There have been some changes in Liz and my own schedules but the following schedule should be pretty stable. I've registered for all of my races and Liz most of hers. We've diverged a bit but are doing many of the same also.
Date Scott Liz
9-15 Off Mark Twain
9-22 Georgia Jewel Georgia Jewel
9-29 Off Off
10-6 Arkansas Traveler Arkansas Traveler
10-13 Heartland Heartland
10-20 (Sis getting married) Pony Express
10-27 Javelina Javelina
11-3 Coyote Springs Coyote Springs
11-10 Wild Sebastian Wild Sebastian
11-17 Off Off
11-24 Winter 100 (in Britain) Shazam
21-1 Cajun Coyote Ancient Oaks
12-8 Off Off
12-15 Bartram Bartram
12-22 Off Off
12-29 Houston Houston
(11-8-12 Updates in Red)
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Vermont 100
Logistics: Vermont came the weekend following Hardrock with Burning River coming the week following Vermont. Our plan was to drive from Silverton to Denver parking the RV at the airport, fly to Ohio, drive to Vermont and run the race, drive back to Ohio, run that race and then fly back. Liz would return directly to CO to acclimate for Leadville and I would return to GA for some work, returning to CO on Wednesday before Leadville. I was a bit worried about Vermont because we would be traveling almost the entire week. The travel went okay but didn't leave much of that full on downtime that would have been preferred.
I had had Vermont on my "to-do" list for many years. I'd been told many times how pretty the course was and how well run the event was. It more than fulfilled my expectations with the added bonus of having much cooler temps than in most years and much cooler than it had been in the previous weeks and months. This has happened again and again this year where we get cooler than average temps for race weekend. And I like cool.....
There is very nice camping at the Vermont site and everything was organized to a 'T'. There were two huge tents at the start finish, a bunch of space for the corrals for the horses that would be racing with us during the 100 mile as well some shorter races. There was also a huge field for tents where we set up our tent. Here's a couple pics:
The course was georgeous and it was very cool running for short times with the horses. My race was relatively uneventful though I did have some more of that terrible neuropathy in my toes and got very sleepy early on Sunday morning. Oh, and it was really hard for the last 15 miles! That's one thing I'm beginning to notice ... it's always hard at the end....
During the afternoon I ran for several hours with a lovely young lady from Portland, I believe who was on her second attempt at 100 miles. I don't believe she finished as I didn't see her post race. She is a neurologist who specializes in Parkinson's and I really enjoyed running and chatting away several hours with her. I tried to give her some advice on finishing 100 mile races and after a while I asked her professional advice about the toe pain that I had been having. She agreed with my thought that it was a neuropathy and that it was likely from the tremendous pounding that my feet had taken this year. She recommended a drug that I give often as an RN for neuropathy called Neurontin, or gabapentin.
I was having trouble again at this race but it was coming and going better than it had a Hardrock and I was able to endure it fairly well. I take Celebrex for pain during these races which is a 12 hour NSAID which works very well but it does absolutely nothing for this neuropathy. My neurologist friend said that she even carried some with her on her runs for hip pain. She said that I could use it as needed for races rather than having to be on it everyday. I made mental plans right then to talk to my doctor when I got home to get a prescription.
The night was long and not too cold. I ended up running a fair bit with Liz though we did our typical back and forth thing. I needed to sleep at one point and crashed out for a good 15 minutes which revitalized me as usual. I finished fairly strong though sub 24 hours was not in the cards so I didn't push but just ran steady. I finished in 25:50 and Liz in 25:55. It was fun to cheer in runners, get a primitive lake fed shower and drink a beer (thank you Patrick and friend!). Our friend Caroline Williams was attempting this 100 for something like the 7th or 8th time and was still not in as the clock ticked down. We saw Leonard Martin finish just before the cutoff but still no Caroline. Finally someone yelled that she was coming but she crossed the line 3 minutes! after the cutoff. A gutsy try and in my book a finish for sure.
The awards ceremony and bbq feed were awesome. The marinade on that wood cooked chicken was the best I had ever had. And I need to also mention the pre-race meal. Oh my goodness, I have never seen such a spread. It was hands down the best pre-race meal I've ever seen. They definitely have this thing down to a science and someone like their food! : ) Another great thing about this race is that it is run as a fund raiser for Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sport which provides technology and support to help kids and adults with missing limbs or other challenges to enjoy outdoor adventure, a great charity for sure.
Next up is Burning River after a few days R&R in Old Saybrook, CT at Liz's longtime, childhood friend.
Race count: Liz (20) Scott (14)
I had had Vermont on my "to-do" list for many years. I'd been told many times how pretty the course was and how well run the event was. It more than fulfilled my expectations with the added bonus of having much cooler temps than in most years and much cooler than it had been in the previous weeks and months. This has happened again and again this year where we get cooler than average temps for race weekend. And I like cool.....
There is very nice camping at the Vermont site and everything was organized to a 'T'. There were two huge tents at the start finish, a bunch of space for the corrals for the horses that would be racing with us during the 100 mile as well some shorter races. There was also a huge field for tents where we set up our tent. Here's a couple pics:
The course was georgeous and it was very cool running for short times with the horses. My race was relatively uneventful though I did have some more of that terrible neuropathy in my toes and got very sleepy early on Sunday morning. Oh, and it was really hard for the last 15 miles! That's one thing I'm beginning to notice ... it's always hard at the end....
