Western States Qualifier 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 17, 2016May 17, 2018

QUICKSILVER 100K RACE REPORT (First 100k and Western States Qualifier)

“About 53 miles into the race is the aid-station called Tina’s Den. It is home to four female mountain lions who like to hang out there. Two days ago, one of the cougars scared away a few mountain bikers. Don’t worry though, just don’t be last.”

That’s essentially all I heard during the pre-race briefing from the Quicksilver Race Director on Saturday. Not exactly comforting news before I am about to begin my first ever 100k race.

While I haven’t written much about it on here, it was evident beginning back in January that I have been training for something …. something big. I wanted to run a 100k and not just any 100k, I wanted to run the Quicksilver 100k.

Yes, I am that kind of runner - folders, labels etc. — Yes, I am that kind of runner – folders, labels etc.

Last year everyone I knew did that race, including Pigeon because it was a Western States 100 mile qualifying race. I wanted to run it because I wanted to conquer that distance and I loved all the race photos from everyone last year. The chance to qualify was just icing on top for me.

Earlier this year, I raced two very challenging 50ks (one in February and the other in March) and that set the tone for my training. Going into Quicksilver with its 13,000 feet of elevation, I felt ready to climb but I was uneasy about the distance.

So sit back, grab a beer or cup of tea and read on if you care to see how my race unfolds (warning: it is LONG) or if you want to see a million photos, feel free to skim. 🙂

With its 4:30 am start time and the half-ish hour drive to the start, Quicksilver definitely taught me a few things about being flexible with my morning routine. I woke up at 2:15 am, ate and finalized my drop bags. I have never used drop bags before. This was totally new to me. You can tell it was new to me too because I used Star Wars lunch boxes that I got free from Target as two of my four drop bags! I also used two Dylan Flinchum RockOn Foundation bags as my other two because if anyone can boost my spirits, it’s that little boy and his family back in New Jersey.

My "fancy" drop bags! — My “fancy” drop bags!

I even taped a photo of my girls in one of them to give me a boost late in the race.

Inside my drop bag - my shining light! — Inside my drop bag – my shining light!

After that little “pep-talk” by the Race Director, we were off and running in the dark. I had my lights with me and everyone around me had headlamps so visibility wasn’t an issue. Pigeon and I ran into Miss P who was also running her first 100k.

The race starts with a pretty good climb and everyone is reduced to a solid hike in the dark. Miss P and I chatted a bit on the way up which was nice. Eventually though, everyone spread out. Pigeon and I just ran. Our plan had been to run the race together. She knew the splits she wanted or needed in order to get a Western States qualification. I was content to run with her because I was unsure as to how the day would unfold having never approached this distance OR this type of elevation before and of course running with a friend for that long is always nice.

Soon the sun was rising and the views started to appear around us. It was pretty amazing and the temperature was nice and cool. I started in shorts and a tank top never needing anything more.

The sun is waking up! — The sun waking up!

One thing to note about this race is that there are a lot of “lollypop” loops in it. Picture a lollypop at the end of stick. To get the mileage we needed, we’d run up a trail, do a loop and then run back down the same trail passing runners. I noticed early on that we’d pass a lot of the runners coming down from the loop but none when it was our turn to descend. It was clear that we were the back of the pack. This unnerved me a bit as it is something I am not used to but I also knew there were many more miles to the day and that anything could change at a moment’s notice.

A few times Pigeon and I found ourselves behind some runners that I wanted to pass but I wasn’t sure how she was feeling so we devised a “code” for those situations. We’d ask each other, “How is your foot?” And if we said, “good” we’d pass and if we said, “not good” we needed another moment. This situation actually only came into play once during the race. Pigeon asked me “How is your foot?” and I said, “What are you talking about? My foot is fine!” Hahaha I had completely forgotten about our little plan.

Hicks #1 Aid-Station (mile 7) was first. I had a drop bag here but didn’t need it. I did take advantage of the restrooms. We both did. The volunteers were so nice and cheerful. They were very eager to help. Pigeon grabbed some more apple sauces from her drop bag.

