Western States Days 6 and 7 - The Race

So Friday night, I couldn't sleep...

John and I had gone out to dinner with his friend David (who is running the race too), Lauren (David's girlfriend and an ultrarunner), and Rich (David's pacer and John's coach) on Friday night. I noticed then that I couldn't keep my hands from trembling. Everytime I picked up a utensil, glass, or piece of food my hand started shaking almost uncontrollably and I got real self conscious and sat through most of the meal with them clasped in my lap.

I went to bed at 10 pm. Wake up call set for 3:30 am. I then spent the next 5 and a half hours tossing and turning, quaking inside, feeling like I was going to throw up at times. It was ridiculous. All I could think about was the 101 things that could go wrong, parking at the aid stations, what we packed and still had to pack, etc., etc. Finally, at 3:30 I got out of bed to shower with this feeling of impending doom that I was totally screwed since I now had to go 20 miles tomorrow morning without any sleep.

JC and I met John at 4:15 am for runner check in.

John's "before" picture

4:15 am with JC

 

John's wife and kid's met us for the 5 am start and the runners were off! Most of them walked up the Escarpment at a brisk deliberate pace. Most of the runners will walk the big uphills in this race. We watched the mass of 400 slowly make their way up the slope, then went back to John's condo to finish packing his car.

 

JC and I then drove to Auburn and left my car at Placer High School. Then we went to the grocery store. At the crew meeting, we had been advised to buy our food, ice, and gas for the day before proceeding to the first aid station.

 

Next stop - Robinson Flat Aid Station at mile 29.7.

This is the first big aid station that crews can access. Since all the crews get there at the same time, it's a zoo. We were actually suppose to park in a parking area and a shuttle bus was to take us to the station itself. However, by the time JC and I got there, the entire parking area was full. We were told that they were going to let 10 vehicles follow the shuttle bus down to the aid station itself. We were car #7. Sweet!

 

John felt that, best case scenario, he would get there no earlier than 11 am. We got there at 9:30 am and saw some of the leaders run through.

 

Emily Harrison came through as the leader of the women's race

She was 7th last year; unfortunately she later had to drop out at mile 62

 

I really don't have more pictures from the race after that because it just got too crazy. The crews need to set up as close to the course as possible so their runner can just grab what they need and go or, take a quick sit down break and eat and drink while their crews change their shoes and socks, do any blister care, and soak them down with cold water. Watching some of the crews, it was like watching a NASCAR pit stop.

 

Since everyone was at Robinson Flat, we initially did not have a spot by the road. As runners came through and their crews finished and moved on to the next aid station, more spots opened up along the road and JC and I eventually ended up where Emily Harrison's crew had been. Then, we waited... and waited... and waited.

 

11 am became 12 pm. Then 12:30 pm. I started getting worried. John's Achilles had really been bothering him and he had really been limping on Thursday after our Escarpment climb on Wednesday. This morning he said he felt better but had considered Thursday that he might not be able to run today.

 

All of the aid stations have a cut off time. If your runner does not leave the station by that time, they will be pulled from the race and cannot finish. There is a 30 hour time limit for the whole race. All the aid stations also list the 24 and 30 hour times for that aid station. In the beginning, the 30 hour time and the final cut off time at the aid stations vary about an hour, however, as the race progresses, the 30 hour time and the cut off time get closer and closer together until the 30 hour and final cut times are the same at the finish.

 

The 30 hour time for Robinson Flat was 12:55 pm. Final cut off time 1:50 pm. John finally showed up at 12:44. When a runner first arrives, they have to go through medical and get weighed, then they can get any food or drinks that the aid station offers, then go out to see their crews to get whatever else they need. John was starting to get a big blister on his right heel so we yanked off his shoes and socks to get moleskin over the blister and change his footwear. I felt like I was all thumbs, couldn't find a towel to get his feet dry. As a side note, if you ever consider crewing for someone, make sure you are good enough friends with them that you have no qualms taking off gross sweaty dirty clothing to clean off wet dirty body parts (like between their toes) while they sit around and groan.

 

We finally got John out of Robinson Flat at 12:59. We were going to race the clock the whole race.

