I shared about the start of Jake’s race yesterday, so today will pick up from there. The first time we saw Jake was at mile 16.4. Everything about this hundred was different than his last. He was fueling differently, he had different goals, he was racing. His last hundred (part 1 here, part 2 here), his goal was to just finish. Now, with that experience of running and finishing, he was chasing other goals. It was SO incredible to watch Jake compete with the top guys at this race. Jake was in the top 10 the entire day. Here he is at mile 16.4 talking to the race director about the section he was about to run. I think Jake sat down maybe 2 times the entire day. He was in and out of aid stations in 1-4 minutes every time.
This is still at the first aid station (mile 16.4). It was super hot on race day, so we made sure to slather on the sunscreen.
This picture makes me laugh. The second time we saw Jake was at mile 31. He was still crushing it.
It was getting hot at this point.
Jake worked super hard to take in enough liquids. I think he drank every single thing we made for him except once, and that’s because he drank a bunch of something at an aid station before he saw us. There were 21 total aid stations, so Jake had one every 3-7 miles. Crews couldn’t get to each one, so we got to see him 7 times.
If you can, please zoom in on my face. HAHAHAHA. I know I’m just blinking and listening to the race director, but I sure don’t look very happy. I promise I was!
Thumbs up and ready to go! (P.S. Jake’s Momma took all of the pictures at the aid stations – thank you, Penny!!)
Thank goodness for the clouds. They kept things from getting too crazy hot. There was also a nice breeze occasionally, so that felt SO refreshing.
This tarp was so handy. It allowed us to lay everything out and it kept dirt off of his feet if Jake needed to wipe them off or anything. We had all of his drinks in the Yeti and everything else for him in the black box. It worked perfectly.
This is mile 48, which is where Jake got to pick up his first pacer. His Dad, John, paced him from 48-68. It’s always a good feeling when your runner picks up a pacer. It’s nice to know they aren’t alone out there.
Jake sat down at Mile 48 and had us Vaseline his feet. It’s awesome having so many crew members helping. We were able to get Jake in and out SO quickly.
We kept buffs in the cooler and would use them to try and cool Jake down each time he came into an aid station.
We got to see Jake again at mile 52 – he was still with his Dad, his first pacer. They came back through this aid station after they hit the turn around. The race consisted of a single loop and then an out and back section.
They there are (way back, with another runner), coming in at mile 52. Jake stopped this first time through, but he didn’t stop the second time.
That’s Jake Dad, in the green, coming in to tell us what Jake needs.
Jake came in and we had everything ready for him.
You can tell he was a little worn out here. Over half-way finished! Mile 52.
He came back through that same aid station at mile 64, but like I said, he didn’t stop.
This was what they were running on for part of the race. I walked on it for awhile while waiting for Jake and it was so peaceful.
This was the second to last time we got to see Jake. He was hurting. He just finished the 20 miles with his Dad, and picked up his second pacer, Derek. This was at mile 67.9.
Jake drank some cold brew and cooled off with a wet buff again. Can you imagine being on your feet, non-stop, for 20 plus hours? There’s no way…
After that aid station, we had awhile until we got to see Jake again. Since we had some down time, we stopped and grabbed dinner. This sure was nice because I left ALL of my food at our campsite. I was so focused on getting Jake’s stuff together, I totally spaced my own. HA! Jake’s parents did the same thing. So, it was awesome to have time to stop and eat!
This was the last time we saw Jake before the finish – mile 84.8. He was really hurting here. He didn’t sit down or say much. We got him what he needed and he was off. He picked up his third pacer, Ben, here. Ben ran with Jake to the finish.
We were all so impressed with Jake. I can’t imagine running 100 miles. Ever. But to do it so quickly? It just blows my mind.
After we saw Jake at 84.8, we all went back to the campsite, which was by the finish, and showered. Then we headed up to the finish line and waited. Around 2:30AMish, Jake started making his way down the road to finish. At a dead sprint. After running 100 miles. A guy behind him had turned off his headlamp and caught Jake in the last quarter mile or so. Jake fought SO hard to stay ahead of him, but the guy ended up passing him right at the end. Did I mention they were SPRINTING? It was crazy. Jake makes things look easy. I know this wasn’t easy, but watching him finish, you never would’ve known he just ran 100 miles.
The guy in yellow is the one who passed Jake. We talked to him a lot at awards the next day. Jake was giving him a hard time about turning his light off and passing him, ha!
