Continue reading ‘Some Western States Numbers’ »]]> Now that I have been on the job for four months, I thought it might be fun and informative to share a few numbers with you. These have been some challenging months for me as I try to wrap my head around all the details of the race.

3000 - the number of square feet in our new warehouse in Auburn. This also happens to be the same number of square feet in our old warehouse in Sacramento. Yeah, we got a lot of stuff.

1991 - Page views per day of the new wser.org website since the first of the year.

1512 - Volunteer shirts ordered (by our Finish Line Manager) and screen printed. These are in different colors based on groups: Cable Guys, the Cooks, Webcast, Finish Line, SOS Riders, Radio Operators, Medical, Safety Patrol, and Race Officials, each with a unique phrase. If you’re running the race this year, see how many of those phrases you can remember. Yes, there will be a quiz on Sunday.

750 - The value of the two “Western States Determination” award scholarships which will be presented to Placer HS graduating senior athletes who are not necessarily the best players but who showed an incredible work ethic and attitude.

300 - Cubic feet per second below which runners can safely ford the American River. The river flow on race day is controlled at Ox Bow dam which is about 5 water hours upstream. Since we try not to deny the commercial rafters a day of income, we request that the flow be ramped down from 1000 to 300 cfs from 10:00 am to 11:00 am. That means at about 4:00 pm the water will be low enough to safely ford. If you show up before that you might have to go across in the raft.

99 - the PO Box number in Auburn we opened. That’s as close to 100 as I could get.

48 - yards of dumpster space ordered for race day. Four 7-yard dumpsters and one 20-yard dumpster. This has to and will change in the future as our new Green committee looks at our waste stream from start to finish.

35 - portable toilets on race day. This is actually a surprisingly low number of toilets for all the runners, crews, and volunteers we have, but they are delivered to 16 different locations.

29 - the section in the high country the trail goes through near Lyon Ridge that is still privately owned by a timber company from Atlanta, Georgia. We’ve been trying to get them to sell it to us for years. Fortunately, they give us and the Tevis Cup permission to cross their property each year.

25 - the number of aid stations not including the finish line.

21 - the number certificates of insurance (COI) I’ve requested to date from RRCA and USATF for land owners/managers, sponsors, municipalities, schools, homeowner associations, quarry operators, etc. And, I’m not done yet.

18 – the number of Performance Rules we have for runners. It was 17 last year but we recently added number 18.

13 - the number of board members on the WSER Foundation board. We had 10 at the start of the year but added three new ones with lots of energy, enthusiasm, and new ideas: Tia Bodington, Karl Hoagland, Diana Fitzpatrick

3 – the number of days in Tennesse I spent with Barkley Marathons RD Gary Cantrell (a.k.a. Lazarus Lake) where he filled my head with ideas on how to improve Western States. The best ones include bringing back Briar clippings to plant in the high country; getting rid of our aid stations; implementing a variable start time; and considering the first trip to Auburn Loop 1.

1 - the number of forklifts we own. Yep, we have a fork lift that was necessary in our old warehouse. Anybody want to buy a forklift?

The previous RD and his forklift

Continue reading ‘BK’s Second Solo Grand Canyon Trip’ »]]> My brother Chris (a.k.a. BK) is heading down the Grand Canyon on his second solo rafting trip starting Saturday Jan 12. If all goes according to plan he’ll finish the 297 miles on Feb 10 at South Cove. He is carrying a spot locating device which will update every 10 minutes while he is on the water. When he is at camp there will be no updates. We’ll all be able to follow along below.

BK in Grand Canyon Jan 2008

The first time he did this solo trip in January 2010, it was quite an adventure for him as Arizona experienced some serious storms which required many multi-day layovers. The long-term forecast for this January is dry. Flows are expected to be 9,000 to 16,000 cfs all month. Good luck, BK. We’ll be watching. Happy Gonging.

Chris at the start. Leaving the known and pushing off into the unknown.

