At 2 a.m. on November 5, 2023, I finished my third 100 mile trail race, the Rio Del Lago 100 miler in Folsom, California. This was my most well-executed and happiest 100 miler so far, because miraculously, nothing went vitally wrong! My goal with this race was to just have a strong finish and redeem my Leadville 100 attempt, and I did exactly that. The course was made up of mostly single track and dirt trails, with a little pavement here and there, and had between 10-11,000 feet of elevation gain according to my COROS Apex Pro watch. My finish time was 22 hours and 43 minutes, fourth female out of 76, and 27th out of 275 overall runners.
Coming into this race, I had a few minor injuries/niggles and I was so nervous the pain would end my race, as they both typically act up after mile 20 on a run. Tylenol and non-NSAIDs were my answer to this issue. While I don’t normally suggest taking any pain killers (especially not NSAIDs!) I was very thankful to responsibly utilize this option to finish the race.
My boyfriend, Phong, was kind enough to fly out and crew me in this race, and his presence was incredibly motivating. This was the first time he’d seen me execute a full 100 miler. For crew members of this race, please know the aid stations are relatively easy to get to! Phong wasn’t planning on going to all the aid stations, but he did! The atmosphere between the racers and volunteers was supportive and friendly, something I’ve experienced in most ultras, but did not experience at Leadville earlier this summer. Since this was my “redemption/backup race” from Leadville, I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Plus, the “under 24 hours” finisher buckle was so sick!
I credit my success to a strong training block (thanks, Eve from Rising Mountains Coaching!), a strong nutrition strategy, not sitting down at aid stations, and a laid-back mindset. So much goes wrong in 100 milers, and I don’t think I’ll ever has as pain-free of a day as this one.
Mile 0-21: Flat, cool, and relaxed
A flat start to a 100 miler isn’t uncommon, but this one had all the elevation gain in the last two-thirds of the race! Miles 0-21 were mostly on bike paths and rolling dirt trails, and with the first two hours of the race in the dark, I was thankful to not have technical sections at this time. I made friends during this section and even saw a few of them at the finish line!
This was a good opportunity to knock out a quarter of the race with hardly any effort, and just enjoy the long warm-up! I started fueling well early on with Tailwind, cookies and pretzels. The high was 78 and sunny that day so I knew it was important to get fluids, salt and nutrition down well.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Buckeye trees 15 miles into the race. Buckeyes are a native tree to Ohio, and what Ohio State’s football team mascot (my alma mater) is named after! I picked up a Buckeye and kept it in my pack the entire race for good luck.
My hip muscle and foot issues popped up right as they usually did, around mile 20, so I took a Tylenol to keep the pain at bay, knowing these issues wouldn’t affect my long-term.
For the first time in a 100 miler, I listened to podcasts/music! I had downloaded two episodes of Sally McRae’s podcast, Choose Strong. It really lifted my spirits and kept me moving.
Mile 21-35: Sunny vibes and Stacy’s Mom
As the field spread out a bit and the 50k runners turned around, I started to settle into a nice rolling hill pace. The “meat grinder” section wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it’d be, it’s more that you need to just watch your footing so you don’t trip, but you can still move pretty well through this section. Perhaps it felt more mild because I live in a part of Colorado where there are really technical trails.
It was fully sunny at this point and I applied sunscreen. I also met Lindsey, who was in third place for women the whole time right ahead of me. She was such a joy to connect with and talk to, and early on, I told her I was going to stay with her and not pass. I knew my coach would have encouraged me to find a friend to run with instead of race so early on.
I also got to meet ultra legend Emily Hawgood at an aid station!
I saw Phong a couple times and changed out my shoes to trail shoes at mile 35. I was considering running the whole thing in road shoes, but I’m very happy I switched to trail! For the remainder of the race, I ran in my Altra Timps.
We had been singing Stacy’s Mom since the day before, with our own lyrics, since our incredible AirBnb host’s name was Stacy. She left me croissants and champagne! I sang Stacy’s Mom in my head the whole race and would even sing it to Phong at the aid stations (such a cute part I will always remember).
Phong reminded me that my coach texted him assuring that I should just running a smart race and not try to focus on place too much.
The race photographers had popped up so many times in these early sections (Facchino Photography and Let’s Wander Productions), and I’m grateful they got some incredible shots!
