Leadville is really an over-priced, over-hyped, over-crowded event on a mediocre course. I will say that the event has a lot of potential. It could really be a world class race if it were organized with the same level of support and competition as Western States. After running events like Western States, Vermont, and Bighorn, paying $300 for Leadville is quite a let down.

If they can’t run the entire race on decent trails, they could at least make use of the miles and miles of perfectly accessible road to set up decent aid stations. I had a miserable time covering the final 10 mile stretch over Sugarloaf and the last 13.5 miles from May Queen and I can’t comprehend how anyone at the back of the pack pushing to make the cut offs could manage that. The race would have a much better finish rate with just a few more aid stations along the way. But I guess that’s part of the money making system. Bring in as many entries as possible from anyone and everyone and bank on a high DNS and DNF rate to pocket the profits. The volunteer aid station crews that were out there were fantastic. Especially the team that packed in gear on Llamas and camped on Hope pass. I just wish the race organizers would set up more aid station crews on the course.

And the sheer volume of trash on the trails really put me in a bad mood. On the way outbound, there weren’t more than 30-40 runners ahead of me but I still saw more dropped gel packets and other trash than I’d seen at every ultra I’ve run in the past two years. The runners who dropped that trash weren’t the brain dead zombies who couldn’t manage to hold onto a gel tab with swollen fingers. That’s just unacceptable behavior. On the way inbound, Eric filled his pockets with trash several times between Twin Lakes and Fish Hatchery. But even that was a losing battle and a token effort at best.

So I guess I can’t be surprised at my final performance at the race. You just can’t run a 100 miles well without being fulling mentally committed. I started out thinking that I might be able to run sub-20 if I had an exceptionally good day. At the very least I thought I could run under 24 hours comfortably. Well, I didn’t have an exceptionally good day and I think I’ve finally realized that if I continue to run races back to back each month like this, I probably won’t. I didn’t run under 24 hours either and it wasn’t comfortable.

The morning started out fairly well and I settled into a pretty brisk pace with the long line of runners making their way through the winding trail around Turquoise Lake to May Queen. I knew I had to push the pace a bit here to avoid getting stuck in a traffic jam with the rest of the 700 runners. But the pace actually felt pretty comfortable and I was in and out of May Queen a couple minutes ahead of my 20 hour goal.

The climb up Sugar Loaf was one of the nicest parts of the day. We hit daybreak and sunrise on this section and I had a chance to chat and catch up with a few other runners – Rod Bien, Neal Gorman, and Tim Waggoner. The climb felt pretty easy and relaxed and on the decent down Powerline my legs felt exceptionally good and I took and opportunity to jump ahead of a few runners.

Eric and Victoria were waiting for me at Fish Hatchery and had me loaded up and back on the road with fresh bottles of ice water and another packet of shot blocks without breaking stride. Unfortunately the next section included a few miles of pancake flat paved road and a long, gradual uphill on dirt road to the Half Moon aid station at mile 30. My paced dropped off considerably here and a couple dozen runners passed me. I wasn’t hurting and kept running steadily on this section. I’m just not that great at the flat easy stuff and was moving as fast as I could comfortably go.

Half Moon to Twin Lakes was a fairly nice section along the Colorado Trail. The course finally leaves the dirt roads and there area few really nice miles of winding trails through Aspen groves with an occasionally view of the valley to the east. The last couple miles into Twin Lakes is a pretty abrupt drop down to the low point on the course at 9200ft. Again, my legs felt great on the downhill and it was nice to really pick up some speed again after the last 15 miles of slow grinding.

Eric and Victoria had me in and out of Twin Lakes again without breaking stride and I was off to tackle the first climb up Hope Pass. The first couple miles leaving Twin Lakes crosses an open, marshy meadow with several stream crossings. Most of the water crossings weren’t much more than shallow puddles but the one real river crossing was ice cold and thigh deep. This really sucked the energy right out of me and it took about thirty minutes of slow shuffling to get any life back into my feet. The first climb up Hope was slower than I expected. I didn’t feel that bad at this point in the race but I just didn’t have much power in my step and wasn’t able to keep up my usually fast hiking speed. This was the first part of the race that I realized that I definitely wasn’t operating at 100% of my ability and 20 hours probably wasn’t a realistic goal to push for. On the other side of Hope I managed to loosen up and got the legs moving at a good downhill clip again. One hiker shouted that I was the fastest descent they’d seen so far ….so while I was pretty weak on my climbs and super slow on the flats, I had that going for me today.

After the fun bomb down the backside of Hope, I had to endure 3 gradual uphill miles on the dirt road to Winfield. The road and the climb weren’t all that bad but the endless line of crew vehicles kicking up dust was miserable. So here’s one more reason never to run this event. There is absolutely no reason to have this many cars driving on the same dusty dirt road that the runners are on. It would be far better to either set the aid station at the junction to Hope Pass or set up a shuttle bus for crews and pacers.

I made it to Winfield in good time in 9 hours and 20 minutes. That was just 20 minutes slower than my 20 hour goal pace so I was still pretty happy about that. Unfortunately my legs were starting to tighten up and slow down so I knew that I’d be considerably slower on the return trip to Leadville. Eric took the first shift pacing from Winfield and after a quick weight check and bottle hand off from Victoria, we were back on the dusty road on our way home.

The second climb up Hope Pass was grueling and horribly slow. My legs were weak and the heat was starting to beat down and drain my energy. But despite my feeble climb up the backside, it was nice to see all of our friends still working their way down. Stopping to say hello to everyone – Alan, Mike, Chris, Michael, Shad, Olan, Karla, Ning, Dan, Cat, Mark, and Allen (…if I forgot anyone, I blame low blood sugar and altitude for the memory loss) – was a nice excuse for a break to rest my legs. The altitude started to get to me at this point as well so I took a slightly longer break at the Hopeless Pass aid station to try to eat some crackers, drink some extra water, and stretch and rest my legs. The short rest paid off and Eric and I were able to pick up the pace on the long descent to make up some time.

At Twin Lakes since the 20 hour goal was out of consideration, I changed gears to try to make the most of the aid stations. I changed into fresh socks after the slog through the rivers and mud across the meadow and I took some extra time to try to drink and eat a little more before tackling the next 9 mile stretch to Half Moon. Eric and I power walked up the hill from Twin Lakes and then continued to walk/jog along the rolling Colorado Trail. This section tops out at about 10,500ft and I was definitely starting to feel the altitude again. I was feeling pretty lousy having trouble getting shot blocks or any other food down and was losing ground on my hydration. A couple miles from the Half Moon aid station, I puked for the first time. Not much came up so I really didn’t lose anything but it sure wasn’t fun and it just drained me of my energy. I spent some extra time at Half Moon and was able to re-fuel and recharge a bit to make the next easy section in to Fish Hatchery. I wasn’t moving very fast at this point but Eric and I got into a pretty good rhythm of jogging 15 minutes and then walking to drink and eat whatever I could.

If I only had to cover 7 easy miles between stops, finishing wouldn’t have been too difficult at our pace. But Fish Hatchery to May Queen was going to be a 10 mile grind up and over Sugar Loaf. And the reward for surviving this gruelling 10 miles after May Queen? An endless 13.5 mile stretch to the finish line without any more aid. After enduring 76.5 difficult miles at altitude, that’s a real kick in the balls. So I took my time eating and drinking at Fish Hatchery to prepare for the worst that was yet to come. Victoria took over pacing with fresh legs and plenty of energy to spare.

On the climb up Powerline, I hit my toughest point of the race. I was tired. I was barely keeping up with hydration and I barely had any calories in the last 20 miles. And worst of all, it was getting late and I was unable to get down any caffeine. I was beyond bonking – I was going cross eyed falling asleep on my feet. 4am starts really suck. Especially if you have to be up all night. And we were going up to 11,000ft again and I was getting sicker and feeling worse and worse every step we climbed. Partway up the climb, I took a break to lie down in the gravel on the road. You know you’re in rough shape when you think that cold gravel feels wonderful. I asked Victoria to give me 4-5minutes to close my eyes and it felt really good to rest for a minute. After the race, she admitted that she only gave me a minute and a half ….but it helped. A couple more times I had to stop and kneel down, put my head on the ground, and close my eyes to be able to get back up and see straight. The last time I stopped, my friend Caroline caught up with me while pacing her runner and encouraged me to get back up. Having another friend out there in the dark was a welcome sup rise and I was able to jog part of the way back down the hill towards May Queen with them.

At May Queen I was completely wrecked, tired, and ready to be done with this race. Eric and Victoria found me a seat outside the tent (there was no way in hell I was going near the heaters inside) and I was able to finally get some decent calories with half a turkey sandwich, two cups of tea, some coke, and water. I took as much time as I could at this stop since I wouldn’t have any other chance for aid until the finish. I was already over my 24 hour goal but as long as I didn’t fall on my face or break a leg, I could make it to the finish under 25 hours for the big belt buckle award.

The extra calories, water, and caffeine had me refreshed and moving again. For about 3 and a half miles Victoria and I managed to roll along the trails around Turquoise at a steady clip. We were still alternating walking and jogging but making decent time. Unfortunately when that wore off, I still had 10 more miles to go. *$@#! Our pace deteriorated into a shuffle/walk and since we were getting close to the finish, I thought I’d risk taking a caffeine pill to see if it would give me enough kick to make it. Nope. I spent another 5 minutes hugging a tree puking my guts out. My sandwich from May Queen didn’t come up so I was happy about that.

The route around Turquoise lake goes through a large campground and in the dark, it’s impossible to tell where the trail goes with camp sites and paths in all directions. Victoria and I were wandering around in circles looking for trail markers while letting loose an endless stream of profanity directed at Ken Chlouber for taking in nearly a quarter million in entry fees plus sponsorships and not bothering to shell out a couple bucks for a @#$ %&$ @!#$@ing glow stick for the campground. And by the way, this would make a perfectly good spot for a #$%^ing aid station. Just then a couple lights appeared on the trail behind us and it was Aaron Marks from Fort Collins pacing Charlie Cowan, who paced me at Vermont last month. Aaron had camped out at Turquoise lake for the weekend and new the way through the campground. So Victoria and I hitched a ride on their wagon for a few miles. Charlie was flying! He was moving a bit too fast for my ability at the time but it was a good mental boost to have a group of friends on the trail and I went with it as long as I could.

About 4.5 miles from the finish, the trail makes a steep drop for about a quarter mile down a rocky slope. For the last time, I was able to bounce down the hill without any trouble. My legs still felt good on the gnarly downhills. …Too bad this course is mostly flat. When I hit the bottom back onto a flat dirt road I realized I had dropped Victoria, Aaron, and Charlie behind. So I took the opportunity to stand still for a moment and try to get an S-Cap and some water down. Nope, bad idea. I spent about 10 minutes puking on the side of the road and that’s the last I saw of Aaron and Charlie until the finish. I swear this one came out of my eyeballs. This took the last bit of energy out of me and for the rest of the way to the finish, I didn’t eat or drink. The final 3 miles is a lonely dirt road that just seems to go on forever. I really wanted to just walk quietly in the dark to get to the finish in one piece but runners kept coming up behind me flashing lights back and forth like a disco. I’d cut my light off and stand aside to let them go to avoid getting dizzy from the lights. And of course, everyone would shine a light at me and ask if I was OK. I’d have to explain that I’d be OK as soon as they got the light out of my face and moved on up the road. Ugh!

In the final mile once we hit the pavement, I started jogging again. Other runners would shout out encouragement along the way. I just told Victoria that she needed to be nice to them and answer for me since I wasn’t going to say anything. I crossed the finish line in 24:36 and kept on walking straight to the medical weight check and found myself a cold quite spot on the lawn to sit down and recover. I didn’t need medical attention, didn’t have any injuries, and was done in under 25 hours for the big buckle. That’s good enough for me to cross this one off my list for good.

Personally, my run was terrible. A 9:20/15:16 split is pretty ugly. Many other runners who finished slower than I did had far better runs. As for the event, I really didn’t enjoy it. I won’t ever run this one again and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. But the best part of this weekend was having so many friends out on the trail. I can’t thank Eric and Victoria enough for their support. I’ve been in worse shape physically but I hit a real mental low at this race and they both put up with it for the last 50 miles. It was great to see so many other friends out at every aid station. And it was great to share the trail with so many other close friends.

This video from Melissa Young does a good job showing the ups and downs of the race.

Leadville 100 Trail Run 2010 from Melissa Young on Vimeo.

Here are some photos from the weekend:

Leadville Trail 100 Run 2010

Our Leadville home away from home. Our Leadville home away from home.	Relaxing pre-race with a house full of Special Idiots. We lost track of how many people stayed here over the weekend. Relaxing pre-race with a house full of Special Idiots. We lost track of how many people stayed here over the weekend.
At the start with Chris, Dan, Mile, and Liz. At the start with Chris, Dan, Mile, and Liz.	The mad dash at the start. 3 miles of fast downhill to get ahead of the 700 runners who will cram their way through the narrow trail around Turquoise lake. The mad dash at the start. 3 miles of fast downhill to get ahead of the 700 runners who will cram their way through the narrow trail around Turquoise lake.
Daybreak climbing Sugarloaf between May Queen and Fish Hatchery. Daybreak climbing Sugarloaf between May Queen and Fish Hatchery.
Coming into Fish Hatchery behing Rod Bien. Coming into Fish Hatchery behing Rod Bien.	The view of Elbert, Massive, and the other mountains around the valley almost made this stretch of pavement tolerable. ….almost. The view of Elbert, Massive, and the other mountains around the valley almost made this stretch of pavement tolerable. ….almost.
Mt Massive Mt Massive	We’re going way down there over that ridge in the distance. We’re going way down there over that ridge in the distance.
A long stretch of dirt road after Half Moon aid station. A long stretch of dirt road after Half Moon aid station.
I puked here on the way back. I puked here on the way back.	Bombing down the hill into Twin Lakes. Bombing down the hill into Twin Lakes.
Victoria crewing at Twin Lakes. Victoria crewing at Twin Lakes.	Heading out across the meadown from Twin Lakes towards Hope Pass. Heading out across the meadown from Twin Lakes towards Hope Pass.
	Hope Pass on the way up outbound. Hope Pass on the way up outbound.
Hopeless Pass Aid station. These volunteers were incredible camping out here for the weekend. Hopeless Pass Aid station. These volunteers were incredible camping out here for the weekend.	Llamas packed in the aid station gear. Llamas packed in the aid station gear.
The view back down towards Twin Lakes. The view back down towards Twin Lakes.	At the top of Hope Pass. At the top of Hope Pass.
The long slow climb back up Hope Pass the second time. The poles really helped since my legs were shot. The long slow climb back up Hope Pass the second time. The poles really helped since my legs were shot.
At the top of Hope Pass for the last time. At the top of Hope Pass for the last time.	Cruising down a gorgeous stretch of trail on the way down to Twin Lakes inbound. Cruising down a gorgeous stretch of trail on the way down to Twin Lakes inbound.
Eric at the river crossing on the way to Twin Lakes. Eric at the river crossing on the way to Twin Lakes.	One of the many stream/puddle crossings on the way to Twin Lakes. One of the many stream/puddle crossings on the way to Twin Lakes.
Victoria crewing at Twin Lakes. Victoria crewing at Twin Lakes.	A short break, sock change, and some extra calories at Twin Lakes with extra help from Kristen and Steve. A short break, sock change, and some extra calories at Twin Lakes with extra help from Kristen and Steve.
On the Colorado Trail headed to Halfmoon inbound. On the Colorado Trail headed to Halfmoon inbound.
	Eric took a few really nice pictures just before sunset. Eric took a few really nice pictures just before sunset.
	Last light headed towards Fish Hatchery. Last light headed towards Fish Hatchery.
Fish Hatchery aid station inbound. Fish Hatchery aid station inbound.	Resting and refueling at Fish Hatchery. Victoria is ready to run …unfortunately she wouldn’t get much opportunity to run in the next 23.5 miles. Resting and refueling at Fish Hatchery. Victoria is ready to run …unfortunately she wouldn’t get much opportunity to run in the next 23.5 miles.
May Queen aid station. I’m actualy feeling much better now. May Queen aid station. I’m actualy feeling much better now.	Stick a fork in me …I’m done. Stick a fork in me …I’m done.

