Canyons 100k Archives ~ TRAILMOMMA

April 30, 2024April 30, 2024

2024 CANYONS 100k (Race Report)

I first ran the Canyons 100k in 2017. It was my second ever 100k. You can read that race report here. Back then it was a whole different race in a way. Smaller but still crowded, still tough but way less hoopla and a different starting location and course. It had become a Western States qualifying race in 2016 so the fire was lit for many to run an awesome local race when there were not many local qualifiers in the immediate area.

I ran Canyons 100k again in 2019 (you can read that race report here). That year I came back from the dead but the course was “easier” in the sense that we did not have to deal with Devil’s Thumb, but it was still crowded with sections of two way traffic.

Then in 2023 I decided to run Canyons again. I registered for the race in the spring of 2022 before they partnered with UTMB and then in December of that year I broke my fibula snowboarding. There was no way I was toeing the line but luckily, they let me defer my entry to April of 2024. Then all the UTMB drama happened. I was not about to just hand over my entry fee or waste my chance at qualifying for Western States (again). I planned on running however, this was now a whole new race compared to my previous years.

In preparation for the race, I was surprised by the “lower” 12,295 of gain posted when in prior years, it was around 16,000+. The qualifying time for Western States was also 20 hours which seemed generous to me since 2017 and 2019 the qualifying cut off was 18 hours (with more elevation gain). I think because of all of this, I did not give this race, the respect it fully deserved. Don’t get me wrong, I trained and I ran and I prepared. I just was not nervous come race morning which is not like me. I usually have jitters the entire race week.

RACE START – CHINA WALL

One thing to note about this race is that they alternate the directions (or are supposed to) each year. This year it was starting at China Wall and finishing in Downtown Auburn. Next year, I believe it will start in Downtown Auburn and finish at China Wall. Last year (2023), due to the fires and trail conditions, it started and ended in Downtown Auburn.

The China Wall start, sucks. Plain and simple, it sucks. I woke up at 1:00 am, drank some coffee and got dressed and ready. Shawn picked me up at 2:00 am and we drove to the Auburn Overlook where we had to catch a bus (required – no way around it) that was driving all runners to the China Wall start. Fueling and prepping for this time of day just totally threw me off. Instead of eating my usual oatmeal at home, I ate a bar on the bus.

When us 586 100k runners arrived at China Wall, we were greeted with about 4 porta potties that had an incredibly long line. There were people still in line when the race started.

The race started at 5:00 am, in the dark. It had dumped rain the day before so the fire road we were starting on was wet and muddy and it was just crowded. Very crowded with people trying to jump over puddles, slipping in the mud and trying to just get comfortable.

I immediately noticed that the headlamp that I had charged seemed dim and I was struggling to see the trail/road in front of me. I turned my hat backwards hoping that would help, and it didn’t. Even Shawn mentioned that my headlamp was looking like it was dying.

My watched buzzed when we reached mile 2 and I immediately stepped on something I could not see and rolled my left ankle so hard that I slammed to the ground. My hat and headlamp went flying off me and I had yelled in pain. Not wanting to be trampled, I jumped up as quick as I could. Shawn was near me and asked if I was okay. My ankle was throbbing and I was basically limp running. In my head I just kept telling myself to keep moving. This has happened in a training run and it eventually works itself out. I didn’t want to stop but the pain was pretty terrible. I could not keep up with Shawn and I let him go but tried to keep the back of his head in my sights.

My right knee felt like it was covered in mud, it just felt wet and cold. When we eventually turned and started to climb, I used my right hand to try and wipe the mud off but when I looked at my hand, it was covered in blood. I had apparently banged my right knee too when I fell and blood was just pouring down my shin. I grabbed a tissue and tried to clean my hand off. There really wasn’t anywhere on the trail that I could pull off and stop. It was conga line after conga line the entire first 10 miles. Also, my stomach had finally “woken up” and needed a place to stop but unfortunately, there is no where to duck off the trail easily so I just stuck it out knowing there would be a bathroom at the first aid-station.

DEADWOOD 1 (Mile 10.1)

The minute I arrived to the top of Deadwood two volunteers there declared, “Oh my god, your knee! Are you okay?” That was the first time Shawn even noticed my knee and he looked concerned. I told the volunteers that I was fine and that I just needed the porta potties … which consisted of two and also had an incredibly long line of runners waiting to use them. Frustrated that I was wasting too much time, I ducked off into the woods to take care of business.

When I came back to the aid-station, Shawn insisted that someone clean out my knee. So we stopped and I asked what I thought was a medic to clean out my knee.

Bless his heart, he took forever to find what he needed and to put on his gloves and then declared that he was just going to clean off the dripping part on my shin because he was too afraid to rub the wound as it looked to have finally stopped bleeding (because it had mud in it – when I stopped in the woods a few minutes earlier, my knee hit the ground and was caked in mud).

While I was grateful that I looked a little better, I was not feeling all that great. My left ankle was still pretty darn sore but my right quad was really starting to ache. I wondered if maybe I had hit it on a rock when I fell but more likely, my compensating for the left ankle pain put a lot (and I mean a lot) of stress on my right quad. We were at mile 10 and my right quad felt like it was fried.

We left the aid-station together and headed towards Devil’s Thumb.

Devils Thumb 1 (Mile 12)

Now I have done the Devil’s Thumb Canyons “thing” back in 2017. In 2019, they removed the Devil’s Thumb section because of trail conditions (fire I think). In 2017, I absolutely hated this part. I love Devil’s Thumb. It is a historic part of the Western States trail (with 36 switch backs) but for this race, like in 2017, you had to run down to Swinging Bridge (Mile 13.5) , get your bib marked by a volunteer and immediately turn around and hike back up. The problem with this is that there is two way traffic on a very very narrow trail.