Grand Wash Cliffs at the end of the Grand Canyon

Continue reading ‘2012 Waldo 100K Report’ »]]> My Waldo 100k report which appeared in the October issue of UltraRunning Magazine

August 18, 2012
11th Annual
91 finishers, 112 starters = 81% finish rate

We put Waldo on so runners can challenge themselves. So they can run on miles and miles of single track through beautiful Oregon forests, past scores of alpine lakes, by millions of mountain hemlock fir trees, to the tops of several former fire lookout peaks with incredible views of pristine Waldo Lake. We pride ourselves on top-notch aid stations with helpful, enthusiastic, and passionate volunteers; on our medical, search and rescue, and communication infrastructure to track and care for runners; and on our concern for the well-being of every single runner—whether they finish in 9 hours or 20 hours—with hot food and cold drinks waiting for them at the finish. Waldo is definitely all about the runners.

When race management got a call on Wednesday evening before the race from the US Forest Service (FS) that the new “Bobby Fire” had been discovered smack dab in the middle of the race course—in a place that runners go by twice—our immediate reaction was empathy for all the runners who would be disappointed if we had to cancel. Yet, with very little information available to share, we notified runners of the fire and that either a cancellation or reroute were possibilities. Fires are notoriously unpredictable, and they are the one thing that will shut a race down regardless of the actions of race management. If the Bobby Fire was not knocked down immediately there would be no Waldo this year, no matter our efforts.

The Bobby Fire Fighters – Photo by Win Goodbody

On Thursday, the firefighters fought the fire “fast and hard,” holding it to just 11 acres. That’s a tiny fire, we thought. Surely we can run around it. Working closely with the FS we proposed a reroute, which they agreed with in principle as long as the fire remained small, and we were able to control access so no runners would wander into the fire area where the 100 or so firefighters were working. They told us they would let us know of their decision by noon on Friday, 15 hours before the early start. Some runners decided not to travel to the race. That was entirely understandable.

At 11:15am Friday, after another morning of great firefighting efforts with no expansion of the fire, the FS agreed to let us use our proposed alternate route. The race was on, albeit with three added bonus miles ironically returning it close in distance to the original Waldo course that was used the first five years of the race.

The Start. Photo by Gregory Shumavon

And what a race we had. Young Jake Rydman from California came to Waldo wanting to win a golden ticket to Western States (WS). Since Waldo was yet again the first race in the 2012-2013 Montrail Ultra Cup series, the first two men and women would earn WS spots, with a spot rolling down to third if either first or second was already in. With a who’s who list of Oregonian runners in the field, including Hal Koerner, Timothy Olson, Ian Sharman, Joe Uhan—most of whom already had their WS spots secured—the prudent strategy for Jake might have been to race for third. But that is not what Jake did. He ran to the front from the beginning. He was the first to summit Fuji, which earned him the “Find Waldo” prize. He was the first to reach Charlton Lake, the “halfway” point where runners can pick up their pacers. Some might have thought it was reckless and foolish, but he continued leading to the summit of Maiden Peak which, due to the reroute, required an almost 3000’ climb starting at mile 50 from Gold Lake at 4900’, the lowest point on the course, to 7800’, the highest point. It wasn’t until the descent off Maiden on the re-claimed trail we dub “Leap of Faith” that Timothy Olson, current WS champion and record-holder, finally caught Jake. After a friendly exchange Timothy was gone. He won the race in 9:52, about 45 minutes off Dave Mackey’s course record, but on a longer and arguably more difficult course. Upon finishing, just four minutes behind Timothy, Jake immediately lay down on the gravel with a mix of exhaustion and exuberance evident on his face. In a show of solidarity, Timothy joined Jake on the ground, and they both remained sprawled out face up for many minutes.

With one WS spot still up for grabs for the men, it would come down to the race for third. Yassine Diboun from Portland and Jesse Haynes from California had run/hiked up Maiden together after being close all day, but Jesse gapped Yassine on the descent down Leap of Faith. They stayed that way to the end—despite Yassine blowing past the last aid station at Maiden Lake in hot pursuit—with only four minutes separating the two at the finish.

The women’s race was between three awesome fast ladies, each of whom would finish in the top ten overall. Early leader Alison Bryant, a mountain runner and Waldo veteran from North Carolina was in front or close to the front all day. She was the first to summit Fuji (and win some swag) with Waldo course record holder Joelle Vaught right on her heels. By halfway Joelle had a slight four minute advantage over Alison. Montrail Ultra Cup champion Denise Bourassa was patient early, and caught Alison by the second visit of the Twins (43.1 miles). She was also gaining on Joelle, but couldn’t quite reel her in.

