Subject: AT100 report (long) From: Jan Ryerse Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2001 00:11:57 EDT Here's a report of my run at AT100 last weekend. I ran with my friend and fellow SLUG (St. Louis Ultrarunning Group) member Tom Reich to help him through his first 100 mile finish - quite an accomplishment for a 60 year old -- of course he only looks 45 -:) Reading time about 5 minutes. Tom Reich and I and our wives, Barb and Sheila, drove from St. Louis to Little Rock, Arkansas on Thursday for the Arkansas Traveller 100 mile endurance run. The drive down I55 to Memphis and across I40 to Little Rock took about 8 hours and we got to the Super 8 motel in Morrilton about 4 in the afternoon. After checking in, we drove 20 miles south to Petit Jean mountain, did a short hike and had dinner at the lodge on the mountain. The dining room of the lodge overlooks an expansive valley and distant hills to the west and we were treated to a terrific sunset as we had our dinner. Friday dawned overcast and rainy but we did more sight-seeing on Petit Jean mountain (be sure to check out Cedar Falls overlook if you go -- it's spectacular), before driving down to view some of the course and then going back to race headquarters to check in, get our packets and enjoy the pasta dinner. The rain had ended and it had turned into quite a nice afternoon. We turned in early as we had to get up at about 4 am. Sat morning was clear and cool. We arrived at the race start lodge at 5:15, checked in and visited with SLUG James (and Vicki) Mercer and James' pacer SLUG Dale Perry. Just before 6 we walked over to the asphalt road and at 6 am we were off. The course begins with about a mile on the asphalt road and then turns onto a gravel/dirt service road. It's still dark but there is no need for a light as the roads are quite smooth at this point. Soon dawn arrived and the road became hilly as we hit the first aid station and then started the first long climb. At about 10 miles it was onto the single track Ouchita trail for 7 miles of hilly, rocky running. Tom and I got in a little "train" of runners and were making good time. At the one aid station on this section we got in front of the runners in our train and then made real good time as we cruised along into the Lake Sylvia aid station at 17 miles at 9:30. Sheila and Barb were waiting there and we reloaded, changed some clothes and headed out. James had come through a half hour ahead of us, really cruising. The next 3.5 hours took us along many gravel roads and over some pretty rough and rocky service roads through several aid stations and into the next major aid station (Lake Winona) at 32 miles close to 1 pm. Sheila and Barb were waiting and told us James had come through about an hour before - he was flying today. My left knee was feeling a little strained so I wrapped it with an ace bandage and it then felt OK. My Pegasus shoes, with the two sock liners were working well, even on the rocky sections. The day was sunny but not too warm - a perfect day to be on the roads and in the trails in the woods. Up and down we went, very little of this course is flat, we ran the downs and the flats and walked the uphills, occassionally passing some other runners. On we went, into Club Flamingo aid station where we got leied and got our pictures taken with a hula girl and then on into Mickey Rollins aid station which signaled the beginning of the climb up and over Smith mountain. This section goes on forever and is very rocky, it also has earthen berms which you go up and over many times. About 5 pm we come rocking into Powerline aid station at 48 miles and get weighed, I'm dead on my starting weight but Tom's down a bit. The girls are here. Tom and I have a good sit-down, change clothes and refuel for the long hump to the turn-around at 58 miles. Hills, hills and more hills but we're moving well, passing other runners as we run the downhills hard. My right calf starts to cramp on the fast downhills and I tell Tom I need to take them slower and not stride out so much. We come up to an open spot where a couple of roads intersect and I remark this will be a good place to view the stars on the return trip. As we come into the Chile Pepper aid station at 53 miles, which happens to be the very best aid station I've ever seen at any ultra I've ever done ( great food - I get a bean and chicken burrito here on the return trip, they have a stereo with two huge speakers, workers who massage your back and neck as you get your bottles refilled, a terrific fire) we see James and his pacer Dale on their return trip. I've been counting the runners as they come back towards us from the turn-around and James is in 16th place !!! I joke with Dale, who joined James at 48 miles, that he may have trouble keeping up with James "the Maniac" Mercer on the return trip. This in