This was the first 100 miler that I decided to compete in. It was an excellent choice of race because I’m very familiar with the course and was getting my revenge for four prior DNFs here.
Results
I did it! I “struck oil.”
“Strike Oil or Move On” was a phrase that Tom Jennings, the retired RD would say.
Heather Nelson, the current RD, has kept that tradition going.
18th out of 34 finishers.
4th female.
24 people did not finish.
1 DQ
28:41:11.
Oil Creek 100 has almost 18,000 ft elevation gain on a mostly single track technical trail.
Gear
- Craft cooling undershirt
- Yeti Trail Runners “I don’t care how the trail runners do it in California” crop top
- UD shorts
- Badwater Buff for my runny nose
- COROS Pace 2 – battery life not long enough 🙁 It died at a little over 24 hours in
- Burning River 100 BOCO trucker hat
- Injinji toe socks – base layer and then regular, no blisters
- Squirrel’s Nut Butter
- Altra Superior 6
- Altra gaiters
- Leki Ultra Trail trekking poles – the bright pink ones, baby! Probably my favorite gear
- Petzl IKO headlamp 130 lumens – sucks, not bright enough. Least favorite gear. I ended up using that and my phone flashlight. The flashlight was more useful.
- For loop 3, at night, I used my Kogalla until that battery died. That thing is the BEST
- UD vest with 1.5 liter bladder of water and a front soft flask with either Skratch or caffeine. I started the caffeine at the beginning of loop 3, and by the end of the loop, no caffeine was effective. Not even chocolate covered coffee beans
Pre-race
The week leading up had me stressed out because I was sick on and off with some kind of virus, so I did a lot of resting. Besides my sinuses bothering me, I was fine on race morning.
The original plan was for Stephen to drive us to the event, but he was unable to, so I ended up driving the 1 hour 40 minute trek. Usually, he would drive and I’d rest my eyes, eat breakfast, and get my trail shoes on. All of that had to wait until we got there.
Even though I had to wake up at 2 AM to get ready for the race, I slept pretty well, which made me feel pleased because I didn’t have to deal with the “I didn’t get enough sleep last night” thought.
Weather
I believe the night time to early morning temperatures ranged from the mid 40°F-50°F. Thankfully, for this race, we stayed in the Titusville Middle School until there was about 10 minutes to go.
Once we went outside and lined up behind the timing mat, it didn’t take long for me to shiver and for my teeth to chatter. Other runners looked at me and said that I’m making them cold. I responded that I was looking forward to getting to the trail because I knew I’d warm up.
This was part of my strategy. No long sleeves to fuss with once we got going. This would also keep me nice and cold for hours.
The high for the race was in the 80°F range. It was sunny all day. Absolutely gorgeous. I did end up taking pictures, though I worry about it slowing me down too much because I will sometimes use it as a distraction.
This was perfect weather for me. I’m a hot weather runner. Probably 90% of my runs have been done in the afternoon for several years. I’m also that crazy chick who wants to run Badwater 135… you know, the one in Death Valley.
You may like to read my report on the time that I crewed and paced my friend, Beth, at BW135. She finished!
I was well-acclimated to the heat. There was one point where I thought that I was getting overheated. I was trying to pay attention to my sweat, which seemed to halt, so I increased my water intake and everything. I also reminded myself that as the day goes on, it will get cooler.
At the next aid station, I roasted while using the porta potty, but began sweating again. I was fine for the rest of the race.
During the evening and night, it was interesting how the temperature changed depending on whether you were in the woods on the trail, which was up high, or if you were down low on a dirt road or path.
It was warmer on the trail because I think that the leaf canopy trapped some heat. The lower you were, closer to the water, it was cold. I needed gloves, so I wore my North Face ones. I kept on my North Face winter hat, too.
My night shirts were Xoskin and an old OC100 tech shirt. It was perfect.
Goals
Before the race, I set 3 goals, A, B, and C (I usually have my clients do this, too).
I missed my A goal to podium top 3 women by one spot. But I crushed my B goal, which was to get under 31 hrs. The race cutoff time is 32 hrs. C goal was just to finish.
At first, when I missed my A goal, I was disappointed. It was one of the top things driving me in the race.
