This is a tough run. It's hard to conserve enough at the start as the first 13 miles are mostly flat to downhill. Then you have to turn around and climb for most of the next 13. I thought I would treat it like an Ironman - first (flat) stretch from Al Bahr to Penny would be the swim. Down-and-back through Noble Canyon would be the bike (two loops, second one much harder). The upper loop would be the run.

Well, the "swim" was fine. I just stayed behind a friend, Brian, into Penny Pines. The first loop of the bike went well, too, although I took it as really easy on the downhill. I was passed about 4-5 times from Penny to the bottom of the canyon. It was my plan and I thought I would eventually catch up on the uphills later (I caught one of the runners as soon as the trail flattened out - he had been absolutely bombing the downhill and told me I'd catch him as soon as the trail went up). The last stretch to the turnaround at the Noble Canyon trailhead was the only part of the race that I hadn't run before (the course changed this year). At times I could see the two runners ahead of me (one of them was Brian), but there were a lot of turns and the trail wasn't marked all that well. I knew I was less than a mile from the turnaround, so I was expecting to see the leaders at any time. When the first runner passed me, I checked my watch so I could let my friend Chris know how far back he was. Last year, Chris finished 4th after getting lost on the trail in the last few miles. Ironically, he had taken a wrong turn and had ran on the same trail as I was running when passing the leaders. Chris came past me in 5th and I told him he was about 4-1/2 minutes behind the leader. As I came out into the clearing, I heard a few people call out my name and I cruised to the turnaround. I saw Monica right away and she helped me fill up my bottles. I told her that I would see her at Penny Pines and headed out. I caught up to Brian and another runner right away and they let me pass. I was feeling good, but I could tell that things were starting to get more difficult. I just chalked it up to the fact that we were now mostly climbing. A couple of miles into the uphill (now into "loop 2" on the bike), I started to struggle. I missed the turn to the first creek crossing on the way back up and had to backtrack a little bit. Not far - only a few yards - but it was enough that Brian and the other runner were able to catch me. I let them go ahead across the creek and then I couldn't match their pace. The first crossing marks the start of the steepest section of the climb and I walked a lot on the way back up. It's a tough section and I was very glad to reach the Big Tree aid station which marks the top of the main climb, three miles from Penny Pines. I passed one runner that had been looking for pain pills at Big Tree and I caught and jockeyed back and forth with another veteran ultra runner that I know, but had never met. The three of us played leapfrog for most of the last mile into Penny.

So this was supposed to be the end of the bike, and just like in an Ironman, I was pretty much done. Monica was there at the aid station and she filled up my bottles for me. Chris' girlfriend, Kathleen, was there, too. I guess Chris had come through about a half an hour earlier. sounded about right. He had about 10 minutes on me at the turnaround and given how much I had walked on the way up, he could have easily put another 20 minutes on me. I grabbed some Shot Bloks to fill up my baggie and headed out on the PCT for the climb up to Monument Peak.

I ran as much as I could up to the top. The first mile out of Penny Pines is rolling to downhill, but then you come right back up and then start a 3-mile climb from about 5,400' to 6,000'. It's not brutally steep, but at miles 23-26, it's not a lot of fun - not to mention the fact that it's at a mile-high. I did a lot of power walking and deep breathing. I was passed a couple of times and did some passing. I was still jockeying back and forth with the veteran runner. After cresting at mile 26, the course dives back down for a mile to the road and the Rat Hole aid station. I followed the vet to Rat Hole, filled up my bottles with water and whatever they had (no crew allowed there, I found out) and we left together, ambling across the road. The next 3/4 of a mile or so climbs up to a fire road and I passed the runner on the way up. I had to stop at the top and get rid of something(s) that was bothering me out of my shoe: A rock and a ridiculously large twig. I waited for the vet to catch me and let him pass. He ran for a while, then stopped. More leapfrogging. At one point, with 3 miles left to go, he asked what was wrong with my leg. "Nothing," I said. "I'm okay. Just tired." I think he must have thought I had stopped to stretch or work something out. He said he had been battling cramps since mile 15. I had seen him stop and stretch quite a few times. I told him I had salt, but we had just stopped at the aid station and I was sure he had gotten some. He had. Running across the meadow and making the right hand turn at the fence was something I had been looking forward to for a long time. I had made this turn twice in the last 2 years as a pacer at the end of the SD 100. This would be the first time I would run it for myself. It was 1.6 miles to the finish. I had checked the mileage on the way out and even told Brian how happy I would be to be making the turn about 5 hours later. I passed the vet, his name is Iso, and ran for as long as I could. I checked my watch and saw that I was at about 5:14, race time. I told myself I would walk until it hit 5:15 and then I would run the rest of the way - it had to be less than a mile. The last section of the race runs on paved roads and gravel through the Laguna, El Prado and Al Bahr campgrounds. There are a lot of turns, so I was focusing on the next orange ribbon. Finally, I made the last turn and could see the flags lining the finish chute. Crossed the line, kissed the rat. Done!

Train harder, run faster. No walk so much.

Hung out at the finish. My calves were very sore. Got better with time. Ate some veggie chili, drank water.


Lack of long runs. Taper/recovery for IMKY cut into mileage.


This race is the only ultra I have done - last year's race was my first. The course was shorter this year since they changed the start/finish. I think it was tougher mile-for-mile, but 3 miles shorter was nice. I was underprepared for the length, so 3 more miles would have really hurt. I was struggling around mile 15 or 16 and was only halfway done.