Twisted Branch 100k Recap.
(Foolishly Ran & Recounted by Michelle Pelszynski, Bib No. 253)
It’s a week post-race. I’m sitting on the couch at home while my daughter is having a Taylor Swift dance party in her room with a friend. It’s the last weekend of summer. That makes me sad. What also makes me sad is that this time last week I was trying to fall asleep on the top of a mountain at Ontario County Park. I had absolutely no freakin’ clue what I was in for and was so PSYCHED at the same time!!
Now I’m putting the finishing touches on the recap that I’ve been milling around all week as I mope in post-ultra blues (aka PUB). Let’s relive it together.
If you ever doubt humanity, go experience an ultramarathon.
Another dimension opened up the second I looked over and saw another runner taking a photo of Lake Keuka. She said, “great idea!”
Selfie, Keuka Lake.
I said, “it’s beautiful! I’m soaking it all in!”
She said, “you must be a runner. I’m Keri.”
Another runner came over. She said, “are you two runners?”
We said, “yes.”
“I’m Kara.”
Left to right: Keri, myself and Kara at Keuka Lake.
We are runners. This is a community of runners. From that moment on, my mind was at ease. Well, until mile 50. Then, my doubts kicked in. More on that later.
On Saturday, August 19, 2023 after 8 months of solid training and building up to this distance for over a decade, I completed the Twisted Branch 100k in the Finger Lakes.
Course Distance: 64.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 10,589 ft
Elevation Descent: 11,987 ft
Cutoff: 20 hours (4am to Midnight)
Total Number of Runners: 235
Total Number of Finishers: 158
My Time: 19:36:29 (same as Keri’s)
My Total Distance: 65.89 miles
My Place: 149th (tied with Keri)
Most ultra runners had a crew (ultra friends and/or family to meet you at aide stations to cheer you on) and pacers (who run miles with you to keep you on track or on “pace”) but nobody can give you anything (food, fuel, water, or even a hand if you fall). This is a Western States qualifier. This discouraged a lot of runners to have either. I found most runners didn’t have a crew besides family and didn’t see a single pacer. I prepared to run this without either. I also didn’t know any runners until about 5 minutes after I parked my car at the finish line Friday night in Hammondsport and took this picture.
Keuka Lake.
Almost immediately, I met 2 other female runners. Keri and Kara traveled alone to race this for the first time. They have countless ultras under their belt and are such badasses! We hopped on the shuttle bus with all of our gear for camping and running. It was a lot of shit. A lot.
Me and my shit on the bus.
On the bus, we talked. After hearing their credentials, I considered myself an ultra beginner. It was nice that we met and we would hang throughout the evening but there was absolutely no freakin’ way I was going to be able to keep up with these multi-hundred-milers, Iron Man triathletes, Badwater crew members, and just all around incredibly strong, experienced ultra trail runners. One of the race volunteers sat with us and shared some tips he learned from the 4x he had completed this race. He told us about the last stretch of climbing before the finish line.
“Save some energy for the last 5-6 miles, you’ll need it,” he said.
Course Note: This “100k” is actually 64.5 miles. Trail ultras are almost always over the advertised distance.
This particular course covers 54 miles of the Bristol Hills Trail branch (orange
blazes) of the 570-mile Finger Lakes Trail (FLT). The last 10ish miles are the official FLT (white blazes).
The rain picked up on the way up the mountain to Ontario County Park campground. It was cooler too, at about 50° with a steady northern wind that made it feel cooler.
Everyone got off the bus and rushed to the pavilion with their bags. There was a single tent setup on the top of a hill. With the wind, gloomy skies, sideways rain, it looked like a lone soldier out for battle. I don’t know how it didn’t just blow away.
Tent village.
After check in, we got our photos taken for identification purposes.
We decided we should set up our tent. It was easier said than done with the wind. Everyone’s tarps, tents, and lightweight gear were flying all over the place. I couldn’t help but think, what the hell am I doing here?
After a while, I managed to get my tent staked to the ground.
My tent.
