MARJI MAGIC

I guess we’ll start with the drive up; last year the drive up was full of anxiety, panic and lots of thoughts of turning around. This year I didn’t even want to stop for gas! I zoomed out of work at 10:00 a.m. on the nose, grabbed my pre-race and during race nutrition….. three 12” Mexican mikes from the local deli. These are my all time favorite sandwich and just the thought of them makes my mouth water. So I grabbed those, a few pies from work and I was northbound. 9ish hour drive. I started with some “soft white underbelly” videos from YouTube; but they weren’t cutting it, I needed high energy. Good vibes. Ya know??? So we went straight Will Smith- gettin jiggy with it from 1998ish.

The messages were coming in hot and heavy from all my Shenanigan friends on the face space messaging platform. We all had an 8-10 hour drive so they were letting out all the secret places to stop for fries and updating on the high speed chase that closed down the Mackinac bridge.

Did you know: fact: Mackinac bridge is 5 miles long and the 7th longest suspension bridge in the world. And they only charge $4 to cruise a 2017 Kia forte across it! That’s less than a dollar a mile. Frickin bargain

Now once you get across the bridge, you’re immediately bombarded with signs for “pasties”. Everywhere. And that was perfect because I had been stressing a bit over the possibility of nipple chafe during the race. So I stopped in to get some pasties for my nips.

Fact: in the U.P. ……. Pastie is not an anti nipple chaffing sticker, it’s a potatoe meat pie deal. Took me my surprise, but I’m in on new things. It was delicious, I had beef. But U.P. …. Where’s that cheese at yo???? It definitely needed some cheese. Wisconsin is hogging it all I suppose.

So after the bridge you got 90 miles straight west, 90 miles straight north. And then you start seeing sign of human life again. And you’re there! The closer you get the more bike racks you see. Which immediately gets the wheels turning in the ol brain. Danggg this fella is from Oregon and has a sweet Toyota Tacoma with a fancy tent on top and he’s gunna run a specialized hardtail. Cool 😎

I rolled into rippling river campground about 7:15. An hour or so before dark. Time to be all business, I’ve got an aggressive tent/garage set up and like 36,543 calories of sugar related products to set up and unload. No messing around…

Butttt first let’s just creepily cruise for the campground and make sure there’s no world famous athletes roaming around that I can fangirl out on…. Oh shucks I spotted one!! No way…. Can’t be…. Is it…. Holy mother of pearl… it is… THE….. THE….. 2018 miss xterra…. KRISTEN freakin WADE!!! Holy moly. I had to stop and get an autograph. Usually world famous athletes can be snobby but not this gal. She was super welcoming. So all my ambitions of setting up before dark were forgotten. I had to soak up as much goodness from the 3rd place arrowhead female 2024 I could get. I gave her offensive lingering hugs and picked her brain on all the adventures she has been on in the past and plans for the future. She luckily had this weekend off of her busy schedule of saving lives as the Battalion fire chief and being the first ever single speed female in… everything, so she was gunna crush the duathalon this weekend. More of a training ride for an athlete of this caliber. I found myself star struck and speechless about a half hour in and had to remove myself before she contacted the authorities.

So now I’m on cloud 9, energy through the roof. Ready to kick ass and take names in the event of life, I headed down to my “rustic” campsite. It was pretty euphoric, a twisty little single track trail from the parking lot, down a hill and to the most beautiful site you have ever seen. Right next to the rippling river. All I could hear was the river. Absolutely amazing. I threw up my tent, stole some free electric from an empty campsite for my air mattress and got settled in.

Now I was settled in my tent about 9:30 and it was time to get my priorities in line. Numero uno was to make my fangirl sign's for Nick; for the 100 mile run start. I had illegally acquired a 4’x4’ piece of cardboard and 3 markers from work before I left. So I sat in my undies, on my air mattress with my headlamp on doodling. I needed a “go nick” sign, I also should probably remind all the runners about potty breaks in the woods. Sometimes they get all jazzed about running 110 miles in the woods and forget about the possibility of tummy troubles with all those silly calories they are consuming. So we went with “don’t forget the toilet paper” and then finally it was Todd and Stacie’s 16th anniversary and Todd said… if you see Stacie… wish her a happy anniversary. Enough said miss Todd.