In 2017 it was at least dry, so while frustrating to stop and let runners up, you at least did not have to worry about slipping and sliding. At one point while going down, I slipped so bad that I almost went over the edge of the cliff! The guy behind me was like, “Holy cow! That was close! Are you okay? You almost beat us all down there.”

The runners hiking back up were a mix of good mood cheering for you runners and some that were so angry that they shouldered you hard as you passed causing you to lose balance. Just not fun.

The climb out, I was toast. I had very little energy, my quad was killing me and I had been passed by quite a few runners.

Devils Thumb 2 (Mile 15.1)

When I reached the top of Devil’s Thumb I was greeted by Shawn who had waited for me at the top. I felt awful, like I was slowing him down so much.

At the top of Devil’s Thumb was a water only aid-station but I just needed a breather and as luck would have it, I was greeted by Jack Meyer! It was nice to see such a smiling happy and familiar face.

After a quick stop, Shawn and I started running again. I had never been on the trails they had us running that routed us back to Deadwood, it was very pretty but as luck would have it, my stomach was still off and I had to find yet another place to stop.

Deadwood 2 (Mile 18.3)

As we came into Deadwood 2, I headed to the aid-station to see if there was anything that would turn my energy around. It was too early to start drinking Coke but I was desperate. My stomach was off and I could not eat or drink the fuel I had on me without having to stop.

As we left Deadwood 2 and were about to bomb the nice downhill that I normally love, I overhead the volunteer tell one of the runners coming into the aid-station to be mindful of the cut off time.

Shawn and I ran most of the downhill trails that lead to El Dorado Creek. This is a section that I have loved in the past but my quad and my ankle (not to mention my stomach) were making it difficult to run smoothly. I ran but I am sure I looked pretty funny.

Michigan Bluff (Mile 24.0)

The climb up to Michigan Bluff was as brutal as Devil’s but luckily not as steep. It was also super duper warm out. I was slowing Shawn down.

Michigan Bluff was the first crew accessible location but I had told Vans that I didn’t need him there because it would just be easier for him to meet me at Foresthill which was the next aid-station.

I do kind of regret that now, had he been there, I could have fueled up on the stuff he had with him which would have helped a ton.

While Shawn was getting help from Courtney and Cody, I just sat down and wiped my face with an ice cold cloth that Courtney had given me (omg, amazing).

I needed a restroom yet again but they said they didn’t think the aid-station had any which I thought was odd because when I had checked that morning, I knew every aid-station had them (or most did).

Finally, someone who overheard me came over to tell me there were restrooms on the other side of the aid-station. I was kicking myself for wasting time and not going to see for myself because when I found them, there was of course, a line.

I heard my name and I got a nice wave and a “Hi Pam!” from Christine who was working the aid-station. I wanted to go back and say hello but the dang line at the porta potties was going to take a while.

More time wasted then I wanted and Shawn waited for me but informed me that we needed to motor so as not to get too close to the Foresthill cutoff. I didn’t think we were that close but watching the clock was the last thing on my mind.

The descent down into Volcano Canyon I knew would be brutal but I also know that we had an opportunity to get wet and cool off and that truly felt amazing in that heat. I wish I had tucked some ice in my sports bra back at Michigan Bluff but I had waves of being hot and being cold at various times so it wasn’t on my brain to do that.

The climb out Bath Road was its usual brutal self but on pavement I could at least power hike with purpose and not have my quad feel so weak.

In my head, I just wanted to get to the next aid-station and see Vans and also know that I was almost half way done with the race.

Foresthill (Mile 30.0)

Upon entering Foresthill, we immediately saw Vans with his phone. I didn’t think to text him to hook up with Courtney wherever she was situated. I thought they may have prearranged that. I was wrong.

I saw the Peanut. She was waving me over but we had to enter the aid-station and exit from two different points and where they were situated would have had me back tracking so I called over the fence/barricade for them to find Courtney down the road who had a nice shady spot.

I was SO happy to see Vans and the Peanut and to have my fuel that I told them to bring. I wanted to eat something, anything, other than what I had on me at that point.

I immediately had a Pellegrino Limonata which was a last minute toss in my cart at the grocery store purchase but man oh man, did that stuff hit the spot. One can has 110 calories to it and about 31 grams of carbs and is carbonated. It was SO refreshing in the heat! I also took a Tums too in order to settle my stomach but when I went to chew it, my tooth just screamed in pain. Ugh, what else could possible go wrong?!

Shawn ducked down the road to use the bathroom so I had to go and find him and finish this thing. 30 hellish miles down.

This next section was pretty fun but also pretty hot. There was no Cal 1 aid-station this year as was in years past which is a bummer. Would have been nice.

It was 8.2 miles to the next aid-station but it was about here, that we noticed the mileage was really starting not to match up with what was on our watches.

Eventually you do dip into shaded trails and a nice smooth single track.

Cal 2 (Mile 38.2)

This aid-station had a lot going on. There were a LOT of people sitting and looking not so great. The mosquitos were vicious. I was literally attacked the minute I stepped under the aid-station tent. Three bites right on my face in seconds! It was crazy.

I quickly ducked out after grabbing some food. A volunteer kept wanting to stick ice down my shirt or in my hat but I kept saying no thank you. I was actually quite cold at that aid-station.

Shawn and I left Cal 2 and the carnage that was there. We knew that at the next aid-station we’d see Courtney and Vans again but it was almost 10 miles away.

Vans and Peanut enjoying the views between aid-stations

The trails from Cal 2 to Drivers I know pretty well from previous Canyons races and from running Ruck-a-Chuck 50k a few times. There is one or two steep climbs here. Again, I had to stop and duck off the trail. Shawn waited. Darn stomach.

We did run into a runner who told us that it was called “4 minute hill” because the elites at Western States can run it in 4 minutes … yet the lady behind him said she calls it “7 minute hill” because it takes her 7 minutes.

I think it took me 10 minutes.

