Waking up on race day morning, I focused on slipping into a pre-race routine. I dropped off my aid bags. The race organizers recommended an AM drop-off because bears had been coming into the race site and messing with food and aid bags the night before.
I also needed to eat, pick up my SPOT device and gear up – fill my backpack with water, nutrition and make sure I had all the necessary gear – rain jacket, rain pants, warm shirt, headlamp and everything else. I knocked off the drop bags first which gave me a sense of completion – there was nothing more to prepare for what was ahead, just get myself ready to start.
I walked back to the van, dressed and ate breakfast – sweet potatoes, walnuts and a banana. Lena boiled water for coffee and then I only had my SPOT device to pick up. I headed over, did that, and everything was set and the waiting began. We had about 20 minutes before the start, and I felt nervous energy from everyone. I tried to stay calm and tell myself that I was ready but really, I was nervous.
From the race briefing the day before, there seemed to be a lot of first-time 200-milers – I guessed about 60% of the runners were tackling their first 200-miler, which gave me some confidence knowing how much more experience I had having done this distance before. I’d done it two years ago, and I knew I could do it again.
As I walked to and from the bathroom and back and forth to the van, I felt a combination of nerves but also a sense of belonging – that the race was here, and I was here, and this was my place. I knew I did my very best to prepare for the race and thought about everything I’d put into my training and preparation over the last nine months, and since July, I put in three months of very good training designed to improve my fitness and strengthen my resolve.
Even so, life at work had be hectic, especially over the last six weeks as I made several changes to the company based on how we were doing and the new directions that I needed to take the business. This was stressful. I was working most evenings and leaving the house by 6:00am most mornings for weeks on end, fitting in my training mostly during the day – I’d break from the office in the afternoon to do 7-10 mile runs, or head over to campus for what I called my “UC-Davis Day” – a Cross-Fit style workout that included 10×10, 11×11 and 12×12 workouts – sets of pull-ups, push-ups, jumping squats and then either 200-yard sprints or stair climbing. These were both physically and mentally exhausting, necessary both for training and stress-relief.
On the weekends, I did my long runs on Wednesday or Saturday mornings, and was able to fit in a couple of solid trail runs along the way. I did three-mile repeats at Pena Adobe – once doing five rounds and another time doing three rounds while wearing a 40-lb weight vest. I headed out to Stebbins Canyons to get in some climbing miles on technical terrain. I did a 24-mile trail run on PCT about six weeks before the race. I had planned to run the Mt. Diablo 50k as a final race prep about four weeks before the start, but I was feeling tired and opted for family time instead that weekend.
Most Fridays, I did lifting workout in the garage – usually shoulder presses, kettlebell swings, squats and occasionally some burpees followed with 5-7 rounds of 600-yard sprints around the block. On Sunday mornings, I did another garage workout of pull-ups, deadlifts and box jumps followed by a two-mile time trial around my neighborhood.
In Portland back in July, I ran as many hills as I could, frequenting Forest Park. I did all of my training without food or nutrition, even my 4-5 hour trail runs. Going all the way back to the start of the year, I slowly built up my endurance engine in January, February and March with longer, slower miles, then focused on speed work in April in preparation for the Bryce Canyon 100 in May. I ran three local 50ks early in the season – the FOURmidable in February, Ruck-a-Chuck in March and the Napa 50k in April. I had a solid race at Bryce Canyon – a 30-hour trudge that tested my mettle. I thought I’d take a longer break after Bryce Canyon, but found myself back into a training regimen within a week feeling antsy and ready.
I had a couple of nagging injuries throughout my training – my right hamstring has had a knot in it since last year that won’t go away. One of the muscles high on my right leg – the iliacus, pectineus, or psoas major (not sure which) – had been strained years ago and healed last year, but I was feeling it again. The tendon on the outside top of my left foot was sprained – I felt a sharp pain if I landed unevenly whenever I ran on the trail, which is kind of a problem because one tends to land unevenly often when trailing running.
About three weeks before the race, I bonked during a 10-mile midday run – I just simply lost my legs and had to jog-walk back to the office for three miles. From there, I wound down my training, calling it an extended taper, just working on getting back my legs and staying fit with garage workouts. But even with the physical maladies and the extended taper, I knew my cardio engine was really strong, muscularly I felt great and my body was fat-adapted for fuel. In the weeks before the race, I fasted each day until lunch and stayed away completely from sugar, carbs and alcohol, except an occasional small glass of red wine on Sunday night with dinner.
This race was a quest that started back in November – nearly ten months ago when the idea first came to mind that, for whatever reason, I wanted to give the Tahoe 200 another go. When I finished in 2017, I was so elated with my race that I thought I wouldn’t want to run the race again for fear of doing worse or having a bad experience. I wanted nothing to spoil that accomplishment, but even after that race as friends would ask me about it, I would say that if I ever did go back, I’d want to see if I could break 72 hours – a full ten hours faster than my 2017 finishing time of 82:00:16, two hours ahead of my stretch goal of 84 hours.
Since the 2017 race, I’d become a much stronger runner with two 100s under my belt (Zion and Bryce Canyon), the Mt. Hood 50-miler and several 50ks. I was much stronger and even more fit than two years ago, and looking at my 2017 race, I knew there were hours I could chop off simply by moving more quickly through aid stations and sleeping less. Combining those “free” hours with running faster made me feel like I could get down to 72 hours if I had the perfect race.
I purposely waited until the race was full to register so that I would be on the wait list and have more time to decide if I wanted to do the race. I jumped on the wait list in December and it wasn’t until May 1 that my name cleared. When I got the email notification, I was in the lobby of a hotel San Francisco in the middle of a three-day client event. I texted Lena:
After all of that, there I was, standing at Homewood Mountain Resort feeling nervous and anxious, but knowing that I’d done pretty much everything I wanted to do in my training and preparation. I knew I was as ready as I could be.
The final countdown
Per usual with me, I was scurrying to the starting gate with little time to spare before the start, even with two hours since waking up to get ready. (I don’t know why I do this every race…) As the starting time crept closer, I made a couple of bathroom runs, including once during the national anthem. I could hear it in the background and was sorry to miss it because it was a wonderful rendition, but when ya gotta go…
Candice led us in the ultra-runner’s oath, taken from Micah True (a.k.a. Caballo Blanco) – “If I get lost, hurt or die, it’s my own damn fault.” She gave the countdown from ten and we started.
I knew I was in for an ass-kicking going into Saturday’s Ruck a Chuck. It was just that, and I loved every minute of it.
Well, I loved every minute of it after it was over that is…
Hamstrung
I’ve been training for the Zion 100 since early January, and wanted to do a 50k back in early February as an early gauge of fitness. I’d had my eye on Ruck a Chuck since January, thinking that I’d use it as a second 50k to benchmark my training progress. I expected January to be my “strength month,” February to be my “length month” and March to be my “sharpen & speed month.”
But alas, all of that unwound with a moderate hamstring pull in mid-January just as I was ramping up my training. I wasn’t ready for a 50k in early February and the rest of last month didn’t get much better with a second round of hamstring problems.
On top of the injuries, work and life overtook a chunk of my typical training time, so I’ve been cutting corners on training week after week – fewer quality miles, a little less weight training and Cross-Fit, and a couple of weeks of less-than-stellar nutrition. At one point, I engaged in a 4-day fasting exercise to drop the extra weight that had crept up on me.
I was also considering the Shasta 4mph challenge this weekend, but Ruck a Chuck was closer to home – only an hour away and no overnight – and with my recent schedule with life and work, it was a better option, plus the elevation and full course would be better for testing my running fitness and nutrition planning than the back-and-forth six mile route for the Shasta 4mph challenge.
Race Day Morning
Saturday was a wet, wet, wet, wet day. I left Davis before 6:00 am, arrived to the upper parking lot at Driver’s Flat around 7am and hopped on the shuttle down the start area. I brought all of my gear down to the starting line, opting to change and pre-race down at the start area. The early morning rain was holding off so far, but the start area was muddy with soupy red clay. I found a spot on a grassy area, using my poncho as a ground covering to keep my stuff dry.
Most of my nutrition and backpack was ready to go from Friday night’s pre-race prep, so really my final prep was to make sure everything was in order and to decide what gear to wear and pack. I decided to wear my rain jacket to keep dry with the forecast and a long-sleeve running shirt underneath to stay warm, then packed an extra dry shirt and a pair of socks.
My trekking poles were the best part of my gear. From what I could tell, I was the only one that had them, and maybe they were overkill for a 50k but with the hills and the slop, I wanted a way to arrest any falls on the downhill sections and a way to pull my self up the up-hills. I love my trekking poles – easily one of the best purchases I’ve ever made in my life.
Pre-Race Prep & Expectations
Ruck a Chuck is an “out and back” course – 15.5 miles out along the Western States Trail, hit the turnaround about a mile past the Cal 1 marker, then back to the starting area. The event website didn’t have an elevation profile, so I had to look for previous year race reports for an elevation profile. From what I found, I expected the “out” portion of the course to be mostly downhill, then the back to be mostly uphill.
I did a 14-mile trail run about a month ago from Auburn to Cool and felt pretty good that day, running a couple of 8:30 min/miles on the flat and downward sloping trail sections, so I figured that if I could keep a good pace today, I should average 9:30-10:00/min miles pace on the what I thought was a mostly downhill “out” section. After hitting the turnaround, even with a 14:00 min/mile pace heading back, that’d average out to a 12:00 min/mile pace and a 6-hour finishing time finish.
The main goals were:
Don’t get injured
Find my way to the finish line.
Finish in under six hours
I’m usually pretty good about nailing my race plan – pace and time – but this time I was WILDLY off…
The first few miles…
Countdown. Air horn. And away we go!
The first mile was steep a downhill on a fire trail. I’m not much of a downhiller, so plenty of people bombed past me. I just focused on picking my way down the hill and finding a rhythm, using my trekking poles to take the pressure off my knees and legs. My hamstring problems persisted in my mind, and I wanted to make sure I was properly warmed up before worrying too much about my pace.
We hit a water crossing in the first mile – the first of about 16 or so along the trail. Better to accept it because squishy feet were going to be non-negotiable today.
Water crossings #2 and #3 in Mile 2 – both much deeper with water running up to my calves. The footing was unstable and I was happy to have my poles here again. There was an aid station right away, which seemed odd so early in the race. I skipped it, still searching for any semblance of a rhythm.
By Mile 3, I already started to feel like I was in for a long day. I expected the course to be mostly downhill for the first 15.5 miles, but we hit a little bit of an uphill which was surprising.
The good news was that as I ran, I found realized that I was nasal breathing much of the way. This has been a focus in my training runs these past six weeks – only breathing in and out of my nose. I found this to be relatively easy on slow to moderate training runs, and a bit more difficult on harder runs. It was interesting to see that I was now doing this instinctively on the course, and I used it as a governor to my pace. Comfortably nasal-breathe meant I wasn’t pushing too hard, and early in the race, there was no reason to push hard. After the short uphill and subsequent downhill, I hit more climbing at Mile 5.
WTF?!
In Mile 6, I was feeling some tightness in my upper hamstring. I didn’t feel like it was pulling, just tightness, but piano string tight… I took it easy on the pace, not that I had much choice with my overall fitness level or the course. Aside from a couple of short downhill sections, by Mile 7, I felt like I was persistently running uphill.
By Mile 8, I still hadn’t found any rhythm. It felt like work. I tried to tell myself that I was finally making a dent in the course now. I started thinking hard about the Mile 10 aid station as a checkpoint, and I figured that from the aid station, I could coax myself into another five miles to the turnaround at 15.5, and then it was just a matter of getting back to the finish.
The course to the aid station was completely uphill, and I struggled to keep semblance of a pace. I was feeling really discouraged and confused. The course wasn’t aligned with my mental model of “downhill out, uphill back” and while I expected a few rollers on the downhill out, it was discouraging to struggle so much here in the early going.
Mile 10 Aid Station
At the aid station, I took some time to figure out what I needed. Because of the weather, the two aid stations planned for later in the course were shut down, so the Mile 10 aid station would also be the last aid station until Mile 21. Depending on my pace, that meant at least two hours, and probably closer to three hours, before I’d be able to refuel again.
I wanted to be smart here to make sure I had enough water and calories, but not overload myself with too much bulk. I filled my water bladder about halfway and dumped in two Tailwind packets. I refilled my front-loaders with 3Fuel, and already had a Clif Bar and a bag of M&Ms in my zip packs – about 1200 calories – plenty for a three hour stretch.
I gobbled up a few boiled potatoes dipped in salt, looking for anything that could give me a boost. Nutritionally to this point, I’d only been taking in 3Fuel so far, and coming out of the aid station, I figured I would stick with that until I hit the turnaround, then switch over to Tailwind, which is much higher in carbs and in a past training run, I found it really gave me a noticeable jolt well into a long trail run.
Once I was fueled and ready to keep slogging, I headed out again, with more uphill. This was really confusing – I kept waiting for a sloping downhill to make up some time. My pace was well into the 11:00 min/mile pace, which was more than a little dejecting.
My Garmin showed about 9.5 miles when I finally hit the Mile 10 aid station (which would also be the Mile 21 aid station), and I pretty much felt like being out there was a bad idea. The air was cold and damp. My hamstrings were tight. I felt weak in my legs and my pace was slow. I reset, ate a few boiled potatoes dipped in salt, filled my bladder with Tailwind, and off I went.
Fighting the demons
The stretch out of the aid station continued on a moderate uphill (more WTF!?), and by the time I was a mile up the trail, my hamstring tightness worsened and I started thinking that maybe I should head back. From here, I could call it a 20-mile training run which would still be a solid day, and a step forward from where I’ve been with training this last month. But the “just keep going” side of me wanted to push to the turnaround.
