South Dakota: Lean Horse

 My friend Joyce has been training really hard for her first 100 miler. Steph, Jen, and I had the privilege of going to South Dakota to pace and crew for her during the race. It was such an awesome experience to see a 100 miler play out from start to finish. I'm amazed by the human body, and amazed by the will power and determination people have; it's a remarkable thing. I saw people push past some impossible odds to get to the finish line.

We left Idaho Falls early on a Friday morning to make the drive to Custer, South Dakota. Most of it is a beautiful drive. We had an amazing sunrise as we passed the Tetons, and a great rainbow as well. This was our sign that the weekend was going to be great!

A rainbow in front of the Tetons on one side of the road.

A beautiful sunrise on the other side of the road.

9.5 hours later, we made it to Custer!

Custer is the cutest town! When we got there, we went straight to the YMCA building to get Joyce all checked in for the race, and pick up her packet. Then, we checked into the hotel, got some dinner, and walked around town a little bit.

We made it!

Joyce is the sweetest! She gave the three of us new running outfits to thank us for crewing and pacing her.

Things in Custer got off to a rough start. Joyce got a migraine, that turned into a lot more. The night before the race, she wasn't doing good at all. She was dealing with a migraine, nausea, kidney problems, dizziness, and more. We were really stressed out, and not even sure she was going to make it to the starting line. The race started at noon the next day. We originally thought that it was stupid to start in the middle of the day, but it ended up being a HUGE blessing. Joyce went to bed early, and woke up feeling slightly better. She forced down some toast for breakfast, and I swear she actually willed herself to feel better. She made it to the starting line feeling so much better; she still wasn't 100%, but things were starting to look up.

Looking fantastic for the start of her 100 mile race!

Let's do this!

She's off! It was so exciting!

The whole race was run on the George S Mickleson trail, which was beautiful. We were able to see her and crew at so many places. I think all the aid stations were between 5-8 miles apart. So awesome! She was cruising along, and stayed well ahead of goal pace for the first 50 miles of the race.

Cruising into an aid station feeling great!

She got to run right by Crazy Horse!

We had a great crewing system down. There was plenty of cheering, but also a lot of work to make sure she kept up on her fluids, and nutrition. We had to keep her cool enough in the day light hours, and warm enough during the night.

We do pretty good on no sleep!

The Mystic section of the race was so pretty. She got to go through so many amazing tunnels and over some great bridges.

Getting her in and out of an aid station!

The trail was beautiful!

Joyce was allowed to have a pacer with her starting from mile 50. I was her first pacer and was going 20 miles (50-70) through the night hours with her. I started with her at 1:45 in the morning, and it was bitter cold! At that point she was running for a little ways, then walking for a ways. It wasn't long until she started having some trouble. She was getting some good sized blisters, and she started having some severe knee pain. I wasn't with her for very long, before her ankle started giving her so much grief that she could hardly walk. She was slowing down significantly, and losing the time buffer that she had spent the first 50 miles building up. Everyone has low points during a 100 mile race, and she had definitely hit hers. I knew that if we could just walk at a good clip, she would still be able to stay under the off times. But, even that was getting harder and harder. She got to a point where she was having to drag her foot along the ground because she couldn't bend it at all. We knew we had to get that problem fixed in order for her to finish the race. Miles 50-70 were her toughest ones. I just kept telling her to wait for the sun to rise, and things would get better. When we were about a quarter mile from the 70 mile mark, I ran off ahead to tell the crew what was happening, and to come up with a plan. There was a lady next to us who was crewing for a guy, and she was listening to everything I was telling Jen and Steph. She said she was a massage therapist, and she was pretty sure she could help. Talk about being in the right place at the right time! The three of us went to work getting Steph ready to start pacing Joyce, and getting Joyce's stuff all situated, while this great lady worked on Joyce. She knew EXACTLY what the problem was, how to tape things, and how to get Joyce to be able to keep going. It was AMAZING! 

While we were waiting at one of the aid stations during the night, we saw the Elon Musk satellite. So cool!  

Here we go in the freezing cold!

I missed seeing a lot of the trail, because it was dark when I was running, but when the sun finally came up, I could see how pretty it was.

So many cool tunnels! Steph paced her through the good tunnel part, but there were a few in the section I did.

Crossing a bridge around mile 60. She is smiling, but she was in a lot of pain, and at a low point right here.

We knew that the next leg of the race was going to be crucial. Steph had to try to keep Joyce moving at a good enough pace to keep her under the cut offs. Jen and I drove to the next aid station, and anxiously waited for them to get there. I was so stressed! They showed up well before they needed too, and Joyce's spirits were so much better! I was beyond excited! She was back in the game now that her ankle was more manageable, and her determination was back! Whahoooo!

When she changed into her finish line outfit, I knew she was going to finish the race!

There she goes on the last stretch that Steph would be with her. I was just praying that her refound momentum would hold out.

While we waited for them to come into the next aid station, we found this huge, carved Smokey the Bear.

When Steph was done pacing her, she had 15 miles left to get to the finish line! Jen was up next to take a turn on the trail with her. This last 15 miles were stressful for Steph and I, because Jen didn't have a watch. We had no idea where they were on the trail, and if they were keeping the pace they needed. All we could do was hope they made it into each aid station in time.

This was the final aid station, and 4 miles from the finish line. She had plenty of time to make it to the finish. It was so hot, but she knew this was the final stretch, and she totally rallied! It was so exciting!

Steph and I needed to keep busy, so we drove to the finish line, cleaned out and reorganized the truck, and cheered for the other runners. 

So much fun cheering for all these awesome people!

To finish the race, Joyce had to do a lap around a track. When she entered the track, she somehow found some run left in her, and she ran her final lap to the finish line! It was so exciting! Talk about inspiring! If you have never watched the end of a 100 mile race, you need to. The whole process is one of the coolest things I've ever witnessed!

Crossing the finish line for her sweet victory!

Such a great moment!

I may have gotten a little bit teary eyed when they presented Joyce with her 100 mile finisher buckle!

Such an inspiration!

She said her goal was to start the race smiling, and to end the race smiling. She did it!

So so so very proud of her!

After the race, we stopped at the cutest place for dinner. We took our food back to the hotel room, so Joyce could soak her aching body in an Epsom Salt bath. She was greeted with a giant, beautiful bouquet of flowers from Phil. So fun! Then it was off to bed, because we had been up for a loooonnng time!

Jen-Joyce-Tricia-Steph

Congratulations Joyce! You inspire and amaze me! Thank you rainbow! Our time in Custer was perfect!