Well, it’s been awhile! But I’m back with another race report. First of all, I need to introduce Journey. She’s an American Foxhound that we adopted in summer 2024.

Journey has been joining me on most of my hikes and runs since we got her. We started out running with minimal type gear. As we got more into it I invested in actual canicross gear (dog harness, bungee leash, and waist belt) in November 2025, under the guidance of my friend Ashton who runs with her dog, Juniper. Little did I know Ashton was preparing me for my first “canicross” race – a cross-country/trail race where the human and dog run as a team.

After several more months of running in our new set up, I was ready to commit to my first race. I signed up for the Rehab Rover Canicross & Trail Race in Gordonsville, VA, which took place on October 3.

On race morning my dad headed over with us to the equine rehabilitation facility where the race was held. It was chilly and raining pretty hard. I wish it hadn’t been raining for our first canicross race, but I’ll take that over the heat! After parking, we did packet pick up, attended the race safety briefing, and prepared to run. I also walked and jogged Journey around a bunch hoping she would take care of her business before the race, but she did not.

They started the race in small groups that are seeded based on projected pace. This helps spread the runners and their dogs out a bit on the course. The 5K officially started at 9AM and about 10 minutes later it was our turn to run!

We started out running on a gravel driveway. Of course, less than a quarter mile into the race Journey decided she was ready to potty. Once I got that picked up and taken care of, we continued on our way. From the gravel, we headed onto the grass and through some fields. The grass felt really soft to run on, a bit like running on sand, and sometimes it was also slippery.

From the fields we headed into a short, wooded trail section. The trails were so fun, albeit sloppy, and I loved anytime we hit a wooded section on the course. I didn’t know how Journey would do in this race setting with lots of other people and dogs around, but she seemed to be having a blast.

Mile two brought us through some more fields. We encountered a few hills, as we had in the first mile, which I hiked. Journey thought hiking was a great time to stop and sniff stuff, so we lost a little time to that as well. Just before the end of this mile we hit a creek crossing and I’m glad there was a bridge. My girl will go through water if she must, but she is not a fan (it’s kind of a miracle she was out in the rain with me, to be honest). I also opted to walk the bridge, as I’ve learned my lesson about falling into the water during races.

The final mile took us back into the woods. This section of trail was very muddy and slippery and had some large puddle sections. I saw several runners wipeout through here, but luckily I stayed upright. There was also two way traffic through here as the 10K runners made their way along the course, and Journey handled it beautifully. We had a few steep climbs in the woods and then popped out in another field section that had a sharp downhill before flattening out. We crossed the creek again (another bridge!) and headed for the home stretch.

As we ran across the final field stretch before the finish, we saw Ashton and Juniper out there looking strong in their 10K race. We both cheered each other on. Then there was one final hill to push through and we rounded the corner to see my dad cheering us on and the finish line just ahead.

We finished in 44:50 (by my watch, as I don’t have an official time). This being Journey’s first race, she definitely didn’t get the concept of the finish line. As we were supposed to be crossing the finish line, she took a hard left to try and say hi to the timer. What can you do?

Shortly after we finished, Ashton and Juniper finished their 10K. We met up with them in the finish area and it sounded like they had a great day out there. Ashton and I have shared many miles together and I’m grateful for her friendship, encouragement, and guidance as we wade into this canicross world.

Overall, I was a little worried about what Journey would think of the race setting with all of the other dogs. I wondered if she would have a good time or if it would be overwhelming. The rain is also definitely not her favorite and I didn’t know how she would handle that. She was not pleased with standing around in it for a little over an hour pre-race but once it was time to run she was happy. She had a great first race and I’m really proud of her. Personally, I was also happy to be back at a trail race. We picked a really good one for our first canicross race experience! I definitely think there are more races in our future.

At the end of October, I ran my final race of the year- the MCM 10K in DC and Arlington, VA. This race was actually a belated Christmas gift from my dad for the 2020 race which was ultimately canceled. But we had a fun time running a virtual marathon around Bedford that year instead. I was originally signed up to run the full marathon this year, along with my husband Barry, but I ultimately decided to drop down to the 10K distance.

We stayed near the finish in Rosslyn, which meant I had to catch the Metro to the start line in DC. I was up dark and early on race morning to walk the half mile or so to the Metro station to meet up with Charlotte and Katie. It was slightly chilly out, but also kind of humid. While waiting for them, I paced back and forth on the sidewalk for about 10 minutes from a mix of race morning nerves and trying to stay warm. There was an Arlington policeman on the sidewalk, and around the 20th time that I walked by him he said “Are you okay?” I said that I was just waiting for my friends and was nervous and he chuckled and said “Well you’re making me nervous.” A few minutes later Charlotte and Katie arrived and we headed into the Metro – I’m sure the cop was happy to see me go.

Our Metro trip went really smoothly and we arrived at the National Mall area in DC. We walked over to the race start area and hit the porta John’s a few times.

I got separated from Charlotte and Katie before the start. But before I knew it the race was off and running at 7:50 AM. It didn’t take too long to cross the start line and then I was on my way.

