Biggest Little Ultra
October 9, 2026
97th 100, 29:03, 3rd woman
Fun was had!
Usually going back to a race means there was something great about that race. The Biggest Little Ultra had some things dialed in for a new race so Terri and I recruited Cecelia and Todd to join us this year. The course was still beautiful, almost two flat miles around a lake in Sparks Nevada right outside of Reno. With the hotel right across the parking lot from the course, this made for a great event. Except that the wonderful food we had last year didn’t happen this year. Apparently the health department shut down the free flow of snacks so either you got a meal or not much else from the volunteers. Too bad as this race was well set up.
It was warm on day one, in the 80s with some wind so the first day went well just had to manage ourselves in the heat. When the evening came it was really lovely. I was in 4th or 5th place all day and most of the night. Towards the end I was ready to be done and found myself in 3rd place so I high tailed the last 8-10 miles to finish almost an hour faster than last year.
My friends were in the 48 hour and did well with Cecelia taking second and Terri finishing third. Both of them had a rough day one in the heat and really were patient and came back on day two to finish strong. Todd managed to get his first 50 miler in and was unbelievable. He saw the need for Gatorade and procured it for Terri and himself.
The food was an issue. Usually at ultras there is a table with snacks and other real food to grab and go. Think pb and j quarters and mini roll ups. The only thing on the table was gels, limited packaged snacks and fruit. If you wanted something to eat you had to order it and then do a lap and come back and get it. What you ordered were full meals, burgers, very large quesadillas, chili, etc. This was disappointing. So I did not eat well at this ultra. Usually I will bring food, not trusting race organizers but last year this race was excellent with the food. Not so this year. And we didn’t really get the info (about the health department) until deep into the race, meaning they didn’t tell us why there was no food out, very frustrating as I like to eat, but not a huge meal. Last year I survived the night on mashed potatoes, well they ran out this year even before the night began. No rice, no noodles, no potatoes, simple carbs that runners rely on, it was sad.
Hammer nutrition was the electrolyte drink and Hammer and I don’t get along. So I used my Skratch. However whenever I wanted to fill up my bottles with the powder there usually wasn’t anyone around to help hold the bottle because they were all ringing those darn cowbells. They really like those cowbells. I counted six people ringing cowbells and not one was willing to help, weird. I did get some help from some of the other runner crews which was great.
However the main issue with this race course is that it is concrete, the whole loop except for one paved section where you go up a little hill to a bridge, is concrete. When you get to that paved section you can feel the difference on your feet and the rest of your joints. Todd, who puts on the race does a nice job with so many elements of the race. As I was leaving he asked if I would be back next year. I told him sorry no, the concrete beats me up too much. Which is true. So I will be looking for that magical race on a flat loop course with dirt.
We did have a little excitement in the afternoon of day two, a whirlwind. I had just finished and was sitting, getting ready to go back to the hotel and a mini tornado was moving across the lake. When it hit the race area it threw anything not nailed down to the ground. Then it moved the port a potties. Thank gosh none of them tipped over or that could have been a real mess. A lot of things flew around and I bet some things went missing in the lake. So Sparks does get wind and it can be entertaining. I appreciated the wind keeping us cool in the hot afternoons.
The best part of the trip was traveling with friends. Terri, Todd and Cecilia were quite a hoot. There was a lot of laughing and silliness which is kind of the point after doing silly thangs like running in circles, for days and nights. At one restaurant we were debating telling the waiter why we ordered so much food, then we thought nah, people just don’t get it so we kept our loopy secret and enjoyed being silly.