11/12/2025
‼️ Course Record Alert ‼️
Erika Ashley — You can normally find her in her Blue Rose jersey, at our strength sessions, and with a pacer stick in hand. You know her as THE marathon pacer, but despite completing a marathon almost every weekend of the year, Erika Ashley had no desire to run a hundred miler. That is, until last weekend. Erika signed up for Mamba 100 last minute and had previously never had the motivation—or the will—to run 100 miles. “As the Arkansas Traveller 100 HQ captain, I’ve seen what runners look like at the finish, and I never thought I wanted to be one of those people. Yet here I was, staring at my confirmed registration for the Mamba 100 with no crew or pacers in place. I reached out to my closest friend, Erika Sparkman, to crew for me, and my running friend Alex Curatolo graciously agreed to pace me. I even got a bonus addition—Amber Ihren! I made a full binder of instructions and gathered every supply possible to prepare Sparkman for her role. She got us a campsite for race weekend, and we rolled into packet pickup on Thursday to an atmosphere buzzing with excitement and good energy. The weather could not have been better—61°F at the start, a high of 72°F, cloudy skies, and light sprinkles that made the trails feel alive.
The new Mamba course featured a 14-mile loop with a 2-mile out-and-back to spread runners out early on the pavement before diving into runnable single-track trails winding through the woods and along the Wolf River. It was fast, flat, and flawlessly marked. The race director and his family clearly poured their hearts into making it seamless—every aid station stocked, every turn marked, every runner supported. Erika kept me fueled, hydrated, and smiling as I counted down loops from seven. I leapfrogged with Randall and Garet early on, then with just Randall for a bit before finding my rhythm. By loop five, I was grateful to have Alex pacing me—her calm energy and steady presence kept me moving strong and focused. Each loop felt like a celebration of movement, joy, and community, even as the fatigue set in.
That final loop, though, tested every ounce of grit I had. My legs and feet hurt, and I was beyond tired—but I kept telling myself, Erika’s waiting for me at the finish. When I finally crossed the line, I had no idea I’d come in sub-19 hours. I had set three goals—18:15, 19:10, and 21:40—but I hadn’t expected what came next. Someone shouted, “New course record!” I looked up, saw Erika, and just broke down crying as I hugged her. My legs almost gave out as James, the race director, handed me my buckle and a framed award for 1st Female Finisher. I’d finished 2nd overall out of 175 runners, beating the original course record of 20:08 with a time of 18:43. This marked my fifth race in five weeks placing top female, top three in my age group, or top 10 overall. I’m filled with joy and deep gratitude for Erika, Alex, and Amber—their love and care made this possible. I can’t wait to carry that spirit to Boston in April. For now, I’m just a little swollen (12 pounds of water weight will do that!), but happy. Always remember: run happy, run for fun—when you run with joy, everything else follows naturally.”
Congrats, Erika!er
