From owner-ultra@caligari.Dartmouth.EDU Wed May 7 13:53:27 1997 Date: Wed, 07 May 1997 13:38:38 -0700 From: Suzi Thibeault <4suzit@neworld.net> To: IUS-L@american.edu CC: Ultra@caligari.Dartmouth.EDU Subject: What, Mi Wok? XP Now that I've got your attention ;) Have you checked out our web site? Gene worked very hard to build a web site that includes our Ultra running, my business, our pets, and plenty of photos. So take a look. Now, on to the report: You have noticed the slow reponses about Mi Wok, and are starting to figure out that all did not go as planned. That is true, but it doesn't mean things didn't go well, it just means they didn't go as planned. Some of the plan worked very well. For instance, the dinner Friday night in Mill Valley was great fun! We had a herd of 26 ultra runners, mostly list members that responded to the call. I had talked to Michael Saal on line for his suggestion, from the local perspective, and got the Piazza D'Angelo lined up for 5 PM. By 5:30 we had a long table of hungry runners increasing the noise level of this trendy Marin style restaurant. The food was fabulous and the introductions found Texans and Hawaiian among the out of town entrants. Michael Saal actually ended up pacing "Punkin" Burgess from Hawaii, after meeting at dinner. The start was close enough to the Travelodge where about 30 of us stayed, that Gene had time to go back to the room and get our drop bags, after forgetting them on the first trip! Since we ran the race last year, we were very impressed with the new addition of "indoor" check in at the barracks building. Kellie and her helpers had everything under control, and we had plenty of parking, lighted indoor waiting area, clean bathrooms, and all the usual check in stuff including two T shirts. You've heard we got lost. It's true. One short hiking climb up a dirt trail, and I just followed all the shirts in front of me down the pavement, as did most of the field. I even knew we were supposed to be going UPHILL. I just can't resist a downhill, so happily went along with it. By the time we got turned around and laughed it off, PJ Salmonson and I figured we were last. No problem, it is all Hardrock training for us anyway. Most people seemed to be enjoying themselves as we moved back up to our proper pace position in the field, which I think shows that the "non competitors" are less likely to get torqued when things get tough. The course is spectacular! You can see miles ahead, often watching a line of runners on the ridge a valley away. The Coastal trail above the breakers is just incredibly beautiful. PJ and I trotted along happily. The markings seemed OK to us, but then I had run the trail last year and had a basic understanding of the course. I did however have a copy of the course instructions which I had printed out, and given to Gene to carry in his fannypack. Anyone could have done this if they were concerned about directions. The main intersections are marked with signs, while the smaller ones would be a bit more difficult but not impossilbe depending on your patience. Gene and I decided to share our supply of Karl King's Electrolyte capsules, so that others could give them a trial run at Mi Wok. I took a baggie and several empty film cannisters to the dinner Friday, and passed out drugs to anybody interested in trying them. Got some pretty funny looks, but at last count we had 15 runners using them for the first time, during the race. PJ and I each used 1 capsule every two hours from the start at 5:30, but when it began warming up at 10 AM, we went to hourly. It seems really simple to take the capsule by my watch, so I don't have to wonder, "did I or didn't I take that pill?" This seemed to work very well, and I heard very positive feed back from the others that took advantage of the "free samples". ;) By the time we had done the big climb up, including a part of the Dipsea trail, and were nearing 19 miles, the day had warmed up nicely. I had been drinking the prototype drink of Karl's, CLIP, and had my second baggy of powder in the drop bag at the next aid station. WRONG. This was the next glitch of the day to deal with. The Pan Toll aid station is so hard to drive to that I told a friend "don't try to meet us there unless you can appreciate the drive when you never find the aid station". Well, the drop bags were still out driving around too. The aid station was very well stocked and with Tom O'Connell, Janice O'Grady, and a cast of thousands, the crisis was soon past. So much for the CLIP trial. As I ran out of the aid station carrying a can of Classic Coke, a trail hiker remarked "Oh look, a Coke commercial!" PJ and I were joined by Renee Despres for our relentless amble along high meadows with ocean views and wildflower patches. We talked about how the "no drop bags" crisis was handled by some, and absolutely "not handled by other runners" On this out and back stretch to the turnaround we were treated with the chance to see "the race" developing. This is always fun. Some of the leaders were already looking a little tattered, but by the time we were down to the 20th place runners, the spirits seemed much more positive. The further back in the pack we watched, the more talking and laughing was going on. Maybe you runners up front ought to come on back and party once in awhile ;) You don't have to have a bad day for this to happen, you could just do it on purpose you know! Fixed a blister at the turnaround and then caught back up with Renee and PJ where we proceeded to show Bob Davis how to talk with the girls and still keep putting one foot in front of the other. Back at Pan Toll the drop bags had arrived, so we all got "our stuff", but for PJ it was a little late in the game. She decided to back off the pace a bit, and Renee left with me for the last 13 miles. I left a 1/3 can of Mt Dew in the middle of the street to coax Bob Davis just a little further, but then never saw him again. I was back to drinking the CLIP, but can hardly comment on it's effect, as it was pretty clear I was having a super day no matter what I did. Ended up running alone the last 12 miles, picked off 12 runners, and actually finished 1:20 faster than last year, so sure had nothing to complain about! Stan Jensen had surprised me with "advertising signs" about Suzi T for Travel, and he was there to escort all runners across a road about mile 55. We sure appreciate all the volunteer labor involved that day, but the little special touchs were certainly noticed as well. You can see the Mi Wok finish from over a mile out, and it is downhill, so you can really boogey. I caught Bob Dickinson at that point and just couldn't get past him. We elbowed our way down for a near tie finish. The post run food included good lasagne, salad, bread and beverages, all served indoors at the barracks. Drop bags were returned to the finish while I was still there, so that all seemed to work out. The wrap up was held at the Dipsea Cafe in Mill Valley Sunday morning. The Canadians and the Hawaiians joined us for breakfast before heading off to the airport. Though they had all had at least some time lost off course, one was a DNF, one was way slower than usual, non had "won" anything, the major VOTE for What Mi Wok, was a very high score! It seems that if you enjoy running an ultra distance, on trails, with views, friends, and appreciate some help from volunteers you were in the right place last Saturday at What, Mi Wok?. Thanks again to everybody involved, especially Kellie Sheehan! Suzi T 4suzit@neworld.net -- Suzi T for Travel http://users.neworld.net/2tbows