Z o r bl o g: The Why: Tail Chaser Challenge 36 hours

A number of time based virtual challenges popped up in the last year. In April 2020, I completed the Yeti 24 hr Ultra Challenge, where I ran 6x8K, every 4 hours, for 24 hours.

This year, I went for the 36 hour version of the Tail Chaser Challenge, running 13x8K, every 3 hours. I decided on 36 hours, because that is approximately how long I anticipate my fall 100 miler will take and I wanted to see how well I could handle staying awake for that long.

Drawing from some of the lessons learned from the Yeti challenge, I knew that with less time between runs, going home in between was definitely not an option. I did not start at night, because I definitely wanted to run 2 days and 1 night, as opposed to 2 nights and 1 day!

The original plan was to camp at Valens (yes me, the camping hater!) but of course that went out the window as the stay at home order was extended. I decided on Valens for the first day and move to Hilton Falls for the night/2nd day.

Loop 1 6 am Saturday

I kept the first loop local, at Bronte, so I didn't have to get up even earlier to drive.

Loop 2 9 am Saturday

📷 Josh

First run at Valens with Josh. Super windy and cold, although everywhere else besides the parking lot was much less windy and cold.

Loop 3 noon Saturday

My wonderful husband kept me company. I will admit that sometimes I don't enjoy running with him, but I did today. It was fun and relaxed.

He told me that when my parents came over to pick up the kid, they could not understand why I would do such a thing. My whys: Because I CAN. Because I want to challenge myself. Because I feel like I want to do this to train for the 100 miler.

Loop 4 3 pm Saturday

I sat in the car by myself between loops and was really bored, the time in between seemed to move so slowly. I ate, I drank some Coke. My ankle was starting to bother me, and I topped up the ibuprofen.

Loop 5 6 pm Saturday

My lovely friend Audrey (not to be confused with my road bike) came to run with me. There was one trail that I saw on the Valens map that was the only one I hadn't run yet, but we couldn't find it. I went from OK to loopy starving very suddenly, but Audrey had brought me ramen and made me eat it when we got back to the car.

Loop 6 9 pm Saturday

📷 Steve

Venue change to Hilton and Steve as my night pacer. Kept it super simple with a straight out and back and no ish on the runs. Changed into warmer clothes (capris, wool base layer, vest). I cleared out my backseat before the run so I could finish and immediately lie down. Brushed my teeth and it helped in feeling less gross.

Loop 7 midnight Sunday

I stupidly kept the damp vest on while lying down, and didn't zip up the sleeping bag, and I was C-O-L-D, as the temperature was in the single digits. Didn't manage to sleep at all. I wanted to sleep but was also hungry, so I ate bacon in bed at 2:50 am.

Loop 8 3 am Sunday

I was so much warmer in the car without the vest, I finally figured out how to arrange the sleeping bag so that I was actually relatively comfortable and managed to sleep a bit. I really wanted hot soup at the end of this run, but that would take up precious sleep time, so I settled for eating a handful of chips instead. The worst thought I had before falling asleep was, "I've run 64K and still have 40 to go."

Loop 9 6 am Sunday

Slept again, with the sleeping bag completely covering my head, so I was startled when my alarm went off to see a bright light in the sky, "WTF is that? oh, the sun is up already." Josh rolled up at 5:45 and brought my tired ass a coffee. Finally made my ramen but neglected to bring utensils so I used some coffee stirrers as chopsticks. Innovation!

Coffee delivery 📷 Josh

I didn't really feel like running, so Josh and I hiked and enjoyed the beautiful, clear morning.

Loop 10 9 am Sunday

My lovely badass women crew of Lori, Agnes, and Wendi came for the next loop. Enjoyed Wendi's dirty coffee afterwards, and invented a new delicacy: bacon wrapped Timbits.

Loop 11 noon Sunday

📷 Agnes

Without going into TMI detail, let's just say I had some bathroom issues that kept me from running much this loop. Ate more ramen, more bacon wrapped Timbits, some pickles, massaged my feet and calves, got some weird looks.

Loop 12 3 pm Sunday

Another loop with Agnes. Crunched some numbers to make sure I'd get my distance PB.

Loop 13 6 pm Sunday