I then nestled into my bed and was lulled asleep by the delightful sounds of the rippling river. My alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. I had big plans. Big big plans. The bathrooms at rippling river are nicer than the ones at the white house. Big and spacious and pretty. Hot water for days. So I snagged one of those, put on some dope beats “nose to the grindstone-Tyler Childers” and enjoyed myself a nice long hot shower. Brushed my teeth. Went potty and was on my way back to my palace/tent. There was a chill in the air so I panicked a bit and started scouring my car for the warmest thing I could find. Ahhh hah! My pig mascot costume is perfect for those chilly mornings. I snatched up that beauty and grabbed throttle east… or west… I don’t know. Just put Forestville trailhead in my phone… if we’re being honest….

I arrived at forestville just as the sun was starting to peak over Mount Marquette. I was assigned a parking spot by… I’m gunna say… Julie. I think that was her name from all the posts and the multiple times I’ve watched and re watched every episode of the #toddcast. I found my parking spot and started getting on my winter gear. I then had to walk over to THE Elizabeth Peterson. Yay the lady on tv and now the ring leader of miss Todds U.P. Circus. She kindly zipped up my pig costume and I could see in her eyes… “so this is the Marji vibes”. She asked what my signs said and I obliged.

She kindly directed me to the building and the uhaul where Stace was. So I very cautiously meandered toward the building. As you know… the visibility of the ground your walking on when in a pig costume is less then ideal, yet manageable. So I cautiously approached. I was then spotted by Stacie and 2 other humans. They were becoming alarmed, I’m not sure why. It’s Marji, of course a pig will walk out of the darkness with a sign. So as I get closer; I hear cute little muttering from them “WTF is that” “why is it coming toward us” “are we safe”. ….. as I was noticing their alarm bells going off I decided now was a good time to put their minds at ease, I was not there for any harm, so I flipped my sign to happy anniversary stacey, the picture tells the rest of that story.

Then without revealing myself I took off into the darkness. The plan was to just stand and hold my sign and wait for Nick. Ya see…

Side story: once upon a time it was 2024 and I was about 60 miles into my Marji 50 and I was sitting on a log in the dark with my lights off just…. Surviving and I was come upon by a running legend. THE nick. Yeah that guy! The guy that ran the crusher 373 with Tara’s bib and finished. He was still wearing Tara’s bib, had his dead down and was deep in his pain cave. I lifted my head and saw Tara’s bib. Holy Mary Mother of Joseph I exclaimed! You nick?!?! The freakin nick?!!! He gave a half chuckle and said yeah. We introduced ourselves, shared a rotten log for a seat and then agreed, we would never finish if we sat too long. I leapfrogged nick a few times that night. I could literally feel the energy boost I got from him. Everytime I got close, I would whisper “love you nick” as I rolled by on my bike in a descent, then he would catch me on the uphill when I was pushing. It was the Marji Magic, I was feeling it and tasting it and changing forever.

Ok so anywho I’m in my cozy costume, just left Stacie and I’m headed to the 100 mile start to wait… as I part the trees, the only humans in the vicinity are Miss Todd, Nick, Mrs. Nick, and a small percentage of their offspring. Are you kidding me?!? How perfect!!! I cautiously approached as to not scare the kiddos too much with my sign high and proud. The pictures tell the rest of this story.

Take a second and look back at those smiles. That’s JOY at its finest. Two dudes who live hundreds of miles apart, met once in the dark woods and are life friends. That’s the MARJI MAGIC.

Nick and I talked and talked, I hung out with the kids, heard so many legendary stories from Mrs. Nick. It was a beautiful thing.

But I had an obligation to the 100 mile runners to remind them to bring their toilet paper so I was forced to press on to the parking lot to meander around.

I watched the LeBike start, and then they were off. 80 humans into the woods at the hardest race in North America dedicated to 24-48 hours in the woods. Geese Louise was the atmosphere electric.

I then shedded the costume because I was gettin sweaty and headed back to the campground. As I was pulling in, I spotted what I believe was another famous person and Idol of mine. I wasn’t 100% sure but I recognized a red Corolla with a light teal LiV mountain bike on the back… Jesus Mary and joseph, I think that’s KRISTI!! This chick has done it all, faced the most adversity and trauma a there could possibly face and came back stronger and with a bigger smile everytime. I quickly did the math in my head, Kristi+ Corolla+ the color red + a mountain bike= preride!!

