...by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin
I have 10 little piggy toes who will attest the fact that I completed Western States 100 by the hair of my chiny-chin-chin. A great text from Moira “it would have been boring without all the drama”
Sophie, Peter, and I drove out to Truckee, CA and were very lucky to stay at Dave and Kimberly’s cabin (Dave and Peter skied together years ago when Peter lived in Reno). The cabin was ~20 minutes from the start and it provided a nice, quiet, cool place to stay out of the way of all the hype at Squaw Valley.
Friday was check-in day. It was fun to see all the runners, some that I knew and some I have only read about. I had volunteered to be in a research study on cardiac function, so I had some blood work done plus an echocardiogram. Check-in was a long slow line - mostly for all the loot they give each runner like shirts, fleece pullover, backpack.....was this part of the entry fee? The pre-race meeting was full of introductions and awards and the only take home message from the pure “race information” was that the weather would be nothing but HOT.... be prepared.
Slept well, thanks again D & K, and arrived at the start early - which is not so common for me. LOTS of energy at the start. The course begins on a service road up thru the ski resort of Squaw Valley. The ski lights defined the course, which was nice because we didn’t have to start with headlamps. The first climb up to the top of the resort is the longest on the course and definately not as tough as climbing up Snowbird. There were a few snow patches still on the trail. I arrived at the first AS (aid station) in good time however after we crested the pass, the downhill single track was a big congo line and was slower than I would have liked to run....and it was hard to pass. So I just enjoyed the scenery and made my way thru the boggy areas without falling. It was easy to see that we were headed deep into the wilderness.......a wilderness with aid stations, if only the Donner Party was so lucky.
By AS Lyon Ridge mile 10.5 I was behind. I really tried to crank up the speed but the next section was fun and beautiful terrain down a ridge line that it was hard to keep too seriously focused. Plus at mile 12 is the well-known picturesque Cougar Rock.....a short scramble up a rocky top and they even have a photographer strategically placed. The course continued downhill, but I still had a hard time making up time on that downhill. It was very dusty which was worse if a runner was in front of you, so it became a game of pass or be passed, just get away from other runners. I must have a lot of nose hairs because I think the majority of the dust was trapped before it hit my lungs.... although I did have a bit of a cough near the end.
I reached Red Star Ridge mile 16 in 350th place (399 started).....fortunately I did not know my placement until after the race as I am sure it would have played a detrimental head game. I knew that I wasn’t making up much time and soon after this AS I began to worry about the possiblity of making the time cutoff.....so again, tried to pick up the pace as the temperatures were starting to climb.
As I came into Duncan Canyon AS mile 23.8 I was greeted by Pierre, a volunteer who iced down my drinks, brought me over to the water misting station, and he pulled out “Sponge Bob” from my pack..... after check-in, Sophie and I went to the Western States store. We found these sponges with a shammy covering (Ben thinks it is Sham-Wow) and I chose bright yellow. Tina told me that the Tevis Cup (Western States Endurance horse ride) riders have sponges hanging from ropes and dip them to water cool the horses. Sophie and I promptly named it Sponge Bob and let me just say that Sponge Bob saved my life. When moistened, it says incredibly cool. I held it in my hand and frequently wiped down my face and neck and also held it to my mouth to breath the cool moisture. Sponge Bob made me so happy that I just started motoring on this section and passed quite a few people. There were a couple of small river crossings, walk thru to wet feet and fillup Sponge Bob, divine! I was able to really motor up the next few climbs but then I started to see the Safety Patrol. Each AS has Safety Patrol runners who come out onto the trail when there is a runner in trouble. I tried to look real strong so the Safety Patrol wouldn’t get me. There were lots of puking going on - not surprised with the temps. As I came into Robinson flat I was passed by a very chipper Australian gal. We passed each other throughout the rest of the race. At one point I thought she was done and toasted....but then she revived, passed me very strong and finished! Peter said that she carried her national flag around the stadium.
I saw Peter and Sophie for the first time at Robinson Flat mile 29.7. They are a great crew, they had everything layed out so I could choose what I would take with me. I just wanted to stay and hang out with them but no time, I had to go. I headed out and quickly realized I forgot Sponge Bob and I frantically called out to Sophie who ran it too me....I was headed into the hottest part of the day and that would have been a critical mistake. I knew the course from Robinson Flat. I had come out to “Western States camp” over Memorial Day weekend and over three days we ran the last 70 miles of the course. I admit that it is comforting when you know the trail.
The next section is ~15 miles of downhill. The first part to Last Chance mile 43.3 is mild on soft dirt and gravel roads. Then it seems to turn into a steep single track with a kajillion switchbacks to a river, cross the river on a cool old bridge and then a steep climb out to Devils Thumb. I had a great climb, felt strong, passed a bunch of people..... but when I reached the Devils Thumb AS mile 47.8 I was overheated....felt febrile. A volunteer grabbed me and took me over to the ice buckets and he sponged and cleaned my legs - sweet. Another volunteer brought me popcicles - heaven. Then they told me I had to leave.
