El Vacquero Loco 50k 2011 Race Report

The El Vacquero Loco 25/50k (or Ty's race as it's referred to often) was really meant to be a last tuner-upper before Wasatch for me and a tough race to close the summer for Betsy. The race took place on Saturday, August 13th in the spectacular mountains east of Afton Wyoming. The traditional route from Cottonwood Lake to Intermittent Spring and back was re-routed to the opposite direction because of damage from flooding on the access road to Cottonwood Lake. I really didn't think that our high snow year would continue to force changes this late in the year, but of course I was wrong. Then just two days before the race Ty met with the local search and rescue where they told him they would not support the race if the course went all the way to Cottonwood Lake. Ty sent out a message with the news and a new route, a double out and back for the 50k and a single out and back for the 25k. I could sense the frustration in his email but there was nothing he could do, SAR was necessary but it was pretty lame of them to back out at the last minute. They should know that rescuing an ultrarunner would be at least 3x easier than rescuing this guy, which I know they've a time or two in these same mountains.

I ran this race back in 2008 where I met Luke Nelson (who won) and finished 3rd behind Erik Storheim and just in front of the legend: Leland Barker. This time around Luke and Leland were back along with a few other fast guys so I just decided to be conservative and get a good hard training run in. Well I definitely got a good "hard" training run in with a little over 8,000' of ascent/descent covering some sweet singletrack.

Camping the night before was alright, but the older I get the harder it seems to sleep well in a sleeping bag. Morning came quick enough and Betsy and I hustled down to the road to board a school bus to the start. I was pleasantly surprised to find an open seat next Aric and I got to show him the sweet Smith Pivlock glasses I scored the night before in the prize drawing. Definitely the nicest glasses I've owned in a long time! The bus driver was quite funny as she proceeded to telling us to watch out for bears and that we might get eaten by a mountain lion, obviously we weren't from around these parts and the critters would make easy work of us. I thought about saying something, but decided to save my fight for the bears, mountain lions and the course.

Gathered at the start I gave Betsy a quick pep talk before Ty sent us off promptly at 6am. I immediately settled in at the back of the front group consisting of Luke, Micah Rush, Joe Furse, and Ryan Phillips. I was content running in 5th but then I hit the upper trail and my breathing became very labored. It was almost as if I had asthma, which I have no history of, so I backed off to try and figure things out. Turns out there were two guys on horseback right in front of us and I have a terrible allergy to horses. Once I got past them I was just fine and it really had no bearing on the outcome of the race, it just freaked me out a bit to suddenly be short of breath.

The main obstacle of the day presented itself pretty quickly and we were on the climb to the high point of the race just below 10,000'. I was steady in 5th as I crested the high spot, descended to the first lake, skipped the rock hard snow for fear of losing skin and started the steep climb to the second Lake when Luke came bounding toward me. He was already past the turnaround and I had no illusion of catching the Vo2 monster so I wished him well and hit the last descent to the turnaround as I 2nd thru 4th coming back up. I topped off my bottle at the aid station then started back the way I had came. I noticed pretty quickly the 6th place runner, Nathan Morey was quite close but I just kept it steady on the long descent back to the start/finish area and the 2nd turnaround. Along the way I was able to see the rest of the 50k field, including Betsy who was all smiles and gave me an encouraging word. As I neared the turnaround I glanced at my watch. I was was hoping to get there before the 25k started but I wouldn't even be close. Within two miles or so of the turnaround I started hitting the 25k traffic coming toward me. They started at 8:30 and I hit the turnaround at 9:05. I knew right then a sub 6 hour finish was going to be a real stretch.

