Hot days🌞🌞🌞

Afternoon Ride

Evening Trail Run

4x8' 🦄

Morning Trail Run

What. A. Day.
It still feels a little surreal  but I finished 100M in under 23 hours. My goal was sub-24, and somehow I came in well ahead of that. I’m feeling proud, grateful, tired, and… a little itchy.

Let’s start with the good stuff:

Cold Weather
Being Siberian definitely had its perks — I took my jacket off right before the start and didn’t feel cold at all, even with the chilly weather (low 40s, foggy) until around 2 a.m. when it started drizzling. I guess I’ve got the cold-weather thing down!

Nutrition
Dialed. I stuck with Naak and Tailwind, no plain water — same strategy as UTMB. It worked great again. I probably had around 15 gels total. The aid station mix was a little weak for my taste (2 scoops per 500ml is ideal), but Kelsey stepped in and mixed it right when I needed it. Nothing else on the table was really tempting, and my stomach was solid the whole way.

Shoes
S/Lab Genesis were a solid choice. I swapped into S/Lab Sense Ultra at Driver’s Flat (~mile 50), but in hindsight, I wish I had just changed into a fresh pair of Genesis. I ended up with a blister around mile 80 — not a huge deal, but probably preventable with a sock change.

Clothing
Layering worked out great. It was cold at the start, but dry, and I had everything I needed — warm top, tights, gloves, hat. Kelsey had backups ready just in case, but I never needed to swap anything. Light drizzle started around 1 a.m., but I never got wet or cold.

Pacing
Felt amazing in the first few miles – I think I ran the first lap in 7:40 and was just smiling to myself. Kept telling myself, “Relax, find your rhythm.” I wasn’t chasing people and didn’t care if they passed early on – I knew I’d see some of them later.
I’m really proud of how I paced this one. I didn’t push too hard and stayed relaxed and extra cautious on the downhills. On the climbs, I wasn’t even trying that hard and still ended up passing a ton of people – guess not everyone trains hills.
After 100K the running started feeling harder, and I switched to hiking more, even on downhills. But I kept moving.

The rough patch
This one’s been nagging at me. Around mile 80, I started feeling some tightness in the back of my knee – maybe the top of my calf or bottom of my hamstring. I didn’t want to push through too aggressively, but I took some ibuprofen and that helped me get back to running decently.
The last big downhill was rough – I was huffing and puffing, and a few 25K runners even asked if I was okay. (I was. Just... cooked.)
Crossing the finish line was a huge relief. I limped my way home that night. The pain stuck around the whole next day – I could barely walk, which had me worried. Thankfully, it started easing up the next morning and continues to improve, but it’s still lingering a bit. Tahoe 200 is just six weeks away, so fingers crossed it clears up soon.

Bonus gift: poison oak
We’d been warned, and yep, I got some! I had wipes and cream before the race but couldn’t find any preventative cream. Used the wipes after the first half, but most of the poison oak was between Browns Bar and the Alt aid station. After finishing, I scrubbed everything down, but I still developed a rash in areas that weren’t directly exposed — probably secondary contamination. Even ended up with a patch on my cheek (of all places)! Luckily, I have medicine now, and it’s working — the rash isn’t too bad.

Shoutouts

First and foremost — Kelsey Rae. She makes everything I do possible, not just this race. I was talking to my new friend Nathan on the shuttle to China Wall, and he mentioned how his girlfriend never crews for him or comes to his races. I told him how amazing it is to have Kelsey at every race, not even just for crewing but for that little chat or a quick kiss to keep me going.

Jeff finally got the full crewing experience, and I think he liked it! He got to see all the good stuff: rushing to aid stations when I was 45 minutes ahead of schedule, waiting for me in the cold, rainy night at Cool, and cheering me (and others) across the finish line.

The Volunteers — the true heroes of these races! I made sure to thank every volunteer I met — they make this possible for all the runners, and I’ll be forever grateful for what they do. Arriving at Confluence aid station was amazing because I saw my friends from last year (when I volunteered there) — they were all there cheering me on, and it gave me a huge boost.

Big thanks to Coach corrine malcolm — I started training with her last year, and I’m already seeing so many positive changes. I love how she makes the sport more fun than when I was training solo but still gets me to be way more efficient and productive. And of course, kudos to her and Dylan Bowman for covering races — I loved tuning in to their Trailgating podcast!

To every runner out there - lining up for 100 miles is a big deal, and I’m proud to be part of this wild community. I met so many rad people on the trails. And I even shared a few words with the legendary Annie Hughes - such a kind and genuine person. Can’t wait to line up with her again at Tahoe in June.

And finally - big love to all my friends from Golden Gate Triathlon Club  and on Strava who followed along and cheered me on during and after the race. Reading your messages meant the world to me - I felt so supported and connected, even out on those lonely miles.

Top Sports

Andrey Vyrvich

One day buckle at Canyons 100M 🤩

1 Photo

26 Comments

Splits

Sign up to view more activities from Andrey Vyrvich

Hot days🌞🌞🌞

Afternoon Ride

Evening Trail Run

4x8' 🦄

Morning Trail Run

Want to see more?

The #1 app for runners and cyclists

Sign Up for Free. Track your progress and reach goals. Join 100 million active people on Strava.

See More from Andrey