Pre Race and Training
Here is the story of the race that has changed me forever. I've know about Fat Dog 120 for many years as it's the most well known 100+ miler in Canada and has been going on for quite sometime. It is a Hardrock 100 qualifier so it's definitely not a cupcake race. It takes place in and around Manning Provincial Park which is just North of Washington in the extremely remote Canadian Cascades with stunning scenery everywhere. The race takes place on mostly single track trail and some fire roads. It has around 27,000 feet of vertical climbing and at one time the race was point to point and 120 miles; however, after a few course modifications over the years the current course comes in around 127-128 miles. Good thing they give a 48 hour time limit!! This bucket list race finally became a reality this year as I needed a Hardrock 100 qualifier and it just made sense to finally sign up and run Fat Dog.
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| Face vs rock. Rock wins |
Training for Fat Dog started a lot earlier than I expected for a few reasons. I signed up for Black Canyon 100K which took place in February, see my blog post for Black Canyon if you want to learn more about that one. I started training for Black Canyon in early October 2022 and I ran Mt. Tam 50K in November 2022. So I put in a really solid training block for a few months leading up to Black Canyon, After the race I took a week off and then jumped right into Fat Dog training. In reality I should of waited about 4 weeks before ramping up for Fat Dog but I felt like I had to keep the momentum going. Training was going very well throughout the spring. Mileage was ramping up and I ended up setting my 50 mile PR at MUC in June. At the end of June I was on a training run in the Headlands and I was feeling better then I have ever felt. I felt like my training had me firing on all cylinders and I was running uphill and flying downhill. Cruising down a nice gradual downhill on Old Spring Trail I must of caught a rock with the tip of my shoe and it sent me flying. It all happened so fast that I didn't even have time to get my hands in front of my face to protect it. In fact, my face smashed hard into a few rocks and left me stunned. Basically I had a hole in my lip along with a badly bruised and scraped cheek under my eye. Leg and arm also bleeding and some bikers stopped to make sure I was ok. It took me a minute to peel myself up off the ground. I was so pissed at myself as I was on top of the world with my training and then all of a sudden I was humbled beyond repair.
I was pretty far from home after the fall as I had left from our apartment and ran across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Headlands. I still needed the training miles so I foolishly kept going and completed my training run. I definitely got a few weird looks from all the people on the bridge as I made my way back home looking like I was coming back from war. I had concussion symptoms after that for a long time. Terrible headaches and I was unable to concentrate at work and I didn't feel like myself at all. Running was just horrible so my training was suffering. My Doctor basically said I had a mild concussion and healing time from something like that is different for everybody. I think it took well over a month before I started feeling like my old self and it was pretty scary. Also, in July while dealing with the concussion I was also dealing with training burnout since I had been nonstop grinding since October 2022. My training peaked in June during MUC and still had a few months before the race. Shaun and Ram were also running Fat Dog but both of them were injured and I was doing a lot of long miles by myself.
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| Testing out the heavy loaded pack |
As my late training block mileage was ramping way up I started to get these dreaded shin splints that I had during Bear 100 training. The shin splints were debilitating and I had to manage them while trying to keep my mileage up. Eventually the shin splints were beat into submission (a lot of calf rolling and scraping) and I successfully did my last big training run for Fat Dog which was a Tri Tam (summit Mt. Tamalpais 3 times in one day) and I felt like it was the perfect run to top off this grueling training block. With my taper underway I started to plan the logistics which were proving to be difficult since I could potentially be out there for 48 hours during the race and I would likely be out there for two full nights. Strategically figuring out the what to put in my drop bags and what aid stations I would need those things was not very fun. It was hard to judge where I would be at any given time during the race but in the end I had to use my best guesstimate. Also, since it was a remote mountain race we had a bunch of required gear that we had to take with us so I had to get a bigger pack. Two weeks before the race I put all the required gear into my new pack and took it out for a test run of 20 miles. Upon starting this training run the pack was so heavy and I was not use to having this much weight on my runs and it was very uncomfortable and laborious right away. This added burden was going to be difficult to manage and to make things worse my new pack was slightly to big and the cinch cords only tightened the abdomen area and they kept getting loose so all the weight kept falling on my shoulders. I thought I had figured this out and dialed it in by the time this 20 mile training run was finished but realized it was going to be a nightmare to go two days with this heavy of a pack. I should of worked on a solution for this much earlier than I did. Oh well, I would have to play the hand that was dealt to me. Overall, I was very pleased at how my training went and definitely felt like I gave it my all so I could take comfort in that as I was getting to the start line of what will be the hardest longest race I have ever attempted.
