Second Annual OTM 100mile Bandit Run

Willard Basin

by Sam

Tony and Steve about 6 miles in. The Wellsvilles behind.

The Orange Trail Monkey 100 has been a long time coming. Steve and I wanted to run a 100 mile race last season but couldn't afford it. We both attempted it exactly a year ago but I was still figuring out exactly how to fuel myself during extended periods of running and bonked early on and eventually dropped at the 50 mark. Steve dropped with me because he wussed out. He'll tell you that he had some sort of hacking lung disease but I know better :) Anyway, this year we were back for revenge.

Preparing for a bandit race is a bit different than a regular official race that has supported Aid Stations. No one to ask you what you need. No one to cook you pancakes, bacon or quesadillas. No one to fill your water bottles. No one to do anything! It's the purest form of ultra trail running. The night before the race Steve and I spent about four hours driving out to five separate locations dropping all our gear and food. As we saw the sunset from Willard Basin I reflected on the fact that we'd see the sunrise near that very spot in the morning.

We tried to advertise the event a lot more than last year. Many people seemed interested in the course but we only had one other participant. Tony Christensen, who I met at the tail end of the Capitol Reef 100. He is an all around great guy and was a solid runner. We started out together, slower than Steve wanted, up the eight mile climb to the base of Grizzly Peak. Minutes wasted early on will save you hours later. The trail up Perry canyon is beautiful and provides sweeping views of The Great Salt Lake and Northern Utah. We all arrived at Aid Station #1, a tent at the Willard Campground, about the same time and were basically in and out.

Ben Lomond on the left, Lewis immediately after and Mt. Ogden next followed by a long view of the entire Wasatch range.

Steve wanted to pick up the pace and we didn't see him again until much later in the race. Due to our race being a bandit run we don't mark the course. It's fairly easy to follow until you get to the Snowbasin area. However, I felt obligated to hang with Tony throughout the front 50 to make sure he knew his way, so we stuck together. I enjoyed his company and tried my best to be pleasant. :) We had a good day. It was overcast and not too hot. Neither of us had any trouble with fatigue or other issues worth mentioning.

About mile 13 you come around a corner, having just ran under Willard peak, to a sweeping view of the entire Wasatch range as far south as you can see. I am always amazed at the view and to be on top of it all. More directly you get a good view of Mt. Ogden, which is two mountains over and basically the turnaround point of the course. It's good and bad to be able to see where you're going. Not long after we went right under Ben Lomond and started the long eight miles down to the North Ogden Divide and Aid Station #2. My downhill running is usually pretty fast but I held back to stay with Tony. I feel that it was a good thing because I needed to pace myself for the end of the race.

On Eyrie peak looking south, where we're going.

Tony breaks on Eyrie peak for a look north at where we've been.

The south climb out of the North Ogden Divide is brutal. It's steep and exposed. Anyone who's ran the Skyline Trail knows this. 25 miles into the course you summit a bump on the ridge known as Eyrie peak. It's the perfect spot to look back and see Ben Lomond, where you've been, and look ahead and see Mt. Ogden, where you're going. I love this spot. Steve had texted me about 20 mins earlier informing me that he had summitted. I was glad to know we weren't too far behind.

Look closely at the sky and you'll see lots of ladybugs.

Helping the damsels.

During the descent to Windsurfer's beach on Pineview Reservoir, Aid #3, we enjoyed listening to my phone speak song lyrics that Jeff sent me. Also, we ran through about 3 miles of a mass ladybug exodus. It took a mile to figure out what was going on. After finding out they were not gnats or flies I was less annoyed at them flying into my face and body. Tony and I both picked up quite a few hitchhikers. After fueling and filling water we were about to leave when some damsels in distress approached us. They couldn't get the strap on their car to work. It took us a good 10 mins or so to help them out. They were very appreciative...until they smelled us.

Wheeler Creek is a very pretty canyon. It's just a hair shorter than two miles and is a relaxed trail. If you've never been, take the family. It was mid afternoon and the cloud cover went away. It wasn't too hot but more heat than I'd felt so far and I slowed down a bit. We arrived at Green Pond, Aid #4, refueled and started the climb through Snowbasin just before the sun went over the ridge. I immediately felt better as it started to cool down. I got a text from Steve informing me that he was at Middle Bowl, about an hour ahead now. He had marked the course with clothespins at the tricky spots and I spent a lot of time making sure Tony was aware of all the turns and junctions, because there's a lot. We made decent uphill time and crested the saddle below Mt. Ogden about a half hour after sunset. It was that time where the sunset is red and the city lights are starting to shine brightly.

