2007 Arkansas 100 Traveler Report – WTF!!!

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: If you ladies leave my island, if you survive recruit training, you will be a weapon. You will be a minister of death praying for war. But until that day you are pukes. You are the lowest form of life on Earth. You are not even human fucking beings. You are nothing but unorganized grabastic pieces of amphibian shit. Because I am hard you will not like me. But the more you hate me the more you will learn. I am hard but I am fair. There is no racial bigotry here. Here you are all equally worthless. And my orders are to weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve in my beloved Corps. Do you maggots understand that? – Full Metal Jacket

“We are gonna die.” – Animal House

I signed up for this race on a lark, mainly because my good buddies Bob Rayburn and Scott Olmer were doing it, so I decided “why not?”. I did this race in 2000 and finished just under 28 hours. I came back the next year to pace SLUG James Mercer. It’s amazing what 5 years can do to one’s memory. I remembered the hills, and some of the rocks, but I was totally shocked as to how rocky this course really is. At least I remembered the hills, and there were plenty of them.

I arrived in Little Rock Friday to steaming humidity. I knew then that my goal of a sub-24 hour finish was probably not going to happen. Bob and his fiancé Jana picked me up and we headed out to Lake Sylvia to hear the pre-race briefing. We got there a bit late so we had to weigh in and get checked in after the talk. Scott Olmer was already there, and we skipped the pre-race pasta chokedown and headed back to Little Rock and ate at the Flying Saucer, a great little restaurant with even greater beers.

Headed to Jana’s place (on the way we picked up even more beer) and spent time putting our drop bags together and ordered a pizza. Eating is good. Finally hit the sheets and got up early to head out.

“My advice to you... is to start drinking heavily.” -- Animal House

We got to Lake Sylvia about 45 minutes prior to race start. It was 73 degrees and high 90% humidity. Picked up our race numbers, and I started drinking water before the start. Better get hydrated early cause it’s gonna be hot.

Before we knew it, we were gathering to start and off we went into the damp darkness. Bob, Scott and I ran together up the road, singing hash songs and being totally obnoxious. We picked up another hasher from Mobile AL, and we had a nice conversation. Soon it was time to turn left off the paved road onto the dirt road. Bob fell back a bit talking with other runners and Scott and I made our way up the road. It took a bit longer than I remembered to get to the first aid station Brown’s Creek at 5.2 miles, in about 65 minutes. They had bacon strips here so I picked up a few and ate them as I was leaving. I slowed a bit waiting for Scott, and we continued on the road. At some point he had to pull over to do nature’s bidding so I went on. I had forgotten how long and windy the road was, and we continued to climb up until we got to the next aid station at 8.6 miles.

I got here in 48 minutes. They had ice water-soaked towels here so I helped myself to clean myself off a bit, then left and we were immediately on the Quachita Trail. We would be on this trail for 7.8 miles.

“I think you'd be glad later if you weren't here now.” – Animal House

The trail was pretty nice, but more rocks than I remembered. Some of the rocks were slick from an early morning rain a few hours earlier. Scott caught up with me and we chatted a bit, and I offered to step aside and let him pass, which he did. He was soon gone, and I wanted to take it easy here and not go overly hard since I knew there were more hills to conquer. Save it now cause I’ll need it later. The trail loops around and takes us back to the first aid station (Brown’s Creek) at mile 12 on the course. It took me 40 minutes to get here. Now we had a big climb in front of us that went up for over a mile. Lots of walking here. By now I was running with a fellow Coloradan, Chase Squires, and we had a nice conversation about this and that, which passed the time wonderfully. Before I knew it, we were approaching the Lake Sylvia aid station (out starting point) at mile 16.4. This first part took me 3:37 to complete. I estimated 3:30 for a sub-24 hour pace, so I was fairly happy with my time so far, considering the conditions and all.

“Ah, this is the worst lookin' hat I ever saw! I bet you buy a hat like this you get a free bowl of soup, huh?...Oh it looks good on you, though.” -- Caddyshack

I stopped here briefly to change shirts, hat, and added an ice bandana for the heat of the day coming up. Refilled my bottles. Grabbed some sandwiches, coke, and beat my big feet outta there. Upon leaving fellow SLUG Lee Hess greeted me (we had never met but he recognized my SLUG shirt I was wearing) and said he would be at Lake Winona to help me there. As I was making my way up the road to the next aid station at 22 miles, I ran into, behind, and with the race Co-Race Director Chrissy Ferguson and I just listened in on her conversation with her running friend. When we got to the point in the course where we hit 95 miles on the way back Chrissy told me I have to touch the sign to guarantee a finish. So I did. I guess that didn’t work, in hindsight.

“You all right in there?”
“Yeah, for a man pissing razor blades.” – The Green Mile

I did manage to pee a few times along here and noticed it was getting darker. Dehydration is setting in, so I started drinking more. Finally I got to the road and made a left turn, and not far up the road was the next aid station, Pumpkin Patch, mile 22.

Got to the Pumpkin Patch aid station, ate some pie, grabbed a sandwich, and left with refilled bottles. The next aid station was 2.3 miles away, and I got there in less than 30 minutes. By now the sun was starting to come out now and then from under the clouds. Thank God for the clouds because without them it would have been much hotter. The clouds managed to stay in most of the afternoon and kept us from baking. Irregardless, the temps did get into the low 90’s.

“Take caution in your tone Commander, I'm a fair guy but this fucking heat is making me absolutely crazy.” – A Few Good Men

It took me about 55 minutes to get to Rocky Gap aid, mile 28.6, with a total time of 6:20. The section between Rocky Gap and the previous aid station was fairly even, but rocky and rolling. Chrissy said a few years ago the park had bulldozed the trail for access to the area for tree harvesting. It was much ruttier back then. I made my way to Lake Winona, mile 32, in 7:06. Time to sit down for a few minutes and rehydrate, eat and relax. Lee met me here as well as Jana and they played slave to my every whim. I picked out my ice hat from my drop bag, as well as other items for my pack. Got my ice bandana and ice hat filled with ice, and I sat there eating and drinking. Okay, time to leave now.

“That's a peach hon. Oh golly I'm hot today.” – Caddyshack

The sun was alternating coming out of the clouds and going back in, and when it peaked out, it was hot. I was hoping it would stay behind the clouds as this was going to get worse. Luckily, it did. The way out of Winona was pretty much an uphill climb. There were some gentle upgrades and some downhills, which I was able to run, but the uphills forced me to walk. About a mile out of Winona I saw someone ahead who was puking alongside the road. It turned out to be Carey Smith, another SLUG, and he was having some stomach issues. I asked him if he was taking salt, drinking, eating, etc. and he said he was but his stomach was upset. I didn’t know what to do for him so I told him to take it easy, as this is mostly an uphill climb all the way to Smith Mountain 10 miles distant. I was feeling pretty well, and found myself running a lot of the road, even some of the up hills. Got to the Pig Trail aid station in a little over an hour, for 4.5 miles. Refueled, re-iced, and left. As I was leaving, it was raining ever so slightly. It felt good, and I was so wet anyway it didn’t really get me any more wet. As soon as it started, it was over.

“I gotta work on my game.”
“No, no, no. Don't think of it as work. The whole point is just to enjoy yourself.” -- Animal House

I was actually running most of the trail up to Club Flamingo, except for the steeper climbs. Before long, there were signs of Club Flamingo aid station ahead. One sign said “Free Prostate Exam. See Dr. Jay”. Not long after, there it was, and I yelled out “I wanna a prostate exam!” Lots of laughs and out came a guy with a rubber glove on his hand. Okay, not the last part. Anyway, I refilled my bottles, got more ice in my hat and bandana, and as I was walking out, a nice young girl in a coconut bra offered a cold sponge down. Yowsa! Now that felt great! I left on a positive note and a nice downhill, which soon went back up. I ran the flats and downs, walked the ups. Same routine, but somehow I was enjoying myself. About a mile from Smith Mtn aid station, I spied Scott just ahead. I focused in on him, and not long after, made the right turn at the radio dispatch station that marked Smith Mtn aid ½ mile ahead.

