stuffed turkey 100

Cade finishing a loop early on in the race.

Written and Raced by: Cade Bamrick

Since I signed up for this race in June, I have lived in 3 different states. I knew going into this race that my training might not be very structured. Through some unplanned, uncertain times, I was still able to focus on my #1 goal. Eventually, I was able to simplify my life and really zone in on my peak weeks of training. I started while living in Montana, then I spent most of the summer in Iowa, and then finished the bulk of my training miles in Colorado at 9,000 feet.

First off, there are a lot of people I need to thank before I get too deep into this. Thank you to my parents, who were very supportive throughout this entire new journey. They were encouraging throughout my entire training block, and they made race weekend go as smoothly as possible. Thank you to my sister and Alex for filming and capturing the entire weekend. Thank you to our family friend, Jeff Coe, for bringing the knowledge and experience to the crew. Thank you to Zach for the support and pacing 20 miles.

Thank you to Tim Vail. I can't really describe how helpful it was to have Tim there. At only 24 years old, Tim has a lot of ultrarunning experience. Before his 50k race started, he was leading our crew and showing them how to provide the best possible aid station stops. Tim led our aid station for the first few hours. Tim later won the 50k and then rested for two hours before pacing me for 30 miles to the end of my race. Tim gave me so much advice and taught me so many things. The only reason I was able to finish as well as I did was because of Tim and the rest of the team.

For this training block, I decided not to use a coach or follow a plan. I have dealt with many minor injuries in the last year, so I really wanted to base my training on how my body was feeling. I think it really took the pressure off me because in the past, if I missed a workout, I would get anxious and feel like I could never catch up. In this case, I never had that feeling because if I wasn't feeling 100%, I would take it easier that day, and I never felt like I was falling behind.

Even though I wasn't following an exact plan, I still increased my mileage properly. I had long run distance goals that I wanted to hit every weekend. During the week, I kept the majority of my runs at an easy pace and really focused on the time on feet rather than the mileage or pace.

I spent the last two months of my training in Buena Vista, Colorado, where all of my runs started between 8,000-9,000 feet. The last long run I did before the race was 40 miles. I worked up to that mileage progressively. I think I ran four 50ks in the weeks prior. I don't think that the 40-mile-long run was necessary, but it gave me a huge confidence boost right before I started to taper. I felt like my training was done, and I just needed to stay healthy and strong. During my taper, I had a few overuse injury flare-ups, and I decided not to push it at all and just recover. I also had a minor work injury where my legs got smashed between two logs and bruised up my shins. My mileage during this time was very low. I knew I was very fit, and there was no reason to keep trying to increase my fitness. It was pretty hard going from high mileage to very little, but I knew that the best thing for me would be to just focus on getting healthy again, so I would be 100% ready at the start line.

I spent a lot of time lifting pretty heavy in the gym during this training block. Before, I used to do very light lower-body exercises, but I always dealt with minor injury flare-ups, and I felt like my durability wasn't where it should be. I started doing heavy barbell squats and deadlifts while still focusing on a lot of banded knee and hip exercises. I started noticing a difference right away. I felt my durability was so much better, and my legs felt so much stronger on the trails. I had so much more confidence in pushing up hills and bombing the downs.

On average, I spent about 4-5 hours per week on walks, 30 minutes to an hour every day in the gym. About 8-12 hours per week running or hiking on the trails, with my peak week hitting 85 miles. The mileage was lower than what I was hoping for, but my job is pretty physical, so I think it turned out to be plenty.

I had a 13-hour drive from Colorado back to Iowa. We rented a few spots at the campground in Jester Park so I would have a very short drive to the start line. That morning, Tim, my nephew Jude, and I hopped in my van and headed to the start line. While pulling into the start/finish line, little Jude got car sick and puked all over himself and the front of the van. While we were cleaning it up and helping Jude, we got sent to park in the best possible location for our crew to be at. We were parked in the first spot right after the start/finish line.

