Tunnel Hill 100 mile Race November, 2017, Vienna, IL

(A long report but hey...its a long race!)

The Course: The course is on a crushed limestone rail to trail in Vienna (pronounced V-eye-ena) located in Southern, IL near the Kentucky border and Shawnee National Forest, IL. The course does and out and back and then another out and back for the 50-mile race, and then repeat that for the 100 miler. You basically start in the middle of a straight trail. There is no getting lost! There is very little elevation. There are some gentle ups and downs in the second out and back. I did the 50 mile there in 2015 and so decided it was a good place for my first 100 mile. I was doing it solo, no pacers or crew, so it seemed like this took some of the guess work out of it. Besides the start/finish there are 2 other drop bag locations.

Course Records: There have been some records set at Tunnel Hill due to the runnableness (my word) of its course. It is USATF and IAAF certified which is quite unusual for a trail. It is also a 2019 Western States Qualifier. Mike Bialick ran a 12:52:53 100 mile and Coree Woltering ran a 5:30:15 50 mile there in 2015 and was here in 2017 to attempt to break the 50 mile record. Traci Falbo (48-hour indoor record holder) got the then 100 mile record with a 14:45. Judging from the posts about it, you likely know already 2017 Comrades Marathon Champion, Camille Herron, showed up to break the 100 mile trail Women’s world record this year running 12:42 (Check out irunfar.com for the interview)

My goals: …um…a little less impressive, finish my first 100, I also had in mind to break 24 hrs which in hind sight is kinda funny. But more than time, I have struggled in 100ks with GI issues, so that is more on my mind than anything else this year.

The day before: I had already packed and repacked so there wasn’t much to do of that. It was about a 4.5 hr drive from Chicago. They had a spaghetti dinner at the local school and Traci Falbo gave a great talk about how to not DNF a 100 miler. I hadn’t been to a race with any kind of speaker before so that was pretty cool and inspiring. My take away was don’t quit because you’re in pain or vomiting, try to manage/make some corrections then proceed. She talked about her 48-hr. indoor record race (389.6km). She showed a picture with a lot of the prior 48hr record holders taken with her during the race. They were there doing the 6 days at the Dome!

Race day:

(Start/Finish out and back, 26mi). Temp was 30s, start time 7 am. I had planned average pace at 12 min/mi for the first 50 mile and then hopefully 15 min/mi. This would allow some stoppage time and to go under 24hrs (my stretch goal). I started well toward the back, the log jam kept things slow which was fine with me, I kept the pace 11-12 min/mi HR 65-70% max for this leg. I did not walk at all. I wanted to use the daylight and get some miles in first.   I did run and chat with the former RD of Arkansas Traveler 100 mile who had also finished the race 20 times and many other ultras over the years. She had just handed that over to a new RD. Talking helped pass the time otherwise this stretch is not too exciting, very flat, though mostly wooded. It is more mentally challenging course in that way as you tend to internalize more. As I was finishing up this leg coming into the start/finish I heard the announcement that Camille Herron was here and on pace for an attempt to break the 100-mile record. I had no idea she was at the race until then even though she must have gone by me at some point-just a blur.

(Start/Finish out to the Tunnel and back, 26-52 mi) I didn’t see Coree Woltering until a few miles in on this leg which meant he was not on record pace anymore, so that’s too bad. I have been following his training on Strava.   I did see him fly by me at the Paleozoic and Earth Day 50Ks this year and was rooting for him at Tunnel. This section the second out and back and was more interesting. There are gentle slopes, bridges little valleys, creeks, rock outcroppings and the tunnel. The fall colors were pretty. Coming back towards the start finish, I started to feel my ITB and posterior tibial tendonitis. This had me a little concerned being so early in the race. I had noticed the last month of training, since Hennepin 50, these misbehaving a little bit. I started into a walk run pattern (25/75) which eventually went to 50/50. This seemed to control the ITB pain well and keep a reasonable average pace. My nutrition is mostly Ensure (on the advice of Running Denver), gel cubes, mini paydays. Most of the food I brought I didn’t eat. Overall my gi problems this race were not as severe as the 2 prior 100Ks were it was bad.

(52-78 mi) Its dark now in the 40s but cold. 40 sounds like perfect running weather and it is, when you are running, but I am doing a substantial amount of walking now. I ran all last winter in the snow and did a winter 50K, but I didn’t really do walking or night running then. The sun is down which doesn’t help and I should have put on an extra layer on top and some tights on before venturing out on this leg. That was a big mistake.

Then my Garmin battery is running out and I can’t find the charger. There are two zipped pockets on the side of my vest, both zippers are open and nothing inside. Gone are the charger, battery, connector cords, a set of headphones, and what else who knows I cannot remember? Luckily, I had switched my car keys to the front pocket. I started using my phone for timer and I just timed walking and running at 7 min intervals. I met up with a runner who was generous enough to lend me his charger and battery so I could charge it up. Then I put it in ultratrac mode to save on battery (which I should have done earlier).

