ouch! after a dry and sunny september and october, i was not hardened enough for the drenching cold rain of the salt creek 24 in late october. i completed 100 miles in just under 24 hours. i ran the 100 in around 18 hours and spent 6 hours at various points drying out inside a shelter next to a roaring fire.
the race directors and volunteers were fabulous. they had artful local touches such as pickle juice shots from a local kim chi maker. that said, i think i’m going to focus on 100 mile races rather than 24 hour races for the near future. i felt great for the first 62 miles or 12 hours despite being wet and having to change gear. i wondered if i had a warm shower and hotel room waiting if i could have pushed through the next 38 miles without taking long warming breaks.
on new year’s eve in san jose i get to explore this question because it is supposed to rain the entire race. but i am registered for the 100 mile distance not a full 24 hours , so the faster i finish, the sooner i get out of the rain.
i came in third place overall and first place non-binary. the woman who won wore the same gorewear jacket for 24 hours. she told me she stayed dry. i now have 2 gorewear rain jackets and 2 gorewear midlayers. i love them. i do still get wet in the whidbey rain; i also have to be careful not to overdress.
it’s not clear if there will be live tracking or not; here is a link to a results page, but i don’t know if the results will be live or after the race is over.
run willow run 
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