. It still hurts as I am writing this blog post. Later when I got home and was taking a shower, the inside/backside of my right leg was burning. When I looked closer, I realized that I had a 6 inch gash in it. Apparently, I had been running while seeping blood. Never a good thing.
In addition to the 100k individual race, they also had a 100k relay and 10k race. I caught a few of the runners in the 10k. The relay runners were buzzing pass every once in a while, but honestly, by mid afternoon, the trails were quiet. I could go nearly an entire lap without seeing someone.
Laps 6, 7, 8, 9 were a grind. I didn't want to fall again. My eyes were on 100% alert. I kept counting down how many more time that I had to do a certain section. I found that I really hated this one particular section. After doing several switch backs, it parallels a stream for short distance. Then, the course makes a tight hairpin turn to send us up this really steep hill only to right around come screaming right back down. My tired legs grew to hate this section with a passion.
Starting the final lap, my spirits were finally lifted. I kept telling myself that this was the final lap, and I could stop running when I get back to the finish. I popped out of the woods and into the field. I wind slammed in to me, but for the first time, I didn't care. I was going to be finished shortly.
I didn't mention this earlier but finishing each lap required us to climb this steep 25 yard to cross through the timing area. It was as if the course wasn't hard enough, they wanted everyone to suffer just a little more. At least from my perspective, it felt this way.
I want to call out the race directors here. I thought Tom and Colin did a great job with this race. The course was well marked. I don't recall hearing of anyone getting off course. Everything happened just as they had told us. As a runner, I don't want surprises. I gave them major kudos for the Thursday night prerace meeting. Something I want to see more races do. I talked to Colin about it after race, and I told him how much that I appreciated it.
As for the course, I can vouch for what they said. We were either going up hill or downhill, and I have no idea how may switch backs were on the course. I can only guess that the number is only slightly less than infinity.
As for me, I checked my bucket list item of running a 100k. I am very happy about this achievement. Despite slowing considerable over the 2nd 50k, I am happy with my 11 hours 27 minutes and 27 seconds. I was roughly 55 minutes ahead of the 2nd place runner, and I was an hour and 33 minutes ahead of the 3rd place running.
One more checked box on my ultra bucket list.
Cool Down Runner Adventures
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