I was pumped when Danielle reached out to me this summer looking for coaching guidance building up for Javelina Jundred 100km. I could see that she already had a strong base and wealth of experience as an athlete, having previously completed Black Canyon 100km as well as several other ultras and road marathons. Her passion for the sport was immediately obvious when I looked at how many races she had recently completed in a short time frame (been there, sis). I saw in Danielle someone who was already putting in the work, demonstrating the follow-through needed to be successful in running a 100km and I saw a lot of potential for her to reach her goal of running a personal best 100km time at Javelina. She’s a tough gal with a great attitude!
Danielle navigated working through a knee injury like a champ (channeling her experience as a Spin Instructor to swap out some easy runs for indoor cycling). We played it real safe on the mileage with a “less is more” approach with volume while trying to balance the injury recovery with incorporating enough mileage to safely run 100km. With some subtle coaxing, we were even able to incorporate some speedwork (which Danielle is now shocked to admit she doesn’t even hate anymore). The final ingredient was some last minute heat training to prepare for what would turn out to be record-breaking temperature for the race weekend (we’re talking 36 degrees C), Danielle was ready to GO.
I am so proud of how Danielle managed the heat on race day and from the accounts of her crew during the race – she maintained a positive and strong mentality the whole way through. The last thing I want to say about Danielle before I share her race recap, is one of the most savage moves I’ve heard of as an athlete. As is typical with many races, as Danielle approached the finish of Javelina 100km, her watch was about 1.5km short of the official 100km distance. This girl proceeded to cross the finish line and CONTINUE RUNNING another 1.5km throughout the finish area until her watch (and of course, her Strava) hit that 100km mark, just so she could make her 100km PR official. I honestly cannot, for the life of me, imagine willing myself to do this (I mean, when I get to any finish line I am DONEZO), but that just shows you how determined Danielle is. Enjoy reading about her race day experience in her own words, below! **Shared with Danielle’s consent**
“Javelina Jundred is a race that had been on my bucket list for the last couple years. I loved the idea of trying a looped course, after experiencing the point to point course of Black Canyon last year. Most importantly though – it’s a huge race and the energy of this party in the desert looked truly unmatched. If I’m going to run 100km, I want it to be as fun as possible!
I wanted to hire a coach for the 100k journey ahead, but wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted or needed in a coach. My friend Bre started working with Liz earlier in 2024 and had been LOVING working with her, and so I reached out to her on a whim to see if Liz might be taking on new athletes. One thing led to the next, and I was Liz’s newest athlete with a 14 week build to my second 100k race.
The training with Liz was a dream. She was responsive, she paid attention to the details, and she somehow even got me enjoying my speed work Wednesdays (which has never happened before). Everything was going well… until suddenly at the end of August, my knee was giving me serious grief. It was my worst running injury to date. According to a few physiotherapists, it was patellar tendonitis and meant nine days with no running at all. Liz was optimistic, came up with a new game plan for me, and encouraged me the whole way. She was cautious, urging me to listen to the professionals (physio) but was ready to pivot and figure out a way for this not to completely derail my Javelina plans.
Fast forward, it’s October, and it’s RACE DAY! We made the drive to the start line and as the course came into sight, I was unbelievably nervous, my legs were visibly trembling. It’s a funny thing: for my first 100k, I went in with blind naive optimism. This time, I knew the journey that laid ahead and knew how hard it was going to feel, and I was SCARED. However, I’m a big believer that nerves just mean you care a lot, and I did. I cared a lot about making this victory lap count and doing whatever I needed to do to take care of my body and get to the finish line feeling proud.
As I was about to get out of the car, my friend Bre told me “ok I’m sorry, but I have to mom you here for a minute – it’s never too early to focus on cooling down. Get your arm sleeves wet and pay attention to that before you think you need to”. Bre has run a lot of big races, and some on really hot days so I was all ears to her advice.
