I have looked forward to this race for one full year. Why you ask? This is because I was a sweeper (guy who takes down the course markings) for 32 miles of the 2011 race. I was already kinda interested in this stuff but experiencing it first hand was one of the coolest things that could have happened to me.
In the 12 hour race I started out with the attitude of "ok so this is a B race just take it easy and let's see what will happen". Well what happened was that after about 8 hours or so I was in the lead, I could not believe it. I have never been in the lead of a race before in my life so now I couldn't look at it as a B race I had to try to win since I was in the lead. At 11 hours and 15 minutes into the race I was going to quit and just be done but this guy was starting the same lap as i had just finished and I had enough time to finish one more lap so I had to make sure that I won outright. I asked how far ahead of me he was, they told me about 10 minutes. I made it my goal to caught that guy on this last lap. I went through the last lap in one of my fastest times of the day after already completing 57 miles, I caught that guy and finished 8 minutes ahead of him. It was a great confidence booster for the 100 mile race. I ran 59.8 miles in 11 hours and 40 minutes.
For the next two weeks after this race I completely rested except for 2 hikes over the weekend just to get out and get the legs working. We did a 5 mile hike on Saturday to Little Mount Si and on Sunday did a 6 mile hike on Tiger Mountain. On the hike down from Tiger Mountain I actually met one of the best ultrarunners in the Pacific NW, Adam Lint. He is an accomplished runner and has run and won races. He was training for the Wasatch 100. He was a great guy and stopped and talked with us for a few minutes, it was cool. These two events, the race and meeting Adam were huge morale boosters for me going into the race to get me excited for the 100 miler that was ahead.
Friday August 24th, (one day before the race)
I worked a half day at work so we could get up to Easton and get all our camp stuff set up at Lake Easton State Park. I got home and my wonderful wife Kara and her sisters were there getting all the camp gear ready to go. We arrived at Lake Easton at about 3 PM. After getting camp set up we went to Cle Elum to get some last minute supplies for the race. When we got back from the store I started to prepare the last supper. We ate mashed potatoes, with fresh salmon, and sauteed vegetables with fresh garden herbs. This was a restaurant quality dinner made mostly from free ingredients that we either grew in our garden or a fish that was caught by my brother-in-law 3 days earlier. So it cost us like one dollar each for this amazing meal!! It was a great way to start our trip. We played a game of Shanghai before going to bed around about 10 pm. During the night I knew I wasn't going to get a lot of sleep because I was so anxious for the race. I knew I would have to get up several times to go to the bathroom because I had drank a lot of water.
Before any race I get nervous doesn't matter what distance it is so I knew I would be getting up to take care of the bowel movements that would be associated with that. So I would sleep for about 2 hours, get up and have to poop so I had to go to the camp restroom because I couldn't poop by the campsite so I used that as an opportunity to do a short run and get used to using my headlamp while running. Then I got back to sleep for like 30 minutes and just laid awake for like an hour and a half or so until everyone got up around 7 AM. All and all though I felt pretty good, I think the main reason for this is because I heard from the TRN podcast to get extra sleep the two weeks before the race so I did that and felt pretty well rested coming into race morning
Saturday, August 25th (Race Day)
The ladies got themselves ready to go to the fire station and I ate a banana because I was feeling a little hungry this morning. We arrived at the Easton Volunteer Fire Department at about 7:45 AM for the free breakfast provided for runners and crew. It was a good normal breakfast but I wasn't sure what I should eat so I decided if they were serving it then I guess it should be OK. So I had eggs, fruit, sausage and one pancake. After breakfast I went back to the car and got all my stuff so that I could change from my regular clothes to my running clothes. I changed my clothes in the Port-a-Pottie fortunately it was pretty clean. My gear consisted of a Cliff Bar hat, my short sleeve 50 mile White River shirt, my Nike running shorts, my Zenzah calf/shin compression sleeves, my Nike running socks, and my Brooks Adrenaline running shoes. On my way back to the car I met Mike from Florida. I told him that this was my first 100 miler and he said "oh you are the one they were talking about" he was just kidding but I thought it was funny. After I was dressed I went back to the car and get the rest of my stuff. My Gregory hydration pack filled with food (beef jerky, fruit snacks, GU's, Honey Stinger Waffles, ginger candy and water of course. Also I had all my first aid stuff in there too also toilet paper, body wipes so I was fully prepared. I applied my anti-chafing cream to my delicate areas. This proved to be one of the best things I did all day long. In my previous race I was not aware of the benefits of anti-chafing cream so when I got done with that 60 miles my butt and genital area was very raw and very sure I could not take a shower for two days but this stuff really worked throughout my 100 mile race and I had 0 chafing in my sensitive areas, thanks again to the TRN podcast for this tip. I also put the anti-chafing stuff on my toes and armpits to help to prevent chafing and blisters. It didn't work as well as I had hoped but the blisters I did get were pretty minor.