I got to Smith Mtn in 9:46 (just 50 minutes from Flamingo) and watered down and iced down. Scott saw me come in and left. The next couple of miles was pretty much an uphill grind. There was some running, but it was mostly a walk. It was nice to take a bit of a break from the running, so I just enjoyed it. I was keeping Scott in sight the whole time. Not far from the next aid station, Chicken Gap, I stumbled on pure redneck heaven: a couple of RV’s with a cardboard sign on one of them saying “Deer Camp”. As I ran through “camp” I saw a guy working in the back of his pickup truck. Not sure what he was doing, but I assume it was a deer.

"Tell the cook this is low-grade dog food..this steak still has marks were the jockey was hittin' it." -- Caddyshack

A few minutes later I got to Chicken Gap aid, mile 46. The previous race director of Arkansas, Charley Peyton, was there with his wife Lou. We were greeted by a life size cardboard cutout of Bill Clinton wearing a Traveler hat. Lou offered me a grilled cheese sandwich. I removed the pickle from within, and ate it with gusto. Charley filled my bottle. As I was leaving there was a cardboard cutout of Hillary. I thought Halloween was still weeks away. Not long after leaving, I caught up with Scott. So we ran together for the next 2 miles to the next major aid station at Powerline. Scott said he had asked the guy at Deer Camp how the hunting was. His reply was “Too hot for huntin’!”. Just a few hundred yards from Powerline, I saw a guy wearing an OU Sooners shirt. I asked him about the score, and he said Texas was ahead 14 to 7. Bummer I thought. Scott asked about the Nebraska Cornhuskers, but nobody was sure of the score.

"Well I aint payin' no fifty cents for no Coke.
Then you aint gettin' no Coke..." -- Caddyshack

Got to Powerline, weighed in at 200 lbs, 5 lbs over my baseline weight. No surprise, my old friend edema was back, and it was all water weight gain. Lee came over to help and I asked him to get my drop bag. I sat down, was handed my drop bag. Drank some coke, ate a PB&J sandwich Lee was so kind enough to fetch for me. I restocked my pack, got my bottles refilled, and it was time to go. Scott had already gone on ahead. I spent about 7 minutes here, but I felt it was worth the time. I got up and felt great. There was a bit of an uphill here but soon I was running again. This next section all the way to Turnaround 10 miles distant went really well here. I ran the bulk of the section. I saw a sign for 50 miles, looked at my watch, it said “11:30:15”. Not bad I thought, and with the way I was feeling and running, I might have a hot at 24 hours. I caught up with Scott and we ran for a bit together, but I was feeling well and wanted to go for it while I could. I left Scott behind me, and I kept picking off runners ahead of me. This section is very rolling, and some of the more major uphills I walked. I found myself running 1/3 to ½ of a hill, then walking. This section to the next aid station is a bit of a haul, about 4 miles. Soon, I saw the next aid station ahead, Chile Pepper.

"I want a hamburger, no a cheeseburger. I want a hotdog. I want a milkshake. I want potato sala—“
“You'll get nothing and like it!" -- Caddyshack

It took me 56 minutes to get here, not bad considering. The sun was starting to set and it was getting more comfortable, but it was still humid. I grabbed some mashed potatoes, got my bottles filled, and a kind soul offered me a sponge to wipe off. I wiped off my legs, arms, and face. It felt wonderful. Just as I was leaving, fellow SLUG Paul Schoenlaub called out my name and ran with me for a hundred yards or so, offering me words of encouragement. I said I’d see him in a few hours on the way back. Like in the previous section, I would see a runner ahead and I would try to reel him/her in. I caught up with Brian Kuhn, another SLUG, and wished him well. I was wanting to get to the Turnaround aid station, mile 58, before I had to pull out a flashlight. It seemed like it was forever (6 miles) until the last big climb to the top and the next aid station. It was dark now, and I had to pull out the light about ½ mile from the top. Ate some potato soup, drank about 3 cups of coke and water, got my bottles refilled, and I was out. It took me 1:14 to do these last 6 miles. The nice part is now I have a nice downhill to run, and it was fun seeing all the people coming up to the aid station as I was heading out.

"I'm going to give you a little advice. There's a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball." -- Caddyshack

I felt myself slowing down somewhat, but I was still moving well. I then noticed that my flashlight was dimming. I hoped it would stay on. About ½ mile from Chile Pepper, it went out. Yikes! It was dark. I moved pretty slow, trying to get my eyes acclimated to the darkness. I could make out some terrain on the road, but it was slow. A runner coming toward me asked me how I was doing. I said fine except for my flashlight crapping out. He offered me small backup light he got from the Chile Pepper aid station. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. I said thanks and started running again. Got to Chile Pepper finally, taking me 1:33 to get here from Turnaround.

"Hey Sabu, can you make a bullshot?”
“ Can you make a shoe smell" -- Caddyshack

I pulled in and asked if they had any extra batteries to spare for my light, and I gave the borrowed light back to one of the aid station person there. Paul came up and offered me some help, and not long after someone was pushing some batteries in my hand. I asked Paul for some mashed potatoes, got my bottles refilled, and drank some water. Boy, those potatoes were great! With my flashlight now working and food in my gut, it was time to mosey along. I said thanks to all and left.

Along the way back to Powerline, I encountered two copperhead snakes in front of me crossing the road. I’m glad I didn’t see one when I was in the dark back there. It took me 1:28 to get back to Powerline, and my feet were starting to hurt me. I was feeling some hot spots and grit in my shoes. I’ll have to take care of that at Powerline.

“Get that finger out of your ear, you don't know where that fingers been.” -- Airplane

Got into Powerline, mile 68, in 16:26 and weighed in at 194. I was now way too late for a sub-24 hour, but that’s okay. I spent about 10 minutes here changing into another shirt, eating, drinking, taking care of my feet, relubing chafed areas. As I felt my feet, there was grit, but my feet were also feeling tenderized, no doubt from the rocks. Only later did I realize I was also developing blisters on the inside ball of both feet from all the moisture (both from humidity and from the constant sweat dripping onto my shoes and soaking my feet). I got up and ambled my way out of there. My feet were really hurting now. I pretty much walked all the way up to Chicken Gap aid station, mile 70.

After taking care of me, I left and said goodbye to Charley and Lou and I made my way up the hill to the top of Smith Mountain. Once at the top, it was down and my feet were really hurting now, and it was tough trying to manage the rocks and ruts as I headed down to the Smith Mountain aid station just a few miles distant. Finally, I got there an hour and change later, and quickly refilled and left for the next aid station at Club Flamingo.

"I tell ya, I shoulda stayed home and played with myself." – Caddyshack

I don’t seem to recall too much in this stretch, but I did walk a lot, ran some, and contemplated dropping. If I was going to drop, it would have to be at Lake Winona since the wait time for getting out of the aid stations between here and there was in the time span of hours. I did manage to run a good bit of the road section and the time passed reasonably well. I got to the uphill section that signaled I was close to Flamingo. Soon I saw kerosene torches along the road, and saw the glow of aid station lights just ahead and above me. This stretch took me 1:20 to complete 3 miles. I was moving slow for sure.

