I recently finished the Never Summer 100k trail race held in the Never Summer Wilderness in Colorado. This remote mountain race boasts 14,000’ of climbing over 64 miles at an elevation of 8,000-12,000 feet above sea level.

In 2019, my friends & I attempted this race, but due to storms while above treeline, we DNF-d (did not finish) at 31 miles. It was time to go back for this unfinished business.

My friend, Alisha, & I flew out Thursday prior to the race & met up with our friend, Jen, from Wisconsin. The 3 of us were all going to toe the line together on race morning.

We stayed in the small (population 600) town of Walden, CO, about 20 miles west of the race start. The race takes place in State Forest State Park. This is a remote mountain race with no cell phone service at the start/finish & most of the race itself.

The race started at 5:30am on Saturday morning with a 24 hour cut off time. There are various cut offs at aid stations along the way, so you need to stay on track with your pace to manage the sub-24 hour time limit.

Alisha, Jen & I started together that morning. We had discussed prior to the race our goals & knew that staying together was likely an impossible task, & to “run our own races.” The race starts off on a nice section of flatter trail for the first couple miles that allows the approximately 350 runners to spread out a bit before the serious climbing begins. But it really isn’t long before you start climbing up the first big peak.

A trio of Midwest Ladies ready to take on the mountains!

I set the pace in the early miles, with Alisha on my heels. I felt strong & confident. With the sun coming up, I’m excited to “write a new story” for this race.

The first aid station is over 11 miles in, so we settled into a rhythm of climbing, eating, drinking, descending & taking in the unbelievable views. As we descended down from Lake Agnes about 9 miles in, some loose pebbles rolled under my shoes & my feet went out from under me, sending me backwards down on my butt. I landed HARD on my backside catching myself with my hands behind me. Alisha was behind me & saw me land on a pointed rock. The pain took my breath away. I wasn’t convinced initially that I was ok. Upon standing I felt nauseous. I took some deep breaths & decided to walk gingerly forward. The pain started to recede & I began to move a bit faster. Luckily within a short distance of my fall was a nice stretch of gravel road that I could run/walk to see how I actually felt. The pain was a dull ache after a few minutes & I didn’t think that I’d broken my tail bone, which was my initial thought. I popped 2 Tylenol for good measure & we pressed on.

The beautiful Lake Agnes, 8 or so miles in.

We checked off the first aid station & enjoyed some nice downhill running toward the second one at 18.3 miles. The Diamond Aid Station at 18.3 miles would have our first drop bag & provide a reset before the next giant climb up Diamond Peak. Diamond Peak is where we got caught in a thunder & hail storm in 2019 which ultimately caused our DNF’s. We were eager to get up & over Diamond Peak in an attempt to write our new story.

Alisha & I took off together towards Diamond, running & hiking at our own pace, but never being too far from one another. The day was turning hot & the climb up Diamond Peak was fully exposed.

That high point in the distance…. that’s Diamond Peak, where we are headed!

Taking the climb one step at a time, I finally made it up Diamond Peak!! Alisha was waiting for me at the top & we celebrated with a photo & a fist bump! But there was no time to waste, we still needed to stay ahead of the cut offs. We descended off Diamond Peak & enjoyed some nice running across the vast expanse of the saddle & soon we were making our way into the Montgomery Aid Station at 24.3 miles. What a different year this was already turning out to be. It was a hot day without a cloud in the sky; no storms & plummeting temps like 2019! We rolled through the aid station together & we were off to Ruby Jewel aid station another 6.2 miles away. This primarily downhill section felt a little long, as we were eager to get there & see the back half of the course we had missed 3 years ago. Alisha was running strong & pulled ahead, but we ended up arriving at the aid station only a couple minutes apart.

Making our way up Diamond Peak. It is so steep!

Still climbing! Straight towards the sky!

And that’s where we’re headed across the vast expanse of the saddle toward Montgomery Aid Station!

It was proving to be an uncommonly hot day & we both needed to reset here. The next section was going to be a long climb in the heat of the afternoon with very limited aid. Changing socks, refilling packs, using the pit toilet & making sure we had what we needed out of the drop bags before we continued on. It was going to be a long 9+ miles to the Clear Lake Aid Station.

The hike up to the Clear Lake Aid Station didn’t disappoint. 4.5 miles into the section, we arrived at Kelly Lake. It was beautiful! We had to cross a long boulder field along the edge of the lake. On the other side of the boulder field was the aid station. This was an “emergency” aid station with a ham radio operator, basic first aid & some water treated from Kelly Lake if one needed it. I was surprised when I went to drink from my hydration bladder a mile or so out from Kelly Lake that I had drained my 2 Liter bladder of water already. I was grateful for an opportunity to get some water before the next 4.7 miles to the Clear Lake Aid Station.

I lost sight of Alisha before the boulder field & then stopping to fill my bladder part way, I knew Alisha was going to hit the next Aid Station before me. Solo, I continued on to Clear Lake Aid Station.

Kelly Lake & the leading edge of the boulder field.

We connected in the Clear Lake Aid Station & we headed out on the 4.2 mile out & back together. This short section of trail to the actual Clear Lake was admittedly kind of annoying. We left the aid station, headed out 2.1 miles or so to Clear Lake, got our bibs punched by volunteers at Clear Lake & then headed back the same way we came to return to the same Clear Lake Aid Station we had just left. As I hiked up out of Clear Lake 1 Aid station, I was hopeful that the views of Clear Lake wouldn’t disappoint. I was starting to struggle keeping decent pace & getting a bit tired. Alisha was hiking & running strong & I she continued to rock these high mountain trails.

