I could barely keep my eyes open at 6:19am as we approached another hill. Every muscle in my body was sore and I could barely move 24 hours into the race. The forecast called for a dry weekend, yet rain arrived 5 hours earlier leaving me in a non-stop shiver. I uttered a phrase with instant regret and then told myself I would not say it again. That phrase was, “I don’t think I can do this”. As soon as those words were spoken, I remembered why I was there and what I needed to do. Mile #91.

On Sunday, October 15, I finished the Heartland 100 Spirit of the Prairie 100 mile ultra marathon. This was my first attempt at running 100 miles. The race begins in Cassoday, KS, which is 50 miles northeast of Wichita, KS. The course is an up and down trek throughout the flint hills on gravel roads. The out and back course has both 6415 feet of incline and decline. My preparation for this event was more detailed than any previous race and my confidence level was high.

My wife and I stayed 10 minutes away from the start in an AirBNB. I fell asleep shortly after 8:30pm which gave me 8 full hours of sleep before waking up. Rachel prepared all the food I would need to eat the following day. I woke up fully rested and ready to go at 3:30am. We prayed for the safety of the runners as we arrived at the race location. As forecasted, it was cloudy, dark, windy and 47 degrees. I said hello to a few familiar faces before lining up. We were off.

The sun rose around mile 8 and another runner commented, “we didn’t get much of a sunrise today.” My response was, “maybe we’ll get a better one tomorrow morning. Or a sunset this evening.” I thought to myself how that was one of the most ridiculous sentences I’ve ever uttered. My legs were moving, yet they would still be moving at this time tomorrow. I was listening to praise and worship music while occasionally singing out loud. I was giving praise to Jesus early, celebrating the opportunity that seemed impossible nearly 6 years ago. There was a long day ahead of me filled with pain and suffering and I was at peace. This was a beautiful feeling.

I became concerned around mile 22 when experiencing pain in my upper left calf. Everything else was going well up to that point. This calf pain wasn’t going away and I was thinking, “I have over 75 miles to go. I’ve never ran more than 62”. I worried this calf could become a problem as the day progressed. What if I couldn’t finish? I blocked out the negativity knowing I had a massage gun with my crew just 3 miles ahead. We ran the gun on my calf at this stop before I ran again. The stretch between 25 and 31.2 was more difficult than I would have preferred, but I was happy to see my crew again so soon. We used the massage gun and a massage stick before taking off again. As the run continued, the pain went away.

Sometime during the afternoon, my crew informed me the support vehicle blew a tire. A few hours later, they blew another tire and needed to consolidate to different vehicle. More on that later.

I saw my crew again at mile 42.5 and was able to use a pacer from this point on. Matt joined me for the last stretch of Saturday’s sunlight. My running was stronger in the 40s than it was in the late 20s and 30s and I was within my target range. We hit the 50-mile turnaround at 6:15pm, right as planned and a full hour and forty five minutes before the cutoff. We enjoyed tasty cheeseburgers before resuming the run. At this point, I was 100% convinced I would finish the race based on how my body felt. There is relief when you have more miles behind you than in front of you. Matt and I ran strong up until 57.3 when Bryan became my pacer. When meeting up with my crew, I asked for one of my canned coffees. This is when I found out the coffee did not make the transfer to the new vehicle. I used coffee during my overnight training and planned to drink at least 3-4 to get me through the pitch black, wee hours of the night. Nothing we could do; I would just need to work around it. We took off.

Bryan and I continued a strong pace, and my eyes were fixated on mile #62. Every mile beyond this point would be a personal record and uncharted territory. When mile 62 arrived, we were 10 minutes faster than my previous 62-mile miler (100k in Oct 22). I felt like complete garbage at the end of that previous race but felt so much stronger with 38 miles in front of me. Around this time, I told Bryan, “Unless the rapture happens, an alien invasion or some freak injury, there is no way I won’t finish this race”. I repeated this line a few more times throughout the day.

As mile 70 approached, we slowed the pace down by 1 minute a mile. From this point on we were at a power-walk pace. Midnight struck 18 hours into this adventure as fatigue was settling in. We arrived at 75 to see my crew and switch pacers at 12:48am, which was ahead of schedule. I expected to reach 75 between 1:30-2:00am. Looking back, I believe 50-75 was the strongest “quarter” of the ultra.

Ashley Nichole was my pacer for the next 8 miles when we encountered another unplanned event—precipitation. A heavy mist set in as the temperatures began to drop as the wind continued. I was not dressed for rain and my hoodie quickly absorbed moisture. I would not feel warm again until the car ride home. My legs began to give out around mile 81 as I entered the “pain cave”. My feet were throbbing from both the run itself and constant striking of gravel. My energy levels were fading quickly. As we approached a hill, I began to doze off. I quickly woke up. This happened over and over with Ashley trying to keep me awake. Yes, it is possible to doze off while on your feet. It happened at least 12 times throughout the night. I began to hallucinate. In my mind, there were kangaroos and bobcats roaming the prairies. We approached a steep hill close to mile 83 as we moved slow. I kept dozing off and had to rely on Ashley to keep me from falling down. Our crew and an aid station were at the top of the hill which was a major relief. I was able to get a cup of coffee while making a wardrobe change.

The final 17 miles began with Tony as my pacer at around 4:15am. Due to our slower pace, my heart rate was averaging 120 compared to 135-150 most of the day. The lower heart prevented my body temperature from raising enough to combat the cold. I was wearing 3 layers, gloves with handwarmers and a beanie, yet my body needed 3 more layers. I would shiver until the finish line. As 6:19am approached, I hit 10 hours of running in the pitch-black hills and grew more tired. I looked at the road and wanted to lie down for nap. Instead of quitting, we carried on knowing the sun would be up in an hour and an aid station was nearby. We hit the aid station with 8.4 miles left in the race. I sat down to eat ramen noodles to warm up, but it didn’t help much at this point. As another runner said, my “oven went out”. I drank a Coke before we left after a 10-minute stop. Yum, caffeine.

It was time for the final 8.4 miles. This part of the race is a bit blurry and uneventful. Sunrise helped keep me awake but the shivering and pain continued with each step. Our pace was slow and the mileage on my Garmin barely moved….kind of like my legs. I was in a zone determined to finish yet growing impatient. I was tired of being cold and miserable from the pain. Full blown suffering was in affect yet quitting wasn’t an option. I was at peace with what I needed to do. Finally, asphalt! At this point I was less than a mile away but couldn’t move any faster. As we got closer, I could see the finish line and then was able to see my wife and several friends. Let’s finish this thing. We arrived an hour and twenty minutes before the cutoff time. #10 out of 22 starters. After I crossed the finish line, I approached Rachel. She was crying and I became emotional. I looked at her and said, “we did it. We’ve come so far since January 2018”.

100 miles with spinal stenosis….a 2111 day journey.

Although a few hiccups occurred, so much went right. No blisters, no chafing, no GI issues, 10 toe-nails intact and most important, no injuries.

Big thanks to my crew and super-big thanks to Rachel. You guys were awesome!

Shout out to Elden Galano for directing an awesome race and to Mile 90 Photography, the best in the business!

I’m feeling blessed and thankful. From constant pain 5 years ago to the impossible today.

Running 100 miles is tough. Life is tougher. Life with Jesus as my #1 pacer gives me strength through the ultra-marathon of life. It’s because of Him that I was blessed with this opportunity.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Several folks have asked about my training plan for this race. Here it is the weekly breakout: