2019 BROKEN ARROW SKY RACE 26k (Race Report)

Did you ever have a bucket list race? A race you’ve always wanted to try but the stars just never aligned for it to happen? The Broken Arrow Sky Race has been that race for me since they starting racing in Squaw Valley. It usually falls on or around Father’s Day or near Squeaker’s birthday, but not this year. This year, the timing was perfect.

When I told Vans about this race and my intentions months ago, he was all for it. Then I discovered there was also a Broken Arrow kid’s race AND a Big Blue Adventure Mountain Bike Race all within the same weekend. The stars not only aligned, they were calling us … to Tahoe! So off we went!

The Broken Arrow Sky Race series starts on a Friday with a VK (Vertical Kilometer) race, followed by Saturday with the 11k race and a 52k race. The series ends on Sunday with a 26k and the kid’s race. All throughout the weekend are vendors, music, beer, food and just a ton of super fit active happy people.

We arrived late Friday evening. Vans went and did his crazy mountain bike race (his first major one since his collar bone accident in February) on Saturday while the kids and I soaked up the excitement and energy in the village. It was fun and gave me a chance to chat with a lot of 52k finishers about the course as this was 100% a snow year and running was not going to be easy peasy way up high on the mountain.

Come Sunday morning, my nerves were getting to me. After having talked to so many about the snowy conditions, I was a bit nervous. Just a week before the race I had suffered from either a terrible bout of allergies OR a nasty sinus cold that tried to make its way into my chest. I had a few asthma attacks that week as a result. Regardless, trying to breathe had been rough and I took a good week off to let everything settle.

I did not take any photos at the start of the race. I was too much in my head and watching those around me. When they counted us down and sent us on our way, I had a smile on my face eager to see what the day would bring.

The first few miles of the course I am familiar with. That single track in the photo above I have run before during our family time in Tahoe. It’s gorgeous but because of the snow, it’s been a while since I’ve run on it. It was as soft and as beautiful as I remember.

Then we started climbing. They wasted no time with that elevation gain in this race. I tried to settle into a decent pace but those around me were pushing pretty hard. I wanted to as well but my legs and lungs had not quite adjusted yet to what I was asking them to do.

I did make a promise to myself that every peak I crested, I would stop, turn and take a photo. It made climbing those giant mountains, a little more fun.

There were 424 people running this race so it was a bit of an adjustment trying to maintain space on the trail. The initial climbs were all a conga line of people. Many had trekking poles which created space and passing issues trying not to get jabbed in the knee cap. Though I wasn’t really passing many at the beginning.

Every turn we made, brought a new climb. The red arrows in the photo above, if you click on it, you’ll see tiny specks … those are people, lines of them climbing. I was headed their way.

All you could really do is put one foot in front of the other and move. We had not even hit the snow sections yet. You can see at the top of the photo, that’s were the snow really started to play a factor.

At the top. Turned around and saw Lake Tahoe!

Cresting that first major climb provided your first glimpse of Lake Tahoe. The runners behind me saw that I turned and took a photo and they turned and exclaimed, “Oh wow! Look!” That made me smile.

My breathing had some what regulated by now but my legs and body still felt unsure. I thought I had been in pretty good shape prior to this race but sky running or mountain running in snow results in you using a lot of extra energy to stay upright.

I had been enjoying my time so far and finally made it to the “rope” part of the course. I had seen photos of this section all throughout the weekend but they didn’t do this section justice. I killed a lot of energy here.

The rope was hard. There were tons of us on it and if one person fell and moved the rope, it sent a domino effect downward. I could barely hold on. I kept falling. Finally, I let go of the rope and just crawled on my hands and feet up the snow as best I could. It was a mix of snow and rocks so every so often an avalanche of rocks would come down and someone would yell, “Rock! I can’t stop it!” and we’d look up and try and catch whatever rock was rolling towards us. It was brutal.

And it was relentless. Your arms and legs were tired from the rope climb only to turn the corner and have to climb again, but without a rope.

We were getting closer and closer to the top! There are only 3 aid stations in the race. The first one is called Easy Street and is at mile 6. I didn’t really stop but said thank you and hello to all the volunteers. After Easy Street, we started climbing KT-22.

Then we started moving towards the top of Squaw Peak heading towards the most infamous part of the race, Stairway to Heaven.

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Photo credit : Ultraracephotos

The Stairway to Heaven ladder is awesome! Total drop offs on either side and you scramble across a rocky ridge line just to get to it. I had a smile on my face from ear to ear when I finally reached it.

View from top of the Highway to Heaven ladder.