Starting this race, I knew I wanted to be way in the back. I knew if I started towards the front, then I would try to push too hard too early, and I would pay for it later on. One of my goals for this race was to be "racing" the whole time. Which means pushing myself to make passes, quick aid station stops, no wasted time, and trying not to get passed. I knew if I started up front and got passed by multiple people, then I might get into my head too much. I wanted to start last and pick my way through the field slowly, and I'd get a mental boost for every pass I made. A strategy I learned from Taylor Spike, a highly accomplished ultrarunner.

At the start, I figured out that a lot of people are going to walk the majority of the race, so I had to pass the majority of the field within the first mile. Eventually, I found myself running a similar pace to the guys ahead of me, and I settled in and had some conversations. The conversation continued for a bit longer than I wanted, and when I finished the first lap, I made a quick stop with my crew and continued, so I didn't get roped into running someone else's race. I realize that doesn't sound very nice, but I signed up for this race to give my best, and unfortunately, that means I'm likely going to be running alone.

I had my nutrition plan structured for each 10-mile loop. I wanted one flask to be 4 scoops of Skratch high carb, and my other flask to be 2 scoops of regular Skratch or Tailwind. I planned on taking a gel or two each lap as well, but I didn't start doing that until after mile 40. Right away, I noticed that Tailwind was not making me feel good. I think I got used to the taste of high carb, and the sweetness of Tailwind was messing with my stomach. After mile 20, I told Tim that I could not do Tailwind anymore. He gave me a ginger pill that helped my stomach instantly. I chose to stick with Skratch high-carb and regular Skratch for the next big chunk of miles.

Between mile 10 and mile 40, I was passing at least one person every lap. Stuffed Turkey also had a few other races scheduled, and once those runners hit the trail, I started to lose track of who was even in the same race. At this point, I figured I was at least in the top 10, but really, I had no idea. It wasn't until mile 45 that I caught up to another runner who was running at a similar pace to me. I passed him for a second, and he asked which loop I was on, and after a short conversation, we realized we were on the same loop. Finally, I was able to set my sights on another target. I can't remember if I slowed down or if he sped up, but he passed me right back, and it stayed that way for a few loops.

By this time, Tim was deep into his 50K, and I saw him a few times on the course pushing hard. I think we missed every one of our high-fives! The first two times I saw Tim, he was running with another guy, but the third time I saw he had gapped him by a few minutes, and when I saw the guy in 2nd, he must have noticed Tim and me were wearing the same Ovando shirt, and he said to me, "That dude is serious." I laughed and kept running. I knew Tim was pushing hard, and he seemed like he was on pace for a sub-4-hour 50k and the win.

I was moving pretty slowly during that loop, and I fell off the guy that was just ahead of me to the point where I couldn't even see him anymore. I was setting a new PR on the farthest I've ever run with every step. Before the race, I thought this would feel like a big deal to me, but while I was in it, I did not care one bit. How would I be excited about mile 46, 47 when I have so much more to go? I don't remember what happened, but I had such a big turnaround that loop. I think I caught a glimpse of the guy in front of me and his lime green hat. I was struggling so badly, but I realized that I didn't fall back as far as I thought. I pushed hard the rest of that loop and caught back up to him. At this point, I knew that he was thinking about me behind him because I saw him turn around, and I was only a few seconds behind. He picked up his pace, and we ran 8-minute miles for the last few miles of that loop. I stayed on him the whole time, which, looking back, I should have just let him go, but we finished the loop tied. He looked at me while we crossed the line and said, "Man, you just won't quit." I knew that chasing him down was taking a toll on him because I knew I did not want to be the one getting chased down. That is also why even when I was feeling good, I never decided to pass. I just let him dictate the pace.

After that loop, I was at mile 50, and it was the first time I looked at my watch to see the elapsed time. It was 8:45. I remember that before the race, Tim and Jeff were talking about what they thought my times would be, and they said if I ran 50 in 8 hours, then I would be moving pretty fast. When I looked at my watch, and I was in the 8s, I knew that I was moving pretty well. I also had my best friends from high school stop by, and I was able to see them when I came into my crewed aid station. Seeing them gave me a good boost.

