Western States 100 in 2009

Like many other runners my journey to run Western States 100 has been a long one, dating back several years. In fact, it started already in 2005 as I was getting into ultra running after many years of doing triathlons, trail runs, and mountain biking. That year, since I had no chance to run the WS100 race, I instead opted to run the course without support from Squaw to Michigan Bluff. Needless to say, I was immediately hooked, loved the course, the mountain views, and the highland trails.

The following years, I was in the lottery for both 2006 and 2007 - but was not selected. Those years I instead choose to help as as safety patrol runner from Squaw to Robinson Flat. Each year I actually drove to Robinson Hill the day before the race start, and ran the course backwards to to Squaw, and then ran back to the car as part of the Safety patrol team. It was a nice experience, and it certainly helped me get to know the first 30 miles of the course in great detail.

The following year, 2008 the race was canceled, and I was only able to do a shortish training run to Red Star and back.

So, in 2009 it finally was time for the real deal. However, the situation was not optimal from a training perspective, since I had been struggling with a foot stress fracture for much of the spring, and in fact the only 2 times I had run more than a couple of hours was at a race in March and another race at end of April. Therefore, I did not really know what to expect in terms of form, and whether my foot would hold together for the whole distance.

I traveled up with my family to stay at a house nearby Squaw for a couple of days leading up to the race start. At the morning of the race all went per plan, and by 5 am we were off. The start was actually a bit of a surprise, since in previous years I had been with the Safety Patrol waiting high up the mountain when the gun went off. This time it was great to be part of the crowd, and I enjoyed the cheers from the spectators as all racers headed up the mountain. The run/walk up to the top went without any issues - I stayed close to a group of other ultra runners from the bay area. I was a careful to not go out too fast, but I felt good - and I crested Escarpment in around 50th place, and I was approx 5-10 minutes ahead of my target 24 hour pace.

The run down from Escarpment to Lyon Ridge and then Red Star was nice running, but a little odd as I met surprisingly few other runners. In fact, for much of the Granite Chief section I did not meet a single person for more than 30 minutes. I came into Red Star almost 30 min ahead of 24hr pace, and kept telling myself to go easy in the beginning. I added a little extra tape on my left foot where I felt some friction developing. The part to Duncan Canyon was also fast, but incredibly dusty. I ran behind another runner for much of the last 2 miles, and it felt as running in a sand storm, luckily the gaiters worked and had no issues other than breathing a lot of dry dust for some time. Previous years I have always struggled a bit with the section from Duncan to Robinson Flat, however this year I was able to run the vast majority of it at a decent pace. The swim at the bottom of the canyon is superb - and it gives a boost to get up the hill. I arrived into Robinson Flat 45min ahead of planned pace. The crowds were amazing. I cooled off with some ice water and continued quickly out up the short hill to Mt Baldy.


I had never run this section of the race before so I did not know what to expect. It is safe to say that this now is one of my absolute favorite parts of the run, in terms of the gorgeous views and the nice downhill trail coming down from the top of Mt Baldy. The section to Miller's Defeat was longer than I had expected and the last section was tedious and the temperature was now climbing quickly. The last miles seemed it took for ever until I got to the aid station. The volunteers were very helpful as always. At this point I was running without a shirt to keep cool, and one volunteer helped add a layer of sunblock on my back. This was a lifesaver for the rest of the sunny day, but I felt bad for the guy who had to do it - considering how sweaty I was at this point :-)

The next section was very runnable, with only distraction was a herd of cows (or was it bulls?) in the middle of the trail. I played it safe and walked around it at a little distance and then continued down the trail. I came down to Dusty Corners aid station at 38 miles just after noon, approx an hour ahead of 24 hr pace, and in about 45th place. I felt good about the day, but also knew well that the bulk of the run was still ahead of me. The section to Last Chance was also new to me, since when I ran it previously I had opted to take the gravel road instead of the trail. I was surprised by the amount of downhill on this section, and I kept up a decent pace, but choose to walk some of the steeper uphills to save effort. Much of this part is shaded so the heat did not really bother me much. By Last Chance aid at 43.4 miles I had lost a little of my time buffer down to 45 minutes. It did not worry me too much, as I was hoping to pick some of this back on the 2 big climbs coming up. The run down to the creek was uneventful, and I started the power walk up to Devil's Thumb, and arrived at 2.30, and was glad to see I had picked up 15 more time. The climb was steep and tedious as usual - but I was mentally very prepared for it so it went by quite quickly. I had picked up an extra large water bottle at Robinson Flat, and for all the following sections I had it filled up with just ice. This worked wonders on all the climbs as I was able to refill by hand bottles half way up the climb with half melted ice water and also use for cooling over my head. The next climb at Michigan Bluff went in a similar way, and I arrived up at the top at 4.30 pm, now in 52nd place. I felt quite good, warm yes - but definitely not over heated.