“Thank you, sir. May I have another?” – Animal House

Got to Club Flamingo and promptly sat down to massage my feet and drink and eat. I ended up drinking about 3 cups of ginger ale (they were out of coke) and half a PB&J sandwich. Man, my feet were killing me. It was tough to get back up but I managed and hobbled my way out of there, dreading the next section down to Pig Trail aid station. It is only 3 miles, but the road is very rocky, rough and rutted. It was in here I got passed by a lot of people. I was moving so slow the progress seemed scant to none. The funny thing was my legs were feeling fine, my breathing issues, finally, were a non-issue. It was just my feet. I could feel the blisters developing and it was all I could do to keep moving. It took me 1:38 to travel the 3 miles to Pig Trail.

“A man's got to know his limitations.” – Dirty Harry

When I got in to Pig Trail aid, I asked about a ride out of there. I was told 6 hours. Yikes. So I got my bottles refilled, grabbed a bit of food and walked out. It was going to be a long 4.5 miles to Winona. It was now 3:09 AM, and I figured it would take me several hours to get there. Granted the road was relatively smooth, but there was a bit of an uphill grade, and I already decided to call it, so I walked. About 30 minutes later a truck came up from behind and the driver slowed down and asked how I was. I said I was done, planning on dropping at Winona. “Are you going to Lake Winona and if so, do you have room?” He did, so I hopped inside and found another runner who was suffering from severe dehydration. He was really hurting and it made me seem like my issues were pale in comparison. But my feet were hamburger and it was pointless to continue. As we drove down the road, I offered up words of encouragement to the runners we passed along the road. Physically, I was feeling fine, and it was a let down that I wasn’t able to continue. Just my feet. We got Winona, and they cut off my wrist band that officially tendered my resignation from the race. We then proceeded to the end of the race at Lake Sylvia.

We got there and I offered up a big “thanks” for the driver and ambled my way into the tent to try to find a place to sleep. There was a cot there and a kind worker there offered up a blanket for me and off to sleep I went. I did have to get up about every 30 minutes to use the restroom….look’s like the water weight I gained during the day was making it’s exit from my body.

I eventually got up around 6:30 AM. As I was walking out to the restroom, Bob called out my name and I said I’d be right back. The rest of the morning was spent talking about the race, Bob’s issues, and cheering in everyone as they came across the finish line. Brian Kuhn came in and immediately headed to the diving platform on the lake and jumped in.

Finally, Scott appeared and we all cheered him in for his 27:30 finish. Bob asked him if he would do this race again, and Scott promptly said “I think I can successfully cross this one off my list”.



After much rejoicing that it was indeed over, we spent a bit of time soaking sore feet in the lake (I opted not to due to the blisters as I wanted to spend some time fixing them up in the comforts of a dry house).

In retrospect, I felt I was in good shape to finish the race, and while maybe not a sub-24 hour time, at least a PR (27:45). But the humidity took it’s toll the pounding on my feet was the final discriminator in the end. You can’t control the weather and it is what it is. I don’t do well in humidity, and considering how far I got with what I got, I feel I did reasonably well.

Time for a few weeks of rest and I head out to the dry and hot climes of Phoenix for Javelina the end of October. Now that I can handle.

A Little More Typical "Arkansas Traveler" Training Run - 22 Sept 07

I did a great "long" training run Saturday with friend Bob Rayburn. This time, on my turf. I'd been working on Bob to come up to my place to run long for awhile, and I told him a few weeks ago I have been training up around my place on terrain more akin to Arkansas than the Sanitas repeats of late. While I'm not knocking Sanitas at all (in fact, it's great hill work) it isn't exactly what you'll find at Arkansas, but I realize Bob was after other things for his training program for Arkansas. This was to be my first long run since Leadville a month and half ago, and my last long run before Arkansas just 2 weeks away.

Anyway, he agreed to come up and see what I have to run on by my place. While not as hilly and steep as Sanitas, it still has a lot of climbs, by our estimates around 4000' of elevation gain during the course of our trip. My plan was to start at my house (elev 6800') and head over to the farside of nearby Pinewood Reservoir, about 5 miles one way, then head back to the house for refilling of bottles and packs with food. Then we would head out west on Pole Hill Rd past the canal and bushwhack on a game trail to an old foresting road that takes us further west for about another 5 miles.

I've run this part many times, and came by it due to necessity. So a little background is in order (after all, it's MY blog, so I can say anything I want). Years ago, while building our house up here in rural Larimer County, I'd take time off to run on the dirt road (Pole Hill Rd) and see if I could get over to Estes Park. The local topo quadrangle maps shows Pole Hill going all the way to Hwy 36, dropping off just a few miles east and above Estes Park. Well, about 3.5 miles of the road is open, then you come to a metal fence with No Trespassing signs all over the place. At the time, I didn't think to much about it and went through and ran on the road all the way over to Hwy 36, then would run back. This was about 20 miles total distance. I did this for about 2 years, and would occasionally get stopped and questioned by the residents up there within the gated part (about 4 miles worth) as to why I'm up there, etc. After explaining I live on Pole Hill 5 miles east, they seemed okay with me being up there. One day, I was stopped by a totally irate resident threatening to call the cops on me for trespassing, yada yada. I tried to remain calm while he was screaming in my face. Even telling him I lived up there had no effect. Then I said, "Well, I see you are coming from the east. That means you had to drive on MY road, which I pay road maintenance fees to keep the road clear and graded. I know you guys don't pay into that, so don't tell me I have no right to be here. Besides, running on the road, which I am doing, has little impact on the road compared to driving. So go ahead and call the cops, I'm heading home now. Here's my name and phone number. Give them a call and have me hauled to jail!" And with that I just started back to running. Needless to say I never got a call from him or the cops. But this was a little stressful and I decided to try to find an alternative route around the road to avoid such confrontations. I want to run, not get hassled. Looking at the topo maps, talking to neighbors (who, by the way, have had the same thing happen to them by the "West Pole Hill" residents) I found an unimproved route just north, in National Forest, not on private property, that by passes the road. I'm still trying to find the end point to connect back to the road. But in all honesty, I haven't been up there in nearly a year and this run on Saturday puts the drive back in me to find the "Northwest Passage" to west Pole Hill where the public does have access (lots of trails and ATV routes). Maybe I can enlist the help of some running friends to spend a day up there to scout it out. Okay, enough on that.

I went out first thing in the morning to stash a gallon of water at the trailhead junction (not really a trail, per se, but the game trail where we will turn onto from the road) and head back before Bob gets there. I get home and Bob is there talking with Lorraine, and he brought his dog Mabh, and our dogs (K-Dog, and the two Corgis) are having fun and playing. I get ready and explain to Bob the plan. Since K-Dog hasn't been on longer runs of late, I was only going to run with him on the first leg, which should be about 1.5 to 2 hours in length. He wanted to do the same with Mabh, and he would leave Mabh with Lorraine and the dogs while we went on our second half.

It was a bit nippy and decided on a longsleeve to start off with, knowing I'd take it off later in the run as it warms up. Bob did the same. We ran down our driveway and after 200 feet or so, Bob needed something he forgot, so we went back up to the house and started over. So we headed back down 400' on our driveway and turned left to head back up a perimeter road on our property that eventually turns into a neighbors driveway. I haven't been up here in nearly a year as he was building his place so I finally got to see his house. I decided rather than going up to his house and turning right onto the road that would take us to the reservoir, we bushwhacked a shortcut to the road. This is my favorite part of all this, as the road is varying from rocky, overgrown with tall grass, smooth, and alternating up and down. We finally get to the high part of the this segment at 7300' and bushwhack to yet another unimproved road (years ago there was a visible trail here so I knew where to go). We head down the rocky road and come the end of the Ramsey-Shockey Open Space trail that will take us over and along Pinewood to the farside. Now it's a really nice groomed trail that goes down to the reservoir shoreline. It's all runnable and we take advantage of it because as we head back later up to the ridge, it'll be an uphill grind. We stop a number of times to let the dogs jump in the water and cool off and drink. We finally get to the other side in about 55 minutes. I stop to use the outhouse and we head back. When we get to the west side Bob wants to take a side trail over to Fisherman's Cove to add a little more mileage in so we head over there, about .25 mile away. We get back to the trail junction and give the dogs one last chance to be dogs and swim, then we head up the trail to the ridge. We mostly walk, run some of the more gentler sections. Bob comments that this is a good uphill. We get to the top and I tell Bob lets take a little side trail off to the left, so we do and this adds about .5 to our run. We make our way back down and to the house, a total of 9.9 miles in 2:22, a little slower than usual but okay.

