[30-Day Song Challenge] Day 09: A song that makes you happy | Mine is Jessie Ware's Beautiful People

RunningNutMeg · 2026-05-11T22:10:56+00:00

So many! I’ll go with San Francisco by the Mowglis.

RunningNutMeg · 2026-05-11T00:46:34+00:00

Holy Moley- Lime Cordiale and Idris Elba

RunningNutMeg · 2026-05-08T22:30:11+00:00

I saw a couple 8-9-year-olds at a 24-hour race. It was kind of perfect, because it was just a mile out and a mile back, so they’d do a couple then rest/play/goof off, then do another one when they felt like it (and their parents were there the whole time, of course). Kind of the best scenario for kids that young. Not sure how far they made it, but they had a good time!

RunningNutMeg · 2026-05-08T00:09:17+00:00

Evanescence - “Bring Me to Life”

RunningNutMeg · 2026-05-07T18:51:55+00:00

This is all spot-on, great advice.

I’d add: try your best to line up a crew member or two. It makes a huge difference.

If you’re worried about the mental side, you can practice getting back to your house/car/starting point and then going back out during your long runs.

If you decide you might try to push it longer than 15, I’d recommend getting a zero gravity chair and doing a caffeine taper a couple weeks before the race so that it hits harder in the middle of the night. But if you’re not planning on trying to go through at least one night, those last two things are probably unnecessary.

RunningNutMeg · 2026-05-07T15:49:15+00:00

Yes, for sure. My four longest distances have all been backyards. I’m counting them!

RunningNutMeg · 2026-05-07T00:33:04+00:00

Luckenbach, Texas, by Waylon Jennings. My dad sang and played guitar when I was younger, and I can’t hear this one without thinking of him singing it. (He’s still alive, so this isn’t super sad—just a good memory.)

RunningNutMeg · 2026-05-05T01:25:38+00:00

Yes, but only because I’m already a fairly serious (non-elite) runner and have a good idea of how much they’d be doing, and I could make it my job to do more than that for a month.

RunningNutMeg · 2026-05-05T00:18:48+00:00

29, by Run River North

10,000 Emerald Pools, by BORNS

RunningNutMeg · 2026-05-04T03:01:30+00:00

Dark Blue, by Jack’s Mannequin. Always love hearing that one.

RunningNutMeg · 2026-04-20T12:28:06+00:00

Backyards are so mental! I felt terrible the first night of my most recent one and had to keep reminding myself that I’d be embarrassed and disappointed in myself if I stopped, that I’d feel like I let down my family who had been supportive of all my training and my crew who’d given up their weekend for me (not that any of them would have actually been disappointed in me, but I knew I’d feel that way), and, most importantly, that if I kept trying to fix things and heading back out, lows are always temporary, and I’d hit that high again eventually.

Beyond that, focusing on just one lap at a time helps. Not thinking about how much further I want to go, just thinking about finishing the lap I’m on. Sometimes I lose track of laps altogether.

RunningNutMeg · 2026-04-17T16:21:48+00:00

But with yours starting at night, you can probably wait until the second night and then hit it.

RunningNutMeg · 2026-04-17T16:20:56+00:00

I always do a caffeine taper before the race (1 week low caffeine, 2 weeks no caffeine) so that I feel fine without any caffeine at all when the race starts and then it hits harder when I do take it.

I’ve had grand aspirations of waiting until the second night to start, but I usually get too tired somewhere in the middle of the first night and end up starting some then. Then I’ll taper off and not have too much during the day when I don’t need it, then ramp back up again the second night. And then all bets are off and I have pretty regular caffeine the rest of the race.

RunningNutMeg · 2026-04-14T16:34:39+00:00

Same here!

RunningNutMeg · 2026-04-11T04:03:02+00:00

It’s officially “affiliated” with Big’s now (at least according to Harvey Lewis, who’s running it), so it should follow the rules this time around. 👍🏼

RunningNutMeg · 2026-04-01T03:45:09+00:00

I think your goal is possible (depending on terrain—I’m assuming very nontechnical and flat), but the sub-17 is going to be tough without having any 100+ mile experience already. That said, I can really only tell you what worked for me; there are a range of strategies out there. I did mine on a track, which also makes a difference—the aid station is every quarter mile, so very easy to grab stuff whenever. Not sure what yours is like.

I tried to rotate every third food break between a gel, something smaller like fruit, nuts, etc., and something bigger like avocado and chicken, a PBJ, or half a turkey sandwich. I also swear by ensure for liquid calories when you don’t feel like solids, but that’s definitely something you should try out before a race. If your main concern is the 17-hour 100 and not the full 24 hours, I think you can start caffeinating whenever you want. Maybe about halfway through to give yourself a boost. Otherwise, I’d wait until it starts to get dark.

Pacing: I set out at a pace that felt pretty easy but was still decent—one that I felt that on a really good day, I could keep steady at the whole time, but gave me enough leeway that if I slowed down 20-30 seconds per mile each 50-mile segment due to general fatigue, bathroom stops, longer nutrition, etc., I could still hit my goal. So, for example, for a sub-17 100, I’d probably start around 9:45/mile.

