29:20...My 2017 Booneville Backroads 100

This picture...this picture will forever be the reminder for me of determination and grit. I'm not going to sit here and say that this was my finest moment in my running career, but this moment was the one where the chips were stacked against me and I decided to take on the dealer...this moment...

I have to admit off the bat that I am super invested in this race. Having lived in Iowa my whole life, I am proud of this state and what it has to offer and this race just makes living here, for me, that much more special. Steve Cannon, the race director, has given me an unbelievable opportunity to be involved and help him with the pre-race "stuff" and I am so thankful to be a part of it.

Leading into the 2017 Booneville Backroads 100 mile I had a level of confidence in me that bordered on the cocky spectrum. After my terrible race at Rocky Raccoon, I came into this race hungry for something more. I was putting more and more time into climbing hills, speed work and long efforts on the treadmill at 15% incline. I was feeling "fit" but not super "trained". I had been dealing with a slight foot issue for about a month leading up and my typical back pull/torque/wretch about a week and a half which both left me unable to really do any sort of training in the final week of my taper. But that was OK, because I took this as a sign from God that I needed to slow down a bit, spend some time concentrating on stretching, rolling and just getting loose for the big day.

I have to start out by saying that I have one of the best crews in the world and after our event last year I couldn't schedule time to get everyone together after to celebrate them. With two that had moved to Wisconsin and and that lives a couple hours away I decided that the night before the event this year would be a great time to celebrate them and run through some final things before the big weekend. With some food, some drinks and a lot of laughter we finally let the weekend begin.

The back of my crew shirts :)

Sleep before a race is never easy. I am certainly aware of that. I thought though because of the timing in relation to my house, sleep would be something that would come a little easier since I'd have everything ready, in my car and be out the door after a wonderful night of rest and relaxation...WRONG!!!! I needed to do some slight prep work on my foot the night before and the anxiousness got the best of me when I finally was able to get to sleep, it was roughly 11:00pm. Even with 5 different alarms set for a 4am wake up, I still had incredibly restless sleep and awoke at at 2:30. You got that right. Roughly 3 1/2 hours of very little sleep.

Luckily I had done all of the prep for my early morning departure the night before so getting out the door by 4:45 was an easy one. As I approached the small community of Booneville, on a road that I've run 1,000's of miles on I was greeted by a nice friend that I haven't seen for several weeks. He's a terrible person that clouded my vision from progressing on many occasions and makes me feel really cold and clammy. Hello stupid who we are going to call, Mr. Fog....

Approaching the parking area I was greeted by Mr Race Director himself, Steve Cannon, and in typical fashion I was the first one at the parking. I grabbed my finish line bag, drank my coffee and headed over to talk shop with Steve. Milling around and chatting with people I was approached by Dave Mable as he was making a documentary of the event and wanted to chat. I'd see Dave a dozen more times during the day, but it's always a blast to talk to him.

With more and more people starting to show, it was a gathering of old friends, memorable faces and people that I only get the chance to see once a year at this event. We were greeted by the sweet sounds of the bagpipes and drum processional and we were on our way to make the 1/2 mile walk to the start through some incredibly thick fog.

Josh stepping up his selfie game :)

Regan and I

My buddy Tim and I

Josh, me, Brian, Ann, Tim, Dan & Andrea. Some of the greatest people I know

The start of the race is always a joy as Steve brings his best motivation to the table while reminding people that "there's nothing that food and sleep can't cure. Stay on the course and do those things. You'll make it if you eat and take a nap when you need to". Great words and really sets the tone for what was to come.

With a quick prayer from my new friend Regan, we were off!!!!

At this point I typically recap every single step of the event, but because I've done this race so many times, I'll spare you many of the mundane details and highlight the good and the REALLY bad.

Regan and I ran together for most of the first 20 miles and we had a GREAT time. We had some really great conversations. He is insanely strong and driven guy. I've got a motto of "what conversations happen on the Booneville course, stay on the Booneville course" so I won't go into the details of the conversation, but it was really a lot of fun to share so many of the early miles with him.

The lululemon aid station party was CRAZY!!!! These ladies are nuts and SO MUCH FUN!!!! Having worked closely with Meghan earlier in the year on my short review, it was really great to see them and made the 10 mile aid station totally memorable...and of course you just have to snap a pic with their hilarious signs :)

The fog was insane. That's pretty much all I have to say, but these pictures show what it looked like about 3 hours after the race started. It was intense for about 4 hours. Really thick, but the positive is that it kept the sun away for a bit and just let us get into a rhythm.