After you reach the top of the ladder, you are finally blessed with some downhill running into Shirley Basin. It took a while for my downhill legs to return after so much uphill but I made it to the aid-station called Siberia. Aptly named because this aid-station is at the top mountain where most of the snow is located as well as tons of skiers and snowboarders out enjoying the day!

It was a hoot trying to run on the snow while a skier (in shorts and a tank top) was whizzing right by me wishing me well in my race. I would smile and say thanks and focus my attention on trying to find the race flags that were spiked into the snow. It was so crowded at the top that I couldn’t rely on looking for a runner in front of me, nor did I want to in case someone went off course.

Photo credit : Ultraracephotos

The way down into Shirley Canyon was both a blast and a pain the butt, literally! The snow was so deep and slippery that really the only true way to go down, was on you bum!

The grove on the right hand side of that photo was the bum slide. I went down that! It was fun but definitely cold! My backside got a little frozen but I laughed the whole way down. You can see video of me sliding down on my Instagram Page.

However, after you slide/run/fall the whole way down into Shirley Canyon, you have to turn around and climb right back out. At first this seemed like a downer but watching everyone else slide down on their bums next to you laughing and having a blast, made climbing up (and falling up) the snow, that much better.

When you’re back at the top, you run through the snow to High Camp. I didn’t even stop at the aid-station at High Camp (mile 11.5) because I knew that some downhill followed and I was hoping, it was without snow!

I was partially right. There was still quite a bit snow on the beginning portion of the Thunder Mountain single track that leads down to the village as well as water and tons of deep mud puddles. We’d run a bit on the fire road and then be whisked onto the single track and forced to climb just a little bit more before finally being dumped onto the wide fire road that leads directly to the finish line.

Once I hit that, I just ran. I passed a bunch of people but my legs were so grateful for the downhill knowing that there was finally no more uphill to battle other than having to jump for the famous bell at the finish line.

Photo credit : Ultraracephotos

I did it! My jump wasn’t so graceful but I rang das’bell as they say! I couldn’t stop smiling. My kids had been higher up on the fire road and cheered me on as I had come down the hill.

Sky Runner Finisher

The girls could not wait to tell me all about their own sky races! I was so proud of them. They ran up hill, around and then down the big fire road to the finish and hit the bell too!

We shared our trail run stories, enjoyed some otter pops that were being handed out at the finish line and soaked up the energy that continued to flow through the village.

At the bottom of your race bib are some tickets that included two free beers (including Sufferfest, one of my favorite companies) and a ticket to the buffet at Fireside Pizza!

Post Race. So good.

Knowing that it was almost 100 degrees back home, none of us wanted to leave. We relaxed, ate, listened to music and talked to people the rest of the afternoon. It was perfect. I forget sometimes how rejuvenating it is to escape as a family for the weekend, even if we’re all racing! 🙂

Have to give a big shout out to this guy. He got the girls to their race start, cheered them on and checked us out of our room all while I was running up a mountain. Afterwards he lugged all my bags so I could change out of my wet stinky clothes.

Vans WON his race category (single speed) at the mountain bike race on Saturday too! Super proud of him. His road to recovery has been slow but steady and I am happy to see him back on the bike.

Overall, I am very happy with the Broken Arrow Sky race. It was a well run fun event. It isn’t easy no matter what distance you try and do. I am happy we decided to come up as a family and experience it together. I conquered a Bucket List item and made some great family memories.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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TAHOE RIM TRAIL 100 (CREW)

My good friend and running partner, Pigeon toed the line at the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 mile endurance run last weekend. While the details of that race are not mine to tell, I can share with you what Be-Well-Run and I experienced from a crew’s perspective.

It all started when Be-Well-Run (BWR) arrived at my house from Canada last Thursday evening. She came to visit knowing that a large portion of our time would be spent heading to Tahoe to crew Pigeon (I do not think BWR minded in the slightest).

When I arrived home from work on Friday, we quickly packed the car with our gear, some food and hit the road. We immediately started listening to Ultrarunner Podcast, one of my favorite (LOCAL) podcasts. These interviews always get me excited to run trails.

Our first stop? Squaw Valley! Squaw Valley is the Trailmomma family’s home away from home. Near and dear to hearts, I wanted to show BWR where we spend most of our days/evenings when we are in Tahoe. As an added bonus, the Squaw Valley Wanderlust Festival was going on at the same time!

Hippies, tie-dye, malas, yoginis and vegans were everywhere! BWR and I were in total Wanderlust heaven. We were also starved when we got there so we grabbed a free SoDelicious Almond Milk Mocha Ice Cream Bar followed by some amazing local kombucha. That’s how we roll.

Kombucha!
Kombucha!

Soon it was time to hook up with Pigeon and Missouri at the condo. We caught up on events, introduced BWR and Missouri to each other and soon started discussing what was going to happen the next day when Pigeon started her race.

