Shooting Par at American River 50 Miler

running with Sweet Lew in the early miles. photo by ultrarunnerpodcast.com
Well, another year of American River 50 Miler is in the books. Similar to my race at Way Too Cool, I ran well but nothing that has me hooting and hollering too much. My goal going into the race was to be Top 5 and sub 6:15. I didn't accomplish either of these goals but I wasn't too far off which is okay. More than anything, I'm glad the spring "classics" are over. I love Way Too Cool and American River but they are too competitive to just want to race relaxed and with the weather in Bend, I just am not usually ready to throw down the full gauntlet this early in the season.
I flew down on Friday afternoon and after scrambling around at a couple of the Fleet Feet stores, I was able to locate the old model of the shoe that is my absolute favorite; the Adidas Adios. They screwed the new one up so I'm fighting to find them wherever I can!
After that, I scrambled over to American River pre-race dinner where I was on a panel to talk about the race, strategy, and just getting to the finish line. It was a good time and fun to catch up with the Patagonia Team Manager, George Plomarity and Race Director, Julie Fingar.
I woke up the next morning and was definitely ready to run. I decided to run in my brand new Adios shoes even though I had not run in a step in them yet.
I made my way to the start line and soon enough, we set off into the chilly Sacramento morning. American River is a tough race to negotiate. You basically have two races to prepare for. The first 26 miles are basically a road marathon with about 3 miles of trail in between miles 18-21. After that, you jump on a single trail that slowly and slightly labors upwards towards Auburn, California with a final 1,500 foot climb in the last 3 miles.
So, figuring pace for the marathon is always a tricky gamble. You don't want to run too fast where you have nothing left for the trail but you don't want to give up too much time where you dig yourself into a hole that you can't get out of. So, I tried to go on my perceived effort. I knew there were tons of good runners in the race so I would have to be smart about things. A couple guys (including the winner) shot off the front and I settled into the second pack of runners with trail veterans, Lewis Taylor, Phil Shaw, and Jean Pommier. I knew there was a ton of quick guys still behind us like Rich Hanna, Jacob Rydman, Erik Skaden, and Ellie Greenwood.
I am definitely NOT a road runner and don't pretend to be one so I just tried to find my groove as all of the guys I was currently running with pulled ahead of me and I was in nowhere land until I caught up to the ultra rabbit, Jady Palko. He sat on my heels and we talked a little bit as he let me know he would not be able to hold this pace for too long but wanted to take it to about the marathon as a hard training run.
There is a small climb at around mile 17 and I took a bit of a wrong turn, quickly corrected it and saw the hungry pack of about 7 or 8 runners right behind me. Good grief.....
Right after I took a wrong turn, up ahead Lewis Taylor and Phil Shaw took a wrong turn which allowed me to move ahead of them.
It felt good to hit some trail sections and turn down the pace a little bit and just get my legs used to some small climbs and descents. I was still feeling pretty good but the pavement was starting to beat me up a touch more than I would have liked. I could feel that my new shoes were starting to loosen up some and I decided that I would take a few minutes to gather myself at the mile 27 aid station (Beal's Point) which is the largest aid station in the race.
I could feel the pack of runners right behind me breathing down my neck and when I took another wrong turn (I was told some of the markings were messed with) at mile 25, the group caught up to me. I ran through the marked marathon point in 2:55 and hit mile 27 at 2:59. Right as I hit Beal's Point, a huge group of runners barreled through... Jacob Rydman, Phil Shaw, Lewis Taylor, Sean Meissner, Erik Skaden, Rich Hanna, and Chris Calzetta. Holy Moly!!! It felt pretty frantic and I just decided to chill out for a moment. I stopped as all the other guys ran through and I put on my ipod (which I never usually do), re-tied my shoes and ate a banana and put down some fluids. I knew the other guys were all leaving me but I figured I had 24 miles to try and reel them in. However, in an instance, I had gone from 4th place to 11th. Wow!
As I started up and got onto the trail, I wasn't overly stoked at how I was feeling. I was moving okay but I didn't have quite the "pep" in my legs that I had remembered having in 2010. However, within a mile, I did reel in Sean Meissner. I could tell his pace had slowed but was impressed at how he was running and tried to encourage him to stay strong. He said he was bonking a bit but he did manage to finish in a PR of 6:42. After I passed him, I caught Phil Shaw within another 1/2 mile or so and left him pretty quickly as well. I kept chugging along, trying to stay steady and finally caught a glimpse of Erik Skaden up ahead. I took a deep breath as I knew he wouldn't make it really easy on me as he is definitely a fighter in the latter part of any ultra. I tried to stay pretty quiet until I was right on his heels. "Back from the dead, huh?", he said. I really wasn't. I let him know that I just took some time at Beal's Point. I wasn't feeling awesome, but tried to push hard to put some distance on him. He hung pretty tight for a mile or so until I finally put a few curves in the trail between us. I usually love the tight and quick climbing ascents and descents in the trail around this part of the race but today I felt a little stale. The legs were working but my stomach was feeling off and I was rolling on the downhills like I would have liked. Oh well, you have to work with what you have that day.
As I rolled into Horeshoe Bar (mile 38.14), I caught up to Chris Calzetta who said he was fading. I figured I had another one plucked off and took a moment to hydrate and jumped on the trail with Chris hot on my trail. I figured he would fade on me and I tried a couple times to push the pace a bit on some descents but he stayed right on me. I was frustrated with having my ipod as I didn't know if he wanted to pass me back and I was constantly pulling my earbuds out and asking if he wanted by, etc. I won't wear one again in a 50 miler.

Rolling along with Chris Calzetta in the 40's. Photo by ultrarunnerpodcast.com
Chris and I rolled in mile 41 together and instead of getting water, I plugged on through, again trying to shake him but he stayed behind me and again, I just got in a steady groove, again realizing that my stomach was off. I thought I was going to barf a couple times as my mouth got super watery but I was able to hold it together. When we pulled into mile 44, I decided I would just let Chris go. I wasn't feeling awesome and I was tired of trying to figure out if he wanted to pass me or what so I consciously waited about 30 seconds after he left the aid station to get moving again. Finally I got on the trail again but within a mile, I caught right back up to him. Well, maybe he's finally done..... I asked to pass him and again he stayed game and locked onto my heels and I could not lose him as we descended to the river. Finally we hit the bottom of the last big hill and we just locked into a nice groove together on the final last 3 miles up to Auburn. We hiked the initial part at the bottom but started running once we hit the asphalt. With about 2 miles to go, I wasn't super stoked on my overall time but I was in the midst of a thought that at least I hadn't been caught over the last 25 miles. It was at that exact moment that I saw someone coming up from behind us. "Oh shit", I said. Not only was I getting caught but, yeah, I was about to get chicked. I hadn't had a woman pass me in an ultra since WS 2008 but Ellie Greenwood was absolutely PLOWING uphill. In fairness, in my humble opinion, she is the best female ultra runner (trail) in the world right now. Chris and I were running about 8:25 pace uphill and she went by us like we were standing still. Damn.....

