pre Bigfoot

What makes some of us reach for the highest ring, or try for that which seems slightly out of reach, slightly impossible? I recently had a chance to think on this and a great many other things for over four days in the wilds of the Cascade Mountains...

I've always been one to seek out feelings and sensations good, bad or otherwise and upon discovering ultra running I had found a way to get feelings in spades! The ups, the downs, the triumphs and tragedies are all so real and so visceral in this sport. Once I completed my first 50mi race I was hooked, "what's next?!?” It was on to the hundred mile distance and that went great! When I heard about the inaugural Tahoe 200, the first single loop 200mi race in the U.S., last year I wanted in!

Unfortunately as life is known to do, something came up and I was unable to get the time off from work... I completed my '14 race calendar and had some great experiences, but the thought of a 200mi run was still in my head. Then Candice Burt the RD of Tahoe posted that she had a new brain child, a 200mi point to point race thru the Cascades in Washington State! This was even more amazing, because as amazing as the Sierra's are Washington State holds a special place in my heart(made even more special since Bigfoot!). The numbers were impressive too, beyond simply the 200mi(which is impressive enough). It was listed as having 42,000ft of climbing and 44,000ft of descending! When cut in half either one of these sections would be a formidable 100mi mountain ultra, but to do them consecutively? That’s insane... Insane, but not impossible*! I was in!!! :)
*This was truly the key to my completing this race... An unwavering belief in my ability to complete it. I can't remember a time where my convictions faltered and that was crucial! My spirit may have been crushed a few times, but never my belief in this journey's eventual outcome.

There is a race in Tennessee called Vol State in which the competitors try to run 500km thru Tennessee without any real race support. The race director has split the race into two divisions, one where a person can be chased by a motor home or crew vehicle and have support the whole way, this is called being “Crewed”. The second category is basically survival, where you are on your own to solve any issues on your own and acquire your own food, this category is called “Screwed”. I had initially thought that I would be screwed at Bigfoot, because there was no way I could afford to fly a person out to help crew or pace me. I figured that I would be making drop bags and relying on aid stations.

Then someone I know mentioned that she ran into an old college friend named Emily who lives in Tacoma, does Ironman triathlons, and might be willing to help me. A couple emails were exchanged and I had a CREW! I asked Emily if she could meet me around mile 66 on the Second day, figuring I can easily go the first day without issue, and then she could head home Sunday evening. I was floored when she responded that she took Monday off from work as well. I had her for almost 3 full days! Now I really had my “why”. If someone was willing to take time out of their life to help what amounts to a total stranger I was surely going to do my best to make the Finish!

Finally, having packed what felt like half my apartment into 2 check bags and 2 carry on bags, the big day had come! I was given a ride to the airport and a few hours later I was wheels down at SeaTac. I'm all for public transit, but one begins to notice its limitations when hauling expedition level gear on a crowded bus... I was "that guy"! :( Misadventures in public transit aside, I arrived without incident to Emily's house, was greeted by her parents who were in town, and her huge German Shepard Winston. We had some pleasant conversation and then I was off to the supermarket to get the last of the supplies needed, basically ginger beer, Monster energy drinks, and Ensure.

When I got back to the house I sat on the front porch measuring some Tailwind into baggies and that was the first time I got to meet Emily! :) She was super excited about helping out and her energy was amazing!!! At this point I knew I was going to make, if not for myself, simply because someone else - effectively a total stranger- was willing to believe in and invest their time in me. If there ever was any "can't" in my mind, it was gone now!

We had amazing dinner and then Emily and I set about organizing gear into two piles, one I take with me to the start and the other she would keep and meet me with on Saturday. Once that was done we loaded her parent's car and headed south to the High School in Randle Washington, which was acting as registration, Start/Finish, and campsite of the race. After a two hour car ride spent getting to know Emily a little, we arrived in Randle slightly after dark. We located the High School and saw a collection of tents and headlamps gathered in the far corner of a dirt parking lot. I guessed that was “my party”, so we headed in that direction. We unloaded my tent and all my other gear, Emily said goodbye and that we'd meet again in 2.5 days @ mile 66. Then she was gone and all that was left was to set up my tent!

I approached the circle of friendly runners all chatting and drinking beer and asked them where I could set up a tent. They said anywhere over there and pointed toward a large field and mentioned two other things. One, “The spots closest to the tree is shaded in the afternoon.” And Two, pointed to a sign that basically said if you camp near here we cannot guarantee you a peaceful experience - by the looks of these people they meant it too. Although there was plenty of quiet space farther out in the field I didn’t mind being close to the action, so I set up near them. As I was falling asleep they were making plans to head out to the local bar. There was also discussion the following morning of a reverse beer mile, in which the competitors run backward mile, stopping every 1/4mi to drink a beer. They had all earned the right to have a party though, because most of them had been in town for a week already, hiking the trail up in the hills and marking the over 200 miles of course.

Photo: Jerry Gamez

Thursday was filled with registration, meetings, drop bags, and chatting with fellow runners. The long course briefing was fun and informative, explaining the course while a map and elevation profile was projected on the wall. Then drop bags and a quick break for lunch, which was cut short, so I ended up running back to the school with a to go box of fried chicken and potato wedges for the mandatory meeting. The mandatory runners meeting was held later in the afternoon and was great. It was just the right length providing all the necessary info without feeling drawn out… It concluded with Candice being picked up by a Bigfoot and carried out of the room! After the meeting it was dinner time, so I went back to the campsite and was finally able to eat my chicken. I’ve never had fried chicken as a pre-race dinner, but I’ve also never run 200mi. The time zones also helped me get to sleep early, as I was tired right about 9pm. I only briefly thought about what the morning would bring which was nice, normally I lay awake and only get 3-4hrs of sleep. This was going to be my last solid sleep for over 4 days, I wanted to make it good, and it was…

I was fast a sleep and didn't wake up until 5am on Day 1

Bigfoot Day 1

I slept well and had no issues getting up at 5am to get ready and make my way to the bus @ 5:45. For the previous couple weeks I had been having a recurring nightmare where I arrive at the bus area only to discover that it left hours before... Now safely in my seat, the reality of what was about to happen hit me. I was on the roller coaster, strapped in, heading up the first hill nervous with anticipation, waiting to come over the crest and let the ride begin! The machine had been set in motion and the only thing that could derail it at this point was me!

I spent the bus ride chatting with Jim, a man with an impressive resume including last year's Tahoe 200. We talked about races we'd done, what we love about ultras, and how we hoped the coming days would play out... The good company made the 2hr ride go by quickly and soon we were Marble Mountain Sno-Park. There was coffee, water, and breakfast items laid out on some tables as well as a giant inflatable arch waiting for us to pass under it. Mandatory check in at the start and few pictures of the assembled athletes and we were off!!!

My goal for this race was to finish. My plan to get there was to go slow and sleep my way thru the race... For the first couple miles I was trading back and forth with a couple other people for last place, so I'd say was executing well. I wore my heart rate monitor for the first 44mi of the race. I just wanted to get a rhythm and not do anything too silly on the hills and in the heat early on…

The early miles varied from nice downhill single track thru a beautiful forest to rock hopping over giant blocks of pumice. Everyone was fresh and there was plenty of pleasant conversation on trail.

