The final race

The Kansas Rails-to-Trails Extravaganza, or “KRT,” was already a blur as I finished. Six one-hundred mile races. This was it, the end of the challenge.

Honestly, Sydney and I were kind of expecting this one to be a cake walk. A gimme. A mulligan. A victory lap.

Rail to trail with no elevation? The same course we started with, but in the fall? Everyone clamoring for pacing spots? How could it go wrong? What could be difficult about THIS race?

Enter the midwest weather.

But let’s start at the beginning.

Sydney got us a beautiful air bnb 5 minutes from the start line in Ottawa. A gorgeous old renovated farmhouse. We went to packet pickup and just missed Clint (from Clintisatallrunner on youtube).

The next day, we saw Clint as he headed out with the rest of the 100-kilometer runners. Turns out he had a really tough day.

We ran into Jason “the year I got the runs” Silvers. He was signed up for his very first 50 mile attempt. He also had a really tough day.

The prairie spirit trail is easy, but these are really difficult distances. Even under the best conditions, really talented people dnf. And the conditions were not perfect.

I started the race way too fast. I guess if I’m not going to be smart I can at least be consistent.🙂

I was dressed for the weather, but very quickly realized I was wearing too much. I was feeling warm before the sun came up.

I charge into Princeton and took off my pants. Feeling much cooler (and less restricted), I continued on, trying to catch my friends Clint and Laura. Laura Plaisance had paced me during the prairie spirit trail 100. She couldn’t pace me this race, though. She was busy winning the 100k. Congratulations, Laura! I hope I spelled your name correctly!

I mainly leap-frogged the other runners into Richmond, where Kirby gave a play-by-play of me applying squirrel nut butter to my “areas.”

I jogged and chatted with some really cool people. It seems like during prairie spirit, I was mostly alone during the first half. Either way is fine for me. I’m not afraid of being alone, and ultrarunners are (usually) some of the people I can stand to be around.

When I reached Garnett I decided I was going to try and finish in under 24 hours, but only if I didn’t have to kill myself trying to make it the last leg. So, basically, I was trying/not trying 😅 🤔.

I feel like I was very lucky with the weather. Some of the shorter distances got soaked! I didn’t get really wet until after the turnaround at Iola.

I was spotted by Sydney’s boss as he drove down the highway. It’s nice to be recognized. I was trying to get the eighteen wheelers to honk, but I didn’t have any luck with that.

I got to Welda and all our friends were there cheering me in! Some were in awesome costumes! I nearly broke down into tears! The volunteers at Welda had the best aid station by far.

I hurried on to Colony. That is where I pick up a pacer. That is when the fun begins!

Michelle and her husband, Scott, were having some trouble deciding who would pace and who would crew. I don’t know how they worked it out, but Michelle was my first pacer. She paced the hell out of me! We were running a pretty solid 10 minute pace, walking every time we hit a mile. It was exhilarating! We got to Iola in no time at all!

At Iola, I ate some potato soup and changed all my clothes. The crew made a human screen for me to change behind since I’m so modest. It seemed like it would be dark soon, and it was cooling down, so I put on pants and grabbed a headlamp. P-quad was up to pace the next leg.

Erin “p4” (p-quad) Withers is a friend and hasher from the Wichita area. She has been awesome at supporting us throughout the slam. Most notably pacing and crewing at the Honey Badger 100. She showed up at KRT ready! It seemed like she had 2 of everything. Good thing, too, because I was a needy f-er out there. By the end of the night, I was wearing her fleece headband and wet weather gear called “frog-togs” she had “borrowed” from a friend. Thanks, Johnny!

We got rained on just a little bit before we got back to Colony. Apparently, Scott had been begging Gay Ann for a pacing slot. He wanted it? Well, he got it! From Colony to Welda in the pouring rain. No biggie, just the second longest leg. I was glad Scott got a chance to pace. He was awesome! He was the only one able to actually keep our intervals straight using his watch.

As we approached the Welda aid station, Scott got a call. Apparently, my pacer for the next leg was having a little trouble with the weather. Scott was going to have to pace me for two soggy legs!

Scott was a champion. He kept me going by asking questions and kept pretty good time for the intervals. Outside Garnett we saw a light bobbing around. Another runner coming towards us? Scott asked me “what is that?” To which I replied, smartly, “Karen.”

Karen has been wanting to pace me ever since I paced her at her first full marathon, the Lagerhead. She ran that race like a champ, and I am very proud of her. I was very worried, however, that she might push the pace. Karen likes to chit-chat while she runs (that’s a plus), and she tends to speed up as she gets more excited about the conversation 😆. That did not happen this time. She stayed right on pace, and kept my spirits high! We ran/walked and talked all the way to Richmond.

At Richmond, I FINALLY got to run with Gay Ann. Gay Ann had ran a race earlier in the day and really needed a rest. There was real competition for pacer spots, but Gay Ann could pace as much (or as little) as she wanted. She earned it.

Princeton came up quickly, and I picked up the final pacer: my sweety, Sydney! It was very important to me that we get to run the final leg together. Symbolism, you know? We did this terrific thing together. She carried me, really. Sydney arranged EVERYTHING, from transportation and accommodation to equipment and fuel. She had to cross the final finish line with me. We had a nice walk/run interval. We always run well together. As we approached Celebration Hall we heard them playing our song. We ran across the finish line and danced to sexy and I know it.

After we finished, we took a TON of photos. Pictures with all the medals. Pictures with all the pacers and crew. I held it together pretty well, considering. I expected to be bawling my eyes out. I think I was just relieved.

I know this is a very long recap. I am aware it took far too long to finish and post. Thank you for your patience.