The second canyon, 8 miles worth, is pretty much the same but not so steep: down, down, down, cross river, up, up, up. There was even an AS at the bottom, El Dorado Creek mile 52.9 and they had ice cold Ginger Ale - yum! This climb was not as spectacular as the first, but I knew I had Sophie and Peter waiting at Michigan Bluff mile 55.7 so I really tried to push it. I was doing better with the cutoffs, still close but better, still off my goal, but I had moved up into 245 place! - but only because of dropouts. I brushed my teeth at Michigan Bluff (one of my favorite things to do half way). As I was leaving the crew area I saw a sign that said “Chuck Norris never ran 100 miles” - yaah.
I tried to push it to Foresthill mile 62 to get as much running in before the sun went down. Overall at this point I felt good, I was busy calculating times and cutoffs, etc in my mind - as I would until the very last mile. I knew if I could just get to my pacer Bob, then things may speed up. I arrived at 10:15 pm. At the WS camp I overheard that you can finish if you leave Foresthill by 10pm. A critical maneuver at Foresthill crew exchange was Peter finding my second bottle of Perpetuum. My stomach felt ok but I definitely had a hard time choking down solid foods, so the liquid fuel was key through the night. It was a big exchange, I changed my upper clothing, but we were pretty swift. I wouldn’t see my crew until the morning.
I met Bob thru Anne who is connected with Sophie’s Alta ski group. The day Anne and I met, we dropped our kids off at their Freeride group and both joined another parent Lane for a fresh powder ski day....on the ski lift Ultras came up....and, Anne paced me for Wasatch the following September. Bob is her brother inlaw and lives near the Western States course, and that is how I connected with Bob. Anyway, Bob, Anne, another friend Pat, and I ran the Grand Canyon rim-rim-rim this spring. Bob has volunteered for Safety Patrol several years but this would be his first time pacing.
We started out well and then we went thru a long section where we didn’t see any other runners, it was eery. We were having a great time together. I knew there were 2 short but steep climbs, the first not so bad, the second just a bugger. The good thing though was that for a ways before the second climb, we could hear music playing from the Ford’s Bar mile 73 AS. At the top of the ugly climb the AS just around the corner....and boy were the AS volunteers having a good time here. We arrived at the Rucky Chuck river crossing at 3:30 and I was very please with our time and it seemed like we were gaining. At this point I truly thought WS was in the bag. The river crossing was not only fun but very therapeutic, cooled my body and I didn’t want to get out. Here, the American River is ~100 ft. or so wide. The flow can be controlled and when I crossed, it was up to my arm pits and fortunately very moderate flow. There is a cable across for runners to hold onto and ~ 6 volunteers are spaced out along the rope to guide you. Oh, and they put glow sticks in the water to identify boulders and other obsticles. About 3/4 the way across I noticed a familiar shadow of Peter! How fun, he hiked down to meet us. We probably chatted too long and then he hiked up to the Green Gate 1.7 miles with us, it was fun but I nearly regretted it later.
The next 6 miles took forever....I just couldn’t get going and the people were passing me looking fresh. What???? I played a game of trying to keep up with every person that passed me, but I couldn’t. From the WS training camp runs I knew how long it would take me from Green Gate, but I hadn’t factored in the additional 1.7 mile uphill from the river to the Gate. As we were in the 6 mile abyss enroute to ALT, my thoughts went something like “maybe Peter and I will instead have a romantic vacation in VT”. Finally, we arrived and we scurried thru ALT mile 85.2 AS, I wanted to brush my teeth and Bob schussed me to get going. A few hundred feet down the trail I heard the sound that every WS runner fears..... the air horn. There are several air horn codes.... 20 minutes to closure, or just closure. Just hearing it put the fear in me. My thoughts scrambled..... I thought of Charlie who timed out at mile 85 and I thought of Colleen - who always has great stories of how she got herself out of a situation and comes thru to cross the finish line. So, I said to Bob “I have got to pull a trick out of the hat”, it was time for Ibuprofen. Motrin is discouraged by the WS crew because of renal issues. I rationalized that I was peeing great, had only mid-mod hand swelling, was drinking and taking electrolyte replacements religiously so I felt it was time..... not too long after that I really felt like I was picking up the pace.
We flew thru Browns Bar mile 89.9 @ 0745, which was unfortunate that we didn’t have time to hang out because they also had the music cranked and seemed to be having a blast. A solo runner passed us and asked if I was going to quit at this AS or the next....WHAT???? QUIT???? ARe you NUTs???? poor guy had a bad attitude and he passed me with a speed that made me believe that he would make the final cutoff before me. This clearly showed me the value of the pacer....keeping the faith... I could have talked myself into the romantic VT weekend with Peter but Bob clearly intended for me to finish WS and stick to the Grand Slam quest. I remember somewhere along here we passed by the memorial for Barbara who was a local runner killed by a cougar on the trail. We were so close to Hwy 49 when we encountered a horse, taking up the whole trail on a bit of a grassy slope. The woman wouldn’t move - even with my plea that I had just run over 90 miles.....somehow we crawled up and around the horse without getting kicked.
