Race Report: 2024 Ozark Hills 100

I was not planning to run this race at all. I was planning to merely go and crew a coaching client through his first 100 mile race, maybe pitch in at an aid station or two. You see, this was my first race as an ultra coach, and the first BIG race in which one of my clients was competing. 

During a local 50k, Daniel mentioned he was interested in Tahoe 200. Um, what? Now, he’s one of those naturally athletic people, and had completed a few 50k and one 50 mile race, but he’d never run a 100 miler let alone a difficult 200. And so the search for a spring 100 began so he could get one under his proverbial belt. Ozark Hills fit the bill for a goal race: solid elevation gain, within driving distance of Memphis, long looped course, and at least six weeks of training time. I quickly took stock of Daniel’s current fitness and we devised a plan to get him as close to 100-mile ready as we could.

It wasn’t until about 3 weeks out that the FOMO finally caught up with me - well, FOMO and two cocktails with friends. Believe me when I say don’t drink and UltraSignup! And so, I was back on the race bandwagon. I spoke with Daniel, and after a bit of negotiation, decided that we’d stick together as long as possible BUT had the option to split as long as “all our inside parts were still on the inside.” And so we rolled out to Wildwood, Missouri with the best laid plans and six weeks of long runs and hill workouts in the bank.

Packet pick-up

The course was comprised of four 26.2 mile loops, each loop broken down into 5-7 mile long stretches between aid stations. As his coach, I know Daniel isn’t a strong hiker, so my goal was to keep him jogging as long as possible before we had to start the hiking intervals. We decided the A-goal would be sub-24 hours, or 6 hours per loop. The first section was packed dirt trail with a few rocks and we were easily in the lead pack. Two runners had pulled away around mile 3, but the rest of us cruised into the Mustang station at mile 5 together.

The next seven miles were difficult. The trail became more rocky, there were a few downed trees across the trail and two very steep climbs. I questioned who designed this trail and if they’d ever heard of a switchback? The downhill wasn’t much better - too steep and rocky to actually run unless you have a death wish, but eventually the trail settled back into packed dirt and rolling hills. At Fossil Ridge Aid I downed some chips, Daniel grabbed some electrolytes, we snagged two bananas…and were off. 

Luckily, this section was as runnable as it gets and we blew through the five miles to Roundhouse Aid at a blistering 8:45ish pace. Daniel was running really well and so far things were feeling good. We were about to be knocked down a peg though. Leaving Roundhouse, the 100 milers took a left and began a moderate climb up a gravel park road. At the top was a large pile of stone, but we cut left around it and then back into the trail on the other side of the hilltop. A marginally runnable downhill to a creek was followed abruptly by a long, steep climb on a narrow trail, before winding down to a road where we made a quick 180 and turned back into the trail some 30 feet further along the road. Somehow, this “back” portion of the out and back had more climb than the out, and it felt like we were going up forever. I swear 3000’ of the 3500’ per loop happened in these two and a half miles. Finally we caught sight of the stone pile, and turned back down the park road toward Roundhouse again. A short, runnable 3ish miles brought us back to the starting line, and we had one loop complete in about 5 hours.

I knew we’d taken that first loop a little hot, but the adrenaline and the weather made it easy to push the envelope a bit. I checked in with Daniel to make sure he was still feeling solid, we swapped in full flasks and new snacks, and took off on loop two. This time we knew where we needed to conserve and where we could push, so we made conscious decisions to power hike more of the uphills and cruise the flats and downs, even though we were feeling pretty strong. Daniel commented that his quads had moved past the tight stage to the “can’t feel them anymore” stage. Admittedly as a coach that was concerning before we even got to 50. Still, we were making great time and rolled back into the start/finish at mile 52 in just about 11.5 hours, still 30 minutes ahead of overall schedule. We were also 3rd and 4th overall, and according to the volunteers at Roundhouse, 2nd was only about 40 minutes ahead. Daniel wanted fresh socks, and I did something I NEVER do: took off my shoes and socks, too. I figured I would try to lance a couple of the toe blisters and re-apply band-aids, and it was a good call. Historically I just let them come and deal with the damage for the weeks post-race.

