This past weekend, I had a chance to be at the C&O 100 helping out at an aid station and cleaning up after runners finished. I love the race and had run it the year before. If I could do it again racing, I would do it in a heartbeat. But money is tight for me this year and I have to be careful in choosing which races to do. I can’t be like last year when I could just sign up every race that comes into my inbox. Helping out at the race is the next best thing to running in it. I brought back memories I had when I ran it.
I wrote the entry below right after my 2024 race, though I ended up publishing a slightly different and shorter version. I still like the one I published more, but this version below I like it in a different way, maybe it expresses more what I was feeling while running it. It is more raw. Basically, I like the race. I like racing.
I reread it recently, and since I don’t have anything to publish this week, So, here goes something from my old draft (rejected) folder:
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This will be a big one compares to the last few races. I did the New Taipei Marathon, and was throughly happy once got it done. Then there was the Bull Run Run 50, which was another high point, with a result better than I expected. Last week was the Blue Ridge Marathon and I left my heart in that race, with another successful run. Can we have more? Indeed. Those who have been following weekly know I have a full summer of fun (in racing).
We are going through the spring races. There will be many races before the fall season kicks in.
The C&O Canal 100 went well, far above and beyond what I dreamed. I ran my personal best time.
A bit of history. I wrote about how I choose my races, especially the 100 mile races. There are not that many 100 mile races compares to marathons. So, I “did my research” of which ones I want to run by either from a word of mouth or from reading some blogs. I wish I can recall the specific blogs I read about this race. There was one that left a good impression. I wish I had the reference saved.
My interest in the C&O 100 might have started from a blog I read. I couldn’t remember which came first. The idea to run a 100 or I came across a blog that gave me the idea to do it. From reading the blog, I learned about the course and everything.
The following events are kind of related. In 2019 I ran the JFK 50. A lot of the course was on the C&O Canal towpath. I also did my first half marathon there and later did a marathon (with the Safety and Health Foundation) on the towpath, though in a section closer to DC. Also one of my early 5k/10k runs (Fall in Love 5k) was on the towpath. It has some kind of attraction subjectively, that I need also to do a 100 miler there, because it has such a long personal running connection I built with the place.
What I wanted at the time was to do a one day hike (100k/62 miles) from George Town in DC to Harper Ferry. I was into backpacking/hiking at the time in 2017 and hiking on the canal was something I was building up to do. However, each year, I kept missing the signup from the Sierra Club. Then Covid came. The event was not held. To this day, I have never signed up.
So what led me to decide to run a 100 mile on the canal? I don’t remember but I was googling if I were to do a 100 mile which ones would I want to do. And the short list were the C&O 100, the Blackbeard ‘s Revenge, Umstead, and lastly Rocky Raccoon (as recommended by a friend from Texas). Covid closed a lot of them. I did not get into Umstead, missed the signup, but the following year (2021), Rocky Raccoon was available for me. C&O was too, but I did not want to wait till April and there was a risk that it might get canceled again due to Covid, so I flew to Houston, Texas and ran the Rocky Raccoon as my first 100 mile. Also, possibly, my a running friend was going to do the Rocky Raccoon, so I went there. I also wanted to travel needed for my 50 states plan.
Now four/five years later I finally circled back to do this C&O 100. It is not because I am a completionist, but so happened I needed a “training run” and also to pace a friend.
It was also it happened two years ago (2022), the race sent out a call for volunteers and I responded. During the event, I met an ultra runner (duh) who totally blew my mind of by running 100s like I was running marathons (which at the time I just got accepted into the Marathon Maniacs club, and was very proud of my standing, reaching 5th level out 9th). I have gone back to volunteer the following year because the race organization was special to me. Since so much energy is vested in this race already, it is reasonable to take the last step, to run in it.
The last reason is, while training for the Bull Run Run around year 2022 (I trained over 3 years for BRR), I met someone (Iris, who crewed for me at Devil Dog 100 in 2022) who did both the MMT 100 and C&O 100 back to back in the same year. It was an unimaginable accomplishment. I have the urge to imitate. It blew the whole theory that you can only run one 100 mile race a year or in a season as my mom has been telling me. It has been awhile since and finally, I feel this year is the year to go for it. Lets try for a multiple 100s!
