Running into 2022

Finishing the Xterra 21k (Half Marathon) World Championship in less than 2:11 after what was already a long week of continuing to train for the HURT 100.

2021. Another year gone by. It was a year full of every emotion imaginable. But more than that, it was one of my biggest years of growth to date.

At the beginning of the year, I decided I was going to try and start running more for my physical and mental health.

In 2020, my running per month ranged anywhere between 25 and 45 miles per month so I set my monthly goal at 50 miles a month wondering how I was going to find the time to make it happen. Especially since my average mile time was still pretty slow.

My goals were simple. Even as the year progressed. I wanted my goals to be challenging but never did I set goals that were way out of reach. This in itself kept me motivated.

Always setting goals that were achievable.

January 2021 finished off with almost 57 miles of running. I was so stoked. I knew I could do more and with February now here as a short month, I knew this would be another fun challenge. Now the goal was to run more than 57 miles in a shorter amount of time.

February quickly progressed to 77 miles on the dot. My runs ranged in distance between 3 and 5.3 miles so I ran a lot of days to get to that mark. Sometimes, my time was limited and sometimes it felt like my body couldn’t handle much more at that given time.

March came and I wanted to hit the 100 mile mark. I knew I could do it if I put in the same amount of days as February but increased my runs by a mile or so. That month my runs ranged from 2 to 7.7 miles with the average definitely being higher than February so I was able to get it done PLUS some. I finished off March with 126.1 miles.

I was shocking myself in my ability considering how new I still considered myself to running. With that being said, I was on a high and feeling amazing about myself even though my body was feeling it at times.

Picked up a pair of Speed Glasses because I had friends who were fast that wore them. I wanted to be fast too. Lol.

April was the first month though that I really tested myself. I wanted to use April to average the first months of the year (January - April) to be 100 miles ran per month which would total at least 400 miles for the first 4 months of the year.

I was able to achieve this plus some with a couple of well over 100 mile months in March and April. I also wanted to start averaging at least 5000ft of elevation gain per week/20,000ft per month as well which I was also able achieve. But I was feeling very fatigued after April which wasn’t something I found to be very fun. Lol. I didn’t think about it at the time but I was probably losing more calories than I was taking in at the time.

Within the first few months of the year, I ran the Mango Madness and the Waahila Wanderer Races held by the HURT organization which I both felt super strong in. I was happy with my performances in both even though I didn’t really set any expectations for them.

After I caught up to 100 miles a month, I coasted for a bit after that. My miles per month were definitely over 100 rather easily but I didn’t have many new goals after that.
I ran one more race for the HURT organization (the Maunawili Run with the Pig 22 Miler) that I DNF’d. I rolled my ankle one time really well which caused the side of my foot to crush up against a rock in a stream bed. It definitely hurt but my biggest concern was the fact that I started rolling both ankles rather easily after that and then the lack of service along the trail didn’t make things much better in case something were to happen. So I hobbled my sad self back to the turn around point which was at the half way mark and accepted defeat.
It was definitely something that broke me more mentally though. It’s one to this day that continues to frustrate me.

Fun runs with friends.

And not long after that, I signed up for the HURT 100 Race in January 2022 after not even finishing a 22 miler. Pretty dumb move if you ask me. But this was totally strategy based. I figured my chances of being drawn was slim to none since this was my first year entering. Each year you’re not drawn, you are more likely to get drawn the next year due to how their lottery works. And because of COVID19, there wasn’t any requirements to joining the race when it came to longer previous race finishes and what not. So my thought process was to enter this year, not get drawn and have a better chance of being drawn when I’m better prepared in 2023.

August 21st, 2021 was the day of the lottery. I woke up without a worry in the world and didn’t even plan to watch the lottery or tune in until later because I was trail running up in the Waianae Mountains that morning from the Kealia Trail. Halfway through my run, I started getting texts and messages through FB/IG. I ignored them at first but then they kept coming in and I could see the notifications through my watch so I decided to stop and check my phone. All of the notifications were congratulatory messages about being drawn in the 2022 HURT 100 lottery! “Oh Shit…” was my first thought. My nerves started taking over. Self doubt started creeping in. And I read that I had the opportunity to withdraw myself and my slot would be given to someone on the waitlist. But what really started the process of not wanting to withdraw were the messages I initially got from everyone. The dozens of messages saying “Congrats” and what not is what made me realize how special and big of an opportunity this is. So training began.

A photo from our Sea To Summit To Sea route.

Halloween Hurt Loop!

It may be blurry but this is a photo from our HURT Loop in the worst storm of the year. You can see that the trail was basically a river.

I started with planning some longer runs and routes that I hadn’t seen done before or ones I found interesting because I wanted to make it fun as well. I like running but for me to love it, I need to keep it interesting. So, I planned a Kealia to Kaala to Pokai Bay Run/Hike with some friends (a Sea To Summit To Sea we called it) and that was amazing. There was also some other across island runs that made for some fun as well in the earlier days of my HURT training. My first ever HURT Loop (1 of 5 Loops that make up the HURT 100) was a slow one but a fun one to say the least that totaled to be a marathon distance for a virtual marathon that my friend was trying to complete.
I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous after that though.