From there the trail is straightforward, just follow it down five miles until you reach the trailhead. I said goodbye and good luck to Tony and picked up the pace. Shortly after leaving the saddle I felt the presence of a large body of animals. I turned my headlamp up and saw innumerable eyes staring back at me. The largest herd of mountain goats I'd ever seen. Too bad I missed them in the daylight. My descent was not as fast as I wanted. I felt good and wanted to make up some lost time but the trail is overgrown and more of a game trail in some spots so it took time to maneuver it. I came upon Steve about a mile from the trailhead near the waterfall. He was sipping a coke and muttered something about needing to vomit as I flew by him.

I was greeted at Bues canyon, Aid #5 and 50 mile turnaround, by wonderful friends I've collected from the Wasatch Mountain Wrangler's group over the years. Ben Light crewed and brought pizza which hit the spot and refueled me. After resting a few minutes I set off with pacers Jennilyn, DJ and Chelsea. They made the brutal climb back over Mt. Ogden go by quickly and somewhat easily. I don't think I could (or should) recount everything that went on or was said. Something about Chelsea wanting to be a black man and pappaKendall watching over us. Everybody want's a slice o' dat man. Aunt Jemima somehow gave DJ a rebirth as a beautiful butterfly or a fox, or was it a foxy butterfly? Fellow wranglers were given manly ratings on a scale that is impossibly defined. And on an on... After cresting the ridge I felt really good and we ran the whole way down to Green Pond, catching Steve about two miles before. It was cold and we sat a minute too long at the aid station.

Takin' a nap.

The next segment I slowed down quite a bit. Either I ran too fast down Snowbasin or the wee hours were starting to make me tired. Probably both. I typically get tired and sleepy between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. By the time we made it out of Wheeler Creek and walked the road back to Windsurfer's Aid I was literally falling asleep on my feet. A few times I felt the ground move underneath me like a little rolling earthquake. Most of the group was 1/4 mile ahead the whole time and then suddenly Jennilyn was right there next to me. When did she get there? I needed a nap and when we got to the aid station I took one for about 30 mins. My friends had ran about 20 miles and we said our goodbyes right before I took a nap. Steve went on without me.

It was cold when I left the car. I shivered...a lot, so I pushed the pace and started up the long 7 mile climb. It was about 5:30 a.m. when I noticed Steve's headlamp a few switchbacks up. I started to warm up and pushed a little harder to catch Steve. To my surprise it wasn't 15 minutes until I caught him. He wasn't really moving and was somewhat stooped over his trekking poles. I've never seen Steve like that before. He mumbled about being tired and said something about turning back. I felt quite good after the nap and tried to get Steve moving again. We did ok for about half a mile then he slowed again. In vain I tried to get him to keep moving. We rested on a bench overlooking Pineview at the first sign of dawn. "Why does anyone do this?" Steve asked. I agreed that it sucked but we had to keep going. I couldn't get him to go much further. He kept talking about being done and how tired he was. I wasn't going to let him quit. I was willing to gut it out with him as long as it took...until he called his wife and told her that he was done. At that point I realized he had checked out and was not going to keep going. I overheard him say that he was turning around to go back to his vehicle, which was the last aid station we passed.

I was so pissed off. I didn't realize until this moment that a large part of me was running this particular 100 as a supportive role for Steve. I wanted to finish my own self supported 100 and earn the sweet monkey belt buckle but I'd already ran 100 this year, I wanted to see Steve finish one too. My anger pushed me faster as I brooded over the lost time. It took me the better part of the day to get over this. I considered quitting as well for a minute but I was committed. People were pulling for me. I went on alone. (After the race, Steve informed me that he had blood in his stomach and suffering from stomach issues lasting a good 30 hrs after the race was over. Why he chose not to inform me of that during the struggle is beyond me. No, I wouldn't have treated him differently, I still would've told him to "shut up and run." But, maybe I'd not have been so mad when he finally did drop. At the time I thought it was all in his head.)

Eyrie Peak, for the second time. Only a marathon left. Lomond in the background.

Tony had called me about the same time I left Steve. He informed me that he was going to finish, even if it took him 40 hours. That made me happy. As I crested Eyrie peak for the second time I looked ahead to see the long way I still had to go. It was down to the last marathon but I could see exactly where I had to go and it was a long way off. I ran down to the North Ogden Divide and the top of my right foot started to hurt. So I entered the pain cave. A place where every ultra runner must learn to enjoy or at least tolerate.

Curt and me about 2.5 miles away from Ben Lomond.