Ty and Mike James helped me out as Nathan came steaming through the aid station. I took my time, fueled up and left in 6th place. Somewhere in here I saw Micah coming back at us, a bad knee had forced him out. Soon after we reached the singletrack I passed Nathan, then he caught up to me again as I was taking a nature break. After that I settled in and kept hiking and running at a comfortable pace. We chatted on the lower angle stuff, but as soon as it got steep I decided I would try and catch at least a couple guys in front of me. As I approached the 3rd turnaround point I saw Luke coming toward me and this time it was much sooner than I expected. A short while later 2nd place came by me, then I was nearly to the turnaround when 3rd place came back at me. I hit the turnaround, filled bottles and dug in for the steep hike out. Ryan was nearly to the top of the next steep climb when I passed him. One more descent and steep climb before the ~6 mile descent to the finish. I didn't really know what Nathan or Ryan were capable of on the descent so continued to push hard all the way to the finish and held on to 3rd.

Luke ended up cruising to the win in 5:34, followed by Joe Furse in 6:02, while I stopped the clock in 6:20. Nathan and Ryan followed shortly behind in 4th and 5th (Full RESULTS). Betsy came in a little bit later still smiling and happy to finish her 3rd Ultra of the year. The route seemed much harder doing the double out and back this time around even though it has slightly less vertical, 8,200' compared to 8,700'.

Thanks to Ty Draney for pulling the race together despite the obstacles thrown at him and to all the aid station help who took all the supplies in on horseback. I definitely found what I was looking for; a beautiful run in the mountains.

Antelope Island Buffalo Run 50k race report

I wouldn't call myself a gambler, but I do like to take calculated risks. Not the kind of risks that put my life in danger, more like the kind that test my limits, especially if there is less at stake. I've also come to realize that the more time there is between races the more risk I'm willing to take. Enter the Buffalo Run 50k, my first ultra I ever did back in 2006 and my first race this year. Before my lucky number was drawn for Hardrock I was actually doing speed work a couple days a week to prepare, but since then my training focus changed a bit to incorporate more climbing. Despite the lack of speed work my goal was to run a 4 or 4:10

Standing on the start line I was able to catch up with Nick Clark and a few other friends before we were off. Midway up the first climb I found myself in the lead group with Nick, Seth Wold, Jake Krong, and Mike Foote. The pace seemed a little fast but still well within my limits but my heart rate monitor told me something different, holding steady at 166 to 168. I knew that was too high but carried on anyway.

Seth, Nick, Jake, then Mike and myself 20 yards back, Photo: Greg Norrander

We all stayed together through the first aid station at mile 5 and then we hit the long downhill. Within seconds Mike and I watched Nick, Seth and Jake use their high turnover to pull away. We chose a more conservative pace and lost at least a minute before we started climbing again. Mike and I stayed together on the long switchback climb but when we hit the flat section at the top I could feel my hamstrings tighten up as I tried in vain to stay with him. I backed off for the moment and decided I would try and make up time on the climbs.

Coming back through the overcrowded Elephant Head aid station at mile 10.6, Mike had a minute on me and the other had about 4. Shortly after this I realized I needed electrolytes but I had none. I admonished myself for overlooking such an important detail and kept on eating my gels. I saw Greg taking pictures after the next climb and he confirmed the splits I had calculated. Foolishly I kept on pressing because I was still on pace to break 4 hours. I hit the turnaround in 1:55 and spent a good minute or so hoisting the water container on to the table and filling my bottle. The climb back up was not nearly as smooth as first time so I was quite surprised to only be a couple minutes slower this time up. I was eager to start running faster on the flat but my hamstrings protested so I just did what I could. I switched into survival mode and moved as fast as I could through the rest of the lap. I should have stopped and filled my bottle the last time through Elephant Head AS at mile 26 but I took one look at the line and just kept on running. I received a bit of lift from Betsy, my lovely wife, as we crossed paths in this section. She was looking strong in her first ultra and she encouraged me to gut it out.

The finish line. Photo: Greg Norrander

Shortly after the trail split with about 3.5 miles to go I was caught by Shaun Christian and gamely tried to match his pace but it wasn't happening. I ended up crossing the line in 6th place, stopping the clock in 4:25. For those keeping track that's a 2:30 second loop, a full 35 minutes slower than the first. The lack of electrolytes figured into part of the slow down, but in all honesty a sub 4 was too ambitious (this year) and I blew up going for it. Jake took the win in 3:38 followed by Seth Wold, Nick Clark, Mike Foote and Shaun Christian, myself, Bryon Powell and David Hayes, full results here. The top 3 all went under the course record set by Nick last year. Really quite amazing.