The fire road leading toward Driver’s Flat is a mental one for me. I always think it is shorter than it is. It DID however, have a park restroom vs a porta potty which was a gift from heaven and thus, I stopped yet again. Pretty sure anything I fueled with was immediately removed.

Drivers Flat (Mile 47.5)

This aid-station was not where I pictured it in my head. Like previous Canyons, I thought it was down by the water but that’s called Rucky Chucky (or was in past races). Shawn told me that the actual aid-station was at the top of huge hill and was the Driver’s Flat staging area where Ruck-a-Chuck 50k used to start and finish. I remembered that climb, it was not fun, it never seemed to end.

When we finally reached the top, seeing everyone there was a site for sore eyes. I was thrilled to see Vans and the Peanut again but also sad as this was the last crew stop before the finish. I was however a little excited as I had never been on the trails that led us to the next aid-station before so I was excited for the unknown.

Again, I drank another Limonata which gave me a rush of carbs, calories and sugar! I used the massage gun on my quad which hurt like hell and I ate my sandwich that I made as another last minute “why not” the day before. This was a lot of food, probably more food than I have had all day!

My girl lugging all my gear out of Driver’s Flat

The Foresthill Divide trails and the trails surrounding Driver’s Flat were absolutely gorgeous. The sun was slowly setting too so that really made everything look so pretty. I would really like to run out there again and explore more it was that pretty.

What wasn’t pretty was the runner puking on the side of the trail. Poor guy. We encouraged him along and eventually came back to life and caught up to us and we chatted for a bit. He was from Squamish.

It quickly got dark and luckily I had tossed my lame headlamp from the start at Foresthill and replaced with two mini lights that I use for emergencies. I totally did not plan lighting well for this race at all which is hilarious because having just run Rio 100 in November, that race is almost entirely in the dark and I had it dialed in.

I pulled out one of my mini lights hoping to save the other one as I knew this one would not last until the finish. Spoiler, it didn’t.

The next aid-station was Mammoth Bar which is an area I know well but had never actually been to the spot where the aid-station was located. The other sucky news was it was almost 8 miles away but we were ready to get this done.

Mammoth Bar (Mile 55.5)

This aid-station was happening. Lights and super energized volunteers. Kids yelling in the dark. It was definitely a welcome stop. So were the porta potties that they had (I believe this was like stop #6 for me now, I lost track). I believe it was here that we were encouraged to have some veggie broth. I tried to nibble on whatever I could find and sipped the broth but it wasn’t helping my stomach much.

We overheard a volunteer saying that this race was actually 64 miles, not a typical 100k at 62.1 (great to hear) and that we had a “700 foot climb out of the aid-station.”

I don’t know what that guy was smoking but to us, that climb was like 7,000 feet. We almost got lost leaving the aid-station trying to find the climb. One runner went off course and we tried to call him back as we saw the sign at the very last minute. For the most part, the race was incredibly well marked with signs for wrong way and and signs for critical turns. This was the only spot I would say they could have done better. The runners who went off course were not happy but at least they figured it out quick enough.

I run in this area a lot but I have not been on these particular trails. That 700 foot climb was hands on knees, bent over steep. Both of us felt like puking at various times it was that steep. Then we started seeing the puke of other runners who I guess felt the same way we did.

Finally we made it to the Short Cut Trail which I am familiar with which leads us to the Confluence Trail which again, I am familiar with but was semi dreading running in the dark. It has some rocks and stuff that can easily trip any runner let alone running it at night in the dark (after switching out yet again my head lights).

Confluence (59.1)

This aid-station was a joy to get to because we knew it was the last one before the finish. We had 4 miles to finish this thing. While we had missed our goal of wanting to finish in the day light (Shawn’s goal), we were totally fine time wise to get our Western States qualifier which was good because neither one of us was running much at this point.

Shawn was being plagued by something in his feet and ankles and was awful quiet. I apologize for slowing him down but he said he’s not sure where he’d be if he had kept running so fast based on how he was feeling now.

This was definitely an odd moment because 99% of the time, when one of us is down, the other is on a high and we can encourage and motivate each other enough to run walk run walk. For the first time in I think forever, we were both on a semi negative wave. Neither one of us was ever contemplating quitting but we both agreed this race will not be in our near future again. 🙂

Of course once we neared No Hands Bridge, the course had us routed around the bridge bordering highway 49 instead of just simply running over the bridge. That would have been a lot easier on the legs but I guess logistically there was less highway patrol needed the way we went. I will give kudos to the highway patrol out there. They had it dialed in for us runners to safely cross the highway twice.

To Downtown Auburn (Finish – Mile 64)

From No Hands to Robie Point is familiar terrain for almost every local runner. It can be easy or it can be a huge pain in the butt. After 60 something miles, it was a pain but I felt like since we ran Rattlesnake Dick 50k in March, the trails had been smoothed out and were flat. Even the quagmire spot had been smoothed out despite 100 mile racers, 100k racers, 50k and 25k racers all traipsing through it. It was pretty easy to get across mud wise.

When we reached the top of Robie Point, we only had pavement to go. In my head I was happy for the pavement, less rocks to trip over and stuff but dang, pavement hurts.

We power hiked and talked the entire time. Our spirits were lifting because we were finishing this thing.

The closer we got to downtown, the more we tried to run and then realized we were not as close as we thought. Then finally, we saw the cones and the turn and we ran.

Shawn wanted to sprint, I told him “I don’t think I have it in me to sprint,” but then I tried to sneak attack by him at the very end but he caught me. We finished!!!! 18 hours and 26 minutes. Longest Canyons ever for us.

While the race boasted “only” 12,295 feet of climbing it had 16,381 feet of descending which completely blew out my legs. It was the downhills and the inability to run them because of my ankle, my quad and my stomach, a trifecta of problems that plagued me the whole entire race.

So happy we finished. I am happy that we both persevered through all the adversity thrown our way (or really just my adversity haha).