Thru the first aid station everything felt great. I should hope everything was feeling great with 188mi to go. After the first aid station we were back on single track and I met a woman at an intersection and she wasn't sure which way to go. I had uploaded the entire course to my watch, so I clarified the direction and away we went, but was shortly down the trail she expressed concern and I checked my watch again. It showed us slightly off the marked path and I began to doubt too... We back tracked about a quarter mile and another group came thru and they were convinced it was the right way, so back up the trail we went as it turns out, it was in fact the right trail. The route I uploaded had clipped a few points and that showed us as "off course".

No worries, a few minutes this early was of no concern... The nice trail through trees eventually yielded to some drier terrain then ended at the edge of steep bank that dropped down to a stream. The bank was so steep that there were knotted ropes on both sides to descend and ascend. The temps were beginning to climb into the low 80s and it was dry, so I took this opportunity filter some water from the silty stream before climbing up the other side.

I had made the decision months earlier to wear trail gaiters for this race and the next section proved my choice wise, because as we began traveling thru the desolation zone of Mount Saint Helen's we entered the huge swath of land that was destroyed during the 1980 eruption and was left exposed, dry, & very dusty! As I traversed the flanks of St Helen's I watched dust storms sweep across its valleys. The trail although dry and dusty was very runable thru this section, I made a point to run anything flat or downhill, but followed a piece of advice I received from an endurance racer early in my ultra running career... "If water runs down it, you should walk up it." No sense burning myself out running the uphills now, because there will be plenty more where these came from!

As I moved further into the desolation zone; I moved directly into path of the blast and could appreciate the destruction that had been done to/by this mountain! I drew a line in my mind from the shoulders of the mountain to where the summit used to be thousands feet above what was now a gaping hole. It was very impressive to see… Another impressive site to behold was giant waterfall cascading down the blown out face. It must have dropped 300ft… It was quite a site.

Despite being super dry, there were two VERY silty streams and one amazing little oasis available to gather water. With aid stations approximately every 10-18mi running out of water was something I DID NOT want to have happen, so I elected to tanker extra rather than come up short... I had 94oz of capacity between the 50oz camelbak I had equipped with inline filter to purify water from streams and two 22oz bottles that I had modified with some tubing and bite valves on the chest of my Salomon 12L vest. I really liked the water bottles with tubing, because they allowed me to drink from the bottles while using trekking poles... A couple of people were curious and asked if I bought or made them.

 

I climbed up and around East flank of the mountain and made my way to Windy Pass aid station. As I approached Windy Ridge I was staring down a deep canyon thousands of below and had a deep fear that I may have to descend into it only to then climb of it! Luckily that was not the case... This time! Instead I was treated to an amazing downhill bomb of about 1000ft along the ridge with the canyon dropping away thousands feet on my right and the plain of the desolation zone a few hundred on the left. The aid workers were in great spirits for people that had hiked all the supplies 2mi in. I was pretty quick thru this aid station, but my approach to aid stations in this "race" was never based on speed. I believe my "fastest" stop was in the 10min range, most non-sleep stations being in the 45-1h, and sleep stations I was in for anywhere from 2hrs-3:30. I would sit, relax, take care of my feet, and eat... All maintenance items that kept my body in working order!

After Windy Pass it was back on to what a fellow runner called the plains Mordor. Quiet a fitting name especially with the volcano looming above it… At this point in the day sun finally begun dip below the horizon and it cooled off a little. The problem with sun dipping down that my headlamp was in my upcoming drop bag, so I really wanted to get there before dark, because even though I had a tiny Petzl e-lite. The e-lite is an amazingly small and light lamp, fine for emergencies, but it is not very bright, so the thought of running, or even just navigating by that was not a fun one!

Two runners, a man and a woman, passed me and invited me to tag along, so I matched their pace... It was nice to have company as we stomped through silt beds that were like talcum powder; it would puff out in a cloud of dust as your foot was still inches over ground! We finally gained the ridge that Johnston Observatory was on as the sun began to set and we were treated an amazing alpenglow that bathed St Helen's in a gorgeous array of pinks, purples, and reds! Being at a beautiful vista for sunset would become a recurring theme thru the following evenings...

Unfortunately we had not made the aid station by the time it was dark, so out came the e-lite and I slowly navigated my way into Johnston Observatory.

When I came into Johnston Observatory I looked for chair, but they were all occupied, so I sat on the ground began pulling apart my drop bag. Eventually another runner left and gave me a chair, so I was able sit and ask for some food... Disappointment after disappointment! I requested a hamburger and it was cold. I tried broth, cold. I asked coffee... Cold and full of grinds to the point of almost being undrinkable(if I didn't need caffeine I would've thrown it out). Between the sun going down, sitting, and cold food I began to get a chill, so I put on my windshell and headed off to the next station. This section was mostly downhill and runnable, so I let my legs go. I had left the previous station with Jim, but the dust being kicked by another runner was making it difficult to breathe, so I backed off and let him go ahead, that made it better...

The first night running section didn't seem that bad, no different than a hundred. As I came into the Coldwater Lake aid/sleep station my plan had been to sleep for 1.5hrs and get back on trail. Other runners were talking about "waiting until they were really tired" and only sleeping when they knew they'd pass out immediately. I'd heard it from a couple people though that early sleep was of great benefit though, so when I came to the first opportunity I took it. I imagine if I had been going for a fast time I may have pushed on to the next one, but I was just aiming to finish.

I sat in a chair and the volunteers were very nice and grabbed my drop bag. I drank an Ensure and grabbed a change of socks/shoes, a dry shirt and new shorts then I asked a volunteer where I could crash and he led me to a box of ground pads, but no blankets... So many other runners decided to sleep early that they had run out of blankets. He went back and asked around and when he came back he had a quilted moving blanket from someone's truck. I was tired, so... DEAL!

I asked the blanket giver for a 1am wake (1hr sleep), but after asking  him I decided I actually wanted an extra half hour, so I asked someone to please let him know. That didn't happen... Bad news - I didn't get a straight 1.5hrs sleep... Good news – I did get 1.5hrs total sleep(over 1hr45min) and every sleep station was spot with their wake up calls!

Before I went to bed I changed into dry clothes, took my shoes off, and curled up under the moving blanket. I pulled out my phone and opened the app for my GPS tracker/messenger. I had known all day that people had been messaging me, but I was so in the act of running I couldn’t stop to read them, so it turned into a nightly ritual, to read and reply to my sat messages. As I was out there in the wilderness I was able to at once have solitude, but not feel alone. It was so comforting to have people messaging me and think of them in some of the down times. More than one person would send me a message that would cause me to get emotional. So many kind words of encouragement; it was an amazing experience…

I woke up around 1:30am on day Day 2 

Bigfoot Day 2

When they woke me up I was a little groggy, but it wasn’t too hard to get up. Once up I headed over to the aid station to fill my water bottles and have some Coke, then it was back on trail. I had hoped to be on trail @ 1:00am, but instead I didn't leave Coldwater Lake until almost 2:30am. The first steps after waking up were... Interesting... Picture a new born foal or a fawn, legs splayed and all wobbly. That was me, balancing uneasily on my feet and trekking poles. After a few labored steps I was I able to get a stride going. After I was warmed up, I found could actually jog along pretty well!

