It was early March 2021, when I started to think of running 100km. It wasn’t spontaneous thought. I guess it was a natural progress of 70km run I ran on February 19, 2021, during Blue Mile - campaign to support kids with Autism that was organized with joint efforts of TJKRUNCLUB and NGO “Iroda”. For someone who hasn’t ran more than 5K or is not familiar with running, 100km has no meaning or affect. It’s just words. But for someone who runs regularly and knows what it takes to run a 10K, Half Marathon or Marathon - 100km sounds like scary distance. In part it is a scary distance.
It took me one year to run 100km. Before setting any specific goal, I started to Google and research about average finish time for such distance, how long and big should my runs be, how many days do i need to rest, what should I eat, what should I do if I get injury and many other questions I had. It turned out there are lots of “general” information but very few helpful and specific written. Most of the things are written by people who have never ran 100km or ran 50km or 70km and think it’s similar. Believe me it is NOT. It basically comes down to that each of us is different and unique. There is no special formula or rule that works for everyone. From the very beginning I knew I will have to experiment in order to find out what works for me best and carefully listen to my body and make timely adjustments.
After quite a lot of research, I was ready to set a proper goal. Not some crazy goal to finish under 7 hours and have no clue what it means to achieve that. But a goal that was challenging for me but wasn’t easy. I wrote 3 plans.
PLAN A: Finish under 9 hours, no walking, that would mean running with pace of 5:24 min/km
PLAN B: Finish under 10 hours, no walking, that would mean running with pace 6:00 min/km
PLAN C: Finish the distance even if I have to walk, crawl.
I expected DNF (DID NOT FINISH) was not an option for me considering my previous running experience.
A DAY BEFORE THE RUN
A day before the run, March 20th, 2022, it was day off and I was thinking about tomorrow a lot. Usually, I preset in my mind how my day will go and what time I will go running and spend rest of the day. It wasn’t the case that day; I woke up late plus my son got chickenpox and had to take him to a doctor, that pretty much ruined the whole day. I wasn’t in the mood. I didn’t tell my wife that i will be running 100km tomorrow yet, though I planned and knew it for about a month now. In the beginning of the year, I was waiting for perfect day during January and February when it wouldn’t be raining or there would be no strong wind or it isn’t too sunny, but it didn’t happen.
We came back home, had lunch and it was 14:30 I wanted to complete my daily run. I put on my running clothes and got ready to go out. I thought music would help to lift up my mood but didn’t. With my running clothes, I went to my bed where my son was watching his iPad and I lay down next to him to take a little bit rest. With music on my ears I felt asleep for about 2.5 hours. When I woke up, it was almost 17:00, so with no excuse left, i got outside. I told myself, I am going to run as slow as possible so I can have more energy for tomorrow and to properly determine what pace I will run the next day.
During the run all my thoughts were about tomorrow, trying to mentally prepare for those moments that I would give up and what I need to tell myself to bring back my focus. I recalled the days when I ran under heavy rains, under harsh sunny summer days, cold winters, on a tired legs and how it made me a person I am today. The pace felt very easy. Around mid way to my run, I saw Saodat, our fellow runner, shouted her name and we hi-fived each other and each of us continued on their route. I don’t know about others, but seeing other runners and cheering for them give me so much energy and joy. It literally lifts up the mood.
On my way back, called my wife to ask her to prepare 1 liter of electrolyte and to see what we had for dinner. She said we had macaroni and though a lot of people recommend carb loading before the long run, I was craving for something else. One of the meals i like is grilled chicken from Arbat. So, came home around 19:30 and my wife asked if I was running 100km. I was surprised because I have told nobody about my plans and was puzzled how she figured it out. She said I don’t usually drink electrolyte unless I am going for a special long run. That is partially true. Couple last times when I tried to run 100km and failed, I asked my wife to prepare electrolyte drink. Somehow, I forgot about it and told her that I going to give another try. My wife was aware of one of my previous failed attempts and she asked me if I was going to make it. I told her if physically i don’t get any injury, the hardest part will be the mental side of the run after 70km. I was more ready this time. She asked what time I was aiming for, I told 9 hours.
Prepped couple omelets. I knew i need to eat a lot, so called Arbat restaurant and ordered one of my favorite grilled chicken. I guess anything that is favorite somehow helps lift up the mood. It was delicious and by that i had positive mood back. It was 21:30 and I set aside my running clothes for tomorrow. Set alarm clock at 00:00 and went to bed by 22:00.