As I was telling my coach post race, this was my 29th ultra distance race and 28 of them have been pretty awesome. Of course I had issues in other races (stomach, falls, aches and pains) but in all those other races, I was able to turn it around and run. This was the first and only race I can honestly say, was a struggle from start to finish but in finishing, I have found new strength. I’ve been “lucky” through the years and this time, lady luck was no where to be found. I had to do it on my own. I am proud of that (though I much prefer not having to go through it again). 🙂

To top things off, having Vans and the Peanut as my crew, was great. This was their very first time every doing something like this and it was a race that I was struggling in. That had to be hard to watch I am sure. They brought me back to life and knowing I would see them really kept me going a lot of the time.

I am so grateful to them for spending their entire day running around Foresthill seeing broken down beat up runners and saving me time and time again.

We got our Western States qualifier so mission accomplished there but I will be working on figuring out what made my stomach so unhappy the entire race.

I was on antibiotics weeks ago for a spider bite so maybe that messed up my gut flora so terribly that I did not recover? Maybe it was something that I ate in the days leading up to race? Or maybe my level of electrolytes going into the race? Perhaps it is part of perimenopause because honestly, no one knows enough about it to pin point some of things us women go through when we are dealing with it. I will figure it out.

Enjoying a bit of a break for now though. Thanks for reading this monstrosity of a race report. 🙂

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

Shoes: TopoAthletic Ultraventure 3

Pack: Camelbak

Shorts/Shirt: Oiselle

Socks: Injinji

Fuel: PELLIGRINO LIMONATA!!!!!!

May 1, 2019May 1, 2019

2019 CANYONS 100k (Race Report)

You know that race when everything just falls perfectly into place? Yea well, this wasn’t that race. As near perfect as my 2017 Canyons race was, 2019 was the total opposite.

The uncertainty with this race started early. We received emails from the Race Director that there was too much snow out there and that the Snow Course would be the route for 2019. That eliminated Devil’s Thumb and added Gorman Ranch Road which I had never been on before .

Add to that, the fact that in 2017 I trained almost every single weekend on this course but in 2019, I hadn’t stepped foot anywhere near Foresthill or its canyons. Throw in a clavicle surgery for Vans, soccer coaching conflicts and well, just life in general and my life’s been a little nutty this training season.

Finally, the topper were the emails we received the week of the race that drop bags would not be allowed at Rucky Chucky which was mile 47.8. This is kind of a big deal, at least for me, as someone who cannot typically eat the food provided at aid-stations. The race only allows for two drop bag locations total and they had just eliminated (due to State Parks and Rec decisions), the second drop bag. Luckily, I have the bestest friend in the world who loves to crew and does a pretty bang up job at it! Stonegate came through for me in more ways than I can count for this race. Pretty much eliminating the fact that in 2017 she overslept when she was supposed to drive me to the start. 🙂

Race morning Stonegate arrived at my house at 3:40 ready to roll. We picked up Not Chris and were on our way. She was going to park and stay until we started the race. We grabbed our bibs, used the facilities and then just waited for the race to start. We ran into Pigeon and it was nice to see her face because it had been forever. We text every other day or so but we haven’t seen each other in months.

Pretty soon it was time to line up. Not Chris had decided beforehand that we were going to run together. I assured him that he could pull ahead any time and run his own race. He didn’t need me. This was his first 100k after having only ever run one 50 miler last year, so he was understandably nervous and told me that no matter what we were sticking together.

The course starts off semi flat and then makes a right hand turn onto Bath Road where you run down…down…down. Not Chris and I were keeping a decent pace the whole way. I had no idea what to expect with the new Gorman Ranch Snow Course. In my mixed up head I was thinking we ran up to the aid-station and then down when in reality, it was the opposite. As we were descending down, my stomach was starting to turn. This happens to me in races where a downhill is right off the bat. MUC started on an uphill so I didn’t have that problem.

We did have to cross Volcano Creek which was roaring pretty strong. As I was crossing however, I thought my foot was secure on the bottom of the creek bed but instead it must have been on a rock as I slipped. I slipped big time and my whole lower half was submerged in the ice cold water and my left shin nailed a rock. If I wasn’t awake yet, I was now!

Mile 8 Gorman Ranch

We arrived at the aid-station and neither one of us needed anything. The guys from The Auburn Aid-Station were running this pit-stop and were a sight for sore eyes. They directed me toward an area would I could take care of business.

I found Not Chris hiking back up Gorman Ranch Road and together we power hiked and ran. I was feeling tons better.

Mile 12.5 Michigan Bluff

Not Chris’s wife was at this aid-station which was great. He also had pointed out that the porta potties had no line. I decided to go since I had the opening. I am glad that I did because at that moment, Mother Nature decided to bless me with my period (sorry guy readers). What the!? Now?! Luckily I was prepared. Training partners share a lot and I shared with Not Chris the new lovely situation that I’d have to deal with all day.

We said goodbye to Not Chris’s wife and left Michigan Bluff on our way to El Dorado Creek. We downed the next 3 miles at a pretty good pace, passing quite a few runners.

Mile 15. 5 El Dorado Creek

When we got to the aid-station we didn’t really stop, we walked right through and started the four mile climb up to Deadwood Cemetery.

It was then, that my energy died. I was leading a pack of guys up the climb and just lost all my steam. I went from feeling pretty good to feeling like I could not take another step. I let the guys go, including Not Chris as I needed to hike. Not Chris took off like a rocket and I did a death march almost the whole four miles to Deadwood Cemetery.

I was going through every scenario in my head. Was I eating enough? Was I dehydrated? Why on earth was I THIS tired only 16 miles into a 63 mile race? I never stopped but I felt like I was walking in quicksand and then add to that, the fact that every 2 minutes I would have to jump to the side (into a bush of poison oak) to let the lead runners who were coming back from Deadwood pass! I knew going into this that would happen but I didn’t factor in the toll it would take on my body. All the stopping, starting, jumping out of the way … it added way more physicality and mental toughness to the race.

