Subject: Late Western States Report (looong) Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 13:57:25 EDT From: Kendall Kreft To: ultra@LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU As there has been a recent spate of late reports from Western, I thought I would add my two cents worth. Hope I didn't get too carried away. It was the best of runs, it was the worst of runs. Sounds like bad plagiarism and the start of a long run report. Probably correct on both accounts. The 2000 edition of the Western States 100 mile run has been completed. Accompanied by a 5:00 AM shotgun blast, 381 runners began moving up towards Emigrant Gap on Saturday, June 24th. This was the last view most of us had of eventual winner Scott Jurek as he blasted up the hill, immediately assuming the lead. For me, the festivities had begun on Thursday, following our arrival in Tahoe City late Wednesday evening. My training partner and co-entrant Doug Beyerlein and his brother-in-law Bob Wollman drove together, with Marlis DeJongh flying down to join us on Thursday evening. Thursday morning found us like kids in the candy store, poring over the various choices in souvenir shirts and other memorabilia. I could have spent a lot more, but managed to curtail my impulses. After lightening our wallets, a number of entrants and their crews hiked the 4.7 miles to Emigrant Gap for the traditional flag raising ceremony. On the trek up, I enjoyed speaking with runners who had previously completed the run, as well as other first-timers. The view and the commentary at the top only heightened my level of pre-race excitement. I only hoped that I didn't use all the adrenaline my body could generate prior to the start of the race. Friday saw even more adrenaline being dumped into my veins as we registered and went through the medical check. My weight was normal at 167, although I didn't think to take off my shoes and had been hydrating like mad all day Thursday and thus far Friday morning. My first blood pressure reading nearly blew up the cuff at 174 over 120 or so. The lady doing the test smiled and made a comment about rushing around a lot and re-ran the test - 154/95 with a pulse rate of 75. Yep, the adrenaline production was right up there. After dropping off our drop bags in the appropriate piles, we tried to stay out of the sun and waited for the mandatory pre-race meeting. The only gripe I had about the entire event was the fact that this meeting was held outdoors under a very hot sun. The meeting itself didn't last too long, and it was exciting to have all the elite runners introduced. Ann Trason received a particularly long and well deserved ovation, welcoming her back after a year off due to injury. Prior to the injury, Ann had won Western States 10 years in a row and was back to resume where she had left off. After the conclusion of the meeting, everyone went to grab an early dinner and tried to get some rest before an early morning. I watched the numbers change on the digital clock for much of the night. The Start After watching Scott Jurek charge up the hill, the remainder of the more normal humans began walking up the grade, ascending 2500' in elevation in the first 4.7 miles. I was also walking, but began passing people almost immediately. Apparently, I walk faster than many. I was a little apprehensive about the altitude, as Emigrant Gap is at 8,700' elevation, but never noticed being short of breath. The views both ahead and behind of the showed a winding rope of runners working their way up the hill. At the high point of the ridge, we were treated with a view of the sunrise over Lake Tahoe. Too pumped up on adrenaline to enjoy the view, it was down the trail on the other side and into the adventure. The first part of the run was a rush of downhill and rocky single-track trail. The trail was a little rough but very run-able and I was cruising. I kept telling myself to take it easy, but was passing quite a few people. It was during this section, that I began running with Curt Ringstad of Bend, OR. The Lyon Ridge aid station at 11.0 miles came and went very quickly as Curt and I continued on down the trail. We pounded along, continuing to Red Star Ridge at 16.5 miles, reaching this point at 8:14 AM. Somewhere along in here, I lost concentration and tripped along a relatively smooth section. This was to be my only fall of the run and resulted only in a minor bruise on my butt cheek where I landed after a shoulder roll. The Duncan Canyon aid station was located at 24.2 miles, just prior to heading down into the actual canyon. At the bottom, we forded the stream and began the long uphill to Robinson Flat. The wet shoes came back to haunt me later in a big way. By the time we reached the Robinson Flat aid station at 30.2 miles, I could tell that a blister was developing on my left foot. After spending 15 minutes with the podiatrist, I checked out at 11:06 AM. Curt had headed on up the trail, and I did not see him again. He finished in 50th place, with an excellent time of 23:40. My weight at the aid station medical check was down 2 lb. from my pre-race weight of 167 on