Heather Hart The following race recap of the 2025 Angeles Crest 100 ultramarathon was written by Hart Strength & Endurance Client Sally Wood. All pictures provided by Sally (thank you!).
High Country Edition
Wrightwood – Shortcut – Wrightwood
102 miles
23,000’ of climbing
HIgh Altitude Race (5,000’-10,000’)
36 Hour cut-off
2025 Angeles Crest 100: Sally’s Race Report
Challenges I knew I’d face:
- Tight cut-offs, especially in the first half
- Big climbs, at high altitude
- No time to eat at aid stations
- Heat
- Road section – during hottest part of the day
Unexpected surprises to work through:
- Bloody nose at altitude (happened at Tahoe, so not completely surprising)
- Nausea approaching peaks of climbs (at the highest altitudes) from the start – contributing to eating less on trail
- Dry heaving
- A fire breaking out nearby on the second day (air quality was hazy and so terrible my eyes hurt extremely badly and it became even more difficult to breathe on climbs – I was coughing, had thick phlegm in the chest – almost felt like asthma etc)
The Plan going in:
Ok, so I knew when I signed up for the AC100 that this was going to be the hardest race I’ve ever tackled. Harder, yes, than the other 100’s and harder even than the Tahoe 200. The original course has 19,000’ of climbing, lots of heat and tight cutoffs. When we found out the race was going to still happen in 2025 – but as an out & back (due to the fires in Altadena earlier in the year), I knew that the new course was going to be even more challenging. Staying at high altitude the whole race (instead of just the first half), with 4,000 extra feet of climbing (including the Baden Powell monster TWICE!) and starting/finishing in Wrightwood.
Everyone I spoke to this year (including my incredible friend and pacer, Keira Henninger – who has run the OG course 3 times) said that the O&B course is far more difficult than the original… SO, I knew I needed to be prepared going in.
As Keira said: this is a Graduate Level course. This race, especially the High Country Edition (which I believe has only been done twice – in 2022 and this year in 2025) is insane. It is SO, so difficult. I applaud every single runner that stepped up and toed the line this year. That took incredible courage!
I think what makes it a graduate level race for me is that I absolutely fell back on all of my previous experiences at races in order to problem solve quickly and efficiently, and if I hadn’t had that prior experience and knowledge to fall back on I would’ve lost precious time figuring out each problem – and wouldn’t have made the cut-offs.
THE PLAN:
Going into the race I had one goal: finish it. I wanted to stay ahead of the cutoffs and get it done. I had two amazing, wonderful friends helping me – and I 100% couldn’t have done it without them!! This is not a race I would tackle solo – I needed them!
Lauren Hoover, my crew chief extraordinaire, who also jumped out to pace me about 15 miles from Chilao1 back to Chilao2. And Keira Henninger, who jumped in with me at Chilao2 and ran with me the 45 miles to the finish! Keira’s hubby Jesse helped get me quickly through a couple aid stations too, as did my friend Jesus!!
And the volunteers at every aid station were amazing – grabbing us what we needed, dunking me in ice water, cheering me on, bringing the energy – all the things! It’s true what everyone says about the AC100 “family” – it’s an amazing community!!
Knowing myself as a runner very well, I knew as I created my pace chart before the race that I’d be a mere 10-40 minutes ahead of cutoffs the ENTIRE race – including the very first stop at Inspiration Point (9.5 miles in). I’m a back-of-the-packer, I typically loooove racing back there and truly enjoy myself – sitting comfortably in my Zone 1-2, eating my food every 30 minutes on trail and eating meals at aid stations throughout the race, hydrating perfectly, taking photos, stopping to smell the flowers etc… Well, this race was going to be different!
First off, Lauren said NO PHOTOS! I was not allowed to take any photos hahaha! So I didn’t! All on-course pics are from my crew and/or friends or the pros.
Next, to shave off time I knew I could only make myself go so much faster – and there was a limit. BUT, I could definitely shave off extraneous time in other ways – especially at aid stations. So my goal from the start was to have minimal time at aid stations. This was a brilliant strategy and, I think, what allowed me to stay ahead of cutoffs so well. Luckily, Lauren is a pro crew chief and every single time had all of my gear prepped and ready.