During the afternoon I ran for several hours with a lovely young lady from Portland, I believe who was on her second attempt at 100 miles. I don't believe she finished as I didn't see her post race. She is a neurologist who specializes in Parkinson's and I really enjoyed running and chatting away several hours with her. I tried to give her some advice on finishing 100 mile races and after a while I asked her professional advice about the toe pain that I had been having. She agreed with my thought that it was a neuropathy and that it was likely from the tremendous pounding that my feet had taken this year. She recommended a drug that I give often as an RN for neuropathy called Neurontin, or gabapentin.
I was having trouble again at this race but it was coming and going better than it had a Hardrock and I was able to endure it fairly well. I take Celebrex for pain during these races which is a 12 hour NSAID which works very well but it does absolutely nothing for this neuropathy. My neurologist friend said that she even carried some with her on her runs for hip pain. She said that I could use it as needed for races rather than having to be on it everyday. I made mental plans right then to talk to my doctor when I got home to get a prescription.
The night was long and not too cold. I ended up running a fair bit with Liz though we did our typical back and forth thing. I needed to sleep at one point and crashed out for a good 15 minutes which revitalized me as usual. I finished fairly strong though sub 24 hours was not in the cards so I didn't push but just ran steady. I finished in 25:50 and Liz in 25:55. It was fun to cheer in runners, get a primitive lake fed shower and drink a beer (thank you Patrick and friend!). Our friend Caroline Williams was attempting this 100 for something like the 7th or 8th time and was still not in as the clock ticked down. We saw Leonard Martin finish just before the cutoff but still no Caroline. Finally someone yelled that she was coming but she crossed the line 3 minutes! after the cutoff. A gutsy try and in my book a finish for sure.
The awards ceremony and bbq feed were awesome. The marinade on that wood cooked chicken was the best I had ever had. And I need to also mention the pre-race meal. Oh my goodness, I have never seen such a spread. It was hands down the best pre-race meal I've ever seen. They definitely have this thing down to a science and someone like their food! : ) Another great thing about this race is that it is run as a fund raiser for Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sport which provides technology and support to help kids and adults with missing limbs or other challenges to enjoy outdoor adventure, a great charity for sure.
Next up is Burning River after a few days R&R in Old Saybrook, CT at Liz's longtime, childhood friend.
Race count: Liz (20) Scott (14)
Liz's New York 100 race report
I did a bit of editing but here is Liz's report on her run in NY:
The Great New York exposition, a 100 mile run starting in times square and looping all around Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, out to Coney Island...Wow what a cool idea! This race was organized by Phil McCarthy, a National record holding champion in the 48 hour race.
The thought of running a 100 miles completely through a city intrigued me, and sounded exciting. There would be no aid stations with food, water and gator aide only. Runners would carry cash to buy food along the way, there would be multiple opportunities for Dunkin donuts and local cafe stops. One drop bag would be available for supplies, I put my blister kit, light, a warm shirt, etc. A pacer would be required after mile 64, I did not have one, but, Phil fixed me up the most wonderful local runner, her name was Erin. Many Thanks go out to Erin for her navigational help; Phil gave us all detailed turn by turn directions, four pages worth. Navigation was going to be a challenge, the course would be marked, but, with turns coming sometimes every 10th of a mile, map reading would be neccessary.
I flew into Laguardia NY, was able to use public transportation to times square, got a room just 100's of feet from the start. It was all starting to be very fun, just being in Times Square for the first time. The start came too early and we were off! I started very slowly, my legs were still feeling the last run. I can't say enough good things about this run, I had a blast! I meet so many nice people, ran quite a few miles with a Doctor named Mark, his wife met us every 10 miles or so, with a cooler of ice and drinks.
The cut off for 50 miles was 12 hours, and the going was slow with stopping for all the lights, intersections and map reading. Quite a few of us did bonus miles, my self , and 2 other runners took a wrong turn in a park and ran down the wrong railway bed trail, we did about 6 extra miles. Running over the big bridges was really cool. Going out to Coney Island at 3:30 in the am and running the length of the board walk along the beach was neat. There were so many people out. Bands still playing, the city never sleeps. One time we went by a fire hydrant spraying water, several of us decided to cool off.
In a neighborhood, I was low on water, there was a man out washing his car, so , I asked him for some of his hose water, he said "oh no, we have filtered water inside, let me get you some" New Yorkers are so kind! It was fun going into the local shops to buy food and drink. During the night, I never needed my light, I always felt safe, it was a true adventure.
This has been one of my favorite runs this year. The finish in times square was exhilarating. Phil had a room reserved for the runners to shower post race, this was very thoughtful. I am sure I am missing a lot of fun details, but, you'll just have to run it for yourself! This is a must do. My time was 24:44
A couple of start pics:
The Great New York exposition, a 100 mile run starting in times square and looping all around Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, out to Coney Island...Wow what a cool idea! This race was organized by Phil McCarthy, a National record holding champion in the 48 hour race.
