The Zion 100-mile Ultra Marathon
A look into the Belly of the Beast that was ZION 100
Now that has been a week removed from Traveling back from the hardest physical and mental challenge I have ever attempted, My brain has finally recovered enough to share with you the experience of The Zion 100-mile Ultra with Team Tribal Training.
How the race came about
Early last fall, after wrapping up my 50-mile (12-lap Backyard Ultra), I received an invitation from my endurance coach and friend Ryan Dreyer to do something BIG with the tribe in the early part of 2024.
I’ve shared in extent with Ryan my desire to race unfathomable distances, with a big goal of running the Moab 240.
To run that distance, I’d have to complete multiple 100-mile races in preparation. There’s no better opportunity to attempt my first 100-mile than with a team of savages.
So with a few back-and-forths about the details, we got to work!
6 months to Train
We went about training for this ultra a bit differently than the ones I’ve completed before. Coming off the backyard and working into/focusing on Ironman Training.
I was still training up for IronMan Florida in November before life made it not so feasible to compete, and to be honest my heart was more set on the 100 miles than another full-distance triathlon. By mid-October, I put my ego down and focused on what I had to handle in life outside of training, and dove into the training to run the Zion 100
Going after a goal to run 100 miles was going to take a lot more than just more and more runs. More run volume wasn’t going to be the unlock here, it was going to be everything else. The locked-in nutrition in and out of training, more daily mobility efforts than ever before, and a higher emphasis on recovery than I was admittedly ready to be committed to.
However, I believe the underlying key to all of this was consistency and proper time management in all of these departments. Along with constant communication with my fianace about what I needed to get done and how I could help her manage the time I was away better by helping her get ahead.
If you’re interested in creating a friction-free household while you are implementing new challenges in your life like going to the gym and eating healthy, COMMUNICATION must be had between you and your partner. Without proper communication, the friction will be setting more fires than you can manage to put out.
Nutrition:
Being the nutrition guy, this was the easiest part of prep/training for me. I had to eat to fuel. Eat to perform. Eat to recover. I stayed around 90% on target for the 6 months. Give or take a few cheesecake slices or plates of pasta around the holidays. I was ready.
Those extra calories were needed, and training started getting intense. Many of my longer runs were under-fueled (next bullet point) so making up for those calories was paramount before and after the big efforts. I could not afford to randomly fast for +16 hours the bigger the efforts and the closer we got to race day.
What was interesting was fueling during runs as it was cold up here in Michigan/Canada. I was only consuming maybe 16 oz of water/liquid fuel every two hours. When in the heat it looks closer to 64-80 oz of water/liquid fuel every 2 hours. Come race day, my gut was completely trained and able to handle what it needed. (minus the horrendous smell of the gas I passed on the trail lol)
Mobility/Recovery:
Mobility and proper recovery were vital to ensure training could go off without any major hitches.
From throwing my back out 2 weeks before a 50km race on June 2023, 40 minutes of daily mobility became a staple. Big shout out to Austin Kieth, (Barefoot_Will_ on X) for some flow and movements to implement. Austin + a team of Chiropractors and Physiologist here got me right. They ensured my hips and back were at the best they could be.
Whether you’re training for a big race, a heavy strength show, or just want to feel the best you can, having a support care team of Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, and Physiotherapists is a must.
Training:
Training for this Ultra was a lot different than Training for the previous Ultra’s I have run before. As stated before it was less about more run volume and managing fatigue as we increased the intensity of running.
The biggest takeaway from training was simply being consistent and being communicative with my coach about the physical and mental feedback I was getting from training.
This was also the very first race I was consistently strength training 3-4x a week. Previously this looked like 1-2x a week. Being a former meathead, I believe this did as much for my soul as it did for my muscles.
The biggest unlock for me as a runner this training cycle was not allowing myself to run on a treadmill through the winter time up here in Michigan/Canada. This forced me to do every run in whatever Mother Nature was delivering to us during the season.
