I still think about Western States 100 a lot. I would rather not become that old, grumpy dude, who keeps annoying his fellow runners with this one heroic deed of his past. But even close to a year after that special day (and night) in the Sierra Nevada mountains, my thoughts turn to this race almost every day.
For many reasons, the Western States Endurance Run is a race like no other in the world. I depict some of these reasons in great detail in my upcoming book “Runhundred”.
In addition to being an exceptionally unique event, Western States, to me, also was a first-timer. Not only my first 100-mile race, but also a “first time” on so many other levels, that I don’t even know where to start.
Fittingly, my friend Emi asked me about a Top 10 list of things that I was expecting about Western States before Western States. She wanted me to then compare the list with the actual outcome and see if there’s any revealing surprises. Well, this is what happened:
Expectations (before)
The heat will kill me. Torturous and merciless.
I doubt that I am physically and mentally capable of running 100 miles.
Without my crew, I’m fucked.
I am 100% convinced that I will twist my ankle.
I will be in great pain for a good part of the race.
I will eat like a horse during the race.
Wearing black will not make much of a difference regarding the heat.
I will carry out this race as planned, and cluelessly guess that I finish in about 27 hours.
I won’t need to worry about the cut-off time.
Western States is a very runnable course.
I secretly envision myself running through the canyons all by myself with nothing but a hand bottle. In the heat of the day.
Running Western States will make me a different runner.
Outcome (afterward)
The heat killed me. Torturous and merciless.
My first 100 Miler was very much like training on the job. I did not and could not have fully prepared myself for most of the physical and mental challenges I faced during the race.
Carrying my crew in my heart was much more important for the outcome of the race, then their actual physical presence. Which was very limited.
For 100 miles I neither tripped nor stumbled. Not one single time.
Actual physical pain was not much of an issue during the race.
I ate up exactly one sandwich and the top slice of another one.
Wearing black almost killed me instantly, as soon as the sun came up.
The race was a complete rollercoaster, nothing went according to plan and I finished in 28 hours.
I fell behind the cut-off time, as soon as I started discussing with my crew, that I had fallen behind the cut-off time.
Western States was a very runnable course.
I ended up running through the canyons all by myself with nothing but a hand bottle. At night.
Running Western States made me a different person.
I believe that not knowing what to expect is what makes ultrarunning so appealing. At least to me. This uncertainty speaks to a part of my personality, which loves entering the void, the overwhelming, a place where I am not the one in control. Western States delivered much more of this than I wished for. Despite the enormous struggles I went through, I am forever thankful for this life-changing experience.
Everything not running
I’m still very much in love with this. I mean this platform here, Substack. As you hear from the news every day, AI is changing dramatically how we produce and publish content. So far, Substack remains a haven of quality writing, good communication style and interested/ing people.
Therefore, Das Z Letter is going to stay here until further notice. To make sure you stay here, too, here’s a micro-poll (takes 2 minutes max) to find out, what you like and what not so much.
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