Mentally, I shortened the race to 15.5 miles – all I needed to do was to get to the turnaround, then I’d have no choice but to finish the course. If I hit the turnaround, I’d have to get back to the Mile 10/21 aid station because there was no way off the course, and even if I wanted to quit there, I really wouldn’t be able because that would mean waiting there for the last runner to pass, help the volunteers pack up and hike out. Either way, I was going to be out there for a long time, so now that I was on the course, the best option was to just keep pushing forward. (And it absolutely felt like pushing…)
I told myself something I learned long ago from my friend Cary – no matter how bad or how good you feel out there on the course, it never lasts. Except I hadn’t felt good for a single mile yet – not even the first mile out of the starting gate – and I was seriously doubting if I would ever feel good. I told myself to treat this as an exercise in mental fortitude, and to keep slogging through the miles.
At Mile 11, the thought of turning back persisted as my hamstring tightness continued. Now I could call it a 22-mile training run. But now I was only four miles to the turnaround and along this stretch I ran with the same 3-4 runners – we would take turns passing each other – they would pass me on the steeper downhill sections and I would pass them on the flat and uphill sections. The give and take was akin to having a pacer, and kept me going to see the same people along the way.
Finally!
Around Mile 12, I started focusing seriously on the turnaround and my mood improved . I felt like I broke through the wall a little, and I also started seeing the leading runners that were on their way back. I got a lift from the obligatory “good job” that we grunted at each other, and mentally it helped me to know that while I was more than an hour off of the leader’s pace, the turnaround really did exist.
At Mile 14, I passed the Cal 1 station which is where our Davis running club (GVH) has an aid station for the Western States 100. I knew I was about a mile from the turnaround and I actually feeling pretty good.
The Turnaround to Mile 21
At the turnaround, I felt a solid sense of accomplishment to have pushed through the slog of the first 15 miles, to have kept going, and to have finally experience a positive mindset. I also knew that the only way back was to finish the race – the option to turnaround was gone, and removing that was mentally liberating. Absent a significant injury, I knew I would finish the race no matter what.
My Garmin showed a 11:30 min/mile pace for the first half, and that was tough to see – more than 1:30 min/mile pace slower than expected, and right about now I starting wondering if I could finish in under seven hours, figuring the “back” could take me more than a hour longer than the out. If I averaged 11:30 on the out – nearly three hours, I figured the back would be closer to four hours. I accepted that this was going to be a long day out there. But I was on the way back, and one way or another I was getting to the finish.
Then something pretty interested happened… My pace picked up. The course felt mostly downhill. The single track was in really good condition and I told myself that I to take whatever the course gave me. On the downhill sections, I ran harder, even when it felt a little uncomfortable, remembering the advice I used in the Tahoe 200 – when it starts to hurt, push a harder. I figured that if I could keep my overall race pace under 12:00 min/miles as long as possible, it would give me some leeway for the uphill sections and get me to the finish line sometime under seven hours.
Somewhere along this stretch, I hit some hail, or more so, some hail hit me. Pretty cool to be running in the clouds – mystical and magical to be out there. I wanted to take pictures of the waterfalls and mist, but I also didn’t want to stop and break my pace.
As the miles clicked by, I was able to maintain an overall race pace of 11:30-11:45/min miles. I’d stopped a time or two to pee, which cost me several seconds on my pace, but then the course gave me the chance to grab that time back.
I ambled into the Mile 21 aid station, still under a 12:00 min/mile pace, and at this point, starting to think seriously about getting to the finish. I remembered from the out section that there was some downhill ahead, and thinking that the last three miles were uphill, I just kept telling myself to keep taking whatever the course would give.
I fueled up again with Tailwind in my bladder and gobbled more potatoes dipped in salt. I took my time at the aid station, but without talking too much time. Four or five racers came through after me, and left before me, and while I said to myself not to bother with them, it did spur me to get back on the trail.
The 20s
From here, it just focused on clicking off the miles. I’d run for a good clip and resist checking my Garmin, and mostly was able to check just before the next mile was done. I had a couple of 10:00 and 11:00 minute miles, and my total pace stayed under the 12:00 min/mile target. I was happy, surprised and proud of myself for pushing through the wall that I felt way back at Mile 8 – to be having a strong second half of the race. I knew at this point, I just needed to get to the last three miles, knowing that even if I had to hike at a 18:00 min/mile pace, I could get this thing done and get home.
With about four miles to go, the sun burned through the clouds. I stopped to put away my raincoat and swapped out my very wet long-sleeve running shirt and for my dry short-sleeved shirt, a refreshing change for the last push.
The final push
I kept waiting for the course to turn uphill, but it didn’t. Finally I hit the Mile 2/Mile 29 aid station, stopping only long enough to chug a 12-oz can of Pepsi. (Cola is my magic elixir for a boost in any endurance event…) Once I crossed the second big water crossing, I knew the finish was getting close, and yet the course hadn’t turned into the big uphill I expected.
Finally with about 1.5 miles to go, it did turn uphill, and got very steep. I checked my Garmin – I kept the sub-12:00/min pace the entire way back and I had about 18 mins for a sub-6 hour race! I told myself to chill and not get attached to the sub-6 – not to be disappointed, and instead be proud of the race with all of the mental hurdles. As I powered up the hill (thank you, trekking poles!), I passed one of the runners I’d been swapping places with throughout the day and he said – “Keep going – You can make it for a sub-six.”
I really wanted to, and would be damn proud of that given the effort, but the course wasn’t working in my favor. I started running in stretches of 25- 50 steps, then I’d walk for 75-100 steps.
With about 0.75 miles left, I passed another runner who asked me how much we had, and I saw that I had just under six minutes left to break six hours.
I found a some reserve power, and starting running up the hill. I checked my Garmin and I was running at a 10:09 pace, and I knew that if I could keep this pace, I could sneak in under six hours.
I told myself that this was just an interval on a training run – just keep pushing until the interval was over. I got to 0.50 miles left, then 0.33 miles left. Push. Push. Push.
I turned a corner and saw the shimmering hood and windshield of parked cars through the trees, and a few steps later saw the blue and white finished gate. I kept motoring and as I got to the gate, the people at the finish were cheering for me, crossing the finish at 5:58:31! Made it!
I think my facial expression says it all…
Post-Race & What’s Next
Post-race was the best I felt all day. The adrenaline was pumping and I was feeling proud for finishing with a sub-6 race. I knew I was probably more than two hours from the race leaders and didn’t care a single bit. This race was completely against myself and the mental hurdles I needed to overcome along the way.
The post-race spread was super! Chili and tacos. I shoved them down along with my celebratory bag of Peanut M&Ms and a Mountain Dew. I talked with Paulo, the race director for a while, thanked him for the race, and made my way to the shuttle to head home.
While I was sore on Sunday and Monday (both rest days), I had a very solid hotel workout Tuesday night with some treadmill running and Cross-Fit exercises (push-ups, sit-ups, dumbbell snatches and dumbbell squats).
Now it’s back to a regular training schedule with quality miles where I can get them, strength training, and staying focused on getting to the Zion 100 starting line as healthy as possible. As my friend Kelly shared last week, better to be undertrained and healthy than forcing it with an injury. I know if I can get to the starting line, I’ll find a way to finish.
I got to “bed” around 10:30pm and planned to sleep until 4am – no real plans to rush the morning. Instead I wanted to get a really good rest so that I could have a strong day on Monday to finish the race. While 84 hours was still on my mind, I was also willing to eschew hitting that time in exchange for good strong day.
I woke up sometime around 1:30am. The air was cold outside, blowing under the tent flaps, and the wool blanket felt warm and comfortable. I did a quick diagnostic – no soreness in my legs and I felt rested, so it was time to rise and shine. The only thing standing in my way of the finish line was 50 miles of trails. Having that singular focus was so freeing and enjoyable. I slipped on my shoes and ambled back to the aid station area from the sleeping tents.
First things first – pop in my contact lenses so I could see. I didn’t think through this like I should have, trying to put them in my eyes while standing outside on a rug using my iPhone as a mirror. Duh.
One of my contacts fell on the ground, so the mad scramble to find a needle a haystack began. I was able to find it, and then asked for some help. One of volunteers had a camper with a mirror. Much more civilized and practical. I then ordered some breakfast and found a spot on ground to start limbering up.
While I was stretching, a runner came into the aid station, telling a story about a bear encounter. He had turned a corner on the trail a few miles back and saw a bear standing there. When he tried to make some noise to scare it away, the bear stood its ground. Then he heard some rustling and saw three cubs up in a tree – not exactly this situation you want to find yourself in, so he backed off down the trail a bit and waited until he heard them leave.
I told this story to Todd, the head medic, at the Tahoe City aid station later that morning. He asked me – “Do you think he really saw a bear?” as if to say – “Maybe the guy was hallucinating…” Either way, it was both entertaining and a reminder that I was in the wilderness, even though the aid stations, trail markers and constant drip of runners made it feel like we were out for a walk in the woods on a race course.
Once I ate, I remembered that I left my trekking poles down at the sleeping tent, and Liz was kind enough to go grab them. Final adjustments to my gear and I got some advice on the next stretch from the Donner Running Party – “mostly downhill and very runnable. Really great surface.” Yes. Awesome.
On the way out, the volunteers played exit song requests. Here’s mine:
Brockway (mile 155) to Tahoe City (mile 175): Flying Down the Mountain
It was just past 2:30am and I was on my way to Tahoe City, 20 miles of nighttime and early morning running. Like yesterday, I segmented this stretch into smaller parts. I knew I had about three hours of darkness, then I’d start to see the false dawn around 5:30, then the sunrise an hour after that.
I figured this 20-miles stretch would take about 6-7 hours given the wear and tear of the past three days, bringing me into Tahoe City around 9:30am. I had budgeted to be there by 9am on my 84-hour race plan, and given my early start – arriving about two hours ahead last night and leaving much earlier this morning than planned – I started to think that as long as I kept plodding along at the same pace, I might still have a chance to hit the 84-hour mark. I tried to do some math in my head – 50 miles, divide by 3 (20:00 min/mile pace) was 17 hours. Three o’clock AM, add 17 hours…. 12 hours is 3:00pm, remainder 5 hours, which is 8pm, which would be 83 hours so even at a 20:00 min/mile pace for the day, I have an hour buffer to get to the finish by 9:00pm, or 84 hours. This could happen.
I hadn’t thought much about bears too most of the way, but during this morning I definitely thought about bears. The guy’s story at the aid station spooked me. Plus I was now working on eight hours of sleep over three days and more than 155 miles, so the visuals were pretty strong.
I wasn’t hallucinating, but rocks, trees and shrubs took shape. Stumps looked like giant frogs and the heads of giant ferrets. Fallen trees and rocks started to look like bears. I decided to just have fun with it. I knew none of it was real, so why not enjoy the show?
The first part of this stretch was a gentle uphill then an easy downhill for the first 2.5 miles, then there was a long gradual uphill for the next five miles that gained about 1000’. Definitely manageable even if it meant a lot of slow miles. I just focused on plodding along. I came down a hill to a small lake or pond, and stopped for a few minutes to eat a bag of sweet potatoes and bacon. I called that “breakfast.”
After reaching the end of the gradual climb, the rest of this stretch was as promised – flat and runnable, and a super opportunity to bank some time, dropping into 16:00 and 17:00-minute miles in the first ten miles. Around mile 12, I stopped for a longer break, then the next 5-6 miles were GLORIOUS!
My legs felt remarkably fresh. No soreness in my quads or hamstrings at all. A few ligaments and tendons were feeling worn, but nothing debilitating, so I was able to pick up the pace and knock out miles all the way into the 11:00-13:00 minute/mile range. This was HUGE to bank this time, and to feel really strong, almost like Superman. Every mile that I picked off was one less mile to go to the finish. Every mile at a pace under 20:00-minutes was banked time.
I zoomed by a couple of runners on this segment that I had run with last night. They had gotten an earlier start than me, but with my pace, I was able to catch up and pass them. At one point, I got down to 7:23 pace for a short spurt. I was flying down the mountain.
After riding that wave, I had about three miles to the aid station. The trail turned rocky and hard to manage at a quick pace. I took that as a sign to slow down, enjoy the time I banked and start resting up for the next stretch from Tahoe City to Stephen Jones.
Travis and Lena would be meeting me at Tahoe City. I told them sometime between 8:30-9:00, thinking that I would arrive a bit later than that, but at least they’d be there ready to go when I arrived to shorten the rest stop time but I was well ahead of that.
As I came down to the trailhead, the course ran along a couple of streets to reach the aid station. As I pulled into the aid station, it was only 8:15am! The sun was shining, and I felt awesome, just awesome. Lena was just walking up to the station with chairs and gear just as I arrived.
The aid station was quiet so I had the place pretty much to myself at first with just 1-2 other runners there. I ordered a huge breakfast – eggs, bacon and pancakes. I wanted to refuel and enjoy the fruits of my early morning work. I had just covered 20 miles in under 5:45, feeling great and starting to believe that 84 hours was very, very possible after all.
Todd patched me up one more time, taking care of a blister under a toenail. He told me that I was looking strong and really in good shape. Travis pulled into the parking lot, got together his gear while I ate and got medical attention. I was juiced and ready to go. Lena snapped a picture and off we went.
Two guys headed out for a 20-mile hike…
Tahoe City (mile 175) to Stephen Jones (mile 195): Just Two Buddies on a Day Hike
I saw this stretch as the last dragon to vanquish. While the last ten miles from Stephen Jones to the finish included one last big climb, I knew that once I got to Stephen Jones, I would be unstoppable and my finish inevitable, save for a major catastrophe.
Travis and I departed Tahoe City at 9:03am, so I was well ahead of my 84-hour plan. I had planned to arrive to Tahoe City at 9am, so pulling out of the aid station at that time felt really, really good. I briefed Travis on our walk-run strategy, and the first bit of the course ran along pavement before darting back onto the trails. We had a short climb before a steady flat few miles before the mega-climb on this stretch – nearly 2000’ over 3-4 miles right in the middle of the 20 miles.