We met up again at the turn around (not nearly as climatic a view as I had been hoping for…) and we headed back to the Clear Lake Aid Station. It was starting to get dark & Alisha ran ahead. She was so strong! I, on the other hand, was starting to be a putzy pony. And I realized my Garmin watch was acting weird. On the way back to Clear Lake 2, I realized it was pausing itself & acting like it needed to download an update. I’m not sure what happened, but from this point on, my watch was useless for anything but for the time of day. I could only estimate my pace & had no idea how far I had gone. This was super annoying.

The sun set completely & I had to stop to pull out my waist light. I still had a baseball cap on, so I knew my headlamp would be shadowy with the brim of my hat, so I figured I’d wait until the aid station for my headlamp & just use my waist light. This was probably not my smartest move.

The 2.1 miles back to Clear Lake aid station were taking FOREVER! It was dark & I was being cautious on the downhills since my fall earlier in the day. And just as I was getting comfortable in the dark, my feet went out from under me again! This time I twisted as to not hit my butt again & scraped my left arm down the rocks. A rather significantly loud F-Bomb was said out loud as I hit the ground a second time that day. I knew there were scrapes on my arm, but without a headlamp I couldn’t tell how bad they were. A racer came up from behind & helped me to my feet & asked if I was ok. I was fine, it was just some road rash, but my ego was hurt. More deep breaths.

I finally arrived at the aid station. Alisha was there, but was very close to being ready to move on. I told her that I fell, but was fine & she needed to go on ahead. There was no way I would be ready to go in a matter of minutes & no way at this point that I could keep up with her. She headed off into the night.

I stayed at the aid station for a bit. A volunteer cleaned my arm while I refueled & got ready for the long night ahead.

There has only been one other race where I have not had a pacer for the overnight section, so I usually have a friend with me during night. I wasn’t worried about the night, and heck, it was “only” 64 miles, not 100, and mostly “downhill.” How bad could it be?

Ha! Kate, you should know better! Respect the distance, respect the environment, respect the fact that you’d put in 44+ miles in at 9,000 + feet! Remember how I wanted to write a “new story” for this race? There’s always something to learn & something to cut you down to your core in an ultramarathon.

I left the Clear Lake Aid station by myself & into the night I went. I wasn’t scared, but I was on high alert. Where are the trail markings? How far to the next aid station? And remember my watch was only telling me time of day, and nothing else. I knew that I tend to run slower than I think I am in the dark, so I tried to keep pushing forward. It was 6.2 miles to the next aid station.

I was starting to get very tired. My pace slowed. What was a strong hike, turned into a slow walk. I really wanted to sit down. I was having trouble getting in calories. I’d occasionally sit down on a fallen tree to eat a bite or two from my pack. Eventually I made it to the aid station. I checked my drop bag, and found a few snacks to put into my pack. None of it sounded good. I also grabbed some hand warmers since the temps were finally starting to drop. I left the aid station but I wasn’t feeling great. It was another 5.9 miles to the final aid station. I was moving, but it was slow. I was so tired. Caffeine tabs weren’t helping. I wanted to lay down & nap. I continued to stop at fallen trees to sit down. I was a little cold, so I couldn’t stop for long or I’d get chilled. It took me 2 hours & 18 min from Clear Lake to the Canadian Aid station at mile 49.8 & 2 hours & 31 minutes to go the 5.9 miles from the Canadian Aid Station to the Bockman Aid Station. I was moving at a snail’s pace! Partway between Canadian & Bockman Aid Stations another runner started to pass me. He wasn’t moving much faster than I was & we struck up a conversation. Thank you to fellow runner, Oscar, for allowing me to follow you through the next few miles. This was exactly what I needed to start to get out of my slump.

Eventually the final aid station, Bockman, was within striking distance. I had contemplated quitting here. But I was starting to get my energy back. I’m not sure how many miles I “zombie walked, “ but I was starting to feel better. I could press on to the finish.

It was 2:30am when I left the aid station with 8 miles to go & 3 hours to do it in. I was rallying & finding my confidence again. The aid station volunteer mentioned that there was 1300’ of climbing in this next section. I thought he was joking, until I looked at him & realized he was totally serious. In my head, it was all downhill to the finish. This idea of 1300’ of climbing came as surprise. I put it out of my mind when I left the aid station & headed toward the finish line 8 miles away with a new fire in my stride. I didn’t have the energy to run, but I had my power hike back. I was clicking off the miles (or so I thought… again, my watch only showed time of day & nothing more…) the trail was more like a two track gravel road & I was excited to wrap this up… and then we turned off the road & onto a trail. A trail that started climbing. Another runner passed me at this point & I could see his light up the trail. UP. And UP. And UP we went. This climb was soul crushing. I had to stop looking at where the headlamp of the runner ahead of me was because it was so discouraging.

Even though this last climb was defeating, I knew I’d make it before the cutoff as long as I kept moving forward. Eventually the climb ended & we crossed the main highway that marked 2 miles to the finish.

2 hours & 41 minutes after I left the last aid station, I finally made it to the finish & was greeted by my friends & race volunteers. It was 5:07am. 23 hours & 36 minutes after I’d started. The light was beginning to break behind the mountains in the distance. What a day it had been. Sweet redemption! A couple of runners from Minnesota proved themselves against the elevation and Colorado mountains.

Finally made it to the finish!!! Thanks Jen, for the photo!!!

We didn’t linger long at the finish. It was a new day & we had flights to catch back in Denver! We headed back to Walden, napped for about an hour before packing up & making the 3 hour drive back to the airport. What an adventure it had been!

I absolutely love moving through the mountains and challenging myself in ways that keep me humble. This race was exactly what I was looking for. Hard, beautiful & humbling.

Thanks for all of your support & I can’t wait to support you on your future adventures!