Besides beating myself to a pulp, the highlights were seeing all my friends and meeting some new ones. I had a great time hanging out at the finish chatting with everyone while I anxiously waited for Betsy. She had predicted something around 7 hours but I knew she would be faster and I was right. I was super proud to watch her finish strong and stop the clock at 6:18! Congratulations to Jay for taking 3rd in the 50 miler with a 6:43, watch for a report on his race soon. Thanks to Jim Skaggs for his ongoing deal with the weather gods and putting on one of the biggest ultra's in the country.

Betsy crossing the finish line. Photo: Greg Norrander

Sapper Joe 50k Race Report

I signed up for this race in hopes of getting in a final tune-up run before Squaw Peak. What I ended up getting was a solid beat down from the dehydration gods...

The 50k consisted of a big loop around Camp Williams (a National Guard training facility located in the southwest corner of Salt Lake county) mostly on dirt and gravel roads either gaining or losing vertical all the time. Along with the 50k there was also 30k option available on a shorter loop. From the moment I arrived at Camp Williams I could tell there was a whole different level of organization going on with military precision.

I lined up on the start line next to Karl Jarvis and while we were waiting for the cannon launch to send us off we were told there would be a $50 dollar bill at the top of one of the climbs. A couple of the 30k racers took off in search of the money while Karl and I trailed slightly behind. We quickly caught up to the two guys in front of us on the first steep descent and continued on to the first aid station. I was a little behind on water heading in to the first aid station but I wasn't too worried about it yet. But soon the cool morning gave way to the rising sun and the heat was on. I realized about 20 minutes out from the 2nd aid station that I was already behind on liquids. I quietly started beating myself up for leaving my second bottle in the car, trying not to let Karl see that I was running low.

This trend continued for the rest of the race until mile 23, where Karl ran up a slight incline and i did not. I was pretty frustrated since my legs felt great but that doesn't matter when you're low on liquids. I was able to back-off the pace and hold on for 2nd place in 4:51, while Karl cruised in for the win in 4:41.
Fantastic organization and friendly folks made for a great run in an area that few of us outside the military ever get to see. Thanks to Wasatch Running Center, Darrell Phippen, and Milada Copeland for putting on a great race!

Orcas Island 50k Report

As I awoke at 6:00am to the rumble of yet another freight train in the clean but rundown Motel 6 in Troutdale Oregon, I wondered if I was a little nuts for dragging my wife and myself 900 miles to go run a 50k on Orcas Island in Washington State. I mean really, 900 miles for 31 miles just doesn’t make sense. It sounded like a great idea in December when I was looking for an alternative to the great but knee punishing Moab Red Hot 50k+. Now as the time and money were disappearing quickly I was starting to question my other idea of driving 900 miles to run a 50k instead of flying. My wife seemed to be taking it in stride and at least we were getting to spend allot of time together. So off we went in good spirits for 6 more hours of driving to catch the ferry in Anacortes Washington.

As we neared the San Juan Islands my apprehension disappeared, I had forgotten just how impressive and beautiful the Islands are even though I had lived on Orcas Island off and on for 3 years in the mid 90’s. Marge and I lucked out and arrived 25 minutes before the express ferry left for Orcas. The ferry was full of trail runners going to the race and the trip passed quickly as it only took an hour to arrive at the Orcas ferry dock. Marge and I were approached by a young lady and was asked if we could shuttle some food for herself and her boyfriend to make there bike trip a little easier going out to Doe Bay on the other side of the Island, we off course said yes we would help it’s a Island tradition to help who ever you can as you’ll will see them again many times, and I was hoping for a little extra good karma for the race.


View from cottage looking south

Marge and I checked into our cottage right on the beach and basically had the whole quaint but rundown resort to ourselves as nobody was staying there accept us two, made for a very quiet nice evening before the race. We had plenty of time to sleep in as the race did not start until 9:00am to allow people to come over on the ferry the same day as the race.

