Pocatello 50 Mile Race Report (Christian)

There were many other titles I had in mind for this post such as "The good times are killing me" or "When you find yourself in hole - stop digging" and my favorite, "I can't fight this feeling anymore", but I decided to keep it simple for future reference and use these for the section titles instead.

Part I - The good times are killing me...

Arriving at the start I was really excited to start the race. My fitness level was higher than it had been the year before and I was confident I would have a good day. The added bonus was that it was the first time all five of MRC'rs would be in the same race together.

L-R, Jay, Christian, Peter, Greg (Erik was taking care of business) Photo: Darcie Gorman

Greg, Peter and Jay with the rainbow in the background.  Photo: Darcie Gorman 

As RD's Jared Campbell and Ryan McDermott sent us on our way there was a bit of thunder clap from a small storm passing by. I secretly wished for some rain to cool things down since it was already feeling quite warm. The mood felt quite serious up in the front group but no one was willing to really take charge and set the pace. Jay finally took the lead on to the singletrack and set a comfortable pace on first climb of the day. Within a couple miles the group was down to seven; Meltzer, Jay, Justin Yates, Matt Hart, Andy Dorais, myself and a guy from out of town named Craig.
The early miles felt very easy and struck up a conversation with Andy before we hit the first aid station. The group was still mostly together as we started the ridge climb with the exception of Justin who pulled out a slight lead. Once I hit the steep part of the climb I felt great and just tapped out a nice cadence that moved me up through the group. Near the top I felt an extremely sharp pain on my left foot and immediately thought I had been bit by snake. Turns out it was a cactus I had brushed by and the needles were sticking out of the shoe. I stopped to pull the needles out while cursing under my breath and then took off to catch back up to the group. The pain was still there and required a full stop with shoe and sock coming off. All I could think of was the time I was losing to everyone else, all 4 or 5 minutes, and how this stupid cactus was screwing up my perfect race. Well, in a sense it did because I started to push all the way from the ridge, through the City Creek aid station and up the next climb where I regained 4th place passing Andy and Craig at the top.

Part II - When you find yourself in a hole - stop digging. 

Next up was the cruiser descent to Midnight Creek at mile 25. I continued to reel in 50k runners and took note of how wet my arms looked from perspiration. The plan was to put down some solids at the aid station but I sort of forgot and had a cup of coke instead. The next climb didn't feel particularly hard but I certainly didn't have as much pep in my legs. I chalked it up to having already run 25+ miles. The section from the top of this little climb to the aid station is not very steep in sections so it requires a bit of effort to keep the pace up and that's exactly what I did. Somewhere through here I remember a small pain developing in abdomen area on the right side and being rather perplexed by it. I was about 2 miles out of the aid station when Joelle Vaught caught up to me followed by Erik. My thought at this point was to let them go and save something for the next big climb. We all entered the aid station within a minute of each other and Marge (Greg's wife) had me in and out in no time at all (Thanks Marge, you were awesome!). I took a red bull with me and drank most of it while Ben Lewis walked with me for a bit.

The beginning of this climb is very runnable and even though the pain was getting worse in my side I made myself a deal to run for 9 minutes and walk for 1. That worked for 3 intervals as I kept Erik in sight. The pain continued to get worse and became intolerable whenever I would try and run. Before long Greg passed me, who I was really stoked to see having such a great race, then Matt caught up to me as we came through the Scout aid station. I watched them both run away as I realized I was getting myself into trouble. I forced down some gel and continued to drink as I felt no nausea whatsoever. However, my energy was extremely low and every time I tried to jog the knife would jab me hard in the side.

Part III - I can't fight this feeling anymore.

Higher and higher we climbed Scout Mountain and even though I was moving slower than I wanted I continued to pass 50k and 20 mile runners. Then I tried to jog a flat section shortly before the summit and the side pain crippled me. Walking was the only option and with a long cruiser descent in front of me I was not very happy. I took 5 minutes at the top and sat down to at least enjoy the view, looking over the course from the high point. As I stumbled off the top I became light headed at which point I would have to stop or at least slow down so I wouldn't fall. Once I was down in the trees I mustered a jog for a few minutes before I suddenly became overwhelmed with nausea and dizziness. I desperately looked for a tree to lean on and then let everything out. Within a few minutes the scene was over and I sat down on the side of the trail to collect myself. For reasons I can't explain a song popped into my head at that moment. The really odd thing is I can't even remember the last time I heard the song, but the lyric kept repeating in my head.

