Fat Dog 120 errr...128: August 11th, 2023

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.

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.  

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

Starting Line

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.

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.

Shaun top of first climb

Me at top of first climb

Burned Trees Section

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.  

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.  

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.

Back across the meadows

Sun setting on the alpine meadows..wow!

The next aid station seemed like it took forever to get to and I think this stretch was around 10-11 miles and a lot of gradual uphill.  I finally got there, filled my water, and quickly left as they didn't have many supplies, plus time seemed to be slipping away with abandon.  The next section was very technical downhill for awhile and then a gradual but persistent climb.  Finally I popped out onto a gravel road where I thought the aid station was supposed to be and there were no more course markings close by.  There were cars parked there but I didn't see the aid station.  Some people in the back of a truck didn't seemed too pleased when I accidentally shined my waist light in their face while asking them where the aid station was.  They pointed down the road so I started running down the road and it was not coming into view.  Mentally I started questioning whether it was back near those people but I just had to go a little bit in the other direction but I wasn't sure.  So I got a ways down the road and started freaking out about it and turned around to go back and look at the course markings again where we initially popped out of the trail.  Another runner came out of the trail at this point and he didn't speak English to well but kept saying he thought it was a ways down the road.  I trusted him and ran with him for awhile but no aid station was appearing.  I was checking the GPS route on my phone over and over.  I finally figured out I was not zooming out far enough on the map and the aid station was much further down the road then I thought.  Phew!!  I was going in the right direction but during the uncertainty I wasted precious time and energy running back and forth a few times on that gravel road.  Keep in mind that I have been awake for at least 40 hours straight at this point so mentally I was confused.

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!  

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.  

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.  

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

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!

MUC 50: June 3rd, 2023

MUC is short for Marin Ultra Challenge and as mentioned in previous blogs this is my favorite race in the Bay area.  Not only does the race start and end at Rodeo Beach which is just 15 minutes from my place but the 50 miler hits all of the best trails in Marin county which I train on and there is not overlap in the course.  The race is usually at the beginning of March and I decided to skip out this year since it was so close to Black Canyon 100K and I could not recover in time.  Mother nature intervened as she really wanted me to do MUC and there was an atmospheric river event going on the same weekend as MUC so they decided to move the race to the beginning of June.  This actually worked out really well because it lined up perfectly with my training schedule for Fat Dog 120 in August.  So I joined the waitlist to get into the June MUC 50 and immediately got in as some that couldn't make it in June for the race had to drop out.  I always thought that early March was a bit to soon for a 50 miler anyway but I guess if people are training for a spring or early summer 100+ miler it would work.  

I arrived early to the race because parking is at a premium for MUC.  If you show up late you have to park quite a ways away.  Shaun and Ram had arrived shortly before me and we hung out for awhile before the race start.  My goal has been for quite a few years to run a 50 miler in under 12 hours.  MUC would be a challenging course to do this because it has over 11,000 feet of climbing but my training was going well so I decided to give it a shot.  The race started and Ram and I noticed that we were right behind someone that we both recognized by the voice and lingo.  It was someone that used to be on a podcast that I listened to.  I was surprised that he was running MUC but I was not a big fan of his anyway for a few reasons so I kept my distance.  After the first climb I was still with Shaun and Ram and we bombed the smooth easy downhill on Miwok trail.  In fact, I think we went a little to fast because we were doing 7:30 miles and wasting a lot of energy.  The upside of this is that we were able to get our average pace down to a nice number.  On the next uphill Ram separated from Shaun and myself as he is a lot faster than us.  We had a steady pace on this climb and all the way to the stinky bathroom aid station.  The next section was uneventful and we bombed down our favorite downhill in Marin county, Marincello trail.  TN valley aid station was a quick stop to refill water and go.  In the next section on the Pirates cove trail Shaun and I got separated.  I was determined to get my sub 12 hour MUC and I pressed on.  Quickly got out of the Muir Beach aid station and started the long climb up Donkey Kong (Heather cutoff) and the Coastal trail all the way up the Cardiac aid station in Mt Tam state park.  On these long climbs I met Nizar and we discovered that we have some mutual acquaintances.  I was able to run most of Heather cutoff which proved to be valuable for later on when my pace slowed on the tougher climbs. 