Time to eat my last meal - a greasy sub from Wise Guys Deli. Not great but it was something. I carried my sandwich and a gallon of water to the pavilion. Keri and I sat inside to stay warm while waiting for the race talk at 7:45pm.
Race Director Scott Magee shared the schedule for the morning, how important it is to check in by 3:50 am (every year a few runners bail the last hour leading up to the race), and how the course is marked. Last year they used 2,700 flags. This year they only used 2,400 flags. Something didn’t feel right about that ?! I FaceTimed the family from the inside of my loud, windy tent at 8:15 pm, and then it was bedtime.
I didn’t sleep much as the wind raged outside and shook my tent all night. At one point, I had to go out and re-stake the fly of my tent down. At about 11:40 pm, it was so windy that the tent caved in on top of me. The poles were pushing down against my head and I thought for sure I was going to be whisked off the mountain.
My alarm went off at 2:50 am just as I fell into a deep sleep. Too bad, it was time to get up, get dressed, pack up my gear, throw it on the truck, check in, eat, and get mentally prepared to start RUNNING at 4 am.
Keri and I are ready to start.
The energy at the start line was unreal. It was dark and chilly at a brisk 52° with northerly winds. The clear sky above was full of stars and a sign that we would be happy with the conditions of the day. Forecast was clear, cool and breezy with a high of 72° - BEAUTIFUL!
3:50 am at the start.
Mile 0
The first 10-11 miles were in the dark as we descended down from camp. I was laser-focused on planting my feet and finding a groove. Keri was with me using poles. I did not even consider them since I had never run with them before. It wasn’t long until I understood how they really could have benefitted my balance and foot-landing on the downhills (or “down mountains”). I tripped at about mile 2 and caught myself but my right hamstring tensed up and was sore for a bit.
I didn’t take any pictures because it was just too dark and couldn’t risk falling. We didn’t talk much as we concentrated, became familiar with the terrain, and woke up.
“Stay internal.” I carried that mantra with me throughout most of the race. I listened to a great Trail Runner Nation podcast and this one spoke to me. I usually seek external forces to carry me through some of my more challenging moments, but for this distance and difficult terrain, I needed to keep checking in with my body constantly.
The coffee was starting to get things moving along in my stomach. I took advantage of the darkness and peed a couple of times as people fell into their pace and the space between us opened up. Soon I’d have to poop and I was hoping there would be a bathroom at the first aide station, and if not, I’d go in the woods while it’s still dark.
There wasn’t a port-a-potty at the first aide station and I lost it. I just kept going and tried not to think about it. My body usually did a good job of shutting down if it was moving at a decent pace. Walking up the steep inclines and declines was confusing my digestive system. Intentionally, I started to chat with Keri to take my mind off of it.
Once the sun started to peek over the mountains, it felt reinvigorating.
Sunrise.
The stretches along roads were always a nice break from mentally having to focus on our footing. Our pace picked up naturally and our minds could wander out, up, and around. Embracing the mindlessness of one foot in front of another, shaking up the pace and muscles.
Mile 13
Naples aide station was at a really nicely groomed park with baseball fields, a disc golf course, and a beautiful patch of wildflowers with a sunflower that stood tall above the rest.
Sunflower.
There was still some hearty food left, including rice patty PB&Js. And it was LIFE… especially since I forgot my box of Uncrustables at home in the freezer. The cold starchy texture of the rice tasted so much better than the dryness of bread. I drank some lemon lime Skratch and felt like I could fly.
Bless that little reusable cup.
As we left the AS, we knew what we were in for. Another climb. The next mile, 13, was straight uphill. And I mean straight up. We could have used a rope. I followed as close behind another runner, Eunice, as possible. She was crushing the uphills. I hoped that there was some sort of summit view. We couldn’t possibly work this hard and not have any reward?!
No switchback this time. Just up.
The view of the rocks and a waterfall below were pretty incredible though. It would be the only summit reward of the day.
The valley.