Smelling the finish line with Chris Calzetta. Photo by ultrarunnerpodcast.com
I didn't have a lot of fight left in me so Chris and I just kept plugging and pulling each other up the hill. We both crossed the finish line in 6:20 (he was actually faster than me since he started slightly behind me at the beginning of the race). I was 7th place in the second biggest 50 miler in the country. Not exactly what I was hoping for but not disappointing either. I pretty much shot par.
After the race was a whirlwind of catching up with friends and hanging in the Patagonia Recovery Zone tent. One of my best friends, Sam Raymond showed up and was nice enough to drive me back to Cal State where I had to catch a 6 PM plane home. Whew!!! All in all, I'm happy with where I am at in the early season but am excited to get on some more courses in the mountains.


What worked:
*Patagonia Sage Burner shorts. Great cut with good pockets.
*Patagonia Cap 1 stretch Tank. Good fit. Zero chafing.
*Patagonia Endurance socks. No blisters. Low rise, love em.
*Adidas Adios. Love the old version of this shoe. Wish I could have had a few runs in them first. I had to stop and tie the laces a few times as they weren't totally fitting like a glove like they do after a few more runs.

What sucked:
* I didn't take enough salt or water. I got behind and I skipped a few aids trying to put time on people. I should have hydrated better and taken salt on a more consistent basis.
* My ipod. Too tough to use in a short race. The cord. Not being able to hear folks around you, etc. Lesson learned. Save it for 100's if at all.
* Being even the slightest bit concerned at my marathon split. How stupid? I wish they didn't mark it so I wouldn't be the slightest bit curious. I think if I had gone through the marathon about 5 minutes slower (around 3 hours), I would have had more juice for the trail. Lesson learned.
*Don't catch a plane 5 hours after you finish a 50 miler. Kinda stressful but I am glad I got to celebrate Easter with my family!

A big thank you to my main sponsor, Patagonia for allowing me to race in the best outdoor clothing in the universe. I feel very lucky.

Post race Training; April 8-14
Sunday: 2.5 miles, 24:35. Some super slow shuffling with my son Fisher on the River trail. 15 minutes of core work
Monday: Still really sore and fatigued. 15 minutes of core work, 35 minutes of weight lifting.

Tuesday: 9.1 miles with Hugnut at Phil's trail. 01:11:30, 650 of climbing.
Wednesday: Very easy group run from Fleet Feet. 5.5 miles, 46 minutes. 35 minutes of yoga. Ab ripper X: 16 minutes

Thursday: Treadmill workout. 7:30 pace throughout. raised incline 1% each 1/4 mile. Made it through 9% on first two repetitions. Got part way through a third round and had to get my kids from school. Fairly tough workout. 7 miles, 52:30

Friday: 12 miles with Hugnut out at Phil's Trail. 01:30:50. 1100 feet of climbing. Felt pretty good for the week after the race. No upper gears but I could grind just fine.

Saturday: 14 miles. 01:43:29. 1125 of climbing. From my house, through Shevlin park, through Phil's, past my house we are building and climbed back up to the homestead. Felt pretty good.

All in all, a good post race week. I didn't push it like I did after Way Too Cool and that was smart.

Looking forward to a 50K in April and a 50 miler in May before Vermont 100 in July.

The Old Guard

I can't say that I like the treadmill with any more passion than anyone else. However, living in Bend, Oregon, I find it to be pretty essential. Both for tempo work and for those stretches of winter and early spring where I just can't bear to face the elements. Therefore, I've acquired a pretty solid library of running movies. However, my favorites are definitely the older Western States 100 videos. Some of my most motivated runs are watching the old guard of the 80's. I believe I own the videos for '82, '83, '87, and a few others. (I'd give more detailed info on them but I'm currently on a plane flying home) Even after watching the beautiful cinematography of the current "Unbreakable" movie, nothing gets me working harder on the treadmill than the cutthroat competition from the 80's. In fact, to me, the characters are so colorful, its almost like watching a fiction movie. Recently, while on a treadmill sufferfest, I even compared the characters to those in Star Wars.

The main cast:

Mark Brotherton as Obi One Kanobi

Jim Howard as Luke Sywalker

Jim King (okay, he has a much more prominent role but...) Lando Calrusian (the guy you love to hate or hate to love...) Pretty similar hairdo too, right?

Bjorg Austerheim-Smith as Princess Lea

So who is my favorite? Easy. Just like in Star Wars, I like the wise-cracking over confident Rae Clark who plays, of course, Han Solo! He's got some great quotes in a couple of the movies, predicting the demise of Jim King going out too fast and his entourage of Dolphin shorts clad groupies is well, awesome. And, while he never won the race, he did come in second and is just the bad ass, tough as nails runner that I look up to.

So, while researching him a little bit, I found that I definitely agreed with a lot of his training back in the day including the often overlooked (in my opinion) practice of strength training. Rae wasn't a waif runner and was durable on the trails and the road. In a 2009 interview with Peter Lubbers, he was asked specifically about this.

Peter Lubbers: What was your secret to success? What sort of training did you do to get ready?

Rae Clark: I specifically attribute my success to two things: Strength and Hill training.

First, strength training is important so that you can keep your running form in the later miles. I feel this is a critical element that is often overlooked. In ultras, it is more important that raw speed. You could run a 2:20 marathon, but that would not necessarily mean that you could do any better in ultra runs [Note: Rae's best marathon time was 2:28]. Upper body and core strength is critically important so that your body does not collapse 40 or 50 miles into the race. The longer you can remain upright and focused the better. You don't have to be a body builder though--Just working out with light weights and your own weight (push-ups and sit-ups) is all you need.

Second, it is important to train in the hills if you're going to run in the hills. I don't mean short hill repeats, but long mountain miles. Tahoe is at altitude, so it is important to get some altitude training in, too. I loved mountain climbing, so I would go for long runs in the mountains. For example, on weekends I would run 30 to 35 miles on the trails in Yosemite. To break it up I would climb Half Dome, or some other mountain. I loved doing that and it gave me the base I needed for the long-distance races.

The full interview is here.

On the personal front, I'm getting excited for this lingering crappy weather to melt and get back to the trails that I love. Way Too Cool was great shock therapy for me and has motivated me to clean up my "winter style" eating, strengthen up my body, and get back to the hills to get ready for the races that I definitely put the most emphasis on.....100's. Hope everyone's trails are slowly melting off!

Way Too Cool 2012

Photo by Eric Schranz
Well, if you were at the finish line you probably heard the same two responses to the race that I did. Either it was: "I had a huge PR" or "I caught the flu 3 days ago and didn't think I was going to be able to run"... AKA, "I did not have a huge PR."

I on the other hand, felt somewhere in between. I felt a bit in no man's land in regards to my emotions after the race. Coming into Way Too Cool, I set two goals for myself.