If I had to name 1 session that made me a better runner than any it was a 3.5-hour Time on Feet effort at Mono Cliffs Provincial Park here in Mono, Canada. The Trails had 4-18” of snow of snow on them depending on where you stepped. It was snowing on us as we were running. The wind gust gave the feeling that Jack Frost may bite your nose off and the overall feel like temperature was -16*F. Through the hills, the snow, and the temperatures, I feel this was the one run that solidified my abilities as a trail runner. All runs after that were considerably easier. Including my 2 am 12-mile run after being up since 4 am the morning prior and driving +7hrs from Indianapolis back home to London, Ontario.
Race Week
Race week is always a blast. There are so many mixed emotions heading into it. Certainty, Belief, Nervousness, Anxiety, Joy, Peace, Happiness. It’s a wild ride.
This was the first race I had to fly to, so an extra layer of travel stress was involved. I am usually a last-minute packer but with such an immense challenge of the race ahead, I packed my bags on Sunday (We didn’t fly out until Wednesday morning lol). Praying for a successful and stress-free trip helped, as Jordan and I were tested as soon as we went through security. Our bags had to go through the scanners 3 times to get cleared (broken machine)… The juxtaposition of how stressed everyone was around us and the carefree attitude we had was noticeable and it made the day quite enjoyable.
We got into Las Vegas around 11 and picked up our buddy Charlie Garwood who was there to capture the content for the week for Team Tribal Training. After a few stops at the grocery stores and Target, we made our way 2.5 hours north to the Team House.
Honestly heading into this experience, I didn’t know what the Team House would be like. 15 guys and gals, many of whom meeting for the 1st time, under 1 roof for a week leading into the biggest physical challenge we’ve ever experienced.
And let me tell you, it was an absolutely beautiful and energizing experience. From the moment we stepped foot in the house to after we left, it was only positive, loving, and encouraging energy and conversation. This was unique in itself. Nothing was planned but everything flowed as it was. From a Team Podcast to after-meal walks, to pool hangs and stretches, to Pre-Race Bag and Gear prep… everything went swimmingly!
There was so much belief and confidence in what we were about to go out and do that you would have thought we’d run a thousand 100-mile races together before.
This energy-fed straight race day morning.
Race Day BABY!!!
Wake up for our room was 2:30 am Saturday, April 13th. Like clockwork I was up at 2:20 am… 10 minutes before the alarms went off. I got up with a very calm and focused feeling and started getting ready. Within the 7 minutes I was in the bathroom getting ready, the whole house was rustling around and getting ready.
Got to the kitchen started brewing coffee for the house and kept the lights down low. It’s hard to describe the feeling here, you could feel the contentedness and calmness of those who were up. I pounded my 3-bagels and cream cheese and went to the living room to do my morning mobility routine.
You hear the preparedness of everyone up and I heard 1 thing that stuck out.
“Cam is out with the flu.” Cameron, one of the 10 runners we were planning to go 10/10 for at the race was sick the day before and went to the ER around the time most of us headed to bed. So now we were lining up with 9. This was an extremely selfless act on Cam’s part and really showcased his commitment to the team to succeed together.
It was an interesting feeling knowing the original plan for 10 of us to race changed last minute but still, the feeling and focus was to succeed and race our race.
4:05 am hits and everyone is outside getting in their cars ready to caravan 30 minutes to the starting line.
We pull into the lot and Kevin Gates, “I Don’t Get Tired” starts playing and oh baby does it hype me up! We park the car and get out.
It’s a bit chilly at the starting line but knowing we were going to be in the desert heat in a few hours made you a bit more grateful for the cold morning air.
Everyone gets geared up, Crew-Stop Bags loaded in a vehicle and we had a team huddle right there in the parking lot.
Coach Ryan Dreyer shared encouraging words and we broke the huddle with a “TRIBE ON 3”. Instant flashback to my football days and those gameday goosebumps immediately ensued.
