I woke to the sound of pouring rain at 3:30am on the morning of the race. I was surprised that I had slept through the night! I thought for sure I would be up off and on throughout the night like a child waiting for Christmas morning. So I got up, took a nice warm shower, got dressed, and ate my normal breakfast of oatmeal. By this time the whole house was a buzz. My crew was as excited for the day as they would have been getting ready to go to Disneyland. At about 4:45am, with fresh coffee in hand, we jumped in the car and headed to Coto de Caza for the start. The rain was light, but constant for the whole way there, so I knew the start would be wet. I was feeling nervous, the day was actually here!
We arrived at about 5:20am, giving me plenty of time to double check everything and to get my drop bags set at the right place. The rain clouds not only brought the wet stuff, but also a later first light. This was sure to delay the start slightly, but the race directors did a great job keeping everything moving.
We started at about 6:10am. My fears, doubts, nerves, all disappeared. I began the race not worrying about getting to the front of the pack, there would be plenty of time for that. Besides, my main goal this day was to just finish. I actually had three graduated goals for the day: 1. to finish, 2. to finish under 24 hours, and 3. to finish under 20 hours. Number three was my most ambitious goal, but I believe in setting one high goal to push myself.
I settled into a nice easy pace with two ulrarunning veterans Catra Corbett and Joe Kisner. I knew they wouldn't go out too fast. It continued raining for the next hour or so, then stopped. I ran with Joe and Catra for the first 7.5 miles to the Fire Station aid station. This was our turn around point for each lap. Here, I checked in, grabbed a Hammer gel, a banana, said hi to my wife and boys, threw them my rain jacket, and took off. My aid station strategy for the day was minimize my time at the larger ones and to skip the smaller ones. The course had aid stations every two and a half miles. Each loop was 15 miles; 7.5 miles out, and 7.5 miles back. I figured with carrying a waterbottle and a gel or two, I would be fine skipping the others and only hitting them at 7.5 miles. I continued on my pace of 10:10 per mile. This was a little faster than I wanted average. This meant that I was running at about a 9:30 pace and walking the hills. Everything felt fine though, so I kept it up. At the end of the first lap, I was ahead of schedule. I felt like I had just started running (with the exception of some very soggy and muddy feet) and I was 15 miles in. I grabbed an energy gel at the aid station and took off. After sucking down the energy gel, I noticed that my heart rate began to elevate past 150. This was too high for this early in the race. I figured out that the energy gel had caffeine in it and was most likely the contributing factor to my elevated heart rate. This caused a little concern, but I knew I had my own supply of gels that I used in training and work well for me.
During my second lap, I picked up Jerry, a runner from Medford, Oregon. We would share stories and run with each other for the next 20 miles or so. For both of us, this was our first 100 miler, so our goals were very similar. Running with someone really helped the miles past. Unfortunately, he had to stop and change socks due to the amount of sandy mud in his shoes and we parted ways there. At the end of my second lap, I was able to find some energy gels without caffeine. Here I met my crew (wife and boys) again. She asked if I needed anything, and I put in my lunch order of a Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza. The next lap continued with sunny weather, but the course was getting sloppier with all the runners on it. My shoes were performing flawlessly. No mud build up and they were draining water like a charm. At 37.5 miles in, I was still feeling really good, but I did not take that for granted. I continued to run my own race and stick to the pace I had set out to do.
At mile 45, my lunch awaited. I wolfed down one slice of pizza and took one to eat on the run. It sure hit the spot a few miles down the road as I was starting to feel some tiredness set in. By mile 50, the pizza was working, but now in the wrong way. My stomach began to do backflips and I wasn't sure what to do. At the 52.5 mile aid station, I grabbed some pretzels, quarter banana, a salt tab, and refilled my bottle. Hoping those may help I continued on. On the 5 mile gradual climb back to the start/finish aid station, my stomach continued to churn like the mud beneath my feet. My combined pace had now dropped to 10:39 per mile and my left calf began to cramp. I was still a head of schedule, but dropping nonetheless. Once I reached the start/finish aid station, my stomach began to settle.
