C&O Canal 100 #32

Coming off the hard mountain course of Endurance Hunter, I realized I had a month till MMT, and could fit in another race. I remembered C&O and the timing was good and cost was low to run this backyard ultra, start line is only about a 35 minute drive from home near Harper's Ferry West Virginia. The course is beautiful (if monotonous) but the volunteers and aid stations are top notch. Had a little ligament pull in my knee I was concerned about and still have a bakers cyst but with a few days of rest they both felt fine so I tried not to worry too much. Jason got up early and drove me to the race. I wasn't too concerned about having him crew me because really this race has absolutely stellar support, but I knew I'd need his emotional support so we planned to meet at the two hardest crew access points, mile 60 and mile 90. He would have met me at 70 miles too, but our sons had a church prom Saturday night so he stayed home to take pics and give them a ride. It worked out fine. The volunteers at this race treat everyone like a champion, the minute you come in you'll have 3-4 people helping get you a chair, refill your bottles asking for anything you needed...and they really had everything on hand from bug spray to Vaseline, band aids, salt caps, "emotional bacon"... Anything you needed, they were stocked. It more than makes up for the monotony of a flat tree tunnel course!

Heroes on my pack, still carrying the Ukraine flag until they get the support they need to defeat Russia. :(

7am race start meant a good 9 hrs of sleep and no headlamp for the start! It was a little chilly, in the 30s but actually a great running temp with just gloves on. Saw my running friend Fernando, the swearing runner from Whispering Grace haha, he had come out for the race so we had a chance to say a quick hello. He's faster than I am so we didn't run together but it was fun seeing him often on the opposite side of the loops during the race.

Most of the course is flat but there is a steep probably 1500 foot descent down to the canal towpath, you can kind-of see in this conga line picture as runners worked their way from the start down to the course. You climb this 3x during the race, at mile 40, 70 and then to the finish line. It was a bit tougher than I remembered, lots of leaves makes it a bit precarious so I decided to grab my poles descending at mile 70, remembering a guy who had face planted in the creek last year.

I started out at a decent pace, not as fast as I would have liked. PMS gets my heart rate up by about 10 points every single time, so I was kinda struggling for the first 10 miles, trying to make time and still breath. :-P Otherwise I felt strong and ready to tackle the day. The morning run up to Antietam was beautiful and green with wonderful river views. all the runners were friendly and I chatted with several but tried not to get tied down into any long conversations because they drag my pace down. I talked a little to Fernando, he was running with the 'guru' of the race, a guy in his 60's who is one of the 20 or so people in the world that have actually finished running 100 100 milers. There was this little group of 6 or 7 people running with him which was kinda funny, it reminded me of a running scene from the Forrest Gump movie. They were all super nice and encouraging.

I ran a mile or so with a guy named Greg I think, medical reservist in the Army, he asked me about 22 too many so we had a nice chat. Hes also pursuing 100 100s and is at about #37. To get into the official record it has to be actual races but I like what Fernando said ...hes also pursuing the goal... "she doesn't give a "sh**" she just runs" haha. Actually I do. I really hope to fill the requirements of that world record sorta thing one day....but first I'm going to meet the parameters of what I set for myself running Dexter, and get down the 100 miles no matter how I can. Solos or running past cutoffs, whatever. As long as it's done, ground covered.. <3 One of the signature beauties of this race are the bluebells in bloom. a heave frost killed some so there weren't as many this year but they were still lovely in the woods along the river!

Neat train bridge over the Potomac running out to Antietam. The aid station on the way up was fantastic, they had cinnamon rolls and hot sizzling bacon that was fresh and hit the spot. I ate some rolls, oreos and bacon and did an out and back 10 miles basically on that, also drinking liquid IV. I decided to give tailwind a try for this race because I knew I'd need a lot of extra hydration from previous years on this route, there's something about the sun and wind and water along the river, its pretty dehydrating. I spent alot of time in the morning thinking about Jacob, Dexter, Taylor, Nate...their loved ones missing them. I was in good spirits but a bit somber reflecting on why I was even out doing this crazy distance, and how much Dexters death had changed me and my life. It was 4 years ago when I first attempted this race and ended in a dnf, 2 months after we lost Dexter. There were a lot of memories of running with that excruciating pain. I felt grateful that time has softened it and made me stronger to carry it. '

Someplace along this route I met a really great older gentleman runner. When we were all standing in line to cross a single person bridge over a stream, he was running in sandals and no socks, just went running right through the water. I was impressed, though I'd never run barefoot in sandals myself! We got in a conversation about Ukraine, he had lived in Moscow and went to school in Ukraine. The school he had attended was just blown up by Russian rockets. :( He said he emigrated to America when Putin got elected because he knew that was gonna be trouble. I appreciated that he'd asked me about carrying the flag and I shared a bit about our friend from church who is former special forces training Ukraine troops right now. It was great to talk about. He was much faster than me so didn't last long. Also met one of the aid station workers whose daughter in law was from Ukraine so she thanked me for carrying the flag.

