Sunday, June 20, 2010

Bighorn 100 Pacer report





(All photos Marge Norrander)

I had the honor of pacing Erik the last 52 miles of the Bighorn 100 this weekend. Erik finished 6th place overall in a time of 22:18. Mike Wolfe took first place and also set a new course record of 18:43. The course had a little snow but lots of mud and plenty of loose rocks to make sure you kept your eyes on the trail in front of you, which was hard with all the amazing scenery the Bighorn course had to offer.

This was a tough 100 for Erik, a very large blister had developed on his left heel 4 miles into the race which made climbing very painfull and the wet and muddy sections only added insult to injury. He was also dealing with very sore knees and hips even at the halfway mark. We didn't talk much after the first couple of hours and I didn't try to push him to much just kept him moving through aid stations and helping him anywhere I could. I could tell Erik was fighting internal thoughts of doubt that all 100 mile racers go through at one time or another. You know the questions, why do these races, what's the point, these 100s hurt to dam much. Not to be to dramatic or overly sentimental but I think we will find the answers to those questions as time passes and we remember the great moments overwhelmed at the time by the pain and struggle. For me those moments during this race was stopping for a minute and turning off the lights and looking at the brilliant Wyoming night sky, or running a amazing single track trail along the fast moving Tongue river with a good friend feeling terrible but loving every second of it.

7 comments:

Erik said...

Greg-
Thanks again for making the trek up to pace me. Marge was awesome at the aid stations and you pulled and pushed just when I needed it. I'd still be sitting at some aid station sipping a cup of noodles if you hadn't been there. Thanks again!!

peter said...

Congrats Erik! 96 miles on a blistered foot is no small feat. Have a quick recovery!

peter said...

Congrats Erik! 96 miles on a blistered foot is no small feat. Have a quick recovery!

Jay said...

Erik - I got a blister at the Steeplechase and had to sit down and cry. No idea how you sucked it up for 96 miles. Some day I want to be tough like you.... Congrats on an excellent run under rough and blistered conditions!

Christian said...

Way to go Erik! Nice reporting and pacing Greg. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

Scott Dickey said...

Erik,

Nice run despite the blister problems. What do you think caused that to happen so quickly?

mj said...

Nice work Erik.