The first mile took us around the National Mall area and I liked running by all of the Smithsonian buildings. We headed straight toward the Washington Monument and then hung a left toward the 14th Street bridge. On the way, we ran by a couple of music stations and a really neat drum group. When I saw them hours later, they were still rocking out.

From there, we headed onto the 14th Street bridge. It was nice to hit the bridge without 20 miles on my legs. No death march like last time. However, just like last time, it was quiet on the bridge compared to DC. I actually bumped into Charlotte and Katie on the bridge and ran with Katie for a bit – funny how that happens in a sea of thousands of people.

We crossed back into Virginia and came down off of the bridge, passing the halfway point of the race. From here we made our way through Crystal City. Just before mile 4, I saw my dad. I waved and said hi before continuing on my way towards the finish.

As we left Crystal City and headed toward the finish line near the Pentagon and the Iwo Jima war memorial, it got quiet again. I think I had music playing in my earbud and I just kind of chugged along and enjoyed my tunes. We ran under a couple of bridges where there were a few people out cheering.

The last few miles passed fairly quickly and next thing I knew we were turning left to head up the hill to the finish line. The finishing chute was lined with Marines cheering us on and giving us high fives, which was cool. I crossed the finish line in about 1:26. This was more of a low key day for me, just how I wanted it to be.

It felt like it took a long time to get out of the finish area. I had trouble figuring out where to go (probably my own fault) and finally found my way. I met up with my dad in Rosslyn and we hopped the Metro to head back to the National Mall area to cheer Barry on during his race.

We made it down to the Mall and saw Barry at mile 15 as he was coming off of Hains Point. He looked really strong and happy!

From there, Dad and I walked a little over a mile back towards the National Mall area. We found a bench in a shady spot and rested awhile and enjoyed some snacks. Then we walked back up to the National Mall and saw Barry at mile 19. He was still looking great, but I think the humidity was wearing on him.

From there, dad and I hopped back on the Metro and headed over to Crystal City. I was glad that all of our Metro travel went really smoothly that day. We were able to catch Barry one more time on an out and back in Crystal City around miles 22 and 23. He was definitely hot and tired by that point, as tends to happen in the marathon, but I knew he could also smell the barn.

Dad and I took the Metro back to Rosslyn and waited for Barry in the finish festival area. It was insanely crowded. Luckily, we didn’t miss each other in the crowd and were able to reunite with Barry. I’m glad he’s so tall because it makes it easier to spot him! It also helps that he chose to wear bright orange that day.

I was glad to leave the crowds and head back to our hotel. Later that night, we went out to a yummy restaurant where I had lobster Mac & cheese for dinner. Overall it was a fun race weekend and I enjoyed being back at Marine Corps and getting to see Barry run the full.

At this point, I don’t have any races on the docket for 2024. I’m planning to start off the year low key and just dial things back and run for myself. We will see where the new year takes me from there.

Well, it’s been about two and a half months since I ran this one so I guess it’s time to write my race report. At least I’m getting this report done sooner than my Ozone race report.

Back in mid-April I ran the James River Trail Runs 10 Miler at James River State Park in Gladstone, VA. The park was pretty much in the middle of nowhere and it was really pretty.

On Friday afternoon, I met up with Charlotte and then we carpooled to the park where we met up with Christine, Peter, and Carole at our cabin. I was surprised at how nice the cabin was! We walked over to the start/finish area (about a 3 tenths mile walk up and down some hills) to check in and pick up our race bibs and swag. After that, we chilled, ate dinner, and prepared for our races the next morning. Kim and her family were also there, but were staying in their camper over in the campground and I looked forward to seeing her the next morning.

This race weekend was kind of difficult for me. I had a lot going on personally, and I just felt so anxious and like I didn’t want to be at the race. It was supposed to be a fun weekend with friends, but I was struggling. The course was a 10 mile loop, with options of 10 miles, 30 miles, and 50 miles and I ultimately decided that the 10 mile race was the best fit for me.

Race morning arrived bright and early, and it was relatively cool in the upper 50’s. My friend’s races all started 30 minutes earlier than mine, so I hung back at the cabin and then had some quiet time to myself walking over for my race start. Around 8:15, we were off and running. We started with a short paved loop before heading onto the trails.

Once on the trails, we headed towards the campground area and ran a loop around the pond. It was a smaller race field and I let myself fall towards the back of the pack so that I could just chill, take it easy, and try and lose myself in the beauty of the trails.

From there, we crossed a few roads and climbed up to the Ridge Loop Trail between miles 2 and 2.5. I liked this loop section. There were some good views through the trees up here. The race had also spread out enough that I didn’t see anyone else around me and I really liked that, too. As I came off of the loop a little past mile 4, I saw the two leaders of the 50 miler heading onto the loop (abut 12.5 miles into their race).

Coming off of the loop, there was a steep descent down the trail and across the main park road onto another trail. Just after getting onto that trail, we took a hard right. I nearly missed the turn, but just noticed the race course flagging. The course rolled downhill, with one climb, and then a very long descent to mile 6. During this section, the leader of the 50 miler passed me. I kept waiting and expecting second place to catch me as well, since they were running very close together when I saw them headed into the ridge loop, but he never passed me until mile 7 or so. It turns out he missed that turn that I nearly missed after the main park road – bummer!