The following section was surprisingly tedious, I walked parts of it and running on the wide gravel road was just not as fun compared to the beautiful trails I had been on for the last 12 hours or so. In addition, the descent down to Bath Road was a bit of a surprise, I had not checked this section in detail on the map, and had expected a relatively steady run up to Foresthill. Instead, there now was yet another canyon to battle with and it drained some mental energy.
I passed the aid station and continued the long walk up the road to Foresthill. I mixed running and walking, and came in to Foresthill aid at 6 pm after running 13 hours, an hour ahead of my 24hr target time. I was starting to feel more optimistic about the race. I tried hard to not get my hopes up too high about finishing under 24hrs, but felt there may be a chance if I kept up a steady pace. At Foresthill I changed shirt, shoes, ipod, and got out the headlamp.

I knew the next section well, as I had done a run there in the previous year. The steady downhill was nice and I kept a steady pace. However, as I got close to the Cal 1 aid station I stopped to pee and noticed a distinct red color, not good I realized... The condition is referred to as hematuria. I had never experienced this in any previous ultra so could not tell if/how bad this may be. I asked a few other competitors what they thought - and the typical answer was "not good"... so at this point I decided to play it safe and I shifted down the pace and walked much of the way to Cal2 and Cal3 aid stations. BTW - since the race I have read more about this condition and found that it necessarily must not be a critical issue, and can happen quite often at strenuous exercise.

I continued peeing red for the next few hours. I felt no other pain or tightness, however mentally I got quite worried, and even wondered if this would force me to stop the race. When I finally arrived to the river crossing, at mile 78 just after 10 pm in 64th place, I asked a nurse what options I had. She asked a few questions, and we agreed I would go slow, and monitor the situation, keep up the fluids, and then reassess at next aid.

The river crossing was really fun, and the water level much deeper than I had expected. Over on the other side I changed into a dry pair of shoes and set off up the long hill. This is another example of a bit poor review of the course, as I had expected (hoped for) a steep but relatively short uphill. However, the climb up to Green Gate, at 80 miles, was far longer than expected. I arrived up at at around 11 PM. Still ahead of a 24hr pace, but I had lost much of the buffer by now.

The next section went really slow, and I ended up walking majority of this. My feet were tender from blisters, and I was feeling out of energy. The darkness was solid and I power walked most of these sections without seeing much other runners. On the positive side, pee was now good again and I felt less concerned about DNF due to that situation. After what seemed like forever, I arrived into Auburn Lake trails. I had decided that my feet needed some serious attention - so I sat down and got help by the medical team at this aid (manned by Bay Area Mountain Rescue team). They gave excellent service, and I had several cups of hot soup. However, the foot service took a long time, and I left the aid station at around 2am. I was now behind my time goal, and had mentally decided to stop worrying about 24 hrs, but instead keep up a steady power walk into goal, and try run as much of the downhills as possible.

Brown's bar aid station was marvelous, one could hear their music from far away around the mountain, and the lighting was energizing. I had some more soup, and I left the aid station at 3.13 am. I was surprised by the deep descent into the next section, and then just as surprised about the very serious climb up to Hwy49 crossing aid station. I spoke with a doctor about my earlier troubles, and she confirmed it was OK to keep going, but to monitor the situation during and then after the race. I left the aid station at around 4.30 just as the first rays of morning sun could been seen at the horizon. I power walked the next section, and ran some of the downhills and arrived to No Hands in good spirits as I was certain I would finish my first WS100 run.

I continued the power walk up the climb to Robie Point, and then up along the streets down to the High school. As I got closer I got into a run, and I entered the track in nice pace. The half lap around the track was very emotional, and I finally realized that I had done this race - after 4 long years of planning and trying.