So cowabunga I zoomed off to my tent. Grabbed 42% of the stuff I needed and started stomping pedals toward the feel of good vibes. And I found them! Kristi was linking up with all the other legendary athletes I’ve seen on ESPN so many times. Iron woman Toni, Ms xterra 2018, and now Kristi. It was unlikely I’d be able to hang with that power house of a group long, but… I was ready to try my hardest. We took off under the navigation of Kristen’s dad. I think it was her dad. Grey hair, same last name, and was running support for her. So yeah her dad I believe.

I was immediately dropped by Kristi like a bad habit. I believe her FTP is in the high 300’s.

I thought that was the last I would see of Kristi but then I caught up barely in time to snap a few pictures at a waterfall and catch my breath.

My programming was only an hour preride so we did some trails and looped back around to the campground after a few miles. The trails in Marquette leave you in awh. Beautiful and maintained to perfection, we got back and bonded over an apple strudel I had smuggled across state lines. No cutlery, plates or napkins. Just fingers, tongues, laughs. After about an hour of story swapping and contagious giggles it was nap time. Karen tried to come with me in my tent but it wasn’t working out logistically so I napped solo.

Once I had woke from my delightful 3 hour nap I figured it was race prep time. I spread all my stuff out in my tent and started packing. Tire repair stuff, doctor prescribed ankle brace for the inevitable ankle roll, bracelet, half heart, and worlds best dad keychain from my rugrats, Imodium, duct tape, go pro batteries. And then I made a list of things from the store. More Imodium, McDonald’s, ziplock bags, zip ties, and fruit snacks.

Then I immediately went to packet pickup. Obviously wearing my hero shirt because it makes me feel safe and calms my anxiety. If I get antsy In my pantsy I just look down and grab some positivness from either the 2025 duathalon finisher K, or the world renowned rugby extraordinaire KK, or the super athlete, marji finisher, Mohican finisher and my life role model J. Just a glance down at one of those ladies and I’m overwhelmed with positive energy.

So I found a Cozy little parking spot and parallel parked my Kia like a pro… props to me… then headed into the brewery. First stop was to see all my Ohio shenanigan friends and fellow bike club coaches. We posed for a picture and shared some nervous energy 😂

Then I grabbed 2 Hop waters from the bar and jumped inline for my number plate. Then I was on the hunt. For famous people. SPOTTED!! Syd and Mackey! The YouTube sensations. Not Mr. Beast. The REAL YouTube sensations.

I cornered them, reminded them I’m that guy… the super fan who comments and messages and watches their videos on the daily. They remembered me 🥰. I asked them to pose for a mean face picture.

Why mean face? Smiles are awkward, smiles are wierd, and smiles are normal. As you may be catching on… normal is not my jam. So mean face picture with every person I could. And I will be making myself a mean face picture book of all my friends with details about our encounters because I want to remember these amazing humans and their stories for the rest of my life!

I wished syd luck on getting the first ever Marji buckle and then the line for autographs was getting long so I was forced to move on.

Next famous human I encountered was Roy Krans. He’s world famous for creating YouTube videos that find the grey areas in the 906 events. He’s known for getting an air bnb mid polar roll… and buckling…. Walking all of the duathalon… and buckling… and he does a FREE gravel race in Michigan called the dirty kranza I believe. Then I learned when he was on the #toddcast that he is a federal prosecutor and a deputized US marshal. My goodness. That’s spooky enough that I opted out of the mean face picture and just shouted my support from across the venue.

Then I was approached by the kindest gal ever who recognized me from my positivity post I made in Marji talk, where I encouraged anyone who saw a slow moving fella with an owl tattoo on his throat to some say Hi and share some vibes! Her name escapes me but I’ll track her down and find out any details she’s willing to share of her Marji magic journey. We did get a mean face photo though!

It was magical being recognized for a post about smiling 🙂

I then kept hunting and came upon Matt Acker and his Lucious red beard. All of me wanted to ask if I could touch it but… I didn’t. Sigh 😔. I shouted again from across the venue that I love him and he’s a legend. He would go on to recieve the 1000 mile buckle a few hours later. WOW.

I then did as much damage to a double bacon burger with garlic aoli and spinach that I could. The ol gastric sleeve stomach allows 3-4 bites of such goodness. Not to worry though, I took it to go and feasted all night long.