Race day was not without incident. Around 6:00pm a narrow band of thunderstorms headed our way. At 6:09pm we made the call to pull the Maiden Peak summit monitors down to the Leap of Faith junction, a ¼ mile below the summit. The remaining runners would head straight down, foregoing the summit. This was a scenario we had considered in previous years, but never had to implement. Suffice to say that the runners who didn’t get to summit still got way plenty of extra miles.

Waldo has some wacky awards including the “Wet Waldo”, which involves completely submerging in up to six named lakes. This year it was a close contest between Co Jones and Todd Temple who both claimed to have swum in all six lakes. It was later discovered that Co didn’t quite make it to Found Lake, but instead tried to submerge himself in eight inches of swampy muck just north of the lake. We gave him a red Moeben skirt for his efforts.

The “Show Us Your Waldo” award went to long-time co-aid station captain Melissa Berman who sang a Lady Gaga parody titled “Bad Waldo” at each of the nine aid stations. By our estimation, it had to have added at least 20 minutes to her finish time.

Waldo is never going to be a big race. Not only because of the 125 runner limit specified in our permit, but also because of our three remote aid stations that require 1.5, 2.5, and 3.0 mile hike-ins. Nobody in their right mind designs a course with three (well, four because the Twins is visited twice) remote aid stations, but that is what we have at Waldo. Putting this race on requires lots of volunteers. Volunteers willing to put a five-gallon jug of water on their backs and hike it in. All 175 of them waited just like the runners for the final go/no-go. And they came with their A-game, many going above and beyond like the Gold Lake aid station which, instead of being open from 4:30am to 7:00am, remained open an additional 12 hours so runners would get aid at mile 50 before tackling the last big climb of the race.

Betsy Rogers is congratulated by The Queen – Photo by Matt Hagen

One of the most enjoyable things about Waldo for me is hanging out waiting for the last finishers to come in. Mostly I’m amazed at the surprising number of folks who hang out late into the night to cheer in those last runners. Because of the lengthened course we waited until 12:55 am, a new DFL record, to welcome Eva Casale, our last finisher who had travelled to Oregon from New York. And, like every other Waldo finisher, she was greeted with cheers, hot food, and a cold drink.

Link to The Waldo Site

Continue reading ‘10 Things Craig Probably Didn’t Say in His Interview’ »]]> Guest Post by White Trash (Alan Abbs)

By now everyone knows that Craig is the RD in Waiting for Western States. Craig’s been so busy he didn’t even notice I slipped this in the blog queue only a few days after the announcement. Only the Board knows what was said in the interview, but here are 10 things I think Craig probably didn’t say to get the job.

10. I think Prepaid IVs would be a really good idea!
9. This whole tradition thing is overrated- Let’s just do a Friday night check in and start a couple hours later. Get your buckle at the finish line and we’re out of here!
8. We have to offer more prize money than any other race.
7. Instead of silver and bronze buckles, how about we go bronze and pewter?
6. No one will ever know how many we send through Granite Chief- Let’s raise the number of entries by a couple hundred.
5. Water and gel only for remote aid stations- if we can’t drive to it, runners shouldn’t expect full service.
4. I have prepared a 30 minute speech on my opinions on mandatory volunteerism. Here it goes…
3. I’m going to create a “Wet Western States” and “Show us your Western States” award. Cannonball off No Hands anyone?
2. Did you know I have a blog?

And finally…
1. I really need this job because I’m getting crushed in the Ten Year Bet!

Anything else you think Craig didn’t say?

Continue reading ‘The Ten Years Dream’ »]]> The Western States 1000 Miles/Ten Days buckle has been a dream of many ultrarunners even before Doug Latimer got the first one in 1988.  When I started running WS in 2001 it seemed challenging but totally within my control to get one.  Train hard, run smart races, get to Auburn under your own power under 24 hours ten times and they’ll give you one at the awards ceremony.  29 more have been given out after Doug got the first one 24 years ago.

1000-Miles 10-Days Buckle

If you get ten finishes but not all are under 24 hours you can take a 1000 Miles buckle (that does not say Ten Days) or wait until you get ten sub 24-hour finishes and be awarded the Ten Days buckle.  An additional 32 runners have received the 1000 Miles buckle.