The thought of running a 100 miles completely through a city intrigued me, and sounded exciting. There would be no aid stations with food, water and gator aide only. Runners would carry cash to buy food along the way, there would be multiple opportunities for Dunkin donuts and local cafe stops. One drop bag would be available for supplies, I put my blister kit, light, a warm shirt, etc. A pacer would be required after mile 64, I did not have one, but, Phil fixed me up the most wonderful local runner, her name was Erin. Many Thanks go out to Erin for her navigational help; Phil gave us all detailed turn by turn directions, four pages worth. Navigation was going to be a challenge, the course would be marked, but, with turns coming sometimes every 10th of a mile, map reading would be neccessary.
I flew into Laguardia NY, was able to use public transportation to times square, got a room just 100's of feet from the start. It was all starting to be very fun, just being in Times Square for the first time. The start came too early and we were off! I started very slowly, my legs were still feeling the last run. I can't say enough good things about this run, I had a blast! I meet so many nice people, ran quite a few miles with a Doctor named Mark, his wife met us every 10 miles or so, with a cooler of ice and drinks.
The cut off for 50 miles was 12 hours, and the going was slow with stopping for all the lights, intersections and map reading. Quite a few of us did bonus miles, my self , and 2 other runners took a wrong turn in a park and ran down the wrong railway bed trail, we did about 6 extra miles. Running over the big bridges was really cool. Going out to Coney Island at 3:30 in the am and running the leng
In a neighborhood, I was low on water, there was a man out washing his car, so , I asked him for some of his hose water, he said "oh no, we have filtered water inside, let me get you some" New Yorkers are so kind! It was fun going into the local shops to buy food and drink. During the night, I never needed my light, I always felt safe, it was a true adventure.
This has been one of my favorite runs this year. The finish in times square was exhilarating. Phil had a room reserved for the runners to shower post race, this was very thoughtful. I am sure I am missing a lot of fun details, but, you'll just have to run it for yourself! This is a must do. My time was 24:44
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| Runners at the start in Times Square |
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| RD Phil McCarthy giving last minute directions. |
Hardrock 100
First off, apologies for being such a slacker keeping the blog current. I have no excuses about not having time or opportunity to post. The explanation is that what happened at Hardrock this year was a huge disappointment to me and really got me down. I lost the motivation to post and pretty soon I was far behind which made me avoid tackling the task even more. I hope to have things caught up here by the end of next week though.
Hardrock is far and away my favorite event. And I say 'event' because this is so much more than just a race. I've been attending since 2004 and all the folks that return year after year to run, volunteer, crew or whatever have really become family. I usually am in Silverton for the two weeks prior to the race to enjoy hanging out with everyone as well as all the cool activities. Nearly every day there is course marking going on. Newbies are strongly encouraged to take that opportunity to learn the course and many veterans also participate. There are any number of folks doing different training runs/hikes. On July 4th there is an early 10k race and then a parade in which all Hardrockers are invited to march.
One inevitable bit of pre-race drama is the Thursday checkin deadline where we find out who on the waitlist gets into the race. There are always more people in town who are on the waitlist than can get into the race. This year the first person on the waitlist when the checkin deadline had passed and open spots had been given to waiting runners was none other than Liz! Yikes, too much drama! Some years there are people who are in the race that cannot or choose not to run on Friday morning and the first waitlisters are encouraged to put out drop bags and be dressed ready to go on Friday morning. As Liz and I were preparing to head to the gym for the 5:45am Friday checkin deadline, Rebecca Clark, the registration czar knocked on the RV door telling Liz that a runner had chosen not to run and that she was in! Cool beans. This was Liz's attempt at her 5th finish which would greatly enhance her chance in subsequent lotteries.
We all set off at 6am with a course that was in as good a shape as I have seen with little snow, and very dry conditions. Things were going fairly well through about 35 miles though I felt sluggish and felt I was working too hard to keep my position in the back 1/4 of the field. Climbing up to Oscar's pass was as nice as I've ever done with nice cloud cover and no bugs at all. This section can often be hot with biting flies. It was definitely slow and I was feeling fatigued but things seemed to be shaking out okay. As I descended from Oscars down into Telluride, though, my race fell apart.
Several years ago after a very hard 48 hour effort, for the first time ever, I experienced very sharp shooting pains going through my toes. Liz, who ran as far as I did in that race also experienced the same pains, and also for the first time. Since then we have both had these pains after tough 100 milers but only after the race for a few days. This year though, with all the races stacked on top of each other I started to experience the pains during races. At first this wasn't much of a problem as it only lasted about 10-15 minutes. Descending from Oscars though it went on and on without letup. To be clear this is an excruciating kind of pain that is impossible to ignore. I had tears in my eyes from the pain as I walked down. It just would not go away.
The pain is not from damage to tissue but rather is a neuropathy which results from damage to the nerves. It took me forever to get down to Telluride and I was emotionally devastated. I had decided to quit and announced that at the aid station but was persuaded to sit and think about it. Kathy Lang, an MD was there and gave me some Pennsaid gel to put on the toes. I sat for probably 30-40 minutes and decided to continue on. I had no more pain from the toes the rest of the race and I attributed that to the Pennsaid though I now don't think it was the cure. More on that in the Burning River report. (Nice teaser, eh?) Anyway I continued up over Virginius (first time ever in the dark) and down into Ouray moving well and feeling better than anytime in the race. I was slower than ever before but still had plenty of time.
I fueled up and left Ouray in much better spirits. Those high spirits soon vanished though as I climbed toward Engineer. I just had no juice, no mojo. Even on the short downhills I could not move well. I was crawling and even at times had to sit on the side of the trail despite moving so slow. I reached the Engineer AS which is about halfway after the sun was up with more than 24 hours elapsed. I would need a negative split to finish. It was nice to see Fred Ecks here and I pretty much gave up here, sitting and enjoying the fire and aid station food. Finally I left and started up the final pitch to the pass. I was SO SLOW. It was pathetic. I crested the pass and started down the road, finding that even downhill I could not run. I decided to quit at Grouse and cut several of the road switchbacks on the way down.
Having this, my favorite race, ruined by this 30 in 52 quest really made me resent the whole project. I have since gotten over that and am back in the effort but the costs of doing so many 100 mile races have definitely piled up in larger and more varied ways than I expected. The financial, emotional, and physical tolls have been high.
Having quit, I was able to shower, rest and see Liz as she came through the final AS. The first thing she said was to the effect of the difficulty of doing something like Hardrock after such a year. I really believe that I was the only one at that race that had any idea of what she was going through. She is incredibly tough and determined. My hat is off to her for getting this one done. While at this aid station I also got to see Deb Pero come through with her brother Drew. Steve, Deb and Drew had started together and planned to run together the whole race with Drew as Steve's pacer (60+ year olds can have a pacer the whole way) but Steve's vertigo took him out at Ouray. They were cutting it close but had good spirits and looked strong and confident. Deb would go on to finish as the last finisher in 47 hours and 49 minutes with 11 minutes to spare! This gives her a finish in both directions and also the title of most senior woman to ever finish the race. Congrats Deb.
Liz really struggled to finish, especially on the last climb but persevered and finished in 47:11 for her 5th official finish.
There is a new rule in the Hardrock rulebook that says that anyone with 5+ finishes who dnf's two years in a row will be dropped from the 5+ finishes group for lottery purposes. This raises the stakes for me next year so if you see me next year in Silverton I will have my game face on!
Race count: Liz (19) Scott (13)
Hardrock is far and away my favorite event. And I say 'event' because this is so much more than just a race. I've been attending since 2004 and all the folks that return year after year to run, volunteer, crew or whatever have really become family. I usually am in Silverton for the two weeks prior to the race to enjoy hanging out with everyone as well as all the cool activities. Nearly every day there is course marking going on. Newbies are strongly encouraged to take that opportunity to learn the course and many veterans also participate. There are any number of folks doing different training runs/hikes. On July 4th there is an early 10k race and then a parade in which all Hardrockers are invited to march.
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| Silverton's main street. Similar mountains surround the town. |
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| Hardrockers getting ready to march in parade. |
After the parade on the 4th there is a waterfight between two fire departments, a rhubarb pie bake sale, and one of the most amazing fireworks displays ever with the sound and light of the fireworks rebounding off the 13,000 ft peaks surrounding Silverton. As the race approaches there are course briefings, a pot luck picnic, and pre-race meeting. You can feel the excitement building in everyone as the Friday morning start approaches. This year there was also a new running event two weeks prior to the race put on by the Coury brothers, the Silverton 6/12/24 Hour, held on a tough one mile loop next to Kendall mountain. This is the same course as is used for the Silverton 100, a race too crazy to exist!
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| Dinner with friends before the race at the Avon Hotel. Bill Duper is in first seat on left facing Mike Dobies. |
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| Pre-race briefing in Silverton High School gym which is also the site of the start/finish. |
We all set off at 6am with a course that was in as good a shape as I have seen with little snow, and very dry conditions. Things were going fairly well through about 35 miles though I felt sluggish and felt I was working too hard to keep my position in the back 1/4 of the field. Climbing up to Oscar's pass was as nice as I've ever done with nice cloud cover and no bugs at all. This section can often be hot with biting flies. It was definitely slow and I was feeling fatigued but things seemed to be shaking out okay. As I descended from Oscars down into Telluride, though, my race fell apart.
Several years ago after a very hard 48 hour effort, for the first time ever, I experienced very sharp shooting pains going through my toes. Liz, who ran as far as I did in that race also experienced the same pains, and also for the first time. Since then we have both had these pains after tough 100 milers but only after the race for a few days. This year though, with all the races stacked on top of each other I started to experience the pains during races. At first this wasn't much of a problem as it only lasted about 10-15 minutes. Descending from Oscars though it went on and on without letup. To be clear this is an excruciating kind of pain that is impossible to ignore. I had tears in my eyes from the pain as I walked down. It just would not go away.
The pain is not from damage to tissue but rather is a neuropathy which results from damage to the nerves. It took me forever to get down to Telluride and I was emotionally devastated. I had decided to quit and announced that at the aid station but was persuaded to sit and think about it. Kathy Lang, an MD was there and gave me some Pennsaid gel to put on the toes. I sat for probably 30-40 minutes and decided to continue on. I had no more pain from the toes the rest of the race and I attributed that to the Pennsaid though I now don't think it was the cure. More on that in the Burning River report. (Nice teaser, eh?) Anyway I continued up over Virginius (first time ever in the dark) and down into Ouray moving well and feeling better than anytime in the race. I was slower than ever before but still had plenty of time.
I fueled up and left Ouray in much better spirits. Those high spirits soon vanished though as I climbed toward Engineer. I just had no juice, no mojo. Even on the short downhills I could not move well. I was crawling and even at times had to sit on the side of the trail despite moving so slow. I reached the Engineer AS which is about halfway after the sun was up with more than 24 hours elapsed. I would need a negative split to finish. It was nice to see Fred Ecks here and I pretty much gave up here, sitting and enjoying the fire and aid station food. Finally I left and started up the final pitch to the pass. I was SO SLOW. It was pathetic. I crested the pass and started down the road, finding that even downhill I could not run. I decided to quit at Grouse and cut several of the road switchbacks on the way down.
Having this, my favorite race, ruined by this 30 in 52 quest really made me resent the whole project. I have since gotten over that and am back in the effort but the costs of doing so many 100 mile races have definitely piled up in larger and more varied ways than I expected. The financial, emotional, and physical tolls have been high.
Having quit, I was able to shower, rest and see Liz as she came through the final AS. The first thing she said was to the effect of the difficulty of doing something like Hardrock after such a year. I really believe that I was the only one at that race that had any idea of what she was going through. She is incredibly tough and determined. My hat is off to her for getting this one done. While at this aid station I also got to see Deb Pero come through with her brother Drew. Steve, Deb and Drew had started together and planned to run together the whole race with Drew as Steve's pacer (60+ year olds can have a pacer the whole way) but Steve's vertigo took him out at Ouray. They were cutting it close but had good spirits and looked strong and confident. Deb would go on to finish as the last finisher in 47 hours and 49 minutes with 11 minutes to spare! This gives her a finish in both directions and also the title of most senior woman to ever finish the race. Congrats Deb.
Liz really struggled to finish, especially on the last climb but persevered and finished in 47:11 for her 5th official finish.
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| Liz at the finish with the rock. |
The awards ceremony on Sunday morning, done by RD Dale Garland is, each and every year, the best post race awards ceremony. Dale does just a wonderful job, calling up each finisher and usually with some little story, anectdote, or quote about each finisher. The picture below is of Kirk (Mr Hardrock) Apt who had finished all but the first Hardrock Hundred with 18 finishes now. The finishers award each year is print of a photo or painting submitted usually by someone in the Hardrock family of some part of the course. This year, as Kirk came up to get his print he took the mike and did a beautiful thing which epitomizes his gentle and caring nature. He said that he had many of these finisher prints and that this year he would like to make a gift of his print to a friend of his, the race, and ultrarunning in Colorado. He asked that anyone who knows Bill Duper to sign the print and that he would present it to Bill late in Leadville.
Bill will be know to anyone who spends much time in Silverton for Hardrock or Leadville in the summer. He is, I believe 78 years old, and knows everything about current and past ultrarunning in Colorado, the US and world stage. He drives to all the races and is truly embedded in the fabric of ultrarunning, especially in Colorado. This was a wonderful gesture that really meant a lot to Bill. (He had left town before Sunday's ceremony but I spoke with him in Leadville later.)
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| Kirk Apt asking people to sign his award print for Bill. |
Race count: Liz (19) Scott (13)
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Black Hills 100
I had stayed in Sheridan post Bighorn until Thursday night and arrived in time to get some sleep and make it to the packet pickup around 10am. I got to meet co-rd Chris Stores and Debbie Phillips the wife of co-rd Ryan Phillips here. I got some of my questions about the course answered by Chris and was charmed by Debbie's contagious smile. Ryan and Chris conducted the race briefing at 4pm and a pasta feed started not too long after the briefing. Everything was well organized and I felt good about keeping on course and knowing what to expect out on the course. Saw lots of friends including Beth Simpson and Larry Hall, Olga V and Larry King, Mike Smith, Dennis Drey, Patrick from Bighorn, Alan Holz and probably more that I don't remember. The big concern for the race seemed to be the heat.
My biggest concern was my feet. I had a terrible time with blisters at Bighorn and I still had two decent sized holes in my heels, one of which was still very tender. The ball of my left foot was also still tender. I came up with a taping strategy and hoped for the best. Starting the race I was really worried as I could feel several different areas of .... discomfort.
The start and finish of the race is at a newly resurfaced track called Woodle field right in Sturgis. It's a great place to stage the race from with a plenty of parking, a concession stand type building, and plenty of room for post race festivities. Here's some pics from the start:
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| Dennis Drey and Mike Smith. 100 mile afficianados discussing the finer points of running insane distances. |
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| Larry Hall's head and the start/finish line. |
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| Co-RD Chris giving some last minute instructions. |
One very cool thing that they did at the start was to invite Billy Good Voice Elk, a local member of the Lakota tribe, to say some words and send us off with a traditional Native American song/prayer. Thank you for you kind and inspirational words!