How corny is that? I continued to stumble for what seemed line an eternity down to the last aid station, Big Fur, where I knew I was going to pull the plug. That was until I saw Roch Horton. He was putting me back together before I even sat down. But I was too far gone, puking again while I was in the aid station. Just after that Peter rolled in looking a little rough around the edges and took the seat next to me. Cheryl Meltzer showed up around the same time and the two of them coaxed me out of the chair for the final 5 miles, 4 up, 1 down.

The three of us set off down the road and within minutes it was pretty clear that I couldn't hold the pace. I had figured out that I hadn't processed any food or liquid for nearly 5 hours and while I wanted to finish, I just couldn't muster anything more than a stumble. Just then Peter slowed down and waited for me. I told him to just go on without me, but in reality I was hoping he would run it in with me. Peter refused to go on, telling me it would be "good time" to finish together. I was relieved and tried hard to keep moving forward but shortly before the top of the last climb I was dizzy again and had to sit in the shade for a few minutes. As terrible as I felt I shared the music lyric moment with Peter and we had a good laugh. Even though the bugs were swarming us and our legs were twitching from cramps I was happy right there in the shade with my friend.

We eventually stood up and stumbled the last 3 miles to the finish where everyone else jumped in to put us back together. I sat on the grass happy to be finished and grateful to have such great friends.

Thank you, you guys are the best.

Devils Backbone 50 - 2010 Race Report

For those that are in a hurry here is a brief synopsis of the Devil’s Backbone 50 miler that took place on July 17th, 2010.  Jay ran a fantastic race turning a negative split on the out and back course to take the win and miss the course record by a mere 4 minutes!  I ended up coming in 4th with a slower time than I ran 3 years ago and Peter followed with a very solid 5th.

Now for the longer version.
The evening before the race we all met up at RD Tom Hayes’ house for some last minute instructions, a cool raffle, and catching up with some familiar faces.  Leland Barker was there  and I promptly went over to say hi and introduced him to Jay.  I knew he would figure in the mix during the race, as he always does.
Once the meeting was over we headed off to dinner with our families, and decided on an Italian spot with both pizza and pasta on the menu.  I opted to share a pizza with everyone, which in hindsight may not have been the best decision I made all weekend, more on that later.
Morning came sooner than I wanted but Peter and I were out the door on time just as we had planned the night before.  I have only been to Hyalite canyon one other time and that was three years ago.  So my memory of the drive from back then was a little fuzzy, but still good enough to know that Peter and I had driven past our turn by a good 5 minutes or so.  I immediately flipped the car around and we started searching desperately for the sign indicating the turn in the beam of the headlights.  We found it soon enough and then I started growing a little nervous all the way up knowing that we were cutting it close.  Sure enough we made it with about 5 minutes to spare before the start.  I had barely finished rubbing in some sunscreen when Tom sent us on our way.  Thankfully Jay had checked us in ahead of time so we were ready to go.
Once we took off I felt a huge relief and Jay and I settled in behind a couple of local runners, Don and Dewey (who were doing the relay portion).  I had been waiting for this moment since last November.  Not only was this my first race of 2010, it was my first ultra since having knee surgery back in April.  It felt great to finally be running in an event again.  I never get tired of that feeling I get from finally getting to the task I’ve been building toward for months and weeks on end.
The first ~5 miles or so are spent ascending within the confines of the canyon and crossing the main drainage on multiple occasions.  It’s all very runnable and that’s just what we did, all the way until the canyon opens into a broad alpine meadow. The scene was really quite spectacular with the sun just peeking over the eastern ridge and illuminating our next objective; Hyalite Peak.  

Just as the canyon opens up, Hyalite Peak in the middle, Photo credit: Darcomatic

Jay and I found ourselves in the lead at this point and scrambled around a large debris field leftover from an early season avalanche.  The cirque still contained a fair amount of snow and we pushed straight up through the middle of it to the ridge and hung a left to climb still more snow all the way to the summit.  