Soon, I saw Not Chris coming down the hill. I told him to “Go get it!” and he yelled back, “I’ll wait for you at Michigan Bluff.” Ugh, not what I wanted. I wanted him to just go and run as I wasn’t sure what was going on with me and my lack of energy.

At Deadwood I grabbed my bracelet and turned around to run back down what I just had run up forcing all the uphill runners to jump out of the way as well. I noticed I was able to run down fairly well. Okay, if I didn’t have my uphill game, at least I had my downhill.

Mile 21.5 El Dorado Creek

I came into this aid-station pretty darn tired. I saw Dasie and Kuni behind the table and that gave me a boost. I grabbed a cup of coke because I was at my end. I couldn’t eat what I had on me and I knew I needed calories to climb the 3 hard miles back out of this canyon and it was getting hot.

Mile 24.5 Michigan Bluff

I arrived at the Michigan Bluff aid-station and didn’t see Not Chris. YES! He kept going without me, good boy! I didn’t want to slow him down and I knew what was ahead. I was in and out of this aid-station pretty quickly, eager to keep moving.

When I finally reached Bath Road, I was able to text Stonegate and let her know that Not Chris and I had separated and hopefully she had my stuff that I’d need at Foresthill.

Mile 31.0 Foresthill (the half way point)

I needed the excitement that was happening here. I had been having a conversation in my head the whole way up Bath Road, on what the heck I could do to get my energy back and finish this thing.

I spotted Stonegate quickly and saw that Not Chris was still here! He was almost ready to leave but it was nice to catch up briefly and hear that he’d had a good first half. He took off and I removed my pack eager for some ice cold water.

Stonegate was a machine. She filled my pack with ice water, she filled my bottles, she took my trash and she offered me ice to shove down my sports bra! YES please! My coach had reminded me to do this but I had completely forgotten until Stonegate asked. Not Chris’s wife also had an ice cold rag and that felt like heaven.

I removed the food that wasn’t working and pulled out some items that I thought I’d try in the second half of this beast of a race. I must have got distracted with something else or thought I had put them in my pack but didn’t and Stonegate assumed I wasn’t using them and put them away. I was that out of it that I had no idea until much later in the race when I realized I didn’t have any of the fuel I needed.

I left Foresthill and continued on. There was no point at which I thought I might quit but I wasn’t sure how the rest of the day would go.

Mile 35.5 Cal 1

Luckily I still had my downhill legs and the section out of Foresthill leading to the Cal 1 aid-station is a good chunk of downhill running. I motored on this section as best I could, passing quite a few runners.

When I reached Cal 1 I still had not realized that I did not have my fuel on me. I was drinking calories still and not quite eating them at this point but I was looking forward to what I thought I had in my pack.

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Somewhere between Cal 1 and Cal 2 aid-stations, I realized my error. I started to conserve my liquid calories a little bit and hoped for the best at the aid-station.

Mile 40.5 Cal 2

When I entered the Cal 2 aid-station I saw Not Chris! “I am SO happy to see you!” he said. I was little shocked to see him still there. He admitted that he’d started to hit a bit of a wall and that downhills were not his friend. I grabbed some fruit and some other odds and ends and then the best volunteer ever said, “Do you want me to refill the ice in your neck bandanna?” “Oh my gosh, yes please!” I said. She was great and another offered me a pickle which just sounded SO amazing the minute the words came out of her mouth. “Yes, can I take one with me?” and so she chopped it up and put it in the baggy that I had on me. Woah, I was starting to feel better!

The trails out of Cal 2 are awesome and so fun to run down. I went ahead of Not Chris as I knew that even though he didn’t want to run downhill, he would if I did. So we had some nice long “fast” stretches here. Every so often he’d ask if we could walk or I had to walk myself because my quads were on fire and had been for quite some time.

I told him the next aid-station was pretty far away (7.5 miles) but that we’d see everyone there AND after that, we were running towards HOME which made him feel much better.

We ran into the same problem on this section as we had on El Dorado. The trail heading into Rucky Chucky is SO narrow that we were stopping and starting and jumping up on rocks or trees to let runners heading back pass. It was hard. My quads would get into a nice rhythm and then I’d have to slam on the brakes. Not Chris was not loving it.

Mile 47.8 Rucky Chucky

Getting into Rucky Chucky was awesome. I had a huge smile on my face when I saw our crew with the best shady spot and our stuff ready to go. I had decided to change my socks. This was a last minute call when packing my drop bag too. My feet were wet and I had rocks in them or so I thought. Turns out, it was the start of a blister! I never get blisters except for this race. The sock change felt amazing though and I refilled up on ice water and removed some items from my back and made SURE that I had the food I wanted. Stonegate again poured ice down my sports bra and I was ready to go! Not Chris was not quite as ready. 🙂 He did give me a mini use-and-toss travel toothbrush and that felt great to clean out my mouth and refresh my taste buds.

I was ready to get this thing done. We left Rucky Chucky hiking out. It was 7.5 miles back to Cal 2. We probably hiked 5 of those miles we were pretty tired. My quads and energy was starting to dip again just slightly.

Mile 55.1 Cal 2

When we were hiking the switch backs up towards Cal 2, I was getting excited. It was this and Cal 1 and then we were DONE! I wish I had more fire in my legs but my heart and head were definitely in it. We thanked the volunteers and left. I had told Not Chris that there were some VERY runnable sections from here to the Cal 1 aid-station and that we should really take advantage when we could.

We had to pull our headlamps out not far before Cal 1 which also cooled things off and changed the dynamic a little. It doesn’t seem as hard when you can only see a small portion of the trail in front of you.

Mile 60.1 Cal 1

We had agreed not to stop at the aid-station. I threw away whatever trash I had on me and started out. Not Chris grabbed a tortilla and was right behind me. I was leading us at this point, I could sense his tiredness and just kept moving.