I spent little time at the North Ogden Divide and started the last long climb back to Ben Lomond and beyond. It was rather uneventful except for the need to step off the trail multiple times to avoid getting run down by motorcycles. They passed me about a mile from the trailhead, then again some four miles up, again at the last switchbacks to Ben Lomond and finally in Willard Basin itself. About four miles up Ben Lomond a trail runner came around a corner and said, "Hey, you're Sam Jewkes...how are you doing?" He proceeded to apologize for not having any food or treats to give me but said he'd hang with me for a while. How nice. I was at about mile 84 and somewhat delirious. I knew I'd seen him before but we traveled at least a mile and a half before I finally asked who he was.

As we parted ways, Curt snapped this pic just below Lomond summit.

Curt Bentley, I'd met him a few weeks ago on a night run on the Mueller Cave Peak Loop. Today he had already been up to Ben Lomond and Willard and was on his return trip, practically finished, when he turned around and stayed with me the remaining four miles to Ben Lomond. It was a very gracious thing to do since I was moving considerably slower than he was capable. I'm sure his presence helped me move faster and push through the last climb. At Ben Lomond he again apologized for not having any food to give me and said good bye. I was once again alone and would remain alone for the last 12 miles. My wife called to see where I was just moments after Curt left me. Running 100 miles pushes the body to a breaking point, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I choked up and almost couldn't talk to my wife because I was so grateful for Curt's kindness and company. It's somewhat humorous to find yourself crying like a baby over something so normal.

At the last Aid Stop in Willard Basin I laid down in the tent for a minute thinking about how nice it would be to be done. I filled my pack with coke and refilled my baggies of jerky, licorice, snickers and hi-chews (that's practically all I ate the entire race). I forced myself to get up and finish the struggle. Two long miles of uphill and then eight easy downhill miles. I was so happy to be going down. I felt like I'd been going so slow uphill it was a pleasant change to maintain a 12 min average mile pace the last eight miles. As I neared the last three miles I noticed I may finish under 34 hours. I pushed the pace and according to my tracking app I did cross the 100 mile mark under 34 hours but the finish line was still a little over a mile away. My wife and kids were waiting for me about 1/4 mile up the trail from the finish. It was the first time they've come to a finish line and I was happy to see them. My wife told the kids to run to the finish with me and my six-yr-old son sprinted ahead at a pace he's used to running downhill with me. I couldn't keep up with him, but I did keep ahead of the three-yr-old. :) No cheering crowds, no friends, no pats on the back from the race director. In fact there were many people hanging out recreating in the area that had no idea of the ordeal I'd just finished. Just me, the monkey and the kids.

OTM 100 Monkey belt buckle. My wonderful kids reflect in my sunglasses.

Finishing time was 34:10:38. That's 48 mins. faster than the Capitol Reef 100. However, it should be noted that Capitol Reef ended up only being 95 miles and has some 10,000' less vertical climbing. So, I finished this race running a lot of extra vert and about six more miles in an hour less time. I feel pretty good about that. I wanted to stay around and see Tony finish but knew that it would be too late and I needed to eat and rest so I left him a belt buckle under his windshield wiper and tried to stay awake driving home. :) Tony texted me when he was finished around 9:50 p.m. That put his time just under 40 hours. I'm glad he stuck it out and finish. 100 miles is not that far, but it is. I hate that race, but I love it. Until next year...hopefully, we'll convince a bunch of other crazies to do this.

Map of the OTM 100

Wasatch the Grand Adventure

Endurance Athletics- Helps to make dreams come true

 

I got my first taste of Wasatch back in 2006 when I paced a friend Larry Emery for his first 100 miler.  I paced him from Big Mtn to Big water. Back in those days crew could get into Big Water.  I remember he got there about an hour before the sun when down.  I had my flash cards out studying for school for the first mile or two.  It was a slow fun pace and I was hooked on pacing ultras. (History of how I came to run the Wasatch 100-skip a few paragraphs if you don't want the history)

The next year, 2007, another friend of mine drew out for Wasatch and I told him I would love to pace him.  He said "Ya that sounds great.  I will get back to you on where I will have you pace when the race gets closer."  I waited and waited and heard nothing from him.  About a month before the races I asked if he still needed my help and he had things covered.  I was a little upset and saddened, so I figured since he didn't need my help I would find myself someone to pace.  I found  Zeke from Vermont off the Wasatch site.  This was his third attempt to finish.  The last two attempts didn't go so well but he did get further with every attempt.  The first thing my wife said "you should ask him to bring you some syrup from Vermont.  I hear its really good." I told him that and he brought some and then said if I had told him sooner he would have tapped his own trees to make it for us. My wife was a little sad with that but happy nonetheless with the syrup she got. I met him and his girlfriend the night before for dinner at Ruth's Dinner in Millcreek Canyon.  The food was good and the atmosphere outside was chill.

