Mines of Spain 100k - 2023

(Originally written for Facebook on October 21, 2023)

Okay, I promised everyone I’d tell them what the heck happened at Mines of Spain 100 100k yesterday…buckle up, because we have a lot to unpack here.

First, the day started with Christian Lewis and I driving out to Iowa at three in the morning. Looking out the window at the midwestern sky, we saw a shooting star. In my heart of hearts I’m always thinking of the podium, so I did make a wish that maybe I had worked hard enough to deserve a podium placement at this race.

The first two loops of the course were absolutely beautiful (crazy amount of stairs though) and I was racing really well, coming in from my 20 mile loops just around 4 hours each. The first time, I was sitting in 3rd & 12th (I think?) and trying to pace myself appropriately. Probably one of the most difficult things about an ultra for me is that my coach has shared with me that it’s wise to just let people pass because with good pacing, you’ll creep back up on then over time. I finally got to see it ring true yesterday because my second loop I moved up to the 2nd female. Super exciting!

There was a moment in the first loop that I was pretty sure I may have pulled my groin muscle. I felt a pop as I was running down the stairs and shared this with my sister, asking her to let my coach Adam Ferdinandson know. I don’t usually text during a race but I pulled out my phone to see the advice that he would have given and after a quick little skim of the text and seeing the words “pull the plug” and “acute pain” I shot back with “We aren’t pulling the plug at all.” Which luckily he supported.

I went absolutely bananas at mile 40. There were two really fast women who I had no idea were in the 100 mile race (not the 100k) and I spent the entire time at the aid station with my sister discussing my need to leave because I couldn’t let them get any closer to me. She just sort of agreed with me and sent me on my way, disregarding the craziness that I was spewing.

About 5 miles into the final loop, I started to feel extremely nauseated and realized that, no, it’s not just a feeling, I was actually going to hurl. I typically don’t like to take electrolytes in my water right now because it makes me sick but there was a mix up at an aid station and instead of water, I ended up racing with electrolytes in my flasks and had to drink it because of how much I was taking in. It was either drink it or potentially risk my race for dehydration. I’m pretty sure this is what made me sick but there’s really no way to know because I was also pushing my body so hard physically. I called Erik Namestnik and told him that I needed him to tell me that it was okay to give up my position in the race. It was so hard to let go of my placement after such a successful 10 hours on the course, but I knew it was coming. I threw up on the trail and spent about an hour walking, trying to sip water and eat. We still weren’t pulling the plug. My coach reminded me that this was a normal part of ultra running, so I booted and rally’d.

I eat every 30 minutes when I race, but with an uneasy stomach, I was pretty much stuck only eating and drinking when I was truly hungry or thirsty. Luckily, the hunger seemed to hit every 30 minutes and I was able to take in some solid calories and then pick up my speed. But - Oh my God - talk about having to dig deep. The mantra was “If Sally could run Tahoe 200 while she was vomiting for the first half, you can run 15 more miles.”

I hit the pain cave around mile 50, which was pretty much right when I was able to run again. Although my downhills slowed significantly, I improved drastically at the ups and flats.

I was trying to do the math and figured I was in 4th place after my issues due to the number of people who passed me. I called Erik again as I approached the finish line to discuss my feelings about 4th after being slowed the way I was, and came to terms with that being pretty damn badass. To have a setback that I thought would end my race and still place pretty high was something I was extremely proud of.

So coming up to the finish line, I expected not much commotion, but when I was met with a high five and a pat on the back for being the 2nd female for the 100k, I was literally brought to tears. I was able to keep it together while I got my medal and placement awards, and broke down immediately when I turned my back. Having built such a big lead on the third lap, suffering the nausea, all the pain that the stairs brought, and the pain of relinquishing my placement when I was on the course…tears came flooding out of my eyeballs and I was so overwhelmed. I was so proud of being able to push and pull through such a tough third loop.

So that was my race. Major highlight was playing leapfrog with one of the runners for 10 hours and giggling about the hundredth time we passed each other (literally hundredth, it was insane). It was also incredible to get advice and support from all the runners when I wasn’t feeling well. The course was BEAUTIFUL. I’m back and forth on going back next year only because of the stairs. If there weren’t stairs, I’d be signing up for 2024 today. The aid stations were totally banging, the race director and volunteers were all so kind. And of course, my team was incredible.

A huge thank you to my sister for coming out to crew me for this race. It was her first time crewing for an ultra and she absolutely killed it. She asked all the right questions, moved quickly, and wasn’t offended at how blunt and quick moving I am when I come to camp. A huge thank you to my parents for watching the kids. A huge thank you to my coach for being in contact with me when I was vomiting and for helping my sister. And of course, a huge thank you to Erik for picking up the phone when I needed him and for also helping my sister. LAST THANK YOU, thank you again to everyone who is interested in my sport and to everyone who followed along and wished me luck. It just wouldn’t be as fun without my friends being as involved as they are from such far distances. I know running can be boring, so the support I receive from everyone always astounds me and truly makes me feel like a special runner, THE MOST SPECIAL RUNNER out there!