We let the dogs off, refuel, refill, and change clothes, and head west this time over towards the canal and the "Northwest Passage". Once on Pole Hill, the road gently rolls up and down, and to me, this is perfect Traveler terrain. After about a few miles, the road starts getting steeper. We go more into a walk mode here until after the canal and our turnoff. We stop and I refill my bottle before continuing on. Bob comments that was a long climb (about 3 miles). Well, we have more to do.

We make our way on a game trail that eventually takes us to the old logging road and we head up more. By this time, we are both getting tired but vow to continue on til 5 miles and turnaround. After about a mile, the terrain is less steep and we are able to run more. Finally, we get to miles (via our GPS) and turnaround and head back. We topped out at elevation 8500'. It's a good thing I stashed water cause we are both out by the time we get here. We stop to eat, refill bottles and take a short break. We empty the gallon of water, and not wanting to drive back up here I strap the empty jug to my waist pack belt and take it home with me.

It's all downhill from here, and we run most of it. We finally get to the bottom of our road (Lonewolf Road) which becomes my driveway .4 miles up. It's walk mode now as we climb the 300+ feet of elevation gain to the house.

So, 20.5 miles and we are done in 5:14:01. Bob commented he was surprised at the amount of climb but the terrain was great. Lorraine and I invited Bob for lunch and beer, and we had a great time relaxing, eating and having a few beers. A great way to end a long run!

So my last long run before the Traveler is done, now it's time to taper.

Not Really The Perfect Training Run For The Arkansas Traveller 100

I did a great run last Tuesday, Sept 18, on a local hill called 'Mt Sanitas' (pronounced locally as 'San-e-tas') with good friend Bob Rayburn and his dog Mabh (pronounced "Mave'). Bob has been doing Sanitas repeats for a few months now and has always asked me if I wanted to join him. I did one loop with him right before Leadville (he was doing two), but hadn't since last week. The loop consists of a south trail which climbs about 1300' in 1.5 miles, then descends for about a mile to the Sanitas Valley below which adds another mile to the whole loop distance of 3.4 miles. The time I did this trail before Leadville I was really dragging up the climbs, and after reaching the top, turned around and went back down, which was not a good decision as I was pretty toasted and the downhill really took it out of me. I ran it with Bob last week hoping to do two loops (one clockwise, the other counter-clockwise) but was unable to get away from work in time to meet him when he started, so I was a little late and proceeded to go counter-clockwise up Sanitas Valley and meet him somewhere along the way and make my way back. I met up with him about halfway up the climb, and turned around and ran back down the valley to the cars. I then did the next loop counter-clockwise, thereby doing about 1.5 loops, or about 5 miles.


The plan today was to do two loops so I was pretty much psyched to do the two loops this time. I met Bob and Mabh after work at the foot of Sunshine Canyon and we made our way up the steep trail on the southern trail. I don't mind coming up this trail but I really hate going down it as it is quite steep, with a lot of bouldering steps to negotiate, as well as huge gnarly roots. As we were going up I stopped occasionally to take some pictures. This terrain is certainly not like anything Bob and I will see at the Arkansas Traveller in a few weeks, and I kinda chuckled to myself that this is not what I need to do for Arkansas. It is good hill training, but much more severe than what we will see there. But at least I took solace in knowing it won't be anything like this so, in theory, it'll be a cake walk. Well, not really, since it is 100 miles, and those are never a cakewalk, altitude or no, rocks or no. The scenery is fantastic however, with numerous chances to stop and catch a breath and take in the views of the city of Boulder below, and Denver and other towns in the distance.



The trail starts off with log steps, which gradually becomes boulder steps. There are some mellower sections that both Bob and I muster a run, but those are short-lived as the terrain starts getting steep again and we go back to hike mode. Some parts of the trail are actually rock faces, with no discernable trail so we make our own going up. Bob and I finally get to the summit at 6,850' and take in the views. I forgot to look at my watch here but Bob says we did it in 30 minutes. The view check also allows both of us to catch our breaths.



We then head down, but I end up taking a different trail and I notice Bob taking another. He tells me there's more scrambling on my route, so I backtrack to where Bob is and we head down. The first bit is pretty rocky, and I take my time negotiating the drops and such. Bob is way ahead of me by now, as I told him to go on ahead and wait for me at the trailhead for the valley trail below. I've turned my ankle so many times in the past I just take it easy on these types of trails now. I know that in a short while, the trail becomes a lot nicer and runnable. I notice Bob and Mabh down below a bit, not that far ahead and I start running now. I caught up with them both at the trailhead waiting for me, and I suggest we go on ahead. The rest of the loop consists of a smooth dirt road, mostly downhill, and gives me a chance to pick up the pace a bit.

I thought I kept hearing Bob's foot steps behind me and so I kept going. Not far from the end, I look back and notice no Bob. I figure he'll be here shortly so I keep going. Got to the parking lot and waited. And waited. And waited. So I decide I better go back up and see what happened to Bob. I got about a third of mile up the trail and see Bob running down. He apologized for being late but met another person with a Doberman (like Mabh) and he stopped to talk about the dogs. So I ran back down with him and got in some bonus mileage for the loop. When we got to the parking area Bob suggested just one loop, as he ran at lunchtime and was feeling it. Besides, we both were eager to be done and make our way over to one of the local pubs in town for a beer or two. So we made our way over to the Hungry Toad and ordered some Fuller's ISB pints. A nice way to end the run, and the day.

Leadville Trail 100 - 18-19 August, 2007 - Not Quite 100

Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. – Forest Gump

There’s something magical yet weird about Leadville. I’ve been involved with the race for the last 10 years either as a runner or a pacer/crew. I’ve ran it 6 times, had two DNF’s, and wildly different results each time I did manage to eke out a finish. This was to be my 7^th time at it, and hopefully a 5^th finish.

I signed up early January for the 25^th running of The Leadville Trail 100, which is my 11^th year there. I also turned 50 years old this year, so I was originally hoping for a sub-25 hour finish at the 25^th running (which equals 50). I abandoned the sub-25 hour goal early summer when I realized that wasn’t going to happen. In fact, I wasn’t going to run it at all after a lousy week of training got me depressed. A number of my running friends talked me out of that. A good friend of mine, Bob Rayburn, gave me the most simple and easily graspable comment and form of motivation I’ve heard in a long time: “Dale, just run it to have fun. Quit worrying about a sub-whatever and just run to have fun. Your best time there was when you didn’t worry about doing well, just finishing.” The year he was referring to was 1999, what was to be my 3^rd time there, my second finish with a PR of 27:23:24. It went like clockwork and I had a fun time. My goal that year was to avoid chasing cutoffs (which I did the previous year) and I had a wonderful run and finish time. I was hoping to recreate that magic that I have been unable to capture since then.

Who’s the slimy communist shit twinkle-toed cocksucker who just signed his own death warrant? – Full Metal Jacket

So I signed up, got a house rental all lined up, and was able to snag some other runners to help offset the cost. Michele Jensen, who eventually came in second female this year just minutes behind the lead woman, wanted in. Another good friend, Vince Gerber, came in on the last minute when I offered the place to him versus his sleeping in the back of his truck.