As I was getting ready to Button up shop and head to the tent I was stopped by ANOTHER person who recognized me from the positive post! This gentlemen’s name was Damon, he was clean cut and had Lucious long hair. We chatted for a long time all about energy and training. He said my post helped him reframe his mindset for the race. Outstanding. It was absolutely an honor and a privilege to share a conversation with this fella. Then he messages me after the race and he finished in 11 hours!!! I shoulda been taking his advise instead 😂

Unfortunately it was nearing 8:00 and I had to get back to HQ to finalize my prep. I got all my nutrition out of its original packaging and into ziplock bags for easy access. We had.

3 Mexican Mike sandwiches 22 packs of bluey fruit snacks, a bag of the good twizlers… not the hard dry ones. Them fat juicer ones, a bacon McDouble, 10 piece McNugget with ranch, medium pecan pie, Gatorade, and some other odds and ends.

I then nestled into my bed and put on some YouTube videos of chequamegon race that happened a week or two ago and closed my eyes. Butttt that doesn’t last because due to my previous life of a 350lb binge eater, I was a new carb loading strategy. Through the night I ate 2 boxes of pop tarts ( blueberry and cinnamon) and the rest of that double bacon burger with the carmelized onions and a bag of fries. Delicious.

I woke up around 5 to the buzz off… what I assume is 100 mile bike riders getting ready. Their parking situation is less than ideal so the “early bird gets the parking spot only a mile away from the start”…I think that’s the saying…. I popped out of my tent and felt the magic. Headlamps everywhere. Free hubs humming in the distance, zip ties zipping and the occasional concerned conversation. I walked around and soaked it in for a bit. All these humans were preparing for battle. They are all warriors in the war of life, and they were preparing to enter the woods in one form and emerge a completely different, more resilient, fantastic, human. It’s hard not to be one addicted to that energy. I wanted to top off my positive vibes tank in the darkness admiring them.

I then put back on my hero shirt, double checked my drop bag, indulged in PRD number 3. Topped off my belly with 3 Imodium. Took a bathroom selfie to send to my sister who turned 21!

See what I mean about the rippling river bathrooms??? Spectacular!

Then it was warmup time, I had secured a a ride to the start with THE Matt Merse… something. Big last name. He’s the Todd equivalent of Ohio. A little taller though and he wears shirts if the appropriate size. Besides that basically the Ohio Todd. His campsite was about 800 feet of ascent away from mine… it was dark so I’m not 100% sure on the elevation gain but my early morning pop tart legometer registered about 800 feet.

Once I located the Shenanigan world headquarters for the weekend I was granted by a delightful sausage that was from a special place, coffee, and pot tart roulette. Just a big box of mystery pop tarts, might get lemon shortcake, hot fudge Sunday, or blueberry. Either way you best eat it..

I loaded my bike onto the world’s tallest bike rack, secured a seat in the back of the truck.. leather seat 😉. And we departed for the world famous Ore Docks in Marquette and the start of the race!

About 3 miles from the start you can hear the Metallica booming and you get those butterflies. Then when we parked I was hit smack in the face with that MARJI MAGIC AROMA and it was game on.

I then heard delightful shouts coming from inbetween some cars “Matt!!Matt!!!!Matt!!! I can feel you and smell you, I know you’re close!” It was KK! She’s kinda into me, but that’s ok because I’m kinda into her 😉. I got my bike off the mega rack, gave verbal squeezer hugs to Matt Merse… something. And went looking for kk. She was loitering around the iron woman’s van.

The Iron woman is Toni Ton a.k.a Mrs. D. They were getting ready and having their bikes double checked by Toni Tons other half… Ms. Chris. Ms. Chris hates hair, much like myself. #baldbrothers. Ms. Chris rides a single speed because charging an AXS battery is too much for him I guess, and due to the single speed ness he’s got calves the size of 55 gallon drums and sculpted like a statue. I would find myself chasing those Amazing calves for approximately 16 hours and 55 minutes in the near future.

Once everyone was ready Freddy, we headed to the start line, set our bikes down in the back and then I had 20 minutes to go Hunt for Legends. My spidey senses were tingling when I got close to the front of the start line. There was a professional adventurers and amazing human close. Very close. I scanned and scanned and BOOM! I see her! COACH CAREY!!! Nooo way! This is insane. I had been creeping coach Carey’s Facebook looking for signs she was heading north for the weekend and I didn’t see any, her Facebook is just filled with insane challenge adventures she’s been in, navigating the most remote areas of the world by foot and bike and compass. I figured she was probably riding up Mount Everest or running the length of the great walk of China, so you can imagine my astonishment when I see her lined up In the same race as myself! I screamed like an 8 year old girl at a Taylor swift concert and sprinted over to get a mean face picture! We snapped a pic, shared a few hugs and goals for the day and parted ways. Good vibes tank was at about 112% full now.