 

The next aid station we were meeting him at was Michigan Bluff, mile 55.7. Based on his pace, we guesstimated he would be there at 8 pm at the earliest. We had 7 hours to kill.

 

Most of the Western States Trail is out in the mountains, in the middle of nowhere. There is basically no cell phone signal. I was able to get one bar at one gas station in Foresthill, but pretty much nothing else for 2 days. Some of the aid stations are only accessible by foot. At those stations, the workers hike in the night before and crews cannot access the stations. There is a ham radio operator at some of the stations. For the remote stations, someone will hike out with a results update as runners come through and get them to a ham radio operator who can then radio to have someone enter them online. Due to these facts, the online results can often be behind by several hours. Most of us could not even access the online tracking because hardly anyone had a phone signal. All you could do is guess what time your runner was going to show up based on how they looked at the previous station and whatever else you heard from the other crews.

 

I tried to sleep in those 7 hours but couldn't. Foresthill was the only small town nearby and JC could get a descent signal on his phone there so we decided to spend most of our time in Foresthill and start driving down to Michigan Bluff at 6 pm. We had pizza and JC stayed inside the restaurant to watch the World Cup games and I tried to sleep in the car. It was hot. I couldn't get comfortable. My heart was still pounding out of my chest.

 

Finally, we drove down to Michigan Bluff and got there just before 7. Michigan Bluff also had a parking area a half mile from the aid stations with a shuttle bus. As we pulled up, the volunteers there told us the shuttles were stopping at 7 pm. After that, we would have to walk down but could drive down to pick up our stuff at the end. We were just getting off the shuttle when I ran into Lauren, walking David through the aid station. She said that John was still right on the 30 hour cut off time. She also said that if he got to this station after 8 pm, I could start pacing him from here. Runners cannot have pacers before mile 62. However, there is an exception that says if they get to Michigan Bluff after 8 pm, they can get paced from there.

 

Mike, John's other pacer, was meeting us at Foresthill (the next aid station). We had no cell signal to tell him to come to Michigan Bluff. We were pretty sure John was going to get here after 8. I had predicted 8:30 pm. The 30 hour time for Michigan Bluff is 8:50 pm. I was already dressed in running clothes but had my pacer bib, fuel belt, headlamp, and hat packed in a separate bag for later in the night. I ran up to the car and got it. Once the shuttles stopped, we saw that the other crews were just getting their cars and driving them down to the aid station, and since JC would be alone to pack the car if I left, he went to go get the car.

 

Then John showed up... at 8:03. JC was still gone getting the car. I got John what he needed and was getting my fuel belt on, trying to figure out how to tell JC we were gone, when JC pulled up with the car. We left Michigan Bluff at 8:10, 40 minutes under the 30 hour cut off.

 

John had made up some time, however he had a big climb out of El Dorado Creek to Michigan Bluff that really winded him and he was slowing back down.

 

climb out of El Dorado Creek

 

I just needed to keep him moving. We had to get in and out of Volcano Canyon and it was getting dark. Due to his Achilles, and now a ginormous blister, he was doing a walk/jog/shuffle. We could aggressively walk the uphills and try to jog the downhills. Ironically, he had difficulty running the flats due to the Achilles. I walked ahead of him when the trail widened and tried to get him to keep up until he protested. "I don't want to pass out" was a sign to stop and slow down. I let him lead all the single track areas so he could choose when to walk and when to run.

 

 

We went 6.3 miles and pulled into Foresthill at 10:02 pm. John had family and friends meeting him there but the exchanges were quick. Mike took over pacing and they rolled out at 10:09, 36 minutes under the 30 hour cut off.

 

I then drove us to Greengate, our most remote aid station. This is the one John and I had driven out to on Monday. Problem was, now it was pitch black outside and I couldn't see all the landmarks I had picked out when we drove on Monday. After two wrong turns we got there.

 

Greengate on Monday night

 

 

Running the 6 miles with John really helped burn off some energy and I felt more settled after that... or I was just finally totally exhausted and knew Mike was running with John. We found parking by the side of the road by midnight and decided to try and sleep in the car again til 2 am. I think I finally fell asleep because I remember waking up when JC's alarm went off at 2 am.