Nizar and I stayed together for quite awhile, after leaving the cardiac aid station we bombed down the Dipsea trail into Stinson beach and then we did the dreaded super steep climb up the Willow Camp trail.  We kept a steady pace along the Bolinas ridge headed back toward Pantoll campground.  Nizar was feeling good in this section and I was starting to hit a wall.  Once we got on the Matt Davis trail he took off which I encouraged him todo since he was feeling good.  I got back to the Cardiac aid station and then kept a steady pace down to Muir Woods.  I started feeling good again on the climb up Ben Johnson trail which was the second toughest climb of the day.  I was able to bomb downhill to the Deer Park aid station.  Kept a steady pace up the single track switch backs of the Miwok trail.  By this time I was starting to feel pretty beat up but had to keep pressing on to get sub 12 hour.  I managed a speed just over a shuffle on the Dias Ridge downhill back to Muir Beach aid station.  On the next climb up middle green gulch trail I met someone named Shelly who was doing her first 50 miler.  She mentioned that she had overcome some health issues in the last few years and at one point couldn't even walk.  Through a lot of hard work she came back and started running with a new lease on life.  She still had a hard time running downhills but could crush the uphills and keep a steady pace along with being a really fast hiker.  She moved ahead of me toward the end of the uphill.  Then I passed her on the downhill into the final aid station at TN valley.  

There was only 4 miles to go and I was surprisingly on pace for my sub 12 hour MUC.  I made super quick work of that aid station as I only filled my water and bolted.  Nizar was at the aid station refueling and I said hi to him as I left out.  Although feeling pretty rough I was able to manage a shuffle after getting to the top of the last climb up the Old Spring trail.  Shelly must of ran up the entire Old Spring trail because she passed by me after getting to the top.  Only a few more steep little uphills and I was on the last decent into the finish at Rodeo Beach.  I was relived to know that not only was I going to get sub 12 but I ended up finishing in 11:37 and it was still light out so didn't even need my head lamp.  Pretty happy to set my PR on this day and in my favorite 50 mile race.  Only a few more months until what will be the hardest race I have ever attempted, Fat Dog 120.

Black Canyon 100K: February 18th, 2023

I had my eye on running Black Canyon 100K (race is just North of Phoenix) for quite a few years.  The idea of running a 100K in the desert during mid Feb temps on what I thought were non technical trails just sounded great.  When a few of my OG running friends from Ohio asked if I wanted to join them for the 2023 race I didn't hesitate.  We rented a huge house in Phoenix with pool and hot tub, it was going to be a fun trip.  The only thing I wasn't too excited about was training through the holidays as this is usually the time where I dial back the miles and try just live as a normal human.  Although, I didn't train for anything between July and October so I figured that was a long enough break for the year.  I started to get serious about Black Canyon in mid October.  I ran a training kickoff 50K (Mt. Tam 50K) at the beginning of November and got sub 7 hours which was my goal.  My training mileage was slowly building thru the holidays.  I ran a 6 hour event at Chrissy Field with Jessica on New Years Eve during a monsoon and that turned out pretty well as I got 5th overall and 3rd in my age group.  I felt in peak shape throughout January and was ready to run the race.

A work trip to Florida got scheduled for the beginning of race week so I went a few days early to spend some time with my parents who were renting down there for a month.  I didn't like the idea of traveling across the country and going on Eastern time for a few days during race week and throwing my sleep schedule off but not much I could do about it.  On Wednesday morning of race week I got a call that my Grandma Farley had passed away.  This was the same day that I was flying to Phoenix to meet up with the guys.  I was told that the showing was on Sunday and the Funeral on Monday.  This was sad as my Grandma lived a few houses away from me growing up and we spent a lot of time with her.  I went to Phoenix but got a plane ticket to go back for the funeral the day after the race so I could attend the funeral on Monday.  I got to Phoenix Wednesday evening and was pretty burnt out from the travel, time zone changes, and news of my Grandma but having a few beers and hanging out with the guys was good for the soul.  Friday we went and got our race packets and were all set to rock on Saturday, this race would be for Grandma Farley.