Looking back, my pace could have possibly been quicker on loop 3? Slightly less time at aid stations? Shaving off seconds here and there is important. It becomes more challenging when you feel tired.
Competition
For the first time ever, I did a little research on the ladies field.
Going into the race, I knew who would be there and researched their race experience. – this didn’t take long.
I jotted down anything that stood out, like fast times, how many 100 milers, and challenging races, like Eastern States 100.
3 ladies stood out, as they are speedy and strong. Anyone else’s performance would be considered a “wild card”. You can be new to a distance and still crush it.
During the race, my crew paid attention to the other women for me, so I could stick to my plan and only focus on me and my race.
For a little bit in loop 1, I chatted with some of the other ladies. We were all doing our own thing, so we never stuck together.
It was a competitive women’s field.
Pre-race questionnaire
You can read my plan going into the race here:
Oil Creek 100 Pre-Race Questionnaire (2025)
Pacing strategy
I played the long run game and kept telling myself to be patient. Hours and hours is a long time to be patient for.
I ran loop 1 super slow, and got passed by a lot of people. It is tough, mentally, on me when I get passed by anyone. This was something I worked hard on improving this year.
Until I started competing this year, it didn’t bother me much. I’ve been running 50 milers and longer since 2016.
The voice in my head only ever spoke up because I’m short and I’m pretty sure that I have to work incredibly hard because of it.
Some rocks and grades in the trail are more like having to do step-up exercises. I also know that I usually take about two strides to an average height person’s one stride.
During other races, I’ve had this conversation with other short women, and they noticed similarly for themselves.
Anyway, because of my plan and practice talking to myself, I didn’t experience any negative self-talk.
Back to pacing strategy
Loops 2, 3, and Going Home loop, I started taking souls, as David Goggins says. I think I passed 2 women and about 12 men total. It was fun to have mini “hunts,” and I think that when I had my pacers, they enjoyed it, too.
During these “hunts,” I only increase my effort just a little bit, and then return to that mostly comfortable pace.
Overall, my pacing was the thing that I was happiest about. I never felt like I couldn’t run. It did get slightly frustrating to eventually get stuck in one slow gear. I felt like I couldn’t go any faster once I got through the more runnable parts of section 3 on loop 3.
Writing this out helps because it increases awareness. I do recommend journaling to my clients. It makes sense that I’d get stuck in a lower gear because I was exhausted and not feeling well.
I had a virus on and off for the week leading up to race week. As the race went on, the lingering sinus issues gave me a very slight headache (it did go away) and made me do snot rockets and blow my nose.
A good bit of that still found its way into my chest. I got a sore throat and hardly had a voice left starting section 3 of loop 3.
After four previous Oil Creek 100 attempts, I figured out the pacing strategy. It was a perfect pacing strategy. Then, I ran like a bat out of hell to the finish line to get it over with and finish super strong.
Crew, pacers, and friends
Stephen (my husband) was my main crew person. My friends Sean, Amanda, and Katie were also around and helped.
I chatted with people I knew from social media. It was fun when I learned from people that they read my race reports and watch my YouTube channel. It feels fantastic to know that people take in the content that I put out. I’m grateful.
Traci
Traci was one of the first people who came to mind for who I wanted help from. She is a high-energy kinda person, which is usually the opposite of me. I’m very chill and introverted.
I’m happy that she could pace me from the middle school to Petroleum Center on my third loop. I looked forward to picking her up towards the end of my second loop, especially after being scared in the dark by coyotes.
Traci and I had a blast. We talked about everything. We saw a deer, a giant spider, and some scary things, like a demonic goat and a ghost. Passing other runners was also a highlight.
Thank you, Traci, for such a fun time!
Dan
Dan was another person who I first thought to ask for help. I picked him up once Traci and I arrived at Petroleum Center. Dan ran with me back to the middle school.
My voice was reduced to a whisper due to my alone time on loop 2, section 4, when I loudly sang to keep coyotes and other predators away. Traci and I talked a lot, too, and I was sick the week prior to the race, so all of that led me to losing my voice.
Dan and I have run together a lot outside of this race.
We talked about all sorts of things, and he helped me mentally break down the never ending trail.
We both got super spooked by the sound of a big cat on section 4. Probably a bobcat or fisher cat. It was so crazy, and I dropped some f-bombs. Dan said that my reaction was good, ha.
