*Editor’s note (That’s me, who crewed Mike). Mike Withrow was both physically and mentally ready to run 100 miles well under 24 hours, however; the ultra marathon gods had other ideas for Mikey. I watched him suffer for well over 20 hours, finishing in 26:32. 95% of the runners that I know would have threw in the towel. Anyway, here is the race from Mike’s perspective.
Bronze Dragonfly Ultra-100.8 Total Miles.
I had it all figured out, I was going to run my way through half this race and accumulate upwards of 70 miles and have the back 12 hours to “suffer” with all the time in the world to get the last 30. It was going to be hard but manageable. Let’s face it, I’ve put in the work. I’ve ran 1,386 miles since December, a did double marathon weekends, did the Goggins challenge and added a mile per run because the original wasn’t hard enough, ran 100 mile weeks, continued to run the track, and did it all at relative ease.
Unfortunately it doesn’t go how you write it up in your head. It started to slowly unravel at the 30 mile mark, and I was left with the daunting truth that I had to get through 70 more miles in the heat, rain, dark, and wind. Looking back now in my short reflection I now understand that this is what these races are all about. The beauty in these challenges is that they are so ugly, they become beautiful. Some things that I learned in the last 70 miles:
Bailey will jump head first into one of my goals as if it was her own. She stayed through the night, aiding in anyway she could, running 13+ miles with me, going to work the next day on 0 sleep.
I have a crazy group of friends who would do anything for me. I had 10x the support of the professional runner at the event. No way I come close to finishing this thing without each and everyone of you.
Alex is a monster of an athlete, and I am so damn proud of him. I hope at one point we get to see him suffer just a little.
Tony beat us to the race and didn’t leave until I crossed the line. Gave me the hard love when I needed it, and made sure everything from the supply side could go as easy and perfect for us as possible. He’s all in! Not just in the race, but for my training and everything running.
Beckett came down Saturday afternoon to put in about 25 hard miles with us, stayed the night, and didn’t stop until he got us home the next morning. Can not express the respect I have for this kid and the disciple he shows at such a young age.
Ron turned into my guardian angel and got me through some of the lowest of the lows and didn’t leave my side.
Tolerton and Al surprising us at different times throughout the night to get miles in and uplift the spirit was incredible.
I finally pushed myself to the point of losing my mind. All I know for sure is I was talking to myself and forgot where I was and what I was doing. Don’t really remember too much about it, but I do remember it got me 10 minutes in the chair and that was glorious.
Ultra running breaks you down to your core. There is no thoughts on what I need to do, what I want to do, business, investments, real estate, none of that. It gets to a point of survival. I’m slowly deteriorating throughout the night, and I see this homeless lady. First showering in a water fountain, then sleeping on the most comfortable bench with the biggest fluffiest pillow, covered in the ultimate comforter. I mourned for everything she had… a clean face, cozy on a park bench sound asleep, and not having to run more 30 miles. A lot of time we lose focus in this life on the simple beautiful things and get caught up in all the bullshit.
My mind is as soft as the Pillsbury Dough Boy. It quit 10x, it didn’t want a buckle, it didn’t care my friends gave up their weekend, it didn’t care that people donated money for us to attempt something extraordinary, it was fine with being mediocre. It just wanted its comfort back, it wanted the suffering to stop, it wanted to go to bed.
My spirit is a fucking warrior, and stronger than my mind. My spirit never wavered. My spirit never stopped moving forward. My spirit knew on the deepest level that nothing could be thrown my way to stop me from getting over the 100 mile mark. It somehow processed and devoured every single negative thought and kept me moving forward.
My community is made up of wonderful people. Alex and I were able to raise $7,500+ for American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
This was by far the hardest thing I have ever endeavored. I am so grateful to have had all the support and hopefully have inspired someone to go after one of their goals they have been putting off.
What’s next
N of 1 Running 