THE OREGON ADVENTURE AND BEYOND

It’s been about 7 weeks since I returned from the running of Where’s Waldo 100K in Oregon and finally found some time to sit down to recall my adventures in the Cascade Mountain Range.

WHERE’S WALDO 100K RACE REPORT 2012

Willamette Pass Oregon, August 18, 2012

Wed morning before the race, up at 3:00 am to catch the 5:18 am flight, leg one to DC.  I dropped the car off at Thrifty airport parking.  No one was at the office so I put the keys in the drop box.  This meant no shuttle so I had to walk about a ½ mile with luggage to the airport at 4:00 am.  Good thing for wheels on luggage.  Boarded plane on time and on we go… almost.  I have yet to take off on time from BTV when we are the first plane to leave that day.  This time we taxied out for take-off but got a message from the captain saying there was a computer glitch and would have to try a control/alt/delete.  So we sat in the middle of the runway and had to turn the plane completely off, sit in darkness as they “rebooted” the plane to see if it would solve the “issue”.  After 5 seconds in total darkness they turned the power back on.  Apparently it worked or we hoped it worked and soon we were off to Dulles, in DC.  Amazing but I think we even arrived on time, it was 7:15 am at Dulles.  Walking into the terminal my phone rang and was notified that I had an email message.  No one calls me at that hour, except….United.  Sure enough my 9 AM flight, the next leg to San Francisco was cancelled.  Instead I was rebooked on a flight to Denver leaving at 3:55 PM with final arrival time in Eugene near 9PM.  I tried my luck at customer service but no go.  So now what to do and how would I get in my run today?  I’ve been stuck in this airport before.  I figured I would make the most of my time in DC and jumped on the bus to the Aerospace Museum only 15 minutes away.  I knew they had lockers to store my bags and I could get a run in there.  I did that last year on my way to UTMB.

Space Shuttle at the museum

The grounds at the museum are surrounded by barbed wire so you can’t go far but I created a perimeter loop and did that a couple of times to get in 45 minutes of run time.  Back at the airport I visited customer service again only to find out my next flight was also delayed but they found another flight leaving in 15 minutes so I quickly jumped on that.   I arrived in Denver with about a 2 hour layover until another delay on the flight to Eugene.  I finally arrived in Eugene at around 9:30 PM.

First thing I saw when I got off the plane,
a pic of legend Steve Prefontaine

Immediately the phone buzzes to notify me that I have an email.  It was from the race director letting us know that there was a fire in the middle of the race course and that the race was now in jeopardy.  Great!!  After another hour they found my luggage which had arrived earlier but was lost in house.  I got my rental car which was way smaller than I had reserved, no way to car camp in it.  And then found out the road I needed to drive on closed at 8 PM due to construction.  Here I was stuck in Eugene after an 8 hour delay, late at night and had no idea where I was or where I was going.  Luckily the guys at the United desk in Eugene were awesome and finally after another hour I had a place to stay in Eugene compliments of United :)  I arrived at the hotel after midnight, after being up for 25 hours, totally exhausted but I made it!

Thursday morning after a great sleep at the River Hotel I got some breakfast and was off on the next leg to Willamette Pass.  The drive from Eugene to Willamette Pass was very enjoyable.  Not much traffic to deal with along this scenic one lane highway surrounded by huge trees.  I had to stop at the tunnel for a while as it only allowed one lane through during the day due to construction.  Shortly after that I arrived at Willamette Pass Ski Area, which was the start and finish area as well as the camping spot for the Where’s Waldo 100K Race.  It was pretty quiet on this Thursday but I did run into one local runner from Eugene.  He gave me the low down on the area and told me of a better spot to camp for the night.  So I headed to Gold Lake, just a couple of miles down the road off the beaten path.

Gold Lake is a small self-serve campsite of 20 or so sites.  I found an awesome site overlooking Gold Lake and set up my tent.  Afterwards I returned to Willamette Pass to get in a quick run before having dinner.  While there I met up with another local, Doug McCarty from Eugene who was also running Where’s Waldo.  He gave more info about the race and the general area.  After a while, I departed for my run and headed up the mountain on what would be the start of the race.

Fires at Bobby Lake

It was an uphill climb right from the start to near the summit of Willamette Pass and then would continue into the woods.  But instead of going into the woods I decided to go directly to the summit to get a good look at the views.  On top the views were spectacular although a little hazy from the fires.  I could see below the Bobby Lake fires in the middle of the race course.  After enjoying the views, it was time to depart and I found some great single track mountain bike trails to descend.  Back to Gold Lake for a wonderful dinner and a good night’s sleep!

Dinner of champions at Gold Lake

Friday morning I awoke to the smell of smoke.  Over night the smoke had sunk down low and surrounded the area.  As I looked across Gold Lake I could see the smoke billowing over head.  After a little breakfast I packed up and returned to Willamette Pass where I would set up camp for the next 2 nights.  It was more convenient to be there for the race start and finish.  I met up with friend and assistant RD, Meghan Arbogast and was filled in on the latest fire update.  They just got approval for a new course that would bypass the fire area so the race was on!!