1. Run faster than I did last year (3:43)

2. Make the top 5.

And (sorry for the lack of drama), I did both of these things. So, why did I feel so detached from my results? Maybe it was because I barely achieved both of my goals. Maybe it was because, over the last few years, I have seemed to be able to always do more on race day than I thought I would be able to and that didn't happen today. But, more realistically what happened was, it was a "good" but not a "great" day. I also never had those moments out there when running feels effortless, your feet are flowing, and it almost feels too easy. No, Way Too Cool 2012 felt like a lunch pail effort out there. I was having to earn every second gained on my ghost of 2011.

Okay, back to the beginning. Everything set up well. I headed down to the event with my good buddies Ken Sinclair and Denise Bourassa. The drive went smoothly and we had a good time trash talking and looking forward to the event. That evening, we had a great dinner at the Alehouse with my good buddy George Plomarity and a few others. Sleep came easy and I was ready to roll in the morning. In fact, as I did a quick warm up before the start, my legs felt ridiculously good; light, fresh, and ready to roll after a proper taper.

I headed to the starting line at the last minute, the gun went off and I felt.... reasonably flat. The last two years I have whipped through the 1 mile marker in about 5:58 or so. Today, I felt awkward and pressing and passed through in 6:04. Immediately, my confidence felt a bit shaken. "I'm getting old". "I didn't put in enough speed work" (there may be some truth in that) went through my head. I quickly fell into about 8th place or so which felt pretty natural and I just tried to find my groove. I certainly didn't feel horrible but again, I did feel like I was just grinding. In retrospect, last year, I was in a pack with Hal Koerner and Tim Olson for the first 15 miles or so and that kept me pretty motivated to keep plugging along and made the miles roll roll reasonably effortlessly. This year, I didn't know any of the guys around me and most of the time, I was the one setting the pace.

I felt relieved to pass the by the start area again around mile 8 and assured myself that I would feel better once I was on the single track trails and able to blaze along with the river below. I was jockeying with Chris Knorzer and he was hanging tough leaving me on the dirt roads and I'd make up time on him on the trails. At about mile 15, we reeled in Van McCarty who was running well and didn't relent at all as we caught up. Eventually (even though I forgot) the trail did a pretty steep climb at about mile 18 or so and Van and I seemed to drop Chris at that point and I was now in 5th place and was happy to hit the rolling trails where I felt I would finally be at my strongest. I was just settling in when I heard a yell behind me and Jacob Rydman came barreling through. I'm usually pretty decent at this stage in a race but he just went by me like I was literally standing still. Um, wow, where did that come from? I tried to pick it up a little in the hopes that he had just gassed himself a bit to demoralize me (which thoroughly worked) but he was just gone. I looked at my watch and I was running about 7:15 pace on rolling trails so it wasn't like I was dogging it, he was just running really, really well and went on to a stellar 3rd place finish. Congrats, Jacob! I tried to make that motivate me and turn on the gas a little to put a little distance between myself and Van. This seemed to work pretty well and as I looked back on some of the little openings, I didn't see anyone. After a while I noticed that I hadn't seen a flag in a long time and even though I was damn sure I was on the right trail, this slowed me down a little as I was worried that I missed a sharp turn. However, finally, I hit the turn off for the dreaded Goat Hill climb (though it isn't that bad) and saw someone right ahead of me. Right then I caught Sam Robinson who was visibly not doing very well after being in the top pack all day. I offered him some salt or anything else I had but he said he was okay so I continued on.

I personally (probably because I'm a wuss) choose to hike most of Goat Hill as I feel like you aren't going to gain much climbing such a steep hill and it will probably come back to haunt you as you head towards the finish. As I hiked, I looked back and Van was running the whole thing and entered the aid station at the same time I did. He grabbed a little bit of supplies and went off before me. I waited for a second, grabbed some gels, and downed a cup of coke and GU20. The minute I headed off, my right calf (massive as it is ;) cramped up and I was instantly really worried. I stopped tried to stretch it, which did nothing, and grabbed a salt tab and slowly started to trot. After about a minute, I found my groove a little bit and headed off. I had kind of accepted that I wouldn't catch Van again as he looked really strong and I felt, well, pretty dumpy. But, I headed out and slowly seemed to be reeling him in. By mile 29, I had caught him and we talked for a few minutes before I passed him on a wider section of trail right near the quarry and he urged me to take off as he felt pretty gassed. I slowly eased ahead and had about 10 seconds or so on him at the last aid station at about mile 30. I threw my water bottle at Jesse Barragan at the aid station and became more focused on trying to break my time from the year before. I ran just about all of the climb out of HWY 49 and felt relieved to finally hit the last section of dirt road that leads to the finish line. 3:41:44. About a minute and 40 second PR. I felt happy to have the PR and be done.

In truth, I think my time was very comparable to last year. The course was way drier this year and my splits were essentially identical going into the last 5 miles of the race. That is where having a dry course matters the most as this section can get very sloppy. But, its still a PR on the course and my highest finish placing in this incredibly competitive event. Full results are here.

So, it leaves me feeling grateful that I hit my goals, a little lucky with the course conditions, and motivated to keep up my training and improve as the season continues. There is no doubt that my focus is on the 100 milers that I will run this year but this race always means a lot to me as it is a good measuring stick of how my base training and speed are coming along. It will motivate me to get a little more aggressive with my tempo workouts and a good reminder that you can't cheat them.

A huge congrats to my travel companions, Ken and Denise as they scored huge PRs and were stoked.

A big, big thank you to Julie Fingar for being one of the best Race Directors in the country and catering an event that is inclusive to elites and first time ultrarunners. I think that is a hard balance to achieve and she does it seamlessly.

Also, a huge thank you to my most prized sponsor, Patagonia. I feel proud to represent the brand and to try and embrace the ethics that they represent. It was great to hang out in the Patagonia "Recovery lounge" that was set up with fraternity style couches and I poured beers for folks from the keg. All in all, a great day.

Lastly, as always, a hug thank you to my wife, Katie. A few days away from the kids goes by in a snap for me but with three kids, well, time never goes by in a snap so a huge thanks to her for taking up the slack as I start another running season.

And for everyone who didn't have a huge PR. I know, I know. It was the flu. :)

2012

For some reason, I've had a time putting fingers to keyboard and actually writing a post. I'm not sure why, I think I over think it a little bit and think I need to put something substantial and relevant up. But, life keeps firing on all cylinders and I'm never sure when a good time is to look back (or forward).

2011 was definitely my best year as a runner. A few things "clicked" for me and I felt like I was able to take my ultrarunning to a new level. After some good results in early season races, I had started San Diego 100 with a rough patch but rallied well to run the fastest split in the 2nd half of the race and tie for second place with Yassine Diboun. In that race, I seemed to find confidence in my nutrition plan and that carried out throughout the rest of the year. Winning Cascade Crest 100 and setting a course record really took a weight off my shoulders that I could win one and along the way, also showed me that winning a 100 didn't really feel any different than being satisfied with any race that I finished and felt good about.

I go into 2012 with some mixed emotions. I'm truly excited to race but I also feel the slight shift in the wind that I want to focus on some different things in the future. Racing is great but I think I'm getting to the point where I don't want to put as much emphasis on it as much as doing some runs that truly satisfy my soul.

