My Magical Life

Back on September 6th my husband and I drove to Wellsboro PA for an adventure with our son Berry. It was not a sightseeing tour like you would think but it was in fact my husband doing an amazing feat! He ran 100 miles in 27 hours and 29 minutes!

Night Before:

The night before we had a plan! We got all of our clothing together. He was wearing his running gear, his toe socks, and his Asics and Saucony sneaker. The plan was to trade off as we went. Once that was set up we went to dinner and packet pick up. The pick up was lovely, they merch bag had everything from a nice water bottle (hello bike trip!) to a nice t-shirt.

Turns out there are a ton of food options! We tried to hit up a diner but they were closed, which feels un-diner like if I am being honest. But we went to a lovely Italian joint where I got a burger and my hubby and son got pasta with sauce. Pre- race carbo load completed. We got off to bed (with a little help from melatonin)!

The Race!

That morning we got up at 4:30 packed the flying carpet and drove off to the starting line! It was still dark when we drove in which gave a certain spooky atmosphere especially because the weather was not ideal. It was raining but not as hard as it could more of a misty sprinkle the kind that really soaks the ground. We grabbed our Bib and got ourselves put together for the first part of the race. We have 30 hours to finish 100 miles and the race was a out and back twice. Horatio took the time to create a plan that he followed pretty much to the end before he got start!

At 6:00 a.m. they started the first part of the race! Horatio started by going out left at the start line which takes the Runner about 7 miles to the first aid station. Of course Barry and I were waiting for him there to help him restock and get back on the road for the seven miles back to the start line. From there he had a 17 Mile out and back coming up. This part was rather tricky because the road there had no cell service so we couldn’t really track where he was and there was no place for a car to meet up except the 17 Mile mark. There wasn’t a station in between but us Aid folk couldn’t get to it. 

This is where we had help from the family! My ex sister-in-law Autumn decided that she could fly alongside of him for parts of the race and she went with him for the 17-Mile chunk and the 17 Mile back. That way he had somebody to keep him company and somebody to help if they became issues. Once he got back to the start he switched his shoes and socks out and started the whole process over again. By that point it was close to 4:30 – 5:00 p.m. so we had to start using headlamps as it got darker! Of course my beloved Horatio forgot to grab his so he had to bunk up with a newly made running friend to get to the space where we were waiting for him. From there it was overnight with the headlamps and the Buddies. And of course the entire time he was eating around 150 to 200 calories per hour through aide Station food like pizza and quesadillas and chips. He also had his salt tabs on him, his granola bars, and his scratch gummies. 

The last 9 miles were absolutely horrible according to Horatio! With the constant need to use the bathroom due to excellent hydration and blisters all over his poor feet my beloved was taking his time to walk out where he needed to. At 9:30 my delightful man walked up to the finish line and was able to complete the race! We were so proud, we are still pretty proud actually!

Post Race:

Once the race was finished we packed everything back up and went back to the hotel. At this point Horatio was definitely hurting! He had chafing all over his body there was aches and pains throughout his hips and knees and he was just exhausted. The only one who got any sleep that night was Barry so I left him with my brother who would come up that morning to watch him. Horatio Autumn and I went to bed. 

Autumn and I were able to sleep till about 3:00 p.m but Horatio slept for maybe an hour before his aches were just too much. He spent a lot of time trying to find a comfortable position and trying to get some nutrition and to make up for his loss. Around 3:00 p.m. we helped him take a bath (he had taken a quick rinse earlier) and treat some of his chafing and blisters, which even as a potions professional was a difficult challenge! 

That evening we went off to a fantastic restaurant called roosters where we had some delightful Niche Foods. I personally had a chicken street corn flatbread. My poor darling was hobbling so after that we mostly went back to the hotel and went back to sleep. 

It took him about 3 days to get back into a regular sleeping habit and just feel better. He did go back to work the Tuesday after the race (I told him the firm could handle it without him for a week but what do I know!) but I’m happy to say we enforced the do not run rule for two full weeks! He just started running again on September 23rd. 

It was a fantastic experience and I’m so glad I was able to be a part of it! I know it’ll be a while before we do anything like that again so I’m happy to report that there will be more races to come and more adventures but the Hundred Mile races can take a break for a year.

Sincerely,

Mark Oliver Wizard Goldstein