I completed the race in 25.47, not the sub-24 I had hoped for, but still very satisfying. I learned a lot about the course and how to plan out the race for a faster time - next time. Western States clearly is a unique race compared with many other ultras - more racers, bigger crowds, professional service, superb logistics and race organization, and more. However, at its core it is still the individual athlete that has to dig deep both physically and mentally to complete the race - and which is what makes running ultras such an all around satisfying experience.

Pomegranate Juice

This weekend I joined about 125 other runners in the San Francisco One Day 12/24 hr ultra run. The race is based on a 1.06 mile loop on the beach at Crissy Fields in San Francisco. I had signed up for the 24 hour option, but did not really know what to expect as this was my first time running this type of time-based ultra run on looped course. After the initial set up of gear and chair at the transition area - at 9 am the field was off! the course is essentially flat with 50/50 bike trail and gravel walk path. I noticed that even though the absence of hills to climb makes the running less strenuous - it also eliminates any natural walk breaks that one usually gets in a traditional trail ultra in the mountains.


I joined in with the lead group and we completed the first loop in just over 8 minutes. I continued a steady pace and picked up the lead for the first hour, and continued in the lead for the next 25 laps or so. After changing shoes and a short restroom break i dropped down to second place, and then to 4th. It was an enjoyable day with great weather and lots of people out walking and jogging along the beach. After running continuously for 3-4 hours I started taking a brief walk for 10-15 seconds on each lap to keep down the effort a little.

Having the transition area with the aid station every 1 mile makes for a very different race since then you come by an "aid station" every 10-15 minutes. This can make you loose ones rhythm and also complicate fluid and food intake as compared to a regular race where aid station only comes up every hour or so. At the aid station I tried some new fluids, including a new pomegranate juice, more on this later.

I kept up the pace and around 40 miles I started feeling need for more energy and fluids. I had not peed yet during the day which typically is a bad sign that ones fluid balance may be off. So during the next few laps I had some more fluids, only to find that it made me nauseous and I ended up throwing it up. This was alarming, and I had never experienced that in any previous race. I took down the pace a little bit, and tried to get my stomach to settle a bit.

My family came by and had brought some nice pasta to eat, and I walked the next couple of laps with my daughters while eating the food. It felt good initially, but it was clear my stomach was not there yet - and quite soon thereafter all the food I had eaten came back up. I felt ill for the next couple of hours and could not keep any fluids down. Later on I concluded it likely was the pomegranate juice that zapped my internals. The juice is relatively sour and also has some carbonation in it. It was a bad idea to try that on race day.

As the evening grew darker I got out my headlight and continued at a relatively slow pace around the course. I tried resting for 10 minutes to see if that would help, and I walked a few easy laps also. However, it seemed nothing I did really worked, so after a few more hours at around 8 pm I decided that this would be a 12 hour race for me, and not a 24 hour race. I had not had any fluids or nutrition for the last 6 hours, my legs and feet felt fine - but all my energy was gone. I concluded it would be a bad idea to try push on for another 12 hours during the night. So I finished a last 3 or so loops and then stepped off the course at just before 9 pm, still having completed a decent 65.1 miles in under 12 hours. In the process I also improved my PR for running 50K ( , and 50M and 12 hr (65.1 miles)

Even though I had not been able to complete the full race as intended it still was a great learning experience, and confidence boost since I felt great during the first 25 miles where I lead the race, and then contined in top 5 for another 30 miles - even if I actually was walking for the latter part of it.

Lessons learned for doing a looped 12 or 24 hr ultra run:
- have a specific running plan, with intended lap times and milestones, dont go too fast early on
- plan for when to stop at aid stations, for example only once in every 3-4 laps
- plan for when to eat, and take a real stop for 5-10 minutes
- walk some portions of the lap on regular basis to let body recover
- if your digestive system shuts down completely take a LONG rest, e.g., 30-60 minutes, before picking up the pace again

Tahoe Rim Trail 100M - tough!

I ran the same 100M race in 2006, but decided to stop at 77M since I felt so tired. I have since come to understand, by doing other 100M races, that this is something to be expected for a 100M race...So this year I had set mind to finish this race all the way.
I went up to Carson City on Friday, the day before the start to check in and weigh in for the race officials etc. I felt better prepared than the previous year, but still was only able to sleep 4 hours during the night before the race - before getting up at 2 AM to get ready for the start at 5 AM.