The Race:

Race morning was a bit chaotic.  We got to the shuttles early as the race crew had asked of the runners; however, not a lot of people heeded the advice so the buses were late for leaving to go to the start line.  Our start line wave had already began as our bus was pulling into the high school where the race begins.  It was frantic as when the buses parked everyone was scrambling around to get to the track and get started.  A few in our group had to use the bathroom and we were trying to stay together in order to get some miles together as a group.  After the delays we were finally underway.  The start had us weaving through some of the streets in the little town of Mayer, AZ. Then we were on a smooth dirt road for a few miles before turning onto the Black Canyon trail which goes for many miles all the way back to the Phoenix area.  We stopped at the famous windmill which is on all the race logos etc...  After the second aid station our group split up.  I was running with Chas and Pete and Ron and Johnny were together.  This is when we linked up with the single track portion of the trail which goes on for the rest of the race through the desert and offers some great views.  I thought for sure the trail was going to be fairly non technical and I thought I would do pretty well at the race since my training was going good.  My ultimate goal was sub 14 hours but I would be pretty happy with a sub 15 as well.  We had to get under 17 hours in order to count for the Western States qualifier.  The first 5 or 6 miles of singletrack was pretty smooth and mostly a slight downhill so it's easy to crush some early miles. Then the trail started to get a little more technical with loose medium size rocks strewn about.  Around mile 15 or so I took my first tumble, rolling my ankle on a rock and eating dirt was not fun so early in the race.  

The sun was out around mile 19 or 20 and it wasn't a super hot day but I started to not feel good and struggled to keep up with Chas and Pete through the next 4 or 5 miles.  I think my nutrition was off (not enough gels!) and lack of sleep from time zone changes along with the sun was all hitting me at once.  We did one of three river crossings somewhere in the first half of the race I believe and feet were soaked.  Around mile 25 or so I encouraged those guys to go on without me as I needed to do some walking to get myself right.  I came into the Black Canyon aid station which was around the half way point of the race and Chas and Pete were just getting ready to leave there.  I changed socks here and ate some food while sitting in a chair for a little while.  It was good to get a nice reset at this point.  After leaving the aid station on my way back to the main trail I saw Ron and Johnny heading toward the aid station, they were not too far behind me and they told me that Chas and Pete were not that far ahead of me.  I was feeling better after my reset and kept a steady pace in the next few sections although the trail had turned a lot more technical than I ever anticipated.  There were an extraordinary amount of those medium to large size loose rocks everywhere.  Kicking toes on them and tripping on them was getting old.  I had fallen another time out there.  Also, having dry feet after changing socks was nice but it wasn't long before we got to the second of three river crossings.  We finally got to the afternoon hours and the sun was starting to go down.  This is usually when I get a second wind, cooler temps allow food and drink to circulate through my body.  I was moving quite well in miles 40-50.  I came into the mile 50 aid station right when Chas and Pete were leaving so I could tell I was gaining on them.

I didn't spend long at the mile 50 aid station as I just wanted this race to be done.  We had some climbing to do after this one and it was nice to change it up.  I felt better and better and was moving well into this section before the last aid station at mile 58.  I finally caught up to them at mile 58, and with only 3.5 miles to go I just filled one water bottle and was ready to bolt.  I was so happy to be in the last section that I sprinted out of the aid station.  The race had not gone as planned so sub 14 and sub 15 were both out of reach.  Chas, Pete, and myself were running with a few others to the finish and seeing the Hoka blue lights I was ready to push on the gas and get there.  Chas and I were moving pretty good to cross the finish line and there was a little dip in the trail which I proceeded to trip on and fall right right in front of the live stream and a whole crowd of people that were cheering us on.  AJW was commentating at the finish line and I ended up getting my 15+ seconds of fame as he interviewed me on the live stream.  Yes, there is video evidence of me doing a spectacular fall across the finish.  The three falls in the race beat me up pretty good so I went to the medical tent at the finish to get some of my wounds cleaned out.  Ended up coming in under 16 hours which was good for a western states qualifier.  Johnny and Ron came in a little later and by the time we got back to the AirBnb it was around 2:30 am.  Shower and sleep for 2 hours and then get up and organize all my crap to repack my suitcase AGAIN.  I'm glad I got to go out to breakfast with the guys before my flight to Ohio for my Grandma's funeral.  It was a really short but super fun weekend.  We need to do this kind of thing more often.

2022: My Ultrarunning Year in Review

 I have done a terrible job in keeping up with my race blog this year.  In fact, I have not completed one single race report.  I decided to summarize the year in one post so here it goes:

March 12: MUC 50

Johnny Rutherford traveled west from Ohio to take on this challenging 50 miler with me in the spring.  This is an awesome race because it takes place on all of the best trails that Marin has to offer.  It does have a fairly decent amount of climbing, around 11,000 feet which is the most challenging aspect.  The morning was nice and cool, but the sun eventually came out however it didn't get to hot.  John and I had a pretty steady day out there.  The willow camp climb at the half way point really kicked our ass, which is pretty normal for this race.  We finished just over 13 hours and had a great time.  Had a Dean Karnazas sighting because he wasn't to far ahead of us.  I was really glad that John came out to see the MUC course.  I feel that one of these years he will be back to try and go sub 12 hours!