As you can see on the elevation profile, we hit a very steep climb at mile 6. I was not expecting this. But I knew I was getting close to the aid station, so I put my head down and just put one foot in front of the other.

When I topped the hill, I arrived at the aid station. Woohoo! It was an unseasonably hot day for April and by late morning it was really warming up. Kim’s husband, Chad, and their kids were working the aid station and I was happy to see them. I refilled my water and grabbed a few orange slices. I thanked them for volunteering and then headed down the gravel road. From here, I knew most of the race aside from the very end was supposed to be downhill or flat and I was feeling ready to roll.

I knew that we would be making a right turn onto a trail from this road, so I kept an eye out for that. The turn ended up being right at a gate area, which had me looking straight ahead at the gate, but then I noticed the five or so race flags on my right telling me to turn onto the trail. This was between miles 7 and 8 and as I made my way down the trail, I came upon Charlotte and Peter. They were chugging along, but were also feeling the heat of the morning. We had a funny exchange with each other that still makes me laugh when I think about it. I’ll leave it between us, since what happens on the trail stays on the trail. But hopefully the two of them will remember that it had to do with a certain podcast about a rugby team that I was listening to.

The trail dumped me onto a road and I ran down around a parking lot area and onto a grassy trail along the river. It was really flat through here, so I increased my pace some. But it was also really hot with almost no shade. The water was pretty, but it also tormented me that I couldn’t go get in it and cool off. I did see some cows wading in it from the other side, though!

The course took us through a sort of field section that I found rather tortuous. The sun was just beating down on me, and I was glad this was my one and only loop for the day.

Finally, I popped out back onto the road near the canoe landing and ran up a mean little hill to the finish line. I was so glad to be done! I finished in 2:47:51. The race was a lot hillier than I anticipated, but I also really enjoyed the variety on the course.

After I finished, I received my finisher’s mug, got a hot dog, and met up with Carole. We hung out in the finisher area for the rest of the afternoon, cheering on our friends and the other runners, and crewing Kim to her 30 mile finish. It was such a hot day, with the temperature hitting 80 degrees with full sunshine. None of us were prepared for that.

Later in the evening, we drove up to the Tye River Overlook. On our way up there, we saw runners still making their way along the course. I couldn’t believe they were still out there. When it’s one of my long races, I’m in the mindset to go all day (or all night). But when it’s not my race and I see others out there who have been going for so long, I am so amazed by them. Makes you think about how important mindset is. Anyway, we hiked out to the overlook where we saw the confluence of the Tye River and the James River. It was really pretty up there, and it was a good place to reflect on the day and on life.

After that, it was back to the cabin for showers and dinner (prepared by Christine – thank you!). On Sunday morning, we all packed up and headed home. When Char and I got back to her house, we watched the NCAA gymnastics National Championships together (Florida was robbed, but the curse of the white leotard lives on) and then I headed home. It was a fun and beautiful weekend, and overall I’m glad I went.

I’m still in kind of a weird place with my relationship with running, but I’m working through it. Thus far, this summer has been a fun mix of summer swim league, running, and Pickleball. The variety has been good for me, so I think I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing. Every day may not be a good day, but you can find something good in every day.

Well… they say better late than never. So four months later, I finally sat down and wrote my race report for the Ozone 36 Hour Endurance Challenge. The race took place in Rockwood, TN at Camp Ozone at the end of October. This was a timed race on a 1.77 mile loop with options of 6 hours up to 96 hours. I opted for the 36 hour event in the hopes of hitting 100 miles after missing the mark at Yeti 100 the month prior. As is often the case with ultrarunning, the race threw me some curveballs and challenges that I didn’t anticipate… here’s how it all went down.

My race started at 9 PM on Friday night, so I worked the first half of the day and then made the 5-ish hour drive (thanks, Knoxville traffic) to Camp Ozone. I arrived a little before sunset and got my canopy, chairs, table, and car sleeping arrangement set up. I had done some grocery shopping in advance and was all set with my favorite ultra foods.

I didn’t want a lot of fanfare about this race, so I headed down solo without a crew. However, my friend Michael was there running the 96 hour event (he was on day 3 by the time I arrived) so I had one friendly face going into the race. But by the end of the weekend, I had made several new friends and acquaintances.

After checking in at race headquarters, I went back to my car and had some dinner. Around 8:30 I made my way back over to headquarters and the aid station area for my race start. It was just me and another girl entered in the 36 hour division. The aid station atmosphere was really cool with music blasting, lights, and even some Burning Man-like costumes. At 9 PM we were off and running.

Shortly after I started, Michael joined up with me. We ran together until sometime between midnight and 1 AM, when he went to go sleep. I enjoyed his company and appreciate that he wanted to make sure I felt comfortable on the course with the night start. Speaking of which, I have run races at night in the past. However, I have never started a race at night that was going to go through the night and into the next day. I didn’t anticipate how difficult that would be.