My pacing duties turned from pacing to being part of the crew. I met his girlfriend then next day and we drove to the Francis Peak aid stop.  Zeke came in with high spirits and was right on pace.  We, girlfriend and I, spent the next few hours in the SLC coffee shop chilling.  His girlfriend then paced him from Big Water to Brighton.  When he hit Brighton he was still doing well. We left Brighton in the early morning before the sun came up.  I had a copy of the elevation changes from there to the finish and ever so often I would inform him of the how much we had to climb.  At one point the chart said it was all down hill from there and he was happy.  But guess what the chart didn't show all the little ups and downs.  This was my first introduction to the ups, downs, sleep deprivation and mood swings for ultra running.  When we would hit and unexpected up hill he would send him in to a downward spiral of depression and rants.  I quickly told him "This is not a hill, its just a little hiccup.  It will be over soon" and it was.  The finish at the Homestead was grand and energetic.  I knew some day I would run the Wasatch 100.  I thought I wouldn't have the time to train until my kids were much older. 

I ran my first 50k back in 2006 and then ran Squaw peak 50 the next year along with another 50k.  I love trail running but didn't have the time to train in the mountains.  I did most of my training on the road and did a ton of road races.  I still had many goals I wanted to accomplish on the road and wasn't ready to just give it up.  I wish I had.  My eyes have been opened in the last 2 years of the possibilities and places trail running could take me.

After an injury plagued me for years I finally was on a up swing and moving faster than ever.  I ran the Disney world marathon in 2012 and a month later paced my friend Jeremy for the Antelope Island 100 miler.  My plan was to run 30-40 miles with him.  But it was too cold and I felt if I cut miles by waiting for him at one of the aid stops on the out and back to the ranch I would freeze. We talked a lot about training for a 100 miler and how to run one.  He helped me realize that I didn't need to do much more than I was already doing for marathon training to be ready.  I just had to change my long run and run longer starting 2 months before.  I had it in my mind that I could do a 100 miler next year but I had to convince the wife. 

I ran my fastest half marathon 1:19:36 and fastest marathon 2:52 in 2013.  What else was there for me to do on the road?  I was set to change gears and run more trail. After running my PR marathon in Dec I started running more trail in prep for my first 100 miler on Antelope Island in March. That went pretty well and I finish in 19:40 and placed 5th overall, I think. Hard to remember all the times I was so awesome (P.S. my wife edits this and adds stuff I don't agree to)

I listened with my wife to the live draw for the Wasatch 100 on the internet.  I was in shock that they drew my name and early.  There was no nail biter, coming down to the end waiting for my name. I think my wife was more excited than I was (She insists she was excited to finally have it over, excited for me to run the race because she knew how much I wanted it, but not excited for the training, and the hours away from home)   But now I had to train for it.

I planned out my year to get ready for it.  I ran Buffalo 50 in March and heat got to me in that race. Ran R2R2R in April. PR in my half marathon the next month again on the same  course  as my previous PR in 1:18:08.  Ran the Millcreek 50k and had a blast in the dark.  Ran Kat'cina Mosa in Aug and the heat got to me there but not as bad as Buffalo.  I know that Wasatch had the potential to be hot and tried to plan how to deal with it.  I talked to my buddy Tyler with Endurance Athletics for help. I planned to carry a water bottle just to wet my head and neck to cool off.  I hoped that with taking my salt pills, and drinking more than I thought I could I would be able to over come the heat monster that has taken me down so many times.  I did some training in the heat but not as much as I would have liked.  On one of my days off I set out to run at noon on the Wasatch course.  But instead of heat training, I ran in the rain for 3 hours.  If it was going to rain on race day I would be ready for it.  I figured that the odds of it raining that weekend would be about 1%.  Only because I was about the only one that would rather it rain that be sunny.

The race was finally here and I was as ready as I could be.  Most of the time my training goes exactly as planned but I found myself this time not getting in all the training runs that I would have liked.  I hoped that race day excitement and my pacers could help me make up where I lacked in training. 

The BBQ night before that Matt Williams put on was a knock out.  It was great hearing about others plans and excitement about the race.  Leslie, James, and myself had the same goal and plan to pace together early in the race to keep the pace fun. With our training we felt we could go sub 24 hours and now it was time to prove it.  Went to bed early to ensure I got adequate rest.  I don't have trouble sleeping the night before any race but didn't sleep well that night.

My wife was kind and loving enough to drop me off at the bus pick up down town at O'dark thirty.  I was expecting to find yellow school busses waiting to take us to the start but there was a nice plush charter bus.  Got a big good luck hug from Maurine as I climbed aboard the bus. I ran in to Dan Johnson on the bus, a co-worker of mine, and talked about his prep for his first 100 miler.  The ride went by fast and we were at the start.  I quickly unloaded any unnecessary weight at the nearest Honey bucket and was ready to go.  I tried to find James and Leslie but no luck.  One of my pacers Eric showed up to the start to wish me luck.  I would see him again at Big Mtn aid stop. 