As we crossed Hwy 49 to the AS mile 93.5 @ 0859, traffic control cleared us to cross and I just slowed to a walk. Bob promptly turned and told me to “RUN”, the funny thing is that Peter caught this interaction in a pic. Bob took my pack to restock, I weighed in, and I started running thru the AS. I looked right and there was Sophie standing with the most sullen face behind the taped off crew area, I panned next to Peter..... who yelled at me in the meanest tone I have ever hear from that man “you NEED to RUN”. Of course I responded back “you DON’T know how bad my body HURTS” There was a bit more bantering between us as I ran away and the poor AS check out ladies just sat there quietly stunned by our interaction.
I knew this next section was 3.3 miles, first uphill and then fairly flat, and mostly shaded by trees. I could hardly breath on the uphill. I needed to run a 45 minute split, I really wanted to get to the next AS by 0930 and no later than 0945. Funny thing is that I really felt like I was doing it and No Hands Bridge AS mile 96.8 seemed to come quickly....however the clock said 0950. I ran straight thru, passing Sophie and Peter on the left, looking at their shoes, couldn’t look at their faces, no words exchanged.
The sun blared on the bridge, the next ~mile is pretty flat but the heat made any slight uphill elevation seem like a mountain. I was more effective power walking...and anyone who walks with me knows that I am slow but I was really cranking those arms and hips. I could see where we turned up to Robie point and I was completely focused. The next thing I saw was the WS race president Tim Twietmeyer and some other guy running towards me. It was surreal, and no I wasn’t hallucinating. These guys ran up to me and gave me the best coach/father encouragement and pep talk EVER, I absolutely dug deep and rose to a new level. We were surrounded by other runners at the end of this section and just had to power past them to climb the switchbacks up to Robie point. Two things were going for me, first the climb was shaded by trees, and second, it was a climb and not a downhill....at this point I would choose a climb up thru the trees over a flat hot or downhill section. We climbed well and I didn’t check my watch until crossing the gate to Robie point....it was just almost 10:25..... we had 35 minutes to do the last 1.2 miles.....I was going to make it!!!! As I crossed thru the Robie point gate Tim Twietmeyer came running up to me with 4 cups of ice water... he said “I am going to get you wet, lift your chin” he completely soaked me, felt great, and then he said “get going and run it like you only have 25 minutes left”.
The last 1.2 miles is on pavement and most of it is uphill, then a short downhill to enter the stadium and then run 3/4 the way around the track to the finish line. Bob tried to get me to run and I could finally look at him and say “NO” , I’ve made it. He told me I could officially tell him to F#@&-off. We did do some running, certainly the last quarter mile and right before we entered the stadium Bob said to me “I have to tell you that 3 hours ago I didn’t think we were going to make it” I beamed and agreed. I am fully aware that if it wasn’t for Bob, Peter, Sophie I probably wouldn’t have made it. On our lap around the track.... I just soaked in the happiness and energy. We ran it in comfortably. The announcer called out my name and he also recognized Bob. We crossed the finish line 29 hours 50 minutes and 11 seconds. Our whole team was just beaming with joy.... and some disbelief! I had my blood drawn again for the study and I chatted a bit with Charlie - the other slammer from Utah. He finished just before me. There was a kiddie pool filled with water to soak feet, it was dirty but it was cool and felt great and I commented that right now, it was just like the Carribean. As I was sitting there 2 guys who I have met crossed the finish line after the 30 hour limit, Allan and Andy. The crowd cheered for them and I could empathize their heartache with my experience of finishing the 2004 Wasatch 100 after the cutoff time. Good for them to complete the distance.
I cleaned up and the awards assembly started. Because of the heat, it felt painfully long... 2 hours I think and we thought about leaving. After all the leader and special awards and introductions and photos with each award, and then the buckles for all the finishers under 29 hours had been given out.... there was a special acknowledgement for the runners who came in within the final hour. This was very nice and it made me feel special, just as if I had won the race. It is so true that if I could go faster I would, but I am so pleased and proud to just finish these races. I received my bronze buckle from a past winner and then I had a photo taken with Skip, the first woman to earn a buckle WS. I also saw Gordy, the first runner of WS, on our way to the van and I had a photo with him too. They also acknowldeged those runners who made it thru the last AS but did not finish before the cutoff, they received a spirit award and I was very happy that they were recognized.
After the race we drove back to Truckee and went out to dinner with Dave and Kimberly and cute little Keaton, age 16 mos. We had a nice drive back in the Eurovan the following day and the highlight was stopping at the In&Out Burger in Reno.....burger, fries, and a shake - we all deserved the extra calories!
To view Photos please go to Peters photo gallery under the Cool Stuff link on this blog
