Subject: My Western States Experience Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 08:37:19 -0500 From: "Jay Freeman" My Western States Experience By Jay Freeman On June 26th I was the last runner to complete the 2000 Western States Endurance Race - with a time of 29:56:14. I don't know how many of my rookie brothers and sisters made it, but I know that of the 380 starters that I was finisher #222.... it was a nerve racking close call, but I was honored to get to be the last person to finish. Any of you familiar with Western States could have told me that as a 53 year old flat- land rookie in his first 100 that I didn't have a particularly good chance of finishing....it's probably best that no one told me....I feel like I went to California with a naïve confidence that came from just living through the three day training program in May, and from knowing that Suzi Cope would be there as my coach & pacer. We had a simple plan. All I had to do was to get to Michigan Bluff ahead of the cut off, uninjured, & with something left....then, we'd be able to make it from there. That almost worked. I got to Michigan Bluff 50 minutes ahead of the cut off and 10 minutes off the 30 hour pace... that was the good news. The downside was that once again the climb out of Deep Canyon had toasted me. I'd dropped 6 LBS (9 really since the last weigh-in) off my wristband weight, and had strained my right knee (saving myself from a fall that I probably should have taken instead) and couldn't run any steep down hills. I wasn't really feeling so great and my feet were starting to get fried......then, it got really dark. This however turned out to be a good thing. The drop in temperature & having someone to talk with about what I should be doing really helped....pretty soon we were starting to move along. Suzi and I closed on a pair of women running in front of us just in time for me to hear the pacer say to the runner "hang on, you can make it ...the aid station is just up ahead" and, almost on cue the runner fell asleep while running and just tumbled on off the trail into the bushes (which are really clumps of poison oak) ....... couldn't believe it, had never seen anyone fall asleep running...didn't even know that was possible.....until then. Spent the rest of that section doing all those normal ultra things: keeping fluids flowing, food down, blisters controlled, attitude positive, and making constant forward progress. By Foresthill I was back in the acceptable weight range, and Suzi made a major repair to my right foot that would see me through the rest of the race....special thanks to our brother Neil for helping us with supplies on that stop....we were out at 10:42 PM. It still hadn't dawned on me that every minute would become critical before this was over. Had a good night through Cal 1 & Cal 2, but the steep down hills were killing my right knee again....was able to run the gentle down hills, but I really lost all that free gravity powered time. I hit the river crossing with so much dust in my shoes that I was actually delighted to be in the water. We made a quick crossing and a brief stop on the other side. My watch showed us out of there at 4:51 AM, and it was our 1st encounter with the cut off horns that would torment us for the rest of the race. Outside of Auburn Lake Trails blisters on my left foot really went south.....we were tight on time, but without repairs it was just a matter of time before I fell off pace enough to time us out. Once again, Suzi worked miracles! Suddenly I had the use of both feet back and my knee was holding together. We just cleared the 7 AM cut off, and then regained 20 minutes in the next hour and a half section....we were back in the race! The final climb up past the Quarry to Highway 49 was another unbelievable all out effort and we were out 7 minutes before the cut off. After running the meadows and then along the river headed for No Hands I really began to question if I was going to make it in time.....had I spend the last 28 hours coming over 94 miles just to loose it in the final hours. Just about the time I'd started practicing those excuses in my head.... No Hands came into sight! I just rolled through the check point. According to my watch I cleared the check point @10:13 AM with the cut off @ 10:15....I do remember hearing the horn sound as I was coming off of the Auburn end of the bridge....I was that close. I knew that I had 47 minutes to do 3.4 miles of which nearly 1/2 is that nasty climb up and over Robie Point.....even I began to realize the math was not looking good. What happened from then on was not a thing of beauty - it was a situation where I felt that we were operating at maximum effort and when it became obvious that wasn't going to be enough, then we just came up with more. I guess we all go into this hoping to learn more about our own limits.....personally, I know less about my own limits now than when I started. The last of this whole ordeal was so far beyond anything that I thought was personally possible that I just don't know what is or isn't possible. One of my last rational thoughts during the race was that from the looks on the people's faces as we passed through the Robie point aid station that we were going to time out and that we'd hear the final gun while some