Race Reports

Bear 100 Mile Endurance Run, 24-25 Sept 2010

The alarm went off at 4AM, we got ourselves together and jumped in the Trooper and started the drive down Logan Canyon from Bear Lake. The canyon was illuminated by the nearly full moon, and we were the only car on the road, accentuating the fact that this was too early to be up. We arrived at the start just 20 minutes before six, so I ran up and checked in, hooked up my music, and went and stood at the front of the pack. I knew I wasn’t the fastest guy there by any means, but I didn’t want to get stuck on the single track behind someone slower, and I’m generally very conscious about letting faster runners pass.

The start countdown resulted in a big cheer at “go”, and we all started up the 1 mile of paved road that led to the first trail and the 3000 foot climb to Logan Peak aid station. The climb was relentless, but I was feeling good and I fell in with a group of runners on the single track that was moving at a pace that felt good. The Sun came up and the fall colors were absolutely stunning, with the gold Aspens spotting the dark green Pines, and an occasional red Oak tucked into the mix.

I came into the Logan Peak aid station at 8:44, and grazed through the buffet for a few minutes, and then headed out. I filmed a blog entry as I left the aid station, and headed towards the Leatham Hollow aid station. I found signal for my cell phone (the last I would see for the entire run), so I stopped and sent my first blog video. As it finished uploading, another runner was approaching, and she commented on how beautiful the views were (she must have thought I was taking a picture). This runner was from Missouri, and she was stunned by the beauty of our mountains. We ran the remainder of that leg together and chatted as we ran. This was also her first attempt at a 100 mile run, and she only had her brother there to support her run. Sadly, she wouldn’t finish as she bailed after fainting twice around mile 40.

I arrived at the Leatham Hollow station where Chriss was waiting. It was good to see her and get a hug and kiss before heading back out. I was 30 minutes ahead of my fastest pace schedule, so I figured I’d better back it off a little bit. As I left that aid station, my body decided it would make sure I would slow it down a bit, as I started getting intestinal cramping. It was only a three mile leg to the next aid station, but it was going VERY slowly. About halfway up this road, I saw a Forest Service restroom, and it was open for business!

A few minutes later, I was back on the road and feeling better. I arrived at the Richards Hollow aid station at 11:46 feeling better and ready to make up for the time lost on the last leg. I pushed hard to the Cowley Canyon aid station, arriving at 13:53, about 7 minutes ahead of my fastest pace schedule.

The aid station was actually OUT OF WATER, but one of the other runner’s crew chief was there and had a few gallons of water in his truck, so he provided us water so we’d be able to continue on. I grazed the buffet, mixed my fuel, and headed out six minutes later. The climb out was steep, but I felt pretty good, and the descent was smooth single-track and I really enjoyed that portion of the run. I arrived at Right Hand Fork at 15:32, thirteen minutes ahead of my fastest pace schedule. Steve was there ready to pace the next 15 miles, and my in-laws were also there to see what this crazy event was all about.

My daughter Paislee helped me change to fresh socks, and I pounded an Ensure and EMV, and Steve and I headed out. Shortly after this stop, I realized that mixing Ensure and EMV in the same sitting isn’t a great idea… I fought puking for the next six miles. It was a rough section, and for the first time of the run, I wondered if I would be able to finish. I’d always told myself I could run through anything, but this was definitely a new level discomfort. I’d read in an article that the digestive system suffers during long endurance runs because the body diverts blood flow to the muscles and so the entire GI system goes haywire, and I can now vouch for that. After about six miles, I started to feel a little better, and I was able to pick up the pace a little. As we approached the turn off of the gravel road to the single-track trail, another runner was coming up behind us. We told her to go ahead of us so we wouldn’t hold her up. She thanked us and then continued to run up the gravel road. We yelled at her several times to tell her that she missed her turn, and finally she came out of her “zone”, and came back to the turn off. I hoped that little bit of Karma would come back on me later.

