Thunder Rock 100 mile Trail Race 2016

I am officially a 100-mile runner! It wasn’t pretty, but I finished.

Chattanooga: Tiffany and I fell in love with the city during a training trip for Ironman Chattanooga. It has beautiful mountains, trails, and people that love the outdoors. It’s also a very drivable distant from Cincinnati. Once I decided to do a 100-mile race, Thunder Rock became the ideal choice. I know they say not to do a hilly ultra for your first 100, but I wanted beauty and challenge.

Water: The forecast called for rain throughout the race. Fortunately, the start was dry but after a few hours the rain began and continued until Saturday morning. It wasn’t a torrential down pour and I never had to use my rain jacket, but it was enough to keep me wet and create friction. Even without rain, there were roughly 10 streams and 1 river that would have soaked my feet.

Blisters: In all the books I read about ultra-running, the majority of runners said they just used one pair of shoes during a race. In previous races I’ve never had issues with blisters or chaffing. Around mile 40 I started to notice some rubbing in my arm pits. I used Vaseline at the aid stations and at mile 57 I switched shirts and socks. After a few miles, I stopped to shake out a pebble in my shoe only to realize it was a blister.     

Half-track: Long trail races consist of multiple surfaces to accomplish the distance. There’s single track (your typical trail), double track, gravel roads, and paved roads. In Tennessee, they also have half-track where you have to walk sideways along a 200 foot cliff. There was one section Saturday morning that was covered with leaves and particularly tricky. Every 3^rd or 4^th step my foot slipped. I don’t know how athletes did this at night.     

Companionship: Throughout the race I ran with several different athletes. For the first 17 miles, I ran with my companions from GDR and it was nice to reunite. After the river crossing, they stopped to change clothes and I was afraid to wait. For a brief period, I ran with the lead woman, but she gapped me on a decent. I also reunited with a gentleman I ran with the year before. He remembered me and was very encouraging. For the most part, I ran/walked by myself and preferred it. I could pretend I was going fast as well as go at my own pace.

Determination: Finishing the Georgia Death race was supposed to make Thunder Rock easy. It taught me that physical pain was inevitable, but if I just keep moving I will finish. However, I was not prepared for the blistered wet feet. Every step I took was painful. Somewhere between mile 80 and 85 I was limited to walking. I tried to estimate how long it would take to finish. Could I do 3 miles an hour? What if I could only do 1 or 2? I decided to focus on my hiking poles and kept moving forward.

Cruelty part 2: What is up with sadistic finishes. GDR had the waterfall climb and decent. TR had bushwhacking and two stream crossings. By this point in the race the rain had stopped, but the sun was starting to cause issues. My mind was in panic mode about getting burnt as well as possible permanent damage to my blistered feet. Luckily Tiffany ran out to join me and kept quiet about what was ahead.

Many thanks to the volunteers and the wonderful RN who cared for me.