TL;DR: I DNF’d at the 50-mile turnaround in Brodhead, but it was still a great day out there!
I woke up bright and early at 4am in Illinois, hitting the road and arriving at the race with just enough time to scramble and get my gear together. Unfortunately, I missed the race instructions at the start and ended up being the very last runner to cross the starting line at 6am.
That missed briefing would come back to bite me! When I reached the tunnel detour (since the tunnel itself was closed), I was supposed to follow a detour on pavement, but I didn’t realize how far the paved section would go. I took a right as directed, but then assumed I’d quickly hop onto a path paralleling the tunnel route. So I took the first left that looked like a gravel trail—turns out it was someone’s driveway. Whoops. I turned around, tried another left—it was another driveway. Strike two!
By that point, I was heading back to the tunnel entrance, hoping to ask for help. Luckily, I ran into a 50K runner from the 7am wave and confirmed I was still at least in the right area. But before that, I’d already made another detour across a farm property (I’m sure I was on someone’s land!), all in search of the elusive tunnel detour. In the end, I racked up an extra 1.6 miles before finally getting back on track.
The tunnel road detour was longer than I’d expected—at least a mile or a mile and a half of pavement to get back onto the actual course. Not exactly what I’d signed up for, but it was my mistake for missing the pre-race instructions. Once I finally got into my rhythm, I settled into my sodium strategy: two chewable salt tabs (about 100mg sodium) every mile or so, plus water and electrolyte drinks from the aid stations. In past races, I’ve had issues with swelling and hand puffiness from too much water and not enough salt, but this time I was taking in about 500mg sodium/hour and felt great the entire time. That was a huge win for me.
Even though I ran those bonus 1.6 miles, I still managed to PR my half marathon and marathon splits during the race—26.8 miles total by the time I reached Brodhead. Unfortunately, I missed the cutoff there and had to take a ride back to the start.
The course itself was really nice: a wide dirt path with some gravel, no technical footing, and plenty of scenic bridges and river crossings (without getting your feet wet!). The views of Belleville Lake were beautiful, and the runners were super friendly and encouraging all day long.
I’m definitely looking forward to the day they reopen the tunnel (I hear there are bats in there now!). In the meantime, I learned a lot from missing those instructions—it’s a good reminder that paying attention to those little details can really make or break your day.
Shout-out to 10 Junk Miles Racing for putting on a fantastic event! The volunteers were top-notch, and the aid stations had everything you could want: PB&Js, pickles (lifesavers for that sodium boost!), oranges, bananas, and watermelon. I stuck to foods that would help me finish strong, skipping the cookies, candy, and beers to keep my gut happy and my energy steady.
Despite the DNF, I had a great experience overall. Big thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Kummer and all the volunteers who made the Sugar Badger 50 such a fun and supportive race. I’m already thinking about coming back next year for a shot at redemption!