Never die in the chair.

That was one of the quotes I had taped to my plastic tote of gear that I was going to need for the Elm Creek Backyard Ultra, a Last Runner Standing type of event.

A backyard ultra or Last Runner Standing event is quite simple. Run a 4.1 mile loop in an hour or less. Start the next loop at the top of the next hour. The race has no finish line. The end is when everyone else has tapped out and there is 1 runner remaining. That runner will then run 1 more loop in under an hour. If that runner does not complete the loop in under an hour then there are no finishers. Everyone runs the same loop and has the same hour to do all the things.

Need to change shoes, eat or use the bathroom? All of that has to be done in whatever time you have left between the time you finished your 4.1 miles & the top of that next hour. Does it make sense to run faster & have more time to rest or run slower & keep the body in motion? Every runner has to make that decision for themselves.

This is the third year of the Elm Creek Backyard Ultra, held at Elm Creek Park in Maple Grove, MN. I have volunteered in a variety of ways at the 2 years prior & this year I decided it was my turn to line up & see how many loops I could complete.

I had big goals. I believe that by setting big goals, even if we don’t make them, we still end up landing further ahead than if we played it safe. My first goal for this event was to break the standing women’s course record of 61 miles. From there I wanted to run 100 miles (24 loops.) I had no idea if 100 miles was in the cards, but I trained like it was.

I don’t think I have ever been this fit in April before. The mild winter allowed for lots of quality running & my consistency in the gym strength training has been better than ever. I knew if anything was going to hold me back, it was going to be mental. Our minds give up way before our bodies do.

The race started at noon on Friday. I worked a couple of hours and then Matt & I headed up to the park to set up our tent. It was cloudy, 50* and threatening rain.

We got the tent set up - I would barely spend any time here, but my crew could use it to nap/relax & stay warm while I was out on my loop.

The Taj Mahal as one of my crew members called it. There were about 100 other tents set up around us.

At 12 pm 180 runners took off from the start/finish chute on the first of many loops. The first 6 hours we ran the loop counter clockwise. Every 6 hours we would change direction. I still haven’t decided which way I like better, but it was certainly a topic of conversation among the athletes out on the course.

My plan was to keep the pace easy - I didn’t want more than 10 minutes between loops. Too much time would allow me to get chilled & would result in running too hard too early. After a loop or two I got very comfortable running an average 12 min/mile pace. I had a couple of friends on the course, but at first our paces weren’t aligning, so I ran the first 3-4 loops solo. Eventually I caught up to Erika & Jodee & we would run the bulk of the event from there on out together

I used to run with Erika & Jodee ,but it had been a few years since we’d spent any time together on the trails. It was so fun to reconnect.

The loops clicked off. Night fell & the number of runners lining up for each loop was starting to get smaller. At midnight we hit 50 miles. 12 loops done. At 2am it started to rain.

Not just the misty, drips we’d had. Really rain. The 3 of us laughed at the rain as we started loop 15. Things were going to get real now.

It didn’t take but a few minutes for the rain to soak my windshell and long sleeve shirt. My gloves were soaked & I knew this would cause my hands to go into full on raynauds if I didn’t get dry.

The rain slowed us down some & I finished this loop with just about 7 and a half minutes to spare. I raced back to the tent to get dry layers on. As quickly as I could, I changed my bra, t-shirt, long sleeve & grabbed my rain shell instead of the wind jacket I had been wearing. I dug out dry gloves, buff & hat. This didn’t leave me anytime to eat real food.

Between loops I had been trying to get in more real/solid food. Sometimes running an ultra is like an eating competition. You HAVE to consume calories or you literally run out of energy. But frequently eating doesn’t sound like fun. I have found mashed potatoes to be a good source of energy, especially with slice or two of bacon. But because of my clothing change, getting food wasn’t an option.

Martji, my crew at the time, handed me an uncrustable pb&j sandwich as I lined up to start the next loop.

I was at the back of the group & my friends, Jodee & Erika, were a bit ahead of me. We took off at the ring of the cowbell. The rain had subsided, but the course was getting slick from the rain & foot traffic. I was struggling to catch back up to my friends, eat my pb&j & stay upright in the mud. I found myself walking & eating, knowing that if I didn’t eat, I didn’t have a prayer for continuing.

I never did catch up to my friends & only had 3 min to spare at the end of the loop. My crew, now with Alli & Martji were ready for me when I came in with a variety of foil wrapped items & a handheld of water. My pack was empty, so we traded. I had Alli tuck the foil wrapped items in my back pocket (she told me what they were, but I couldn’t remember.) I lined up again, this time on the heels of Erika & Jodee so I could fuel off their collective energy. The cowbell rang & off we went. I wasn’t but a few strides out when someone behind me yelled, “you dropped your food!” Sure enough the foil packets were on the ground. I had to turn around & pick them up. And in that moment, my friends were just far enough ahead & moving well enough, I couldn’t catch them.

I spent this loop again, trying to eat, move well & stay upright. It wasn’t going as well as I had hoped.

My mind started to wander. “You could just call it.” “You’re going to be close on time.” “You’ve been out here a long time.” “You can’t reach your goal of 100 miles. What a dumb idea.”

And then I would catch those thoughts. “Girl, you gotta move with purpose,” I’d tell myself. “You know there’s magic when the sun comes up.” “Just get to sunrise.” “Run like you have a horse in this race.”

The mental gymnastics. This is what I signed up for. The struggle. The doubt. The hard. I get to do this.

The clock was ticking & as I hiked up the last hill, I KNEW it was going to be close & there was 1 other woman not far behind me & she starts sprinting it in. And right then I knew, I couldn’t quit without a fight. We ran like our butts were on fire to get in on time.

37 seconds to spare. My crew handed me my pack & I handed them my empty handheld & rain jacket. I was getting too hot with it on & it wasn’t really raining anyway. The bell rang & off we went.

I couldn’t hang with Jodee & Erika as they were moving so well. I was struggling to stay upright in the mud. The first mile fueled by adrenaline went by well, but then it wasn’t sustainable. I slowed to a walk. Those thoughts came back. The doubt of whether or not I would make it.

The mind game is real. The need to fuel and get really comfortable being uncomfortable is real. I didn’t have 100 miles in this format in me this time around.

I, along with 4 other women, broke the women’s course record. I officially completed 17 loops and 70+ miles for a top 20 overall finish. Loop 18 I finished in just over an hour for 75 miles (but because it was over an hour, it’s not official.) Jodee went on to complete 100 miles & Erika set a new women’s course record at 108 miles! I’m so proud of these women & what they accomplished.

Two thumbs up, even when you don’t quite reach all your goals.

I said this before & I will say it again - the tide lifts all ships. Together we push each other to strive to be better humans & athletes & none of these efforts happen alone.

This was such an uplifting & cool event. It’s too soon to say if I will sign up for next year, but you can be certain that even if I don’t toe the line, I will be there to support this event & the goodness it brings out in everyone who participates.

Thank you to my crew, Matt, Alisha, Kelly, Martji & Alli. This was a group effort & I am so grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you to Nick, and the other race directors. What a great way to build community and empower people to find their limits. I look forward to supporting this event in years to come.