One unique aspect of the Zion Ultra races hosted by Vacation Races is there is a rolling start. Basically, the National Anthem plays at 4:56 am and the gun goes off at 5 am. You have until 5:30 am to start your 100-mile race. For us running together in a team allowed us to take our time and start on our own accord… promptly at 5:04 am.
The first 5ish miles of the race were on an access road. The dirt road that leads to the first aid station of the race. This was a great beginning for us. We got to bask in the Desert night sky, find a good pace, and figure out how going to the bathroom on the trail would work. This is around the time we initiated a countoff system to keep everyone together in the dark… Marine Corps Flashbacks for sure lol.
Making it to the first aid station a little over an hour in was a great place to figure out the flow of what would be needed as we entered the aid stations throughout the day. Bathroom use, water re-up and we were on our way.
The first major stretch of this race was along Goosebump Mesa. About 5 miles until the turn around and most of the path was soft single-track trails. This was where we were figuring out pacing and just really soaking it all in. By now, dawn broke and lit up the canyon floor. I can remember looking over at the vastness below and tears flowing down my face. It hit me that “DANG D, WE’RE DOING IT BABY”! The past 6 months of hard training and 2 years of dedication to endurance are here. I was running a 100-mile race… WOW!
Leading the pack and keeping pace was fun in this part, riding high on the sunrise energy and the excitement of what we were doing.
After the turnaround, the trail became more of traversing boulders instead of an easy single-track path so it became a bit more difficult to find a rhythm to run but was fun nonetheless. Hit another unexpected aid station, about 3 miles to go until the first one we were at, used the bathroom once more, Chugged some water, ate a bunch of good food, and on we were moving. It was around this time I started to notice how pumped my quads and adductors were. Something I took note of, but didn’t pay attention to. I knew and expected the pain to set in for this race, giving pain a voice is not the go-to. Trouble-shooted the problem and got more fuel and liquid in.
Around 17.7 miles in we reached that 1st aid station again, we were about to exit the top of the mesa and head down to the desert floor. The whole time it’s been nice and cool. Knowing the desert heat was awaiting us below we all make sure to get extra fluids and electrolytes in.
We soon made our way down the side of the mesa, about 1,500ft of descent over 1.4 miles. This was STEEP and technical. Lose rocks that made you a bit unsure of its sturdiness. It was still pretty early in the race making way for a congo-line of racers to form down this challenging descent.
We reached the desert floor and were welcomed by 100-gallon water and about 15*F hotter air. This was a crucial spot for those of us who might have been feeling the aches, pains, and cramps a bit more than others to get a liter or more of water in. That is the thing about ultras, your fueling and hydration are rarely to help you in that moment but to set you ahead of the curve on the next few hours you’re about to hit.
The desert floor path was more of a fire road we were running on. We saw runners around us and started breaking off into our little packs of a team. This was a great place to check in on other teammates and see how they were doing. Curating conversation to keep our minds off the heat and minor pains settling in working our way to the next aid station.
The next aid station was around 26 miles in. This was the 1st aid station where we were able to see our support crew. The vibes and smiles were high. The crew helped us tremendously and within 10 minutes we were back out on the trail.
“SOUND OFF”!! Back in the desert, we went.
By this time it was around 12-1 pm and the heat was just climbing, with no shade and rarely any relief from the wind we trudged along.
About 1.5 hours later we had a road crossing where we got to see some of our crew and Trevor and I got some much-needed baby powder on our bums. What a relief.
And this is where we headed into the “Belly of the Beast”. An area of the desert where the air stood still and the sun got its chance to roast us completely. For the first time, the distinction between team members who were feeling good and those feeling not so good became clear.
I found myself somewhere in between both groups with Louie. We chatted a bit and one thing that came up was pacing structure to keep morale high for everyone. Within 30 minutes, we had met at another one of those water buffalos and Ryan had restructured the order again to keep pace on track and vibes for all high.
We started coming out of the floor and ran along a cliffside looking over a beautiful river below.