We left Hicks and headed towards Bald Mountain. I remember feeling pretty good. Nothing was bothering me and the trails were rocky but not too technical.

Coming into Bald Mountain - Photo by Quicksilver volunteers — Coming into Bald Mountain. Yes, I have a huge smile. -Photo by Quicksilver volunteers

Soon we approached Bald Mountain Aid-Station (mile 12.2). It was another lollypop type loop. You run past the aid-station to this beautiful cliff area, grabbed a purple rubber band to prove that you did the full loop and then back to the aid-station. We didn’t stop long here other than to use the restroom again.

After Bald Mountain we ran a short down hill followed by a pretty nice climb to get to Kennedy 1 Aid-Station (mile 18.9). Again, no drop bags for us but I noticed the aid-station was pretty bare bones. Not much to offer runners. I was fine with what I had been consuming thus far which was mostly fruit leather, some jelly beans (on the climbs) and my homemade Engine 2 Peanut Butter Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies. We did refill our packs here though and discovered that the water at the aid-stations tasted like rubberized chlorine! UGH! It was barely drinkable and we had to run 5.4 miles to the next aid-station with that water.

After Kennedy however, we ran DOWN and by down, I mean far down. Still, I was feeling okay. I was worried about my left knee going into this race as it tends to not like a lot of steep down hills but so far, it was behaving just fine.

When we reached Lexington Aid-Station (mile 24.2) I was feeling good. Pigeon’s wife Missouri and son were at this aid-station as was Miss P’s pacer, Christine. It’s always nice to see people you know and have them give you a good pep talk. We also had drop bags here.

We both dumped our packs and refilled them with our own water. I dug into my drop bag for the first time and swapped out a few things, grabbed some more cookies and dumped the apple sauces as they weren’t working for me.

We left Lexington and headed for the longest biggest climb of the day, Dog Meat Hill. I have seen the photos of this climb, but none of them do it justice. This is one brutally long fully exposed climb. We were lucky in that it was overcast most of the time but it was definitely warm out there.

However, I was just in awe of the views and the trail itself. I did my thing and power hiked up every hill taking photos whenever I could. I’d wait for Pigeon at the top and then we’d repeat it again and again.

I had overheard a guy talking about how this is the hardest climb in the race and that nothing in the second half of the race compares. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear right then. It gave me a little boost that once we were done with this beast, things would be easier.

You can see how far off in the distance the road actually goes. Insane.

When we finally finished Dog Meat, we arrived at Kennedy 2 Aid-Station (mile 31.1). I mentioned to Pigeon that we had completed a 50k! She didn’t seem amused. She’d been battling some tummy issues along the way which is never very fun in a race.

When we reached the aid-station, they had nothing. Pigeon wanted a Coke or a turkey avocado sandwich desperately and they had none. I think this hit her pretty hard and knocked her spirits down quite a bit. Her mood had been quiet thus far but I could sense her go a little deeper into a dark spot.

I just tried my best to keep hiking and chatting when I could, hoping I wasn’t bothering her too much. Eventually, I told her that we had to just let it go. We couldn’t rely on the aid-stations at this point, they’ve proven to be pretty useless in the quantity of fuel provided and we’d have to make do. I knew we were heading back to Hicks 2 Aid-Station and I knew we had drop bags there. I tried to get her to focus on that.

Her stomach just wouldn’t let up though. Once we reached Hicks 2 Aid-Station (mile 36.4) we both used the restroom and then attacked our drop bags. I grabbed a few more things here including some Advil. My right knee (not my left knee as I mentioned earlier) had started to really bark on the long descent from Kennedy to Hicks. So much so that at one point, it literally gave way and Pigeon almost had to catch me from cratering to the ground. At Hicks 2, I took 2 Advil. I didn’t want to but I had no choice at this point.

From Hicks we ran towards Hacienda Aid-Station (mile 39.3) which was a little hard to stomach because Hacienda is where my car was parked!!! Yes, I had to run past my own car to get to the aid-station! That’s just cruel right?

The nice part about this section of the course though is that the distances between aid-stations were cut in half essentially which means, the next one after Hacienda was Mockingbird, just 3.1 miles away. Although Mockingbird was also the finish area so you have to run past the finish arch to go another 20 miles … again cruel.

