This past weekend, the race I had been training for all year was finally here: Beast of the East 2025. Arriving at the race, the vibe was electric—the music was jamming, and runners were greeted by the incredible staff at Dirty Wolf Racing.

My goal was simple: no matter what, finish my first 100 miler.

I searched UltraSignup for races in December. There was Beast Of The East 100, and I was seriously thinking of doing that race, but I was not trained for that type of vertical or technical challenge. It would have felt disrespectful to those who trained their asses off for that race. So I managed to stumble onto the Daytona 100.

The Tideland 24 Hour course is a USATF-certified 1.37779-mile crushed gravel and dirt loop that snakes through the White Oak River marsh, crossing bridges of aluminum and wood. It’s the kind of course that tricks you into thinking it’s easy because it’s beautiful, mostly flat, and you have aid every 1.3 miles. But as the loops accumulate and the hours go on, you discover hills you didn’t notice before, and sections seem to grow in distance.

I was starving but couldn’t eat. I was sweating but shivering. I was walking sideways mostly. Passed the barren water drop, I had 15 miles to go. It was then that I found a bench and I sat for a few. At one point, the last thing I remember saying was “I need to stretch my back”, so I lay down on my side. Huge mistake.