Independence Day 2019, a Thursday. Add: an unexpected Friday holiday from work. Stir in: a summer weekend. dash of: the Pacific Northwest. Recipe for my first QUADZILLA. Never ever more than two marathons back-to-back (doubled twice in 2016, both times returned injured). 2019, my time.
Whatta journey. QUADZILLA? 4 marathons in 4 days. #luckyinlife
Late Wednesday PDX touchdown. Portland Oregon. Left leg taped calf-to-hamstring. Probably shoulda skipped the South Dakota ‘bonus‘ run after QUADZILLA-registering in May. Body still recovering from Saturday’s Black Hills ultra. Decision made, in the past, forward move. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.
Short 5-hour sleeps. Woodlark Hotel, ‘the House of Welcome’. Early start; Day 1 destination: Sauvie Island. Summer lush, summer green & summer COOL. Miraculously, a July race series with runner-friendly weather. And BERRIES. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, marionberries – Oregon berry OVERLOAD.
Bib pick-up at Sauvie’s Pumpkin Patch. Rental car clocked an add’l 30 minutes shuteye. 6:30 marathon start. Body still tight, first run since Saturday. Ice 3 days, heat yesterday. Day strategy: slow & steady, reassess after 2 miles. No Day 2, Day 3 focus. Today – this day – is marathon day. Thursday, Sauvie Island Oregon.
National Anthem, countdown 10 to 1. Cool, comfortable Oregon. First road miles since Colfax. Expecting to bake on the back-end – but WOW, whatta beautiful Start. Muscles warmed; aches-n-pain gone. Strong & steady thru mile 12. Fog burned off, exposing sheep, island-fronted houses and multiple berry farms. Holiday-morning quiet, leafy tree overhang & FLAT. Couldn’t have a scripted a more comfortable July run.
Half done, half to go. Hamstrings tight. Dialed back pace – slow ‘n steady, no injuries. 4 day run-repeat (4 days after Black Hills). Walk-jogged thru 16. 10-min mile to marker 17. BEST aid station of the weekend – STRAWBERRIES. Plates & plates of ’em. Stopped & feasted B-I-G, 9 or 10 in my belly. Easy to digest, natural sugar boost. Berries do a body good 🍓
Strong thru 19. 20. 21. Temps warming, passed markers 22, 23. Outta gas, tank empty, aid station stopped mile 24. Mentally strong, legs a-strugglin’. Unexpected relief found in an irrigation sprinkler (after the initial ‘cold water’ shock). Brrr, ahh – & timely.
Jog-pace mile, Day One FINISH. Marathon 153, my 3rd in Oregon.
Showered, legs iced. Afternoon’d at the movies (short walk from hotel). Popcorn, Coke & a smile 🙂
Day 2 destination: Cook Park, Tigard.
2019 Foot Traffic Flat
SAUVIE ISLAND PUMPKIN PATCH
Jul 04, 2019
Name BIB RANK TIME HOMETOWN
K R HAGA 20060 159 4:53:56 Louisville, CO
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- Sauvie Island Bridge
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- same-day bib queue
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- 10-to-1 countdown
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- marathon START
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- scenic Sauvie
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- Baa Ram Ewe 🐑
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- Stars-n-Stripes proud
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- fresh BERRIES ❤️
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- Independence Day 🇺🇸
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- Day One FINISH
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- Quadzilla Thursday
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- Legs iced, Day 2 ready
Badlands-Sturgis quik trip. No regret, DIG our National Parks. Hour interstate to Rapid City, 30 minutes more to Sturgis. RV Park bib pick-up, 10 minutes to spare. WHEW! Tomorrow almost an expensive ‘free’ day in South Dakota. Uncluttered mind, ready for my 2nd trail xtreme of the month.
Sleeps mile-half from our school bus pick-up. Morning more reminiscent of Bighorn than Deadwood. Trail cliques vs Maniac social-hour. Different motors. Maniacs are time-obsessed (BQ & pace splits). Trail runners, pure adrenaline junkies. Elevation climbs & battle scars (blood, broken limb talk).
Hour-twenty ride on forest dirt. Summer GREEN, African Queen dense. Crazy beautiful ride. High SUN & 6000ft elevation. ‘Tis the season, gonna be a warm one. H-O-T sizzle! 🌞
Dalton Lake trailhead. Cheered three 100-mile bibs before our 50K Start. Out there all-night, WOW! Never, ever? I wish. Goal stuck in my head. Next 50-mile try: Tunnel Hill, this November.
Hydration vest readied. Comfortable 70-degree morning. Last minute instructions. Right, quick left, then diamond-follow’d the Centennial Trail. Marker ‘89’ – well defined, easy read.