We knocked off the first 5-6 miles pretty quickly, and again I was happy to bank time, bracing for any possible delays where I’d need to use that time – needing a long break, and injury or anything else. I’m not sure where my worry came from given how well my body help up through 3+ days, but I just wanted to keep that mindset to brace for or avoid any total meltdown.
We came upon a small footbridge at the base of the big climb, crossing a stream near a waterfall. We sat for a minute to rest before the climb and decided to fill up our water bottles just in case. It felt like we had enough, but I was close to empty on one bottle and the thought of the first night when I ran out of water getting into Sierra-at-Tahoe, which seemed like weeks ago now, was still in my mind. Travis was good enough to climb down to the stream for us and our climb began.
By now, runners were scattered far apart on the course. We went miles without seeing anyone else, I remarked that it didn’t even feel like I was in a race anymore. It jut felt like two guys out for a hike. That feeling alarmed me because I didn’t want to lose any intensity in mindset and pace, but with the climb, there wasn’t much I could do to go faster so it was just about plodding and plodding and plodding. Just keep moving and trust that I was executing on my race plan.
After about an hour, Travis called out the time and asked if we should break. Very good of him to stay on schedule – 55 minutes of movement then a 5 minute break. Perfect timing. We continued the climb and the path crossed an open field close to the top.
Travis was as much as a guide and storyteller as he was a pacer. He knew the geography, plants and flowers around us really well. The best part was that he kept me talking. We talked for a while about endurance racing – marathons, triathlons, training and qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Then we talked about his backcountry adventures with Richard Sexton, a fellow economist at UC-Davis. In his stores, Travis described the terrain, the story, the situation, the weather, the equipment. It was entertaining and most of all, helped pass the time, which meant that as long as we kept moving forward, distance was passing as well.
We reached the top of the climb along with 2-3 other runners about the same time and stopped to look over the valley and take a few pictures. Such a wonderful feeling to have that climb behind me. Just like with Powerline, it was milestone to the finish – it was starting to feel real. I started thinking about the distance not just to Stephen Jones, but to the finish line. We were now about ten miles into this stretch, with ten miles to go, then just another ten miles from Stephen Jones to the finish line. The mental countdown started, even as much as I wanted to stay present and focused on just getting to the next aid station.
Victory shall be mine!
Soon after reaching the peak, we stopped for another break to refresh and start the downhill. The next seven miles were simply GLORIOUS again. First, Travis started ahead, picking up the pace ever so slightly. I felt GREAT! Very strong and enjoying the downhill. I told him to nudge the pace a bit more, so faster we went. We stopped for a short break, then I took the lead, running ahead for a few miles, ratcheting up the pace even more, faster and faster. For a two mile stretch, we dropped down to a sub-8:00 min/mile and even down to a 7:07 pace at one point. Pure flow. Knocking off miles in 11:00-16:00 range was just damn fun. More time in the bank.
We reached the bottom of the trail into a neighborhood down to the lake. After about 1/2 mile, we picked up the bike trail along Lake Tahoe. Just like the day before near Incline Village, the asphalt miles were painful. Travis kept me moving with a walk-run strategy – “Run to the second telephone pole” and we’d run to it. “Run to the big tree off to the right” and we’d run to it. Along the path, we stopped to dip our hats in cool lake water which was welcome relief. While the air temperature was moderate, the sun felt hot and we’d been going almost six hours.
The course has us cross the road and head back into some asphalt neighborhood roads before reaching another walking trail on the way to Stephen Jones aid station. We were about two miles from the aid station and I was starting to feel the first real effects of the mileage in my feet and legs. The arch on my left foot was starting to throb and I thought about it would be entirely possible for this to flair up to the point where I couldn’t run. Most of this track was flat or modestly uphill but I had a hard time running with any pace so we walked it. Along the last two miles, Travis and I talked about the aid station plan. Refuel, eat, take Advil and apply more sunscreen.
The trail came out to another asphalt road and we crossed a bridge with a volunteer there. “Just go right up there and hang a left. The aid station is about a quarter mile.”
“A quarter mile from when we take a left, or a quarter mile from here? Because it matters…” I asked half-jokingly, half-seriously.
She laughed – “From when you make a left.”
Into the aid station we trudged, where Lena, Benjamin, Nina and Paul were waiting. It was just past 3pm, and again, I was ahead of schedule by nearly an hour. THIS MEANT I HAD SIX HOURS TO GO 10 MILES AND STILL BREAK 84 HOURS!
I took my time at the aid station to make sure I was completely regrouped before the last climb. I had the medical volunteer check out my feet. The bandages on my blisters were holding up, and I told him about the shooting paid in my arch.
“I never really get plantar faciatis. This is pretty unusual.”
He didn’t say a word, instead giving me a hilarious look that said – “Are really surprised that after 195 miles, you might actually have some problems you’ve never experienced before?” He applied some rock tape to hold my arch in place. “That should get you through these last ten miles.”
Two guys after a 20-mile hike…
While in the chair, I broached the topic of having someone pace me for this last stretch. Travis said, “I’d stay with you if I think you needed it. You look great – really strong. You don’t need me.” Lena and I talked about her pacing me, and decided that I was good on my own, and that I’d rather her get to the finish line with everyone to meet me there. Paul and Nina helped to refill by water bladder and nutrition and off I went.
STEPHEN JONES (mile 195) TO THE FINISH (mile 205.5): A Massive Climb & A Massive Thunderstorm
Ten miles to go! JUST TEN MILES TO GO!
The first two miles were unexpectedly flat. The surface was littered in large rocks about the size of my fists and feet, but even so, I was able to walk-run to keep the pace going and bank a few minutes before the climb started.
Then it started. Travis had briefed me about this last segment of the course – “It’s a climb about the same as the one we just did, but there’s a saddle on the top, so when he hit the first peak, you’ll go down a little, then back up to a second peak.”
Nope. It was not a climb like the one we just did. It was way, WAY worse. SUPER steep – like climbing stairs but without the stairs. I knew I had about 1750 feet of vertical to reach the top, so I segmented the climb into 250 foot chunks. It was really, really hard to avoid looking at my Garmin. When I did, I’d see I’d only climbed 60’ or 80’ so I started picking a spot above me and climb to that, the find another turn and climb to that. Very slow going, but I kept it steady. At one point, I looked back down and it felt like a roller coaster descent behind me. My only regret is that I didn’t take a picture back down the hill.
I was both cursing and applauding Candice, the race director. “Well done, Candice,” I thought. “Take everything we’ve done over the past 195 miles to get to these last ten, the turn the screws on us one more time.”
After about 1000’, I reached a false peak where a car with a couple of race supporters were, offering water and soda as an informal aid station. I declined and kept moving. The course ran along a paved road for about 1/2 mile before turning back into trail. One more push to the top.
More switchbacks and steepness. A hiker passed me on the way down. I managed a “Hello.” and she replied with – “Enjoy you walk!” Giggle.
As I got closer to the top of the climb, the trees thinned out and I could start to see more of the sky, and what I saw was not good. A thunderstorm was brewing directly across the lake and headed my way. As I reached a clearing towards the top of the climb, it was pretty obvious that I’d be in a race to get up and over the peak before the storm hit. I didn’t care much for the feeling of being at 9000’ feet on an exposed peak with a thunderstorm approaching. I reach one peak, then the trail descended briefly, then back up to the actual peak.
This is NOT the saddle on the last segment. Still more climbing after the peak ahead…
The storm grew closer and I was glad for a decision I made in the last aid station. I had gone through my backpack and handed off some stuff I wouldn’t need to Lena to save on weight – electronic equipment and a couple of other things. I had thought about handing over my rain gear, assuming I won’t need it, but instead thought about Deep Survival. The jacket and pants weighed less than 1/2 lb and what if….
As I reached Ellis peak, I felt a relief to have that behind me so that I could start the race to the finish. The trail descended quickly and the storm was coming closer. Fast. The trail flattened a bit then had a slight incline. Then the slight incline turned steeper. F&CK! I thought I’d hit the saddle before the last peak, and only now was I hitting it! More f&cking climbing.
Now I was starting to feel concerned for getting stuck up there somehow in the storm, so much so, that I was now running the uphills. I just wanted to get to the next peak, knowing it really would be the last, then I could haul ass it to the finish line.
Not what you want to see while standing on a 9000′ peak.
I hit the peak and started down the true final descent. I came upon a patch of snow that I remembered from the start of the race, and knew that I was about 3 miles to the finish. I was well ahead of schedule again, and right now, looking to finish around 7pm – two hours ahead of my 84-hour race plan. As I started down, I texted Lena –
I checked the time – just before 6:30pm. With about three miles to go, I started thinking about breaking the 7pm barrier and having a time of 81:something. Wow. So impressed with my performance. But no time to celebrate because of the damn storm rolling in.
The trail was exposed because I was now running down ski trails and the thunderstorms kept approaching. I’d see lightening flash, then I counted until I heard thunder – one one thousand, two one-thouasand, three one-thousand. I was running scared. By now, I locked into a flow state again, picking a line through the trail rocks, eyeing the trail about 50 feet ahead for my line, not even looking down at where my feet were going – they just knew. A few times I stumbled and once I fell. Inconsequential. Just get up and run.
The thunderstorm was now directly over me and passing from the west to the east. Rain hadn’t fallen and I was running scared. The trail ran along the ski lifts, which of course were made from metal, which was awesome in a thunderstorm, and the farther I descended, the more I kept looking for the last turn down into the open ski run area where I could spot the finished gate. But it kept eluding me. I was peeking at my Garmin, and now breaching 10 miles for the stretch. I had to be close, so close. Right?
The trail turned again with a few switchbacks and the flow state dissipated. The storm had blown overhead and now was to the East. It seemed to stay at a high altitude and never hit squarely over me. My pace slowed and I was feeling it in my feet and quads for the last two miles. I kept pushing even though I knew I couldn’t keep the same pace as the miles before.
My Garmin ticked past 10 miles and the finish was no where in sight. I starting to sense I couldn’t break 7pm without a miracle.
More turns. More switchbacks. Maybe there were only 3 or 4 or 5, but they felt endless and steep, then FINALLY I saw the opening to the gate.
This was it! I couldn’t even enjoy the moment, worried about getting to the bottom of the mountain, worried about the family and especially Benjamin waiting out there for me, exposed to the storm. I pushed as hard as I could to hit the finish without taking time to consider what I was accomplishing – 205 MILES! Even as I write, I’m feeling my eyes tear up. 205 miles… 205 miles… 205 miles… Wow.
The race team propped up the finishing gate and my mother-in-law, Nina, was standing across the finish line with a red umbrella. She tried to hand it to me. I pushed it aside and said – “Thanks, Mom, I don’t want an umbrella.”
All I wanted was to see Lena and Benjamin and give them an enormous hug. And I did.
At THE FINISH: 205.5 Miles
Just like at the start of the race, the finish to ultra-marathons are equally melodramatic. No one on a loud speaker yelling – “Scott Sambucci! YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!”
Instead, it’s just a couple of people standing around. No crowds. No cheering except for your own crew. With the storms, it was much worse because a wind gust had just blown over the inflatable finishing gate and the food tent. While I was coming down the course on the last mile, everyone at the finish was scrambling to lock down the tents and food.
Had it not been for Nina, then would not have even had the gate stood up for me. I learned later that she had made friends with the race team, as she’s prone to do :-), and she asked them – “Could you please put the gate back up for him?”
So awesome. Thanks, Mom. You’re the best. 🙂
I was feeling great. I’d just run 205.5 miles and was standing there having a conversation, talking about the storm, and getting briefed on all that happened with the wind gust while I was approaching the finish.
I asked for my finished time.
82:00:16.
I just missed finishing before 7pm, and somehow felt disappointed, immediately starting to think about how with the right planning before a few aid stations and taking a few shorter breaks, or running a few more flat spots, how I could have dropped into the 70s. It’s gave me a glimpse of what is possible with the right training, the right planning and the right effort.
Check the box. 205.5 miles.
I talked to another runner or two, and one of the race coordinators. I asked for my buckle which had been packed away with all of the other race gear after the wind gust. She kindly retrieved the box and I picked out my buckle.
But it wasn’t about a buckle. It wasn’t about loud cheering. This was for me – that I set out to do some incredibly hard, and with the right plan and the right team and the right execution, I was able to do something wonderful.
It was slow going getting up and running, then I figured out a plan. I grabbed my gear and headed downstairs to the bathroom where there was bench and lots of light to spread out all the contents from my drop bag. This made preparing for the day ahead much easier. I filled up my nutrition, cleaned my feet, donned clean socks, stretched and rolled my glutes and hamstrings with a tennis ball, and got myself into a ready mental state.
A few other runners were down there, and I found them to be loud and annoying. Just upstairs were the sleeping quarters and the people down here didn’t seem to care. That really bothered me. I tried to tune it out and just focused on getting ready. How much did it bother me? Enough that I’m taking the time to write about here…
Once I had myself together, I headed back outside to the food station for eggs and bacon. I made another Starbucks Via coffee and overall I was feeling optimistic about starting off for Day 3. It was creeping closer to 3:30am, so my “ready time” was longer than I wanted given that I got up at 2:06am. I made a few final adjustments to my my gear and myself and I headed out.
I asked the for directions from the volunteers checking runners in and out – “Just head back where you came from and go right.” I walked about a 1/5 mile back to the ski lift and couldn’t figure out where or how to go right. That made no sense – right was a road into town.
I thought a bit, and reluctantly headed back to the aid station to ask again – “Sorry guys, it’s probably me, but I don’t see where to go right.”
Another volunteer re-explained it to me – I needed to head to the ski lift and go up the hill a bit from where you came in, THEN hang a right.
Aha! Now I had it. It was closer to 3:45am by now when I restarted my Garmin for the next segment, but I was rested and happy to relieve the anxiety of knowing where to go.