I got extremely tired and had a rough patch from 2:30 to 4:30 AM. I wanted to nap but I didn’t feel like I had run far enough to “justify” a nap. It really messed with my head that I was wanting to stop and take a break when I was only 15 to 20 miles into the race. Looking back, a short nap may have helped. I had been awake since Friday morning and still had all of Saturday and Saturday night to go, since my race would officially end at 9 AM Sunday morning. I could have managed the first night better to set myself up for success later in the race. Definitely a lesson learned.

The volunteers at the race were phenomenal. During my rough patch, I sat down in the aid station at one point. They checked in with me and encouraged me not to sit in the aid station under the warm heater, because I would end up making decisions based on how comfortable it was there. I’m grateful that they got me back out on course. I moved slowly the rest of the night due to being so sleepy. The course was a mix of gravel road and singletrack trail, and I went through a patch where I kept stumbling a lot.

Sometime around 5 AM Saturday morning, Michael was back on course and joined up with me again. Unfortunately for him, I spent the 90 minutes before sunrise whining about when the sun would come up. When it finally did, it helped so much. It was also really cool to finally see the course in the daylight after running on it all night long. I got some waffle with syrup from the aid station and felt like a new person. I rode that high for awhile before I hit my next low patch.

As the day went on, I would have really good laps and then one or two bad ones. Getting some food from the aid station during my low points definitely helped. They had a great selection of food with lots to choose from. During my race, I ate: cheese pizza, pasta with carrots and potatoes, grilled cheese, apple slices, instant potatoes, cheese quesadilla, waffle with syrup, lime fruit popsicle, honey stingers, Huma gels, candy, Tailwind, Liquid IV, Coke, and Ginger Ale.

The course itself was really gorgeous. I loved being at the camp, where it felt a bit secluded from the rest of the world. The 1.77 mile loop included some gravel road sections, an out and back section on a trail, and another singletrack section that went across a metal bridge.

I also really enjoyed getting to know all of the people at the race. I made new friends, including Stacy G, Lawrence, and Sheri. Like Michael, they were all entered in the 96 hour event and were so strong and totally kicking butt.

It got warmer during the day, but it didn’t feel too hot. As the morning carried on, the 12 hour runners, 24 hour runners, and 6 hour runners joined us. It was nice to have some more activity on the course, and some of those runners were totally ripping it up.

As the day wore on, I noticed that my right heel was bothering me more and more. I had pretaped it, but after awhile I stopped at the aid station so that medical could assess it. We decided to remove the tape and found that there was a deep blister under the callus. She decided it was best to leave it alone and just tape over it and I was back on my way.

In addition to new friends, I made several new acquaintances and I got to meet Steven Kornhaus in person, who I follow on YouTube (UltraTrailSteven). He was running the 48 hour event. There was also an awesome family running the 72 hour event and their 13 year old son was shooting for 100 miles. I got to share a little time with him and saw him many times on course, often accompanied either by his mom or his dad. In the afternoon on Saturday, we got word that he was on his final lap to hit 100 miles, so Michael and I stopped at the aid station so that we could cheer him in. They also happened to get popsicles out at that point, which was perfect timing!

After cheering the 13 year old in, I headed back on course to continue my race. My feet were getting more and more sore. The balls on both of my feet just hurt. I think it may have been from so much time on gravel, or maybe I was just being a baby.

The sun set a little before 7 PM and I tried to mentally prepare myself for a second night. At this point I had been awake for over 30 hours. This is when things started to get weird. We could hear interstate 40 from camp, but you couldn’t see it. During the second night, I saw lights moving along in the distance. With the sound of big rigs in the background, I was convinced I was seeing the interstate. I told Michael I didn’t realize you could see the interstate at night. He was confused at first, and asked me “where?” I pointed to the lights and he laughed and said that those were runners with headlamps approaching the aid station on the other side of the lake. Oops…

I think Michael and I separated for a little while after that, and I ran some laps on my own. I was simply exhausted and didn’t know how to handle the sleep deprivation. Around 8:30 PM, I sat down in the aid station and had a complete break down. All of a sudden I was just sobbing and I really didn’t know why. Stacy B, the co-race director, sat with me and provided some words of comfort. She got some sugar in me, in the form of a Jolly Rancher, and then brought me a little cup of pasta with carrots and potatoes. I told her I didn’t know why I couldn’t stop crying and she said I was behind on calories and over tired. Michael came back into the aid station then – I think he had hit his goal of 200 miles by that point. He sat next to me and also provided some support.

I was still crying and started shivering pretty hard, so the aid station folks suggested I take some food to go and go do a lap to warm up. Michael went with me and I continued to cry for about half of that lap until it finally subsided. After that I felt a bit better, emotionally, but I was still just completely exhausted. However, I did get a little boost on each lap every time we hit the turnaround point on the out and back. There was a propene-fueled lamp at the turnaround and I loved seeing it each time.

The support from Stacy B, Michael, and the other volunteers definitely saved my race. They helped me keep pushing forward, and as the night went on I would do a few laps and then rest in the aid station. I also took two 10 minute naps in my car, making sure to set an alarm on my phone each time.