The trail after aid station went along a lake and was well maintained. I was able to put on my MP3 player and cruise along, until I came up on a guy that seemed disoriented. He wanted to make sure we were on the right trail, because he hadn't seen a dragon in a while. I looked at the route on my watch and it showed us on course, so I pressed ahead. After he mentioned it, even though I had a GPS saying I was on track, it did seem like a very long time since I’d seen a dragon, the affectionate name given to the clothes pins and reflective ribbon by the course markers due to their resemblance to a dragon of the firebreathing variety. After over a mile of jogging along the lake, the dragons were generally every quarter mile, I finally came to a pile of dragons that had been removed from the trail and dropped. Someone had messed with the course, but my GPS steered me in the right direction again!

A special Dragon that was machined out of Aluminum and given to the course setters

After the lake we came to a turn in the trail where it went left over a bridge, but a sign said that down an embankment on the right was the last water for over 13mi. This was also the start of the longest sustained climb of the race. I slid down the loose sand to the river and filled my bottles & Camelbak, then I started up the climb. It was a nice section of single track that passed through the trees with my headlamp lighting the way. Eventually it opened up into a high meadow just as dawn was arriving…  Then the meadow gave way to a trail that climbed along the side of a ridge. My feet were sore at this point and I realized that I should tell Emily I was running about an hour and a half behind pace, so I found a clean place to sit on the edge of the trail, sat down, and messaged Emily.

I arrived on the ridge just after sunrise and saw some amazing single track laid out in front of me. There were some places where the trail had eroded away and it got technical, but it never felt unsafe… I would say that this 7mi stretch was one of my favorite sections of the entire trail! Being above tree line just after dawn gave my inner meteorologist a little gift too… A marine layer covering all the damp green valleys to the Southeast of St Helen's, but Windy Ridge was holding it back from the arid plains of the desolation zone. The clouds spilled over Windy Ridge, but finding no moisture on the other side faded out.

I moved down the trail continuing to enjoy the views of Mt St Helen's, Spirit Lake, and St Helen's Lake all the while looking for the Out & Back to the summit of Mount Margret. Hoping that every large rise in the trail would have a sign on it, saying out “Out & Back”. When I finally saw got to the sign I was surprised. It was so… Mellow! The trail sloped up gently and within one switchback I had gained the top. I was fearing a killer hill, but as it turns out I had already climbed all the vertical on the ridge. The “turn around here” sign was placed on a flat spot with the actual benchmark about 15ft of scrambling above. As I arrived Steven was just stowing his camera and he said that I would need to make the scramble up and get the full view! Never one to pass on a great view, I began climbing and to my surprise my legs didn’t feel too heavy. They went where I asked them as I negotiated the climb. Once on top I had an even more amazing view than before! Steven was right, that it was totally worth the effort. I took a panorama picture and a couple of Mount Adams, which was visible for the first time at this height. More important than my legs getting me up to the benchmark, they were able to down climb it!

After the Mount Margret Out & Back it was effectively all downhill to the Norway Pass Aid Station(mile 66).  This downhill was great! I was able to just relax and let my legs turn over as I ran down the mountain. I could see the road way below me and knew the aid station was there… I was half expecting to see Emily, but as I arrived in the parking lot she wasn’t there. We had discussed meeting here, but I had received a satellite message from her saying that she would “meet you at 11” with no mention of which aid station. That time was based off the pace chart I made up pretty much out of thin air and it said that I would be at Elk pass(mile 75) around 11am. I figured that since I had told her I was an hour and a half behind she had just elected to go ahead and meet me at Elk Pass.

Not finding Emily here I just treated it like any other aid station and began taking care of myself with the help of the volunteers. I had developed hot spots on the balls of my feet, so sat down and took care of my feet with a foot care kit I had on me. The kind lady working the aid station offered me a grilled cheese which I gladly accepted. After an hour I left and headed off to meet Emily at the next aid station!
 

The trail climbed briefly out of the aid station, but then began descending down thru the trees to a road. It was interesting being down in the trees after having spent the whole morning above tree line. It also felt a little less like a desert and a little more like the Pacific Northwest. A fellow competitor had actually asked if the race was going to leave central Nevada and come back to Washington. The previous day and the morning’s landscape was definitely more arid than I would have thought this part of Washington could be!

Once we crossed the road we were on some nice dirt bike/ATV trails that just kind of rolled along on the shoulder of a mountain, but the climbs never got too steep. It was good trail, but I just wanted to get to Elk Pass and meet Emily! I pushed on as quickly as I could, picturing how wonderful it would be to finally meet my crew. I knew that I could sit in a chair, have an Ensure, drink a ginger beer, and take care of my feet.

I had assembled a pretty comprehensive kit for Emily to carry around. It included items for everything from chaffing, blisters, pain, sleeping, clothing, and contacts. I knew that I wanted to have all of these items, but wasn’t sure how to transport them between stations that wouldn’t be cumbersome or difficult for Emily. She was being so helpful already I wanted to make it as easy as possible for her...

A few days of thinking and I came up with an idea to get a 24 shoe closet organizer from Bed, Bath, & Beyond. It offered pockets deep enough to stow all of my items and could be rolled up like a ground mat and stowed in a Mountainsmith cube and easily carried. This seemed a much better way to transport my supplies than boxes or plastic totes and it got compliments from other racers.

 

As I came into sight of the aid station I looked around for Emily, but all I saw were friendly, helpful volunteers. It was now after 3pm, 4 hours later than my pace chart had predicted, and no Emily. Where was she? Did she think she missed me and moved on to the next one??? It was at this time I realized my First HUGE mistake… I never told Emily my Bib #! She had no way of knowing where I was. I sat in a chair and tried to figure out what had happened. I was in a funk and the volunteers could see it. They offered me, food, medical attention, shade… All they wanted to do was help, they would say ”what does she have? We can get it for you.” I told them a couple times that I just needed Emily and they didn’t one of those. It wasn’t so much I needed anything as I needed to rendezvous with my crew for the first time.

I paced over to the adjacent lot where other crew vehicles were parked and realized my Second HUGE mistake, I didn’t know what her car was! She had borrowed her parent’s car when she drove me down on Wednesday. Now I couldn’t tell if her car was there and she was just laying down sleeping while waiting. I walked around looking in every car a couple times just to make sure she wasn’t there. After an hour of checking the cars and finally letting the aid station people help me with food and some ginger ale I decided to push on. I sent Emily a satellite message “I’m runner #52. I am leaving Elk Pass at 4:10pm. Got Slowed down a lot after I texted. I hope I meet you at some point. Please text if you get service” I felt so bad and had fears of continuing to miss her thru the rest of the race, but I needed to move…

It took me a few more minutes to get everything buttoned up and ready to shove off... Just as I was about to leave I saw a blue Subaru Legacy drive by with pointy German Shepard ears in the back seat and Emily was driving! I RAN out into the road and waved my arms and whistled as loudly as I could to get her attention!!! The car had pulled over and Emily got out and looked back at me, we had finally connected! She turned around and pulled into the aid station lot.