The Race
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| Starting Line |
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| Pre race meeting |
The race does not start and end in the same place and it's actually a decent drive from the finish to the start. Initially we had signed up for the shuttle which would be an uncomfortable ride on a school bus for 2 hours. Thankfully Jess offered to drive us to the start line so we could travel in the comfort of a rental SUV. This year there were unprecedented wild fires all over Canada including a few fires right near where our race started. We could see them on a smoke map and it appeared we would be driving right between two fires on the way to the start. Going down this gravel forest service road it was clear and then all of a sudden we are between two mountains and couldn't see in front of the car because the smoke was so thick. It made sense at that point because the fires were on top of the two mountains we were driving between. Then all of a sudden we made it out of the smoke and it seemed fine. We got really lucky the winds were blowing the smoke away from the race course. Also, the forecast was calling for damn near perfect weather, maybe a little warm during the day but overall we couldn't ask for better in remote Canada in August. Also, it was our luck the Perseid meteor shower happened to be in peak display this very weekend and the night skies were as clear as we could of hoped for. More on that later.
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| On my way up the first big climb |
After all the training and planning it all came down to this weekend and I was more than relieved that we were finally underway. The first 8 or 9 miles is a 5,000 foot climb so nothing like starting the race with a ginormous climb! Shaun and Ram both were outclimbing me here and I just let them go as I know I didn't want to burn myself out at the start of a 128 mile race. I eventually caught up with Shaun and we finished the climb together and enjoyed the incredible views from the top. Could also see the smoke from those two fires that I mentioned earlier but it didn't ruin the beauty of what we were witnessing up there. The next section was about 9 miles downhill through a section of burnt trees where a previous fire did a lot of damage; however, it was kind of cool in it's own way. With about a half mile until the aid station I slipped on a big boulder and both feet went out from underneath me. I landed awkwardly on my shoulder and cut my thumb pretty good. That took the wind out of my sails but luckily I regrouped at the next aid station. Then we started the second of five major climbs in the race. For whatever reason everything seemed very slow going. I was in the back third of the race already and just having a hard time making up time. The heavy pack was also starting to take a toll on my upper back and neck.
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| Shaun top of first climb |
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| Me at top of first climb |
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| Burned Trees Section |
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| Top of the mountain |
The race started at 10:00 am and it started getting dark at about the 50K mark as I made a steep decent down to the Pasayten River. The river is really wide and knee to thigh deep and flowing pretty good. They had a rope for us to hang onto but it was not super tight. Keeping balance on this river crossing proved to be difficult but luckily I made it across without taking a swim. I later learned that Shaun had unfortunately took a plunge into the river soaking everything he had including his warm clothes for the night ahead. He dug out whatever was left in my drop bag and at least had some dry stuff on. After I crossed the river I sat down to change my shoes and socks which they told us would be a good idea at this point so I had them in my drop bag. I also scarfed down a veggie dog which really hit the spot! Not only was it a comforting food but those things are loaded in sodium and just what I needed. I admit I was probably behind on electrolytes and nutrition which does not help energy levels or just how you feel overall. Then we had a mile or two stretch along a highway where we had to wear reflective vests as oncoming traffic was flying and it was quite terrifying but the only way to get over where the next trails are. Jess was waiting at the next aid station and it was probably 11:00 pm and the cutoff was 12:30 pm I think. I put on some of my nighttime warm clothes as temps were starting to drop. I tried to get food and coke in my belly and also loaded up my heavy pack with a bunch more calories. The next 40 miles were extremely remote, in fact, they told us we had to carry most of our own nutrition for this stretch since it was only remote hike in aid stations. So the volunteers had to hike in with all the supplies meaning they would pretty much only have water and maybe a few light snacks.
