WASATCH 100 MILE ENDURANCE RUN
September 9-10, 2011
24:50:10
16th place overall
265 entrants
12 DNS (4.5% of entrants)
70 DNF (27.66% of starters)
183 finishers (72.33% of starters)
LOWER LOWS AND HIGHER HIGHS
I ran
the Wasatch 100 Mile Endurance Run for the first time in 2009. I finished in 26th place with a
time of 26:58:xx. It was an amazing experience so I decided to do it
again this year in 2011.
Words
fail me to express what a Wasatch finish means to me. I always enjoy reading race reports from
others outside of Utah to hear how they talk about the difficulty of
Wasatch. Here in the Wasatch, it is what
we’re basically used to but the fact is Wasatch is a 32 year old monster beast
of a race. Wasatch is gnarly, not just a
‘trail’ race; Wasatch is a true ‘mountain’ race. I have no doubt that even those running it
think to themselves, “who does
this?!” I know I do. It is 100 miles of Heaven & Hell but I
think this year, for me at least, it was 100 miles of Hell and it was Heaven
only after I crossed the finish line.
The race started at 5:00am on
Friday, September 9, 2011. I rode to the
start with Ernie, Matt, John & Ian. We arrived to the start with about 5 minutes
to spare. Consequently I was not able to
start as near to the front as I had hoped.
Really not a big deal though – the race started and we all ran down the
dirt road kicking up all kinds of dust and then bottle-necked single file up to
the Bonneville Shoreline Trail up above Kaysville. I wore my bandana bandit style again
so I wasn’t inhaling so much dust. I ran
along the shoreline trail at an easy pace, maybe passed a few runners along the
way. Soon we began the climb up to
elevation where the course would level out some. The climb was long long but it is not too
terribly steep. Finally you arrive up at
the top where I noticed that at the northernmost point of the course, you are
just north of the causeway leading out to Antelope Island. Up here you get to run through a rolling meadow into a
campsite surrounded by tall pines. Upon
passing through the campsite, you look up high to a horseshoe bowl surrounding
you from left to right and looking to the right you see a thread of a trail
with the runners heading up over the pinnacle of the climb, chinscraper. There are a few switchbacks then a final
steep pitch that puts you over the top.
I used my hands on the rock a few times and finally got over the top in
about 2:20 since the start of the race.
I ran comfortably through the gale-force winds coming from the east from
here into Grobben’s corner. The runners I was with to that point really
started pulling away from me and as we headed down the road to the Francis AS I
began to feel my giant blister on my heel from the week before starting to
flare up. As my only choice was to slow
down, that is exactly what I did arriving at Francis in 3:57, 15 minutes faster
than 2009 (unknown to me as I did not run with any kind of splits). Leaving Francis I slowed considerably as I
questioned what to do about my blister situation. I realized my only choice was to take it as
easy as possible and call in my crew to meet me at Big Mtn so I could change
into my Hoka’s. I have not been on this
first 40 miles since running in 2009 and I had forgotten so much about how
rough the course is. It seems like there
are certain sections which are traveled about twice a year – once to mark the
race, and another to run the race. The
climbs up to Bountiful B were long & heinous and I was so glad to get that
section over with. Again I took it easy
going into Sessions – so much so that I got passed by several runners including
3 women in skirts all at once. Had
forgotten how much of a climb there is coming out of Sessions, seemed to go on
for a long long time. This section,
going into Swallow Rocks was tough. I
didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back I think this is where I
probably really started feeling the effects of having not eaten enough – all I
wanted to do was get into Swallow and then to Big before 1pm but the hope of
that happening was quickly fading. I ran
with my Garmin this time so I had a better idea of how much further to the next
aid stations. Finally Swallow Rocks came
into view across the wide horseshoe drainage and I really focused on just
getting there. I left there after some
coke and a popsicle feeling very excited to get into Big Mtn. As you get close there is a place where you
come around a hillside and see I-80 off in the distance and then soon you can
hear the cheers and shouts from the aid station. I felt a huge surge of emotion as I ran
closer and kept hearing the cheers. Coming
into the Big Mountain AS, my whole family was there plus other
friends. I weighed in and was 6 pounds
down. I knew I was in bad shape and not
just my right foot with the blister. I
was hot and my stomach was very unsettled.