The first few miles in the dark were easy and calm.  I ran with Cait Morgan for a while and her happiness is contagious.  I couldn't help but smile and relax.  I also ran with former co-worker, and trail buddy Ian. As we started the big climb towards Chin scraper I found myself at the back of a big congo line.  I didn't mind being in the back.  Then I could see the slow and go and take it at smooth pace.

As I started at the base of the climb to chin scraper I found Leslie and James at the front of the congo line that I was following. I stuck to the same group most of the way to Francis peak but never really running with them till about half mile before Francis.

The plan was to meet back up after the aid stop and run the next few hilly miles together to pass the time.  But I never saw them after that.  They both were in and out much faster then me.  After leaving the Francis aid stop I started to have problems.  I started to cramp a little. 

At mile 23 I started to climb this hill and I had no gas.  No double time, or get up and go, or energy.  I had tanked.  I didn't feel like it was too hot or that I had pushed it too hard in the beginning of the race.  I was running like I had on any training run.  I had been taking my salt pill consistently and drinking all the Mtn Dew I could get my hands on. By this time I had already Krashed at least 2 times.  The first one was the hardest when I hit my left knee and it was bleeding.  I do Krash more than the average runner but it rarely dampers my spirit, but this one did.

I was now in recover mode and looking for something to recharge me.  As I climbed, Cait and Ashley came by me and Cait told me "You can keep up, lets go."  I tried but wasn't able to.  Once I hit a down hill I found some energy. I love the down hill.  From Sessions to Swallow rock I had many ups and downs. Just before I hit Sessions this guy with a full desert head cover can by me I said who was that? It was Steve Newmen.  We briefly talked about the problems I have been having. He told me he was taking 6 salt pills a hour. 6 a hour? Was that even safe?  I started taking 3-4 a hour per his suggestion.  It may have paid off later but not in the next hour or 2.  I sat down in a chair at the Swallow rock aid stop and text my wife telling her it was way too hot.  Minutes later she sent me a message through Endomondo peptalk. "it's only 80 degrees, suck it up butter cup."  Everyone at the aid stop heard it a busted up laughing.

On the descent to Big Mtn I could feel and hear the excitement of the aid stop.  I knew if I could make it there I would rebound and recharge for the miles to come.  I sat down and my loving wife went to town helping me out with all my needs.  She washed my feet, changed my shoes and socks, put down lots of fluids including this awesome Jamba Juice she brought me.  Oh, it hit the spot.  I spent more time in the aid stop than I really wanted to but felt it was necessary to take the time and that it would help me later.  The next 13 miles were going to be easy and I had a pacer Eric to keep me company.  I had spent the last 20 miles by myself and was looking forward to have someone to talk to. I headed out energized, refreshed, and ready to pound out the miles.  I didn't make it that far before my right calf started to cramp.  I worked it out and moved on. But it was short lived.  Eric had this great idea to take a rock and press it into the muscle that cramped.  It worked great to relieve the cramps. As soon as I would start to run again something else would cramp.  I would try to stretch out a cramp on my right and then the left leg would cramp.  Sometimes my whole leg would lock up for a minute or two. We decided that we wouldn't try to run for some time and would walk.  At this point my mental attitude was in a dark place.  Eric did great to get me out of it but cramping was no fun.  For miles I contemplated the reasons why I should drop when I get to lambs. I didn't want to drop.  How was I going to run 50 more miles to the finish if kept cramping and had to walk the whole way?  Before we got to Alexander I tried to take a Metasalt and started to puke.  I puked up the oranges I ate a hour ago coming out of Big Mtn.  My stomach wasn't processing anything. I decided to force a complete emptying of my stomach to restart it.  I believed it worked because I didn't have any issues the rest of the race. I had also started to feel short of breath on the down hills and I blame that on the Wasatch trail dust.

Walking into the Lambs aid stating my family was cheering for me.   I almost didn't hear them over my own depressed and painful state. I check in and weigh myself to evaluate my water loss.  I had lost 5 lbs from Big Mtn to Lambs canyon.  I had this idea in my head if I saw the medical team at the aid station they would tell me that I should stop and that would make DNF easier.  But in the back of my mind I knew it wouldn't.  As I sat there waiting to be checked out my good buddy Sam was listening to all the problems I was having.  Did I say listening to me?  I didn't feel that he was listening to a word I said. There was a medical student that listened to my lungs and my problems.  She wasn't telling me to quit but was suggesting it.  I sat in a chair feeling like a failure for even thinking about wanting to quit.  I thought to myself most of my friends have now passed me and all I need now is for Wendy Clark to coming into the aid station to put the last nail in the coffin.  Well guess what she did a minute later?  The conversation between Sam and I at Lambs went some thing like this as I half listened to him while eating a Baconator burger.  All the while I am seeing lots of old running friends with lots of words of encouragement, "You have trained for this! This is graduation day! Go finish it up and get your medal. You have lots of time. No, you're not a quitter. You can do this" *My wife later informed me she was furious at everyone. She knows my track record with cramping, and knew I couldn't keep cramping for the next 50 miles and that I was toast. Ok, now back to Sam, who my wife was about ready to smack upside the hide after this conversation.