Smoke over Gold Lake

The new course would add some distance to make it more like 66 miles.  I decided to get in a little run and followed the finish of the race which was on the Pacific Crest Trail.  The trail was surrounded by tall pine trees and the surface was a layer of soft dirt and pine needles.  Not the usual rock and roots like at home.  Wow, was this nice!  I just ran up about 2 miles and decided to build a number of small rock pagodas alongside the trail.  This way I would know when I was about 2 miles from the finish.  After the run it was time for a swim.  The north end of Odell Lake was only minutes away and I found another small campsite which had a trail leading to the lakeshore.  It was a great swim and nice to be clean again!  Back at camp it was time to get the drop bags organized.  The aid stations were fully stocked with GU Brew drink, GU gels and S-caps, all my usual so I didn’t need much for drop bags.  Still I packed two bags with spare shoes, socks, clothes, Body Glide, emergency S-caps, an extra water bottle and a few other odds and ends.  They offered a great pre-pasta dinner which I enjoyed and then it was the pre-race meeting before retiring for the evening.

Race Start at Waldo

Saturday morning, 4:00 AM, time to get up.  Race start was at 5:00 AM so being up an hour earlier was good to get a little food in and a hot cup of tea.  It was already warm, near 60 degrees with the day forecasting to be around 80 or so with sunshine.  The start of the race went off and up we went on what was more of a service road.  The course was so dry that the dust was flying.  It was more of a fast power hike up.  Already the lead pack of Tim Olsen, Jacob Rydman and some others took off.  I ran in another group that included Yassine Diboun, a friend who I met years ago at the Finger Lakes.  Yassine knew the course so I figured I would hang with him initially.  The uphill certainly warmed things up.  Just before we reached the summit the trail veered off into the woods.  And downhill we went.  Yassine took off on the downhill with his long legs and I would never see him again until the finish.  I was in a pack of about eight runners going at a good clip all the way down to Gold Lake.  The trail was excellent, soft and not too technical and led to the Gold Lake aid station.  I arrived right on schedule at this 7.4 mile stop.  This was the elevation low point of the race at 6600 feet.  With the re-route we would return here again at mile 50.  I quickly got rid of my headlamp, refueled and headed up towards Fugi Mtn.  Luckily the skies were overcast with a light drizzle, way better than the forecasted hot sun.  At this point it was time to run my own race and I knew there was a good uphill coming and many more to come so I backed off a bit.  Fugi Mtn. was one of my favorite parts of the race with really nice single track trails winding through the woods.  It had a short out and back to the summit at 7144’ which had some fun rocks to run on, more like back home.  And it gave you a chance to see where everyone else was.  Jacob and Tim went cruising by well ahead of the rest of the field.  I was running in about 10th place.

Yassine crushing the downhills

The downhill all the way to the Mt. Ray aid station was fun.  Great footing, dry and fast single track.  From there it was on to The Twins and part of the re-route due to the fires around Bobby Lake.  The trail just sort of meandered about, nothing too technical and then a short segment on the road before heading back into the woods.  The next part of the race to Charlton Lake I was feeling like I was losing steam.  I was running by myself and was just feeling tired.  My legs never had the usual energy right from the start but sometimes it just takes a bit to get warmed up.  Not today, just not happening.  While running on this fabulous section of fun single track I thought back of all the races I’ve done this year and have been going non-stop since last December.  Hmm, maybe it was time to take a break and rest up the body.  Well first I needed to finish Waldo, and then it would be break time.  I figured if I could just maintain I’d be fine, I only had about 36 miles to go.  Soon I heard some soft footsteps behind me, it was Denise Bourassa.  She was running strong and steady.  I let her go by and she pulled me along which was what I needed.  We got to Charlton Lake, quickly refueled and off again.  I slowed up a bit after that and Denise was shortly out of sight.

Jack following Denise
at Charlton Lake

Next up was the 4290 aid station.  The sun had come out and it was starting to get warm, especially in the sun.  My nutrition and hydration had been good so far.  I had been successful in opening up my s-caps and dumping them in my water bottle instead of swallowing them which recently has caused some major GI distress.  And at 4290 I picked up a second water bottle from my drop bag figuring it would be getting warm at this point.  But after 4290 I was really starting to feel the heat and backed it down some more. I figured I could make up some time later on when it cooled down.  There was some good climbing heading up and around The Twins which are just over 7000 ft.  The course then descended to The Twins aid station again and this time I sat and ate for a while   I needed something to get me going.  And they had popsicles!!  My new favorite race day treat.  Next stop, Gold Lake aid station.  The section to Gold Lake was slow but steady.  I was maintaining with some surges of energy from time to time and then loss of energy.  I arrived at Gold Lake and knew it would be an 8 mile uphill to Maiden Peak.  This was part of the re-route of the course.  Gold Lake was the lowest elevation of the course at 6600’ and Maiden Peak was the highest elevation at 7818’.  Usually I enjoy these climbs and can maintain a good steady pace but today would be another story.  I got some good food in and refueled the water bottle and off I went looking forward to summiting Maiden Peak.  About 50 feet from the aid station I took a sip from my water bottle.  The s-cap I poured in the drink must have been sitting on top of the ice cubes and I got a full mouthful of that.  Within seconds my stomach turned and I was on the side of the trail puking out all the food I just ate and then some.  It hurt and more to come too.  As soon as I could stand up straight I moved ahead slowly.  Not good.  This has become an all too familiar pattern.  So onward I went, slow and unsteady.  I couldn’t drink either as that made me nauseous too.  My pace really slowed down.  After about 4 or 5 miles there was a small aid station before the final ascent to the summit and I tried to suck on some jelly beans, not happening.  The final ascent was steep and at one point I had to sit down on a log as I was starting to get dizzy from lack of food and water.  When I did get to the summit I looked for a place to lie down and wanted to take a nap but it was too rocky so I just sat for a while and re-grouped.  The views were awesome so I took advantage of the situation.  I chatted with some other folks and hung out for probably 10 minutes.  From the summit it would be an 8 mile downhill to the finish.  Coming off the summit was the Leap of Faith, a steep technical downhill that normally I would love.  I was like a snail.