Being back home in Hawaii rekindled my desire to run/hike the entire Ko'olau summit trail. Its something that I have wanted to do for a long time and would like to make it a focus soon. I want to run the JMT. I don't care at all about doing it fast. I want to enjoy the scenery and take along a crew that I can really enjoy it with. I'd like to try and run/hike the 3 sisters mountains as fast as I possibly can.

Like I said, I'm certainly not ready to write off racing but there are times when I feel like I'm just playing the same record over and over and want something more. I don't know.

That said, I'm turning 40 this summer and I still feel like I am getting faster for the moment and can be competitive with just about anyone on a great day and I'd still like to see what I can do.

My training feels controlled and good right now. I'm not overly pushing it but I'm running every day and mixing in a good amount of workouts and hills. I've put much more of an emphasis on working on my strength as well. I think this is something that can be neglected in your 20's and early 30's but will come back to bite you in the ass as we start to age a little bit. There is no question getting strong will make you durable and less likely to get injured. Its not going to make you injury proof but it will definitely help. Also, to me, it just feels good to be in overall good shape and to take care of my body. I try to do some type of other body work at least 4-5 times per week.

Okay, so, 2012.....

1. Way Too Cool 50K

2. American River 50 Miler

3. Ice Age 50 Miler

4. Vermont 100

5. Superior 100

6. Arkansas 100??

I'm excited about the line up. Way too Cool is a race that I hate to miss. I love being on the WS course, seeing all the NOCAL peeps and Julie puts on one heck of a race. I know its not cool to like AR but I love it. I like the contrast of watching all the rabbits take off on the marathon and to see who can hold on during the last 24 rolling miles of trails.

Ice Age? Well, I want to give a crack to getting into Western States. I know I'm not the only one with this idea and the field will be stacked but I'll be in good shape and feel like I will be in the mix. Regardless, it'll be cool to run on some new trails and in a new area for me. I'm not putting any extra pressure on myself for it. I do still feel like I have some unfinished business at Western States but to be honest, I'm not crazy about the actual course. I find it a little bland next to courses like Cascade Crest or San Diego 100. But, I love the competition and would love to get a time there that I can be really stoked with and then let that race go.

Vermont 100 is one I have wanted to do for a long time. I'm stoked to check out the east coast and hopefully see some of my extended family out there during or after the race.

I'm probably the most stoked about Superior 100. I have heard it is a wild and technical race. I've never been to Minnesota and I think this will be a super fun experience and great to check out some scenery that I have heard is amazing.

And then there's Arkansas. It would be a quick turnaround and I'll see how much more running I'm wanting to do. I need a lot of family time too so this will be a bit of a game time decision.

Other than that, life is good. The shops are thriving and I feel lucky to be surrounded by great people on a daily basis.

I'm excited to put on the Patagonia uniform again and get back to doing what I love....

Is a 50K an "Ultramarathon"?

ul·tra   [uhl-truh]
adjective
1.
going beyond what is usual or ordinary; excessive; extreme.


I was having lunch with Jeff Browning today and talking about his upcoming 50K this weekend, which engaged me to make a quick "wise ass" remark. "Cmon, its just a 50K, its not even an ultra". And, this started our conversation.
Should a 50K be considered an ultramarathon? In short, my opinion is "no". I believe that a 50K should be in its own category, similar to half marathon or marathon but personally, I don't think it should be under the umbrella of "ultramarathon". Yes, I know that technically anything over 26.2 is considered an ultra. However, I don't consider a 27 mile race and ultra and I don't consider a 31 mile race to be an ultra.
Why? I think the skill set involved in a 50K (trail or road) is very equivalent to a marathon (trail or road). Racing these distances focus more primarily on pure, raw speed and being able to hold a hard but maintainable pace for 3:00+ hours. However, for me, when racing a 50K , all of the feelings, fueling, and strategy that I implement are pretty much the exact same as for a trail or road marathon. Okay, before anyone opens the flood gates on me, let me answer a few questions:
1. Do I think 50K's are easy? No.
2. Have I suffered mightily in many a 50K? Yes!
3. Do I think these are a less noble distance than say a 50 mile or 100 mile race? No.
4. Could you make a strong argument that this is the distance that I am the most competitive in? Yes.
5. Do I think they should be considered "ultramarathons"? No
6. Honestly, does it really matter? No. Not really. But its fun to talk about!
I think 10-15 years ago, there were not nearly as many "ultra" events. Therefore, it was natural to lump 50Ks with 50 and 100 mile races. However, now, there are hundreds of 50Ks each year and they can easily be put in their own category. However, again, to me, the difference between a 50K and a 50 mile race is two fold.
One is the mental side. It is fairly easy to train for the distance of a 50K. In fact, many people do 30 mile runs routinely every weekend as they are building up for their summer races. Therefore, the distance can usually be trained for and one can really know what to expect. With a 50 or 100 mile race, it is not something that is a normal distance training run (for most) and therefore, the body and mind are going to have obstacles that they haven't been able to tackle during training. Mentally, I always have mental hurdles to overcome in 50 and 100 mile races that I don't seem to experience in 50Ks. In 50Ks, it seems to be just much more physical.
On the physical side, in 50Ks, you can make mistakes and many times, you can ride them out with minimal consequence. In a 50 or 100 mile race, you simply cannot. If your legs, stomach, or anything else is shot at mile 25 of a 50 or 100 mile race... well, its going to be a long, long day.
Anyway, I'm not coming across to devalue the 50K. I simply think that it needs to be defined by its own distance and not to be "umbrellaed" by ultramarathon. That is just my own take. What do you think?

