I woke up Saturday morning at 7am, a sleep in for me, and immediately thought "the KM 100 runners have already been out there for an hour".
I went to check the webcast to see who and how many actually started. 155 crossed the timing mats at the start.
I had a few hours of regret. I kept thinking "I should be there". "I should have stuck with my program and toughed it out". I checked the weather. 70's, overcast, scattered showers. "not bad", I thought. I neglected to check the dewpoint.
When I saw the runners cross at 50k, I was surprised. Grabowski was in 8th place, but banking a 5:25 50k. Wow, he was running a conservative race. Must have fallen and hit his head.
I was keeping an eye on Karen S., her first 100, and she looked tied for second.
Zach, John G, and the Saari's all looked to be sticking together.
The first sign of bad was when I checked the details of the weather. Dewpoint 65. Ouch! That is like 2 years ago.
Soon I hear that Karen dropped. Dizzy and headache. Dehydration.
Then I hear from Kevin that he and Dehart dropped, and that it was brutally hot and humid. It sucked the life and desire out of both of those hard core runners. Helen couldn't even get them to finish out the 100K. I would have loved to see that conversation. I wouldn't have been surprised if Helen was saying "stop being such babies".
Then the updates painted an ugly picture.
Brian Peterson was running the 100k, did the first 50k in 4:02! Came in 1st with a 9:4something. He was the only 100k runner not to get chicked by Crawford who finished second.
The hundred updates looked awful. I then felt glad about my decision to sit this one out.
Zach's wife was posting updates, and it did not sound good. Zach decided to take the 100k finish instead of the 100m. Smart move. I know Zach could have finished, but the price he was going to pay was significant.
So the night took its toll on the runners, and the Lapham girls came through nicely. Angela Barbera and Deb Vomhof finished well... around 28 hours, I think.
Congrats to Nolan Ming for finishing 3rd. That must have been some bad ass running in the last 40. Great job Nolan.
The KC Nerds cleaned house, though. They got 3 of the top 4 spots.
Great job to all who showed up and put forth effort.
If any of you want to share a race report, email me and I will post it.
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I might run Afton 50K. I am feeling better.
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6 comments:
There were a lot of great performances from the LPTR chicks - Crawford won the 100k, Julie Treder won the 100mile, Deb finished second in the masters and Angela finished third in her age division. Girls - 4 for 4... Boys 0-6... ouch. For me, it wasn't the warm and humid, it was the RAIN. I was not at all interested in repeating 2008. I had been running in the rain for about an hour when I dropped - Wasn't sure how long it would continue - turned out to be about 5 hours...60 of the 120 runners that made it to 100k dropped. Out of the 60 that headed out in the rain, 49 made it back. Kettle is tough like that - Very easy to stop at 100k (or sooner!)
It was so miserable out there I sort of didn't try too hard to convince Kevin to keep going! I admire anyone who pushed through the conditions to get the 100 mile finish. But then again, knowing that conditions at KM are more often bad than good I admire everyone who toed the line at 6AM! Great job to all.
Afton - yes, you should do it.
I saw him in the checkpoints near the front, but I think Jim faded...but still finished.
Man, for being a 'midwest' ultra (IE, not a lot of hype about it), it sure provides a unique challenge!
Hi Matt,
Welcome back to Blogland:) I think it sounds like you made the right decision by not running this year. Yuck, it must have been icky to run in that type of weather! I would of dropped...for sure!
I hope everything is going well for you! Take care:)
Personally, I feel that DNF'ing because of poor weather conditions doesn't cut it. But that's just me. It is summertime in SE Wisconsin. The weather is typically hot, humid, and rainy. If you don't like running in those kind of conditions, don't sign up for races that might be like that due to time and location. To me, that'd be like signing up for Badwater and complaining about how hot it was, or Arrowhead and how cold it is. If it's hot, humid, and wet, slow down - don't quit. Then again, I don't run to race like some folks. I'm just there to have fun, challenge myself, and get to the finish line. To each their own. That being said, way to go gals and way to show those guys how it's done!!!
Thanks Matt! I had a terrific last 30 miles or so. I've never felt better that late in a 100 miler. If it wasn't for the green apple quick steps early on and some chit chatting at aid stations, I may have had a chance at winning. Oh well, I had fun, and the weather was as expected to be honest. I love running in that stuff. Maybe I'll see some of you up at Superior Sawtooth 100 this year...
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