Yeti 100 Miler Race Recap

 Nine months of training came down to day. Here's how it played out. 

For reasons that I am not aware the Yeti 100 miler takes place on Friday rather than the normal weekend where you find most races. This meant that I was in my car driving up to Abington, Va on a Thursday afternoon. This area of Va is absolutely beautiful. I really wish that I had more time to check it out, but this weekend, I was there for a purpose. 

I checked in to the hotel, and a short time later headed for Wolf Brewery for packet pickup. I am not sure who "Wolf" is but he or she appears to own half of Abington. I saw a number businesses which carried the Wolf branding. 

At packet pickup, I see two lines so I ask about it. One line is really long while the other is very short. I find out that the long line is for runners with last names A-M while the short line is N-Z. Awesome, I am in short line, but this did get me thinking - did most Yeti runners have last names A-M. Apparently so at least when I picked up my packet. I got plenty of stickers, socks, head bands, a hoodie, and oh yeah, a skate board. I am no idea what I am going to do with a skate board. Then, I was off for dinner and back to the room. 

Around 10 PM, I turned out the lights and tried to get some shut eye. Mostly, I just tossed in turned through out the night. About 4 AM, I turned on the lights and got up. Might as well get ready. 

Around 5:50, I headed for the starting line at White Top. The drive is roughly 45 minutes. I made final preparations while my crew drove. There is a little loop at White Top which crews dropped their runners before heading off to the first crew accessible aid station in Damascus. 

It was chilly and dawn was just starting to occur. Luckily, I timed my drop off pretty well so I only had about 15 minutes to the start. The chatter of runners talking was everywhere. I could have listened in on probably 10 different conversation, but I push my mind elsewhere. I was quietly preparing for the task ahead of me. 

Soon, Jason Green stepped out to give one of his prerace speeches that he is famous for doing. During his speech, I learned why there was no aid station at White Top. Apparently, in the first year, they had an aid station here and a van. So many runners bailed on the race that the van filled up. Since then, there has never been another aid station, and runners just touch the White Top Depot building and head back to Green Cove. As Jason explained it. Those making it back to Green Cove only have a 50k left. Leave it to an ultra runner to say that there is "JUST" 50k left. I guess it is all in how you think about it. 

We started to bunch up, and Jason sent us off. I took a quick peek back to the south and hoped all those miles climbing Crowders Mt. would pay off. 

There is a short little climb and the trail heads in to the wood. While it was bright in the open, it was dark under the foliage. I treaded carefully. 

Groups quickly formed. I found my hands getting cold. I knew that they would warm up later but for now, I would have to endure the numbness. 

By the time we popped out in Green Cove dawn had arrived. My hands were numb. I kept looking at my Garmin. I had a goal pace in mind, and I was trying to stay on it. I was only marginally successful. My legs were fresh, and I was running downhill. I was struggling to hold myself back. 

I struck up a few conversations. Some runners ask my about arm sleeves. They seemed to like the fact that they not only covered my arms but my hands. In fact, I got and wore these for this particular reason. As I warmed up, I could push them down or even take them off. That's much easier than removing coats or shorts. Believe me when I say that I say a number of runners overheating on the way down. Lots had over dressed. 

At Taylors Valley, I made a quick restroom break, and I do mean quick. I was moving in less than 3 minutes. 

Between Green Cove and Taylor Valley the trail drops away. Between Taylors Valley and Damascus the trail starts level out. 

My eyes are constantly looking for the mile marking, and I hear the traffic running along 58 and 91. I know Damascus isn't far. 

I glance over at the Wicked Chicken, and it is all quiet. I have been running with these two guys for several miles. We chat about life and running. Finally, I ask them what they are shooting for timewise. They say 22 hours. I let me know know that right now, they are on sub 16 hour pace. They dropped back almost immediately. 

I was excited to see my crew for the first time. I dropped my shirt and arm sleeves. I grabbed my singlet and a new Camelbak. They had me in and our quick. 

The course really flattens out here. I am starting to catch runners. I had been in about 25th place at Taylors Valley. 

Between Damascus and Alvarado, I am really starting to settle in now. Although, I am not feeling exceptionally great, my splits are faster than I really want them to be.

At Alvarado, my crew has me in and out super fast. Honestly, I am not getting much chance to rest. 

Heading out of Alvarado, I soon start the slow climb up to Abington. At some point, I will start to see other runners coming back. 

About 2 miles out, I see a runner coming back with a number. She is flying and smiling as she passes me. Well, at least someone was feeling pretty good. I later learn her name is Amy, and she is from Abington. Talk about having a home field advantage. I'll bet she has run to the top of White Top a 100 times. 

So I start counting runners. I am in 6th place when I reach Abington. 

I am moving up but I am still not feeling great. 

As I had planned, I changed shoes here. During my last 100 miler, I went 60+ miles before changing shoes. My feet were about to kill me. This time, I was being proactive. I know my legs would appreciate it. 

My crew loaded me up and pointed me back to Alvarado. They even gave me a full soft flask of Gatorade to sip along the way. 

The miles back to Alvarado did not seem easy. I still wasn't feeling good. My stomach was fine but I just didn't feel like I had any energy. 

Up to this point, I had been taking in about 100 to 200 calories per hour. This was in the form of Tailwind, Gels and Sportsbeans which was the same stuff that I have been using all year. Except today, they just didn't seem to be working. 

So at Alvarado, I switched over to more solid carbs, and I increased my intake to about 400 calories per hour. I left Alvarado thinking if something didn't change I was in for a long day. 

About 30 minutes out of Alvarado, I felt a little better. Then, at Damascus, I loaded up on carbs again. 

As I pulled out Damascus, I looked at my Garmin, I was 3 minutes head of my goal pace but I had the climb up to White Top facing me. 