The physical pain started settling in a ton more at this point. The heat of the day was setting hard on us. But our spirits were strong.
This was when I started thinking, nighttime is going be the best time. I mean “THE NIGHT IS WHEN THE DAWGS COME OUT”!. So my mind was focused on making it to sunset. But first, making it to the next aid station.
The next aid station was when the momentum started to shift. When we pulled up to the Virgin Dam Aid station, it was closing down. We started thinking, are we that far off pace? Turns out the aid station captain was reassigned at the last minute and messed up the shutdown times. So thinking the sweeper was right behind us, we set off running.
What this did do was set in a sense of urgency, some might say panic, amongst us. We knew had to move so we got grooving.
For about 4 miles we ran negative splits. Which for my non-runners out there means as each mile passed we ran faster than the mile before.
We separated into 2 packs, The front pack was about 3 guys who were feeling great, me in the middle, and the back pack of the team that hurt a little bit more.
As I type this 2 weeks removed from the race, I’ve had time to reflect. This was the part of the race I was hurting… bad. A turning point for me. I was focused on keeping us together as a group. So in my mind, I didn’t want to fall back and slow down to lose the front group, and I knew if I sped up to catch the front pack, I’d burn out quicker. So I rode the middle to keep the gaps closed and the pack together as much as possible.
Lots of internal monologue of, “Let’s go D, You got this D, YOU’RE A STRONG MF’R D". I was pushing, I was alone, I was ‘in it’ completely.
We make it the 4 miles to the next water buffalo right before our first major climb up Smith Mesa. From scouting the course via videos of other racers from years past, this was the part that claimed the most DNF’s of 100-mile runners.
It is also the point where I make a fatal mistake.
I started to refill my water and I noticed some of the team struggling. One of my Mantras for this race was “WE DON’T GET TIRED” (the song that played pulling into the lot that morning). I see my team struggling as do I. At this point, I decided to let the old Marine Sergeant out, I started yelling this Mantra, “HEY WE DON’T GET TIRED TRIBE.” Punched the water buffalo and yelled again “WE DON’T GET TIRED”. I noticed it doesn’t hit like I thought it would and I needed to collect myself before this climb. So I went off the side and looked at the map and elevation graph to understand what were about to face. In doing so, I lapsed judgment and failed to replenish my water and fuel.
We head out, still in a state of urgency, making our way up this climb. 2,500ft climb over 3-4 miles.
The road up this climb is daunting. Nothing but open air to see how much were about to conquer. As we make it up this incline, we start seeing other runners, probably the first time we have seen others in a few hours. It was nice to see these guys, but everyone we saw was struggling just as much. Its honestly what we came here for; to find the place we wanted to quit and to keep on going.
About 30% up the hill I realized I hadn’t taken in any fuel, I was behind, and when I reached down to grab some… that’s when it hit. I was half dry. And in the state of physical and mental fatigue, I forgoed getting in the fuel simply because I wanted this climb to be over. Novice mistake. Every bend of the road was a false top, seemingly to never end if we are being honest. This was mistake number 2, I should have consumed as much as I could to get me to the top. But hey, that’s what experience is for, to test us in this capacity.
Finally, we crest the top of the mesa, and its about another quarter mile to the aid station. Bringing up the rear, one thing is on my mind I got to hit the bathroom. I take care of business and get out. Some of the teammates catch me and start seeking advice to alleviate their stomach issues. And my first thought was “Man I gotta figure my stomach out first”. but that quickly dissipated knowing that helping these guys out would get my mind off what I was experiencing. We quickly address these issues, I get back to fill up my fuel and water and head out.
This is where it starts to really hit how much of a hole I dug myself in by not hitting my fuel targets for the past 2ish hours. Even a trot down the small descents we were hurting, I was struggling to maintain for more than 1 minute at a time.
At this point I part of the back pack now. There are 4 of us there, all physically worn. Brando had been feeling it for the past 8 hours, Josh with what was later diagnosed as a broken foot, and Jordan helping keep spirits high in the back.
