Training Log Archive: Bash

GPS track for my Western States pacing leg from Rucky Chucky to Pointed Rocks. My Ambit got bumped during the river crossing so the first 1.5 km is missing from the GPS track but I've adjusted the data.

Western States Endurance Run
Support Crew A for Tim Grant

As they say here, "Merry Statesmas!" Our alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. so Richard and I could get to the start and hang out with Tim in case he needed anything.

Racers pick up their bibs between 4:00-4:50 a.m. and the start is at 5 a.m., about 40 minutes before sunrise.



Organizers provide a continental breakfast and most of the racers wait indoors since they're dressed for the heat. I wore a fleece jacket and was a bit chilly in the breeze.





Support Crew B (Kristen and 6-year-old Aubrey, Sally, Michael and 8-year-old Jackson) arrived in time for final hugs and cheers.







We all found different places to watch the start shortly before sunrise. I went up the hill a bit. This shows the start but you'd never know it!



Jim Walmsley ran by chatting and smiling in about 10th place. That changed soon enough!



Tim arrived with the midpack, biding his time.



Billy Yang was packing up his film gear when I came down.



Crew B planned to meet Tim at the 1st crew-accessible aid station, Duncan Canyon. It's 24.4 miles by trail but it takes 3.5 hours to drive there, partly on a twisty mountain road that tests the effectiveness of Gravol.

Richard and I were meeting Tim at the 2nd crew point, Robinson Flat at the 30-mile mark. This is the busiest aid station since the runners haven't spread out that much and it's the first crew point for runners with only one crew. We set up a couple of chairs, a small tarp and various items ranging from cheese to sunscreen to an ice water bucket with sponge.







The crew for Lucy Bartholomew, 1st woman at Robinson Flat, was set up beside us and did a true race car-style pit stop. Lucy was very cheerful and wore an ice hat that looked like Tim's. She eventually finished 3rd.



We were also near Karl Meltzer's crew. Karl has won more 100 mile trail races than anyone else. At 50 years old, his goal for this year's WS100 was to break a 30-year-old record for the 50-59 age group. Although he finished in the top 12% and won his age group, he missed the record by 2 hours. The record holder is in his 80s now and is amazed that it still stands.



Jamil Coury and Schuyler Hall of Mountain Outpost fame were filming the elite women.



Volunteers soaked down the racers with buckets and sponges.



Tim arrived at 12:44 looking a bit rough after the big climb to the aid station. In hindsight, he thinks he was more affected by altitude than heat although temperatures climbed above 100F in the race, which can't have been fun. For the first 8+ hours of the race, he was between 6,800' and 8,800', which is pretty high elevation for an Ontario boy.



We sent him on his way with fresh food, water and sunscreen and we hoped the ice hat would improve matters. The hat was helpful although it turned out to be *too* cold and he had to rearrange the ice to make it comfortable.



Tim was heading toward Crew B at Dusty Corners at 38 miles. Richard and I would see him next at Michigan Bluff at 55.7 miles so we had time to head back to Auburn to check into our glamorous Super 8 suite. On the way, we stopped in Foresthill just in time to see Jim Walmsley leading the race. He looked like he was running a 5K! He went on to win in 14:30, setting a new course record by 16 minutes.





We chatted with his Mom and Dad, who were easily recognizable because they had Jim's face on their car. "But it's last year's hair," his Mom pointed out. She chuckled that she'd never seen a photo of him with his feet on the ground.



We also talked with a couple of his Flagstaff friends.



Francois D'Haene was in 2nd place 28 minutes behind, being paced by last year's winner Ryan Sandes. We didn't have time to wait for anyone else - the top 3 men were spread out. Francois ended up placing 2nd, an incredible 1 hr 24 mins behind Jim.



We dropped our luggage at the motel and uploaded some photos. Crew B arrived at the motel and said Tim felt much better when they saw him at Dusty Corners at 38 miles. I guess the ice hat worked its magic!

Richard and I drove to Michigan Bluff where we parked on a twisty road and took a shuttle bus almost a km down a steep hill and shuffled to the support area carrying way too much stuff.





Richard was supposed to start pacing at Foresthill 90 minutes down the trail but Tim was arriving a bit later than expected. We decided that Richard should change into running clothes and get ready for an extra 10 km.

Tim came in looking and sounding great. He was in and out quickly, and Richard had to run after him to catch up.





I was left with all the support crew gear that had overloaded two of us. To make it extra fun, the shuttle bus was no longer running up the big hill to our cars. I made very slow progress uphill with frequent stops until I was saved by a friendly Canadian, Susan Brown.

Next stop was Foresthill (62 miles) where Crew B was already set up. I arrived in time to see Tim and Richard looking energetic and cheerful. Good.







Sally joined me and both crews drove to the parking area for the Rucky Chucky aid station (78 miles) where we tried to sleep in our vehicles. Sally and I were entirely unsuccessful but at least we had some restful time before the *very* bumpy shuttle bus ride down to the river where there were warning signs about rattlesnakes that said, "We're not kidding!"