The start of the race was much better than I expected. Despite the 4am start time, I felt well rested and ready to run. We had a nice cool, clear morning which felt pretty comfortable. I was surprised to find myself running in the lead pack with Andy Jones-Wilkins, Neal Gorman, Andy Henshaw, David Larsen, and a couple others. Andy Henshaw pulled out into the lead after a few miles but for the most part, we had a nice brisk social run for the first 17 miles before everyone settled into their own pace and spread out. I dropped back and let a few more runners pass me but still managed to make it to the Pretty House aid station at mile 21 on target for a 17 hour finish.

On the next leg on the way to Stage Road, the course crossed through some open fields and the uneven footing aggravated my right foot which was still a bit sore from Western States. I wasn’t able to run the downhill’s as fast as I wanted to but managed to get to Stage Road (mile 30) in good time still on track for my 17 hour pacing plan.

It was already starting to heat up even before 9am so I packed some extra ice in my bandanna and headed out on the next leg to Camp 10 Bear. Since 17 hours was my most optimistic goal for the day, I figured I’d just work through this next leg a bit slower and try to survive the heat as well as I could. My legs were already feeling like they did 50 miles into Western States so this next stretch was pretty hard work to keep grinding along at a steady pace. Several more runners passed me along this section but I didn’t worry about it too much. There were still plenty of miles to go and it was too early to start counting on any finish time or place. I reset my pacing goals to 18-19 hours and figured I’d keep at this pace through the heat and try to catch up later in the evening after it cools off.

I made it to the first Camp 10 Bear stop at mile 47 feeling pretty worn out but still in decent shape and still on target for 18-19 hours. Unfortunately the next leg on the long loop back to Camp 10 Bear at mile 70 killed me. My legs were dead and it was a struggle to just keep moving. I just kept focusing on getting from one aid station to the next. Runners were passing me in waves at this point which was discouraging. But I kept reminding myself that I was still on track to finish in good time under 20 hours. All I needed to do was survive this rough stretch and hope that I would recover later. After about 50 miles I was having trouble getting calories in. On the nice downhill section to Tracer Brook, I could barely manage to keep up an 11-12 minute pace. Serena Wilcox hiked with me for a couple miles on the long climb back up to Margaritaville. One of the farms we passed by had a water tank set out for the horses and we both dunked ourselves head first up to the shoulders. It was so hot at this point we really didn’t mind the extra horse slobber.

By 60 miles, I was stopping to walk on even some of the easy flat and downhill sections. At Margaritaville at mile 62 I took some time out to sit, rest, and figure out what I could manage to eat to get some calories in. Pretzels seemed to be the only food that I could get down so I grabbed as many as I could carry and headed out to shuffle my way down the hill back to Camp 10 Bear. Unfortunately Margaritaville was the last aid station that stocked pretzels. Other than a handful that a very nice lady from another runner’s crew gave me at Westwinds, I didn’t find another pretzel until the finish.

By the time I made it to Camp 10 Bear at mile 70, I was completely wrecked. But I was happy to meet my pacer, Charlie Cowan. I let Charlie and my mom know that I was pretty much out of the race. I was still on target for a 20-21 hour finish but at this point any time or place goals were thrown out and my only focus was to get to the finish without injury. I took some time to sit and pull myself together at Camp 10 Bear and managed to get most of a cliff bar down before heading back out with Charlie.

Earlier in the week I had posted a pacer request with the VT100 just as a last minute after thought. I didn’t think I’d have any trouble running solo and rarely need any real encouragement from a pacer. But I thought it might be nice to have some company on the run and meet someone new. After mile 70, I would have been glad to have any pacer with me but Charlie turned out to be the best stroke of luck I’d had all day. I couldn’t have found a more perfect match to help me through the last 30 miles. Charlie seemed to know exactly when to push and when to back off the pace to keep me moving steadily. He’d move ahead and spot the hills to plan out where we’d transition from hiking to jogging and back again. And he was always quick with helpful reminders and suggestions along the way. I managed to keep my head clear and stayed focused on taking care of myself the entire time but Charlie’s comments, suggestions, and encouragement along the way were always helpful and reassuring. And aside from the pacing help, Charlie was just really good company. He’s currently training for his first 100 miler at Leadville. And while he isn’t a very experienced ultra runner, he has a very impressive background in Ironman triathlons (sorry, I can’t recall exact finish stats but they were pretty good). So we had a lot to talk about along the way.

The first two stops at Seabrook (mile 74) and Westwinds (mile 77) went fairly well. I almost thought I might still have a chance to pull through and come back to manage a decent finish time. I also caught up with Andy Henshaw at each of these stops. He was just leaving the stations as I was coming in. When I asked how he was doing at Seabrook, he just half grunted, “suffering” as he drooled part of his last mouthful of ramen and headed off up the road. I felt a little better about my condition since I wasn’t the only one from our starting pack to have a rough time. After Westwinds, Andy must have been able to pull through with a strong finish since he made it in under 20 hours dropping me behind by about 2 hours.

Unfortunately I wouldn’t have any final recovery in this race. The next leg to Cow Shed at mile 83 took a long time and there was only one unmanned water stop at mile 80. They just had clear water jugs sitting out on a table which were pretty hot by the time we got there. I managed to get some warm water down in the last couple miles to Cow Shed but by the time I got to the aid station, I was hot, dizzy, and feeling pretty queasy. I asked for pretzels or saltines but they didn’t have any so I sat down with a cup of ice water to try to settle my stomach and cool off. I managed to get one cup of ice water down and drank some chicken broth and thought I might be ready to go. But as soon as I stood up, I got really dizzy, managed to get 50 feet across the road and started throwing up. Charlie came to the rescue and got an ice pack on my neck, packed up his hat with ice and strapped it to my head, and got another two handfuls of ice and held them in my armpits to get me cooled off. After a few minutes I was feeling a bit better and decided we needed to get moving before I got too cold. Since I was out of luck on pretzels or saltines, we searched the aid table for any suitable bland source of calories. All we could come up with was 2 slices of plain wonder bread sprinkled with some salt. So I headed back out to try to make it to Bill’s at mile 88 with a pack of ice on my head and a fistful of bread.

The wonder bread tasted like glue with bug spray but it seemed to go down OK and helped to settle my stomach. Charlie talked me into getting a Cliff shot blok down by just keeping one in my cheek and sipping water to try to get a tiny trickle of sugar and calories down. That worked out pretty well for a while but with a little over a mile left to get to Bill’s, my ice pack had melted and the last few sips of my water was really warm. I started heating up again and was getting queasy but we made it into the station carefully walking and jogging the last mile.

I weighed in at Bill’s and was only down a couple of pounds so that was a good sign that I wasn’t too dehydrated. I checked the table for anything I could manage to eat and again I was out of luck on pretzels or saltines. The aid station was in a big barn and it was getting pretty crowded which was making me queasy so I grabbed some ice water and went outside, stole a volunteer’s chair, and sat down to try to recuperate. Charlie kept making trips back and forth to the aid table to find something I could eat. Eventually we figured out that oranges worked so I ate about a dozen wedges. My mom managed to get me to drink a few sips of ginger ale after standing bay fairly persistently. One of the medical staff came out and checked on me and noted that I wasn’t sweating and was really hot. While that sounded pretty bad, it made sense and gave me a clear problem to work through to get myself to the finish. As long as I was careful not to over exert myself and was able to carry enough ice and ice water, I should be able to make it to the finish line.

From Bill’s, Charlie and I just kept working our way to each aid station to get to the finish. We kept the next aid stops to a bare minimum to just restock ice and ice water. I managed to get down a couple more slices of wonder bread along the way. The last station at Polly’s had some Ritz crackers but they were too buttery so I only got a couple down before they started making me queasy.

The finish was pretty uneventful. I didn’t have any kick left in me other than to jog the entire last half mile. I had no intention of racing anyone and fortunately I was on my own through the last couple of miles. Charlie and I just kept chugging along walking and jogging steadily. After I crossed the finish line, I managed to stay on my feet to walk a little further to the aid tent, got some more ice and ice water and cooled down gradually before sitting down. I had to lie down on a cot in the medical tent for a little while to rest my legs before I could move again but I was happy that I managed to recover on my own without an IV this time.

My final finish time really wasn’t that bad at 21:48 – almost an hour faster than my first VT100 in 2008. But I can honestly say that this was the toughest race I’ve ever done. This is the closest I’ve come to a DNF and without Charlie’s help out there, I may not have made it. I doubt I would have quit on my own but I probably would have struggled to make the 30 hour cut off or had the medical staff eventually pull me.

Looking back, this was a pretty good learning experience. I can’t say that I’d do anything differently in regards to pacing, hydration, or fueling (other than to stock pretzels and saltines in my own drop bags). My pacing plan didn’t work out well this time but I still think that on a good day I could finish this course in 17-18 hours. My legs just weren’t 100% recovered from Western States and it turned out that it just wasn’t my day. This did give me a pretty good idea of just how bad things can get. I may not be able to run like I did at Western States at every race and I expect that I’ll have a lot more bad days than good days coming up. But next time I will be more mentally prepared and will have the confidence knowing that I can make it to the finish even on my worst day.

And on a final positive note, since I wasn’t able to push very hard, my legs are in really good shape. The tendons in my right foot that were bothering me after Western States are perfectly fine now. I have some sore quads and calves but I don’t have any real damage to recover from. So this may have been a blessing in disguise to set myself up for a good 5 week break to prepare for Leadville and Wasatch.

Here’s the full map of the course:

And finally, here are some photos from the weekend:

Vermont 100, 2010

Vermont 100 Start Vermont 100 Start	Chip ready to take a million photos. Chip ready to take a million photos.
My crew. Mom, Mikhaela, and Harrison. My crew. Mom, Mikhaela, and Harrison.	Ready to run at 3:45am Ready to run at 3:45am
Nice sunrise view through the trees. Nice sunrise view through the trees.	The climb up the road to the Pretty House aid station at mile 21. Still moving along at a great pace on target for 17 hours. The climb up the road to the Pretty House aid station at mile 21. Still moving along at a great pace on target for 17 hours.
On the way to Stage Road (mile 30). On the way to Stage Road (mile 30).
	Stage Rd aid station. Still feeling pretty good and moving along at a good pace. Stage Rd aid station. Still feeling pretty good and moving along at a good pace.
Another nice climb with an open view after Stage Road. Another nice climb with an open view after Stage Road.
	We had a 1 hour head start on the horses. The first rider passed me at 36 miles. We had a 1 hour head start on the horses. The first rider passed me at 36 miles.
Birmingham’s Aid Station at mile 54. Birmingham’s Aid Station at mile 54.
	View of Mt Ascutney on the road to Margaritaville (mile 62). Unfortunately they don’t serve Margarita’s any more …something about needing a liquor license for the event. View of Mt Ascutney on the road to Margaritaville (mile 62). Unfortunately they don’t serve Margarita’s any more …something about needing a liquor license for the event.
My pacer Charlie Cowan leading the way to Seabrook (mile 75). My pacer Charlie Cowan leading the way to Seabrook (mile 75).
One last hilltop view for the day. Somewhere on the way to Westwinds (mile 77) One last hilltop view for the day. Somewhere on the way to Westwinds (mile 77)
Horses at one of their water stops. I did stop earlier to dunk my head into one of those. It was so hot, I didn’t mind the horse slobber. Horses at one of their water stops. I did stop earlier to dunk my head into one of those. It was so hot, I didn’t mind the horse slobber.	Finally at the finish. Still icing from overheating but I made it without injury and managed to stay on my feet and recover without an IV this time. Finally at the finish. Still icing from overheating but I made it without injury and managed to stay on my feet and recover without an IV this time.
One more buckle for the collection. One more buckle for the collection.	The pre and post-race food was fantastic. The pre and post-race food was fantastic.
Course hill profile …a lot of hills. Course hill profile …a lot of hills.

I showed up at the start at Squaw Valley feeling better than ever. I was fully rested and all the nagging aches and pains from months of hard training were gone. It was hard not to get too caught up in the excitement at the start of the race. Everyone was amped up and ready to go and the energy in the crowd was pretty intense.

Once the starting crowd thinned out a bit, I managed to settle into a comfortable climbing pace on the service road going up the ski hill. I made it to the top in good time to see the a spectacular view of the sunrise over lake Tahoe with Chris Thornley enthusiasticly banging away on a huge gong.

From the top of the first climb we had a few miles of rolling hills through thick hard packed snow. Most of it was firm enough to easily run across. We hit a few spots that were melted off into thick, soupy mud and had a couple sections where the trail had turned into an ankle deep stream. Overall, it wasn’t too bad and I actually had fun running through this section. It would have been nice to continue with 10 more miles of snow on the original route since it was obvious that several runners weren’t quite as comfortable running through the snow.

Here’s a clip of Eric Lee demonstrating his snow running skills:

After this short romp through the snow and mud we turned onto the new snow route dropping down a nice dirt road with a long stretch of easy flat dirt road and some really beautiful single track winding along next to the French Meadows reservoir. Several faster runners passed me on this stretch but I just let them go and settled into a comfortable pace and tried to relax and enjoy the scenery. After the reservoir we had a short climb to Duncan Canyon aid station up through an open burn area on a fairly rough trail that looked like it has been cut just the other day. I had originally planned out my estimated pacing splits for my sub-20 hour goal, a safe sub-24 hour goal, and an 18:30 pace. The 18:30 split was really only intended as a reference point to watch to make sure that I wasn’t running too fast early in the race. I checked my watch at Duncan and was suprised to see that I had beat my 18:30 split by a full half hour. I felt pretty good and was running at a relaxed pace at this point so this gave me a good boost of confidence heading out to Robinson Flat.

From there, I kept chugging along running from aid station to aid station without thinking too much about the finish. The extremely long downhill section from Robinson to the base of Devil’s Thumb was much harder than I had expected. I ran some of the steep drops pretty well but was a bit slower than I would have liked on the gentler easy stretches where I knew the faster runners would have flown through. I hit my first low point of the day between Dustys Corner and Last Chance. As low points go, it really wasn’t that bad. I just wasn’t able to run as fast as I really wanted to here.

The heat was starting to build up and I hadn’t fully taken advantage of the ice and water buckets at the last aid station. Up to this point, I had been conservatively rinsing my hat and packing a small handful of ice in my bandanna. At the Last Chance aid station, the volunteer asked if I wanted to make a stop at the “car wash”. I finally got the right idea and grabbed the sponges and fully soaked myself head to toe. From that point on, I didn’t pass up a single water bucket at the aid stations, made sure my second water bottle was always full to dump on myself if I didn’t need to drink it all on the shorter sections. And I stopped to wallow around like a pig in every stream crossing and puddle with more than an inch of water on the trail.

By the time I started up the climb to Devil’s Thumb I was feeling a bit better. We hadn’t had a decent uphill section since the first climb out of Squaw so this actually felt good. I made it to the top in good time and wondered why everyone made such a fuss about that hill. That short break to stretch the legs out in a nice power hike was downright delightfull.

The next climb up to Michigan Bluff wasn’t quite as nice. El Dorado Creek at the base of this climb was a big milestone at mile 52.9. I checked my split times again and was just 5 minutes over my 18:30 pace at about 9 hours. While I was really happy to still be on track for an 18:xx finish at this point in the race, this is where my pacing goals started to backfire on me. My brain started to remind me that I had originally thought sub-20 would be a fantastic run and that sub-24 would be a respectable finish. I was well ahead of these goals now and could slow down and relax. There was no need to keep pushing. I could stop running and walk for a while. I could even stop and take a break if I wanted to. Eventually my brain and I settled on a compromise and I continued up the hill to Michigan at a slow grind.

Before I knew it, I had made it to Foresthill and met my pacer, Mike Poland. It was a huge relief to finally meet Mike and have some company on the trail. And running through the cheering crowds at Foresthill gave me a huge adrenaline boost. Mile 62 was also a big milestone in the race. Up until then I had only run a marathon, a 50k, a 50 miler, and a 100k. These were distances that I’d done before – nothing more than training runs or ultra races that can be finished in a reasonable time within one day. Stepping out of the Foresthill aid station, I crossed over into the 100 mile race. My quads hurt and I was tired but this is what I was here for.

Foresthill to the river was a pretty tough grind. My energy level and pace was up and down. I’d run some decent stretches and then would slow down and just kept grinding away. A few runners passed me here but I just let them go – it was still too early in the day to race anyone. But overall I was still doing pretty well. My quads were burning but I’ve been in worse pain before. We made it to the river crossing a little bit behind my 18:30 goal but still well ahead of my sub-20 target. Victor Ballesteros, Phil Kochik, and I all crossed the river in the same boat. I knew both of these guys were fast and Victor had closed in on Andy Jones-Wilkins last year to chase him onto the track and was only seconds away from stealing the M10 finish from Andy. So after a short dip in the river to cool off my legs, Mike and I grabbed a quick water refill and charged up the hill to Green Gate. Since I’m not as stong on the flats and downhills as most other runners, my plan was to pull ahead on the uphill and hopefully fool anyone behind me into thinking I was too strong to chase down. Victor made it out of the aid station ahead of me but I managed to leave Phil behind on the climb to Green Gate.

Mike and I kept rolling along at a pretty steady pace on the leg to Auburn Lake Trails. It was starting to get dark here but the footing was decent so we kept the lights off as long as we could. We could see another runner’s light up ahead and I really didn’t want anyone behind me to get the idea that they could possibly chase me down here.

Brown’s Bar aid station was pretty wild. The place was lit up like a christmas tree and we could hear music blasting from a mile away. A huge guy in drag met me at the aid station to help me through as the volunteers filled bottles. If anyone wants to volunteer at the race, this would be the aid station to work at. This crew was ready for a wild all-night party.

At the Highway 49 aid station, I hit my last low point of the race. Up until this point, I had no idea what position I was in. There could have been 10 or 30 runners ahead of me and that “what if” thought at the back of my mind had kept me going in the chase. But as I enterred the station a volunteer announced that I was currently in 21st place. I looked at my watch and it seemed highly unlikely that I’d be able to break 19 hours. I could just keep chugging away steadily to get to the finish with a respectable sub-20 time finishing somewhere in 20-something place. It wouldn’t make much difference if I passed someone or if someone else passed me here. So I set out moving pretty slowly thinking I’d just keep moving and I’d get to the finish when I got there. I had no intention of racing anymore. I didn’t want anyone to catch me and didn’t want to chase anyone. I just wanted to finish at my own pace. My legs were hurting pretty bad here and I just kept focusing on breathing and picking one foot up after another to keep moving forward.

As I closed in on No Hands Bridge at the base of the final climb, I passed another runner on the final switchback into the aid station. And when I arrived at the aid station, I saw Victor standing there and he wasn’t moving very quickly to leave. I could make it into the top 20! I was back in the race! Mike was trying to get his water bottle refilled and was attempting to drink one of his red bulls and I yelled at him drop everything and go.

So we took off across the bridge to tackle the last climb to Robie Point. The first section started up a smooth dirt road gradually climbing up with an occassional roller. I managed to keep up a running cadence to push through this section. The last stretch turned onto a pretty steep single track trail and I alternated between a grinding jog and power hiking to keep pushing up as hard as I could go. I thought the last aid station was at the end of the climb but we still had about a quarter mile to go up on a steep paved road before we hit the easy home stretch through the neighborhood to the finish. I settled into a power walk up this last incline and passed the first woman, Tracy Garneau. Just as I cleared the crest of the hill at the 1 mile to go sign, I looked back and saw another set of lights right behind me. I heard the pacer telling his runner to get ready to kick out the last mile hard. Oh crap! I took off as hard as I could make my legs go. When I hit the track, I glanced behind me and saw a runner (and later realized it was just Mike who had dropped behind me) and then looked at my watch and saw 18:59. There was still a chance to break 19 hours! When I rounded the corner to see the finish clock, I could see the seconds ticking away and crossed the finish with 18 seconds to spare. After a second look, I realized I had read my watch wrong and I actually finished in 58:42, not 59:42. According to my GPS, I ran the last mile in 7:30 and ran the loop around the track in 5:00 to 5:30 pace. I put absolutely everything I had into this race and while I might nitpick about specific points throughout the race where I could have done better, I have no doubt that this finish was the absolute best I could achieve.

For a few minutes after finishing, I felt suprisingly good. Unfortunately that would change quickly. I had originally volunteered for the research program and headed over to give my blood sample. They said my sodium levels were a bit low and I would be a good candidate for their hyponatremia study. They planned to give me a high sodium solution IV and then retest a blood sample after an hour to see the results. To get started, all I needed to do was stand up so they could take my blood pressure. I couldn’t get up. I could barely get one foot underneath me, let alone exert any effort to push myself up off the ground. So a couple people grabbed me by the arms to pull me up. I still couldn’t get my feet under me and as soon as they pulled me up to a vertical position, I passed out. After one or two more attempts at this, one of the lead medical staff came over and told the research group that they couldn’t have me for their trial and several people picked me up and carried me horizontally over to the medical tent. My legs started cramping and spasming for a while but after 2 IV’s, a couple S-caps, and a few cups of broth, I started feeling better. Within a few hours I was back to feeling normal – just plain tired and hurting. Eventually I managed to get up and move out of the medical tent and found a nice open space on the grass to sleep for a few more hours.

I spent Sunday morning shuffling around the finish area. My legs were in pretty decent shape and nothing was seriously hurt. I had a sore spot on the top of my right foot and my right big toenail looked like it would probably come off. I watched my friends Paul Grimm and Eric Lee finish early Sunday morning and we all enjoyed relaxing at the finish for the rest of the afternoon until the awards ceremony.

This race really lived up to it’s reputation. The competitive field was incredible, aid station volunteers were outstanding, and I’ve never run an ultra trail race with so many spectators. The runners, volunteers, and crews out there really helped to keep the energy level and excitement going all day long. Even the live webcast system helped. I had no idea who might be checking but the thought of friends and family refreshing their browsers to check in on me made me think, gee I should get moving and knock out a decent split on this next section to give them something to watch. Hearing the announcer at the track say, “here comes our second runner in the top 20 from Fort Collins” was awesome. I had no idea what happened up at the front of the pack so it was great to hear that Nick made it in. I knew he’d run well but am still amazed at just how well he did coming in 4th place and very close to overtaking Killian for 3rd. Overall, it was an incredible weekend. Even though I didn’t run with them during the day, it was great to be out there with my good friends Nick, Paul, and Eric on the course. I will definitely consider running this one again. Maybe not next year …there are so many other events that I’d still like to run. Right now it’s time to get ready for Vermont. In less than three weeks I get to do this all over again.

Here are some great photos from Michael Cook. Most are from the first 30 miles with a few from Foresthill and the finish:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mncook/sets/72157624241587299/show/

Glenn Tachiyama has been gradually adding some really amazing photos to his Facebook album this week:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=31140414&id=1086004380

And some more photos from Luis Escobar:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6376727&id=340040187316#!/album.php?aid=235533&id=340040187316&page=2

And finally, here are my own photos from the weekend:

