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Hardesty Hard Core Trail Run - RunOther


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Oakridge, Oregon
United States
Eclectic Edge Racing
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 19m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4 am for breakfast. Got to race site by 6:40. As a side bar to my report it should be noted that redemption played a factor in this race. Back in early July of 2005 I tried to climb this mountain for my dying mother. She wanted to go there before she died of lung cancer but by that time she was too weak. I thought I would climb to the top and take pictures for her. The trouble was, I had just had open heart surgery in April and this was July. I made it about three miles up before running out if gas. I did take pictures along the way but I wanted to go back some day and finish what I started. When I saw an actua organized event I was elated. I carried a glass vial of my mothers ashes and left them at the top.
Event warmup:

ten minutes before start I jogged maybe half a mile and did some light stretching.
Run
  • 4h 19m
  • 14 miles
  • 18m 30s  min/mile
Comments:

Prior to the start of the race the director reviewed the course and aid stations with us. There were to be five stations along the course. The trail was very steep at times and I was alarmed to see my heart rate monitor read 194 beats per minute. There was no way I could keep up that effort and make it the full 14 miles so I began walking the steepest portions and running the flatter ones. This kept my heart rate in the 180's, which was still too high, but it was better then before. When I got to the first one I grabbed a bottled water and sipped some, taking my electrolytes too. I didn't want to carry the water do to the challenging nature of the trail so I dropped the bottle thinking there would be a station 2.5 miles up the trail. This was the most challenging portion of the climb and when I got to the 4.5 mile mark there was no station. I thought perhaps my Garmin was not registering correctly due to the tree cover so I kept going, well past 4.5 miles, but there was no station or even a hint of one. By the first station a cluster of runners had past me and I wondered if they folded up the aid station thinking everyone had gone by. The director told us to make sure we gave our bib number at each station so they could keep track of us, otherwise the search and rescue would be coming after us. It's difficult to give your bib number to a non-existing aid station!

Fortunately, the trail started going down so I let gravity take over. The problem was it was really warming up by now and I was sweating a great deal. There were two female runners with me and they too were under the impression there was to be water for us. I assumed there would be an aid station at the 8.5 mile mark as told to us by the director. When the three us us reached that point there was nothing. Again no hint of an aid station even being there. At this point I'd gone 6.5 miles without taking in any fluids. Normally, when I'm running near home I might go that far, depending on temp., without fluids. But this was a very challenging run, in the humidity of a forest, and with steep climbs and descents throughout the race. I'd been running for 2 hours without hydrating and all the while sweating. I became greatly concerned at this point because there was to be no aid station again until about mile 12, so I took some of the powdered electrolyte with no water. I had just enough saliva left to dissolve it and swallow. The powder actually made me cough a bit but I got it down. I could feel great fatigue in my calves and legs by now. My lower back ached whenever the trail ascended and my hip flexors were getting tight. One of the runners with me had a camelback with some Perpetuam drink and she let me drink some. It tasted gross but at this point I was desperate. I let her lead for a while and she decided to go on ahead at a faster pace. The other runner lagged behind because her mother was behind us and she was worried about her. I trudged ahead and after a while came to a foot bridge over a creek. I slid down the bank and used the creek water to wash the sweat off my face and head. The sweat was really stinging my eyes at that point. I decided to drink the creek water out of desperation and it looked clear and clean enough. I couldn't get enough by hand so I kneeled down and drank with my lips. It was cold and refreshing to say the least. I took more of the powdered electrolyte as I had been sweating so much I didn't want to risk hyponatremia.

I started out again and soon the runner behind me caught up with me. I wanted to make it look good so I began running again even though I was below "E" on my fuel tank. I asked about her mother and she said she never saw her. At one point she said that if I found someone to tell them to bring back water for her. This alarmed me because I was trying to remain positive and to think someone else felt like I did bothered me. There was no way I would be able to help her out of the forest since it was all I could de to keep going myself. At that point I had to start walking again and she decided she would keep running. She asked if I wanted her to send someone back for me but I said no, mostly out of pride. When she was out of sight I found a log to sit on and realized right away it was a mistake. I didn't want to get up but knew I needed to. I still had three miles to the next aid station that I wasn't confident would be there. At one point during the early descent I slipped and some debris went into my left shoe. It felt like a tiny rock was under the center of my left heel but the trail was very steep and I had to go a while before I could take care of it. I finally had a chance to take my shoe off and was surprised not to find a rock. When I put my shoe back on and continued the sharp pain was still plaguing my heel. It continued on for the remainder of the race. At one point I found another foot bridge and took the time to take my shoe and my sock off thinking somehow the rock was inside my sock. I saw the makings of a blister on my heel and that was the source of the pain. All the ups and down had created a hot spot on my heel and it had become a blister. Well, I'd come this far with it and I couldn't do anything about it now but move on.

