My road to a 100 miles has been a long , fighting for every mile , journey . I could have quit a 1000 times over the last 2 years but I chose to press on to the goal of an Official finish of a 100 mile race.
It was fitting that I finished my first Official 100 at Crooked Creek 100 . This race was similar to my first attempt in many ways : Course set Up of 8 loops and similar relentless elevation plus many of the same people who have watched me struggle and have heartbreak over previous DNFs . I had so many demons to slay at this race .
This race was put on Central KY Race Management . Great RDs Jeff Proctor and Greg Milby . They care about every runner and provide a great experience. The swag is always great !! There are 4 distance options for Crooked Creek – Half Marathon, Marathon, 50 miler and 100 miler.
The trails are at Camp Crooked Creek Boy Scout Camp . Well kept single track trails . The course is absolutely beautiful yet brutal in some spots. The elevation and technical nature of the trail will keep you busy . Trail conditions were great . 2021 the weather was perfect. Sunshine and daytime temps , high 40s low 50s .
There was a main aid station at the start . The 100 & 50 mile runners could set up tents in this area for crew . There was a water stop a few miles after this . The second fully stocked Aid Station was at the 8 mile mark . You could put a drop bag here or your crew could meet you .
There is a 36 hr cut off for the 100 miler . Its generous but you should still be diligent about your loop times. I had fine tuned my nutrition for this race . It served me well until the last loop and I wasn’t really able to take in solids . This was much better than in previous races. I stayed on top of hydration by using flasks . My Crew Hubs watched how much liquid I was drinking. I had prepared a check list for each loop for him to follow. As long as I kept the planned loop pace , everything would work . The longest 2 stops were after Loop 3 & 7 . After loop 3 , I changed shoes due to rocks and added clothes , lights for overnight. After loop 7 , I changed a shirt and picked up my pacer. I was dealing with back pain at this point so it was nice to have a pacer to keep me moving. Ally other stops were Nascar Style as the hubs had everything ready for me to grab
I am definitely heading back to this race .2022 will be the 50 miler . I want to work on my speed on trails and get better at navigation on technical trails.
JanuaryRunr11 