Post-blister lancing at mile 52…great decision

We checked for our headlights and stuffed an extra layer in our vests as night would fall during our third loop. We took a mental inventory of our bodies and decided we’d try to get to Fossil Ridge (64 miles) before sunset. We rolled into Mustang (mile 57) and learned that we’d gained 20 minutes on 2nd place. We were hunting now, and it was exhilarating. I felt the shift in my mental state and the rush of renewed energy as we took off in pursuit. It wasn’t long before our quarry was within our sights, and we slowly reeled him in over the next 5 miles. We blew by 2nd around mile 63, and I was hell bent on putting as much ground and time between him and us as possible at this stage in the race. Pushing the pace a little meant we got to Roundhouse and started the brutal out-and-back before sunset, without needing headlights. Eventually the darkness set in and we donned our extra layers and lamps and continued the never ending climb back to Roundhouse. I don’t know if it was the dark, or just that things were catching up with him, but Daniel slowed down a bit here and we ended up hiking the last three miles of the third loop, through mile 78. We’d definitely pushed it in our pursuit of 2nd place, and I was starting to question my decision as a coach, especially when Daniel asked me to stick with him on the final loop, but he’d need to walk.

This was one of those moments where you have to decide what’s most important. We were still 15 minutes ahead of 24 hour pace, in 2nd and 3rd place overall, and I had a legitimate shot at breaking the women’s course record. I was ready to finish this thing. But Daniel was not. He’d rolled an ankle somewhere, those quads were basically rocks now, and he was definitely feeling the aggressive paces we’d set the last three loops. “I know we said we’d split if we needed to, but I’m breaking the rule and I need you to stick with me,” he said while we were swapping flasks and grabbing food. Even though my adrenaline and competitiveness was in hyperdrive, there wasn’t even a hesitation when I said “okay, then we stick together.” This was why I became a coach, and this was how I was going to get this guy through. We grabbed cups of chicken or vegetable broth - so warm and salty and exactly what we both needed - and started walking our last loop. We left the start/finish at 11:44pm and headed into the night. 

Daniel got very quiet as I led him over the trail, walking at a brisk pace. I started asking him would-you-rather questions. Would you rather be invisible or be able to shape shift? Would you rather unicorns be real or dragons be real? Would you rather retain the mind of a 30 year old or the body of a 30 year old forever? Really anything to keep his mind engaged and off of the fatigue. At some point he started asking the questions back, and I knew we’d turned a corner. We got broth at every aid station, and just kept moving. I started doing my signature “sleep while walking,” using the edges of the trail as bumpers for when to open my eyes. “ARE YOU SLEEPING?!” Daniel asked me once when I wandered a smidge farther off trail than usual.

“Yes! How do you think I get through these things so fast?” I laughed back and made a conscious effort to keep my eyes open since I was leading our awful little parade.  

A new 100-miler with his pacer passed us on one of the climbs; a little disappointing but heck, we were doing great for his first crack at this distance. Our walking pace meant we got to the out-and-back just about sunrise, which was a mercy to not have to do that in the dark again. I was dreading this section; the night chill had flared up some weird asthma thing and I was literally struggling to get air in my lungs for some of the climbs. Daniel turned out to be the leader here and said. “This is the last time you’ve got to do this, so come on.” I kept a steady mantra of “I’m okay, it’s okay” in rhythm with my steps until the stone pile finally came into view. When we got back to Roundhouse, we decided to split up for the last three miles and give it everything we had left. I skipped the aid station, and after a quick “are you sure” to Daniel, took off jogging toward the finish line. Those last miles felt like ages, but I finally rolled in just under 27 hours, and still the top female. I threw on some warm clothes and anxiously awaited Daniel’s finish - which happened about 20 minutes later. To say I was proud was an understatement - I was ECSTATIC! As exhilarating as racing is, having a front row seat to someone accomplishing a huge goal is infinitely moreso. 

We ran the entire emotional spectrum during those 97 miles; each dealing with both our own and the other’s demons at various times. I’d love to say it was my coaching that made us successful, but it’s not just that. It was the give and take of encouragement, the waxing and waning of energy, and the decision to stick together and pull each other through that made it work.

The finish…only slightly crazy looking.