Soon after we got a flat patch on the ridge. Most of the stretches of flat were single track with yellow and purple wildflowers growing alongside. I was shocked that we had not run into a single other hiker. Why wouldn’t anyone want to get out and enjoy these trails on such a glorious day? Then I realized that these trails were challenging. Then I remembered the Ultrasignup description:
“This race is hard. Do not let its course profile fool you. While this is a runnable trail, this is not a groomed park trail. This unforgiving course challenges the strongest of runners both mentally and physically. Sections that appear to be flat on the elevation profile may be the hardest miles you do all day. Don't underestimate how difficult it will be to finish this race.”
And so to get to these short sections of flat terrain, you had to climb. It was stunning and I wished it would never end until … I ran past a huge black snake in the grass.
Black snake. Eek!
I screamed back to Keri, “SNAKE!” I didn’t think she heard me because she didn’t flinch. I waited until she got closer and pointed it out to her. She hustled past and we continued on.
A few minutes later, this oasis. It was as bipolar as my mind and body were feeling.
Mile 18-40
The miles started flying by because I tried not to look at my watch. I knew that I just had to keep moving forward. My quads did start talking to me on the descents. Some were so steep. My body wanted to fly down, part to make up for the time it took to climb and part because they just wanted the freedom to move. While my mind wanted me to pick up speed, my body was hesitant. This put a lot of strain on my legs.
Haruki Murakami’s quote came to me many times: “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.”
I thought about all of the strength training I had done leading up to this. And although my quads were LIT, they were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. They were warning me that I needed to shift my attention to the strength of my core and my upper body to hold me up. I found myself more in tune with my body than ever before. This may have something to do with how I felt no pain in my shoulders and back after this race. I don’t think I slouched at all even though I was incredibly tired and my pack was pretty full.
Keri and I lost each other for a few miles but then would reunite at the aide station. I met other runners and we chatted about what brought them to TB. Some had just signed up a few days ago from being on the waitlist. Some traveled from as far as Canada, Colorado, Maine and Michigan.
On the way to the next aide station, Italy Valley, my stomach started telling me I needed to go. I picked up my pace because I just couldn’t bring myself to go in daylight with runners around. There was also some time spent on open roads. I felt bad leaving Keri but I knew that I had to stay internal, listen to my body and be in my own race. This 4.4 mile stretch, I booked it and was grateful for a very clean port-a-potty. It was my longest break at an aide station. I had really been trying to keep it to 3-4 minutes. Totally worth the extra time meditating to get things flowing through and out.
Italy Valley, thank you.
As we took off for the next mountain, I began to notice that these aide stations were just breaks between mountains. We leave one, climb, descend, and then repeat.
The mountain to climb and descend to The Lab.
One gentleman, Ryan, and I started talking just before a few miles on a gravel road. The houses had flags - “Ultra MAGA
and proud of it” and “FBJ” and, very blatant, “Fuck Joe Biden.” Some very happy people, clearly.
He was from Boston and had a goal of running the entirety of the Finger Lakes Trail. He had run the main 570-mile section in pieces. He had not run this section of the FLT and was determined to finish even if it meant taking longer than the allotted 20 hours.
We made a turn off the road and followed a gravel driveway about 1/2 mile. The driveway ended in front of a beautiful house but then we couldn't see any flags in the yard. We had missed our turn. Crap! We turned around and eventually found the 3-2-1 flags, turned right and were back on track. Keri was right there, so maybe it was meant to happen.
Ryan’s family was at the next aide station, The Lab. It was a beautiful station on a small lake in someone’s backyard. There was good food and a bathroom. Yay!
The Lab.
There were some pretty stretches along fields of flowers, old barns, farm land, and I heard some roosters. For a few 100 feet, we ran through some tall pine trees where the sunlight was just shimmering through the leaves at the way top. Just spectacular.
Somebody who gets it.
I thought I could live like this, minus the Ultra MAGA flags. A simple life in the mountains with lakes and scenery.
I texted Nick at about this time. I was 40 miles in.
Me: 40 miles and going for it.
Nick: You can do it babe. Love you.
Crepuscular rays through the pines.
