Hartselle man completes 100-mile ultra-marathon

Hartselle native Drew Butler has run countless miles.  

Recently he achieved a personal best: completing The Arkansas Traveler 100-mile ultra-marathon on Oct. 5.  

Butler’s journey into the world of running began five years ago, not as a quest for competitive success, but as a personal mission for self-improvement. What started as a simple way to lose weight soon evolved into a passion for pushing the limits of his own endurance.  

Bulter began a Couch to 5K program but said running at first was not enjoyable.  

“(It) felt like a chore each time, but I wanted to stick it out to get to my goal and be able to run with my parents who are runners as well,” he said. “I completed that race and had a really great time. Shortly after that the Covid pandemic started, and I was blessed to be able to work from home. This allowed me to start running more and more and just took off from there.”  

His early races were modest 5Ks, common among beginner runners, but as his love for the sport grew, so did the lengths of his runs. Over time, Butler worked his way through progressively longer races, eventually diving into the world of ultramarathons — races that exceed the traditional 26.2-mile marathon distance.  

“It really wasn’t till after getting a few half marathons under my belt I started to become interested in longer distances,” he said. “I eventually trained my way up to a marathon and was going to do the Rocket City Marathon in December 2021, but there was bad weather leading up to the race and they were forced to cancel. So, I thought to myself that since I’m trained for marathons, I should be able to complete 50k (31 miles) and become an ultramarathoner.  

In January 2022, Butler participated in and completed the Mountain Mist 50k – his first ultramarathon.  

“At that point I was completely hooked,” he said.  

The Arkansas Traveler course, held in the Ouachita National Forest, combines rugged terrain with steep elevation gains, making it one of the most challenging events in the sport. Runners have 30 hours to complete the race, but the real challenge is battling through fatigue, muscle soreness and sleep deprivation.  

Butler prepared for the race this summer by following a structured training plan consisting of a mix of interval, tempo, medium weekly long runs and weekend long runs. 

“This summer training block was tough as I missed a few longer runs due to travel and getting Covid,” Butler said. “But toward the end of my training, I was able to hit 80+ miles a week consecutively for about three weeks before starting to taper for the race, so that gave me confidence leading into the race.” 

As fate would have it, Butler spent his summer training for a completely different race he ended up running.  

“The funny thing is I had no idea I would be running AT100 at the beginning of my summer training block,” Butler said. “I was originally supposed to run Yeti 100 in Damascus, Virginia, but Hurricane Helene just absolutely decimated the area the weekend of the race. Fortunately, some friends that were there to run Yeti knew about AT100 and that it was the next weekend, so they signed up. I took a bit of convincing but realized this might be my only shot to run a 100 miler while being prepared.” 

The dramatic differences in terrain and conditions between the two trails tested his endurance in new ways, Butler said.  

The Yeti 100 takes place on a flat, scenic creeper trail with a total elevation gain of roughly 3,000 feet, while the AT 100 presents a tougher challenge with single-track trails, jeep gravel roads and 12,000 feet of rolling hills. Temperatures on the AT 100 also soared into the mid-90s, much higher than the cool 60-degree weather for which he was prepared.  

Butler said the hardest part of training for an ultramarathon is the mental aspect.  

“Luckily, I ran this race as a group with some good friends and had some amazing pacers to help keep me mentally in the game,” he added. “Outside of that I just try to break the race down into smaller bite sized pieces in my head. 

Around mile 67 of the AT100 is when Butler said he was at his weakest point.  

“I got back to an aid station to see my crew and was ready to quit,” he said. “I had started to fall behind my planned pace and was just feeling out of it. I sat down in a chair and just told my wife I (couldn’t) go back out there.  

“A few days prior I told my wife, Laura Beth, that this point would come and not to let me quit. Luckily, she was very adamant about not letting me quit and just tended to me. After about 30 minutes I was able to rally a bit and was able to get back out there with a pacer to help me keep going. If it wasn’t for her and the rest of my crew I would have dropped out.”  

Butler said he is excited to get back into local trail running after spending the summer running on the roads.  

“I’ve signed up for a few local ultras with the plan to quickly get back into high gear at the start of the new year,” he said. “My goal race for 2025 is Leadville 100 out in Leadville, Colorado in August 2025. This one starts out at about 9k feet above sea level and has very strict cut offs, so I’m going to be preparing hard for that one.” 

For now, the Hartselle native is celebrating one hundred miles of hard-earned success.