Friday. From Robinson Flat at 6,730', the trail descended to Deep Canyon at 35.8 miles and 4,800' elevation. From there, it's a short steep climb to Dusty Corners at 40.1. The aid workers filled both bottles with ice and water, sponged me down and sent me walking up the road with a plate full of food. I was eating quite a bit and pretty fast and when I started to run, my stomach did a quick flop. I immediately started walking again and left the remainder of the food with an aid worker who had volunteered to walk with me to return the trash to the station. This was the limit of my stomach problems for the entire run. In this regard, I was much luckier than most. From Dusty Corners, it was on to the Last Chance aid station at 43.3 miles. My weight was back up to 166 at this medical check. This aid station is just before a steep downhill that ends at bottom of Deadwood Canyon (2,800' elevation, 46.1 miles). I passed several people on the downhill which was full of switch-backs and ranged from a gentle slope to a hold-on-to-your-hat, caution to the wind, kamikaze grade. At the bottom, I snapped a photograph of a woman runner that I had just passed and she returned the favor for me. The woman turned out to be Laura Kulsik, who was the fifth place woman finisher. Laura smoked me from this point on and finished in 22:51. We continued across the bridge and began the steepest climb of the run. Prior to heading up the slope, I stopped at a stream crossing and soaked my shirt (good idea), wading right in and splashing water on my legs as well (and soaking my shoes and socks again - bad idea). The climb up to Devil's Thumb was long and steep, with 1,565 feet of gain in 1.7 miles. I trudged through this pretty well and managed to pass another runner or two in the process. The medical check at Devil's Thumb had me down by a single pound. I ate some more melon and turkey, had my water bottles refilled, stuffed ice under my hat and headed out once more. I also had a little more work done on my feet, trying to care for the blisters that had continued to develop. From Devil's Thumb, the trail drops once more, descending to El Dorado Creek (1,700', 52.9 miles). I was again rolling pretty well on the downhill, the trail was generally good and I felt pretty strong yet. I was a bit surprised at how much running was actually done on gravel roads through this section, I had expected to route to be mostly on single track trails. I'm sure the leaders really made time here. From the low-point at El Dorado Creek, the route then began climbing to the Michigan Bluff aid station (3,530', 55.7 miles). Ascending 1,830' in 2.8 miles, the climb was not the longest nor the steepest climb on the run, but it was significant. I reached Michigan Bluff at around 5:00 PM. The medical check had me down just one pound. Heading out of Michigan Bluff at 5:17, I was told that I was in 69th position. I was 13 minutes ahead of 24 hour pace. From Michigan Bluff, I was in uncharted territory personally. I had never run this far before. At this point, I felt pretty good, in spite of my sore feet. I kept motoring on down to the Volcano Canyon check point at 57.7 miles and then continued on to the major aid station at Foresthill School. I was looking forward to this aid station as my crew would be there with a milk shake for me. I was starting to drag a bit along the road into town and checked in to the aid station more than 20 minutes ahead of the 24 hour pace time. Unfortunately, this is where the wheels started to come off. I met my crew and headed over to the podiatrist area again. My shoes and socks were wet and my feet were a mess. At one point, I had 4 different people working on my feet, along with Bob drying out my shoes with paper towels and Marlis getting me food and drink. Roughly 40 minutes later, I checked out of the Forest Hill aid station. I was now 18 minutes behind the 24 hour pace guideline. The trail was mostly downhill through the California street section, and I had reduced my deficit on the 24 hour pacing to 10 minutes by the Dardanelles check point (65.7 miles). This was encouraging and I kept pressing on the way to Peachstone (70.7). There, I felt the wind go out of my sails as I had pushed pretty hard and discovered that I was about 30 minutes behind the 24 hour pace at that point. It was also time to get out the flashlight, as dusk was falling. From Peachstone, it was on to Ford's Bar (73.0 miles). At this point, I was still running, but the progress was slowing. I was passing a few people, but getting passed by more. I kept telling myself that many of those people passing me were pacers and not actually running the race, but psychologically, it was difficult to have 4 or 5 runners go cruising on by. I was also in the process of accepting that my goal of 24 hours was not going to be possible. My feet were getting worse and my energy level flagging. By the time I reached the river crossing at Rucky Chucky (745', 78.0 miles), I was basically reduced to walking. I entered the water just behind another runner who was badly chafed in very unhandy places. He was struggling with the