It turns out that Emily was at mile 66 at 10:45am and I left that station at 11am. We were both there at the same time for 15min and I didn’t know her car and she didn’t have my number, so I must have ran right past her on my way out! Then she asked them if I had come thru, but without my number they couldn’t tell her for sure. This meant that she had waited until sweep came thru and they closed the aid station. Then she packed up and was moving to the mile 89 aid station and the road drove by mile 75. She said she saw my hat as she drove by and then my standing in the road arms waving…

Once she had the car parked Emily was amazing. In no time at all she had the chair ready, a cold Ensure followed with ginger brew, my change of socks/shoes/clothes were all at my disposal. Anything that needed attention, she was on it. For a person that had never crewed, or been at an ultra she had a great sense of what was needed. As lucky as I felt at this point to have Emily it would pale to the gratitude I would feel in the coming nights.

The shoe organizer worked great with everything right there according to plan. Of all the items I had in it though, my full foot care setup with foot powder, tincture of Benzoin, and Strength tape and a sterile blade was my go to item. I had learned earlier this year the importance of foot care while running an 88km race that was run concurrent with a 48hr, 72hr, & 888km event. The terrain was difficult with many muddy and wet sections that took a toll on the runners’ feet. The competitors that went the furthest all spoke of the importance of taking care of your feet! I had known this academically, but having had a chance to see it firsthand made it real. I took this lesson to heart and although I did get blisters at Bigfoot, by lancing, taping, changing socks frequently, and using gaiters I never let them get critical.

I spent 50min with Emily taking care of everything and then I was ready to tackle the next section. I headed up a hill, thru a meadow and up one side of a ridge and then went thru a gap, turned around and went back on the other side of the ridge. The trail would sort of pass along on one side of the ridge then pass over and back for awhile. At one of the crossovers I was given a great view of Mount Adams at sunset.

After sunset the trail descended pretty much the whole way down to the RD9327 aid station at mile 85. Going down the hill I felt a few drops of rain hit my face and arms. I was concerned that it might rain and I would get caught without my jacket, so I tried to cover the remaining 3 miles as quickly as possible. The rain never materialized, but it did motivate me.

When I got to the aid station there were cars parked along the roadside, but luckily this time I knew which car I was looking for and it was right at the head of the line. I shined my light in and rapped gently on the window with my trekking pole trying to wake her, but not the large German Shepard laying next to her. Thankfully Emily woke right up and Winston did not. Once she crawled out of the car it was the same amazing caring and attention. She set me up with fresh batteries, got me my beverages and then set up my sleeping bag in the tent for my second night’s sleep. While she was setting up my bag the 2 guys working the aid station were great. They were very friendly and had amazing chili. They also offered to let me charge my InReach and Headlamp battery while I slept, so I would be ready to go when I woke up...

Before I went to bed I took some Advil, brushed my teeth, and rubbed Aspercreme on my legs. That made everything feel pretty good and I was quickly asleep with a wake up call arranged for an hour and a half later. What I got wasn’t really sleeping, so much as closing my eyes and then opening them 1.5hrs later groggy and screaming in pain, because my hip flexor has decided to cramp when I made my first move. Once I was finally up though I was surprised at how much better I could move compared to the first night. After putting my shoes on I could walk with ease…

When I walked outside the tent everything was wet… The only real rain of my race happened while I was warm and dry in a sleep tent.

I checked in with Emily and made my way over to the aid tent. The volunteer asked me what he could do to help and asked if I wanted some eggs? And bacon. And hash browns! I told him that sounded amazing and asked for a full plate!!! I gladly ate that and had an energy drink....

Now, “rested” and fueled by caffeine and an amazing breakfast I was ready to take on the next section of trail, or so I thought…

I was in to Day 3 now!

Bigfoot Day 3

Walking out of the aid station my headlamp on I felt pretty good, the energy drink I had was beginning to perk me up. I traveled along a trail that was slightly rutted by dirt bikes, but wasn’t too bad at first. The trail had some fun downhill sections and some nice flats too. I would jog as much as I could, but would also take frequent quick walk/sit breaks.

During one walk break two HUGE trees came into my headlamp! There were many places on trail where there were old trees, but I would swear these two were the oldest. I was so impressed by these trees that I was compelled to just stop, shut off my headlamp, and just appreciate their presence.

The runnable, fun, slightly rutted section of the trail faded away and was replaced with evil dirt bike trenches. They were just narrow enough that you couldn’t run in them comfortably, so you were left to make your way on the side of the rut, but the trail was cut into the hill. It was precarious, because there was not much space to walk on there and it made for a trying climb. Once the climb ended the trail improved and I was treated to a nice downhill bit to the next aid station!

When I left the previous aid station they had mentioned that I should bring extra food, because the next one was ‘water only’. I didn’t think there were any ‘water only’ stations, but heeded their warning and had brought a bag of trail mix to be safe. Upon my arrival at Council Bluff(mile 100.2) I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a fully stocked aid station. What the other guys meant was that no crew could meet us…

Not having crew at this station wasn’t a problem though, because the volunteers were so helpful. I sat for a little while and ate some potato chips, took some caffeine & 400mg of ibuprofen, and sent a post to Facebook on my InReach “100.2mi in… A whole new meaning to #1sthundred! Closer to the finish than the start.” It had taken me 46hrs to cover the first 100mi and I was feeling good! 62hrs left to cover 100 miles… It seemed like a long time, but I knew there was a lot ahead of me and didn’t know if I was going to make the cutoffs. I was also daunted by the concept of starting another mountain hundo after 2days of running…

Refreshed from the aid station I was ready to take on the next section that included, a road section, a ridiculous downhill, and probably the best maintained trails of the race.

Leaving the aid station we needed to go about 2mi down the paved road before we ducked into the woods. This gave me an opportunity to move at a pretty good clip and I made some good time. The turn off on to the trail was very well marked with a sign and dragons where it ducked into the woods.

Once in the woods the trail just dive bombed straight down what felt like a cliff. I believe the trail loses almost 1,000ft per mile here. The combination of the caffeine and Ibuprofen kicking and my legs being warmed up after the road section; I was able to fly! My quads handled the downhill pounding pretty well, but I wanted to make sure I preserved them for the next half, so I played with trying to use my glutes and hamstrings on the descent. I discovered that if I leaned forward and assumed a position that felt slightly awkward, I could trigger my glutes and hamstrings and the quads didn’t feel like they were being used as much and I could fly down the hill. As I was screaming down the hill I came up on Kate and her pacer. I closed on them so fast in fact that her pacer thought I was a day hiker. I really enjoyed letting it go…

That section only lasted for a few miles though and then met up with a gorgeous trail that made its way along the Lewis River. It was so beautifully smooth and soft… At one point as the trail dipped down to a bridge I looked at the two trees in front of me and noticed that they weren’t growing on the ground. They were actually growing out of an old blow down. I thought it was cool enough to take a picture of…

 

 

 The trail crossed over a road and started to run along the Lewis River. Candice had talked about it at the meeting and said that the course marking crew went swimming at the lower falls. It was late morning at this point and I hadn’t had a proper shower in two days and I probably wouldn’t for another two and a half, so I decided to jump in when I got there!

I kept scanning the edge hoping that it would be right there and eventually I found it, but there was no clear path down. It was more swinging on roots and hopping off small ledges to get the 30ft down the bank. I thought getting clean was worth it though, so I made my way down.

The river’s edge was a nice flat rock that had some grass on it. It was nice and dry to so I set my pack down, took my shoes and socks off and waded in. It was so nice to splash the water over myself. The temperature was excellent and the sun was shining right on me. It was a beautiful scene with the falls behind me and the amazingly clear pool below… It was amazing and I regret that I didn’t take a picture of it!

Feeling a million times cleaner I put my gear back on and climbed back up to the trail. I ran past the middle and upper Lewis falls also, but they were much farther below the trail and I was glad I went to the lower falls, because the other two wouldn’t have worked out.

Along the side of the trail beginning at the road crossing there had been signs for “The Flamingo Inn”. Every couple miles you would come upon about five surveyor’s stakes with wooden signs nailed to them. Each sign had a word and as you ran down the trail it made a rhyme that would advertise bathrooms, beds, and meals. I thought it odd that such an establishment would be out here in the middle of the wilderness, but then again I was not completely aware of where we actually were! As it turns out The Flamingo Inn was actually the Aid/Sleep station and the crew were just having fun. I realized it just as I was coming in…

The aid station was great. The crew were friendly and most importantly Emily was there! She had all of my gear again and was quick with an Ensure and a change of socks. This was a sleep station, but it was still early in the day and I wasn’t tired, so I elected not to sleep… Instead I took care of my feet, ate some food, and chatted with the volunteers.

I noticed that there were some Mountain Dews sitting on the ground and I asked the volunteer if they were for the race, or someone’s personal soda. He said he didn’t know and that they were probably the kids and that I could have one. It was just what I wanted  sugar and caffeine! Caffeinated, feet cared for, and some food in me I was ready to take on what was one of the toughest sections with the most climbing on the course.

As I was walking out the aid volunteers said that I needed to hit the piñata. They had a flamingo piñata on a pole and every runner was told to take a whack at it. I was in the back of the pack, so there was not much left to it, the beak and head were all that remained… I took my best shot, knocked it for a loop, and I was out!

I had only viewed the next sections profile as part of the whole 200mi profile and it looked intimidating. What I could see was a climb going steadily up from around mile 110. What the scale of the 200mi profile didn’t show very well was that it was made up of what felt like a hundred steep climbs that would turn over and you could run down only to hike up another one… When I look at the 200mi profile now I see - and appreciate - all of the little saw teeth that I had previously thought a straight up climb.

During the course briefing they mentioned that this part of the course would have a long dry section and that they would place a sign at the last water. True to their word I came up on a sign that said last water for 7 hard miles, so I filled up. While I was fumbling with my water bottle I dropped a gu pack in the river. I quickly grabbed it before it floated too far away, but I unsettled myself so much that I tipped over into the water. The only way to avoid falling completely in was to splash my feet. Luckily I had my most airy and breathable shoes on, so they dried quickly enough, but it was still unfortunate that they got wet…

From the water the trail gained elevation steadily. My feet were feeling very sore and the Mountain Dew had worn off, so I was feeling bit flat. I took two ibuprofen and 200mg caffeine hoping it would help my feet and push me up the climb. I am aware of the studies and dangers around Ibuprofen, but for my pain ibuprofen just works better than Tylenol or Asprin. I only take 400mg and I use it very judiciously. I think that each day I would only take Ibuprofen and caffeine once. The rest of the time I was relatively pain free and had enough energy.

The caffeine and ibuprofen worked and gave me the jolt of energy I’d hoped for to power me up the steep climb. I knew that a guy and his pacer passed me at the river and thought maybe I could catch up to them. That was my goal up the whole climb and much to my satisfaction I achieved it. I caught up to them just as the climb was about to go downhill…

The racer’s name was John and I don’t recall his pacer’s name, but they were both very creative people. John talked about how he created a pouch for his hydration vest, to which I showed them my home made water bottles. We ended up swapping tales of adventure and inventions, of which I am officially sworn to secrecy by some sort of weird trail oath/patent law type arrangement. Suffice it to say, Thomas Edison would be jealous of the inventions this guy is cooking up… It was a very fun section of trail shared with some cool guys.

In addition to talking about inventions, John told me of a game he’d been playing called something to the effect of “the perfect seat” game. Where in you evaluate anything along the trail that remotely resembles a bench. He mentioned how he would evaluate sawn logs, good sized rocks, and depending on how long you play the game - standards tend to decline in relation to your legs energy and how sore your feet are - a particularly nice patch of dirt may suffice. I told him that I had in fact been playing that game all night! I also mentioned that the section out of RD9327 was great, because the dirt bike ruts were so deep they basically made a perfect bench! He agreed and on that note we located a fine tree, one that had ample sitting space for all three of us as we regrouped for the final push into the Council Bluff aid station. The funny thing is that of all the places I sat I passed by a great many benches and would then sit on a log 20min later…

Down the final stretch to the aid station John said “Holy cow!” out of nowhere, so quickly that it startled his pacer and me! His pacer quickly asked if he was all right. John said that of course he was and he would never use such polite language were he actually hurt. It turns out what had caught John by such surprise was a brilliant alpenglow purple and red Mt Adams peeking thru a window in the trees. Immediately after the vista we turned into the aid station as the colors began to fade into more grays and blacks…

 Emily was waiting in the parking lot about a quarter mile from the aid station. She sat me down and offered me an Ensure and ginger beer which I gladly accepted! Then I took care of my feet and put on clean socks.

Thinking that this was a sleep station, I elected to take a 45min nap near the car instead of at the sleep tent. I wasn’t as tired as I had been the previous two sleep stations and it took a few minutes of tossing and turning before I went down…

When I woke up I put my shoes on and Emily pointed me down the trail and said the aid station was a couple hundred feet past the end of the parking lot. I came in to the aid station where the volunteers, once again, were amazingly friendly. They kindly refilled my bottles and gave me some soup. As it turns out this was not a sleep station, but because there was a sleep station, Lewis River, that I came thru at mid-day and didn’t sleep at; I stuck to my plan of napping 5 times on the run.

On the next section of trail there were some light dirt bike ruts, but not as trying as the previous nights. I also passed two people in this section that were just trail side napping. I had hoped they were all right, but didn’t want to wake them, so I just passed by… At one point the trees opened as the trail went thru a high meadow or slide path and the stars were laid out above me. I knew the Perseid meteor shower was happening right around this time and was hoping to catch a shooting star or two to make the story that much better. I didn’t see one… It did however serve as a nice rest break, so as I headed off I felt refreshed.