Roughly 6.5 hours later coach Carey would roll across the finish in 1st place. Hopefully in 5-8 years my fitness will be in a spot where I can hang with coach Carey on one of her recovery rides and we can go on an adventure together!

The hunting was not over though…. I could sense there were good vibes still to be had. So I kept prowling. Looking, listening and Wam Bam, thank you mam! I spotted Coach Will! At the 50 start! What an amazing suprise. I stopped for a quick mean face picture and some well wishes and it was start time!

Back at my bike, Karbear Karen insisted on a bunch more pictures together. She was definitely starting to come off a little… obsessed with me.

Then a photo of the group to be..

Then it was 8:00, the gun goes off and we have started. 647 souls into the woods for 50-70 miles of glories U.P. Knar.

Shortly after the start I grab my phone on selfie mode to double check my makeup and guess who’s hot on my wheel with lips puckered… you guessed it. Krazy Karen.

I put in a hard effort walking up mount marquette in an attempt to focus on my race and shed her advances… but she was on me like flies on poo. Then we get to the top and she corners me and stays taking off her clothing. It was getting intense. I thought to myself “is Karen one of the cougars Todd was warning us about in the U.P.”? 🧐

So as she’s takin off clothing as fast as she can and staring at me licking her lips I made the quick decision to try and bomb down the descent to preserve my innocence a little longer. The look in her eye said I’m here for Matt, not Marji.

So on I went, putting in a big effort to snap the elastic between myself and Kougar Karen.

Now I could focus on my day, without the burden of aggressive advances from KK.

I soon caught up with Greg, Greg is one of those “brotha from anotha motha” kinda homies. A ride or die if you will. We were bike club coaches of group 4 together all summer, done countless races and rides together. The guy is a staple in the northeast Ohio cycling community. And his middle name is grit. Like myself he is down 200lbs and absolutely killing it in the athlete lifestyle. He always finishes what he starts. He finished Marji in 23 hours. Absolute legend. I cannot wait to share a ride with him soon and swap war stories.

Like myself, Greg is a fellow memory enthusiast and will absolutely stop for a mean face picture anytime I ask.

I then descended and pressed on, I caught up with Toni ton and Mr. Calves. We had a brief sit down conversation and I begged them to let me hangout for the day. We set some rules and guidelines. I begged and pleaded that we go slow. Stop often, laugh a bunch, take too many selfies, sing songs, and never stopped eating. Then reluctantly decided they would ditch their 5 hour finish plans and see I make it through in 17 hours. What a sacrifice they made that I’ll forever be grateful for.

As we approached the conga line at the first single track I met up with Matt Merse….something. I was indulging in a Mexican mike sandwich and moaning at every delightful mouthful, I offered him a bite and he allowed me to feed him a bite.

Pro tip, feeding another adult human makes a contagious smile. Every. Time. So the next adult you encounter, shove some food in their mouth and watch the smiles ensue.

Matt thoroughly enjoyed that bite and then as I was explaining the amazing deli it came from he came alarmed that this sandwich had possibly been in my bag for 2 days leading up to the bite. He muttered some encouraging words as I pedaled away like “ if that makes me shit, I’ll shit in your helmet”. Little does he know I had really been wanting one of those slick helmets you can stick your glasses in upside down. Those are sweet. So it was a win/win either way.

I never heard the outcome of that sandwich bite but no doo doo in my helmet yet🙂.

Now in the conga line I found myself next to a youth female that was telling us her life story, it was fantastic. I sucked all that youthful energy I could and put it in my pack next to my bag of pecan pie for later. I’ll find out eventually how she did. That energy that morning said she would probably finish sub 8 hours.

Now it was down to 2. Myself and Toni ton. She was dedicated to seeing me finish, I think it’s because she’s a 5th grade teacher and I have a 10-12 year old maturity level. We found ourselves 13 miles in and meeting back up with Mr. Calves at the wurst aid station.

Last year I blew past and regretted it ever since. The atmosphere was contagious and the bratwurst that were pre mustardeded hit the spot! I snapped some memory photos and we were back at it!