After preparing for the race I went back to the breakfast area to get ready for the pre race briefing with the other runners and the Race Director, Charlie Chrissman. I had never met Charlie in person but I volunteered for him last year so I introduced myself to him this year and thanked him for giving me this opportunity. During the race briefing they asked who was running their first 100. Someone in the crowd said "Ruh Roh" like Scooby Doo and I thought that was funny. The race brief was more about recognizing people rather than talking about the course but it was just cool to be hanging with the other competitors. Actually the guy who sat next to me in the meeting was Steve Emmert, who is he you may ask? Well I watched the video that he made for either a year or two ago about his experiences on the race that helped me kinda get my head around what it was like on the course. I said to him that he was a star and that I loved his YouTube video about the race. He thanked me, it was cool. One of the coolest things about the ultrarunning events is the community of people you get to do this race with. They are just a great group of people who are very inspiring and just fun to hang out with.
After the race briefing was over I bolted out of the meeting to go get in line for the Port-a-Pottie. I did not use it this time to change my clothes in and let's just leave it at that. We had about 20 more minutes until the race started I was really just excited to get going but still had to wait. During this time my wife listened to thecrew instructions part of the meeting and when I got back when they were finishing that up. At 5 minutes before the race they sang the Canadian National Anthem and the Nation Anthem. The pole holding the Canadian flag was impromptu (a hockey stick with a Canadian flag tied to it) I thought this was funny. Everyone was just casually hanging out by the starting line, nothing like a marathon where you get there early, and people start lining up early. At this race when it started it seemed sudden to me all of a sudden they were counting down from 10 and then it was time to go, it was just casual. I probably could have just walked up to the start line and not have been paying attention and I would have missed the start!
But finally we were on our way!! I was really glad to get going it seemed like I had been awake for quite some time and been waiting for this to get going. I had read the course reviews and knew that I needed to take it easy in the beginning because the second half was tougher. From the TRN podcast I recall them saying just make sure you are taking care of yourself for the first 70 % of the race holding back a little and then really put your effort up in the last 30 % so I used this strategy. So I started slow even though there were tons of people around me I just let them go because I knew if I did my job I would see them later. We started on some dirt roads and that was nice but I was ready to get to the trail. I had heard the first climb was a big deal but I wasn't scared I just stuck to my plan. Alongside the road at one point there was an old mountain man living in a trailer that was sitting outside watching us go by, I was wondering what his thoughts were on ultrarunners, but I was afraid to stop and talk to this guy for fear that I might end up being his dinner or something like that. After that we got to the single track and really started to climb. It actually didn't seem so bad to me. In this section I met Kevin from Vashon Island, I think. He was also competing in his first 100 miler, we talked for awhile and were together for a good stretch. By the time that we got to the top of Goat Peak (Mile 5) the first aid station, I was thinking to myself that was not so bad.
