The DIY Ultra - Mt. Kenwood 100 Mile Endurance Run Race Report

Being very clearly socially distant at the starting line of the "Mt. Kenwood 100 Mile" 

A Photo from Inside Mark's Jeep Around 6pm Saturday

It's 6pm on Saturday night, driving rain has been soaking our tired bodies and spirits for the last four hours. We started this adventure at 7:20am, and after nearly 11 hours of running, the hours of cold and rain are starting to take their toll. My feet are beginning to deteriorate in the wet conditions and Matt and I decide to take a break at the car to warm-up, change socks, and get some fuel. When we get to the car I open my trunk and sift through my bag to find a dry pair of socks, my foot lube, and a bottle of Powerade. My hands are numb and I can't feel anything. I struggle to push my GPS watch into the charging dock to recharge while I'm managing my feet. After about 10 attempts, I finally get it in. My hands lack the dexterity to do anything at this point. I have what should be an easy task ahead of me.. change socks, put on a pair of water resistant pants, and change my rain soaked shirt to a dry shirt with a waterproof jacket over top. These tasks that should have taken two minutes took nearly 20. I nearly gave up trying to tie my shoes after five minutes of trying to get my hands to perform the motion I've rehearsed tens of thousands of times in my life...After a dozen failed attempts on each foot, I finally got them laced up. 

As I finish putting on my last shoe, I find myself doubting this whole adventure. Our DIY race, dubbed the "Mt. Kenwood 100 Mile Endurance Run," was a brainchild of Matt Van Donsel, Mark Johnson, Ben Foreman and myself, after we found out our 100 mile ultra in Washington was going to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Up until the day before, we all had doubts that it would ever come to fruition. The odds weren't in our favor, with the situation around COVID-19 changing daily, and gatherings and groups being all but banned unless "social distancing" precautions were taken to avoid contact with others.  The Wednesday prior, we finally understood the conditions that we'd be dealing with for the race after the Governors address. Our conclusion; we'd keep it ultra low-key, not tell a soul outside of family and close friends where it was going to be until we started, and post on our social media simply that we'd be running 100 miles in Minneapolis as a benefit for PRISM in Golden Valley, a food shelf and social services non-profit about a mile from my house. It would be four of us on the start line, Matt Van Donsel, Ben Foreman, Jeremy Eckert, and myself, all with the goal of running 100 miles on the hilly "Walker Loop" in the Kenwood neighborhood just outside of downtown Minneapolis. We would be supported by our good friend and local running community icon, Mark Johnson, the Owner of Performance Running Gym in nearby St. Louis Park. We would practice social distancing on the run, staying six feet apart, having minimal contact and support from only close friends and family, and use our cars for aid stations, as to not share any supplies or food during the run. It would be challenging, but somehow it seemed to be an incredibly intriguing physical and mental challenge.

Just as we were about to begin to return to our ultra shuffle in the driving rain, Mark showed up with hot soup and pizza for us, and a second pair of rain pants (which came in super handy) and some waterproof gloves for me. This proved to be an incredible boost, and before we knew it we were knocking out loops at 10-11 minute/mile pace again, power hiking the uphills, and running the flats and downhills.  We'd already lost Jeremy, who pounded out 50 miles at a blistering pace and decided to call it a day. His departure left us wondering if we should do the same...after all, none of anticipated the weather being this bad. After another hour we'd lose Ben as the driving rain started a second onslaught. Ben is one of the toughest people I've ever met, and seeing him call it a day sighting sore joints, the adverse conditions, and a general lack of motivation (a real issue when you're running such a long distance without a real event or the constant support of crew and aid stations), made me really start to question if we were crazy for continuing. Luckily we were just crazy enough to continue. The miles ticked off, 1.6 at a time (the length of the loop), up the big hill behind the Walker, up another steep climb to Mt. Curve Road, and back to Kenwood Parkway to our "aid stations" and finally the nice long downhill. At about 100k we got a visit from Natasha, Matt's wife. This came at a good time, because my feet were beyond wrecked and I was losing motivation to continue. After a quick car stop after hitting the 100k mark, I even told Matt twice "I think I'm done, I don't think I have the will to suffer through this," citing my painful feet, and altered gait due to the pain...not to mention the rain that still hadn't yet let up. Luckily Matt ignored me the first time (maybe he didn't hear me), and the second time said "How about one more loop and then you can decide." That saved my run, and I really owe him for knowing how to handle my mental condition at that time. It's hard to know for sure, but I think I was able to help return the favor later, although he never explicitly mentioned quitting. 

After mile 70, we began to remark that we were "really going to do this." With "just" a 50k to go, it seemed inevitable that we'd be able to pull off the full 100 miles. After all, we'd already done a training run dubbed the "Mt. Kenwood 50k" about eight weeks prior in training for our race that was cancelled. It then occurred to Matt and I that we really hadn't fully mentally committed to the finishing the run until that point, something that's pretty extraordinary, and less than ideal for an ultra, but to be expected with so much uncertainty leading up the run and with the conditions being so adverse. Between miles 75-100, we had a lot of great support. Jason, Matt's neighbor showed up with COFFEE! A game changing moment, as the sleep monsters had started hitting the both of us hard. Natasha even went back home, made us each a grilled cheese, and returned, giving us yet another boost and the relief of hot food. At mile 82, Mark showed up (at like 3:30am.....dude, how awesome is that!?) with hot soup and MORE COFFEE! It was snowing now, and getting slippery and slushy, but still a hell of a lot better than the heavy rain had been earlier in the night. Mark returned around 6:30am to run it in with us (from a safe distance...) for the final 8 miles, allowing us to finish the final stretch with some much needed company. 

Matt and I by the Kenwood Parkway water tower following our finish

All said and done, we ran 100.2 miles on a 1.63 mile loop in the Kenwood neighborhood in Minneapolis, with 9,268ft. of elevation gain (yes...I wrote that correctly, pretty good for Mpls..right?), and raised $1500.00 for PRISM. More important than the run itself, I got to spend over 24 hours with some amazing friends and saw the running community come together to support us virtually while watching the run unfold online (captured by Mark via Facebook Live and photos). I feel especially lucky to have had the benefit of running the final 14 hours side by side with Matt. He's an amazing friend, a tough as nails athlete, and someone I feel incredibly lucky to have met through the Performance Running Gym community a little over a year ago. Plus, his quads are f**king huge, giving us all something to aspire to...

I also owe a HUGE thank you to my wife, Isabel, for being incredibly supportive of my running for years now, and for taking care of our family when I'm away for hours and hours training. She was an incredible support during the run, as well, although from a distance over the phone as she had to be home with our toddler, Killian, and baby, Emilia. And we can't forget about Mark Johnson, our crew member extrodinaire...This guy lives and breathes community, and it's what makes his gym, Performance Running, such a special place. Without his help, this run would have been a lot less fun, and likely wouldn't have even happened. Thanks to Natasha and Jason, Matt's wife and neighbor, who paid us a late night visit to help see us through some tough miles. And last but not least, thanks to the Performance Running Gym community (extra special thanks to Steve T. and Michelle D.), who supported and encouraged us virtually and in person, from a safe social distance. 

To everyone who helped us make a difference with a $1500.00 donation to PRISM, THANK YOU! If you didn't get a chance to donate and would like to - click the link and just write "100 mile run" in the notes. https://www.prismmpls.org/give

....I'm ready for another adventure. ⛰⛰⛰