D washed my feet and I got new tape, socks & my Hoka’s on and my
feet felt great. I left the AS after
hugging & kissing the kids but as soon as I was far enough up the trail and
out of sight, I told D I had to sit down which I did and threw up right
there maybe 50 feet out of the AS. I was
very discouraged as I knew I had arrived at the AS 4 minutes later than last
time and I wanted to be an hour earlier – plus I was a wreck…worse than last
Wasatch. After throwing up, I felt much
better and D & I got going. D was
great – he was trying to get me to eat some sandwich and I should have done it
but I just could not get myself to eat anything. I threw up several times before finally
coming into Alexander Springs – just exactly like in 2009 – but the last
episode, there was absolutely nothing left in my stomach and I knew I was in
trouble. I got to the AS and I felt like
I was hyperventilating, my hands started tingling and my vision was being
funny. I could not get my breathing to
calm down so I laid down on a cot and raised my feet and I was able to calm
down and start getting some food down.
D gave me some watermelon that was almost frozen and it was so good,
I was able to eat it with other solid food and my stomach felt better. As soon as I felt better we got up and out of
there – even though I laid down, I still thought I would have been faster
through there than last time but again I was a full 20 minutes. My recovery was just as dramatic too – we
marched up the furnace road and everything started coming back around. Thankfully we even got some cloud cover which
helped the temps drop. By the time we
got up to the hillside above the AS we were running at a very good and
comfortable pace. I came into the Lamb’s
AS 100% better than how I was at Big Mtn.
I was another 2 pounds down – not really a concern. I ate half of a Jimmy Johns Turkey Tom it which was very good. I
left out of there quicker than last time with my new pacer. Leaving Lamb’s I was 24 minutes ahead of
last time. H and I ran all the way
up to the check out table and then we powered up Lamb’s to the turnoff. We had great daylight all the way up and down
into Millcreek which was good since I hadn’t even thought to bring a light. I was feeling great and H and I made
great time. Arriving at big water I was in great shape – the sub-24 was basically out the window
at this point but all I wanted to do was get going and try to make up some
time.
This is
where it starts getting good. My pacer and I
killed these last 40 miles. Only 2
runners were faster than me from Millcreek to the finish – the eventual winner
& 2nd place. I felt like
the race had just started. Heading up to
Dog I was able to run anything down, flat or even slightly up. We passed every light that came into view. Arriving at Desolation I was greeted by familiar faces and was encouraged telling me that I looked like I was in great
condition. We got out of there quick and
ran everything we could on our way to Scott’s pass. Scott's had the most delicious chips
& Rico salsa I was quite surprised, as they were, that I could eat it. It was so good. From there we only walked one small incline
where I was checking my phone on our way to the cottonwood canyon road. I walked up that short incline until it
flattened and then ran every step up to the gravel hill heading up to Molly
Greens 1:17 ahead of last time. I
weighed in and had gained 1 pound. I had
a great stop here in only 8 minutes and left 1:36 sooner than last time. I didn’t make any changes but I did have the
most delicious egg & cheese muffin with ginger ale, coke & broth – I
felt so good. We powered up to
Point Supreme, nothing special but we certainly weren’t dogging it. My back & quads were getting very tight
so I took just a moment to stretch my legs & back at the top and then we
bombed down into Ant Knolls. This is
such a technical, steep, loose, rocky descent it is almost impossible to stop
once you start heading down. I bet we
passed 5 more runners before Ant Knolls where I arrived at 1:12, 1:52 ahead of
last time. After Ant Knolls and the
grunt, which was just as heinous as ever, I ran almost every step into Pole
Line. While I paused at the top of the
Grunt to take down a GU, I looked up through the clear sky at the bright stars
looking for another shooting star like last time – no such luck this time, but
that memory was sweet to reflect on. I
felt great and I was running fast – probably 7 & 8 minute/mile passing a
couple more runners. At Pole Line I
tried to quickly eat some sausage, eggs, broth, coke, etc. I think I tried taking it down a little too
fast and unfortunately my stomach felt a little bit uneasy. Consequently I took it down just a little
heading into Forest Lake but I could still run anything down or flat. Also, as you come into the Forest Lake area
you can see any lights across on the other hillside as the trail ascends to
Point of Contention. I remember commenting that it was a little discouraging seeing the lights that seemed so far away
and so much higher than where we were.