Side story, I am very afraid of the MMT 100 because I DNF’d there the first time and adding a 100 mile couple weeks before it doesn’t seem like a smart idea. Anyway, I want to face that pressure.
Now onto the race! I arrived Friday night near 9 pm. I timed it so I could go straight to bed for there was nothing to do there. I camped in the back of my truck, actually outside for the fun of it. This time unlike at the MMT 100, there was no condensation (dew) on me while I slept, which is something I always forget. (Side story: there I met my guy Jeremy for the first time, who now became a good runner partner).
The start time was 7:00 am and we had full 30 hours to run it. The start time was a bit late for a typical 100, but I love having the later start because it allowed me to sleep in a little bit more (the volunteers were arriving around 4 am though). I was actual up by then. I had me move my truck to where other cars were. They did not like how I parked.
The night was cold and windy, I slept but was interrupted by the elements from time to time. I slept without a tent, which would have helped a lot in a windy time like that night, but due to being too lazy to set up and break it down in the morning, I did not use it. (I brought one but didn’t want to use it). I prefer cowboy camping.
My goal for this run was getting it done and not break any records. It was to me a long training run. My friend Lynne from NY would join me and I was excited. I promised to pace her at least for the half of it through the night portion. I was her pacer at the Rim to River 100 and Yeti 100 last fall and I did not do my job there and this time I wanted to make it up. I prepared a pace chart (28 hours), and was confident I could do it. Normally, I don’t use a pace chart, because it gets me off my natural pace. I did it this time for Lynne.
This race being in the local area means my other running friends would be there as well. Indeed. I saw many people I know. Caroline was there to cheer and volunteer. I did not need to be crewed. I packed everything into one big bag and left it at the start (One big drop bag), which we would be passing by twice, at mile 40 and 70. I did not plan to leave a drop bag at Brunswick.
The course: The course was one loop of 40 miles and 2 loops of 30 miles.
The loop goes like this: [(from West) North Turn around ….<—5 miles—>…Antietam (towpath Mile Marker 70) …<—5 miles—>…Dargan Bend (Camp Manidokan, 1 mile away off towpath)…<—7 miles—>… Keep Tryst, which is Harper Ferry … <—3 miles—>…Brunswick (Towpath mile marker 55)].
We would start from Manidokan, then head toward Antietam and go beyond it to a North turn around point. Then we head to Brunswick and do another turnaround, then we would go back to, Manidokan, the start of the second loop. Then a third loop and done.
The first loop was slightly longer than the last two loops. Second/third loop we turned around at Antietam.
During the first loop, I mostly walked the first 40 miles with my friend Lynne and then ran (15-16 min mile-ish pace, sometimes a bit faster) the next 60 miles. This year we could have a pacer starting at mile 1.4 due to security concerns (there were couple recent attacks on the towpath near the area at Point of Rock; note, I did see a suspicious person on the AT bridge during the race at night watching us running through, but it could have been someome’s crew).
If I really wanted to run for time, I would have several pacers with me, even early on.
My friend initially did not want to run in this race. Somehow, it might be a late text message from me convinced her to come out. She signed up kind of late and did not have much training. I promised I would go slow. However, her lack of long runs really hampered her progress once we hit the ultra distance. I didn’t know the extend of her lack of training, and hoping she could manage, with a walk and run pace.
On the flip side, it would help me, because I did not plan to go out fast in this race. I wanted someone to hold me back. The computer (ultrasignup) predicted my finishing time to be 25:30, and I thought it got to be joking at the time. I believed it should be more at 28/29 hours, thus planned my race for 28 hours (with no stopping at the aid stations). There were 20-21 aid station stops (7 total, but some we would encounter more than once). With the aid station breaks included, it should get us around 30 hours. I expected 3-6 minutes break per station. If I wanted a longer break, I would have to run faster in order to have the time.
There were no earlier cut-offs at the beginning of the race so we could leisurely stroll along in the early part. I did not have crew or pacer other than L. There were several other people I knew running in the race, but we were moving drastically at different paces. John was 8-10 miles ahead. Even the new guy Jeremy passed me. I only stayed with L at her pace.
