Hello, sports fans! Welcome back!

If you’ve been following along for awhile, you know that every week I publish something sports related, from free downloads to decorate your space on game day, to crafts that are perfect for supporting your teams and showing some team spirit, and the occasional update from my Team Colors by Carrie shop! And most of the time, I talk about football, hockey and baseball, and sometimes soccer or basketball or the upcoming summer Olympics.

Today, however, I’m going to share something a little different than normal, and introduce you to a sport that you might never have heard of, and probably know nothing about. The sport of ultra trail running!

When you hear about running, you probably think about road running or track meets, and you’ve likely heard of the Boston or Chicago Marathons. But you might not realize that a growing number of people run on trails instead of roads, and run distances much farther than the 26.2 miles of the marathon, from 50 kilometers to 50 miles, up to 100 and even 200 mile races! Anything longer than a marathon is known as an ultramarathon, and that’s where ultra running gets it’s name.

I am one of those people that runs ultras, and participated in one over the weekend. I’m going to give you some insight by sharing my experience, starting with the fact that it was a long time coming, as I signed up for this race in the fall of 2019, with the intent of running it in June 2020. We all know what 2020 brought, and the impact of the pandemic included the cancellation of trail races.

But things started changing in 2021, and a few months ago we finally got the good news that the race was going to happen, and we all made plans to be in southern Wisconsin for the June 12th weekend! I was so excited, after waiting through a year of uncertainty!

This race, called the Kettle Moraine 100, is run primarily on trails in the Kettle Moraine State Forest, and 65 miles of the course are on the iconic Ice Age Trail. It includes an out and back section for the first 62 miles, and a second out and back for 38 miles, both of which start and end at Nordic State Park. The trails run through a mix of wooded terrain and prairie areas commonly called “the meadows.” The course includes hills with rocks and roots, mowed grass, and gently rolling sections covered in soft pine needles. A nice mix is my favorite kind of race!

The weather at the 6am start was 70 and clear, with a high of 86 and only a few clouds forecast for the day. The first 20 miles went really well, as I ran the flat and downhill sections, and walked up the hills as I normally do. Off to a good start, trying to bank some miles before it got hot.

But by mile 20, the temperatures were rising quickly, the long sections of “meadows” had us out in direct sun, and that sun really started taking a toll. I slowed down over the next 10 miles, and despite loading up with ice at the aid stations that were located about every 5 miles along the course, my body’s core temperature was rising, too. I passed a number of other runners who were doubled up with cramps, or dry heaving, both signs of their own personal battles with the demons of heat and sun.

And just for reference, when I say I loaded up with ice, that means I put ice in the hydration bladder that I carry in a pack on my back, ice in my hat, ice in the pockets on my arm sleeves, and even in my sports bra! The ice gave me some temporary relief as it did it’s job to cool my body, but unfortunately, the effect didn’t last long.

About 32 miles in, I caught up with an old friend, who was suffering just as much as I was. We walked and talked strategy, and agreed that the only way we’d make it through the day was to walk through the remaining meadow sections to conserve energy, and hope we could recover enough to make up some time during the cooler night hours.

By the McMiller aid station at mile 44, however, we were already up against cut-offs, meaning we were in danger of not being allowed to move on past the 100k mark when we got back to Nordic, because we were just moving too slowly to complete the 100 miles within the 30 hour limit. We started worrying, and knew it was pretty much over when we were a half mile past the aid station, realized we had both left our headlamps in our bags there, and would have to go back to get them because it was going to be getting dark soon. Rookie mistake, but an indication of just how poorly our brains were working as we continued to struggle.

By the time we got our lights, and moved on as best we could to the next aid station, we knew there was little chance of making it back to Nordic in time. We even discussed just dropping out right there, because there seemed to be no point in suffering through 15 more miles, only to get pulled from the race. But we learned that there was an opportunity to drop down to the 100k distance if we could somehow make it back to Nordic, and decided that no matter how long it took us, we wanted to get that 100k buckle, and feel like we accomplished something that day!

Many hours later, we stumbled across that finish line, happy that it was over, proud of what we accomplished, and so grateful that we ended up together for all of those miles. Misery loves company, as the saying goes.

At some point I’ll need to think about whether or not I want to sign up for the 2022 race, to give that 100 mile buckle another go, or if I’ll be satisfied with the 100k version. But first, it’s time to rest and recover!

I hope you enjoyed a little sneak peek into what I’m up to when I’m not watching my favorite sports teams, or making jewelry and working on my business! Drop a comment, and let me know if you’d be interested in more “get to know Carrie” type posts!

Until next week, I hope you are enjoying some ball games and that your teams are doing well!

Carrie