The afternoon was long and warm with some glaring sun. The canal had a lot of people out walking and biking around Harper's Ferry. People were friendly but there was a lot of dust especially from the bikes, so all my skin was coated in a fine dust. It was actually a really beautiful day for running, the sun took its toll though and I was feeling pretty wiped out as the afternoon went on. I picked up a battery charger for my phone but it wasn't working so I had to shut off my music for about 10 miles in the afternoon till I got to the main aid station for another charger. It was fairly slow and miserable. I sang hymns and songs to myself to keep up the pace. There is a long stretch of swamp on one side of the canal heading to the 50k mark, full of duck weed and turtles. They were fun to see!

It was really cool to stand under the train bridge and watch a train go overhead into the Harper's Ferry tunnel.

Looks like a Muppet. Ha!

This guy was really awesome, he had on a civil war hat and played the drums at the start line and he was standing randomly along the road on the course playing the drums. Had to stop and grab a pic.

I was remembering years ago going on family outings to Harper's Ferry with the kids and Dexter, everybody swimming in the river. Wiped some tears off my dusty face remembering those fun days. Found a trail treasure along the long straight sunny stretch to the 30 m aid station, somebody's alcohol hand wipes. I used it to wipe some grime off my face and arms, felt refreshing!

Was able to refresh back at the start/finish main aid station before another 10 mile loop up to Antietam. That aid station was so cool again, someone was wearing binoculars to spot our bib numbers, then when we ran in they'd be chanting our name and cheering. It was the nicest thing! So much food, it was hard to decide what to grab. I spent most of the day drinking tailwind, eating honey stinger candies, oreos and chocolates.

Around 50-55 mi the sun started sinking. I was glad to see it go down the sun had taken its toll and I felt refreshed with a bit of cooler weather. Was pretty happy with a 12 hr 50 and 15 1/2 hr 100k.

Hannah texted me a video of Ellie saying "I love you grandma" and "go grandma"

it was the cutest! And Jason sent pics of Adam and Peter all dressed up for the church prom. They almost never wear suits so I thought they cleaned up pretty nice. Peter still wont smile voluntarily for the camera. :-P such a boost to hear from my family when I'm out on a race. <3

No pics once the sun went down. I ended up having a bit of a of rough night. Did a fair share of praying. I'd had some knee pain but I think it was just a ligament issue and it only lasted 10 miles or so but I did have to ease up on my pace, just cautionary. I managed to keep a fairly steady pace forward but got behind on dehydration so from probably mile 60 on, I ate almost nothing and drank all my calories, tailwind, ginger ales, Capri suns, meal drinks, some ramen broth, that was about it. I got sick just thinking about eating but drinking 8 oz about every 2 miles kept the nausea just enough at bay that I didn't wipe out.

I determined unofficially that men are much friendlier runners. All the men on the course were friendly and would always say 'good job' 'keep going' 'good work' etc. I would day the same to them and all the women I saw, but probably about 20% of the women didn't even acknowledge it. I decided no matter how sick I am, if someone says something to me I can respond with a smile and a word of thanks or encouragement. I don't wanna be a snobby runner. Truthfully they were probably just sick or overly focused but I hope I'm never so focused that I ignore people. Jason met me at 60 miles, I can hardly remember it, except I think I drank some ramen. Ha! the night aid stations were a party. I chugged some gingerale aka vomit juice. Jason helped me get a jacket on and get back out.

