Road to Coach Jeremy’s 100-Mile Race: 73 Days to Go

Well, I ran 100 miles…over 10 days. So, like, ultra-lite.

While vacationing up north with the fam (you know, classic rest and relaxation), I casually set a goal to run 100 miles in 10 days. I know, I know—100 miles in one day is the classic ultrarunner flex, but I wanted to see how my body would hold up when I stretched the suffering out. Think of it as the slow cooker version of an ultra.

Would anything break? Would my knees write a resignation letter? Would I get attacked by a rogue blister? Turns out…not really.

Here’s how it broke down:

• 5 days with 11+ miles each
• 2 “spicy” 8-milers (aka I got a little carried away)
• 3 days where I phoned it in with 5–7 miles and called it “active recovery”

Honestly? It was pretty uneventful. I got one tiny blister, and a bit of fatigue, but no dramatic bonks, no existential dread mid-run. Just vibes. And that’s exactly what I was hoping for.

Now, of course, the real challenge is cramming those same 100 miles into 24–33 hours. Easy, right? Just remove the sleep, triple the suffering, and add some trail hallucinations!

I’ve been mentally noodling on pacing strategies:

• Heart rate capped like a grandpa on a brisk walk?
• Classic run/walk cycles?
• The “nap when tired, run when caffeinated” method?
• Or the good old-fashioned “wing it and hope for the best” approach?

Tempting as it is to roll with chaos, I might try a plan. Maybe. Eventually.

Next Up

I have one more triathlon in Louisville before I kiss the pool goodbye and go full land mammal. I’ll still bike for cross-training (and because my quads have abandonment issues), but the swim cap is getting retired.

The athlete Zoom briefings have started, which means things are starting to feel real. Hearing about the course, the aid stations, and seeing the names and faces of fellow runners is exciting—and occasionally terrifying. Speaking of which, I spotted a guy at lunch rocking a race shirt, struck up a convo (obviously), and it turns out we’re both doing the Wolverine 100! And we already follow each other on Strava. So yeah, we’re basically best friends now, lol.

I’ll check back in after Louisville—when it’ll officially hit me that I’m about to attempt my first 100-miler. Until then, I’ll be quietly panicking and pretending that “just one long run” on October 11th is a perfectly normal thing to do.