Leaving this section immediately we had to start climbing more. This was a pretty steep section. This is where I first met Sophia, a girl from seattle who was also running her first 100 miler. I talked with her quite a bit and realized that at this point we were pretty evenly matched. She was not very strong on the uphills but was fast on the downhills. I was strong on the uphills but a little slower on my descent, I passed her on the uphill. There were great amazing views everywhere you looked up here. At one point I just stopped to observe the beauty of Mount Rainier in the distance.
I arrived at the Cole Butte aid station in 2 hours and 25 minutes for 11 miles and 13 minutes ahead of schedule. They usually have a full aid station here but were not able to because of bad roads. They did have water and popsicles here though which was nice because it was already getting pretty warm. Before we got to this aid station I was having trouble getting water from my pack. I thought it was because the hose was cinched but really it was because there was almost no water in it when I got there. Leaving the aid station we ran on a dirt logging road. I was not moving real fast and a bunch of people passed me on this section but I actually met up with the old man that was parked next to us at the start. I started to talk to him for a bit. He was from Florida and was not used to the mountains. To train for this race he had to run back and forth over a big bridge in Florida to get his "hill workout in. He told me he crossed it 48 times in one training run which really made me appreciate the great opportunities that I have around here for training. We ran together till the bottom of the hill then it went up again and I started to catch people again. There was a guy ahead of me who was clapping and I caught up to him and asked him about himself. His name was Alex and he is a 4th grade teacher in Bellevue. This was great! I told him I love teachers and that I highly respected him for his job of choice. I also told him about my wife and sister who are both teachers. We got to the Blowout Mountain aid station , the 15 mile mark, in 3 hours and 31 minutes, 9 minutes ahead of schedule.
Leaving this station we finally hit the Pacific Crest Trail of course after a little bit more climbing, like 2 miles. The PCT was so spectacular to run on! It was like going from a small potholed dirt road to a nice wide clean freshly paved superhighway, it was smooth. When we reached the PCT I actually think I heard a chorus of angels singing Hallelujah. It was a very nice change after 17 miles of some rough and rocky sections to this great section of trail and of course it started to go downhill to the Tacoma Pass aid station. I was feeling pretty good going into this section. I was really looking forward to seeing my crew soon too. My crew consisted of my wife and her two sisters, one from Woodland, WA and the other from Portland OR. They did an amazing job, they were totally there for me and it was great to see them. I saw them a total of 5 times during the race, Mile 23, 33, 53, 68, and of course the finish. I needed to get some food on this downhill section to the aid station but I didn't want to stop because if I did then a bunch of people would pass me. But at this point I caught myself "No you need to eat, it doesn't matter what they do, do what you need to do" I said to myself so I stopped and walked for a bit while I ate a Clif Bar, it was hard to get down but I did. I actually started running and eating which was new for me but it made it hard to get the Clif Bar down. Finally made it to the Tacoma Pass aid station. It was great to see my crew and know that I would get to sit down for a bit, turns out if I was 3 minutes earlier I would have missed my crew so it was a good thing I stopped to eat that Clif Bar. I was right on time according to my schedule 5 hours 26 minutes for 23 miles. I got a bag of mashed potatoes from my crew to take with me for the next section. A baggie with a hole cut in the corner so that I could squeeze it into my mouth as I ran or walked. This was very helpful because it can be hard to eat solid food on these long runs. I got this idea from the TRN podcast with nutritionist Sunny Blende. I took off my shoes and shook out the rocks and dirt. The guy across from me at the station came in before me and told Kara that I was going pretty fast for my first 100 miler. I didn't think so I was right on schedule and in the end I finished ahead of that guy. It was actually nice to sit down. Time to go now.
I was off to Snowshoe Butte. 23 down only 77 more to go, really! Sophia left just before me but I caught up to her but now she was as strong as I was on the climb so we stayed together through most of this section. Some other runners caught us and stayed with us in a little group of 4. Here I met Gregory Holmes from the Sacramento area. He was a great guy he said that the trail was just like in California, the terrain, the rocks, everything except the flowers which looked like they were on steroids here. That's because of all the rain, Greg. I told him about the TRN podcast I listen and he said he knew of some of those guys so that was cool. I told him that I wanted to run the Western States 100 down by Auburn CA and he said just be friends with me on Facebook and when you come down you can stay at my house. Super cool dude to offer that to someone he just met! Shows how awesome the people are who run these things. In this section of trail before getting to Snowshoe we had to go through a section of trail that was completely covered with bushes. You could barely see the trail but it more for a great adventure! Coming up the hill to Snowshoe Butte, Sophia, Greg and I were traveling together. This was a great aid station that was headed up by a cross country team from Ellensburg. There were very enthusiastic and we could hear them before we could see them, that was encouraging. I think we were all ready for the aid station especially Greg who was out of water. 29 miles in 7 hours 17 minutes, 5 minutes ahead of schedule.
The next section was actually pretty short only 5 miles before the next aid station. Sophia and I left together and Gregory was behind us a bit. I knew that this next section could be fast because I did it by myself last year when I was sweeping and I did it fast. Sophia and I passed a lady at the side of the trail that she knew that was screaming. She was having either stomach or diarrhea problems. I was oblivious to any of this because I must have found the right balance. I didn't have any stomach or diarrhea problems which I was very thankful for. After this I pulled away from Sophia and didn't see her again until about mile 64. I blew through this section and onto the Stampede pass aid station in 8 hours and 8 minutes, 10 minutes ahead of pace. At Stampede Pass I saw the girls again and they were all excited to see me 10 minutes early. One of the first things Kara said to me was "slow down". I told her to tell me that if I was way ahead of schedule but I didn't think 10 minutes ahead was that big of a deal. At this stationI needed to get ready for the night ahead. I got my drop bag here. I refueled my gels and fruit snacks, got some guacamole in a baggie. I changed out of my short sleeve shirt and into a long sleeve tech shirt. I had my lightweight running jacket and my long tights to keep my legs warm. I put the jacket and tights into my hydration pack because it was still warm enough. Also dropped off the hat here and exchanged it for my Petzl headlamp for night running. I reapplied the antichafing stuff to my delicate areas and put on new thermal running socks which stayed on the rest of the run because they were so comfortable and I was ready to go off again. This time with no one I had met on the trail but by myself.
Leaving Stampede Pass ready for the night ahead
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In this 8 mile section I don't remember encountering anybody at all. I was struggling a little in this section because it was lonely and it was starting to get dark. I wasn't moving real fast so I thought someone would catch me but no one did. This section seemed a lot longer I kept thinking to myself "where is that aid station?" Probably just my mind playing tricks on me for torturing it so much. But the aid station finally came and i was in at 10 hours and 10 minutes, about 6 minutes ahead of schedule. At this aid station I got some soup. While I was waiting for my soup I went behind a bush and took off my shorts so that I could put my tights on over my under armor underwear and then put my shorts back on over my tights. I also put my light jacket on. I grabbed the soup and I was on my way.
This next section was going to be difficult. We started by climbing. On the climb up there was a lady in the middle of the trail having stomach problems, another lady had stopped to try to help her and they both started going when I caught up with them. The lady with stomach problems dropped back pretty quickly and the other lady who was helping her and I took off together all the way to the aid station. We got up to Mirror Lake which I am sure is beautiful in the daytime but a little creepy at night with drunk backpackers being dumb and saying stuff. The turn is a little tricky here but fortunately I had done this before so I knew to go to the right. Last year as a sweeper I went straight and almost ended up in the lake! From the lake we had to climb again up into a section that had a lot of scree rocks in the trail which made it quite difficult technically. We passed two older guys on the climb. We also encountered a short section where there was still snow on the trail so that was cool literally and figuratively. We started to come down and I knew we were getting close to the aid station because I could see the faint light of the aid station off to the right. Shortly therafter we did arrive at Olallie Meadows, mile 48 in 11 hours and 57 minutes, 16 minutes ahead of schedule. I sat down for a few minutes here while they filled up my water. I took this opportunity to get some solid food in by downing 2 pirogues with yogurt, they were so good and gave me a good boost of energy. This aid station had the race director of the White River 50, Scott McCoubrey, so it was nice to see a familiar face.
The next section I saw as one that I could be fast on. It was only 5 miles and I knew about 3 1/2 of those miles were on flat surface. At this point I decided to try to call my wife and let her know where I was and that I might be arriving early, so she could be ready. After talking to her I had the steep section to get down and then I would be on the flat. This part sucked because the road is covered in loose rock and it is quite a steep grade down to the rope section. When I got to the steep section there were two runners and a pacer going down just in front of me so I kinda had to wait for them to get down a little bit before I started. I am really glad they have ropes here because it is super steep and kinda dangerous on tired legs. The only bad thing is the ropes are all connected so if people in front of you are going down and they get knocked to one side and you are holding on to the rope then you go to that side as well. I got whipped in the face a couple times by the pacer that was in front of me. When we got to the bottom which marked the halfway point of the race I knew it would be smooth sailing from here on into this next aid station. We ran a short distance and then we entered the tunnel. I was staying with this group of 3 for a little bit in the tunnel but then I got tired and needed a walk. They all pulled ahead of me and then I was running alone through the 2 and a half mile tunnel. The tunnel can be a nice change of place but it can also be a scary experience but I had their lights out ahead of me so I could see them and I looked back and I could see a light coming behind me so I knew I would be OK. I would try to run for 5 minutes and then walk for 1 minute. Finally I got out of the tunnel, I was only 1 mile from the aid station. I called my wife to let her know I was only about 1 mile away and she told me she was at the aid station waiting for me.
I got into the Hyak aid station mile 53 in 13 hours and 31 minutes, 29 minutes ahead of schedule. That was a really nice section in which I made good time. Now from here on out I would have a pacer with me so that was comforting to know I would not be alone. I made good time so I could rest a bit since I had the crew here I had the three girls, Luke and Devin. It was good to see them all!! They had the chair ready for me and I was happy to sit for a little while. I got a grilled cheese sandwich and some soup, applied some more anti-chafing cream, got a package of guacamole and I drank half of an Amp energy drink, loaded up my reserve food with things like fruit snacks, gels, etc and got my water filled. I actually got rid of the beanie and gloves that I had saved if I got warm enough. I didn't think I would need them but Luke grabbed them and put them on. Oh yeah by the way this is where I was picking up Luke as a pacer for the next 15 miles. My legs and everything were getting really tired and starting to cinch up as I sat in the chair so I took that as a sign that I had been at that aid station for too long and needed to get going.
We left the aid station approximately 20 minutes after I arrived so that was a pretty long stop. It was a long stop but i decided I could make up time at other stations when I didn't have my crew. Luke and I set off down the road into unchartered territory because I had no idea what the rest of the race looked like but I knew it wasn't going to be easy I had the hard stuff still in front of me. We started nice on a paved road for about 2 miles, I was getting cold so I actually stole the gloves from Luke that I had discarded until I was warmer but then I never gave them back I just kept them on how rude! I was getting a little concerned because I had to pee a lot and earlier in the race I felt like I didn't pee at all. I would just stop in the road and do my thing. It was funny I noticed a lot of spots along the dirt road that looked like this but didn't put 2 and 2 together, everyone else was doing it to so it must have been a good thing. One guy passed us that told me he had never finished this race and he had dropped at mile 68 and 73 so that was disconcerting because he was passing me. In the end that guy finished so that was awesome for him, I actually think he finished behind me somewhere. When the road turned to dirt it started to climb and I knew it was going to be a long climb. Over 2000 feet in 5 miles, I thought of the uphill as an opportunity to "rest" so that I could crank out the downhill. As soon as we got closer to the top I tried to get little bouts of running in to help my time, I passed a few people in this section. At one point I tried to switch off my light and just run in the dark but it was super dark! The stars were really awesome though and that was one of the coolest things I remember about this race. On the way we encountered a pacer that was walking back toward us, I guess he must have fallen or something because he was heading back toward Hyak, I think he got hurt and couldn't keep going. Then we encountered a car coming at us and I asked how far the aid station was and they said about 1 mile and I was like yeah right I haven't come that far have I? So I said to Luke I think we still have another three miles to go or so these guys must have been messing with us but before you knew it we were getting near the top and I was estimating we had 30 more minutes to the aid station and then just around the the next corner there it was, Crazy!! My mind must have been going somewhere else. I was really surprised! We arrived at Mile 60 in 15 hours 47 minutes, 31 minutes ahead of pace, sweet I gained 2 minutes with a 20 minute stop! From this point forward I kept saying every step I take is one step farther than I have ever been before so that was a great feeling! I sat down here, two guys were trying to sleep up there they were tired. One thing I noticed is that I wasn't even tired, I mean sleepy tired not physically tired. I think this can be attributed to the great advice I got from the TRN podcast about getting extra sleep the two weeks before the race, I did this and felt great! I got some soup, some watermelon, got my water filled and we got going.
I was really hoping to crank out this 8 mile downhill because it could be fast if I could get my legs going. Just after we started this leg we saw these red flares go flying across the sky and it freaked us out a little bit. I think it was just a bunch of drunk people messing around in the forest, it was like 2 AM but it was pretty cool looking as long as they were not shooting at us. I actually started to struggle a bit in this section and got passed by like three people. I just couldn't keep running even though it was a downhill! I got passed by one of the sleeping guys, then Gregory from CA, then Sophia also from earlier. I was starting to get a little down on myself because I wasn't as fast as I wanted to be. When Greg passed us he told us it was 4 miles to the aid station, he had a Garmin GPS watch. One thing I noticed is I was peeing a lot more during the night than during the day, Luke and I stopped so many times I can't even count and that concerned me a little because I was losing all this fluid but the color of my pee looked good so I thought that must be good. Whenever I would start to lose energy I would think to myself get something to eat. Then I would eat something and get a boost of energy and get moving along good again. At one point Luke was reciting some Alaskan poem that he memorized and I was not really paying attention I just wanted to get this downhill done but it kept me occupied. At one point I stopped in the middle of the road and sat down to remove the rocks from my shoes. I started to see cars parked along the road and I knew we must be coming into the aid station. There was a little hill apparently coming into the aid station that Luke and I charged up. The people at the aid station said that was a positive sign because most people didn't look good coming up that hill and also I was in good spirits because I knew I had my crew there.
Mile 68 in 17 hours and 41 minutes, only 10 minutes ahead of schedule and I lost 21 minutes on that downhill it was a tough spot or dark place if you will. Now the final aid station I would see my crew at until the end, they had the chair ready for me and that was good. It was almost 4 AM and I was thinking get yourself ready for the day ahead so I needed to get rid of the tights, take off the long sleeve shirt, and get a hat. I ended up forgetting the hat but it was OK. I went behind a tree to change and turned on my light and saw two people sleeping on the ground I turned my light away it scared me a little I wasn't expecting people back there! I took off my tights, put my shorts back on, got a short sleeve technical shirt and kept the jacket on to keep me warm, it was a light jacket and easy to shed later. I reapplied the anti-chafing cream, had a grilled cheese and some soup and the said goodbye to Luke and the crew and said hello to Marvin. He was going to run with me the last 32 miles. It would be the longest distance he had ever run too!!
