2023 Grindstone 100k Race Report

I gave myself time for a little 5-10 minute jog around to warm up the muscles and wake myself up in the cold morning. After that I pushed my way to the front of the pack with 5 minutes to spare, familiar faces appeared below bright headlamps. Less time at the start line meant I had less time to get nervous and raise my heart rate. The first road miles were chatty, but around 7-minute pace. I felt good, the mountains were hiding in the darkness. People began separating as we hit the double track at mile 5 and even more so as we hit singletrack a mile later. I took my poles out to quickly hike that first steep wall and stashed them away at the top. At Lick Run Aid Station I refilled my water flask. I fell around mile 9 when I washed out running low on a mountain bike berm. I was in a group with 2 others, we were chatting and moving well. It was nice to follow someone through the technical spots. I had one gel already in my belly and about 200 calories of liquid nutrition.

At the Wolf Aid Station I filled up my 388 calorie powder flask with water for the next section. I don’t think I quite finished my previous 388 calorie flask but didn’t want to be left without liquid calories between aid stations. The Wolf Ridge climb was surprisingly runnable, and we were moving well. I was tuned into my effort and making sure I didn’t push it. I occasionally felt little pulses of tightness in my right calf, that had me a little worried and would occasionally hike to lower my effort. That climb was long and rolly so I didn’t use my poles. Once I got to the top I took a deep breath and focused on getting through that descent as easy as possible. The occasional short climb kept things interesting. I really tried to keep it around a 7:00 pace. I think I topped off my water flask at the aid station at the bottom, Sand Spring. At that point the easy running on the gravel road was nice. 7:00 pace seemed like good splits to hit for this section too. I had a bowel movement hit me, so I was ready to get to the North River Aid station. At some point I decided I would swap to the Speedlands at this aid station. The Craft shoes I started in got too sloppy, especially in the wet conditions. Upon arrival at the aid station I found the toilets. I untied my shoes while on the toilet, pro move. Leaving that aid station my legs felt good and I was eager to tackle the climb up to Lookout Mountain. I knew this one would be even more runnable and rolling. I efficiently used my poles for this whole climb and kept the effort even. At the 31 mile mark I gave myself a mental high-five for the effort so far. Also I smiled to myself realizing I hit a 50km personal best. Right after the Lookout Mountain Aid Station I passed one guy that I had been yo-yoing (mostly behind him) with all morning. Later around mile 35 I was surprised to see Jeff’s kit in front of me. After an exchange of pleasantries, I kept on trucking. A mixture of pole running and hiking was keeping me moving quickly with my effort low enough. Of course I put away my poles too soon as there were more steep rollers even after I thought I reached “the top.” That descent sure did feel long, at this point in the course I felt like we were way out there in the wilderness.

I was excited to reach the road and fill my water flask at Magic Moss. I knew the next 2 miles would be nice, after turning left I knew that the gravel road to Todd Aid Station would be hard. Those 3 miles of running slightly uphill were HARD. At this point my right hip and leg were bothering me, only when running on roads. I was hurting for this 3-mile section as cars were cruising by me and there were no runners in sight. It seemed like the pain subsided if I focused my attention on pushing off with that big toe, I kept my mind on that and kept my stride smooth and efficient. The aid station was a pleasant sight. I saw a couple familiar faces and my parents passed off my new bottles and a couple gels.

I was trying my best to stick to the nutrition plan, I think I was taking enough. I had a nutrition timer set for every 20 minutes. I was a little ahead of schedule so some bottles weren’t completely empty when I got rid of them. I was taking Spring Awesomesauce gels in two servings and taking roughly 200 liquid calories per hour. At some point my mouth was too dry to eat the fig bars so I solely focused on getting the gels in my belly. I think I only took 300-400cal from the fig bars all day. The occasional nutrition timer wasn’t noticed, and I was trying my best to forget about the time slowly moving by, so I occasionally got a lil lost in the plan at some point. Overall, I believe I took enough.

I knew leaving Todd Aid Station that climb would be a tough one. I had my poles out. Parts of the trail were too narrow to use them efficiently. The climb really never got too steep, I kept moving with a mixture of slow running and hiking. The biggest issue with this climb is that I never saw a 100k course marker, so I kept checking my watch and second guessing the signs I saw at the bottom. Obviously in a delicate mental state this bothered me more than it should have.

At the top of the climb the course markers reappeared. I turned my focus on getting down that mountain in one piece. Near the top of the descent, I apparently passed Zach, I honestly didn’t even recognize him. I barely lifted my head to say hi. That was a long descent with the occasional climb to keep things interesting. It ended in a super steep section. My legs were dead. I struggled to stay dynamic and keep moving in a smooth fashion downhill. My parents helped with a quick swap at the bottom as the course passed through North River Aid Station again. I just took some gels and another dense bottle of Skratch (390 calories). My dad said there were 3 runners just a few minutes ahead and they didn’t let me stop moving. I tried my best to turn my brain off and kept moving along the gravel road. This slightly uphill gravel section was really hard. I tried my best to keep it around 8-8:30 pace, I knew others were hurting more than I was. I wanted to put in a solid effort to get back to the singletrack and that last lil climb. I passed one guy just 1 mile after the aid station.

I was pretty stoked to turn off the road and back onto single track. That climb certainly wasn’t easy but it didn’t make my hip sore. It was so runnable! Well except for the rollers and the mountain biking focused architecture of the trail. I kept mixing some hiking and running, focused on moving and getting over that little ridge line. Of course, I forgot about the rocky ridgeline at the top, which also wasn’t easy to move through. I was counting down the miles and celebrating each one I put behind me.

The gravel road section to Lick Run 2 aid station was rude… more rolling and many corners, it seemed like the aid station was hiding around every corner, I had another runner in front of me as I approached Lick Run Aid Station again. I passed him. He said I must be having a good day. I could only mumble some sort of answer that I’m sure did not make sense. Looking back I’m not even sure if these guys were 100k runners, I really didn’t care I just wanted to get to the finish line.

Then holy shit once I made it to the road it certainly did not get any easier. I commit myself to ticking off 8 minute miles or under. Since we ran this section in the dark it was “pleasantly” new to my eyes. Only slightly familiar. I was keeping myself going by squirting water on my face like a madman and taking the occasional swish of Skratch and spitting it out. I was counting down the miles, one by one.

I was so stoked to see and cross the bridge with a half mile to go. As I crossed and turned on to the finish trail a volunteer clapped for me. After I ran 20 yards further, I heard her clap again and I looked back to see a runner appear on the trail behind me. I actually laughed out loud realizing I might end up in a sprint finish after 60 miles of running. I looked back again to actually make sure he had a bib on, well he certainly did, and I saw him pick up his pace. I laughed out loud again and said okay I’ll do this. Wouldn’t ya know it I forgot about all the leg fatigue and ran as fast as I could. I was moving at a sub-6 pace for probably a tenth of a mile. Once I created a bigger gap behind me, I felt like I had my position on lock. I kept moving quickly and thankfully found the finish line not too far away. I took a couple more glances behind me before I enjoyed a spry gallop across the finish line. Dang. What a day.