Last push to Hyalite Peak, Photo credit: Darcomatic

Jay grabbed my poker chip (a requirement to prove you were there) for me while I re-tightened my waterlogged shoe.  A third runner, Mathieu Brown, hit the summit just as we were leaving.  Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Tom and Dewey already heading down the trail in front of us since they weren’t required to bag the peak as part of the relay.
As we started down from the peak I felt my stomach tighten up just a bit.  I had also felt it a few times on the climb up, but the discomfort wasn’t constant so I just put it in the back of my mind.  It could have been the pace or maybe even the pizza, but at this point I was still too excited to give it any real attention, plus these things always sort themselves out, right?
Dropping further down off the peak Jay and I were cruising comfortably, running the little climbs and being conservative on the descents.  From time to time we could see the two relay runners in front of us and we slowly reeled them in on our way to the next big ascent.  At about the 11 mile mark the trail briefly leaves the ridge to avoid a band of cliffs.  I refer to this section as the “bowl”.  The trail snakes its way down  a gradual descent before turning sharply on to a steep climb back up to the ridge.  We had caught one of the relay runners before this section and caught up to the other just as we crested the ridge.  We were now just a little over 2.5 hours in and I started to feel the fatigue setting in.  Still though, Jay and I pressed on at the same pace, while my stomach continued to grumble from time to time.
Running along the ridge the rest of the way to the turnaround is a bit like a roller coaster with smaller 500’ to 800’ ups and downs.  I continued to push through the fatigue and ornery  stomach, but every time we hit one of the climbs Jay would pull ahead slightly.  The descents weren’t long enough for me to recover for the next climb and it was starting to take its toll.  I was having a great time running with Jay but I knew my time was limited at our current pace so I told him to just go on without me.  Finally, just when I thought he might go an ahead without me he stopped on top of one of the climbs and motioned for me to hurry up.  I muttered something under my breath before hearing a low rumble in the background.  I ran the last little bit to the top just in time to see a large herd of elk crossing the ridge a mere 20 yards in front of us.  It was simply incredible.  Jay had a grin from ear to ear and for the moment so did I.  I quietly thanked the elk for the small respite and listened to them bugle as we made our way along the ridge.
We were now roughly ~5 miles from the turnaround at Windy Pass.  It’s also at this point where the character of the ridge began to change.  The rocky, narrow backbone gradually gave way to  broad green meadows, trimmed with yellow, purple, white and red wildflowers by the thousands.  Looking ahead on the wide rolling ridge the ribbon of trail, barely a foot wide, would disappear from time to time in the ankle high palette of colors.

Beautiful singletrack, Photo credit: Darcomatic

If there was anytime during the race where I was able to go into auto-pilot this was it.  Jay had eased off the pace a bit and I felt slightly better, but the stomach was really starting to become an issue.  Soon I recognized the area a few miles from the turnaround and knew we were getting close.  The final approach to Windy Pass with the one and only aid station, is a long gradual descent with a good line of sight.  I glanced back over my shoulder to verify what I already knew, we were a long way out in front of our nearest competitor.  About a 1/2 mile from the turnaround we spotted three women coming up the trail.  I was sure they were relay runners, but it seemed quite late for them to be starting if they were going that direction.  Just as I recognized Nikki Kimball all three of them started yelling words of encouragement to us and ringing a cowbell.  While it seemed out of place at the time I really did enjoy hearing something else other than the wind for once and I noticed our pace increased ever so slightly.
The Windy Pass aid station utilizes a Forest Service cabin situated 2 miles up from the nearest dirt road.  All the supplies, including drop bags, are carried in by Tom and the relay runners that are heading back to Hyalite Canyon.  Tom was a little surprised to see Jay and I, but had us on the move with full bottles in no time at all.  Tom asked me if I knew Leland and I just laughed a little before telling him I knew Leland very well and expected him anytime.