Loop 1 begins and I’m off! I started near the back because I knew I wanted to start conservatively and not go out too hard, but then all of a sudden I’m on single track for kilometers and everyone is walking (and it’s a flat trail). I was kicking myself a little bit for letting myself get stuck so far back, but eventually found myself being able to pass and find a more comfortable pace around km 5. Javelina is a course with a generous cutoff for the 100k (29 hours for the 100km and 30 hours for the 100mile), so it attracts folks that are looking for more time to complete the course (while also, of course, attracting ALL of the elite racers, chasing those elusive Golden tickets). I approached the first aid station earlier than I thought I’d see one, I didn’t really need much from the aid station, but then remembered Bre’s advice and quickly added ice to my ice bandana and then soaked my arm sleeves with the sponges in the ice water. The air still felt cool, and I could feel the cooling from my arm sleeves almost immediately. The rest of the loop went by pretty much without a hitch. I ran through some beautiful saguaros, and enjoyed the views from the course for the first time. I was excited to get back to race JQ (jeadquarters) so that I’d get to see my crew! I finished Lap 1 in 4:45 and knew that Lap 2 was where the real test would be as the day was calling for record-breaking heat of 36 degrees.
I drank a full blue Gatorade, refilled bottles, refilled ice bandana and sleeves, swapped hats (but kept the ears of course) and was back out on course ready for Lap 2. Lap 2 went decently well for me, but you could start to see the heat taking a toll on folks. I was committed to the essentials at each aid station: make sure water and electrolyte bottles were full leaving EVERY aid station (it was nice having extra water to wet my arm sleeves), and a full ice bandana and tons of ice in the arm sleeves. At one of the aid stations in the heat of the day (I think Jackass but honestly, who knows) – they did run out of ice, which was a bit challenging, but I did what I could with the cold water pool and kept moving forward. This lap was straight survival, I shuffled when I could and walked when I needed to, making sure to stay on top of (and ahead of) my fueling and hydration needs. I knew that if I fell behind on either of those, it could lead to race-ending consequences and having never raced in heat like this before, I was terrified of what might look like and was determined to not find out. I ended up finishing Lap 2 in 5:21, which was better than I had anticipated.
And just like that, I was back at Race JQ, with my friend Bre running with me to my crew. I was so pumped to start Lap 3 as the sun was setting because my sister, Emily, was pacing me and I wanted her to get to see a little bit of the beauty of the course. The sunset was gorgeous, and I was elated to have the HOT sun off of me. Bre was running the fun run, so I was excited to get to see her WHIZ past me – she had a huge summer and fall of building and racing, so I knew her fitness would allow her to FLY on the non-technical, runnable course (she finished as 9th female!!!! So proud).
On Lap 3, at every aid station, I was still packing ice everywhere I could make it fit. I could’ve never imagined when I signed up for this race in January that I’d still be shoving ice down my arm sleeves at 10pm HAHA. The time went by a LOT faster with her there and I was really proud of the pace we held, and of our spirits throughout. We said hi and good job to every single runner we passed, and also to the ones ZIPPING by us. I ended up finishing the third lap in 5:27, just 6 minutes slower than lap 2!!!! When I ran Black Canyon last year, I absolutely fell apart for the last 20km (and lucky Em got to be a witness). I was really nervous about that happening again but stayed committed to controlling the things I could control. This terrain is incredibly friendly for a first timer and I would highly recommend this race for anyone trying their first 100km or 100 mile! If this race isn’t on your bucket list yet, add it!
What I learned:
- Although I am a firm believer of “nothing new on race day” – if the race conditions call for it, TRY SOMETHING NEW. I feel strongly that I would’ve struggled a lot more in the heat without my ice bandana and arm sleeves, both of which I had never used on a run before
- Bet on yourself + don’t give up on the race too early. I really wanted to hit the 50k mark in sub 7 hours, because that was my pace at Black Canyon last year and I was committed to running this 100k faster. I ran the first 50k in 7:12, but ended up at the finish line with a 2 hour PB. These races are long, bet on yourself and keep doing the work.
- While I was way more scared at the start line the second time around, I’m now a lot more confident at the finish. I know what I’m capable of during the 100km distance and it’s no longer about “just surviving to the finish line”
- Less can be more. Find a training plan, and a coach that works for you. Everybody can take different loads in different seasons, and I’m so pleased with how my body did with significantly less mileage during this build. I felt good, and energetic this build which made the work feel a lot more manageable.“
This one time I went running 