War Hammer 100 Race Report - Wetter is not better... My first 100 Mile Ultra

The War Hammer 100 is a 103 mile run through Kentucky which is a point to point race running through the Sheltowee Trace in the Daniel Boone National Forest.  That is what intrigued me of this race when I signed up. 100 miles one way.  The week of the race Kentucky received a lot of rain to the point flooding was occurring.  When I picked my packet up on Friday we were notified that it was going to be really wet and some sections of the river were high and that they would possibly put a rope across the river to help with crossing.  Race morning I woke up and drove to the finish line to get on the bus and ride to the starting line in Red River Gorge.  It was a 2 hour bus ride to take us out 100 miles and drop off a bunch of eager runners ready to hit the trails before sunrise.

I stepped off the bus and walked to the pavillion and placed my drop bags in the right locations and picked up my bottle of mace.  That is a whole other story.  Apparently last year several runners were bitten by dogs.  Wonderful I thought, because around mile 70 or so I am not going to be outrunning anything so I better grab it just in case.  At 5:55am we all lined up for the 6am start.  Here we go.  At this point you just have to hope that you have not forgot to pack anything and that your planning was good enough to get you to the end.

Countdown begins and we take off.  Within the first mile we cross a flooded road that drenched my shoes.  We continue running on the road for a few more miles until we hit the trail.  Its pretty dark in the woods so I flip my headlamp on and take off.  My goal is to stay as close as possible to running 4 miles per hour and to not stop at aid stations unless it is to refill water/Sword or it's one of the aid stations where I planned my drop bags which is mile 28, 55, and 78.  I tell myself all I need to do is just to finish.  Stick to the plan.  I did not want to fail on my first attempt of 100 miles.  I have not DNF'd a race yet and I don't want to start now.  I have 34 hours before the cutoff so in my brain this is just math and forward progress.

2 runners came up behind me around mile 6 or so and we chatted for a few while running.  One of them was from Peru and his name was Jose and along with him was Michael who lives in Georgia and has completed  22 - 100 milers.  That's pretty impressive.  They eventually passed me as I was sticking to my plan which I normally don't do very well, but so far so good.   Another runner Jason ran along with me for about the next 35 miles.  This was his 2nd attempt at this race as he DNF'd last year around mile 75.  As we made our way down the trail there were no markings as someone vandalized the course and took all of the trail markings down for about the next 2 miles but luckily the race director warned us of this.  Jason and both had downloaded the Gaia GPS app and map that he recommended and quickly found our way back on the course.  At mile 9 we came up on a set of steps that went FOREVER.  I was waiting to see a monk temple at the top of the mountain.  There was no temple... but a good morning mountain view.  Parts of this actual trail system were beautiful, but there was just not enough actual trail on this race in my opinion. 

We spent a lot of the next few hours on gravel roads, asphalt, and un-runnable ATV trails, creek crossings and running down stream in the creeks.  We did our best to keep the pace up and stick to the 4 miles per hour goal.  We caught several other runners that we had not seen since the start of the race and chatted with them for a while and moved on trying to stick to the pace.  At this point my feet are soaked and I am ready to make it to mile 28 to get drys socks and more GU's out of my drop bag.  I am using the Roctane Gu's and basically downing 1 every hour to maintain calories along with the aid stations which were not very good.  All of the aid station basically had soda, PB&J, pretzels, and M&M's and that was basically it with a few other stations having bananas and watermelon.  Don't get me wrong I love some PB&J but I need a little variety in my life.  We made it to mile 28 Lago Linda aid station in 6 hours and 50 minutes just a little ahead of my goal but almost right on target.  I cleaned the bottom of my feet, dried them off and put on some fresh socks.  I quickly grabbed some food and took off walking.  Only to find more water.

Dry feet did not last long as we started on road that transitioned into gravel and then into running through another creek.  At this point my feet have been wet for 7 hours straight.  We just talked and moved on and made it onto a road that we were on for a very long stretch.  My feet were starting to get a little sore at this point.  It felt like we were on that road forever.  Around mile 40 Jason was pulling away from on the road and I just held back.  I did not want to run much faster than my 4 mile per hour pace.  My next aid station would be Arvel at mile 47 and then I would be less than 10 miles to seeing my family and my pacer.  The next section was a decent trail that was runnable and took me all the way to mile 53 where I could hear someone yelling.  I made my way down the trail to meet Vanessa and she was stuck due to the raging river that was flooded and moving very fast.  She was trying to find another spot to cross but figured our best plan would be to cross together at the trail so we faced each other, locked hands and took off.  It took several minutes but we made it.  It was moving really fast.  The race directors did not know that the river was rising that quickly from all of the rain and later and added a rope for others to cross.  I am getting a burst of energy now as I know my family and Mike are waiting on me at Turkey Foot, the next aid station at mile 55.  It actually turned out to be 58 miles...  After my watch ticked over to mile 57 I was starting to think I made a wrong turn but once I saw a gravel road and pink ribbons I knew I was getting close.  I was ready to see them and to put on dry clothes, fresh socks, and grab my extra head lamp since as it was now dark and raining. 

