RUNNER
clanker’s first | #1 fitness app | run to earn $runner
@runonbase.eth
internal tests to commence soon.
more information will be provided in the upcoming weeks.
⌛
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@markcarey
Sulphur Springs 100 Mile Trail Race: Race Report 🏃♂️
Rain, cold, and mud combined to make it the toughest conditions I have ever experienced in an ultra. I am one of only 22% who finished this race. Outside of the Barkley, I haven’t heard of a finisher rate so low. Those of us who finished, we earned that buckle.
Those who DNFed arguably made smarter decisions than those of us who continued into that night. Anybody who completed ultra distances at Sulphur Springs 2026 is a badass. Official finish or not, it’s a huge achievement.
The forecast was for “feels like” temps of 7C and rain beginning close to the start of the race, light for a few hours then heavy, then lighter during the night … but never really stopping. To me this seemed play out as predicted, though afterwards, some said it was actually colder and with more total volume of rain. If you know this course, you know this forecast means: lots of mud.
So I tried to bank as many kilometres as I could before the mud fully developed, taking 2h12min for the first 20K loop, 2h26min for the second, and 2h35min for the third. I knew I would have to slow down, even if I didn’t fully realize how much. By this time, the mud had really progressed significantly — it was not the same course anymore, even though the route was the same.
Still, I tried to get as much distance covered before nightfall. I minimized my aid station time, partly with this goal in mind, but also because being stationary meant getting cold … really fast. I was able to clock 105km before turning on my headlamp.
I started the race wearing shorts and a long-sleeved shirt. This was enough … until it wasn’t 🥶. I think it was the 3rd or fourth loop when the heavier rain made me really cold. A smarter move would have been to carry a pack with a jacket inside, but I like to travel light: no pack, no water bottle. Finally I got to the start/finish and put on a similar (but dry) long-sleeved shirt and my waterproof (but lightweight) rain jacket. So much better. And this was enough … until it wasn’t. With the course getting progressively muddier with each loop — it did NOT plateau in this regard! — and darkness, rain, fog, along with drops covering my constantly fogging eyeglasses, these combined to slow my pace. I power-walked mostly from this point. But a side effect of moving slower meant feeling colder 🥶. After another cold loop I changed into my thermal long-sleeved shirt and my lightweight puffer jacket that I had packed for “after the race”, and a technical toque covering my ears. This proved too much for running, but there wasn’t much of that in the darkness of the mud filled forest. I wore this the rest of the way, sometimes with the jacket unzipped. Light tech gloves from start to finish, wringing them out every few hours, as they were mostly soaked throughout.
In addition to banking miles early, the only other thing you might call a “strategy”, is using trekking poles. Used well (with pre-race practice!), poles can help take some of the burden off the legs, regardless of weather conditions. But on a hilly course with 4000+ metres of hills that have turned into peanut butter … trekking poles become a tool to help minimize slips and falls. Many were using poles, but not all. I think I started using mine on the 4th loop.
BANG! BANG! BANG! On my 6th loop, alone on a section of dark forest, I heard what sounded like gunshots. Could someone be hunting deer in Dundas Conservation Area? But in less than 5 minutes, my headlamp shows the trail ahead disappearing into brush. For a split second I thought I made a wrong turn. But then I realized the massive (live) tree that had blown in the wind, just minutes ago, with its trunk and branches snapping in several places. Hoping that it had come to rest in a stable way 🙏, I was able to cross under the fallen tree near a bench ( which was spared ). What would happen next?
Loop 7 was the most difficult one for me. I started this loop with 120km on the legs already over the previous ~17 hours, not even sitting down once. So certain things hurt, but nothing unexpected after 120km. Not much surprised me during this race, with once exception: the mud continued to get WORSE, loop after loop. Even after most runners had finished their races or dropped out, it was noticeably worse each time. Especially, the Peanut Butter Loop, which is the name I gave to middle loop in the course that became the most muddy. The mud became so thick that is was like running — or more likely walking — in creamy peanut butter. I knew this section could get crazy muddy — I was there in 2024 — but I assumed, incorrectly, that it would “max out” at a certain point, a point where it couldn’t get any worse. Well: it could, and it did. In every race, there are lessons to be learned. In addition to the worsening mud, my stomach became a bit iffy, but not quite nauseous. And when I stopped at aid stations, I found myself stumbling sideways a bit. Probably just tired legs? As I walked through the peanut butter, it took me too long to realize I was getting very sleepy, despite significant caffeine intake during the race. I was falling asleep as I was walking, which made me even slower. At the beginning of loop 6 or 7, I had started carrying my pack, which meant finally carrying water bottles (soft flasks) around with me (which I partially filled with gatorade from my cooler). The pack was otherwise empty, but I thought that **maybe** I had placed a tiny zip lock bag in one of the pockets, with an emergency 200mg caffeine tab inside. Did I put it in the pack yesterday, or didn’t I? I wasn’t sure. The mind is not operating at 100% at this point of the game. (Side note: they say pacers can be helpful when the mind start to go, but I have never had a pacer). I reached around, trying to feel for the tiny caffeine tab in various pockets as I walked through the slop. No luck. Finally, before the descent on the “lollipop” loop, I gave in and stopped, and for the first time in the race, I sat down. On a wet bench. And took off my pack, and started going through the pockets. And I found it! I took the caffeine, put the pack back on, and started the descent, with maybe 5km remaining in the loop. I was still slow and struggling, waiting for the caffeine to work, to see if it would have an impact at all. The loop took me more than 5 hours to complete, longer than my first 2 loops combined. I was **only** 20K from finishing the race, but feeling the way I felt, I was worried I might not make it.
The previous time I did the 100 Mile distance at SSTR, in 2022, I recall lying down on a bench in the middle of the dark forest. I don’t know if I slept or was just trying to deal with stomach issues, but I stayed there 15-20 minutes. This option was NOT on the table this year. Not due to the mud, but due to the cold. Hypothermia would be guaranteed if I tried that, and other runners had already been extracted from the course and treated for this already. Even at the aid station, I felt it would be too cold to take an extended rest. Even standing and drinking warm broth at the aid stations was enough to start feeling cold.
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@runonbase.eth
Week 125 RUNNER payouts are out 🏁
Mint Club was throwing errors today, so I sent this week’s RUNNER rewards manually to the top 8:
1. @markcarey — 139.48 km (5 runs)
2. @mooneymillions — 88.39 km (7 runs)
3. @jachian — 44.75 km (12 runs)
4. @ashmoney.eth — 42.07 km (3 runs)
5. @lefteris.eth — 34.26 km (3 runs)
6. @ahn.eth — 34.10 km (3 runs)
7. @camilags — 26.50 km (3 runs)
8. @nickysap — 19.01 km (1 run)
Check your wallets if you placed 👀
Also: the new RUNNER app is coming very soon, and it’ll have its own monthly payout process built in.
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@spitfunkolips.eth
BUY MORE RUNNER THAN YOU SELL
https://x.com/saylor/status/2052394763001761817?s=46
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@darkoh.eth
guys @antimofm.eth really cooked with the ui for the new runner app
totally worth the wait
10/10 would recommend
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