Pigeon needed the restroom at Hacienda. I talked to the volunteers and took some pebbles out of my shoe. When we were finally back on the trail running, I reminded her that we were on our way to her wife and son. We had to do some climbing to get there, but I assured her it would be worth it.

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She was in her dark spot I think again. She snapped at me once about starting to run, which is fine, I get it, when you hurt you hurt. I wasn’t offended. I mentioned something about the time and trying to qualify and she shot back that she was already well aware. Up until that point, I hadn’t really been focusing too much on the time. It was on our way to Hacienda I think that I started calculating the math in my head with the pace that we’d been going and realized, our chances of qualifying for Western States was slipping away. I battled in my head with what to do.

The dilemma in my head was broken by the sights and sounds of Mockingbird Aid-Station (mile 42.9). I needed this boost. As I ran in, I told Missouri that Pigeon was hurting a bit, her tummy was just not happy. I had a drop bag here so I swapped out some things and I grabbed some cream for my knee. I applied some but I wanted to run with it just in case. The Advil had kicked in by now and the knee was feeling much better. As we left Mockingbird, I turned my phone on (it was on airplane mode most of the race) and I texted Stonegate and Vans that we had 20 miles left in the race and that any chances of qualifying were starting to slip away.

While I had been texting, a bunch of texts from earlier in the day came in, one of them was from my Peanut. My girls had a mock swim meet that day and my Peanut had sent me this:

That gave me such a boost. It got my thoughts running again. My little girl didn’t give up today. I shouldn’t either.

From Mockingbird to Bull Run 1 it’s up hill. We did not have to climb the huge rock pile that the Quicksilver race is known for but instead, they rerouted us an extra quarter mile. What’s an extra quarter of a mile in a 62 mile race?

I powered up the climbs but instead of waiting at the top for Pigeon like I had been, I wanted to keep moving. So on the downs, I’d slow down a bit hoping she’d catch up and she usually did.

We reached Bull Run 1 Aid-Station (mile 46.1) and we ran a weird little lollypop thing again. Pigeon and I ran that together. I think she was starting to get her mojo back because she said, “Hey, do you want to try for it? We have 15 miles to go and about 3.5 hours, we can push it. Want to go for broke?” I was just thrilled she had her spirit back! “Sure! Of course!” I said. Pigeon was coming back! She then said, “Okay, we’ll take turns pulling each other. I’ll go first!” She took off running down hill and I was hot on her heels behind her.

About five minutes later, she turned and said, “Ok, your turn!” and she let me pass. I never looked back. It was if a fire had been ignited within me, one that had been burning all along but I was too afraid let to come out.

Since Mockingbird I had been thinking, a lot. I thought about the time, about the race and about this course. Sure this race was a Western States Qualifier and while not my only reason for running, I had ran so much today that I wanted it. I wanted it bad. Pigeon is running Tahoe Rim 100 in July. I hated thinking this but I knew she had a second qualifying chance down the road. This, this race was my ONLY chance. So, I ran. I ran hard.

I passed runner after runner. I passed runners sitting on the ground. I passed pacers urging their runners to just take another step. I ran uphill. I ran down hill. I entered the scariest freakiest single track trail I have ever seen in my life. It led to Tina’s Den (remember Tina the mountain lion from the beginning of this post?) … I can see why Tina and her friends like to hang out there! I was too afraid to stop to be honest that I just high-tailed it as fast as I could.

You finally get dumped onto a road. A volunteer said, “It’s a mile down that road and then turn left and the aid-station is about a half mile from there.” What he failed to tell me is that it was like a half-mile UP hill but whatever. As I had made the left turn, I saw this woman jumping up and down on a rock.

I thought she was waving to the guy in front of me who didn’t look too enthused to see her. In my head I was like, “Man what a jerk!” Little did I know it was Stonegate!!! She had raced the 2.5 hours from home to catch me at mile 53!!!!! She was a sight for sore eyes!