One great strategy we followed was that I had 2 packs – the one on my back, and the one she had prepped and ready for me, so we’d literally just switch out the packs. I didn’t have to wait to get bottles or bladders refilled. The first big chunk of the race I never sat down, never stayed in aid for more than a handful of minutes. We were so perfectly efficient, and I was mentally prepared for that so I came in every time ready to go right back out…
Wrightwood to Inspiration Point (first 9.3 miles)
Race start: 5am
We started off with a 1.5 mile road section through the town of Wrightwood, almost immediately at an incline, and then it’s up, up, up the mountain! I jogged the first part, fearing going too slow and wanting to take advantage of the perfect pre-sunrise temps. This first cutoff was going to be tight – I needed to get in by 8am (official cutoff 8:15am) to have enough time in the next section.
First part of the climb I felt good. I was eating, hydrating, it was exciting – so many runners around me! By the top of the climb I was definitely happy to be at the top! Rolled into aid right about 8 (7:58am) and was glad I’d packed everything I needed so I didn’t have to stop at all. Moved right on through.
Inspiration Point to Vincent Gap (13.8 miles complete)
4.5 mile section, don’t really remember it! I think I was feeling pretty good and hit my goal of running most of it, trying to eat to prep for the next big section… I might’ve even come in a couple minutes early (came in at 8:41am) – buying extra time on the next section, which I needed! Downed some coconut water, then was on my way!
Vincent Gap to Islip Saddle (25.6 miles complete)
This 12 mile section is the hardest of the race – it includes the HUGE climb up Baden Powell, then 2 smaller climbs after that. This climb was BRUTAL. I had to push really hard to keep my pace going – and it was starting to get warm. That, plus the altitude (as we climbed nearer and nearer to 10,000’) meant my heartrate was very high – which made it sooo hard to eat.
I was drinking my skratch, which saved me. Yay Skratch! But I was digging in and using my poles and breathing SO hard I couldn’t eat – I could hardly breath! So by the time I neared the top I was experiencing my first round of nausea.
Luckily, I knew I just had to keep going and get back down off that mountain. I knew I’d feel less dizzy and less nauseous as soon as I was lower down – so I just kept going, kept drinking my skratch. As soon as I was a bit lower down I nibbled somefood – then started to feel better. With about 4 miles to go I realized how close to cutoff I was, and I knew I was gonna have to RUN IT IN. So I just put my head down and I ran!! I had to skip eating and just GO! No time for anything but moving as quickly as I could – and some of the trail was really technical and rocky so I had to be very focused. But I made it!! At 12:42 – and back out again at 12:50, 15 minutes before cutoff! I BARELY made it!
Islip to Couldburst (32.6 miles done!)
7 mile road section
I thought I was going to hate this section – everyone talked about how HOT it is. The black asphalt in the sun, ROAD (ick) etc. BUT! I loved it. I absolutely loved it. Lauren and Jesus set me up with my ice bandana, the amazing aid station volunteers at Islip soaked me down with ice water before I left, I downed a bunch of coconut water – and I brought an extra water bottle to douse myself with en route. I loved it. It was my “recovery” section where I got to physically and emotionally (haha) recover from the Baden Powell climb.
I caught up on calories, drank a ton of electrolytes, and felt so good I started doing a run/walk combo through most of it. Made up a bunch of time. It was hot for sure – but I wasn’t uncomfortable. The heat training I did in the valley paid off because it didn’t feel any different than my usual afternoon runs!
Cloudburst to Three Points (37.4 miles)
Some road, some trail… Similar to previous section – they kind of blend together… Ran a bit with new friend Luis, which was fun and lifted the spirits! Think I’m about 30 minutes ahead of cutoff coming into Three Points.
