trail-running

6 months ago packed my iPad for Hawaii – sole reason: Bighorn sign-up, opening day January 5th.

Winter turned Spring, Spring to early Summer.  Negative temps/snow replaced with sunshine & 80’s.  Slowly increased my miles, marathoning much of the Northeast & Mid-Atlantic while training.  Saturday’s the day.  Bighorn reality.

One-way flight to Gillette.  How many people can say that?  Boarded 10:20pm, touched down an hour later.  Red state.  Rode behind a bold Trump lid, ‘Make America Great Again’.  Lucky for me I live in Colorado.  Pretty great there.

[Already secured a return ride home.  Runner friends travelled early, acclimatizing this week.]

Surprisingly, whole lotta hotel options in Gillette.  Coal mining, oil, natural gas & antelope – town’s claim to fame.  Sleeps at the Arbuckle Lodge.  Nice hotel, hearty cowboy breakfast.  Cowboys still live & die in Wyoming.  Boots, hat, crazy good manners.

Hour-half commute to Sheridan.  Hotel check-in, tenth-mile from tomorrow’s 2:45am school bus pick-up.  Booked early, GREAT digs, PERFECT location.  Last-minute food reconnaissance.  Added a pound of microwaved turkey bacon to tomorrow’s drop bags.

Fresh shoes, dry socks, 2 half-bottles of Imodium & a pound of turkey bacon – ready, ready for Bighorn.

Trail race registration, barrage of stressed-out texts messaged to Sis, bed by 8.  Tomorrow we run.

 

 

 

Not all stories have a Cinderella finish but ALL add fabric to the journey.

Saturday’s ultra in Colorado’s Golden Gate Park a short hour-15 from home.  Coordinated bib pick-up Wednesday, short drive from the American Mountaineering Center (formerly Golden High School, venue for the nite’s Trails in Motion Film Festival).  Easy peasy, check done.

50k Start times: 6am, 7am & 8am.

Past couple 50Ks have finished 6 hours or under – only my first trail trek in Moab did I exceed 8 hours.  However after listening to the chatter (preceded by a flurry of emails), opted for the early early Saturday option.  Would also help avoid [a] good portion of the day’s summer heat.

3am wake-up, walked Ro, packed my ultra vest.  Neighbor dropped me near the Start, approximately 4 miles of the Visitors Center (thanks Larry).  Prepacked 2 drop bags: one for mile 17.4, other at the Finish line.  First Colorado run of 2018.  Warm, thin-air trail, elevation 9500ft.  Good prep for Bighorn.  Late add to the calendar, ensure a June marathon finish (extend streak to 55 months).

Beautiful scenic start.  Colorful Colorado.  Most eye catching of 2018.

Single track trail.  Aspen & canyon walls, up-n-down day bouldering.  Toughest trail run of my life.  Looking back, the whole thing’s a blur.  More hike than run.  All UP, all DOWN, not much in between.  Couple switchbacks, few stretches of Aspen, whole lotta boulder.  Elevation gain similar a 14er hike.

 

Nervous start but digged the temps – upper 40’s, my kinda weather.  Despite being my third race in 6 days, legs/mind felt strong at the first Aid Station.  No delay, no dillydally.  Refilled my water bottle, kept moving.

Start to Aid Station #1 (5.0 miles) — Enjoy a flat 0.25 mile run up the dirt road before reaching single-track trail. At mile 1.95 begin a steady, single-track climb through a cool, lush valley, crossing the stream 11 times. At mile 3.4 leave the stream and begin a 0.4 mile lung-burning climb. This section is steep but short. Keep pushing; it will be over before you know it. At mile 4.0, turn right at the junction for a short 0.2 mile climb to the top. The descent is rocky but fast. Take a moment to enjoy the great view of Mt. Evans to the south. Descend the 4 or so switch backs to Aid Station #1 at mile 5. Fuel up here for a steady 1,000 foot climb over the next 3 miles.