My pacer was great at keeping my head in the game and feeling very encouraged. As soon as the trail leveled through a flat
area I tried to hurdle a downed tree and tripped up badly on the other
side. Nothing was hurt but this was a
sign of how my running was going to be to the finish – I started tripping on
everything, I felt like I had to make eye contact with every spot on the trail where
I wanted to place my foot. It got
frustrating and I just kept tripping up more and more. Coming into Rock Springs I was a little
bummed that they didn’t have coke or broth but as they have to pack in
everything for the AS I was just glad they were there. I got some more water & GU Brew. I was still feeling good so we were running
everything we could (trying not to trip).
The Plunge & The Dive were as dreadful as ever – there was a huge,
deep rut down the center filled with loose rocks & dirt. It is impossible to describe how difficult it
was to “run” through here so we did as best we could as I’m sure all the
runners did. This was a very hard
section to get through without faceplanting!
After The Dive you’re into Let’s Buck and every one of those climbs may
as well have been chinscraper all over again for me. I was good on the first couple but then I was
pressing both hands on each leg as I climbed and I was looking for anything to
grab onto to steady myself or to help myself climb. I could tell it was taking a heavy toll on me
and up until this point I think both Seth & I were actually holding out a
glimmer of hope that the sub-24 was still within reach. That glimmer went out in this section for
sure. It was so hard. The alarm on my phone went off in here too so
I knew I had been up for 24 hours now, but I also know that last time I was
beginning to see rays of sunlight break through the trees and we were still in
thick darkness. I had not lost hope on a
24:XX finish – I still thought that would be pretty cool particularly in light
of the difficulty I had back at Big Mtn.
Finally we came to the bottom side of Sandy Baker pass and the final
descent into Pot Bottom. My stomach,
however, had been giving me some problems so I finally had to stop, pull over
and the throwing up started again. But
as with the last episode before Alexander Springs – nothing came up. I was
completely empty – no fluid, no solid. I
then had to pee and for the first time in my life had brown urine. Definitely a cause for concern. Thankfully the AS was less than a mile away
and arriving at 4:15am meant we had 45 minutes to cover the last 7 miles for
the sub-24. I knew it was gone so I took
the time to eat and drink. We still
didn’t stay too long and made our way up to Lime Canyon passing several more
runners (including the leading woman) on my way to the finish. I was again tripping all over the place. There was even once when I was passing
another runner, literally right next to him mid-sentence telling him good job when
I went straight down and barely caught myself with my forearms. I was moving very well, but not like last
time – last time I was running as fast as I possibly could. The day showed no signs of breaking as we
finally made it onto the twisting single track above the golf course and
finally popped out onto the road. I was
so happy to be on that road – knowing you’ve only got one mile to go you
actually begin to feel like you’re going to finish and it is going to be
over. Eric was standing at the top of
the final rise in the road before you head off to the finish line. He called out asking my number as it was
still pitch black and then he ran by my side from there into the finish
area. Coming onto the grass I was very
emotional and glad it was dark so no one could see what a wreck I probably
looked like. Unlike last time when I was
sprinting to break the 27 hour mark, this time I was just hanging on until I
crossed under the finish banner and promptly laid down on the soft, damp
grass. Only my family was there for my
finish along with a few of the 15 runners that beat me, the race director and
other race committee. I just laid there
until I heard John Grobben over me saying something like, “Hey, Ultrarunners
don’t cry”! He could tell I was a mess
and I was so happy to see him. I have to
say I think that is one of the coolest parts of the race – that he is there at
the finish and greets and congratulates every single runner that finishes. It really makes you feel like he cares for
every person out there which I know he does.
Also, Erik Storheim who finished over an hour before me came over to
congratulate me.
I could
easily look at this and be upset that I was so close to the sub-24 but didn’t
make it (I was the first finisher over 24 hours). But as I look at how badly things were going
for me in the middle of the race, I cannot even begin to describe how happy I
was to have finished so well.
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