I’m still amazed at how incredible this course was. The scenery completely made the challenge worthwhile.
Given the circumstances of the day, I had a great run. From the start I was feeling like my effort level was unusually high even at a very slow pace. I should have at least been able to breeze through the first 15 miles of the day. It seemed pretty clear that I was starting out over trained which didn’t really surprise me after what I did to myself in May. May was a separate personal challenge in itself so I really don’t have any regrets in hindsight. And since I wasn’t challenging Karl for the course record, running a bit short of optimal performance wasn’t much of a big deal.
The section from Dry Fork to Footbridge was rougher than expected and I had a hard time getting a comfortable rhythm going. And the decent down the Wall was brutal. Early in the day the mud was shin deep in several areas and the dry sections were painfully steep. After a quick sock change at Footbridge, I headed out for the 18 mile uphill climb to the Porcupine ranger station turn around. I finally started to feel good on this section and kept up a steady pace passing several other runners along the way. I guess I just needed a good 30 mile warm up to get going.
The last few miles from Elk Camp to Porcupine were pretty nasty with long sections of muddy boggy marsh, several small streams, and then about a mile of alternating snow piles and mud pits. I paused at one small stream looking for an easy way across and noticed a course flag set about 15 feet to the left at a very narrow section. I thought that was nice of them to point out where it would be an easy one step through instead of the 8 foot crossing at the trail. So I stepped in right over the flag marker and immediately sunk hip deep into freezing water.
Fortunately it didn’t take long to get to Porcupine where Eric and Victoria helped me with my gear while I warmed up next to the wood stove. From here to the finish, I doubt I would have made it without Eric pacing me. I frequently have problems with blurred vision on long runs. I’m not sure what the exact problem is, but guess that it’s salt in my eyes. Shortly before making it to the turn around, my right eye was completely blurred over so I was having a lot of trouble seeing course flags and my depth perception was way off. So for almost every step of single track trail back to Dayton, Eric ran about 2 steps ahead of me to spot course markers and call out rocks, mud, or holes right and left. We actually got a pretty good rhythm going with this system. Going up the Wall after footbridge was a breeze …actually it was quite a relief after 18 miles downhill. We caught Ashley on the hill and by sunrise she was no where in sight behind us.
We kept up with a good steady pace from Bear Camp and caught up with Bryan Goding just before Cow Camp. He wasn’t moving very fast and at the aid station, Eric and I stopped for quick water refills and kept charging ahead. Bryan stayed behind at the aid station to eat. I probably should have done the same because about 20 minutes later, Bryan came flying by us remarking about how good the bacon was. My legs were starting to stiffen up and there was no way I could keep up.
We finally made it to Dry Fork after a long uphill trudge. I changed into a fresh pair of socks, saw Shana and Paul, and left the aid station with cheers from the 50k runners who had just arrived for their race start. This was a great boost of energy and Eric and I left the aid station running and kept on going right up the hill and about half a mile around the corner ….where my left knee broke down and completely locked up. Eric helped me to stretch out and I tied a moeben sleeve around it for support and managed to start moving slowing down the trail to Sheep Creek. I stopped to refill water at Sheep Creek and after just a brief stand still my right knee locked up. Perfect timing for the huge final downhill. We had one tiny little hill climb left that actually felt good and as soon as we started down the other side, Eric moved out ahead and set a blistering pace down through the meadow. It hurt like hell but it would hurt worse to try to stop.
Unfortunately I needed to top off my water at the next aid station and couldn’t get my legs moving again. Somewhere around mile 93 I tried stretching and ended up sitting down. Once I sat down, everything started to shut down and I just laid out on my back wondering if I was going to be able to move. A couple minutes later Ashley and her husband showed up and they stopped to ask if I was OK and tried to encourage me to get up and run the rest of the race in with them. I told them I was fine and that I had 10 more hours to make it to the finish and they headed on their way. I’m really not sure how I managed to get up. I wish I had some cool inspirational or spiritual moment to share with everyone. But there wasn’t any theme song playing, there was no Rocky training montage running through my mind, and no flashback to my childhood days growing up with the wolves. I just got up and started moving forward again. How else was I supposed to get home? By the time we hit the road, I could manage an easy jog without too much pain and we caught up with Ashley again. Eric and I tried to convince her and her husband to keep running the rest of the way with us but I think she was just happy having her 1st place finish in the bag with a sub 25 hour time and dropped off to finish at her own pace.
