Chief Ladiga 100: Rick Albanese’s Inspiring Post-Cancer Comeback

Rick Albanese(MM11181) –“He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man” -Samuel Johnson

Two years ago I spotted a 100 mile buckle I had to have. It was awarded for completing the Chief Ladiga 100 in Alabama. This is a unique 100 mile event in that is run entirely on asphalt and concrete bike paths. The asphalt Chief Ladiga trail flows into the concrete Silver Comet trail with roughly half the race in Alabama and half in Georgia.

I had planned on running the race last year but Cancer had other plans for me. When I finished my chemo treatment last September I was very unsure of my future. Imagine you’re standing at a train station and this express train comes flying through, and you put your hand out and you grab it and it whisks you away at some lightning speed and everything is a blur and at some point you lose your grip and then you find yourself in the middle of nowhere a bit beaten up and totally lost. That was very much how I felt. My oncologist told me I needed to get back to running 100 milers! What a great doctor!!! Chief Ladiga 100 was back on the table for 2025!

I know the training and preparation it takes to complete a 100 miler. I don’t take it lightly. In fact everything I’ve done in running the past 6 months since completing chemo was in preparation for this race. I also believed it to be a fantastic return 100 as it was fairly flat although the back half had 5000+ ft of climb over 30 miles. There was also a 32 hour cutoff while most 100s allow only 30 hours. I was certain a PR was in my grasp! How hard could it be? Turns out real hard!

I was welcomed with open arms by the race director and staff and shared my cancer story. The volunteers were amazing at every aid station! One volunteer even reheated a quesadilla for me in a portable air fryer! Although a very small race I managed to reconnect with several old running friends and made at least a half dozen new ones! Several had also been cancer survivors or had amazing tales of overcoming other personal issues. These are the people of ultrarunning. These are my people and damn I missed them last year!!
Every previous 100 I’ve done has been on softer trails. This hard surface at Chief Ladiga proved unrelenting on my feet despite proper gear and a run/walk approach. My last concerted running push was between miles 70-75. After that it was a run walk that was mostly shuffling and walking. I had no crew or pacers as flying Frontier was limiting what I could bring. It was humid and warm most of the day but not exceeding the 60s and I’d done heat training for several months to prepare. My heart rate started high even though I didn’t feel I was pushing things. As with other races as heat slowed my pace I welcomed the cooler night temperatures. Coolness can be dangerous though when you are sweating and running all day. Having hypothermia end 2 of my prior 100 mile attempts I was taking no risks! I decided race morning to stow a warmer second coat in my sole drop bag and carried 2 jackets in my pack at the mile 50 turnaround. Turns out that second coat saved my race. Many runners dropped out due to unexpected hypothermia episodes throughout the night. I stared at the moon anxiously awaiting the sunrise. The morning always brings new life in a 100! As my feet slowed me to a shuffling hike crawl the sun pounded me in all the open exposed sections of the trail. It was much hotter and unrelenting compared to the start. As my time goals slipped away I thought about dropping out of the race several times. Who would judge the cancer guy for a valiant effort? As things got dark over and over again I knew I had time on the race clock to overcome any challenge. This was a test of will. My thoughts drifted into the darkness and I remembered laying in a hospital bed and vowing a 100 mile return. Things get very primal out there as your life is simplified to the sole task at hand of continuing in relentless forward progress. It really comes down to making your body do things that the mind tries to prevent it from doing for the perception of self preservation. In the end I crossed the finish line in the final golden hour of the race, reclaimed my life and collected the coveted Chief Ladiga buckle! #showusyourskin® #yoursecondskin #xoskin and #XOTOES
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