Cascade Crest 100 Mile Run

Photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama
Where to begin.... Cascade Crest 100 mile run was one that I was really looking forward to this year. In my heart, I always thought this was a race that really matched up with my strengths in running. Lots of great, runnable single track, long grinding climbs, and an equal portion of very technical trails. However, I'm glad that it takes out some of the surrounding "atmosphere" challenges that are hard to prepare for here in Bend: extreme heat and altitude. Cascade Crest is just a no frills, minimalist, tough nosed race with around 21,000 feet of both climbing and descents. It also has the added challenge of a 10 a.m. start time. This makes all the front runners run virtually all night long which is a change from most races.
Going into the race, I simply was in the best shape of my life. It was a great feeling. I wasn't stressed. I didn't think I needed that "one extra" long run. I was prepared. There was something comforting in knowing that no matter what happened, I had done my best to get ready for the event. Now, I just needed to execute my plan to the best of my ability.
Since San Diego 100, I kept straight through with my training. It started with pacing my good buddy, David Easa, at Western States and I just stayed on it. I had a great final test at the Haulin Aspen trail marathon. It is a tough little course with 2,500 feet of climbing and I ran that in 2:58 for a first place finish. I was proud of that one as it was right in the middle of a 100+ mile week. That helped my confidence knowing that I hadn't lost all my speed. But, more than that, I put in my time on the hills. I kept a steady diet of long, grinding climbs that I hoped would help me at Cascade Crest. Lastly, I had a plan. I had broken the course down and was prepared to run it in a way that compliments my strengths on the trail. I knew where I had to excel and I knew where I just needed to "hold serve".
Race week itself was awesome. One of my oldest and best friends, Chris Csordas, flew out from Boulder and visited Bend for the first time. We have an absolute blast together and make each other laugh constantly. It was a great way to go into the race. I wasn't stressed at all. Chris paced me at Leadville last year and he is a great combination of runner, motivator, and seems to know all the right things to say (or not say) when we are out there. I can feel the care that he has towards me and the satisfaction that he gets from truly knowing that he helps get me to the finish line faster than I would be able to do it alone. Secondly, I also had my good friend, Ken Sinclair drive in from Idaho. We have become great friends over the past few years and I had absolutely no doubts that he would push me hard as well to get me to the finish line.... oh, and he did!
Chris and I drove from Bend to Bainbridge Island on Thursday and spent the night at my mom's house. She was awesome and took care of our every need, cooked us great meals, and got the trip started on the right foot.
On Friday, I got a great "shakeout" run on Bainbridge Island and then we packed our bags and headed to a cabin that we rented in Easton. The only concern I had going into the race was really the taper. I did a good 2 week taper which kind of messes with your head a little bit. I've become so used to running lots of mileage that cutting it way back made me feel a bit lazy and lackadaisical.
Finally, we all met up in Easton, ate (thanks for sending Ken with a meal for us, Denise!), watched a movie and headed off to bed. The drama of the night occurred at 3 a.m. when ALL of the fire alarms in the house started wailing (for no reason). I stumbled around like an idiot not knowing what to do as Chris prodded at the alarms with a broom. Finally, I started calling the owner of the cabin at 3 a.m. when the alarms stopped as quickly as they started. Not a great omen but we headed back to bed.
The morning came and race day unfolded quickly. Breakfast was eaten, clothes were put on, and soon we were on the starting line. I knew I had some tough competition. Past champion Phil Shaw was there and Adam Hewey, Aaron Schwartzbard, and Brian Peterson all seemed like legit threats. I had several series of goals for the race. First and foremost, try my best to win. I have been 2nd place in 3 100 milers and I thought it would be darn nice to move up one spot and get that monkey off my back. Secondly, beat a very, very (in my opinion) stout course record that was laid out last year by my main training partner, Jeff Browning. I wasn't sure if this was within my ability level but I sure was willing to give it a try. I just wanted to make sure I didn't blow my race by chasing a time that was out of reach. So, the strategy? Start at a hard but maintainable pace (no matter what anyone did around me), run the rolling sections smooth, PUSH the uphills, and just maintain on the super technical stuff.

"Go!!!" Photo Courtesy of Mandy Kraus

We got the countdown and off we went! As I thought, Phil Shaw went out hard. My first mile was at 6:40 and he was already pulling away from me fast. 6:45 for a second mile and his lead increased. I settled in comfortably with Brian Peterson as we transitioned from dirt roads to the first nasty climb up to Goat Peak. However, once I got on the single track, I reeled Phil Shaw in pretty quickly. We chatted for a few minutes and he asked me if I was trying to break Jeff Browning's course record. I said I was sure going to try. With that, he said I was moving a little quick for him, and I assumed the lead in the race.
Right away, I knew that my taper was paying off. Climbing steep Goat Peak felt pretty trivial and other than a couple steps near the top, I ran almost the entire thing. It was great to see Glenn Tachiyama up there snapping photos and off I went, happy to have gotten the first big climb out of the way.



Nearing the top of Goat Peak. Photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama

The miles were ticking off pretty easily as I slid into the 11 mile aid station. My biggest concern of the day was whether I could use/maintain my strategy for fueling. Unlike other races, I decided to forgo using any gels. My stomach has constantly been one of my main "competitors" at 100 mile races and gels just don't treat me well. I used "Carbo Pro" for the last 50 miles of San Diego 100 and that worked well so I decided to roll with for the entire race. Carbo Pro is just pure Maltodextrin and I have no problem adding it to any drink or water as it dissolves instantly and has virtually no taste. But, it has 200 calories in each bottle. Anyway, on I went and was encouraged as I ran down a long, open road, and as I looked back, I saw no one.
The miles continued and I was getting excited about re-loading my Carbo Pro and Honey Stingers at Tacoma Pass. As I ran down the final hill into the aid station, I scanned the crowd for my crew. I yelled out "Chris" and "Ken"! Jamie Gifford quickly came up and told me that they weren't here. I was totally stunned. I was mostly stunned because my friend Chris is a legendary "stresser" (and I say that in a good way....) and I had to believe something was really wrong. A thousand thoughts circled my head. Did they get in a car crash? Was there a flat tire? It is 100% my fault for letting it mess with me but it really threw me off of my game. Somehow, I didn't grab anything at the aid station and just set off. Half way up the climb, I assessed what I did have with me. A few more Honey Stingers and one "emergency gel" that I kept in my water bottle. I let my mind wander and my pace really drop off as I climbed and ran erratically, tripping on rocks and getting upset with myself for how slow I felt. Randomly, I probably hit my low point of the race at the Snowshoe aid station. The High School kids were awesome and super pumped up as I arrived but I felt like a total downer. I was convinced that I would be caught at any moment and quickly had some bites of fruit and gagged my GU down the hatch.
I started completely stressing about whether my crew would be at Stampede pass but finally got my shit together a little bit and told myself to suck it up and that I could finish this race no matter what. I finally started pepping up and was thrilled to hear Chris hooting and hollering as I arrived at Stampede Pass. Phew! They had new, fresh bottles of Carbo Pro and off I went on the climb out of the aid station.


