This race was scheduled for Saturday March 29th (my 11 year wedding anniversary) my very understanding wife was willing to let me sign up for this race by being persuaded with a weekend at Skamania Lodge and some personal time in Hood River while I ran through the trails of the Columbia Gorge.
As anyone who lives local knows the weather leading up to the race was rain, rain and more rain. This was really depressing me for the race I was worried we would be sloshing through mud and unable to actually run not to mention being out in the pouring rain for 6 or so hours. Come the morning of the race however the sun was out and the rain had stopped, I was unsure how long it would last but would take every dry minute I could get. Prior to the race I was very unsure on how to dress for the race as it was warm and we would be doing some heavy climbing but downpour rains were in the forecast for any minute.
I decided to play it safe and go with pants a shirt, jacket and hat (not to mention my 5+ pound hydration and storage pack). As we started the run somewhere between 200-300 runners crowded onto a single track trail in the forest (talk about a bottle neck) my plan was to start close to the front and let all the fast people pass me rather than getting stuck behind slower runners on this trail that made running not only difficult but very dangerous in most spots. Unfortunately the race was running late and I didn't get my bib number until a few minutes to the start so I got shoved to the middle of the pack.We all ran very slowly for about two miles bunched up until we came to our first "yes first" stream crossing. Everyone kind of froze, I assume at the idea of having wet socks for the next 30 miles and this was a chance to get ahead of a chunk of the crowd. After that point the race scattered out a bit but I continued to come up on a line of 8 or so runners tightly bunched heading up the hills. As the first 4 miles or so were a steady climb up many people were walking (to preserve energy for later in the race) and causing the traffic jams on the trail. I understand this is a very normal thing in trail ultras but I was becoming a bit antsy and was ready to get ahead of these bunched up packs.I had told myself before the race that I needed to take the entire thing easy and enjoy the scenery as there was no reason to try and run this hard. I hadn't got in as much training leading up to the race as I had planned and I was unsure how the elevation and climb would play out on my energy level. This strategy was thrown out the window around this time (mile 4) and my competitiveness came out. I decided to change my race strategy and run the first 20 miles pretty hard and see what I had left for the last 10 or so. I figured if I could get ahead of a large group of people early then i could just try and maintain that and if they had conserved enough energy at the end to pass me back by then they deserved it.
I started heading up the hills pretty hard and soon after we came to our first significant downhill section, this is where I let it loose and passed by a big group of runners. After that I just tried to stay consistent and run hard to the first aid station around mile 9 or 10. The trails were very technical we crossed probably 8 to 10 small streams, multiple snow banks and other large sections where the trail disappeared into an area of large (slippery) rocks. Even the sections of trails that weren't in water, snow, or rocks were very technical compared to what I am used to. They were very narrow and very rocky, it seemed like no matter where you put your feet you were just going to be running on rocks all day.
The trail continued up and down and up again until we reached the first aid station. By this point the sun was still out and my jacket and hat were becoming very cumbersome. I was getting pretty hot but didn't have many options so I started strategizing for the second aid station where I had a bag waiting for me. I decided I would continue to run hard to the second aid station (somewhere close to mile 18) and use my drop bag to ditch my coat and hat and even thought briefly about shedding my hydration pack to feel light and have energy for the last 3rd of the race. I thought with the third aid station around mile 24 or so I could make it from aid station 2 to aid station 3 without food or water and then from the 3rd aid station to the finish. My big dilemma was music. I had an ipod (in one ear, the rules on the trail) and new without my pack it would be annoying to carry so i ultimately decided to keep the pack but shed the close.
As we made our way towards the 2nd aid station I was getting very annoyed with the pain in my feet from landing on so many rocks and twisting a few ankles not to mention the general ankle twisting form that the trail forced on you with how narrow it was. I had my first wardrobe malfunction as my left sock slid half way down my foot and I was forced to stop and take my entire shoe off. I watched about 6 people pass me by as I took care of that darn sock (for the first of many times) and decided while I was stopped I would put my jacket in my pack to cool off early before the aid station. I got back running again and within a mile we hit our first real waterfall of the race it was massive and the wind was blowing as we crossed the close by bridge. I was completely soaked from head to toe once I arrived on the other side of the bridge and thought "what a good time to take my coat off" someone close mentioned "well its not every day you get a full shower in the middle of your race"
We finally hit the 2nd aid station and I was able to ditch my coat and hat and anything else I figured I wouldn't need for the last stretch. Moving on the route took us on to a two mile stretch of road near the highway. This should have been a nice break for the throbbing feet and banged up ankles but the wind was horrendous. I was trying to run hard and make up some time on this flat section of course but felt like I wasn't even moving. After about a mile an older gentleman who had been running directly behind me for the last ten minutes came up beside me and said "that wind is eating me alive, I've been drafting off you do you want to switch?" We spent the rest of the time on the road taking turns drafting by running behind each other and avoiding the wind.