My friend Lynne kept me going until later when she was hurting from the run. The first 10 miles were fine. We were moving fast, around 11-12 mins pace. I wanted to tell her to slow down. But many were going even faster than us. They must be going for a sub 24 and that was like 95% of the runners, so likely running at 9-10 min pace. Even people I usually think of them as slow (unnamed) were passing us.
I knew each year there would be about 20-30 runners not going to finish. So I started to count how many runners who were behind me. It was an out-and-back course, so I could see who were still behind me at each turn around point. I counted there were 25 runners (I underestimated, this year there were around 60 dnfs). I felt we were mostly at the pace I wanted. As long as we were not the last bunch of runners, we would be fine.
My friend Lynne, started slowing down after the first 10 miles. We walked more than run. Then the rain came as we reached Harper Ferry (towpath mile marker 62). It was about 11 am, as the weather app predicted. I put on my rain poncho. My friend Lynne on had her wind jacket and it was not waterproof. Soon she was wet and cold. She said she did not bring extra socks or shoes, since she wasn’t planning to run the whole 100 miles. Well good luck. 100k was her goal. I told her I had an extra jacket and socks (and shoes) in my drop bag at Camp Manidokan, but we needed to get there first and that was still 20-25 miles away.
There was nothing we could do while still on the course (I did have one of those space reflective emergency blanket and some hand warmers on me in my hydration pack if it comes to that).
We reached Brunswick aid station (mile 30). There, rain came down heaviest. I stayed under a canopy at the aid station until the storm passed. Then we went back out heading to Camp Manidokan. We reached Keep Tryst or Tryst Keep (I never remember which is which). There, Caroline was volunteering. She gave me a ginger rice congee/soup. It helped keep me warm. Lynne loved the Congee too and it got her going again. We still had 7 miles. Lynne no longer could run. She was in serious pain at every step. I could see her hands clenched and eyes focused. We stopped talking, and she said I could run ahead and leave her. I felt sorry she did not quit at Brunswick nor at Keep Tryst. We managed to arrived back at Camp Manidokan.
I already concluded, I would not stay with Lynne once we reached the Camp. I actually went ahead first so I could get into camp to change shoes, etc and to prepare for the night portion of the race. It was about 5:15-5:30 pm, pretty much on pace for me. It would be dark soon. I wanted to be sure I had dry clothes, a warm jacket, couple of headlamps, and food. A volunteer prepared a cheeseburger for me while I was taking care my feet (and chafe in my private area). This was my first meal of the day. I had some rub burns (hot spots) that I needed to take care asap before they got worse. Lucky my clothes were mostly dry due to having a rain poncho covered me. So no clothes needed changing for me. I used baby wipes to clean myself.
Lynne decided not to go back out. I agreed with her decision. I urged her not to use painkiller to subdue the pain, which was her original plan to get through the midnight portion. But now it was too early in the race for that, there was still 6 hours before midnight and then another 6 hours before sunrise. The night was long, there were 60 miles to go. It would be a suffering fest for her go back out. She could barely made it up the hill at the campsite. I believe she made the right choice to quit.
Lap 2 (mile 40-70)
My lap 2 and lap 3 were uneventful after Lynne left. Going back out, I was still fresh and I followed the pace I had during the day time. I believed I hit it and gained an hour back ahead of pace by the time I reached Antietam. My friend Jana was there cheering and volunteering. She would still be there too later in the wee hours. I didn’t know she was the captain of the aid station.
I did not stay too long but headed back out after getting some food. John C came in. I was happy to have caught up to John C because he was way ahead of me in loop 1, but now he did not seem too good. He seemed to be in a terrible shape. I thought he would quit. Later seeing him again in the morning, I knew he pulled through whatever was troubling him and I was rooting for him to finish. People joke about me trying imitate the man, indeed. He ran at every race I did.
My next target was to reach Brunswick by midnight. It got dark by the time I reached Harper Ferry (towpath mile marker 62). From there to Brunswick, I was surprised so many runners did not bring a headlamp. Many were heading back toward Camp Manidokan (faster than me). They were running in the dark. It soon got very dark on the towpath. We were just couple days after a full moon but the moon had not risen yet and there were also thick cloud covering. I don’t remember if I saw the moon at all during the night.