As per usual, about 22-23 miles in my stomach started to head south. I thought I had it under control with sipping water instead of taking big gulps (thanks to advice from Meredith Terranova) but making my way up hills was REALLY difficult to catch a breath. It felt as though the liquid was just sitting on top of my stomach. I was drinking a bottle of Tailwind in order to get my salt, but the water just wouldn't release into my gut. CRAP.....here we go again....

Coming into the 23 mile aid station, I had committed to Regan that I wasn't going to hold him back from running his own race. He had some really solid goals and was moving INSANELY well....for a guy wearing toe shoes :) ....just kidding buddy :)

The fog over top of a "mountain"

I took in some Pepsi, grabbed a Picky Bar, filled my back and was in/out in 3-4 minutes. My goal for aid stations was to be out in no more than 10 minutes. Off to a good start.

About 2 miles outside of the aid station is where the weather started to look a little...shall we say....dicey. Regan and I looked off to the west and decided it was probably in our best interest to throw jackets on just in case and boy did that prove to be invaluable. Literally as we turned the corner on 265th St, it was like God had opened up the sky to say "You thought I was going to give you good weather this year...silly runners" :) It was rain like I had never run in before. I can deal with the rain, typically, but this was coming in sideways with gale force winds. Thunder and lighting....very, very frightening....oh wait.....were waking up all of our senses. It was nuts. I told Regan to soldier on without me because I knew that if I was going to have stomach problems already, I didn't want to burn through all of my energy stores before hitting the B Roads.

About 2 minutes before the rain hit

The wind/rain lasted for nearly an hour and just as I was about to hit the first B Road of the day, the largest bolt of lightning I have every seen hit in the exact direction I was headed and almost forced me to take shelter in a barn. But as soon as that lightning hit, the rain was instantly gone. Super weird.

I won't bore you with the details of the level B Roads, but any hope that I had earlier in the week about them being "dry" were dashed with the rain storm. They SUCKED!!!!!!!! Up/down. Side-to-side. Mud and clay stuck to your feet like peanut butter. Then, when we got a small road section, we were back to the level B for more carnage. I finally decided that I was going to stop avoiding the raised sections and just take the ruts in the road and just deal with the water in the ruts. I just kept telling myself, "treat it like the river crossing of Western States".

Coming into the 30 mile aid station, I had my first mini melt down. I called my wife to let her know my progress. I called a member of my crew to let him know that I was OK and what was going on. Changed out my socks, re-applied Squirrel's Nut Butter to my feet, rinsed my shoes and had a sandwich. I was just so bummed that things, once again, weren't going my way that I was just sobbing. The little boy that was there playing in the mud simply asked his mom, "Why is he crying?". The innocence of children is amazing and it just reminded me of something my kids would say to people. His mom just replied "These things are just tough and he's just a little emotional". Good answer mom. Don't let the kid know that I'm a huge baby :)

I came out of 30 and decided that I was going to put my headphones on for the first time this early in a race ever. I try and keep the goal of not listening to anything until I am 1/2 way done with the distance or the time (depending on the type of race) and I had saved a couple of podcasts to listen to instead of music. I love UltraRunnerPodcast.com and Eric does an amazing job picking great guests. i was really intrigued to listen to the conversation with Hayden Hawks, Zach Bitter and someone who I am awe of Meghan Arbogast. My stomach was still a mess and the conversation couldn't have come at a better time. They got to talking about bonking and hydration and just like that earlier bolt of lightning I came to the realization that I am a HUGE idiot and the reason for my stomach problems in every race was caused by.....wait for it........the fact that I don't hydrate enough 3-4 weeks out for a race. You'll just have to listen to the conversation yourself. It'll answer most of the questions....except for the one figuring out why I'm so stupid.