Windy Pass aid station, Photo credit: Darcomatic

Jay and I jogged and power hiked all the way back up to the ridge.  My guess was confirmed when I saw Leland coming down the trail well ahead of Mathieu who was previously in 3rd.  Mathieu was next followed by Peter.  It was the first time I had seen Peter all day since we had pulled in parking lot.  I made a remark to Peter that Jay was killing me and he thought I said he was killing it.  It didn’t matter, both statements were right, Jay was flying and I was dying.  Right after we saw Peter we ran into Nikki and her friends once again for another round of encouragement, complete with the cowbell.  This time around there was a noticeable increase in pace as we gently climbed back through the big wide meadows and my stomach was definitely objecting the idea.  I gamely hung on for another mile or so before I watched Jay run up the ridge as I slowed to a walk.  
Initially I was disappointed, but then I began to reason with myself as I took in the view.  I decided I should be happy.  My knee was feeling great, my legs felt solid despite the lack of miles this year, plus, this is a damn hard race.  What should I expect?  I am my own worst enemy.  I’m very goal oriented but once and a while those goals are just too unreasonable at the time.  I suppose it’s just my nature to want to see continual improvement.
Up ahead I continued to watch Jay run effortlessly along the ridge, until he was eventually out of sight.  I had no doubt he was going to win, I just wondered by how much.  It was almost in the same moment that I decided to make an aid station of my own.  I needed a time out.  Just a little break to put things back together.  So I sat down on a rock next to the trail and took in the stunning view that included Big Sky.  I was only there a minute or so before Emily and Steve came down the trail, sweeping the course heading toward Windy Pass.  I explained the rocky relationship I have with my stomach and wondered quietly if there were counselors for such things.  Meanwhile Emily dug around in her pack and pulled out some Tums.  I had never tried them before during a run but figured it couldn’t get any worse so I popped a couple down and started off down the trail.
By now the midday sun was warming things up in a hurry.  The heat was especially noticeable when we would dip down on the wind sheltered east side of the ridge.  As soon as I found some snow I stuffed it under my hat for a little relief.  Gradually my stomach started feeling better and with about 12 miles to go I was able to run as I approached the bowl.  I was careful not to overdo it but after the climb out of the bowl my stomach was revolting once again.  
All this time I kept looking over my shoulder, sure that Leland and Mathieu would be coming but I still couldn’t see anyone.  Another mile or so and I could finally see the trail leading to Hyalite Pass and the long descent to the finish.  It wasn’t long after that I heard a noise behind me and saw Leland making his way toward me.  We had a friendly exchange and then he was gone.  Mathieu caught up to me probably a 1/2 mile from the pass.  I made an effort to stay near him but I was experiencing a serious bonk by this point and just plodded along at my own pace.  A few more minutes though and the climb gave way to the part I had been looking forward to all day long, the glissade off the pass.  I made it there just in time to see Mathieu sitting on the going down on his butt.  At first I thought this was a bad idea, but after I stood on the precipice and considered going on my feet I thought differently.  It was steep enough and long enough that I could just imagine myself building up speed then tripping and going ass over tea kettle.  Not exactly what I needed at this point, so sitting it was and it was a blast.
The fun was soon over and it was back to business.  The six mile descent to the finish wouldn’t seem near as long if it were only a little steeper.  This descent requires some work because the grade isn’t quite steep enough to just coast down.  I ended up mixing my running in with small walking breaks and cruised in to the final half mile where my family was waiting for me.  I was in one of my walk breaks when they encouraged me to run through to the finish and as ornery as I was it was harder to disappoint them than it was to run.  I crossed the line in 4th place stopping the clock at 10:55.  A far cry from the 9:30 I was hoping for but you know what they say, sometimes you’re the hammer and sometimes you’re the nail.
Jay was waiting there at the finish and I immediately asked him his finishing time, 8:59 he replied.  Only four minutes off the course record!  He explained to me that he was gunning for it when he took a digger a couple of miles out and decided to throttle it down the rest of the way.  Very impressive.  Peter came through just six minutes behind me in 11:01 looking strong and happy.  Leland finished a strong 2nd in front of Mathieu.  Full results can be found here.
Thanks to RD Tom Hayes and Liz McGoff for putting on a great event that is truly a classic run.

Zion Traverse 50 miles - FKT

I have a lot to be thankful for this last weekend, including an incredible family and new niece to start with.  On the running side of life I had the great fortune of joining Jay and Jared Campbell on a 50 mile trek across Zion National Park.  I'm not going to post a detailed report about our adventure because Jared has a great post over on his blog about our run.  I will share a few details from my point of view though.

• Zion National Park is much more diverse than I had imagined.  The main road through the park only gives visitors a glimpse of what is out there, wander off the beaten path and you will be rewarded.
• The weather couldn't have been better.  Even though it was a little cold to start with the temperature for much of the day hovered around the mid 50's with just a slight breeze.  Perfect running weather.
• 50 miles is still a long way to run.  I suppose that the distance just doesn't seem as formidable to me as it once did but I was reminded that it still deserves respect.
• Getting the FKT (fastest known time) was just icing on the cake.  Spending the day running with friends through one of the most amazing places in the world was the real treat.

Squaw Peak 50+ Race Report 2009

I didn't discuss my true goal time with anyone before the race for fear of jinxing it. When we talked about SP on our training runs I would mention that I wanted to go under 9hrs30mins since my previous best was 10:07. It just seemed like the next logical time barrier. My true time goal, and what I was really planning for was a sub 9. My training had gone better than ever this year so I knew my fitness level could handle the pace but I still had to be smart about managing the race.

