When I arrived at Habron Gap (mile 54) aid station, I knew I would have a long wait before Jeff would be there. I am a firm believer that it is important for a pacer to be rested and alert, so I took about a 45-minute nap in the car. At this point, I still planned to join Jeff at the following aid station, as we had talked about. Out of curiosity, I decided to investigate if I would be allowed to join earlier based on the arrival time at this aid station. When I learned that if Jeff arrived after 6 pm I would be able to join him, I began slowly preparing. As 6 pm approached and he was not there yet, I went ahead and geared up. I kept saying to Jeff’s brother that I was so excited to get out on the trail. I wanted to be completely ready to go if Jeff said yes. Shortly after 6 pm, he rolled in. I do not think he initially realized I was geared up and ready until I told him. He thanked me several times for being willing to start early. While Jeff was getting ready to go, I decided to use the porta-pot. Unfortunately, there was a dude peeing in the urinal, who forgot to lock the door. I am not sure which of us was more mortified. Probably me. Right before leaving, I asked Jim to pick up some Gatorades. For whatever reason, that just sounded right.
Leaving the aid station, I began asking Jeff how he was feeling. He said he had felt overall good all day but that the rocks were making for an added challenge. He said his stomach had stayed right all day which was a big deal. The first 3 miles of this section was a long slow hill climb that switched backed all the way to the top. We chatted about friends, and I took some video clips to send to Matt Randle and Crystal Foust. Both had been asking how he was doing, and I finally had some cell service. Around 5 miles into this section, we came across a guy laying on the trail. He said, “you’re the girl who opened the porta-pot on our friend.” Yes, yes I am. We continued through this section maneuvering quickly through the rocks and streams. As night began to fall, we switched on our lights. Not long after turning on our lights, Jeff’s began to dim. We stopped to change batteries in his headlamp only to discover it would no longer turn back on. We did everything we could to figure it out, then I remembered I had tossed my headlamp in my pack. Good thing I did as Jeff used mine for the remainder of the race. I used my Kogalla which lights up the universe. As we exited this section, we were asked by some crew members if we had seen a guy in yellow shorts. We said we were not sure then it clicked in my brain, and I asked the guy if he was the one, I walked in on in the porta-pot. He said he was, so I was able to tell him about his runner laying on the trail and that he said he was fine just resting. At this aid station, Jeff spotted the Gatorade. He said that sounded really good. We both quickly refilled and headed back out.
The next section started very marshy. About a mile in, we came across a guy adding in some course markings. He said some runners had missed the turn and ran extra miles, so he was trying to prevent that from happening to anyone else. Within a quarter later we began to climb. And climb some more. It was a very steep and very rocky section. Jeff kept apologizing for climbing so slow. I kept telling him it did not matter how long it took, only that he kept moving. He dealt with some nausea, and I could tell it was mentally beating him up. I reminded him that we would have a long downhill soon and he would be fine. Once we began to descend, he started picking up the pace. We kept hitting sections of standing water and shoe sucking mud. There was no way of keeping our feet dry. We were talking about the runners who had taken a wrong turn when someone came running up on us quickly. We offered to step aside but he said he was the one who was fixing the markings and that he would stay with us to the aid station. He was fun to have along as we discussed different skill sets each of us have, like Jeff and I both being people who like numbers. Jeff told him about the game nerdle, but I do not think he was sold on it. At the next aid station, we both refilled with more Gatorade and I got Jeff some noodle soup. This aid station was quite the party with strobe lights and such.
Once again, we started another section with a long climb. Jeff talked about how he did not think he would still be doing this if I had not been there. That having me there was motivation to continue, but it was getting really hard. I told him about a conversation I had with a friend recently about how alternative our lifestyles are; that we do hard things. The rest of the race when Jeff would say he was tired or that it was hard, I would say “but you are going to finish, you know why? Because my friends do hard things.” We also chatted with a guy who had attempted this race in the past but did not finish. Then it was canceled due to Covid, so he really wanted this. This section took several hours. While the climbs were not as steep, they were very long. Eventually, we hit a road section that lasted a few miles. We ran a decent amount of these miles, though we were both getting hungry and wanting real food. We arrived at the next aid station where Jim refilled us and said the boys were sleeping. We knew we would not see them at the next aid station as it was no crew access, so Jeff filled up on food and fluids, and off we went.
This section was only a few miles, but it was all uphill. Jeff struggled with feeling sleepy, so I played 20 questions. When we finally made it to the aid station, Jeff wanted to sleep for 5 minutes. So, I had the world's BEST sloppy joe and stayed warm by the fire. When it was time to go, I woke him, handed him a sloppy joe because more people needed to understand the goodness, and off we went.
