What an incredible day! God is so good! Lots of answered prayers. I did this run to help raise funds for a Rockford, Michigan family looking to adopt another daughter with down syndrome out of China. At the beginning of the run we had only raised $550 dollars but by the end we were at $6,000! More funds are still coming in. My start was at 4:00am. The starting point was out of Cadillac Michigan and I headed south just like the previous two runners with the FKT.
Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do this run a couple weeks ago. My right knee was acting up and I had just gotten off a major injury that caused me to lose a month of quality training. However, despite the challenges of this training cycle, I also had some new PR's. I did as much as a 160 mile week right before my injury. On race day I used KT tape to support my knee and it was good all day!
If you do this supported like I did, a crew is so vital! Thank you crew! I love you all so much! I am so thankful to my wife Bethany and all three of my kids Kierney, Thatcher, and Oren for being there all day and making many stops to supply me with hydration and fuel. My crew also included Gary and Mary DeYoung (from my church), Rebecca Cruttenden (from my church and the CEO of Clara's Cookies), David and Christy Metzger (friends from Chicago), and the Gard Family (Brian and Jennifer Gard, whom I was running for). These friends were cheering, biking, and pacing me at different parts of the day!
My run began in Cadillac by myself for the first couple of hours. I was joined in a couple of spots by Brian for a few miles. My strategy was to go very slow and steady for the first 50 miles. I was not going to sit down and take breaks. Instead, just keep moving. I carried most of my hydration and food for the entire run. My running shorts have nice hip water bottle pockets and other pockets for gels. I used RunKeeper app because I could send my live progress out to 5 people and that link could be shared to all my friends. RunKeeper also shows on a map where I am very well while also showing my total distance and average pace. I have not had "app" issues with RunKeeper as well.
My friend Dave ran with me for a few miles about 40 miles in and then joined me for the final 8 miles. Rebecca was on her bike for a major portion from Sand Lake to the finish. I had a couple of youth group kids Abby and Jonathan join me on their bikes for a few miles near Rockford, Mi. One of my favorite parts of the day was running with Brian and his daughter Elle (whom they adopted out of China). Elle loves being pushed in the running stroller!
Yes, I had lots of bathroom stops (I was well hydrated all day), a couple of stretching stops, I walked here and there for a bit, and walked two miles with my friend Gary from Pierson to Sand Lake as a break. After Sand Lake, I ran really well all the way to the finish. In fact, I was really struggling for a long section there after Big Rapids. It was an uphill battle. However, most of the last 20 miles is downhill and you can cruise fast! I was surprised with how much I had left in the tank at the end. Too much?
Anyway, God is good. He answered prayers towards the fundraising and I was injury free and strong all day. No digestive issues, blisters, chafing issues, cramping, sickness, and the weather was great. This run was HARD. No ultra I have ever done has been easy but things when really well all day. I hope some else can smash this record soon. Hopefully this information helps towards that goal. This is a great trail that I recommend people running!