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| Running along Nicomen Lake |
Off I went into the mountains in the night and started the third major climb of the race. Once that climb topped out we had some rolling terrain across the meadows on top of a mountain. At this point the sun was starting to come out and the views were just incredible. I kind of wanted to just sit down and stay up there doing nothing all day but the reality was I needed to keep moving as time was slipping away. Then Nicomen Lake came into view from way up high and it was a sight to behold. A pristine mountain lake in this spectacular remote part of western Canada and made it all worth it. I took the steep downhill trail down to the lake and then we had to traverse along the lake for awhile until we got to the Nicomen aid station. I was feeling pretty spent by the time I got here it was mid morning. This was another remote aid station and they were doing a great job but didn't really have much to offer and people were waiting for stuff so I just filled water and left out of there. I had a lot of calories with me but I just wasn't consuming enough and I knew it. I started the next long downhill section after leaving the lake and part of the trail gave way over the edge (ground was just thick pine needles and edge was unstable with a big drop off) and I rolled my ankle pretty bad which caused me to bite it. That one really put an exclamation point on how my race was going. After I loosened up the ankle and started shuffling again I got bit by two hornets! Good grief, couldn't catch a break!
I finally reached the aid station at the bottom of the huge decent and it was around lunch time. I tried my best to get some calories in since the second biggest climb of the race was the next section but this was still remote aid station territory so supplies were limited. I trudged on and this next climb snatched my mind, body, and soul. It just kept going and going and I was getting super tired at this point. Time was going faster then humanly possible. I kept expecting to be at the top of the climb and at the mile 80 aid station (Hope Pass) where they would have full supplies and Jess might be there. I was in such bad mental state that I had pretty much given up and decided that this race was not for me and I was ok with arriving past cutoff at the next aid station or quitting because finishing at this point seemed unlikely. I'm pretty sure I swore to never do a 100 mile race again. It seemed like forever before that moment arrived when I made it to Hope Pass but I finally did. To avoid the time cutoff we had to leave Hope Pass by 4:00 pm and I arrived around 3:30-ish. Jess told me I looked rough and I confirmed her observation and was expecting to have to make a tough decision on what to do. Jess knew that deep down I wouldn't accept quitting when I had time to leave before cut off. So she sprung into action and got me a chair, grabbed me some perogies, hashbrowns, chips, and coke. By the way, those perogies were the chefs kiss, oh my god....they hit the spot!!!! Jess gave me a back rub which I severely needed since the weight of my pack was crushing me. Jess also talked to the mountain rescue team and they agreed to let me lay on their cot for ten minutes. I was hoping to sleep but I could only really just lay there; however, that little bit of rest and calories was just what I needed. The aid station volunteers started to tell any remaining runners that we had to get going as it was 5 minutes before cutoff.
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| Up above Nicomen Lake area |
So, I grabbed some more food to go and thanked the volunteers and Jessica for helping me snap out of my death march. Jessica truely saved my race here!! I felt like I had new life walking out of that aid station and then I ran into Shaun who was inbound and wearing some of my clothes that he had to get from my drop bag after falling in the river, they were cold weather clothes too and it was hot out during the day..lol. He would be arriving at the aid station right at cutoff and unfortunately not able to continue. I felt bad for him as he has been dealing with a hamstring injury and chronic ankle pain for quite some time now. He wasn't that far behind me but had succumb to his injuries and the clock did not work in his favor. Shaun told me I had 18 hours to go 48 miles and said it's pretty doable. The thought of doing 48 more miles was very dauting though and the next 25 miles were through those remote back country aid stations. I did get somewhat of a second wind at this point and was able to run to the next aid station which was heading back to Nicomen lake. I was moving pretty well on the climb out of Nicomen and got one last look at this majestic lake from overhead on top of the climb as the sun was just starting to set. I was able to maintain some good stretches of jogging across the miles of meadows on top of that mountain. It was starting to get dark as I was running across this section where 13 hours earlier the sun was coming up.
