Hit the Dusty Trail

Race day! Ran the Where's Waldo 100k trail race in Oregon. This was trail running Nirvana. My main focus with this race was to get in a last really long training run prior to running Wasatch 100 in three weeks. So I didn't taper at all. In fact, I ran 65 miles last week.

With the exception of the three peaks that are climbed, the entire course is very runnable. Not a lot of rocks or roots, just miles and miles of meandering, soft, pleasant, beautiful single track trail. This race was a new experience for me. There are two starting times, 3am and 5am. The 3am start is primarily for those who think they'll have trouble meeting the 9pm cutoff time to finish. I took the 3am start since I had a high school (30 year) reunion function this evening. When the starting gun went off at 3am, I found myself in the lead. Now this wouldn't be unusual except that no one bothered to pass me within the first couple hundred yards. In fact, no one passed me for the first 48 miles. I was the first person into each aid station thru that distance. This was a totally new experience for me, being in front. What a rush it was too! It's a trip to come running into an aid station and realize that you are the first runner there. Too much fun! Anyway, the first peak you have to climb is Fuji Mtn. It's a fairly short climb, about 1 mile up then back down. Since I was in the lead, I made the top first, just as the sun was coming up. What a view, a blood red sun coming up over the thick forests of Oregon. I just had to let out a yell, then head back down the trail. This view alone was worth the entry fee, 1 hour of sleep Friday night, and a 3am start. The trail off the peak was very conducive to letting speed build up yet still maintain some control. It was fun to just run as fast as I could and watch the runners coming up the trail scatter out of my way and cheer me on. I felt pretty good most of the day. I knew that I wouldn't remian in fornt for the entire distance, and sure enough, People started to pass me starting at around 48 miles. Mostly they were relay runners, so wouldn't affect my race standing, but the first 5am starter passed me at about 49 miles. Overall, five solo runners passed me, none from the 3am starters. I was the 6th solo runner to cross the finish line. My final time was 14:29:52. Since there was the probability of 5am runners posting faster times, I had to wait to see what my final place was. I ended up placing 17th out of 71 starters and 47 finishers. I also placed 6th Masters. I was hoping to have this be the first race where I didn't get "chicked" but alas, that was not to be as 4 or 5 women finshed with better times than mine. In fact, a woman was the overall winner and missed setting a men's course record by just 9 minutes. I figure I didn't do too bad for a 47 year old grandfather to be. I will be going back next year and plan on making it a key race to train for.