We arrived at the race about and hour early and just got to see the early start 50k runners head out, they were being directed by last years winner Matt Hart, it was a little comical because Matt really wasn’t really sure if he was sending them the correct way, turns out it was, lucky for Matt and the runners. After a short pre-race meeting James Varner R.D sent us on our way, and as usual I ended up somewhere mid pack and just kind of cruised listening to people chat and trying to settle into a nice rhythm. The pack spread out after 20 minutes or so, the trail was slightly muddy but very smooth and cushioned with moss, pine needles and leaves. The trail weaving in and out of old growth Douglas Fir and Cedar trees passing small lakes and streams. There was a bit more climbing than I expected before the first aid station at mile 9.8 but with the climbing also came some really nice easy down hill running on smooth trails and nice logging roads.




Me coming into the first Aid Station

After aid station 1 came the first real big climb of the day, a Squaw Peak 50 type climb with a vertical gain around 1,000 feet. It was basically straight up, and no real trail for the fist half. This was followed by another nice long downhill through more mist filled old growth trees and ferns. We then headed around Mountain Lake for a few miles. At this point I had run out of water and ended up filling my bottles straight out of the lake, I didn’t know they had water available at mile 18 just on the other side of the lake. I was guessing I was somewhere in the top 20 but wasn’t really sure how many runners had gone out hard and had sprinted away.



Great way to cool your knees (aid station 2)

The last big hill started at mile 18 and went up close to 1,500 vertical, my plan was to push hard from the bottom of this climb to the end of the race. For once my plan worked and I passed 7-8 people on the climb. The last aid station of the day was at the top of Mt. Constitution (elevation approx. 2,400) at mile 22. This was followed by some moderate downhill and climbing, and then a very long downhill to Cascade Lake, followed by an easy 1.5 miles around the lake and to the finish. My time 5:42, good for 12th place.

What a great race, 31 miles, 7,000 vertical, fantastic views, forest, lakes, waterfalls and wonderful smooth pine cushioned trails with just enough technical sections to keep your mind busy. There were also the tough competitive Northwest Runners I have come to expect and admire. The overall winner this year was Adam Lint in a time of 4:32 and first place women went to Ellie Greenwood, with a 7th place overall in a time of 5:18. This all followed by a great bluegrass band, homemade chili, cookies, beer etc….. I’ll be back some day but I will probably take that airplane ride.
(Results) Pictures by Glenn Tachiyama

No Sleep till...Church Fork or the Millcreek 50k report

Friday night, under a full moon, Peter, Brian, Sam and myself joined about 30 others for the 6th annual Millcreek 50k. After everyone was shuttled up to Big Water we started at about 9:20pm. It was slightly cool at the start but once we got moving that changed and I quickly warmed up. I led much of the way up the great western trail and pulled off for a nature break once I was on the crest and I could see down into Park City. Phil Lowry and Matt Bero caught up to me and took the lead as we made our way down to Desolation Lake. I knew Shane Martin would be stalking us on the descent and sure enough he caught us shortly after passing deso in about 1:50 (elapsed time). I took the opportunity to jump in behind Shane as he upped it a notch on the downhill. I let him get slightly ahead of me on the steeper part because the dust was so thick, something I don't notice as much during the day, but at night the headlamp beam shows you just how much dust you're inhaling. I made the turn at blunder fork and there were some hikers or early starters that kind of startled me. Just then I noticed Shane had taken the Mill D turn but quickly got back on track just as we began the climb up to Dog Lake together.

