Monday, July 29, 2013

SpeedGoat 50K Recap

This was my 5th year running Karl Meltzer's "nightmare" course, this year clocking in at about 32.2 miles. The course zig-zags it's way up the Snowbird Ski Resort to the summit of Hidden Peak at 11,000', and then descends into Mineral Basin, then up over a ridge and down to Pacific Mine in the Tibble Fork area at about 7000'. From there it returns to Mineral Basin up some very steep ATV trails, and then continues to the top of Mt Baldy (just over 11,000'). A quick descent through the "tunnel" into Peruvian Gulch, back to Hidden Peak via the Cirque Traverse, and then a fast 10K down to the base of the resort and the finish. Sounds simple, right? Driving up the canyon at 5AM, I had no idea of the weather forecast and so as I got out of the car in the dawn light, the warmth of the air made me a little apprehensive. The past couple years the heat has crushed me and I was not looking forward to a repeat. I had nothing to worry about, as I would only see the sun twice during the entire run. As usual, the event is highly organized and the volunteers are top-notch, directing the runners and helping answer questions. At 6:15-ish, Karl got on the PA system and went through the pre-race briefing, which included the mass-recitation of the phrases "I will not get into the water", and "I will not short-cut the switch-backs"... both legacies from previous races.
The start finally kicked off at about 6:35AM, and we started the long grind up to our first visit to hidden peak. The air temp was no warmer than when I stepped out of the car at 5AM and so I continued at a conservative pace enjoying the morning and chatting with the folks cruising at the same general pace. Many were surprised to hear this was my 5th Speedgoat, but I assured them it was only because of a significant mental deficiency. At about mile 6 I started feeling my stomach going south, and as a result I slowed a tad, and tried to make some attempt at getting more nutrition in... it didn't sit well, but I kept at it. By the time I got to Hidden Peak at 8.3 miles, I realized that a visit to the bathroom at the summit shack was necessary. Feeling a little better afterwards, I had a couple pieces of watermelon, and then headed down for the 2.5 miles to Larry's Hole aid station. As I descended, my stomach continued to whine, and by the time I arrived, I knew I needed to put some solid food down or it was going to be a long day. Friend and fellow runner Mike Place greeted me at Larry's Hole (he was volunteering at the Aid Station) and helped me get some solid food down, I quickly refilled my water and started for the 4 mile trek down into Tibble Fork and the Pacific Mine aid station. Sure enough, the solid food was the trick, and about a mile into the journey, I started feeling good again and started moving quickly, passing six or seven runners on the downhill. Downhill running, through the dry stream bed/avalanche path is often the worst part of a course for many runners, but I find the delicate dance of bouncing from rock to rock while in a full run incredibly fun and invigorating. I made great time and rolled into Pacific Mine feeling good, but ready for some food and popsicles... yes, every year, Pacific Mine is known for it's vast supply of popsicles. I indulged and ate two, plus some PB&J, and watermelon, washed down with a Red Bull and some ginger ale. I headed out for the brutal climb out of Pacific Mine, but amazingly, I was feeling great. As I started up the climb, I started passing folks (instead of the past two years where I was being passed the whole way up), and was actually enjoying the climb. This, I'm sure was in no small part to the fact that the cloud-cover had only broken for a total of 30 minutes or so the entire day. Either way, I was thrilled to find myself climbing well, and feeling good. I crested the pass and descended into Mineral Basin for my second visit to Larry's Hole. As I arrived at Larry's running strong, Mike Place again greeted me, but this time with "hey, you're looking strong!". He said I looked far better than when I'd arrived 9 miles earlier, and I assured him I was feeling a lot better than that first time as well. He made sure I ate well, and sent me off for the climb to the top of Baldy with a spare PB&J and a cookie. I munched on those as I worked my way up the long climb, again feeling better than I'd ever felt during that portion of the course. Arriving at the "trail" to the top of Baldy, I looked up and laughed. This time Karl basically set the flags so that it was a "straight up the mountainside", 1000' bushwhack to the 11,000' summit, in less than a 1/2 mile of distance... steep is an understatement.
The photo shows a line of tiny people working their way up the steep slope (and "experts only" run during the winter) but you have to look close 'cause they're tiny! After reaching the summit, a short 1 mile downhill (mostly) run brought me to the "Tunnel" aid station, and another popsicle! I love popsicles during these runs as they are basically pure sugar, and are COLD! I ate some more watermelon, refilled my fuel bottle and water pack, and headed through the tunnel to the descent into Peruvian Gulch. It was here I met up with Jim Milar of the Wasatch Mountain Wranglers who had just run the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 the weekend prior, and was here hammering out arguably the hardest 50K in the country. We chatted for a couple miles and then when the trail steepened he slowed down (I'm sure his legs had to be toast at that point). What a fun guy and incredibly experienced runner! I love the fact that we get to meet so many great folks while out on these adventures! I rolled into the bottom of Peruvian Gulch and started the switch-backs that led up to the Cirque Traverse trail, and the last visit to Hidden Peak. As I crested the switch-backs and looked east, I saw the clouds rolling up the canyon threatening to envelop the entire ridge.
Several minutes later, the only part of the mountain not covered in clouds was the trail we were on. I felt like I was on some Hobbit-sponsored trek looking for a ring with the power of the universe... or maybe I was just tired and almost delusional.
As we climbed closer and closer to the summit, the rain became harder and I started to wonder if perhaps bringing a plastic bag would have been smart... fortunately, as I pushed harder up the hill I realized I was at the summit, and could get out of the rain for a minute. I refilled my hand-bottle a couple times with ginger ale and mountain dew, folded up my trekking poles, and started the final run down the mountain. I was feeling good and was able to keep a very solid pace on the way down. I covered the 6 miles in about 50 minutes, and came through the finish in 10:49, a personal best for me at the SpeedGoat. Karl as always was there at the finish to give a high-five and hand out the unique goat-medals. I enjoy this race because of the extreme challenge it presents (for me, this is harder than many 50 mile races), the great environment and atmosphere that surrounds it. It truly is a mountain running party!