The sun began to creep down behind some of the mountains as we left Lake David aide station. We ducked back into the woods and began to ascend yet another mountain.
Me: 50 miles.
Nick: Good job babe. You can do it.
About 5 minutes later, I took a sip of my pack and realized there wasn’t any more water in it. My 2L pack was empty. I had filled it twice already and forgot to check if I had any left at Lake David.
Keri and I left the aide station with another guy, Stephen from Pittsburgh. He had run several 100ks and it seemed like that was his preferred ultra distance. His wife was here. I caveat that by saying that we had gotten to know him a bit before he offered me some of his water. Keri also offered me some of her Skratch. I really needed water to get down another Gu.
The truth is I hate Gu, gels, Maurten, Huma, whatever you call those thicker than liquid packets. I can get down the Tastefully Nude Gu because it’s just that. It tastes like nothing. But I need water to help me swallow. In fact studies have shown that you shouldn’t take those packets without water. I needed energy. And water.
We had 5 miles until I could refill. That thought alone made me lightheaded and I began to doubt if I should and could make it to the next cutoff without passing out.
Me: Well. Likely won’t make it to the next aide station.
Nick: What? Why?
Me: It’s 1 mile further and straight up a mountain. I ran out of water 4 miles ago.
Nick: What do you need as motivation?
Me: Nothing. I’m about to pass out.
Nick: What happens if you don’t make it?
Me: I DNF
Nick: I honestly feel like you can do it. And you will regret it if you don’t.
Me: No. I will know I reached my max potential in distance. 50 miles
Nick:
Nick: Well if this will motivate you. We are waiting for you. We already went to the
finish line.
Me: Where is that? What?
Nick: Finger Lakes Beer Company
Me: You drove here?
Nick: Surprise. Happy Birthday. Also have a hotel so you don’t have to camp. So
make it happen. You can do it.
Me: Oh my goodness. Awww. What if I don’t finish til 12
Nick: We will still be here. We are tracking you.
Me: You’re the sweetest. Ok
Nick: I mean. We will probably go sleep for a little and come back to the finish
line. To be honest.
Me: I’m hustling.
Nick: We were going to surprise you at the last stop before the finish. Urbana.
Me: Come!
Nick: We can meet you there. Need anything?
Me: No just a hug.
Nick: 👍
It was just the boost of energy I needed.
Stephen, Keri and I had made it this far, but we were cutting it very, very close to the cutoff times. We needed to pick up our pace just on any runnable sections of the trail.
After hearing that Nick and Fiona were here, Keri started to cry. We had been talking for so long, she felt like she knew them and was so happy to see them too. Stephen said he would take the lead to keep us moving. We talked a bit and were hoping for a pretty sunset view. This was the best we got.
Sunset.
We had one more aide station between us and Urbana (where Nick and Fi would meet me), Mitchellville. This one came up quickly. I filled up my hydration pack with water, drank Skratch, ate a few snacks, took a swig of Coke, and choked down a Gu.
I filled up my pack again and this time the water tasted strange. My stomach had been feeling bloated and I had gas the last time I filled up. At this point I couldn’t complain. I just needed to stay hydrated and go.
We were off again. It was 8:51 pm, 9 minutes ahead of cutoff time. The next stretch was only 2.46 miles. We were told it was a small climb and then about 100 ft of descent. Easy.
Not quite. It was not a lot of climbing but there was much more than 100 ft of descent. As it became dark, the trail grew narrow and a wicked drop off to our left made it pretty dangerous.
Those miles seemed to last forever. I kept reminding myself that I would be seeing my two most favorite faces
while doing one of my most favorite things at the next aide station. Neither Nick or Fiona have ever experienced this before.
Once I ran out of the woods onto a field that then turned into a winery, I knew I must be close to the Urbana aide station. I picked up my pace. Keri was just a short distance behind me but I wanted to allow at least a couple minutes to soak in all of Nick and Fiona’s positive energy for the final 5.5 grueling miles. I could see the glow of the EZ up in the distance and it looked like a beacon of hope that I may make it.