Heading down the
Leap of Faith

Between the final ascent and the downhill, numerous runners were going by.  I arrived at the final aid station, Maiden Lakes and tried again to eat.  I grabbed some food and a coke.  After one bite, I was on the side of the trail again purging what was left in me.  The volunteers at the aid station were wonderful, bringing me a wet rag and wanted to help more.  I sat down on a log for a while and regrouped once again.  Unlike Tahoe, I wasn't going to quit today.  I had plenty of time to finish and was going to finish.  The downhill to the finish took me about twice as long as it should have.  I even got passed by the guy who swam in all 6 lakes to win the Wet Waldo award but I must have passed him during his last swim.  With about 2 miles to go I saw my rock pagodas, a happy sight!  I finally finished with a time of 13:43:13 and in 25th place overall.  Not a pretty picture but I got’r done :)  Afterwards I went back to the tent and crashed for a couple of hours and then returned to eat.  All was fine.

Jack and Meghan at the Finish

The Gear:  Pearl Izumi Trail II shoes were awesome as usual as were the Drymax socks.  If only the rest of my body felt as good as my feet.  And the Headsweats Ultra Race Cap kept the hot sun off my head.  Thanks!
















ON THE ROAD TO BEND

I woke the next day and thanks to some local traveling advice from Doug, I was on my way to Bend, Oregon, a place I've wanted to visit for years and was even thinking this could be a place to relocate to.

Devil's Lake

The road to Bend along the scenic highway went from forest land to old volcanic fields to more desert like conditions.

Mt. Bachelor

Snow still on Mt. Bachelor.










Arriving in Bend I was able to get in a run through downtown and along the Deschutes River, a popular spot for tubing.

Deschutes River

Nightlife in Bend includes numerous local breweries which I had a chance to visit a few.

Downtown Bend

Back to Eugene the next day.  More incredible views along the way.

Three Sisters and Broken Top

I drove another scenic highway and was amazed at the lava fields.  This road cut right through the Sea of Lava which was miles and miles of old volcanic activity.

Sea of Lava

Soon I was back in Eugene and had a couple of places to visit on my list.  The legendary Pre's Trail was a must see.  I had enough time before flying out to get in a run.

Pre's Trail in Eugene

And then I had to see Hayward Field, another historic site.  From Pre's Trail I found my way to historic Hayward Field.  It was an awesome site.  I felt the need to go run on it, even being a trail guy.  When I got to the entrance it was locked shut.

Hayward Field Entrance

With my adventurous ways I decided to run around and eventually found the "back door".  I had the whole track to myself.  I did a warm up lap and then ran a mile just because I felt the need.  Even after just running a 100K plus I was inspired enough to put in a sub 7 minute mile.

And so goes Oregon.... another adventure in the books.




and then, A QUICK VISIT TO MINNESOTA

A couple of weeks after returning home from Oregon I was on another journey to the Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Run in Minnesota but his time crewing and pacing for Ryan Welts and Kristina Folcik.  I also dragged Serena along to help pace Kristina.  Ryan had an incredible race finishing 3rd overall and posting the 6th fastest time on that course.  Kristina had a come from behind win for the ladies and set a new course record.  Congrats to Ryan and Kristina!!!

AND BEYOND

Now I get my well deserved break from my own racing and can focus on another adventure.  This fall I'm the assistant XC coach at South Burlington High School for the women's cross country team working with 20+ talented ladies.  Go Rebels!

To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.

Steve Prefontaine

You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. 

It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.

Steve Prefontaine

Tahoe Rim Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run, 2012

AND BEYOND !

Tahoe Rim Trail

This past weekend's run of the Tahoe Rim 100 was awesome... yet disappointing.  My race expectations were somewhat diminished with some troubled times on the trail, but I met some great folks and had the chance to see some incredible views and run some fabulous trails along the Tahoe Rim Trail in Nevada.

I first decided to sign up for this race some late night on the computer during the early winter months.  I had run, paced and crewed at the VT 100 every year since 2005 which was the same weekend but this year I was looking for a change of scenery.  The views from the Tahoe Rim Trail looked incredible so I went on-line to sign up .....only to be put on a waiting list.  It seemed like for months I wasn't moving along much on the wait list and then all of a sudden in February I received an email saying I was accepted!!  I was psyched, new race, new scenery.  I had been to the California/Tahoe area in 2006 for Western States but never explored the Nevada side.

Leading up to the TRT 100 I had a number of other races ranging from 5k's to 100 milers that I had run this year.  I had some good mileage under me and was working hard on heat training for the possible hot desert like conditions which I saw in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 2006.  I felt good overall.  Looking at the long range forecast it was calling for temps near 90 and sunny down in Carson but I figured it would be a bit cooler in the mountains.

The alarm clock was set for 3:00 AM that Wednesday morning to get on the 5:18 AM flight out of Burlington.  But at 2:30 AM I was woken up by a phone call.  It was United telling me one of my flights had been cancelled.  A great way to start the trip!  Luckily I had some time in between flights and rescheduling the middle flight was not a huge problem.  Flying to Reno is no easy chore as it took 4 airports and 15 hours of flying time.  But with the change of time going west I arrived in Reno by 5:00 PM and had time to check in at the motel and get in a quick run.   I found a room just a mile north of downtown Carson City which was perfect.  Quiet room, air conditioning, refrigerator and free breakfast! As soon as I arrived I scoped out some hills to run off Goni Road, BLM land which was a 4 wheelers paradise.

