Here is a video recap of the day!
Antelope Island 50-Mile Run
March 21, 2015
Pre-Race Thoughts
In 2014, I watched a video of a local elite trail runner, Janice Cook running the Antelope Island 100 mile run. I watched it at least 20 times and a small ultra-running seed was planted. I was beyond inspired. I started doing research on ultra running and the local trails became my new playground.
After talking with a few trail-running buddies, I decided in January 2015 that I wanted to run the Antelope Island 50 mile race. I knew I would be in way over my head, but I had to start somewhere.
Many running friends accompanied me on long trail training runs. All of the trails included a lot of elevation, which was foreign to me. I struggled on these runs and doubt would fill my mind. One of my dear training friends, Kelli Stephenson, was a wealth of knowledge. She was full of constant encouragement, advice, and believed in me 100%.
A week before the race, my original pacer had a sudden injury come on. Being a runner, I know that these injury events are never planned. I wasn’t stressed and planned on running the race alone. Kelli (who had previously committed to volunteer at the race and couldn’t be my pacer) continued to encourage me to find another pacer. Every day she sent me a text asking if I had found a replacement. I figured if Kelli was suggesting it, I had better do it.
Matt Clark, a local ultra runner agreed to be my pacer last minute. I knew he would not put up with any tears, whining, or thoughts of quitting. I had to bring my A-game.
I had some major anxiety at the beginning of the week. The biggest culprit was the fear of the unknown. I had run 31 miles before, but was terrified of the last 19 miles. I knew it was going to be a mind over matter situation, but I wasn’t sure how strong my mind was going to be. I finally calmed down by the end of the week.
Race Day
I woke up at 3:00am, got ready, and drove out to the island. I saw Kelli before she headed out to her aid station. I appreciated her kind and encouraging words. I saw Janice Cook, the gal who inspired me by her movie. She was running the 100-mile race again and I was filled with another dose of her inspiration.
I put my drop bags in the designated spots and headed to the start line. It was still very dark, but I saw a lot of familiar faces. The race director yelled out “run you fools” and we were off. The first several miles were on a single track and it was just a long line of runners running/hiking.
I was overcome with the peacefulness of the island. The lights from the city and the headlamps from the other runners were majestic. We finally came to the Elephant Head aid station (mile 5.5) where Kelli was volunteering. I handed her my headlamp and proceeded to an out/back bluff. The sun was rising and it was beautiful. I saw Kelli again, then started to climb the long set of switchbacks. Another long line of runners hiking.
We finally got back to the Elephant Head aid station (mile 15). Kelli filled up my water bottles and opened my GU packet while I took a big swig of Coke. I was nervous as many runners I knew that were slower than me were way ahead of me. But I kept recalling the advice I had heard again and again…go out slow and then go slower. That advice served me well later on.
I ran with a fellow named Brandon for several miles. It was really nice to have someone to talk to and keep my mind occupied. We headed back to the starting line and filled up water bottles at the aid station (mile 20). My IT band was starting to bother me at this point. I’ve never had problems with my IT band before and was not sure why it was acting up. The pain would come and go through out the race.
I eventually left Brandon around mile 23. I started the East section of the island and this turned out to be a very long and lonely section of the course. I passed several runners here and felt very strong. But I would also go for miles without seeing anyone. This isolation has a tendency to play mind games. I kept telling myself to just make it to the next aid station (mile 25 and mile 30).
I would meet my pacer Matt at mile 33. My main goal was to make it to him. I was very fast at all the aid stations – just filling up my water bottles. But planned to take a few minutes at The Ranch aid station. Matt filled up my water bottles while I used the rest room, washed my face, switched out my visor and put on more glide – 6 minutes total.
I was so grateful to have Matt pacing me. The isolation on the way out to The Ranch aid station would have been even harder to deal with alone. We picked up Mike Rice along the way. We definitely took our walk breaks and were thankful for the cloud cover and breeze.
By mile 40, I was really starting to struggle. My legs were extremely heavy and I would have bouts of IT band pain. I keep looking for the aid station tent at mile 44. I happened to see an orange porta potty way out in the distant and was starting to get discouraged. Then Matt pointed out a blue tent just around the bend. I had a renewed energy that I didn’t have to go way out to the orange porta potty and started to pick up my pace.
We could see the finish line, but we had to take a small detour around a small mountain. This section was definitely mind over matter. There were large boulders on the trail and my legs were not stable enough to run over them. This section included a lot of walking. The sun had come back out and I was trying to hang on for dear life.
We finally finished the detour around the small mountain and took a dirt road to the finish. This road took forever to run. I finally saw my daughter Annie’s pink sweatshirt! She and my son Carter ran with us for a while and then I could finally see the finish line flags.
The emotions of crossing that finish line were overpowering. The process of conquering my fears during the last 20 miles was manifested at that very moment. There were so many strangers cheering for me….genuinely happy for my accomplishment of running 50 miles.
I was overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers through out the day; the volunteers at the aid stations, other runners, and spectators. I was so grateful for my pacer Matt. I would have walked a lot more if he was not there. Because of him, I ran 2 hours faster than my goal time. My family was there cheering and supporting me….everything is wonderful when they are around.
If there is anything that I learned from this experience it is to not have regrets. Prepare sufficiently, surround yourself with experienced people, prepare for failure knowing that it will get you one step closer to your goal, and then just believe.
It took a whole tribe of people to get me to the starting line and finish line. Because of them, I had miracles.
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