Peter and I rode down to the race together and met up with the Erik, Greg and Rich before the start. Greg and Peter had made a plan to stick together and gun for PR's below the 10 hour mark. I knew they were both capable of sub 10 but I didn't really thinnk they would be able to stick together for that long, just too many factors to contend with in a 9 to 10 hour span. We all lined up at the gate to paved bike path to get some last second instructions from RD John Bozung before he sent us on our way at 5am. A few minutes down the pavement and a front group of 10 to 12 of us formed led by Scott Jaime . Shortly before the turn on to the trail the group was down to six that included Scott, Kevin Shilling, Dave Holt, Erik Storheim, Ryan Cooper and myself. The front 3 kept a torrid pace while Erik, Ryan and myself settled in behind and eventually lost sight of them on the winding singletrack. I had briefly met Ryan while we were signing in before the race when Peter had introduced us. I remember Peter saying "stick with Christian, he knows the course well". At any rate, I started chatting more with Ryan as we climbed to the 2nd aid station and got to know him a little better. As with most folks I meet in the ultra world, Ryan was super nice and he shared some of his vast racing experience with Erik and I. Shortly after the 2nd aid station the three of us became separated by a minute or so each and leapfrogged each other all the way to Pole Heaven (aid station 5) because of our frequent nature breaks (I think there was something in the water).

Just before aid station 6 I caught up to Ryan and left just before he did. I checked my watch and I was about 2 mins slower than my pace goal to this point, which made me quite happy since I still felt so good. Erik was no more than a minute behind as I started running up the 4wd road to Sheep Creek. The previous three times I've done this race I always walk this section, but today I felt great, so I just kept plugging along, happy with the pace I was running. I hit the Sheep Creek aid station where Karl and Scott Mason set me up with some red bull and potatoes before booting me out of there. Still feeling good at this point I decided to back off the pace just a little on the climbs and keep my stomach in order for the climb up to Windy Pass. About a mile or so before the descent into the Little Valley aid station Erik caught up to me and we ran into Little Valley together. I grabbed some gels from my drop bag, filled my bottles and picked up a third bottle before I left the aid station for the last big climb of the day. Erik was still getting his stuff together and I remember telling him that I was going to walk for a stretch and that I would see him in a few minutes. That never happened.

I walked, then jogged up the 4wd road, anxious to get to the real climbing. A little over a half mile after leaving the aid station I kept following the 4wd road on a slight right hand bend when I was supposed to bear left onto the singletrack next to the creek. I glanced down at my watch knowing that I should I have been approaching the switchbacks leading to the top of Wallsburg Ridge but nothing looked familiar. I started examining the trail for evidence of the runners in front of me and found none. I turned around and looked down the canyon I just climbed up. Feelings of anger and dread washed over me, I had no one to blame but myself. I looked at the altimeter on my watch before starting to backtrack and it read 8000'. I knew the top of Wallsburg ridge was a little of 8000' but I had no idea which direction I would have to go to find it.

Turns out I wasn't that far from where I was supposed to be.

I ran back down the canyon about 1.5 miles and 700' vertical before I found the trail I was supposed to be on. Anger drove my pace as I passed a few runners on the singletrack and washed out creek bottom. I caught up with Brian Beckstead who consoled me then gave me some encouragement to get after it. I had no idea how much time I had lost but I decided to re-focus on my original goal of 9:30.

My anger fueled pace eventually found reality as I pushed up Bozung hill and slowed down a bit. I heard some voices from behind as I made my way across the small snow patches before Windy Pass, but I refused to look behind until one of them called my name. To my surprise it was Greg and Peter, well ahead of their sub 10hr pace. I explained to them that I felt like I needed some extra training for Hardrock so I had done a few bonus miles. They told me they were still aiming for sub 10 to which I replied bulls**t, we're going under 9:30. I now had some renewed energy as we passed through Windy Pass a little after 1:00 pm, still enough time to get under 9:30 but we would have to press the pace. Jim Skaggs and crew had us in and out there in a jiffy, but Jim was curious where I had been, having been informed by Erik that I should be in front of him.

The descent off of Windy Pass was awful, but the MRC express was like a runaway train as we ran every step to aid station 10. I think it's fair to say that I pressed Greg and Peter on the descent but once I hit the road I was hitting a low patch. Now it was their turn to press me all the way to the finish where we crossed together in 9:27, good for 10th place. Going off course sucks, but finishing up a tough day with my friends definitely made up for it. Erik ended up taking 4th in front of Ryan in 8:43 and 8:51 respectively. Shilling pressed the 2nd half of the course to overtake Dave Holt and close to within 2 minutes and change of Scott Jaime. Rich came through in a little over 11 hours to put the icing on the MRC cake.

