On October 12th 2024 at 5am, I set out on what would become one of the longest 2 years of my life. The recap from that race can be found here (link here), but I went back and read it and was quite shocked as it left one major piece of information out. Well, to be honest, I still didn’t know how bad my ankle injury was at the time of that writing. For several months I fought the pain in my ankle wanting to believe it was just a sprain and I could do what I always do when that happens … run it out. I finally threw in the towel and told Linda I needed to get it looked out (that was a very hard decision for me to make). Went to the local orthopedic walk-in clinic and had it xrayed. Doctor looked at it and informed me it was just a high ankle sprain. Somewhat shocked, I slinked out of the room embarrassed having wasted Linda’s time for something I should have been able to deal with. Rested it again, and then started trying to run again…more intense pain on every step. Saw my chiro several times and he would pull on it trying to unlock it – more intense pain. Finally suggested I see another foot surgeon. I’ll simply summarize the next year:
– New surgeon found that my tibia had two fractures in it
– Spent January and part of February in a boot
– Go back to that surgeon, he takes the boot off and declares me healed
– Start trying to run again – intense pain comes back
– Eventually throw in the towel and go back to see the actual ankle surgeon at the first orthopedic office
– Ankle surgeon looks at it and immediately declares something is wrong and orders MRI
– MRI comes back and confirms major issues including cartilage tears and tendon rupture off the bone
– 6 procedure surgery with Dr. telling Linda when it got in there it was worse than he originally thought.
That leaves me with 6 weeks of no weight bearing, 4 weeks of boot (again) and then 6 weeks of brace with weeks of water therapy and physical therapy dripped in the middle. By October of 2025 I was just getting out of the brace and broke my 5 year continuous streak of competing at the Farmdale ultras – not to mention marking my first full year of not participating in any race since I started my running addiction.
Jump to last weekend, Oct 9th, 2026 when I made my return to the ultra-circuit, lining up once again for the Farmdale 50 mile race.
Hit the jump for the race recap!
This year I made a point to make sure I was in the best shape I could be for my return. I purposely delayed putting all the props from our Halloween Haunted Trail event back in storage – managed to injure my back doing that before the 2024 race. Hit my taper marks and gave the body more rest than it ever had leading up to a race. I was as good as it gets knowing the training was impacted from the ankle surgery and we had spent an extra month and a half traveling in June/July that prevented me from getting all the recommended long mile runs. The only thing that really mattered was whether the ankle would hold – it was time to find out!
In the week leading up to the race I had mapped out both the full nutrition and hydration plans for the night before, morning of and each of the 5 loops of the race. Linda was on it and quite frankly the rock I rely on to even be able to attempt races of this distance. The biggest fear was clipping a root or slipping off a rock tearing up the ankle again. For the month leading up to race I would virtually run the race reviewing the strategy for each section and noting every hazard identified in the training runs. I thought that would also allow me to sleep better the night before – nope – once again I probably got a total of 30 minutes of sleep before the alarm clock went off at 3:30am. It felt like my first race ever and jitters were amped to 11.
Got ready, had breakfast and made my way to the starting line. It was truth time and I was admittedly nervous…as in more nervous than usual. Jan had given me some healing pads to try out and slapped one of those right across the ankle to help cushion any shoe rubs. All I could think about at the starting line was Linda’s last words of wisdom “Make good choices“. Seemed like a tough ask as being here probably wouldn’t be considered a “good choice” to begin with ha.
Final instructions were given and the official start issued – we were off.
If you haven’t competed in an ultra, then you might not be aware that the start isn’t the blast out you see in shorter distances. The 100 and 50 milers were launching now, 30 milers went off in two hours and then the 1/2 marathoners and 10kers would follow at 8. That last group might leave a little faster, but this was the turtle hour and we slowly made our way out into the darkness – this also marks the last time I would see more than 5 to 10 people the entire race as everyone starts spreading out with their own specific paces and different rest strategies.