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| Back across the meadows |
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| Sun setting on the alpine meadows..wow! |
At least I had peace of mind now that we were heading in the right direction and I hadn't missed the aid station which would of DQ'd me. With this mental relief I stopped to relieve my bladder and take a deep breath and then I looked up at the sky and just saw a ton of stars. it was really clear and the meteor shower was in all it's glory out there in the remote mountains, I saw a few shooting stars as I was going to the bathroom and was hoping that Jess got to see this as well. I pressed hard for another mile and a half down that road to the aid station. Had to take full advantage of any opportunity to make up time on runnable sections and this gravel road downhill was ripe for the taking even though I was 100+ miles into this thing. I arrived at the aid station on this road at mile 105-ish and Jess was there!! It was probably 1:30 in the morning and I was so happy to see her. She seemed surprised that I was running into the aid station and seemingly looked as if I was in decent shape. Jess later told me she thought she would be giving me a ride at this point but was super happy that I was doing ok and determined to keep going. A few other runners that came in here just left right away as we were kind of tight on time but I knew if I didn't get a reset here the rest of the race was in jeopardy. Jess was awesome once again making sure that I was well taken care of. Then I set out for what would be the craziest 23 miles of my life. I think I had around 8 hours to complete 23 miles and that included a giant climb of 3,500 feet up a mountain in the last 11 mile stretch.
Luckily when leaving that aid station we had a few miles of downhill on that road which turned from gravel to pavement. I was actually happy to be off trail on a smooth surface for a change and I knew I had to take advantage of this and make up some time even though my feet were absolutely killing me on the hard surface. I made it to the next aid station which was a little over 6 miles away. I think it was around 3:30 or 4:00 am at this point but my memory is a bit hazy. I made quick work at this one and kept moving. On my way to the very last aid station which was about 6 more miles away. I had to run by the area where people were finishing and it crushed my soul a little bit. Heading out along the lake there runners were coming in towards the finish and all excited which was brutal for me mentally. My goal was to reach the last aid station and have 5 hours to complete the last 11 miles because of the huge climb etc... At this time I started to see major hallucinations in the woods. I was seeing a bunch of tents and cars and people that all turned out to be just fallen trees in the woods. I was on this fire road that just kept going and going and going...I started to think I took a wrong turn because the last aid station was just not attainable. I came across another runner who was taking a nap right in the fire road. I was worried that he did not set an alarm and wouldn't wake up in time to finish. I woke him up and asked him if he was planning on staying in the race. He was not to happy that I woke him but I think he realized it was probably a good idea although he may have been going back to sleep as I left. I finally got to the last aid station where they were insisting that I wait around for them to make me a breakfast burrito. I only had 4 hours left to do the last section which was too close for comfort. I politely declined the burrito and said I had to go and I think I offended them but she wrapped some potatoes in tin foil and seemed satisfied when I agreed to take that for the trail. Anyway, with 4 hours left for 11 miles and a 3,500 foot climb up a mountain I was sweating it pretty badly but also determined to put forth my best effort. I started the climb and was digging my poles in and just hiking with all my might. I was having conversations in my head with people that were not there!