I was only stopped at that aid station for maybe 2 minutes when I saw Tim coming around the corner and finishing his 50k first overall and in 3:50:53. It was very cool that the timing worked out so perfectly. I hugged him and jokingly asked him if he was ready to pace me before I took off on my next loop.

I was allowed to have pacers after mile 50. Before the race, I was planning on having someone jump in with me around mile 70, but since I had Zach there, it was super nice to have him jump in with me to help. I finally had some real food at the last aid station stop. I had some French toast sticks, which I'm still not happy about because they used to be one of my favorite foods, but I had zero appetite, and those sticks were a struggle to get down. Unfortunately, I think I still need more time before I eat French toast sticks again. I felt a boost after eating some real food, but it did not last very long. This was the first time I've ever had a pacer in a race, and it was nice for a few miles because I was in a good mood and talkative, but eventually, I started to slow way down and was in a lot of pain. I felt bad for Zach because he probably thought we were going to throw down that lap and really make up some time, but I just could not move well at all. I was still running the majority of the time, but if I stopped to walk up a hill, it was so hard for me to get running again. I don't remember that much from that loop other than moving really slowly and stopping occasionally because I was in so much pain.

At this point in the race, I was mostly taking just two flasks of high-carb and maybe taking a gel if I felt like I could. Every loop, I got a slight boost when running the last mile section. Zach and I finished that loop strong, and then I took my longest aid station stop of the race.

After Tim's two-hour break, he was fully rested up and back helping the crew. The sun was starting to go down, and I think Tim fully had this aid station reset planned for me. He had me take my vest off, sit down, put my feet up, cover me with a blanket, and had a mix of real food ready for me to eat. There wasn't a single part of this race where I wanted to eat any real food. Absolutely none of it sounded good, but instead of complaining, I just decided to listen to Tim and my crew. While sitting with my legs up, I ate a small bowl of ramen, and Tim forced me to take another gel. My preferred gel during the race was the Precision 100mg caffeine gels, but I only brought 4 of them because I thought that the caffeine would be plenty. I ran out of them at mile 60, and I swear I never even felt a jolt of caffeine.

After I took the gel, I closed my eyes for a few minutes and let my body reset. This was a dangerous but very needed move. It was the first time in the race where I just really wanted to be done. The warmth of the blanket and being off my feet felt incredible. I only let that thought set in for a brief moment because I knew that mindset wasn't going to help me. Finally, I got up and moved again. It was my longest stop, and it lasted about 15 minutes. The first few steps were brutal, but the legs loosened up quickly, and I found myself back on the trail now with Tim setting the pace.

This loop kind of felt like a blur. I don't think I ran well during any part of it. I was having the same issues with once I stopped running, I couldn't start up again. I stopped a few times to stretch out my hamstrings and kept trying different walking forms to stretch out my body, because I was just tired of the same motion over and over again. At this point, my goal was just sub 24 hours, and Tim knew that. He also knew that we were quite a bit ahead of that goal, so he let me take my time and work through the low I was feeling. The low was brutal. I just started feeling sorry for myself, and the pain was just so intense. I also realized that there was nothing I could do to get the pain to go away. Walking didn't help, sitting didn't help, and most of all, complaining did not help one bit. I knew that if I wanted to finish this race that I just needed to suck it up and get it done. I realized that I chose to endure this pain. People go through real pain every day. What I'm going through is not the same. I realized that it is not going to get any better, and I just need to turn off my brain and go.

We finished that loop stronger than how most of that loop went. Zach was ready again to take me on another lap. I sat down just for a second while my crew refilled my flasks with high-carb. Tim had me take an Excedrin to help with the pain in my legs. Finally, at mile 70, my crew told me that I was in 3rd. With my own guess, I thought I was maybe 5th or 6th. I did not expect to be in the top 3. They told me this because they noticed that 2nd place looked like he was struggling, and according to the tracker, I was only 10 minutes behind. At the time, I could not figure out if that was a big gap or a small gap. To me, it seemed far, but my crew was telling me that if I kept on it, they thought I could catch him eventually. It felt like it had been forever since I last cared about what place I was in. I wasn't seeing anyone new, and I figured my position was pretty locked in.

