Mindy and I feel like we are getting the race directing thing dialed in for Riverlands. The first year, 2017, we were less prepared than we thought. We'd already RDed the Big Brad Ultras (50k and 50 miler) for 5 years. So twice the distance? Twice the effort? Hah!
I marked the entire course the day before the race that year while Mindy sorted all the aid station supplies and gear in Riverlands' main parking lot. We barely made it to packet pickup and the pre-race dinner on time. It's amazing we pulled it off. Putting on a successful 100 is orders of magnitude more work than a 50 miler. Now, I take over a week to get the course markings out there. The Sunday the week before the race, we have volunteers help us sort all the aid station supplies and gear which we then store in the TMR trailer and a rented U-Haul.
We're so fortunate to have hooked up with the Turner Timberland ATV Club or we may never have pulled off the race. Every year they have lugged our gear to Middle Earth (our aid station approximately halfway between the turn around), our Middle Earth volunteers to and from their shifts, and retrieved injured runners. We were a little worried this year since they were in transition in their organization, but we never should have been. They were there for us no matter.
Mindy and I are probably as good of a team as can happen. We fill in each others gaps. We had four years experience under our belts for Riverlands. Dialed in. Then we started seeing the long term weather talking about mid 80s for our weekend. Ok, we'd just spent a good deal of our Zoom race meeting talking about dealing with the cold at night. That had been the main problem in the previous years.
Steve Day did our big shop for us. We'd adjusted our shopping list to include a little more food since we had increased the solo runners from 70 to 80. As it became apparent the long range forecast was going to hold, we tried to think of what we needed to do to compensate. We bought a shit ton of ice. We added more soda and pickles. We said that adaptation would be our mantra this year. Not that it isn't our norm, but more than usual, we'd have to react to what the heat brought. I'd run races in unexpected heat, but we'd never race directed one. Besides our massive ice purchase, volunteers also brought ice. Sarah Love brought popsicles for two aid stations. Sam Heye's mom brought ice pops to Middle Earth for her shift. We added watermelon with salt and extra oranges. Summer stuff.
We had some last minute scratches in both runners and volunteers due to covid, a little ironic since last year we were unaffected by covid. OK, I just realized that isn't true. Last year, none of our Canadian friends were able to attend. This year, at least that was back to normal. With the normal DNSs due to normal life and ultra issues, we only had 66 people toe the line for the solo event.
Mindy stays at my house the night before the race. She has to be here for the night before and then we need to be back to the Start/Finish (S/F) by 4:20am. She lives 45 minutes further south. It doesn't make sense for her to go home. We're the first to get to S/F, at least of race personnel. Some runners sometimes show up earlier than we'd like, but everyone does what they need to. We know the drill. Get the drop bags out from the trailer for Middle Earth transit as well as the gear that couldn't go out the day before. Then get the S/F line set up as well as the drop bag area.
I'm not even sure what I said in the pre-race minutes. I do remember the count down to go. Immediately, the pressure drops on us for a bit. We have stuff to do, but nothing super pressing. We always marvel at how the race takes on a life of its own. We help get the S/F aid station set up and start watching the Tracker and listening for issues from our aid stations.
We had ten runners drop in the first lap of the race. Last year there were none in the first lap and six in the second lap. This year there were 22 in the 2nd lap, making 32 out when the race was only halfway through. Most of the runners we worked to see if we could keep them going because that's what we should do, but there were a few it was obvious they shouldn't continue. When Nate Coombs said he was done, we tried a bit to convince him, but knew him well enough to know he just doesn't drop. He was one of the only two on their way to a 500 mile belt this year. Now there was just Sam.
It was so fucking hot. Runners weren't eating. They were drinking, taking salt tabs, and drinking pickle juice. We added an info sheet at the aid stations to help identify heat related issues (exhaustion vs stroke). Although, I swear much of the exhaustion symptoms resemble normal ultra stuff. We try to encourage runners not to drop. We want to see everyone do their best and finish. We also don't want to see anyone have a medical emergency, a hard balance. We were super surprised when Middle Earth had a request for more water. We'd given them (4) 5-gal jugs more than last year, when they'd returned 5 jugs untouched.
The first year we ran the race was also later in the month (we are the 2nd Saturday of May). It was the year that Middle Earth was plagued by black flies. They hadn't been that bad since....Until this year. But, mosquitoes were never an issue. I feel like it's not until June that they become a scourge at Riverlands. This year, being later again and with unusually early heat, we had both black flies and mosquitoes. Runners who were still moving, but not very fast, were subjected to unrelenting swarms of each. It would be hard for anyone trying to stay positive.
At 4:19pm, I received a text from Craig. It said, "Did Sam drop? I just got a message from Grace saying he did." I was stunned. I checked the tracker. There was a DNF. I texted Chad to check since it was at Middle Earth that it said he DNFed. Sam wasn't there. Oh, there was no DNF for 128 who had dropped at ME. Sam was 127. They'd just put it in the wrong place. It's amazing it doesn't happen more often; we're doing spreadsheets on our phones. Phew! Sam was still in the running to earn the 500 mile belt. I'd never doubted he'd earn it, but this year was so crazy. I was stunned when Craig first texted, but then only sad.