water contact with these surfaces and I was not willing to wait. So, I let go of the rope and leap-frogged around him. The water current was not an issue, but footing was a little indefinite. It was dark and you couldn't see where you were stepping. One of the volunteers stationed in the water shown a flashlight on a hole, just in time for me to step down into it. The water came up to about 6" above my waste and gave me extra incentive to get on across. At the far side, a photographer was taking pictures of the runners exiting the water. When it was my turn, he depressed the shutter release and had nothing happen - he was out of film. I was not willing for him to reload and headed on to the aid station. There, I had dry shoes and socks waiting and also had some additional repair work done on my feet while I ate some chicken noodle soup. I had been hoping that the new shoes would make my feet feel better, but the damage was too great. Bruised and blistered feet hurt, whatever shoes they get stuffed into. From Rucky Chucky, it was a steady climb up to Green Gate at 79.8 miles. This was fine by me, as I made better time on the up-hills than the down-hills, relative to other runners. After Green Gate, it was on to the Auburn Lake Trails aid station at 85.2 miles. My weight was fine at the medical check, but my energy was flagging badly - as was my motivation. I took the time to have a quick massage for my quads and lower legs and then hobbled on towards Brown's Ravine at 89.9 miles. The aid stations were blurring together a bit at this stage of the game, but I believe that the Brown's Ravine station was heard much in advance of being seen. They had several generators going and loudspeakers blasting into the forest. Most of the time I was in earshot, they were playing Rasta music, or at least that's what I was hearing. They also had a neon Coors sign to welcome you in. After having some soup and a banana at Brown's Ravine, it was on to Highway 49 (93.5 miles). My weight was again only a pound or two down at this medical check, and I tried to move through the aid station quickly. I checked out at 5:19 AM as the sun was just starting to come up. At this point, I knew I would finish, but it seemed that the end would never arrive. The trails after the road crossing were excellent, with some very run-able down-hills; I was not able to take advantage of this, still walking almost all of the time. A couple of miles after the road crossing, I started to see a large bridge spanning the valley, up at the top of the ridges. The trail kept going down and I was worried that I was going to have to climb up to cross the bridge. Fortunately, No Hands Bridge (96.8 miles) was a smaller structure, located lower down in the valley and the final climb up to the top of the ridge was after crossing it. I had my water bottle refilled and numbly headed out on the gravel road alongside the river. This should have made for excellent running, but my feet were shot and I couldn't make myself run. After a couple of miles on fairly level gravel roads, the trail wound up the ridge to the final Robie Point aid station at 98.9 miles. I didn't pause at this point, just wanting to get this thing over with. The uphill pavement seemed to last a lot longer than 1.3 miles, but I was beginning to smell the barn and managed to push into a fast shuffle instead of simply walking. At long last, it was a short downhill and then into the stadium to the finish. I had expected to get a bit emotional at the finish line, but was so drained that I didn't really feel much of anything except for relief, knowing that I could stop and sit down. I crossed the finish line 26 hours 23 minutes and 54 seconds after starting on Saturday morning. My weight was down by four pounds at the final weigh-in, I had not been hydrating quite as aggressively for the final portion of the race. After having such a high blood pressure at the start, my post race check produced a reading of 120/74 and a pulse rate of 100. I guess my body had decided that this foolishness was never going to end and had just gone into conservation mode. The race was a great adventure. The volunteers and our crew were outstanding, and the other runners were awesome. Out of 381 starters, there were 222 finishers in the allotted 30 hour time frame. Two other runners finished after 30 hours, having beaten all the time cut-offs along the way. These runners did not receive a belt buckle, having finished after the time limit. However, they did receive a finishers medal and the longest and loudest round of applause at the awards ceremony. They had certainly earned these accolades. Immediately after finishing, I was convinced that I would never do another 100 miler - it was simply too hard. Now, nearly two weeks after the fact, with my feet nearly healed and the passage of time dulling the pain, I am thinking about what to do differently - how to keep my feet together and eliminate the blisters. So, who knows maybe next year will find me at another 100 miler trying once again to break 24 hours. I do know that I will never forget this experience. Kendall Kreft