April 4: R2R2R (Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim)

This has been on my bucket list for quite some time.  Ram put the wheels in motion but he had to take an emergency trip to India so he was unable to make it.  Jess and Shaun's wife Jessica did a successful hike down to the river and back up the day before Shaun and I attempted this R2R2R. We got an early start, maybe around 4:30 am.  Packs completely loaded with supplies to last the whole day in the Canyon and we set off going down the famous Bright Angel trail.  The sun was rising as we were descending into the Canyon and it was about as close to a religious experience as you can get.  We made it to the river after a few hours and then filled up with water at Phantom Ranch.  Then began the section across the canyon floor and to the start of the first major climb to the North Rim on the North Kaibab trail.  The trail on the North Rim was more rugged then Bright Angel.  We ran into elite ultra runner Jeff Browning (Bronco Billy) as we were filling water before the steepest section of climbing.  Made it to the North Rim and took a little break in the leftover snow from the season..  The descent down from North Rim was in the heat of the day and it was pretty rough due to being technical.  The sun was bearing down as we made our way back across the Canyon floor to Phantom Ranch.  Upon reaching Phantom Ranch we refilled our water, took a break, and then began our climb back up the South Rim.  We took the South Kaibab trail up and it was a lot steeper than Bright Angel.  It was seriously tough getting out of the Canyon.  Some nausea set in and after it got dark the wind picked up and blew gravel and sand in our face.  Finally we reached the top and the day was complete.  This was an extremely tough 46 miles and 9,500 feet of climbing.  However it is one that I can now scratch off the bucket list.

               

April 23: Canyons 100K

This was my second time doing Canyons 100K.  It's actually a pretty fun and challenging course going the reverse direction on some of the Western States course.  There is around 15,000 feet of climbing with some of the steeper sections in the second half of the race.  Ram was still in India so he could not come to Canyons this year.  Pancho came into town to run it with Shaun and myself.  Jess also came and ran the 25K and unfortunately tore her meniscus but did end up finishing the race. It was a nice cool day which is great for running.  Pancho was off to a fast start.  Shaun and I stayed steady for the first half of the race.  We were both feeling pretty beat up during the second half.  The wheels completely fell off going around the Deadwood Canyon loop.  Then we started the last long stretch before the finish which is around 10 miles.  I started feeling decent on the first big climb and Shaun said to go ahead.  I was doing the old man shuffle in the flat parts and slowly climbing the rest.  The last 3 miles was nothing but slush puddles from all the snow they got in the higher elevation a few days prior.  The puddles were unavoidable so our feet just got soaked and we had to deal with that reality.  Hearing the sounds of the finish line mic for a mile or 2 before you get there is also challenging but if you keep plugging along then eventually the finish line appears, and it did.  Finished in 17:24 which is longer than last year but good enough for a Western States qualifier and a tough but rewarding workout.   

  

June 25: Broken Diablo 50K

Shaun and I trained for Broken Arrow 52K which took place near Lake Tahoe on June 18th and that race has more than 10,000 feet of climbing.  Things went sideways for Broken Arrow as I decided to withdraw because Jess got COVID and I had some minor symptoms and thought it would be best if I didn't take any chances.  Shaun ended up not finishing by choice.  We both wanted redemption so we decided to emulate Broken Arrow by running a 50K with similar ascent but at a different location...Mt. Diablo.  Thus the name that Shaun came up with..Broken Diablo 50K.  There was one major difference from the weekend before and that was the weather.  Up near Tahoe they ended up getting snow and high winds on race day but a week later at Diablo it was 90 degrees and full on sun.  Neither of us do well in the heat but we gave it a go.  Got an early start when it was a bit cooler but it didn't take long for the sun to come out and do it's thing.  The hottest part of the day is when we were climbing up mothers trail which is an extremely tough climb.  I don't think you can possibly move any slower then the speed we were going.  We got back up to the summit for the second time and Shaun downed 3 gatorades..lol.  Then after getting snacks and resting for a bit we struggled down to eagle peak and back to the cars.  It was a tough and hot day which was perfect redemption to make up for Broken Arrow.       