Sometime during the night, my right heel with the blister started burning. I had it looked at again by medical in the aid station and she found that the blister had ruptured. She made a few more holes to help it drain, which hurt because my whole heel just felt really tender. She got it taped back up and also taped a blister on my left heel, and I was off again. Side note: After the race, it took several months for the blisters on my heels to fully heal.

Aside from mistaking runners headlamps for the interstate, I had a few other hallucinations during the second night. At one point, I was convinced that the hand washing station outside of the Porta Johns was a giant bottle of pancake syrup. Specifically, it looked just like a bottle of Mrs. Butterworths. There were also lights shining up onto the leafless trees at the aid station and from across the lake I was convinced that the trees were on fire with billowing smoke. Someone was also backing their vehicle down the road and I thought their red tail lights were a fire truck.

During the night, I was running with Michael again and he had a sort of hallucination of his own. We were on the out and back trail and a runner coming towards us had dropped his headlamp and was bending to pick it up. Michael thought it was a bear and he grabbed my arm and said to stop and wait a minute. I was pretty sure it was a runner, but he was wearing dark clothing and was hunched over trying to pick up his light. In the darkness it was hard to tell for sure. Ultimately, it turned out to be a runner, haha. To be fair, they had seen a bear on the course earlier in the week and there was fresh bear scat on the out and back trail during the race. Michael’s hallucination, if you can even call it that, was a lot more plausible than the ones I had.

The weather forecast was calling for rain from 3 to 7 AM on Sunday morning. It was in the 40’s and if it rained I knew I would stop. When I made it to 70 miles, 40 total laps, at 3:00 AM I officially called it done. I missed my goal of 100 miles, but 70 miles is a new personal distance record for me! Technically, I had nearly 6 hours left in my race, but at that point I had been up for 45 hours, with just one or two short naps, and it was time to stop. The rain did eventually come, so it was just as well.

After I finished, the race director, Will Jorgensen, awarded me a 50 mile mug (the next tier of finisher’s award was the 100 mile buckle, so I received the mug). We took a photo together at the finish line, which I can’t find now, and we chatted for a bit before I made my way back over to my car. I packed up all of my stuff and drove over to the cabin area. Michael and his bunk mates had kindly offered me one of the free bunks and a hot shower in their cabin and I graciously accepted. I even had the cabin to myself, since they were all still out on course. I took a shower and crashed hard from 5 to 9 AM. I woke up feeling pretty refreshed and went down to the aid station to watch the 96 hour runners finish up the end of their race at 10 AM. They were so incredible.

A little while after that, we convened at the camp lodge for food and fellowship. I really enjoyed getting to sit around and talk with everyone and get to know them better. The food was great, too! They did some recognitions, and I ended up winning the 36 hour division. That was pretty cool. After that, I helped some friends get packed up from the cabin and then I hit the road to make the 4-5 hour drive home.

My very first timed race was at Holston River in 2018 and I ran the 6 hour option. There were people there doing the 36 hour event, which was the longest option. I couldn’t fathom that at the time! Four years later, here I was hopping into a 36 hour race. This one had a 96 hour event as the longest option. I can’t currently fathom that! So I guess we will see what I’m hopping into by 2026….

Where to begin. The Yeti 100 was the biggest run I have taken on to date. More than a month out from the race, I was already dealing with some serious nerves and anxiety, having trouble sleeping some nights, etc. There were even days that I simply decided I wasn’t going to do the race, even though I continued to follow my training plan. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before leading up to an event. The magnitude of Yeti just seemed more monumental to me than anything I’ve ever done before.

The weather forecast was looking okay until Hurricane Ian started tracking to make landfall in Florida a few days before the race and then swing up the east coast and hit our area during the race. By that point, it would be a tropical depression and nowhere near the devastation it caused in Florida. But we would be faced with rain throughout the weekend, starting around 2 PM Friday, and winds up to 40-45 mph overnight on Friday night.

I have a history of crazy race weather every time I do a big “first” (snow at first trail race, hail/wind/mud at first 50K, torrential rain and wind at first 24 hour race…), so of course the remnants of a hurricane would come through. All I could do was prepare as best I could for the cold rain and wind, the worst of which would hit overnight while I was up on the mountain.

Dad came down to help crew me for the race and he, Barry (my husband) and I headed down to Damascus on Thursday afternoon. We were staying in an Air BnB on the outskirts of town with the rest of my crew/pacers: Charlotte, Lauren, Kim, Cathy, and Peter. The house we ended up staying in was sweet! I had my typical pre-race Subway dinner and then we headed over to packet pickup at Wolf Hills Brewery in Abingdon. It was super busy and I ended up waiting in line for over an hour to get my race swag and GPS tracker. Thank goodness I ate before we went!

After we got back to the house and got settled, we had a crew meeting and then it was time to pack the car and head to bed. I got small bits of sleep during the night, but mostly just laid in bed with my eyes closed until my alarm went off at 4:30 AM on Friday morning. I got up and had my coffee and oatmeal, got dressed, and prepared to race. At 6 AM Barry and I headed to the race start.