Similar to the previous year I headed out at a brisk but calm pace in the beginning, The first 30 minutes are in early dawn and without headlamp it is sometimes hard to see roots and rocks on the trail ahead. But I stayed close to some other runners in the front pack. Instinctively I knew I was running at a too high pace, but it was fun and the running was easy even if we were climbing 1000 feet in the first 4 miles up to Lake Marlette. I ran a few miles with Scott Dunlap. After just over an hour I came up to the first aid station at Hobart, it was 2 minutes faster than last year. I filled up my bottles and continued up the next hill. It was a cool morning with a brisk breeze, in what would turn out to be a cooler day compared with 2006. I was glad I decided to wear a long sleeve jersey.

I climbed up and around the Marlette ridge, and rounded the photographers in their usual spot. I kept a steady pace along the next few ridge lines, until came down to the long zig-zag downhill section leading into Tunnel Creek. My time at Tunnel Creek was still a couple of minutes faster than last year – at just over 2 hours. I filled half bottles and started down Red House trail. The previous night I had been reading about downhill running technique, and this was a perfect place to fine-tune my downhill form. A couple of runners had passed me in the last hour but otherwise I was staying steady in the field, probably at around 6^th place, as I was going down the hill. My time to Red house was faster than last year, and I ran all the way up to Tunnel Creek – except for the last steep section in the sand.

I was at around 3.15 into the race and I continued towards Diamond Peak. Last year I ran this section with a small group of runners which helped maintain a nice steady pace, but this year I was on my own. The section up to Diamond peak went quick as usual, but the last section to Mt Rose was felt very long. There are never ending series of seemingly similar twists and turns and it plays games with your mind – thinking that the final turn is just around the next corner. It would be really good to do a few training runs on this part of the course so to better know how to run this lengthy 6+ mile portion. A few runners passed me during these hours and I started to realize I probably had gone out way o fast. I started to have some pain in my knees which surprised me, and I as also feeling a bit tired and had to walk most of the last hill over the wide meadow leading into the Mt Rose aid station. I arrived there about 10 minutes later than the year before, at around 5:00 into the race.

I was doing fine on my hydration, weigh-in showed I had lost only 1 pound in the first 5 hours. I spent a few minutes resting, and had some sandwiches and then returned back down the trail. Now my leg pain was worse and I walked long stretches where it should have been an easy run down the trail. I arrived back to Tunnel Creek at around 7:00 hours. Last year I had felt a little bit of cramping in my thigh muscles at this point and had gotten some help to stretch it out. This year I was OK – except for the continued pain that limited my ability to run continuously. I was still only 10 minutes off my time from 2006. I filled up my bottles and continued the hike up the zig-zag trail to Hobart aid station, I did very little running since it is mostly uphill and I did not have the energy to really get into an effective stride among all the climbing. At Hobart I had a great milkshake (this is the best!). By now the day was starting to get really hot, but I was very

focused on my fluids since I did not want to repeat the problems I had previous year where I had to wait for a bit at Snow Valley due to too much weight loss at that point. The climb up to Snow Valley felt shorter than last year, I was power hiking all the way up and arrived at 9:29 into the race, I was now 15 minutes behind pace from last year. The following section down to the start at Spooner Lake is generally very runnable, but I walked large portions of this arriving to the Start/Finish area at 11:20, approximately 40 minutes later compared with previous year.

However, I did not feel too bad about this, although I had leg pain, since I had felt I had good energy level and was actually looking forward to the second lap and the night portion of the run. The volunteers at Spooner aid station were amazing, 100% service, and super friendly. I
changed shoes, socks, and shorts. I called home to my wife and let her know all was fine and that I was starting the second lap. After eating some more pasta soup I started the long trudge up the Marlette Lake trail. This climb always is so much longer and difficult the second time compared with the first lap. Halfway up to the lake I started to feel a little bit tired and had to pause a few times up the trail and catch my breath for a few moments. I sensed I was not getting enough energy so I had a big bar of chocolate – this tasted great!

As I came closer to the Hobart aid station I felt the energy slowly returning. A few runners passed me when coming down to Tunnel Creek, where I arrived at about 15 hours. My pace during the second lap was virtually same as in 2006, and the Red House loop was even slightly faster, probably due to faster down hill running. I had taken a couple of Ibuprofen and it magically helped numb the pain and I was feeling much better than earlier in the day. I was still 45 minutes off the pace from the previous year – but I kept moving steadily and I felt it really helped to have done the race previously so to know what to expect during the second lap.