I called those runners commandos. They were practising their ninja skills or their superhero’s night vision ability. The towpath was mostly smooth and without rocks or roots, but still there could be a million things a runner could trip on at night. Soon it was completely dark and there were still many runners running without a headlamp. I was not sharing mine. Anyway, there were not many runners in front of me or going in my direction. Note as a PSA, I always keep a headlamp in my runner pack even while day time because you don’t know when you will need it. Too many runners were over confident in their pace of getting back to their drop bag before dark but they miscalculated.
I wasn’t that ambitious, even if I run a 5 hr marathon pace, by mile 75, it would be around 10 pm. Yes, all those runners, were calculating based on 4 hour marathon pace, so it would still be light by the time they reach mile 75 (and would have gotten through to Manidokan to pick up a head lamp). 4:30 marathon pace would be, right on verge of getting dark, at 8:30, but that would be too risky. I would have packed a lamp at Brunswick if I were them (and of course they didn’t). Hindsight is always 20-20 they say. It goes to show, either they lack doing the planning or they were overly ambitious.
As for me, I assume my pace was a 6 hr marathon, e.g., to reach mile 50 by 7 pm, and mile 75 by 1 am. (Sorry, I love math, hope readers get the gist, I simplify a marathon length to be 25 miles instead of 26 miles, to make mental math calculation easier).
I arrived at Brunswick two hours ahead of my pace schedule, around 10 pm. My friend Mike E was there. He asked if I could accompany a runner. I said sure if the runner wanted a pacer, because I am a good pacer. I could guarantee a finish or at least get the runner to camp Manidoken by 3 am. Mike said the runner wanted to quit and I believe he wanted me to encourage them not to (we were at mile 60 [100k] by now at the time, so it was a high time to make a quit decision for a lot runners).
Unfortunately, that was something I could not help — I didn’t want to babysit someone. It is the runner’s own decision to go back out or not. I would not try to convince otherwise. It is hard decision for the runner. From personal experience, it is usually a multitude of issues a runner has to deal with all at once, food, foot issues, chafing, low energy, low motivation, lack of sleep, etc. When one part falls apart, everything too. It is seldom just one isolated issue to deal with. Having a crew would help manage some of those. I had own race to care about and no time for this. In the end the runner did quit. I headed back out alone.
Running is no longer fun when things get hard in the wee hours. We were about entering that twilight zone (10 pm-4 am), the hours when our body was not used to running at, where things could get really ugly.
As for me, I was just getting started. I told Lynne, nightfall is when the true race begins. I got very excited for this, because I have been looking toward it. To me this is the best part of the race. The morning portion was just a rehearsal.
My pace chart had me back at Camp Manidokan (mile 70) by 3:20 am. I was 2 hours ahead, so I expected to be back by 1:20. I reached it by 12:40, gaining 35-40 minutes. For the rest of the race, I held onto this 2.5 hours gain. Indeed, the race got hard for me after midnight as well, otherwise, I would have a 24 hr ish finish.
At the camp, I needed a bit of time to clean up. I don’t remember if I ate anything before heading back out from Camp Manidokan. My clothes were wet from sweat but I did not have time to change them. I took care of some chafing issues (my private area was hurting, yes). I ran many 100s and still haven’t figured out what the best underwear to wear, many recommend EXOskin, plus nutbutter, which I haven’t tried either of them, though in this race I seemed to zero in the right type (similar material). I am kind of allegic to lycra material, so a lot of sportwears are not good for me. I did not change shoes or socks this time around. They were fine. My feet were in good condition.
Loop 3. Mile 71-100-ish.
Now it is the final loop. Just another 30 miles were left. By now, I was confident I could finish the race no matter what. I had roughly 12 hours to run 30 miles. 24 mins per mile pace.
I was tired but still could run. A volunteer asked me if I needed any food, I said, the next aid station is just down the hill less than a mile away at Dargan Bend, I could get something there rather than now. I was going to get myself a cup of coffee but forgot. When I got to Dargan Bend, I again forgot to grab a cup of coffee. I did eat. I asked for a vegan soup to be mixed with mashed potatoes. At the time, I did not feel like eating, but something watery made the food goes down easier. Dargan Bend had a tent set up with a fire going. I sat down there each time to clean my shoes. Running on the towpath, means a lot of grits found their way into my shoes and I would have to clear them from time to time otherwise I would expect blisters forming soon. I consistently cleaned out my shoes and so had avoided having any blisters.
