Race day!
The 50mi race started at 5am, which is right around the time I left the hotel. It took almost 40min to drive the 13mi to the race start, at Willard Creek. I had to jot down the notes on how to get here (drive 4.3 past Papa Ray's Casino. The paved road ends 2.9mi in...turn right onto Starberry Mtn Trail (there's no sign here...). You get the idea 😣) thankfully the notes were spot on. Parking was just a tad bit tricky but a couple of really nice guys moved their cars two spaces over so that I could squeeze in.
I waited a little before walking over to the mandatory check-in for the morning. I had the door slightly ajar so that I wouldn't be sitting in the enclosed car. But before I could do that, a man comes by telling me that he was looking for 3 chairs that he had set out to block the area for a car (truck?) that was coming. I told him I don't know anything about any chairs and had bj idea where they were. Then he sort of surveyed the area and said that well since I'm the only one around, he needed me to move my car so he could save the space once again!
What?!?! It had been at least 20 or so minutes since I had parked and I had watched people struggling to find their own parking spaces. I dreaded having to go through that again. So I did say, "well, only if you help me find another parking space."
He disappeared for a few minutes. During that time I started to get really emotional. Not too sure what was happening to me...but I think the stressful thought of having to move the car, driving out here to the boonies, getting ready to embark on what I knew would be a big challenge got to me. I started to cry. The man came back and I told him, "please don't do this to me! I'm not from here and I'm already stressed enough. I just can't do this!"
He walked away mumbling something like , "uh, ok. I'll just find somewhere else for them to park, but they'll be blocking someone's car in."
Funny thing is right after he walked away, there was a lady in the car to my left, woke up from sleeping. She told me that she arrived and parked at 4:30am and there were no chairs there and another car was already parked next to her.
I guess j was the lucky one to be approached because my door was open and I was awake. Yay me.
I waited a bit so I wouldn't look like I was a sobbing, emotional wreck. Then when I started to walk towards the check-in area, I passed the man who asked me to move. He was standing next to a big trailer that said Amateur Ham Radio Operators (part of the emergency team?)
He spoke out to me and apologized (in his own way). He said, "I'm sorry about that; I didn't realize you were so sensitive." I just nodded and waved him off. Oh well. At least he apologized.
I decided to wear my gaiters after all, but not my calf sleeves in fear of the heat. Was it a bad idea after all?? I don't really know.
I had my hat, my VP2 filled with Tailwind, I had extra Tailwind packed in the back, had 4 gels, a KIND bar and granola in addition to my salt tablets. Oh yeah, and one trekking pole and cooling towel stowed away.
6:26am
The elevation profile. Scary, right??why did I think I really just had to survive the first 16miles?! Yeah...I needed to survive all of it!!
The race finish!
We started back about 100yds then ran through the finish.
Start time was going to be at 7:00am
6:55am
Checked-in now!
Looking at all the others milling around the start area.
I think this was our first creek crossing
7:28am
There wasn't a really good way through this one, so I followed the guy ahead of me and just tromped my way through. Brrr! The water was cold.
I hoped that my feet would dry out quickly.
They did...
7:31am
Not too bad on these single track trails. Packed dirt, few rocks here and there. Very runnable.
7:56am
Another creek crossing. This time there was a plank.
Thank god?!
I wasn't too sure about this...my balance isn't that great sometimes. I managed not to fall into the creek.
8:01am
See the pink duct tape? That's what I need to see all day long. Thankfully they were actually everywhere. (Later, only once was I unsure of where to go. But I backtracked about 20yds to the last marker and I saw the next one on the right, that I had missed).
8:41am
8:45am
More dirt trails, but there were more and more rocks everywhere. Somewhere before this part (around mile 4.5), I tripped and caught myself, which was good...but my right knee locked and that hurt. I ran it carefully until around mile 12, actually fearing for a while that I wouldn't be able to complete the race.
Lots of thoughts about my first DNF went through my mind...would I still be able to make the 7hr cut-off time limit at mile 16? Well, I guess I'd have to see...
I trudged on ahead.
9:00am
This was apparently a burn area from 1988.
9:03am
An interesting hollowed out part of a tree.
9:05am
Another creek crossing...this time with a log to walk over.
9:08am
I am assessing the situation here. That log looks dangerously narrow. 😁
There was no other option. Crap!
9:08am
Uhhh, here goes! I'll just go slow...
I didn't fall. Whew!
9:30am
Casey Meadows
We were told there would be cows here. Yup. Just lazing around. Had to beware where I stepped. Cow poop everywhere.
There was actually quite a bit of poop everywhere. Moose, elk, cow, bear poop?! I have no idea. Big piles of poop.
9:36am
Gorgeous view of the mountains!
9:41am
Beautiful panoramic. If you look carefully you can see the path I'm going to take on the left-hand side, and the path I took on the right-hand side.
10:01am
The terrain changed quite a bit throughout this run.