This section started out with the infamous "Trail from Hell!" We went for about a half a mile up a dirt road and then began the trail section. The climb from the road to the trail was short but steep, as soon as I saw this I had the feeling this was going to be hard. Its only a 5 and a half mile section but it was a very small trail with lots of obstacles. This trail starts by going over several logs on a very skinny scary trail. Once we got through the log section and over the creek then we were n ext to the lake. The first river crossing wasn't so bad because they had 3 or 4 logs put together so you could cross without getting your feet wet. It was still dark but almost sunrise so that made the trail not seem so bad. There was one section that we came up to that no joke if you would have tripped it would be down a 100 foot cliff, when I saw that I gave the trail a considerable amount of respect because I didn't want to misstep and lose my life, or make myself out of the race due to injury or death. We kept moving along though here pretty steady but it took a long time because we were being cautious. I passed three people and one person passed me. It was a scary trail. Once the sun came up I started to feel exhilerated because I knew then that I made it through the night without sleeping it would be easy to stay awake now that the sun was up. The second crossing over the river was one of the most insane things I did on this whole race. Marvin just crossed the the river over this log in front of me so I crossed right behind him without even thinking but when I got about halfway across this log I realized where I was: in the middle of a big log with about a 30-40 foot drop down to the river which wasn't very deep so that would not have been good if I fell there. I got a little scared when I hit the middle and slowed down and steadied myself. I passed Sophia and her pacer here because they went up the trail a little farther and crossed at the safe crossing. We were getting closer to the aid station and I was beginning to feel hungry so I decided to go for an energy gel this time. This was a bad choice. And actually I didn't even need it turns out I was only like 50 yards from the aid station. My stomach did not like the idea of the gel and basically I threw up just the gel and water, nothing else. It was funny because I didn't even need it because I was so close to the aid station. Mile 74, Mineral Creek in 20 hours and 12 minutes, 12 minutes ahead of schedule. I sat down here and looked around at the other runners and they did not look to be in very good shape but I was feeling good because at this point it became reality to me that even if I walked most of the rest of this race I would make it before the cutoff time and that was my goal. I had some soup and some watermelon and an electrolyte drink and then we got going.
The next section again was going to be a difficult section. This time 7 miles uphill and 3,000 feet of elevation gain. It was all on a nice dirt road so that wasn't so bad. I basically power hiked up this hill and ran where I could. I think I passed about 5 people or so here I was feeling strong. We had some amazing views from these high roads. Not a whole lot to say about this section except that I felt really good and it was nice to keep catching people because that meant I was doing better than these people and my plan from the beginning was going just as planned. I met a guy who was racing his first 100 miler but I am not sure of his name but we talked with his wife who was also his pacer she did 43 miles of the race with him, the longest she had ever done too! I arrived at Mile 81 in 22 hours and 12 minutes, 32 minutes ahead of schedule, kicked butt on this section, gained 20 minutes on the pace. I had a cup of soup, soup is good food. At this point I also got pretty emotional because I knew that barring an absolute meltdown that I could make it into the finish before the cutoff time which made me really happy.
This section would have the beginning of the cardiac needles. The cardiac needles are very deceptive. I had thought they were 5 climbs in a row but it turns out they are 5 different climbs over the next 20 miles, the needles are definitely no joke. It starts with two climbs that I thought were part of the needles but it turns out that they were just false needles. Then we hit the first and supposedly the hardest of the cardiac needles. The grade here was very steep and it was tough on tired legs plus this is where I started to feel a twinge of pain in my knee on the uphills. When we got to the second needle we got to an aid station at Thorpe Mountain but we were not allowed to enter it until we climbed a half a mile up to the ranger outlook to retrieve a sheet of paper that we had to come down with and give it to the guy at the aid station. I don't know what my splits were here because they did not keep track of time at this station. Beautiful lakes and mountain views were to be had in abundance at the ranger outlook just an awesome experience. I got into the aid station and sat down and there was a guy there before me who said "Man you did that really fast" and then I promptly left that guy back at the aid station, I grabbed a couple of orange slices and some potato chips and was going again.