I ran many more HURT Loop combos and other Tantalus Trail Combos following that to try and get myself trained up on the trails up there including a Hurt Halloween Night Loop with a group of friends and running a couple more loops with one of my pacers from 8pm to 8am on another night. I also flew to Maui to run the Xterra 21K World Championship Race and did so much better than I planned to do. I ran the course that had 2300ft + of elevation gain in 2:10. And then two days later, all 3 of my pacers (Dylan, Rozie, and Dillion) and I ran a HURT Loop in the worst storm of the year. That loop came out to be a PR for me as well. Lol.
I finished off my major HURT training by pacing my friend, Arma for her first ever marathon at the Honolulu Marathon. Her ultimate goal was as close to 5 hours as possible and then anything under 5:30. I knew that would be a good pace for me for training while also carrying some snacks and extra water for her and I in my vest along the way. Earlier in the week, my pacers convinced me to pace her and then depart from the race to run up into Tantalus to run a HURT Loop on top of that. So that’s what I did. It was a day full of so many emotions. So many ups and downs. Arma finished her marathon in UNDER 5hrs smashing her goal and she was on top of the world. And it felt amazing feeling like I was a small contributor to that so leaving her to continue on my journey was definitely a down for me. But I had to do it.

As a pacer, positivity is key. When we push our bodies to the max, our physical pain quickly spills over to mental struggles. If we can keep the mind positive, it’s amazing what our bodies can accomplish.

Approaching the finish line... Now as a pacer, I feel that I can yell. Lol! After some highs and some lows along the 26.2 miles, Arma was able to sprint out the finish!

The journey through the city was the worst. Physically I knew where I was going but emotionally, I felt lost. It was definitely hard to keep moving.
Once getting to the trail, I was able to change out vests, shoes, and snacks. I was also stumbling a lot but luckily two of my 3 pacers joined me to keep my on track and we also linked up with a fellow runner who will be running the 100 this January. She had come from the marathon like I did as well.
We made our way up the trail. I was definitely the slowest out of the group. And that definitely wore on me mentally as well because I know that my pacers had a timed goal for this HURT Loop. But I did my best to keep moving.

I would say that I felt pretty shitty for a good 12 miles or so which would be from around Makiki Valley, up to the top, down to Manoa and back up to the top (if you know what a hurt loops route is, you’ll know what I’m talking about). Once we got back up to the top, we had to make our way across the mountain to head down to the Nuaanu/Judd Aid Station/Turnaround. That’s a long downhill full of switch backs and a lot of mud at the bottom. But my spirits were starting to lift. Once we got to the bottom, Justin was there with some snacky snacks. I was refueling with water and nutrition for a good 5 minutes or so. Within that 5 minutes, Justin had offered me BBQ Chips 3 times. And I declined each time until that 3rd round in which I took a handful and fell in love. I’m not a big chip person but I guess the cravings when running these long distances is real. I took a 2nd handful as we started back up the trail and munched as we went. Now, I have a new found love for BBQ chips. Lol.
Headed back up Nuaanu is a long one. Lots of elevation gain within a short distance. And at this point, we were racing daylight now. None of us had planned to finish in the dark so we didn’t have headlamps. My journey from the marathon to the trailhead took longer than expected which is what set off our timing.
Rozie pushing ahead in the front and Justin having fresh legs and a fresh mind in the back was a good balance so we made pretty good time going up.
We still had some up hill and quite a few miles left but the last of the BIG elevation was done. So another burst of energy was found.
Let me tell you. Manoa Cliff Trail from the top is such a fun run when fresh. But running this trail 45+ miles into my day felt absolutely amazing. I think it was the first time that I felt like a real ultra runner. I didn’t care about anything else besides the fact that I knew in that moment, I was crushing it.

52.38 miles and 6505ft of elevation gain later, my day is done.

Plus, I also didn’t want to finish in the dark since my phone had disabled itself quite a few times and I knew that I may not have my phone light at all. Lol.
We made awesome time around the rest of the loop. Once we got to the trail that’s known as “Pipes”, we had to slow things down and everyone pulled out their phone lights (besides me). A slow jog/walk is how we ended things for that reason. But I did it. I ended the day at 52.38 miles and 6505ft of elevation gain. And I finished that week off at a record around the horn as well with 89.24 miles and 20, 046ft of elevation gain.
I was sore but I was on my own high now even though I didn’t feel like I was actually expressing it. I’m pretty sure it took some time to sink in. Maybe it sank in after the chafing and muscle cramping went away. Or maybe after I could eat again. Since I lost my appetite for 24hrs or so afterwards as well. Who knew. But the feeling was amazing.

Isn’t running funny?

But now, I taper and focus on good nights sleep, nutrition, overall movement, and gathering the last few things I need for the big race.
I feel that I have put in the work that I could within in such a short window and now, we wait.

Learn more below about my partnership with Mental Health America Hawaii!

Side Note: I try to do it as much as possible because I do appreciate it so much. But the support that I have gotten from people during my training has been amazing. And that support has come in many shapes and forms. Words truly can’t express what it means to me.
But as an example of that support that I appreciate… if you’ve read this far.. I’m so stoked that you’re here for my journey. For my Road to Hurt. The HURT 100.

With that being said, I have also partnered with Mental Health America Hawaii to help them raise money for their Non Profit Organization! They promote mental wellness through education, advocacy, and service that reduces stigma and empowers others. All donations received go to Mental Health America Hawaii.

Please feel free to donate at: http://mentalhealthhawaii.org/matt-sorenson-hurt100-fundraiser/