Long 7 miles between aid stations.  Multiple climbs kicked my butt.  All UP, all DOWN, crazy steep.  Lotta pressure from behind, folks running the downhills blind.  Lotta wasted time, dropping off trail/hugging a tree, letting the faster runner pass.  Sunshine, jump in temp, altitude sickness.  Altitude sickness?  Me?  NEVER an issue hiking ANY Colorado peak, yet today: headache & nausea.  Body jarred, rushing over rock.  Lead legs now, quick feet gone.  5 miles from my Drop Bag – salty snacks & Imodium awaiting, couldn’t stomach day’s Aid Station offerings (lotta sweet, little salt, no protein).  Walked, rehydrated, kept moving.  Short electrolytes.

Aid Station #1 to Aid Station #2 (6.9 miles) — Climb the Buffalo trail (double-track dirt road) for 1.2 miles to the metal gate. Take advantage of the rest rooms here if you need them. You are heading west, .5 miles up the Snowshoe Hare trail to the Aspen Meadows Camp Ground. Take a hard right at the bottom of the hill. If you cross the stream across the road you have gone too far. Continue the steady climb up to Mule deer trail. Take a moment to enjoy the great views of the divide. Turn left on Coyote which begins one of the toughest climbs of the race. Aid Station 2 is just .1 mile ahead on Mountain Base Road. This is a great place for crew, friends and family to meet you.

Puke fest, mental breakdown.  NOW here come the elites (8am start), argh.  AMAZING athletes.  Even MORE time wasted, standing aside waiting for runners to pass than slogging/hiking/walking.  No pace, nothing steady.  Temps heating up.  Complete mental blowup, super disappointing.  2 of the athletes on my Twitter feed raced past, flying over rock.  WOW!

Aid Station #2 to Aid Station #3 (4.9 miles) — This climb up Coyote is tough, but the reward is worth it. Breath taking views of the divide to the west – so be sure to turn around and enjoy them when you get to the top of this 1.4 mile climb. The top is a rock scramble, so follow the cairns and trail markings, keep your head up and you will stay on the trail. Over the next 2 miles you will descend 1,100 ft…this section is technical – travel at a comfortable speed, keep your eyes ahead and pick up your feet! No Diggers! After the long, fast descent you will come up onto a junction on your left that traverses over to Horseshoe. Cross the foot bridge and turn right for .1 miles to Aid Station #3 and your drop bags at Fraser Meadows Trailhead.

120 marathons under my belt.  Today however, felt like the ultimate impostor.  Far beyond my skill level.  Too technical, too quick.  Too much elevation, too much everything.  Felt heavy, large, overweight.  No sugar-coating today’s result.  Tough one.

 

Aid Station 3 arrival.  No mas.  Flagged down an official & called it.  Less than 5 hours in, DNF.

Too many runners, too tight a trail.  Just couldn’t imagine another 15 miles.  380 participants on a single-track hiking path; far too crowded, notta lotta fun.  Crazy beautiful/technical course.  For me however, not a good fit.

 

 

Dear Dirty 30’ers,

I hope you are recovering well and relishing in your accomplishment.  Regardless of which distance you  raced at the Dirty 30 this past weekend, the challenge was real and the courses were tough. 

 

KEENAN HAGA #99  STATUS: DNF

 

START  6:08:12 AM

AID 1   Time: 7:15:49 AM      Split: 1:07:36.66

AID 2   Time: 9:02:44 AM     Split: 1:46:54.98

AID 3   Time: 10:57:18 AM     Split: 1:54:33.99

 

 

50k Overall Results

  1. 15 50k      Jackson Brill   M         19        *      4:35:52.1     8:52
  2. 24 50k     Chris Mocko M        32        *      4:46:15.7     9:12
  3. 18 50k      Brian Condon M         31         *      4:51:33.9     9:23
  4. 69 50k      Seth Demoor  M         32       4:51:49.8        9:23
  5. 1096 50k      Dylan Marx     M         26       4:57:56.3     9:35
  6. 203 50k      Jonathan Rea M         26        5:07:26.3        9:53
  7. 1092 50k      Adam Loomis M         26        5:10:47.6     10:00
  8. 21 50k     Timothy Olson M        34       5:11:30.4      10:01

 

 

One of the [many] benefits of living in Boulder County, is accessibility to events like trail-running film festivals.  Of the 8 films shown Wednesday, 3 were shot within 15 minutes of my home.  Pretty sweet, huh?