I believe it was Dan who mentioned to me that another runner saw a bear. There’s so much wildlife at Oil Creek. The last time I did this race, I had an up close encounter with a flying squirrel at night, when I was alone. Absolutely WILD!
I think I mention wildlife in all of my Oil Creek race reports. This is part of what makes this race awesome.
Picking up Dan at Petroleum Center was also a way that I could guarantee myself that I would maintain a decent pace. My legs and hips were really tight at this point, but I was able to work on opening my stride at the bike path and road as we made our way to the middle school.
Dan and I passed some people, which also helped fan my flame to keep it up.
Light issue and adversity
At one point, by Kogalla light stopped working because the battery died. This slowed my pace a good bit because I don’t see very well in the dark, just ask any runner who was running behind me how many times I ran off the trail because I couldn’t see.
I need to buy an even more expensive headlamp.
Dan helped to position his light because my Petzel headlamp was too dim… even my phone flashlight is better than the Petzel.
In the past, I’ve used Black Diamond headlamps and have had negative experiences with those, too. They just aren’t bright enough.
After the race, Dan messaged me saying that I handled the light failure like a champ! Going on to say that he wasn’t sure what I was feeling like inside, but outside, I seemed calm and all business.
Dan says, “Never know ‘what’ adversity there will be in a 100 miler. But when it shows up, to be able to just deal with it is critical to a finish. Good teaching moment if I ever seen.”
Dan is one of my wisest friends, this is one of the reasons I like him so much.
On the inside, I was just irritated because I’m slower with my not as bright headlamp and was going to be holding my phone flashlight while trying to use trekking poles.
I did stay calm and focused. It was sort of a big thing, but not something that I was going to give any power to…..
For next year, I plan on buying a $180 1500 lumens Petzl headlamp. Traci and I were actually talking about this light when we were together.
Stephen ordered a second battery pack for the Kogalla because we thought that the big one wouldn’t last a full loop, but the second one never came in time. He will also eventually buy me a new light to go with it.
Stephen
Stephen was the person I wanted to pace me on the Going Home loop. I paced him on that loop in 2019 for his finish. It would be a special memory for him to be there for mine.
I also wanted to show him my growth in the sport. He sees how hard I work in training.
Wildlife I saw
- Deer
- Frog
- Toad
- Spiders
- Green caterpillar (it stung my finger tip when I moved it off the trail, ha)
- A hundred wooly worms
- Owls having a hoot of a good time
Coyote
On loop 2, section 4, I was running alone, using my headlamp and phone flashlight to light the way. All of a sudden, I heard something. Howling. At first, I thought that it sounded like people, but as I listened some more, no, it was definitely howling.
Oh, crap. The howling continued and the trail was going in that direction.
I recalled that time that I came across a mountain lion at night, and I was trying to not relive it with the coyote.
I decided to make noise and hoped that it would scare them off. Besides saying positive things out loud, I sang 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.
The singing was taking my voice away, but I didn’t hear them anymore, so it worked.
After the song, two women doing the 100k came up behind me and passed. We briefly chatted. They also heard the coyotes.
Porcupine
Shortly after the coyotes, I saw one of my favorite animals, a porcupine!
He was about three feet away. I stopped to say hello and attempt to get a picture or video, but the woods were too dark and I was too slow getting the lighting right.
Mr. Porcupine puffed up his quills and waddled down a leafy hill away from the trail.
That made my night. It is such a privilege to get to run through these critters’ homes.
Bobcat or fisher cat
Thank God Dan was with me for this one because I would have LOST IT if I were alone.
Dan and I were running along when we heard this crazy call. It was the call of a big cat. I began swearing and said something about not being able to deal with it. Dan was calm, but I also think freaked out. I said that I think we might be going towards the sound, but thankfully, the trail turned left. Dan said that we weren’t going towards it.
I was still freaked out and thought about it for a while. The end of the trail on section 4 couldn’t come soon enough. All of these crazy encounters occurred on section 4.