This loop was all about NOT getting injured. Lots of things lurk out in the darkness just waiting to trip you up – my approach.. take it slow, stay with the group as long as possible to collectively learn the “trip” spots and beyond all else, DO NOT GO DOWN. I didn’t want the ankle to get banged up early and there was some fear that catching my fall would further injure my already broken finger – oh, did I mention that tidbit.
Slow and steady. For first 5 miles ended up hanging with someone from Wisconsin doing this race for the first time. I was able to point out the key parts of the course and give him a lot of pointers learned over the many traversals both training and racing. He was very appreciative of the info and decided to head out on his own at the mid-loop aid station – he had a very aggressive time he was trying to hit. Continued the same strategy for the remaining 5 miles on that initial loop, paying close attention at three key areas that are loaded with roots – the pines, the two prairie sections and a part at mile 9 where my feet clipped at least 6 roots even though I was taking it easy – definitely keep an eye on that section for the rest of the loops.
Crossed the time mat – one loop was successfully in the books and feeling pretty good!
Loops two strategy was to push the accelerator just a bit more. The sun had come up enough to see the terrain without the waist light and it was warming up. Dropped the long sleeve shirt, grabbed a PBJ bagel half and headed back out. Like the first loop, made sure to miss the hazards in the first couple of miles – forgot to mention how scary it was to pass those mentally marked hazards in the dark on the first loop..I’d check one off (root, sapling stump, rock etc.) and then I would hear someone hit it a number of runners behind me followed by a thump and/or audible cursing. There is a definite advantage being on your home court.
The loop went pretty much as planned. Scraped a couple of roots that I hadn’t remembered, but did give the two rocks that broke my ankle the finger as I made my way around them. That long layoff really hit me in the middle of this loop. After two years, my strong base had eroded and I could feel the lungs and legs starting to remind me of the neglect. My farthest training distance was 24 miles and we were nearly there. The fatigue was real as I came back to the RV at the end of this second loop. Normally I would take in a heavy amount of food, but the stomach was slightly off and opted to just grab a few cookies and top off the electrolytes. The full lunch could wait until the end of the next loop.
In the last race I had Ryan pace me on the third loop. This was the hump loop and having him there to keep my mind off the race was a great asset. Unfortunately, this year he came down sick right before the race and had to bale at the last minute. Have to say, that was a huge disappointment, his “old” runner jokes allowed me to laugh a lot of the pain away. This year I was on my own – and by alone, I mean alone. Since that 5 mile mark I had only seen a few people – although this was a loop that I do briefly meet a few – as they blast past me on fresh legs from the later launches that were occurring.
I decided this was the loop I was going to try and make my fastest. The pushing would help keep me concentrated in place of Ryan’s funny banter. Took in as much full food as I could and switched to another flavor of electrolytes. Once the legs were loose again, ran pretty much the entire 3 miles to the water crossing. During this time the stomach decided to get a bit angry. No real explanation, this is the same nutrition strategy I had used in past races and training runs.
Continued trying to push the pace to the 5 mile aid station noting that the hard climb up to that took a lot out of me this time. The steep hill is badly eroded and requires you to navigate through exposed roots to find proper footing on your way up. So thankful for all those rucking days doing these very same hills with 20 to 25lb weights. You are probably wondering how the ankle is holding. It was hanging in there, but it was pretty angry. Up to that point I had managed to twist it twice and both times it held and righted itself. What it really did not like was the edge of the shoe digging into the underside of the ankle and it was giving me a sting on each foot fall – even with the extra cushioning pad (would have been really bad without it – thanks Jan!). The hill climbs really made it chirp so I started backing off on those and decided to take those three dangerous sections just as cautious on this loop. Really happy to cross the timing lap to check off this third loop – hoping I get Ryan back next year.