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| Views from the last mountain |
I had a serious case of deja vu on this trail as well. I swear I had hiked this climb before; however, I had never been to this part of Canada so I was confused as to how I had been there before. My mind was completely whacko from not sleeping through two nights. Also, not a lot of sleep the night before the race so I pretty much had three nights with no sleep. I kept climbing and climbing. Then the trail seemed to level off and even start going downhill a little. This was also confusing to me as I had only climbed about 2,000 feet and it was supposed to be 3,500. At first I thought I missed a turn to continue up the mountain but according to the GPS I was on course. I thought in my mind that maybe they just said that but were surprising us and the last section wasn't as bad as we thought it would be...lol was I wrong!! This other runner kept asking me if we were on the right course and I kept checking my GPS and assuring her that we were indeed on the right trail according to my GPS. Then the climbing started back up and we climbed and climbed and climbed some more. The trail leveled off for awhile and just when you think we topped out on the mountain..nope..more climbing. I kept looking at my watch and the time was slipping fast. Doing the math I knew if we didn't start the decent off the mountain soon that I wasn't going to make it. There were sections here where we started to drop down like we were starting the decent but then it would start going uphill again and I just couldn't believe it. There were other runners that were just sitting on rocks up there taking a break and completely wiped out. According to the time we had left I knew that no breaks could be taken at this point. I will say, I would love to just go here and hike this section sometime because the views were just insanely nice.
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| More views atop the last mountain |
Finally we topped out and the first mile of descending was very steep on rocky terrain and I was just flailing my body downhill. Only choice if I was going to make it in time was to go with everything I had. The runner who kept asking me if we were on the right course got into an argument with her pacer and she took off sprinting ahead of him. We ran together off and on in this last big downhill. Finally got to some nice single track switch backs which I was running as fast as I could and huffing and puffing like never before. I thought I was laying down a pace of 9 minutes per mile but it was probably more like 12 minute miles..haha. I was getting discouraged as it seemed these switch backs would never end and the drop off to the bottom of the mountain was so much further. Two girls on the trail said welcome to lightning lakes day use area, which is where the finish is, and I got super excited like I was almost there but it turns out we still had a few miles to go. Eventually we got out into the day use area and could see the lake.
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| My toughest earned buckle |
I had about 15 minutes to go the last mile and I ran with everything I had. Flying on the trail next to the lake. I lost the girl that had been staying with me and asking for directions and I'm not sure what happened to her. Huffing and puffing and running with a scared nervous energy I could finally see the finish area on the other side of the lake. The crowd at the finish could see me although I was still in the trees so they didn't know who it was. They were all cheering like crazy. I popped out of the trail and I could see Shaun going crazy and pointing to what direction I needed to go. I couldn't run directly to the finish, I had to go around some stuff and then I had the finish in clear sight. Jess was there going crazy with this huge crowd all cheering for me. I was all business with a death glare towards the finish and running as hard as I could. I crossed the finish line with 5 minutes to spare and completely drained physically and mentally. It was by far my greatest ultrarunning accomplishment to date. I was the very last finisher (DFL - dead fucking last) but I didn't care because I got it done. I would of been devastated to not get it in time after all the training, planning, and logistics etc... Note: Ram finished a few hours before I did. He struggled with an injury but got it done with plenty of time to spare.
Post Race
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| Nice place to recover!! |
The race that snatched my soul but something I will be proud of for the rest of my life. The crazy thing was that I didn't take a #2 the whole race. If I had done that just once I might not of finished in time..lol...one shit away from not finishing. After the race we went to visit Jessica's cousin Corie and her family in Kelowna, BC. They were super nice people and very gracious hosts. They live in a nice house overlooking the Okanagan Lake with mountains in the background. Sitting in the hot tub on the deck the next morning was a pretty great way to recover. Sadly a few days after we left a huge fire broke out in the mountains on the other side of the lake. Luckily no lives were lost but there were dozens of houses and structures that burned. Our heart goes out to everyone who has lost loved ones or houses in all these wildfires lately. Anyway, this was my last race of 2023 and I was looking forward to a much needed break from long runs, training, and racing. I need a huge mental and physical reset along with just living a normal life for a change instead of spending hours and hours training and trying to figure out how to get my long runs in. We also went back to Michigan and Ohio for a few weeks after the race for two family parties and it was really great to see everyone and just relax. Well, onto 2024, stay tuned!