Nick and Fi stood off to the side as the incredible volunteers offered me water, Skratch, and snacks. I took a little bit of everything.
Nick said that they had food in the car and asked if I wanted any. I explained that I was not allowed to take anything from anyone other than what’s available at the aide stations. This was a very strict rule of TB100k because it is a Western States qualifier. Not even designated pacers could provide food/fuel or help along the course.
Keri ran up a minute later and said, “your wife is freakin’ amazing!” I teared up because she had no idea how amazing I thought SHE was - as a runner, as a woman, and for putting up with me for so many hours.
Seeing them motivated me to stay in a positive state of mind for the grueling final section climbing and descending Mt. Washington. Volunteers shouted that it was “just a mile climb and then a long descent to the finish line.”
As we left Urbana and headed down a long driveway, the mountain was calling. And I did not want to go. I had no choice though.
We winded up a switchback for a bit. Our friend Dennis was just behind us. As we began to climb, I lost track of the flags and screamed back to Keri that we may be going off course. There were weeds growing in the middle of the trail and large branches hung low. It just didn’t feel right. I began to get angry when I looked up the trail and couldn’t see any flags reflecting from my headlamp. I looked behind Keri and saw Dennis’ headlamp lower down.
Keri ran ahead and said that she would take the lead. It was a very steep incline and she said, “if we turn around and find out we have to climb back up this, I don’t think I can do it.”
I was tearing up. Why? Why couldn’t I find the flags? Why wouldn’t there be an abundance of confident flags here? Runners are tired. It’s dark. We’re not seeing well. I had flashbacks to the talk the night before when they said they used 300 less flags to mark the course this year.
Keri looked over to her left and saw a flag. Thank goodness! Dennis was behind us so it must have been right.
As we climbed and climbed and climbed, I felt like we were beginning to intrude on the creatures around us. Everytime I looked closely enough to the ground, I began to see a lot more bugs. Beetles, big spiders, and lots of flying bugs that were flying directly into my face because of my headlamp. This made me hyper aware of what other animals might be just beyond the trail, making me move faster.
Just before sunset, big tree stumps started to look like bears out of the corners of my eyes. I’d stop and stare out. The
first time Keri said “what’s out there?” I told her I thought I saw bears. Then, Keri and I joked a few times about seeing bears. We laughed, but we knew it was possible that some of them very well could have been bears.
The distance between Keri and I began to grow. I knew that this section was going to really push us. We had to keep to a 20-minute-mile max if we wanted to finish before midnight. I tried to be the pace setter but it was lonely. I wanted to talk to Keri and stay out of my head. I needed to get external, which wasn’t easy after staying internal for so long.
I focused on the reflective flags ahead. Eventually my depth perception became really terrible. Some flags that appeared to be very far away, were actually closer. Once that happened, I recognized how tired my eyes and mind were.
At about mile 64, we ran up on another runner who had no headlamp. He said, “hey, I’m so glad you found me. I’ve been out of a light for a little while and was using others’ headlamps in the distance to try and find the flags.”
I told him that he can stick with us.
“Are we even going to make it?” he said.
“Yes, I’m keeping us at pace to make it by midnight. We can do this.”
“But my watch died. I can’t believe this isn’t going to show up on my Strava as one long run. It’s like it didn’t happen. What about the ‘gram?” he said.
I could tell he didn’t really care and was just trying to make light of the situation. He was funny. He began complaining about how everything hurt.
“We knew this was going to be painful. We didn’t sign up to do something easy. Isn’t that why we’re here? To push through the pain?” I said.
And so we trekked on. Neither the climb nor the descent were as short as the volunteers at the last aide station had told us. It being the end of a long day might have made it seem even longer.
My eyes began to play tricks on me with the shadows of trees and branches ahead. At one point I thought I saw a silhouette of Beetlejuice. It wasn’t. About 100 yards later a huge rabbit off to the right of the trail. Indeed, it was not a large rabbit. It was just a down branch with lots of big leaves. This may have been the in-between of tired eyes and hallucinating.