I will admit this is where I started to mentally let myself go. I could allow myself to remain upset or frustrated that I did, but now It doesnt matter, it’s just lessons learned for next time.
We were expecting a water buffalo at 49ish miles. 2/3 of our watches had us at 51 miles with no water buffalo insight. This was the mentally challenging part. In endurance you don’t just think of the next 60 miles you gotta cover, you only focus on the next segment. Thinking too big or too far ahead will destroy you. But now we surpassed this checkpoint and my morale drops greatly.
Another lesson learned is to accept things as they are in the race.
Pivot and change headspace. Adapt and Overcome.
We eventually make it to the water buffalo before the most technical descent I’ve made in over a decade. It’s dark at this point and we had anywhere between 2 feet and 10 feet of path width that separated us from the ledge that led a few hundred feet to the desert floor. As someone who doesn’t like heights very much, Im glad it was dark out.
A few of us stumble, slip, and catch ourselves before making it to the ledge. At one point, a rope had to be used to scale about 12 feet of rock face down. Not something anyone would run or jump down.
This is the point where I noticed the lack of fuel has on my body. It’s a challenge to stand straight and get sure footing.
We make it down to the desert floor and we can see the lights of the aid station off in the distance but with it being so dark, there’s no telling how far it actually is.
We meet up with our camera guy and my friend Charlie, and he starts giving us some motivation. Before he heads back, we ask how far until the aid station.
”Oh, just about a mile or so.”
“Roger that.”
Jordan and I are bringing up the rear here with the main focus on just making it safely back.
About 40 minutes pass and we are not much closer to the aid station. Charlie makes it back to us, gives us some encouragement, and heads back. Again we ask how much further.
“Oh, just about a mile or so”
“Okay, Roger that.”
It’s about this time in the race, just around 18 hours since we started and 53 miles (on my watch) in on the race that I realize I am not moving as efficiently as I should be to cover the next 45 miles.
The dreaded realization that I will be the “one” that drops and stops us from finishing 9/9.
This was a hard pill to swallow at first. And if I am being honest, the ego made it a hard pill to swallow. In truth, there was nothing for me to be upset about what I have accomplished so far in this race. But at the time, I was only seeing the objective outcome not being reached. It’s easy in this part of a race to feel like a failure because of the objective outcome but when you have a wise professor like Jordan with you, that script gets quickly flipped.
I pride myself on being the never-quit guy, the hard charger, the crawl in if you can’t walk-in type of guy. Jordan knows this, and starts pushing the right buttons to not let me wallow for a while.
After some sage advice given with no response on my end, my mind starts immediately game planning how I can be better for the next go around. What my training will look like, what more analysis and knowledge can be gained to come back better.
Jordan and I come into the aid station finally at 11:15 pm, the Grim Reaper strikes at 11:30 pm.
This is where my race ended.
The other 4 teammates were in the tent. We showcased on our bodies and faces the battle we just fought through.
There are 6 of us in the tent at this point, Ryan comes over and checks in on me and I have to swallow that pride and tell him I’m done. It was at that moment he said “I understand and I am proud of the effort you put in” and made us aware the others were done too.
We sat there for the next 15 minutes and did what we could to help get Ryan back out there so he could go catch the front group.
For 5 of us, our race finished here.
When Ryan left, I knew my heart I couldn’t just go back to the house and sleep. My boys were out there and we had to do what we could to bring them across that finished line.
I looked at Jordan and told him were coming back. Charlie gives us a ride to our car and we head back to the house. We put on a pot of coffee, shower, and grab some food. Brandon heads back to the aid station with us and we hang waiting for the front pack to come in.
About 2-3 hours later, Louie, Trevor, and Jamie come in with huge smiles on their faces. We immediately start helping them out and this is where it becomes clear to me as to why I wasn’t supposed to finish the race.
Jamie has been struggling with his gut for the past 7+ hours. We start troubleshooting everything that could be causing it and quickly address it. Made sure Louie and Trevor were good and out they went.