Goni Road Hills

It was sort of like running up the Toll Road at Stowe but dry desert like conditions.  I saw some horses on the hillside which I learned later on were probably wild Mustangs.  I ran up for about 30 minutes reaching about 7000 feet in elevation and could see the sun starting to set so I turned around and headed back down. 




Thursday morning I decided to find part of the TRT 100 course to check out.  I drove past Spooner Summit near the start finish and continued north along Rt. 28 to Diamond Peak Ski Area on the north end of Lake Tahoe.  This section of the course had the steepest climb going up to 8500 feet in elevation.  I figured this would be good to see how I would do in the altitude.  The course ranged in elevation from 6,600 ft. to somewhere just over 9,000 ft.  Usually I'm good to around 10,000 feet or so and that seemed to be the case here.  It took about 40 minutes to climb up this sandy service road which rose about 1800 feet in elevation over about 2 miles.  About half way up were some letters written in the sand in orange, OMG! it said.  Then a little while later, orange letters again, WTF!!  I chuckled.

Diamond Peak Climb

I hung out on top for a bit trying to acclimate.  It was overcast and drizzling slightly but I found an open hut on top to hang out in. After about 15 minutes I had enough and decided to head down.  As soon as I started I ran into Deb from Seattle, also running the TRT 100.  So we had a good chat while running down together.

Friday I decided to hit the Spooner Summit area of the TRT 100.  I ran north from the trail head up for a couple miles to try to get some more altitude training in.  The trail head is at around 7100 feet so I figured I probably got up to about 8,000 feet.  I found a nice place to hang out on some rocks with fabulous views looking towards the east.

Later that day it was time for race check-in.  I quickly signed in and headed back to the room to prepare my drop bags which needed to be back at check-in a couple of hours later.  I had an idea of what I needed earlier and spend a bit of time the night before but needed to really understand drop bag areas and what they had for drinks and food.  This course was also a 2 loop course which makes it a little easier to figure drop bags and one of the aid stations you visit 6 times during the race so that would be ideal for most of the needed items.  I prepared a small bag for the 50 mile station with some extra socks, electrolyte pills and GU Brew drink mix.  But the Tunnel Creek bag had way more provisions including extra shoes, lights and night clothing.  I had it all calculated out where I could hit a drop bag about every 17 +/- miles.  I also calculated splits on when I would be at each station based on previous runners and results.  I was organized this time, (unlike at MMT where I was totally unprepared) and ready to run!  Also on course they had S-caps and Succeed Ultra drink so no fear of running out of electrolytes.  Just before the pre-race meeting I dropped off my bags, afterwards a quick pre-race briefing and off for dinner.  For those unfamiliar with Carson City, you can find all the Mexican and Asian food that you want but Italian food is rare.  The only place I found was an Olive Garden, luckily they had that which was fine.

Start/Finish Area

Race Morning:  I woke up about 3:00 AM and had a quick bite to eat, grabbed my gear which included my almost brand new electric blue Pearl Izumi Trail II shoes, new Pearl Infinity LD shorts with extra pockets and white singlet.   I figured with the higher elevation sun and dry conditions, a white singlet would protect me from the sun instead of running shirtless, at least to start.  I also sported the Headsweats Super Duty Race Cap for protection from the sun's rays. 

Pearl Izumi Tail II shoes with Drymax socks, the perfect combo!

I arrived just after 4:00 AM at the race start parking and had to get a quick shuttle to the Spooner Lake Recreation Area where the start/finish was.  It was cool waiting at the start but luckily I had some extra layers on.  By 5:00 AM it was time to go.  The start was at the tree and off we went.  I didn't recognize really any one except for maybe Matt Hart.  Once we started I heard the runners talking so knew it was him.  Everyone else was foreign to me which is kind of fun.  The first mile you go out on a mostly flat dirt road and then hit the single track.  I was in a pack of about 10 guys cruising along at a decent but not too fast pace.  The trail was gradually going up but not too steep so most was quite runnable.  I did have a headlamp on but most of those around me didn't.  I'm glad I did have it for those few rocks under foot.

Running through the Aspen Groves

The first aid station, Hobart, would be at mile 6.  We arrived there in about 1 hour, right on schedule.  All the aid stations on course were fabulous, some of the best I've seen.  I wasn't needing much so just topped off the bottle, grabbed a quick snack and on I went.  I think I was running in 3rd at that point.  Jon Robinson had taken off and was leading.  Matt and I had been going back and forth a bit but were close by and Victor Ballesteros was close by too.  Next up was the Tunnel Creek Aid Station, 5 miles ahead.  Once out of Hobart we started climbing in elevation and the views suddenly opened up.

Marlette Lake

This was why I was there, VIEWS!  We continued to climb but nothing too steep.  The trails were buffed out compared to the typical east coast standards of rocks and roots.  But there was a lot of fine grit and sand to get in your shoes.  Soon we arrived at Tunnel Creek, just under 2 hours and again right on schedule.  Jon was far ahead and Matt was just in front of me.  I didn't see anyone else behind but knew they weren't far behind.  I did a quick stop at the aid station and dropped off my light and refueled with some Ultra drink to check it out.  The next 3 miles would be a downhill to I think the lowest point of the course and then 3 miles back up to Tunnel Creek.  I knew Matt was fast on the downhill so I let him go.  Typical me, with the short legs I don't get the turnover on the downs although I can hold my own, but it's the long uphills were I typically excel over time.  At the bottom of this loop was the Red House Aid Station and the only water/mud to be found on the entire course which was minimal.

