Wake before the dawn in the cool morning of race day
Converge upon the trail head to meet with friends and shed the pre-race jitteriness away
The race starts slowly with a lack of fan fare
The excited and nervous energy of the field quietly fills with somberness in the air
As runners collectively realize they have over 99 miles left to cover
And fret about what the next 24-36 some odd hours may yet uncover
Crowded on the singe track trails, and waiting for spacing, runners trade tips and idle chatter
In the words of Karl Meltzer, the race doesn't begin till mile 70, so what does it matter
The first 6 hours almost seems surreal in it's ease
As cool morning temperatures and strong legs leads many to be naive
Of the upcoming struggle under the full intensity of the Sun
That reduces even the most experienced folks down to only something vaguely resembling a run
Thoughts of quitting starts creeping into the mind
As fatigue, heat, and tough climbs escalates with the increasing time
Runners find inspiration to keep moving wherever it can be found
But they need not look so far as every step brings gorgeous views of the trails and nature abound
Keep toiling forward as aid volunteers and crews encourage
The Sun will soon set, now is not the time to be discouraged
Now that the Sun and heat has started to die down
New life in our legs and second winds are suddenly found
Runners pick up the pace to take advantage of what little daylight is left
For when night falls new challenges presents itself
Rocks and roots suddenly grows bigger in the night
While their shadows are seemingly dancing under your headlamps light
Hills and Mountains become never ending with their peaks amiss
And climbing them can seem like a stairway towards the dark abyss
The mind starts to play tricks after countless miles and many hours in the dark
Of hallucinations of Monsters and Bears lurking amongst the shadows of every tree and large rock
For every runner who's lucky enough to have a pacer to help keep their minds occupied
There's another solo runner battling against their doubts and demons with their sanity half compromised
Aid Stations become brief oasis of light and life during the dead of night
Juxtaposed against scenes of weary, sleep deprived, and injured runners contemplating giving up the fight
For those brave few who choose to carry on
Just hang on a little bit longer for the giver of light to bring about the Dawn
The night sky of twinkly stars begins to fade
The great ball of fire starts to ascend, as you prayed
Just for a moment all aches and pains and fatigue subsides
As you experience a rebirth like no other while bathed in the morning's first light
With renewed energy and purpose, you press on with determination
The absolute worse is now over, reviving your motivation
You may have survived the night, but don't get too cocky
There are still many miles left to go, and making cutoffs may get spotty
Fatigue and pain of which you have rarely known
Has accrued exponentially over the last 80-90 miles that has cruelly sown
When every footfall adds ever more to the growing list of aches and pain
And every small hill becomes Mountains that you have to fight for every gain
Common sense and brief moments of sanity urges you to quit
But you’ve come too far and stubbornly go forward just to spite it
The last few miles of the trails are littered with the broken bodies of the walking wounded
As you past your fellow trail brothers and sisters, you are both encouraged and silently saluted
All the day's many struggles are suddenly forgotten, for now, the end is truly in sight
Even if you have to crawl up that last Mountain, there are no more thoughts of giving up the fight
During the last mile your legs experiences a phenomenon
Against all reason, it suddenly springs to life as you begin to smell the barn
You wonder in which dark hole your legs may have been hiding in for the last 20 miles
But no matter, at least you get to finish strong and with a gigantic smile
At the finish, collapse into the arms of your family and friends or a well deserved chair
Marvel at how you managed to slog through a 100 miles with only a few hours or minutes to spare
The Race Director comes by to greet you with a firm handshake and the coveted 100 Mile Buckle
As you excitedly share tales at the finish line of epic struggles and a few chuckles
Two weeks later your body still hasn’t forgiven you
While you’re back on UltraSignup, searching for the next 100 Miler to squeak through
Converge upon the trail head to meet with friends and shed the pre-race jitteriness away
The race starts slowly with a lack of fan fare
The excited and nervous energy of the field quietly fills with somberness in the air
As runners collectively realize they have over 99 miles left to cover
And fret about what the next 24-36 some odd hours may yet uncover
Crowded on the singe track trails, and waiting for spacing, runners trade tips and idle chatter
In the words of Karl Meltzer, the race doesn't begin till mile 70, so what does it matter
The first 6 hours almost seems surreal in it's ease
As cool morning temperatures and strong legs leads many to be naive
Of the upcoming struggle under the full intensity of the Sun
That reduces even the most experienced folks down to only something vaguely resembling a run
Thoughts of quitting starts creeping into the mind
As fatigue, heat, and tough climbs escalates with the increasing time
Runners find inspiration to keep moving wherever it can be found
But they need not look so far as every step brings gorgeous views of the trails and nature abound
Keep toiling forward as aid volunteers and crews encourage
The Sun will soon set, now is not the time to be discouraged
Now that the Sun and heat has started to die down
New life in our legs and second winds are suddenly found
Runners pick up the pace to take advantage of what little daylight is left
For when night falls new challenges presents itself
Rocks and roots suddenly grows bigger in the night
While their shadows are seemingly dancing under your headlamps light
Hills and Mountains become never ending with their peaks amiss
And climbing them can seem like a stairway towards the dark abyss
The mind starts to play tricks after countless miles and many hours in the dark
Of hallucinations of Monsters and Bears lurking amongst the shadows of every tree and large rock
For every runner who's lucky enough to have a pacer to help keep their minds occupied
There's another solo runner battling against their doubts and demons with their sanity half compromised
Aid Stations become brief oasis of light and life during the dead of night
Juxtaposed against scenes of weary, sleep deprived, and injured runners contemplating giving up the fight
For those brave few who choose to carry on
Just hang on a little bit longer for the giver of light to bring about the Dawn
The night sky of twinkly stars begins to fade
The great ball of fire starts to ascend, as you prayed
Just for a moment all aches and pains and fatigue subsides
As you experience a rebirth like no other while bathed in the morning's first light
With renewed energy and purpose, you press on with determination
The absolute worse is now over, reviving your motivation
You may have survived the night, but don't get too cocky
There are still many miles left to go, and making cutoffs may get spotty
Fatigue and pain of which you have rarely known
Has accrued exponentially over the last 80-90 miles that has cruelly sown
When every footfall adds ever more to the growing list of aches and pain
And every small hill becomes Mountains that you have to fight for every gain
Common sense and brief moments of sanity urges you to quit
But you’ve come too far and stubbornly go forward just to spite it
The last few miles of the trails are littered with the broken bodies of the walking wounded
As you past your fellow trail brothers and sisters, you are both encouraged and silently saluted
All the day's many struggles are suddenly forgotten, for now, the end is truly in sight
Even if you have to crawl up that last Mountain, there are no more thoughts of giving up the fight
During the last mile your legs experiences a phenomenon
Against all reason, it suddenly springs to life as you begin to smell the barn
You wonder in which dark hole your legs may have been hiding in for the last 20 miles
But no matter, at least you get to finish strong and with a gigantic smile
At the finish, collapse into the arms of your family and friends or a well deserved chair
Marvel at how you managed to slog through a 100 miles with only a few hours or minutes to spare
The Race Director comes by to greet you with a firm handshake and the coveted 100 Mile Buckle
As you excitedly share tales at the finish line of epic struggles and a few chuckles
Two weeks later your body still hasn’t forgiven you
While you’re back on UltraSignup, searching for the next 100 Miler to squeak through
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