Bighorn 100 miler

Bighorn 100 miler

June 17

This race came onto my radar when the VHTRC ambassador (Gary Knipling) declared it the destination race for 2015.  I think I had previously considered this race, but had rejected it because it was too far from Virginia, and it did have some altitude.  The first excuse was minimized due to the fact that I now live in Alabama, and I could make it to Sheridan, Wyoming in my plane with only one fuel stop.  And the second excuse faded from my mind when David Snipes told me he was going to enter the 100 mile race.  So, I also entered the 100 mile race figuring that 34 hours was plenty of time to finish a 100 mile race.

For a 100 mile or 100k race, I like to have a crew to ensure I have my grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, chocolate milk, and Conquest.  Despite its popularity with many runners, the first two do not seem to be staples at most aid stations.  The third item, Conquest, is no longer available, and I am down to my last two canisters of powder.  My son and daughter have crewed for me most recently, but neither of them was available for this race.  So, I began trying to recruit from my co-workers, and the summer intern volunteered.  His name is Andrew, and he has just one more year left at the University of Alabama.



Setting sun on the way to Shenandoah, Iowa

We begin our trip on Wednesday afternoon by stopping at Buffalo Wild Wings for the two day out, pre-race meal—15 wild wings, onion rings, potato wedges, celery, and blue cheese dressing.  I had to forego the beer as I would be piloting my airplane soon.  We manage to depart the Huntsville Executive Airport around 5:45pm.  Our destination for today is Shenandoah, Iowa.  Along the way, we divert around a couple of thunderstorms, arriving safely after 10pm.  The airport is closed, but coordination earlier in the day told us where the key for the courtesy car was hidden.  We retrieve the key and drive the retired police cruiser into town for night at the Shenandoah Inn.

June 18

The Thursday flight into Sheridan was mostly uneventful.  We had to divert well north to avoid an early morning thunderstorm, but otherwise, we had an enjoyable flight seeing some of the Badlands along the way.  At the Sheridan airport, Avis has our car waiting for us on the tarmac.  Our vehicle for the weekend is a Toyota Rav4.  I requested a four-wheel drive vehicle because it can be useful getting into aid stations.  We get checked into the Best Western and meet up with Snipes.  We all then go to packet pick up where we see Gary, Zeke Zucker, and others.  The day is a nice, warm, beautiful summer day here with the temperature in the mid-80s.  I am hoping that tomorrow will be a little cooler.

After getting our race packets, Snipes, Andrew, and I grab lunch at Sanford’s, which turns out to be a most excellent establishment for a burger.  We stuff ourselves, and then Andrew and I head back to the room to organize and plan for tomorrow.  I list out all of the items I think I might want at each aid station where I will see Andrew.  He gets a feel for all of my gear, including my white gas backpacking stove.  My other stoves are in the possession of my daughter, who is in Virginia.  For dinner, we go to Ole’s and feast on some pizza and pasta.  It is decent, and I stay up until past 10pm so that I will be able to sleep as late as possible.

June 19-20



All of the VHTRC runners

The pre-race briefing is at 9am with the 100 mile race starting at 11am.  Did I mention that Snipes has decided to drop back to the 52 mile race?  Now, I will not have the opportunity to try and beat him for the first time at the 100 mile distance.  The briefing is good and thorough.  Afterwards, all VHTRC associated runners gather for a picture.  There are many of us, although only a dozen or so of us are running the 100 mile race.  The other race distances are 52 miles, 34 miles, and 18 miles.  We drive towards the start, park along the south side of the road, and then walk at least a half mile to the starting line.  It is nice and warm already, and I hope it is cooler at the higher altitudes.

Driving towards the start

Mile 1.3      13:10 (10:08 avg./mile) TR TH out

This first section is along the dirt road on which the race started.  I glide along, feeling well, but also realizing that it is a warm day.  The field of runners is over 300, and we spread out nicely during this first stretch.

