Hallucination 100

Run Woodstock 2017 - Hallucination 100 - Earn that W.S. ticket!

Earlier this summer, I encountered my first D.N.F. at Mohican 100.  I made it 85 miles before a total, epic collapse.  You can read more about it HERE.

Mohican 100 was supposed to be my Western States 100 qualifying race but since that didn't happen I was stuck with running Hallucination 100, again.  I have been in the lottery for 4 years and not been chosen.  I seriously considered giving up on that dream, but eventually decided to keep the dream alive.  If you don't qualify you go back to a zero ticket count.

The nice part about Hallucination 100 is that I had already finished it once before, you can read that report here------>Hallucination 100 race report.  It's only about an hour and a half drive from Battle Creek.  I have been part of this event since 2012 which was a huge advantage in terms of how familiar I was with the course and overall logistics of the race.  All I had to do was show up and run!

Once again, Peter and I were planning on running together as long as possible.  The race starts at 4 pm on Friday evening and consists of 6 loops.  The first 2 loops you are not allowed a pacer.  My awesome wife, Jess, was planning on pacing the 3rd loop.

After another strange yet very typical Woodstock national anthem, we took off.  The first loop was pretty uneventful besides almost losing Peter a couple of times.  We settled into a good pace and kept a close eye on hydration and energy intake (tailwind).  The small preventative measures that you make play out big time at the end of these races.  Simple things like changing socks and shoes and using Vaseline go a long way.  Chafing and blisters = disaster.

Feeling groovy, man!

Half-way through the 2nd loop we turned on our headlamps.  This is when we decided to start the 16/4 method.  Run 16 mins then 4 min walk break.  That equates to 3 walk breaks each hour.  We stuck with this plan up until the final couple of miles!  Peter and I were working well together but I was super excited to have Jess join the party!  As we turned the corner to finish loop 2, there was a gigantic full moon looming in the sky right above the aid station, campers, and tents.  I wish I had taken a picture, it was beautiful.  We started loop 3 around 10:30 pm.  Even though it was still fairly early in the race, it was very beneficial to have her with us.  Night time running can be very lonely and tricky so having multiple people to run with is important.

The weather was spectacular this year!  It did drop down to mid-30s but as long as you were prepared, it felt good.  I'd much rather be a little cold than too hot.  For the first time ever, there was no mud on the course.  Unheard of for this event.

We finished the 3rd loop, 50.5 miles in 10:30.  Jess could have ran another 8 miles but Peter's crew/pacer Chad Hause decided to join the fun for the 4th loop.  Plus she had to drive back to Battle Creek and take our 4 yr old daughter to her soccer game.  What a wife/mom!  From this point my friend Matt was going to crew and then pace for the 5th and 6th loop.  This race was very similar to my Kettle Moraine 100 experience.  I was extremely consistent throughout the entire race.  No big highs and no lows.  Chad joined us for loop 4 in the dark.  Giving the fact that Peter and I stayed together the whole time, we were able to use each other's pacers as our own which was beneficial.  Chad was running in The Barkley Fall Classic "50k" the next week otherwise he could have done more than one loop.  We finished loop 4 just as the sun was rising, what a welcome sight!

Loops 5 and 6 were just about getting the job done by putting one foot in front of the other.  Peter was in front of me 99% of the race.  I watched his feet hit the ground over 100,000 times!  It naturally worked better that way.  During the 5th loop I started to do some math in terms of finishing time and under 24 was a definite possibility and under 23 seemed somewhat possible.  The finish line was getting closer as the sun was starting to shine.  5th loop went very fast and then we took off on what I call the "farewell tour".  The last loop is awesome because you're seeing every tree root, hill, dirt road, etc. for the last time.  I applaud Matt for trying to pace for 2 loops, which is technically like running an ultra marathon.  He hadn't done hardly any running after Mohican so he started to feel it a bit halfway through the last loop.  Luckily my wife had made it back and was able to take him in the car back to watch us finish.  Peter and I were doing really well and were starting to put together a strong finish.

Under 23 hours was a very strong possibility, we decided to keep moving quickly but agreed not to do anything dumb that would jeopardize finishing.  Soon enough we came upon the campground and seeing the finish line of a 100 mile race is about the best sight ever.  Especially when your family is there waiting for you.  So very thankful to have ran with Peter the entire race.  Official time was 22:12:16, 17th overall out of 164 and 1st in age group.

Approximate Loop running times
1 - 2:53
2 - 3:28
3 - 4:00
4 - 4:17
5 - 3:45
6 - 3:43

101 miles
22 hrs 12 mins 16 secs

Peter and I at the finish, thanks again buddy!

My two girls

Key Takeaways
- put negative thoughts aside, quickly
- break up the race into smaller portions such as aid station to aid station
-16/4 run/walk strategy
-beneficial to have someone to run with

Gear and Nutrition info
injinji socks
nike terra kiger shoes
buff
tailwind - lemon
about 20 pretzels
carried 2 bottles, 1 handheld and the other tucked into shorts
garmin 630
vaseline
body glide


Pictures: Matt Shaver, Jess Polnasek, Nancy Polnasek