Git 'Er Dunn!

It was a wet and wild weekend up in Leadville this past weekend: snow, thunderstorms, hail, rain, wind, rain, thunderstorms, hail, rain. Did I mention rain? Oh, it was also cold.

Vince Gerber and I went up to Leadville this year to help our good buddy Ron get a tenth finish in. Along with his crew: Norma, his wife, and Jan and Chris (loyal crew members for years) we all wanted and said one thing: “Dammit Ron! Get that big 1000 mile buckle!” In other words, ‘Git ‘er’dunn’.

This was one year I was hoping my weather forecast during the race would be wrong. Actually, I thought there would be snow at the start, and it was quite nice for the start of the race, where 452 hardy souls took off into the cold dark. From then on, it rained off and on all morning and into the afternoon. There were periods of breaking clouds and blue skies, and it wasn’t until Saturday afternoon that it finally cleared up enough to make a favorable impression of all involved.

I got up to Leadville Thursday afternoon in time for the pasta dinner, but no Ron to be found. So I went ahead and got my dinner and ate, talking to some familiar faces (Larry Hall, Beth Simpson-Hall, Paul Schoenlaub, to name a few). Finally Ron, Norma, Chris and Jan show up and we have a nice conversation. I notice Ron is coughing a bit, remnants from a cold he caught a few weeks earlier. I was hoping it wouldn’t be a problem come race day.

We got back to the RV and found the digs I would be using for the weekend: a smallish tent. At least I would be dry. Ron was supposed to bring up his big family tent for Vince and I were to share. He forgot. So after a few beers and talking, it was time to get some sleep. Got in the tent and found myself fast asleep. I woke up around midnight feeling very cold. I awoke to find the tent door flapping in my face and my head partially stuck outside. Thankfully no rain. I discovered the zipper had failed and the door came apart. I tried to fasten it together with safety pins, but found that wouldn’t keep the rain out, so I decided to take all my stuff into my Pathfinder and sleep in the back. Ron would hear no end of this all weekend.


I got up around 5:30 and took a shower and noticed Jan was up so I decided to go to the RV and see what’s happening. Norma was up making breakfast but Ron was still asleep. Not for long as Norma set off the smoke alarm in the RV getting a pan ready for eggs. After breakfast Ron and I went over to the race check in for the runners medical baseline measurements and such. We ran into Scott Olmer while waiting in line. After Ron and Scott were done, Ron wanted to go back and get some sleep. I went over to Scott and Steph’s Café for breakfast with Scott. We then went driving around afterward, Scott in search of a new housing development in town. We ended up taking a tour of the old mining roads and abandoned mines before finding the new development on the south part of town, located near the town landfill.


Got to the pre-race talk with Scott. Couldn’t find Ron. We were sitting in front of Scott Snyder and John Hobbs. Scott Snyder just coming off a great Badwater run, and John is here for his 13th finish (unlucky 13?). After the talk, went back to Ron’s RV and waited for Vince to show up. He was stuck in traffic on I-70 towards the tunnel due to an accident and crappy weather. The weather here was improving, and sunny so Ron and I ate lunch outside on the picnic table waiting for Vince. Vince finally showed up (bringing the rain with him) and the fun began. Vince gave Norma some zucchini bread his wife Karen made, vowing Vince to let only Norma have any. We then went to Quincy’s for dinner. I had already made alternate means for housing, having begged Karen Pate and Pat Homelvig to allow me a place to stay for the night(s) ahead. I took solace in that I was much more warmer, and comfortable, than Vince in his little one-man tent he brought up.




Went over to Pat and Karen’s around 8:00 PM, Karen and I went over to Rosie’s for takeout waiting for Pat, then went back to the house. I got up around 2:30 and headed over to Ron and Norma’s at 3:00 AM, trying to get some positive vibes in Ron’s direction while he ate breakfast. So far, no rain. Ron, Vince and I walked to the starting line at 3:20. Saw lots of people and made the social rounds with everyone. Soon it was time to start the race, and with the blast of the shotgun, all 452 runners were off. Vince, Norma and I headed back to the trailer for breakfast.


Jan took off for the Fish Hatchery, and Norma left for Twin Lakes around 6:30. Vince and I hung around until 7:30 before heading over to Fish Hatchery to meet Ron, 24 miles into his journey. His estimated time of arrival here was 8:45. While we were waiting, Vince and I had fun calling all the runners going in by nicknames. “Way to go green Mohawk!”, “Looking good tank top!”, etc.. Scott Olmer runs by calling us the ‘Banana Boys’ with our yellow rain jackets on. Scott Snyder comes by, with his wife Katie next to him, and I yell out “Scott! You are looking like shit!” I later checked with Katie if he was okay with that, and she assured me he’d much rather hear stuff like that rather than ‘looking good’ comments. In fact, he actually looked quite good. It was now after 9:00 AM and we were a bit worried. We heard from Jan that Chris saw him at Mayqueen 13 miles in and he was muddy, some blood on his knee and a lost flashlight after a good tumble along the Boulevard 3 miles in to the run.