As we approached the Temple Fork aid station, Steve’s GPS said we were a quarter-mile out, so he grabbed my bottle and bag and ran ahead to get them filled. About a half-mile later, I arrived at the aid station. I had some soup, watermelon, and cantaloupe, had Paislee and Chriss help me stretch, and we headed up the canyon towards Tony Grove. By the time we got to the top of the canyon, it was dark, and I realized that my headlamp was not as bright as I’d really liked. Lesson learned; get a REALLY powerful head lamp. Moving up and down the rocky trails with minimal lighting resulted in those demoralizing toe impacts and trips that sucked a little more energy out of me each time. Another runner noticed how bad my light was, and offered up a spare he had that I used as a hand-held flashlight. Being able to see made all the difference! As we moved into the campgrounds surrounding Tony Grove, I was feeling pretty good but definitely feeling the fatigue and pain form the successive impacts to my feet. Of course, by the time we made Tony Grove, the battery was dying on the little light and I was back to hammering my feet on roots and rocks.

Steve pointed out how beautiful the lake at Tony Grove was, with the surrounding cliffs and stars reflecting in its glossy black surface. We arrived and Allen was there ready to pace me for the next 17 miles. I ate some soup (warm soup can’t be overrated) and some strawberries, stretched my back and quads, and grabbed my flashlight so I could avoid the abuse from the rocks. About then, someone asked if anyone had a spare hydration bladder, as another runner’s had split and was useless. I’d been rotating between two carry bottles, so we offered up one, and another team had an extra carry bottle, so he was able to continue (he ended up finishing just a few minutes behind me). Chriss asked me if I would need another layer of insulation, and I said no as I felt like I’d generate the heat I needed as I ran, so Allen and I headed out on our first ten mile section to the next aid station.

Of course there was nothing further from the truth, as within 2 miles I started to chill, and I was getting colder and colder regardless of how much effort I put into my movement up the hill. Fortunately, Allen had tied a sweatshirt around his waist “just in case”. I slipped that on and it provided just enough insulation to stave off hypothermia and we hammered it up to the Franklin Trailhead Aid Station. Allen also suggested I mix up a bottle of Recoverite, instead of my normal Perpetuum fuel. This seemed like a good idea to me, so he agreed to use the Recoverite he had in his pack to mix my bottle at the aid station. As we closed on Franklin, I was becoming more and more in need of a bathroom, and feeling worse and worse overall. Arriving at Franklin, I was told there were no bathroom facilities there. Contemplating this reality, I decided to deal with it in the old “woodsman” tradition, and hiked off into the forest to find a suitable location.

Arriving back at the Aid Station, I was now REALLY COLD. They had a fire pit, and several runners were gathered around it. One very experienced runner was there essentially arguing with his crew chief about whether or not he was going to proceed to the finish. I drank a cup of soup next to the fire and I started to realize that I wanted nothing more than to just lie down next to the fire and go to sleep. As that thought took hold of me, I looked at Allen and said “we gotta get outa here!” I stepped away from the fire, and an immediate chill hit me. Allen helped me put my hydration pack on, and I went over to get a piece of watermelon before leaving, and I was shivering so badly I could barely hold onto the melon, and the volunteer become very concerned about my well-being and if I should continue. I told him I just needed to get running and I’d be fine.

Sure enough, I checked out and within ten minutes, I was warmed up, the Recoverite was feeding my muscles, and I was back to feeling pretty good. Allen and I made good time over the next 6 miles, and we at least didn’t lose any more time, but we arrived at the Logan River Aid Station about 45 minutes behind schedule. The crew at Logan River had strung Christmas lights all around the Aid Station, and it was a very surreal vision in the dark of the forest canopy. Troy was there waiting to get moving, and with his experience behind him, he did everything he could to accelerate my departure. I changed socks, ate some soup, some melon, and used their “box toilet”, and we headed out.

