MISSISSIPPI TRAIL 100 | Southern Heat & Humidity

I travelled to DeSoto National Forest near Laurel, Mississippi to earn my 27th US State with a 100+ mile race finish. It would also be my second 100 miler in 2 weeks after traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada for the Jackpot Ultra 100 Miler. The only goal was to finish without doing unnecessary damage as I already had another 100 miler lined up in Kentucky the following weekend. The Mississippi Trail 100 Miler is a fairly flat course (approx. 8500' vertical gain) and consists of seven 12.6 mile loops followed by two 6.1 mile loops. Temps were extremely high (80F) as was the humidity (easily north of 80%) made even worse by a thundershower that started 5 minutes before the race start and would last for the next 2 hours. This resulted in runners staying wet basically for the entire duration of the race as temps barely dropped into the low 70s during the night. A noon race start on Friday also meant that all but the top runners would experience the heat and humidity for 2 days. The rain also created low areas retaining lots of water and mud that would worsen with each lap. Ultimately, I was able to reach my goal of a finish, even allowing myself a short reprieve after 62 miles allowing me to continue much refreshed for the next 25 miles before getting tackled by the sleep monster once more. This did not, however, detract me from my mission for the day. After 25 hours and 28 minutes, I crossed the finish line, exhausted but with a smile on my face.