On Saturday 2/11/23, I completed the 'Floodway 100K' for 2 reasons: the 1st being for a personal FKT accomplishment, and the 2nd for my father who passed away 2/11/22 at the age of 63 years young...I chose to honor his memory on the 1-year anniversary of his death by completing 63 miles via foot-power and this out-and-back route was a perfect match for that distance. Later in the day, my mother and brother even came out to cheer me on, which was an emotional moment and helped to fuel my fire.
I began the trek at 7AM sharp - the predawn 20 deg. temp and a very light S wind at my back was great motivation to start moving and warm up (luckily, the temperature did increase, and the weather was beautiful). My husband, Roger, supported me throughout the day and into the night. He met me at several points to not only re-supply as needed with food, drink, and eventually watch charging (which came to be the bane of existence that day - even more so than tired legs and feet), but also to ensure my safety along the route, a lot of which was through isolated areas and also involved crossing under bridges at major throughways in the city...one can never be too careful! A friend, Alan Thomsen, joined as a 'pacer' after my turnaround point at about mile 35 (+/-) to ~53; this was immensely helpful to keep me moving as night fell (and again - safety!), then husband Roger joined me on the final ~10ish miles.
Though the route is not exactly "scenic," it is nonetheless an awesome way to traverse the Wichita metro & outer-lying towns, then back again. From before sunrise until after sunset, I stayed upright and strong, moving purposefully to finish as quickly as I could ...but also pausing at times to take in the surroundings, the moments... remembering why I chose to go this distance on this particular day.