Wasatch 100 2012

Everything was a blur... One minute I’m sitting at work, plugging away on a project.  The next minute I’m at my friend Matt’s house, laughing with friends and enjoying a nice BBQ on a beautiful summer evening.  Aside from the pre-race meeting situated somewhere in there, it was a fairly typical weekend summer night for me.  When I’m forced out of bed by the alarm at 3:40 am the next morning though, it got real.  Fast.  This was the morning I’ve been training for; my “A” race for the year: The Wasatch 100.

When I was selected into the race back in February, I had decided that this was the year to run under the elusive 24-hour mark.  I had nothing to hold me back from working to achieve my goal.  As with anything in life though, things typically don’t play out the way we fantasize in our heads.  As such, I was essentially on the injured list from January to the end of June.  I had a few nice runs mixed in there, but no solid training block to really speak of.  With only about 10 weeks of real training – and having to start from scratch – I knew it would be very tough to achieve that 24 hour mark.  Being the realist that I am, I adjusted my race goal for 26 hours.  I felt like this was a mark I could hit based on my level of fitness on race day.

The Start - photo by Petzl

After the usual morning rituals, Matt drove me, Craig, and Scott to the starting line.  Before I knew it, the countdown had ended and we were off.  The first few miles went off with no major problems, but around mile 3 I mentioned to Scott (who was running next to me from the start) that I was feeling winded.  I didn’t have that pep that I like to feel in my legs on race day.  So I decided to take a gel.  It didn’t sit well... At all.  Welcome to the theme of my race.  I have an incredibly iron stomach though, so I never threw up or got violently ill… Food just didn’t sit well for the first 85 miles of the race.  I’d feel really good for a bit, followed by nausea for a bit.  All. Day.  Long.

I was mentally defeated by the time I hit the first aid station at mile 19, just 4 hours into my run.  Luckily, Scott was still right next to me and we continued to work through some highs and lows together over the first 40 miles of the race.  Huge credit to Scott for keeping me going!  Without him, I would have been broken and my race would have probably collapsed entirely.

Scott and I sharing a high five at Big Mountain - photo by Lori Burlison

I arrived to my smiling crew (mom & dad) and they got me situated and back out onto the course.  Scott picked up his pacer here at Big Mountain (mile 40) and I continued on solo.  I followed them for just over a mile, but started feeling good and decided to go on ahead.  About 2 miles after I passed them though, I hit another low spot.  This time my unhappy stomach and general fatigue were accompanied by a tight chest, and very shallow breathing.  I tried some breathing techniques to turn things around, but nothing was working. 

I trotted into Alexander Springs (mile 47) completely deflated.  I was sure my race was over.  I talked to a medic about my situation since I was unsure what was happening to me.  They had no answers, but also informed me that I wasn’t allowed to drop here.  I had to go on to Lambs Canyon (mile 53) in order to drop.  Six more miles?  Are you kidding me?  So, I made an educated guess as to what my problem was and immediately took in two 20 ounce bottles of water, 12 ounces of GU Brew electrolyte drink, and five – yes, I said five – salt pills; one of which I broke open and poured down my throat.  Then I got up and left. 

 On the way to Alexander Spring - photo by Lori Burlison

Now I was faced with the most exposed section of the course, in the heat of the day, while feeling absolutely terrible.  Wow, things are just getting better for this guy!  I walked for about 10 minutes then things slowly started to turn around.  My shallow breathing dissipated, my chest was feeling normal, and I had some good energy.  So I ran a little.  And it felt good.  I continued to make my way into Lambs Canyon and arrived to my crew cheering me on.  I pounded a whole bunch of water (I was down 8 pounds here), changed my shirt, ate a few things, then immediately started feeling nauseous again.  I sat for a minute and tried to recover, but nothing worked.  So I did the smart thing and left.  Wait, did I just say that?  Yeah, I knew I’d bounce back eventually so I just left before I got stuck here.  Just before I started the long climb up the Lambs Canyon trail I started feeling good again.

The miles from Lambs Canyon (mile 53) to Brighton (mile 75) were good for me.  Aside from another queasy stomach episode at Desolation Lake (mile 67), I made good time through here, with nothing of significance to report.  I arrived to cheers at Brighton from my crew.  It was also good to see Kelli (who will run Wasatch one day), as well as my friend Darrell there also.  My family and friends were keeping me in good spirits here so I spent a little extra time just to enjoy the moment with them.  Thanks Mom, Dad, Shirley, Brittany, Brian, Tyler, Matt, and Kelli… You guys were so awesome!

My crew and I at Brighton

Originally I was going to run the race solo.  However, after the day I’d had, I knew I needed some mental support throughout the night, so at Lambs Canyon I told my dad to be ready at Brighton for the last 25.  And good thing I had him there with me!  He kept my spirits up and kept me focused on the task at hand.  He also kept me awake when I was going through a seriously intense patch of sleepiness.  I knew the 26 hour goal was out of reach, so my focus was to beat my time from two years ago: 28:59.  We worked our way through the aid stations and had a blast just being out there.  We ran into some friends along the way, including Matt Van Horn who I’d leap frog for the last 15 miles.  He and I would end up finishing about 5 minutes apart. 

After eating a gel around mile 85 and nearly puking, I quit eating gels altogether and stuck to GU Chomps.  They worked and I never got queasy again.  Had I figured this out earlier, my race could have been much different.  Hindsight is always 20/20 though, right?!  Aside from doing something to my foot with about 5 miles to go, the last few hours went really well.  I stayed hydrated, ate well, and continued plugging along en route to the finish.  I was elated to hit the grass and run under the finish line with so many people there cheering me on!  I had done it.  The journey ended 28 hours and 37 minutes after I had started.

The finish - photo by Lori Burlison

In all honesty, I’m more proud of this finish than any other thus far.  I knew I didn’t have it from mile 3, but I persevered throughout the day and made it to the finish line.  Elation is a good word to describe the way I felt.  Thanks to all my family and friends who supported me, and continually do so in my daily life.  You guys are the best!  Also, a big shout out to the volunteers that make this race happen.  They are the best, most organized group of any race I’ve had the pleasure of running.  And finally, a huge congratulations to all those who finished!  The camaraderie at ultra running events really sets the bar.  It’s due to the hard work, diligence, pain, and suffering that we all go through out there.  And we do it together.