About 2 hours later, Ryan comes in about 20 minutes after the Grim Reaper cut off, we celebrate his strength and leadership because we know exactly how hard of a fight it’s been for him and the team. Ryan exemplified the characteristics of a true leader. One to follow into battle any day of the week in any situation.
We get some fuel in him and chat about the experiences he had up there on that next mesa. What a wild journey that was.
Jordan, Brandon, Myself, and the support crew headed back to the start-finish where we were going to see the front and back for the last time before they finished. The boys had been going 26ish hours at that point. Completely in the thick of the battle.
Again, another chance to troubleshoot any issues and make sure they were good to go. I was so impressed by their effort here. And off they went with Mike Donetelli to bring them home the last 20 miles.
We had about 6-7 hours until we saw them again, we headed back to the house got some breakfast, and chatted it up with everyone that was there. Around 2 pm we head back to the start-finish to welcome our boys home.
The pack comes in strong waving the Tribal Flags high and we all couldn’t of been more proud. We know this challenge was harder we all expected. To see these warriors cross the finish line, It was hard not to feel a sense of pride and astonishment for what they accomplished.
Lessons Learned
Going 3 for 9 was exactly what was supposed to happen for us. I think Brandon put it perfectly when he said “If I finished, it would have papered over everything that I needed to learn from this race.”
And that is exactly why we do endurance. It is a microcosm of it never being the objective outcome we desire but the subjective lessons learned through the journey in which we took.
For me, there were a few major lessons learned here…
Humility
This was the biggest takeaway and lesson learned for me. No amount of confidence will guarantee success in any endeavor. That sometimes it isn’t going to go exactly to plan. That I wasn’t strong enough, smart enough, and prepared enough to accomplish the mission as I thought. Humility brings a sense of humbleness to the ego for me to understand nothing is a guarantee.
I allowed my ego to get me across every finish line before when things got challenging. And in those moments it was exactly what I needed to understand that I have so much more to give. This race was what taught me that not everything needs to be forced because I said I was gonna do something. That it’s okay to accept defeat because it gives a place to build from. Accepting failure is still never an option. When you accept failure, there is no coming back. Defeat means you’re still in the fight.
Mantras don’t get you to cross the finish line.
No amount of wordplay will change the physical and mental challenges you face. Mantras serve their purpose in time and can change the mind frame. But relying solely on them doesnt guarantee success.
In competition aggression is good, but not everyone needs aggressive motivation
Coming from a very Type A background. HS Football, Marine Corps, Strongman competition; aggression is all around. But aggression doesnt serve everyone.
Trusting myself to provide more nurturing motivation and encouragement to others will not only help them but also help me in these ultra-endurance events.
This may have been the biggest unlock for me as a leader and coach, you cant out aggressive nature.
Get in the Arena more
This was a big unlock as an athlete. I’ve only looked at competition as accomplishing big things. My first race was a 100km trail race, and my first (and only triathlon) was a Full Ironman. All other races were 50km and above. It’s not more training that gonna help me understand and troubleshoot issues that only competition will bring me.
Even your best isn’t good enough sometimes
This was by far my best performance in a race by a long shot. but still wasn’t good enough to get me across the finish line.
Just like most things in life, there’s always room to improve and get better. When you accept that sometimes your best won’t be good enough, you’ll understand that it’s all about the journey and not the destination that you’re pursuing.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading! I enjoy using writing as a way to reflect and share the lessons I have personally learned through competing. I know these articles help inspire others on their journey and give insight many might not have thought of before.
If you want to listen to Ryan and Jordan Recap the whole team experience, check out Part 1 and Part 2 here:
If challenging yourself in an ultra-marathon (50km and up) excites you and you want to experience the beauty of doing it with a team of savages, the Tribe is running it back next year at Antelope Cayon. It’s March 8th, 2025.
There are 14 of us signed up currently, you can join the waitlist here: