Plain 100 Race Report

I'm not really sure how to start. I've typed and re-typed this sentence a few times now hoping that my emotions would guide me to describe what I am feeling. Thankful, may be the best word to use. Disappointed, would be the other.

Going into the race I felt adequately prepared. I would have preferred to have had two more 100 mile training weeks prior to the race. This didn't happen. Such is life!

My job as a teacher takes over my life towards the end of the summer and thoughts of kids consume my mind for the next 10 months. Plain disappeared almost completely from my dreams and focus after pacing Jenny at the Cascade Crest 100 two weeks ago. I knew that I had a race to prepare for mentally and hoped that not thinking about it would be beneficial.

I took a personal day on Friday and drove up with Jessica and the kids, minus Loralie. We rented a cottage for the weekend so the family could enjoy their stay while I was out in the woods "finding myself." What was I doing here in Plain again anyway?

After lunch at the Mountain High Burger with Michelle, Eric and Steve I arrived at the briefing right on time. As Tom talked about the course and Chris mentioned some things I looked around the room and checked out the other runners. They looked tough. I wondered how much they trained, what kind of fueling strategy they use, and if they have doubts about finishing. I admit, I had doubts, but perhaps an equal amount of confidence as well.

I was able to hit the sack by 8 p.m. and woke up briefly around 10:30 as the kids were taking showers after enjoying a fire that Jessica made outside with wood collected up near Deep Creek.

4 a.m. came about when expected. I showered, made my final packing adjustments to make sure I had everything and kissed Jessica good bye. As I walked over to the lodge for breakfast I was content with where I was. Perhaps a bit scared of what lie ahead. Maybe even more fearful of another year of falling short.

The 30ish runners gathered outside on the steps of the Thousand Trails lodge minutes before the start. Tim Denhoff read the poem he wrote a few years back about the Plain 100 and then we were on our way.

I felt good heading up the road. We positioned ourselves mid-pack by chance and moved forward into the early morning darkness. All systems felt good. We reached Maverick Saddle in 1:36 (mile 7), which was about 12 minutes faster than Eric and Steve did it during training. It came naturally so we kept things going.

We quickly filled up bottles at the Mad River and headed towards Hi Yu. The climb up Hi Yu went well. We both felt good and were moving steadily. We were eating on the 1/2 hour and taking a Gu and salt on the hour. We passed by Lost Lake around 2:48 without a stop. One of the things we talked about was not spending a lot of time hanging around. Normally, I would have stopped to eat at Lost Lake, but not today. Today, we needed to keep moving.

Next stop, Mad River. When we hit the river we filled up our bottles again and headed towards Klone Peak. This is a nice runnable section in the midst of beautiful meadows and goes right by Two Little Lakes, and yes, that is the name of the lakes. At this section last year I was already struggling. Not this year though. I felt good and we were making good time.

I was looking forward to the out and back up to Klone Peak to see who was right in front of us and who was right behind us. Just before reaching the climb we saw Shawn come back down and head back onto the trail. We made our way up and another runner was soon coming down. As we were headed down there were probably 6 others heading up not too far behind.

The climbing was over for awhile and now was the descent to the Entiat River. We would see the SAR around mile 27ish and then Tom down by the river. The sun was out, but the temperature was moderate and felt good. We had plenty of water and every time we hit a creek we doused ourselves to keep cool. Steve had made us a sheet with some times from our training run projected out through the finish. We were right on schedule and moving good.

We made it to Fox Creek in about 8 1/2 hours. We filled our bottles and bladders and headed towards Signal Peak at 8:36. I believe Steve had us reaching Tyee Ridge in 3 1/2 hours. We hoped it would go better, but this is where things started to fall apart a bit. The climbing was not easy. Eric was moving better than I was, but neither of us was feeling great. About an hour into the climb we found ourselves taking more breaks. 2+ hours into the climb we were stopping every 10 minutes or so and resting. Both of our heart rates were spiking and we were doing our best to keep them stable.

About 2/3rds of the way up I felt better, but still not climbing fast. We continued to take breaks and finally reached Tyee Ridge around mile 39 in 12:03, which was still ahead of our schedule for a 19 hour first loop. Unfortunately, the climbing was not over. Eric was struggling at this point on our way to the Billy Creek trail. I tried to get him to eat, but nothing seemed to work. We moved slowly stopping for breaks when necessary. We also ran into Tony C. at this point and he was sounding confident and looking good.

It felt like Billy Creek was further than expected, but I had only run this section once before. We hit the turn onto Billy Creek trail and headed towards the next SAR section along the road. One of our smaller goals was to make it to this point in the day light. We were back on schedule and running good again. We saw the road and the SAR vehicle and passed by them in the day light just as we had hoped. Shortly after, the forest got dark and the headlamps went on.

Beyond this point until we got to Maverick Saddle we were on new territory and weren't sure exactly what to expect. When we made the turn onto the Mad River trail we were greeted by a gnarly, rocky downhill that slowed us in our tracks. The river was rushing below and there seemed to be a nice drop off that we didn't really feel like tumbling down so we stepped gingerly along this portion of the trail.

When we reached Cougar Creek we filled our bottles again and headed on. I was having a bit of a down section here and wasn't all that confident. Eric kept creeping further and further ahead and would stop and wait on occasion. The Mad River trail had a drop on one side and the river was rushing below. Coupled with being fatigued and getting sleepy I wasn't really a happy camper. I just wanted to get off that stupid trail and back onto a nice comfy road that would take me to Deep Creek.