The next 12 miles or so was when the rain finally stopped and the sun started to emerge. I was passed by my good buddy Willy and a couple of others coming into 42. Willy is such a good dude with such a great attitude. Hard worker and someone who never gets caught up in running other peoples race. Some day I'll get there :)

Coming into mile 42, I had meltdown number two as I saw my Fitness Sports friends. Not emotional, but I was just really pissed off. That's the best way to explain. They sat me down, took my shoes off, looked for blisters, cleaned my feet up, got me some food/salt and pushed me out the chair. For a bunch of crazy fast guys and girls, I was well taken care of. I swapped socks for the second time, lathered on some more SNB and I was actually off again...RUNNING!!!! I felt amazing with how much food and encouragement I had gotten from these folks. I ran all of the flats and downhills for the next 6 miles where I had literally walked the previous 12.

Then at mile 48 or so was when the stomach started to rumble again and I just had enough and decided to give the liquid back to the world. It was really gross and this was the point where the death march began.

I felt so much like this guy. Pissed off and slow :)

Coming into mile 53, I had mentally powered down. I was so tired. I was so angry. I was so sad. I was so cold. I was exhausted and for the first time in a 100 miler in a long time, was going to call it quits. The wind and sun after the rain from the early morning had broken me. I was a wreck of a human. When I saw the aid station in the distance, I had made the decision that I was going to sit down in the chair and call it quits.

Walking up to the aid station, I saw Dave Mable again. Camera in hand. I asked a volunteer for a chair in their tent out of the wind and sun. Dave walked me in and sat me down and I just lost my mind. Uncontrollable bawling. I kept going on and on about how I was letting my kids down because I'm never able to reach my goals that I've set....blah blah blah.....I was completely broken. My mind was gone. An empty chasm of nothing. It was the lowest low that I have ever had in a race. How was I going to get up?

Photo courtesy of Dave Mable

After a few consoling from Dave and a couple of other volunteers, I asked to move out into the sun because of how badly I was shaking. For the first time in several hours, the sun actually felt good. I was wrapped in blankets and getting my back rubbed by a volunteer. I was finally starting to get warm. I sat listening to the people around me talk about their runners or others that had come through and nothing helped. It wasn't until I heard the "Trolls" soundtrack in the background that reminded me of my kids and I finally made the commitment to push on. It's weird that something as simple as Justin Timberlake singing "Can't Stop The Feeling" was the thing that made me realize that my kids won't be disappointed in my time. They won't be disappointed in my inability to hit my goals. It was that song that made me realize that no matter how shitty my day was going, they would just be happy to see me finish.

I made a quick call to my crew to let them know that I needed my replacement shoes. They showed up, told me to stop being a puss (in nicer terms), fed me some instant mashed potatoes, got my shoes changed and pushed me out of the chair. It was a lot longer than I wanted to stay in an AS, but I needed to just rest for a bit. The next 9 miles until I would see them again was just plodding on.

Coming into 62 miles, I was in a completely different headspace. I think it was primarily due to the fact that I was going to finally have some people to have a conversation with that weren't going to allow me to dwell on how much this was sucking. I kept apologizing and none of them were having it. They truly are the the most amazing people ever.

Laura re-taped my foot with some KT tape to help with the foot issue that I'd been having (which coincidentally hadn't hurt all day) looked my feet over, checked the condition of my eyes and gave me the go ahead to proceed. I think she was just so amazed at how different my mood/attitude/mannerisms were from just 9 miles earlier. I let my feet dry, put on some more SNB, ate a pancake (thanks Phil), drank a shot of some chocolate stout (thanks Canjo for recognizing that I needed some beer) and got back on the road with Jim.

Jim and Jen are some of the greatest people I've ever met. Conversation is never forced with them. I felt bad because we got back out on the road so late that I was just exhausted and not really in the conversation mood. Just having them there to talk was great. They always take great care of me.

Mile 66 was the first time that I needed a nap. I came up to the Jeep, Jim relayed the message and I laid down for 15 minutes. And that is all I am allowed to sleep, via my instructions. 15 minutes went by and was greeted by the sound of this video. Just watch it. It's all these people could talk about for 3 days.....my crew might be more nuts than I am :)

The miles between 66 and 83 were alternating pacers, puking, trying to eat, remembering to drink, me complaining about how tired I was, puking, trying to not fall asleep walking, taking a couple of more naps and just moving forward. I was moving SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW, but I was still moving and that's what needed to happen.

Coming into 83 off of Cumming Rd is one of the biggest climbs of the whole race. It's on the 50k course and is a bastard as far into the race as it is. We'd spent about a mile on flat pavement, which felt really nice, and coming into that hill I felt like I was giving everything I had which wasn't much. As we crested the hill, I turned around and just smiled. I was so glad that was over.