I was insanely nervous on the drive up to Whitetop and I think I barely spoke to Barry. There was no parking at the start, so runners could either take a shuttle or have a crew member drop them off “kiss and ride” style. It took about 40 minutes to get up there and B dropped me off, telling me he loved me and would see me in a few hours. It was a chilly morning, with temps in the low 40s and the sun not quite up yet. I opted to start out in shorts, a short sleeve and long sleeve shirt, and gloves. I used the restroom and then listened to race director Jason’s pre-race speech, and at 7 AM we were off and running!

Based on my nerves leading up to the race, it truly was a huge victory for me that I showed up to the start line and actually started this race. As we headed down the trail, I tried to do my best to stay calm and settle in. The first 17 or so miles were all downhill and I started right away with my 4 minute run / 1.5 minute walk intervals to keep my pace under control early. As the pack thinned out in the first mile, I found myself towards the back and by myself. But the pace I was running felt right to me so I just kept at it.

I was feeling alright as I made my way down the trail. I still felt pretty sleepy and I felt a bit empty, too. I made sure to drink at regular intervals and eat some fuel about every 30 minutes (huma gels and honey stinger chews). I hit the first aid station in Taylors Valley a little before mile 11. They told me they would have pierogis and hamburgers overnight. It was up on a steep hill and I made a mental note to have my crew go up there for me if I wanted anything from the aid station when I passed through there again during the night. I refilled my Tailwind and grabbed 1/3 of a banana and headed down the trail.

I noticed a few things hurting early on, but they seemed to come and go as I ran: my left achilles, my right hip/piriformis, and sometimes my right pinky toe. In a long race, sometimes things hurt but there’s a lot of time for them to feel better, too. As I made my way towards Damascus and the first time I would see my crew, I started counting my steps. It’s a game I play sometimes either when I get bored or when I’m just trying to manage my nerves. I counted somewhere over 8,000 before I lost interest in the game.

I arrived in Damascus between miles 17 and 18, about 4 hours into the race, and I was still getting settled in to my run. My crew was at the town park waiting for me. I made a quick stop at the restroom restroom, where I started having some GI issues that would mostly stick with me the rest of the race. But I was otherwise fine, and my crew (Barry, Dad, Charlotte, and Lauren) swapped out my flasks and restocked my pack with more fuel. I was pretty quiet and not smiley yet, as I was still trying to calm my nerves, and I think it alerted them to the type of day we might be about to have.

I headed down the trail, grabbing a cup of Coke from the actual aid station along the way. It was a 7 mile stretch to the next aid station in Alvarado. This is a section that is notoriously hot, but on this day it was cloudy and still in the 50’s or so. The weather really was perfect… until it wasn’t. I put an ear bud in and started listening to a podcast I’ve been enjoying lately called Office Ladies (a rewatch podcast for The Office).

I was in my own head for the first 18 miles, and I think switching to listening to the podcast was a nice distraction. I wonder if I should have done that from the start, but I didn’t want to feel like I “needed” podcasts or music to get through it. Plus I wanted to experience the race, not check out on it. On the way to Alvarado, I actually passed right by our Air BnB. Charlotte was out there cheering me on and taking some photos. Before the race I wondered if passing by our house would be mentally tough for me. But I found that I was focused on the race and didn’t have any thoughts about the house.

The miles towards Alvarado actually passed more quickly than they have any other time I have run this section of trail. I passed by the magical Pepsi machine and Mr. Inspiration, who was really kind and encouraging as I ran by. But I didn’t take photos of either because I was too busy still feeling scared and nervous.

I had to make a couple of pit stops on the way to Alvarado, before arriving at the next aid station and crew spot just before mile 25. I was pacing well and came in about 40 minutes under the cutoff.

By this time it was almost 1 PM. I had been running for about 6 hours and I knew I needed to put some real food in me for more substantial calories. Charlotte grabbed me some pb&j squares from the aid station. This is something I have eaten at countless trail races, but I took one look at it and told her “I can’t eat that.” She quickly went back to the aid station and came back with cheese quesadillas. This was more appealing, and the warm food on a chilly day was nice. I wasn’t supposed to see my crew again until 8 miles later in Abingdon. But Char offered to meet me at Watauga along the way (which was allowed per the race guide) and I agreed since I was being a baby. So I said bye to Char, Dad, and Barry and headed down the trail knowing I would see them in 5 miles.

This next stretch of trail included two of my favorite bridges, including the “big ass bridge” between miles 25 and 26. As I ran across, I was surprised to see how low the water was in the Holston River. Many of the docks were sitting on dry ground. I bet it wasn’t as low once the remnants of Hurricane Ian moved through the area.

As I made my way towards Watauga, I saw lots of runners making their way back down the trail. After running solo for the entire race, it was nice to see others and exchange encouragement. This is another stretch of trail that can get hot, but it was really comfortable on this day. I rolled into Watauga where I saw my crew, including Lauren and her family and Peter. Lo had her baby in a unicorn costume which was so cute. There was also a little aid station set up here which I didn’t expect. My crew swapped one of my flasks and then sent me on my way.