Either way, I was so excited to hear a cowbell as we began to descend down Mount Washington. There were a few headlamps that looked so far away and so far down, it made my legs hurt just looking at how steep the final stretch was.
As I approached a small bridge, I could see a vehicle that was pulled off the road and thought, “this is it, Michelle. Kick it into high gear to see Nick and Fi.”
“Cross the road and then turn right to wind around to the finish line,” a volunteer shouted.
I couldn’t see anything but the reflection of my light off the markers and a lake ahead. The pavilion glowed and I looked to my left and saw Nick and Fiona. I can’t believe I freakin’ made it.
The clock read 11:35 pm. I stopped and waited because I promised I’d run across that finish line with Keri. She was just a few yards behind. I turned off my headlamp and turned to look back towards the mountain. I could see her headlamp crossing the road and heading towards me.
“I can’t believe you waited for me!” Keri said.
“Of course, I did! We are crossing this finish line together!”
We grabbed each other’s hands and ran under the lit up finish line. She dropped her poles and we hugged, tears rushing down our faces. WE DID IT!!
19:36:29
Keri took a selfie of us.
Nick and Fiona came over and hugged me. Seeing them was absolutely amazing. Just a few hours ago I was doubting whether or not I was going to make it. Then they texted that they were there and it gave me, us the boost to keep moving forward!
This race was beyond any expectation. All of the very important things to keep a novice ultrarunner going to nearly the very last minute was incredible. Food, water, snacks, and the ENERGY was still so high even as we eeked into those last aide stations just minutes before cutoff times! I am so grateful for all of the volunteers and the RDs who clearly know what the hell they are doing. The fact that there was still cowbell and beers flowin’ until the very last runner crossed the finish line, just speaks volumes of this running community! THANK YOU!!!
Fiona took a photo of Keri and I.
Keri and I at the finish. Photo courtesy of Fiona.
Keri sat down and Eunice came over to her with an empty beer cup in hand. She was smiling from ear to ear. Her family was there at the finish line also. It was so wonderful to see other runners celebrating! I couldn’t drink a beer at the moment. We had heard that they ran out of finisher’s mugs, which I had predicted might be the case since we were getting so close to the end.
I really wanted to sit down but couldn’t. I needed to stay standing so I could make it to the hotel. Nick helped me grab my bags from the truck.
There was this very sad moment, however, when I realized that I was leaving Keri behind. We had talked about how we were just going to camp in our cars that night because we’d be too tired to set up our tents. It was so difficult to leave her. It felt like I was leaving my right arm. We had just spent so many hours with one another, which felt longer. We had experienced this beautifully glorious and challenging day together. It felt like we had known each other for years and now we were just going to say goodbye and go our separate ways? Like an amicable divorce but without any other memories besides those we just endured and yet couldn’t even quite comprehend how meaningful they were because it was too soon.
It was a long and painful walk to the hotel room. I’m very grateful for ramps up the one step to the door and the elevator. I ate a slice of cold pizza, showered, and cuddled up into bed with Fiona. I tried the beer Nick had gotten me from Finger Lake Brewing but just couldn’t stomach it.
We all fell asleep by 1am.
As Fiona and Nick sprawled across the bed, I awoke sometime pre-dawn with awful muscle cramps in my calves, quads and hamstrings. I tried to channel their exhaustion and not worry about the 5-hour drive home in just a few hours.
What a day… day and night… night-and-day-and-night!
In the morning, we stopped into Hammondsport’s Arts & Crafts festival. I hopped into the Hammondsport Grocery Store to pick up a 4-pack of local beer. I will enjoy that beer tonight. And I did.
Tuesday, August 21, 2023
On Tuesday, I reached out on the Twisted Branch 100k Facebook Group about the finisher mugs. The awesome Race Director Scott Magee wrote back that the woman who made the mugs by hand is already working on making more. A few minutes later another finisher posted that she would be more than happy to send her mug to me since she lives a “transient van life and would most likely break it.” So 2 days later, I received a beautiful mug from a beautiful soul. That’s what this community is all about and why I love it so much… and why I keep signing up.
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