Troy has done at least a couple 100’s, and has run many more ultras than I have, so he knew what I’d be going through, and he struck out ahead and basically said “keep up”. I pushed hard and he just kept a few paces ahead of me ensuring I was always “chasing” to stay in step. I was still having some serious GI issues, and ultimately, I had to pull off two miles from the aid station and attend to those issues. This cost a good 7 minutes, and once back on the trail, Troy made it a point to make up those minutes. I struggled to keep up with him, particularly because the fatigue was hitting me HARD. I blacked out several times, awakening as I hit the bushes and tree branches at the side of the trail. I found it amazing that I could fall asleep while moving, but there was no question my body was pretty much demanding I sleep. Troy asked if I had a caffeine pill, and I said no. He had one, and he had me take it. Within 15 minutes, I started to come around to full consciousness… amazing. We continued up the trail to the top of the summit where we could look down on the Beaver Creek Ski Resort area.

We wound our way down the trail to the pavement of the road to the ski resort itself, and worked up that road to the Ski Patrol shack that served as the 75 mile aid station, and the infamous “Morgue”. Just as in the Wasatch 100, the Bear 100 75 mile aid station is indoors, warm, has chairs and benches, and pretty much makes you want to stay there and “die”. Many people end their races there, so Troy told me to get in, get fed, and get out. Chriss and Paislee were there to wish me luck, so I gave hugs and kisses, ate, stretched, and six minutes after entering, I checked out and Troy and I headed up the canyon to Gibson Basin.

The climb was as relentless as expected, and I just plugged along behind Troy, occasionally picking off another runner, but basically just surviving at this point. We reached the Gibson Basin Aid Station just after sunrise, and actually had a few minutes in the sunshine. The warmth felt great! I was so grateful not to be chilled any more. Troy asked if I wanted to pull off Allen’s sweatshirt, but I opted to enjoy the warmth until the next aid station. We spent all of two minutes at Gibson Basin Aid Station, and headed out. There was about a mile of flat trail out along the huge basin, and then it turned up hill and over the summit to descend into Beaver Creek canyon. We descended this section, with Troy pulling me along by staying a few yards ahead of me and me trying to keep pace through the rocky ATV trail. This is what the race director calls the “teeth of the bear”, and as tired as I was at this point, I can understand why. Dancing over, around, and between them was a significant challenge. Finally, we rounded a final turn and the Beaver Creek Aid Station came into view, with our red Trooper in plain sight.

I handed off my hydration pack and hand bottle to get refilled, Paislee helped me get my socks changed, I went over to the buffet and ate some more melon (recurring theme here), and headed out with my new pacer, Tim or the final 15 miles. Troy had me disciplined into much shorter aid stops, so even with the sock change the stop was only 12 minutes. Troy told Tim to keep me moving as fast as possible and not let me spend much time at the last aid station. I had also run this section during training, so the terrain was familiar, and I was able to see landmarks as we proceeded which helped keep the miles passing quickly. Tim also started telling me what percentage complete we were for the leg to the aid station. That was a very helpful way to check off our progress, and within two hours we were closing on the Ranger Dip Aid Station. Tim ran ahead with my bottle and hydration pack to fill it up, I went straight to the buffet and started putting some food down, I sat down and worked out a cramp in my right shin, and we headed out six minutes after arriving.

The last leg of the race starts out with a 700 foot elevation gain in less than a mile, which is pretty much a sadistic twist of the knife by the race director, and then it’s followed by six miles of extremely steep descent on rocky, gravelly, unstable, super-fine-dust-covered ATV trails that covered me inside and out with dust. I ended up coughing up dust for a couple days afterwards it was so bad. We did get some incredible views of Bear Lake during this descent, which partially made up for the abuse, but the best part was coming off the final trail onto the gravel road that made up most of the remaining mile-and-a-half to the finish.

We hit the road broke into a slow run (11-minute mile pace), and it actually felt GREAT! The flat road, no rocks, no roots, no holes to dodge, it was amazing! As we turned into the finish corral, I saw Chriss and Paislee there cheering and shooting video and pictures, and it became real… I had just finished my first 100 mile run, and I’d done it in a fairly respectable time. I passed under the finish banner and told the finish timer “number 276 checking in for the last time!” He smiled and told me my time; 32hrs, 55min, 55sec.