Back on the trail we hit our first check point! That’s pretty exciting, it means you’re in it. You’re in Marji and you’re making ground. Checkpoints hold an aurora of energy. I forced T&C to take a mean face photo. Then… more Marji Magic! I had heard rumbling that the DRTBAG crew from Mudslingers endurance coaching acquired a new ultra running legend named… jake… I think… he’s got a great beard and he finished the run, that’s more important than the name. I asked him if he was the new DRTBAG and he said yes! Awesome! Got to meet a new teammate at the first checkpoint. This was going to be a better day than I had expected. I could feel it.

We then meandered along to JP1, I grabbed my drop back from Stace, because we’re friends now after the pig thing… then headed over to where Mama and Papa calves had set up the big van full of treats and water and bulldogs. I ate a few chicken nuggets dipped in ranch, squeezed some pecan pie from my ziplock, reloaded the water, and drank some coke. We were ready to get this party started. We fired off into the woods, ride down some steps, over some sidewalks and up this nasty climb. Nasty climb that had a fake checkpoint. I find it exciting, what an adventure I’m on with my friends.

We then found ourselves on a flat and we took some distance from one another to be with our thoughts. Of course I clicked on the GoPro because I gotta talk to someone 🤣. So I’m chatting away, giving myself an update on camera and I hear thunder… so I look behind me and it ain’t thunder. It’s mudder effin Jordan Wakely!!! Holy shnikeees!

Ya see I don’t care at all about boring sports like football and tennis. I’m obsessed with endurance running and biking. I know everyone, I stalk them all, I’ve heard every podcast, YouTube interview, race result, and Strava post the greats have ever made. Jordan Wakely is a great. You always know him because he’s like 7’2” wears a purple jersey and has white rim glasses. I pulled off the trail and jumped up and down shouting OMG it’s JORDAN WAKELY!!! He glanced at me and said “hey”.

Best “hey” of my freaking life.

When I got to the next aid station I got an update that he was averaging over 12mph.

For context… I averaged 3.7🤣.

But now we were in one of my favorite parts of the race, getting passed by 100 mile pros. I know all their names. Next was Patrick Collin’s, I saw him from a mile away and started shouting. I gave him his time split. About 22 minutes behind Wakely. Once he reads this he will friend request me, swap cell numbers, thank me, and we will be fast friends. 💯

The next pro I encountered was a hometown here from my neck of the woods. Her name was Ella, she’s 13 years old, holds like 12-16 black belts in taekwondo and was absolutely crushing this race. I caught her on a rare off bike moment where she was carrying her bike through some rocks and was able to get a few pictures and a mean face selfie.

She immediately dropped my like a bad habit, I wished her well and she rode off into the rocks.

Next through the rocks was the iron woman Toni ton, I thought this might slow her down but without hesitation she hops off her bike, picks it up, and continues along, in the blink of an eye.

Shortly there after we came upon that famous overlook. Not the one that overlooks Taco Bell… that’s at like mile 50. We were still in like 30-40s.

I snapped a pic of Toni ton and then convinced her to do a mean face picture with me! She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body so we had been practicing what a mean face is all day.

Shortly after this Toni ton got wild and hitting jumps and doing tricks and took a spill on some rocks. She hit her elbow, an gruesome injury that would have put any normal person in the hospital.. she brushed it off.. but it did bum her out that she should probably lay off the wheelies until after the race.

We then cruised into a parking lot where Mr calves was rubbing his legs in the shade. I ducked behind a dump truck to double down on the chamois butter. So there I am, in a state of undress, chamois around my ankles and I see a beautiful red beard pop out of the woods. MATT ACKER!!! Don’t be fooled, I’m a fan at heart. I shouted my support and luckily he didn’t see me but did respond. Had he seen me we would have both committed a crime. Phew.

Once I was lubed and ready I headed out of my hiding spot to find Mr. Calves fixing Toni tons handlebars after her wheelie indecent.

Around this time we passed a cross in the woods. I obviously had to stop and get a picture with big G, and have a chat. I told him. “Ya know Mr G, this has been an epic perfect day. Perfect weather… but as far as story telling goes… my main objective… perfect days don’t create the best stories. So… you do you Mr. G”.

Then we pressed on… there was a buzz in the air the whole event, about women buckling. No women had ever buckled but that was going to change, I knew Kristie Mcbride and Syd Shultz had been focusing on the buckle. Of course they can get it. They are beasts. I just wanted to be the witness. But I knew before I saw them, I would see their support. First I saw Kristie’s husband on a side street, got some water off him. Then around the next corner was Syds dad. He’s mega YouTube famous. Like mega. So I stopped, got a twizler from him and asked for a mean face picture. He gladly obliged and it was great.

