Pistol Ultra 100 miler

The Pistol Ultra

Relay 50k 100K 100M

(January, 2014)

 

            Once just a fatass, this ultra was "upgraded" to a full fledge event for 2014. Race director Will Jorgensen and volunteers outdid themselves in putting together this event. The Pistol Ultra 50k, 100K, 100M and Relay took off at 8am on a frigid 14° morning along the fairly flat, paved, Alcoa-Maryville Greenway in Tennessee. Runners, walkers, first timers, and vets took to the trail embarking on a journey that would last a handful of hours through until Sunday afternoon.  

             I showed up in Tennessee despite Mother Nature's wrath of an east coast storm doing everything possible to prevent me from toeing the starting line of Pistol. Initially I only signed up for the 100k (as I hadn't ran since my last race in November), so I started off slow as the majority of elites flew down the trail! My goal was just to finish, and along the way I made several new friends who's goal was also just to finish.  

            The race was an out and back with a baby loop upon return to the start (a nice change in that there were multiple opportunities to see and cheer on runners). The aid stations were perfectly situated, with the main aid at the start and a far aid station (the infamous Woody Aid Station) 4.5miles out. The 50k was 3ish loops, the 100k 6ish, and the hundo 9 loops.

            Somewhere around mile 50 it happened. It might have been the lure of that buckle, the great volunteers and aid station fare, the inspiring runners I ran with, a mental breakdown, or possibly all of the above; but somehow, I decided to "upgrade". After seeing the coveted Pistol Belt Buckle, I knew if I dug deep, I could finish this race and take home a 100mi buckle for 2014. Needless to say, the remainder of the night was long, cold, sometimes lonely, but always feasible. I drew inspiration off walkers Heather Whiteside Ward and Diane Taylor toughing out the 100k overnight. I held on to runners completing races in honor of loved ones. I smiled whenever I saw "Run it Fast" shirts, and pressed on hearing of first timers attempting (and crushing) their first hundo's, as well as vets like Travis Wilcox from the UK completing his 43rd ultra!! I ran into old friends and made new, I found runners like Brian Chiles and John Kent Leighton who share the trails with me up north in NJ. Even more inspiring was watching some of the fastest runners prance through the night with ease to some amazing finishes!

            Not saying this hundred was easier than any one the previous. I suffered my share of shin splints and tendonitis, nausea and dry heaving, dehydration, chills, a few "fun" hallucinations (amongst one or two that caught me off guard), and even one or two moments of temporary breakdown crying; however, in the end I continued to press on. I continued to seek out and conquer this race, my goal... that buckle.

            One hundred miles, and some twenty-eight hours later, I picked up a final jog and crossed the finish. Special thanks to Gail Jorgensen for her cheers that entire last stretch!  I learned a lot throughout the course of this race (one being the importance of training... but we'll talk about that one later).  I walk away with respect for the many who showed up to run that Saturday morning, and even more respect for those who chose to "upgrade" their race distances and tough out the long cold night with me. I valued each nod,  wave, good job, and keep on going. We can run anywhere... but I think that its the people we run with that make all the difference.