Red House Aid Station site

Coming out of Red House, Aaron caught up and we ran together out of the loop.  Near the end we also caught back up with Matt and Jon was still out of site ahead.  We returned to Tunnel Creek and this time I grabbed my drop bag and reloaded with electrolyte pills and GU and a refreshing of Body Glide.  It was starting to get warm now too so I ditched my shirt.   I also grabbed another hand held bottle trying to be smart for once.  After a short 3 mile climb to the Bull Wheel Aid Station there would be a longer 9 mile stretch without any aid stations.  So I would have 44 ounces of fluid for that stretch.

It was another gradual climb out of Tunnel Creek and then rolling along to Bull Wheel but short.  The views opened up even more, spectacular all along the ridge.  Bull Wheel was a quick in and out station mainly to top off the fluids then it was some more up but a lot of gradual rolling though the higher elevations of the course.  After a few miles of that it became a long section of fun single track heading down through the woods.  Awesome mountain bike trails through this section with banked turns and fun downhills.  And the trails were so soft on the feet even with 4+ miles of descending.  Finally I could see the Tyrolean Village of Diamond Peak and before long I pulled into the Diamond Peak Aid Station, mile 30.  Jon, Matt and Aaron were long gone and Victor was just behind at this point.  I topped off, got some food to eat and headed up the 2 mile steep climb that I had visited a couple days earlier.  I kept a slow but steady pace and just continued upwards knowing it would be about a 40 minute climb so no surprises.  OMG and WTF were still there in the sand on the climb.

Diamond Peak Climb

Near the top, Victor was right there with me.  From there it was a minute or 2 down to the Bull Wheel Aid Station again to top off and go.  Tunnel Creek wasn't far from there and would be another drop bag stop so no need to stop for long at Bull Wheel.  It was definitely getting warm in the sun so I had backed off a bit and was just doing my own thing and totally enjoying the scenery.  At some point Victor had gone by too.  What I discovered was that the views heading back or south from Bull Wheel were even more spectacular than going north earlier.  The entire panorama of Lake Tahoe and the High Sierra's was right there in full view.






Shortly I was back at Tunnel Creek, mile 34 or so and running in 5th place.  I got rid of my extra water bottle, refueled, ate some solid food, filled my Headsweats hat with ice to keep the core cooler and off I went.  I was also making sure I had an s-cap every hour now with the warmer temps.    Initially I was ok every 1 1/2 hours but then I resumed my 1/hour schedule.  I was having difficulties swallowing those but was getting it done, barely.   Lately the act of swallowing has been setting off a gag reflex which has in turn flipped my stomach into severe convulsions and the last attempt had started some of that.  Too early for that and too far to go!  Next up was Hobart Aid Station again.   At Hobart they had a bar which I refrained from but they also had the best banana/strawberry/ensure smoothies.  That looked perfect so I enjoyed a cold smoothie and immediately got an ice cream headache.  It was worth it!  After that it was a good climb up to the Snow Valley Aid Station, the high point of the course somewhere around 9,100 feet.  Coming into Snow Valley were some of the most spectacular views of the course with high alpine meadows and full views of the lake and mountains.  This is what it's all about.  I was totally enjoying the run!

Views from Snow Valley Peak

Arriving at Snow Valley I knew it was time for another electrolyte pill but thought I would try another way to get'r down.  They had this great watermelon there so I opened the pill up and spread it on the watermelon.  Not the best tasting but it worked, for the moment.  I was able to fool the brain but I knew it wouldn't fool it again that way.  Onward ho, the views just kept coming.

More views from Snow Valley Peak

It was mostly all downhill and rolling for the next hour plus.  Once out of the alpine zone I was back in the trees running on soft switchbacks through the large pine groves.  On this side of the mountain there was no mountain breeze and the sun was baking the trails to a point where it was like running through a furnace where the sun was shining through.  By mile 48 I looked at my watch and knew it was time to attempt another electrolyte pill.  If not, I stood the chance of major cramping which I've had way too much experience with.  But this time I thought I would try another way.  So I opened up the pill and poured it in my mouth.  Not so bad I thought and then took a drink to wash it down.  NOT GOOD!  I felt like a humped over dog who just choked on a bone.  Immediately I hunched over and puked.  Oh that so sucked!  After a few more bouts of hurling I put myself back together and started running again.  Just 1.5 miles to the start/finish 50 mile aid station.  Just around the corner I passed Victor.  I guess he was having similar issues and wasn't looking so good.  I kept moving along and got in to the 50 mile aid station in about 9 hours and 22 minutes, right on schedule and was still upbeat.  I weighed in and had lost almost 6 pounds since the start, which for me is not bad but I also knew I had to start eating more.  I grabbed my drop bag and replenished my electrolyte pills (not sure why since I couldn't swallow them) some fresh GU gels, a re coating of Body Glide and then munched on some great treats at the aid station.  The highlight was the Popsicle!  Nothing like a Popsicle on a hot day :)  With some additional food in hand, I was on track again.  The stomach was not feeling great and the heat of the day was upon me so I figured I would take the next mile slowly, eating and regrouping until I hit the single track trail again.  In the sun it was HOT but in the shade, not as bad.  Still the movement was slow.  As I hit the single track moving any faster was not happening for any long periods of time.  I was unable to ingest any fluids as the stomach was totally out of whack at this point.  So I resorted to doing the walk/run mode.  I was also dizzy and looking for a potential place to stop off trail to take a quick nap.  I think the loss of electrolytes due to evaporation and puking was taking it's toll on me.  I needed fluid and carbs soon but kept moving forward.  So the trip up to the Hobart Aid Station was a long one.  At one point I thought of retreating back to the mile 50 aid station to end it but then again I thought, no I can't do that.  My next goal was Hobart where I knew they had some incredible smoothies.  Basically I walked with a few bouts of running.  I found a rusty stream at one point and stopped to stick my face in to cool down a bit and yes, it felt great.  Finally I arrived at Hobart, beat up and in another world.  I immediately found a seat under the tent and ordered up a smoothie.  The devil was running wild at Hobart so I had to watch out.

