Very Happy with my DNF

The 20th Anniversary of the Mohican 100 was this weekend. Something I've been a part of for the last 4 years, I finally got to run this old girl.

I am very happy and proud that I made it was far as I did. My feet hurt something fierce, and I experienced the ups and down associate with this kind of madness.

The race started out with perfect temps. It had rained up to a few minutes before the race and was clear the rest of the day. The temps were not bad and we had a nice breeze for much of the day.

I heard a lot of people complain about the heat. It was warm but, I really didn't think it was all that bad.

I was well hydrated despite severe muscle cramps from mile 21 on to when I dropped out.

The day before the heat and humidity was intense. I was sweating a lot and didn't think to replenish the salt that I'd lost. I think this contributed to the muscle cramps the next day. On race day, I was taking about 2 S-Caps per hour and it seemed to not help. I think my sodium stores were way far gone.

I had a hard time running and a hard time walking. A slow shuffle was all I could do from about mile 37 to mile 42. From there it was a walk until I started running again just before mile 50.

I was feeling great at mile 52 and decided to change socks and keep on going. I grabbed my headlamp as it was starting to get dark out.

About 2 miles out from the next Aid Station My switched on my headlamp and it wouldn't come on. I opened up the case and noticed that I had sweat and water that leeched into the battery case and was shorting it out. I had it around my neck for about 10-13 miles. It's possible water trickled down there from when I was drinking.

I was able to wipe it down and get it working again. Off and on until the Covered Bridge it would shut off on me. It was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing. I was a tad freaked out being out there by myself and with a headlamp that didn't work so well. I know to carry and extra light, which I had in my drop bag at mile 52, I just went off and forgot it.

I made the decision to drop at the Covered Bridge which was about 6 miles away. I figured my feet were just too far gone and unrepairable. I figured the podiatrists were packed up and gone. Had they been there and were able to fix them, I think I would have went on to see how far I could go. Turns out, I got there just in time and they fixed them, but the pain remained. I was done.

I was able to get my feet fixed and get a ride back to the start/finish where I chatted with Colleen and Mike Keller for hours. The winner of the race (Wyatt Hornsby) came in at 19:53!

hours or something.

I had no stomach issues as I believe I have dialed in on my diet and what to do and not to do for races. In all, it was a great race. I couldn't say enough about the volunteers. They were simply awesome.

Totals: 64 miles. Not sure of my time. I think it was 17 1/2 hours or something.