Saturday June 25, 2022
After waiting for 7 years to get into Western States, running
5 qualifying races, and training for 6.5 months I woke up at 2am, three hours before
the race start. The excitement and adrenaline
of race day overwhelms any chance of falling back to sleep, and that’s okay.
We arrived at Olympic Valley at 4am with plenty of time to eat and drink, then relax before the start. I lined up at 4:45am to get a good spot a few rows behind the pros as I wanted an efficient start up the Escarpment.
At 5am with a shotgun blast we all started the long climb up the Escarpment. I ran a few hundred metres just to get away from the masses then settled into a comfortable hiking pace. As a strong mountain hiker I knew this first climb would be one of my strengths, but I wanted to keep an easy effort, eat, drink, and ensure a low heartrate. This 800m climb was easier than expected, and I was disciplined to hike the entire way and not run. I chatted with a few Canadians on the way up, then crested the escarpment in 52:01 in 126th place and enjoyed the sunrise over Lake Tahoe.
Then I ran into the high country for 7 more miles to Lyon Ridge aid station. This was rocky, wet, tricky, and boggy terrain. I’m sure the alpine views were spectacular, but I didn’t look up for hours to prevent a massive wipeout. I ran within myself, let dozens of runners pass me, and didn’t even look at my watch. This section was harder than expected, but since it was early and cool, I wanted to tick off the miles before the California sun started to cook everyone. I rolled into Lyon Ridge with 2:34 elapsed in 197th place. Wow, 71 people flew by me from the top of the Escarpment to Lyon Ridge aid station.
From Lyon to Redstar was more of the same, fantastic alpine terrain but tricky and challenging to get into a comfortable running rhythm. Same as before, I took it easy, ran how I wanted, and kept eating and drinking. When the sun hit the course, it started to get hot, and I knew we were in for a good ol’ WSER scorcher, just like I wanted. I arrived at Redstar Ridge at mile 15 and took time to eat and drink, fill my bottles with Roctane, apply sunscreen, then get back onto the course.
These early miles seemed to take a long time. The first 30 miles of the course was totally
new to me, and I was looking forward to eventually arriving at Robinson Flat and
knowing the final 70 miles from training camp.
However, I wanted to both enjoy the high country alpine, and not do
anything stupid. So, I kept chugging
along at my own safe pace, hiking the hills and running the downhills and flats
until I finally got to Duncan Canyon at mile 24 where Damien and Charles were ready
to crew. In hindsight I could have gone
faster during these first miles, but the maniacal focus on finishing the race and
not doing anything stupid kept me in check all day and night.
I made a mistake at Duncan Canyon aid station, leaving with 2 bottles full of Tailwind but not chugging a couple litres of water before heading back onto the course. I was so excited to see my friends that I forgot about this important step. It was getting very hot, and the next 6 miles to Robinson Flat would dehydrate me significantly. I considered drinking directly from the rivers and creeks but decided against spinning the giardia roulette wheel and instead fully dunked myself in every water crossing to keep my core temperature down.
After what seemed like forever, and with long-empty bottles I
ran the final climb into Robinson Flat and yelled to Heather “I’m really dehydrated,
I need water now!”. It was great to see Heather,
Christina, Darien, and Camille and they helped me restock food, drink, change
my shoes and socks, and fill every compartment with ice (bandana, pack, hat,
and arm sleeves).
Let’s check in on how I’m doing with 24-hour pace. Almost everyone that starts Western States wants to run sub-24 to get the coveted silver buckle. Yet only approximately 50-100 people annually get that sub-24, with the heat being a big factor. I knew I was physically ready to run sub-24 and had the splits by each aid station, but there were so many other variables that would heavily influence my finish time. I left Robinson Flat aid station already 52 minutes behind 24-hour pace, due to my conservative run in the high country. No regrets, just the reality that I was significantly behind my A-goal.
The 13 miles from Robinson Flat to Last Chance are good running miles before you drop into Deadwood Canyon. After leaving Robinson I hiked the climb then set off on the long downhill. I was still dehydrated but starting to catch up by chugging an immense volume of water at every aid station. My kidneys were getting a big workout, and hopefully could survive all the way to Auburn. Whether it was the heat, or the >50km already on my legs, I had low energy running this downhill, and many runners passed me on this stretch of the course. Even though I was moving slower than expected I did a good job taking care of myself, eating, drinking, and keeping up with my “ice everywhere” mantra to keep the core body temperature under control.
Damien and Charles met me at Dusty Corners at mile 38. I was in rough shape, really hungry, and both
hot and cold at the same time (I’m serious, this was super weird). I changed socks again to prevent blisters,
covered most of skin with body glide then set off on the gradual downhill.
Last Chance is the final aid station before plummeting into Deadwood Canyon. I rolled into Last Chance shivering cold, despite the 37-degree heat. I didn’t know what was going on, but my body was punishing me physiologically for running over 43 miles in this heat. The volunteers filled up my ice bandana and pack with ice, and I pleaded with them not to fill my arm sleeves as I was so cold. One volunteer insisted he fill my arm sleeves with ice, and promised that in 5 minutes when I dropped into the blast furnace canyon I would be thankful. Despite my shivering, I allowed them to fill me up with ice and push me off towards the canyons.
After dropping into Deadwood Canyon the temperature rose another
5 degrees and all airflow stopped. Luckily,
I was covered in ice, so this helped me to not overheat. I eventually arrived at the bridge at the
bottom, drenched myself in cold water from the creek, and started the steep
600m climb up Devil’s Thumb. At training
camp in May I crushed this climb in 32 minutes but knew it would take much
longer during the race. It was so hot,
and I passed many people on the ascent, including 3 people just lying on the
side of the trail. I got to the Devil’s
Thumb aid station with mixed emotions. I
was happy to be through the steepest and hottest canyon of the day but the fact
that I was only 48% of the way done the course weighed heavily on my mind. Foresthill still seemed a long way.