Finally, we reached Maverick Saddle and headed down the road. We were still on schedule and moved well all the way to Deep Creek. When we arrived I changed my clothes and shoes before re-fueling with a nice coke, grilled cheese sandwich and some soup. Jessica and Michelle helped fill my pack and after 25 minutes we were on loop 2.

The first 3 miles on the loop we were both moving well and stayed on schedule. Somewhere along the way I began to have doubts. My energy level dropped and my legs got heavy. Somehow fueling didn't sound good to me either. Looking back now, I think fueling is where I dropped the ball.

We hooked up with a couple other runners and made our way towards Chikamin Tie still about 15 miles out. I'm not sure when, but I told Eric he might have to leave me at some point, but he chose not to. I hoped I would come back to life, but never did. Once again, fueling might have helped.

We made the turn towards Chikamin and had about 3:45 to go about 8.7 miles in order to make the cutoff. The other 3 were confident and I drug behind knowing that my run was over. At this point, it was easier to go to Chikamin at mile 75ish than turn around and head back. There was quite a bit of climbing ahead and I was crawling along at a pitiful rate.

A few miles into the section my stomach got queasy on me and I had to lay down several times in order to try and settle it. I took some tums and ate a bagel and a bag of chips to get some calories in me, but going up hill was not my friend. By this time Eric's feet were toast.

When day light broke Eric decided to go ahead to Chikamin and let them know that I was on my way. We had about 1:45 until the cutoff and I bet we had only traveled 3 miles in the past two hours. Once Eric left me I crept on. I really had no idea how long it would take and I knew that I should take in more calories, but in my mind it was my legs that were toast and calories weren't going to help that.

All throughout the race I had been praying and giving thanks. After a couple hours of being alone and wanting so desperately to be finished my prayer changed to frustration. I was confused about how I should feel at this point. I was tired and barely moving, but my mind was sharp and I knew the reality. I knew I was on the right trail, but thoughts of missing a turn tried to creep in and confuse me. I was running along trail that was vaguely familiar, but looked very different when seen in slow motion.

I gazed down at the forest below me hoping to see some wildlife. On occasion I thought I heard voices and would stop dead in my tracks to listen realizing that there was no one around. I moved forward wondering what if I was on the wrong trail and so far off that search and rescue couldn't find me. I thought it would be kind of cool to make the news at night with the headline, "Teacher lost somewhere in the mountains near Leavenworth while trying to complete a 100 mile race." At least I had food and water. I could survive for another day out here. Maybe I should just lie down on the trail and go to sleep.

Step by step I was getting closer all the while begging God to get me off this forsaken mountain. Probably not very nice of me to use such a tone with God. I know He understands though.

As I walked I prayed for a sign to let me know that I was on the right path. I knew that I was going in the right direction because of my location on the mountain, but I searched for reassurance. I knew it was well past the cutoff point and even moving so slowly I had to be getting close. On the sheet of paper that had times listed there were 2 times for Chikamin Tie. Once you reached the Chikamin Tie trail it looked like there was another 2 miles to the SAR check point where I would catch my ride out of there.

Sure enough, I came to the frickin tree and there was the sign. Chikamin Tie trail 1561. I had mixed emotions. I now knew that I was on the right trail, but I also knew I had at least another 2 miles to go to the SAR checkpoint. At my pace that could take over an hour. I actually went the other direction for a few minutes thinking I could find the road and hike up the road. The forest was making me a bit crazy.

I decided to pull up my big boy pants and get on the right trail and put myself out of my misery. For the next hour I cursed at many things. Squirrels were making me mad, but I was too tired to pick up rocks to throw at them. The birds chirping are lucky that I wasn't packing the heat. I pity the bear that would dare mess with me at that point. Most of all, I was disappointed that I was in the predicament I was in. I was mad at myself for being this far behind and not being able to make the cutoff.

After what seemed like an eternity and hearing sounds of voices and a radio playing at intermittent points up the trail I was so far done it was no longer funny. I expected to come out to the SAR checkpoint around every corner and around every corner there was another corner. I was too tired to cry, but I knew I was getting close.

Finally, there it was. I could see the rocky parking area and Tom and Chris the race directors in the car. Chris got out and greeted me with a hug and Tom told me jokingly that they were going to be nice and extend the cutoff so I could continue on knowing full well that there was no chance of that happening. As I rode down the mountain I asked questions of the status of other runners and I wondered if I would come back next year. I was tired. I was glad to be done. I wanted to see my family and I wanted to go home.

I think the hardest part about not reaching my goal is trying to explain my fate to others. To many, simply attempting such a feat seems ludicrous. To others, it is inspiring, and to some, perhaps it is a selfish quest for glory. I think it may be all these things to different degrees. As I self reflected after the race I could not help but to feel a bit empty. I walked away short of reaching the ultimate goal of finishing.

In the past few years I have had a chance to reflect on the gift that we are given and the abilities that we have to use our body for sport. Many of us take this for granted, including myself. What running gives me more than anything is hope. The hope that there is always a goal to be achieved, always new friends to meet, and always someone out there that may need our inspiration in order to change their own life. I look forward to continuing to pursue the sport that has changed my life and the ability to attempt a race as difficult as Plain.

Looking at the results now, I think, maybe, finishing isn't all there is. I recall a post many years ago when I wrote about suffering and used the following quote from the book of Romans. "...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character: and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us..." (Romans 5:3-5). I pray in the coming year that the suffering will continue to lead me to persevere, to build my character and that the Lord will fill me with hope.

Hunter S. Thompson said, "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'WOW' what a ride!" The Plain 100 continues to be quite a ride and I look forward to the journey that will leads me to the finish line in 2010.

Happy Running!