Jake finished in 8th place at 20:30:47. With a freaking sprint finish.
I don’t know that I’ve ever completed a race where I totally gave it my all. I can tell you, without a doubt, Jake gave this hundred his all. He raced it from the shotgun start. It was incredible to watch. My husband is a badass. He laid down on the ground as soon as he crossed the finish line.
Hey there, Top 10! <3
I know the two races aren’t completely comparable (one was at altitude), but Jake finished this hundred about the same time we saw him at mile 83 in Leadville, CO. How crazy is that? He doesn’t like me saying he PR’d this race, but he did! By 7 hours and 15 minutes. I know the two hundreds were vastly different, but that is a HUGE improvement.
Jake started feeling awful after the finish. I got him to eat half an orange, but he couldn’t eat anything else. Jake wanted to stay for awards, which weren’t until 12:30PM (he finished at 2:30AM), so we had about 9 hours to waste until they started. Everyone else left, so Jake and I headed back to our campsite to try and rest. I won’t lie to you, this was scary for me. Jake was having trouble getting his heart rate to go down and he was breathing super fast. Every time he moved, it hurt and I could tell. I don’t like seeing people suffer, so this was tough for me. He finally fell asleep in our camper shell, but I just couldn’t. I kept thinking what I would do if he stopped breathing or something. It was a scary 2-3 hours of that. He finally started to recover a little and his breathing returned to normal. I think at that point, I fell asleep for about 30 minutes or so. One thing I don’t recommend doing….getting into a camper shell with someone who just finished a 100 mile race and hasn’t showered. Gross. HA! ; )
Jake woke up, we talked, I got him to eat a little something more, and he seemed SO much better. I couldn’t be in the camper shell anymore, so I moved to the front seat of the truck and passed out. Jake said he slept a little more and then walked around to keep his legs loose. He also showered (YAY!) ; )
We went up to the finish line to watch runners come in and have breakfast. Jake was looking a million times better! Jake did his whole hundred on GUs (nutritional gels) and liquid – zero solid food, so I think he was happy to be eating real food again.
Breakfast was delicious. They provided this for us!
So, so, so proud of him.
Jake was top 10 all day and placed 8th. So incredible.
Here’s his buckle!
Some other Altra Red Team athletes! They all did SO great. The guy with the red hat on had just finished Tahoe 200 FOUR weeks before this race…no joke! That’s a 200 mile running race! These guys…I just can’t.
After awards, we hopped in the car. Jake immediately passed out and managed to sleep almost the whole way home! I was so thankful he was able to get some rest. He wanted Mexican for dinner, so we stopped and chowed down.
Unpacking after a 100…so much stuff. I’m still doing laundry!
We came home to the sweetest card. It made me smile. Thank you, Culvers! We sure love you guys. <3
Jake’s sister watched Lu for us while we were gone. I know she had fun, but I think she was happy to be home and snuggling with Mom and Dad. We all slept in on Monday. I think we are caught up on sleep!
Jake didn’t work Monday, so we lounged in bed and talked about the weekend for awhile, then I headed out for my own run. It’s impossible not to be inspired by what Jake and those other athletes just accomplished. I had some speed work to do, so every time it got hard, I thought about Jake’s race. Woof. My run hurt, but not as bad as running 100 miles probably hurts…
I made us breakfast burritos when I got home.
I always tell my college students they can call me Chelsea. I shared with them that I passed my defense and they are all calling me Dr. Bradley. Haha! They’re sweet.
I heard this song on an episode of Parks and Rec. It’s SO good.
Yesterday afternoon, we did a little something fun with Springfield FitLife! I’ll share soon!
Then it was back home to lounge in bed for a little bit. I got caught up on emails and Jake relaxed.
We had a cheese and spinach roll-up for a snack.
I met some girlfriends from high school for a drink last night! It was a blast and I finally got to meet Easton, my friend, Annemarie’s, baby. He is SO perfect.
We all got some baby cuddles in!
We sat on the patio at Brew Co and got to catch up with each other!
Jake met me for dinner, so he got to meet Easton, too! We shared wings and a veggie burger.
I cannot tell you how proud I am of Jake. I don’t have the words. But he continues to amaze and inspire me every single day. He’s awesome. Thank you for following along on our journey. Your support means so much!
Happy Tuesday, friends!