Things continue to go downhill on this flat course. Around mile 73, I really go off the rails. I start getting nauseated. I mistakenly think my ginger is was in my side pocket and gone for good (it was in the main pack, just far down there). I put chicken broth in one of my smart flasks to drink, but this doesn’t go down so great and I am stuck with a flask that makes everything else I put in it taste just like chicken. I stop at an aid station (around 73 mi) and sit down because of the nausea. Unfortunately, it’s not one with a warming tent or fire or drop bag with warm clothes. So pretty quick I am shivering despite having a Mylar blanket. I do have a nice winter shell but they it is back at the start finish where it is useless to me.   What I really needed to do was have put more layers on hours ago prior to starting this leg.

So, I am stuck between the nausea which prevents running and the cold which makes walking risky. My brain is looking for any excuse to get me out of this race, but it has to be a good logical one. This could be it! A reasonable exit point. I would could drag myself another 5 miles to the start/finish and drop. 78 miles is nothing to shrug at. So, sitting at the aid station, the woman working there is really helpful and proactive. She gets me some ginger chews, helps me get the leggings on. Then I notice it is Traci Falbo from the talk last night, how cool. I ask her about Camille and she says she did break the record, twelve forty something, which is inspiring. Then she asks a guy who’s in a car nearby if I can sit in it to warm up. We sit and talk a bit in the car. He is with an Illinois trail group called Flatlanders who have a number or runners and crew down here. He is crewing 2 people both at different paces. The heat is so wonderful and saves me from quitting. After warming up, I was able to get out and start running again which would keep me warm enough to get to the start finish where I had supplies and a warmer jacket.

During the run back, I remember hearing this creepy howling, not like wolves but more like hyenas. It was coyotes. We have plenty of them around Chicago, but they are more solitary and I hadn’t ever heard them in a group howl. I heard them one other time as well in the race and some hounds once.

Mile 78 back at the start finish. I had in my mind before arriving to take a short nap here. I changed clothes, and also shoes because of blisters. I felt them developing, basically my foot was slipping around in my shoes and there is this very fine grain dust almost like sand that is everywhere. Smarter people had gators on for this, mine are sitting in my drop bag. I changed out clothes. I put on smart wool leggings and got my winter jacket on so basically, I was set as far as the cold.   Also, morning was coming soon. I set my alarm for 45 minutes and put my head down to sleep. My mind was to overstimulated to sleep, that wasn’t happening. Then I remember fussing around with my supplies and drop bag. I think I was either just a little delirious or wanting not to go out and run again-furiously making sure I had everything I might need. I also caught up with some nutrition.   I hadn’t been eating much due to the nausea/cramping but now I could.

The last leg-Start/ finish out to the Tunnel and back (last 24 miles). The sun was about to come up, it’s getting lighter. There are little light rain/ice crystals in the air but nothing really wet. It is painfully obvious now that 24 hours is not going to happen. Also, that I am basically going to be walking because when I run either the ITB or the blisters hurt a lot more than it’s worth to me at that point. I also was listening to a podcast earlier and they said that to qualify for Western States you had to finish under 28 hrs. I saw that coming up quick and did not think I would make it so that was disappointing (I checked the website later and found out this was not the case and under 30 is fine to qualify). So, I guess you can’t believe everything you hear on social media (who would have guessed). The blisters are hurting and this pain has taken over the ITB pains. The nausea, while not terrible, is just enough to make me not want to move faster. Also, my Jacket is fine when walking but if I start running I get too warm and so have to take it off and this constant on / off becomes annoying as well. It bothers me that I didn’t get the right mix of layers on to do this. I am running out of motivation to run. I continue walk/shuffling but now much more walking than not. This is a lot of bitching but basically that is what I was doing at this point or I should say suffering or bitch-suffery.

There were some good things on this last leg. It was dawn, this part has a lot of nice scenery and bridges, creeks, rock formations, little valleys. There were hounds barking and a rooster at a farm. There was sloping terrain with lots of excuse to walk. I did not notice the natural elements as much before at all. I did not realize the slopes, because they were mild then but now are good excuses to walk. I am firmly in the back of the pack here. Very few are running, mostly walk/shuffling. I comment to someone at least we are getting our money’s worth. I stop at mile 89 aid station and take care of some blisters. There is some debate on lancing versus not lancing them. I lance the blisters on one side but not on the other foot. I cover both with blister shield bandaids. They pretty much still hurt the same when I get going. Really not much better than before I did anything.

I can see the value of a pacer on this leg because basically unless someone was pushing me, I wasn’t going to run, no how. Also, it could help to distract from the monotony and the pain. To keep going I stole a mantra I heard that was “this is what you signed up for” and also thought about the bigger picture training this year, multiple races, and finally this one, as a way to keep motivated, to see it not just a single race finish. Sometimes I also think you spent all this time packing, driving down here, and paid for a hotel so dammit you are going to finish. My watch is somehow way off. It reads 100 miles over 3 miles out. I think the final is 103.9? I will link the Strava below. I am not sure if that is from the recharge or switching to ultratrac or what. I noticed it early though so I wasn’t surprised at 100 miles to find the race wasn’t over! Then when my watch says 103, I know there is not much to go, I start up a shuffle (hey I want the photo finish). Usually as a joke I sprint at a finish of an ultra but shuffling is my sprinting now, if I tried to go faster there is good chance I would fall over. Then it’s over at 29 hrs. and change, and I lay down in the grass and the pain is pretty much minimal. So nice to be done. The RD gives me a buckle and finishers jacket. I watch most of the rest of the runners come through. Then I go to my car but can’t find my keys. I search around for a while and then stupidly find them in the jacket underneath my coat where I for some unknown reason I put them. I had planned on finishing, sleeping, and then driving home. But with really no place to sleep and finishing so late I just stay at a hotel, watch Batman Lego Movie, eat pizza, drink beer, and fall asleep before I can eat my celebratory cookie dough ice cream (there is tired and then there is “so tired you fall asleep before you eat your celebratory cookie dough ice cream tired&rdquo.