I'd gone another couple of miles and was surprised to see a female jogging towards me. She had a bottle of Gatorade in her hand and asked if I wanted it. She wanted to know about the person behind me- the mother of the other runner-and I said I'd never seen her and assumed she was still back there somewhere. The young lady said she was headed back down the trail and that there was an aid station ahead. She disappeared down the trail and I continued on while I sipped the Gatorade. I could feel my heart pound on every uphill portion of the trail but my breathing was steady. My calves were screaming with each uphill step but what could I do? After another mile or so, around the eleven mile mark I saw through the trees a gravel road. Very soon I saw a truck and four young people. This must be the aid station I'd heard about. As I walked on to the road I saw a case of bottled water, sitting on the road, and in the direct sun. Oh well, hot water is better then no water. I still had my Gatorade, and now a bottle of water too. After a while they both felt like lead weights in my hands and I remember my arms just dangling from the weight and fatigue, but there was no way I would let them go. If I'd of had any indication of what lay ahead after that first aid station I would have kept that first bottle of water and nursed it down to that creek where I could have filled it again. I would have been able to take my electrolytes on a timely basis, like every 20-30 minutes, and my fuel would have been regulated. I'm sure I would have been in a good position by the time this aid station appeared but it was what it was. By this time I had about 3 miles to go. I could hear the cars on Hwy. 58 and see the lake through the trees. The fact that I was so close, and that I'd fulfilled my vow the return to the top of the mountain kept me going. I knew I was probably last but I would finish.

I spotted a Kleenex travel pack on the trail and it looked like the one I'd given my wife, Carol prior to the start. She was fighting a cold and she and my daughter Amanda were doing the five mile trail run/walk. It was a link to them and civilization and I picked it up and put it in my pocket. I'd left the vial of ashes in a bed of fern and Oregon Grape and was now almost home. At mile twelve I told myself I only had two miles to go and that anyone could go two miles. I read once that when you reach the point where you've completely used up all glycogen stores and fuel it can take a long time to recover energy. I remember feeling totally spent at mile twelve but I think the electrolytes kicked in at mile thirteen because I started running. Once I began running I didn't stop until the finish line. As I rounded the last bend in the trail I saw my daughter Amanda and my wife Carol smiling at me and celebrating. I heard the P.A. system and the director saying " here he comes, Jeff Hardisty." I planned on this being about a 2.5 hour event, but when I came through the trees the official time read 4:19 and some change. I was in fact the last person to finish but I did finish. I had my revenge on the mountain that day in that I made it to the top and back ,and found a peaceful spot for my mother's ashes. It wasn't easy but it was over.

What would you do differently?:

I would take water for sure, or mix my electrolyte in water to sip on.
Post race
Warm down:

I had strength to sit in a chair, that was about it. The dorector was very appoligetic. Apparently the aid station people got lost and didn't know where to set up. I don't know the details but if they found the trail at all they could have stayed there and waited for people. I also learned that an older man got lost during the other race-a five mile trail run. There was a point where both courses intersected and chalk arrows gave direction. The assumption was that he turned left and went up into the mountain instead of right and down the mountain. They were sending out a search party when I left.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not eonugh hill training and altitude training, and of course the lack of water.

Event comments:

The woman on the trail who was looking for her mother told me she'd done several races put on by this group and all the others were well run.




Last updated: 2008-06-06 12:00 AM
Running
04:19:00 | 14 miles | 18m 30s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Bad
Course: Trail run. Starting elevation 950' by mile 4.5 elevation 4200'. Taken from the official website description- "The 14 mile trail run is difficult, with a 4.5 mile strenuous climb, a 4 mile steep descent and a final 5.5 mile rolling section."
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 1
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? No
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 2

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2008-08-17 12:07 PM

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Veteran
229
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Eugene, Oregon
Subject: Hardesty Hard Core Trail Run


2008-08-17 5:38 PM
in reply to: #1608719

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Master
1551
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Virginia Beach, VA
Subject: RE: Hardesty Hard Core Trail Run
Wow Jeff, what a tough day but you hung tough and finished. Very cool that you got to do this race for your mom. Hope you recover quickly.
2008-08-17 8:24 PM
in reply to: #1608719


1

Subject: RE: Hardesty Hard Core Trail Run

Hello - I am the woman who ran with you for a portion of the race and went back to try and find my mother.  I made it back to the finish just in time to see you come in and I was so happy for you.  What a wonderful tribute to your mother -- I was very touched to read your story.  I felt my physical condition going downhill for lack of water around the time I caught up with you again.  I was getting terribly concerned about the possibility of having to finish the distance without any liquids, and I was out of fuel.  I felt like an angel had arrived when that girl came up the trail with water!  I chose not to finish the race -- I was very worried about my mom and as soon as I had some water I ran back up the trail to meet her with a bottle.  I did eventually find her and she was OK -- worried and thirsty and had run the entire way by herself.  I think it helped a lot that I kept seeing you so I didn't feel so utterly alone out there.  We ended up catching a ride to the start and we are now a bit disappointed we didn't finish it out.  Best wishes to you in your future endeavors and maybe we'll meet again on the trails someday!

 

 

2008-08-18 9:03 AM
in reply to: #1608719

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Champion
19812
50005000500020002000500100100100
MA
Subject: RE: Hardesty Hard Core Trail Run
Wow Jeff..very tough race with out water even tougher.Amazing tribute to your Mom...Super job and hope you recover well.
2008-08-18 10:05 AM
in reply to: #1608719

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Champion
7704
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Williamston, Michigan
Subject: RE: Hardesty Hard Core Trail Run
WOW that just sounds like total SUCAKGE!! Congrats on finishing because that took A LOT of fortitude!!!  Amazing
2008-08-18 11:32 PM
in reply to: #1608719

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Expert
839
50010010010025
Portland, OR
Subject: RE: Hardesty Hard Core Trail Run
Holy Mackeral - that was a monumentous effort and you finished in spite of horrible conditions. What a tribute to your mom this was!!!!

Congrats and I'll *hopefully* see you in Seaside next weekend


2008-08-19 8:07 AM
in reply to: #1608719

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