Bishop High Sierra Ultra

Pre Race 100K

This is typically how I feel, and I get the jitters before anything competitive, which leaves me uncomfortable for hours on end. The day before Bishop 100K (63 miles), I drove from Reno to Bishop, thinking about how I could minimize the struggles everyone faces in these races. The body aches, stomach issues, cramping up, and did I forget something stupid like my shoes? I had planned to keep my pace slow to practice more for the Tahoe race in a month and to survive on just gels longer than I ever have before.

The day before, there was a race meeting to go over the course and answer any questions from the runners. I will say one of the funnier questions asked was, “Where can the pacers enter the race at?” This caught me by surprise because, generally, a race this short wouldn’t allow this. But this race is set up more as a comfortable way for runners to dip their toes into endurance racing. It is one of the reasons I signed up for it because they allow drop bags about every 7-8 miles, with plenty of aid stations to help us along. It is very well organized for such a small race, and this also helps take some of the anxiety out of worrying about things going badly.

I never sleep well the night before a race, and once again this held true. I went to bed around 9 pm, my mind busy working through the what-ifs. I planned to wake up at 330 am for the 5 am start time, and of course, at 230 am I woke up ready to go. Not ideal, but I went with it and started my usual stretching and bodyweight movements. I did a quick half-mile run along 395 to activate the legs a little. I did not feel like eating anything, but I did drink my usual water and electrolytes, which is typical for me before my runs. In my experience, I usually do what I feel like doing before a race, not what others tell me to do, but what my body is telling me.

During the dark drive to the race starting line, the calm starts to set in. This is hard for me to explain, but it is what happens as the start of a race gets closer. The feelings of anxiety start to lessen, and my mind starts to shift to problem-solving. I know now that anything I didn’t prepare for doesn’t matter at this point, and what matters most is to start listening to my body, as it will go through discomfort, no matter what.

As I get up closer to the front of the pack, a minute before the start, the calmness sets in, and I actually feel deeply relaxed. 3, 2, 1, and here we go.