"My legs have been cramping for the last 13 miles. I am dehydrated and am having trouble breathing even walking down hill."

"Your going to be fine. Just suck it up and let's go.  Even if you have to walk we have plenty of time to finish" Sam enthusiastically proclaims.

"I know my track record. Once I start cramping there is only two ways this can go. One I stop and the cramps stop or two the cramps get worse."

"Don't listen to that medical student. She doesn't know what she is talking about.  You will rebound from this.  The sun is going down and we rule the night" Sam tells me.

"But what about my cramps?  I don't know if I want to cramp for 50 miles."

"Shut up Chris and lets run. Lets walk out of here and see how things go."

"Ok. Lets do it. I will walk for 2 miles and if its not better I will turn around and come back."

"We are not coming back!! We own the night. This is what we do. We do it all the time!" Sam replied so sure of himself. I told my wife to wait at Lambs to see if I needed to come back and drop out.

I stood up fully prepared to cramp the whole 2 mile walk and come back. As I stood up my good friend Andrea came over to see how I was doing.  When I told her about my cramping she suggested pickle juice and went to get some for me.  I had read about it helping some people and was willing to try anything.  Deep down I didn't want to quit but my cramping was trying to force to me to. I drank it and headed out.  I later found out that my wife wanted to kill Sam for talking to me that way and pushing me so hard to get out of the aid stop. But He knew me so well he knew what to say to help me.

As Sam and I headed up there road of Lambs canyon. I stopped to pee.  I haven't had to pee for the past 5 hours.  This was a good sign even if it was only a few ounces. We chatted it up like this was any old training run. My head was clearing and my mental state had drastically changed. I know this only happened because of Sam.  He is a natural at it and am so grateful for him. Now if I could only get the rest of my body to follow suit.  We passed a few people up the canyon but kept it slow.  Then Davy Crockett passed us.  Not him too. I know he's known for his endurance but not speed. I decided then and there that we were going to try to keep up with Davey.

Next thing I know I have a killer double time step up the hill and passing everyone.  It was now time to make a list of my friends that passed me and hunt them down.  I started to play a little game of Marco Polo with Wendy.  The first time I hollered her name there was no answer.  Sam said "we better get a move on to catch her." A few minutes later I did it again and she yelled back.  She was only a few switchbacks ahead of me. The hunt was on.  I soon found Kelli sitting on a log and not doing so well.  I wished her the best and pounded my way up the mountain.  We caught up to Wendy before Bear (or is it Bare) Ass Pass. I was energized and ready to move fast all night.  The downhill to Mill Creek Canyon was rockin'.  We were having a party and everyone could hear us. As we passed some runners, I heard one of the passers say "They are having a blast. I want to run with them."

Next on my list was Matt Ricks.  Part of me hoped that I would never pass him and the other part of me felt like there was nothing stopping me from passing almost all my friends. We walked most of the road to Upper Big Water with our head lamps off and then found Matt sitting in a chair at the aid stop.  It was now a race to see who would get out of the aid stop first. 

I can never say enough about how great all of the volunteers were for the race.  They were all willing to help me when I was up and down.  Laura Westermen was helping out at the Upper Big Water and she knew what I needed. Mtn Dew!! The nectar of the Gods, even if it has flame retardant in it. Chatting with her I found out that she was on her way back to the valley.  I had this great idea to have her call/text my wife to let her know that I was really doing well and moving better.  Matt and I walked out at the same time but I was doing much better and pushed ahead.

The next few miles from Mill Creek to Brighton clicked off fast with out any problems. I fell again on the up hill to dog lake and Sam wouldn't even take my picture while I laying on the ground holding up the line of runners.  The nerve of that guy I was already down on the ground. He told me we could stage it later, but he didn't even do that. Sheesh! We hit the down hill road to Big Cottonwood Canyon and Sam told me,

"Ok lets run to the white marker and then walk to the next one."

"NO I DON'T WANT TO" I yelled at him.

"lets get moving its not that far" he informs me.

"Have fun running."

"Lets go Chris."

"FINE I WILL RUN."