From here, it was just three miles to the first turnaround of the day in Abingdon between miles 33 and 34. I arrived around 3:15 PM, still about 40 minutes under cutoff. My crew had my setup ready for me, as I planned to change socks and shoes here, ditch a layer, and pick up my rain jacket. While changing my socks and shoes, I also pulled the tape off of my right pinky toe which was still mildly bothering me. It felt better without the tape.

Running and race-wise I was starting to get into a pretty good groove. But my stomach was not feeling great. Char brought me some more cheese quesadillas. They weren’t as appealing this time, but I did my best to eat them anyway as I headed down the trail. About a mile later I ended up barfing them up, but at least I tried.

It started raining lightly as I made my way back to Watauga. Charlotte had offered to see me again there, and I agreed because I was still being a baby. Apparently this messed up some other crew members plans for lunch at Shoney’s, haha. But I heard they made do with Wendy’s. When I came through Watauga, my crew was there as well as Kim. She had come down to pace me overnight from miles 63 to 83ish. It was nice to see her and I gave her a brief update on the day.

I kept making my way to Alvarado around mile 43ish, making several more bathroom stops on the way. Finally, around mile 40 I felt settled into the race. It’s kind of ridiculous that it took me that long to finally settle. The rain and wind picked up a little through this section and I actually got a bit chilled, even with my rain jacket on. I also lost one of my gloves somewhere through here, so one hand was cold, too.

I came into Alvarado a little before 6 PM – 11 hours into the race and an hour ahead of the cutoff. Even though I was struggling with some GI issues (most of which I really think were from nerves) and some mental demons, things were really going pretty smoothly overall. My crew had some mashed potatoes ready for me and Char also got me some boiled potatoes with salt from the aid station. I had to fight my gag reflex a bit while eating, but managed to get the food down. I also opted to put on my Frogg Toggs pants, gloves with latex gloves on top (essential for warm hands when it’s cold and rainy), and picked up some lights since the sun would set before I got back to Damascus.

The rain continued as I made my way towards Damascus at mile 49. It got progressively darker as the sun set, but I don’t think I had to start using my handheld light until mile 47 or so. I was about a mile outside of Damascus when the race leader came by from the other direction. He was at mile 84 or something and on his way to a sub-15 hour finish. Crazy. There was a lot of ponding on the trail and I couldn’t wait to get into Damascus where I would do a full outfit change and get fresh, dry socks and shoes.

I rolled into Damascus, just before mile 50, around 8:15 PM- a little over 13 hours into the race and about 40 minutes under the cutoff. Damascus was a total party and the aid station and town park were really busy. My crew had my changing tent and everything ready for me and I tried to get in and out as efficiently as possible. I got changed and Lauren brought me some bone broth and corn chowder from the aid station. Unfortunately, the bone broth got cold before I could drink it (I drank it anyway) and the corn chowder was spicy and I couldn’t eat it. Lo ran and got me a second cup of bone broth from the aid station while I hit the restroom. My crew also gave me some instant cheese grits to eat. Cathy was there and ready to pace me from mile 49 in Damascus to mile 63 in Green Cove. It would be an all uphill stretch, with about 1,400 feet of climbing.

It felt good to have dry clothes on with my rain gear on top, as the rain was steadily coming down at this point and the temperature was dropping outside. I lost between 20-25 minutes at this stop, despite our best efforts, and Cathy and I headed out of Damascus around 8:35 PM.

Most of my crew retired to the house for the night. Overnight, Dad, Peter, and Kim would crew me. Barry went to get some sleep after crewing me all day, since he would also be pacing me in from mile 84. The plan was for Cathy to pace me up to Green Cove, and then she would hop in with the crew and Kim would pace me back to Damascus. Normally, we would go all the way up to Whitetop but due to the forecasted wind and the number of widowmakers between Green Cove and Whitetop, there was a last minute change to the course. Runners would now turn around in Green Cove at mile 63 and come back down the mountain to Damascus, where they would do an extra out and back to make up the mileage before heading towards the finish in Abingdon.

As Cathy and I headed down the trail I was in relatively good spirits despite the weather. It was really a nasty night out there. But I was happy for the company and overall I felt okay. I was feeling a little empty and weak, but my legs felt alright aside from a weird pain behind my left knee. At this point, I had switched to a 3 minute run / 1.5 minute walk interval, and we stuck to that except that we were now walking all of the bridges because they were so slick.

As we made our way up to Taylors Valley at mile 56, we saw lots of runners on their way back down. Cathy and I chatted away and the time was passing pretty quickly. Around mile 53, I tripped and fell pretty hard on the trail. I gotta tell you- it hurts to fall pretty much anytime. But it’s really jarring when you fall hard 14 hours into a race. There was a split second where my brain thought “let’s just stay here” as I laid there on the trail. But then I got back up and we continued on. I was a little grumpy that I had torn the knee on my rain pants and the elbow of my rain jacket. Overall, I was alright- just bruised on my knees, forearm, and hand. Somehow I also skinned my knees through two layers of fabric.