We had some downhill road for a bit, so I kept my light turned off if I could as I was worried about losing battery on the trail. When we hit the trail again, it was a steep climb. I did everything I could to keep Jeff alert. He kept saying he was sorry for going slow and I kept reminding him that I had one goal: get him that buckle! He also kept saying I was the most patient person for putting up with him. It is funny how extreme we tend to think things are while we are exhausted and delirious. Nothing about it was requiring patience from me, just hope for him to keep moving and get that finish. As we were getting closer to the picnic area aid station Jeff began hallucinating. He has some mild hallucinations during the night where he would tell me he knew something was not what he was seeing. But as daylight broke, it became very real. He saw buildings, tents, and wild animals. In between these moments, Jeff would fall asleep walking. I kept an eye on him as much as I could, occasionally clapping or asking him questions to keep him talking. We also made attempts at singing now and then, making up our own words to different songs. As we approached the Picnic Area aid station (mile 87.9) I told him I thought it would be a good idea for him to sleep. He asked me how long and I told him 10 minutes. At this point, he was too tired not to go with whatever I said. I told the volunteers he needed a chair to sleep in, and they put him in an anti-gravity chair, and I watched the time. There was a guy there who told me sleeping was for the weak and I was not doing my job if I was letting him sleep. I initially shrugged him off, but he continued, saying I should be keeping him moving, it is a race after all, and my job is to keep him awake and get him to the finish line. Finally, I told the guy that I am a firm believer that 10 minutes of sleep will allow him to move at a minimum of 2 minutes per mile faster for the final stretch and he will feel better while doing it, and that to me was enough. I further told the guy that Jeff was my runner therefore it was my decision and not something he needed to be worrying about. I woke Jeff at 10 minutes, and he popped up ready to roll.
As we took off for the next section, with only one aid station remaining and Jeff feeling refreshed, we cruised. The nap was the right choice. We laughed, sang, and had a blast. This section was just shy of 10 miles with a very significant climb. It was getting hot again and we both were running out of fluids. Still, we were in high spirits knowing we were near the end. Once that brutal 4-mile climb was over and we began to descend again, Jeff told me his feet were hurting and that he wanted to change his shoes at the final aid station. I almost suggested not taking the time, but then I remembered it was mostly pavement those last 3.5 miles and fresh shoes were probably a good idea. When we got to Gap Creek (mile 96.8) we refilled fluids, got his shoes changed, grabbed handfuls of food, and headed out.
As we left the aid station, I was eating Cheez-its. I told Jeff I had forgotten how much I loved Cheez-its (I ate them like a week before) which led into about a 10-minute conversation about Cheez-its and how they are the perfect snack. With the end so close, I worked on power walking as much as I could to encourage Jeff to keep pushing too. He kept asking me why I was walking so fast and why we even cared anymore. The longer this went on, the loopier Jeff became. He told me he was certain his dogs would be at the finish line waiting for him. I just agreed. Then he told me that my horses might be there too but that I cannot take them on all the trails here so I should be aware of this detail. I once again just agreed. He repeated these statements to me a few times, while in between telling me how much better his feet felt with the shoe change. I would say “that’s good then you should be able to run here” and he would respond with “I can but that doesn’t mean I need to”. Then I would tell him to run so he would run while still telling me about his dogs, my horses, Cheez-its, and his feet. As I watched the distance pass, I was starting to realize that he may be able to get in under 32 hours. Finally, I decided it was time to fill him in on why I was pushing him so hard. I told him if he ran the remainder of what we thought was about 1.5 miles without walking, he could hit sub 32 hours. So, he began to run slow. A half-mile went by. Then a whole mile. Then as we were nearing the entrance to the start-finish, I noticed the flags turned us at a different spot. With less than a half-mile to go, I told Jeff he needed to run faster just in case it was long. So, he did. All the while I was watching my watch and telling him how many minutes he had remaining. At 9 minutes to go, I thought we were solid with .35 distance ahead of us. Then at 4 minutes to go we hit the distance that equated 100 miles for him with no finish line in site. I told him to run faster. I continued to count down. I continued to tell him that finish could be around any corner. Three minutes to go… two minutes to go… one minute… 30 seconds…. Time ran out with no finish line in front of us. At that point we decided he did not need to kill himself to be just over. We slowed to a walk with some running here and there. About a mile past where we thought the finish was, we finally broke out of the trees to see it in front of us. Jeff continued to walk until I told him he was obligated to run the rest. He finished in 32:12.
I have said many times that while it may be impressive to watch the front runners at 100-mile races fly across that finish line, I find it more inspiring to watch those who gut it out. Those who come from the Midwest with no relative terrain to train on and get that buckle. Thank you, Jeff, for allowing me to be part of this!
This hundred-miler was such a great experience, ty to everyone who played a part. Happy trails.
