Molly Seidel Battles Through the Night to Finish Her First 100-Mile Race

Molly Seidel jogged onto the track at Placer High School in Auburn, California early Sunday morning and finished her first 100-mile race in 24 hours, 29 minutes, and 27 seconds. The Tokyo Olympic marathon bronze medalist placed 28th among women and 141st overall at the Western States Endurance Run, more than nine hours behind women’s winner Jenn Lichter, who set a new course record of 15:28:05.

In a post-race interview with Runner’s World, Seidel called it a hard lesson and a memorable one. “I feel like it’s been such a steep learning curve with all of this,” she told the magazine. “It has been a really, really fast ramp up and I still have a lot to learn. So this was definitely a hard lesson to learn, but I’m grateful that I was able to stick through and still finish the race.”

According to Runner’s World’s account of the race, Seidel, 31, only made the move to trail running last summer. She has won a 50K in Texas in 4:09, taken fourth at the Black Canyon Ultras 100K in 8:25 to earn her golden ticket entry, and finished third at the Canyons Endurance Runs 50K in 4:07.

A Strong Start, Then Trouble

The race started at 5 a.m. PST on Saturday at the base of Palisades Tahoe ski resort in Olympic Valley, California. Seidel reached the 8,750-foot summit of Emigrant Pass in fourth place among women. By the 24.4-mile Duncan Canyon aid station, Runner’s World reported, she was running in 10th, about three minutes behind the lead pack. She had climbed back to eighth by mile 47.8.

Then things came apart. Seidel hobbled into the 55.7-mile Michigan Bluff aid station just after 2 p.m. amid temperatures in the upper 70s. Her feet hurt so badly her crew struggled to remove her shoes, Runner’s World reported, and she had fallen behind on fueling with gels and liquid carbohydrate drinks. When she left the aid station 14 minutes later, she had dropped 10 places. The next seven miles, the climb to Foresthill, took her almost three hours.

Her coach, Cliff Pittman, told Runner’s World the breakdown was the predictable result of new territory. “She got behind on fueling, and that was a rookie mistake, and the chaffing was something she never had to deal with before,” Pittman said. “We were at the 10-hour mark of running and we were in uncharted territory. She had never run that long before. So from that point on, she wasn’t going to be running fast. It was more about, ‘let’s just get to the finish.'”

A Hypothermia Scare Before Dawn

Seidel left Foresthill with pacer Alyssa Clark, averaging 12-minute miles over the next 18 miles, per Runner’s World. She waded across the American River at the 78-mile Rucky Chucky aid station at 8:24 p.m., just moments before Lichter crossed the finish line back in Auburn.

By 2:25 a.m. at the 94.3-mile Pointed Rocks aid station, Runner’s World reported, one of Seidel’s knees had become unstable and she was showing signs of hypothermia. Medical staff wrapped the knee, and her crew tucked her into a sleeping bag with hot water bottles. Pittman told the magazine she was not injured, but was exhausted and sore enough that running was difficult.

“She was having the full ultra experience, for sure,” Pittman said, according to Runner’s World. “I kept saying, ‘this is your decision. I support you either way, no matter what you choose, I’m behind you.’ And after a few hours, she just said, ‘Let’s get it done,’ and she throws off the sleeping bags, puts on her shoes, and takes off running.”

A new pacer, Jessa Hanson, joined Seidel for the final four-mile stretch of trail. Her full crew walked the last mile to the track with her before she ran the final meters alone, took off her sweatshirt, and twirled it over her head as she crossed the line.

What’s Next

Speaking to Runner’s World after the race, Seidel said her crew is what kept her going when she had decided to drop out. “I had been fully planning on dropping out at Foresthill, but seeing the team and everybody really rallying for me was amazing,” she said. “They were in it for the long haul and stuck with me through the entire night.”

Seidel told the magazine she plans to rest and recover before the OCC 50K race in Chamonix, France, in late August, and that she hopes to return to Western States next year.