Thanks to RD John Bozung and all the volunteers that make Squaw Peak such a great event. Full results posted here .

In the end losing 30 minutes was a pretty bitter pill to swallow, but that's part of ultrarunning. In the grand scheme of things my fitness level made me feel a little more confident heading into Hardrock , currently #15 on the wait list...

Buffalo 50

Heading into the Antelope Island Buffalo Run, I had two goals 1) PR and 2) break 7 hours. I figured if I accomplished one I would the other since my PR is 7:04. I had no illusions about a 3-peat win, with fast guys Nick Pedatella, Tim Long, Hiroki Ishikawa, and Christian Johnson signed up. It turns out that Tim was injured and had to drop, Christian got sick and slowed a bit, but Nick and Hiroki lived up to expectations and smoked the course in 6:43 and 6:45, respectively. I followed a similar pattern to the previous two years by running the first half pretty consistent, started slowing a little during the second half and then getting sick and slowing a lot during the last 12 miles. I finished in 7:08. All things considered, I am very happy with my time, and proved to myself that if nothing else, I'm consistent, with finishes of 7:11, 7:04 and now 7:08. Above all else, 50 miles is 50 miles and I'm fortunate to have fit in a quality run so early in the season.

That was the race abstract, for a slog through the full version, keep reading.

The Buffalo Run 50 miler is an exceptional race. Jim Skaggs has gone over the top to make sure that it is a success from all angles. The course is great (maybe a little long on the out and back to the ranch, any way to add a little more trail?), well run aid stations, perfect weather so far, the volunteers incredible, and the buffalo stew always tastes good after 50 miles. This year was no exception.

Coming in to the race, I had no illusions of winning (unless everybody dropped out or got sick). However, I really hoped to be able to break 7 hours. My training consisted of more "planned" speedwork than in years past with weekly mile repeats and either a tempo or hill session. I was thrown off a little when I was sick for the Moab 50K and then I never got in a solid long run after that. Weekends were hectic and the longest I got in was 19 miles. That concerned me a little, but it is what it is.

6 am on Antelope Island. Jim yelled go and off we went. A lead pack of Nick, Christian, Peter, Hiroki, Cameron Kasteler and a couple others quickly settled in. Nick led the way setting a quick, but not uncomfortable pace. A flash kept going off behind me, which I later found out was Hiroki taking pictures. The whole race he kept pulling the camera out to take pictures and video clips. After about 4 miles we came to the first major hill at Lone Tree, and Nick made his move, never to be seen again. Christian and I settled in to an easy pace as the sky began to lighten. On the trail down to Split Rock Bay, Hiroki caught up to us, my shoelace came undone, and by the time I had it retied, Christian and Hiroki were a good minute ahead of me, and Cameron Kasteler was coming up from behind. The next section is some of my favorite of the race. We climb up past Red Rocks, and then spend a couple miles weaving through big jumbled boulders (which happen to be 2.7 billion years old, older than the stuff at the bottom of the Grand Canyon), past an old stone horse corral (for the wild horses of course) and in and out of little draws. I love it. Coming into the elephant Head aid station we started crossing paths with other 50 milers who decided to do the Elephant Head out and back first. I was happy to see that Tom Nelson was moving well and he looked good. On the Elephant Head out and back, I finally caught Hiroki and Christian. My right hamstring was starting to tighten a little bit and I struggled to keep up with them. Heading to the start and mile 19, we ran into the first buffalo of the day. A small herd of 8-10 animals decided to cut in front of us and as we started to yell at them, out came Hiroki's camera and he started videoing them and yelling "Yeehaw" as he ran. They crossed only 15-20 feet in front of us. Probably my favorite part of the day!