After passing thru a campground the trail turned into a proper road. A two and a half lane wide dirt road that I followed for what felt like an eternity! I would shut my eyes and walk in the dark for ten steps to rest my eyes. I just wanted to be at the Chain of Lakes aid station so badly. We even passed the road entrance, but it was marked “Crew Vehicles Only. No Runners” and we were directed on what I would’ve, at any other time, called great trails back to the aid station. With 1mile to go I was mentally exhausted and was ready to be there, so turned my headlamp on to its brightest setting and ran. I don’t know what happened, but I can only describe it as claustrophobic. I ran with everything I had to the aid station, knowing Emily would be there…

When I arrived at the aid station sure enough, there was Emily’s Subaru! We were going like clockwork now!!! I tapped on the window and woke Emily, while again Winston was quite next to her. He did get up, but didn’t mind being awakened too badly and didn’t cause a scene.

Emily gathered the gear bag and we walked down to the aid station. On the walk in I told her “I’m fine physically, but spiritually I’m beat up.” I needed to get some encouragement, food, & rest. I was in luck, because I was able to get all three in spades! The aid captain was so helpful… He really was able to put up with me being a pretty helpless organism. He kept letting me know that he was there to help us and that we runners could be big babies and I agreed, we sure could. He offered up a grilled cheese sandwich and even asked me “Do you want the crust cut off?” I was surprised by the offer and all I could think to say was “only because you offered.” It turned out to be an amazing crustless grilled cheese and just what I needed before heading to the sleep tent.

Emily had gone in and set up my sleeping bag while I was eating and I shuffled over to it. The air mattress was going flat, so I told the aid captain and then went back to the chair to sit for a few more minutes while he filled it. Once it was filled, I laid down and I was out! I had asked them to let me sleep for about an hour and a half and that was when they woke me up the first time.

I believe I actually laid there for fifteen minutes after my wake up before I actually got up. When I sat up I noticed that Katie was on the air mattress next to mine, she went to sleep at Lewis River last time I saw her and must have caught up to me while I was sleeping. She was getting up too and was shivering. I had just warmed up after putting on my down jacket, so I offered it to her and she put it on. Then I went outside and for the second time in as many days had an amazing breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon! It was amazing and the kind of all you can eat buffet that you just don’t want to end!!!

Unfortunately… It did have to end and while I was lacing my shoes up and I heard Emily say “Ok, I’m going to leave now.” I can only describe my feeling as that of a child being set at the school gate with mom just driving off into the sunrise! Even knowing that she was going to leave me on Monday, I was devastated. I had not been able to figure out the change in my times from my spreadsheet, so I thought I may see her again, but she was sharp and had figured out that if she left me there she could still make the other 3 aid stations and leave me drop bags.

Knowing this made me very happy and comforted me. I also knew I had to finish now that Emily had left… There’s no way someone could do such an amazingly nice thing for me and then I stop. I was going to push on with everything I had!

Fueled by an amazing breakfast and the energy that comes from the sun being up and a new day ahead of me, I set off down the trail…
I was ready to tackle Day 4!

Bigfoot Day 4

We had been told in the long course briefing on registration day that this section had a few mandatory water crossings, so I had Emily leave me a dry pair in my next bag. The problem I had with the water crossings was that they loosened up the tape job on my feet, which up to this point had kept any hotspots or blisters in check. I was too lazy after the water crossings to take my shoe off and check though, so I pressed on with the tape beginning to bunch. Luckily I was not feeling very fast and never ran for too long at a stretch, so it was not really an issue.

At one of the water crossings I met a guy named Glen as he was taking care of his feet, dry socks, or maybe he took his shoes and socks off… I’m not entirely sure, but he was sitting down as I came across and we chatted for the next few miles. He was up from San Francisco and had his parents crewing and his wife had been pacing him for some sections, because she too was an ultra runner. He told me that his only DNF was at Pine to Palm 100 last year and that when he dropped at mile 50 a woman had dropped too. He said “hi” and now a year on they were married! They were a lovely couple too and his parents were the sweetest people.

This section of trail is also part of the Klickitat horse trail and I actually came across a husband and wife on horses leading a third one along. They said they were just out for a little ride and getting the new one used to the trail. I was surprised to see them dressed in jeans and long sleeves. It was early, but wow… I would’ve been cooking.

We had one last major river crossing of almost a hundred feet. I had just been passed by Jeremy who was now being paced by his friend Libby. Speaking of people that should’ve been cooking… Jeremy ran the entire race(I believe) in a long sleeve flannel shirt!

I elected not to fill up my water bottles from the river, before we began the climb up to Elk Peak. In hind sight I may have liked the extra water, but I wouldn't have needed it, I finished the last swig as I was within earshot of the aid station.

Even with enough water this section was hot and dry, the trees never truly covering the trail well enough to provide shade. The grass was also terribly parched and it looked as though a sneeze could start a fire! The poor Western forests are so dry, it’s no wonder they’re burning down! I couldn’t help but think as I was wandering over these mountains and ridges that wildland fire fighters do this day in and day out, and with packs and tools!!! That is a job that I may be capable of, but man I’m not sure I would want to… Those men and women have my utmost respect for being out there and doing that hard work!

When I thought we had finally come to the top of the climb there was a sign that said “Elk Peak Out and Back”. This particular out and back went up a very steep, very loose section of trail up to the summit. This may have been the least awe inspiring of the Out and Back summits, but it was still impressive. From here you could see where you came from and how much more was remaining ahead… A little over 35mi to go.

The descent off Elk Peak was more of a glissade than a run, but I was able to keep my feet under me and negotiate the terrain until it settled out at the Out and Back sign. I took the turn to the aid station and let it fly. I was in a good mood, a downhill to an aid station where there would be great volunteers. I was very excited! As I was bombing down the trail I saw someone hiking up. It was Glen’s wife and she was hiking up to meet him. I told her that he was probably not to the Out and Back sign yet and that she could wait for him there… We parted and I continued to the aid station.

When I arrived at the aid station it was everything I had hoped it would be. They had a chair, and the volunteers were so helpful, filling bottles and bringing me food. At one point an Avocado Burger made its way into my hand and it was AMAZING. I had no idea that it was what I wanted, but someone knew, and it made me very happy! Someone asked if I had a drop bag and I said I think I should #52. They found it and brought it over to me… I knew Emily had said that she would leave a bag for me, but I didn’t know what to expect. In it were a change of shoes, clothes, socks, an Ensure and a Ginger Ale, as well as a foot care kit she had assembled for me. It was amazing and I was so grateful!!!

More than food though my first order of business was to get my feet taped up and taken care of. I suppose I could have done it, but the medical guy on staff, Nick, was available and so I asked if he could please work on them. He very kindly said that he could and set a chair to prop my foot on and went to town with mole skin and Leukotape. I am glad that I had him work on my feet, not only for those few minutes watching him tape my feet, which will be forever in my memory as how to tape a foot, but because it was great to just talk to Nick. We chatted about his travels for races and what Ultramedical does. I also mentioned to him that I had been thinking about a quote over the past miles “There are no extraordinary people. Just ordinary people who do extraordinary things.” I was just in awe of what was going on around me… That me and my fellow runners were doing this and none of us seemed extraordinary, and the volunteers… I had been hearing tales of their aid stations being open for days at a time and their commitment to helping us was what kept them going. In all I was just surprised by how when people all come together round a goal we can all succeed!