She hiked with me to the aid-station. We got there and they were dry. Nothing left. I had a drop bag but my stomach did not want much. Stonegate refilled my pack with ice cold water without me even taking it off. THAT is what I wanted. I told her that I had left Pigeon and that if she sees her to tell her how sorry I was and that I really wanted to push. I felt bad for leaving her.

Stonegate encouraged me and reminded me that Pigeon will understand and that she would WANT me to go. So, I went. Less than 9 miles to the finish and I was racing the clock with a lot of uphill between us.

After Tina’s Den (luckily I saw NO mountain lions) it’s a good uphill climb to get to Enriquita Aid-Station (mile 55.8). I ran quite a bit of this uphill. I channeled my training runs up Stagecoach and just pushed. Every so often, I’d hike and then I’d run again.

At Enriquita Aid-Station I didn’t even stop and instead made a sharp right hand turn and went down this gully of a trail with terrible footing. Never mind there are runners hiking their way up too so it was a bit of a mess. When you reached the bottom, you had to read a sign (Read?! You want me to read and comprehend right now?). The sign said that in order to prove that you made it to the bottom of the hill, you had to hole punch your bib and show the volunteers at the top.

Um, the hole punch was attached to a cord that was ridiculously short! So after 56 miles, you have to try and stand on one leg while lifting your other leg, and hole punch your bib. Lordy!

I did it and then I ran my bum back up that hill. Just before reaching the top, I saw Pigeon making her way down. I hooted and hollered for her and she hooted and hollered for me and told me to just GO!

After reaching the top of Enriquita again, I ran towards Bull Run 2 Aid-station (mile 58.8), the final aid-station before the finish. It just happened to be completely up hill. I had to hike. There were moments where I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. I couldn’t eat anything. I wasn’t sure if it was from how hard I was pushing myself or from nerves of being on the edge of not making the cut off.

When I got to Bull-Run 2, I was sprinting, or at least I felt like I was sprinting.

The volunteers went wild when I came through! “Just 3.5 miles to go! You got this! Run just like that and don’t stop and you will qualify!” Wait, can they not SEE the big hill down the road that I have to go up in a minute? They want me to run like this, up that?! I had to laugh, it was funny.

I kept having these mini dialogs in my head pleading that there would be no more “rollers” and then I saw a sign that said, “Just a few more rollers and you’re at the finish!” I just want to note, you don’t SEE these “rollers” on the map or elevation chart but holy cow, were they ever there!

Course profile.

I pushed and pushed. I passed runner after runner. I was cutting every corner I ran around even if it meant cutting in front of another runner. Soon, it was all downhill. I pleaded with my knee not to flare up (it hadn’t make a squeak since Mockingbird). Other runners cheered me on. Hikers on their way up cheered me on and told me I was close. The sky to my left was insanely gorgeous with the sun setting and I wanted to stop and take a photo SO bad but I didn’t dare!

Finally I saw the finish. I heard Stonegate first, “You got this girl! Just up this hill!” Which made me laugh out loud! Another freaking hill! I heard Missouri and Christine (Miss P’s pacer) cheering. I was so overcome with joy and happiness. I had made it! I qualified! I made it with about 20 minutes to spare (my time was 15:38). I was done.

Five months of training was over in one day. It was totally worth it. My friends congratulated me and then asked where Pigeon was. I told them I left her on the way to Tina’s Den. I said she’s behind me but I am not sure how far.

Pigeon came in a short time later. She too qualified for Western States with just minutes to spare! She gutted it out and ran her butt off to get to that finish line. I am proud of how deep she dug to do it.

As it turns out, she wasn’t upset at me for leaving and was happy that I qualified. That’s how friends work, especially trail friends. We support each other.

Overall, I feel pretty good. I have some soreness and I stiffen when I sit too long but my heart is full. I feel like I set out to conquer something, something I’ve thought about for a while, and I did it. I worked hard for it, very hard.

Not sure what is next. I have a few training runs planned as I am pacing Pigeon at Tahoe Rim Trail in July so I have to be ready for that.

I definitely plan to rest though and let my body recover. I owe it that. It did everything I asked of it this season and I am grateful. So I will enjoy some down time with my two amazing little swimmers.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

I ran this again in 2018 – read that Race Report here.

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