I have been having neck pain for the last several days and was tossing and turning in the bed. Tried different pillows and without one, didn’t help. Eventually stopped thinking of neck pain and I think i got 30-40 minutes of sleep.
RUN DAY
Alarm clock went off at 00:00. Got up and went straight to kitchen to prepare coffee. My wife jokes and calls my coffee “brown water” because in 1 liter of liquid i put 2 teaspoons of powder coffee Jacob and three teaspoons of sugar and call it a coffee. I am by no means a coffee drinker but on a psychological level i get what i need and that’s what matters at the end of the day.
At 00:10 started to do stretching and here and there was drinking coffee. I knew I needed to go to restroom before the run, so gave myself plenty of time. Drank the whole liter and did foam roll and within one hour went to toiler twice. I felt good and empty. I thought if I had to go to restroom next time, it would be midway of my run around 50th km. Oh boy, I was dead wrong.
It was 01:20, I was ready. Here is what I put on and had on me:
Lower body:
Underwear
Tights
Shorts
Socks
Shoes UltraBoost 20
Upper body
T-shirt
Zip front Long Sleeve Top Shirts
Buff
Items:
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music
iPhone 11
AirPods Pro
300 ml water bottle
Toilet paper
Plastic bag
Money
Headed out with music on and went outside. As I was heading to the start line which is around 5 minutes from my house, i felt chilly. I swung my arms to warm up myself. It was 01:30 as I started running. It was super nice outside with temperature around 7 degrees, not chilly any more. Street was completely empty and lights were on. There was very light fog. I started with just under 5 minute pace to see if my heart rate would be high or low. Within the first 3-4 km, heart rate was stable and I knew i can maintain pace around 4:57 up to 4:59 min/km for the entire distance unless I get unexpected injury.
All of a sudden, on 7th km, my stomach was super upset and i felt having diarrhea. It was totally unexpected. I was thinking to myself, I went to restroom several times before the run, how can I have urgency to go to restroom so soon. Right before the bridge, I managed to find a place and quickly finish the job. Before starting the run, I told myself every time I will be stopping for a drink or for a restroom, I will not stop my watch cause my total time, not active time, is what matters. But I don’t know how I managed to stop my watch, but I lost around 3 minutes. After getting back to track I thought I should be now fine. But now, within 7 more kilometers, at around 14th km, again I felt upset stomach and was having a cold sweat, just like when you catch cold. Thankfully, dark street was not far and had plastic bag and necessary items to get the job done.
I wasn’t ready for such turn of the events. Now, I realized beside conquering the distance, I had manage the logistics of the restroom. Running itself felt comfortable, the thought about urgency to visit restroom was worrying.
I had my 300 ml water with me and was thinking about the next stop where I can buy water and banana. I knew starting from 25km there would be uphill until 37km, started to sip water little by little from 20th km. The uphill from Korvon until Tovus didn’t elevate my heart-rate much. It was within my desired range. At 36th km at around 04:30, I decided to visit gas station from where I could buy water and snicker bar. Before entering the gas station, I knew I was about to loose time so I had to be more efficient with time. I decided to just stick with basics - water and snickers bar. Bought both (0.5 liter water and mid-size bar) and came outside to refill my water bottle and eat snickers’ bar. I decided to finish eating then continue running because eating while running give me discomfort and unless I am really behind my time, I thought it’s better to eat normally and then continue. I have to say running after taking a short break is hard, at least in my experience. Muscles tend to stiff and it takes another 500 to 700 meters to get back to normal motion.
The employee of the gas station outside was cleaning around and I asked him where was the restroom. He pointed to the door next to me and I asked if all of their gas stations had working restrooms, to which he answered yes. Within my running route there were at least 4 gas stations like these and I thought if I can’t manage to find bananas, at least I know for sure I can get water and energy bar from there. My AirPods was out of charge by now. Put them on charging case and continued my run on the second loop.
My next stop was in 52km at around 6:00. Again, bought 0.5 liter water and energy bar. I drank 200 ml and the rest 300ml i refill my bottle so i can drink until next stop. At 55th km, I went to a store to see if they sold banana. Without spending too much time, i immediately asked seller if they had banana. He said yes, and I quickly ran to grab one. It turned out to be a bit raw for me. Ate it and continued. Starting from 66th km, It was next round of uphill and i was prepping mentally.