I changed socks again at Devil’s then dropped into El Dorado
Canyon with a longer and more gradual 5-mile descent. Somewhere during the descent, I passed through
the 50-mile mark and was now finally closer to Auburn than to Olympic
Valley. 25-time finisher Tim Twietmeyer
was at the aid station at the bottom of the canyon, getting runners ice and
water, and sending us quicky up the other side towards Michigan Bluff. I ate a couple caffeinated gels as I knew
this climb was going to be challenging.
Again, back in May I blasted this climb in 44 minutes, yet it only took me
59 minutes during the race which seemed pretty good.
I ran into Michigan Bluff at 7:40pm and was happy to see my crew
even though I was 2 hours behind 24h pace.
Volcano Canyon between Michigan Bluff and Foresthill is my least
favourite part of the course, it’s the last canyon, is not as deep, but is
still tricky especially on tired legs.
And I knew I’d need my headlamp long before arriving in Foresthill. My crew had to push me out of Michigan Bluff and get me moving down into Volcano Canyon. Luckily the sun was going down and the temperature
was dropping to a more manageable level.
Coming out of Volcano Canyon by headlamp I arrived on the paved neighbourhood Bath Road and hiked up to Foresthill at 9:15pm where Darien was waiting for me. We ran on the road and picked up Charles, Christina, Camille, and Damien along the way. I said “hi” to Gordy Ainsleigh in the Foresthill aid station, got food and shuffled to my crew area where all I wanted to do was sit down for 5 minutes, eat my grilled cheese, chug a can of coke and reset my legs and brain. I changed shoes and socks, then Damien, Darien and I set off towards Cal Street. I said goodbye to Darien at the corner then with Damien began the long 16-mile descent towards the American River.
Running with Damien provided a massive blast of energy. I was planning on telling Damien not to speak to me, stay behind me keep quiet as I was in agony. But we ended up chatting most of the time, and this helped so much. The downhills were tough as my quads were wrecked, but I was hiking well on the climbs, and could run 8 min/km pace on the flats. We rolled through Cal 1, Cal 2, and Cal 3 aid stations, eating drinking, laughing, and having fun throughout the night. As I was sweating less at night, I had to cut down on my salt intake as I was bloated with water and couldn’t pee, just one of the seemingly dozens of vitals to continuously monitor.
At 2:30am we arrived at the Rucky Chucky river crossing. Christina, Heather, Darien and Camille were there to greet me, and I switched pacers from Damien to Charles. After the hideous quad-busting stone steps down to the river Charles and I waded into the 12 degrees chilly waist-deep water by headlamp. Luckily there were many fantastic volunteers to help us across safely. After scrambling up the riverbank I changed shoes and socks and started hiking the gradual climb to Green Gate. By this time, I knew there was no way I was finishing sub-24, but I was still feeling okay, especially on the uphills and flats. I tried not to think about the long 22 miles to the finish line and kept pushing forward.
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I found the trail from Green Gate to Auburn Lake Trails challenging… hard to get into a decent running rhythm in the dark and with constantly changing terrain. Luckily, I knew the next stretch was really nice, flat and smooth California single track. Once on the flat trail I returned to my 8 min/km running pace and kept pushing forward towards Quarry Road aid station at mile 90.
By this point I had started calculating my expected finish
time, and specifically how much longer I needed to be out on this course before
I could collapse on the track with my family and friends. I was so focused on getting out of the Quarry
Road aid station that I almost missed meeting 7-time Western States winner
Scott Jurek and 2-time winner Hal Koerner.
As it was 6:30am and already getting warm Scott told us to get moving and
finish before the heat really kicked in again.
We ran along the fire road, then made the infamous left turn
and started the long climb towards the Highway 49 crossing. After crossing the highway, we continued the
climb up to Cool Meadow, my favourite part of the course, and into Pointed Rocks
aid station. By this time, I was giving
Charles my empty bottles and requesting that he fill them with water for me
while I get food, then get us back running as quick as possible. Scott’s words of advice were constantly in my
mind, and I wanted to finish before 10am.
The long descent from Pointed Rocks to No Hands Bridge took
forever, my quads were done, and I knew this last long trail downhill was going
to be agonizingly painful. But my other favourite
part of the Western States course is the final climb from No Hands Bridge to
Robie Point. In my pre-race vision, I imagined
arriving at the bridge at 4:30am and having to storm the final climb in order
to finish sub-24. Even though I was
hours behind my A-goal I still wanted to bury myself on this 3-mile climb and
leave it all on the course. Charles and
I ran up from the bridge with everything I had left in the tank. We probably weren’t moving that fast, but I
felt like Geoff Roes running away from Anton Krupicka in 2010.
As we approached Robie Point I could see Damien, Christina,
and Darien cheering at the top. They
joined us at mile 98.9 and we shuffled together downhill through the streets of
Auburn towards Placer High School, talking, and laughing about the 7-year
journey and how I was actually about to finish Western States!
We picked up Camille and Heather at the entrance to the
track and the 7 of us ran the victory lap around the track. I crossed the finish line in 28:10 in 192nd
place out of 383 starters. At the awards
ceremony I received my bronze buckle. I
write this blog 7 days after finishing and am still overwhelmed with complete happiness
and joy with the 7-year journey to Olympic Valley, the 6.5 months of intense
training, and the 28 hours and 10 minutes on the Western States course. Now I’m a Western States finisher!
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