Pacing at the Wasatch 100

I had the opportunity to pace my friend Darrell Phippen from Brighton to the finish at the Wasatch 100. The race boasts around 27,000 feet of vertical gain and 26,000 feet in descent over the course of 100 miles. The section I was running is easily the toughest 25 miles of the course, with over 6,000 feet of gain and nearly 10,000 feet of descent.

I was tracking Darrell’s progress online throughout the day and comparing his splits with the pace chart he gave me. He was expecting to arrive at Brighton around 2:00 am. He was right on his splits until he hit Lambs Canyon (mile 53) where he experienced some stomach issues, so I knew we'd have some time to make up once he got to me. I got to Brighton around 1:00 am, mostly because I don't trust technology and I wanted to make sure I was there in case the computer splits were off at all. It was fun hanging out and talking with other crew members, pacers, and runners.

Finally, Darrell arrived at about 2:50 am . He said he was feeling good, although I could tell he was a little bit incoherent. He spent some time getting some food in him and changing shoes. He said his feet were really sore and he was looking forward to jumping into his Hokas for the final stretch. After a long stop, we left Brighton at about 3:20 am, 80 minutes behind schedule. I formulated a plan to help him get his goal, but right out of Brighton he wasn't interested at all. He would laugh every time I talked about it. However, we cut 20 minutes off his split to the next aid station, Ant Knolls (mile 80).

I could tell he was still a bit out of it when we arrived at Ant Knolls. He sat down and had some broth and a few things to eat. After a 13 minute stop, we were back at it. I told him he still had a chance to get his goal, but he'd have to work for it. Once again, all I got was a laugh. He still wasn't interested. During this section we also both started getting tired. To make sure we kept up on the pace and didn't fall asleep, I started asking him all sorts of random questions. I also mentioned that at any point he could just tell me to shut up and I wouldn't be offended.  We had a few laughs and were able to hit his pace target for this section.

We arrived at Pole Line Pass (mile 83) just as light was breaking. Since this was the last drop bag spot, we agreed that we'd wait 20 minutes or so before leaving, that way we didn't have to carry our lights and cold gear to the finish. Darrell decided to take a 15 minute nap by the fire. I was talking with one of the volunteers there who said she had a brother named Darrell who looked just like him. When I woke him up, I could tell he had no idea where he was. To add to the confusion, this lady immediately starts talking to him about her brother Darrell. He had no idea what was going on. Finally, after about 2 minutes he snapped out of it and we got him out of the aid station.

From this point, I knew we didn’t have a shot at 30 hours unless he could muster up something special. So when I mentioned the 30 hour belt buckle, he said he’ll just borrow mine when he needs it. Obviously, he still wasn’t interested. The section to Rock Springs (mile 87) was right on his target pace, but I knew there was no way to get 30 hours now; It was all about getting him to the finish. At Rock Springs I pulled out his Payday bar that he wanted for breakfast. He ate about half of it as we headed out of the aid station.

I knew the next section would be tough with The Dive and The Plunge in front of us. These two sections are extremely steep and covered with a layer of dust several inches deep. However, they were a blessing in disguise because they got Darrell running again instead of just trotting. At the bottom of The Plunge we started working hard and passing a few people. Darrell even started running some of the short uphill sections. My jaw completely dropped! This guy had over 90 miles in his legs and he was running like he had just started. We ended up passing 9 runners on this section and were 20 minutes ahead of his split for this section. It was incredible!

We arrived at Pot Bottom (mile 93) and filled up Darrell’s bottles. Suddenly, he was out of there. I told him I’d catch up since I still needed to refill my bottles and drink some Coke. I eventually caught up to him after he’d passed 3 more people. Then we passed one more on the climb out of Pot Bottom. Once we dropped down for the final descent, he was running hard again. We passed 3 more people en route to the finish. As we arrived at The Homestead, I gave him a high five then peeled off as he ran the final stretch to the finishing banner. We cut 15 more minutes off his split for the last section and he finished in 30 hours and 33 minutes. What an incredible experience! Darrell did great and was able to shave off an hour from his finishing time last year. I was so impressed with his climbing all day and especially with his downhill gear those final 10 miles or so.

As for me, I felt great the whole run. The legs weren’t even a touch sore afterwards. My feet were pretty tired though. I had bought a new pair of shoes for The Bear 100 in two weeks and I wore them on this run. It’s the same shoe I race in, so it wasn’t a big deal just putting them on and running 25 miles straight out of the box. The problem was, I wasn’t prepared for the structure of a brand new shoe. I’m used to running in my old Wildcats that have over 1,000 miles on them. I raced Wasatch last year in them, the Buffalo Run 50 and Squaw Peak 50 this year, not to mention all the adventure runs and big training runs this year. I love them and will probably run in them til they fall off my feet. Because of the foot fatigue I felt in the new shoe though, I’m rethinking my strategy for The Bear. I’ll probably start the race in the old trusty shoe, then change them out for the new ones part way through the race when I’m in need of more cushion.

Congrats to all the finishers at the Wasatch 100. I had an incredible time out there and was amazed at all the stories I heard. Hopefully, I can draw out next year and run this one again. But first, The Bear 100 is less than two weeks away. The training is done and now I just gotta go out and do it.