There is one stream crossing before you reach the pavement and head into Foresthill. I had managed to avoid getting my feet wet at all the other crossings on the way back because my dry socks felt amazing. I could not see a way around this one and went through only to watch Not Chris find a way to get around and keep his shoes dry! That punk! haha I wish I had dry feet for the finish!

When we reached the pavement, I texted everyone and said that we had less than a mile left to go. Not Chris realized at this moment that this “100k” was actually more than 62.1 miles and was in fact, 63.3! Ooops!

We made our right turn onto Foresthill road and ran. All of a sudden I felt like I was stepping on shards of glass! We both had to stop and walk just a couple of steps and then we started running again. I think we had one more brief two step walk and then said forget it, and just ran into the finish!

We did it! We had finished this thing and we had finished together. Our time was 16:03! I was a little bummed as I was thinking that we could possibly have had sub 16 but considering the day I had, I was happy with my time and SUPER happy to be done!

Stonegate was there and so was Vans! After her crewing us at Rucky Chucky she drove home (showered) and picked up Vans! That’s how long we had been running. hahaha

I could not have survived without this girl. She saved me by getting to Rucky Chucky and having my drop bag. She kept me laughing and moving all day. So grateful for our friendship through the years and the passion we share for racing and being there for each other.

Vans was happy to see me and even brought me some gluten free vegan soup to sip on at the finish. Always my number one fan. He had left me good luck notes which always makes my day and he sent me funny texts when I was near the finish.

I am also SUPER proud of Not Chris for conquering his first 100k! It wasn’t easy either. He battled his way out of the pain cave to finish this beast. He’s been a great training partner these last few months. We push each other which I think is a good thing but we’re always supportive and have a similar mind set. Big things are in store for him, I have no doubt. I am sure he’s excited to get his first Western States Qualifier too.

I will say, the race swag for 2019 rocked but you definitely earn it at this race. There are no short cuts. You sweat, you bleed and you have to give 100% to conquer the Canyons.

Now is the time for rest. I am looking forward to the recovery ahead and running with my friends and my kids. I am also looking forward to a little cross training and having some mini adventures with my crew.

I love to run, I love to challenge myself, I love to problem solve and this race definitely forced me to problem solve to get out of my energy dip. Time to reward myself with rest, sleep and good food.

Thanks for reading this monstrosity! Sorry for the lack of photos! I am also sorry that I have to turn the commenting feature “off” on here. My blog has been going through some issues and the commenting has become a haven for spamers. Feel free to comment on my Facebook page or Instagram page though any time.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

May 4, 2017May 4, 2017

CANYONS 100K RACE REPORT

If I had listened to all the signs the Universe was throwing at me, this race should never have happened.

Photo from www.runcanyons.com

Last year when I ran the Quicksilver 100k, I promised myself that I would run another 100k and push myself just a little bit harder. I finished Quicksilver with a lot left in my tank. I wanted another shot at a 100k, not just as a Western States Qualifier (though that was a bonus), but to prove to myself that I could run and run a little bit stronger.

However, I quickly realized that once training for Canyons started, I was struggling. A small bit of running-burnout combined with the disappearance of my morning running crew (injuries and life happened – not their fault) and the onset of one of the wettest coldest winters we’ve had in a while, I was left trying to motivate myself to run at 4:30 am on weekdays in the pouring rain all alone.

So for the first time ever, I reached out and found myself a coach. I have never had a running coach before. Not one that gave me one on one attention and wrote a plan designed specifically for me and my busy family life.

I admit, it was definitely a hard adjustment for me at first. As much as I really liked not having to “plan” my runs each day … I had to trust that HIS plan was better than MINE. I’ve had a fairly successful trail running career thus far, and giving up (what seemed like) total control, was hard for me. I had to have faith that what he designed, would work. Trust me, there were times I questioned it and emailed him asking him “why” or “when” I can do certain things. He was awesome. Always responding instantly and calming my nerves, I just kept doing what he told me to do.

So when I rolled my ankle pretty severely on the last long run, two weeks out from race day, I panicked. Pigeon and I had been pounding out the miles in the canyons every single weekend for what seemed like forever. One weekend it was super hot. The very next weekend it snowed! And it hailed. And it snowed some more!

We never quite reached the mileage we intended each weekend because of either the weather or because the trails were in terrible condition due to all the mud slides and trees that were down.

On top of all of that, I had some major work stuff happening AND Peanut and Squeaker started their swim season. OH! And The Peanut also turned 9 and Jersey Dad came out for a visit. My life was a train running at full speed and I really didn’t see any signs of it slowing down.

So when I rolled my ankle, I quickly emailed my miracle worker and friend at Elite Spinal and Sports Care. Dr. Lau is used to my emails by now and we have known each other well before kids came into our lives. He got me in and fixed me up good as new.

Then, the Sunday before race day, my back went out. Like really out. Spasms and stuff. I could barely walk at the Peanut’s birthday shindig let alone think about running.

Again, I reached out to Dr. Lau and told him what was going on. I assured him that I had done NOTHING to warrant the pain. So on a random evening, I told the girls they were not going to swim practice and I dragged them and Jersey Dad to my emergency appointment in hopes that 4 days before I was to toe the line, Dr. Lau could do something to help me.

When the Friday before the race arrived, I was feeling about 80% of normal. Definitely not 100%. Luckily I was able to work from home that day and I had planned to drive up to Auburn for packet pick up. Instead, the morning started out with two massive screws in my car tire. Awesome.

Despite all the obstacles and signs, I was still hell bent on starting the race. Internally, I accepted that my day might not unfold as I wanted. That the training I have put forth all season, might be for nothing if my body didn’t cooperate.

I packed my drop bags, set out my gear and went to bed early on Friday evening unsure of what the next day would bring.

The race started at 5:30 am at the old Foresthill Elementary School. I woke up at 2:00 am without an alarm. I was anxious. My friend Stonegate had offered to take me to the start of the race which was super nice considering she had to be at my house at 3:15 am.