fact turned out to be true - however Dale did a great job in keeping him company all the way back in as James did a lot of running including sections of many of the tough uphills. Tom and I hit the turn-around at about 7:15, about an hour later than we were hoping for. We were slowing down, all the hard running we had been doing was taking its toll. But Tom's stomach was fine and his spirits were high. We did some major preparation at the turnaround for the night which had fallen as we walked up the hill into the turnaround aid station. We got our warmer clothes on and got out the lights, headlamps and handheld. We noticed one guy we had been playing leap-frog with us for most of the day asking to have his wrist band cut off - he had had enough and was out of the race. We noticed one of the aid station workers had a newspaper so we asked how the Cardinals did against the Astros on Friday night - it was a 1-1 tie and going into extra innings as we went to bed. Turns out they lost in the 10th inning -we wished we hadn't asked - they went on to tie the Astros for the national league west but the stros won because their record was better against the cards. Its now pitch black and we're heading back. Now we're saying "doing good", "good job", "looking good" etc to the runners passing us as they continue towards the turn-around. We come back up to that major opening and stand for a few minutes looking up at the star-filled sky. The ¾ moon is not yet up and the stars are simply amazing, Tom sees a shooting star and we both comment on how clear the milky way looks out here away from city lights - simply awesome. Then we're off again towards the Chile Pepper aid station at 68 miles, more neck/back massages and we stand by the roaring fire for awhile as I munch down that burrito. It's a lot of walking now as Tom is having trouble with his right foot, thinking it's maybe his neuroma acting up from all the rocks. About 10:30 we hike back into Powerline to meet the gals for the last time before the finish as they were heading back to the motel for a night of sleep. We get weighed again and both of us are OK. I down a piece of pizza, wrap my right knee with an ace bandage as it is getting tender, put on my tights and jacket, have some hot chicken broth and coke, change into my vitesse trail shoes and we're ready to rumble out again. It's a long grind up and over Smith mountain in the dark and a happy sight to come to Mickey's aid station which marks the end of that section but we're still a long ways from the finish. We're starting to count down the miles now and I'm thinking - only 5 (4 mile) Queeny park loops to go, then 4, then 3 as we come into Lake Winona aid station. Tom's right foot is starting to hurt really bad and when he checks it he finds he has developed a large blister under the ball of the foot - not the the neuroma at all. The blister gets worse and he really has to suck it up to keep going. The dawn has long since come and now we're figuring if we keep up this power walking pace we're on we'll be in around 11 am - 29 hours. I give Tom a lot of credit for sticking with it over the 3 miles of rocky jeep trail that stretch from about 95 to 98 miles - that took a lot of guts. Once we got out of that section it was good gravel road downhill for a mile or so and we ran a good part of that hard. Sheila and Barb had returned and were out on the course to greet us. Then it was along the asphalt road, up the final hill and down the short laneway to the finish. 28 hours and 49 minutes, finishing 69th and 70th out of 120 or so starters. You're always glad to see the finish line of a 100 no matter what your finishing time and this was no exception. We were both beat. We cleaned up and went into the lodge for breakfast of pancakes and eggs. The awards were held at noon. James got special mention as a top 10 finisher and then we waited our turns to go up and get our finishing buckles. Congratualtions to Tom on his first 100 mile finish. No doubt he'll now be gung-ho to try another one, 100s are kinda like that. As for me, I bagged my 11th 100 mile finish and my 29th ultramarathon of 50K or beyond. I'm ready for some down time. Three days after finishing this race my feet and ankles are still swollen from the pounding they took on the rocks. My legs feel better today - the past couple of days its been an effort to walk I've been so stiff. The AT 100 is a challenging course with the hills and rocks just keep coming at you. However, I can't help but dream about what I'll do next. Maybe Rocky Racoon and then who knows --- I hear Badwater calling. Thanks to Barb and Sheila for their company and all their assistance at the aid stations. Also good to see Dale again and SLUGs Bob and Rosemary Marston along with the many other folks I've come to know through running ultras. Jan Ryerse St. Louis