Heavenly to Spooner Summit: The First Early Morning
This 20-mile stretch was the longest of the course without any reliable water – no streams or waterfalls to refill. The course on the west and north side of the lake was much different in this respect. I’d heard other runners talking about knocking out this stretch at night or in the early morning because much of the trail was exposed. The good news is that on the other side of the stretch, Sean, my pacer, would be waiting for me to take me to Tunnel Creek, then I’d “only” have the Powerline climb to tackle before hitting the Brockway Summit aid station tonight for more sleep. It was 4:00am and I was already thinking about the end of the day.
I don’t remember much from this stretch of the course, other than enjoying a couple of hours of night running and breaking the early hours into smaller segments – false dawn around 5:30, sunrise about an hour later, then I would be about three hours away from the next aid station at Spooner Summit. Funny how hours seem short and fast when you frame them that way…
But along the way, I got into a bad habit of checking my Garmin too often. I’d check and see something like 10.27 miles, then go on for a what I thought was a good distance – a half mile or more – then look back at my Garmin to see 10.35 miles. It was tough slogging.
I remember the final push up to the top of Spooner Summit and how the course was rocky and annoying. I stopped to snap a few pictures at the peak, ate a bit, then really just wanted to keep moving.
The final miles down to the aid station seemed to take forever. This was a theme all along the course – it seemed like the last couple of miles into every aid station was marred with a lot of turns, switchbacks or some other distinguish trait that made it seem difficult to reach the next oasis. Fortunately, my Garmin mileage was off so while I thought I had more than a mile to the aid station, I spotted it at the bottom of the hill. Woohoo!!
Spooner Summit AID STATION: STarting to figure out my aid station plans
I arrived to the aid station ahead of Lena and Sean, mostly because I was about 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Despite my grousing and slogging, I was able to keep up with my 84-hour race plan schedule. This is partly because of some buffer time I built into the schedule, and partly because I feel like I had a natural pace that correlated well with the race plan.
I started to get smarter about how to approach aid stations. Knowing I had some time before Lena and Sean would arrive, I came up with plan:
First make sure I got my feet checked out and take care of any blisters. Then eat a good breakfast, then refuel my water and nutrition for the next segment. When I arrived to the aid station, I overheard here that the food tent volunteers had just run an overnight shift and were planning to be there until 9pm that night. Wow.
Rob, a Coast Guard veteran, was the medical volunteer. He was just wrapping up – Haha – “wrapping.” Get it? ???? with another runner so I ordered food and pulled off my socks for Rob to check me out. We found a blister on the underside of my foot that we taped up and I was good to go.
Lena and Sean arrived just as Rob finished the patchwork on my feet and they set up a station for me. Nina, Paul, Tbone and Benjamin were also there and it was really nice to see everyone together in one place. We snapped a few pictures and double-checked that I had plenty of water and fuel for the next stretch. There was a campground around midway with a water pump, but it was reported broken a few days ago, and while we were told at the pre-race briefing that it would be fixed, I didn’t want to take any chances.
Spooner Summit to Tunnel Creek (mile 123-140): “You said 10 minutes if you slept…”
Sean was awesome. We got going and into a rhythm pretty quickly – jogging the downhills and flat sections, even if they were only a few strides, just to get in to that habit. Most of the first six miles were a long slow climb from 7200’ to 8900’ feet, and at the top of the climb, I was staring to feel pretty tired.
Me: “I need about ten minutes.”
Sean: “Are you taking a nap?”
Me: “Maybe, but not more than ten minutes.”
I found a rock, laid down and watched the clouds go by. One of them looked like a crab that I watched crawl across the sky. I closed my eyes trying to sleep, but couldn’t get into a relaxed state. I felt like I might have dozed off, then when I opened my eyes again, the crab hadn’t moved far from it’s last position. Then I heard Sean say – “Okay, let’s go.”
I looked at my Garmin.
Me: “It’s only been five minutes. I said ten.”
Sean: “You said ten if you slept. You’re not sleeping, so let’s go.”
I just looked at him for a moment. He was serious, and he was right. Five minutes was enough.
Sean: “We have some downhill here, so let’s just get moving and see how it goes.”
Off we went, and about 1/4 mile into the downhill, I could feel my quads aching and the bottoms of my feet were sore. I’d really had enough of that and I remembered what I’d heard Eric Bynes share on the Trailrunner Nation Podcast – “When it starts to hurt, push harder.”
Me: “Let’s pick up the pace to see what happens.”
We did, and something spectacular happened – we ran faster! Over the next three miles in a few spots, we pushed down under 8:00/min miles, running miles at 12:37, 12:34 and 14:28. This might not seem fast, but when you’ve been slogging uphill at a 19:00-min miles, 12:37 was outright flying.
We passed a few runners that had gone by while I was resting then hit one stretch where we both screamed – “Yahooooo!” It was awesome. I didn’t care if I was unnecessarily spending energy. It was fun and freeing to let release the hounds for a change.
We slowed up when we saw a sign for the campground, finding it about 1/4 mile down the trail. We took another break and Sean found the well. Water! Yes! I think we would have been fine, but it was a treat to have fresh, COLD water to drink.
We regrouped and headed out again. Mile after mile, we tracked past Marlette Lake and started another climb along a ridge towards Herlan Peak. Along this stretch, we stopped to look back at the lake.
Sean said, “Take a look at where you started and where you are now.”
Looking across the lake, I could make out where Homewood was, and thought about the miles along the Rubicon Trail, pushing to Sierra-at-Tahoe, managing my way to Heavenly yesterday, then pushing farther and farther here on Day 3. It was overwhelming and I broke down and cried. I was so proud of myself and what I’d accomplished. Finishing the race seemed secondary at the moment to knowing that I’d already gone well beyond any reasonable expectation I could have made of myself.
We powered on and over Herlan Peak and then down to the Flume Trail.
Me: “I have a feeling I know why they call it ‘Flume Trail.’”
It was more than three miles of STEEP descent along a sandy road. Unpleasant. Very unpleasant. I got grouching again. We mostly walked, occasionally trying to run for spurts. It hurt my knees to run and my quads felt pretty shot.
We were making solid time on a tough stretch, and while I was still ahead on pace for 84 hours, I became resigned that I would need a long rest tonight, not to mention the next stretch with the Powerline Climb standing between me and Brockway Summit to rest for the night. I told Sean that I didn’t care about the 84 hours, that instead, I’d rather get some well-needed rest tonight, have a good day tomorrow and come in past 84 hours than try to slog through the miles and be miserable all day on short sleep.
To make conversation, I started making plans for the aid station – food, feet, sunscreen and rest. I decided I’d stay an hour or longer if needed to recoup and recharge before plodding forward up Powerline.
Day 3 had easily become the toughest day. While Day 1 was the longest in distance and time, I had fresh legs and mind. Now I was working on five hours of sleep over three days and had covered 140+ miles so far. The notion of tackling Powerline was intimidating. It’s in a perfect spot to mess with your psyche.
We finally worked down to Tunnel Creek where Lena was waiting with chairs and supplies. So, so, so good to see her!
Knocking out a pedicure at mile 140, courtesy of Eric, while Marinka helped me figure out the next section of the course including the dreaded Powerline climb.
I plopped down then Marinka and Eric become my personal race concierges. Marinka checked me in and made sure Sean and I had everything we needed after a rough 17-mile stretch. Eric was doubling as medical and chef, cooking up the world’s best grilled ham and cheese for me then tending to the blisters on each of the toes on my right oot. Turns out they’re both from Davis! Marinka remembered me from The Ridge 60k from back in August. We talked a while and hung out with them. just sat to rest and I felt myself stiffening up a bit. After a while, I got motivated, organized my nutrition, said goodbyes, and off I went to tackle Powerline.
Tunnel Creek (mile 140) to Brockway Summit (mile 155): The Powerline Climb & starting the celebration
The first three miles ran along the bike path in Incline Village. I did a walk-run strategy here to pick up time on the flat miles. I’d like to say the flat miles were easy miles, but the asphalt was a killer on my feet and knees. I’d pick a tree or sign up ahead, run to it, then walk to the next tree or market, then pick another spot and run to it, which enabled me to cover the first four miles of this stretch in just under an hour. Then the course turned into a neighborhood and it meandered about until hitting the bottom of Powerline.
From the bottom of Powerline.
I hooked up with two other runners and we started off as a group up the hill. About a third of the way up, I decided to take break and they went on ahead. I looked up and counted seven poles protruding from the ground up the hill and started to pick off them off one at a time using a counting strategy – I’d count 100 steps at a time, then stop for a moment, then another 100. As I reached each pole, I stopped for a minute and about halfway up, I stopped to sit down and eat. I was in no rush to expend myself on this climb, and I budgeted extra time in this stretch, plus had the benefit of the previous flat miles.
Once I got going, I was sure I’d get to the top. I don’t know why I ever thought I wouldn’t, but the placement of this climb in the course was ideal to psyche myself out. At the top, I looked back down and snapped a picture.
At the top, I took a break, talked to the videographer up there with a drone and ate some Peanut M&Ms as a reward for polishing off Powerline. I was glad to have more than a third of the 15 miles in this segment done. The sun was now setting and the day was transitioning to evening.
This is where I started to feel a sense of celebration and victory – that I was going to get this race done. I felt a lift in my spirits now that Powerline was behind and I had fewer than ten miles to Brockway for rest before starting Day 4.
The course took a nice gentle downslope for the next two miles, then apparently there was a two mile climb of about 800’ from mile seven to mile nine that I don’t remember. I think I remember some switchbacks on the course, and as I crept closer to Brockway, I was getting tired. Even though the trail was clearly marked without any deviations, I had a paranoia that I was going in the wrong direction. I waited for a runner behind me to catch up, asking him if this was the right way to Brockway.
“Yeah. There’s only one way to go here.”
The Brockway Aid Station, a.k.a “BrockwayBnB” (mile 155)
At Brockway, I was greeted by several volunteers, all ready to help. This time, I had a plan:
Grab my drop bag
Get a good dinner ordered
Check out and clean up my feet
Fill up my backpack and nutrition right away so that I could just grab my gear and go in the “morning.”
Sleep
Remembering how good it tasted at Tunnel Creek a few hours earlier, I ordered a grilled ham and cheese. Sean and another fellow helped me remove my gear and get settled. Liz came over and asked me if I was planning to sleep because she was “taking reservations for beds.” Not only was she reserving a sleeping spot, but asked me how long I planned to sleep so that she could wake me up.
I asked, “How long am I allowed to sleep?”
“How long are you planning to sleep?”
“Not sure, but I thought I read there was a five-hour limit on sleep stations.”
“We’ve never had to enforce that.”
Even after reaching Brockway way ahead of schedule – it was about 9:30 when I got there and I planned to be there at 11pm – I still was thinking that the 84-hour goal was well out of reach. I expected to sleep for at least 4-5 hours and my schedule had me getting to Tahoe City by 9am tomorrow. It just didn’t seem possible. I felt totally comfortable with this decision and mindset, focusing on getting rest and having a good day tomorrow.
I got my grilled ham and cheese, plus a bonus slice of pizza. I gobbled my food and found Liz to show me to the sleeping tent. I told Liz that I wanted to sleep until 3:30am, so she set my wake up call. I figured about four hours would be a solid amount of rest and still get me up and out of the aid station well before dawn.
After the indoor sleeping quarters at Sierra-at-Tahoe and Heavenly, I was a little worried about the outdoor tents here. They were tents, but more like coverings with flaps extending down to the ground. The camping beds were laid right on the ground – this was much more like outdoor camping. We set my backpack and poles outside of the tent and I found my spot. . It was drafty with the wind blowing into the shelter below the side flaps, but I was tired enough that I figured I’d find a way to sleep.
Once I settled down under the wool blanket, I managed to get reasonably comfortable and fell asleep. Day 3 was in the books.
Sierra-at-Tahoe (mile 62.9) to Housewife Hill (mile 70).
I collected my belongings from the floor next to me, headed to the bathroom, popped in my contacts and washed up. Next back to the main aid station area where I found Tim from the Medical team to help me with my feet.
I told him about the wrinkled mess from last night (two hours ago…), and a couple of small hot spots starting developing. Fortunately, my skin was mostly dried out so he taped up the hot spots and I was ready to go. I put clean pair of socks (Injinjis) and my over-pair socks (CW-X) were mostly dry too. My shoes were still a bit damp, but definitely much better than I expected. Lena was meeting me at Housewife Hill, just seven miles ahead, so I figured I could change shoes there if I needed to complete the reboot (haha!) from Day 1 before the long climb up to Armstrong Pass.
I got a minimal amount of nutrition together for the short stretch and headed out around 7:30am. As I was heading down the hill from Sierra-at-Tahoe, I passed a few runners still just arriving to this aid station and thought about what their Day 1 must be feeling like, now almost 24 hours into the race without sleep. I was glad to be on my way and excited that I felt good for these next few miles.
I came across a runner and his pacer (can’t remember their names ????) super guys and we ran together for a mile or so. This guy had just run the Bigfoot 200 and told me that he slept 16 hours during that race, and improved his overall time by 7 hours over last year. This data point definitely made me feel good about my sleep decision and my overall plan to sleep as much as I could along the way, instead of trying to go 36 or 48 hours without sleep out of the gate.
Feeling good on Saturday AM!
I felt energized. The sun was shining, the morning brisk and the air cool. The segment was mostly a rolling downhill so I could run a nice smooth pace and made good time down to the aid station.
About a quarter mile from the station, I looked ahead and saw my crew waiting for me! Lena, Benjamin, Nina and Tbone!
Benjamin starting running towards me and I almost starting crying I was so happy to see them. When he reached me, I said – “Can you believe that I’ve been running since I saw you yesterday?” I said that as much for him as for me. I felt very happy and proud to have made it through Day 1 and felt a confidence that I was on my way to knocking out this journey.
