The Hennepin Hundred
There were many things that attracted me to The Hennepin Hundred. First, it is marketed as a flat and fast 100 mile course and the average weather has highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. I set a goal for myself to go for sub-24 in 2024, so this would be a good opportunity for it (spoiler alert - I did not go sub-24).
The second reason I wanted to go was because my friend Tiffany lives up there, so I would be able to go see her. She is the aid station captain for the Trail Sisters AS at mile 44 and mile 57. I also knew that the aid stations there are great, including the Ten Junk Miles aid station at mile 39 and 62. I volunteered at the TJM aid station in 2021 and had a great time!
The race starts in Sterling Illinois and ends in Colona, Illinois, with about a 36 mile out and back before heading west to the finish.
I have a LOT of trouble asking for help, but I knew I would need pacers if I wanted to meet my goal of sub-24. Tiffany was able to ask her local run group, the QC Turds, and lined up Eileen and Yvonne for me. I had met Eileen in passing when I’d gone up to the Quad Cities for the 100ks and 50ks of Convenience and briefly saw her when I crewed Tiffany at Mines of Spain, but other than that she was unknown to me and I didn’t know Yvonne at all. We chatted a bit via text beforehand. Yvonne had done the race the year before and Eileen had paced her to the finish.
Pre-Race
I flew up to the Quad Cities late Thursday night, getting in sometime around 11ish. The next day Tiffany and I headed to Costco where I tried every single sample in sight and grabbed a few things for my race and some pumpkin and bat shaped ravioli for dinner while she grabbed all the goodies for her aid station (pizza rolls, fries - since she couldn’t find tots - and more).
I packed my drop bags - I had one at 47/54 and one at 32/69. At packet pickup, I got my things and headed over to the Colona Grade School for the pre-race meeting. The RD reiterated that it was going to be a hot one. Historically the race has very mild weather perfect for PRs; highs in the upper 60s, lows in the 50s. For the race, it ended up being in the upper 80s with an overnight low in the 60s. Obviously, I am acclimated for those temps (and I was in long sleeves for the overnight), but it was a bummer to not have the boost of going somewhere a bit cooler to take advantage.
Race Morning-Mile 15
While the finish is about 10 minutes from Tiffany’s house, the start is approx. an hour away. Runners can pay to take a bus from the finish to the start, but that would have had me leaving way too early than I was comfortable doing. Instead, Tiffany and I loaded our things into the car and headed out. By the time we got there, it was getting dangerously close to start time. I rushed off to the insanely long bathroom line. By the time I made it through the line, it was no more than 2 minutes to race start. I joined the big old crowd of people and we were off!
I had looked at a pace chart of what I needed to do in order to go sub-24, so this would mean I would know where I needed to be at each aid station to maintain that pace (technically, I looked at the pace chart for the 21hr finish because there was no way I’d be doing even splits).
If you know me, you know I’m not one to be concerned with my pace or being super conscience of my mileage. When I run, I switch my display to only show the time of day - my pace and my mileage are none of my damn business. So if I’m running a loop or an out and back, I know I’ll need to look at the mileage around a certain time and go from there, otherwise I don’t focus on it.
Since I was going for a time goal, I was checking pretty consistently and it was not my norm. In most ultras, I find people to talk to and run slower or faster or whatever and have fun conversations. This was much more business business business. Not just for myself, but it seemed to be the same with almost everyone around me. One strategy that I wanted to implement was being super fast through the aid stations. I barely stopped at the 5.3 and 10.8 aids and continued on to AS 3 at mile 15 where I would refill my bladder for the first time.
Mile 15 - Mile 45
I kept on going at an okay speed, but the heat of the day started. Again, I’m a Florida runner, but I was really hoping for the cool weather keep my speed up and effort level low. I came into the mile 32 aid station wanting real food. I was so sick of snacks. I know so many people are fine with gels and candy and whatnot, but I’m a real food person. I want solid stuff. I was eating PB&Js, but that wasn’t really hitting the spot. I had some croissants in my drop bag, so I grabbed a couple and the headphones I had in there.
