I raced the Kodiak 100M back on October 9-10 and ended up having a pretty good day. Here’s my story.

Spoiler: I finished in 22:13:57 securing an automatic entry to UTMB 2027

Training/Preparation.  After a mediocre Western States run I felt that I needed a little more emphasis on speed in my Kodiak training so I opted for the SWAP 50 mile/50k Champion plan as the basis for my Kodiak training block. I supplemented this plan with some additional high volume days as I felt appropriate but stuck to the workouts prescribed in the plan.  I averaged 70 miles per week over the 13 week training block with four 90+ mile week along with two weeks in the 80’s. Fitness wise I was in great shape and that became apparent after swapping the hot/humid Georgia summer days for the cooler/dryer climate in Big Bear Lake.  Side note: I drove out to Big Bear Lake early so I would have three solid weeks prior to the race at the 7000 feet altitude that most of the race is at. By doing this I also got to run almost every section of the course at least once before the race. This proved invaluable as I always knew what terrain was ahead, how far it was to the next aid, and roughly what race effort would feel like on each section of the course.

Race Plan: Run at the fastest sustainable effort I could muster for the entire race.  The day before the race, while packing my drop bags, my wife asked me if I was getting excited for the race. I told her ‘not particularly’ instead I was focused on getting my mind prepared for the amount of discomfort that was to come.  When running 100 miles discomfort/pain/fatigue always occurs and generally starts to hit pretty good in the last quarter of the race. However, whenever you’re trying to extract the most out of your body the voices telling you to slow down or walk start much, much sooner making most of the race a real mental battle with your mind to keep moving as fast as you can.

Nutrition/Hydration plan: I planned to use Carbs brand gels for as long as I could use them. Specifically, I planned on 1 regular Carbs gel and 1 Salted Carbs gel per hour. That would give me 400 calories and roughly 550mg sodium per hour.  In the second half of the race I planned to replace the regular Carbs gel with a caffeinated Carbs gel for 100mg of caffeine.  For a backup carbohydrate source I packed SIS Beta Fuel electrolyte gels in my drop bags for the second half of the race.  Typically I can manage the Carbs gels for 10-12 hours without stomach issues but after that my stomach can get a little wonky with them.  On the hydration front I would use just plain water in my flasks since the gels had enough electrolytes for me, and I started with 2 800mL soft flasks (plus an empty 500ml one in kangaroo pocket) and then switched to 500mL flasks once the sun went down.

Start to Doble 1 (Mile 33): For these UTMB series races they have a small barrier separating the pros/elites from the rest of the field and generally give this group a few seconds head start before releasing the main field.  At Kodiak they allowed anyone who felt like they were competing for a top 20 spot into this corral. Based on previous year’s results and my goals I moved into the “elite” corral. Looking around, almost all of the non-pro guys seemed to be my age and I was like crap this is going to be more difficult than I imagined. I immediately changed race strategy since I didn’t want someone in my age group to get away early and snap the elastic. A part of me also wanted to be that guy snapping the elastic on the other guys here.  Regardless, when the gun went off I rolled out at an almost suicidal pace up the first climb. I figured I could push pretty good on this shorter climb and then recover on the long, 5+ mile downhill dirt road section that followed.  That strategy mostly worked, I spent more energy on that climb than planned but felt pretty fresh by the end of the long downhill road section. Side note: the amount of people who immediately went to hiking in the elite corral was out of control - I get it in the steep section but there’s no need to walk the flat switchback sections, ugh.  After several miles of downhill dirt road we hit the PCT and I immediately fell twice. Luckily the field was spread out by then so real issues. This section of PCT is rolling and I just tried to cruise along at what I thought was a fast but sustainable effort. Surprisingly, I caught several more people towards the end of this section (and they were walking the rolling climbs!). I fell in line and waited for the road to Camp Whittle to pass. When you hit the road to Camp Whittle, it’s a 3-4 mile gradual climb up a dirt road so I was surprised when everyone in front of me went straight to hiking. I just shifted into ultra climb mode and jogged by everyone - it was crazy.  Made it to Camp Whittle (Mile 19.5), refilled my flasks and grabbed my waist light before heading on.  Leaving Camp Whittle the dirt road continues to climb for another 1.5-2 miles with some steep sections. It was on these steep sections that I started to feel the early hot pace. Initially, I thought I’d gone out too hard and blown my legs up and went into panic mode. Fortunately I knew the upcoming PCT trail section and knew that I could recover if I just kept the effort in check and stayed on my nutrition and hydration.  Sure enough, after several miles of feeling like I could be in for a long day everything just snapped right back. I’m not sure if it was just the body recovering after several easy effort miles or maybe just some high energy songs that came on. Regardless, I went from ultra shuffle to ripping the technical descent to Doble 1 in an instant. Side note - from that point forward if I felt I was bogging down I forced myself to sign along with whatever song was playing on my headphones  and and this always kept me moving.  Hit Doble 1 at 6:15 on the clock, grabbed my drop bag, changed shirts into a short sleeve wool, threw on wool arm sleeves, changed headbands, put on headlamp (in addition to my waist light), swapped my UV gloves for warm gloves, grabbed a new bag of gels, and filled my flasks with water before heading out on the big loop from Doble 1 to Doble 2.