I was feeling good, no tiredness, no fatigue, no injury or calluses. My mouth wasn’t dry because whenever it gets dry I know i am being dehydrated. At around 70th km, a guy was calling my name and waving from the sidewalk. I barely turned my had because of neck pain and saw our fellow runner, akai Umarjon. Waved him back and continued my run. My watched notified me of 70th km and I saw it was less than 6 hours. My brain perceived this notification as positive because my previous and longest run was 70km which i ran on 20.02.2021 in 6 hours and 31 minutes. My face was starting to get serious and muscles fixed, nonetheless, I have been running for almost 6 hours now.
It amazing how our brain jumps from one thought to another. Thinking about the future, about past, how one day I was chubby and couldn’t run 300 meters without getting out of breath. Just wave of random thoughts were coming and disappearing. I tried to focus on one thought but barely could hold it for more than three minutes. At times, it felt like I wasn’t having any thought. Just putting one step in from of the other.
Next stop was in 71th km, again 0.5L water and snickers’ bar. This time getting back to running was harder compared to my previous stops. I started to feel tension on my glute muscles. I was trying to focus on good things and not pay attention to the pain. It was already bright and sun was clear.
On 75th km I saw akai Fazliddin, another TJKRUNCLUB runner, who was running and looked like smiling. For a second i thought I wanted to have his smile. I shouted out “Akai Fazliddin” and he was happy to see me too. We greeted each other and he turned back and joined me for a run. I asked him how long he was running, he said around 7 and asked me back. I said 75 and said 7.5km? I said no, I was on my 75th km and want to complete 100km today. I think he wasn’t expecting this kind of an answer and he looked surprised. A boy near bus-station was passing buy and asked if today was a run day. Akai Fazliddin replied to him and offered me his special drink. I forgot the name of it because it was getting hard for me to make my brain understand something. I was partially getting into auto-pilot mode, where your body does something without actually thinking about it.
I was happy to see akai Fazliddin and after around 500-700 meters of joint run, akai Fazliddin offered me not to limit my pace to his and continue my run alone. I waved back and continued my run. I was thinking to myself, only 25km left. On a usual day, running 25km took me about 2 hours. All I was thinking is how I can focus my attention to making smallest improvement either in my form or my pace or my breathing. By this time, my heart-rate was reaching 148 bpm and average was around 137 bpm. I thought to myself wouldn’t be it wonderful if I finished the whole 100km with HR under 140 bpm, that way i was giving myself a positive thought.
The last stop was after the hill near taxi park Cementzavod at 84th km. I decided to force myself to eat another chocolate bar because without it my body might suddenly face with discomfort due to lack of calorie intake. Got inside the store, got myself water and snickers’ bar (97 grams that has two small bars inside). Seller asked if I am a regular cyclist, I said, I don’t ride a bike, but riding is good. I ate one bar barely forcing my jaw to crash the chocolate. I knew it was hard because my body concentrated on running efficiently and doing something other than running meant i needed more energy. Refilled bottle and continued my run. Stiff muscles especially on glute and hamstrings meant I needed to run for at least 1km to get back into the running motion. It was hard but doable. I was happy that i wasn’t having any pain or discomfort on the rest of my body.
Before reaching 90th km, I told myself when I reach 90km without any injury i will call my wife and tell her I am about to finish. It was my initial plan not to tell anyone about my run because I thought it would give me additional physiological pressure. When I finally reached 90th km, i took my phone and called my wife. She said akai Fazliddin wrote about my run in chat and friends wanted to be on the finish line. She asked where I was planning on finishing. I told my finish location and said it would take me 40 to 60 minutes. Then I called my brother Firuz since I missed his call at around 80th km. He asked me if I was doing okay or need anything. I said I was fine and I would meet him at finish. Talking to both of them gave me so much energy. I don’t know is it because I heard their energetic voice and cheering but it feels so good when you feel your tank is being emptied and someone came with a fuel and refilled your tank.
Took a photo of my watch at around 90th km and sent it in our Telegram TJKRUNCLUB chat, i thought friends who were waiting for this run as much as I did, would be happy as well. Put on my AirPods back and music rolled on. I don’t remember how i reached 96th km, maybe because my brain was getting dopamine from the music and thought that I am finally finishing it. On 96th km, on top of bridge Putovskiy, i saw Saodat rushing through the traffic and taking video. I shouted her name and she gave me hi-five. That hi-five felt like i could go for another round of 100km.
When i reached 99th km, I took my phone out and started recording my usual selfie video. It was hard for my brain to process and say how I was feeling except saying feeling good and finally made it. I imagined it would be a different video with emotions. Emotions were behind stiffed muscles and it was hard to get them out in the video. 150 meters before finish, I saw my brother Firuz, my newphew Hamroz, my mom and my niece. For a second I thought where is my wife and son Neki, then recalled Neki had chickenpox and was not feeling well. I stretched my arms like airplane and gave hi-five to them and ran another 100 meters to finish.