I put on an audiobook to distract myself. The scenery was a lot of the same and even though there were 500 runners out there with the 100 and the 50, I didn’t have much chatting time as I expected I would. I told myself I just needed to get to the Ten Junk Miles aid station. I knew they had pulled pork sandwiches, I would see people I knew and loved, and that glorious disco ball on the bridge. As I came up, I saw Oscar Delgado wearing an absolutely ridiculous outfit and was overjoyed to see him. He said it was funny because he had just been talking to someone (I’m so sorry, I forgot your name) about the Borat swimsuit I wore for the Badger Beer Mile a couple of months before.
I got a pulled pork sandwich from Kylia and Scotty, had some glorious Regain - genuinely one of the tastiest things to drink during endurance events made by Jason Venkus and headed out.
At that point, I knew that sub-24 was out of the picture and became super discouraged. I walked a lot more during this section than I really should have and contemplated dropping at the 50 mile point. I even pulled up the Hennepin website to see if I would be credited with a 50 mile finish if I decided to pull the plug there. I figured I could come back out and help Tiff at her aid station and make my trip fun instead of the slog I was doing.
I called in an SOS to Kevin telling him that I was struggling and not having a good time. He told me to put on music even though I never listen to music that early. I have found that I always put on music way too late in races when it definitely motivates me to move faster. He told me to keep pushing until I got to Tiffany since the Trail Sisters aid station was next.
Mile 45 - Mile 69
Tiffany and the Trail Sisters aid station was at 44.5(ish) and I was so happy to see her. I was discouraged and blah coming into the aid station, but there were two aid station doggies that I got to pet. She got me some pizza rolls and french fries and I sat in a chair for the first time. I spent too long chatting, but at this point my sole focus had been getting to Tiffany. She kicked me out of the aid station and I knew at the next one I had a drop bag with my gym boss in it.
I was revitalized leaving there full of hot fries and pizza rolls. I had my music jamming and knowing there was no way I was going to quit. I didn’t fly all the way up to Illinois to get a 50 mile finish. I came to run 100 miles and damn it, I was gonna do that.
About a mile after the Trail Sisters aid station there was an unofficial aid station that was set up by the people that lived next to the trail. They had some fruit and a lot of motivational signs. I loved that!
I got into aid station 10 (mile 47.5) and grabbed my gym boss and set it to 4-1. I told myself I was going to do that for as long as it worked and not deviate. While my miles were slow at this point, I felt so much better mentally and physically. I passed the 50 mile turnaround (runners go out a little over a mile and turn around to finish at AS 10). I was going to the next aid station but had to pee really bad. The edges of the trail weren’t good for it and it was still daylight, so wsa hoping the 50.5 mile aid station would just appear. When I got there, I asked the guy how far it was to the turn around. He said it was .08 of a mile, but I somehow thought he said 0.8 of a mile, so I dashed into the bathroom and returned to the trail where the turnaround was basically right around the corner, lol.
This aid station brought me so much joy. It was a great fiesta! I had an amazing chicken taco. I still have warm fuzzies thinking about how good of a stop that was. I got back on the move, passing through AS 10 again, and then to the unofficial aid station that was awesomely lit up and had the cutest runner pumpkin.
When I got to the Trail Sisters aid station I was in a much better mood and I don’t think I lingered too long there. I was also looking forward to seeing the TJM aid station all lit up for the night and having some mashed potatoes with pulled pork on top. I sat in a chair and ate that good food, knowing that at the next aid station I would no longer be alone. I think it was around this time that I texted Yvonne and Eileen that I had thrown out my original goal of sub-24 and was now going to be going for my 100 mile PR.
Mile 69 - Mile 88
I came into this aid station, where I ate some mashed potatoes and ramen and picked up Eileen as a pacer. Having not known Eileen other than meeting her once or twice, the conversation flowed naturally and we kept up with the 4-1s I was doing. At one point I told her that I was thinking of bumping it down to 3-1s, but then took it back because I wasn’t actually having issues with the 4-1. I somehow felt okay enough to keep doing them without problems or getting overly tired. In later stages of races, I’ve found that the mind tells the body it can’t do something, but I got to overcome that and really know I could keep doing it.