My wife was doing a great job of keeping everyone updated and Mike had been waiting at the aid station since about 4pm and I finally arrived at 9:11PM.  I talked to the girls and Mike, changed all clothes and we took off again at 9:30PM.  Seeing my family and having Mike as my pacer was a big relief going into the night.  Having a good pacer is key and Mike is top on my list.  Mike handed my trek poles to me and off we went.  By the time we left the aid station it was pouring down.  It was a long night with a lot of un-runnable trail.  I led for about 10-15 miles and then I turned it over to Mike.  He was my point man to find the flags and go so that all I had to do was run and just follow him.  We crossed paths with Jose and Micheal all night long as they would pass us and then we would pass them.  At this point we are almost 70 miles in.  All I kept thinking about was getting to mile 78 and changing shoes and socks.

Around mile 76 we found Vanessa (yes same Vanessa) asleep on the trail.  Mike woke Vanessa up and told her to follow us that we were only 2 miles from the next aid station.  She got up and started running right behind us.  Around mile 77 we came up on a guy that was yelling every time he took a step and was walking with a lot of pain.  We asked him if he was ok and neither Mike nor I could understand what he was saying.  We asked him multiple times if he was ok but we could not understand a word he said.  I think he was gone at this point and the next aid station would be his last.  He was so close to the aid station that we let him go as he was on the trail and heading in the right direction.  As we made our way to the top of the hill finally we could see the lights of the S Tree aid station which was significant for me.  Mile 78 and the last drop bag station for me.  I changed shoes and socks which would only get wet again in a few more miles, and did the best I could with drying my feet but they definitely looked like they had been in water for 22 hours straight.  Once I got my shoes on I walked over to Mike at the center of the aid station and he had filled my hydration pack up and my sword bottle.  We talked to Jose and Michael for a second and started to take off as Michael started getting sick.  His stomach was in pretty bad shape.

Mike and I are off and running towards the next aid station.  At this point I am extremely tired and my feet are killing me.  The bottom of both of my feet felt like stone bruises and I am sure Mike heard all about it for the next 20 miles...LOL...  He did good though.  He just said, "we just need to make it to sunrise and then you will get rejuvenated."  He was right.  We caught Vanessa and spent about the next 5 miles running with her and talking.  She was keeping a good pace and was on target if she kept up with her current pace to finish overall 3rd female.  We were back on the ATV trail running again but at least it was daylight.  We came up on a large tree that had fallen over the trail and blocking the whole trail.  I followed Mike as he started going down a steep grade and around the tree and started climbing back up on the trail which unfortunately did not go as well for me as I fell back down the hill.  Yelled some very not nice things... very loud... and then proceeded to climb through the tree on the trail until I made it through the other side as Mike patiently waited on me.  We made it a few miles and then I see the river.  All I can see at this point an ATV with a rope tied to it and stretched across the river near another down tree.  The rescue squad waiting on us to cross in case anything went south.  I didn't hesitate and just walked right in with my trek poles and started jamming them down into water and walking.  I was ready to be finished and started running harder.  I figured if my feet were going to hurt anyways I might as well run harder to finish quicker.

We made it through a few miles of actual running at right around a 12-13 min pace for the next few
miles and finished up the hill running through the gravel to the next aid station at Parker Branch.  We grabbed what we needed and took off.  Mile 93 I felt something tear in between my toes.  I told Mike I have to stop running for a few.  I hobbled for the next 3 miles and then the pain went away.  We started slowly running again and made it to Camp Wildcat.  The LAST AID station!  I was ready to be done.  I took off running right beside Mike.  We were still on road which would transition into gravel and I was so ready to be done. I was running 11-12 minute miles all the way to the finish.  I was over it.  Then we hit the last mile. It was part of the Wildcat Off Road Adventure Park.  It was pure mud.  The sink to your ankles kind and pretty much a vertical climb for what felt like an eternity.  We made it to the top of the hill and turned the corner and I saw my family holding signs and cheering.  I also noticed Michael had just turned the corner.  I took off and sprinted to the finish as my watch ticked over to 103 miles.  The first thing I said before I set down was, "I am done running."  Of course my wife knows me too well when I say these things and just went along with me.  I have to give a shout out and thank my wife, girls, Mike, James, my brother Shane and Kelly enough for all that they did to help me with planning, logistics, and getting through crazy wet and tough race.  Having amazing people around you that support you and make you better can help you get through anything.  Until the next crazy race that Mike and I sign up for... Cheers.