Capes 100 race report

I was told it might be a good idea to write about my 100 miler experience. I am hesitant to do so as I doubt anyone would find it useful or interesting. But I read and watched many people’s experiences of their own which helped immensely. So what the hell.

A little bit of lead up info first. I have only been trail running for a few years and I started a training program this winter to prepare for Capes. I was forever doubting my ability, but as the months passed, I kept doing hill repeats, slightly longer runs, some interval work, and more hill runs with hill repeats. I also ran hills.

All winter I ran up and down Fenwick hill. I got to see the people living along the road decorating for Christmas, shoveling and snow blowing their driveways, raking for spring and mowing their grass. I was the resident hobo.

I was pretty excited to begin on the trails in the Spring, which mainly was Wentworth, Cape Chignecto and Five Islands. In late June and early July I had incidents where I badly rolled both ankles and on a Wentworth run I began with awful left knee pain.

I did 3 physio appointments where they did a laser treatment and taped my knee. The first tape job was with Hypafix and Leuko tape which totally removed my pain for a few days. They said the outer part of my quad was more activated than the inner part and it was pulling my tendons etc outward, which was causing the pain. The tape never really worked out and I made a massage appointment for the day before the Capes 100.

However 3 weeks before the Capes I had reduced training because of my left knee, and no run was over 10k, most 3 or 4. Jodi told me not to doubt myself as I did the work all winter.

My mantra “Give me a fast ship for I intend to go in harm’s way” was said by a Navy Captain a few hundred years ago. I have it tattooed on my left forearm. It reminds me not to give up. So I moved ahead.

I had asked some dear friends to help Deb and myself as a crew. Kevin Jones, Adam Dickinson, Janine Bell with Jason Warham as my pacer beyond 100k.

Deb and I wrote a Crew binder (She did most of the work on it), we had drop bags for non-crew accessible aid stations, and we had a Messenger crew chat. Team meeting the night before, we went over our equipment and plan.

I had packed dried fruit with chocolate mini eggs in a ziplock bag, Nuun tablets for my 1.5 liter bladder and salt caps I made. I also had blueberry pancakes. My vest carried some other odds and ends.

I had bought empty gelatin capsules from a pharmacy a few years ago. I ground up pink table salt and filled each one with approx 500mg. I had a ziplock bag with ginger chews and these salt caps. The Ginger chews were in case I had an upset stomach.

Other odds and ends in my vest was my cell phone, charging block to charge my watch and cell (my watch is the Suunto Ambit 3 run, lasts about 10 hours), extra socks, toilet paper, lube in medical gloves folded inside out, whistle and a flashlight.

We woke up at 4am on the day of the race. We made coffee, had oatmeal and got ready. We lined up at the Farm and the Shot Gun was fired at 6am for the start.



It is a beautiful course which took us along the beach onto trails towards Cape d’Or, which was Aid Station 14k. Non-crew accessible, I had been using my water with a Nuun tablet, which I hated the taste of. I dumped it out in favor of water and I ate part of a pancake. Mike Hudson and I ran together for most of the 14k, he moved out a bit before me towards 20k. Harvey Snair had started with us but had gone ahead.

Aid Station 2 was actually 21.5 kilometers in, and I saw my Crew for the first time. Everyone had their job, and they filled my bladder up with water again and added a Nuun tablet. I ate a bit more, they got me going and I headed towards the woods again and the beach towards 30k.

Reid’s Aid station was friendly, I had gotten ahead of Mike and Harvey in between stations but we met up at 30k and headed out. I had changed my socks and wow, I felt like a new man. I also dumped out my water with the Nuun tablet for lemon Skratch Electrolyte drink. The way of the future!

The 3 of us headed into Cape Chignecto park via Eatonville Road. Aid Station 40 I saw John Brennan where he kindly helped us refuel and load up. Mike and Harvey and I headed out and when we hit the service road to Big Bald it got very hot.



Photo Credit Andrew Wagstaff

Harvey and I got into Big Bald and were greeted by Andrew Wagstaff and I got to use the Outhouse. It was the first time I sat down since 5:30 am and it was mid afternoon. We spent a short amount of time there and headed out towards Arch Gulch cabin, approx 12k away.

This was the part of the trail I knew the best and we headed out strong. I had my headlamp at the 70k aid station with a hand flashlight in case I was longer. We got going a bit faster than I wanted, and I talked Harvey’s ear off about all the times I hiked around the trail. I had done it all in one day 3 times this Spring/Summer. Harvey’s story is his to tell, but I can tell you when I got to the top of Refugee Hill, I felt great! Also, my knee hadn’t hurt once yet!