I took some time to try out different shoes but no one them felt right, and my Altras were now mostly dry from the running and dry morning weather. Nina found me a nice breakfast of eggs and bacon from “The Guy in the Red Suit” serving as cook at the aid station. Very yummy and satisfying.
We snapped a few pictures and off I headed for the 18 miles stretch to the top of Armstrong Pass.
Housewife Hill (mile 70) to Armstrong Pass (mile 88): The long, slow climb
A few miles into this stretch (can’t remember exactly how many…), I crossing a stream. Thinking about the 5-6 hours ahead and remembering how I ran short on water last night, I took a few minutes to fill up one of my water bottles to be sure I’d have enough for the day.
Slowly, slowly, slowly plodding up the first part of the climb, I reached 8000’ about four miles in and felt pretty good about myself and the progress I’d made. The peak was 9750’, so I segmented what was ahead into 250’ elevation climb sections. I figured I’d be at the top in the next two hours.
Oops…
I should have read the course elevation profile better. Turns out that once you reach 8000’, there’s a 1000’ descent which drops you back down to 7000’ before heading back up to the 9750’ peak. The downhill miles were nice to knock off a few faster miles, but with each step I couldn’t help but think of the future cost I was incurring, knowing that I’d have to climb back up.
I remember running mostly alone alone along this stretch. With the overnight at Sierra-at-Tahoe and now well past 24 hours into the race and only ~175 runners, the field was stretching out quickly. I passed one runner that was off the trail, sitting high on a rock looking very happy and relaxed. We chatted a short bit, and I liked the idea of finding my own rock for rest somewhere along the midpoint up the climb.
I found my boulder – a huge flat boulder – and set up a picnic for myself. I had a bag of sweet potatoes and bacon that would be become my mainstay fuel for the rest of the race and found an extra packet of Tailwind in my running vest. After a quick bite, I laid on my back and looked up at the trees and watched the clouds move across the sky. A few gray clouds starting to infiltrate the blue canvas above, and all I could think was that another thunderstorm was brewing. I really, really didn’t want it to rain. I did well with it yesterday, managing my mindset and working through it, but the thought of more rain and water on the trail, especially as I was climbing worried me about a slick trail, not to mention climbing up close to 10,000’ where I’d be closer to the clouds and lightening.
I looked up on the trail from my rock, and saw my running friend Jonathan pass by with his pacer and felt a pang of jealousy that he had someone with him on this stretch. A few thoughts of loneliness crept into my mind, but all in all I knew this was just a tough slog that I’d have to do on my own, and eventually when I reached Heavenly tonight, I’d be at mile 103 and more than halfway done.
Big Meadow (appropriately named…)
After a few minutes, I motivated and headed back to the trail. Climbing higher and higher, the course took me across Big Meadow and along several huge meadows that rested between peaks all around me. Wild flowers were abound in these fields, with yellow and purple flowers everywhere. It really took me aback to think about these plateaus resting thousands and thousands of feet about where I was used to seeing fields of grass and flowers.
I stopped to snap a few pictures just to force myself to appreciate what I was seeing, with the thought that I may never in my life be back on this trail to see what I was seeing. Too many times in situations like this, I’d think – “I’ll take a picture next time” – and too often, there hasn’t yet been a next time.
I took another break along the trailside, laying back on a rock. I couldn’t sleep but at least I reset a bit. A couple of runners passed me, and one asked if I was doing okay just as I was started to doze off. I was a little perturbed that he interrupted my rest, but really, this was just me being grouchy and instead I considered should be grateful that other runners were aware enough to check in with me. We were miles and miles from anything resembling civilization so if any one of us got in trouble, the only help we could rely on was each other.
I packed up again and continued up the mountain. Another runner somewhere along this stretch passed me, and we kept climbing and climbing and climbing. Eventually we reached a peak, then short downhill, then another peak at 9300′. I asked him if he thought this was the top of the summit.
“I think there’s one more little climb to reach the top.”
Ugh.
We started downhill and he went ahead. The terrain got steep as I descended, and I loathed the idea of heading back up again to hit another peak, but the trail kept descending. My spirits picked up when I realized we had already reached the peak and now I was heading down to the next aid station in the next mile or two. I passed a couple of hikers and a runners heading back up, and that charged me more to know the aid stations was very, very close.
I found the oasis, relieved to have Armstrong Pass behind me, and feeling happy and proud with my progress. From a time standpoint, I was about 45 minutes ahead of my projected time. I expected to arrive to Armstrong around 5pm, and it felt good to know that my pace was holding, I had budgeted 8 hours for this stretch, and I knocked it out in less than seven!
As I meandered into the aid station, and a bearded volunteer, who later I’d learn was named John, asked me – “How are you feeling?”
“I’m good.”
Then he looked at me again – straight into my eyes and said – “Are you sure?”
He was right. I wasn’t necessarily bad, but I was pretty worn out after the climb up and over Armstrong.
“Roseanne is the medical person here – she’ll take care of you if you need anything.”
Roseanne came over and just sat for a moment to see how I was. She gave me a roller for my quads. Perfect timing after that climb. John got me a hamburger and Roseanne hung around just to make sure I took enough time to reset. Meanwhile, she tended to another runner that was shivering in the middle of the day because he hadn’t been eating.
As much as this was a reminder to myself to keep eating, none of the food was appetizing. I took a bite of the burger and it just didn’t agree with me. I knew I’d been good about taking in calories along the way and made myself a protein shake from a packet in my drop bag. That’s about the only food I ate at the aid station, and promised myself to keep eating along the next stretch and to do eat well tonight when I made it to Heavenly. I had a couple of bags of my magic sweet potatoes for calories, plus Tailwind and Clif bars stashed as “just-in-case.”
John and another volunteer (I can’t remember her name), helped me fill my water bladder and nutrition bottles. I was a little slow mentally getting things together, but eventually I got packed up and on my way out. Before I left, I drank another Starbucks Via packet as my afternoon coffee, and to hopefully enjoy a little late-afternoon pick-up from the caffeine.
I was happy to know that Heavenly and some sleep was only 15 miles from here – about five hours if I stayed on pace. More importantly, that the hardest part of the day was over.
Or so I thought…
Armstrong Pass (mile 88) to Heavenly (103.5): More Climbing? Really?
Climbing back out of the Armstrong Aid station was tough but my spirits were up. Before leaving the aid station, I asked about the next section of the course. “You head back up Armstrong then it’s mostly rolling down to Heavenly.”
Okay, I thought, I just go back up to where I passed the runners coming out of the station then it’s rolling for 14 miles. I could handle that.
I worked my way back up the main trail and reached what thought was the peak of the stretch, only to be sadly mistaken. Instead, I had solid 3-mile climb from there back up to 9600’. It was switchback after switchback, and it was DEMORALIZING. I saw Peggy for the first time since late in Day 1 near the creek crossing, which felt like a lifetime ago.
Another runner (John) and I hitched up a bit and slogged along together, finally reaching the crest of the climb that transitioned from one side of the mountain to the other. After about 1/4 mile of reaching the top, I found a rock and sat down to rest. I was wiped. That section was unexpected and tough, and I still had about 10 miles to go before Heavenly. I gave myself permission to take as much time as I wanted, ate some sweet potatoes and did a round of breathing exercises. That really reset my brain and body.
Once I got myself going, I told myself to just take it slow and make whatever progress I could on the downhill. By now, the sun setting across a valley to my left, and ahead of me stood a mountain with numerous spiked peaks decorating its side.
My body picked up the pace a little and the next 4-5 miles. I dropped down into a 10:00/min mile pace in a few stretches and knocked out a few sub-15:00/min miles overall. This was a welcome change in body and mind to be moving at a faster, more fluid pace. The trail now was a very nice gentle downslope and with the daylight hanging in the air, I was able to make some solid time over this stretch.
As the sun set over the mountain, I sat to rest then headed back down the trail. A few hundred feet down trail, I realized I’d left my gloves on the rock and had to backtrack. It was a good time to get my headlamp on for the last push down to Heavenly. When I pulled my headlamp from my backpack, it was already clicked on. Oh man.
John and I hiked along the next couple of miles together. He just started racing ultras a couple of years ago, and like me, hadn’t done a 100 before tackling a 200. The trail transitioned from a runnable single track to a rocky path of switchbacks. Down the mountain to the east, we could see the lights of the hotels and casinos along the lake. My headlamp light felt dim, so I sat down to change the batteries. I was very grateful to have packed extra batteries because the difference was HUGE. I could see much, much better.
On and on when trekked down the mountain and eventually we reached the Heavenly property, but still had a good three miles until the aid station. We hit a VERY steep short climb up a fire road – not more than a 1/4 mile but unexpected a killer on the legs. More switchbacks, along with more switchbacks, along with more switchbacks. I’d read about these switchbacks from a race report from a previous year, but it didn’t make them any more tolerable. They were steep and hard to run. I found myself walking on the downhills, then growing impatient and frustrated, so I tried to run the straight parts of the path just to pick up a few minutes and to prevent boredom.
Finally I reached the bottom of the mountain and the Heavenly aid station where Lena and Tbone were waiting. So good to see them, and a little silly to think that it’d been about 12 hours since I saw them at Housewife Hill that morning, and that I’d covered about 33 miles since then.
They asked me what I needed, and I realized I didn’t have much of a plan. The aid station was oddly configured. The inside area was only for sleeping. The food station was outside on a metal grate deck, and the drop bags were down a flight of stairs, as was the bathroom.
Not a having a plan really sucked. I had Lena and Tanya ready to help me with whatever I needed, and I had no idea what to tell them. I felt decently well physically, but mentally, I was spent. I couldn’t make a decision. It was nighttime – around 10pm (still about an hour ahead of my plan!) and the set up of the aid station just wasn’t what I expected and I was trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I settled on eating what I could, then just getting some sleep to figure out what to do in the morning. My feet were holding up well, and all I could think about what getting some rest to recharge.
I asked one of the volunteers to help me find a sleeping pad, and I headed back to the bathroom to clean up a little and take out my contacts. When I came back up to the sleeping quarters a few minutes later, I saw a guy with a blanket and pad. I thought it was the volunteer, so I said to him – “Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.”
He looked a little stunned, and said, “This is for me.”
Oops.
Turns out it wasn’t to volunteer but another racer. It was dark inside and I didn’t have my contacts in, so I could see much. Lena came inside and helped me get settled. I was having a pretty tough time just trying to organize my stuff and figure out what to do with everything while I slept. The medical staff was working inside the sleeping area with headlamps, which made it hard to get comfortable, plus there was ambient talking all around both inside the sleeping quarters and downstairs at the bathroom.
We finally got me settled and I found a spot with a blanket and laid down. Ahhh… Time to sleep! Except that I was WIDE AWAKE. My eyes wouldn’t close. Maybe it was too much caffeine. Maybe I was wired from the race. Whatever it was, I couldn’t get my eyes to close.
I finally told myself – “Dude, you’ve been going since 7:30 this morning, and have covered 103 miles in the last two days on two hours of sleep. You are tired. You have to be tired, so fucking GO TO SLEEP!” Within two minutes, I was asleep.
I woke up about an hour later at 11:30pm feeling very uncomfortable laying on the floor. “Oh man. No way,” I thought. I can’t be done sleeping already. No way I wanted to gear up and head out right now, so I found a second camping pad and to double up the custioning again I fell asleep. I woke up at 1:16am feeling much better, but also wondering if I’d had enough sleep to keep going. Did I really want to get up now and start Day 3 already? Then I checked my phone again and now it was 2:06am, so I must have dozed off a bit more. By now, I accepted that it was time to get going, and if I got up now, I could hit the trail by 3:00am and start the day.
I rolled off the mattress, found my gear where I left, and Day 3 began…
We arrived to Homewood at 7:45am, just an hour and fifteen minutes from the race start, and that seemed early. Ultra-runners are pretty mellow, especially compared the Ironman triathlete crowd I’ve grown used to seeing on race days. Many of the runners slept in their vans and campers in the parking lot.
Ultra-runners are more like Neil Young compared to the Guns-n-Roses craziness of Ironman races. No rock music blaring at 5am. No $10,000 bikes and transition set up. No wetsuits. No pensiveness. No one yelling at me through a loudspeaker – “By the end of the day, you will be an Ironman!” I’m glad I experienced the Ironman races, and now I’m glad to be in a more relaxed crowd. In ultra-running, you just lace up your running shoes and go.
Most of the pre-race time was spent waiting to get our SPOT device, so I used that time to get my feet and shoes prepped. Then Lena said – “Isn’t that Scott Jurek?”
Lots of waiting for Daddy began at the race start…
Whoa! He was just chilling with his wife and baby. I said hello and thanked him for his book – “Eat & Run.” He introduced me to his wife, Jenny. They were there to pace a friend.
To put this in perspective… Imagine showing up to play a weekend softball game and seeing Babe Ruth warming up the pitcher. Or before a pick-up game of flag football, seeing Tom Brady playing catch with your buddies. I’ve had similar interactions with Dean Karnazes at two other ultras – he just showed up, grabbed a bib number and said – “We’ll have to run some miles together today…”
I don’t know of any other sports where you can hand out with the titans of the sport.
Just four days to go before we’d be back here at the finish!
Race Start to Barker Pass (mile 7): Let’s do this
Candice called everyone over about three minutes before the race start to line up behind the gate. I gave my goodbye hugs and kisses, and blended in with the other 182 starters waiting for the countdown.
It’s pretty melodramatic, if only because it’s not really a “race” for most of us. It’s a journey – more like starting a road trip. You don’t exactly pull out of the driveway at 65 mph and rip open the beef jerky while still in your neighborhood. It’s freaking 205.5 miles. Plus the course immediate goes uphill, so no one is actually running more than a few steps to push through the starting gate.