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| Billy Good Voice Elk |
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| The first 300 yards of the race. 100 mile, 50 mile and 100k runners all started together. |
Some pics from the "first half":
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| A very early climb. Once again I find myself near the back of the pack. |
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| Dennis Drey showing the efficient stride that has brought him around the Hardrock course 8 times. |
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| One of the hills that seemed much longer and harder on Sunday. |
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| Sweet. Many of the hills returning to town in the last 15 miles have steep ups and cruiser downs. |
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| I believe this aid station was either Alkali Creek or Elk Creek. |
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| One of the 100's of carsonite signs that we followed. |
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| Allan Holz and a blaze. The course follows the Centennial Trail (a NRT) which is number 89, hence the "Cruising the 89" from the race website. |
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| A scenic highpoint. |
The second half of the course from Dalton Lakes to the turnaround in Silver City is very different from the first. Here too there were sections of sweet single track but the character of this section is defined by double track that is more or less torn up by ATVs. I didn't get too many pictures of this section probably because the trails weren't so pretty. I did capture some of the character of the trail here but there were miles long sections of trail that were WAY worse than any of these pics show.
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| I believe this shot is on a long climb up out of Dalton Lakes where the "open to motor vehicles" section starts. |
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| There was lots of this kind of stuff. |
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| Add caption |
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| Larry Hall, Beth Simpson-Hall and Mike Smith. I took this from behind them to give everyone an idea of what I've been seeing all year. Mike Smith has finished several hours ahead of me, though I see him during the race, in probably 6 or 7 100 milers this year! |
Once again, cudos to race management and all the volunteers out on the course. The event was well organized, well executed and everything was done necessary to get us to the finish. There was food and beer at the finish line. Yay! Many people had already left when I got in at just under 31 hours but there was still plenty of tacos and some beer. Thanks to Ryan, Debbie, Chris and everyone else who helped out last weekend.
Liz had a great time doing the Great New York 100 mile finishing just over 24 hours. I'll post a report if she writes one.
Race count: Liz (18) Scott (13)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Big Horn 100
The Big Horn Wild and Scenic Runs celebrated it's 20th anniversary this year with the 100 miler in it's 11th year. All this experience has paid off as the race is as well executed as any and pulling this one off is much tougher than these folks make it look. There are three main aid stations where you can have drop bags in the 100 mile and these can all be driven to but many of the other aid stations must be accessed by rough 4 wheel drive roads, ATV trails and one, Bear Camp, is only accessible on foot or horseback. Coming into these very remote aid stations though, you would never guess it by the service you receive or by the food, drink, and first aid supplies. In this race I wore new shoes which were much heavier and stiffer than I have been using and so had blister issues but even these back country aid stations had full blister kits. Impressive!
Liz and I had a weekend off before this one but both of spent much of this time "off" working and suffering from a head cold. Neither of us are much prone to getting sick but this is the 2nd or 3rd time this year and I think it's due to the stress we are putting our bodies through. Our immune systems are depressed from the constant travel, work, and physical abuse of running these races. We both started this race with stuffy heads and both produce copious quantities of "nasal mucus" as well as coughing up unidentifiable substances also in copious quantities. Sorry for all that but it was a significant part of our race!
One unique and positive aspect of this race is the 11am start time on Friday. This is nice as it lets you get a full night's rest without the sleep disturbing anxiety of oversleeping. For this one we flew into Denver on Tuesday, picked up the RV and drove up to Sheridan for the Thursday packet pickup and drop bag drop off. There was a nice buffet dinner of pasta, pizza, chicken and a full salad bar Thursday night where we spent about 4 hours eating, chatting with old friends and meeting new folks. One of the new people we met was Mark Tanaka from CA who weighs about 120 lbs but I swear he put away 10 lbs of food before our very eyes! Good to meet you Mark!
We drove to Scott Park in Dayton about 10 miles from Sheridan and parked the rig near the start. It was a bit noisy early but quieted down and we both slept decently with the aid of Nyquil. There was a 9am race briefing and then a carpool to the start 3 miles down the road. We started on a gravel road for 2 miles to the trail which led us a few miles up the Tongue River canyon and then up a big climb into the high country. The course is an out and back but we would run past our starting point down the gravel road all the way to Scott Park.
After leaving the river we ran across 20 or so miles of rolling terrain at around 7k feet of elevation. With no acclimation I was worried about so much running at this elevation but for some reason neither Liz nor I really had any problems with it. Going up to 9k feet at the turnaround we felt it but not so much through here. At 30 miles you hit the Footbridge aid station after a long descent from Bear Camp.
After Footbridge the course basically climbs for 18 miles to 9k ft and a very chilly turnaround at the Porcupine Ranger Station and a cozy cabin. About 2 miles before the turnaround there is a mile or two where there was plenty of snow, mud, and soggy (Cold!) ground. By the time I got to the turnaround my feet were starting to get numb and my hands were also quite cold from getting them wet and muddy catching myself as my feet slid out from under me on a muddy creek bank.
As we were coming into Footbridge on the return I was worried about time thinking that we would be slow on the long high traverse after Footbridge. Liz was less worried. We had several hours on the cutoff at Footbridge but I wouldn't relax until we had reached Cow Camp, an aid station about 11 miles past Footbridge. On Friday the weather had been quite nice and chilly with a very light rain for several hours. I like the cooler weather though it did get too cold for me at the turnaround. On Saturday though it was a different story. We were at a high elevation for much of the run which helped but the sun was out all day long and much of the course is out in the open. By the end of the day I was done with the sun.
The single most painful part of this race was the long descent down to the Tongue River. My feet had blisters all around the heels but the really painful one was on the ball of my left foot. This long descent was much too steep (much steeper and longer than I remembered from ascending it) and rocky for comfortable running with sore blistered feet. Talking to Liz after the race she also suffered big time here experiencing the joy of blisters popping while on the run. Ouch!
Many runners talked about how difficult the 5 miles of road was at the end of the race but I found it quite nice. I was able to shuffle most of it in as it was less painful for my feet to shuffle slowly rather than walk. I finished in 32:45 and Liz came in about 30 minutes later around 33:15. We were both hobbled and could barely get around enough to change shoes and get a bite to eat at the park. It was very sad to finish so late and to be so wrecked as we both missed out on socializing at the finish. This one was very tough for both of us. It even brought tears to Liz's eyes as she removed her shoes, saying "That was too hard. I don't want to be tough anymore."
This race has a pancake breakfast and awards ceremony in Sheridan on Sunday morning. We were able to spend some time with friends and enjoy ourselves there though we were both very footsore as were many of the other runners. The awards ceremony was very well done by emcee and ex-RD Wendall Robison. This is a good value race. For your entry fee you get a pre race buffet, a goody bag with technical tee, socks and a first aid kit. You also get treated like a king (or queen) on the course and if you finish you get an embroidered fleece blanket and belt buckle. And then the awards ceremony free pancake breakfast. Not bad.
I have to put in a huge shout out to race management and the aid station volunteers. This is truly a "wild and scenic" run. It is a true backcountry experience and it couldn't be done without these dedicated volunteers. Every aid station this year was run by the same crew as the previous year showing dedication and a willingness to work hard so we can play hard. Thank You!
I am writing this in Sheridan on Thursday and will be running the Black Hills 100 starting at 6am on Saturday blisters willing. Liz is in GA and will be flying up for the Great New York 100 also starting on Saturday. Wish us luck. This is getting hard....
Race count: Liz (17) Scott (12)
Liz and I had a weekend off before this one but both of spent much of this time "off" working and suffering from a head cold. Neither of us are much prone to getting sick but this is the 2nd or 3rd time this year and I think it's due to the stress we are putting our bodies through. Our immune systems are depressed from the constant travel, work, and physical abuse of running these races. We both started this race with stuffy heads and both produce copious quantities of "nasal mucus" as well as coughing up unidentifiable substances also in copious quantities. Sorry for all that but it was a significant part of our race!
One unique and positive aspect of this race is the 11am start time on Friday. This is nice as it lets you get a full night's rest without the sleep disturbing anxiety of oversleeping. For this one we flew into Denver on Tuesday, picked up the RV and drove up to Sheridan for the Thursday packet pickup and drop bag drop off. There was a nice buffet dinner of pasta, pizza, chicken and a full salad bar Thursday night where we spent about 4 hours eating, chatting with old friends and meeting new folks. One of the new people we met was Mark Tanaka from CA who weighs about 120 lbs but I swear he put away 10 lbs of food before our very eyes! Good to meet you Mark!
We drove to Scott Park in Dayton about 10 miles from Sheridan and parked the rig near the start. It was a bit noisy early but quieted down and we both slept decently with the aid of Nyquil. There was a 9am race briefing and then a carpool to the start 3 miles down the road. We started on a gravel road for 2 miles to the trail which led us a few miles up the Tongue River canyon and then up a big climb into the high country. The course is an out and back but we would run past our starting point down the gravel road all the way to Scott Park.
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| The gravel road at the start. 160 or so started. |
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| Still on the gravel road.... |
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| Singletrack along the Tongue River. Liz just ahead. |
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| Leaving the river and heading up high. Descending this on Saturday was rough with blistered feet. |
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| Looking back towards the Tongue River canyon. |
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| Upper Sheep Creek aid station at the end of the climb from the river. |
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| This and the following pic are from the long traverse toward Footbridge. |
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| Starting the descent to Footbridge AS. Liz and I ran near each other during much of the race. |
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| The footbridge with the excellent aid station just across the river. |
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| Fairly early on the climb up from Footbridge AS. |
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| Heading down to Footbridge early Saturday morning. A couple of miles before this I witnessed Liz startling a large bear from the top of a hill when I was about 1/3 mile behind her. She never saw it. |
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| Dry Fork AS the last main AS. From here it is mostly downhill. I had been ahead of Liz Cow Camp but she caught up at the AS while I refueled and did some foot maintenance. |
Many runners talked about how difficult the 5 miles of road was at the end of the race but I found it quite nice. I was able to shuffle most of it in as it was less painful for my feet to shuffle slowly rather than walk. I finished in 32:45 and Liz came in about 30 minutes later around 33:15. We were both hobbled and could barely get around enough to change shoes and get a bite to eat at the park. It was very sad to finish so late and to be so wrecked as we both missed out on socializing at the finish. This one was very tough for both of us. It even brought tears to Liz's eyes as she removed her shoes, saying "That was too hard. I don't want to be tough anymore."
This race has a pancake breakfast and awards ceremony in Sheridan on Sunday morning. We were able to spend some time with friends and enjoy ourselves there though we were both very footsore as were many of the other runners. The awards ceremony was very well done by emcee and ex-RD Wendall Robison. This is a good value race. For your entry fee you get a pre race buffet, a goody bag with technical tee, socks and a first aid kit. You also get treated like a king (or queen) on the course and if you finish you get an embroidered fleece blanket and belt buckle. And then the awards ceremony free pancake breakfast. Not bad.
