09/07/2026
2 years ago (2024) I completed my first 100 mile ultramarathon. The Hallucination 100 @ Run Woodstock! Here is my Day 2 flashback of the race: My first 3 loops rounded off day 1 ( halfway-50 miles) because it was a 2pm start. Day 2 I started my 4th loop and back half of race just after midnight. That loop started really well and I carried on through most of the night relatively well. Somewhere in that 60+ mile marker the damage started to accumulate and I just couldn’t move as well and started to get into a mental pit. The 4th loop would end at about mile 67 where there was a drop down option to bail out and complete it as a 100k. I was 99.9% sure headed into camp that I was gonna do that. I made the mistake of sitting down at camp where more pain set in. It was actually pretty cold overnight in September then so I also remember shivering while preparing to drop down. My wife kept asking me if I’d be ok with the decision after the fact. Somewhere in that mile 67 realm, at about 4:30am, I woke up and realized who TF I really was! My training leading up to the race I prided myself on the fact I would have to be carried off the course, “Death before DNF”!. I made the decision that I was finishing that race that day! I somehow ran pretty well for the next 12-15 miles that morning getting to that final loop bell! My final loop was one of survival, but there was absolutely no stopping me once I got back out there after the mile 67 breakdown! That 30-45 min of spinning and fighting with myself proved more to myself than anything else could! You just have to keep moving forward! You are more capable than you think! Doesn’t feel like it’s been 2 years, hopefully getting back to the racing sooner than later! Nothing beats that energy and that intensity of ultra racing!
