Daytona 100
December 9, 2023
Waves waves and more waves
Going to Florida in December, well it didn’t suck. Warm and sunny weather before, during and after the race, simply lovely. Daytona is a 100 mile race along the ocean on sidewalks and the shoulder of the road from Jacksonville to Daytona. Keep the ocean on your left and you won’t get lost. Aid stations were 8-16 miles apart and there were supposed to be water stops in between. By the time I got to the water it was gone. So you make friends with the relay teams and other runners who have crew. They were really happy to support this thirsty solo runner. Actually all the aid station people and support staff were great, Bob puts on a great race and his wife made banana bread for every aid station, yum.
Because of the relay and crews of support people it was a wonderful race. We were all heading the same direction and every time we hit an aid station or meet up point, lots of cars, vans and pick up trucks would honk and wave in support of everyone, quite a positive energy which I felt pretty much throughout the whole race. Positive juju for the win.
I felt good for the first 30-40 miles then in the heat of the day I stopped at a convenience store for a popsicle. They didn’t have any of the good types so I settled for a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar, the kind I liked as a kid. It tasted great and went down cool, but then I suffered for a while as dairy is not my friend while running. Just an upset stomach, next time I will stick with a popsicle or a cold drink.
The race runs through many towns along the east coast of Florida and it is great to see the unique nature of each of towns from tourists visiting a fort to locals rocking out at a night club. The beautiful homes were stunning. I especially liked the quantity of construction zones along the course. This provided for porta-potties often along the way.
While running along the shoulder early in the day it was hot, so walk breaks were often to keep the crampy cramps in my legs from taking over. During these walk breaks I took pictures…of road kill (not Rick). Yes there was a plethora of dead animals, all different kinds and in all different states, from freshly hit to totally smashed. Lot of armadillos, raccoons, birds, a turtle and some other furry things that I couldn’t quite make out.
Miles 40-50 were a bit rough, but once the sun went down I felt a new energy running in a tank top with ice around my neck, it finally felt cool. I had a pretty strong run walk going so I just kept going. I would pass runners who stopped to meet with their crew, then they would pass me and this cycle repeated all day and night. Lots of stars to see and good music and leap frog made the night go by smoothly.
The 83 mile aid station was at 84 miles and I was bonking from lack of calories so I whined and almost cried a bit. When I finally got there you could tell this aid station was run by an experienced trail runner. She fed me, I puked, and she fed me some more. We finally got something to stay down and I told her I was having a difficult time eating enough so she packed up food and sent me off.
The next miles we’re good, food in the stomach helped, except we were now in Daytona and you were supposed to run on the sidewalk, which was slanted from so many driveways. Not fun. I ran in the road on the left side facing traffic which there wasn’t any this early in the AM. Then I got scolded by a race official and so I had the run on the sidewalk, ugh.
This section is a long section running by many many many hotels and restaurants along the beach. Boring. And. It. Takes. Forever.
Finally we get to Ponce Inlet and you can see the lighthouse. Yay! Finish is close or maybe not. This silly girl hugs me and says you will get there just a little bit more, I wanna have my ugly cry but there is a farmers market and too many people who wouldn’t understand the ugly cry, they cheer for me. Even though we see the lighthouse they make you run a bit more, and we eventually get there. Fortunately there was cloud cover for most of the morning so the heat didn’t get me again. Very colorful buckle, my happy silly friend waiting for me. We sat and watched others finish and chatted with Mr. Mike Melton, timing expert. All is good.
64th hundred or more
20th state with a 100 mile race
3rd in the old lady division
28:25
Sunburn in December
Fun weekend with my super supportive silly friend
Priceless