where on the streets of Auburn ( my watch had us thought there at 10:38, or 3 minutes past the 30 hour pace). I think that the only reason I didn't quit on that last uphill section of pavement was because Suzi kept acting like we were still in the race...all of the gages had been pegged on the red line and we were just going to keep rolling until something blew, or we ran out of time.....I'd run farther than I'd ever gone and now the level of exertion required was more than I'd dreamed possible....unbelievably intense. This was not pretty...but, we kept going....kept climbing....and after a short downhill and uphill we finally hit the long downhill to the stadium. At this point I'm just running, not really feeling one way or the other about whether we're going to make it....just thinking that I'm going to run as hard as I can for the rest of the 30 hours. Just about then a couple ran out to join us and starts with all this encouraging chatter, but I'm pretty well over the edge and can't really understand what they're saying....then, I can see the entrance to the stadium at the end of the street. Just as we pass the last street corner, some of our Texas pals are there and cheering us on. Suzi has told me that when I enter the stadium to drop my fanny pack and go for it...somehow I do . The first thing that I really notice as I come up onto the track is the clock that you pass under there by the end zone. I'm way beyond rational thought at this point and I draw two very depressing conclusions...first, that I have to circle the entire track and pass back under this clock to finish....and second, that only 30 seconds remain (my ability for complex math like subtraction has gone by this time)....All of this leads me to the inevitable conclusion that I'm going to time out after 100 miles half way around this track in front of everyone in the stadium......as you can imagine, I reach a new all time rookie emotional low ...I just can't believe that it's all going to slip out of my reach... but fortunately my wayward brain is no longer in direct communication with my legs because I'd kept running as hard as I could. As I hit the far end zone on the track I hear the announcer saying my name, but I'm so preoccupied with my coming doom that I couldn't understand anything else he was saying. As I begin down the track on the grandstand side of the field, I am amazed by all the people. Then I see the finish line & the clock. As I crossed the line I was really shocked that we'd made it! Suzi was there telling me that somehow we'd rallied and made it in with 3 minutes to spare. As the Medicos were leading me over to weigh in....I turned to see the people cheering and clapping...I was truly touched by how they reacted, I just hadn't expected this....none of it seemed real. I was seated in the sun having my blood pressure checked (pre-race wrist tag had me in at 110/78....now we were looking something more in the neighbor hood of 180/110) when the gun went off. Man, that went right through me. They told me that I had been the last person to complete the race. That still really didn't sink in until out of the corner of my eye I saw a runner come through the gate and onto the track. We all applauded, but it was in a strange way painful for everybody...he hadn't made it, we'd overtaken him on one of the last climbs, he'd been maybe 4 minutes behind me, but that was a minute too late...my heart went out to the cat, he was going the distance even though the race had ended....don't know if I could have done that. Suddenly I realized that I had finished the race. .... This had been way too close, and it had been way too close for way too long. It really hit me what a fragile accomplishment that this had been....with only 3 minutes of slack over a thirty hour period I 'm left believing that every single thing that happened was critical. It had all started when Suzi told me that if I really wanted to understand ultra running that I needed to do a hundred, this hundred...and if I got in, she'd be my coach and pacer. Through out training and the race itself, everything seemed to have some significance to helping me finish. All of the encouragement, support, and tips I got from other members of NTTR training in Dallas and California were important. Everything that had to go right had.....it was one of those rare time in life where your best is good enough. My deepest thanks to my greatest supporter and fan....my wife Valerie. Without her support, interest, and encouragement I would have never gotten to California. Thanks for never once acting like I was crazy, or doubting that I'd finish....you're the best! My heart felt thanks..... to Britt and Scott for their encouragement, training runs, and interest....to my pals Tom, Cathy, Bob, and Glenn for helping me make it through training camp.... to Neil for helping us out at Foresthill. Congratulations to Glenn for a remarkable 22 hour race and his silver buckle, and to Robert for finishing well ahead of me. To my mentor, coach, pacer, and pal....Suzi Cope....thanks more than I can ever say for everything that she has done to introduce me to ultra running and to help me successfully conclude my rookie season by finishing Western States. It wouldn't have happened without her help and encouragement. Jay Freeman