Respect the race stache. Stampede Pass, mile 33. Photo by Glenn Tachiyama

After Stampede Pass is one of my favorite sections of the course. Buttery singletrack as we entered the Cedar River Watershed. Then I bombed down, passed a small lake and started the climb up to Mirror Lakes. Mirror Lakes are super picturesque and the smell of campfires burning and small tents erected makes me momentarily want to stop this nonsense and spend the day by the lake. But, I kept on trucking and finally hit the famous pierogies from Scott McCoubrey and Brandon Sybrowsky. After they hazed me for a minute or two, I headed to a portion of the race that I had not done before. The "ropes" descents and the run through the tunnel. I had sort of laughed at the thought of the ropes section but it turned out to be a darn steep to climb down to the John Wayne trail and the ropes (for me) were definitely necessary in my navigation to the bottom of the descent. Once there, I headed towards another unique aspect of the race. The tunnel. The tunnel is from an old railroad track route and goes for over 2 miles in complete darkness! The crazy thing is that you can see the light from the other side the entire time! It was fun for a few minutes but quickly grew a little tiresome as I tried to run as hard and efficiently as I could without bouncing into the walls. I would look back every couple minutes to see if I could see any headlamps behind me. Nope. Good. My lead was looking pretty darn solid. Finally I emerged from the tunnel and headed across to the parking lot. I had some trouble finding course markers but finally found my way as we had to run on the highway for a 1/2 mile or so to the next aid station. In the middle of this section, I was convinced that I had gotten lost and was following random construction paint arrows. Finally I told myself I would run to the next "rise" in the road and if I did not see anything, I needed to start running back. Finally, I saw the aid station. Huge relief. Thank God.... I perked up and ran over to the Hyak (mile 53) aid station and picked up my first pacer, Chris. Chris seems to just "get" pacing me. We talk but not a ton and he does a nice job of keeping stride for stride with me and not pushing me out of my comfort range. I should also mention that I had been on Jeff Browning's Course Record pace all day. I would gain on him on some sections and lose it on others. When I hit Hyak aid station, I was informed that I was 3 minutes behind his splits from the year before. We then had about a 5 mile climb on a dirt road that gained a little more than 2,000 feet. I had mentally prepared myself for this climb all day. I knew this was a crux in the race and that I pretty much needed to run the whole thing. This is where I truly lost the race two years ago and I wasn't going to let it happen this year. While I didn't run every step, Chris and I ran pretty much the entire thing. Nothing spectacular but I knew that running was always going to be faster than anyone who was hiking it. When we hit the aid station at Keechelus Ridge, we were informed that we were 8 minutes ahead of Jeff Browning's record pace. Nice, I thought, we gained 11 minutes on the fastest guy who has run this course.
We arrived just in time to see the end of an amazing sunset over Mount Rainier. It was kind of cool to think that we were probably the first runners who have been able to see that before as the sun would be down just minutes later. Although my stomach was "okay", I was pretty burnt on drinking the same Carbo Pro/Nuun concoction for the last 10 hours and although I know it was a risk, I drank a cup of coke. Minutes after leaving the aid station, I was puking it all up. I didn't let it phase me at all and went right back to the Carbo Pro. We now had a 7 mile descent down the Lake Kachess and we just concentrated on running it smooth and steady. We were having a good time. Good conversations and we both knew this was a pretty sweet position to be in. First place in an awesome mountain 100 and enjoying good conversations and running well. It was also probably the last real "fun" that the course had to dish up..... The good news is that we heard that we were about 40 minutes ahead of the last runner at the last aid station.
At the bottom, we knew we were about to encounter the infamous 5 mile "Trail From Hell". I'm not really sure how to describe it without overdoing or underdoing it. It is a lake shore trail that basically is unmaintained. And, with all the severe winter weather, it was worse than I have ever seen it. You have to crawl over and under fallen trees and logs, traverse crumbling and sketchy trails, cross multiple small streams. In short, it is just slow. You eventually just have to take a lot of small risks and jump, duck, and run without fear of consequence. For reference, most of our mile splits were between 12:30-16:45 and I didn't feel like I could possibly run any faster. It is a frustrating place to be when you feel like everyone else MUST be running this section faster than you are. I actually enjoyed it for a while as it was nice not to have my heart rate so high but in the end, it got frustrating and the signs informing us that we were 2, 1.5, 1, and .5 miles from the next aid station )named "Heaven") seemed impossibly wrong as it took us so long to encounter each one. Kudos to my buddy Chris for tackling this with me. Triathlons are his main sport and I'm not sure bushwhacking in the middle of the night was what he had in mind! But, he was a gamer and we eventually made it to the next aid station. After hitting the aid station, I knew I probably had the last real "test" that stood as a serious challenge between myself and winning Cascade Crest. A seven mile, 3,000+ climb could easily help buoy my lead or, if reduced to a walk, could let someone behind me snatch up the lead. I was determined to run as much of it as I could and we slowly shuffled our way up the steep hill. It was hard to get fired up to run uphill a lot more and I was jealous that my friend Chris was going to be trading off with Ken to pace me 2 miles up the dirt road and I could tell he was definitely excited to be done with his tour of duty.... and I sure as hell didn't blame him. We finally hit the junction 2 miles up and Ken jumped into the game. Another great pacer. Ken quickly took the lead and pushed the pace up a notch or two. I was pretty much okay with it but did ask for a couple quick hike breaks during the climb. I felt more and more confident of winning the race as I just found it hard to believe that anyone else was doing my same pace up the hill ( I later found out Adam Hewey was!) We just grinded and grinded until we finally hit the top.
We quickly refueled and got ready for the Cardiac Needles. 5 fairly short but stout, stinger climbs that just had you huffing, puffing, and cursing. With my lead, I felt entitled to get a little sloppy in here and I wasn't running with quite as much purpose. We kept it rolling though and eventually made it to Thorpe Cabin. It is a picturesque cabin (although we couldn't see it as it was pitch black) where I had to run to the top, retrieve a chip, and bring it back to the aid station volunteers. The climb seemed much longer and steeper than I remembered but we got it done and knew we had only one more real climb left in the race. We continued on but the trail was choppy, tough, and steep and was putting a pretty good beating on my legs.
Another weird note. A couple times while I was descending, my entire upper body (head, arms, chest, well you know what upper body means) got completely numb like when your hand falls asleep. It was kind of creepy as I was not sure if it was electrolyte balance, just the jostling of the downhill, or whether something seriously was going wrong with me medically. In fact, I couldn't really talk normally when it happened and I sounded drunk. Anyone have ideas on that??? Anyway, once the trail leveled off again, it went away and we hit French cabin aid station and prepared for the long road home.



This was awesome. If we could have seen it. Near Thorpe Cabin. Photo by Glenn Tachiyama

The trail down to Silver Lake feels like you are in a time warp. They say it is only 7 miles and you only lose about 2,000 feet in elevation but it (and it did last time too) becomes one of the longest feeling sections that I have encountered in a race. It is just technical and choppy enough that you never get in a rhythm. And, once you get about half way down, the trail becomes dusty, tough, with multiple small stream crossing to soak your feet. Not exactly what you are looking for at mile 90 or so in the race. My Garmin watch had shut off so I had no idea how long I had been running for and that was messing with my head and I also got that crazy upper body numbness again. I don't think we ran this section particularly well and I felt downright desperate near the bottom. I was yelling at Ken, "where the hell is the bottom of this thing?". Of course, I was the one who had run the course before and this was his first time here so I don't know what I was hoping for.
By the time we finally hit the aid station, I was relieved but desperate to be done. My upper body was numb and I was panicked that somehow I could be caught even though I had a 40 minute lead. Race Director Charlie Crissman was there an assured me I had the win and informed me that I was 3 minutes off the Course Record. Shit. That almost seemed like bad news. I didn't want to have to bust my ass the 5 miles of the run. Ken did a great job of not forcing the issue. He started at a moderate pace and slowly cranked up the intensity. I pounded my second GU of the day and got a little renewed energy. Okay, lets go for it. I dropped my final bottle and got into the Carl Lewis position. I'm sure this looked ridiculous as I was running 7:30 miles and not sprinting but it felt like the 50 yard dash. Ken stayed an annoying ten yards ahead of me which was definitely motivating and pissed me off as I wanted to catch him! He kept yelling at me to keep pushing and man, was I. Finally we hit the final stretch and I could see the finish line. We bolted hard to the finish and made it in a time of 18:27:52. 3+ minutes faster than my buddy's seemingly invincible time that he laid out there last year. I was overwhelmed. Pure relief hit me and all the work of the day, week, and months this summer became worth it.
Its funny, I had wanted to win a 100 miler SO BAD but now that I have, it doesn't seem that crazy or even that much better to me than any of my 2nd place or even other times finishing an event. It kind of put things into perspective to me. What I really enjoy is the beautiful courses, the competition, and the tradition that I have put forth of having great friends in my life join me for part of the journey to the finish line. That is what I will end up remembering about this race. And of course, now the big, big, big THANK YOU's:
1. My wife, Katie. It goes without saying that I could not do this without her. With three kids, she constantly picks up the slack and puts her own athletic achievements on the backburner to let me do this. She realizes how important to me and who I am and has accepted this and encourages me to train hard and be the best that I can be. I read on Jeff Browning's blog about how he feels a responsibility to race really hard out of respect to his family and the sacrifices that they make for his running. I thought about that a lot before and during the race and he is totally right. If I'm going to take time away from my family, I do need to respect that and race to the best of my abilities out of respect for what they do for me.
2. My employees. It seems silly but without solid crews that I can trust and count on at the shops; I can't do this. They run the stores like they are their own and let me train and leave for races without me having to micro manage.
3. My pacers. Pacing is an intimate and great experience to have with someone. I will always cherish all the people who have paced me. It definitely creates a bond and I enjoy both being the pacer and racer. Both Chris and Ken were motivating, patient, funny, and definitely enhanced my experience.
4. The competition. It was an honor to share the trail with lots of great folks who all had to give it all they had to get to the finish line. Adam Hewey defines grit and toughness to me and I didn't feel comfortable about him not catching me until about mile 98......