The trail was completely flooded and had turned into a river. Pretty much from the time we left Damascus all the way to Green Cove, we were running in icy cold, ankle deep water. To put it simply, it was miserable. At times I contemplated if running on the edge, with a drop off of several hundred feet, was worth it. But then the grass was totally saturated, too, so it didn’t matter.

We made pretty good time on the 7 mile stretch to Taylors Valley and arrived around 10:40 PM, about 12 minutes ahead of the cutoff. I had gotten chilled about a mile outside of Taylors Valley on the way there. My rain gear was keeping me dry, but it was getting much colder and windier as we climbed higher and I needed another layer. I was carrying my puffy jacket with me, but I knew we were getting close to the aid station and didn’t want to stop in the pouring rain to take off my rain jacket and put another jacket on. So when we got to Taylors Valley, I was shivering pretty hard. Lesson learned: even in the rain, just stop and add more layers the second you start feeling chilled.

I had requested pierogis from the aid station and Kim had gone up the hill to get them for me. After I put my puffy jacket on and my rain jacket back on, I tried to eat my pierogis but I only got through one of them before I barfed everything back up. Dang it. I was still shivering, so I took some cup of noodles to go and headed down the trail with Cathy. Peter walked us out of the aid station and he got to experience what a joy the flooded trail was. Did I mention I was pretty over the ankle deep water and freezing cold, wet feet?

I was able to sip on the warm broth from my cup of noodles and eat some of the noodles, but I was still feeling so nauseous. Cathy and I tried to do my run/walk intervals early on, but every time we ran my nausea got even worse and I didn’t want to lose what little calories I had in me. So instead we tried to speed walk and I took little sips of water.

At this point, the rain had become a deluge. We saw a lot of runners who did not look like they were doing well – many were clutching emergency foil blankets around themselves and looked soaked and freezing. It was rough out there. Sometimes I could see lights from houses located near the trail. Thanks to the weather, I longed for the warmth and dry that I imagined their occupants were enjoying.

It’s another 7 mile stretch from Taylors Valley to Green Cove, and it’s steeper than the previous section. I knew this one was going to be longer for us. As we made our way up the trail, someone caught up to us from behind and I found out he was a sweeper. I asked if I was about to be swept and he said that no, I was moving at a good pace but that I was the last one to leave Taylors Valley. Everyone else who came in there around the same time as me had dropped out. His job was just to cover the section up to Green Cove and back to account for all of the runners on this stretch of the course.

As we kept going up the trail, I didn’t feel sleepy but I definitely started to get a bit loopy from the nighttime and the amount of time I had been running (about 17ish hours at this point). I kept thinking that runners coming towards us with their headlamps were cars and runners coming towards us with waist lights were golf carts. I also thought giant white rocks were an EZ up canopy and I didn’t understand why that was in the middle of the woods. I saw faces in the trees and I kept thinking the rain drops landing on the water on the trail were tiny critters running towards me. But I wasn’t full on hallucinating since I always realized I was mistaking things for other things.

This section took forever. The higher we climbed, the colder it got. It started absolutely pouring and was super windy. I was having a hard time with my nausea. I hadn’t consciously made a decision that I was done, but I think I did start whining about why it was taking so long and where the aid station was. The cutoff was at 12:57 AM and that came and went and we still hadn’t made it. This section ended up taking us a little over 2 hours and 20 minutes to cover and we finally arrived at 1:15 AM (mile 63.5, 18 hours and 15 minutes into the race). It was a soft cutoff, so I technically could have kept going, but probably would have gotten pulled at the next aid station. I just couldn’t move fast enough to keep warm and I think that, combined with a lack of calories, just did me in. The weather in Green Cove was downright awful and there was so much carnage up there. I think the temperature was in the low 40’s, it was pouring, and there were wind gusts up to 45 mph. I even heard that it snowed on top of Whitetop Mountain that night. Green Cove was a “no drop” aid station, since they had no way to drive crewless runners back and no cell service to call for a ride. When I got there, there were probably 15 to 20 runners wrapped in emergency blankets huddled around heaters who had dropped anyway. Overall, half of the runners would end up dropping out of this year’s race, which is really high for this particular race.

I stood under the carport at the aid station listening to the rain pound the metal and the wind gust out in the open and I knew I was done. My crew knew it, too, and might have argued with me if I had tried to go back out on the course. I think if I hadn’t faced such a combination of factors, especially the rain and ankle deep water for 20 miles, we could have gotten it done. But I ultimately officially dropped at Green Cove. My first real DNF.

I turned in my GPS tracker and we all piled into Peter’s blessedly warm car and made the 30 minute drive back to the house where I got a hot shower and crawled into bed. And that’s my Yeti 100 experience: the Good, the Bad, and the Ian.

The next morning I was so grateful to be warm and dry, as the rain continued outside. But our Air BnB was right on the race course, and occasionally I would see a runner go by outside who was around mile 85 and had gone all night and was probably going to get that finish. I felt happy for them, but it also made me feel a bit sad to be honest. The conditions were brutal out there, though, and I’m at peace with my decision.

I definitely still want to get that 100 mile finish some day. In the days following the race, someone reminded me that some goals are so big that it takes a few tries to achieve them. And I think that’s a pretty good place to leave this report.