Bre Mirynech.

The day I had been waiting for, training for, and planning for was finally here. Ultra’s are weird; they start like any other morning, except what lies ahead for the day isn’t something you can really comprehend or wrap your head around fully. I mean, it’s hard to wake up in the early hours of the morning and say “I am going to run 100km today”, but that’s exactly what happened and what I did. 

It was an early alarm, as the race start was at 7:30am and it was about a 30 minute drive from our Airbnb to the start line. I woke up and started with my usual morning routine- breakfast, coffee, get ready… you know the drill. I ate a big bowl of Holos overnight muesli for breakfast, as oats are always a go to for me before a long run. Coffee is also key for me to have right away, because let’s be honest- a good poop before a race is important! After breakfast, I got into my running clothes and double checked all the gear I had laid out the night before. Once everything was good to go, we piled into our rental van and set out for the start line at Mayer High School.

As soon as we got to the high school, the energy was buzzing. Everyone cheered as we watched the elites start their wave at 7:00, and the excitement only continued as we got ready for our wave next. It’s hard to explain what I was feeling at the moment- nerves, excitement, fear, just a ball of emotion really. I said goodbye to my crew and headed into the start corral. I fussed with my shoes and my vest, clearly antsy about what laid ahead. I focused my mind on the next 12 km. 12 km from the start line was the first aid station at Antelope Mesa. I just had to make it there, and then I would focus on the next chunk. As I was going through all these mind tricks to make 100 km seem more simple in my head, we were lining up and counting down the 10 seconds until the race began. Before I knew it, we were running around the track at the high school and heading out into the neighborhood, then making our way onto the Black Canyon Trail. The journey had officially begun! 

The first 5 km or so were on paved roads through the town of Mayer, then switched to the Black Canyon Trail pretty quickly, which we would follow for the rest of the race. My friend Danielle and I found each other from the start, and to calm all of the adrenaline we chatted about our mornings and how we were feeling, and shared in the beauty of the scenery around us. The second we got out of town, the views were so beautiful! Clear skies, mountain views, and a million cacti. Although the morning started cool, it got warm very quickly and we were shedding a layer about an hour in. The day was only going to get warmer, and with no shade on the trail, we knew we were in for a hot day! After 12 km, we arrived at the first aid station, grabbed a small snack, and headed back out. We had 8 km of an anticipated fun downhill to go to the next station at Hidden Treasure. 

The rumours were true- it was fun! For the next 8km, we ran a beautiful, winding, downhill single track through thousands of cacti and the sounds of all the other runners whooping and yelling in excitement. It was bliss, and it was indeed so fun! In my head I kept reminding myself of all the advice I had heard and read about this section, and the other downhill sections to come into Black Canyon City: don’t burn out your legs. I also had my friend Liz’s advice in my head too: it says it’s downhill, but it’s not downhill like you think. These words of advice of caution helped me keep my pace in check, which was great because if not, I definitely would have been going faster. It was just too flowy and fun! 

After Hidden Treasure, it was about 10 km to Bumble Bee Ranch which was the first station to see the crew. This would be the 30km point. In my conversations with Liz prior to the race, she had also mentioned  that the trail was rocky and surprisingly technical, and boy was she right. There were rocks everywhere! Running in the PNW, I am used to technical terrain. However, the rocks here are cemented into the ground- these rocks were loose and very difficult not to trip on or kick and stub your toes. So, I continued my way down to Bumble Bee Ranch, enjoying the flowy-ness of the winding single track mixed in with the occasional trip. The sun was getting stronger and by the time I arrived at Bumble Bee Ranch, it sure felt hot for this Canadian. I arrived at the ranch to my Dad cheering and running down the side of the road. Mom, Sarah, and Kaitlyn were cheering and waiting for me with all of my gear. As it was only 30 km into the race, I didn’t need much yet. I happily took some solid food, told them about the trail so far, slapped on some more chafe butter, grabbed my fuel for the next section, refilled bottles, and off I went again! 