I'll always look back on this race with great fondness. It exemplifies "old school" ultrarunning. A really tough course, pristine wilderness running, and a great, great group of folks who put on the race and all the aid stations. Thank you for all that you folks do to make this an amazing race.

San Diego 100 Miler

Takeoff! Photo by Brett Rivers
Why San Diego 100 miler? Well, it started selfishly enough. Last year I had run an extremely competitive racing season. And, while I did well in all the events that I entered, I was looking to do some new races against maybe slightly less stacked fields. As anyone knows, that mentality is a recipe for disaster. Usually this is because others seem to have the same thoughts and all of a sudden that “mellow” race becomes somewhat of a barn burner. That is what appears to have happened at San Diego. The event had caught my eye as I heard it was a tough, beautiful, but relatively fast race. I had noted that race veteran Guillermo Medina had won the race the year before in a time of 18:53. That seemed like a time that I was very capable of and could maybe rack up my 1st 100 mile win. However, after the event opened, it seemed like I wasn’t the only one with this idea. It quickly became one of the more competitive 100 mile races this summer. While the race didn’t feature any of the “top of the top” runners (Tony K, Geoff Roes, etc), it more than made up for in the next level of top trail runners in the country. Yassine Diboun (multiple ultra wins), Dylan Bowman (more wins, young, and 3rd at Leadville 100), Ben Hian, Topher Gaylord, Josh Brimhall, David James, Guillermo Medina, Krissy Moehl (uh, yeah, she can win any 100 miler she is in). Are you kidding me? Well, that’s what I get for cherry picking my events on trying to win…..
But, I was really excited to run this course. Tons of singletrack, sunny skies, some good climbs, and the fact that I was heading to the race with two of my good friends; Ken and Denise.
We flew into San Diego on Thursday and headed up to our cool little cabin at 6,000 feet. As usual, when you head up to altitude, the small towns become a little more eclectic and this was no exception at the Mount Laguna cabins. We settled in and Ken, Denise, and myself went out for a quick run on the course. The rest of the day was filled with watching movies and ESPN. I had grown a bit of a beard and as we watched “Smokey and the Bandit”, I got the idea to give myself a 70’s stache which proved to be the entertainment of the day. In fact, the next day, armed with my cowboy hat, friends Krissy Moehl and Topher Gaylord had to look at my pre-race name tag to know who I was! Classic.
Friday was filled lots of nervous energy, race meetings, and getting our drop bags ready. The day before the race always seems endless and it is usually a great relief to get to sleep. Luckily, the day was broken up as Ken and Denise had their pacers, Christian and Julie, fly in from Portland and add more energy to the mix. Soon enough it was race morning and the usual seriousness set in. As anyone who has done these races knows, you are not going to make it through a 100 miler unscathed. Knowing that you are willingly going to put yourself through something that 99.9% of the world would consider torture is still daunting.
At last we were at the starting line and it was time to get moving. It was 7 a.m. and off we went! A couple of the threatening contenders were not there which was a nice surprise! The front pack was formed quickly between Yassine Diboun, Dylan Bowman, and myself. Within a mile, Yassine had sprinted off at sub 7 minute pace. I heard uber veteran’s Roch Horton’s warning to me in the back of my head. “Yassine and that guy from Aspen are going to go shooting off. Let them go.” Within a couple miles I did. First, Yassine, and then Dylan. It felt good to be on my own and not trying to run anyone else’s race. The first 20 miles of the race are actually quite gentle as we ran through big open meadows speckled with wildflowers only to be interrupted by quick “stinger” climbs and the introduction to our toughest companion of the day: the rocks! Of course, during the early miles, our legs are fresh, nimble, and able to dart through the array of rocks strewn on the course.