Western States 2010

Friday check in at Squaw Valley. The starting clock counting down. Friday check in at Squaw Valley. The starting clock counting down.	We’ll start up this hill at 5am Saturday morning. We’ll start up this hill at 5am Saturday morning.
	Eric, Paul, Mike, and I after lunch at Lake Tahoe. Eric, Paul, Mike, and I after lunch at Lake Tahoe.
Best race schwag ever. The Montrail packs are pretty sweet. Best race schwag ever. The Montrail packs are pretty sweet.	Gathering at the start. Gathering at the start.
Ready to go. Ready to go.
The first climb at daybreak. The first climb at daybreak.
Incredible sunrise over Tahoe. Incredible sunrise over Tahoe.
French Meadows reservoir on the snow route. French Meadows reservoir on the snow route.	On the way to Duncan Canyon. On the way to Duncan Canyon.
Arriving at Duncan Canyon mile 23.8. Photo by Glenn Tachiyama Arriving at Duncan Canyon mile 23.8. Photo by Glenn Tachiyama
I met David Larsen on the way to Robinson Flat. He’s also running the Grand Slam this summer. I met David Larsen on the way to Robinson Flat. He’s also running the Grand Slam this summer.
Still feeling pretty good halfway to Robinson. Still feeling pretty good halfway to Robinson.	Cresting the hill after leaving Robinson Flat before the long, long, long descent to the base of Devil’s Thumb. Cresting the hill after leaving Robinson Flat before the long, long, long descent to the base of Devil’s Thumb.
	The trail up Devil’s Thumb. It doesn’t look very steep in this picture. The trail up Devil’s Thumb. It doesn’t look very steep in this picture.
A look back into the first canyon. A look back into the first canyon.	Mike took a few pictures on the way to the river crossing from Foresthill. Mike took a few pictures on the way to the river crossing from Foresthill.
	63 miles in and still feeling pretty good. Damn it’s hot. 63 miles in and still feeling pretty good. Damn it’s hot.
	The river. Finally! The river. Finally!
Sunset on the way to Auburn Lake trails. Sunset on the way to Auburn Lake trails.	Mike pulling the pace in the lead. Mike pulling the pace in the lead.
	Fnished! Fnished!
I crashed pretty hard shortly after finishing and couldn’t get up without passing out. So I spent some time in medical. I crashed pretty hard shortly after finishing and couldn’t get up without passing out. So I spent some time in medical.	Not too bad. The right big toenail is probably going to fall off soon. Not too bad. The right big toenail is probably going to fall off soon.
Paul Grimm finishing strong and enjoying a Krispy Kreme donut from the last aid station. Paul Grimm finishing strong and enjoying a Krispy Kreme donut from the last aid station.	Eric finished in good spirits and all in one piece. Eric finished in good spirits and all in one piece.
Amy Palmiero-Winters finishing strong. One of the most incredible performances of the day. Amy Palmiero-Winters finishing strong. One of the most incredible performances of the day.	Nick at the awards ceremony. Nick at the awards ceremony.
Gordy accepting his award for being the last unofficial finisher. He made it out of the last checkpoint on time but finished after the cut off. Gordy accepting his award for being the last unofficial finisher. He made it out of the last checkpoint on time but finished after the cut off.	The top finishers. The top finishers.
Nick accepting his award. Nick accepting his award.	Silver buckle. Silver buckle.
	Paul getting his buckle. He finished 2 hours faster than his time last year. Paul getting his buckle. He finished 2 hours faster than his time last year.
Eric getting his buckle. Eric getting his buckle.

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:

Bighorn 100, June 19-20, 2009

Marie, Nick, and I ready to start the Bighorn 100. Marie, Nick, and I ready to start the Bighorn 100.	My pacer, Eric, and I at the start. My pacer, Eric, and I at the start.
Nick and I getting ready to run. Nick and I getting ready to run.	Nick and I ready to start. Nick and I ready to start.
	Karl taking the lead at the start. Karl taking the lead at the start.
The first mile up the dirt road heading into the Tongue River Canyon. The first mile up the dirt road heading into the Tongue River Canyon.
	Hank Dart heading up the hill into the canyon ahead of me. Hank Dart heading up the hill into the canyon ahead of me.
	Looking back down river towards Dayton. Looking back down river towards Dayton.
Starting the first big climb out of the canyon. Starting the first big climb out of the canyon.
	Up into the open meadows on the first climb. Up into the open meadows on the first climb.
	The last stretch over Horse Creek Ridge The last stretch over Horse Creek Ridge
	The view from Horse Creek Ridge back to Dayton only 7.5 miles in. The view from Horse Creek Ridge back to Dayton only 7.5 miles in.
Heading down the other side of Horse Creek Ridge on the section they call "The Haul" Heading down the other side of Horse Creek Ridge on the section they call "The Haul"
	Dry Fork Aid Station – mile 13.5 and 82.5 Dry Fork Aid Station – mile 13.5 and 82.5
	Rolling hills between Dry Fork and Cow Camp. Rolling hills between Dry Fork and Cow Camp.
On the way to Bear Camp about 26 miles in. On the way to Bear Camp about 26 miles in.	I met Pete on the way to Bear Camp. Unfortunately I didn’t see his name in the finish results. I met Pete on the way to Bear Camp. Unfortunately I didn’t see his name in the finish results.
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. 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.
Views from the top of "The Wall" Views from the top of "The Wall"
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. 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.
	Mile 30 aid station – first sock change. Muddy and wet but so far so good. Mile 30 aid station – first sock change. Muddy and wet but so far so good.
	Starting out on the 18 mile uphill climb from Footbridge to the Porcupine ranger station turn around. Starting out on the 18 mile uphill climb from Footbridge to the Porcupine ranger station turn around.
Little Bighorn River Little Bighorn River
	Climbing up out of the river canyon into more open meadows on the way to Spring Marsh Climbing up out of the river canyon into more open meadows on the way to Spring Marsh
A few final views before sunset – almost to the 48 mile turn around. A few final views before sunset – almost to the 48 mile turn around.
	Last couple shots before heading into the dark for the last few miles to Porcupine ranger station. Last couple shots before heading into the dark for the last few miles to Porcupine ranger station.
Victoria helping me with my pack at Porcupine ranger station. Mile 48. Victoria helping me with my pack at Porcupine ranger station. Mile 48.	Elk Camp aid station inbound. Elk Camp aid station inbound.
Fixing a light snack of ibruprofen, immodium, and pepto abysmal at Footbridge aid station. Mile 66 inbound. Fixing a light snack of ibruprofen, immodium, and pepto abysmal at Footbridge aid station. Mile 66 inbound.	First light between Bear Camp and Cow Camp. Choking down 2 bites of cliff bar. First light between Bear Camp and Cow Camp. Choking down 2 bites of cliff bar.
	Still moving and making good time to Cow Camp. Still moving and making good time to Cow Camp.
Long slow climb up to Dry Fork aid. Long slow climb up to Dry Fork aid.	Leaving Dry Fork – 17.5 miles to go. Leaving Dry Fork – 17.5 miles to go.
On the way to Sheep Creek aid. Left knee is in a lot of pain. On the way to Sheep Creek aid. Left knee is in a lot of pain.	Sheep Creek aid. There goes the right knee. Sheep Creek aid. There goes the right knee.
Starting the painful downhill run to the finish. About 10 miles left with a 3500ft drop. Both knees are screaming. Starting the painful downhill run to the finish. About 10 miles left with a 3500ft drop. Both knees are screaming.	On the road in the home stretch. Knees still hurt but its easier to keep a steady pace on the smooth ground. On the road in the home stretch. Knees still hurt but its easier to keep a steady pace on the smooth ground.
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. 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.
	Last view of the Bighorn trail 50 miles behind me. Last view of the Bighorn trail 50 miles behind me.
Crossing the finish 24:41 in 7th place. Crossing the finish 24:41 in 7th place.
Happy to be done. The popsicles we picked up from the mile 98 aid station are even still partly frozen. Happy to be done. The popsicles we picked up from the mile 98 aid station are even still partly frozen.
One pair of shoes and gaiters survived the day. One pair of shoes and gaiters survived the day.	100 miles – no blisters. 100 miles – no blisters.
"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. "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.	The awards – finisher’s jacket and buckle. The awards – finisher’s jacket and buckle.
100 Mile Elevation Profile 100 Mile Elevation Profile

Lot’s of firsts for this year.

Ghost Town 38.5
Moab Red Hot 50k
24 Hour of Utah – 1st time over 50 miles!
Fruita Spring Desert 50 Mile
San Juan Solstice 50 Mile
Vermont 100
Pikes Peak Double
24 Hours of Boulder

3,220 Miles
401,763 Ft

2007: 

1,780.75 miles with 148,215 feet of vertical ascent.

2008 YTD as of July 10th:

1,781.75 miles with 228,192 feet of vertical ascent.

Not a bad start for 2008 so far!

I had already been training pretty aggressively from October through December in anticipation of tackling what is considered to be the toughest 50 Mile ultra marathon. But by January, I was so far ahead of my training plans that I decided to re-adjust my goals. The San Juan Solstice wouldn’t be my first 50 miler ….it turned out to be my 4th. And it wouldn’t be my big event for 2008 – I’d already mailed in my entry to the Vermont 100 on January 4th.