Conclusion: I now have way more respect for people who do 100 miles. The level of pain/suffering and potential dropping was much higher than even my 16-17 hr. 100K races. I especially feel this way for people running these with adverse weather conditions, elevation, altitude etc. doing these multiple months over multiple years.

This is a great race, well organized, great volunteers and aid stations, the race director very personal- despite the big race and all the happenings there this year-he still said congratulations and thank you for coming to me at the end after 29 hrs into it.  It has grown since 2 years ago when I was here and I suspect after this year with Camille's attention and as a WS qualifier it will keep growing.  At some point I would like to get back and try to break 24 hrs, but that is going to take more training and experience.  I am not there yet by any means.

Mistakes were made: At most every distance there has been a learning curve where after doing it once or twice, I was able to pace more evenly and finish faster and in less distress i.e. not ending in a death march. I would like to eventually run a 100-mile race more in this fashion. A crew and pacer would make this a lot easier. Or if I self-support, I will make sure I have a bit more room in the vest and carry all the basic things I need so I don’t have to wait until I get to the aid stations (there is no bad weather just bad packing decisions). I spent a lot of time, over 2 hours, not running which, I can definitely trim down and avoid these protracted hour or more stops at aid stations for nausea or hypothermia. Addressing the blisters early may have been more helpful. Race specific training (for me doing some long walk/runs in the cold/dark) would have brought to light those issues which I didn’t anticipate.

 2017 Recap:

Next season I am not going to do so many races, instead focus on a couple goal races and maybe shorten the season by a month or take a month off in the middle. I feel like I was just burned out by the time this race rolled along. I would like to get to the start line more in the peak of the training cycle and see what happens. We will see. Right now, I have no interest or willing body parts to run a mile. I think that is an expected outcome at this point. (But I have already been looking at next year’s schedule!). This is all good, it means I do not think, as I did when I was on my last leg of the race, that it is a one and done thing, a conclusion rather than a beginning…

Strava link to Tunnel hill 100 mile

Then End.

Trail_Hound - Loved reading your RR!  Obviously, I can't really relate to anything after the first out and back.  Interesting you used a HRM to help guide your early miles.  It made me smile that you were already looking at 2018.  That's awesome!  Hope you recover well.  btw - I don't think your hounds would like my soft-serve :-)

Thanks for the RR.  Really enjoyed your honest account.  I could see multiple points where I might have just called it a day, so it was great to see how you kept going.  I'm sure your next 100-miler will be a better and shorter experience.  If I ever do a 100-miler, this sounds like my kind of race: basically flat, pretty close to home, and not warm.

Congrats on your first 100!  I don't think I have ever read a 100 RR where mistakes weren't made, and yours seem pretty darn tame for a first-timer.  (Of course, if Camille Herron does a RR ,maybe she will have no mistakes to report.    ).  Willing yourself to keep going when you have ready opportunities to drop seems really hard.

A little surprised that it's a WS qualifier since it seems like a pretty flat race?  But I know there are a lot of other considerations that go into those decisions.

Great job!

RWD.   I will look for u on strava.  I wont have much there for awhile as i am resting and just ordered a new garmin charger today.  I just started using it like a month or so ago.

Congrats on your finish and thanks for the report.  A reminder of how much can change in a long race.  Glad you worked out your cold spell, gear is never in the right spot, right?  Smart call sitting in that car, had a similar case in my first 50.  So cold I wanted to quit, but after warming up in my brothers car, continued on.  Have a good recovery and take things slow coming back.

TH, thanks for the report! i enjoyed reading and congrats on toughing it out to the finish. a few years ago i didnt even know ppl could run 100 miles in one go, now i am planning to do one myself! as a mid-pack person myself i find reports like your very helpful. glad to hear you are already planning for 2018!

I was solidly back of pack by 76 miles.  It seems like more of an expedition or “experience”  than a run or race.  Not like a 50 mile where i actually run it pace it reasonably consistently.    Im still not sure if the best approach is to run at albeit slower pace than a 50 as long as you can and then walk/run/death march it out. Or try to evenly pace it from the get go with walk run.  Next time i may try the latter approach if i can excercise more restraint.  It seems a lot of reports from people finishing faster (like 24hrs ish not elite)are similar in general in that they run it pretty well then somewhere around 70s or so (sometimes sooner) bottom out then slug it in or drop.  So i wonder if that is just how these go.