However, when 3:15 arrived .. then 3:20 and then 3:25 and Stonegate wasn’t there and wasn’t answering my texts, I started to panic a little. I love Stonegate she is an amazing friend and one of the things we have in common, is that we’re always on time … or early, especially for races. I had no other choice but to jump into action and shuffle some cars and my gear around so that I could drive myself to the start. As it turns out, Stonegate didn’t hear her alarm. She felt terrible and still feels terrible, despite that I keep telling her it is okay and that it really makes for great blog material. 🙂

That little adrenaline rush of panic quickly turned into ease as I realized driving myself and listening to some pump up music, was just what I needed after all. I got to the start in plenty of time, parked near Pigeon and waited.

When 5:30 neared, Pigeon and I gathered at the starting line. I had quickly filled her in on all the drama I had faced that week and the status of my back. I told her that I was hoping to stick with her the first half and see how things go.

For this race, the 50k and 100k runners start at the same time. I have to say, that’s my only complaint with this race. The race is amazing, the volunteers are awesome but the crowds and conga-lines on these narrow trails, really turned me off.

I started with a mini-headlamp as the sun had not fully come up yet. Pigeon and I settled into a nice pace. The race starts out on the pavement and then you turn right and make the descent down towards Volcano Creek. It wasn’t that cold either. The day was expected to heat up quite fast. I started in a tank top and arm sleeves which I took off pretty quick.

As soon as we hit the dirt, the conga-lines started. We’d been warned that the Volcano Creek crossing was strong and that they had set up two ropes to help us cross as well as provided course marshals to assist us.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the crossing wasn’t as “raging” as I had expected. It came up to my knees but that was the start of us runners having wet feet … something that would last almost the entire day.

The first aid-station was Michigan Bluff (Mile 6.2). We knew that we’d see Miss P and Pearls volunteering there as well. I tried to stop and use the porta-potty here but the line was too long and Pigeon gave me that look like “Dude, we can’t wait.” So we passed on any fuel and headed down toward El Dorado Creek.

This down section is pretty fun. You can really pick up the pace here and make up time because it is almost 3 miles of total downhill. However, we were stuck running behind a line of runners so you are sort of left at whatever pace the lead runner is setting.

When we got to the bottom, I had to dip off the trail and take care of mother nature. Pigeon just continued on.

The El Dorado Creek aid-station (Mile 9.0) was hopping. I didn’t grab anything here but I did pull some things out of my pack to eat on the long brutal climb out.

I wanted to catch up to Pigeon so I ran up for a bit passing runners. Finally I saw her and I settled into a nice hike. I noticed that I was feeling okay. My breathing was better and my back felt good. I love climbing and have had some really good moments on this exact climb during training.

When we reached the top Pigeon and I reconnected. We both felt fine. We started running.

The next aid-station was The Pump (Mile 13.5) and they had huge blow up unicorns and all kinds of fun stuff here. The volunteers were awesome and were quick to help you refill whatever you needed.

I refilled my water bottle and soon Pigeon and I were headed towards Devil’s Thumb. I have to say, the volunteers that came out and cleaned up the trails the weekend prior did an amazing job. The trails were not nearly as torn up as they had been during training. A lot of the downed trees had been cleared.

When I reached the top of Devil’s Thumb I was excited. I settled in with a group of guys who were just bombing the downhill. My friend Roger was in this group and he always makes things fun. The pace felt great to me so I stuck with it. It was frustrating here because you had lots of runners climbing out so you were constantly moving to the side or stopping to let them pass. The trail isn’t that wide mind you, so often times you’re standing in a poison oak bush letting someone by.

On the switchbacks I couldn’t see Pigeon but I knew she had to be close. Finally we reached the bottom of the Thumb and had to grab a bracelet as proof that we went all way down. Then, we turned right around and started climbing back out. Devil’s Thumb has 36 switch backs. It’s a brutal climb and it was definitely starting to get warm.

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I saw Pigeon on the turn around, she was not far behind me at all. I just put one foot in front of the other and power climbed my way out.

When I reached the top, I was eager to get to the aid-station at The Pump again (Mile 18.5). I was hot and I wanted something salty. I figured I’d see Pigeon when she made it there herself. However, I never did see her again again until much later in the race.

I grabbed what I needed at The Pump and started walking out. Then I started running. Despite the climbing I had done, I felt pretty good and I was looking forward to the descent down to El Dorado Creek. I’d been killing this section in training lately and I was eager to take off the brakes and just let gravity take me down.

At the bottom of El Dorado Creek (Mile 23.0) I didn’t stay long. I grabbed something to drink and then power hiked as I ate. Once again, I found myself in a line of guys all climbing about the same pace.

When I reached Michigan Bluff Aid-Station (Mile 25.8) I said “hi” to Miss P and Pearls again. I refilled on some stuff and started out. It was definitely getting hot out and I couldn’t wait to revisit that creek crossing again to cool off.

The next aid-station is back at Foresthill, where we started (Mile 32.0). I ran into Diane Hanes from the Folsom Lake Trail Running Series here. Diane asked, “Where is your crew?” I just said, “I don’t have one! But I have a drop bag!” She found my drop bag and helped me refill my pack. I noticed that I had arrived at that aid-station slightly before my predicted arrival time which made me feel good.

I barely spent more than 5 minutes there and was back out running. The second half of the race was a section I had not done since I had run Ruck-A-Chuck back in March.

This section of the course was for 100k runners only so the amount of traffic on these trails was minimal. In fact, I often found myself alone much of this section.

At one point, I came to a pretty heavy flowing stream crossing. I stepped in and relished in the cold water for a minute. Taking my bandanna, I dunked it in the water. THEN! I had an amazing idea, WHY NOT DUNK MY HAT!? So bent down to dunk my hat in the icy cold water when all of a sudden, my foot slipped! And as if it was in slow motion I saw my whole body go UP and then come down. I was flat on my back in the middle of this heavy flow of water. The only thing sticking out of the water was my head! I died laughing and there was NO ONE around to witness it. I knew Pigeon would have died laughing at me. 🙂

I got up and kept running.

