This race wasn’t on my radar at all when I was planning my 2024 race calendar, but I had no reason to say no. Midwest States 100 in Westboro, Wisconsin, was pitched to me as having a “really neat grassroots remote feel” and being “sneaky tough because it’s a lot more technical” than it looks on paper. (Both descriptions happened to be true.) I sweet-talked a buddy into running it with me, and we signed up after doing minimal research.
After the start of the race, progress was slow and going into mile 6, just before aid station #1, the trail turned into sticky mud pits reminiscent of the fire swamp from the movie, The Princess Bride. Some of the pits were shallow enough to trudge through and some had makeshift bridges, but all of them were sticky and wet. The fire swamp conditions persisted until the second aid station around mile 13, and actual running was limited between the pits.
Usually by this point in a race I have found my groove and am feeling good, but not this time. The constant changes in pace and cadence were really messing with me. I kept waiting for that sweet spot, but it never came. The terrain made it impossible to get into a rhythm. Fortunately, I was still with my buddy Daniel, and chatting helped take my mind off the misery. We had drop bags at aid station #3 and then headed off to the lollipop loop.
I had never been this down so early in a race. It was a strange feeling because I knew I was doing well, I knew I was moving as fast as I could on the terrain, and I knew I would finish. But I also felt terrible and couldn’t pull myself out of the mental mire. About the time when I had almost convinced myself I was going to quit at 100k, I noticed I was gaining ground on another runner. And not just any runner—the woman in first place, and I picked up the pace to catch her.
As I settled in behind her, I found out her name was Andrea and she was a working mom from Indiana. She was running the 100k which meant she was on her home stretch. She mentioned this was going to be her longest race, that she went out way too fast and was struggling hard. At that moment, my entire demeanor changed, and I decided that I was going to get her to the finish line in first place for the 100k. Her watch was dead, so I gave her regular updates on our pace and distance. Andrea was always checking in because she was convinced second place was creeping up on her. I liked her competitive spirit and told her there was no way she was going to get passed on my watch. We were a duo now. We popped out of the woods just after dusk, and started running up the bank through the pinwheels and into the finish line. I peeled off to the aid station to restock my vest, grab some hot food and prepare for 40 more miles. Before I left, I ran over and gave her a hug, told her I was incredibly proud of her and thanked her for giving me the boost I so desperately needed.
Alone again, I let the adrenaline push my body forward and the negative thoughts out of my mind. If Andrea was the only woman ahead of me before, that meant I was now the lead woman in the 100-mile race. The out-and-back design of this last 40 miles meant I would know exactly how far back second place was, and what I had to do. I rolled through the next 13 miles at a blistering 15-minute/mile pace. About 2 miles out of aid station #2, I heard a very loud rustling and every hair on my body stood up. Once I registered that it a porcupine and not a bear, I quickly continued on my not-so-merry way. Perhaps a mile later, I finally came up on another runner. To my surprise it was Daniel. The early burst was catching up with him. I can’t say I was feeling good by any stretch, but I wasn’t miserable anymore. Besides, things were looking up. I’d caught Daniel, we were still making decent progress and passing runners coming the opposite direction was encouraging. We made the turn at aid station #3 and started the final stretch. Finally, the sun came up and we made it to the stairs. Daniel said we had to run it in which I did, and you know what? Somehow, at the end, I was actually smiling—happy to be done for sure, happy to have won, happy to have known how difficult it was and yet, not giving up. Happiest of all, though, for Andrea and her 100k win, and for Daniel scoring a top-five finish.
This race was like death by a thousand paper cuts, or in this case, mud holes and downed trees. But I was just mostly dead, just like Wesley in The Princess Bride, and if there was one thing that was going to save me from death, it was love and friendship.
Full results here