The next hour was fairly uneventful as Hiroki, Christian and I stayed together. On the out and back section of the Mountain View trail, we crossed Nick, and he was about 1/2 mile ahead of us and looking strong. I, on the other hand, was not feeling too strong. My hamstring was really tightening, my left shoulder was really hurting and I was pushing hard to just keep up. At about mile 23, Christian dropped behind slowly, at mile 25 I yelled out to Hiroki that we were halfway done, and he decided that was a good time to leave me. By mile 27, the Lower Frary aid station, he was 30 seconds ahead of me, by the time I left the aid station, he was 1 minute ahead of me, and the next time I saw him, he was heading back from the Ranch aid station (mile 32) and I still had a half mile to get there. I saw Nick a full mile before I got to the ranch. By now my pace was really slowing, I was lucky to keep an 8:30/mile pace and my legs were pretty tired. I tried to get some food/broth down at the Ranch, spent a few too many minutes there, but left feeling rejuvenated. That lasted about 3 minutes, and then it was back to the tired legs. I started walking a couple of the small hills for 10-15 seconds and noticed that it was harder and harder to talk myself into eating and drinking. At the Lower Frary aid station Nick was 20 minutes, and Hiroki 10 minutes ahead, and the nausea was starting to poke it's ugly head out. Karl and Scott told me the obvious that I needed something in my stomach, so I drank a coke, ate some chips, had a couple S-caps and took off. I promptly projectile vomited mid-step (never had that happen before) and I knew it was going to be a long 12 miles to the finish. Up to that point I was still hoping for a sub 7 hour finish, but for the next 12 miles I averaged an 8:45-9/mile pace and only had to throw up one more time, just after the Mountain View aid station. As soon as I picked up my pace to an 8:30 or faster, the nausea would hit full force. After the Campground aid station, it's a beautiful 4 mile singletrack loop around Buffalo Point. I took it easy and was oh so happy to see the finish line.

At the end of every race I've tried to get Sam to run across the finish with me. Being a little reserved, he puts his head down and pretends to not hear me, but Andrew was more than willing and raced me to the end. What a sweet finish.

Thanks to Brooke, Sam and Andrew for putting up with my addiction, and thanks to Wasatch Running Center for helping fuel my addiction. I'll be back next year with a new stomach and new legs, and maybe I'll get the 7 hour mark.

Squaw Peak Mud Fest

Here's my attempt at a race report. Let me preface this by saying that after waking up with pinkeye and a subsequent cold on the Sunday before, as well as coming off of only 3 weeks of training after being sidelined for 3 weeks, I wasn't too confident coming in to Squaw Peak 2008. I was hoping for a top 10 finish, and that was shooting for the stars. There were some pretty talented runners signed up, and I was planning on taking it easy and hanging on their coat tails.

Well, race morning came around, my cold had cleared, but the skies hadn't. I always enjoy running in the rain, just not standing in it, so once we started, it felt great. The first few miles down the pavement I kept what I felt was an easy pace and quickly watched Allen Belshaw and Rich disappear from sight. I chatted off and on with Brian Price from Idaho and Dave Larsen, a surgery resident at the U (where does he find the time to train?), then as we began the singletrack and it started to get light, I found myself alone to watch the misty rain in my headlamp. Kind of a neat vision to have thousands of tiny droplets sparkling in front of me. As I made the right hand turn onto the steep singletrack, I saw Rich not too far ahead of me. I thought it would be a piece of cake to catch up so I'd have someone to talk to. That's when the mud started. Holy cow, I'd never experienced anything quite like that mud. By the time I caught up to Rich, it felt like I'd pulled both groins slipping and sliding and keeping one foot on either side of the trail. I kept thinking to myself that I was glad I was where I was at and not 245 runners back after everyone else had made the conditions even worse. So Rich and I continued on for the next 10 miles or so having a great time. We watched Belshaw keep increasing the lead until he was nowhere in sight, and then the snow started. It was awesome! I love running in the snow. Rich had other feelings about the snow, he is not a cold weather person, but I loved it. I had on a short sleeve shirt with a long sleeve over it, some thin cotton gloves and my hat and I felt great, except my fingers on the hand holding a water bottle would start to freeze every now and again. Speaking of water bottles, I decided to run with just one bottle to start, then pick up another one at Aid #3, then pick up a waist pack and carry one hand held at Little Valley. I thought that with the cooler weather I wouldn't sweat as much, and I could cut a little weight at the start. So, at Aid #3, I decided not to pick up a second bottle, and continue with one until Little Valley, I'd just stop and drink a little more at the aid stations. As Rich and I finished the bushwack after Aid #3 heading to Horse Mtn, Rich dropped off just a second or two, and I thought he was slowing down to "use the facilities" and he would catch up. Well, I turned around a few minutes later expecting him to be right there, and he was nowhere in sight. That was the last time I would see anyone until mile 49.5. The snow was awesome heading along the roads to aid #4, and Belshaw's tracks kept looking more and more filled in with fresh snow. I wasn't sure if it was the huge snowflakes and near blizzard conditions, or if it was him increasing his lead. Regardless, I was having a great time, and feeling good also. As I dropped down towards Hobble Creek and past the snowline back into the rain, I kept expecting someone to appear from behind, but the rear stayed clear. At Aid #5, I was about 20 minutes slower than last year, and that was perfect, I felt good and planned on running the entire pavement. I managed to keep a good pace along the pavement and at Aid #6 Karl Meltzer was there to tell me that Belshaw was 11 minutes ahead of me, and that I looked fresher than he did. Thanks Karl for getting me out of there quick! I refueled and headed up my least favorite section of the course. To me this dirt road seems to go forever, and I always struggle to run it. This time was no exception, but the cooler weather helped and I only walked two hills. I grabbed a Brownie Bite at aid #7 and kept up my pace. This is where I've had stomache issues in the past, but I was feeling great and my stomache was settled, I think largely due to my slower pace at the beginning and cooler weather. I love this section of the course. Heading up the valley with the lush grass and quakies, I always feel like there should be a herd of elk strung out on the hill, or a moose with his nose in the creek. Anyway, I came into Litle Valley still feeling good, and they said Belshaw was at least 20 minutes ahead of me. I had no thoughts at all of trying o catch him, I just wanted to finish strong and feeling good. I ate a PB&J, grabbed some pringles, picked up my Nathan pack and headed on my way with 3 bottles.

