This race caused me more pain physically and mentally that anything I've done. And yet - I paid 250$ to live this torture.
The day started at 8 am and the runners were sent straight up the ski hill- the race was in Steamboat Springs Colorado at a ski resort for some sections. I felt good enough climbing, just took me a couple hours to get warmed up then I was feeling good. We made our way to Fish Creek Falls and Long Lake which are among the most gorgeous sections I've even raced on. Big water falls and rivers with bridge crossings, remote crystal lakes. I was enjoying myself.
Coming down to mile 20 I felt great. It was a road section and I just went hard. 7 min miles and passed almost 20-30 people. We got to Olympian hall where my super crew dad was waiting. He got me everything and then I was off. The next 20 miles felt good. The sun was setting I was running fast and well. Then the night came and total descent in to horror insued.
I had been warned it would be cold, but at the end of summer the notion of below freezing temperatures didn't really stick somehow. When we started what would be 5000 foot climb, the threads were beginning to unravel. I saw the woman's leader on my way up, ( elites started later ) and she was moving great and had a huge lead. Come to find out she would drop - surely due to the cold that was permiating everything ( and apparently a knee injury). As we climbed to long lake, the end of feeling good was nigh. Several of the aid stations on the course are used 2-3 times. I was on my way to long lake when I got paranoid. I couldn't see anyone. No headlamps. No sound just me. Eventually I made the choice to back track and ran into someone who confirmed we were on the right path. It seems small but it mentally rattled me.
Next on to summit lake which is where I was moving through the cold dark night alone in a bad spot mentally. Arriving to the hut aid station it was like a morgue. Many people were so unprepared for 20 degrees at 10,000 feet of altitude. Many would start out but then turn around and eventually quit here. I had no pacers for this race so I headed down an 8 mile road the next aid station. I walked almost every step. Now coming to mile 65 I was walking an unsettling amount. My first half of the race was about 14 hours - the second half would end up being 21 hours.
I arrived down at dry lake mile 65.5 where I would wake up my dad who had been there for hours waiting. He set me up with everything I needed but mentally I was gone. I knew I still had to go down 4 more miles down and then to my utter horror retrace every step back up to 10,500 feet to summit lake.
I took off and actually made fairly decent time down to the pit bottom point of the race. It was still dark and cold when I made it to the aid. When I got there I could tell by the way people were looking at me things were not good. And I knew they were not good. I waited there until the sun started to rise and fought off the desire to quit. I would for every minute for the next 30 miles fight a desire to quit. I left and just prayed to God I could make it. Back up to the dry lake aid and saw my dad for what would be the last time for the next 35 miles.
Walked up towards summit lake- it sucked. I hated it. I hated this whole damn race. Cars were coming down the road full of runners that had quit. I just knew I couldn't live with myself. I had to do this. I met a new friend Amy and she was just what I needed to keep going. We went to same pace and when we reached summit lake I asked her how long she was staying there " im not ". It was the right decision. All but a couple who stayed there would not finish the race. Even after 82 miles they would not make it. After filling water and being there for all of a few minutes Amy looked at me and said "Let's go". She was moving better than I so we seperated for that section.
8 miles to the next aid station when I had a realization that if I walked the whole way - I would not make it. So I hobbled stumbled and screamed my way 8 miles to the next aid. It's worth mentioning that this race was longer than 100 miles. It's about 103-105. It seems trivial but it was really messing with me. Now instead of counting down from 10 I was counting down from 15 and that just sucked. I wanted to punch the race director when I finished ugh.
Headed to the last aid station I was running out of food. I also was getting heat stroke. Here is also where I started day time hallucinating. Piles of rocks become the last aid station, a tree stump was a man wearing a top hat. My own hand coming into my perfrial vision was a border collie. Yes even at mile 90 - I wanted to quit. So bad.
Finally the last aid station. 96 miles with just 7 more to go. I calculated my time and then just walked in almost all of it. My dad was at the finish and a large crowd of very supporting people. It was wonderful. In a way a parade is wonderful after returning from war. Glad I did it.
edits: spelling some details
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