Zach and I left for my 7th loop, and it did not take long for that Excedrin to kick in. I think I may have mentioned to Zach that I was feeling pretty good. He took the lead and set a very fast pace that I initially did not want to run at all. I was kind of mad in my head because I was feeling sorry for myself. I was thinking that I've already gone 70 miles, so I should not be going this fast. This can't be good. Instead of listening to my own thoughts, I just locked in on Zach's heels, and I just matched him stride for stride. My legs didn't hurt anymore, and it felt like a total reset. I was feeling fresh again. I was worried that I might have been pushing too hard because there is still a lot of race left. Eventually, I decided that I just needed to ride the high as long as I could because I didn't know if I would ever feel that good again. I knew it wasn't going to last the rest of the race, so I just tried to embrace it.

It was very obvious that we were moving faster than anyone on the course. At the halfway point of the loop, we finally saw that lime green hat again. We chased him down quickly. We closed a 10-15-minute gap in just 5 miles. Even though we were moving really well, I told Zach that I didn't want to pass him. I've been fighting to stay near him all race. I thought if I passed him now, I wouldn't be able to hold him off for 25 more miles. We were moving at a much faster pace than him, but I knew the next low was going to hit eventually, and I was going to slow down. I told Zach that if he looked like he was struggling, then we had to pass. We were approaching the halfway point aid station, which I never stopped at during the entire race. I saw that he stopped, and we were forced to make a move. I got in front of Zach, so when we passed through the aid station, he couldn't see my bib on my back. His back was turned to us because he was reaching down to grab a cup of pop. Zach and I both realized that we made the pass without him even seeing us. We pushed so hard the next 2 miles, because I didn't want him to have any hope in catching us.

The next time I saw him was on the short out-and-back section. We put a well over a mile gap between us. Zach and I were moving really well down the hill at the time, and I know he recognized me as we passed by. I felt confident that we had successfully gapped him, and with how we were moving, that gap was only going to increase. We continued at that same pace for the rest of that loop.

When we got to our crewed aid station, everyone was pumped because they knew that we had moved into 2nd. I think we caught them off guard because we came in from that loop sooner than they were expecting. I don't think I sat down at all at the aid station. I think they refilled my bottles, gave me a few gels, and gave me a grilled cheese to eat while I walked. Tim joined me again for that 80-90 loop.

I would like to pause and thank Zach for being a great pacer. Zach ran further than he has ever run while pacing me. Before the race, I didn't think I would have anyone else pace me other than Tim, but a few days before the race, I mentioned it to Zach that I might actually need him. On short notice, he got ready to pace 20 miles, and 10 of those miles were the most important miles of the race. I might have been able to catch up to 2nd place eventually, but I most definitely would not have been able to do it in such a dominant fashion without Zach. Thank you, bro, it was such a fun 20 miles.

Before the race, I tried to write down some mantras and topics to think about during certain sections of the race. It is a strategy I learned from my former running coach. I was hoping that I could use them to get me through the low points of my race. I tried to predict what I was going to be thinking during those moments, and I could not have been more wrong. For miles, 80-90, my mantra was "just get it done" because I thought that if I could just get to mile 90, then it's over. I was so wrong. 10 miles is a lot! "Just get it done" is so stupid looking back at it because you have to fight for every step. It's not something you can just coast through at that point. A 10-mile loop course definitely had its positives. Especially for my first 100-mile race, but eventually you figure out which sections just suck and take forever, and you know exactly how much farther you have to go to get to the next better section. Disassociating is not an option at this point in a race because you feel every step you take, and you're fighting mental battles nonstop. There really is no telling what kind of headspace you are going to be in during a race. It changes so quickly, and it's so unpredictable.