Mile 35-70: Power hiking and catching up on fuel
This is a big section of the race to lump together, but this is where it started getting hilly and I just had to put my hands on knees and grind. The Cardiac hill is a mile or two long, right before the fun, energetic mile 45 aid station. This hill was all pavement and steep but manageable. I was tempted to jog up it, and did end up jogging up most of it. This made me feel like my fitness was pretty good, as I passed a few people here. It’s always a struggle in deciding to run uphill, because you don’t want to burn yourself out too early.
I was caught up on nutrition at this point, but not on fluids, as I had only peed once or twice. The rest of the race, I caught up on fluids and was pretty hydrated by the end. I changed my shirt at the mile 45 aid station and wiped down a bit. Getting cleaned up and feeling fresh is so important for races this long! I’ve even brought toothbrushes before.
The high was 78 and sunny as expected (way hotter than usual for Folsom), and I didn’t do any heat training, but luckily, the shade kept the sun off of us for most of the race and it felt relatively cool.
Lindsey and I ran together for about 15 miles of this section and started to chat more. It was nice to get to know each other, and at exactly mile 50 I started getting a side cramp from the food I ate at the mile 45 aid station. This was a familiar cramp, it just happened because we had run downhill. I knew with some walking and stretching, it would go away, and it did, but the pain from the pressure of the cramp in my diaphragm stayed the rest of the race, on both sides of my body.
I had slowed down here to remedy the pain for about a mile or two and let Lindsey go ahead of me. She happily trotted away singing Justin Bieber, and what a lovely last moment together that was! Lindsey, if you’re reading this, this is how I will remember you always!
I knew I was in fourth place and was happy to just try to keep this place, since my race in March was my “A” race. I’d love to return and actually race this thing!
I joined up with a new friend, Cody, for about 10-15 miles during the Auburn Lakes Trails section, and it was his first 100 miler. He was playing harmonica while running (how fun!) but he had to stop as we were approaching the steepest sections.
The grind of the hills during the Auburn Lakes Trails section really wasn’t bad! I was expecting almost 14,000 feet of total gain as the website describes, but we ended at around 10,000 total. If you know how to power-hike, you’ll be fine in these sections. Most of the course is very runnable and flowy except for the Auburn Lake Trails section.
At around mile 58, you catch stunning views of the Western States 100 miler course, a legendary and historical race in Auburn every June. We took some photos for a minute or two and soaked in the view as the sun was setting. After hitting the aid station here, I jaunted off and was determined to make it to the mile 70 aid station where I would see my boyfriend for the first time in a while (crew isn’t accessible for a few of these remote sections).
Phong greeted me at mile 70, which was in full darkness, and I was so happy to know that I’d made it this far feeling so (relatively) good! I ate some food (was probably 200 ish calories behind on nutrition plan) and headed down the hill back to the No Hands Bridge with some new friends. I found out they were aiming for the same time goal as me at this point, sub-23 hours. With less elevation gain than I had planned, I’d be finishing ahead of my expected time.
Mile 70-88: Cruising in the cool dark
Heading back up the hill to the mile 75 aid station, my new friends and I were determined to execute the rest of the race, as we were feeling good. I saw Phong again, ate some noodles, drank some coffee, and excitedly headed off down the hill, knowing a finish wasn’t more than 6 hours away!
At this point I had taken about 4-5 Tylenol (only about half of what my limit would be) and knew I didn’t need any more the rest of the race to keep my injuries at bay.
Heading down the Cardiac hill, into the cool night, and back onto the rolling dirt trails was a good feeling. I felt calm and collected. I was feeling positive and excited for my third 100 mile finish, and counted down the hours in my head. Easy to knock out a 12-12:30 pace on these rolling sections.
At the mile 85 aid station, the last time I saw Phong, I ate a bit and was ready to finish the race. I couldn’t stop expressing to him how surprised I was that nothing had went wrong. No tripping, weird belly issues, or weather issues!
Miles 88-100: Low moments but a strong finish
Within a mile or two of leaving the last major aid station, I was moving well but started to hit my low moments. We always know to expect this low moment in a 100 miler, and historically it does happen later in the race for me around this time.
Miles 89-94 were mentally the hardest. I just wanted to be done but I still had 10 miles, which felt like so long. A few tears welled up, as usual, but I knew I wasn’t in pain and it just felt like I was moving slow. It also happened to be the Meat Grinder section, which again, isn’t too bad but you just have to watch your footing and you do slow down a bit since it’s dark. I saw a local ultrarunning director/legend I had met earlier on in the race and we both said how much we just wanted to take a nap!
