By the numbers:
25:05
2nd Female
10th Overall
9th fastest female time in 10 year course history
15k ft elevation gain
The Georgia Jewel course has not been kind to me over the years. I’ve almost suffered a heat stroke; I’ve tripped and broken my nose; I’ve puked all over the last three miles leading up to the finish line. I swore I would not give that course anymore of what dignity I have left. But, the Pinhoti Slam (where you have to complete three out of four 100 mile races that take place on the Pinhoti Trail in order to garner an obnoxiously large extra-spectacular buckle). So there I was.
This is another race report where I started by drafting a play-by-play and then scrapping it for something like this:
Staying Present
Going into Georgia Jewel 100, I had one concept I wanted to try out: Being Present. I had read an article by Jason Koop about staying present in your race and not thinking about obstacles that lie ahead or failures that haven’t even happened yet. So I tried to only think about what issues were going on in the moment that I had control over. A good example of this was how I felt DOWN. IN. THE. DUMPS. When I rolled into Dry Creek at mile 35. I honestly didn’t think I would finish the race at this point. My back was killing me. I noticed I was chafing in my inner thigh. I started to feel nauseous. I tried a loop without my vest and only carrying a single water bottle. That didn’t help. I got an amazing massage from Brad- that helped some. I ate some Ramen. I smeared on tons of Salty Britches (who was gracious to sponsor the event and had tubes at all aid stations). I threw up at mile 40. I changed into dry clothes. A probably spent about an hour at that aid station altogether. I just needed to fix what was going on at the time to keep me from not finishing. While no one thing helped – all of it together – pulled me out of the dumps. If I was there feeling so mentally lousy and focusing on the hills I knew I had to climb on the way back, I would’ve just shut down.
I also kept reminding myself that “Forward is pace.” Oftentimes the slowest pace. But I wasn’t going backwards!
My poor body
The humidity did a MAJOR number on me. Mainly in the form of CHAFING. My inner thigh, my hips, under my vest, under my bra, even under my AA boobs! I almost quit at Dry Creek because of it. I almost dropped my drawers and ran butt-ass naked because of it. I cut my sports bra off with scissors at the finish line (as if I were a trauma patient in the emergency department) because of it. I started out lubed and kept reapplying the Salty Britches – but I think it was just too humid to make a difference.
My feet didn’t fare so well either. In the last eight years, I’ve had ONE blister, and I’ve run in the rain, through creeks. Just one. I had like 10 after the Jewel. And if I keep over half my toenails, I’d be super shocked. I’ve also never experienced heel pain and blisters before. This was excruciatingly painful by 75 miles. I assume a combo of the humidity and the technical AF rocky trails? And maybe a touch of “I was running in new shoes!”
But the weirdest thing to befall my body – is the neck herpes that showed up the day after race. WTF is this? It’s gross and looks contagious. It’s downright embarrassing. And my long neck and small head just showcases it more.
This picture is DAY FIVE! No end in sight!
Training
Anyone that knows me, knows that I hate the word “training” and that I don’t do a lot of volume to prep for races. Which is good, because I only had six weeks to prep for this race owing to my summer schedule with kids at home and a two-week vacation in late July where I only got a couple of 2-3 mile runs in. In fact, my longest since Great Southern was a 20-mile run about four weeks before the race. My second longest run was 14 miles. All others were essentially 12 or less. I’m not downplaying the role of training, but if you’re a solid trail runner, and can run a 50k, you can likely grit out a 100 miler. Forward is pace. Just fight the mental roadblocks.
Runnable Sections versus Technical AF Sections
I tried to run as much of the runnable sections that I could so long as they were flat or downhill. The problem is, this course is sooooo technical. So many rocks and small boulders. So many opportunities to stub your toe, twist your ankle, fall on your face. So I did a lot of tip toeing around rocks – which ended up causing a lot of foot pain later.
Finishing strong because everything hurt
I feel like I moved faster on the last 25 miles of the 100 than I did on that same section in the previous two 50 milers I’ve done at the Jewel. My heels hurt so bad that I was easier to run than heel strike with walking. Of course my toes hurt, too. Being out there longer was just going to make it worse. So I pushed it. I not only smelled like a barn, but I could really smell the barn by Snake AS with less than 20 miles to go. It was also fun to see all the 50 milers, 35 milers, and 17 milers running towards me as I running back to the finish. I saw some dear faces that really perked me up. My big hug from Bryan almost made me cry. I think I even hobbled up Mt. Baker (this hellish 40% steep section at the end – 187 ft of vertical gain in a tenth of a mile) better than I had in years past. And didn’t vomit on the RD this time either!
My only regret at the end was not smiling up Mt Baker. I always go up in a miserable funk, largely because it is miserable. But it’s the end! Smile!
No Pacer, No Crew, No Problem – thanks to the awesome Aid Stations!
I had no crew or pacer, just two drop bags at Snake (miles 19/81) and Dry Creek (the lollipop portion). I don’t feel like I relied on the aid station volunteers, but man, they made a difference. I usually don’t like to let other people touch my vest or refill my bladder – but these folks were some tried and true runners – and I trusted them to take care of me. And that they did. I don’t know everyone’s name out there – but a special shout out to
Dry Creek – the middle of the night aid station that is open for HOURS!
- Trena, thank you for waiting on me – serving me Ramen, refilling my water, helping me get lubed up, not forcing me out of the chair and just letting me take time to regroup. You were so patient and kind! I’m especially grateful that you were out there all night after you just finished one of the hardest 100s in the country the weekend before!
- Brad, thank you for the awesome back and butt massage. You could’ve easily told me, “You smell like a disgusting pig, I’m not touching you.”
- Sweet woman in the tie-dye onesie! You were just so cute and helpful. Thank you for lubing up my nasty sweaty back!
Pocket Road. Thank you, Lauren and Tim!!! I really needed to your sweet faces at mile 75. Your hospitality, your bacon, your inviting chairs – all of it MATTERED.
Snake Creek Gap. Thank you, Aaron Saft. You don’t know me, but I know you, and I think you’re awesome! To have such an amazing ultrarunner and his friends taking care of me – it was very special. One of my first ultras was Aaron’s Tsali Frosty Foot 50k in 2013.
So that’s it. That’s my race report. I told you more than you wanted to know while leaving out a lot because – hey, after a while, it’s all jibber jab, right?
Next up, Pinhoti 100 in early November!!!
3 miles in 
Buckle Up 
Running into Snake Creek Gap – 19 miles – look how drenched I am already! 
Mt Baker making me its bitch 
Keowah Falls near Pocket Road/Johns Mountain 
Keowah Falls 
Holly is in heaven: butt massage and bubbly water! 
Eek! 
My poles are the only thing keeping me from falling on my face 
I had to run with shorts tucked into themselves because they were causing so much chafing 
Neck Herpes/Leprosy 
Can someone get me the best pulled pork sandwich of my life?
TrailCats 
Hey Holly, I love reading race reports and stumbled upon this during one of my report googling binges. I actually finished just before you at this race (9 OA) and remember seeing you early in the race when you were wearing the yellow shirt. You may have gotten neck herpes but I got an insane amount of poison ivy on my legs! Don’t know which is worse, lol! Anyway, nice write-up. Great job on a very hard race! Take care.