Second time this month, out late on a ‘school’ nite.  Go ahead & laugh.  I’m an early riser…it’s when I do my running 🙂

 

Last week’s “Snowman Trek” featured 2 ultra runners I regularly follow on Twitter: Anna Frost & Tim Olson.  Outside my local AMC Theatre, Timothy Olson [was] interviewed LIVE & later, took questions before the film started.  WOW, right?

[Other runners spoke from a feed in Australia.  Lucky for me Olson is a Boulder resident.]

 

The Snowman Trek follows a team of Ultra-marathon runners (Ben Clark, Anna Frost, and Tim Olson) as they journey to Bhutan to set a speed record on the world’s hardest trek. Bhutan’s high Himalayan landscape is not known for athletic pursuits and its culture must be persuaded to let the runners pursue their dream. The result is a shared accomplishment and an adventure that is always teetering on the edge of total failure.

 

THREE featured runners took the stage in Golden for Q&A – including Moab 240 winner, Courtney Dauwalter.  If you’re not familiar with Courtney’s win last October, posted excerpts below.   240 as in 240 MILES.  Win as in OVERALL winner, more than 10 hours ahead of second place.  Talked with Courtney ahead of the festival; enjoyed her laid-back responses to questions following the film.

$20 ticket paid admission for all 8 films.  LOVE LOVE my Colorado life ❤

 

How Courtney Dauwalter Won the Moab 240 Outright

trailrunnermag.com/people/news/courtney-dauwalter-wins-moab-240.html

 

The Moab 240 2017 in Utah, USA finished on October 17th with a 112 hour cut-off. The course follows the Colorado River, running through canyons and into the Abajo Mountains and circling back around to the La Sal Mountains to reach 11,000 feet and finishes with the Porcupine Rim Trail back to Moab.

 

The race was won by Courtney Dauwalter from Colorado with a performance that stunned the ultrarunning community by finishing 10 hours before the first man, Sean Nakamura, arrived at the finish line. Setting a new course record of 57:55:13, Courtney slept for 21 minutes, which will take some beating.

 

Pos      Name  Time

1          Courtney Dauwalter    57:55:13

2          Sean Nakamura        67:50:10

3          Michael McKnight     68:26:38

 

Boundary Breaker (promo clip)

 

Trails in Motion Film Festival – 8 films that are certain to inspire!

 

Wednesday May 30

American Mountaineer Center, Golden, CO

6:00 – 7:00 pm – Meet and greet with 3 of the athletes who are featured in 3 of the films:

 

Adam Campbell – Adam Campbell’s life has revolved around motion. As one of the world’s top ultra runners, his mantra has been simple: ‘If you’re not moving, you’re dead’. This life of movement came to an abrupt halt on August 30th, 2016, when he experienced a near fatal accident while attempting a traverse through Roger’s Pass in BC. Adam tumbled nearly 100 feet, sustaining 4 broken vertebrae, a crushed iliac crest and deep lacerations to the bone.  Ten months later, Adam finds himself at the start line of the Hardrock 100, a hundred mile ultra race he medalled at in the past. It’s within these hundred miles that Adam discovers what he’s looking for won’t be found on the results board.

 

Courtney Dauwalter – What does it take for the human body and mind to run more than 155 miles in a day? When Courtney Dauwalter sets foot on a trail, it’s to see what human boundary she can break next. Courtney is not only the American female record holder for the most miles completed in 24 hours, She is crushing every race she races.  She won the competitive Run Rabbit Run by a couple hours and ran the last 10 miles blind.  Six weeks later she won the Moab 240 outright by more than 10 hours.  What drives her? How does she push herself to complete such a drastic feat of endurance? Boundary Breaker takes a look into the humble Courtney Dauwalter’s life and gives the viewer a behind-the-scenes look at this talented runner.