What I ate
- Hammer Nutrition and GU gels
- Nerds Gummy clusters
- Reese peanut butter cups
- M&Ms
- PB&Js
- French toast and cinnamon sticks
- Ramen noodles
- Bananas
- Watermelon
- Himalayan pink salt on boiled potatoes
- Pickles and pickle juice
- Coke and Ginger Ale
- Gin Gins
- Simply Nature Chocolate Chip bar
- S Caps
- Hammer Anti-Fatigue Caps
- Skratch electrolytes
A few mental strategies
You can read my full plan in my Pre-Race Questionnaire.
The two weeks leading up to taper week, I was paying attention to my thoughts during my training runs. As I practiced different mental imagery techniques to mimic what I might do in the race, I came up with three key words to repeat to myself during the race. Calm, focused, and locked in.
There can be a lot of pressure in doing ultramarathons, so I chose “calm” because I knew that I could handle anything that might pop up, but I was so well prepared that I wasn’t anxious. I just felt pressure to do well and remember all of the things.
I repeated the word “patience” to myself a few times as a reminder to just be patient with the process and progress in the race. It went along with “calm”.
“Stick with it,” also. I knew that if I just stayed in the game and kept to my plan, then it would have an awesome result.
“Focused” was a reminder to focus on my race and my plan. Not worry about what others were doing. I was confident in what I was doing.
I also remembered to pick up my feet and watch the trail. One bad slip up could crash the whole plan. I had a few near-ankle rolls in section 1 when it was dark out. The leaves blanketed the rocks and roots. I tripped about four times total during the whole race. No falls.
One year there, I tripped and fell really hard on section 3, causing some small scraping and bleeding on my knees, but the worst was the scrape and blood on my left forearm. I hit the ground and skidded.
I remembered that during this race and shared past “war stories” with other runners. It was fun to recall the struggles… ugh, disasters. I’m happy to say that this race is no longer a curse.
“Locked in” described the solid execution of everything coming together.
Beat the train!
Me and two guys (one was also doing the 100 miler and the other was doing the 100k) were coming off the trail and down the dirt road towards Petroleum Center (AS 2). There’s the Titusville Train Station right there. Through the trees, we could hear the train.
We had to cross the train tracks to get to the Petroleum Center. I exclaimed, it’s coming! I don’t want to have to wait for it to pass. The train’s horn was blowing. It has a very cute horn.
It takes people around the area and you can see the beautiful Fall scenery. I highly recommend it! Read about it here and plan your visit.
Me and the other 100 miler decided to pick up the pace and go for it. The train was moving slowly. We made it. I turned around to take a picture and the conductor was waving. I love that. We wave to the train conductors where we live.
The 100k guy decided to stay behind and get a video. The 100k distance people can take their time due to having a very generous cutoff time.
That was really fun.
Seeing scary stuff
I don’t mind looking around in the woods at night, but I told myself to try to avoid doing that for this one. Every time I looked at an old dead tree, I saw a monster.
The first monster hit hard and I slowed way down. Traci was with me and saw it, too! I didn’t have to say what it was, she said exactly what I was thinking. It was a giant, demonic looking goat holding a big dagger. Terrifying!
When I was with Dan, I saw a huge, dangerous Anglerfish. I didn’t mention it to him because I knew he’d be like, “okay,” lol. My voice was pretty much gone, anyway.
The other scary things were ghost-like people and twisted contraptions.
Trail running at night can be both scary and fun.
Going Home loop
After wrapping up loop 3 with Dan, I did what I needed to do to head out for the last 7 miles, the Going Home loop. I got a special red OC100 blinky light from the aid station to indicate that I was on my last loop.
It is called the Going Home loop because back in the day, the people working to get the oil out of the ground would cross the bridge to go home. Today, the bridge is a cable bridge.
You can still see and smell the black oil or whatever it was near the bridge. It is pretty cool. That’s where Stephen and I grabbed the awesome Road Runner rock (see the picture at the end of the article).
I was a little bit tearful because I knew that I was in the home stretch. I was also hell bent on passing more runners, which I did.
One of my small goals was to pace out the race well enough that I’d have no problem on the Hill of Truth and that I’d make Stephen run.
The making Stephen run part is a side story: In 2019, after I had just given birth to Ember in July, Stephen asked me to pace him on his Going Home loop. I did.
The funny thing is, in ultras, you can get so tired and put in a ton of effort, and not be able to move fast. You can feel like you are moving fast, but in reality, your pacer is walking next to you.