These parts where hard on my feet. The rocky, uneven ground made it difficult to navigate. Even though it was a slight downhill, I couldn't manage to go very fast because of the footing. I need to work even more on my downhill running. I thought I had done a pretty good job when descending Mt San Jacinto a few weeks ago (and it was even pouring rain!) but I just couldn't do it. Maybe it was the realization of how many more miles I had yet to cover...
10:20am
Random signage
10:30am
Cool looking cave-like structure, but I wasn't about to crawl in there for a picture!
10:30am
The view opposite from the above picture.
11:41am
I was actually squatting on the ground next to the creek, soaking my towel in the very cool, refreshing creek water. It was a godsend having so many creek crossings.
[note to self: pack the Chapstick in the front of my pack next time, not the back]
12:02pm
I started to see these signs along the way. This stretch of the race was pretty much all open and hot.
12:16pm
Can you see the trail path behind me? There were many stretches where there really wasn't a true trail or path. Yes, the pink duct tape was stuck everywhere thankfully. Taped around a clump of weeds, or taped to a rock, branch, etc. but the path I was following seemed to be just trampled down by runners. That's it. Crazy!
I'd like to say that this was totally runnable for me (it was for many others that I witnessed flying through) but sometimes there would be a rock (sometimes big, or just jutting out) or a dip or dent in the ground to make for uneven footing. Again, I scared myself into not running too fast for fear of hurting myself further.
All in all, I'd have to say I tripped, rolled my ankle, and almost fell at least 30 times this whole run. And the sad part is that it usually happened when I was trying to be more careful. Hmm, what does that tell me?!
2:00pm
So HURL stands for Helena Ultra Runners League...but I literally felt like hurling about 3 times during the race. My mouth was so dry, I was so thirsty, and it was so hot. Not sure if I would've felt better if I hurled. I'll never know now.
I just read on HURL Elkhorn's Facebook page that the temps reached 97 out there. Holy moly.
This picture was sometime after I passed the Elk Park Aid Station at mile 16. I think I got there after about 6:25 had elapsed. The cut-off was 7 hours. Whew! I made it.
I rested here a bit more than I really wanted to, but I was tired. The volunteers here were soooo super-wonderful (more so than the others, imho). I don't know how to explain it, but they were genuinely nice and concerned about me. I would return to them in around 10mi...and I was looking forward to it.
My garmin died on me as I tried to recuperate a bit there. Finished all my tailwind, so I opted for Hammer Heed (they only had melon flavor here). It worked out well; I liked it.
Yes, I know I shouldn't have tried something new but I needed something more than just water!
2:13pm
Again...do you see the path?! Yep, just trampled down weeds. lol
It was actually really pretty here...with all the little flowers everywhere.
Another picture in the other direction, from whence I came. 😛
2:15pm
DUCK!
Sometime after this picture the second garmin I had on me finally caught the satellite GPS signal. I missed about 2+ miles...my first mile on the watch registered at 69min! Oops.
3:43pm
I was just heading away from the Tizer Aid Station, which was 5.5mi away from Elk Park A.S.
I did get some running done getting to Tizer as it was mostly downhill, but it was HOT. Heading from Tizer back to Elk Park A.S. was mostly a different route, 4.5mi and uphill. Lots of hiking going on again.
It felt like the longest 4.5 miles of my life.
3:50pm
I'm sure this is supposed to be funny, but I couldn't quite figure it out.
How does one know if they are suffering from heat stroke?!
4:22pm
Oh, suffer I am.
Why did I do this again?!
4:34pm
I thought this was just a neat looking tree with all the moss on the branches.
6:23pm
I left Elk Park Aid Station again shortly before this. I wanted to finish before 8pm, which would have made it under 13hrs total.
Omg. I've never been on my feet this long. They were really hurting now. I was going on 11.5hrs now...
But I can still feign a smile :)
7:07pm
I just left the Tepee Creek Aid Station (I was also there at mile 12). I had about 2.5 miles to go. If I worked hard, I could realistically finish before 8pm! I really wanted to...
Remember those initial creek crossings I had passed 12 hours ago? The end of the race is the same path we took going out. My feet had really been hurting, and my feet getting wet again in those later miles was taking its toll. I knew I was developing blisters in places I don't normally get blisters, like around the heel of my foot. The balls of the my feet really hurt, too.
7:34pm
I am just a fraction of a mile away.
Thank heavens!
My official finish time was 12:40:21
I cried when I got in. Got hugs and high fives from random people, including the wife of the RD (who that day, competed the 50k for the 10th year in a row. Amazing).
[side note: she was all nice and clean and well-rested. Jealous!]
A guy that I ran behind for a bit before the 12mi aid station high fived me too. He ran the 23k (same course until this aid station) and didn't realize I had continued on for the 50k. They started at 8am, so he was really much faster than I was since he caught up to me maybe around mile 10?
I sat and hung out for a while, but then decided I should get back to the hotel to get cleaned up and to find some food.