Photo by Brett Rivers
While the course was undeniably beautiful, I found myself having a hard time getting into a rhythm. I wasn’t feeling particularly badly but I definitely wasn’t feeling like the run was coming to me easily. By mile 20, I was mildly worried about how my day was going to go. As we have had literally NO warm days in Central Oregon this summer, I was struggling with the heat already. But, onward I moved. Dylan Bowman had taken a wrong turn somewhere and caught back up to me and we ran together towards Noble Canyon. We both noted that the technical terrain had caught us off guard. The descent into the canyon felt tough and I was running slow downhill. As we hit mile 30, my race really felt like it was unraveling. I was hot and I really wasn’t enjoying myself. We were then to run a loop at the bottom of the canyon which pushed me further into the hole. It was hot and I was literally mugged by gnats, flies, I don’t know what they were but they were unbearable. They swarmed my head, ears, and made me want to scream. What do you do? Suck it up and keep moving. I looked back every couple of minutes amazed that no one had caught me yet as I felt like I couldn’t have been moving any slower. At that point, the course enters into one of the true “cruxes” of the race. A 2.3 mile, steep asphalt climb that then drops momentarily before an exposed, hot single track climb. It was miserable. Worse yet, I puked after 34 miles which is earlier than I ever had in a 100… and I’m a puker! I started going through the reasons why I should quit. “I’m slammed and stressed out at work. I haven’t trained enough. We have had no heat for training. Rod, you never DNF. Give yourself a break. Its not your day”. But upward I went. I looked back and finally I was being caught. Up and looking extremely strong, Topher Gaylord seemed to be feeling as good as I was bad. If I was going to be caught, I was glad it was Toph. One of my favorite folks to see at races, he gave me encouragement and took off. I did my best to keep him in my sights and use him to pull me around. When we hit the aid station at mile 44, life sucked. My vision was blurred and I was out of it. Catherine Horton, Kim Gaylord, and Devon Crosby-Helms were all great mother hens to me and tried their best to get me to eat and drink. I did and then predictably and violently puked it all out. Finally, they pushed me out and I scuffled my way along the next 7+ miles on the technical PCT. I could see Topher in the distance and did seem to be slightly gaining on him. I still felt like absolute shit but just kept moving forward thinking of the famous ultra mantra, “it never always gets worse”. At mile 51, I picked up my first pacer, Jason Hill. While we just met a couple weeks earlier, I felt an immediate connection to Jason. Maybe it was his uber cool South African accent or just his genuine personality shines right through. It was definitely very cool for him to jump in and run with me. At first, I still felt horrible and nauseous and within a few moments, I threw up again. As I have said in the past, if I do have any redeeming quality in my pukiness, it is that I seem to rally pretty well. At the last aid station, I had stopped taking gels, which were clearly not working for me. I started taking Carbo Pro which instantly seemed to have a good affect on me. I wasn’t moving real well but I did slowly seem to start moving better. As we entered an area of giant meadows and wide open views, life seemed ever so slightly better. Jason and I had some good conversations and slowly moved up the pace. By the time we hit the next aid station at mile 58, the sun was lowering in the sky and the relief helped me out. Topher and I were at the aid station together and both complained on what in the world we were doing willingly thrashing ourselves out here. I was however, clearly, feeling better. We were 45+ minutes behind Yassine and Dylan but that had very little concern to me. I again, and stupidly, tried to fill myself with chicken broth, coke, and ginger ale. Jason and I were just ahead of Topher and his pacer, Nathan when I again started projectile vomiting. “God damnit”, I yelled. Why didn’t I just stick to the Carbo Pro? The barfing pissed me off and put a little giddyup in my step. All of a sudden, I was running better. I put on the gas a little bit to see if I could get some breathing room from Topher and was able to do this. Next came a tough little climb up Stonewall Peak. We were now starting to move though. My legs were responding better and better as the sun eased up on us. Okay, I thought, I can do this. By the time we hit the next aid station, we didn’t have Topher in view. Again (yes, I am an idiot), I tried to get more liquids in my body and again, I puked several times within a ¼ mile after leaving the aid station. No more food. Jason ran back to get more carbo pro and I took off. The next few miles, my race drastically changed. We were running. Not only that, we were running well. The next section was my favorite on the course as we traversed a hillside that had a faint and awesome trail to run on. We had some great conversations and were moving!!! I was having fun again. Thank God….
When we hit mile 71, life was good. My great friend David Easa was there to pace me to the finish. A quick note on David. This was his 4th time pacing me at a 100 miler and is one of the closest people to my heart. We don’t talk daily or weekly but we have a lot of connections that go deep and I know I could call him for pretty much anything and he would be there. Jason and I entered the aid station whooping and hollering. Kim Gaylord was there and said that Yassine was only 8 minutes ahead of me. Are you kidding me??? I hadn’t even thought I had a chance of catching him. And, Dylan was only 15 minutes up on us. “David, you better be ready to run. I’m moving right now!”. I left him to fill my bottles as I ran down the trail. David caught up to me about a mile later and we settled into a groove. The next section was going to be tough but I was up for it. It was a definite “Rod style climb”. A grinder. I had David lead and we ran virtually the whole hill. Our headlamps were now on and we were on the hunt for Yassine. Finally, we hit the mile 80 aid station. The aid station was also the 50 mile aid station earlier in the day. I couldn’t believe how many people were just getting there…. 30 miles behind me. I really felt for them. They had one damn long adventure still ahead of them. As we hit the aid station, we heard that Yassine was just a couple minutes ahead of us. I felt strong but cold. The ridge we were entering had strong winds and my body temperature dropped fast. I didn’t have a drop bag at this aid station and had to borrow someone’s “sleeves” as my tank top was not going to do it. Finally, I was smart enough not to eat any food and just got more Carbo Pro and off we went. Again, we moved well. Both of us very focused. We starting seeing Yassine’s light ahead of us. Yes, we were going to catch him. We had several setbacks on this stretch. After a trip, my headlamp would not turn on. We also made a wrong turn that cost us several minutes. However, finally we reeled Yassine in. He had been my goal to catch for so long that it felt strange to go by him. I felt badly as I knew he had gotten off course earlier and looked to be hurting some. As we entered the aid station, we was only 25 yards or so behind. I knew I was in second place but I figured I would ask Yassine if he wanted to stay with us and finish together. I asked him and he seemed happy to have the companionship after a long day of running alone. I know I should have a stronger “killer instinct” but I don’t and I genuinely thought it would be cooler to finish tied for second rather than by myself. After Yassine latched on with us, the last 12 miles were tough. We were both tired and pretty beat up. The course eases in terms of vertical but the rocks and tough terrain just never eased up. We all took turns “pulling” as we grunted and swore our way to the last aid station. At the last aid station, we heard we were only 10 minutes or so behind Dylan. A bit too much of a gap to make up so we just suffered on and on. It was sweet relief to see the “1 mile to go” sign. We made our way through the campground and it was done. Yassine and I tied for 2nd place in 18:12... a PR for both of us.
So, the questions, right? I'm sure a lot of folks are curious why Yassine and I would want to link together after battling all day? I don't have a great answer other than, to me, 100 milers are bigger than winning and losing. They are testing your soul and your resolve as a man or woman. To me, to be able to share the end with a a runner that I respect, was a much better ending than trying (and he sure as heck may have still beat me!) to beat him out by a couple of minutes. It was a much more meaningful race to me because of the decision.
Did I have a chance of catching Dylan? I doubt it. I don't think that I necessarily slowed down much at all after Yassine and I linked up. I think it breathed some new into Yassine and he definitely picked up his pace. So, while I may have made slight gains on Dylan... I'm sure his place was secure. And, for the record, I think if Yassine had not gotten lost on the course for 10 minutes, I think he probably would have won. I think we all know the feeling of getting lost on a course and how it can truly take the steam out of the engine. He had been in the lead ALL day and to lose it late in the race, without a pacer, is certainly hard to overcome. Regardless, as I look back on the race, I'm proud that I persevered from having a very challenging first half, getting my 100 mile PR on a stout course, and gaining a good friend along the way. I'd call that a solid weekend.
I'd be remiss to bring up my one big disappointment of the weekend. It seems as if someone stole all four of my drop bags. Major bummer. Whoever it is, you better hope I don't see you with my stuff!!! I'll be looking!
I'd also like to thank my pacers: David Easa and Jason Hill. Without these guys, there is no doubt that I would not have achieved the time that I did out there. I'd also like to thank Kim Gaylord (Topher's wife) for genuinely helping me out at all the aid stations. I'd like to thank my sponsor, Patagonia. I've been on their team for a long time and I truly believe they make the best trail running clothing in the world and I am truly proud to represent them. Lastly, a big shout out to Yassine for being willing to run the last 12 miles with me. I had a blast... once it was over.