After leaving Bumble Bee, I had about 7.5 km to go to the next station at Gloriana Mine. The trail went up out of Bumblebee, and on this climb I found Danielle again which gave me a boost. We had parted ways somewhere before Bumble Bee, so it was nice to run together again. For the next section past Gloriana and even onwards to Soap creek and then Black Canyon City, Liz’s insight really rang true. It was a net downhill, however the terrain was rolling so there was still climbing. There were downs for sure, but there were also ups and this section definitely felt more challenging than I had anticipated. It was around 35km that my stomach started to feel wonky. I wasn’t sure why, as I had never dealt with stomach issues during races or long runs before. I was sure it would pass, so I just rolled with it and tried not to think about it. A good distraction was the Saguaros- they were everywhere! It was definitely a highlight of the race, and I was in awe running through them. They are so big! 

As I continued on, eventually I came to the first creek crossing. We had heard there were a few of them and that they were pretty high this year with all of the rain. I walked into the water which was about mid calf high, and although it was cold it felt quite refreshing with the hot day. I dipped my bandana in the water and tied it around my neck to keep me cool. With very wet shoes, I climbed up the trail. My stomach started acting up again, but I kept moving forward and again tried not to think about it. I was surprised as the trail kept climbing up, as I thought it was downhill into Black Canyon. Clearly I forgot the small uphill on the graph, which didn’t feel so small at the time. Eventually though, that downhill came into Black Canyon city and I had made it to the 60km point. The crew was there excited and cheering me in, which gave me a smile that I really needed. I sat down and told them my stomach was not good. They convinced me to eat some food, helped me change my wet socks (seriously, they are the best), and got me geared up for the night time. The next time I would see them would be at 82 km and it would be dark by then. In hindsight, I stayed way too long at this aid station. At the time though with an upset stomach, wet feet, and making sure I had what I needed for the night, it was what I needed. Eventually, I headed back out.

The second half of the course is known to be harder. There are bigger climbs, and more rambling terrain. I climbed out of Black Canyon city and was really happy I had my poles for this section as my stomach really wasn’t doing well. I kept moving forward- a combination of running and walking when needed, and even had to take a few breaks on the side of the trail because I thought I was going to vomit. There was another river crossing, and at some point Danielle and I found each other again. Not sure when, but we had been playing leap frog all day and I was very happy to see her. She was a ray of sunshine out there. Her positive attitude was contagious, and I was so grateful for it as I was feeling so low. At some point around 70 km, I suddenly veered off to the side of the trail and threw up aggressively. Danielle stopped with me while I was throwing up (a literal angel). After I was done being sick, two immediate thoughts came to my mind: wow I feel amazing, and secondly, I now have no food in me. I knew I needed to eat asap, as continuing on an empty stomach would catch up to me and could put me in a bad situation. You know when you’re sick though and just want plain food? All I wanted was plain food but all I had were my gels and snacks. Luckily I remembered a random bag of pretzels I had stashed in my vest at an aid station a while back, so I continued on while trying to get down the pretzels. They were just what I wanted- plain- but oh man were they dry haha.

With a fresh stomach and some pretzels, I seriously felt like a new person! My pace quickened, I was dancing down the trail to a good playlist, and I was on cloud nine! Is this a runner’s high haha? Side note: I highly recommend adding “This is what dreams are made of” from Lizzie McGuire to your running playlist. I think I also had an extra pep in my step because I knew I was on my way to Table Mesa, and at Table Mesa I would get to pick up my dad who was going to pace me the final 18 km. It was finally hitting me: I was going to do this! I was going to finish 100km! I was still very aware of my empty stomach though. After a few kms I got to the aid station at Cottonwood Gulch, and the amazing volunteers gave me some hot broth and after some brainstorming, plain slices of bread. That hot broth tasted like magic! The plain bread slices were also just what I needed. They made sure I left with a few slices for the next section. What would we do without these amazing volunteers!? The bread stayed down and my energy stayed high. There was another river crossing, which was very slippery and mucky this time, and then continued on my way and 7km later I came into Table Mesa to Dad cheering and geared up and ready to go. I sat down with Mom and Kaitlyn (Sarah had to go to bed as she was racing the next morning!) and they gave me some more broth, had a good laugh at my pocket full of bread slices, helped me change my socks and shoes and Kaitlyn convinced me to take some candy and electrolyte for the final section as well. I didn’t want it at the time, but I sure was grateful she made me take it later on. Dad and I took a quick photo and then we headed out, just 18 km between us and the finish line!