From Damascus to Taylors Valley, I noticed a shift in how I was feeling. I was feeling better and my legs didn't seem as tired as earlier. My energy levels seemed to be a lot better.  

But the next 10 miles would be the real test. 

I left Taylors Valley with food in one hand and a drink in the other. The trail got steeper so I leaned in and vowed to not stop running. That's hard when the miles are starting to mount up. 

I reached Green Cove and loved seeing my crew. They lifted my spirits and loaded me up yet again. We had talked about them meeting me at White Top and then again back a Green Cove. I called an audible and had them stay at Green Cove. Honestly, I now understood what Jason meant. I didn't want to stop at White Top. I need to just turn around and head back. 

Amy passed by me as I was coming in to Green Cove. She was about 6+ miles ahead of me now. I met the 2nd place runner about 2miles from White Top, and I passed the 3rd place runner about 1/2 mile from White Top. 

I touched the depot, and I headed back down. My quads hurt going downhill. I was probably pushing a little two hard but I wanted to open up some distance if I could on the 4th place runner. 

Back at Green Cove, I continued to load up on calories, and I changed shoes again. I also changed out my singlet and over to running shirt. The temperature was starting to drop again. 

In the back of my mind, I hoped to make Taylors Valley before sunset which was 7:20 PM. Glancing at my Garmin, it was going to be close. 

I passed by the 26 mile marking. Mentally, I started doing the math. If I ran a 5 hour marathon, I could break 17 hours. 

I was really happy to see the Taylors Valley sign because it was getting dark. It was getting really dark when I was under the trees. 

My crew now had the process totally down. I left munching on food and drink. When I finished, I fitted my head lamp in to place. I really needed it now. 

The miles in to Damascus seem to drag on. My Garmin kept beeping which I told me that I was making progress. 

Everyone that I met, I always tried to give some positive encouragement. At this point, we are all hurting. As I was passing by someone, I said something and then I head them call me by name. Like an idiot, I turned to look. Like I could really see who it was. It was dark and with a head lamp shinning in my face I was blind. This lead to a moment of inattention. I clipped a rock and went down. My right leg was stinging and so was my right palm, arm, and shoulder. For the next couple of miles, this pain was worse than the pain in my legs. 

After this little incident, I still tried to encourage the other runners but I made darn sure to keep my eyes on the trail ahead. 

Coming in to Damascus, the Wicked Chicken was having party. I could hear the music. 

The Damascus aid station was empty other than the volunteers. I spotted my crew. It was getting colder so I grabbed a long sleeve shirt. 

From Damascus to Abington, it was about 15 and half miles. If I wanted to run sub 17, I needed to run it in less than 3 hours. Normally, I could do this without thinking about it, but I wasn't exactly bouncing from one foot to the other. Plus, I still had roughly 8 miles of climbing into Abington. 

I barely needed a head lamp until a reached the outskirts of Damascus. I passed by one house. They had one of these motion detection lights. It detected me passing by and lite up. At the same time, the dog behind their fence with nuts barking. I chuckled to myself. A stream of runners are coming along behind me all night long. This dog is not going to get any sleep. LOL. 

I missed some of mile markers so when I saw the next one, it said 10 miles. A mile and half later, I saw the lights from the Alvarado Depot. Other than my crew and few volunteers the parking lot was empty. 

I swapped head lamps, grabbed my pack, and headed toward Abington. I told my crew that I hoped to see them in roughly 90 minutes. 

At this time of night, the trail is super quiet, and the sound seemed to carry for miles. Several times, I heard the leaves crunching among the trees. I think the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. 

With 6 miles left, I entered one of my favorite sections on the entire course. Running through the pasture, I could see for miles. The glow from the 1/2 moon made the trail easy to see. I would really love to come back and do this section when there is a full moon. 

On the other side, I passed by 5 miles. My mind was still trying to do the math to calculate my finish time. 

I passed through Watauga just inside of 4 miles. I thought there was to be an aid station here but it was dark and empty. 

I passed by the 3 mile mark and then the 2 mile mark. The trail is still tilting upward. My legs really feel it now. 

I pass under I-81. I am so close now. Mentally, I know that I could start walking and break 17 hours but I will not even allow myself to think this way. 

I pass by the 1 mile to go mark. The houses along the trail are all dark. They should be. It is nearly 11:30 PM.

I know this section of trail. It twist to the left and then to right. As I start to round the right hand turn, I see the glow. I know the finish is just ahead. 

The glow gets brighter. I can see the finish and huge Yeti banner at top. I am no longer thinking about how tired that I am. I feel like I am floating across the finish line. I come to a halt. It feels strange to stop. 

My crew is there, and I lean on them. They ask me what I need. "A chair" I want to set down. 

Jason hands me my belt buckles. Yes, I said belt buckles. Finishers of the 100 get a Yeti buckle. Those finishing under 24 hours get an additional sub 24 buckle. How cool is that. 

Jason and I posed for pictures, and then my crew directs me to a chair. We hang out for about 30 minutes. It is getting colder, and even with more clothes on, I am feeling the cold. Time to get my crew back to the hotel. They need their rest. So do I. 

I spent a lot of time thinking about this race, and putting together my race plan. It was hard sticking with it earlier in the race but I feel like it paid off later in the race. 

I finished in 16 hours, 35 minutes, and 21 seconds. I placed 3rd overall. I checked a box that I didn't really think was possible. I ran a 100 mile race within a calendar day. Given most races start at 7 or 8 o'clock, I don't have much room for error. 

I need to give Jason Green who organizes these Yeti events and to all the Yeti crew a huge shout out. They really make this race something special. Before this year, I didn't know much about the Yeti Cult, but I am now a huge fan. 

Cool Down Runner Adventures