Guest post by Kate Shumeyko, who ran the SRT 70-miler in 25 hour 51 minutes, winning the women’s division, after two prior unsuccessful attempts.  Of note, Kate is the only person to have won the coveted tomahawk first place award on three different occasions:  in addition to this year’s 70-miler, she won the 30-miler division in 2019 and 2023.

Third time’s a charm- I finally finished the SRT 70 miler! I’m still wrapping my head around it, processing the success and also going over what I could still change for next time.  I had 2 prior attempts – one DNF by choice in 2021 and one DNF by missing the cutoff time at checkpoint 4 in 2022- both at the 56 mile mark. I have also run the 30 miler twice. I’ve trained on the course and have run the whole distance in pieces but had yet to complete the full trail in one shot. I was nervous but also felt a sense of calm this round. I was excited and I was mentally ready.

Some things I did differently this year:

• I took a half day. Leaving work at noon to go home, get stuff together and lay down for an hour was physically and mentally helpful.
• I ate peanut butter and jelly in the car on the way to the start, keeping my pre-race meal bland. I took caffeinated gels when I got really really tired.
• I mentally prepared myself to work through the night as efficiently and as quickly as I could. I wanted as much cushion as possible for Saturday checkpoints.
• I brought more real food including clementines and potato chips which helped my spirit.

Some things that did not go well:

• I bought the Garmin inreach mini 2 to send Paul coordinates as I navigated. It didn’t work and/or was not user friendly for a runner. Need to do some more test prep with it
• my water filter wasn’t filtering quickly- again my own fault for not checking ahead of time. (It did work better as I filtered more throughout the race)
• Avenza map was not working. Why. I had the new map downloaded. It worked sometimes but many times would just show a blue halo around where we were but showed my location dot as grey (should be blue) well off trail
• my watch died somewhere around 25 hours without warning – I had my charger ready to go but I needed to set a face so it shows how much life I have left

Race report

When Todd started us on Friday night I filed in a few runners back and was quickly alone- which I prefer at the start. I didn’t want to get sucked into anyone else’s rhythm- I wanted to settle into my own.

About an hour in I caught up to Chris and Jordan P. We chatted as the sun went down and we turned on our headlamps. We were moving quickly when it was runnable and fast hiking when it wasn’t- and having multiple sets of eyes helped us get back on trail when we missed a blaze. Chris ended up moving ahead on the second road section and Jordan and I then stuck together through the night. This was a huge help — I’ve run through the night alone in other races but navigating and running through areas that are creepy in this race are extremely helpful with a buddy. We leapfrogged a bit with Garrett but eventually moved ahead of him. We cheered on the 3 guys who started at 7:30 and raced past us.

Jordan’s sweetie Mari Ann found us at checkpoints 1 and 2 and that was a huge mental boost. Someone left us trail magic water at checkpoint 2 which was wonderful — so many streams and water crossings were dry. Frogs and toads and salamanders and green spider eyes were our nighttime company. We caught lots of glowing eyes with our headlamps. We saw a flying squirrel, some kind of marten or weasel, and a big fat porcupine that would not move off the trail for quite a while! Following it gave us a nice break and distraction. Zack caught up to us here and the three of us worked together to get to checkpoint 3.

We arrived at checkpoint 3 around 6:30 am- way earlier than my husband Paul and I expected. He wouldn’t make it to see us here but we figured out where he could see us at the next road crossing after the big climb. Zach ended up dropping here. Mari Ann was at the checkpoint and was so proud of us. Someone left trail magic goodies across the street and we could hear her giggling as we excitedly found them!

Getting through Sam’s Point about 45 minutes before the 30 milers started was also helpful. It gave us time to get through the rocky section so that we could move off trail when the fast runners came through. It was also better to get through this section early since it’s exposed and gets hot.

The sun got hotter and hotter and Jordan was struggling with getting calories and water in. Rainbow Falls was barely trickling and streams continued to be dry. Garrett found us here and moved ahead looking strong. We pushed through to checkpoint 4 knowing we were well under the cutoff and also that we’d get a boost seeing Mari Ann and Paul. I could tell Jordan was really hurting but I also knew we could keep pushing each other so I urged him to get water, get his neck and head wet, and not sit long. I was still first woman and didn’t know how much time I had on Kari who had steadily been in second.