Three Points to Mt. Hillyer to Chilao (45 miles)
I had previewed this 7 mile section (all the way to Chilao) in training, and really liked it. It’s beautiful! Glad I got to see the views and enjoy it then – because on race day I didn’t take the time! I ran when I could, hiked with purpose otherwise.
No crew at Mt. Hillyer, so I didn’t stop there – just cruised on through. VERY nice aid station volunteers though! Had a great, quick chat with them as I passed through! Oh wait! They DID douse me with ice water, which felt heavenly!
The section into Chilao is really cool – a fun section historically, where there are giant boulders horse thieves used to hide their stolen horses behind! But I knew this section would be slow and hard on the knees (it was) because there are lots of big step ups and step downs off of big boulders. Ouch!
Chilao1 to Shortcut (turnaround!) (51.5 miles)
HALFWAY THERE!! Back to Chilao (57 mi) Lauren ran this section with me, YAY!!!! 13 mile section with a loooong brutal climb up into Shortcut aid station (the turnaround point in the race). You can see the aid station from far away and it’s sooooo high up there!! It just teases you as you climb, and climb, and keep on climbing!!
Gorgeous sunset on this section. No stop planned at Shortcut so we were there for just 1 min to say hi to Keira and Jesse! Only about 20 minutes ahead of cutoffs here, so we had to go… Moved as quickly as we could back to Chilao2, where we were meeting Keira and Jesse again!
Chilao2 to Mt Hillyer2 to Three Points
We didn’t stay long at Chilao2, just switched packs – then Keira and I were off! We had a bit of extra time on this section, but NO extra time on the next one so I remember wanting to get going so we could use that extra time on the next section. It worked! We moved really well through Mt. Hillyer2 (no crew there so we didn’t stop at all) and got into Three Points at 1:35am. I think this is the first time I sat down and actually had enough time to eat real food!
I ate two AMAZING quesadillas (thank you awesome aid station!) and the food gave me life! I was starting to get underfueled at this point – not having time at aid stations to make up for lost calories on trail, and ALSO not being able to eat as much while climbing as I usually do because I was working too hard and it was hard to breathe and eat at the same time! So eating that food was crucial.
Ok, the rest of the race (60ish miles to the finish at 102 miles!) is kind of a mush, blurred all together, so I can’t break it down by aid station any more… But some of the adventures Keira and I had:
I got a bad bloody nose at some point, and unfortunately someone had swiped my ice bandana off of our crew chair at an aid station earlier in the race so I didn’t even have a buff!! So Keira gave me her buff! It was bleeding heavily enough that I pulled the buff up and over my face, covering my nose. As it soaked through, I just twisted it around to a new spot.
Most importantly – we kept moving! Luckily, this had happened at the Tahoe 200, so I wasn’t worried about it. I knew it would eventually slow down and stop bleeding, and we just had to keep going. Pretty tough having a Bib streaked with blood at the finish line haha!
Footcare: I did none. 10/10 do NOT recommend doing no footcare during a 100 mile race!! I didn’t have time, so I just left my feet alone. The dirt was very fine and powdery in certain areas – mostly the burn areas, so the ashy, dusty, fine dirt was covering my feet and giving me a few blisters. Nothing horrible though – or, at least, nothing I couldn’t ignore till the end of the race.
My big toes were getting a bit banged up too – kicked a few rocks, and the steep descents started making my big toes ache. If I’d had time, cleaning my feet and changing my socks would’ve meant my feet were less sore in the days after the race. But honestly? None of it was too bad. Definitely gonna lose both big toe nails though.
At one point on the second day my eyes started stinging really badly. Like, really badly. It hurt to have them stay open. I thought maybe I was just really tired. I told Keira I needed just a little trail nap – like 5 minutes. She said nope. Gotta keep moving! (At this point it was VERY, very hot and exposed, and the trail was a really narrow single track – not ideal for a trail nap in any way! Thank you, Keira, for keeping me moving!) But my poor eyes – they just burned.