Mile 3.5      34:08 (15:31 avg./mile) Lower Sheep out

The course switches to a single-track trail that begins the climb up beside a river.  The other runners are jockeying around a little bit, but most of us are content to just try to keep up with the runner in front of us.  When I come into the aid station, I click my watch, but don’t even look at the time as I am not concerned.  This pace is still comfortable and quick enough, but the climb isn’t too steep yet as we are still beside the river.

Mile 8.5      1:44:02 (20:48 avg./mile) Upper Sheep out

This section leaves the river and continues the climb up steeply, but still inside the canyon.  It is quite warm (probably in the mid-80s), and there is no shade at all.  The air is thinning as we climb, and I begin to feel my lungs working harder to provide the needed oxygen.  I am also sucking water often, and my Camelbak runs dry a few minutes before reaching this aid station.  I hadn’t topped it off at the earlier aid stations as 45 ounces of water is usually plenty for 15+ miles even in warm weather.  However, as hard as I am working and sweating, I guess I am not surprised that I have drained my Camelbak in about 8 miles.  I fill my Camelbak at this aid station, grab half of a turkey and cheese sandwich, and eat a handful of potato chips.

Mile 13.4    1:15:45 (15:28 avg./mile) Dry Fork Ridge out

Leaving the last aid station, I run beside Jaret Seiberg.  He says he is feeling the effects of the altitude and is going to take it easy.  I am also feeling a little light headed, but otherwise I feel okay.  We are well over 7,000 feet elevation at this point.  Regardless, Jaret pushes on ahead of me after a mile or so.  Another mile or so after that and Boots Nickle catches up to me.  She is truly enjoying herself, and I see her off and on for the next few miles.  Around mile 11, the course descends about a 1,000 feet dropping us into the first aid station with crew access.  Just less than 7,000 feet, and I feel like I have covered about 25 miles at this point.  Andrew is all set up with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, a refilled and ready Camelbak, and plenty of Conquest.  Andrew tells me I am only 15 minutes behind my own projected pace.  I drink about a pint of Conquest and eat half of the sandwich before I take off.  I will eat the other half of the sandwich while I walk down the trail.

Mile 19.5    1:37:37 (16:00 avg./mile) Cow Camp out

Simply beautiful scenery!

I take it easy at first leaving Dry Fork while I eat the other half of my sandwich.  Then I begin to pick things up.  I thought at this point is to just keep moving forward.  This section is up and down rolling without any real loss or gain in elevation.  I feel like I have adjusted to the elevation, and I like the time I am making.  There are even a few short sections in the trees.  I roll into Cow Camp with my Camelbak again needing to be refilled.  I accomplish that and grab a granola bar and some chips.  I also drink half of a cup of Pepsi to try and jump start my pace and maybe help my light headedness.  So far, my time is decent, but I need to keep moving.

Mile 26.5    2:00:41 (17:14 avg./mile) Bear Camp out

I think I am pushing harder and picking up the pace, but my time does not reflect it.  This section is still more of the rolling hills around 7,000 feet elevation.  I refill my Camelbak again as I don’t want to run out of water again.  It is time to push to the next aid station where I will see my crew again.

Mile 30.0    1:07:37 (19:19 avg./mile) Sally’s Footbridge out

River beside Footbridge aid station

Most of this section is sharply downhill.  For the first part, I am on quite a roll as I pass several other runners.  Then we have to navigate a sucking mud section and after that I am not able to run quite as fast as I was before.  I still feel like I am making good time, but the aid station takes forever to get to.  Incredibly this section is almost as slow as the section with the steepest climb.  Much of the downhill is equally steep, and I think this prevented me from making great time.  At the aid station, Andrew is there with all of my stuff ready.  I eat a full bowl of Ramen, washing it down with chocolate milk.  Then I take a black long-sleeve shirt and my Houdini jacket with me as the sun will be setting soon.  I also strap on my headlamp.  I am now a full hour slower than my own projection, but the projection was based on a 30 hour finish, so I have time to spare.