I considered the first segment from the race start to Barker Pass as a prologue – it was a feeling out phase to see how I would do with elevation and staying patient, and to make sure that my backpack and gear was all sorted and working comfortably. The course doesn’t give you much to be impatient about – you hike the first 3.5 miles with everyone else then you meander down to the first aid station at Barker Pass.
I sensed nervous energy throughout the crowd.. I spent a mile talking with Brent from Georgia. He struck up a conversation by asking – “What’s your name?” I felt a little out of breath walking up the first few miles and he seemed unphased. It wasn’t the elevation as much as my body adjusting to the activity. That create a twinge of doubt in my mind – did I really belong here? Was I ready? I slowed my walking pace and just told myself – “Conserve, conserve, conserve.” I really had no idea of what was ahead.
I also felt curiosity in the group of runners. I think everyone wanted to know if they belonged too. Were we crazy to be going after this distance? Were we ready and prepared for what was ahead? Would doing a 100 translate to knocking out a 200? For me, I hadn’t even done a 100, which surprised everyone I shared that tidbit with throughout the race. It was hard to think about the next four days out there, and even just getting through the first day so mostly I just wanted to get to the first aid station and get on my way to Loon Lake.
First snow sighting. I came across 3-4 more patches like this along the course.
At the top of the climb out of Homewood, a patch of snow remained which was an well-placed reminder that we were, in fact, in the mountains. This was the wilderness and I was about to spend the next four days out here.
Along the jog down to Barker Pass, I remember looking at my Garmin and seeing we were past 5.5 miles into the race – less than 200 to go! A small milestone achieved.
At the aid station, I tried to be swift and deliberate. The next stretch was 14 miles so I wanted begin gauging how much water and fuel I would need for these longer stretches between aid stations, as these distances between aid stations would get longer as the day and the race wore on. The more I could learn early in the race about hydration, the better.
Barker Pass (mile 7) to Loon Lake (mile 24): Getting off-course & the Rubicon Trail
This is where the race became real. Past the aid station, the course led you about 1/2 mile down fire road then turned sharply to the left onto a single track trail. With the runner group so compact, it was easy to follow the person ahead and stay on the course.
Or so everyone thought…
After about 1/2 mile down the single track, a group of runners were doubling back yelling – “No flags!” About 100 runners aggregated in an open area along the trail, pulling out our phones and checking out the GAIA app.
It was an interesting sociological experiment in group think and decision-making. We all appeared to be off course, and according to GAIA, should have been on another trail just slight downhill from where we were.
A few people wanted to go back where they came from saying things like – “This is the Tahoe Rim Trail. I know where we are.”
Then I remember one woman taking charge – “Think about this guys – there are NO FLAGS down there and Candice was very clear that no flags means you are OFF COURSE, and we should go back to the last place we saw a flag.” She was right and that made the most sense to me. I continued the double-back to the fire road and we found a second trail that appeared to be the right trail according to the GAIA app. Still no flags though.
For the next four miles, no one saw a flag but the GAIA app and corroborating with other runners, we seemed to be on-course. Eventually we picked up a trail with a marker. The only thought we hd was that someone wet through a picked the flags as a really bad joke. Gladly this happened early in the race when everyone was bunched together and people could work it out together. If this happened at mile 130, it could have meant big trouble for anyone that was fatigued and out on the trail alone at night.
Along this stretch I met Peggy from Nevada City. She’s 61 and has grandkids. Wow. She and I spent the next few days leap-frogging each other. It was comforting to see a familiar face along the way, and I was glad to make a friend on the course. (Thanks, Peggy!)
Heading to Loon Lake brought us onto the famed Rubicon Trail. Around mile 12 or 13, I chatted for a few minutes with a women from Arizona. She asked how I was doing. I said – “We’re doing it. We’re here. We’re on the course.” I started to feel like I belonged, and at the least, I felt like I’d figure out a way to get through Day 1.
Reaching the Rubicon Trail
On the Rubicon Trail, while the boulders and rocks were a huge pain, the recent rain kept the dust I had read so much about at bay. This was a very fortunate break compared to past years – runners had reported 2-3 inches of dust the made breathing hard and caused blisters by penetrating shoes and socks.
Pretty typical trail along the Rubicon Trail.
It was slow going along the trail as expected, mostly walking on and between big rocks. I met Gene on this stretch, 69 years old and going for the Triple Crown this year – Bigfoot, Tahoe and Moab. Next year, he’s gunning for a sub 3:00 marathon to set a course record in Europe. I walked with him and another fellow that was on the course for the second year. He knew the distances and climbs ahead, which helped to manage expectations and felt nice to have an impromptu guide for this section even if he hadn’t signed up for that duty. I tried to be judicious in my questions because I wanted to respect his space and race. Hopefully I was.
As we reached Loon Lake, I stopped with about 10-15 others to refill my water bottles from the lake. I didn’t really need the water, but thought it would be a good break and a good exercise to get in the habit of getting water – using my water tablets and generally staying disciplined to keep my water bottles and water bladder full. Late in the day, I’d have to learn this lesson the hard way…
I don’t remember much from the Loon Lake aid station.
Loon Lake (mile 24) to Tell’s Creek (mile 30.5)
In this stretch, I met Jonathan from Texas. He and I ran together for a while and down to the Tell’s Creek aid station. It was good company for both of us. I stayed just ahead of him almost like a pacer and for a good hour or more, we talked without me ever really getting a good look at his face – just a voice along the trail. Thunderstorms were brewing as forecast and the skies turned gray.
The skies opened up as soon as I hit the aid station. Oh my. The rain was frustrating in working with my drop bag. I didn’t have any space to spread out and go through my drop bag for what I wanted. I wanted to be quick here, but not hurry too much.
I saw Jonathan at the aid station, and he and I made eye contact as if to say – “Let’s keep running together. I was game, but the rain and chaos separated us and I was on my own. Time to get on my way to the next stretch – a half-marathon to Wright’s Lake.
I ate a couple of quesadillas and two pieces of bacon hot off the grills, dripping with grease, donned my rain gear and headed down the trail. Less than a 1/4 mile out of the aid station, I doubled back for my aid bag to grab my plastic poncho as well. The rains were really coming down and I wanted to stay as dry as possible. Once situated again, I felt ready to get going, and got myself to accept that rain was just part of the challenge. There’s was nothing to do but accept it was there, and be thankful I had my rain gear, poncho and headlamp.
Tell’s Creek (mile 30.5) to WRight’s Lake (mile 44): Night-time & BROKEN-DOWN JEEPS ON THE RUBICON
I caught up to Jonathan and we put in a few more miles together, chatting more about podcasts and books, and just mostly passing the time along the slow miles. The rains stopped and the air temperature dropped. Somewhere along here, I donned on my long-sleeved shirt and headlamp. Night-time running had officially begun.
For context, it was about 7:30pm, which mean I’d been going for 10.5 hours, and still had at least another 8-9 hours of work to do before I would reach Sierra-at-Tahoe. This was a little unnerving to think about, but overall, while my legs where feeling tired, I felt capable and strong enough to keep going.
There was more of the Rubicon Trail, and what I remember from this stretch is climbing and jumping from boulder to boulder up and down the trail, occasionally slipping past Jeeps that were on the trail. A few Jeeps were broken down or stuck on rocks. Guys had headlamps and spotlights out trying to fix broken engines. Man, those guys are crazy to be out there… ????
I tried to keep up with a group of 4-5 runners that formed, and every so often I’d catch up and then they’d pull ahead. I noticed two guys were running together closely and I tried to stick with them, as they seemed pretty experienced in ultras and mentally there was a certain comfort in having someone else there in case something went wrong. Not that I’d expect them to help much, but it was dark, getting late and I was now in unchartered territory for me. The longest single day endurance event I’d done was the 14.5 hour Catalina Channel swim, so every step I took into the evening felt like I was going farther and farther out on a precipice to see what I could do and what I could handle.
At Wright’s Lake, I think I ate some decent food, but I can’t remember what. I do remember drinking a Starbucks Via packet that I had packed in my drop bag, and that was a good boost to get me going from the next stretch. It was a longer one, with only the Highway 50 water station for the next 19 miles, about 10-12 miles from Wright’s Lake, then “only” another 8 or so miles to Sierra-at-Tahoe. I packed plenty of Tailwind so that I could refuel at the water station for the last stretch to keep up with both hydration and calories.
At the station, I cleaned my feet and changed into dry socks here to keep them in good shape. So far, so good. While my shoes and outer layer socks and shoes where a little wet from the rain, my feet felt good and I figured I could go the 18-19 miles and finish the day in good shape. Every day without foot issues was a bonus out there.
Wright’s Lake (mile 44) to Highway 50 (mile 56.7): Wet Feet & Running into the Abyss
My clean, dry feet only lasted about a mile…
Soon after the aid station, I reached a creek crossing. So far, any of the creeks or stream crossings had rocks and trees to walk on to stay dry, but this crossing was a wider and deeper. No way to cross without walking through the ankle deep water.
F&CK.
After crossing, I plopped down and changed socks again but the outer pair of socks where drenched, as were my shoes so while my feet were clean from dust and debris, they were wet and would be wet for the next 16 miles or so. As soon as I changed my socks, I questioned if I should have waited in case there was another creek crossing. Oh well. So be it.
Past the crossing, I hit a good stretch for a while. The trail was pretty modest and I could actually do some light “running” here. At mile 46, I was “running” at a sub-12:00-min/mile pace. I caught up to the pair of runners that had been running tightly and I passed them – “I had some coffee at the last stop!” It was a good burst for a couple of miles, then my Garmin battery started to fade. I stopped to recharge it and they passed me back.
Out of the words, the course hit a long 3-mile downhill pavement stretch that led down to Highway 50. Pretty painful on the knees. The slope was steep enough that I couldn’t take a true running stride, so it was a lot of small steps to try to take advantage of the downhill, but even with poles, I could feel my knees aching. One of the guys I ran with suggested taking it easy – “I’m going to need my downhill legs later…”
We got to the bottom on the hill all the way down to 5500’ and I looked for the water aid station. My mileage and time was off because my Garmin was charging and I asked another runner where he thought we were on the course. He seemed to think the water station was about three miles ahead.
I ran ahead of the group a little, feeling antsy because I was pretty low on water, depending on the aid station to refill it. I found myself alone on the trail and now it was deep into nighttime. My Garmin was charged up by now so I tried to estimate miles and looking for the Highway 50 aid station felt like the quest for El Dorado. After a while, I realized that I must have missed it or it didn’t exist, and now it was just a matter of plugging through the next 8-10 miles to get to Sierra-at-Tahoe.
I was mentally tired, but overall, felt surprising good for having now gone 14-15 hours since the morning. Even the first day alone felt like a very, very long journey. It was strange and magical to think that I ran through the starting gate this morning, along the Rubicon Trail, dealt the thunderstorms, passed well beyond my previous personal single-day limits, still had 8-10 miles to do, and remarkably felt able and strong enough to work complete Day 1.
Highway 50 (mile 56.7) to Sierra-at-Tahoe (mile 62.9): Hallucinations: Wolves & Jim Morrison
Yep. I had ‘em.
I ran past one fallen tree and thought I saw a wolf perched, ready to pounce. I actually jumped backwards then tried to laugh it off. In my peripheral vision, I saw a poster of Jim Morrison and The Doors, and when I looked over, it was gone. When I looked back ahead, I saw it again. The trail seemed like a meandering mess, and I lost my sense of direction, just looking for the dragon flags every so often to make sure I was on course. Occasionally I’d see a headlamp ahead or behind me on the trail, so at least the next person wasn’t that far away.
I caught up to another runner – an guy from England. I was low on water and I asked him how much water he had. “I’ve got three bottles if you need some.” Good to know. We ran and walked along for a bit, not saying much of anything and then we hit a long, long climb. He hiked ahead of me and I followed his heels up the mountain. At one point he said – “Jeez, this thing is never-ending isn’t it?” Yes it was. It was dark, very dark, cold and about two o’clock in the morning. It just kept going and going and going, looking at my Garmin for elevation changes. We were well past 6500’ and still going higher. I rationed my water and nutrition and eventually we hit the top of the climb at 7200′ and descended down to the entrance to the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski area.
This stretch taught me a painful lesson about distance and time. When hiking, even fast hiking up a hill, I was going about 3 mph, or 20:00/min miles. That means you’re only three miles away from a destination and it’s going to take AN ENTIRE FREAKING HOUR TO GET THERE! Covering 60 miles and knowing I was so close to the end of the day, then knowing I still had another hour out there was rough on my psyche. I just told myself to keep moving forward and eventually I’d get there.
The road up to the aid station included one last climb. On the way up, I saw other runners heading back out. I really couldn’t fathom this. It was 19 hours since the race start, with 7 miles to the next aid and 23 miles to the next sleep station at Armstrong Pass that included a 4000’ climb. I couldn’t understand this decision. I’m guessing and hoping that these runners arrived to Sierra-at-Tahoe a couple of hours ahead of me, got some rest and started out again as I would do in a few hours.
Finally I reached the parking lot of the ski resort, turned the corner and saw the wonderful Christmas lights strung out on the ground leading into the ski resort.
It was 4:09am on Saturday morning. I had been going more than 19 hours, and made it to the first big checkpoint in my race, and was only nine minutes behind schedule on my 84-hour race plan. Pretty damn awesome.
While I was excited to be on schedule, I also accepted right there that it would be tough to keep this pace for the next three days. For now, I was just glad for the day to be done, and didn’t care if I slept for the next 5 or 6 or 8 hours to reboot. Plan be damned, I just wanted a respite from the never-ending trails.
Candice said Day 1 would be the toughest, so I kept telling myself that. I got through the first day and covered more ground and went longer – 62.9 miles and 19+ hours – than ever before. I already had won, and I knew I’d at least be able to start Day 2. I declared victory and got myself inside to figure out what to do next.