The girl that left before me said that the next needle was one of the toughest of them all. It had like three false summits and it was very steep. This was definitely the toughest one, I had to stop at least three times on the steep sections just to catch my breath and regain my legs. I think this is where I realized my knee was starting to hurt more intensely, it was painful on the uphill, oh great only a bunch more of those left end then I could be done. After finishing this needle you could see the French Cabin aid station down to the left. It was still over a mile of downhill to get there though. I was taking it easy on the downhills so that I didn't strain my knee even more. We saw a guy along the trail and I thought and I thought we were close to the aid station then I realized he had hiked up and I still had aways to go. When I finally made it down to the aid station I sat down and realized I was tired. They gave me some soup and were trying to give me some soup and were trying to give me a bacon quesadilla which in hindsight I should have taken it but I didn't but I did however eat a piece of bacon. The aid station told us just one more climb and then it's all downhill. I was like yeah right we don't have to climb again do we and they said yep that one over there. I looked at the mountain and almost cried "Really we have to do that?" I said to myself better get going this is going to take awhile but actually it went faster than I expected.
This eight mile section was deceiving. I kept thinking am I at the aid station yet. After the short climb which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, the trail dumped us out into some beautiful sections of the course. I actually enjoyed this bit the most of all. There were mountain meadows and stream crossings and a short waterfall. I actually started to pick up some time in this section because it was fast if you had the energy and when I did it was great and I was actually pulling away from Marvin at this point he told me that I could go on without him but I said to him "no way we are doing this together and we are finishing together". The steep downhill portion came and my knee was starting to really hurt and that put a damper on my race because I couldn't push the downhill because of the knee. I think I lost 20 to 30 minutes just in this little section. I finally made it to the aid station of Mile 96 in 27 hours and 29 minutes which was only 9 minutes ahead of pace. I started to sit down and the people at the aid station were encouraging me to get up and get going because it was only 4 miles left to go. If I could get going even if I walked I would be there in no time. I looked that guy in the eye and said "heck no I am not going to walk it, I'm going to run!" So I grabbed a piece of watermelon and got myself going I was ready to do it. I was actually charging pretty well in this section of the course. I was running through so many emotions coming up to the end of the race and I was just crying and so happy about this accomplishment. When we started to get closer I saw an overpass ahead and I thought all I had to do was get to that overpass and cross the railroad tracks and I would be done. Little did I know when I reached the overpass I still had one more mile to go, when I reached it I realized I was in the wrong place and got defeated because I was running strong and I was crying overcome with emotion, I passed a girl on the way to the overpass, but I still had one more to go. But I just took it in stride, I walked a little ran a little walked a little ran a little. Finally when we got into the town of Easton I knew I was less than a half a mile away as soon as we left the road and get to the dirt of the railroad tracks, I knew I was in. I charged this last section just like I always do in every race finishing strong. I ran the whole way in with Marvin right beside me and leaped over the finish line. The people at the finish line told me it was one of the best finish line celebrations of the day. I was soooo excited!! I crossed the finish line in 28 hours and 18 minutes and 52 seconds, 18 minutes ahead of pace. I made up 9 minutes on the last section alone that was really awesome!! After the race the girls had the chair ready for me and I sat down and they took off my shoes and socks and I put my feet into a bucket of cold water, it felt great! My knee was really hurting afterward to the point that I thought I actually tore my ACL or something but it turns out I was fine after resting a few days. They gave me ice and ibuprofen and that seemed to help. I drank a cold Dr. Pepper, ate some mac and cheese and some other stuff from the finish line food. I was in heaven. Not even tired at this point actually because I was so exhilerated. The girls also had a chair for Marvin, who did an awesome job getting me into the finish! I was so thankful to everyone who helped out along the way to make this the second best day of my life.