I trained like a madman all summer long up on the Leadville course. I ran a kick ass 50 miler in Utah, Squaw Peak, in early June and felt great and didn’t bonk out like last year and finished in a relatively good time. I did the Leadville Marathon in early July, felt great there as well. I trained on Hope Pass three times doing well on the climbs and felt like I was going to be able to climb decently during the run. This year there were some course changes that I was able to discover prior to the race, and was glad I did, although during the race, they were marked very well and you had to be a total brain-dead zombie to miss them. I was focusing on the climbs to get my recently diagnosed exercise-induced asthma under check and figure out what worked and what didn’t. What I found out, in training anyway, was that I needed to go slow and consistent, not overdo it, but not go too slow. I found that happy medium and was climbing quite well just weeks before the race. In fact, I did a nice climb up Mosquito Pass (elev. 13,181 ft) just east of Leadville the weekend before the race and felt great the whole way and made it in a great time (at least for me) in 63 minutes, this from the bottom of the road where the aid station for the marathon is to the top, about 3 miles and change and 2200’ of climb.

I spent the previous two weeks tapering, chilling, and not trying to overdo it.

Say man when I was growin’ up if wanted a Jacuzzi we had to fart in the tub. – Trading Places

Checked into the house Thursday afternoon with Vince and was amazed at how huge it was. The bathroom upstairs even had a Jacuzzi in it (although I never used it). Got my stuff organized and started to chill out. Michele came by a bit later and we all went to the pasta dinner to meet new friends and get reacquainted with old ones. I see fellow SLUGs Paul Schoenlaub and Gwen Heist-Hall, and we all mug for the camera. I go back to the house and chill out some more.

I got up bright and early for the pre-race weigh in and med check. Vince, Michele, Ron Wright and I stand in line and we are in and out in 10 minutes. We were all taking bets on how much each of us weighed. I said 193. I ended up at 188, a bit low. But everyone else said they were low as well. Time to eat breakfast. Chilled out afterwards at Ron’s before Ken the RD’s Pep Rally. He was pretty emotional this year and as always brought the house down. The medical talk by the local EMS doctor was a hoot. Some of the funnier items:

“If you are getting dehydrated, be one with your urine. If it is the color of Guinness, that’s bad. [Reaches over to the table and picks up a Coors Light] If it is the color of Coors, this is good. Guinness-bad. Coors-Good.”

“While climbing Hope Pass be concerned about pulmonary edema and hypothermia. We will have big sweaty guys in nice warm sleeping bags to keep anyone warm who may need them. Hopefully, these big guys won’t be suffering from pulmonary edema and be on Viagra.”

“Be careful coming down the steep trails and don’t fracture any bones. Hopefully, you won’t be suffering from pulmonary edema as I’m not going to be casting any fractures as a result of Viagra.”

With those words we left, I went back to the house and just chilled out. I sorted through my crew bags, made sure I had all I was going to need in the bags during the course of the run. Lorraine made it up that afternoon with the rest of the dogs (K-Dog was already here as he came up with me on Thursday). We all had a nice dinner. Michele’s crew finally showed up and she showed them what she had. I was waiting on my first crew member to show up, Nattu, as the rest of them (Bob “Dinosoreass” Rayburn and John “Triple Tongue” Gains) would show up tomorrow morning after the race started. Nattu finally showed up and I showed him what I had, went over some last minute details, and then went to bed.

So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama himself; Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So I'm on the first tee with him, I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one (big hitter, the Lama) long into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga -- gunga -- "gunga lagunga." So we finish the 18th hole and he’s gonna stiff me. So I says, "Hey, Lama, hey, how bout a little something, you know, for the effort, you know?" and he says "oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when you die, on your death-bed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that going for me. Which is nice. – Caddyshack

Got up nice and early and had a decent breakfast before heading off to the start. Vince walked over to Ron’s trailer while Nattu gave me a ride to the start. Checked in and mingled around until the start. It was pleasantly warm, but I still had on a jacket (which I would shed not minutes after we started). Before I knew it, it was time to line up and wait for the shotgun blast that signaled the start of yet another Leadville Trail 100.

The plaque for the alternates is in the ladies room. – Top Gun

As we headed down 6^th street and up to the Boulevard, I was trying to stay within a reasonable pace, chatting with others, anything to keep the pace down. I was running with Ron and Vince, and then Vince took off. I told Ron I hope Vince doesn’t blow up at the end (he didn’t). Got to the Boulevard (1 mile into the race) and just went easy. I caught up with Davy Crockett wearing his coonskin cap. I yelled out “Daniel Boone!” and he corrected me “It’s Davy Crockett….oh, it’s you Dale.” Mission accomplished. My plan was to get to the mini-powerline climb (mile 5.5) around 55 minutes. I got there in 53. Did the powerline climb slow and easy. Got to the road and finally onto the Turquoise Lake trail. I could hear cheering a few miles ahead across the lake at Tabor Boat Ramp, so the leader must have gone through already.

I kept up a nice, steady pace along the trail and luckily, never had a big issue with tons of runners ahead. Ron caught up to me (as I had to stop off trail to do nature’s bidding). Saw Chris, one of Ron’s crewmembers at a campsite and decided I’d refill my bottles here rather in the chaos at Mayqueen aid just less than a mile away. Checked in and out of Mayqueen at 6:23 (2:23 into the race and 13.5 miles)…right on schedule!

Made my way up the Colorado Trail to Hagerman Road, it took me 35 minutes to do the 1.75 miles. So far, so good. I ran most of the Hagerman Road section which is a mile before the sharp left turn and up to Sugarloaf Pass, which I walked. I finally got to the top of the pass at a rather mellow 11,150’ in elevation. Then I felt like running, and soon I was on the big descent down Powerline for 3.3 miles to the Fish Hatchery road. I didn’t go my usual breakneck pace here, opting to go easy but not brake with the legs for fear of overblown quads later in the race. Ron passed me on this section, but I managed to keep him in view the whole way down. Got to the road and before I knew it, I was at the Fish Hatchery aid station in 4:38, about 6 minutes slower than planned, but within the desired range of time. Checked in and out and met up with Nattu on the way out, and sat down for a few minutes to eat, drink, and change clothes. Strapped on the mp3 player as well as this next section is a bore and I’ll need the distraction to keep me moving.

This is supposed to be a happy occasion. Let’s not bicker and argue about who killed who. – Holy Grail

Headed out of Fish feeling pretty good, and started out on a run 4 minutes then walk 1 minute routine. I was playing cat and mouse with Dave Strong on this part of the course. He’d walk when I was running, and vice-versa. This part always sucks so I just wanted to get through it without dying. I guess at one point Dave thought I was needing food and/or water as we were approaching Treeline he asked me if I needed fluids or food. He even offered me part of his turkey wrap after Treeline (which I took). By this time the road was rolling enough that the 4/1 wasn’t working out, timing-wise, so I ran the flats and downs and walked the hills. I finally got to Halfmoon aid station in 6:13 (21 minutes off of pace) and filled my bottles and headed back out on the road. People were passing me, but I was passing others so I was still feeling pretty good. Before I knew it I was at the turnoff for the climb up to the Mt Elbert trailhead north access. I was dreading this ¾ mile climb of 800’, but surprisingly it went really well. I was fairly slow (as planned) but consistent and didn’t stop to catch a breath or go anaerobic in the process. I was happy nonetheless. Now it’s cruise time to Twin Lakes.

