After COVID got me for the third time the week before Christmas, I was determined to start 2023 as planned, with the first 100 miler of a very ambitious race calendar. More about my running goals in another video.
I had heard about a fairly new 100 miler, the Shippey 100 Mile Endurance Run, so here I was headed to Missouri for my first 100 miler in that state. I had no idea what to expect from the weekend. I had barely run the past month and my lungs had finally cleared up just a week earlier. My plan was to just keep moving no matter what.
The Shippey Endurance Runs offer multiple distances and relay options ranging from 20 to 100 miles. The course consists of 5 sometimes overlapping small loops ranging from 3-5 miles arranged like pedals on a flower, which gives runners access to one of two aid stations every 3-5 miles. 100 milers do this five times with a total of nearly 17,000 feet of gain.
Race temps ranged from the low 10s to low 40s, so temperature regulation would be the biggest challenge for me.