2004 HF100
by Jeff Garstecki

At 6:00am on September 11th I was at the starting line with over 100 other competitors that were eagerly waiting to start running through the Haliburton Forest in Northern Ontario.  There were actually 3 races being run, a 50km, a 50mile, and a 100mile.  I was one of 24 runners that signed up for the full 100 mile run which also doubled as the Canadian National 100 Mile Championship race.  The 100 mile course was double out-and-back on a combination of single track trails and dirt forest roads.   It was revised from previous years to add more hills and single track.

Being my first attempt at this distance, I was nervous and excited but had confidence in the training I did over the last few months (the 24 hour walks and 32 mile runs from Duncannon to my house in Boiling Springs along the AT).  My main goal for the day was to just finish but I had a secondary goal of breaking 24 hours, which is a common goal of many ultrarunners but maybe aggressive for a first-timer.

Bagpipes played, the race prayer was read, and then we were off into the darkness of the forest.  It was difficult to hold back during the first miles, especially running with the 50km and 50 mile runners, but I was very disciplined and stayed with my plan.  After all the preparation and planning (drop bags, nutrition, and training) I wasn't going to deviate from the plan now and this ended up paying off in the end.  I reached the first turn around point (25miles) in 4 hours 38 minutes.  This was well ahead of my goal pace but I felt good and was running comfortable.  This meant that I had almost 1.5 hours "in the bank" towards my 24 hour pace. At the first aid-station after the turn around, Teri told me that I was in 5th place over-all, but I tried to put that out of my mind and keep with the plan (remember: just to finish and possibly under 24 hours).  This was even more important now, since the temperature was rising.  The temperature got into the mid to upper 70's during mid-day and felt warm even in the shaded woods.  I was drinking lots of water, popping salt tablets like pez, eating Power-Gels and (don't laugh) Chips-Ahoy cookies.  The cookies really gave me energy and were sooo good and satisfying.

After the turn-around, I retraced my steps back to the starting line (and halfway point) in a time of 9 hours and 46 minutes.  During this time, I happened to pass two other 100 mile runners and now was in 3rd place overall.  The leader was Jeff Simkins who appeared to be the pre-race favorite.  The second place runner was Monica Scholz.  Monica is an ultrarunning legend in the fact that she holds the record for the most 100 milers in a single year with 23, and the Canadian 24 hour distance record. Twenty three 100's in a single year!!  That's almost one every other weekend!  When Simkins passed me heading back out on the second loop he looked rough and told me he was suffering from the heat and probably started too fast.  When Monica passed me, she still looked good, so I thought that she would catch Simkins.  How was I doing?  I wished I felt better but all things considered I was feeling ok.  I had 2 hours and 15 minutes "in the bank" towards the 24 hour pace.  But more importantly, I knew I could walk (at a brisk pace) the remaining 50 miles and still beat the race cut-off time of 30 hours.  I WAS going to finish!

After mile 62, I was feeling very bad, but I knew from past experiences that I would recover and feel better if I ate, drank, and just walked for awhile.  So I walked the next 3.1 miles to the next aid-station.  At the aid-station, Teri had told me that Simkins had dropped out and now I was the first male and second overall!  It was amazing how much energy that news gave me!  But I had to stick with the plan, I didn't want to race, if my time allowed me to be the first male finisher that would be great but I didn't want to risk not finishing.  My energy boost was drained slightly only a minute later as another runner, Luke ran into the aid-station.  He was moving good and I later I was told he was a sub 20 hour 100 miler.  I left the aid-station with my new found energy slightly ahead of Luke, but he quickly caught me.  I didn't try to stay with him (you know, the plan).

But about 30 minutes later, I found Luke on the side of the trail "tossing his cookies".  I waited around to see if he was ok, but he just encouraged me to move forward.  I think he wanted to be alone in his misery.  Luke ended up dropping out at the next aid station.  Darkness fell and I kept moving forward.

I reached the final turn-around (75 miles) still in 2nd place and my time was 15 hours and 55 minutes which was about 1 hour behind Monica.  I didn't feel too bad (all things considered) but I was now reduced to power hiking (at 3.5 to 4 mph pace) as my quads had taken a beating.  On my way back, I could see how far the other runners were behind me.  It only took 15 minutes before Roy, a guy I met earlier from Virginia, passed by (still going to the turn-around).  With only a 30 minute lead over Roy, I knew that I would have to keep a good pace if I didn't want to be caught.  Plan, what plan?  I was going for the 1st place male finisher (I knew it wasn't realistic to catch Monica).  It was time to throw out the plan.  After another short time of feeling really bad, I stepped up the pace, determined not to get caught from behind.  At night it's easy to keep motivated.  I would hear things moving behind me.  What is it? A bear?  A moose?  A wolf?  Or worse, another runner?  I started to run again.  At each aid-station I would see Teri and what a sight for sore eyes!  It was so great to have her there for me.  It gave me such a boost each time I saw her.  She had put in a full day, since she helped out at the aid-stations while waiting for me.  I owe her a lot!!!  She IS the world's most wonderful wife.

I finally made it to the last aid-station and what a feeling!  I got cheers from Teri and the aid-station workers.  I was 2nd overall and the first male with only 1.2 miles to the finish!  About 12 minutes later, I crossed the finish line in 22 hours and 31 minutes!!!  I felt so good emotionally but yet so bad physically (exhausted with sore legs-no acute pain).  I had the experience of a lifetime.  There is just so much to find out about yourself when you push past your comfort zone and I had learned some new things.  I must mention (and Teri said the same thing to me) that the runners and aid-station workers were the most friendly of any race that we've ever done.  This really added to the experience and I give many thanks to all of them.

In the final results, Monica Scholz finished first overall, first female, and crowned Canadian Female 100 Mile National Champion, with a time around 21:28.  In my first 100, I was second overall, first male, and had I been a Canadian Citizen I would have been the Canadian Male 100Mile National Champion with a time of 22 hours 31 minutes and 14 seconds.  Roy from Virginia finished 3rd overall with a time of 22 hours 59 minutes.  Out of the 24 starters, only 10 finished within the 30-hour cut-off.   It should be noted that out of the 10 finishers, 4 of them were first-timers like myself.  I rambled above about my competitiveness, but I want to make the point that I really had a fun and memorable experience and it was so great just to run through the woods being alive!