Shane refilled a bottle and I walked out of Dog Lake heading toward Big Cottonwood. As soon as Shane caught up I started running again and we were soon on my least favorite part of the course. From Dog Lake over to Baker Pass the trail rarely gets used so the vegetation is overgrown, which is a problem during the day, let alone trying to navigate it at midnight. After about 10 mins or so I was by myself in the lead with my little 20' window of light in front of me. I was now experiencing another first, running by myself at night. I didn't have my headphones and I'm not sure I would have put them on anyway. I didn't feel like as if I was moving that fast but pretty soon I had trouble seeing any lights behind me. That's when doubt would begin to set in, did I miss a trail junction in all this overgrown mess? Then a glowstick would appear just ahead on the trail restoring my confidence once again. I would occasionally look up to the northwest and see Mt. Raymond, Gobblers Knob and the low spot between them, Baker Pass, my next target. As I made my way up the last little section I turned off my headlamp and used the moonlight to get over the top. I paused for a moment on the pass and saw a few headlamps further back down the trail and flickering lights seven miles below in Millcreek.

This was my first time on the Bowman fork trail this year and the only time I did it last year I went up not down. What this means is that I forgot just how long this descent is. I felt like I was being fairly conservative and I didn't have any mishaps on the technical sections. My plan was to pick it up a notch when I hit the bottom of the canyon and it's a little less technical. I really like this section of trail that jumps back and forth over the creek and downed trees and pretty soon I fell in a groove, then fell flat on my face. It wasn't that big of a deal, my wet shoe slipped off a downed tree and I fell on the other side. I picked myself up, did a quick assessment making nothing was wrong and started running again. Not even five minutes later I rolled my ankle. I decided it was time to back off a bit, no sense in beating myself up if I don't have to, plus I had a nasty little climb coming up after passing through the Terraces picnic area.

The trail that connects the Terraces with Elbow fork is another section that receives little attention and usually resembles a game trail rather than a hiking trail. As I started the steep climb I was pleasantly surprised to see the trail was actually in pretty good shape. The trail was still very much on a side hill but the vegetation wasn't as bad as I've seen it in the past. When I began the climb I was sure that I could do the two miles of up and down quick enough that I would easily get to Elbow fork before the 4 hour mark. What I forgot was that the two mile section is about 1.5 miles up and .5 down. I eventually pulled into the last aid station at Elbow Fork in 4:03 with 21 miles behind me and only 10 more to go. RD Rich B. filled up my nathan hydration pack while I dealt with a pesky heel blister on my right foot. Next up was the dirt sidewalk, also known as the pipeline trail.

Funny enough this was definitely the least technical section out of any of the trails yet, but I tripped and stumbled more than anywhere else. I think it was because the headlamp could pick up rocks, roots and anything sticking up out of the trail, but it couldn't pick up the slight undulations. I still made pretty good time to Church Fork, getting to the trail junction in 4:50. Now just a quick jaunt up to Grandeur Peak, back down and I would be done. Once I started the climb I realized there would be nothing quick about it. I pretty much hiked the whole thing reaching the top in 5:45 or about 2:00am. Even though I was in a hurray I just stood there for a minute. I always feel as if I don't take in the view afforded by a summit that I am somehow disrespecting it and there will be dues to pay in the future (is that being superstitious?).

Now I just had to stumble off the mountain and I would be done. I still had no idea what kind of lead I had so I was anxious to see how close the next runner was to me. I was also slightly nervous that if Shane was relatively close he would close the gap on the long descent. Last year, Peter and I watched as Shane flew down the mountain and disappeared in front of us on the first descent of the race. Soon I saw a light in front of me and it was Matt Bero, just behind Matt was Shane. I estimated my lead to be about 20 minutes so I just kept up my cautious descent. I ran into Peter and Brian shortly thereafter and wished them well on their final climb of the night. Soon enough the trail ended and I hit the pavement at the top of church fork. Then something I wasn't prepared for, route finding. I'm not very familiar with road up there and it was a little hard to tell whether the road led to a parking area or if it was the main road. Not really a big deal, I just thought it was kind of funny on the easiest part of the course. At the finish I found Rich B., Shane's sister and some chairs. I stopped my watch at 6:23 and fell into a comfortable chair.
Thanks to RD Rich B., Ken J, Storheim, and all the other volunteers that made for an outstanding night.
In order after me was: Results posted soon here.
Matt Bero
Shane Martin
David Hayes
Phil Lowrey
Peter Lindgren
Brian Hamos
?Ken Jensen