November 12: Mt Tam 50K

This was one of my best races ever.  It's a tough 50K with around 6,700 feet of climb.  This race was going to be a kickoff to my training for Black Canyon 100K in Feb. 2023.  I set a goal for myself to go sub 7 hours in this one and I knew that was going to be a tall order.  I had a few decent training runs leading up to it.  Jessica, Shaun, and Shaun's wife Jessica all did the half marathon.  When the race started I was just trying to get into a groove.  Pushing myself up the first climb as I knew that would be key to setting the pace.  My plan was to make quick work of the aid stations as I knew I didn't have much time to spare and that's just what I did.  I was being aggressive with my pace uphill and especially downhill all day.  There was not a single point in the race where I just relaxed and leisurely walked to recoup.  This was difficult because I had never pushed like that in a race before.  Normally I just go with the flow and have fun but this time it was all business.  I listened to hardcore music the whole day and it was fitting for my effort.  I knew it was going to be close as I came into the last aid station.  So I pushed as hard as I could to the finish and ended up beating my goal by about 5 minutes.  This was very rewarding in it's own way.

 

Dec. 31: New Years One Day 6 hour event

I have wanted to try an official timed event for quite awhile.  This particular race fit in well with my

training schedule for Black Canyon 100K and the course is at Crissy Field not far from where we live.  There is not a lot of climb at Black Canyon so I figured running around a flat 1 mile rectangle loop course for 6 hours would be perfect training.  I also thought maybe it would be boring so I que'd up some podcasts and music to keep me entertained.  Jess also signed up for the event which I thought was really cool.  Little did we know what we actually had in store for our day.  An atmospheric river which set a record for rain in SF happened to take place in the exact 6 hours of our event.  Talk about raining sideways!!  There was flooding everywhere and it rained hard the whole time.  I could only laugh at this fortune and just go with it.  My first 18 laps or so went pretty well.  The wheels really started to fall off about 23 laps in when my legs were tired from all the running!  In normal ultras I am hiking uphills so working different muscles but this was just straight running the whole time.  I maybe only walked a total of a half mile all day.  There was one particular puddle that was about 20 yards long and no going around it.  When the race started it was about ankle deep but after a few hours it was knee deep cold water.  Had to go through that thing what amounted to 31 times as that is how many laps I got in.  Total mileage was 31.8 miles and that was good enough for 5th place overall out of 52!  Maybe my best finishing place ever in a organized event.  Got third in my age group as well.  Jessica also ended up getting third in her age group!  Pretty great day for the both of us so we celebrated by getting sushi and watching the college football playoffs.  I wouldn't mind exploring more races like this in the future as it was nice doing something different for a change and I think I can do a lot better if I strategize more.  I mean I wasn't sure about the logistics of nutrition and stopping etc.. I think I could of had time for another loop or 2 if I didn't waste so much time going to the bathroom and stopping to drink water.  There are some things to figure out for sure.  Maybe next year I will try the 12 hour event.  We shall see.   

Mt. Tam 50K: Nov. 13th, 2021

The famous steep ravine trail ladder

This was my second time running this race and it turned out to be very memorable.  I floated the idea out to Jessica's cousin Joe and his wife Debra about this race and to our surprise they thought it was a great idea!  Debra was going to run the half marathon with Jessica and Joe was going to run the 50K with Shaun and myself.  Also, two of Debra's college friends decided to come and join the fun in the half marathon as well!  Paaaartaaaay!  I was a little nervous about my ability to train for this race because it was less than two months after Bear 100.  Mt. Tam 50K has the some incredible scenic views but is a tough race with 6,800 feet of climbing so I knew that it was something I had to be prepared for.  I took a week off after Bear and started to put in a few miles.  Running was not easy as my body wanted a longer break.  I slowly increased mileage over the following 6 weeks or so although the amount of long runs I did was very minimal.

Joe working his way up Dias Ridge

Race morning arrived in a flash.  The race started and Shaun, Joe, and myself were sticking together at the beginning and having some good laughs about random topics.  We hit the Steep Ravine trail and there were some trees down after rare October storms.  Shaun and I slightly pulled away from Joe in this section but it was a conga line so he was always in sight.  We regrouped at the first aid station and then headed down to Muir Woods.  The first climb up Ben Johnson was a grind as it always is.  We were talking to a girl who said she has not drank a beer in 4 months because she had been training for the race!  Then we got to the next aid station where we refueled and I encouraged Joe to eat some food as he was looking a little down.  Next we slogged up the easy grade Miwok climb to Dias Ridge.  This is where Joe started to feel the grind as he wasn't use to all the climbing.  We got up to Dias and Joe had told me a few times at this point to go ahead.  He was also talking about possibly dropping out or reducing his total distance on the day.  I knew that he needed some calories and also knew that he was just going through a rough patch.  I told him that it's possible to get out of the funk etc..however he was pretty convinced that it was not his day etc.. The pace we were going at on this downhill was not really sustainable in order to finish within the cutoff.  