I think mile 85 is where I really started to hurt. Tim was also starting to get to that point. I still had 15 miles to go. I think we both knew how we were feeling, and instead of dwelling on it, we just stopped talking and got into a rhythm of running everything besides the hills. I think I started to feel like we were getting close to the finish, and I wasn't as focused on taking gels or my high carb. Tim kept me on track the whole time, and whenever we hit a certain section of the course, he would make me take a gel. I don't remember much more from this lap other than it felt like it took so long, and the pain was really starting to set in.

We didn't take long at the crewed aid station before we took off for the last loop. I remember there being a little bit of celebrating because I was heading out for the last time. After leaving, I remember turning the corner down the trail and realizing that this is far from over.

Tim and I called our buddy Jake while we went out for that last lap. I don't remember what time it was, but I think Jake was in bed. We were joking/bragging/shit talking, telling him that I was going to break 20 hours. It wasn't long after we hung up that Tim and I both realized we had a long way to go still. Tim ran in front of me, and I just focused on his heels and tried to turn my brain off. We barely talked that entire loop. We realized that getting under 20 hours was going to be hard, and it was going to be close. Tim made me take two more gels that loop. The last one I took was the first time I argued with Tim. I did not want to take one at all, but we still had 6 miles to go. We were passing a couple while we were arguing about whether I should take another gel or not, and they were laughing at us. Tim got me a little cup of broth at the halfway point aid station because I was starting to get really cold. Everything was foggy and frosted over at this point in the night.

The last 5 miles of this race were probably the most memorable for me. I cannot believe how hard it was. Before running a race like this, I totally had an ignorant mindset on DNFs. I completely understand how someone could drop out at mile 90. I was fighting off the idea of dropping out all the way until mile 98. It hurt so bad, and I just wanted to be done. In my race plan, I told myself that I wanted to enjoy the last loop because I was going to accomplish a goal that I've worked hard to achieve. There was no enjoyment until probably a quarter mile out from the finish line. I just remember how hard and painful it was. Tim and I probably didn't talk for 30 minutes. We finally got to the last hill and were walking up it, and I told him, "Dude, it just hurts so bad," and we both just laughed. I appreciate having Tim there in that moment because he never let me complain or feel sorry for myself. He wanted me to break 20 hours more than I did. At the time, I didn't care at all. I was still just worried about finishing. At this time, we gapped 3rd place by nearly 3 hours, so we could have walked it in and still finished in second. Tim had us pushing that entire lap because we already were talking shit to Jake about breaking 20.

It wasn't until going through the last short section and seeing the finish line lights that I felt like I was going to actually finish. I didn't enjoy any part of that lap until I saw the lights. I still cannot believe how hard that was.

We turned the corner and ran the last 100 yards to the finish line. No one was there other than my family and crew. It felt so good to be done. The excitement of not having to go out for another loop was the best feeling, more than anything else. My mind was constantly worried about moving forward for 19 hours and 45 minutes. The feeling of accomplishment was nice, but the feeling of just being done was even better.

I thought that I was going to be a little emotional at the end of the race just because of the rough patch of life I went through this summer. I think the overwhelming pain from the miles and the happiness of being done didn't even allow me to think about anything else. The pain and joy were all-consuming.

It was very hard to sleep that night. My body was uncontrollably shaking for more than an hour. As soon as I took off my shoes, my ankles swelled up instantly. It was unbelievably painful to move while in bed. Every time I tried, I'd groan and drop a few f-bombs. My 5-year-old nephew was sleeping on the couch with me, and I remember him waking up a few times to check on me, which is hilarious.

It took me about a week to start feeling normal again. Other than some weird ankle pain that is still sticking around. I learned so much from this training block and race. It was an unforgettable weekend. I can't wait to keep pursuing my ultrarunning career. I am very happy with how the race went. I didn't have any major problems during the race, which makes me slightly worried about when the hard moments inevitably hit during my next races. I would like to thank my ultrarunning homies, Tim, Jake, and Ryan, for teaching me everything about this sport and for continuing to push/support each other.

Cade running the last section before the finish line aid station.

Cade and Tim’s crew hanging out at 5:30AM before the race.