The Devil

Also it was the "Taste of Hell" as the sign boasted, another red flag!  I thought of bailing out here but then thought that I could at least make it another 5 miles to Tunnel Creek and see how it goes.  I had some food in, but will it stay??

A Taste Of Hell

So after about 20-30 minutes of sucking down a couple of smoothies and some sprite I attempted to get up and go.  Already a number of 100 milers had gone by which was discouraging... but that's the way it goes. So I refilled my water bottle and off I went.  As I was leaving an angel appeared.  But it was only a disguise.  It was really the Devil.

The Devil in disguise

So onward I went, up the trail towards Tunnel Creek.  I couldn't have been a 100 feet up the trail when the real angel appeared.  I heard a voice from behind asking, "You don't have a pacer either?"  I looked back and there she was, the real angel, Sofia from Argentina.  She didn't have a pacer or any crew and wanted to run with me.   I thanked the Gods above for this and let Sofia take charge and I followed behind:)

Sofia, my real angel leading the way.

Sofia had done a lot of running in Argentina but not much in the states.  We chatted a bit and I found out she had a longer flight than me, nearly 24 hours to get there.  She was determined to finish this race and was doing great.  I hung behind climbing the hills and enjoying all the scenery as we crested the ridge to see the views of Lake Tahoe and beyond.  I found I could climb the hills fine but the downhills were hurting my stomach which was just a mess at this point and I had to back off.  Slowly my angel disappeared and was gone. I was alone again in pain.  The rest of the trip was long to Tunnel Creek.  With about 2 miles to go I came across John from Canada who was also having a bad day due to sore knees and lack of training.  He was still on lap one but had decided to backtrack to Tunnel Creek to bail out.  We chatted a bit and he gave me some ginger to settle my stomach.  I figured anything would be better than the way it was so I ate some ginger candies.  This sort of backfired and came back to haunt me about a mile before Tunnel Creek.  All of a sudden the stomach erupted and I found myself hunched over again.  It was painful with the burning sensation of ginger coming back.  Sorry but that's how it was.  At that point I was ready to throw in the towel.  I spent some time on the side of the trail emptying my stomach and then moved on.  Finally I arrived at Tunnel Creek, mile 61.5 at around 6:30 PM.  That last section from the 50 mile aid station to Tunnel Creek took me over 4 hours averaging a 23:11 pace.  The first time around it took me under 2 hours averaging a 10:36 pace.  I was doing the math in my head and was totally discouraged.  I sat down and convinced myself I was done.  Some of the aid station volunteers tried to get me going but I was mentally down and out.  For me, the suffer fest was over.  I took the easy route and bailed, DNF, my first ever in a 100 miler.  It sucked but I was convinced at the time it was the right thing to do.  Dropping out and physically getting out of Tunnel Creek was no easy task either which I didn't realize until later.  So I hung out for 4 hours waiting for a ride out.  Meanwhile I had a half a beer, took a nap and was eating again after 2 hours, delicious grilled cheese sandwiches.  The next 2 hours I was watching other runners coming through and helping when I could.  I continued to eat, especially the hot quesadillas off the grill and hot tea which was just what the stomach needed.  So why wasn't I back on trail running?  Mentally I was done but why was I such a quitter?  Never done that before.  Finally the truck had enough passengers to get out  and I found out why it took so long.  The jeep trail out was a 3 mile adventure in itself.  We piled into a jacked up pickup and ventured down which took 25 minutes of maneuvering a steep downhill trail full of rocks, sometimes bottoming out.  Once we got to the road it was another 15 minutes to my car.  Finally I got back to the room around midnight.  I drank lots of fluids and off to bed.  

Duane Bliss Peak at 8658 ft.

I didn't sleep great and was up early.  I had a quick breakfast and was off to go run/hike on the Tahoe Rim Trail, south of Spooner Summit this time.  I cruised up for 2+ miles then ventured off to bushwack up some other peak, the Duane Bliss Peak at 8658 feet.  It was late morning and all I could think of was that runners were still on course, so why wasn't I?

Lake Tahoe

Afterwards I drove down to Lake Tahoe and went for a swim.  The water was so refreshing and clean!  I opened up my eyes under water and it was like being in a swimming pool, the water was that clear.  Again, I was thinking runners were still coming in.  In the end Matt Hart took the win finishing in 19 hours 14 minutes followed by Aaron Heidt in his first 100 miler and Jon Robinson.  For the women Claire Walton finished first in 21 hours 46 minutes followed by Candice Burt and Jenelle Potvin.


Final results for the TRT 100 are posted here.


That night I celebrated my wonderful race success with some great local Mexican food and a visit with Jose Cuervo :)  The next morning I was up, packed and out the door to go run up Mt. Rose before departing from Reno later that afternoon.  While I was in the lobby checking out I met up with another runner who had successfully completed the Tahoe Rim 100 in 33+ hours.  Pushpa was absolutely thrilled with her accomplishment in her first 100 mile attempt and rightly so.  At that point I felt like such a looser.