Doble 1 to Doble 1 (Mile 55). This is a big loop with a mix of trail and dirt road.  I was riding a high coming out of the aid station and shifted my strategy to run as fast as was sustainable unless I’m feeling good. If feeling good, rip it. Not much else to say about this loop other than knowing there were a couple of good rollers on the dirt road, and where they were at, and the section from Cactus Flats to Doble was pretty rugged was really beneficial. I knew what was coming and was able to execute accordingly. Reached Doble 2 at around 10:50 elapsed, met my wife for a quick gel swap and bottle refill before heading on.

Doble 2 to Sugarloaf 1: Leaving Doble 2 I began overlapping runners heading out on the Doble loop and picked up a lot of energy from everyone (and hopefully I gave as much back). I caught W2 on this section and we yo-yoed for a while (she dropped me like nobody’s business on the Sugarloaf climb!).  

Sugarloaf 1 - Sugarloaf 2:  Met my wife at the crew point for a gel swap and then refilled my water bottles at the aid.  Drank an extra 500ml before heading out but didn’t think to refill the bottle before heading up so I only had 2 flasks for the big climb.  Jogged the .75 mile up the dirt road to the trail (saw M2 and M3 coming in to Sugarloaf 2) and then immediately went into hiking mode. I planned to hike the majority of the Sugarloaf climb and that’s what I did - just hike as fast as possible and jog any flatter sections (there are several flat sections on the top half of the climb). Made the top and started jogging down. By this time my waist light battery had died so I was left descending with just my headlamp (sunrise was coming soon so I didn’t want to stop and change batteries on my waist lamp). That made the going a little slower with the rocky surface but I made good progress to Balky Horse aid where I drank two cups of broth and a good amount of water before heading down to the Sugarloaf 2.  My stomach was giving some trouble here so I moved down the dirt road slower than I’d like to have. I almost felt hungry so at Sugarloaf 2 I took in an extra Naack puree pouch (in addition to a Carbs gel and water).  At Sugarloaf 2 I changed shirts into a lighter day shirt, swapped gloves to UV gloves, and dropped my waist lamp/battery pack.

Sugarloaf 2 to finish:  Coming out of Sugarloaf 2 I ran into the main 100k race field coming down Sand Canyon road. That was a real pick up as everyone was cheering me on and I was trying to cheer them on. After Sand Canyon road the race follows some paved road for a couple of miles before arriving at Bear Mountain.  You’d think if would’ve been some nice downhill paved road but no they found the steepest paved roads in California to follow - ugh. I blew past the Bear Mountain aid station turn off and had to circle back a good quarter mile but that didn’t matter - just a little climb up to the Skyline trail and then the Snow Summit climb before a long downhill to the finish.  As I approached the Snow Summit climb I began to overlap the 21k racers and that was a good thing. I fell in line with the 21k folks and began the never ending switchback climb that was Snow Summit.  Periodically, I would pull over and let the faster 21k runners go by before trying to latch on to them and at least once I had to stop so I wouldn’t throw up from the effort. After an eternity, I reached the Snow Summit aid - 5 downhill miles to go! The first mile coming down was on the 21k course and I was at my limit trying not to get in their way.  Fortunately the 100M course broke off on another trail. Unfortunately, it was a super steep mountain bike trail and my my poor quads were absolutely screaming as I tried to maintain a decent pace on the descent. Eventually, I popped out on a dirt road and at that point I knew I was practically finished - just a little bit of dirt road and less than a mile of paved to go. From there I let it roll all the way to finish in 22:13:57 - 17th overall (15th male), age group win, and automatic entry to UTMB 2027!

Post Race: Wow, it’s still kind of hard to believe that just happened. And it’s somewhat surreal for an average guy like me to see an email from UTMB Elite Services inviting me to the UTMB finals next year. Clearly UTMB will be my big race for next year and I’m sure I’ll throw in some good local races along the way however for now I’m going to take a few weeks of recovery and enjoy some down time.

volunteers kinda carry these races and i feel like they don't get talked about enough. could be food, a pep talk, taping up your feet, whatever.

Hoping someone with a little experience could help me please.

I ran the arc of attrition last year and was disqualified/timed out 99 miles in.

I’ve ran the distance multiple times, but always in more favourable conditions and the weather caught me out to an extent.