Long hike day. Lotta climb. Whereas Bighorn was crazy high elevation & straight UP, Black Hills quad-punished with multiple climb switchbacks. End of the day, similar gain stats – climbs just 4x as often. No water cups, no crew. Walk out or learn to mountain dwell. Trail day.
Run highlight? FIVE water crossings. Ropes strung to steady the trek across. CRAZY FUN. Way outta my day-to-day norm. Broke up the run, cool water REFRESH. Not just the legs – mental refresh too. Dipped my hat, washed off face salt. XTREME. Temp upper 80’s, sun HIGH and five back-to-back river baths. Plugged-in again.
7 hours, 18 miles. Dense jungle, wilderness isolated, no more human interaction. Popped on tunes to quiet the demons (filter out negativity). 11:25 my record long, Bighorn 2018 DNF.
9 hours, stomach bonk. Meadow laid 15 minutes; tall grass surrounded. Rolled to my side, emptied. Side of my face. In my beard. Yep, pretty. Not another soul. Even my Garmin died.
UP. Right leg spasm’d, popped another salt pill. Uncontrolled cramping. Walk’d it out, more painful to stop than keep moving. Reality: warm day but dodged yesterday’s Badlands heat. Overcast skies every exposed stretch. For us believers: felt a higher power moved clouds, brought cool water streams EXACT time I needed. Non-believers? Crazy string of good luck on a hot summer day. Grateful 🙏
Graveyard on my left, town of Sturgis must be close. Easy stomach after the meadow retch. Another HILL, ‘nother UP UP climb. Another playlist too. Push, push. Forward. Out-buildings, road, a bike path. Off Centennial, outta the forest. Calf rock-hard. Stuck mid-cramp, would not release.
Hobble-jog, hobble-jog. No DNF, no demons. I start, I run, I finish.
TEN HOURS, almost 11. Longest FINISH ever. No shame, MY journey. Key word ‘FINISH’. Two ULTRAS & a second 50 State completion month of June. Colorado HOME in the morning.
Monday: Dr. Josh. PT exercises, 3 days of ice, right calf flushed & horizontally-taped to relieve inflammation but no tear. Wednesday switch: heating pad, hamstring/calf re-taped vertical.
OREGON for the holiday. My first QUADZILLA. I start, I run, I finish. Anything is possible!
Black Hills 100
Sturgis, SD • 100 Miler, 50 Miler, 50K, 30K
Saturday, Jun 29, 2019
Keenan Haga Louisville CO 10:42:24
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- RV Park pick-up
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- Bighorn reminiscent
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- Dalton Lake trailhead
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- Black Hills START
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- Centennial Trail
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- FIVE river crossings
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- run, hike, WADE
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- 6th ULTRA of 2019
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- no SHAME
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- 10 hour+ FINISH
Black Hills 50K
Kicked off June in Deadwood, ending in Sturgis. South Dakota bookends – with a HUGE Bighorn chapter in-between. Black Hills tomorrow will DOUBLE my lifetime ultra tally. Six 50k finishes in 6 months (with two late-year treks to go). Whole lotta trail, lotta new adventure.
2019 2nd Half – back to Canada. Saskatchewan, Montreal and Yellowknife. Family RUN-cations booked in Iceland & Austria. 7th continent reality over Thanksgiving break. Blessed life.
Friday puddle-jumper to Rapid City, half-day hike before shuteye.
Welcome to the Badlands. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Wind Cave, Custer State Park, even the Corn Palace. South Dakota three times – but never ever Badlands. ‘Til today.
Hour-half ride to Interior in a tricked-out F150. Nice ride. Boys & trucks.
Summer HEAT. Following 6 weeks of climate-change monsoons, even the Badlands was flower blooming. Ranger recommendation? Notch Trail. Rock walls, fields of YELLOW. Easy 2-mile hike & rope stairs UP. Allows ya to hike the canyon rim. FAAANNNNTASTIC! Sign me up!
Desert hike. Desert heat. And a view you’ll long remember ❤️
Badlands National Park – add to the list, HIGHLY recommended. WOW’d.
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- Badlands WELCOME
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- Ben Reifel Visitor Center
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- Cliff Shelf Nature Trail
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- desert OASIS
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- Badlands BLOOM
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- SNAKES 🐍
Notch Trail (Badlands Nat’l Park)
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- RANGER recommend
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- long way DOWN
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- Notch Trail
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- desert DAY HIKE
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- rope ladder UP
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- ‘the Notch’
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- Canyon Rim trek
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- view I’ll remember
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- 93 degrees HOT
Badlands National Park
