The brief report before I am out of time.
It was a big race for me. First real 100 mile of 2026 (we don’t talk about MMT or the Kettle).
Caroline suggested to not run this race and focus on my next one (Eastern State 100). I think, even if I stayed out, Eastern State is already too late to do any big training. And only real next one is Hennepin and that is in October. Well, I could get some running miles in for my future races.
It would been a hard decision. She was probably right.
I chose to do Vermont because I got in. It was a sunk cost fallacy, I did not want to give up my spot. It was a lottery entry and I was 18th or so on the wait list. I had waited months to get in and then I did. Well by then I was commited to do Vermont. I was not sure if anything could sway otherwise. I want a repeat of last year.
The drive up was long. And I was not sure I could have the days off. Final week approached and I was granted leave. So it was a go.
I finished Kettle 100 not long ago. Before that was Massanutten 100. I still believed I could have finished Massanutten and when I could not, it was an unsettling thing that I need a 100 mile to prove to myself I still got what it take to finish one. Kettle, also, while I did finish Kettle and I am thankful for that but it was short of my expectation to do it under 30 hours. I was so close yet so far. It was like stopping at mile 95 with only few miles left. That has been my thing of just stopping a bit short of the goal.
Vermont was the place to resolve that weird feeling of unfinished business.
Running was like a vacation too. So we did the same thing we did last year. We left Wednesday night for New Jersey. We stayed in Laurel Hill, close enough to New York City but not that close so hotel would still remain relatively cheap. Then drove almost the rest of the way Thursday at a leisure pace.
We stopped at various rest areas and usually stayed quite long.
Friday morning was the bib pickup and drop bag dropoff. I origially was too lazy and out of time to pack my drop bag but finally when I woke up and self talked myself to do what needed to do. I said if I were running a 100 mile, I would need this and this and so in the end I got everything into a small drop bag for Camp Ten Bear (mile 46 and 70). That did save my race. I used it both time when I passed through the 10 Bear aid station to change socks and got most of what I needed. Someone said they saw a real bear there!
Caroline offered to pace. I needed any pacer I could get. There were many options to pick from where she could pace me but Camp Ten Bear to the end was probably the most logical since they have a shuttle to get there from the start/finish area.
The morning of, we arrived at 3 am with everyone else. Time flew by before we knew it, it was 4 am start. I started on time. Everything was flowing great.
With two years on the same course, I had zeroed in the pace. This year, I ran with Roy the first few miles. We were the last few runners from the back of the pack, but I was not too bothered by that. Roy did not seem to be too.
Soon, Tek, another friend who has done the race many times (6 or 7 times) caught up. So she and I took off, leaving Roy behind.
By the time we get to Pretty House aid station, also the first crew station, around mile 20, I was feeling great, so I left Tek.
I have not calculated my pace per segment yet, but I was pretty much moving at last year pace. Miles flew by under me. I focused recalculating my pace every 5, 10 and 20 miles. By mile 40, I was still doing well. It was a cooler year, and I was not as exhausted as year before when I reached 1st Ten Bear.
My goal was to reach mile 60 pretty much on pace. Rain came in the afternoon. I was freezing but glad I had a rain poncho. I used that to keep myself warm.
Climped up to Pinky (mile 50) was hard. From there to Birmingham. I confused the two aid stations in my head. Pinky was the fun one. I got nice cooling liquid (beer). At Birmingham I met Caroline’s friend. We chatted and off I went to Margaritta, mile 58.
It always felt long to get to mile 60/62. Puckerville. I had reached the 100k distance.
I thought Puckerville was Brown Schoolhouse. But it was not. So, I still had many miles to go. My time started slipping. Evening arrived. My first year, we got back to Ten Bear by sunset, not this time.
I reached back at Ten Bear second time at 10:15 pm, pretty much at about the pace and time expected. My feet by now was pretty bad due to the rain and sand. I only changed socks once earlier at Ten Bear and was hoping for a sock or shoe change this time around.
I asked if Caroline had her car nearby because I could get a shoe change. But I did tell her not to bring my extra stuff if she starts to pace me there. So my shoes and extra socks were not available. She took the shuttle to Ten Bear to pace me. A logical choice. Her car was not nearby. I was expecting a miracle of having an extra shoe. It was a long shot. Not her fault, I just did not plan for needing a shoe change otherwise, I could have put them in my drop bag.
Things started compounding, when my Red Bull was spilled while I was changing my socks. Oh well, I did not needed that. A sock changed was a must, but only one I have was a left sock I did not use earlier. Anyway, it was hard getting the shoe off and I changed the left side since it had a hole on the bottom from the sand grinding it while out on the course.
My left foot held up pretty well after the race because the sock change twice, both times at Camp Ten Bear. My right foot did not have a sock change and was trashed.
