Only 3 weeks after Leadville 100 miles in Colorado, I’m running Mogollon Monster 100 miles Ultra marathon endurance race – a point-to-point 100 miles of trail running in Arizona, along the Mogollon Rim. This was my 10th 100 miler ultra trail marathon I ran this year. With its 6 climbs up the rim for a total of ~18,000 feet of elevation gain, this race organized by Aravaipa Running is one of the rare non-lottery Hardrock Qualifier.

Running Mogollon Monster 100 miles ultra marathon is challenging, and only 3 weeks since my last 100 miles ultra marathon isn’t much, but what truly scared me was that those 3 weeks were extremely busy with work. Between work, training, healing from the last race, hiking with Nora, and traveling back and forth and back and forth from CO to CA to AZ, managing this channel – I simply didn’t have to prepare for Mogollon Monster 100 miles ultra marathon race. The extent of my preparation was to only glance at the aid station chart and noticing that there were very few of them, and that many were over 10 miles apart.

What’s more, Nora has helped on so many races this year, that we decided she should take the weekend “off” and go do her own adventure! So I went in solo, and because I didn’t have time to figure out aid station or course, I also didn’t have time to pack any drop bag. Instead, I simply filled my bag with a bunch of food, extra clothes and light for the night, and went in this 100 miles ultra marathon run in the dark. Fully blind.

I’m not happy I came in so underprepared, and that’s very atypical for me. I don’t typically spend THAT much time coming in a race, but I do have my check list of basic information I want to know (e.g., when is sunrise/sunset, where do I expect to be on the course, where should I have drop bag, what’s the temperature range, what gear do I need, is it technical?). But not this time… All I can say is this – don’t try this at home! These stunts are performed by professional under the strict supervision of experts and healthcare professionals.

Luckily, Aravaipa Running always organize great race with fantastic support, helpful volunteers, and attracts the best of the best when it comes to friendly runners. It was amazing running with you all day and night (and day again…)!

Next stop, The Bear 100 miles ultra marathon in Utah – Sept 29! It’s the last big mountain race of the year!

As always, thanks for watching!
Simon


-----------------------------------------------

Instagram:
  / runningwithsimon  

Strava:
  / strava  

-----------------------------------------------

Music credit: Songs by Infraction – No Copyright Music
• By Infraction : Midnight Train, Synergy
• By Mokka Music: Dark Lord Mystery, Card Game, Sunny Walk, Need you the most
• By FortyThr33: Bay Breeze
• Megaman X: Cast Roll, Password
• Super Metroid: Prologue

Music from #InAudio: https://inaudio.org/
Track Name: MIDNIGHT (EDM)
https://inaudio.org/track/midnight/