We also laughed endlessly about some of the adventures Pigeon and I have had on the trail together. BWR and Missouri sat there and listened to Pigeon and I laugh about who did what, who fell where, who got scared by turkeys (okay, we all know who that was) … and I realized, while finishing the race was Pigeon’s goal, the journey to get there was probably my favorite part.

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Pigeon went to bed early. She had a lot on her mind and an early wake up call. BWR and I sat up and just soaked in the fact that we were in Tahoe about to be part of Pigeon’s journey. I was also a little bit sad that I was going to miss the Peanut’s last home swim meet. She had been called to be an alternate on the relay team which for her, is a very big deal.

Tattooing her sister before the meet.
Tattooing her sister before the meet.

Still, I knew that I needed to go to bed and get a good night of sleep because BWR and I were going to wake up and hit the trails to see Pigeon pass through the 11 mile and 17 mile marker in the race.

With a restless night of sleep, I woke up completely energized and ready to show BWR the Tunnel Creek Trail that leads up to the TRT course. She has seen photos of this trail for the last few years on my blog but has never set foot on it until now.

Just three and half miles long (completely up hill) is all it takes to hit the Tunnel Creek aid-station at TRT. This aid-station is the 11 mile and 17 mile marker for all 3 events (50K, 50 mile and 100 mile). However, the 50 and 100 milers will pass through this aid-station numerous times on their journey.

BWR and I finally made it to the top and just in time as we saw Coach Nikon coming in at mile 11 and heading out on the Red House Loop.

Coach Nikon!
Coach Nikon!

I could tell BWR was pretty stoked. More and more runners were coming in and since it was so early in the race, most of them were happy and in good spirits. I tried taking a selfie of BWR and myself and before I knew what was happening, this super cute runner dude asked if he could jump into our selfie!

What a cutie!
What a cutie!

We’d see this guy a few more times throughout the race but he was never as smiley as he was in the above photo.

While sitting and waiting for Pigeon to come through, we saw quite a few runners come in. We would cheer and shout encouraging words. I even saw Boo come through! She was running the 50K race with zero training under her belt (and she placed in her age group too!).

Boo! FYI everyone, she is over 50. Rock on!
Boo! FYI everyone, she is 54 years young and rocks it!

Finally we saw Pigeon come through. We were not allowed in the aid-station so we had to sit tight and wait until she got what she needed and came out.

Pigeon crossing the timing mats.
Pigeon crossing the timing mats.

We knew that we’d see her again in less than two hours so BWR and I just hung out and cheered runners on totally loving every moment of it.

Perched on our rock.
Perched on our rock.

Eventually Pigeon came back through at mile 17.3 of the race and per the rules, she had to weigh herself to make sure her weight was stable.

Her weight was right on target.
Her weight was right on target.

BWR and I made sure she had all she needed and that she used the porta potty. We told her that we would see her at Diamond Peak (mile 30) next. Overall, she looked great. The only thing that I noticed (and no one else would have) was that she was walking back up towards Tunnel Creek after the Red House Loop whereas every single year past, she’s run that hill. Still, I just assumed she was pacing herself.

When Pigeon left, BWR and I took off down the trail back to the car. What was 3.5 miles up hill, was also 3.5 miles down hill. While I knew better than to bomb it, I couldn’t help myself or BWR’s excitement running down the hill towards the most beautiful views of the lake.

Having a blast
Having a blast

We got to our car and headed back to the condo for some food and quick cat nap. Soon it was time to pack the car and head to Diamond Peak (which was just up the road) with Missouri and all the gear in tow. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this little side story here.
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Missouri drove Pigeon’s car to the bottom of Diamond Peak. With the new crewing rules, parking was limited at the ski resort. We unloaded the gear onto a wagon and made our way up the huge hill towards the aid-station. A gentleman in a car stopped to tell us that there was tons of parking up the hill. Missouri didn’t want to have to unload the cart again and sort of dismissed it. Finally, after enough pestering, she agreed to let me move the car closer. So I hopped in, drove up quite a ways and then turned back down the hill and ran towards Missouri and BWR who were pushing this massive wagon of gear up the hill. We even PASSED the car and I pointed out the car’s new location. This small piece of information is significant, so remember it. 😉

We set up our mini aid-station at Diamond Peak and began socializing. I was sad to hear that Coach Nikon had dropped but he seemed okay with it. BWR got to see Gordy Ansleigh, the man behind the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. She may have stalked him just a bit.

Pigeon came into the aid-station right on target and the whole crew jumped into action.

Here she comes!
Here she comes!