As we finished up that stretch of road and hit the trail for another hill climb I told the guy I had been running with I was gonna walk a bit (I was feeling completely wiped out). I started hiking up the trail and the rain started to fall and fall and fall. I walked for a very short stent before my energy came back and I was able to start running. This should have been the lowest part of the race for me as I was just completely exhausted, I still had about 10 miles or so to go I was soaking wet and had no jacket or hat. Yet the "runners high" of all runners highs came over me at the perfect time. I started to laugh at the circumstances and felt amazing, my feet weren't hurting I wasn't cold (even though it was now hailing) and I was flying through the trails rarely seeing anyone else but slowly passing the handful of people that had passed me during my aid station stop and the highway stretch.
This great feeling went on for a while, through the 3rd aid station (where we all had a good laugh that I had ditched my rain gear right before the rain hit) and into the last large climb of the race. I had decided not to use my GPS watch on this run (as I was just going to try and take it easy) so I had no idea other than the aid stations what the mileage was or any concept of how long I had been out there, but I did remember from the course map that the last large climb was about 2,000ft of climb in 2 miles then we came back down the other side and had one last mile of flat to the finish line. So as we hit the last large climb near the base of the Multnomah Falls viewing switchbacks I not only had my runners high still in full force but knew it wouldn't be long till I was dry and headed for the Skamania Lodge hot tub.
I started power hiking up the switch backs and was passing allot of very tired looking racers, they all gave me positive words of encouragement with a hint of jealousy towards my still high energy level. As we reached the top of the Multnomah falls area and started heading down I thought "yes I did it, I powered up all those hills and kept a good pace and now its downhill to the finish line" Unfortunately the trail headed UP AGAIN. This was very disheartening but I just kept thinking it will go down any second. That second lasted about 45 more minutes of steep climbing and almost everyone I had passed on the first uphill stretch had now passed me back. I was completely unprepared for how steep and long that last climb would be.
The next thing I remember is a runner coming up from behind and saying, 'we did it were at the top, it's all downhill from here" I muttered a half intelligible "uh huh" He took another look at me and I think he could see in my eyes I had lost all energy and spirit and was ready to pretty much walk the rest of the race. He said "you can do this c'mon lets go". This was just enough to shake me out of my slumber and I started to run with him, we began talking and getting to know each other and before I knew it we were running hard again and I was feeling good. We flew down the next section of the race and passed probably 10 more people before coming out of the trails into the west parking lot of Multnomah Falls. We said to each other this is it we are done! Unfortunately we still had one last muddy mile to the finish line. I wanted to just walk so bad that last mile but kept running and even though it felt like it took an hour I kept Jason (the guy I had recently met and was running with) in my sights all the way to the finish line. I crossed the finish line where the race director was waiting, I shook his hand and called him a "sick s.o.b." I finished 88th out of 306 overall and was pretty pleased with that it took about 6 hours and 40 minutes (about an hour longer than I thought since I didn't have my watch)
I was pretty dazed, wet, cold and hungry when it was all over. My feet were killing me and I realized just how difficult a long technical trail ultra really is. I would have to say that this 31 mile run was about twice as hard as my flatish 50 miler last October. At this point I have no idea if I will do more of these, longer versions, shorter versions or stick more to the flatter roads and trails. This was definitely an adventure/obstacle course type race with nature and one sick man creating the obstacles. However I am glad I got to experience it and have so much more respect for the people who compete and complete long trail ultras.
Thanks everyone for the well wishes and support, I have heard there are some good videos of the race coming out so i will post those to this page as they are released.
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proposal after crossing the finish line together "would you be my ultra-wife"
My coach Yassine (and 4th place overall in the 100k) running the Gorge trails.
pic credit by Paul Nelson Photography
"we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3).
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