By the time I left Camp 10 Bear, it was 10:45. I blew half hour there. It did not seem that long while I was there. They said to avoid the chair! I knew, it was either a very smart investment or it would come back to bite me. In hindsight, shoe/sock changed was a good decision, but taking too much time, probably was not. Yes, should always have an exact plan before going into an aid station. I thought I did, but was just bad execution.
I was feeling great going back out. Caroline was with me. We had a big climb. It did not seem that big. Yet it was a long way to Spirit 76. (6 miles of trail and road mixed in). It think this was hardest for me. We eventually arrived at Spirit 76. There I had a soup, sat down. But did make it back out.
The next section was to Cow Shed and to me, it was also hard. By the time I got to Cow Shed, I was no longer moving that well. I made it there at my projected time of 3:30 in the morning.
At Cow Shed, I called it the first critial point, hindsight. Caroline decided to use the bathroom, I chose to sit and did nothing. When we were about to leave, I decided to check my feet, and that was the wrong decision. First, I could not remove my shoes because my feet were swollen. Second, I should have done it earlier while Caroline was doing her thing. So huge amount of time was lost. 15 minutes plus. I said to myself, this could be it, I blew my time. I removed the shoes on both feet to empty out the sand. Having gaiters would help keep the grits out on this course.
From Cow Shed to Bills was maybe 4 miles. This was the hardest 4 miles because I did not get to Bills until 5:30 am. The cutoff was around 6:30. I wanted to keep an hour buffer.
So it was a quick in and out at Bills. Caroline saw some old friends and they chatted but for me, I had to keep going so I headed out first. I saw what looked like her phone at the water cooler, I thought what a coincident. It was her phone. So she headed out with me without the phone and later started searching for it. She could have gone back but after some time decided to push on to the next aid station instead.
My pace still had not improved. Time was slipping and other runners were passing us. Roy passed us earlier and gave me a boost though not enough to get me back into pace. It did not bother me not being able to keep up with others, but the fact I might not make it to the finish if I maintained the present pace, was a big concern.
We got to Keating. She told a volunteer to call the last aid station to look for her phone. Keating to Polly was a pretty long segment. It think it was mostly uphill too. Based on my estimate, we would not get there until after the cutoff at 8:40. Words and emotion started to fly. She asked me how many hours (miles) do I run per week. The exact answer was not the point, but the question was to highlight I did not put in the hours in training so I am in my present strait. I disagreed with the insinuation. I’d trained enough. How could that help me to get back into pace, I don’t know. Then it was brought up that I ran 2024 race without sleep the night prior and the answer was supposed to be I trained my butt off that year. I said there are many factors involved in getting a hundred mile done, and a big part is psychology, the runner’s state of mind. I ran many 100s, none of it were easy and often came in at a crutch situation. I hated being in a strait but usually that made the race interesting. I was getting worked up, actually angry, very angry. So, that gave me the extra push to power walking to get away.
I said that not a pacer job to tilt a runner emotionally. Fine, I did not need any more help from her. She ran her own pace and I was doing my thing.
Unfortunately but true. We hiked in silent. Still I knew, I needed to run to catch up to people in front. We got to get to Polly. I resigned the fact I couldn’t and can’t do it. They say dig deep and I tried that for the last 3 hours. Roy said to know your Why. Why are you running this race.
It occured to me the time I am most at peace and most strong was when I was at my lowest. There and now. I was crushed. I could not do the race any more and resign this race is over.
I realized I was wrong about it is just a stupid race and I did not need to get so work up. I never admitted I was wrong. Tears flowed. My faith was that Jesus took the weak and make strong. He is able to make the lame to walk again and cause the blind to see. That came in powerfully. Those were songs I used to sing as a child. That is my why, of why I love doing hard and impossible things. It was not to show I could do it but indeed if I could do it, that God is visible.
Some say it was anger that got me moving. Yes, that was the spark. When I reached deep down, it was God’s words and songs about him that gave me the quiet push. It was his sustaining strength I kept on. I called it was a miracle. Caroline said, maybe not. Oh well, not going argued with that. Result was what matters. For me though, even if I did not reach the end, I was fine. I came and got what I needed on the trail. I found the peace at being out on the trail and being at one with God, a spiritual refresh.
We arrived at Pollys. I wanted to be there before 8:00. We got there by 7:50. Good, we should have enough time to finish. The end was not yet certain with 5 miles left and 2 hour-ish to go. But the pace was a lot easier and margin is better than before.
We arrived at the finish at 9:35. 25 minutes before the final cutoff. There I got the buckle. I did not deserved this. It was a hard and long fought, but it was a finish.
Any last word? Maybe. Roy asked if I will be back aiming for maybe a 500 mile buckle. I think it is my last with 3 attempts. It was very hard, and probably the hardest 100. I saw many did not reach the end (40-50 people, some I was with, 80% finisher rate, a good year). I don’t know if I have any left in me for another try. That is it for now.
In awe 