Before leaving, Steve Engebrecht, the RD, came by to talk to me as I was sitting in the car and cleaning up to get ready to leave. I told him I was the gal from CA...I had emailed him several times with questions. I also thanked him for having such a wonderfully marked course. His response was he really hates having to go look for someone who is lost.
Good point, huh?? 😉
And I made sure to mention the Elk Park AS and how awesome they were. The others were good and all, but those volunteers at that one station were the best!
8:31pm
Driving back the long dusty roads to the hotel.
After a probably-too-brief ice bath, I tried yelping for some places to eat.
I found an gyro place. Cool! Oh wait. Closed at 4pm on Saturdays (and closed on Sundays). Actually many were already closed or not open at all on the weekends. It was Saturday night! What do people do here?? I was not going to have dinner at Perkins (just literally out the door of my hotel and I wasn't having fast food).
So I went down to the front desk to ask for help finding a place. Nagoya, a sushi place was open until 10:30pm. I was a bit dubious when I saw it in Yelp (we are in MT, after all) but they assured me it was good (hmmm, would they really know good sushi?! Maybe? Maybe not?) and I didn't have a whole lot of other options.
So I gave it a shot. The restaurant looked really dark from the outside (very dim lighting) so initially I wasn't sure they were open, but they were. :)
I had an Unagi bowl (off-menu, so I was happy that they'd make one for me), and a Black Volcano roll. I also got a side of edamame and my Unagi bowl came with a bowl of miso and small salad.
The miso was actually much-needed, as the ice-bath sucked all the warmth out of me. I was cold and shivering while I was waiting! I must've looked like a wreck.
I couldn't eat it all, but I saved some for the morning drive home.
I was quite impressed.
The sushi chefs were Chinese too, which I found a bit amusing. I was listening to them chat while they were cleaning up their work station for the night. I guess in MT, the difference between Japanese and Chinese isn't too great. Ah, to be in a small town.
10:06pm
Epilogue:
I ended up being going to bed sometime after 11pm or so...but I couldn't sleep well whatsoever.
I couldn't find my ibuprofen (how did I lose it? I still don't know) and I chafed on my back. Under the sports bra part and the exposed side part against my pack. That has never happened before and it was pretty bad, actually. Sometime while descending the last 6 miles (maybe with 4 left to go?!). I stopped to try to adjust or use my OM buff to cover my back...wouldn't work.
While I was stopped, 3 runners approahched. I asked if they had anything to help with chafing. One of the gals had tape and the guy in the group taped me up (the two gals then just ran on and took off, now that I think about it). The tape saved my back from getting distressingly worse! Thank you, random people!!
I had several jumbo band aids that I used with neosporin on my back before I dressed and went to dinner. It made sleeping and lying on my back difficult. And I absolutely cannot sleep on my stomach, so I was out of options. Sleeping on my side made my legs ache more...
I tossed and turned.
I had planned on waking up around 4:20 so that I could start the drive back to the lake at 5am.
I woke up around 12:15, 1:11, 2:35, 3:17, 3:23, and then at 3:27 decided I had had enough. I packed up quickly and was in the car ready to go at 3:48. 😳
I knew it was early, but I had to message my mother-in-law to let her know I was making the drive. She had told me she wanted to know.
Made good time with no traffic, but had to drive carefully until the sun came up. Kept just at or below the speed limit and used the brights when I could. It was dark. But thankfully there were lots of reflectors on the side of the highway.
About halfway through the drive (or less?) I was getting truly tired. Although I don't use my phone for music while running, I do have my running playlist on there. It saved me! I listened and sang horribly to all the upbeat and "pump me up" music that I had on there.
I arrived safely at the lake house a few minutes past 7am.
I took a short nap and hobbled my way around trying to help clean up so we could leave to go back to Missoula (which I passed, 88mi before arriving at the lake). 😁 They needed the car I borrowed to get the rest of the crew home.
After all this...would I run this again? Maybe. 50k though (never the 50miler).
Pre-race, I really wish google maps was used in addition to the many pages of directions.
The super-detailed course descriptions were great, but to someone not from this area at all, it was just intimidating. I downloaded the info to my phone 'just in case' but didn't need it. Don't honestly think it would've helped anyways.
Post-race, I wish there was a medal. Something small, homemade in MT would be cool. Nanny Goat had the handmade necklaces for us, and that was special.
I have many other medals already, but still.
The certificate is nice, though. Wish the mug had a year on it. Hmm, come to think of it, my Nanny Goat mug doesn't have a year in it either. Oh wel. Still doesn't change that I wish there was a year on it.
I'd have to train so much more uphill and in the heat of I was to even consider this again. In my defense, if I hadn't done the training I had done so far this summer, I probably would have DNF'd. This was one ridiculously challenging race.
And maybe if I were to run this again, hot flashes will no longer be a part of my life. That would be nice. Really nice. Especially in 97 degree weather.
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