Now that I had a good tape job, clean socks, dry shoes, and a belly full of Avocado burger I was ready to depart! Only 17mi between me and what I saw as the last real cut off at Twin Sisters(mile 173.3). As I was putting on my back pack we could hear thunder coming from over the ridge. I didn’t have a rain jacket as it was in the bag of stuff I had given Emily to crew me. A friendly volunteer at the aid station named Kent offered me his nice North Face rain jacket. Turns out he was actually a racer, but had to drop early in the race because his shoes didn’t fit right. After his drop though he got right out on course and was helping runners… I accepted his jacket and arranged to give it back to him at the finish or possibly leave it in one of his drop bags at the next station. He said it was no problem and that he wanted me to be safe. I truly appreciated his gesture. I was debating the intelligence of heading out on trail with thunder so close, then I realized that if I waited much longer though the medical or aid staff may think better of it and hold me, so off I went. Just before I left there was a very nice lady that had been helping me. I believe her name was Lois. I looked at her and said “You look like a hugger” and just gave her a huge hug, thanked her for the excellent service and was on the trail again.

Thunder storm aside my pace was quickened by a want to arrive at the next aid station Twin Sisters, the penultimate aid station and the last true impediment to my completing the race. I heard from the Klickitat workers that the cut off at the next station was @ 4:30am. They had also told me that this section was 17.4mi and over 5kft of climbing, but none of them were more than 800ft at a time. I had been figuring my paces at 3mph(20min/mi), but this section was a lot of climbing and descending on vaguely marked trails… That pulled the pace down to a little better than 27min/mi. The slower pace was necessary though, because the trail was quite “reclaimed” at this point. There were downed trees that we had to climb over and places where you would march into a stand of bushes where it may appear others had been and proceed until you hopefully found a marker… I am not sure if it’s some innate tracking sense or if the few years I spent as a hasher taught me how to properly follow a “zen trail” With those skills, as well as leap frogging and Jeremy and his pacer, I was able to find my way thru the forest and then traversed an interesting section of trail that was once a path about 4ft wide cut into the side of the ridge. The trail bed was still there in most places, but occasionally it would wash out, or there was a small drainage, of course they would always occur at a place where the trail was the most overgrown and you needed to bull through it, only to find that it the footing was not level under you!

Eventually that overgrown, poorly marked section gave way and we made our way onto a forest service rd. My InReach allowed me to see my location on my phone, where the route went, so I could tell I was close to the better trail(I hoped).

Once on the road Jeremy and his pacer went ahead and for the second time I stopped to again try and catch a glimpse of the Perseid meteor shower. I shut off my headlamp, laid down in the grass next to the trail, rested my head on my hydration pack and just stared up into the sky. Although I still didn’t catch a shooting star my poor eyes(and brain) were so tired that the stars began to vibrate and move. Nothing to vigorous, but it was fun to watch for a few minutes and my legs enjoyed the break. Soon enough though I got up and started my way up the next hill… It was at this point that I decided I wanted to be at the aid station and get some rest. My brain just needed to not be on, but I couldn’t sleep to shut it down until the aid station. I figured the next best thing for my brain to sleeping was to just stop thinking. I blocked all thoughts from my mind and just started doing. Using my hiking poles and my feet I would count in my head “1,2,3,4, reset,1,2,3,4,etc…” to the rhythm of whatever song was on my mp3 player. I could never run a whole race that way, but to be able to just stop thinking and let my body push on was liberating! I used this new found skill to climb the remaining hills in this section. I would simply keep my head down and count “1,2,3,4”.

My father used to tell me in lines at an amusement park or ski area, probably in response to my complaining about how long the line was, “no one has ever waited in this line forever”. It was with that attitude that I climbed these hills… No one has ever climbed a hill forever and so I just kept moving up, and up, and up until finally the slope would yield and the trail was flat. On the flat ground now I was quite ready for the aid station to be there… Now! I checked my watch and the intersection with the one really big out and back on the course – the other four were <.5mi ea, but this one was ~5mi and downhill/uphill – was only .4mi away, so I picked up the pace. I ran past Jeremy curled up on the ground with his pacer standing over him. The pacer told me Jeremy was fine and just taking a 10min power nap. I mentioned to him how far down the trail the intersection was and then moved along. It turns out that he was grateful for the info, because he thought that he missed it and was about to go back down the trail to verify…

The downhill to the aid station was good trail with some downed trees that slowed progress. The trail took a turn and began going down along a canyon wall and I could see lights on the other side. I was sure it was the aid station, so I marked its location in my mind. I could see a light approaching from behind pretty quickly, Jeremy and his pacer, rejuvenated by their rest at the top of the hill were now bombing down it, flying past me and continuing down the trail. I was not feeling so fresh and was merely focusing on the bed that was awaiting me just on the other side of this canyon, but the trail never turned…

I had the location of the “aid station” in my head and was certain the trail would turn right at some point, but it wasn’t. My watch also had me listed as off the route, so I began to panic thinking that I had missed a turn. I worried for a minute, but then collected myself and continued down the trail. Shortly after my little crisis I located a dragon and was set at ease, but a lot of mental capital had been spent in the panic over route finding.

When I finally arrived at the aid station I was mentally drained, even more than when I met Emily at Chain of Lakes. I just wanted to sit! I located the drop bag Emily had stashed for me and found a chair. In typical Emily fashion she had prepared an amazing drop bag with fresh clothes, socks, and an Ensure and Monster. Everyone at the aid station was so nice and friendly. Glen’s mom and Jeremy’s crew chief Libby especially wanted to be nice and helpful, but I was so drained though that I couldn’t really accept it. I just wanted quiet and actually said something to the effect of “I’m generally a really nice person, but right now I just can’t…” I wasn’t cranky, just unable to be happy, I needed rest! The volunteers and crew were very understanding of my situation and I did thank them for putting up with me when I woke up and made sure to thank both Glen’s mom and Libby after the race too. They showed me to the sleep tent and I told them I wanted a wake up around 3:30am, giving me about an hour and a half of sleep.

What a difference the little sleep made… I woke up and I was refreshed(ish) and ready to get to the last aid station! I stepped outside and found my way over to the chair at the aid tent. They were still cranking out bacon, hash browns, and scrambled eggs. I asked if I could have some and they loaded me up! 2 eggs scrambled, a pile of hash browns and bacon upon bacon; it was GLORIOUS!!! I ate my fill and was out of the station 10min before the cutoff. I remember passing Kate and another runner on my climb out of the aid station and thinking that they had missed the cutoff and feeling very bad that that was how their race would end at mile 175ish…

The climb back onto the ridge was not all that bad, as it was tempered by the knowledge that there were no appreciable climbs after this one! Up I went, back over the same trees I had wrestled a few hours before. Once on the ridge though, with the dawn gathering in the East and the terrain all downhill to the finish I was alive again! There were still more trees to climb over and the last climb up to Pompey Peak, but it finally became real that I was going to make it. That this thing was mine if I just keep on my feet and keep moving!