One of many epic coastal trail views

I asked Joe several times if he was sure that it was ok if I pressed on and he assured me that he was cool with it.  I felt like he needed to be by himself so he could find a rhythm or pace that worked for him.  I could tell it was stressing him out because he felt as if he was holding us back.  So I gave him a gel and told him to eat that and it would help him feel better.  Then Shaun and I took off on the smooth downhill on Dias Ridge trail leading into Muir Beach. We were flying pretty good and making up some time.  I struggled mentally from leaving Joe as I was not sure if it was the right thing to do.  We got to Muir Beach and made quick work of that aid station.  On the way out Joe passed us as he was on his way to the aid station.  He actually seemed as if he was in decent spirits and that gave me a little mental boost that Joe might rally.  Shaun and I started up the Donkey Kong climb and we were doing a rhythm of 300 steps running and 300 steps walking on the uphill.  This really helped save our pace from dropping to much on the climb.  As we were getting pretty high up I'm pretty sure I saw Joe coming across the field before the Donkey Kong climb.  This made me happy that he didn't drop at Muir Beach.  On the way up coastal trail toward Cardiac Hill I really started to feel drained.  Shaun beat me to the aid station but I wasn't too far behind.  Then we set off to do the second Muir woods loop of the day which was longer than the first one.  

More excellent views!

We came across a random aid station in the woods that some people had hiked in and set up.  They had liquor and beer available but I settled for some coke (a-cola).  We made our way down to Muir Woods and then grinded out the second climb up the Ben Johnson trail.  Finally we reached the top of the last long climb of the day at Cardiac Hill.  I started to worry a little bit about Joe because he didn't have his cell phone with him so if he dropped it might be logistically tough to communicate.  The three miles back to Stinson Beach went by pretty quick as it's almost all downhill.  Shaun was feeling good and he ended up beating me by a couple minutes to the finish line.  I was happy for the day to be done as the 50K worked me a lot harder than I anticipated.  I thought I might see Joe at the finish as he mentioned possibly skipping the last loop that went down to Muir Beach but I didn't see him there.  I was greeted by Jess, Debra, and one of Debra's friends.  I asked them if Joe had called and they said no and Debra checked with the timing table who mentioned his status is currently still on course!  This gave me some excitement that he was pushing on but we still didn't know what his status was.  They were out of veggie burritos so I settled for a few bags of chips and sat with Jess in our chairs cheering on runners as they were finishing.  Jess had done really well in her half marathon just like she always does.  Debra and her two friends had a really good time on the trails.

The girl who had not had a beer in 4 months came by and I yelled "time for that beer!" and I could tell she was super psyched to be finishing what I assumed was her first 50K.  Honestly this is a pretty tough 50K for your first one as there is 6,800 feet of climbing which is no joke so kudos to her.  Another guy was coming into the finish shoot and some older gentleman turned on the jets to pass the guy in the shoot.  When the guy who got passed realized what happened he turned on the jets and passed the older guy right at the last second to beat him.  There was no reason to pass someone like that when you 8+ hours into a 50K, I mean if it was a battle for the first 5 spots or something I could see it but at this point it's almost an ethical issue.  I'm glad that guy didn't let him finish ahead.  Anyway I was nervous about Joe as we didn't really know what was going on with him.  Debra and her friend had gone down the road a little ways looking for him.  All of a sudden he appeared and was coming down the road to finish!!!  He rose up from the ashes like a phoenix!!  I was so psyched that he stuck it out and was finishing the 50K.  He had joined forces with two other girls who were also struggling and they stuck together and helped each other out.  I started yelling as he got closer and I could tell he was super stoked to be crossing this finish line.

During the race Joe said he would be mentally cool with not completing it.  Afterwards he realized that wasn't true and said he would of been so bummed if he dropped.  I am so proud of him for gutting it out and getting it done.  Joe, Debra, Jess, myself, and Debra's two friends went out for some food and drinks to celebrate and we had a really great time.  This was definitely one for the ages!