Sierra-at-Tahoe Aid Station: Wrinkled, White Feet, Wool Blankets & Catching ZZZZZZs
Other than to try to find some food and then sleep, I had no plan whatsoever coming into the aid station. I got my aid bag and dumped everything I had on a chair.
I pulled off my shoes and socks to check the damage. After 16 miles of running in wet socks, I had wet prunes for feet. The skin on the underside of my feet was white and wrinkled, and had I gone too much longer, the skin probably would have started to peel. I figured the best I thing I could do was to let them dry out completely before starting the next day.
I grabbed my contact case from my drop bag, ate what I could and asked for the sleeping station. Up the steps, I found camping pads strewn across the floor. I headed to the back corner away from the snoring, dumped my stuff – phone, contacts, trekking poles and headlamp – laid down. It was cold and drafty, and I was pretty disappointed there weren’t any of these fabulous wool blankets I’d heard Don Freeman talk about on the Trailrunner Nation Podcast. I was wearing my two running shirts and my jacket and laid down to sleep around 4:30am. I didn’t set an alarm, just accepting that I’d sleep as a long as I needed.
I woke up feeling groggy and checked my phone. 5:30am. I had to pee, so I walked down to the bathroom and headed back up to sleep some more. On the way, I found a plastic bin with the fabled wool blankets! Yes!
I grabbed a blanket and snuggled back to sleep. I woke up and saw it was daybreak outside, wondering how long I’d slept. It was only 6:30am – a whole two hours. I checked my legs for soreness. Not bad. Still pretty limber.
I sat up and felt refreshed somehow, thought – “Okay, let’s get on with it…” and Day 2 began…
I saw Todd, the “Head Medical Dude,” before the race start. I felt like I already knew him from the YouTube videos I watched from previous years. I introduced myself, jokingly saying – “It’s good to meet you and I hope I never see you.”
Todd said – “Oh… you’ll see me. But let’s hope it’s only to check in on you.”
He was right. I saw him EVERYWHERE – Tell’s Creek (mile 24), Sierra-at-Tahoe (mile 62.9), Heavenly (mile 103) and Tahoe City (mile 175). Incredible. Every time, he was positive and chill.
Sally helped me fill up my nutrition at Tell’s Creek then Wright’s Lake, making sure I had food and water.
Tim got me patched up at Sierra-at-Tahoe after the 19-hour first day on the course. He was my first real encounter with medical help, taping up a blister forming under my foot. “This is my ultra – those that can’t do, help.” The dude was just so positive and just seemed to love being there. Todd taped up my heel before I headed out for Day 2.
And I was told my feet were in great shape compared to others’…
Down at Housewife Hill, a guy with a red suit (can’t remember his name…), helped my mother-in-law to get me a super duper yummy breakfast of eggs and bacon to refuel before the long climb up Armstrong.
About seven hours later at the Armstrong, I came meandering in and John asked – “How are you feeling?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
Then he looked at me again – straight into my eyes and said – “Are you sure?”
He was right. I wasn’t necessarily bad, but I was pretty worn out after the climb up and over Armstrong. Then he said – “Roseanne is the medical person here – she’ll take care of you.”
Roseanne immediately came over and just sat for a moment to see how I was. She gave me a roller for my quads. Perfect timing after that climb. John got me a hamburger and Roseanne hung around just to make sure I took enough time to reset. Meanwhile, she tended to another runner that was shivering in the middle of the day because he hadn’t been eating. John and another volunteer (I can’t remember her name), helped me fill my nutrition bottles to get me on my way to Heavenly.
At Heavenly, another person whose name I can’t remember, found me an camping pad and a blanket so I could sleep a few hours. When I woke up to get going on Day 3, he was there to find me some first aid tape for more blisters. I remember someone asking at Heavenly – “Where’s Todd?” The answer way – “He’s asleep down in his Subaru.” Aha! The man IS human! 🙂
Rob, a Coast Guard veteran, checked me out at Spooner Summit (mile 123) on the morning of Day 3, taking care of a blister on the underside of my foot. I overheard here that the food tent volunteers had just run an overnight shift and were planning to be there until 9pm that night. Wow.
Knocking out a pedicure at mile 140, courtesy of Eric, while Marinka helped me figure out the next section of the course including the dreaded Powerline climb. (Photo Credit: Lena Sambucci 🙂
When Sean and I arrived to Tunnel Creek, Marinka and Eric felt like my personal race concierges. Eric was doubling as medical and chef, cooking up the world’s best grilled ham and cheese. Marinka checked me in and made sure Sean and I had everything we needed after a rough 17-mile stretch. (Turns out they’re both from Davis! Marinka remembered me from The Ridge 60k from back in August.)
When I arrived to Brockway Summit (a.k.a. Brockway BnB), Liz, Sean and Steve (I *think* Sean and Steve are the right names…) made sure from the first second that I got what I needed. Liz booked me an air mattress and asked when I wanted to sleep until so she could personally wake me up. Sean refilled all of my nutrition for the next morning, and Steve brought over a wash bucket and sponge ready to wash my feet. Seriously. The dude was about to wash my feet for me.
Me: “Dude – I can do that myself. You don’t have to wash my feet.”
Him: “No big deal. I’ve been doing it all day.”
Wow.
Many thanks to the Donner Running Party who sponsored the Brockway aid station.
At Tahoe City, I gobbled up a breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon that beat any New Jersey diner breakfast I’ve ever had. Todd tended to a nasty toenail blister. He just looked completely tired, and still had a smile on his face. Every time he worked on me, he’d say – “Let’s get you to the next aid station and to the finish line.”
Just before the final push from Stephen Jones to the finish, the crew at the aid station were all business to make sure everyone kept the going to the finish. I don’t remember names. I do remember the Cup of Soup, the refilling of my water bladder, a cup of ice cold Coca-Cola and ice for my water bottles.
There are so many more nameless volunteers that helped along the way. Thank you to each and every one of you!
I’m starting a series of open ‘Thank You’ letters to people that helped me finish the Tahoe 200 Endurance Run. These letters will be published in no particular order – just as people come to mind as I’m reviewing my race experience.
I listened to Eric’s interview the day before the Tahoe 200, and he shared advice he received from Linsey at a triathlon camp –
“When it starts to hurt, pick up the pace.”
I was on the Tahoe 200 course, around mile 130 on Day 3. My quads were burning and my feet were throbbing. I’d just finished a long climb and was really starting to feel the distance I’d covered over the past two and a half days. I sat for a break and hit a low point, thinking about the 70+ miles still ahead.
I had targeted an 84-hour time for the 205.5 miles, and given where I was and how I felt, I was resigned to scrapping the 84-hour target and just getting to the finish line.
But… I was tired of being tired, and tired of my legs and body screaming at me. The noise inside my head was intolerable.
Sean and me after getting from the Spooner Summit (mile 123) to Tunnel Creek Aid Station (mile 140).
As we began jogging (er… ambling) a descent , I remembered the advice Eric shared, and I said to Sean, my pacer – “Let’s pick it up and see what happens.”
We did for the next mile or two, and it hurt. It really f*cking hurt.
But that spurt put my mind in control for the rest of the race.
I kept chanting to body – “You’re not in charge – I’m in charge. You’re not in charge – I’m in charge. You’re not in charge – I’m in charge.”
Even better, the next day after 3 hours of sleep at Brockway Summit. I headed out at 2:30am for a 20-mile stretch down to Tahoe City. I starting flying (all relative, of course…) down the mountain, covering the 20 miles in 5.5 hours, almost beating my crew to the Tahoe City aid station.
On the next stretch from Tahoe City to Stephen Jones – another 20 miles included a long climb and descent – again I picked up the pace on the downhills, hitting 7:00-8:00-minute miles. It was pure flow.
In the last four miles of the race, thunderstorms were cracking overhead and I sped down the mountain at Homewood, again running 8:00 min/miles after covering more than 200 miles already, to get to the finish.
My 4th day out there was my strongest of the race, covering 50+ miles in 15 hours and beating my personal target of 84 hours by TWO HOURS – a finishing time of 82:00:16, good for 36th overall in my first 200. (I’ve never even done a 100 before and I registered up for the race six weeks ago…)
I hit the wall and broke through it.
Eric and Linsey – Thank you for being who you are, and sharing what you’ve learned with everyone else.
-Scott Sambucci
P.S. Eric – You totally need to do a 200. It’s like a 4-day dream. I still can’t believe everything I went through, overcame and conquered.
I expected to finish around 5.5 hours – with 6000’ of climbing and a slow approach to the day, I figured a 12:00 min/mile pace was reasonable and would leave me plenty of gas of the tank. This was a last training run before the Tahoe 200, and a chance to try out my newest assembly of gear.
Get on your Game Face!
Race Objectives:
Finish easy and strong: This race is about half of what I’ll need to do every day for four days at the Tahoe 200, so if I’m withering at the end of 26.2 miles and 6000’ of climbing, that’s not good.
Stay healthy: Don’t injure or strain any muscles, joints, ligaments or tendons, and don’t create an extended recovery time. I’ve got 11 days until the Tahoe 200 starting line. No reason to overdo on a training run this close to the race start.
Test my new gear: Trekking poles, a backpack with a hydration kit and all of the required gear (i.e. rain gear) I’ll carry for the Tahoe 200. I’m pretty I was the only runner out there with rain gear packed with them. (Lena joked that I should have taken it out and put it on at one of the rest stops.) The fully-loaded pack is 10 lbs, so that’s some extra weight for both the climbs and descents on the course.
Self-support: The Tahoe 200 has plenty of 15-20 mile stretches with no aid stations or water. I wanted to see how long 2 liters of water plus water bottles with nutrition plus real food would last.
Nutrition Plan: I was trying out Tailwind + Clif Bars. I used it a bit at The Ridge 60k two weeks ago, but later in the day. Today, I was starting with it to see if I’d respond differently. Usually I use 3Fu3l for the first 4-6 hours, then switch to a higher carb mix like Tailwind. I do really, really well with 3Fuel and so I just wanted to see if there was a noticeable difference by going with Tailwind.
Foot Care: Avoid blisters and hot spots, and treat them quickly if any pop up.
Pre-Race:
Complete with rain gear. You know, for those 100-degree August days on Mt. Diablo.
My super duper crew.
I had company today! Lena and Benjamin came out there with me, which was AWESOME! So much fun to share these days with them. Parking was right there at the race starts – no shuttles or long walks. Woohoo!
We arrived about an hour before race start. I grabbed my stuff and geared up in the [long] bathroom line. Only three stalls and no Port-o-Johns out there, but the line moved fast and the bathrooms where very clean.
I collected my gear and then Benjamin participated in the Kids’ Run – a 50-yard sprint – then I headed to the starting line. No hiccups in the race prep. I wanted to keep it relaxed and mellow, treating the day as just another training run.
Race Start & The First Climb (miles 1-9)
The first two miles were a nice easy incline. I jogged out slowly until mile 3 when the course inflected upwards and the hiking began. There were some pretty steep sections which made even a light jog difficult so I focused on using my trekking poles and establishing a rhythm. I need to get used to 17:00-20:00 miles because I’ll have lots of those (and then some) in two weeks.
I skipped the first aid station at mile 5 after 2000’ of climbing and kept going to the peak at mile 7. Specular views atop Mt. Diablo from an observation deck, which I took in for all of five seconds, then back down to the same aid station at mile 9. I filled up one nutrition bottle and then headed down to the bottom of the mountain.
Descent #1 (miles 9-13.5)
The downhill was equally steep, which was frustrating. With the 10 lbs of weight plus the steepness, my knees were taking a beating. I keep my steps short and used my poles to take some of the weight off my joints. I did bust my ass one time on a particularly steep grade. I lost my footing and slid. Nothing terrible, and a good lesson to stay patient and to feel a fall because I’m sure I’ll have a couple of those…
Once down at the mile 13 aid station, I plopped down to change my socks. My feet were pretty dusty – I was wearing Injinji no-show socks and no gaiters, so with the sliding and direct, my feet got dirty quickly. (I’ll definitely be wearing gaiters in Tahoe, plus probably an overpair of socks to reduce on dust and particles. I rewarded myself with a few Peanut M&Ms and some stretching, then heading out for the second half of the day.
The next couple of miles where slight rolling hills where I could jog on the single track and fire trails, and generally make some good progress before the next big climb.
Climb #2 (miles 13-21)
This is where I wanted to quit. Around mile 16, the day was heating up. The high temperature was forecast for 105, and it was already well into the 90s by now. I had been out there 4+ hours and knew I had a lot of work to do – another 2000’ of climbing. I stopped and did some breathing exercises which helped for the next mile, then got myself to the mile 17 aid station.
Me: “What’s the course like from here?”
Aid Station Volunteer: “Up.”
F&ck. Another 2.9 miles up – more climbing on top of the climbing.
Taken around mile 8. Definitely wasn’t so chipper 10 miles later…
At mile 18, I, sat down on the course for a minute again. My groin muscles started cramping and I wanted to quit. Okay. Here it was. The real test of why I was out there.
But I couldn’t quit, more than anything because I was in the middle of nowhere and it’s not like I could hop in an Uber and head to the finishing area. This was the mental test I needed to just keep going.
I could feel the heat coming off the rocks and ground, as much of the course was exposed with nothing but yellow grass all around. Every so often, an oasis of trees covered the course for 20 yards or so and breeze would blow. When I noticed the breeze, I took off my hat to let my head cool down and to try to enjoy whatever relief was available. I passed a few racers along this stretch – people walking even on the flats. I had a couple of small mental and physical peaks in there. They were short-lived, but noticeable and that made me feel good about my overall fitness to feel that jolt of positive energy.
I kept drinking fluids – rotating water and nutrition and slowly and reached the mile 21 aid station. By then, I was feeling pretty tired so I sat down for a few minutes to relax and take in a Coca-Cola. The climbing was done for me. (The 50k course headed all the way back up to the mountain peak 1000’ up from there.) Just five miles down to the finish. I knew the five miles would be steep, so that meant another hour. I was already at 5.5 hours, so a good hour behind what I expected going into the day.