 

This time, since we had to hike 1.25 miles down to Greengate, then JC had to hike another 1.5 miles down to the river crossing, we tried to minimize what we brought. I had been using a chart in the Western States Guide for the cut off times and had planned to write the ones I needed on my hand but forgot. I did know that the last several aid stations had the same cut off time and 9:20 seemed to stick in my head as a final cut off time.

 

John got to Greengate at 3:48 am and I was really pleased. We pulled out at the same time since he had already changed clothes after the river crossing. We were 1:07 under but he was really tired (OK, we were both really tired). Greengate is mile 79.8. 20.4 miles to go (Western States is really 100.2 miles)

 

We made it to Auburn Lakes Trails at mile 85.2 by 5:26. Still 1:04 under. Then it got a bit ugly for me... I started getting lightheaded, my stomach was grumbling, my eyes started glazing over. It was still dark and you had to concentrate on every step you were taking on the trail... I thought it would be really bad if the pacer passed out 10 miles into her run.

 

We made it to Brown's Bar, mile 89.9, by 6:51 am. 59 minutes under. I took a bathroom break, ate a GU and some Gatorade chews, got some water, then felt much better. Phew!!

 

Then things got real ugly for John. He was slowing down. Each step was an effort. I still wanted to try to have him run some stretches but he would start sluffing his feet and I was afraid he would trip and fall so fast walking was safer. The sun had come up but we were still in the woods. I wanted to keep trying to make descent time before it got too hot. We talked, we sang, I tried to tell him every story he hadn't heard before... anything to keep his mind occupied while walking ahead of him.

 

We finally got to Highway 49, mile 93.5, at 8:04 am and pulled out at 8:09 am. The sign there said the 30 hour time was 9:00 am and the final cut off was 9:20 am. For some reason I had it stuck in my head that the final cut off time for the next aid station at No Hands Bridge was also 9:20 am.

 

It's only 3.3 miles between Highway 49 and No Hands Bridge. However, there is a climb out of Highway 49 then a quad burning descent down to the bridge. After 93.5 miles the body just doesn't want to move anymore. It took over an hour to get to No Hands Bridge. I was in full panic mode. I thought we would never get to the bridge! I just wanted to put a rope around John and pull him along because the pace was really slowing down at an alarming rate. Plus, my sleep deprived brain was convinced we had to get there by 9:20 am. Apparently sleep deprived brains can't do runner math very well.

 

We got to No Hands Bridge, mile 96.8, at 9:10 am. I looked at the chart at the aid station and realized I was wrong about the cut off times. 30 hour time was 9:55 am and final cut off was 11 am. As long as John kept moving, we were going to make it!

 

After No Hands Bridge, there is another painful climb up to Robie Point. By now the sun was overhead and we had no shade. I had started with a long sleeve shirt at night but decided to keep it on to keep my shoulders covered. Other than being hot, I felt fine otherwise. However, it was really painful to keep John moving and see how much pain he was in. We had pretty much run out of things to talk about at this point and it was down to short comments like "just keep moving and we'll make it" and "almost there" countered by "it would be bad if I passed out!"

 

Robie Point, mile 98.9, at 9:58 am. We have 62 minutes to go 1.3 miles. How hard could that be? We were now in a residential area leading to the high school. Families were out in their lawn chairs cheering us on. It was all uphill...

 

Finally, someone says, "Turn that corner and you will see the most beautiful track in the entire world," and we see the Placer High School track. We get on the track and start walking. John's wife and kids see us and run out to walk with us and take pictures but John keeps yelling at them to go to the finish line. There is a split down the final straightaway so the pacers go one way and the runners finish alone so all the photographers can get the finish line picture. I ran to the finish to see it and cheer. The runners get routed straight to medical after that, then released to family. John hugs his wife and starts bawling. Lauren grabs me and I start crying too. I've never been so happy and relieved! I cannot even begin to tell everyone how stressed out I had been for over 48 hours.

 

the "after" picture

Final time - 29:27:00

 

 

For those that know me, you know that I came out here to Western States to finish what I started. It's finished now. John, me, his wife... we all agree.