Vince and I keep our eyes out for Ron. We saw a guy coming in who had on the same shorts, jacket and ugly floppy hat Ron has and so go running up to him and find out: not Ron! Man, it’s daunting to realize there are people out there who look like Ron, much so in the same race! Finally, Ron shows up at around 9:30 AM. I take his empty bottles and Vince goes up to the aid station with him. I grab a rain poncho and some filled bottles and run up there to meet him. I put his bottles into his fanny pack and off he goes after a change of jackets.




Vince and I decided earlier that we would go to Treeline to meet Ron while Jan goes on to Twin Lakes. Vince remembers he left his jacket at the RV, but we dedide to get it after we see Ron at Treeline since it is such a short distance. I have never been here crewing for someone so I was happy to go and see all the runners go through this unofficial aid area, that through the years has become a crewing area and a tradition. After getting lucky and finding a close parking spot, we head up to Halfmoon Road and wait. Soon Ron comes flying by looking great (the break in the weather helped too) and declining any help. So we head back to the RV, get Vince’s jacket, and head on out to Twin Lakes.

We got there around 11:00, and Ron’s expected arrival time of around 12:45 gave us time to take it easy and relax a bit. Vince decided he was going to get his pacing clothes on so when he goes to Winfield to pick up Ron he’d be ready. I find Norma, Jan and Chris hanging out under a canopy they put up near the trailhead and over a picnic table. I’m hungry, so Jan cooks up some burgers for all of us. Now it’s wait time. Since Ron was late getting into Fish, I figured 1:30 PM was our window for his arrival. Well, when it came to 2:00 PM, we were a bit worried. Looking at my watch, I figured Ron’s chances of finishing in time were evaporating which each passing minute. Ron projected a 7.5 hour out to Winfield and back to Twin Lakes. With his slowness and the weather, I figured 8 hours minimum. That put Ron into Twin Lakes after the 9:45 PM cutoff. And the cutoff for coming into Twin Lakes at 2:30 PM was not far.

Ron showed up at around 2:20, so we hustled him through the aid station and to the crew area where we had food ready for him. Molly Barnes was there helping as well, and after Ron sat down to eat she told Ron to get up and take his burger with him. Ron got up without complaint and headed out, in what was probably the quickest rest break for Ron here, about 3 minutes.

Chris was anxious to go to Winfield after Ron left, and he and Vince left about 30 minutes later. I opted to stay behind at Twin Lakes and keep the crew company. While waiting, there was an obnoxious crew person on some other crew who'd yell out "Git 'er Dunn!" each time a runner came by. I wasn't annoyed with it but Jan and Norma were getting tired of hearing it constantly. Finally, Rickie Redland runs by and starts yelling "I'll get it done when I get it done!". At the time I didn't make the connection, but later it became apparent she was rather annoyed with this guy. Runners can get pretty cranky during these things. It did shut him up for some time, but then we had a chuckle when he started back up with it later in the evening. Matt and Anne Watts showed up that afternoon to watch the festivities and wait for their runner Beth Simpson to come in, and I had a nice chat with them while enjoying the now sunny weather. Turned out Beth dropped out at Winfield and Matt ended up pacing Davy Crockett to Fish Hatchery, where he had issues with the rain and cold and dropped as well. It wasn't a pretty sight for seasoned runners this year.

When Ron left Twin Lakes, the weather improved dramatically enough to allow us to see Hope Pass. It stayed fairly clear in that direction for the remainder of the afternoon and evening. Norma, Jan and I made a decision to tear down the canopy after 7:30, since if Ron did make it to Winfield in time, Chris would be back by then and we’d know whether or not to tear down. We finally made the decision around 7:30 PM to take it down. We were bummed but not surprised, since the weather took a toll on Ron’s breathing. Ron soon showed up around 8:30.


Bummed, we headed back to the RV and had some champagne and zucchini bread while watching Michael Phelps win his eighth gold medal. Ron was getting sleepy, so I decided to head over to Pat and Karen’s and Joann Beine arrived and we had a nice conversation till 10:00 PM. Got up early, took a shower and went over to the RV around 6:45 for breakfast. By 8:00 AM we headed over to the finish line to see the last runners come in. The last runner crossed the red carpet in 29:59:35 with much commotion and shouts of “GO! GO! GO!”

Vince, Ron and I went back to the RV and talked a bit, and I decided to head on back before traffic gets too heavy. It was a fun weekend, although bittersweet, but I know Ron will come back to get his 10th finish in. It may not be next year, but I’ll be there and ready whenever he decides to do it, whenever that may be.