Heartland 100 Race Report

Heartland 100 Race Report – the crew view

DISCLAIMER - There will be no course descriptions or actual information from someone running this race, as I was only there in the dark and did not run a single step of the course. Doctor’s orders.

I was member of the crew from 4:15 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. and then again from 7:30 p.m. till well, still now. He's doing great, but his legs are pretty tired so I'll take care of him for a couple more days.

I took Steve to the start line at 5:15 and waited around for the “ready, set, GO” to start the race. Trail races are different than marathons.
No chip timing, no bands, no gun to start the race, no jockeying for position on the front row.

I left after the last runner passed where I was standing at the side of the road. It wasn’t hard to have a front line view of the 111 runners. I drove the 45 minutes home and took a shower and got my cooler and mac n cheese and 4 dozen cookies for the volleyball team and headed to the tournament. My girls played well. We didn’t win; we played a tremendously tough field of teams and split with some, and played all of them close. Which means lots of points and extra games per match, extra time. Which was good, they played well, but sucked for me cause I wanted them to be done so I could get to the race and watch (check) on Steve.

I got updates after every crew access aid station from Jimmy and Patty Moulds. They were brief, but always said which aid station he was leaving and that he was on schedule. He had a very detailed pace schedule so he could finish in under 24 hours, and I had a copy so I knew exactly where he was, and for the first 50 miles he stayed with that schedule, I knew he was doing great. (I then had to pass on updates to the volleyball parents and Whitney who proudly wore her Heartland 100 Tee shirt that Steve got her to school today).

Steve had an awesome crew and group of pace runners. He had 5 people volunteer to run with him and crew for him. After mile 42.5 he could have pace runners, one at a time for the last 67.5 miles. Jimmy and Patty were there at 9:00 for his first crew aid station and stayed till he crossed the finish line. Heidi showed up at mile 42.5 and ran 15 miles with him. Heidi is a triathlon coach and is a great athlete and encourager, and was really good company for him.

Patty ran the next 6 miles with him. This is the only time they fell off pace and it was because it was overcast and rainy and got dark earlier than usual and without their headlamps they had to slow down to navigate so they were in about 30 minutes behind schedule. She finished running at 7:30 and that was when I wanted to be there, but I was just getting off the highway at 7:30 and knew I wouldn’t make it. As I was leaving the gym, (okay, as I was yelling at a ref for two bad line calls in a row that cost us a game, last two plays of the game we lost 26-24) Jed called. He had got back into town and was going to come out and run the leg Steve didn’t have a runner for. It was pouring in Derby when I left, but remarkably, the monsoon (it felt like a monsoon, carrying a cooler, crockpot, cushioned chair backs and a feedbag to the car) in Wichita had not made it to Cassoday, and didn’t.
Volleyball wears them out.

I stopped at the Cassoday general store to change clothes and get something to eat. I wondered around the two 6 foot long aisles trying to decide which kind of chips and beef jerky I wanted (I know, it was so limited) when the clerk asked what I was looking for. Two quick questions and I left with the best pulled pork sandwich I’ve ever had. Seriously. The. Best.

Jimmy was off and running his 11 miles with Steve and I met Brian Jackson and Patty at the store to follow them to next aid station. When we got to the aid station, Jed and Jenny and Kael and Zoey (their kids who are old pros at aid stations and races as dad is marathon runner and ultra runner himself and mom is a crazy good triathlete) pulled in behind us. Jed and Jenny are good friends with Jimmy and Patty (Jed and Jimmy were on the same college track team) and also know Brian well. We watched runners come in to the aid station and Jimmy and Steve showed up earlier than expected, Jimmy made up 20 minutes of the time they had lost.

Jed was like a race horse at the starting line of the Kentucky Derby, he couldn’t get Steve out of the aid station and back on the course fast enough. Steve did what he needed to do, lubed his feet, filled his water bottles, etc., grabbed a freshly made to order grilled cheese sandwich and headed out.

We drove to the next aid station and waited at the top of the hill. This is 83 miles into the race. And watched people come into the aid station. And cheered for them. And Jenny got out her “Christmas Crack”. This is a trail mix kind of thing she specially makes at the Nifty Nut House in downtown Wichita. I was still full three hours later from the sandwich, so I didn’t have any crack. Earlier than we expected I looked down the hill and saw a handful of headlamps. It was so dark out there we could see runners coming by the little bobbing lights. Most were walking up the hill. But two were running, and I knew it was Steve and Jed. There was no way Jed would walk into an aid station, even if it required running uphill. And it was. Jed brought him in 20 minutes ahead of schedule with 16 miles to go.

Brian was shoed up and ready to go, so Steve (sweaty, stinky Steve) hugged Jimmy and Patty and Jed and Jenny and thanked them over and over for coming and headed out with Brian. I was expecting to follow them back to Cassoday, from there I could find the finish line and wait, and was totally amazed that at 12:30 at night they all went to the finish line and took naps in their cars and waited for Steve to finish. Except for Patty who sat with me at the finish line. I had consumed too much caffeine trying to stay awake since 4:15 and couldn’t sleep. She kept me company.

We watched 100 milers and 50 milers trickle in for the next 3 hours or so. After the 12th train went through town, two blocks down from the finish line, Jimmy joined us. I realized at 2:30 I was starving and got out my last food, a bag of powdered donuts. (Lots of additional crack jokes here because of the white powder and the loopiness of all involved). Jed and Jenny soon joined us and we waited in the cold, humid dark, watching for headlamps.

I watched them cross the finish line walking and running and limping. I watched crews and family members stand every time headlamps showed to see if it was their runner. We were watching for two headlamps as Steve was one of the fortunate runners to have company.

One lone headlamp showed up in the distance and we watched a runner, running very well at the end of 50/100 miles cross the finish line to cheering and clapping. They asked for his number and he says, “I’m just a pacer. Is Patsy here?” My heart dropped, thinking Steve was way behind schedule, that his knee with the meniscus surgery had given out, that he was sitting on the side of the road unable to run and didn’t want me worried, all kinds of things, so I said I was there and I will never forget these words, “We are 30 minutes ahead of schedule and Steve was afraid you wouldn’t be at the finish line”. Much laughter at this, but these people did not know I have slept through aid stations and one finish line.

Steve was about 5 minutes behind Brian and finished the race with a friend, Adam. He was very excited to find the whole crew had stayed to see him finish. He finished strong, beating his goal of under 24 hours, and was ahead of his planned pace/schedule by 27 minutes, finishing in 22:52 and 16th place. He ate some pancakes at the aid station, picked up his beautiful belt buckle
(now we will buy a belt so he can wear this thing) and headed home. I did wash his clothes before I went to bed. Twenty-six and a half hours without sleep and I did a load of laundry before I went to bed. Yep, 100 miles worth of sweat and stink. When another runner tells you at mile 92, both of you at mile 92 that you stink, you really stink. (Thanks Adam, will always laugh at this).

I am so proud of him. Not bad for foot surgery and knee surgery in July.

Having only run marathons, the amount of training and mental toughness required to run 100 miles is something I have only witnessed. But these are remarkable people. I could write two more pages about the runners and the crews and the aid stations and the race directors….

He fell asleep in the car head upright halfway through sending a text. Finger in the air poised over the iphone.