I feel the need. The need for speed! – Top Gun

The next 6 miles are pretty much downhill, some uphills thrown in, but it’s mainly a nice downhill descent to Twin Lakes. I used this time to try to make up some lost time to Halfmoon. I did manage to pass quite a few people in this section, but I was still behind the 8-ball time wise. When I finally hit the jeep road, about 1 mile to the aid station at Twin Lakes, it was already 12:20, 25 minutes behind schedule. I radioed ahead to my crew I was about 10 minutes out. Got to Twin Lakes in 8:29, met up with Nattu, checked in and out and ran to the crew point in the parking lot across the highway. As I was cresting the short hill before the steep but short descent into the aid station area, a loud crash of thunder was nearby scaring the crap out of me as well as the bystanders waiting for their runners.

I saw Bob and John there waiting for me, and I wanted to just sit for a bit and eat, drink, and put on a jacket as it was looking a bit stormy. I guess I was here longer than I planned, but suddenly I wanted to get going. As I was leaving I caught up with Terri Pfeil so we both went out into the meadow together. She was complaining about her legs hurting and wanting to drop earlier but her husband Mark wouldn’t let her. Good thing as she was able to finish it this year.

I’m too old for this shit! – Lethal Weapon

We had to go through this mucky, boggy swamp, mid-calf deep and smelly. Luckily, more water crossings awaited us to wash it all off. There were quite a few water crossings to get us warmed up for the river. Finally got to the river, saw the rope and plunged in. It was just above my knees (waist high on shorter runners) and cold. It was flowing pretty well from all the rain the past week. Well, up to now it has been fine and dandy. Now the climb up to Hope Pass was staring at me and I was hoping to get up the damn thing in a reasonable time. It wasn’t to be.

As I understand it, you only breathe once a minute. – 2001

First off, it was becoming harder and harder to breathe as I climbed up. And as a result, I was getting slower and slower. Tons of people were passing me, and I had to stop every few minutes to catch my breath. It was truly a death march, although the legs weren’t hurting, just couldn’t breathe. This was very frustrating as I have spent all summer up on the course training on these very climbs with no issues. In fact, I had one of my best ascents up Hope Pass just a month prior. WTF!!

Greg, honey. Is it supposed to be this soft? – Animal House

The other issue here was the mud. Lots of it and slicker than snot. I was hoping the other side wasn’t like this or it’s going to be really slow and ugly on the descent. The mud was so slimy that there were pools of water around previous footsteps in the mud. Of course, this didn’t help my situation any as it made it even more difficult to climb with this gunk. Lots of huge fungi all around, and it was pretty damp and humid as well. A little rain off and on as well, but nothing huge.

By the time I got to Hopeless aid station, ¾ mile from the summit, I was toasted. I sat down and asked for some of their famous mashed potatoes and coke. They were out of coke but offered me Poweraide instead. I took it. And took it. And took it. The potatoes were divine as well as the Poweraide. I was starting to feel much better, and my breathing was easier as well. The sun was out and I was warming up. One of the aid station personnel came over to me and asked me if I was number 308, as they heard I was having severe difficulties climbing. I said I was but was feeling better. I guess he was satisfied with my answer and said good luck on the rest of the climb. I saw John Hobbs come in and he asked me how I was. I said I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it or not in time for Winfield. He said don’t give up.

I see dead people. – The Sixth Sense

The climb up to the summit was uneventful, and actually was faster than expected. I was certainly feeling a lot better, could breathe again and just got to the top for the ride down on the other side. To my surprise, it was bone dry on this side, so I decided to let it rip to the bottom. I passed quite a few people on the downhills, some looking fine others not so fine. Also saw a lot of returnee runners on the their second trip up to the pass. Michele Jensen was looking great, and saw Daniel Boone, err, Davy Crockett as well. I only wished I was in their shoes as I didn’t want to come back up, but had to in order to go on.

Got to the road and made my way up the next 2. 5miles to Winfield and the turnaround. I was running a lot of the road here, walking most of the hills. Came across Scott Snyder who was groaning. He explained to me he broke some ribs a week or so earlier and that he was going to have to call it at Winfield. I was feeling kinda sorry for myself here, I must admit, since I was feeling so slow I kinda wanted to end it at Winfield myself. A lot of my running friends coming back out of the aid station gave me words of encouragement telling me to go on, I have plenty of time, etc.. I looked at my watch and it was just before 5 PM, more than an hour before the cutoff. Not a great situation, but I would go on.

I rolled into Winfield in 13:09 (5:09 PM), checked in and out and sat down with the crew and did the eating and drinking routine. I was feeling pretty wasted at this point, but Nattu was there ready to pace and wanted to get me going.

What? Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! – Animal House

Upon leaving Winfield, Nattu laid down the law (which I told him earlier before the race to make sure I do) in running the flats and downs, walking the ups. That is what we did all along the road. I thought I was feeling bad, there were still a lot of runners coming in who were probably not going to make it out of Winfield, or even to Twin Lakes. I wasn’t even sure on that one myself. But we continued to motor along and before long, we were at the dreaded trailhead for the big 2.2 mile climb back up Hope. When we got there, there was a helicopter up above looking for a landing spot. I asked the road marshal what’s up, and he said they were trying to get a guy off the course who had an epileptic seizure near the top. OMG!!

Maybe I should just hold my breath. – Apollo 13

I told Nattu it was going to be slow, and it was. Once again, it was hard to get a breath in. I was hoping to get up to where the trees end 1 mile up the trail and pray I can breathe again like the other side. It was slow. I’d go awhile but found myself leaning against a tree catching my breath. Runners behind me were catching up to us (sorta like the other side’s climb) which afforded me the excuse to step off to the side and wait for them to go around. This went on for about an hour. Finally, we got to the boulder field and above the trees. I was starting to feel better again and could go longer without having to stop. It also isn’t as steep the last mile up as down below. Regardless, I was moving better now and feeling better, so I just wanted to get up to the top before nightfall. We were playing leapfrog with a group of runners, and ended up passing some on the climbs while we were passed by others. Anne Watts came by with her runner she was pacing and they motored on by. At least the weather was holding out great. It rained a bit down below, but not really bad. HEY. Guess what? We made it! I yelled out a loud “Woo Hoo!” at the top and started cruising down the trail to the Hopeless aid station below. I was getting hungry and just wanted to get going.

No more wanking my yankee. The Donger need food. – Sixteen Candles

I must admit my forte is the downhills, and I wanted to take advantage of that now that the big climb was over with, at least for now. Passed a number of runners going down the trail, including Anne and her runner. People were hearing my thumping of my shoes on the rocks as they stepped aside to let me pass. A lot of “Thanks!” were being said as we made our way down. Got to Hopeless before dark, sat down briefly for some more potatoes and Poweraide. I gave Nattu my bottles to refill while I ate and drank. After a few minutes I wanted to get going so I got up and told Nattu we’re leaving. It was pretty boggy here and I ended up running more on the grass off to the side rather than the muddy trail.

Yep, yeah we’re famous for our mud.
Famous for your mud? How’s your Chinese food? – My Cousin Vinny

Even though it was muddy we were running through the muck. There were some sections that were very muddy and steep which caused us to slow down and walk, but it was a run all the way down to the river. About a mile below Hopeless we finally had to pull out our flashlights. Now I was just looking for flashlights ahead to try to pull me along and catch up to. We passed a couple of runners who mentioned “You are on a mission! Keep going! Go for it!”. Not sure if it was going to help any but I was feeling pretty good. Some of the switchbacks were pretty muddy and Nattu mentioned that I should stay up above it as it wasn’t as slick there as in the middle. I was pretty bummed on one section, totally runnable and straight, was a mucky mess that forced us to a walk. Luckily it was short and we were able to run again.