I knew they were close, the buckle girls. Very close. The next stop was brasswire campground. We were smashing Coke and waiting. And then like ROCKETS, Kait Boyle shoots out of the woods followed by syd and a little after Kristie. They were absolutely flying and you could see the watts they were putting out. What absolute Animals!

At the top of the next climb I heard it again. Ferocious mountain biking, closing in fast. I jumped off my bike and got out of the way. I saw a flash of yellow and immediately knew. MIKE KALDY was coming in fast, I grabbed my phone and took a selfie with him as he passed. Mike and I are almost friends. I have shouted my support to him on numerous local races… he’s local to me in Ohio. And we are Facebook friends. So basically the next step is a secret handshake.

Moments later we descended into JP2. Longer stop this time. I rolled by the Chaos station and saw all the shenanigans. I ripped a U turn and sprinted over to them. Mama Wolfe had just conquered the mini bike and had some back to slang grilled cheese all night. What a champ! I got updates on everyone. Graham a 15 year old maniac from Ohio was making killer time and smashing the course, but was in the bonk. That good good bonk. I could see it in his eyes, I congratulated him on finding his limit and leaving it in the woods and pressing on. He was trying to get some food in and had a smile. Ella was… nowhere near a bonk 🤣. She was kicking ass and taking names. I grabbed a hot ham n cheese from Linda and headed back to mama n papa calves set up.

Toni ton was accessing the damage from the wheelie incident, Mr. Calves was talking smack and giggling, the bulldogs were asking me to share my nuggets. I leaned up against a rock snacking and looking at my Bigfoot socks and tried to soak it all in. We were deep in the battle now and so was everyone around us. Fixing bikes, eating food. Throwing up. Just amazing humans becoming more amazing by the millisecond. I couldn’t get enough. Topping off the positive vibes once again, easy to do with the MARJI MAGIC!

We parted ways with JP2 and I swung by the chaos station to get some updates. Graham and Ella had left a few minutes ago with lights and smiles. Unlikely I’ll ever see them again. That youth is on another level.

I had my lights and rain gear. We were entering the most technical rocky section and it was starting to get dark, we put our lights on and rolled up to another real checkpoint, so exciting.

As the sun was setting I could feel the weather and clouds coming in, I was bombing down the rocky decents, flying into the unknown with weather in the air. I felt light as a feather and in complete euphoria, anticipating the next descent. You cannot duplicate the feeling of having full confidence in your bike and ability to fly unknowingly down dark trails. The risk is the reward and I was on cloud 9.

I started smelling smoke and I knew we were close to the lake Minnie party. I was ecstatic to hit the lake party because last year I rolled in their bonked out of my mind like a zombie and missed all the excitement. We got into the lake party, put our bikes down and grabbed some salty grilled cheese corners and a coke. I saw graham and his dad by the fire and went to check in, graham was in his pain cave and he was chiseling away. Refusing to quit, unable to eat and ready to finish. What a stud. I gave him some energy gum just incase. I snapped a few pics. One of Danny the mastermind and a mean face with Toni ton and Mr. Calves.

And immediately following this picture the sky let loose and it downpoured. We huddled under a tent and got dressed, then there’s nothing left to do but move forward. Forward progress gets it one. I heard that Ella had already set off into the darkness. A 13 year old taekwondo extraordinaire in the dark and the rain eating black diamond trail for breakfast lunch and dinner. Absolute legend.

I fist bumped graham, told him I’d meet him at the finish and we set off into the rainy darkness of rocks and mud.

The picture taking was slowing down with the rain but we hit a checkpoint, which was a nice boost.

The rain stopped 45 minutes later ish. The trail was slick, the roots were ice, and the rocks were untouchable. Like as soon as you touched them you slid off. Magical conditions. Riding up things was a no go, my back tire just spun out on slippery rocks and roots. So I pushed. Easy cheesey lemon squeezey.

The descents were still rideable. Slipping and sliding but making it. Adrenaline was peeking. I then… with all the confidence in the world bombed down a rock only decent. One massive wet mossy rock and I went down in my left side pretty hard. I popped up and assessed. Just pain, still all movable. So I crept to the bottom where I found a nasty wooden bridge. Thank the lord I crashed on the rock because had I made it to this wood bridge apparatus, it would have been badddd. So I dodged that bullet. Onward and upward.