Last year I stop the race at mile 77 in Mt Rose, it was my first 100M race ever, and I had become amazingly tired. Ass the night had progressed, I had difficulties to mentally keep myself going in the last stretch up towards Mt Rose aid station. With this in mind I had decided that this year I should go carefully but really tough it out and to really keep an eye on how I was feeling as I proceeded up this section of the course. I met some of the lead runners returning when I got closer to Mt Rose. This gave me some energy even though I realized that I had 30-45 minutes remaining before I would reach the turn around point. Route finding was easier this year, the race director had used a better reflective marking and it showed perfectly in the dark.

At Mt Rose aid station I sat down for a while and had plenty of food and drink, 2 peanut butter sandwiches, chocolate milk, pasta soup, and one can of Red Bull. I was relieved I was feeling much stronger mentally compared with the previous year, even though I was about 1 hour later overall at this point. I had planned to take another dose of painkillers here but I had lost my pills, so I had to continue on without it. It didn’t occur to me that I should have asked to get some at the aid station. It was really cold at Mt Rose and especially the meadows area was literally freezing – and I saw several other runners struggling due to too little clothing on. I was fine with a long-sleeve running jersey + wind breaker. But it would have been nice to have had a cap for my head. At this point I knew that I would be able to complete the race and I was starting to calculate how many hours I had remaining if I wanted to qualify for the 30 hr belt buckle.

The next few hours were quite interesting as I grew increasingly sleepy and tired. I knew this would happen so I was not surprised when I had to stop to sit down on a nearby rock a handful of times and just collect myself and focus my energy. I had no pain any more and I was power hiking much of this section. Several times I found myself sleeping while walking – amazing. I passed a few runners during the night – so I realized I was not the only one feeling tired at this point, and I was able to run some portions of the trail back to the aid station at Tunnel Creek , arriving at 23:30 hrs (4:30 AM). It was still dark, but I was relieved I had completed the demanding Mt Rose loop and that the night now was almost over.

At Tunnel Creek I layed down on floor in the aid station tent. The volunteers brought a couple of blankets, and I asked them to wake me up in 5 minutes. It felt really great to get a few moments of rest. I had a couple of bowls of soup, and then started out along the trail again. In some strange way I was relieved that I had the long uphill zig-zag section since this meant I did not “need” to run, and it “was OK” to just power hike. I was able to switch off my head lamp half way up the hill, and I enjoyed a beautiful sunrise while coming up the crest around Marlette Peak. I arrived at Hobart aid station at 25:30 and had some more soup, and bread, and some pain killers. I knew the last long climb to Snow Valley Peak was just ahead, but I was glad it is a short section – just under 3 miles, and from there it would be mostly an “easy” downhill to the finish line.

I crested to Snow Valley aid station at 26:30 and felt great. The aid station volunteers were friendly and helpful as always, but I only stayed a couple of minutes before continuing on. This second time down the hill I ran, or rather shuffled, most of the way down trail. In fact I did this section in 10 minutes faster compared with the first lap – about 17 hours earlier. It was a great feeling to see the finish line, and I forced myself to run the last ¼ mile leading into the finish area – arriving at 28 ½ hour. Kevin and other volunteers greeted me and gave gifts, including a great bottle of beer!

At this point I did not feel that tired or much pain, clearly endorphins were in play! Physically I felt as if I could have continued on for another lap, however mentally I was glad it was over. I phoned my family to let them know all was OK and that I would get a few hours of well deserved rest before I would head home. As I picked up my drop bags and walked back up a hill to my car I started to feel that in fact I was a bit tired and that my legs and feet had gotten a beating – with a 1 inch sized blister under the front of the left foot, and with a stiff feeling in both legs.

Overall, the race was a great experience and with no doubt the toughest ultra run I have done this far. I was happy with my race logistics, and my night running, and the fact I was able to push a negative split for the last 2-3 hours on the second lap. However, I also realized that I need to continue to learn to pace myself better in the first 5 hours of these races. Had I started out with less of a frenzied pace I believe I would have been able to lower my overall time by 1 or maybe even 2 hours. This need for better pacing early on in races is no surprise, as the same happened at American River 50M this year where I was racing at a 7 min / mile pace for first several hours, and as a result then had to suffer through the last 20 miles with a lot of power hiking.

JF