My alarm went off at 2:40 AM, but it wasn’t necessary. I had been tossing and turning in my tent for over an hour before the alarm. Maybe it was a combination of anxiety and excitement, or maybe it was due to the intense focus on the goal ahead. This wasn’t my first time here, but this time, I was ready to do whatever I needed to ensure a different outcome.

At 4 AM, the gun was fired, and we all ran into the pre-dawn darkness, making our way around the track, out of the fairgrounds, and into downtown Woodstock.

Running through the finish line of the Cloudsplitter 100 after 31 hours and 42 minutes of brutally steep climbs and painfully rocky descents was one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. All 100 milers are hard, but not all 100 milers are equally as hard. This one just so happens to be really hard.

We arrived at the Norton Expo Center in Norton, VA, at around 7:15 am on Saturday, October 15th, 2022, ready to run and in great spirits.

After the usual prerace shenanigans were handled, we found ourselves standing at the starting line with the rest of the runners, awaiting our countdown to the 4:00 AM start. We began the 2021 Old Dominion 100 right on time.

Everyone is gathering at the bottom of a hill by a pond or a lake, I can’t make it out. It’s dark, cold, and buzzing with obscure energy. I say my goodbyes to my crew (I’ll see them in 11 miles), find my place in the middle of the crowd, and after a few words and a countdown, the 2019 Mountain Masochist Trail Run begins!

The wind is kicking up, and people are retreating to their tents, settling in for what will be the last few hours of sleep before we all set off to complete the 2019 Promise Land 50K - my first ultramarathon.