So this 50 miler turned out to be just one more big training event for the Vermont 100. I didn’t have a chance to spend as much time as I had hoped training at higher elevations but I did managed to squeeze in one long run to the top of Pikes Peak. Two weeks before the race, I hit a peak of 120 miles in one week. Since the Vermont 100 was just a month after San Juan, I didn’t completely taper for the race. The week before I cut back to a moderate 70 miles and the week leading up to the race, I put in another 20 and gave myself one extra rest day.

This was by far the toughest event I’ve ever done. There wasn’t an easy step the entire way. There may have been some easy running in the first 20 minutes ….but it was 5am and dark. 10 minutes into the race I dropped a water bottle and broke the top nozzle off. I managed to stick it back in and balance it enough to keep my drink mix from sloshing out. On rough sections I had to hold it on with my thumb to avoid losing it.

Just a few days before the race, we heard the good news that the snow on the divide had melted off considerably over the past week and we would have very little trouble with snow fields above the tree line. ….Unfortunately all the snow was in the river that we had to cross in the first section of the race. We had 7 major river crossings at the start of the race that we had to cross one-by-one on a rope. Late in the day, this might have been a relief but at 5:25am at daybreak, the cold water was excruciatingly painful. Most crossings were only knee deep but a couple were up to mid-thigh ….dangerously close to the shorts where it could get really uncomfortable! Getting through the water wasn’t bad – it was stepping out on the other side and taking the first few steps that hurt. It was like my feet were being smashed by hammers. I tried picking up my knees to get the blood moving but just as soon as I got going we’d hit the line for the next crossing. After the 7th rope crossing, I had a brief moment of relief until I realized that we’d cross the river another half dozen times in mere ankle deep water. I don’t think I could feel my feel at all for the first 2 hours of the race. With the slow start messing with my water bottle and the lines at the river crossings, I was way behind my original pace estimate and made it to the mile 7 Alpine aid station in about 2:10. I heard one of the volunteers call out that the 100th runner had just come in so I quickly refilled my bottles and set out to try to make up some time.

Shortly after the Alpine aid station, we cleared the tree line. The views from the top made the entire morning’s ordeal in the river worthwhile. I had a hard time keeping my eye on the trail to avoid tripping while taking in the awesome 360 degree view of the mountains. I met up with Alex and took a quick break to snap a couple photos. Then it was back down a steep descent to the Williams Creek aid station at mile 15.7.

At Williams Creek, I stopped briefly to change into dry socks. Wow was that worth the extra time – it was like starting out again with fresh feet! I set out on the next leg to Carson with a good amount of energy and gradually picked off runners one by one and passed by Mike Poland about halfway up. Just about a mile before Carson, the road was cut in half by another stream. I was so happy to have dry socks that I took a couple minutes to look up and down the banks for any possible dry crossing. No such luck. So it was back into the water for a thorough soaking just in time to get up to the tundra and snow fields again. At 21.5 mile Carson aid station, I finally go the bright idea to ask for some duct tape to fix my bottle nozzle. I had an extra hand held in my drop bag but I’d need all 3 to make it across the next long section above the tree line. Fortunately the aid stations were well stocked and well prepared and I got refilled, refueled, and finally got my broken bottle taped on securely.

Shortly after leaving Carson, I found 2 unused vanilla GU packs on the ground. I’m not sure if I was more offended by the litter on the course or by the fact that it was vanilla – yuck! A quarter mile later, I found 3 more vanilla GU packs. Someone was clearly not paying any attention and this kind of pissed me off. We are very fortunate to have these events in these amazing wilderness areas and we keep that privilege by showing that we can be responsible and make little to no impact on the environment. So I set off on a mission to return the GU packs to their owner and give him or her a piece of my mind. I passed one person after another and asked if they used vanilla GU. No, not mine, nope. I was tempted to yell at the 4th person to tell them that they were the 4th person that I knew of that had walked right on by without picking up the trash on the trail. Instead I just stormed ahead after the next guy. Shortly after, I caught up with Kevin Cooper. He said the GU’s weren’t his but he’d already picked up half a dozen himself. I never found the litterbug but this guy was OK. We paced along together for most of the traverse across the divide. On the descent down to the Divide aid station at mile 31 I pulled ahead of Kevin and started catching up with a few more runners.

Since about halfway through the last section, I had been having trouble getting my drink mix down. It was warm and I was really sick of the taste. So at the Divide station, I decided to keep my 3rd bottle about 3/4 full of plain water. I had hoped that mixing the other two fresh again would solve the problem. I left the Divide station still feeling strong still passing several other runners.  I passed by Matt Miller and Alan Smith along this section but shortly after, I found myself on a stretch on my own without anyone to chase after and I couldn’t get any more of my drink mix down. My stomach was starting to turn and on the forest road decent to mile 40 at Slumgullion, I slowed to an 11-12min pace to avoid getting nauseous. The 3/4 bottle of fresh water was long gone and I was starting to crash. Two runners passed by me in this section – the first since the Alpine aid station at mile 7.

At Slumgullion I took some extra time to re-hydrate and finally got to change both socks and shoes. And they had popsicles! I managed to get 2 popsicles down and my stomach felt much better. I still didn’t want any more drink mix so I filled up 2 bottles with fresh water and set off with just a handful of pretzels to get me through the last 10 miles. While I was at the aid station, Alan Smith and one other runner came through and got out just ahead of me. But I managed to get started again and keep up for a while. Unfortunately my relief with dry shoes was short lived. About 500 yards down the trail, we ran into another river! After a short downhill, we started up the last climb to Vicker’s hill. On the course profile, this just looks like a mere bump at the end of the race. In reality, it’s a 1700ft climb (about the same as Horsetooth Mountain here in Ft Collins) and most of it is off any regular trail straight up through aspen groves and meadows without any switchbacks. At the top of the last meadow, I managed to remember to stop drooling on my shoes to turn around and enjoy the view where you can see almost 360 degrees of the entire course – absolutely amazing!

After clearing the top of Vicker’s, I managed to get the legs moving at a decent running pace again and caught up to the guy who passed me at Slumgullion and found Alan Smith limping along. Alan said he was having bad cramps and was out of salt tablets. So I gave him a handful of my enduralites and headed off for the finish. About a mile past the last aid station, Matt Miller caught up with me. He was running strong and back in good spirits after pulling himself back out of the slump I saw him in at mile 31. I tried keeping up with him for a bit but just didn’t have the energy. The decent back to Lake City was incredibly steep and rocky with a lot of loose gravel. My eyesight had gone pretty blurry by now so I wasn’t able to go very fast down the hill. At one point I looked to the side and finally noticed that I had been running 6 inches away from a barbed wire fence. That scared me into pulling the pace back another couple notches. Finally off the trail and onto the streets of Lake City, I settled into a comfortable 12min/mile shuffle to the finish. I was already over my goal of 12 hours and was well under 13 so I really didn’t have anything to push for. With about a mile to go, Kevin Cooper caught up with me. He had a pacer with him (girlfriend or wife I assume) and were keeping up a brisk pace. Kevin said I’d been pulling him along the entire race since I left him on the divide and wanted me to run in with them. I tried pushing a bit to keep up. His pacer even dropped back to try to help me out. But with about a half mile to go, I just didn’t have it in me to do any more. Kevin was having a great time and deserved to run in to the finish ahead of me. I’d already accomplished what I wanted to do and I didn’t have anything left to prove. That’s what I really love about these ultra events. It’s always competitive. But more often than not, the competition is between ourselves and the course so there is a camaraderie that you don’t find in many other sports.

So I jogged out the last bit and finished 30 seconds behind Kevin in 50th place. Not bad considering I was around 100th at mile 7 and only 4 people had passed me since then. Out of 164 starters, only 130 finished with another 3 coming in unofficially after the cut off. I honestly don’t know how the runners at the back of the pack could keep going out there for over 16 hours. At 12:40:38, I wasn’t going to take another step. I think I’m just as impressed by Matt Carpenter’s 7:59:44 course record as I am by the 3 people who still finished over 16 hours and 15 minutes without any official recognition. There were 200 people registered so considering that 36 people didn’t even start, my hat is off to anyone who stepped up to the starting line for this race.