The third lap, we lost 15 more. The night had brought cooler temps, but not significantly. It also stayed humid. Still, soup seemed to be in demand (at least at S/F where MIndy and I were). I think even though it was hot, it was food that people didn't have to work too hard to consume. It made me really happy since I'd made the soup for S/F and added an extra batch because we had 10 more solo runners. I think the ginger of the Carrot Ginger Soup was also a selling feature. People still needed their stomachs to settle.
We'd told the Turner Timberland ATV Club that we were going to stick with the 6 hr shifts at Middle Earth, not sending out supplies other than shift changes. We were asking that runners who needed to drop either walk back the shorter ATV route or wait till the shift change. With the heat, we had to ask the club to do more. Some runners couldn't walk out or wait. Tom and Michael never complain. They just get it done. We love them. Then there was Joe who we remembered from other years who was there for several shifts with Kyle and Tony.
Back to the race....19 runners started the fourth lap. Only one started before Sunday, the eventual winner. In 2021, 16 runners were on the last lap before midnight. Wow! Well, since I already said 19 finished the race, you can figure out that all the 19 that started that last lap finished. Damn! Those 19 are lessons in all sorts of things, perseverance, strength, the right kind of crazy.... We were worried for some of them. Cut offs are hard, meaning we strictly enforce them. Mindy was keeping track of where each one was. What time did they leave Conant? Charlotte made the cutoff! Meanwhile, our not-so-secret favorites, Sam and Jason were in good hands with their pacers, Bucky and Craig. We were getting really special pics of them saying goodbye to all the "landmarks" on their last time through. We also got a short video of Jason juggling. Damn, Jason! It was his first 100, though he'd run 9 relay legs in the 4 previous years. He'd even added a couple extra miles to his 3 lap year to get 100k!! I had no doubt he'd do great. This year, doing great meant just finishing, but he and Sam, with Craig and Bucky along for those last 25 miles, finished in under 30 hours! It was enough for 8th and 9th place. Sam has a 24 hr finish on our course. 6 hours longer can be blamed on the heat. I don't think Sam cared much about his time; he'd earned that belt! The only runner to earn it the first year it could be earned.
I would say that everyone of the finishers could do most any 100 they entered. We heard experienced runners telling us it was the hardest race they'd ever done. We also heard throughout the day from nearly all the runners about the level of care they received at each aid station. It's amazing they took they time after all they went through out there to make sure to thank our volunteers. We are really grateful that we have such an amazing crew every year. Most are experienced runners themselves so know what it’s like, but, still they give up hours of their weekends to make this race happen, standing in the woods for hours with all the same biting insects the runners are subjected to play a part in this crazy, wonderful event.
Oh! I forgot two finishes that are important. Charlotte Clews, who we knew made both of the last two cutoffs, still would have to work really hard to get in before the final 32 hours for an official finish. With 5 minutes to go, we were all getting a little worried. We had used the grace minute two years back. Would we need it? Would it be enough?! Holy shit!! Here she comes!!! Tears streaming down her face, prompted tears from both Mindy and I. She crossed the line in 31:58:08!! Next year, she will be one of two people who could earn the 500 mile belt. I somehow love that the 3rd person ever eligible is a woman!
The second finish that was very representative about everything right with ultras and trail running, was a runner who finished, but immediately told me he'd short cut a very small part of the race during the night when he didn't have his head lamp. He bushwhacked to get to the ATV trail where he saw runners with head lamps. It was just the a very short piece right before the single track pops out onto the ATV trail. He ran back up the trail to where it popped out to get that portion, but said he wouldn't feel right if he didn't tell. We looked at the time. He could head back up to get what he'd missed. Which, after running 100 miles in grueling conditions, is exactly what he did!
That makes me want to end on a quote from Jason's race report, "When someone in front of us DNFs (did not finish) we don't cheer that we moved up in the leader board, we feel for them. Everyone out there has put in countless hours of training, preparation, and sacrifice before they even start. It's heartbreaking." Yes! It doesn't mean the people aren't competitive, but they don't root against anyone. I love these people.
Shit, shit, shit!!! That makes me think of all the special volunteers (yes, they all were, but we had some extraordinary efforts). Many, many relay runners did their legs and then volunteered or the other order. Susan H, couldn't run her leg (found a replacement), but then put in 18 hrs at Middle Earth. Patrick Hanna was supposed to run his first 100 with us, but found out he had a plantar fascial tear. He volunteered for the entire race at Middle Earth (taking a few quick naps). Our aid station captains run the show at the 3 aid stations making them the special places they are. Ok, I could just keep going. Done, until next year.
The race by the numbers:
Solo winners: Israel Agront of MA in 24:35:00 and Rachel Peck of ME in 31:21:42
80 solo runners from 13 states and 4 Canadian provinces, 66 toeing the line
62 of those were from New England with 35 Mainers
8 of the 19 finishers were from ME, including the 2nd place man and 1st place woman
Relay winning team: TMR in 15:43:17
11 of the 12 teams finished the relay with all but 1 team member finishing their legs
2 teams had 4 runners with 1 runner completing 2 of the (5) 20 mile legs
55 of the 58 relay runners were from ME with 2 from MA and 1 from NH
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