The night got a bit chilly but I was moving quick enough to stay warm. One really cool moment was when a full sized train on the tracks along the canal went roaring by in the middle of the night, so loud with its bright headlamp on, it was so cool. This song Amsterdam by Imagine Dragons was playing and the trains in the video always remind me when Dexter was 15 and wanted to be a hobo and ride the rails. It was a sweet little moment where I felt his warm heart enjoying the train with me. <3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6Nc4qEI3k4 I sang alot, and loud, trying to stay awake. I made it to the start/finish aid station and sat down in a chair to slather on some pain cream, clean off the grit between my toes, pop some blisters and slather some vaseline on my feet. The grit had built up from the powdery dust so I had a couple hurting blisters but it wasn't too bad. Ate some cantaloupe and drank a meal drink & capri sun. The aid station workers were so helpful again, trying to offer anything they could. I was able to get in and out pretty quickly, 10-15 min tops then I was heading to chasing down the last 30. I knew once I hit 26 mentally things would be a little easier because I would only have a marathon left. I was worrying about my pace thinking I was an hour behind where I actually was, I thought the cutoff was at noon so I was pushing it close. I was really relieved to find out I had till 1pm. That 70-90 was just tough. Stomach still revolting but I never got close to throwing up, just kept drinking tailwind every 2 miles, choking it down. I was really relieved when the sun came up, I figured I'd make some better time and get a second wind. That last stretch I passed at least 2 vomiting runners. One was a girlwho'd ran Blackbeards Revenge 100K, Kerry, who was so nice. She asked me lots of questions earlier in the race and at Blackbeard about running for Dexter and veteran suicide awareness. Shed DNF'd this race once before so I tried to warn her, drink twice as much as you think you need! She was ahead of me for most of the race but after mile 80 someplace, I passed her and her pacers, shed been throwing up and was staggering along. I tried to offer some help but she was kindof beyond that point and sadly she dropped at 90 miles just as I was leaving that aid station. (Editing after the fact, I found out that Kerry did in fact stick with it and DID finish, that makes me so happy! )

Half marathon to go. I was trashed and wiped out, and cold. Kept going fast enough to just keep above getting chilled. Still dehydrated but finally getting on top of the nausea after drinking all night long.

Jason met me at 90. We had an odd aid station worker in a bunny hat trying to help, she was sortof annoying but I really did appreciate the care! Jason got my bottled refilled with carnation drinks, my pockets stuffed with capri suns and it warmed up enough to ditch the jacket. I can't wear my yellow shorts anymore sadly, lube to keep from chafing is starting to look like I peed my pants, haha. So far though I had to go every couple miles because I was dehydrated, I'd managed to not actually get any pee on myself :-P TMI but there was one close call when my butt accidentally brushed against a patch of stinging nettle! Ha! Pro tip, gotta look first. :-P

In lots of pain here, but rubbed on some arthritis cream especially into my feet and headed down the last 10 mile stretch. It was a beautiful cool grey morning and Sunday, I tried to listen to some church music but I needed more upbeat stuff to keep me awake and moving.

'

Happily except for a few runners the trail was mostly empty so I could sing and talk to myself and suffer without an audience. I finally had a meltdown alone with about 5 miles to go, listening to music and Seasons in the Sun came onto my playlist. Just hit me with all the sad feels and I bawled my eyes out. Tried to wipe away grimy tears passing a few solitary walkers.

"Goodbye, papa, please pray for me I was the black sheep of the family You tried to teach me right from wrong Too much wine and too much song Wonder how I got along

Goodbye, papa, it's hard to die When all the birds are singing in the sky Now that the spring is in the air Little children everywhere When you see them, I'll be there"

sob sob sob I passed a couple runners and their pacers in the last 3-4 miles. One lady who was way faster than me thru the race. Another guy I took particular pride in passing. I explained to my kids he was like a combo of Prince Charming from Shrek with perfect hair, golden blonde, out and flowing, and a viking warrior. Super tall, young, extremely tan & muscular, running fast and shirtless through the whole race, I was way behind him. 2 miles left to go he was bonking hard. I offered help with whatever I could think of that I had left, ginger tabs, drinks, salt etc but he didnt want anything so I jogged past and felt bad for his suffering but was also like -Legit Overtake!"

about a mile later chafing got to me so I was walking probably as slow as he was, thats what I get for gloating. :-P Was a gip to hit 100 miles not be finished!

101.2 was the final distance

Suffering and powering up the last climb to the finish. The drummer was out playing again so I kept my legs going to the drum beat.

Thankfully done! And I was happy to have knocked 30 minutes off the last time I ran this course before I had knee surgery. I don't think I'm faster, just executing things a little bit better.

Toenailess toes, most of the dirt wiped off but you can see the dirt line across my leg. Not pretty!

Had to get a picture with the amazing post race burrito they provided. I was still felling kinda sick so I only took 5 or 6 bites, a good thing because a mile after we left Jason was pulled over to the side of the road on the bridge over the Potomac where I was finally puking my guts out. This lady in the background was not happy, her husband ditched her for a nap so she was ragging on him to every person who came by. I kinda felt sorry for him, ha, we didn't stick around long. thankfully rain held off until we were hobbling back to the car

Just a humurous photo of us driving with my head out the window in the pouring rain trying not to puke the rest of the way home. :-D

Really feeling so grateful, Ive been able to run 4 100s now since my surgery in November. I'm a bit wiped out after this race and feeling some anxiety and fear over Massanuttan 100 in 2 weeks. I felt I handled this race pretty well and though I never got into any desperate circumstances I always had the feeling that I wasn't alone and that I had some amazing angels watching my back as I ran in their memory and thought of and prayed for each of their families.