And since lap 2, I had swapped to my trail shoes, and that helped a lot compared to loop 1 when I was wearing the road shoes. I love my trail shoes. Someone (Jeremy) asked me the night before the race what shoes to recommend for this race, I said I swear by road shoes, but sadly, it was trail shoes that saved my butt! To future runners of this race, bring both, change them out if one doesn’t work.
Now arriving at Antietam, mile 75 at 2:17 am, Jana gave me a rock with a heart shape (I need a picture). She is someone who always find rocks in a shape of a heart. She was so happy I remembered about the rocks and she brought out a whole pitcher of rocks for me to choose. She gave me one of the smallest. A volunteer joked about letting a runner carry the heaviest one (1kg) back to the finish. We all laughed. She wasn’t going to give me a 1 kg. In the back of my mind was the Georgia Death Race a friend of my just ran, where they carry a 1 kg spike from start to finish to drop it into a casket at the end. Jana is a sweet person I see at many of my races, either volunteering or running. She is a speedy runner.
The night was quiet. It was roughly 3:30 by the time I got back to Dargan Bend. On the way, I saw more runners’ headlamps went out. Oh my goodness. There were still few more hours to go before daylight. Now is the worse time to have a headlamp died. So I saw runners running in the dark again or some with very dim light. They were heading the other direction, so I couldn’t help them. These were runners behind of me. It was not poor planning, but unfortunate that their batteries died. Mine too was getting dimmer. I was praying the whole time, because on this run, the spare batteries were left in my drop bag instead of being carried on me.
3:45 AM was the cutoff time at Camp Manidokan. I wanted to see who was the last runner out before the cut off time. There were not a lot runners in the very back of the pack after Dargan Bend. Dargan Bend was a very busy place at this time as runners making in and out just before the cutoff (3:20-3:30). Runners have their sixth sense, so they all rushed ahead of the cut of 3:45. They liked bunched together in one big group. I was sure other runners were probably cut at Manidokan at the time and did not get to Dargan Bend while I was there.
My last trip heading to Brunswick was pretty uneventful. There were not many runners ahead of me. I ran for hours before coming across one or two. I knew I could not make it under sub 24, those who were trying to make sub 24 were at least 8 miles ahead. I actually saw those runners on their way back from Brunswick as I was heading toward it. And there were a lot of them. I gave them labels, like 4 AM finishers, 5 AM, 6M, so forth. They also knew their time table too. They were all running, none of them walk.
Then John called me in the dark or I thought was him. I was intrigued knowing John (H) was not too far ahead. I made it my goal to chase whoever was in front of me.
At 5-ish, I reached Keep Tryst. My phone died so I did not know the actual time from there. Volunteers told me it would soon be daybreak. I did not want to know the time either. There was a sense of rush to get to Brunswick before day light.
On my way to Brunswick, I was very sleepy. I was swerving left and right on the trail like a drunken runner. I wanted to close my eyes so bad or lay down just a bit. I knew where a bench was on the trail but couldn’t find it. My headlamp then died. It was my turn to be a commando of running without a light. But luckily indeed daybreak came a few minutes later. I was saved.
Then I saw the real John H and Charleen. The real John and not the imaginary one I thought I heard earlier. They actually called me by name because I couldn’t recognized them as it was still dark, twilight zone. They are always smiling. They were coming from the other direction. That got me very excited. My savior. They were only about 2 miles ahead of me. I could catch them! If I hurry. They had maybe 7-8 miles to the finish. I had maybe 12-13 miles. Let’s go. The race is on. I need to run almost twice as fast as John to catch him. I figure, if John is walking, I most certainly would reel him in.
I arrived at Brunswick one last time. Emily (later I found this was the famous Emily whom I was wondering who all this time when I got into Western States 100, and here she was the same Emily serving me coffee, and I knew this Emily for two years but never made the connection), she handed me a cup of coffee.