I also remember smelling campfires and thinking it was weird that people were burning campfires in the middle of the day – but then wondering if maybe I was smelling food grilling at the aid station? (We were nowhere near the aid station – but I WAS hungry…) AND the sky was very hazy, the views really obscured by the haze – especially compared to the day before. I started coughing too, especially on the climbs. Felt like I had asthma, I couldn’t catch my breath. Lots of nasty phlegm in my lungs. I never got the so-called “Tahoe Lung” at the Tahoe 200, but I saw a lot of runners with it and I was thinking, “aha! So this is what dry heat + altitude + lots of dust does to the lungs!”
There was lots of evidence of a fire nearby – but I put none of these things together and it wasn’t until we reached the final aid station that we found out there was indeed a fire nearby. Not enough to be a danger – but close enough that the air quality was TERRIBLE. And explained the very sore eyes, coughing, hazy air etc…
Next up on the list of fun things: dry heaving! Yup. I’m not at all surprised it happened. I wasn’t getting enough food, almost from the beginning. And as the second day heated up and we started the huge climb up Baden Powell to nearly 10,000’ (the second time up there!!) the nausea came for me. Luckily I was hydrating well with Skratch – so I wasn’t dehydrated and I was getting SOME calories. Just not nearly enough – it was soooooo hard to eat while climbing and my heartrate was so high.
So at a certain point the nausea overtook me and I just started heaving for several minutes straight. It was a VERY narrow, cliff’s edge single track at that point, and this guy came running up behind us on the trail. He saw me bent over heaving and he stopped and tried to chat with me!! Hahahaha! I was like, no way, man, and I yelled between heaves “Pass by me, pass by me!” waving my arm behind my back to indicate he should try to squeeze behind me on the trail. (He was probably worried I was going to tumble headfirst down the mountain!) But he finally squeezed past me. Saw him at the finish line, and he said, “Hey! Congrats on your finish! I saw you puking up there!” Yup, ya did. You sure did…
Anyway, lots of heaving but nothing was coming up because my stomach was too empty – showing me even MORE that I needed to A. get down off that mountain (I knew I’d feel better once I got to lower altitude) and B. do the things I learned when I was dry heaving in Tahoe: keep sipping my electrolytes, take a bit of my salts for extra measure, sip some more, and when possible try a little food. And MOST IMPORTANTLY: KEEP GOING!!
Keira said, let’s go! And I said, “yup! I can puke and hike!” so we marched on! I sipped, I salted, I sipped – then I ate a whole Liquid GU and Keira was very proud of me!! Then we hit the top and started down. I kept sipping, and eventually ate another liquid GU (thank you to Alynn Davis for introducing me to those when I paced her for 50 miles at Cocodona! That was all I could get down and they SAVED me!!)
We saw gorgeous views, an adorable sleeping bird nestled on the side of the trail in the middle of the night, tons of purple Poodle Dog Bush (which I somehow managed to avoid?! Yay!) and shared some pretty glorious miles. It was brutal, it was unrelenting and it was incredibly hard. I kept repeating to myself the thing Youa, my amazing pacer at Rio Del Lago said to me throughout that race to keep me going: “little shuffles Sally. Little, little shuffles.” Just keep going.
It was a rush getting to Inspiration Point, the final aid station, and seeing so many friends and friendly faces. Knowing I was gonna make it!!! We were only there about 5 minutes, but it was energizing and a great way to head into the final section. Keira and I laughed about how hard this race is – it’s insane! She said it was harder than the original course – and she’s won that course a couple of times!
I said I wasn’t sure I’d want to tackle this one again, and we laughed about how I needed to “make better life choices” hahaha! But now? Now that my sore toes have healed, I’m all caught up on sleep, and I’m looking back at this HUGE accomplishment – I’m kind of shocked that I DID IT! Only 19 women finished the race this year, and I can hardly believe I’m one of them.
This was WAY out of my comfort zone, and I absolutely had to use every lesson I’ve ever learned in every race I’ve run/paced/or even volunteered at to get through it! Graduate level, indeed. But hmmmm… I might just be back one day, AC100…
Thank you Sally for sharing, and CONGRATULATIONS on another hard earned buckle to add to your collection!
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