I will be trying again next year and hoping to be better prepared, but hoped someone could offer some advice regarding footwear.

The coastal path was a muddy mess and often I was running through puddles and ankle deep mud. This is in addition toy the grass, gravel, shingle and everything else the course threw at you.

I wore a pair of Pegasus gore-tex trial 5’s. While I had no issue with them before (including the Sirona 100), my feet were a mess afterwards.

I’m pretty sure more grip would have help, as would a little more cushioning towards the end.

I’ve also read that goretex is not a good choice for runs of this size in this weather as sweet and puddle water can not escape from the shoe? Would it be preferable to wear a non-water proof breathable shoe at all?

Does anyone have any recommendations for a more suitable shoe at all? Or advice what they wore on the course and how it fared?

I’m possibly looking at the New Balance Fresh Foam X Hierro v9. Would anyone recommend these or give advice on them being fit for purpose?

Many thanks!

This is a odd/random question I thought of. I'm running my first 50K at the end of November in Colorado and my question is has anyone ever had a situation where their gear (gels, water, food) has ever frozen in your drop bag while at the aid station? If it has what have y'all done to combat this issue. Again I know its kind of an odd question but I'm trying to think of any issue that might come up during the race.

I’m hoping someone with experience in the UTMB system can help me understand something!

I recently finished the Kodiak 100K and was absolutely overjoyed to learn that I placed first in my age group! I also received a message congratulating me on the achievement, which was such an exciting surprise.

Here’s where I’m a little unsure. Does placing first in my age group at Kodiak, as a UTMB World Series Major, mean I’ve earned an automatic entry into the CCC race in Chamonix, France, in 2027? Or does it simply give me another opportunity through the lottery?

I’m still relatively new to this sport and learning how the UTMB qualification process works. I’m thrilled at the possibility, but I also don’t want to get ahead of myself if I’m interpreting the message incorrectly!

If you’ve qualified this way or have experience with the process, I’d be so grateful if you could share what I should expect and what steps I need to take next.

Thank you so much! I’m incredibly grateful for this trail-running community, the opportunities this sport brings, and all the people who make this journey so special.

Bles in health,

Rhonda 💛

I got notification for 2nd Columbia Trail Race scheduled on 1st Nov and was interested in participating in 21km category. But distance is too far from my place in Noida.

Hence, before registering, wanted to confirm if it is worth it? Is it well managed and interesting?

Any reviews or feedback from last event's participants or people in know?

Going to Chamonix for the CCC this August. Has anyone any tips regarding accommodation or a area nearby? Any tips for travelling there from Geneva? Cheers.

Looking for advice on hotels for the UTMB World Series CCC race during the last week of August 2027! My hubby and I are hoping to stay for about 8–10 days, and I have no clue where to start. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated!

I’m also wondering about renting a car or whether we can get around without one. We’d love to explore a little before or after the race and make a vacation out of it. We haven’t had a real vacation in years, so this race is turning into an extra-special adventure for both of us! ❤️

For those who have been before, what would you recommend for lodging, transportation, and planning our time around the race? I’m just starting to figure out the next steps, so any tips are welcome. Thank you! 🏔️🙏

https://tuckerbrady7.wixstudio.com/my-site-1

Hello! I posted earlier this week about hosting a virtual backyard. I have got a website up and tickets available. It’s one starting time 8am on Nov. 21st. There will be a live tracking that is used and submitted. The race will go until last one standing and all the times will be evaluated. There will be an option to connect to zoom your “aid station” to make more of a fair playing field. Let me know thoughts and if this will work or flop. Thanks!

Taking a trip here this weekend and looking to summit old baldy.

Anyone have any experience?

I’ve found trail 650 on strava but it only has a path showing for 1.5 miles.

Coordinates 46.730181, -109.203665

I have a 30 hr race in 2 days. Yesterday I woke up with a sore throat. I have decent energy (not 100% but decent) and a stuffy nose. I've been training for this race for a year. Do I DNS or give it a try? There's another race in 3 weeks I put myself on the wait list for. But not sure I'll get in. Thoughts?

Feels like doping is becoming commonplace is ultras. Course records that used to stand for a decade or more by well known athletes are now being broken every single year by people who were former nobodies in the sport - a dead giveaway IMO. Prize money and brand deals have grown lucrative enough to make cheating a worthwhile risk for many. Nearly every top finisher these days is also a "running influencer" with a stupid-ass youtube channel, daily instagram posts, and a heavy financial incentive to win. Drug testing is generally done as a half-assed measure and is very easy to cheat or outright avoid with proper timing. Doping is already rampant in marathoning and grand tour cycling and those sports have much stricter anti-doping measures than ultra-running. I want to believe this sport is still pure but I'm highly skeptical at this point. What's your take?