The rest of the run in was fairly uneventful. I didn’t have any time goal to meet or another runner to chase so we cruised the rest of the way in to finish. It took longer than I expected but I really didn’t know what to expect going into this race. Overall, it was a solid run. I never had a mental break down and stayed awake and alert the entire time. The only issues I had were a sluggish start, some trouble getting calories down in the last 50 miles, and the mechanical failure in my knees. And even though this course was much tougher than I expected, I really enjoyed it and plan to run it again. If my legs were working, I’d step up to the starting line again tomorrow.
The entire weekend was a blast running with so many friends crewing, pacing, and racing. This is certainly not a solo sport. I can’t wait for the next adventure!
I put together a full course map from the GPS data here:
http://www.blueskymarathon.com/bighorn.html
Photos and a few video clips along with some extras from Eric, Karla, and Shana:
 Marie, Nick, and I ready to start the Bighorn 100.
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 My pacer, Eric, and I at the start.
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 Nick and I getting ready to run.
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 Nick and I ready to start.
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 Karl taking the lead at the start.
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 The first mile up the dirt road heading into the Tongue River Canyon.
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 Hank Dart heading up the hill into the canyon ahead of me.
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 Looking back down river towards Dayton.
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 Starting the first big climb out of the canyon.
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 Up into the open meadows on the first climb.
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 The last stretch over Horse Creek Ridge
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 The view from Horse Creek Ridge back to Dayton only 7.5 miles in.
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 Heading down the other side of Horse Creek Ridge on the section they call "The Haul"
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 Dry Fork Aid Station – mile 13.5 and 82.5
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 Rolling hills between Dry Fork and Cow Camp.
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 On the way to Bear Camp about 26 miles in.
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 I met Pete on the way to Bear Camp. Unfortunately I didn’t see his name in the finish results.
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 The turn around should be just down this hill to the river, around the other side of that big ridge, and uphill about 18 more miles ….no problem.
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 Views from the top of "The Wall"
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 A little bit of mud on The Wall. This spot isn’t bad – I was afraid to get the camera out during the really muddy sections.
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 Mile 30 aid station – first sock change. Muddy and wet but so far so good.
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 Starting out on the 18 mile uphill climb from Footbridge to the Porcupine ranger station turn around.
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 Little Bighorn River
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 Climbing up out of the river canyon into more open meadows on the way to Spring Marsh
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 A few final views before sunset – almost to the 48 mile turn around.
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 Last couple shots before heading into the dark for the last few miles to Porcupine ranger station.
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 Victoria helping me with my pack at Porcupine ranger station. Mile 48.
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 Elk Camp aid station inbound.
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 Fixing a light snack of ibruprofen, immodium, and pepto abysmal at Footbridge aid station. Mile 66 inbound.
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 First light between Bear Camp and Cow Camp. Choking down 2 bites of cliff bar.
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 Still moving and making good time to Cow Camp.
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 Long slow climb up to Dry Fork aid.
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 Leaving Dry Fork – 17.5 miles to go.
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 On the way to Sheep Creek aid. Left knee is in a lot of pain.
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 Sheep Creek aid. There goes the right knee.
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 Starting the painful downhill run to the finish. About 10 miles left with a 3500ft drop. Both knees are screaming.
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 On the road in the home stretch. Knees still hurt but its easier to keep a steady pace on the smooth ground.
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 In the home stretch on the road to Dayton. Both knees are pretty much shot but it’s too close to the finish to stop now.
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 Last view of the Bighorn trail 50 miles behind me.
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 Crossing the finish 24:41 in 7th place.
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 Happy to be done. The popsicles we picked up from the mile 98 aid station are even still partly frozen.
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 One pair of shoes and gaiters survived the day.
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 100 miles – no blisters.
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 "Relaxing" after the race. Flat on the floor was the most comfortable position. I couldn’t move my legs or reach my ankle so Karla is helping to scratch an itch.
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 The awards – finisher’s jacket and buckle.
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 100 Mile Elevation Profile
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