Inconceivable! – Princess Bride

I would sort of slow down at times, only to see a light ahead which perked me up a bit to pick up the pace a bit and catch the light. Then a miracle happened: the mud was over and it was just dirt and rocks to run through. Woo hoo! Not long afterward, we reached the metal sign indicating the river was just a mile ahead. No stopping now! I kept going. Here’s a section I normally walk as it is fairly flat but I was running it, feeling really good. Not sure if it was my adrenaline going or I had a second wind, but we kept running. I told Nattu if he was ready to get really wet. Got to the river, and Nattu asked if I wanted to go first. I said I’ll go first and with my flashlight in my mouth I held onto the rope and waded across. Got to the other side and waited for Nattu, gave him a hand up and we continued on running. More water crossings, colder and feet numbing than before.

I’m fuzzy on the whole good bad thing. – Ghostbusters

Nattu radioed ahead that we were about a mile out from Twin Lakes, and that we were going to need to be crewed after the aid station as we were going to be tight on the Twin Lakes cutoff. When we were just coming up to the bog, I told Nattu to have fun. What a mess. I nearly fell over on a steep hole, but kept going. I got a call on the radio from Ron’s crew asking if we had seen Ron. That got me going. Maybe I could catch up with him. I saw lights just ahead and kept running. It wasn’t him, but I continued on and saw the lights of Twin Lakes just ahead. There was lots of cheering going on. Got to the parking lot and I heard Matt Watts shout out “Get going Dale! You have 5 minutes!” I glanced over where Ron’s crew was but didn’t see Ron (he was there already) but kept going. Then Lorraine came up next to me and ran with me through the parking lot and across the street. She backed off then as I continued on. Gwen Heist-Hall yelled at me to get moving, just minutes away. Got to the aid station with 2 minutes to spare. Checked in and out and got to my crew area and sat down briefly to refuel, and rest. Nattu handed over the reigns to Bob now. Bob was ready to go. I needed a few minutes to recover from the past 1.5 hours of running from the summit. I thanked Nattu for his help, and told him I doubt I could have done what I did without his incessant nagging and prodding to keep me moving. In other words, he did exactly what I told him to do before this whole rollercoaster of a ride started.

Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night. – All About Eve.

After about 5 minutes or so, I got up and said let’s go. I knew it was going to be really tight this next section. I got here just before the cutoff, and have 3 hours for the next 8.5 miles to Halfmoon. Under normal situations, like, not chasing cutoffs, 3.5 hours to Halfmoon is not a big deal. It’s generally agreed by most runners that the Halfmoon cutoff is extremely tight if chasing cutoffs. As an example, my first year of finishing Leadville I got to Halfmoon 10 minutes before the cutoff, and walked the next 7 miles to Fish Hatchery aid station and was ahead of the cutoff there by 1.5 hours. But, these are the rules and I had to deal with them. So now I have 3 hours, a section I can do fresh in 2.5 hours if all goes well. But I’m tired, I’m starting to get achy, especially my legs (from all the mud running my quads were trashed) but I’m still optimistic. Bob was ready and we headed out. It was a slow and steady climb up the jeep road. This section used to really bother me, but I guess I’ve done it enough times now that it isn’t that big of a deal now. The part that bugs me is the long climb after the road up to the camping area just below the Mt Elbert south trailhead, long and uphill. Bob kept me focused and talked about whatever came to mind. I tried to reply to some of his questions but I was just wanting to get this climb over with and wanted to focus on that and not waste a lot of energy talking at this point. We ran some of the flattish parts and minor downs, but mostly it was a walk. Actually, my running was probably more of a powerhike than anything else at this point.

We finally got to the point where it was a slight downhill, and I tried to muster a run but it was more of a walk. I knew at this point that making it in time to Halfmoon was not going to happen. All I could do is keep going and see what happens.

Goddammit! I don’t want another estimate! I want those procedures, now! – Apollo 13

When we reached the 4 mile point on our segment, I asked Bob what time it was. He said, rather reluctantly, “11:30”. “Dale, I didn’t want to mention it but I don’t think we are going to get to Halfmoon in time.” We left Twin at 9:45. It has taken us 1:45 to go 4 miles, mostly uphill, but we still have some hills to climb before heading down to Halfmoon road. “Well Bob, I kinda knew that when we left but I didn’t really want to quit there. It is what it is, let’s just get there.” It was at this point we both mutually agreed to just relax, make the most of what we have left and enjoy the rest of the night as we made our way over to Halfmoon. At this point, it seemed like a tremendous burden had been lifted from my shoulders and I was feeling much better about the decision instead of stressing over a ridiculously tight cutoff. We finally got to the top of the climb where a huge fire pit marks the descent down to Halfmoon. Bob asked me if I wanted to run the down or walk. I said “Let’s run it so we can get to the beer sooner”. So we ran it. I ended up walking it instead. At this time, it was after midnight. I suggested to Bob we should take the Mt Elbert parking lot shortcut instead of staying on the course and adding another mile to our now hopeless journey. He was game. So at the bottom of the descent we came to the turnoff for the parking lot and we made a right instead of veering left and staying on the course.

You’re even late for your own funeral. – Goodfellas

We got to the road and started walking and running. We were wondering how we were going to get to our crew who was now waiting at Treeline. Hopefully someone at the aid station would give us a ride. We were about ¼ mile from the aid station when we came upon a truck picking up all the stray runners who were late. The guy came up to us and told us “Regrettably, you’re late getting into Halfmoon. I can give you a ride there and we will contact your crew to come pick you guys up.” Well, problem solved. We climbed in and enjoyed the rest of our ride into Halfmoon.

It took Nattu about 20 minutes to get the word that we needed picking up. In the meantime, Bob and I were hanging out at the aid station, huddled around the propane space heater, eating and drinking whatever was left to eat and drink. We asked for a beer, but all they had was Coors light. No thanks. That ain’t beer. Finally Nattu showed up to pick us up.

You’ll get nothing and like it! – Caddyshack

Nattu gave Bob, I and two other runners a ride back to Treeline. John was waiting for us there and Bob went with John back to the house. Nattu dropped off the runners at their cars in Leadville, and then we headed back to the house for a much anticipated beer or two. It was now 2 AM, John, Bob and I were drinking a beer or two with Nattu abstaining and waxing philosophically about the days events. No regrets, just frustration on my part. I felt bad that John didn’t get to pace, but he was okay with it and has been to Leadville enough to know these things can and will happen.

Was I disappointed? You bet! Do I have any regrets? No. Sometimes things go well and other times they don’t. I’m still learning about this EIA and how to manage it. Obviously, there is more learning to do. That’s the neat thing about these 100 milers….you can always learn after you run one, finish or not.

I’ll be back. – The Terminator

Maybe not next year but sometime in the next few years.

Thanks to all who helped me on my shorter journey this year, as I would not have been able to get where I was without all of your help.

Squaw Peak 50 Mile Trail Run - June 2, 2007

I didn't get a PR, but the race went well for me, despite the heat.

Squaw Peak 50 Mile near Orem Utah is probably the third hardest 50 in the US, behind Lake City (San Juan Solstice) and Zane Grey. The race starts and ends at Vivian Park, just a few miles south of where the Wasatch Front 100 race ends. Same mountains, different scenery. I've done all these and tend to agree with that ranking. Squaw Peak has about 12K of climbing, as does Lake City. Lake City is harder because of the altitude (climb up to 13K, head down, head back up to 12K, run at 12K for 11 miles, head back down, climb back up to 11K, then head into town). But Squaw's climbs more numerous, and it's usually hot. Zane Grey doesn't have the big climbs like Lake City or Squaw, but it has climbing and lots of it and it's hot as well. One section of Zane Grey is totally exposed for about 13 miles. We start and end at Vivian Park, but the course goes counter-clockwise in a loop. The race filled up in 2 days this year!