Hitting Brighton was a great feeling. I knew it didn't matter how long it took me to finish I could do it.  Again I was met with a big crowd of excitement entering the aid stop.  I quickly got to business on getting myself out of the aid stop.  I have been told that Brighton is a death trap.  Don't stay long or you may never leave. Heading out of Brighton, Brandon Dase and I calculated time and figured I could still finish in under 30 hours.  I haven't known Brandon very long or run with him much.  When I had a pacer drop 2 weeks before  the race I was asking friends who they thought could fill in and help me to my goal.  My buddy Nate suggested him and I didn't know who he was until he reminded me that we ran together on Provo Peak. I was happy that he was willing to help me out. Two weeks before Wasatch we ran the last 25 of this course together and had a blast.  He was such a great pacer that it was his plan run the last 25 before the race for he could see the route in the light. 

We pushed up to Catharine pass running into Cait.  Now she wasn't doing well.  I felt her pain and knew she would get through it.  We had hit the high point of the race and were ready to push the down hill. Coming in to one aid stop they told us they had pancakes and sausage.  Two of my favorite trail foods.  I roll them up together and take it to go.

I can see the finish from here!

As the sun started to come up we were still moving great. About mile 90 we recalculated time and found if we push it I might be able to go sub 29.  So of the last miles I wanted to push harder but couldn't because the trail was technical or somewhat of a shwack. On one descent we past the spot where we found a dead bunny  2 weeks ago on our training run and Brandon did a bunny hop in loving memory.

Poor bunny

As we left the last aid stop we could see 4 other runners ahead of me.  Brandon said to me "Lets hunt them all down." For the last 20 miles we have been playing this game.  Find a runner in front of me and hunt them down and then leave them in my dust.  Most of the time it was a runner here or there.  I felt like a kid in a candy store, I wanted to pass them all.

The first 3 runner were easy to pass.  The last one saw me coming and picked up the pace. When we finally caught up to them, I found out it was Dave and Ben.  Dave had helped me near the end of Kat'cina Mosa and Ben was his pacer.  This time Ben was the runner and Dave was pacing him.  They only picked up the pace because they thought I was a friend of theirs that they didn't want to have pass them. 

We ran together for a few miles and then I put every thing left I had in to pace.  Most of the last 6 miles were 8-9 min pace.  I was beat but still had some speed left in me to sprint the last quarter mile up hill to the finish.  I was checking my watch and could see that I would be cutting it really close to sub 29.  I push and pushed but came up 20 sec short.  I didn't care, I had finished and finished strong. (Wife calls bull crap on that, he was pissed about those 20 seconds and mentions them still!)

chilling at the finish

I may have not conquered the heat or run as fast as I would have like to, but I did learn that no matter how hard things might seem at the time you can turn things around. All you need is some pickle juice and some tough love from Sam Jewkes.

I need to give a BIG thanks to my wife for putting up with all my crazy training runs and supporting me through Wasatch.  Thank you friends for all the help on my training and making trail running heaven on earth. Another big thanks goes to Endurance Athletics for helping me find the right shoes for me and great training tips. 

Another 100, another DNF

By Steve

With the OTM 100 over the weekend (on which Sam will give the full report), I have once again DNF'd a 100 miler.  So much for the third time being the charm.  However, I'm a slow learner, so despite my rantings over the weekend that I would never ever, EVER do this to myself again, I'm sure there will be another attempt at some future date.  Here is my brief report and what I take away from this and what I need to improve.

First, it must be said that Sam and Tony are amazing and solid.  Sam spent the first 50 waiting for Tony to make sure he followed the correct course, and half of the second 50 trying to get me to keep moving.  I'd really like to see him just go pound out a hundred miler by himself and see how well he could do, but he is always wanting to help someone else along the way.  I was also amazed that Tony could just keep going and going.  Despite the rough course and almost 40 hour finish, he was solid to the end.

The first 50 miles were fantastic.  After a nice slow start as prompted by Sam and Tony, I finished the front 50 to Beus Canyon in 14 hours.  That is about 2.5 hours faster than last year.  I took everything I had learned from Capital Reef and applied that.  And you know what?  It worked!  My lungs were strong because of the increased focus on proper breathing and keeping my body warm.  Even after dropping out at 78 miles, I still wasn't suffering anything lung or cold issues.  I kept my body warm and my breathing slow, deep through the diaphragm, and through the nose as much as possible.

So, as I see it, after finally pushing through the limits of my lungs, I was now in new territory.  Up till now, my nourishment while running has worked for me to get me through till my lungs gave out. But in this new territory, it failed me miserably.

Up till now, taking ibuprofen while running has been a good thing.  This time it caused some major stomach issues with... evidence... that my stomach was in a dangerous place.

Up till now, drinking Ensure has been a great way to get calories.  This time, the extra vitamins proved to further upset my stomach.

