Trails!

* Pacing/Crewing Report for Jon Allen (Bear 100)-

I have slept 5 hours since the conclusion of this beastly event, and feel much better now.  However, the report is still on hold for another day.  Bottom line, it was super inspiring and insane, just plain insane.  An incredible result and one Jon should be proud of (as he is). 

Ok, its now sunday and I enjoyed a glorious 11 hours of sleep last night.  I felt like I just ran a relay, sleep deprived and exhausted.  Time to share the details. 

The long awaited day had finally arrived.  Jon and I spent hours upon hours running sections of the course and I was so excited to be a part of his big day.  The weather turned out perfect.  It was cool with clear skies as I picked up Jon at 5am to take him to the starting line at the mouth of Dry Canyon.  As they (140? starters) took off, Paul, Dave and I stood together watching them and I shook my head and muttered what everyone else told me about someone running a hundred mile race, "I don't even like driving 100 miles."  Little do they know what these racers go through during their journey to the finish line.  It is insane.

After a breakfast at Angies, Paul, Dave and I went to set up and run the Leatham Hollow aid station at Mile 19.6.  There we got to see the runners in action and help them on their way. 

Here Dave shows off the food spread.  The highlight of the aid station was when someone's crew offered to supplement the food we had with a dozen doughnuts he had.  We even saved a few for the runners.  Joe came and helped out crew Jon and then he took off to help Jon at the next available crewing location at Cowley Canyon. 

Jon came through the aid in the lead pack of 7 or so runners.  They were all looking pretty good and Jon showed them how to get in and out as he got what he needed from us in only seconds.  I wouldn't see him until Right Hand Fork, as Joe was crewing him while Dave and I helped Paul handle the mass of humanity that passed through the aid station.  It was cool to see some familiar faces and also cheer and support many people I didn't know.  The other 2 bloggers represented well with Bryce and Davey both putting up excellent times.

View from my Jeep heading to Right Hand Fork (mile 36.9)

Jon came into Right Hand Fork aid where Joe and I had joined Jon's wife and kids who came to cheer him on.  He was 2 mins behind 20 hour pace but 8 mins ahead of his 21 hour pace.  He wanted a shoe change and although Joe and I forgot the new socks, we managed to find them and get him going again in 5 mins.  Things are looking just fine and now Joe gets to jump in and pace him for 15 miles or so to Tony Grove.  Check out his blog for details.  Joe, this means that you can't just put, "it was fun pacing jon for 15 miles".

I drove to Temple Fork aid and set up for the next pit stop for Jon (which he actually did take a pit stop in the facilities).  In and out in another 5 mins.  Some of the guys in front of him looked like they had been working way too hard.  Some of them had as they had put some decent gaps in the field and the runners were now quite spread out.  Evan Honeyfield led by 3 mins over Mike Foote and Dakota Jones who ran together.  Jared was 11 mins back and Leland and Scott were 20 back.  As Jon left the aid station, he was now 36 mins behind Evan, but only 11 mins behind Scott Jamie (in 6th place and his next victim) but still right on schedule only 4 mins behind 20 hour pace.

Joe and Jon at Temple Fork Aid.

Still at Temple Fork.  Get going Jon!

As things turned out the next climb to Tony Grove up Blind Hollow would turn out to be a killer for most of the leaders.  The exception was Mike Foote as it was here he moved into first place and looked good.  Dakota and Evan were both hurting and Scott managed to stay ahead of Jon although Jon managed to close the gap to 4 mins and due to his awesome crew, left at the same time as Scott. 

Jon and Joe coming into Tony Grove (mile 51.8) in 7th place (counting the RD who left an hour early)

Now the fun begins as this is where I suspend my crewing duties and take up pacing duties.  I was so excited to run and be a part of this moment that I just about trampled Jon as we ascended out of the Tony grove area.  All my pacing instructions and maps flew from my vest pocket and I feared getting fired from Jon before I even got started.  He didn't so I got to keep running.  We quickly gapped Scott Jamie and settled into what Jon called his "all day pace".  This area is one of the prettiest mountain trails I have ever run and the weather was perfect for it.  I was having a blast catching up with Jon and getting his assessment of the day from him. He was surprisingly chatty (not normal during a race) and that was good as that meant that he wasn't too deep in the "pain cave" yet.  He was really worried about a sore achilles and was favoring it heavily.  That made the uphills slower and downhills slower.  The flats were good though!  I think there are about 5 miles of flats over the whole 100 mile course.

Jon heading up towards the White Pine area (mile 54)

We made decent time on the long 9.7 mile stretch from Tony Grove to Franklin Basin aid station.  That trail is both awesome and smooth and nasty (read 'rocky') at times.  Good one minute and crappy the next.  As we all realized that sub 20 hours was looking very unlikely the goal shifted to sub 21 hours.  In fact, I believe this was his original goal/projected pace.  Either way, Jon was maintaining a 6 min lead on the imaginary 21 hour guy. 

The next section of trail was one that chewed me up and spit me out during our pre-race scouting/training run.  It is 4 miles gaining 1700 feet over some tough terrain.  I knew that Jon would be huffing and puffing but this is where his sea-level lungs faltered.  I didn't think he would make it at times.  He stuck through the hills and picked it up on the downhills making up time.  As it turned out, he picked up a few minutes and now sported an 8 minute lead. 

Jon ripping on the flats

Running out of daylight

"Dude, check out the view!"