Cal 1 Aid-Station (Mile 35.5) – such a sweet and friendly aid-station. Again, I didn’t stay long. The one thought that kept entering my mind during this whole run was that I would have to come back on these same trails later to get to the finish. That was a mental hurdle of sorts.

Cal 2 Aid-Station (Mile 40.5) I knew was the last aid-station before the turn around and the longest between stretches (7 miles to the next aid). I also knew that it had a decent down hill portion to it combined with a nice gnarly climb and some sandy trails.

By the time I was about 3 miles from the turn around spot and the Rucky Chucky Aid-Station (Mile 47.8) I had run out of water in my pack. I still had this yucky tasting warm water in my water bottle if things got desperate.

When the single track dumps you out onto the fire road, I thought the aid-station would never come. Every runner I passed seemed to tell me it was “one mile out still.” I was anxious to get there because Stonegate promised to be there with some ice (I was so thirsty!).

True to her word, she was there with ice and a plethora of fresh cold beverages for me to choose from. She made me laugh and that is what I needed I think. Just a little boost of energy. Someone to tell me that I was doing a ‘good job’ and to keep going.

I was probably there maybe 5 minutes? Back out on the fire road I went, ready to finish this thing. On my way out, I ran into Pigeon. She looked okay and said she was ‘fine’ but she didn’t have her usual spark. I knew she didn’t want to bring me down by telling me she wasn’t feeling well. As it turns out, she dropped from stomach issues when she got to Rucky Chucky (which was an aid-station full of carnage).

I decided the only way to finish this was to keep moving. Run any flats that I could, all the downs and keep moving firmly on the up hills.

When I reached the long climb to Cal 2 (Mile 55.1) I was overcome with a sense of strength. I hiked that climb like it was nothing. I stopped at the aid-station quickly for a drink and then headed back out. I wasted no time. I knew in my head that I only had 8.5 miles at this point until I was done with this beast.

The section between Cal 2 and Cal 1 is something of a miracle for me. I am not sure what happened or what occurred exactly, but I was overcome with a surge of energy. I started running. Not just shuffling, but actually running. I was doing some 8:30/9:00 minute miles here. What the heck?!

I passed some guys and as one guy moved to the side he said, “Holy crap! You are running really strong right now! Wow!” I just told him that I was “ready to be done” and he said, “So am I but I can’t get my legs to do what yours are doing! You go!”

That just fueled my fire. I kept going. It was getting darker by the minute but I waited until the very last glimpse of light before I put my headlamp on. I’ve never truly run “at night” … I have run in the dark with friends, but never “in a race” so to speak.

Eyes straight forward. Any rustling to the side of me I ignored and attributed as a squirrel. 🙂

I wanted, I needed to get to the Cal 1 Aid-Station (Mile 60.1). The bonus of running at night, is that you can see the aid-station lights through the trees so you can have a sense of hope that they are near.

When I got there, I simply dumped out all of the trash in my pack and left. 3.5 miles to finish. I could do this! I knew I had cell coverage here so on my hike out, I texted Vans who had been chilling with Squeaker at the finish line since earlier that evening.

Squeaker waiting! — Squeaker waiting for me!

I told him that I was about 3.5 miles from the finish but that it was an uphill climb to get there. I texted Stonegate who immediately texted me back with some pump up kick a$$ motivation.

Then, I put my phone away and got to work climbing. No stopping. No slow moving. Hike girl! Just hike!

I passed a few runners on my way out. When I reached the pavement, I knew I was done. I knew that I had enough in my tank to get to me to that finish line. I started to run and I encouraged the guy who I had been chatting with to join me. He said, “No thanks. I am going to hike this one in.” Fair enough, it had been a long day. I said my goodbye and I ran!

The road through town was dark, very dark. I saw the finish up ahead. I actually had to ask for directions because I wasn’t sure where the arch was exactly. I heard Vans say, “That’s her! That’s her!”

I crossed that finish line and threw up a fist-pump! I effing did it! And I finished well under the time I had expected to finish. I was just over 16 hours which was pretty sweet in my book, especially after the recent weeks that I have had.

What a day and what a race. When I finished, I felt good. I mean I was tired, but I was able to walk and change and heck, I had to even drive myself home! 🙂

My Squeaker girl. Always at the ultra finish lines.

I am normally a person who listens to all the signs the Universe sends out. I truly believe things happen in life for a reason. Despite all the obstacles I faced leading up to this race, I think I was tested for a reason. They weren’t signs to deter me from starting, they were signs to see if I was tough enough to endure what is considered one helluva difficult race. 63.6 miles and over 15,000 feet of elevation on hot terrain.

I couldn’t have done so without the support of my coach, my friends, my running partners and my family. I think Vans may have been a little afraid of what the day might turn into based on how I had been feeling, but he remained my biggest supporter, my strongest friend and without him, I am not sure I would have finished.

A quick side note, that he’ll kill me for sharing, but Vans stuck TONS of little personalized notes of encouragement and jokes throughout my pack. Whenever I went into a pocket, I’d find a new note. They were stuck in my drop bags, my pack and even in some of my food pouches! 🙂 That alone, gave me more energy than I think he realizes.

My rock with me post race - at midnight. — My rock with me post race – at midnight.

I truly am a lucky girl. I am looking forward to some R&R now. My calendar isn’t empty by any stretch but what I do have on there, is for pure enjoyment only. I’ve missed running trails for fun. I’ve missed running and exploring and soaking up nature without an agenda, a goal, a specified mileage.

I want to run free of obligations. I want to run and laugh with friends and support those who are gearing up for bigger and better things. For me, I am content to just be.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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