This was truly an awesome experience. The event in general was very well run and extremely well supported. The aid station volunteers were incredible. At the 40 mile aid station, I felt like a stock car at a pit stop with 4 people buzzing around me filling bottles, handing me food, pulling gear out of my drop bag, and helping with my shoes.

Here’s where the rest of our group finished:

22 Fritjof Fagerlund 11:19:08
27 Eric Lee 11:28:09
47 Matt Miller 12:36:23
50 Pete Stevenson 12:40:38
62 Mike Priddy 13:25:06
76 Kari Fraser 14:02:21
77 Chris Gerber 14:02:21
81 Alan Smith 14:14:57
85 Charles Danforth 14:22:10
92 Tom Masterson 14:45:47
93 Chip Tilden 14:47:34
108 Alex May 15:31:19
Started: Peter Sanders, Kristen Alvarez, Mike Poland, Mike Hodges, Karla Holdgers

I will definitely go back to run this one again and I’d highly recommend this event. Whether you race it or just attempt to finish it, it’s definitely worth putting on your list.

Here are a few links to other race reports and photos:

http://www.ericjlee.com/Trip%20Reports/2008%20SJS50.html

http://www.chrisgerber.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=201

http://www.swarpa.net/~danforth/run/sjs50.html

San Juan Solstice 50M 2008

Eric, me, Kristen, Kari, and Chris ready to start. Eric, me, Kristen, Kari, and Chris ready to start.	Charles, Kari, Chris, and Eric before the race start. …wondering if the tubes were for the river crossings. Charles, Kari, Chris, and Eric before the race start. …wondering if the tubes were for the river crossings.
Milling about before the start. Milling about before the start.	Peter, Chris, Michael ready for the 5am start. Peter, Chris, Michael ready for the 5am start.
Waiting in line at a river crossing. Waiting in line at a river crossing.	There were 7 of these crossings …that required a rope. There were 7 of these crossings …that required a rope.
That’s cold! That’s cold!	The avalanche field on the way to the first Alpine Gulch aid station. The avalanche field on the way to the first Alpine Gulch aid station.
Alex up ahead at the top of the avalanche. Alex up ahead at the top of the avalanche.	View from alpine gulch. View from alpine gulch.
View from alpine gulch. View from alpine gulch.	View from alpine gulch. View from alpine gulch.
View from alpine gulch. View from alpine gulch.	View from the top of the first climb. View from the top of the first climb.
Runners slowing making their way to the top of the first hill. Runners slowing making their way to the top of the first hill.	Top of the first hill. Top of the first hill.
Alex on the snowfield traversing the first hill Alex on the snowfield traversing the first hill	On the snowfield traversing the first hill On the snowfield traversing the first hill
Arriving at the Williams aid station. Arriving at the Williams aid station.	View from the divide View from the divide
View from the divide View from the divide
View from the divide View from the divide
Looking back from Vickers hill. Looking back from Vickers hill.	Looking back from Vickers hill – almost a 360 degree view of the course. Looking back from Vickers hill – almost a 360 degree view of the course.
Trail markers in the last 10 miles. Trail markers in the last 10 miles.	Course map. Course map.
Course profile. Course profile.

I wasn’t quite sure how this would turn out. I decided not to taper back at all and ramped up the mileage instead. Finishing the double would put me at 106 miles for the week. And as of Thursday before the race, I was still limping around with bad knee pain from taking 3 nasty falls attempting a Grey Rock Quad run the week before (I still finished 4 loops minus one mile leg to the summit for 28 miles). This might actually have helped in the long run since I started out the race at an extremely conservative pace. My knee ached …actually everything pretty much ached from the start. But I kept popping ibruprofen and kept chugging along.

The course was an out and back. 13.1 miles each way – twice for the double marathon. I had thought this would be a really nice run since the start is at the Happy Jack recreation area and the turn around is in Vedawoo. It’s a really beautiful area with lots of great trails. Unfortunately this route didn’t go through any of those areas. We followed a dirt road on the outskirts of Happy Jack and then onto the frontage road of I-80 and then back onto a stretch of dirt road on the edge of Vedawoo. The frontage road was miserable – 3 miles of pavement, crosswinds, and semi’s screaming by. Uuuugh! And the crosswinds changed direction frequently. So just as you got a decent pace going shoulder into the wind, it would turn and hit you from the other side to send you stumbling.

Aside from the wind, freezing cold 6am start, and nasty pavement, the course wasn’t difficult. The hills were very gradual and the entire course was runnable. Much different from the mountain trail running that I’m used to that forces you to take hiking breaks on steep technical climbs. I did the first half marathon out in 1:59:45 and the return half in 2:19:40. I was in and out of the halfway point in only 1:45 and made the second half out in 2:11:10. On the way back I managed to keep up a steady pace the entire way and finished the last leg in 2:16:30 – 3:10 faster than the first time! In the last 13.1 miles, I passed 3 other runners. With only about 3 miles to go, I inched my way past Eric and finished in third place. I was second Male but really didn’t mind getting “chicked” by Jamie Donaldson. ….if I’m ever accused of running like a girl, I might just say thank you:-)

After the race, I got extremely sick about 15 minutes after finishing and ended up spending about an hour at the nearby truck stop bathroom. I think it was a combination of dehydration, ibruprofen and pain, and the fact that this was the first time I’d really pushed myself that hard at a steady pace for that long. In hindsight I should have carried 2 water bottles. I had planned on using just one bottle and since I had to carry my own mix, I doubled up on mix and diluted it along the way. This made it hard to keep track of how much I was really drinking and with the elevation and high winds, I was a lot more dehydrated than I realized. I checked my weight when I got home and had lost 9 pounds since that morning. I’ll need to do a lot better than that to clear the weight checks at the Vermont 100.

Overall this was a good learning experience and a solid training run. Although I probably won’t do this one again. The other runners and volunteers were great but this wasn’t much of an event and the course wasn’t anything special. For a training run, it would be just as easy to drive up with a few friends, set up car drop aid stations of our own, and enjoy some of the other backroads in the area.

Wyoming Double Marathon 5/25/2008

Wyoming Double Marathon start. Wyoming Double Marathon start.	Wyoming Double Marathon area info Wyoming Double Marathon area info
Eric finishing the first marathon lap. Eric finishing the first marathon lap.	Eric finishing the first marathon lap. Eric finishing the first marathon lap.
Eric finishing the first marathon lap. Eric finishing the first marathon lap.	Eric refueled and heading out for the second marathon. Eric refueled and heading out for the second marathon.
Eric refueled and heading out for the second marathon. Eric refueled and heading out for the second marathon.	Eric heading out for the second marathon. Eric heading out for the second marathon.
Finishing the first marathon. Finishing the first marathon.	Racing 2 half marathon walkers up the hill. Racing 2 half marathon walkers up the hill.
Finishing the first marathon. …yes, I beat the walkers up the hill. Finishing the first marathon. …yes, I beat the walkers up the hill.	Eric coming into aid station #2 to meet Peter Sanders on the 2nd lap. Eric coming into aid station #2 to meet Peter Sanders on the 2nd lap.
Eric leaving aid station #2 on the second lap. Eric leaving aid station #2 on the second lap.	Coming into aid station #2 on the second lap. Coming into aid station #2 on the second lap.
Coming into aid station #2 on the second lap. Coming into aid station #2 on the second lap.	Quick refill at aid station #2 on the second lap. Quick refill at aid station #2 on the second lap.
Coming back into to aid station #2 Coming back into to aid station #2	Coming back into to aid station #2 Coming back into to aid station #2
Coming back into to aid station #2 Coming back into to aid station #2	Quick refill – last stop at aid station #2. Quick refill – last stop at aid station #2.
Leaving aid station #2 for the final leg to the finish. Leaving aid station #2 for the final leg to the finish.	52.4 Miles done! ….this photo pretty much captures the moment. Not sure if I should puke or collapse. 52.4 Miles done! ….this photo pretty much captures the moment. Not sure if I should puke or collapse.
Chris tried to shake my hand. I grabbed his beer instead. Chris tried to shake my hand. I grabbed his beer instead.	Eric coming in for a strong finish. Eric coming in for a strong finish.
Eric coming in for a strong finish. Eric coming in for a strong finish.	Done! Done!