The trail began following a ridge and it surprised me how step the edges were. Although I was in the trees the trail was on a ridge only, maybe 20ft wide at times and the ridge’s sides dropped off steeply on both sides. The most impressive part to me was that the trees could still grow on such a steep angle. There were a lot of blow downs in this section and some were treacherous! Multiple trees that you had to climb over and then hop onto another tree, it reminded me of some obstacle races I’ve done. Climbing over one tree in particular, my foot slipped and I began falling toward bed of punji sticks! I swore that this slip was going to end in a gaping chest wound, but I managed to hop/shuffle myself to the side of the tree and realized, that could’ve been bad, and continued down the trail.

Halfway across the ridge I came to the final Out and Back, the climb up to Pompey Peak. It was step and loose in spots, but once I got to the top the view was amazing! My timing was such that the sun was just over the horizon as I reached the summit. To see Mount Adams was amazing. It’s now a small mountain visible on the horizon, when just yesterday it loomed so large above us. We were now in the presence of Rainier though! From the top of Pompey you can see the valley far below and Mt Rainier right there above everything…

After Pompey Peak we descended the rest of the ridge negotiating more blow downs, but finding generally nice trail. Then the trail ended and we were on an amazing forest service road. It had two wheel tracks and grass growing on the sides and in the middle, but it was a great road and we could run on it! The problem was that after four days I didn’t feel like running and most of the time it was a slow trot at best, but I wanted to move as fast as possible. A fellow runner said that it felt like hell, just going a few hundred feet down this road and then turning a corner only to find another couple hundred foot section followed by more road. Every corner it seemed greeted them with more road, but as with all things the aid station did finally show up for them.

The road just kept going and I couldn’t figure out why it was kind of abandoned. When I turned a corner it became apparent why it was abandoned… The entire road save about a 3ft stretch had been washed down the side of the ridge. The creek had washed the whole road away here and in a couple other places and it had just never been repaired.

The aid station was more bare bones than most of the others, but no one cared… It was staffed by two amazing volunteers that had been there for a long time, but were super helpful. I got my drop bag that Emily had once again so kindly gone ahead and place at the aid station, because she couldn’t meet me in person. I opened the bag and found an Ensure & a Ginger Brew waiting for me, but as I dug deeper in my bag I discovered that she had also left me a thing of beef jerky! I was touched!!! It was so nice to see that little gesture. I sat there eating beef jerky and drinking Ginger Brew slowly realizing that I had an entire day to do a half marathon on road…. I WAS GOING TO MAKE IT!!!!!

It took me a few minutes to get myself out of the aid station and moving along the road again. The road was actually quite steep for the first couple miles and really beat me up, but I tried to go as quickly as possible… It did finally level out onto a paved road with the sun beating down on you. It was approaching noon and I was getting hot. I noticed Glen and his wife up ahead and tried to “run” as fast as I could to catch up with them. After some time I was able to catch them and we shuffled along together for a while.

It was very nice to meet Glen’s wife. She was very kind and supportive of him and it was just nice to have her around. In addition to getting to meet Glen’s wife while I ran with them I also got to borrow his cheering squad! His mother and father were crewing him and since this was a road section they could wait at a pull off, cheer as he came by, and then go a mile down the road and do it again… It was so sweet!

We started running by people houses and they would have their sprinklers on watering their yard or garden. At one person’s garden where their sprinkler would spray on the road for several feet I stopped and waited. I just stood there and let the cold water ever so briefly splash on me before it continued on its path. Then it would come back again, each time hitting me with its brief chill I would gasp. It was briefly refreshing, but not totally enough to cool me off…

I tried running along the road section, but even a great cheering squad and flat road couldn’t make me run fast. I think that I may have had a max pace through this section of 12 min/mi, but my average was 15 min/mi. It was a very fast march, but I was determined to push on as quickly as possible.

Eventually I was so close to the school that I even knew where I was on the road. I knew that once I crossed the big bridge ahead of me all that was left was another mile or so to the school! I ran over the bridge and saw a convenience store directly on the route. I had carried a $20 bill with me the whole time and decided I wanted a Monster to celebrate with at the finish, so I headed in. It was kind of weird walking into a convenience store in full race gear, but I didn’t care… I got my drink and was back on the road.

The last mile was no easier than the previous ten on the road, but at least they lead to the finish. As I got within sight of the school I was amazed… I had done it!!! I turned in thru the high school’s parking lot and on to the track. There were a bunch of other finishers and crew all gathered around the finish arch as I made my way around the track on a 300m victory lap. Coming down that last 100m was amazing… I didn’t sprint on the way in, but I did give it everything I had… When I crossed the Finish line and passed thru the Bigfoot finish tape that Candice was holding up I was DONE! The clock had stopped for me at 100:41:xx. I had made it...

Photo: Jerry Gamez

One of my first acts after collapsing to the ground in the shade was to text Emily and let her know I had finished and to thank her for making it possible!

All of my training and races this year, all of the experiences I had and people that I had met… In that moment of crossing the line they were all worth it. All of those events culminated in me crossing that line and I am not sure that without any one of them I could’ve been successful. The knowledge I gained from meeting so many amazing people this year at so many events helped me negotiate the physical and mental trials associated with running 200mi.

It really does take a village to raise an ultra runner… That’s not to say that people can’t find their way to ultra on their own, but I feel like that would be missing out on what makes ultra so special. When you have a community that can nurture, guide, and support you it is an amazing gift and something special. There is an African proverb that says “If you want to go fast go alone, but if you want to go far go together.” And that couldn’t have been more true at Bigfoot. Whether it was on course with other racers and pacers or at every aid station with the volunteers and crew people, it felt like we were all truly in this together!

Oh, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the after party… It was a great, low key event with finishers parked in camp chairs drinking off the keg of Rogue that was provide and eating homemade tortilla pizzas that we assembled ourselves and then placed in the pizza oven Candice had arranged. It was amazing and we all partied celebrating the last few finishers and awaiting Kate’s arrival. She had made the cutoff after all and was now the last runner and was only a mile out. When she came onto the track she was chased the whole way round by a kid in the Bigfoot costume while everyone was cheering wildly. And after she crossed the finish line… That was it… The inaugural Bigfoot 200 was in the books. Of the 85 starters there was a 75% finish rate. The winner crossed the line in 65hrs and Kate crossed in 105hrs, almost two days later.

It was a spectacular experience, in a part of our country that I find amazing in its geology and wild life… To be able to spend over 4 days traveling fast and light thru it was amazing. I am not sure if I’ll do another 200 again, it would be on a case by case basis and I don’t know if I would go back to Bigfoot… Not that I didn’t love the race, far from it actually… I wouldn’t want to tarnish such a special experience and risk having a bad go of it next time. Everything came together so well for this one with weather, timing, and especially with Emily crewing for me. I think that is what made all the difference in my race and I wouldn’t want to do one without a solid crew and that is hard to come by. The gratitude I feel for Emily’s service is beyond word.