The Final Descent (miles 21-26.2)
Mile 21 was on a single track with some mellow undulations, then I hit a 2-mile stretch that was as steep going down as it was going up because, well, it was the same trail… I used it as a chance to practice more with my trekking poles and thought about getting down to under two miles left where I knew the course leveled off and I could jog it in.
Once down to mile 24.5, I hit the more even terrain but was feeling pretty tired and ready to be done for the day. I did a walk-jog strategy – jogging for 100 count, then walking for a 50-count. I extended the 100 count to sets of 2-3 and kept plodding along. I was hovering at 15:00 min/mile pace overall. I passed a hiker coming up the trail who said – “One mile to go…” I kept the rhythm and passed one last racer with about 1/4 mile to go. I jogged it in across the finish and was happy to be done at 6:35.
Lena and Benjamin were there, along with Kim and her kids. All I could say was – “Oh man. Sorry that took so long.”
Six and half hours. That was a long day. For context, two weeks ago, I ran 39 miles in 6:32 at The Ridge 60k– an extra 13 miles in the same time as these 26 miles took today.
After dumping my gear and dosing my head at a water spigot, I heard my name called –
“Scott Sambucci – Age Group, First place.”
What? Really? Wow. The patience paid off. Don’t know how many were in my age group – probably fewer than ten, but one must be present to win. My first 1st-place age group medal. Nice.
My first Age Group win.
Recovery
Once home, I showered then stretched for a good 30 minutes – lacrosse ball and foam roller – across my leg muscles then took a 16-minute ice bath to reduce any swelling and help with recovery.
I felt good the rest of the day. I little bit of stiffness as the night wore on, but overall I felt limber and good. I slept through the night and today I feel good. A little sore, but definitely good.
What I Learned:
Nutrition: Definitely going back to 3Fuel for the first few hours. I didn’t feel badly or have any adverse effects to Tailwind. Just feels like I do better with 3Fuel at the start, plus switching in the day keeps my palette fresher.
Patience: There were some looooong climbs out there. That’s just the way it is. Keep moving forward. For every steep grade, there’s relief. Eventually. It’s good to know that I’ve experienced slow miles and could do a race without racing or worrying about my finishing time.
Gear: I LOVE my trekking poles. So, so, so awesome. Worth every penny. I couldn’t self-support for the day because of the heat, but I feel good about what I can carry if the temperature is 20-30 degrees cooler.
Fitness: That I was out there in 100 degree heat, finished strong with very little soreness is really super. I’m as ready as I can be for the Tahoe 200. Let’s do this.
If I look pretty proud of myself in this photo, because I was. :0)
I’m a happy guy after 32.76 miles on the trail
I took 2nd in my AG and 6th overall with a time of 5:47. Going in, I absolutely wanted to finish under 6:00, and thought that a sub-5:30 shouldn’t been a problem. Had I run exactly 31 miles, I would have bagged a 5:30, but alas, my Garmin showed that I ran nearly 33 miles because of the course and missing a turn. The overall pace per mile is more important to me than the total time.
Most importantly, I felt GREAT at the finish. Yes, I was tired and cramping, but no injuries or physical issues during the race, or in the days after. I took Sunday and Monday off, did a light four miles on Tuesday, a harder six on Wednesday and turned out a solid Cross-Fit workout this AM to celebrate my birthday.
Doing Difficult Things
Tucking my son into bed on Friday night, I told him – “Tomorrow morning, I’m going to leave early and won’t be here in the morning. I’m going to do a race and I’ll see you in the afternoon.”
“I don’t want you to go. Do you have to?”
“I want to go.”
“Why do you want to do?”
“Because sometimes you have to do difficult things.”
“Why?”
“To make yourself a better person.”
“Why does it make you a better person?”
“Because when you do hard things, it makes you work really hard to see how well you can do. Next time, you guys can come with me.”
That’s probably the closet I’ve come to answering a question I get a lot – “Why do you do these races?”
Race day is an evaluation, a checkpoint. It’s the culmination of months of training and a chance to see how hard I’ve really worked compared to how hard I think I’ve work, and to see that hard work payoff – the intervals, Kettle bell swings, box jumps, Wall Balls, eating well and maintaining discipline each week.
Less than two months ago, I was hampered by hamstring problems and an overall sense of stiffness. I committed in April to fixing myself with dietary changes and taking time for my Self to visit my doctors about the state of my health. I jammed in workouts at lunch and planned long hilly runs in San Francisco, running up Hyde Street and Divisadero just because they were the steepest hills I could find.
Races test my focus and mettle – how much do I want to improve and be well. How badly do I want to finish a race to feel that sense of completion?
I guess that’s why I do these, but I still don’t really know…
“Am I really going to do this?”
Then race morning happens.
I slept horribly Friday night, tossing and turning, waking up at 3:30, thirty minutes my 4:00am alarm. Laying in bed, I asked myself – “Am I really going to do this?”
But I pulled myself out of bed.
I grabbed my gear and hopped in the car. I was barely out of my neighborhood and I thought to myself – “Am I really going to do this? Am I going to drive an hour an a half at 4:30 am just to run 30+ miles over 5500’ of hills?”
Then the song “Try Anything” played from my music list.
When the race started and I heard my Garmin beep the first mile, and I asked myself – “Am I really doing this? Am I really going to do this 30 more times over the next 5-6 hours?”
But I had already started. Just keep going.
At the mile 12 aid station preceding a five-mile climb to the turnaround point, I asked myself – “Am I really going to do this?”
Yep. Just get to the turn-around and I’ll have this course licked.
And so it goes. Moment by moment. Segment by segment. Mile by mile.
A Brush with Greatness
About fifteen minutes before the race start, I saw Dean Karnazes. The dude grabbed a racing bib. He was racing! Really cool. It’s one part of endurance racing that I love, whether it’s Ironmans or ultra-marathons, everyone races the same exact course. No one escapes the same test.
Dean was very chill with people talking with him and taking photos. Seemed like he knew of the amateur racers there. I walked up and said – “Dude. This is so cool that you’re out here.”
That’s Dean just ahead of me.
He said, “Well, I was in town and I figured what the heck? We’ll run some miles out there together today.” I wanted to snag a photo but it was less than ten minutes from the race start, and I felt like he deserved a little space.
I ran near him for the first two miles until the 50k/50-mile course split and that was the last I saw him for the day. He finished the 50-miler in 10:22, a solid effort for a guy that probably hasn’t done any hard training or competitive racing in a long time. “Ho-hum. I guess I’ll knock out a 50-miler with 10,000’ of climbing today…”
The Course
It’s and out and back course, starting at Fort Cronkite in the Marin Headlands, over a long climb to Tennessee Valley, over another climb down to Pirate’s Cove and out to Muir Beach. From there, it’s a five-mile climb up Cardiac to the turnaround a few miles before Stinson Beach.
Heading down to Pirate’s Cove
I like the out-and-back because I knew that once I reached the turnaround, the biggest climb was behind me and I knew exactly where I was on the course on the way back. Mentally, it made the second half much easier mentally and physically.
Funny Story of the Day
A few years ago after I finished 13th in a half-marathon trail run. A couple years later, I finished 5th overall in that same race. Since then, I can’t help but to pay attention to my race position. I never expect to win a race, but I know that if I’m fit and run a good race, I can finish near the top of my age group and in the top 10-15% of all racers. I think of myself as being the slowest of the fast racers, or maybe more like being one of the fastest of the slow people.
This was a small race, about thirty racers each for the 50k and 50-mile course – so it was pretty easy to know where I was relative to the field.
I started the race bunched with a pack of 5-6 runners. Occasionally we’d run together (and miss a course turn together, adding another 3/4 mile to the course for us), then we’d break apart on the climbs when two of the guys pushed harder on the uphills. I’d see these two guys at the next aid station, heading out just as I was pulling in. I kept my stops short to reduce dead time on the clock.
Around mile 14, I saw the the lead runner heading down the mountain. By the time I hit the turnaround at mile 16.5, I only remembered counting 3-4 racers passing by me on the way back down, and I saw two faster guys from our pack still at the stop. I’d caught up to them again. I quickly refilled my nutrition, then jumped in the port-o-john then headed back down to scoot ahead of them.
I knew from an earlier stretch that I was a notch faster than both of them on the flats and gradual downhills, while they were faster on the steep descents and uphills. The next five miles were all downhill and I knew that with a push, I could build a cushion before the last two climbs where they would make up time on me.
I hammered along this stretch, dropping 7:58-7:53-8:16 in consecutive miles and feeling really, really strong. I checked back up the hill every once in a while and never got a glimpse – my strategy was working! I love it when a plan comes together.
At the bottom of the descent, I approached the next aid station which marked about 13 miles to go. By then, I felt a little thrashed from the push but excited that the last part of the race was ahead. I unscrewed my nutrition bottle and looked ahead across a pedestrian bridge leading to the next climb.
Guess who I saw? Yup.
They must have started AHEAD of me from the turnaround when I jumped in the port-a-john. F&ck. It was a little depressing at the time, and pretty funny now that I look back at it.
All in all, it was a good thing. Mentally in that stretch, I was running from ahead, which forced me to push more aggressively. Had I known they were ahead of me, I might have pulled back thinking there was no way for me to catch them. That wrong information push pushed me to work harder than I would have otherwise and test myself.
The Finish
The last 9-10 miles were a tough slog, but because I knew the course from the day and previous races, I was able to break the remaining miles into 2-3 mile chunks.
I worked back to the Tennessee Valley rest stop (~mile 25) where the station worker told me I had five miles to go. That just didn’t see right. I knew the very last aid station was two miles from the finish, and ain’t no way that station was only three miles from this point. She said she was sure, but I still didn’t believe her.
I’m glad I didn’t. There were, in fact, seven miles to go from that aid station. I pulled into the last station only to see another racer from the early pack right on my heals. I hadn’t seen her the last ten miles and was really surprised to see her pushing. Dammit. Now I had to hammer the last two miles of rolling hills.
I did hammer, dropping back into a sub-8:00 mile pace for the last mile to make sure she didn’t pass me. I didn’t care that she was a she. I just couldn’t have someone pass me that late in any race on principle. One of my strengths is my ability to pace myself and finish strong, and having anyone sneak by me after five and half hours out there is unacceptable.
I finished the race about two minutes ahead of her, delightfully accepted by medal for my 2nd place AG finish, packed up and headed home. My race was done.
Training Regimen & Diet
The results from training continue to surprise me. I’ve been running 20-30 mile WEEKS, and finished a 33-mile DAY with 5500’ of climbing. My longest run since January was 12.5 miles two weeks ago.
I’m a devout believer in three aspects to my training:
1 – Diet & Nutrition: Mostly low carb throughout the week with one cheat day on Saturday. I dropped into a Paleo diet for four weeks in April. The week prior to the race, I upped my fat intake and have been eating fruit as a carb source these past couple of weeks.
Race morning, I ate three scrambled eggs and two bananas before the race, then only used 3fu3l nutrition throughout the race. It wasn’t until the mile 26 aid station that I ate any solid food – 3Fuel only to that point. My body’s adapted to fat-burning mode so I don’t need much food or calories during the race.
2 – Run Intervals: Nearly all of my runs include dropping into regular speed work intervals, ranging from 1-minute drops every mile to 1/4 to 1/2 mile intervals with a 1/2 to 1-meirest between. This cooks my legs and pushes my heart rate. I feel like I get as much from a 8-10 mile run with intervals as I used to get from a 15-mile long run at a steady pace. Much more efficient.
3 – Cross-Fit & Weightlifting: I’ve long subscribed to this approach, and really focused on this during last year’s Uberman training. Oddly, I’m most sore post-race in my UPPER body, which is awesome. It means that I’m recruiting all of my body to run. I’ve got a strong core and upper body (for an endurance athlete…) and I felt strong enough to drop a 7:47 mile at mile 30, and finished the last mile at a 7:30 pace.
What’s Next?
I’ve got my sights on a 100-miler this year. That was the original goal back in March, which got pushed back from injury. The Pine-to-Palm 100 looks incredibly hard.
This week, the Uberman race director pinged me to see if I’d like to join a relay team as their runner. Damn. He had to send me that email… Going back to do the Badwater course is still in my crawl. I just may need to do that.
In the mean time, I’m volunteering at the Western States 100 mile 65 aid station to experience that race first hand.
I stopped to snap a few pictures just to force myself to appreciate what I was seeing, with the thought that I may never in my life be back on this trail to see what I was seeing. Too many times in situations like this, I’d think – “I’ll take a picture next time” – and too often, there hasn’t yet been a next time.
I took another break along the trailside, laying back on a rock. I couldn’t sleep but at least I reset a bit. A couple of runners passed me, and one asked if I was doing okay just as I was started to doze off. I was a little perturbed that he interrupted my rest, but really, this was just me being grouchy and instead I considered should be grateful that other runners were aware enough to check in with me. We were miles and miles from anything resembling civilization so if any one of us got in trouble, the only help we could rely on was each other.
Once I got myself going, I told myself to just take it slow and make whatever progress I could on the downhill. By now, the sun setting across a valley to my left, and ahead of me stood a mountain with numerous spiked peaks decorating its side.
As the sun set over the mountain, I sat to rest then headed back down the trail. A few hundred feet down trail, I realized I’d left my gloves on the rock and had to backtrack. It was a good time to get my headlamp on for the last push down to Heavenly. When I pulled my headlamp from my backpack, it was already clicked on. Oh man.
As we reached Loon Lake, I stopped with about 10-15 others to refill my water bottles from the lake. I didn’t really need the water, but thought it would be a good break and a good exercise to get in the habit of getting water – using my water tablets and generally staying disciplined to keep my water bottles and water bladder full. Late in the day, I’d have to learn this lesson the hard way…