No...I'm not homeless...I'm an ultra runner :)

83 miles was great to see some familiar faces. Carolyn and some of the other Striders/Turkeys were there and took great care of me. Coffee, boiled potatoes with some salt, pickle juice and me appearing to be homeless was just what the doctor ordered as the 2nd sunrise of my run began. I swapped out jackets and shoes before Jim and I moved to one of the worst sections of the course. The mile long B road. I'll let the pictures explain for themselves.

We actually moved through this section about 20 minutes faster than anticipated. I think it was the combination of the sun, coffee and the fact that I was finally starting to stomach some food that made it go so much quicker. We made a quick switch of shoes again and we were back on the road.

17 miles left. Just a little over 1/2 marathon. The sun was up and I was starting to get warm again. This section I have never seen during the day. Jen and I were actually pretty excited to see this section since we didn't even realize that one of the bridges we crossed last year was going over a lake (Badger Creek Park). It was neat to see all of the pelicans...yeah....pelicans.... and the people fishing and give us strange looks as we walked past.

Approaching the start/finish line with just a 10k remaining was bittersweet. Yeah, I was ready to be done. Yeah, I was bummed that it had taken so long, but I was almost a little sad that it was so close to be over for the year.

Walking into the start/finish area, I told Jen that I was going to drop my pack, I needed a bottle of ice water and I was going to head back out very quickly. No doddling.

At some point in the middle of the night, I told my crew that I wanted to be joined for the last 10k by everyone from the crew that was willing to join me. We had all worked so hard together and I wanted to use it as a "victory lap". I was also going to be joined by my good friend Josh who 13 weeks earlier had open heart surgery to repair a hole in his heart and wasn't able to partake in the 100 mile race that he had signed up for...oh...though he did do the 50k on Saturday....wearing his signature gas mask :)

Sidenote - Josh is taking part in an event created by himself to raise money for Team Fidelis, a veteran's charity, and I urge you to click on the link here to donate to his cause and help support our soldiers.

Leaving the start/finish area, I was joined by Jim, Phil, Sara and Josh. This was it. The home stretch. I could smell the bacon, but we had 6 miles and 4 big climbs to get there. I was seeing some great friends of mine who were coming in on their final 10k and all I could do was hug them and scream in excitement for them. You could have hit me with a truck and you wouldn't have been able to get the smile off of my face. This was the moment I had waited for all day...plus a few hours...

Striking a pose

As we rounded the final corner, I looked ahead and was just silent. No words are going to explain what was going through my head. Pride, defeat, elation, deflation, excitement, disappointment. I hadn't had the training cycle I had hoped for, but it all came down to this last 1/2 mile. As the parked cars got closer, I said, "I'm going to jog it in" and that's what we did. Side-by-side with the people that got me through one of the longest days...plus a few hours...of my life. The final little downhill brought tears to my eyes as I saw the finish line. I love to act like a football player and have some grandiose celebration in mind, but on this day, all I could do was thank God for the gift of crossing the finish line once again. I thank Him as I crossed the line and instantly dropped to my knee in prayer. 29 hours. 20 minutes. DONE.....

These guys are how I finished

Best Bro-Hugger of All Time :)

Having spent so much time with Steve Cannon on ways to make this event better every year, it's especially sweet being handed your finisher's medal and buckle and then that hug. He's a big teddy bear and this hug I look forward to every year.

The day was done. I grabbed a chair and all I could do was look at the buckle. This piece of silver and brass. This is what I ran for that day. The cuts in the metal. The embossed "100" made all of the suffering and the pain that I was feeling disappear. I've never thanked people so much in all of my life, but I was so grateful to all of my crew.

After I had composed myself a bit, I grabbed all of my stuff to pick up my family and drive 3 hours (don't worry I didn't drive) to our Memorial Day camping adventure. A great tradition that I look forward to every year after this race.

I love this family :)

My celebration beer. Thank Jen and Jim

Inspecting my feet for damage :)

Here we are. A few days later and back to "normal life". I sit here today with incredibly mixed emotions. On one hand, I'm super pumped to have dug out of the deepest pit I've ever been in to muster up just enough strength to finish, but disappointed in another race that hindered my potential because of my stomach. I've still got some work to do to figure out what is the proper fueling/hydration system for me. I learned from a very good friend that has run hundreds of races all over the world that you are never going to figure it all out, but you are going to have one day where all of the chips just fall into place and great things are going to happen. My day is coming, and I'm so excited for that day. I just have to learn to be patient.