With Meat Grinder out of the way, I knew that 6 miles would go quickly, especially since this section was pretty flat. I thought I’d be just behind the 23-hour mark, but was determined to add up the final 6 miles of realistic splits in my head to try to finish under 23 hours.
The last mile or two, I could see a headlamp a quarter mile ahead of me and a quarter mile behind me, which is somewhat rare to be that close in 100 milers, so I kept my position and just focused on a strong finish.
I could hear the race announcer call my name out a quarter mile from the finish, and I tried to control my emotion as I “sprint” finished through the shoot and did a jump over the finish line.
Phong was right there to greet me excitedly at the end, one of the best feelings ever. They gave me the coolest finisher buckle I’ve ever received, a medal, and a really warm fleece jacket.
Recovery
I recovered even quicker from this 100 miler than I had in previous ones, and was walking pretty well the next day. One of my least favorite parts about the couple hours following a 100 miler is the brown phlegm I cough up. It usually lasts 2-3 hours and isn’t a quiet activity (sorry Phong who was trying to sleep). With all the dirt in trail races and a lot of sucking in air for 20-40 hours, dirt gets caught in your windpipe and stays there as you swallow it. Not sexy, but something I’ve started to prepare for post-race. It was pretty bad after the Rim-to-Rim -to-Rim of the Grand Canyon, too!
With the next two months “off” of running, I’m looking forward to hopefully improving these two little injuries/niggles with physical therapy, and revisiting my “why” with ultrarunning. Having run 15 ultras after starting running three years ago, a break is so needed. I know that I will continue to want to do two or three 100 milers for years to come, but it’s important to take time to really understand the connection to the sport.
We spend so many hours dedicated to training. For me, it’s anywhere between 40-80 miles, 6 total days of running per week, and this year I started to really feel the toll that intense training takes on my body. I really don’t understand why I chose this sport sometimes. You train your ass off, and you will likely have something go wrong during this 20-40 hour endeavor; and you’re not even guaranteed a finish.
Looking forward
I am planning for two 100 milers in 2024. The 100 mile distance excites me the most and I’ll likely do two or three per year for the next few years. I like the mental fortitude required for those night miles and after three successful 100 miler finishes, I still like this distance the most. I think it’d be fun to qualify for the Boston marathon and do some fast running in the years to come, but there’s no rush with that. I think it’s pretty doable!
It’s already December 1st, so I have about another month of lighter running before ramping up training again. I’m thinking I’ll return to Buffalo Run 100 miler (Salt Lake City, Utah) in March, hopefully defend my title and win some money again. There aren’t a lot of 100 milers in the spring, so I didn’t have much to choose from. I didn’t want to wait all the way until end of August for my 100 miler in Bend, Oregon, so I’m happy to have something sooner! Finally, I’m hoping to close out the year at Across the Years 24 hour race, with the goal of completing 130 miles. This would qualify me for the USA 24 hour team, which would be so cool!
One major change I’m making in my training for this next year is a more flexible training schedule. I’m either going to self-coach for a few months before returning to my amazing coach Eve, or ask her to construct a very loose plan for me for a while. I just need a mental break from looking at a plan every day. I miss being able to wake up and just run whatever I want, but that’s not how training for races works. Each day is meticulously planned for, to yield the best chance at success.
I have a big year of travel ahead! In February, I’m going on a rock climbing trip to Joshua Tree, California, then the next week I’m headed to Arizona to pace Eve at Black Canyon 100km. In March, I have my 100 miler in Utah, in May or June I’ll be visiting friends out east. In June I’m planning to head to Western States 100 miler to work on media for Jason Koop, ultrarunning coaching legend, (I work for him part-time). In August I have my Oregon 100 miler and in September I’m headed to Seattle for a concert.
I have an exciting year ahead but I’m really reflecting on all I accomplished this year. My first DNF but two strong 100 miler finishes, finding a better connection to my job, building stronger friendships, getting closer to family members, and entering a healthy relationship. I also finally am seeking help to better understand a health condition I have, called Vasovagal, but mine is more severe and I get seizures when it happens.
Thank you for being a part of this big year of growth!
Your friend,
Colleen Miracle
Ridgeline Lessons 