I was watching the weather the previous week and it was looking to be a scorcher during the weekend. It got to 90 in Salt Lake, so it was around 85 along the paved road along Hobble Creek (miles 22-26), and probably in the low to mid-70's up top (9300'). At the start it was in the low-50's which merited wearing several layers and a long sleeve. No gloves though. It started getting hot around 10 AM. I took advantage of the coolness at the start and went at a moderate clip. The first several miles are along a bike path leading to the trailhead that takes us up one of many climbs. There was a water stop here in case you needed it, but I declined and just kept moving. The climbs were slow, but I didn't stop and I did manage to pass a few people here. I just kept it moving up to the second aid station (mile 5.4) in a little over an hour. The last mile leading up to the second aid station was a doozy but I kept my head down and my feet moving.

After this aid, you continue on single track trail and meander through some marshy areas until you reach a road. Once I got on the road I was able to run more, but I still walked the hills. No snow on the course. Two years ago, this entire section was snow filled. The pace was nice and moderate along the road, and I was able to get to the next aid station (mile 10.4) in 2:39. Refilled bottles, grabbed some melon and headed out. I was having some stomach issues off and on, and decided to take some Tums to settle it out. It did, for the most part. The next 3.5 miles was pretty much along a ridge line leading up to Kolob Basin aid station (mile 14.6). This section in the past has been pretty snow covered in here, one year you were side-stepping the traverse. This year, there was no snow whatsoever between aid station 3 and aid station 4, except for what was protected from the sun clinging to the hillsides. I got to aid station 4 around 8:30 AM (2:30 runtime). I ditched the wet clothes here and went to sleeveless shirt. I also put on my ice hat (with ice) and a kooltie. I spent about 5 minutes or so here to change clothes, refuel, etc.. Then I was off.

I ran the road down from here all the way to mile 22 aid (start of the paved road). I wasn't hammering it, but the pace felt good and relaxed (around 9:00). I passed a ton of people here. Some were early starters but a lot were people I was running with earlier. I didn't walk one step these 6 miles. There were a lot of walkers here. I got to the 22 mile point at 10:00 AM. I took a minute to refill and eat, then used a porta pot and made my way out onto the paved road. This is by far one of the worse sections of the race: it's paved, it's usually hot, and it's straight and boring. But it didn't go badly here at all. It was hot, but with the breeze we had and the ice and kool tie, it went really well. I ran the flats and downs, walked the ups here. No sense in overdoing it as I knew the next climbs after 26 miles are energy sappers. I met up with some other runners and we had a nice conversation. I was wearing my yellow SLUG shirt here and I got a ton of comments about St Louis. "Wow! Way to go you flatlander!" "Where about in St Louis?" etc. Nice! After a while, I got tired of saying I used to live there but now live in Colorado. Why spoil it for everyone? Before I knew it, the next aid station at mile 26 was just ahead.

Got to the end of the paved road and aid station 6 at 11:00. Grabbed a frozen towel and wiped my face and hands, refilled, ate and left. Last year this next section kicked my ass, and I was dragging on the climbs for the next 7 miles. This year, it was hot, slow, but I wasn't feeling bad like last year and ran the flats and downs pretty aggressively. The first 3.5 miles are on dusty jeep, 4x4 roads. Lots of ATV's going by kicking up dust. Pretty annoying. I got to the next aid station at mile 29.6 in 7:06. Grabbed some more food, bottles refilled and ice in the hat and left. This next section really kicks your butt. A big climb through a huge meadow. The last .8 miles leading to the next aid station is all downhill. Yoohoo! Got to the 33 mile aid station in 8:014. By this time, the winner of the race was already done for about 15 minutes! When I got here I took a 15 minute break to get reorganized, fed, watered, and cleaned. Up to this point I was using 2 water bottles, and the original plan was to switch to a camelback for the final 17 miles. The RD was mandating at least 3 water bottles or the equivalent leaving this aid station. I decided to stick with the bottles, and I had an extra bottle stashed here in my drop bag and opted to go with the bottles rather than messing with filling the bladder and such. This worked out great as I just ran out of water just 100 yards from the Windy Pass aid station 7 miles distant and 3 hours ahead.

It must have been pretty hot this next section as the ice in my hat quickly melted after 30 minutes. I mostly walked this section until we reached the ridgeline leading to the big climb, which I was able to run reasonably well. When I came to some snow before the the big hill I stopped to fill my hat with it. Then it was the moment of truth: the big ass climb from hell at mile 39. 1.5 miles of 1300' of climb, straight up an avalanche chute. But this year there was NO snow whatsoever on the climb up to Windy Pass. In the past this climb was done on snow. Take two steps, slide back one, etc. So we ended up taking a new trail to the left. Still steep as hell, and the willows along the trail really liked to snag your shins and shoes. I would climb about 100-150 feet and have to stop to catch a breath. One foot in front of the other until you get towards the top where it levels out some and you can walk it without having to stop and suck wind. This year we were able to use the original route in the bowl versus having to go all the way to the top and then down. I was thinking I'd rather have the snow here to climb on as the footing we were on here sucked, with a lot leg and shoe snaggers from all the willows. At least there would be some coolness from the snow.

I got to the Windy Pass aid station (mile 41) around 4:20 PM. Water from the spring was running really slow here (it was taking them 45 minutes to fill a gallon jug from the stream), so I was limited to one bottle fill up. I did manage to mooch a few cups of water while they were filling my bottle. The snow from earlier years was gone. Some little sections but that was it. I had forgotten how rocky it is through here so I was not going all out just yet. Once the rocks cleared out I really let it loose. No one passed me these last 9 miles to the finish. I did pass quite a few through here. I got to the last aid station (mile 46.5) in 13:00. Breaking my PR was not going to happen here (13:34). They offered me a bit of heaven when I got here: an ice water-laden towel to wipe off with and drench with. Pure heaven. I refilled my hat with ice, drank a cold soda, filled one bottle and took off down the last 3.5 miles of paved road.

While mostly downhill, there were some hills to consider walking. Some I walked but most of them I ran. I just wanted it over with by this time and it was hot.

I got to the finish line in 13:42 total time. It took me 2:12 to do these last 9 miles.

While I didn't get a PR this year, I was extremely pleased with how I ran the race, managed the heat, and not be totally trashed at the end. This was especially sweet after my dismal run at Collegiate Peaks just a month prior, where I was pushing cutoffs, got lost, and finished after the official time. I was tired, to be sure, but not sick or feeling lousy. The only downsides during the race were some off and on bouts of stomach upset early in the race, which Tums was able to settle out by the time I got to the first paved section of road. It wasn't an issue after that (perhaps using the porta pot helped in that regard too).

I waited for several of my friends to finish then headed back for a nice shower and a late evening meal at Subway.

I followed my plan for the most part: take advantage of the cool at the start, go slow and easy while it's hot, and hammer the downhill last 7 miles to the finish. I wasn't able (actually, I was able but the footing was horrible) to run some of the rockier sections down on the last descent, but I was moving and passing people. It's nice to be able to run late in the race and not feel forced or lacking in energy. I drank constantly, I was regular on the salt intake, ate solid food at all the aid stations, and ate what I carried with me as well. Using bottles instead of a camelback (which I've used exclusively here in the past) went really well.

With my exercise-induced asthma, I seemed to fare pretty well in the heat. Perhaps I need to do more hot runs. I hate the heat, but I seem to manage it a lot better than cold runs, where my breathing goes south in a hurry. I'll be helping a close friend in late July at Badwater. I'll get more heat there than ever before. It should be interesting.

This was number three for me at Squaw Peak.

I'll be back, hopefully, next year.