Up till now, I had never had to take salt tablets.  This time, my stomach was cramping like crazy.

With all of that, at mile 73, I stood wide legged, hunched over with my forehead leaning on my trekking poles time and time again, listening to Sam holler out something about it being all in my head and I need to keep moving forward, and trying with all my might to make my legs keep going uphill.  My body was at it's physical limit.  I had no energy.  I couldn't eat anything to get more energy.  I wanted to puke.  I wished I would puke.  I simply couldn't walk another mile up that hill.  I was sure of it then, and I'm still sure of it now.  So, as Sam left me to go finish the race, I turned around, gently walked downhill 5 miles back to the car, and then spent the next 48 hours slowly turning my stomach back right-side out.

So where do I go from here?

1.  I'm done with ibuprofen.   From now on, unless I break a leg or something on a long run, I really don't need any.  I should have been done a long time ago, but like I said, it had always worked till now, so why change a "good" thing?

2.  Liquid Calories:  I'm going to experiment with Tailwind now.  There are a couple other brands to try out, but I'm pretty sure my body will do well with these.  Also, I'm going to focus more on fruits and proteins for my solid foods.

3.  Salt:  Tailwind has a lot of salt, so additional salt tablets shoudn't be necessary.  But either way, I need salt now.

4.  Ginger chews:  DJ gave me a couple chews early in the night when I was first having stomach issues.  The calmed my stomach down for a while, and I was very grateful for that.

In the end, I had 78 miles and 19,421' of vert over 27 hours.  It's still the farthest distance and the most vert I've ever done in one run, and the longest I've been on my feet without stopping.  I'm happy the race director decided to give me credit for the 50 mile finish.

Orange Trail Monkey 50 mile finisher paracord bracelet with engraved Monkey Carabiner

Ultra Running with Kids

Donut Falls in early June.

by Sam

My kids in the middle with my nephews.

Training for an ultra race takes dedication, stamina, grit, and a little bit of crazy but most of all it takes time. Time away from work and family. Every ultra runner struggles with finding time, not enough time and time limits. More often than not runs are based off how much time is available. When there's not enough time we make time. Most of my runs happen in the wee dark hours. I'm either getting home around 1:00 a.m. or starting at 4:00 a.m. Who needs sleep anyway?

In order to make it work I just can't train that much during the day. Work, church and kids require too much time to fit in enough running time. Unless I ran on the road, but who wants to pound the pavement? People think running 100 miles through the mountains is crazy, pfffft, I think running on the hard asphalt is crazy. To each his own. I've had to sacrifice some things in order to fit it all in. Mainly, sleep, but also I came to terms with the fact that I am not going to be as fast as I'd like. I'll finish the race but I just don't have the time to train my body to be faster without a divorce letter or getting fired from my job. And those things aren't worth it.

Summit Jumping in the foothills of Salt Lake.

One of the things I do to keep up on my time is to take my kids with me. All summer long I've taken my kids on trails and up peaks. I have two kids, six and three. The six-year-old was hard to keep up with this year, at least while I'm packing the three-year-old on my back. They both love it. When I pick up the boy from school he often asks if we can go hiking and we often do. He is growing up much differently than I did. He has a really good memory and is very detail oriented.

Here's an example of our conversations:

Me: Let's go up Jack's peak.
Boy: Where is that?
Me: Near Wire.
Boy: How long will it take? Like, Dog-lake-long which is an hour and twenty minutes or Donut-Falls-long, only 20 minutes up.
Me: I don't know because it's new.
Boy: Or is it like Ensign peak long?
Me: We'll see.
Boy: Maybe it will be like Sugarloaf. Or Reynolds...





And on it goes. The last trail I took them on was Church Fork up to Grandeur Peak. The little girl walked an entire 1.5 miles uphill for about an hour and fifteen minutes. When we finally got to the summit we found a group of 11-year-old scouts that were mostly whining and complaining about the hike. They shortly started back down. We took a little break, drank some summit Dew and started down. The boy ran the entire way. It was quite humorous when we passed by the scouts. By the time my boy goes on a scout hike like that he'll be able to point to and name most of the peaks in the surrounding area and have summitted them.

Summit Dew on Grandeur Peak.

About a year ago when my little Bat Girl was learning how to speak she would often say "backpack." Now when we happen to be driving near the mountains she'll say: "are we going hiking?" The two of them have truly enjoyed it. Next year will be a whole new world with little patootie number three on the way. I can't wait to have all three of them on the trail with me. I may not be a fast ultra runner, but I'm making memories with my kids that will last long after I'm dead and gone. I make time to train and I take time to train with my little Doodle-bugs. Win win.

We only get slurpees if we summit or get to our planned destination.