Alpine Meadows

I arrived at the parking lot for Mt. Rose and met up with a young trail stud who had just come off the summit.  I asked how long it took and he boasted about it being his fastest time ever, 2 hours to do the 10.6 mile round trip. The hiking guide books claimed it was a 6 hour trip unless you were in good shape, then maybe 4 hours.  Needing to be at the airport around 4 PM I was a bit concerned.  Mt Rose summits at 10,775 feet with the first half of the trail following along rolling alpine meadows and then climbs steeply to the summit.  Anyway, I grabbed two bottles of water and off I went.  The rolling trails were amazing through the alpine meadows with lush wild flowers everywhere.  Once on the uphill climb the big black clouds appeared with thunderheads.  With about a mile to go I heard thunder and the big black fingers coming off the thunderheads were rather close.  I was completely above tree line with no place to hide.  All I could think of was my old saying, "It's all about fate", if it's your time to go, then so be it.  So I continued. 

Thunderheads on top of Mt. Rose, 10,775 ft.

I guess it wasn't my time yet as the clouds parted on top and went east and west.  I arrived on top in 1 hour and 8 minutes.  After a little snack I was gone and headed back down.  The rain kicked in a little and it actually felt good and the flowers along the way were just amazing.  I had to stop to "smell the roses" and take pictures a number of times.  Soon I was back to the car and checked my run time, 1 hour and 57 minutes, hmm, faster than the young buck.  But I bailed out of a 100 miler because I didn't feel good??? That was a problem.  


On the way back to the airport I had a little bit of time left so I hit the Grand Sierra Resort Casino to make my fortune.

Grand Sierra Resort Casino

Being such a gambler I first tried out a big $1.00 doing the 5 cent black jack.  I lost that quickly but figured out what to do.  So I invested another $5.  I worked on that for about 30 minutes first at the 5 cent level, then graduated to 10 cents then to 25 cents a hand.  As time was clicking away, I decided to go for broke, all or nothing.  It was nothing in the end.  I lost all of that $5.  Did I say I wasn't a big gambler?




It was a long flight home, starting around 5:00 PM in Reno on Monday.  My plan to have a couple of late night cocktails prior to boarding my 11:30 PM flight from San Francisco to Newark so I could sleep backfired as all the restaurants in the San Francisco airport closed at 10 PM so I was wired for the flight back and barely slept. I finally arrived home in VT around 2:00 PM the next day.  Just in time to unpack and head off to the Catamount Tuesday night 5k trail races on 2 hours of sleep.  So Tuesday night, trail races, Wednesday night the mountain bike races.  And more trail running on Thursday night.   All this post race activity really bugged me.  Here I am running and riding like I never raced yet I couldn't tough it out to finish a race I started.  So I had some very low points, but I also had plenty of time to make adjustments, take a nap and eat.  I wimped out, big!  The real hero's are the ones who stuck it out and finished or put in their best effort to finish even if they ran out of time.  Congrats to all those runners!!  I had over 21 hours to complete 38 miles but I gave up.  At that rate, I could have crawled on my belly to finish in time.  If the second lap took twice as long as the first, I would have finished in 28.5 hours, still well below the 35 hour limit. This DNF really hit hard the more I thought about it.  No more of this quitting!  I run to have fun.  It's where I find peace of mind and tranquility.  If I place well in a race, that's just a bonus but I'm there to run through the woods, look at incredible views and share experiences with those who enjoy the same.  That's why I run!   


And congrats to all those you ran the VT 100 the same weekend!  VT 100 final results can be found here.

“Life's real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up.”

FINGER LAKES 50 MILE 2012 RACE REPORT

Hector, NY July 30, 2012


The weekend of June 30th I returned to run the Finger Lakes 50 Mile Trail Run.  A race I discovered by accident in 2007 and have been returning ever since.  The RD Chris Reynolds and her husband Joe put on a fabulous race every year.  This year it was held a bit earlier than usual, on June 30, 2012 which was right on for my summer racing schedule.

Joe and Chris at the Start Line

This year for the first time I was on the waiting list for the Finger Lakes 50.  The sign of the times, register early and plan ahead.  Not so easy to do in the middle of the winter but a necessity these days.  With about a month to go, I finally made the list of runners.  As usual, this 50 miler is a trainer for an upcoming 100 miler 2-3 weeks later.  This year it's a prep for the Tahoe Rim 100 to be held on July 21st.

Preparation for the race this year was not the best.  Yes I had the running miles in but sometimes I take for granted the 50 mile distance.  For the 2 weeks leading up to the race I was involved in some remodeling doing roof demolition and installation in the 90 degree hot temps.  Thursday before the race I was on a roof for 8 hours in the hot sun and limped off the roof, only to go home to try to get some miles in.  So it goes.  Friday was the long drive (6 hours) to the Finger Lakes which got me there by nightfall.  Plenty of time to sleep although I chatted with some of the other racers and volunteers until late into the night as I was still wired from the drive.  I had a great night sleep although short, sleeping in Hotel Ford and was up by 5:00 AM to appreciate the fine dining at race registration.  I quickly got my race gear ready, my drop bag organized for the loop and before you knew it, it was time to run.

The Start

At the start line I didn't recognize too many runners but figured I would meet them as we dashed down the road.  And so I did.  By the time we entered the trail, I was in front with Jeff Powers and Mark Manz following along.  Shortly into the trail section I stumbled and Jeff and Mark took over the  lead which was fine with me.  I much rather follow than lead at this point in the race.  So for most of the first lap it was the three of us cruising along.  The trails were in great shape, dryer than usual.  The single track was fun to run, nothing that technical.  No issues with cows either this year with most of the field gates wide open so no issues with opening and closing of the gates or herds of bulls running through the fields.