Now at mile 60, I was beginning to fell good again, however, with the cramping, I thought it best to put on my calf compression sleeves. Earlier my wife had asked if there was anything I needed, so I asked that those were ready for me to put on. Surprisingly, I was able to remove my shoes on my own to put on the calf sleeves. So many articles I have read and videos I have seen, show the runner's crew like a pit crew at NASCAR changing tires. Being able to take off my own shoes made me feel strong and like I had plenty left. This was a major ego booster! Ahh, the little things. I knew there would be peaks and valleys throughout the race and I just went through a valley. This gave me confidence to get through another valley if it came.
Mile 60 through 75 was an amazing lap. At mile 64, I caught up to 4th place. He looked back and graciously told me "you got it, go ahead," but I wasn't ready to pass yet. I was running my own pace an did not want to push it. Eventually, I passed him at around mile 66. We exchanged encouragements as I went by. He was a great competitor. Upon reaching the turn around aid station, the volunteers there told me I was in 4th place and 3rd had just left. I knew that the runner in 3rd was an experienced ultrarunner and I said "yeah, but if I catch him he will take off." I continued on and about 2 miles further, I caught 3rd place. I cautiously and respectfully passed. I began to feel an amazing feeling. Here I was in 3rd place now, feeling strong still and nearing 70 miles! That feeling propelled me for the next 5 miles to the start/finish aid station.
At the start/finish aid station, my wife gave me a menu of food from El Pollo Loco. I chose a steak taco and rapidly ate that.
Leaving my 75 mile check point, I was amazed to think that I was going to finish and maybe even place. I ran strong for the next 5 miles, even though darkness had set in and it began to hail. The hail only lasted for a few minutes, but the cold would go on for the rest of the night. Back in my rain jacket and warmer gloves, I felt good. At mile 80, another valley came. I didn't hurt, I didn't feel sleep deprived, but I felt depressed. On the verge of tears, I pressed on. I prayed that God would give me strength to finish. By the time I reached my final Firestation aid station, my spirits had picked back up. I grabbed bananas, M&Ms, gels, Heed, and headed out. The next 7.5 miles was one of my slowest. I made the 5 mile uphill grind back to the start/finish aid station. Hoping to see my wife and boys there, I could not find them. While I figured they were nearby, I had to get moving for my final 10 miles.
Now 90 miles in, I looked at the clock; 17 hours, 9 minutes. I had planned on my final lap taking 2 hours, and I was well ahead of schedule for under 20 hours. Still, I didn't want to take it too easy as I knew 3rd place was not far behind. For some reason, the mud on this lap seemed deeper and wetter that ever before. Happy for my last 10 miles I slopped right through it. Once I reached the 5 mile turn around, I knew that all that lay ahead of me was 5 miles of gradual uphill. On the way back, I passed Ed Ettinghausen heading out for what I believe was his 4th marathon of the day. Ed is going for the World Record for number of marathons in a year. He had given me a lot of advice leading up to this race and made a prediction for the outcome. He asked how I was doing and I told him. He said "see, I told you, you would place 3rd." I appreciated the encouragement, but knew the race was not done yet and I did not want to take anything for granted. I kept pushing on. Through the slippery mud and sloppy puddles I kept shuffling along. Coming up to the finish line, still running, I knew I had done it. I was completing my first 100 mile race! I crested the little hill, saw the start finish bridge, and crossed it at about 1:30am. There was no cheering section, my wife and boys were asleep in the car, but none of that mattered. I finished! Charlie and Debbie Alewine the race directors were of course the first to congratulate me. 19 hours, 14 minutes, 51 seconds. I woke my wife in the car a got a great big hug from her. The boys woke up excited. WE DID IT! As a family, we did it together. I was presented with my trophy and huge silver belt buckle. I later found out that the boys predicted I would get one of those trophies.
However, the story does not end there. Some funny things occurred as we drove home. I had read and heard that on the trail you begin to hallucinate in the late hours. This never happened to me, but on the drive home, now that is a different story. Fortunately, I was not driving. Had I been, I would have had to dodge all the mysterious animals and figures running across the street. Not to mention all the claymation people from Davey and Goliath dancing around in my head!
My overall experience was amazing. The support from my family was incredible and the friends and family encouraging me virtually through FaceBook was unbelievable. I achieved all my goals and then some. Thank you all who were a part of it. No matter how small you think your roll was, it was more than significant to me!