We got through the next aid stations pretty well. Run-walking and eating ramen or mashed potatoes at every aid station. I’m sure I ate other things just to keep calories in my body, but I really have no idea what else I had. Again, Eileen’s company was amazing and I’m in awe of all of the very difficult races she’s done and is working towards. Mountains are scary, but she has the spirit and fire to want to take those things on. Eileen also did a lot of math and letting me know we were 100% on pace for me to break my 100 mile PR of 26:31.
Mile 88 - Finish
We got to the mile 88 aid station where I had the most amazing pancakes and sausage. They were fresh, hot silver dollar sized pancakes that I dipped in syrup. This is where I would be saying goodbye to Eileen and pick up Yvonne for the final 12 miles. The sun started to come up and we talked about deep and sad and amazing things. It was so good to bond with her and all I wanted to do was hug her because she was so awesome. I tried to do my 4-1s, but I noticed that I was actually “running” slower than my walking pace, so walking it was! I also knew that even if I walked in the last 12 miles, I would have my PR.
I got to the QC Trail and Ultra Running aid station (mile 95). Tiffany was there and got me ramen mashed potatoes. Yes, instead of mashed potatoes with water, she put ramen in there and it was SO GOOD. Eileen had also come to this aid station to volunteer, so she made some coffee. I will mention that I had major sleepies the whole night, so I think I had coffee at every single AS for the last 50k. For some reason I forgot to bring hot chocolate packets for my beloved aid station mochas.
I sat down in front of a fire pit eating my ramen mashed potatoes and drinking coffee. The fire was so, so warm and welcoming. I think they eventually kicked me out, but I knew this was the last stop before the push to the finish. There was an unmanned aid station a couple of miles away that Yvonne and I stopped at, I drank some coke and then we started the long climb uphill.
I don’t care if people say it is flat and fast and the elevation map doesn’t agree, but that last 3 miles is all uphill. Even if it is a 0.5% grade, that mofo has some climb, lol. We started to get into Colona and see houses and civilization. I was so happy and so ready to be done. Once I had the finish line in sight, I started to “run” and did the classic Shae thing of leaping over the finish line. I came in at 25:48 and rang the PR bell. I got my beautiful buckle and finishers flannel.
The Aftermath
After getting back to Tiffany’s house, I stripped off my clothes and just laid on the bed on top of a towel. I was WRECKED. I thought back to the last few races I’d done and even my 100 miler PR - I went out to aid stations, danced around, cheered people on, etc. This time? NOPE. I could barely function. I eventually got into the shower, noticing I had two blisters, ugh. I slept some and then we went out for food. I wanted a chocolate cake shake from Portillo’s and a 20 piece nugget from McDonalds. I ate in bed and fell asleep while eating. Waking up to sip and eat and then fall back asleep.
My eyes puffed up in a major way, my throat was sore, and it hurt to breathe in. I eventually talked to some other people and it seems that many people had the same issue due to corn and bean dust from the nearby farms. It took days for it to clear up before I felt I could really take in a deep breath. I also had mega cankles. Again, I’ve never felt this bad after a race. Yes, I pushed myself a lot, but wow. The first few days were not great.
I think it was a combination of pushing myself, the corn dust, and the unavoidable fact that I’m the heaviest I’ve been in years. I know that people can achieve great things at any size, but I know for me, I don’t feel comfortable where I’m at and I have much more in me when I’m not carrying an extra 20lbs.
I also know that time goals really aren’t my thing until I feel much more fit. I feel sluggish and I think I definitely have sub-24 in me, but not quite yet. And I also want that sub-24 to be a product of fitness and efficiency in my running rather than a monumental effort to overcome my current body and the conditions.
Would I recommend Hennepin? Yes. I think the aid stations are great and it has good PR potential. Will I return? Only if I’m pacing or crewing a friend there. Definitely a one and done for me.
