I left Houston to fly to Sacramento/Squaw Valley without great expectations for the Western States 100 as I had only six weeks of training behind me. My longest training run during this period was only 25 miles. I tore my plantar fascia while running with my beautiful daughter, Sara, at the Houston Marathon in January 2005. That injury resulted in my wearing a cast on my foot for four weeks followed by a hard boot for six weeks. I also endured many months of physical therapy. Plans to run the WS100 this year were doubtful until my foot finally felt better at the end of April. Since I had been accepted in the lottery for the 2005 WS100, I decided in April to run with the goal of completing the race within the thirty-hour time limit.

I arrived in Sacramento on Thursday, June 23, and drove to Truckee, which is about a ten-minute drive from the race start in Squaw Valley. As in the past two years, I spent Thursday and Friday nights the Truckee Inn, a beautifully restored hotel in the middle of town. On Friday morning, I checked in at the race start in Squaw Valley and had my medical check-up by same nurse who performed my medical evaluation the prior two years. My weight of 168 pounds was 4 pounds heavier than last year, a result of my down time due to injury.

My drop bags had been prepared Thursday afternoon, so I left them on Friday at the appropriate locations near the race start. I also met Kim Pilcher at the start line on Friday. This was Kim's first 100 mile run, so she was very excited. We took photographs at the start line. I also gave Kim a pair of shoes for her pacer, Mariela Botella, to change into at the Rucky Chucky river crossing (mile 78).

I developed a sore throat Friday afternoon and felt very anxious. I prepared my clothes for the race and walked around the town of Truckee before meeting Kim, Mariela, Kim's sister, Jenny, and my pacer, David Holloway, for dinner. Arrangements were made with Mariela and Jenny to meet Kim and me at the Little Bald Mountain aid station (mile 28.6) with dry shoes, as we would be running through snow up to that point.

I went to bed early, but was unable to sleep due to a stuffy nose and sore throat. At 4:00 a.m. Saturday, I took a shower, picked up Kim at her hotel, and drove to the start line at Squaw Valley. Kim was very excited and felt like she was going to a party. I felt like I was going to a funeral, and Kim felt sorry for me. After letting Kim out at the start line, I found the perfect parking spot, as David, my pacer, would pick up the car later that morning. I picked up my bib number, 444, and went to the start line. I was so excited that I barely noticed the chill in the air. The race started at 5:00 a.m. and I power walked the first five miles up a steep incline. Due to my sore throat, I had no energy. There were a few spots of snow the first five miles of the race, but the snow covered the course from miles 6 through 20.

When I reached Robinson Flat (mile 24.6), I had lost twelve pounds! The medical personnel said I looked good and allowed me to continue, but advised me to continue eating and drinking. I saw Mariela at Robinson Flat and she said that David was waiting four miles down the trail at the next aid station, Little Bald Mountain (mile 28.6), with my dry shoes. From Robinson Flat to Little Bald Mountain, the trail was 90% snow and mud, so I was very happy to change into dry shoes. There was no more snow from Little Bald Mountain to the finish line.

The dry shoes eventually started hurting my ankle, so at the Dusty Corners (mile 38) aid station, I got some band-aids and duct tape to cushion both ankles. At the next aid station (Last Chance, mile 43), my ankle was worse, so I cut the side of my shoe with scissors and taped it with duct tape. The aid station volunteers reacted with surprise when I asked for scissors (they must have thought I was going to cut myself). My shoes felt much better after that.

I saw Linda Rust from Austin when I got to Devil's Thumb (mile 47.8) and we talked for a while. I had my first noodle soup at Devil's Thumb. Kim Pilcher arrived at Devil's Thumb as I was leaving. She asked me to wait for her. We applied mosquito repellent, as the mosquitoes were very bad. Kim and I left Devil's Thumb together. I told Kim that I was very concerned about the cut-off times. Kim was very optimistic and said that we would be just fine. We ran down the mountain together, but eventually Kim told me to keep going. Cutting my shoes was the best thing that I did! At the same time, my energy picked up and I decided that I would complete the 100 miles no matter what. I ran all the way to Michigan Bluff trying to make up for lost time.

I arrived at Michigan Bluff (mile 55.7) at 8:30 p.m., about ten minutes before the thirty-hour cut-off time, and it was beginning to get dark. Pacers are allowed at Michigan Bluff after 8:00 p.m., and fortunately David was there waiting for me. My plans were for David to begin pacing me at Foresthill School (mile 62), so I was very glad to see him at Michigan Bluff. I started taking Aleve every four hours for the sore throat and muscular pain. We descended the rocky trails deep into the canyon and slowly made the steep climb up to Bath Road (mile 60.6). It was dark at this point, so we had to use our headlights and flashlights. Due to the snow melt, we crossed more rocky streams than we would have under normal conditions.

At Foresthill School (mile 62), I had a sandwich, changed my shirt and socks, and got a new flashlight. It was 10:30 p.m. and the cutoff was 11:50 p.m. In order to save time at each aid station, we planned what we would need in advance. There was a section of concrete we ran after leaving Foresthill School, which caused pain in my plantar fascia, so we walked. David pushed me to walk faster. When we hit the trail again, it was like magic! We ran through the dark, passing many runners along the way. No one passed us.

We continued running and passing many runners all the way to the Rucky Chucky river crossing (mile 78). Under normal conditions, runners walk across the slippery rocks of the river bottom while holding onto a cable for support. This was not a normal year. Due to the snow melt, the American River was flowing at ten times normal capacity, so runners had to cross the river in a raft. There was a line of runners waiting to cross the river, so we spent more than thirty minutes waiting for a raft. We got very cold waiting for the raft near the frigid water flowing in the river. When we finally crossed the river, David changed his shoes. I did not change my shoes as I was happy with the shoes that I had cut earlier in the race, but I did change my shirt. We then started the climb from the river up to Green Gate (mile 79.8).

From Green Gate, we continued to run and pass other runners. The 5.4 miles to Auburn Lake Trails (mile 85.2) passed quickly. I was feeling good at this point and knew that I would finish the race. Shortly after leaving Auburn Lake Trails, the sun started to rise and gradually lit the dark, narrow path we had been running all night. I felt energized as the sun rose in the sky, and ran even harder. The Highway 49 crossing (mile 93.5) was a very welcome sight. Less than 7 miles to the finish! Nothing could stop me now. At No Hands Bridge (mile 96.8), David told me to run, but he was going to walk the last few miles to the finish. I am sure he remembered that last steep climb up to Robie Point (mile 98.9) from pacing me the last two years. I called him "cougar Bait" in an effort to motivate him to finish with me, but that didn't work. I even told him if he were on a bicycle, he would be a "meal on wheels." So I ran to the finish line, triumphantly finishing in 27 hours 58 minutes.

Even though this was my third year to run WS100, it was the most meaningful run. The injuries I suffered for most of the previous year and the resulting lack of training made this year's race questionable. I ran the race as best as I could considering my lack of training. I had a great time, and I am happy to be running without pain once again!