Mile 33.5    1:16:43 (21:55 avg./mile) Cathedral Rock out

This is the first aid station that surprised me.  I didn’t know how far it was to the next aid station, and I was just power hiking up the mountain when here is an aid station.  I again feel like I am keeping up a decent pace, but as can now be seen my pace is continuing to slow down.  I look over the assortment of food at this aid station, and the only thing I want is another little chewy granola bar.  I devour it and then head on up the mountain.

Onward and Upward

Mile 40.0    2:41:53 (24:54 avg./mile) Spring Marsh out

After leaving Cathedral Rock, I start running with a lady named Kim.  She is from Denver, and this is her first 100 mile race.  We chat a little, but mostly just keep each other company as we try to persevere against this almost 5,000 foot climb.  Kim has a GPS watch, and she says at one point we have just covered the last mile in 18 minutes, which sounds like a really good time to me given the steepness of the climb.  Then it gets dark, Kim stops for something, and I push onward.  My spirit is good, but I know that I need to reach the 48 mile mark before 2am.  This aid station, unlike the last one, takes me forever to reach.  It is just past 11:30pm at this point, and I need to pick up the pace if I am going to make my 2am goal.  My original goal was to be at mile 48 by midnight.  I grab a few snacks, and head on out to continue my trek to the top.

Mile 43.5    1:48:25 (30:59 avg./mile) Elk Camp out

It is now past 1am, and I am starting to not like my chances of staying ahead of the cut-off times.  There is now a stream of runners heading back towards me.  The leader met me just before mile 40, and now the runners coming towards me come in bunches.  Many of the runners have pacers with me, so it is difficult to count how many there are.  At this aid station, there are several runners who are really hurting.  This is another aid station that was packed in on horses, so there really is no option to drop out at this point.  One guy’s headlamp has gone dead, but it is a rechargeable so the aid station can’t help him.  They have fresh batteries, but these are of no use to him.  I get some soup and eat more chips before heading on up the mountain.  As I am leaving the aid station, there is a hammock already setup and just waiting for me to lie down in it.  It is extremely tempting, but I resist the temptation and press on towards the next aid station where my crew should be.

Mile 48.0    2:02:59 (27:20 avg./mile) Jaws Trailhead

As I watch the clock tick through the 2 o’clock hour and towards 3am, I realize that this is not going to be my day.  If I were to leave mile 48 at 3am, I would have to run an even split pace to finish within the 34 hour limit.  As it is, the time is 3:23am when I get into the aid station.  I tell Andrew it is time to call it quits.  I report into the aid station workers that I am dropping out.  Then Andrew and I get into our vehicle and head towards Sheridan and our hotel.

Quitting Time      16:23:00

It takes over an hour and a half to drive back to Sheridan.  It felt like we were driving downhill forever.  It is daylight when we finally get into the hotel.  I leave my mud caked shoes outside the door as I will throw them away tomorrow.  They have nearly 500 miles on them, and the tops have a couple of holes.  Like all DNFs this one stings a little, but I am not disappointed in my effort.  This is a tough course that was made a little harder by the warmer weather this year.  My main thought is that I need to acclimate at least a week at 5,000 feet or higher before running a race like this again.  In 2011, I was in Colorado for 10 days before Leadville, and I think it was key to my finish there.

Saturday evening finds me and Andrew back in Dayton in the park with most of the rest of the VHTRC.  There is nearly a steady stream of runners finishing, and we enjoy fellowshipping with the whole gang.  Gary is making sure everyone is well hydrated, and Scott Crabb gives us an extra meal ticket.  I talk with Zsuzsanna Carlson for a while.  She is very disappointed that she had to drop at mile 66.  I also talk a bit with Sophie Speidel, who ran the 52 mile race.  She thinks this was a hard long course, and her race with downhill the majority of the time!  In the end, it is a very nice evening.

I am not sure at this point what my next race will be.  Stay tuned!

Never stop running,

Darin

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