Tadaaaam, my watch buzzed and showed 100km. I saw Kamol and Saodat with blue balloons crossing the highway to my side to congratulate. I hugged them and seeing their happiness and joy, rushed the blood to my veins. A bottle of orange juice my brother Firuz gave me tasted so freaking delicious. I remember Saodat asking me about how I was feeling and emotions. I couldn’t express my feelings. It felt like my feelings were trapped behind my strict face and locked emotions. Akai Bahodur came and gave a hug. At these times of moments when you cross the finish line and have people by your side, those can understand and feel the distance, effort and extend you went to overcome yourself, makes you appreciate those people a lot.
Here I am after running 100km for which I and many of our fellow runners from TJKRUNCLUB waited so long. There were two other attempts I made to run 100km but failed. One was on October 30, 2021 and the other was on November 8, 2021. I planned to complete it before 2022, but couldn’t. Did I feel discouraged or demotivated? No. Because I knew it wasn’t something you go out and do it. Did I have mental break during 100km, yes, only once around 72nd km. I expected that negative thoughts and weak side of me would remind of itself more frequently, but no. I think mentally I was much more ready this time. So, in total, i had 7 stops - in 5 of which each time i took 0.5 liter water and one Snickers bar (57 grams first two stops and last two stops 97grams each), making it 3 liters of total water consumption, 4 snickers bar with 308 grams in total around 1500 calories, and one mid-size banana with around 100 calories. Total calorie intake was around ~1600, and burned calories according to Garmin watch were around ~6338.
SOME INFO ABOUT TIMINGS:
First restroom - 3 minutes (doesn’t count because watch was stopped)
Second restroom - 4 minutes
First stop at 36th km - 5 minutes Gas station on Dushanbinka (0.5 liter water + 57 gram chocolate)
Second stop at 52th km - 4 minutes in gas station Glaznoy (0.5 liter water + 57 gram chocolate)
Third stop at 55th km - 3 minutes for banana
Fourth stop 71th km - 4 minutes in gas station near Sharqi Ozod (0.5 liter water + 97 gram chocolate)
Fifth stop at 84th km - 4 minutes near Cementzavod taxi park (0.5 liter water + 97 gram chocolate)
If I subtract total stop times - around 24 minutes from total time 8 hours and 30 minutes, active time would be 8 hours 6 minutes, active pace would be 4:51 min/km. Whenever, i was running I was trying to keep consistent pace of around 4:57 minutes.
THINGS I WOULD AVOID OR FIX NEXT TIME:
Don’t run with a neck pain. Running with neck pain added layer of discomfort that I wasn’t ready for. Especially when turning or looking around for cars to pass the road, i had to rotate from my abdomen instead of my neck.
Eat properly, not only snicker bars. I wish I could experiment with eating while running long distances.
Know where you can go for restroom. Be ready that you may need to visit restroom anywhere any time. Sometimes it is hard to predict when your body will decide to go for a restroom. You can’t do anything about it, so just be prepared.
Sleep well. The night before, slept for total of around 3-4 hours. Having better and longer sleep couple days before the run, i think would have helped me perform better.
Supported or unsupported? If I was looking for competing for specific time I would go with support because it is much easier if someone is giving you food and supplies whenever you need. Plus returning from a still position to running takes much more energy and more painful compared to when not stopping.
Running shoes. This is probably the most important part of any long run. I chose my old UltraBoost 20 in which I already ran more than 8100km. I knew i would not go wrong with this shoes, though it’s cushioning is all gone but my feet feel comfortable in them. The newer version of UltraBoost 21 still causes discomfort after 30km run.
Route. I would have chosen a different route on a second loop if I was sure there would be no unleashed/street dogs. Also running completely in the dark is not something I like because I might fall and get injury. Running in streets with less car, bright lights and different good roads would have been wonderful.
What began as nothing more than a spark of a thought has now taken shape before us, alive and undeniable. We didn’t just imagine it, we lived it, we felt it, and we proved that a simple idea can become something powerful when we dare to believe in it. This journey reminds me that every dream starts quietly, almost invisibly, yet with courage, effort, and heart, it grows into something that touches our lives and inspires us to keep reaching for more.
At the top of the Double Pass (northern), my brother Firuz asked me about our estimated plan of when we will be reaching the finish. Based on the information we had, I said: “Best plan is we reach by 7 PM, given or taken plus/minus 1 hour.” Little I knew how things could go wrong so fast.
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