I have to put in a huge shout out to race management and the aid station volunteers. This is truly a "wild and scenic" run. It is a true backcountry experience and it couldn't be done without these dedicated volunteers. Every aid station this year was run by the same crew as the previous year showing dedication and a willingness to work hard so we can play hard. Thank You!
I am writing this in Sheridan on Thursday and will be running the Black Hills 100 starting at 6am on Saturday blisters willing. Liz is in GA and will be flying up for the Great New York 100 also starting on Saturday. Wish us luck. This is getting hard....
Race count: Liz (17) Scott (12)
Old Dominion 100
The OD 100 is all about tradition, a great varied course, and "a fair test of running 100 miles in one day." The race was started in 1979 by Wayne and Pat Botts and is now directed by Pat's daughter Wynne Botts and her husband Ray Waldron. There's a lot of great history at the link in the previous sentence and I won't attempt a synopsis. I once read a quote by Greg Soderlund to the effect that you can't call yourself an ultra runner unless you've run the W$ 100. I disagree and would add that the OD 100 is probably more about ultra running's roots than Western. The race is still low key and all about the challenge of running 100 miles in under 24 hours. For any of you newer runners reading this do OD! There's no lottery and it's cheaper by far. Talk to Pat and Ray and Wynne about the old days. They'll be there and there won't be 3000 others competing for their attention.
Liz and I went into this race as the 4th 100 mile run in 22 days and we felt it going in. Leaving the 2nd aid station with Konrad Gannon we were told that we were the last runners! Yikes! I'm not used to being the caboose. I knew that there were lots of people going out too fast and the I would catch many later in the day but it was weird to be at the back of the pack. Liz and I had really lucked out weather wise at both the Keys 100 and Nanny Goat with cooler than normal temps and that luck held through OD. It was actually comfortable running all day long with low temps and low humidity. There were only a few times that I got warmer than comfortable and this is rare for this run. It can easily be in the mid 90's with high humididty.
A few notes about the course. I think the defining characteristic about this course is how varied and beautiful it is. There are climbs but also a lot of very runnable terrain. There is asphalt, beautiful rural country dirt roads in Fort Valley, cruiser single track, and being in the Massanuttens there are sections that are all about rocks. Liz and I both have run this several times but seem to have blocked out the rocky sections as we both wore road shoes the whole way and regretted it. If you're fresh and don't have so many 100's on your feet road shoes would work but we both had feet that felt on fire by the end. I finished in 25:40 and Liz in 27:23, personal worsts on the course for both of us.
Another great thing about OD is the post race breakfast held on Sunday morning. So many races nowadays don't have anything like this. You come, you run, you get in the car and drive away. I really value the time to sit and tell war stories and catch up with people I only see a few times a year. Hooray for this tradition!
My final message about OD is if you haven't done it get out there and experience some ultra history! The RD's are not big on marketing and they are definitely not there to make money. This race is great value and if you pass the fair challenge of running this historic course in 24 hours or less you will receive a very nice real silver belt buckle that is well earned and part of ultrarunnings roots.
Race count Liz (16) Scott (11)
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| Ray Waldron starting the race briefing which includes all you need to know about the course as well as much history. |
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| The barn at the Shenandoah County Fair Grounds where the race starts/finishes. |
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| Pat Botts talking about the origin of all this madness. |
Liz and I went into this race as the 4th 100 mile run in 22 days and we felt it going in. Leaving the 2nd aid station with Konrad Gannon we were told that we were the last runners! Yikes! I'm not used to being the caboose. I knew that there were lots of people going out too fast and the I would catch many later in the day but it was weird to be at the back of the pack. Liz and I had really lucked out weather wise at both the Keys 100 and Nanny Goat with cooler than normal temps and that luck held through OD. It was actually comfortable running all day long with low temps and low humidity. There were only a few times that I got warmer than comfortable and this is rare for this run. It can easily be in the mid 90's with high humididty.
A few notes about the course. I think the defining characteristic about this course is how varied and beautiful it is. There are climbs but also a lot of very runnable terrain. There is asphalt, beautiful rural country dirt roads in Fort Valley, cruiser single track, and being in the Massanuttens there are sections that are all about rocks. Liz and I both have run this several times but seem to have blocked out the rocky sections as we both wore road shoes the whole way and regretted it. If you're fresh and don't have so many 100's on your feet road shoes would work but we both had feet that felt on fire by the end. I finished in 25:40 and Liz in 27:23, personal worsts on the course for both of us.
Another great thing about OD is the post race breakfast held on Sunday morning. So many races nowadays don't have anything like this. You come, you run, you get in the car and drive away. I really value the time to sit and tell war stories and catch up with people I only see a few times a year. Hooray for this tradition!
My final message about OD is if you haven't done it get out there and experience some ultra history! The RD's are not big on marketing and they are definitely not there to make money. This race is great value and if you pass the fair challenge of running this historic course in 24 hours or less you will receive a very nice real silver belt buckle that is well earned and part of ultrarunnings roots.
Race count Liz (16) Scott (11)
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