Stephen experienced that in the final stretch of his OC100 race, thinking that he was moving fast, but in reality, I was walking next to him. I didn’t want my finish to be like that. I wanted him to work to keep up with me. It was epic that I made that happen.
Back to the hill. The Hill of Truth is a highlight of the race. After the cable bridge, probably around mile 95 or 96, it is this over 1,000 ft climb. Pretty sick.
I passed a handful of guys and powered up full of determination. Once we reached the top, I alternated jogging and a moderate effort on section 4.
Nearing the end of 4, we excitedly waited to see the wooden steps that would indicate that we were near the trail head.
I heard the train in the distance and began to worry that I’d get stopped by the train with such a short amount of distance to go. In my head, I wondered if I should speed up. After the steps, I decided to do so.
Made it over the tracks! I yelled to the men and women directing runners at the Drake Well Museum intersection if I get to “go around the porta potty?!?” YES! It was that time.
“Going around the porta potty” signifies that you don’t do the 1 mile museum loop, that you do after the 3 long loops. You are on the Going Home loop, so you get to run around the porta potty and then right over the Jersey Bridge to the bike path. The bike path goes towards the middle school and finish.
Dan and I talked about this part for about a week leading up to the race.
I reserved some energy to run like a bat out of hell with two turns left. I had the finishing strong pace that I wanted. Everyone watching me was literally gasping. I was so happy. I’m going to cry writing this.
I waved to my new friend, Greg, and then continued towards Heather, who was waiting behind the finish arch with my beautiful buckle and sticker. Stephen told Greg that I was ready to be done.
Finish line
Once I received my awards from Heather, I told her about my years-long journey to finally finishing the race, and we got our picture together.
That was it, wow. 5 attempts at this beast and I nailed it. It is surreal that it is over. Bittersweet.
At the Jeep, Traci came over to congratulate me. We talked more and I thanked her again for pacing and for my painted rocks.
On the way home, I slept.
Final thoughts
This was my 5th attempt at this race. I first ran it in 2017. I think I’m going to call this one good and done. Now maybe I’ll get to do Rim to River 100 next Fall. This distance sucks, but it is always an adventure and I get a ton out of it.
In the evening after the race, Stephen mentioned to me feeling bittersweet about finishing this race. The next day, it hit me that yeah, I can understand and feel that now. I have been at war with this event for a few years and now it’s done.
Going to the Gerard Hiking Trail is going to feel different now. Maybe lighter or something like that because I know that I finished the race. It no longer hangs over me.
God answered prayers for safety and for having a good day. On loop 2, I had some very low mental lows and considered dropping out. I prayed about it and asked for strength and it was granted. I couldn’t allow those things to impact my race. There was no reason for it.
I carried Matthew 17:20 in my heart into the race. – Especially since I was sick the week leading up. The Bible verse didn’t cross my mind during the race, but the quote, “She believed she could, so she did” came to mind because it was on a beautiful painted rock. It is similar.
“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” – Matthew 17:20
Thank you
Thanks to Coach Kyle Kranz for providing me with solid race training over the years. Along the way, I made very small tweaks and added to what was programmed, so it reflected what I needed to do on race day.
Oil Creek was my 3rd 100 mile finish (I’m not including Temptation 200k because that was a different beast. You can read that race report here), it was the hardest 100, I finished it the fastest, and felt as good as I could throughout.
Yes, there were lows and pain. On section 4 of loop 3, I was so tired, all caffeine stopped working, and I needed the sun to come up before I ended up falling or literally falling asleep on my feet.
But, all of this speaks loudly on how solid my preparation was and like I said, I felt as good as I could have throughout.
A big thanks to all of my friends and family! Whether you were at the race or supported me at home or online, I appreciate you!
Some of y’all may not understand why I run these stupid things, but you love and support me, anyway. You know that I love doing it for some strange reason. – It’s a trap, and almost a cult! Don’t get into ultrarunning!
Oil Creek 100 and Gerard Hiking Trail articles
Women’s Unsupported, Gerard Hiking Trail, Oil Creek State Park
Oil Creek 100 Mi Race Report (10/6-7/2018)
Oil Creek 100 Race Report (2021)
Oil Creek 100 Race Report: My 4th DNF at this beast (2022)
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Goodies and painted rocks