Actually she was not the one who made the coffee for me, but a volunteer behind the counter. She was dishing out her wisdom as an ultra runner by saying no need to make it too hot, so that I could drink it down quickly. She was right on, without me saying it. The coffee helped. They had made it in the right temperature. I then asked her what time she got. She said it is 6:07. I said I will try to make it to the finish by 9 am. There were 12 miles left. I made it back before 8:30.
People who saw me said I was moving strong. Charlie said I looked like being out doing my morning run like I was not tired at all. Emily said, she knew I could get it under 3 hours. I said, it is the coffee. Charlie replied, coffee helps but not like that. We joked.
The finish. I remembered people whom I passed earlier as I headed toward Brunswick. So now they were my targets to chase, especially John H. Behind me (on the other side), I saw the rest of the runners who were chasing their cutoffs (I think Brunswick was closing by 9 am). I saw the last runner, Judith. I was rooting for her to finish (and she did make it in with seconds to spare). She actually ran and finished this race several times before. She ran this race every other years or so, and volunteered on her off years. She has been at my other races, such as the Devil Dog, but I didn’t know her back then.
I was praying that John would take a slightly longer break or walk a bit more, so I could catch him. In my mind, I needed him to take a 15 min. But Charlene, his pacer is too good and kept him on pace. I was estimating, likely it would be at the final hill battle when I would catch him. I would have to run fast to catch him there. I found out at the finish, John finished just two minutes ahead of me.
Indeed he was at the top of the hill while I was at the bottom. Anyway, I was more than pleased to see John at the finish. My time was very good. 25:30 was a personal best. I did not plan to run that fast. I did it almost effortlessly. I am still puzzled over it, whether being slower at the first 40 miles helped me so I could run faster in the final 60 miles?
A lot of friends came either to watch their runners or to volunteer. Ram was there, he spent the night pacing someone, maybe Larry. I didn’t get to see Larry when he came in. My mind was fading in and out due to the lack of sleep for the next 5-6 hours. I showered, cleaned up, slept on and off a bit. Also during the race, I had a strong urge to use the bathroom for #2, but I did not want to do it until after the finish. I was bloated. I felt much better afterward. Everything was out of the system. I talked to a first time finisher, Jeremy and then Charlie. They were tired but felt so happy. Also finding out who Emily C is was enough for me. It was like a piece of puzzle is completed. I was in a zen like state, happy.
Aftermath. Other than suffering from being lack of sleep immediately afterward, I had no usual problems with legs being sore or having clamps or having any blisters.
This is pretty much first time that I finished a 100 and didn’t feel like dying. I was suprised my body was taking the race well. I had less fatique than when I ran in the New Taipei Marathon or the Roanoke Marathon. My body, the next few days though, was not in a runable state. More on this in another post. Basically, I am near paralyzed.
There were two challenges. Rain came early around at mile 20-30 for couple hours. I had a poncho on, so I did not get wet. Shoes got wet. I changed those out when I reached the first bag drop area.
The second challenge was after night fall, it got windier and relatively colder. I brought my winter stuff and had those, so I was toasty warm. I was also moving fine to generate enough heat until morning came.
Nutrition was fine. This time I didn’t pack any gel or had prepared meals ahead. I ate whatever the course had for us. I had two main meals: tacos and burgers, and some pb&j. I snacked on fruits and chips. My digestive system didn’t shut down. By mile 70, I felt a bit nauseated, so I held back eating a bit until the feeling gone. By morning, I was ok again. Coffee was a wonderful thing.
I ended up finishing at my personal best of 25:30, by 8:30 am in the morning, and was able to take a long rest until evening before driving home.
I did not set out to chase my PR, but when I was at mile 90, it seemed doable and I still felt fresh at the time, so I went for it. Granted it was a flat course, but last year Blackbeard Revenge 100 was on a similar course, I ran a 26 hour something (26:17:50). This was my second time I finished a 100 below 30 hours.
My next event will be much different. It will be running through streets of Atlanta. It won’t be a race in the usual sense. There won’t be cutoffs, or rules. Mostly will be self-guided. We had 18-ish hours. The pace would be faster (for me) and it would be on pavement. Temperature would be hotter. We will see how it goes. It will be a fun run. Praying my body to be recovered in time for it.
As this was only the beginning of many more runs.
In awe 