Crossing the road after the Jenny Lane checkpoint was a major win for me. The next section wasn’t super memorable except for some punchy climbs and rocky sections and then the descent into the Coxing parking lot/ checkpoint 5. Our watches had been over what the mileage should’ve been and we were so tired. In my head we should’ve only had about 9 miles left. Checkpoint 5 volunteers told us 6 miles to the next checkpoint and about 5-6 to the finish from there. This crushed me mentally. Paul was there and said to get my head wet, keep eating, and keep moving forward. Jordan was barely drinking and not peeing. I just kept telling him to drink.

I know this next section super well — I run it often when we come up and stay in the area. Baby heads and loose rock and minor rolling hills all seemed much bigger this deep in the race. We got up to the base of the rocky cliff climb when Jordan sat down. He was so hot, so tired. His knee and ankle had been hurting since the night. His stomach couldn’t tolerate calories. This was more than double the distance he had ever run before. I said “I’m going to go up and over that climb and I want you to follow me up. I can’t sit because I’ll sit for too long.” He looked at me with the saddest eyes. He knew I was going to move ahead. I hoped he would get up and follow me. When I got to the top I yelled down checking on him — he yelled back that he was just so hot and tired. I kept moving and looking behind me — hoping I’d see him again. I did not. I put some music on and cried. I felt horrible leaving him. He wasn’t far from the road crossing where I’d see Paul so I knew he’d be able to get out once he got up. But my heart hurt.

I got to the chapel and fell into Paul’s hug and cried. I was worried about Jordan — Paul said he could wait or go in for him if he he didn’t come out soon. Paul also had Mari Ann’s number which gave me some peace of mind. I moved across the street and headed toward checkpoint 6- the final checkpoint before the finish. Mari Ann found me headed to the checkpoint and told me I looked good and then said she was going to find Jordan – she thinks he’s dnf-ing. I told her where I left him and that Paul was trying to wait for him to come through. (Jordan moved through and got himself to checkpoint 6 where he made the tough decision to dnf.)

After getting through the final checkpoint I wanted to get through the last 5-6 miles as quickly as possible. I tried to run/ walk but my feet were destroyed. I really wanted to finish before the sun went down again but it was just taking so long. It got dark and I was alone and I was getting disoriented with the last part of the trail- it’s not blazed and the pink flags/ reflective tacks were helpful but far apart. My Avenza map was not working. My watch died. I made a turn that I didn’t remember from the 30, saw a sign on a tree that said entering Mohonk Preserve, and had an official meltdown. I was convinced I was now going backwards and back up into Mohonk. I called Paul hysterical telling him I was lost and so tired and I thought I was close and I was losing time. He told me to sit down for a second. Get my headlamp on. (I had been using my flashlight.) Look at the map. (I did- it still wasn’t showing me where I was.). He didn’t know what to do but I just needed to cry. Then I looked up and thought I saw a headlamp coming. I yelled out to it — didn’t get a response. Yelled out again and saw it was a woman doing the 30 miler who I had been leap frogging with for a bit. I told her my map wasn’t working and asked her if we were going in the correct direction — she said yes! She showed me her map and told me we needed to work a bit more before getting to the rail trail. I asked her if she minded if we worked together- she said she was happy for the company!

Heather and I chatted and worked our way out. She told me to watch out as I heard rustling — another porcupine ran by! More good luck as we pushed to the end. Seeing the rail trail made me cry — there were spectators and someone asked if either of us was a 70 miler. I yelled that I was and she said oh good — your husband is at the finish and worried! He’ll be so excited! As soon as we got to the trestle I told Heather to run with me — we were so close and going to finish it strong. I could not stop smiling.

I finished in 25 hours and 51 minutes. Several hours faster than what I thought I would. Paul hugged me and I cried and smiled and said ok good I’m going to sit down now and I asked for a beer. Todd brought a beer and the Tomahawk to me- I hugged him hard and he told me how proud he was of me. He said I won- not just the race, but won by finally finishing. Kari finished about 20 minutes after I did. We were the only 2 women to finish this year.

20 people started, 9 finished. There is nothing out there like this race. It’s so special, so sacred. We travel the land using only what we carry, not leaving a trace. Filtering water and navigating and troubleshooting when things go wrong. Which they will. Thank you Ken and Todd for keeping this race as pure as you hoped it would be. I will be back- not sure which distance… but I do think I can finish the 70 faster.

To be continued….