The rain hit again. Twice as hard. It was epic and Amaxing. There was nothing rideable, or walkable, or pushable. It was sliding down off the trail with teamwork, more MAGIC. Everytime you got to a sketchy situation there was a team of other racers their waiting to help. Exactly what I was after. Now we have a proper Adventure and we are all in survival mode. It doesn’t get any better than that.

So as I pushing down a trail or muddy running water I see ahead of me some off shapes. Looks like a belt light from a runner and something small and reflective behind him. I get closer and I see it’s Ella! wow! I catch up to her and she had a lighting miscalculation and her lights had died. So she was following the runner in the rain using his light to guide her. She had no jacket and an ear to ear smile.

I decided to try my shot and cut a deal with her. I said if I give you my helmet light can I tuck in behind your slip stream and draft you with my light on high, and you take me to the finish. I could see her weighing the pros and cons of dragging my head weight the next 5 miles in exchange for a half charged muddy outbound light but after I begged and pleaded she agreed to let me draft her to the finish.

I gave Mr. Calves a smooch and said I’ll see ya at the finish, this kids gunna carry me there.

So we carried on, I was barely able to hold her wheel. We would get to a nasty straight down rock slide mud combo decent and Ella would take her bike down then come back for my bike and then back for me. Kind hearted youth will humble you 🙂

The rain wasn’t letting up and the trail was deteriorating quick. The memory making was at an all time high. I between shivers I was grinning ear to ear, I hope it doesn’t end too soon.

We hit some two track and Ella found a line in the grass that was rideable and she hammered down. I hung on for dear life and we made it. She was going to fast she blew rite past a checkpoint, or slid past it in the mud. Luckily I was going slow enough I saw it and called her back. We got the token and she was back on the gas.

We eventually found a road… that led to mount jasper. We pushed and pushed and pushed until we found the top and the last checkpoint.

Ella looked at the trail and said… are we riding it? I mean… I’d rather not 🤣. But I’m following her. She jumped on her bike, shifted to the biggest gear and hit a cadence of 130 at least. Then when she saw the finish, she dropped me like a bad habit.

We crossed the finish line and her family wrapped her in a blanket. What an absolute privilege it was to share some trail with her. I cannot imagine the places she’s gunna go with that unbreakable mindset she has.

Crossing the finish line this year was different. There was a new volunteer counting tokens. Dawn. Dawn had been training for the duathalon and had a bunch of unfortunate health things happen that made her switch to volunteer at the last moment. And let me tell you, that was amazing. Not the negative health stuff but the overwhelming enthusiasm that she was greeting every athlete with. No tough old guy counting your tokens being funny saying you’re missing some. Huge gigantic cheers as you come in, greeted by your name, and a hug if you need it. I know dawn wanted to be out there but the lives she touched at the finish line is pretty incredible. I gave her my wet gross tokens, she congratulated me and I got my finisher token. No pics, just memories of that one.

Now I had time to linger at the finish. I had been looking forward to this part for a year, a chance to watch other peoples lives be impacted.

So now we get into Andy. Andy was a 100 mile runner that I leapfrogged many times in the last 11 miles of mud and rain. After I would leapfrog someone twice I decided we may as well become best friends and be on a first name basis. No more, on your left runner guy. Now it was “Andy!!! Me again homie, you’re lookin good, mind if I sneak by again”.

And most runners at this point, 40 hours in, 100 miles in, won’t say much, which is very understandable. Andy though, appeared to have just woken up from a full nights sleep, drank his coffee, and was in a leisurely walk on the beach. He had the most positive calm cool attitude and tone when you would pass. He’d be like “no problem, you’re doing great”. I thought he was like a volunteer at first or something. Didn’t look beat up at all. Andy was awesome. I kept telling him I think we might finish together.

Andy finished a few minutes after me and I got to hear and see that experience. He had the biggest smile and said it was the hardest thing he had ever done but 15 hours ago he realized he was gunna finish and he was so happy. 15 hours!!!!! He had been positive for. Man. What an inspiration, and then he’s like well what now? He didn’t even know he could keep the tokens. He was thrilled he got to keep them. It was such an amazing opportunity to witness that. I let him enjoy his finish and then snuck in for a congrats… and a mean face photo.

A few moments later Toni Ton and Mr. calves pulled up. Again I made sure to let them have their moment but still took pictures so we could savor it later