All the emotions leading up to this race had been mixed. I had trained hard throughout the winter – mustering up the willpower to run in cold, snowy, and icy conditions – but I was plagued with a few setbacks. First, I hurt my ankle at St. George and it never fully recovered. Then I had a string of personal issues, conflicts, misfortunes… whatever you want to call them. And to top it all off, I strained my iliotibial band 3 weeks before the race, bringing my training to a complete halt leading up to the race.
I was having major anxiety about whether or not I could pull off the task I had set out for, and even considered dropping down in distance. I mulled it over and eventually called my dad. He told me there’s nothing wrong with dropping if I had to. What would hurt more is if I decided to run the 50K or 25K (8 & 10 o’clock start times) and I didn’t have any knee problems… Then I’d be kicking myself for not doing the 50 miler. He was right, as usual! So I toed the line at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday morning in hopes of being able to finish the 50 miler that I had initially set out to do.
After a few brief words from the race director, suddenly we’re off into the darkness. I had lined up near the back 1/3 of the starters due to the lack of confidence in my knee. I didn’t want to push the pace too early. I don’t know if this was the right move or not since almost immediately the trail turns into single track. I settled in though, and stuck with the pace of the group. It was almost too comfortable! Since it’s such a long race though, I figured there’s no need to be in a rush this early on.
In the blink of an eye (59 minutes later) I’m at the first aid station. Even though I’m about 8 minutes behind my projected split, I’m feeling ok with where I’m at. Here I have the option of going on a short out-and-back or running a 5.3 mile loop. Everyone seems to be doing the out-and-back first. However, I take the advice of Rodger Smith who I’d been running and chatting with and a few of us headed out on the loop. The loop takes us out on a long descent towards Split Rock Bay, then up some switchbacks and across a few beautiful draws, just before hitting the aid station again. As I was closing in on the aid station, first and second place were on my heels (having already done the out-and-back). I picked up the pace in order to beat them to the aid station. It was pretty cool seeing/feeling how fast those guys run! I ditched my headlamp at my bag, completed the quick out-and-back, and before I know it I’m heading back to the Start/Finish area.
As soon as I head out of the aid station my knee starts hurting. From here to the Start/Finish area (5.6 miles away) is mostly descending, with a few areas getting relatively steep. This was concerning to me. I noticed I had been favoring my leg though, and after falling into a more natural stride, the pain slowly dissipated. I’m sure the frigid air did nothing but help either! In this section I fell in behind Cory Johnson and followed his pace. We’d be playing leapfrog with each other for basically the rest of the day.
Soon enough, I arrive at the Start/Finish area at mile 19 and I’m more than happy to take a short break. My wife and parents are there to greet me which gives me a great moral boost! After a quick bottle refill and after Lydia gets some sunscreen and chapstick on me, I pull out the iPod and I’m on my way. At this point I’m 18 minutes off my split for a 9 hour finish, but honestly, I’m thrilled to still be running. I had told myself if the knee was too bad, this is where I’d be dropping. The thought did not even cross my mind!
I continued out onto the next section. I didn’t know it at the time, but this section would turn out to be my nemesis. This section takes us to the other side of the island (east side) and after another short out-and-back section, we head south for just over 11 miles, then turn back around and do it all over again. Luckily there’s an aid station at about the half way point of this 11 mile stretch. But a few miles before reaching that aid station (Lower Frary AS), I started having terrible back pain. It hurt less when I ran than when I walked, but it was constant nonetheless. I had only looked forward to stopping more than this on one occasion in my life; the day my dad shot his elk. I was able to stop once I was done with that, though. Here I still had to run another 23 miles! Seriously, what had I gotten myself into?
Once I arrived at Lower Frary, my family was there and got me into a chair immediately. They followed my direction I’d given them before the race and lied through their teeth, telling me how good I looked. Come to find out later that they weren’t sure I’d make it to the next stop. I was now 40 minutes behind on my splits and my main goal of a 10 hour finish was now in jeopardy. After getting some fresh socks, a few baby aspirin, and some topical pain reliever rubbed on my back I felt like a new person, though.
The next section to Fielding-Garr Ranch was the best of the day. I felt fresh and my back wasn’t bothering me anymore. I ran this 5.7 mile section in under an hour and shaved 8 ½ minutes off my time. It felt great! I arrived at the ranch, took a few minutes to eat some food, drink some Mountain Dew and was up on my feet again before I knew it. Getting here was such a big mental boost for me since I’d now turn around and head back the direction I came from. I felt ok heading back towards Lower Frary, but the toils of the day were finally catching up to me. My paced slowed and I gave back that 8+ minutes I had just gained.
I reached Lower Frary again and took my longest stop of the day here. In hindsight, I probably should have left sooner, but it felt so good to be sitting down and relaxing. I refueled and eventually headed out for the section that gave me fits earlier in the day. I was not looking forward to this! I don’t know if it was all in my head or what, but this section tore me up. I came to a screeching halt when my stomach went south. I was forced to walk slowly in order to keep my calories down. My legs were feeling good but now my stomach was turning against me. Argghhhh! It was frustrating to say the least.
Eventually I hit the road crossing and started to make my way back towards the Start/Finish area. I stopped momentarily when one of my blisters exploded in my shoe. Every step was now filled with pain at the end of my toe. Ten minutes later another one went, just when I was starting to get used to the last one. It was here that I saw my family for one last time, and Tyler, Britt, and Brian were there too. That was a great surprise and boost to my spirits!
The final 6 ½ miles took a loop around the north end of the island. This section was filled with boulders and was much more technical than I expected. I still felt like I had a good shot to get in under 10 hours, but I had to push it! So I did. After encircling the mountain, I caught sight of the finish line. I hurried towards the finish area and ran hard on the last 800 meter straightaway to the finish. Lydia ran the last short stretch with me and I crossed the finish line in 9:51:22. My first 50 mile finish!
Looking back, I’m very pleased with my effort. I went into an arduous event not knowing how my body – and my knee, more specifically – would react. While I made some mistakes, I gained some significant knowledge from my experience and would not trade that for anything. I know how my body responds under this type of stress and I know what it takes to keep going, even when everything is telling you to stop. There’s definitely lots of room for improvement and I hope to come back next year having made a few adjustments and with some more experience under my belt! A big thanks to Lydia and to my parents for helping me along the way... I could not have done it without you guys!
Now it’s back to training… Wasatch is less than 24 weeks away (not like I’m counting or anything).