I was dressed for pacing just in case but we could see on the live tracking that Tim and Richard were making terrific progress. While running together, they passed 66 competitors in a race with only 369 runners. I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up. We'd agreed that Tim would not wait for anyone so I couldn't affect his race but a slow pacer could mess up our logistics. The next pacer wouldn't be able to start at the next crew point because only one pacer can be on the course at a time. Also, someone would need to wait to pick up the slow pacer instead of moving ahead on the course as planned.

The boys had texted us and estimated a 2 a.m. arrival. I was still reviewing the course profile to make up my mind when they rolled in at 1:45 a.m. Yikes! Tim moved quickly through the aid station and I just dashed after him. I'll never run Western States myself and it would have been crazy to miss such an incredible opportunity.

We immediately descended to the Rucky Chucky river crossing, which requires more than 1500 volunteers during the event. The river is quite rocky and there was moderate current. Volunteers put PFDs and glow stick necklaces on us. My Ambit got bumped so I lost the first 1.5 km of the GPS track.



In some years, they put racers in boats but we held on to a rope that was being held tightly by a row of volunteers in wetsuits standing in chilly water. These amazing people told us exactly how deep it would be and where to put our feet; sometimes they'd attached glow sticks to a specific rock under water to guide us. Wow.

We scrambled out of the river in wet socks and did the big climb to Green Gate at a moderate pace. We arrived in 194th place then Tim dialed it up and we passed 22 people over the next 4 hours including Dean Karnazes ("Ultramarathon Man").





The trail was a mix of double and single track, rolling, twisty and surrounded by shrubs and tons of poison oak. (Knock on wood - no rash after 5 days.) I had one good face plant on sharp gravel that cut up my hands and one thigh but I didn't mind because I didn't land on poison oak!





I'll bet the scenery would have been spectacular in daylight and I was lucky to get a glimpse of it when the sun rose.





After 4.5 hours, we rolled into the Pointed Rocks crew point where Sally took over pacing duties and boosted Tim's energy with new stories to get him past a few more runners on his way to the finish line.



Richard and I packed up and drove to Placer High School to hang out with Aubrey so Kristen could go back 1.3 miles to Robie Point to run in with Tim and Sally. (Multiple pacers are allowed in that section.)



We waited at the bottom of the road just before the entrance to the famous Placer High School track.

Tim's only stated race goal was to run the track to the finish line with Aubrey. Mission accomplished.











She was so proud that the announcer mentioned her first 5K trail race this spring.









The whole crew was super proud of Tim's smart race strategy and his 26:44 finish. Fantastic job and a terrific experience for all of us. Thank you for letting us be part of this, Tim!

Altra 6K Uphill Challenge - a free race for everyone (mostly crews and volunteers) on the day before Western States. It was actually only 5K but Mrs. Tiny and I were not disappointed! This is the ski hill that starts the WS100 race course.











View from the top



In other highlights, we picked up our pacer bibs (we expect that ‘Bent will be the only pacer if all goes well), went grocery shopping, took photos under the start arch and ogled famous people.

Pacer bib - each runner can have three.



I got a hug from Billy Yang for being a Patreon supporter. :)



Funderstorm, 'Bent and I attended the pre-race briefing with Timato. He is ready to rock the course tomorrow! It’s going to be a hot one but his ice hat and buff will help a lot.



Live tracking here - bib 197. Race starts at 8 am Ontario time.
http://www.ultralive.net/ws100#tracking/info

Our first morning in Squaw Valley started very early, thanks to the 3-hr time difference. No sense fighting it since we have to be up for the 5 am race start on Saturday. Holding his Starbucks, Timato stared pensively and meaningfully into the distance. ;)



After an official welcome ceremony and some shopping at the Western States store, Funderstorm and I went to see the irunfar interview with Jim Walmsley. He sounds very well prepared and ready to run a smart race. He was super nice to his fans. :)







Funderstorm and I took the tram up to High Camp. We arrived just as the Western States flag raising ceremony was happening.



We hiked to Squaw Peak and Emigrant Pass with lots of photo breaks. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Scenery and company were spectacular.











This is the view into the Granite Chief Wilderness area where the runners go after climbing the first ski hill.



It was windy (obviously) when we got up high. We could feel the lack of oxygen above 2700 m (almost 9,000’).



Views from Squaw Peak. Lake Tahoe is close.





We hiked over to Emigrant Pass, the high point of the Western States race. The pink flags are race markers.



Only a few others were there but there was a surprising amount of action. I met the official race photographer, Joe (left), and Gary, both from Auburn. We had a nice chat and they insisted on taking my photo and got my name and Timato’s name and bib number.



Funderstorm had already started down to catch our tram but I was stopped by another group including Mo Livermore, a WS100 board member. They had a guest book to sign and they also took Timato’s bib number. I almost missed the return tram so the last bit was a sprint!

Traveled to Squaw Valley, California for the Western States 100.

Poor sleep after discovering a misunderstanding regarding our dog care plans around midnight. Fortunately, it was resolved by the time I awoke all bleary-eyed this morning.