The stomach was getting more and more queasy, although the most troubling thing was the muscles in my forearms were absolutely screaming. Normally I prefer the handhold bottles but they had not been tested for this distance in a loooong time. The haunted trail also took a lot of out of my physically (lost 13 pounds setting up and tearing down for that event) and thinking some of the arm muscles were getting their revenge. Opted to switch to my hydration vest for the 4th loop. Not ideal as it was a break from the training, but the arms were not going to take another 10 miles carrying the electrolytes. Another concern was the skin on the bottoms of my feet were getting slippery – my Drymax socks were apparently failing wicking expectations. Swapped out my shoes, slapped some more of those healing pads on the bottom of my feet – thanks again Jan (getting them off after the race was an issue for a later time), put on some dry socks (again Drymax). Slippery foot problem hopefully solved. Still hashing out the vest decision as it resulted in a serious issue in my right ribs. About 3 miles into the loop I started getting a horrible pain in the middle of the right side. Not the normal stitch feel, more like a stab on each exhale. Decided it might be where the vest comes across, so unhooked the bottom latch – some relief, but Mr. Stabby came back a few miles beyond. Re-buckled the bottom one and undid the top buckle – same results, some relief, but came back a few miles further down path. They say ultra-running is about problem solving – I was up to my eyeballs with problems.
Did I mention my stomach also decided to join in the pain game. No worries, I knew there was ginger ale at the halfway aid station (had some the loop before). Make it there and that problem would be resolved. Struggled up the roots a 4th time on the steep hill and rolled into the aid station with a big feeling of relief. “Sorry, we are out of ginger ale“. Not what I wanted to hear. Took a seat at a nearby picnic table and gathered my wits. Whoops, need to take step back. In the first or second mile I had taken a big gulp from the hydration bladder and a huge chunk of “gunk” came into my mouth and nearly gagged on the spot. This is ENTIRELY my fault as I always try to get that tubing as clean as possible and apparently failed in my last scrubbing. Spit that gulp out, yet very concerned about any left in there mixing with the already tightening stomach. From that point on I would simply fill the mouth, swish it around and spit it out. Okay, back to the picnic bench. Weighing options I decided to load up on the water they had and hope that gets me through the next 5 miles to drop the pack and go back to the hand held. It’s times like these I remind myself I willingly sign up for this torture ha.
The only small relief I could get on the ribs was to undo both the top and lower buckles on the vest. This gave me the ability to take full breaths at the cost of a bouncing bladder on the back. As the lesser of evils go..I’d rather be able to breathe. At one point I tried the old remedy of pinching the skin between your thumb and index finger and to my complete surprise it would work…for a half mile or so before having to do it again. I might just make it through this lap!
Well, Murphy is alive and well. I was starting to get really worried that the sun might go down before getting through this lap. I figured I had plenty of time when I started this lap and opted to leave my waist light at the RV – stupid, stupid, stupid. I did put a small hand held light in my vest just in case so as something to fall back on if all else failed. This fear lead me to pick up the pace and against smarter judgement, opted to run a long stretch in the prairie – a section I had purposely gone slow in from past experiences. I actually got a little joyous when I saw three ladies a good distance ahead of me. Finally proof of life out here!!! They were walking and I was gaining on them pretty quickly… won’t be long now and then “scraaaappppppeee”, my right foot caught a nasty root hiding just under the tall grass. That initial catch put an instant pull on that IT Band. Catching myself with the left leg just in time put an instant pull on the IT Band on that side as well. Somehow managed to contort my body enough to keep from yard sale’ing, but hips were hurting bad. Good news…ankles survived – lemonade out of lemons at this point. The best part of all, the three ladies didn’t see it – whew, that would have been extremely embarrassing. The adrenaline from the stumble, the falling sun and the pleasure of seeing someone for the first time in a looong time all combined to give me some new life. They ended up stopping to rest so I said my hellos and goodbyes and headed on. Lack of fluids was coming in to play and was elated when I hit the long stretch across the dam signifying less than a mile. 40 was in the books, I was tired, stomach wasn’t calming down, my side was killing me and now both hips were squawking. Only 10 more miles to go…let’s do this.