One of the things that will forever stick out about this race is Sara requiring me to come up with 3 good things that happened during every segment of the final 47 miles of the race. Even though my list got pretty weird near the end, I wanted to list off my 3 good things to happen during the entire day:

1. I was able to be outside for 29 straight hours enjoying the beautiful world around me. 
2. I was able to hang out with 5 of my best friends for a large portion of this time.
3. I was able to persevere with very little sleep, food or drink left in my system after 7 vomit attacks :)

I want to start off my thank you list by thanking my God, first and foremost. He is the one who has given me abilities like this to do these stupid things. He gets all of the credit.

Next to my family. Thank you for allowing me to take time away from you to run these events. I just want all of you to know that you are constantly on my mind and my motivation to continue to grow comes from the desire to watch you all grow in your abilities. My wife and all of my kids have potential to do incredible things. I write these things to show you all that no matter how bad of a situation you are in, you can dig out and set the world on fire!!!!

To the most important people to me on the days and weeks leading up to this event, my crew. Thank you!!!! In no particular order:

Phil - Your humor is one of the best and weirdest things about you :) Thank you for being a source of positivity. You were the first person to jump in and drop everything to crew for me 2 years ago and I know that I can always count on you. Thank you for being such a great cheerleader and friend
Sara - What can I say about you that I haven't already told you. Thank you for being such an amazing person. You never let me quit believing in my own abilities. You've been with me during so many of my races, even for just as little as an hour, and you are such a firecracker.
Jim - We haven't known each other too incredibly long, but I feel like I've known you forever. You are one of the most positive people that I've ever met. Thank you for being the person that wouldn't let me stop when I wanted to lay down on the ground. Your planning of each aid station was hands down incredible
Jen - You make me want to be a great person. Never a bad word that comes out of your mouth. Your love for people is unmatched by anyone. I love how no matter how low I get, you know that talking to me about my kids is the way to get my brain working again....plus....you taught me that girls can pee for 3 minutes solid :)
Laura - You are the newest person on this team and WOW!!!! You saved me. Your training and knowledge of damage control was amazing. You're so smart and your tough love on those dozen or so occasions was exactly what I needed. Thank you for being one to hand out the whoop ass, but knowing when I just needed to bawl.

To the volunteers. All of you are incredible. From the lululemon ladies, to the Rival Game Relay crew, to the Fitness Sports aid station, to the Velarosa ladies, to the Striders/Turkeys. I can't begin to thank you enough for your love and positivity.

Last, but certainly not least. Steve Cannon. Canjo to some. Friend to all. Thank you for having the vision to create this event. Thank you for allowing me in to give advice and listening when some of my ideas are not the greatest. Thank you for allowing me to help you with the event and I look forward to big things in the future. We need to start planning for 2018 :)

Thank you so much for reading. Please, consider clicking on the link above listed for my friend Josh Jorgensen and his campaign to fight veteran suicide. No person that puts themselves in harms way to protect our freedom should have to go out like that. Make a donation, spread the word and let's help Josh make his event one of the biggest fundraisers for Team Fidelis.

Items used for the 2018 Booneville Backroads 100 Mile Run
HOKA ONE ONE Challenger ATR 3 (53 miles)
HOKA ONE ONE Clifton 3 (43 miles)
HOKA ONE ONE Challenger ATR 2 (4 miles muddy miles) - No longer in production
Suunto Ambit 2R - Even after 29 hours the watch still had 40% battery life...nuts!!!
The North Face Ambition Shirt
The North Face Better Than Naked 5" Split Short - The whole day
Nathan VaporCloud Hydration Pack
Injinji Trail Midweight Mini-Crew (3 pairs)
Squirrels Nut Butter - This is the first race that I have EVER in 10 years walked away without a single blister. One toe had to be addressed about 62 miles in, but it was minor. This stuff is AMAZING!!!!!
Tailwind Nutrition (4 sticks)
Picky Bars (4 bars)
Various things from the aid station tables from Pepsi, coke, ginger ale, snickers, mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, chicken broth, ramen noodles, pickle juice, etc.

Thanks so much for reading!!!!!

Stay Strong, Run Long,
Tha Messenjah