Clickable link, or I can copy and paste, but I don't want to lol. Thanks for reading!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uBz96KNd1cWtWKsFbAevpW4DOApRiSUi5Xgz4n8exKw/edit?usp=sharing
Istria 110k 4-6-2024
WS100 6-29-2024
UTMB 171k 8-30-2024
MCM 10-27-2024
This is so great! I am so happy for you to have such a GIANT success after your disappointment at the Bear. It's a totally different ballgame on the more runnable courses, isn't it?
Sub-24 is awesome! You really had everything dialed in well. Great job. Especially on holding the poop until the porta-john. It sounds a bit like the race I did, similar vert and trail conditions and loops. Kudos to the missus for being out there crewing and volunteering.
5/11/24 Grizzly Peak Marathon, Berkeley, CA
7/20/24 Tahoe Rim Trail 56 miler, NV
9/21/24 Mountain Lakes 100, OR
Running to eat
Thanks for the report. I really enjoyed it. During my race in February, I think it'll help me to remember your effort to keep moving and trotting even when it was painful. Also, thanks for the recommendation of the IT100. I don't know if I'll ever do a 100-miler, but this one sounds good: close to my hometown of Chicago and runnable and the possibility of cool/cold weather. I think heat has perhaps the greatest impact on performance, so I've really enjoyed cold-weather races.
Marathon PR: 2:52 (2006 Chicago)
Ultra #1: DNF at The North Face Thailand 100K (Feb 4, 2017)
Ultra #2: Finished in 6:53:03 at the Des Plaines River Trail Races 50M (Oct 14, 2017)
Ultra #3: Finished in 12:55:04 at The North Face Thailand 100k (Feb 1, 2020)
Ultra #4: Finished self-organized 100-miler in 19:28:53 (Oct 3, 2020)
Skim it's worth mentioning that you can drop at the 50 or 100k mark and still receive your medal, although that can be a double-edged sword.
Are we there, yet?
Sounds like one of those races where you don't know whether to panic or not because the pace is "too fast", but you're feeling great. It appears you handled it very well by backing off, but not too much. Absolutely incredible that you smashed your expectations by so much.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Trails
Jay loved your RR....I'm so glad you were able to pull off your sub 24 and that DW could be there with you. Just freaking awesome. It almost sounds like a trail I might be able to do but I worry about my slowness and a 30 hour cutoff. Maybe a 50 there.
Diane the Mines of Spain in Iowa has very generous cutoffs for the 100k I think at 23 hours.
Yes. You see your friends, your car, comfy chairs, a finish line, people celebrating being done, and you think “50 or 100k is totally legit... I could stop now”. And maybe that would be the right call, or maybe you’d be kicking yourself the next day bc you really could have kept going.
Got it--though since I'm not at all interested in collecting medals, I don't think that'd be too much of a temptation (other than just the normal temptation to stop due to fatigue/pain). I don't think I'd enjoy those short-loop courses since it'd be so easy to stop after each lap.