Bryce 100 Blubber Creek Aid Stationing and Pacing DJ

The View from the Blubber Creek Aid Station.

by Sam

An ultra race is fun, challenging, exhausting, and mind draining. Running 100 miles will take anywhere from 17-34 hours depending on the course difficulty and how fast you are. In order for a large number of people to do this at once, lets say 300 or so, aid stations are vital. At every ultra marathon there are aid stations placed along the course about every 6-10 miles. It was my great pleasure to work in the Blubber Creek aid station during the Bryce 100.

Matt Williams, a fellow Wrangler, organized and headed the aid station. The volunteers were made up solely of fellow Wasatch Mountain Wranglers. Unlike other aid stations that have several shift changes, the Wranglers all decided to work the whole race, which meant about 30 hrs non-stop. What a great group of people. Practically all of us have run ultra races as well, so we know first hand how the runners feel. Besides the usual goodies and liquids for refueling we were lucky enough to add a sound system that played nonstop music selected at random from Matt's iPad shuffle. Les Miserables to Metallica to Katy Perry and everything in between. We received many thank yous from runners for the music.

Lee and I fill up a runner's water bladder.

Blubber Creek is about 27 miles into the race, then again at 73 on the return trip. The quick people trickled in over the course of an hour or two. Then for about four straight hours we were swamped. Lots and lots of people came through needing food, water, rest, and an enthusiastic boost of spirits. Mostly, I just filled water bottles non-stop.  No one ever told me or anyone else what to do. We all just seemed to find something to do and everything worked like clockwork. It was fun seeing a lot of fellow Wranglers and being able to help them on their way.

David Blaylock.

David Blaylock is an old buddy of mine that inspired me to get into ultra running. The dude is 71 and ran the whole Bryce 100. If he can suffer through these insane distances why can't I? Not to mention it was like his 24th 100 to complete.  I was lucky enough to run into him and his wife at check-in the night before and then fill his water bottle and hand him a quesadilla as he was in-n-out of the aid station.

Francesco being helped by Aaron.

I got to help Francesco Perri, another buddy of mine, through a particularly rough moment. He is kind of like me, relatively new to the scene and wants to run fast but his body won't let him because after a few hours it starts to shut down. Over the past year I've been able to find a tolerable balance of eating solid food while running. Francesco is still working that out. He came into our aid station looking like the walking dead. I quickly got him the cot I had used to camp on the night before. He took a good 1/2 hour nap and then slowly ate a burrito and drank some sprite. Maybe if he wasn't vegan he'd be able to eat some real food and get some real energy. :)
















After the rest and a good talk he felt better and decided to carry on. The aid station was starting to slow down so I decided to run with him a bit to give him a little extra encouragement. We went about 1.5 miles together before I let him go. He was looking a lot stronger. I was glad to have ran with him a bit.

After about nine solid hours on my feet and virtually no one at the aid station we all took a rest before they started coming back the other way. Knowing that I was going to pace DJ the last 27 miles when he got back I decided to try and sleep an hour or two. I wasn't able to, but I did lay down and read a book. Then I got to eat a delicious tinfoil dinner prepared by the extraordinary Kristyan. I didn't realize how hungry I was. I might add that Kristyan never stopped cooking stuff the entire time, day and night. She was amazing.

Around 8:15 p.m. runners started coming back a trickle at a time. The rush never got to more than a handful. I filled a few water bottles, roasted some marshmallows and waited for DJ. Around midnight I got this phone call from him. At first I was worried that something had happened and he DNF'd (Did Not Finish) so he was calling to inform me that he wouldn't be needing a pacer. Instead I heard the following:

DJ (sounding scared and confused): "Sam, I've been alone in the dark for about four hours now. I think my watch is off so I don't really know how far away I am but I think no longer than 20 min."

Me: "No problem man, I'm ready for ya."

DJ: "Um yes, there is a problem. I had this rabid squirrel run in circles around me three times then it ran up my leg and jumped onto a tree."

Me: "Really, did you get a picture?"

DJ (voice growing shaky): "I think something is following me, something big, maybe a bear."

Me: "The race director said there were sightings of a few bears around here last night, but you'll be ok. I'll get you some ramen and your drop bag ready. See you in a few."

DJ: "Ummmm..."

DJ gets ready to leave the aid station.

Then I ended the call and got DJ's stuff ready and grabbed my new UltrAspire Surge race vest, which I love and is a ton better than what I've been using, a Camelbak Mule made for hiking. No more bouncy bounce. I sat back down and waited. About three minutes passed by and I realized that DJ is running in the dark, with the bears. So, I set out to meet him where ever he was. The moon was full and really bright so I didn't turn my headlamp on. About a half mile later I started to hear someone calling out unintelligible gibberish like: "moose moose" or "bear there" or "scat cat". Soon enough I saw a headlamp not too far ahead. I turned mine on and met grateful-to-not-be-alone-anymore DJ. We ran about 5-6 minutes together then I ran on ahead to make sure everything was ready.

DJ felt really good and was optimistic for a 24 hr. finish. We set out together for the last 27 miles around 12:45 a.m. We kept a solid pace for about 3 miles as the terrain mostly descended. Then DJ's stomach went south and the terrain rolled up, down, around, repeat. Despite suffering stomach issues we made it to the next aid station with decent time. We stayed long enough to fill our water and eat some semi-cooked potatoes. Just as we were leaving, around 4:00 a.m. another fellow showed up at the aid station. He caught up with us within the first few minutes of leaving. Todd, from Portland, was happy to share the dark lonely hours with us. It was deathly quiet the whole night.

Arriving at the last aid station was rough. We had slowed down quite a bit and I was starting to fall asleep on the trail. With less than a mile to go I left DJ and Todd with a: "I can't take it anymore." and ran ahead. After eating some nice bacon and eggs I felt a lot better and ready to continue on for the last 10 miles. DJ was at an all time low and would remain there the rest of the race, but we pushed on anyway. He started to mumble things like: "feet...owww...abs...why...hips...dulllnosuuu...seize... quads... buick... guffamp...stomach...abs...ink.." I just ignored him and pushed him along. The sun came up and the sights were actually quite amazing during this part of the course.

Over the next three miles, which felt like 9, the course decided that if you had any mental capacity left it would be drained. The trail was relatively easy going but went in and out of about 12 finger canyons. "This is the last one, I can feel it..." "Dang it!" "Ok, this is the last one..." "Dang it!" etc. We actually were quite silent during this time. All we could do was just keep moving. After what seemed like forever we finally made it to the dirt road and last two miles of the course. For a short time we alternated running and walking, then DJ said: "You know, I've often felt like I don't want to run, but I've never felt like I couldn't run." When the finish line came in sight. I picked a spot where we would run to the finish. It ended up being a bit farther than DJ would have liked, but he did it. He ran the rest of the way, finishing as strong as he could.

Despite walking most of the last 12 miles DJ still finished 21st overall with a time of 28:07:37. Not to mention he finished this race only one week after finishing the Squaw Peak 50 miler. It was a pleasure to help him through the last part of the race. It was the first time I've ever ran through the night, which was good training for the time I do my first 100. Hopefully, next year I'll be able to complete one. Until then, I am content to share the joy and pain with others.

Map and Stats of the last 30 miles of the Bryce 100.