The Potawatomi Trail Run, April 5-8, John T. McNaughton Park in Pekin.
Distances: 200 miles, 150 miles, 100 miles, 50 miles, 30 miles, 10-mile night run. Course: 10-mile loop consisting mostly of single-track dirt, some prairies, several creek crossings and endless rolling hills. Elevation gain: 1,600-feet per 10-mile loop. Headlamp required for all races.
“It was a cool 17 degrees when the race started in the dark at 6 a.m. The ground was frozen, which made the course feel faster. My initial plan to keep it conservative sort of went out the window when the race started, and I finished the first three 10-mile loops much faster than I thought I would. At the time I felt fine, or at least I was telling myself that.
“Once the sun came out around 9 a.m., the course started to become pretty muddy, which made the whole thing a little more interesting. I think I changed my socks twice in the first four laps. I would get my feet completely submerged at the first creek crossing on every loop, which led to problems later on. My fiancée, Valerie, was on top of the aid station detail. My Mom, a couple of my aunts and my best friend, Ben Lazare, and his family also showed up at mile 50. It was great seeing everyone, and I really appreciated them coming to cheer me on.
“I think I came through 50 miles in around nine hours and still felt great. I started to have some stomach problems around mile 65 but it wasn’t too bad. Ben was there to pace me at mile 70, and he joined me for what would turn out to be quite the experience. Around mile 75, the race turned into a run/hike/walk. Since I hadn’t changed my socks for a couple of laps, blisters had developed on my toes and the bottoms of my feet. This made going downhill somewhat uncomfortable.
“We started loop nine around 11 p.m. or midnight and the temperature had dropped to 21. The last two loops or 20 miles took me about six hours to hike with snippets of running dispersed infrequently. Valerie and my Aunt Patty were there the entire time. Loop 10 was the most difficult thing I have done. It was mentally difficult but also at that point my feet were swollen and didn’t really want to move any more but somehow I just kept moving. Those last 10 miles felt like an eternity. I was so grateful to be done, and it was sort of nice to end as the sun came up.
“I achieved my goal of finishing. I am happy with my effort and even though I went out faster than I perhaps should have, I still finished. The last 25 miles were the hardest 25 miles I have ever done. I have learned so much from this race. I’ve read countless articles and seen so many films about 100s and thought I knew what it was going to be like, but you just can’t understand it until you do it.”
Seventeen people completed the 100-miler. Five who were registered for the race did not start, and 30 who started did not finish 100 miles. Miller finished third with a time of 24 hours, 18 minutes and 21 seconds. Times for the finishers ranged from 19:49:05 to 57:30.