Jon's crew got him in and out of Logan River Aid so fast he nearly left at the same time as Leland and only a bit behind Dakota (who was slowing up considerably).  Meanwhile I was busy stuffing my face at the aid station and took too long.  By the time I left Jon had a bit of a gap on me.  No worries, this next section is a smooth road and I poured it on.  I was maintaining a sub 5:45 pace and couldn't catch Jon.  I finally saw him as I crossed the River 0.6 of a mile past the aid station.  It would take me another 2 mins to catch him.  He said he flew through that section too and I believe it. This was proof for me that fast aid station stops are so important.  Just 2 extra minutes at each aid is a full half hour and the difference between 1st and 2nd place.

Now that I had caught Jon, this point in the race was fun for me as I got to chat briefly with Leland and Dakota as Jon passed them.  It proved to me how much of this race is mental.  Leland and Jon were doing well and kept a positive attitude.  Dakota was having a mental as well as a physical battle.  Everyone goes through many ups and downs and has to learn to fight through the tough times. 

It was now night time so the photos stopped, but the running/hiking didn't.  We successfully stayed ahead of Leland and Dakota as we neared Beaver Lodge (mile 75.8).  I decided (with Jon's blessing of course) to run ahead and prep the crew on what Jon needed while I changed my shoes as my foot was starting to hurt.  It was dark, and I was running too fast over a poorly marked section of trail and missed a turn.  The trail is vague here and probably only used for this race and the list of excuses go on and on, but the bottom line was I got off course (read lost).  I could only imagine the confusion at the aid station as Jon would come in and I wouldn't be there and everyone would wonder where I went.  That got me to panic enough to stop wandering in circles while calling out "Jon, where are you?" endlessly.  I stopped guessing where the trail would go and merely backtracked until I found a marker.  That marker led the way quickly to the road and soon I was back on track.  I was getting tired and that half a mile or so of uphill sprinting to catch up to Jon took a lot out of me.  I was able to catch Jon just as he entered the Aid Station, but now I was spent.  Jon and I left the aid together as I decided it best not to waste time and change shoes.  Really, I just didn't feel like chasing him down another time.  That decision made the next 10 miles pretty painful for my foot.  Live and learn.  Take care of the nagging things as they only nag louder and louder. 

Jon, on the other hand was still putting out great splits and maintaining his 9 min lead on the 21 hour guy.  It got colder on the climb up to Gibson Basin, but Jon had prepared wisely by putting on some pants at the Lodge and was now sporting his winter gear.  That was smart as the temps were near freezing.  I managed to stay warm with less gear but now I was sporting a limp as my foot had the beginnings of tendon pain.  I wouldn't have dropped off my pacing duties if my foot fell off.  I was having a great time.  For Jon though, things were getting rougher as the trail got steeper.  As we neared the Gibson Basin Aid we saw the lights of another running catching us and that spurred him on to go a bit faster.  It turned out to be Leland (who started early) but we weren't sure who it was for quite a while.  I stopped to chat with the aid station workers while fueling up as Jon didn't even stop (don't know why the results read that he stopped for 6 mins as he didn't stop at all).  I confirmed that Jon was in 4th place and the next guy up was 30 mins away. 

The stretch from Gibson Basin to Beaver Creek is a small uphill (360') followed by 800' of descent.  Jon had ditched the light following us but he paid a price for it as he was getting deeper into the "pain cave".  He was by my estimation fully miserable now.  Lucky for him (and me) the third and final pacer Dave would be to the rescue.  My pacing duties finished at Beaver Creek Campground at mile 85.2 and 14.8 miles to go.  His lead on the 21 hour guy was now 16 mins.  Once again the timers messed up his time with Leland's and swapped times.  Jon was actually 2 mins ahead of Leland, not 2 mins behind.  I guess who really cares about splits during an all day event?  Ok, just engineers like Jon and I who over analyze every race.

Jon and Dave now had the steepest ascent and descent of the course left to tackle.  Now, I wasn't there, but Dave reported later the misery and the resurrection Jon experienced.  They came into the final aid station (Ranger Dip mile 92.2) in good spirits with Leland.  Joe and I quickly got him his fuel needs met and off he went with only a 3 minute lead on the 21 hour guy and still the same 30 minute gap to 3rd place.  Can he do it?

Joe and I drove to the finish and were so anxious to see if he would make it we couldn't sleep.  For about a minute.  Then we dozed happily.  I woke up when 3rd place runner Jared Scott finished at 20 hours and 37 minutes.  Oh, no that meant that if Jon kept his 30 minute gap the same as he has all evening he would miss it by 7 minutes.  Man, it was going to be close. 

It turns out it wasn't as he had caught his second wind and flew down the final descent.  Dave and Jon came in together at the finish happily running without lights on and enjoying the full moon.  Joe and I joined them and ran the last 150 meters into the finish.  Unfortunately no photos where taken to capture the moment, but I bet Jon will never forget that happy occasion.  Jon's 4th place finishing time was 20 hours and 49 minutes and 47 seconds.  Clearly beating the 21 hour guy and nearly catching the third place finisher as well.  It was an awesome experience for me to prepare with Jon and execute the plan that has been in the making for years now.  What a ride.

My stats:

T-7:23 (13:00) 6500' climb 6750' descent

PR for both total mileage in a day (by a mile) and total time on my feet running.

*weekly summary (2 runs) 53 miles 11,500' vert