Running behind Jeff and Mark in one of the cow meadows.

I would let Jeff and Mark get away on the wide open stretches but would catch them on more technical downhills or at aid stations as I had enough provisions to bypass the aid stations.  Near the end of the first loop I was looking at the times and figured we were going out way too fast for a 50 miler, especially with the heat, and decided to back off a bit.  In my mind I knew each lap would get slower with the day getting warmer and in order to get in at a reasonable time, it was time to back off.  Arriving back at the start/finish after lap one, I was about 2 minutes behind Jeff and Mark.  I was fine with that and was now just running my own race.  The second lap I was pretty much on my own.  I refueled at the beginning of the Loop with fresh GU Brew, GU gels and a refreshing of Body Glide and electrolyte pills and continued on.  Lap 2 was starting to heat up some but not too bad.  In trying to keep up on my electrolytes, I was having a hard time swallowing my electrolyte pills.  I was trying a new kind which were much larger.  As it was, I usually develop a gag reflex at some point with the smaller pills but with these new larger pills I was developing the gag reflex much earlier.  By the middle of the second lap, I was in serious trouble swallowing the electrolyte pills.  And by attempting to swallow them, I had become nauseous.  Not a good thing.  I was still able to hold down some coke at the aid stations and gels but the stomach was really starting to swell and hurt.

A quiet day for the cows.

I made it through the second lap way slower than lap one not feeling good and was seriously thinking about bailing out after the 50K distance, which is perfectly legal in this race.  I had even justified running more miles on Sunday to get in my weekly miles but then thought, how can I run a 100 miler 3 weeks later if I can't even run a 50 miler now??  Plus the other 2 guys ahead of me had dropped at 50K leaving me in the lead.  So no way could I just quit now.  I had to keep moving forward hoping no one else would pursue and push ahead.

The Trails were in great shape this year.  Zsuzsanna running along.

Lap 3 was really starting to heat up with temps nearing 90 degrees.  I was running alone and it wasn't long before the stomach fully erupted.  I had attempted to down another electrolyte pill and that was all that was needed.  It didn't go down and now I was in puke mode.  Not just dry heaves either but the full on AJ puke fest.  Lovely!  The only positive was afterwards I felt much better and could run again.  I thought about Jeff and Mark and cursed them out for bailing at 50K thinking I would have been happy to do that if they hadn't.  For lap 3 it became the run/walk/puke for 3 hours, almost an hour slower than lap one.  I tried many times to eat and drink but was unsuccessful.  And further attempts to swallow electrolyte pills only caused further eruptions.  So I was on my own, running in a fog.  I even tried to fool the brain by swishing liquid in my mouth and spitting it out but it didn't work.  

Zeke enjoying the trails.

Finally I arrived at the start finish after lap 3 and only had the 1/2 mile "baby loop" to run.  I even did the run/walk here.  I didn't see anyone nearby so figured why not.  I went by the pond again, thinking about a swim but managed to motivate myself to the finish line to end this misery.  As soon as I crossed the line, the stars had come out but it was still day light.  I quickly found a nice spot to lie down before I was involuntarily placed there.  This was good!  After a short rest and some liquid I went back to the pond for a cool down swim which felt great!  So the win this day was not pretty and came down to me outlasting the competition.  Not the best approach to take but for this year it seemed to work.

Dead body pose at the finish,  I do it well!

This was another good learning experience for me.  Don't take 50 milers for granted, especially when the temps are getting towards the 90's.  And get my electrolytes and nutrition back on track.

The heat of the day caused many 50 milers to drop down to 50K but there were still some great results especially for the women.  Laura Swift can in as first 50 mile woman of the day and 2nd overall setting a new course record on the newer course.  And 2nd woman, third overall was Jamie Kyei-Frimpong.  First master male was John Fegyveresi who will be running Badwater this year.  And first master woman was Nancy Kleinrock finishing 5th overall with a new masters course record as well.  Full results can be found  here.

Jack with Laura and Jamie.

There was a funny article in the Ithaca Journal regarding this race:

  Finger Lakes 50s: Running into all kinds of interesting people

Raramuri -- the Running People. Christopher McDougall's book,

"Born to Run" tells the fascinating story of Mexico's canyon dwellers

who run hundreds of miles as a way of life. I've never surpassed 26.2

miles and have only ventured as far into Mexico as the mountains of

Rumorosa. So why are the Raramuri dwelling in my mind?

Blame it on the Finger Lakes Fifties, held in Hector's National Forest.

Blame it on 54-year-old Jack Pilla from Vermont, whose 7:55 50-mile

championship has me ruminating. At the finish line, Pilla sprawled on

the ground with closed eyes and a smile. Crinkly lined blue eyes

opened as friends harassed him: "showing your age, Jack?" From the

ground he murmured, "That was an ugly win."

The 50 Mile Award and a Growler of Beer :)

My shoes and socks clearly outlasted me on this day.  

The Pearl Izumi Trail II's were awesome as well as the Drymax socks. 
The Headsweats Super Duty Cap was great for fending off those pesky deer flies.

The Gear

I was pretty much toast after the race, much more than usual.  Totally dehydrated and lacking other nutrients in my body.  It would take hours before I could get some solid food down and get my head back on straight.  While driving home after the race I discovered an ice cream shop that had lemonade slushies, excellent recovery drink!  Later on in Oneonta I was able to get down a couple of slices of plain cheese pizza.  A couple hours later, an ice cream shake was the ticket.  By the time I got home, all was feeling much better.

Next up, July 21st, Tahoe Rim 100 in Nevada :)

“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on 

after others have let go.”