The last 10 miles was a struggle. Regardless of what happened during the race, I knew this last loop required a deep commitment – it has been on all 4 previous races. My absolute admiration goes out to the 100 milers out there as I can only imagine what they are dealing with at this point, knowing they are not even halfway done yet. I was closing on my chosen distance and I wanted it to me over. Two thoughts kept me going – 1) I had put a lot of effort in working through the ankle injury these last two years and 2) this was a clean race for me – not a single DNF in any of the times I had competed here – I wasn’t going to throw in the towel now – hell, I had completed 48 miles of this race with a broken ankle, what I was experiencing now didn’t even come close to that battle.
Dropped the vest immediately to right that wrong decision. The arms appreciated the rest. Not wanting to add anymore to the stomach mix, opted to only take straight water for the last loop. At worst case they had Tailwind at the halfway point and would take that if I absolutely needed some electrolytes. Added another top layer for the dropping night temps and put on the waist light. It was time to challenge myself once again.
I tried some sausage links as that is my favorite last loop treat – a few bites confirmed that “treat” wasn’t the right description this year. Slapped BioFreeze on the hips and Aspercream on the outside knee tendons that were clearly fatigued. Reminded Linda that this was going to be a slow loop and headed out. Each mile checked off just gave me more confidence to get through the rest. I’d shuffle for a bit, scrape a root from the tired legs and settle back down to a fast walk. Start shuffling again and then feel that close call scrape on another root of all evil. Every once in a while I’d spot a far off light bouncing confirming I wasn’t the only crazy person out there. Not sure I have ever been as relieved as when I made it up the steep hill to the aid station for the LAST TIME. The hardest part of the race was over, now just get through the rest and collect your reward.
Enjoyed a short talk with the individual working the aid station who graciously filled my water bottle – he did caution me that I wasn’t drinking enough seeing as how little he had to add to the bottle. That is when I found the nerd covered gummies – where in the hell have those been all my life. Wow, did that taste wonderful!! Grabbed a few for the remaining miles and headed out.
At this point it was a slog. There is a pretty steep hill around mile 48 and climbing that was sucking the life right out of me. All of a sudden a light showed up at the top and the words “Who goes there?” was heard. A bit shocked, I looked around to see if he was talking to the light that I had been gaining on me for the last couple of miles. As I got closer the mystery light said “Is that Brian?” What the hell, now I was hallucinating..crapola. Got closer and a hand reached out to me – it was my good friend Shawn who was there to start pick up and pace the light that was coming up behind me. I can’t tell you how incredible that moment felt.
He asked if I wanted to hang with them “How much running are you doing?“, “Very little“, “Hell yes!“. He introduced me to the individual he was pacing (100 miler) and we headed off. Gone was the stomach pain, gone was the foot pain, gone was the knee pain – unfortunately the rib pain decided to still be an ass. Those conversations for that next mile or so were a lifesaver. Recalled while reading the last race recap that I was able to meet up with a couple of runners at the end that year as well. I need to rethink the Ryan loop or maybe line up a second pacer for this last loop in the future. Shawn eventually picked up the pace to meet whatever they had planned out with less than a mile to go. Refreshed I was running again and made short work of the stretch across the dam and then continued to push into the finish line.
It was over, uncertainty conquered, goal achieved – most important, a successful return to the ultra-racing circuit!
Did it go as planned…eh, my initial hopes were likely too optimistic – then again, they usually are. Am I happy – a resounding yes. With a full year ahead of me now, 2027 should be a complete return to form. For now – I can proudly place my new buckle next to my other 4 – 50 miles to get me to 250 miles for America’s 250 years.
A huge amount of appreciation to Linda who not only kept me on my feet each of those 5 loops, but had to take care of me and put up with me for two years – a non-running Bri is not fun to be around ha. Thanks to Jan for the getting me on to the healing pads and to all those who sent their well wishes and encouragement during the layoff.