Dad’s energy was contagious, and I needed it as I was feeling pretty tired at this point. I think I came across as grumpy as I grumbled at him from time to time, but I was truly relying on him and his energy so much to help get through this final section, and I was so grateful for his upbeat energy in the dark. Dad started calling out the rocks: “watch out, it’s rocky here”, and we had a good laugh as he tripped a few times and I let him know it had been like this for the last 80 km. In classic Dad style, he let me know he was just clearing the rocks out of the way for me, not tripping. Since I was feeling a lot better at this point and my stomach was holding up fine, we started passing some runners and making up some time. After feeling so unwell for so long, I was actually pretty impressed with how I was feeling and moving this far into the race, a great observation of how well the training was paying off. A few times Dad got a little excited about the pace and would get ahead of me. I still laugh to this day thinking about the situation: Dad would come up on a runner, they would ask if he wanted to pass, he would say yes, and then there I was way behind yelling “we don’t want to pass!” It was great though. It gave me a laugh and smile, and his pace was helping to pull me forward in the night.

Eventually we got to the final aid station at Doe Spring. We both enjoyed some hot broth (it was just so tasty) and then quickly kept moving as it was pretty windy and chilly there. There was only 5 km left to go. We had a routine- we would run, I would say I was taking a break to walk, and then Dad would convince me to keep running again. After a few km, he mentioned he could see the finish line lights ahead in the dark. I was skeptical, mainly because I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I knew we were close though. We kept running along and as we got closer Dad kept saying “you’re doing it” and he was right. I had nearly run 100 km. Eventually we came up to these colorful, blow-up Hoka lights, and that meant we were close. Dad encouraged me to pick up the pace and soon enough we could see the finish line. We ran towards it together, and in the blink of an eye we were across the finish line and I had a belt buckle in my hand. I quickly continued past the finish line however, because I am stubborn and my watch was a few hundred meters shy of 100 km. Once I hit my 100 km, I stopped, walked back to Mom, Katilyn, and Dad, and we all celebrated together. There were a lot of hugs, a few photos, and a whole lot of grilled cheese sandwiches consumed. We hung out at the finish line to cheer for Danielle as she finished her race, and then we hopped on a shuttle back to the car and then made a very sleepy drive back to the airbnb.

We got back to the airbnb and everyone crawled into bed. I attempted to have some form of a shower that consisted of me sitting in the bathtub and rinsing myself off with the shower head while my feet hung out of the tub. They were too banged up and tender to let them get in the water. Some chafe on my back burned, and being semi cleaned, I called it a success and dried off and climbed into bed. It was 3:30 am, and we were getting an hour and a half later to do it all again, this time for Sarah’s race. I didn’t sleep for that hour and a half; I rarely sleep well after long distances. My body hurt, my toes were tender, and I was filled with caffeine and adrenaline. It felt like I had laid down for a second when I heard Sarah wake up, so I got up with her and we swapped stories from the day while she prepared for her turn down the Black Canyon Trail. 

Running might be a solo sport, but I firmly believe distances like these are such a team effort. From the crew (Mom, Dad, Sarah, Kaitlyn) being there literally all day and night doing everything from making sure I had the fuel I needed to handling my disgusting socks and shoes, to Danielle constantly being a light out there and standing by my side while I threw up, to all the other runners offering encouragement, to Liz talking me through the course before I raced, to friends and family checking in and cheering me on all day… The list seriously goes on and on and for that I am eternally grateful. Tackling these distances is intimidating to say the least, and having people surrounding you that believe in your dreams is something special.