I refilled her pack. Missouri got everything out that she needed. We all just jumped into doing whatever it was that she needed as fast as she needed it.

Changing socks
Changing socks

She had expressed some discomfort but she seemed so together mentally. This Pigeon was a whole new runner compared to the runner who came through this same aid-station in 2013.

Cooling her off. It was getting hot!
Cooling her off. It was getting hot!

Soon it was time for her take off up the massive Diamond Peak hill. One of my favorite photos is the one below. Pigeon had asked myself and Kuni to pace her in this race. Kuni had just run Hardrock a week prior and has tons of ultra experience under his belt. He was also Pigeon’s pacer during the American River 50 miler this year and brought her back to life. The following photo says a lot.

Pep talk or teacher talking to his student? Both.
Pep talk or teacher talking to his student? Both.

Once Pigeon was gone we loaded up the cart again and headed to the car … which was dead. Yup. The battery in their car had died. The blame was put on me since I was the last one to touch the car and MAY have bumped the hazard lights (which were not on when we all walked by it earlier). My heart sank a little. I knew how much the car meant to Pigeon … I also knew that if she knew what happened, she would have flipped. 🙂

Luckily, Kuni came to our rescue again and gave us a jump start but the car would prove to be a problem all day and so we moved all the gear to my car …. (take note, again, this is important later on). 🙂

We had a few hours to kill so we went back to the house. We ate, we napped whatever it was and soon found ourselves getting back into (my) car and heading towards Spooner Lake where Pigeon would come through at mile 50 and also pick up Kuni as her pacer.

I am not sure why, but I never once looked up at the sky to see what the clouds or weather was doing. In hind sight, yea, we should have looked at the sky.

We arrived at Spooner Lake, parked the car and set up camp. Pigeon was predicted to come in at a certain time and we were there quite early which was fine, we were chatting it up with other runners and crews. Spooner Lake is a happening spot in this race as it is the finish line for the 50K and 50 Miler runners and the half way point for the 100 milers who were about to head out on a second loop.

I cannot recall how long we had been there but before we even realized, the sky had turned dark dark gray and we heard a roll or two of thunder. All of a sudden the sky opened up and the rain came down in buckets! Then it started hailing on us! Huge giant pieces of hail were pelting us left and right. Lightening was blasting all around us and seemed way too close for comfort. We got word that they had to evacuate one of the aid-stations out on the course.

All of a sudden I remember that we had MY car! I turned to Missouri and told her that I had a tarp in my car. I ran to the car in the storm. It was raining so hard that I even got a little turned around because I couldn’t see and the parking lot was quickly flooding!

I found the tarp and raced back to the crew. We used the tarp to cover ourselves as well as the gear of Pigeon and a few other runners that we knew. Now who saved the day huh? I went from the girl who killed the car to the girl who had a tarp in her car! Wait … why do I have a tarp in my car? (cough cough murderer?) 🙂

Hiding under the tarp
Hiding under the tarp

The weather was dumping on us. Runners were still coming through the aid-station completely soaked and shivering. All we kept thinking about was Pigeon and the fact that she was probably on Snow Valley, a peak so high up that she would have been in the thick of the storm.

BWR kinda loving the excitement ... for a bit.
BWR kinda loving the excitement … for a bit.

We must have stood there for what felt like days but in reality was only hours waiting and praying for Pigeon. We wanted her to come in so that #1 we’d know she was safe and #2 we could dry her up and get ourselves out of there and back to the condo where it was warm and dry.

She finally came in, almost 2 hours off her scheduled time. We knew the weather would slow her down (how could it not) but when she came in, I could see in her face that things were not well. Still, as a crew should, we jumped into gear and raced to get her warm broth to sip, some dry clothes to change into and a place to sit down.

Unfortunately Pigeon had to make a decision. She was about an hour and 45 minutes ahead of the cut off at this aid-station but her running ability was limited. She could chase the cut offs all night long or call it. She decided to call it. I could see the disappointment in her eyes. She apologized to us crew profusely and we just shushed her. We would have been by her side no matter what she decided. Nothing would have stopped us from being her crew. We were honored to part of her team. We would do it all again in a heart beat.

Pigeon's Crew (minus two)
Pigeon’s Crew (minus two)

So while the outcome is not what Pigeon envisioned for herself, she has many things in life to be grateful for and she knows this. She has an exciting future ahead both on the trails and off. I have no doubts that she will get a 100 miler under her belt and while it may not be TRT, it will happen. With every race she does, Pigeon gains so much knowledge. She matures before your eyes as a runner each and every time she toes the line.

I look forward to seeing her conquer her goals and she will conquer them. I have no doubts about it and when she does, she will have one kick a$$ crew behind her.

Pigeon
Pigeon

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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