The long climb began. I kept a decent pace, strating to look over my shoulder now and again but the rear was still clear. Making the long traverse before the last long climbs, my legs started to feel pretty tired, and I felt I was slowing a bit. I concentrated on keeping a steady rhythm going, and hoped eeryone else was feeling tired also. As I started to climb the first snowfield, I saw someone just cresting the ridge. I timed him at 13 minutes ahead of me, but I thought no way it was Belshaw. At Little Valley they had said that Matt Hart was out running the second half of the course, and I thought it had to be him. As I started the last climb up Lightning Ridge, I saw the same person again, just heading over the summit. I timed hime to be about 12 minutes ahead of me, but I still thought it was Matt. Hallelujah! I made it. I sat down at the summit and took a minute to stretch my calves and drink a bottle of water, then headed down to Windy Pass. These aid station volunteers are awesome!! Thanks everyone for taking the time to pack everything up and wait on us! Jim Skaggs met me with the news that Belshaw was only 8 minutes ahead of me. I didn't believe him. I was leaning against a tree eating a cookie, when Jim told me the news. I looked at him with a blank look, and he yelled at me to get out of there and catch him! I was excited and a bit surprised that I was that close, but a little bit in despair at the same time. I was looking forward to a nice comfortable pace the last 9 miles, now I was going to have to push as hard as I could.
So I took off and did some creatvie slipping and sliding for the next couple of miles across the snow fields. I managed to stay on my feet through the snow, except for that one time I was twenty feet off the "trail" in about two seconds and the other time I was on my butt sliding backwards, and the other time..... You get the idea. At the last snow field with the fixed ropes, I looked up to see Greg Norrander with his camera. What a great guy! Thanks for hiking up to get some fabulous Photos! He informed me that Belshaw was now only 6 1/2 minutes ahead. I danced through the next section, which was reminiscent of the Pipeline Trail. Exposed, fairly flat, hot and rocky. Trying not to roll an ankle, I pushed as hard as I could to the last aid station. As I came into #10, they informed me that Allen was only 3 minutes ahead. Are you kidding me?! I had planned on stopping and drinking a cold Red Bull, but I instead dropped my fanny pack, grabbed a gel and a bottle and took off. I have never run this entire section before, even the small little rollers seem to slow me to a walk, but I couldn't afford to today. I ran and ran some more and with a mile left hadn't seen Allen yet. Just when I was going to ease my pace a bit, a kid came running up the road and said he wasn't more than 30 seconds ahead. Will it ever end? Finally, I saw his head, then the rest of him. I snuck up to within about 100 yards, and just as he was going over a little rise, with 1/4 mile left, Allen looked back and saw me. After a quick double take to make sure I was there, his arms started pumping a little harder and the chase was over. I almost caught him. I'll be honest, if I had caught him, I wouldn't have had any more gas to kick past. I was spent. I rounded the corner and the best part of the race was there at the finish, listening to Brooke, Sam and Andrew cheer me in.
What a great day and what a memorable race. Thanks to John Bozung for putting the race together and especially to all the aid station volunteers who sat through the crazy conditions and made this race possible. I'm already looking forward to next year.