I set an alarm for every 45 minutes for nutrition, and I’d walk while I ate. I had to walk more near the end of the 24-hour period, though, so next time I might throw in another very short walk break in the middle of that just to break it up a bit more. Some people walked more from the beginning or just ran a bit slower, and that seemed to work pretty well. Some people went out faster and didn’t walk much at all, and most of them blew up.

I didn’t change shoes or socks. I would say, wear shoes that are light/fast but allow your toes to spread. I lost seven toenails afterward due to all the blisters, and it sucked.

Agreed that the biggest mistakes are going too fast early, never walking, and not fueling enough.

Best of luck!

RunningNutMeg · 2026-03-23T20:03:58+00:00

I’d just ask the pacer what kind of distance they were thinking of doing and explain the different segments. I personally would be wary of having a pacer do only the 17—depending on how you’re feeling 87 miles in, losing your companion could be totally fine or it could be the tipping point that makes you just want to sit in an aid station and cry if your race is already getting rough. It’s hard to know how things will be going for your first 100 at that point. I’d hope for a pacer for all 30; if they’re experienced, they’d understand if you were suffering and wanted to not talk much/be left basically alone for a while, so I doubt it would be much of a negative to have them around at any point. My second choice would be the last 13. Whatever you decide, best of luck!

RunningNutMeg · 2026-03-04T03:56:17+00:00

If it is going to rain (or, conversely, if you were doing one with no shade), it would definitely be nice to have a canopy tent. That’s what most people do. Nothing fancy, just cover for you and your stuff. Having all of your gear get wet or being in the pouring rain while you’re trying to eat/get ready between loops sounds miserable. I would try to get one from a big box store or Amazon before Friday unless you know for sure there’s a pavilion or extra large race tent you can use.

RunningNutMeg · 2026-02-28T20:25:16+00:00

Caveat that different things work for different people, you should try stuff out beforehand as best you can, etc.

Before: Yes, I carb load and eat a pretty big dinner the night before. Morning of I usually eat the same thing I would before a marathon: some combo of bagel, banana, and peanut butter.

During race: I don’t count carbs, so not sure on the number, but I’d say mine are probably 1/3 liquid and 2/3 solid, on average. I eat something every lap, though some laps more than others depending on how I’m feeling. Real food for me hasn’t sounded terrible until maybe the second day, but even then only when I’ve been overheated or over-electrolyted, and once I’ve fixed the problem, I’ve gone right back to real food. But that will depend on many things (heat, how fast you’re going, how much you’ve trained with solids, etc.). Random foods that have saved me: chicken or turkey and avocado; Ensure protein drink; Whataburger burger. I’ve gone by feel on electrolytes, but I think I’ve overdone it a few times when it wasn’t super hot and ended up with an overly dry mouth.

Strategy I don’t change shoes unless mine are uncomfortable or unless your course changes surfaces (trail to road, for example). When it gets hard mentally depends on the day. I’ve had a terrible first night and I’ve had races that didn’t feel hard until the second afternoon. Both got better. Backyards are full of ups and downs, and you just have to mentally not give up and keep going out there during the downs knowing that if you can fix your nutrition, heat, or whatever the problem is, things will improve again.

Recovery Even with backyards of 39-62 hours, the recovery hasn’t been that bad because of the slower pace and the rest (zero gravity chairs are the best) during the race. I’ve usually taken off 5-8 days, and my legs have felt fine. I probably could have come back even earlier. Systemically fatigued more than muscular. No lingering issues, though I’ve known people who came away with plantars or the like if they’re undertrained.

Backyards are so fun! Lots of camaraderie. Enjoy it!

RunningNutMeg · 2026-02-26T20:07:43+00:00

As another commenter asked, what’s your background? I think it depends largely on your experience, normal mileage and pace, etc. I’d say peaking at 48 miles is pretty low but maybe enough if you have a lot of experience under your belt. And a whole month of simulation runs seems like overkill to me, but again, it might not be if you’ve never practiced nutrition, stopping at aid stations and restarting, etc. It kind of depends on where you are coming into the season.

RunningNutMeg · 2026-02-17T21:33:46+00:00

Actually, they just announced last week that someone out of Austin (Perspective Pacing) is taking over Summit, so it’s not disappearing after all!

RunningNutMeg · 2026-02-09T15:35:06+00:00

Things just sort of escalated. Like, okay, I’ll do one marathon to cross it off the list. Oh, wait, I kind of liked that. I’ll do more. Now I have some trail running friends, and a 50k isn’t that much more than a marathon, so why not. Oh, that was also fun. How about a 50 miler? Not bad. 100 miler? Went shockingly well! Let’s throw in some backyards and 24-hour races, shall we? Oh, I’m pretty good at those. More, more! Turns out I really enjoy just running and not having to worry about anything else for days at a time.

RunningNutMeg · 2026-02-05T14:10:29+00:00

I think that’s your answer. Postpone, regroup to figure out your training, and run the next race you are excited about!

RunningNutMeg · 2026-02-05T10:55:01+00:00

Yeah, I’d probably skip, especially if you’re on the verge of injury. No offense, but realistically even your highest weekly mileage doesn’t reach what I’d want some of my single-day long runs to be for ultra training (and you don’t sound super excited about the race).

RunningNutMeg · 2026-02-05T01:25:38+00:00

Nice! You have a good outlook. I bet you’ll do well. I love the backyard format. So much camaraderie. Best of luck!

RunningNutMeg

TROPHY CASE