It was a nice go to Arch Gulch where we saw Blair Mann who got us sorted out and on our way out of the park.

At Millbrook Hill, I saw Steve Taylor beginning his climb. I wondered if he liked music and I sang a couple bad verses of What a Wonderful World. I told Steve that was all I knew, and he replied “Good”.





We got out of the park before dark and I was jacked. The 70k Aid station wasn’t far away.






I do love Cape Chignecto, but it is a Jackhammer. I told everyone who would listen that day it’s the Jackhammer which gets you.

When Harvey and I arrived at the 70k aid station, I was 2 hours ahead of schedule, and very worried I burned myself out.

I changed my socks, shorts and shirt into pants and a long sleeve shirt and donned my headlamp. I grabbed some food and left.

After I got off the Dikes and into the woods dusk settled and moths flew at my face. I came across 4 or 5 runners in the dark which was creepy. I came into 80k Aid station jogging and I felt great.

I changed my shoes for the first time and headed out to 86k.

Not going to lie, but a few times throughout the day I had some low moments, and one of the biggest hit me about 30 minutes outside of 86k. I was going up a hill and Deb texted me she wasn’t doing well. I called her and she said she was freaked out. She had been alone in the park, in the dark for hours. We spoke for a few minutes and I lost cell reception. It then occurred to me that I was also alone in the dark.

Perhaps 15 minutes later I came across two ladies and we greeted each other and I moved along. I think I passed a few more before 86 and when I hit the Aid station, Mitchell (one of my sons), Adam and Kevin were waiting for me. I felt quite low, but they did their best to cheer me up. I was restocked with items and I headed towards a long uphill climb I wasn’t looking forward to.

I met two other ladies up the hill and we spoke for 10 to 15 minutes and they recognized Debra Dawn’s name from the Capes 100 training group FB page. They said she was very nice and they told me to say Hi to her. I went on ahead and power walked for awhile. I came across the first weirdness of nighttime running when I saw reflective squares suspended in mid air. I had heard animals prior, but as soon as I saw a square, a branch took my headlamp off.

They turned out to be a reflective end on the trail markers we had been following.

I finally hit the beach and didn’t realize the Shipyard Campground’s lighthouse was so far away. I think it took me 45 minutes to get to it.

I saw Kevin and Janine at the lighthouse and I headed towards the Farm.

At the 100k, I was feeling OK, but I felt blisters on some of my toes. Jason was waiting for me. I changed my socks again (to a thin pair for some reason, big mistake) and back to my first pair of shoes (again, big mistake).

In retrospect, I wish I had arranged for my Jetboil to have hot coffee waiting for me. I had lost time but still arrived 30 minutes ahead of schedule, and 2 hours before my cutoff to head out for the last 60k. Maybe the aid station had coffee, I didn’t even think to ask.

Jason and I headed out just before 2 am and I felt great for about an hour, then a huge wave of tiredness hit me.

Jason said I was talking a mile a minute and then I stopped. He began talking, I remember this well, he told me stories of him working at the Court and for a course he is taking through work. I struggled a lot, I asked him a few times if I could sleep for a bit at the Aid station. I thought it was 110k, and remembered it maybe at 112. I struggled for quite some time.

When someone is falling asleep and they have a ½ second micro dream and wake back up, that happened to me constantly while I was moving. I hadn’t used my poles all run and I wished I had them.

I was so tired, I remember hearing Jason talking and he got a little quiet and I thought to myself “He’s trying so hard to keep me going. I should sing a song. What IS music anyways?”

Then my right foot began to hurt, bad. Not sure how long it was building up for and I didn’t pay attention. Jason said I should sit down on the trail so we could look at it. The pad of my right foot was a big blister, and I had to walk on my heel. It was uncomfortable as hell.

We taped it with duct tape from my first aid kit and I put my sock/shoe back on and we started again. As we got closer to the Aid station, I was walking very gingerly and my foot was in a lot of pain.

When we finally arrived, it was about 114k and I had to sit down. I had woken up completely, but couldn’t walk, let alone power walk or jog.

I made the very hard decision to call it at approx 114k. It was about 5am, I had been moving for 23 hours.

In the winter and months leading up to the Capes 100 I very much doubted my ability to complete a hundred miler. I had mistakes at WW and SOG, which I overcame. My nutrition was good, I wasn’t bothered by either ankle or my knee. If I had a chance for a do over, I wouldn’t go cheap on shoes, and I would have taken my poles out for the back 60.

I can’t wait to start this all over again.