1000-Miles Buckle

Back in 2001 it wasn’t very difficult to get into the race. The odds of getting picked in the lottery were over 50%. It’s a different story today.  With over 1500 names in the lottery the last few years for the coveted 369 starter spots, the hardest part of getting a Ten Days buckle in the future may indeed be getting ten bib numbers.  Body willing, I expected to earn my Ten Days buckle in 2013 along with my friend AJW.  We, as you may recall, have a ten-year bet to settle – we’re both at eight finishes.  But that dream and that bet will have to be deferred until after I retire as RD.  Can I come back and do my last two in my 60s?  I expect that the mind will be willing and hopefully the body will be too. Can I figure out how to run while also being race director? Regardless, I guess I’ll start fresh in 2014 and try to get a Ten Years RD buckle in 2023. Only two of those have been given out and I got the inside track at the quest for the third. Maybe in 2025 I can be the first to get both a Ten Years finisher buckle and Ten Years RD buckle?

Dave Terry got his 1000-mile 10-day buckle in 2007

Here are the 30 runners who have earned 1000 Miles/Ten Days buckles.

2011 Kenneth Gregorich
2009 Kevin Sawchuk
2007 Rob Byrne
2007 David Terry
2005 Dean Karnazes
2005 Rick Simonsen
2002 Jussi Hamalainen
2002 Scott Mills
2001 Jim Scott
1999 Don Aycock
1999 Bill Davis
1999 Ray Scannell
1999 Joe Schlereth
1999 Dave Scott
1998 Ann Trason
1997 Alfred Bogenhuber
1997 Ian Maddieson
1997 Gordy Ainsleigh
1995 Gard Leighton
1995 Bernd Leupold
1995 Mike Pelechaty
1995 Dan Williams
1994 Bill Finkbeiner
1993 Dave Hudson
1992 Rae Clark
1991 Tim Twietmeyer
1990 Bjorg Austrheim-Smith
1990 Charles Savage
1989 Jim Pellon
1988 Doug Latimer

A few runners have even gone on to earn 2000 Miles buckles (Twiet, Gordy, Dan, and Mike).

There are five people in this year’s race going for their tenth finish: Jerry Bloom, Michael Huss, Bruce Labelle, Luanne Park, and WSER President John Trent. Only Bruce has nine finishes under 24 hours. Interestingly, he got his first silver buckle in 1982! That’s when I graduated from high school. It will be the longest span between buckles number one and ten. Good luck to Bruce and the others going for number ten.

It would be pretty cool if AJW deferred his dream to get ten so we could finish together like Ray Scannell and Bill Davis did in 1999. This picture is loaded with emotions. We could do the same, AJW. What do you think?

Friends Ray Scannell and Bill Davis finish their tenths together in 1999

Continue reading ‘5h47m’ »]]> Five hours and forty seven minutes.  That’s how long registration for the eleventh Waldo 100K was open yesterday before filling at 160.  For comparison, the 2011 race filled in 34 days.  In 2009 and 2010 we filled a month or two before the August race.  From 2002-2008 we did not fill and started fewer than the 125 allowed by our permit.

Yesterday was an interesting day, and I found myself bouncing around between jubilant, reminiscent, puzzled, reflective, and probably several more moods that I can’t articulate right now.  Here’s how the day shook out from my perspective.

Beginning at about 6:30 am I started prepping for the opening. I double-checked the settings at UltraSignup, got the word out via social media, made some coffee, and sent an email to Asst RD Meghan telling her I think we’re ready.  Her flippant response didn’t surprise me, because, frankly, a queen doesn’t have to show deference to a lord and she seldom does: “Something happening today?”  Uh, yeah, your majesty, your little phone is about to squawk at you non-stop.

At 8:01 am the first email confirmation came in. Then the second, third, forth – all at 8:01am.  And they kept coming and coming.  There were 61 registered by 8:15am.  99 by 9:00 am.  The queen sends me a text: “Gonna fill by 10!”  I didn’t think so and I wrote back maybe 10 pm as I really expected the pace to drop off.  The pace of entries did slow and by 11:00 am (3 hours) we had 125 registered.  I tweeted that there were 35 spots left and then got on the bus and went to work (yes, I have flexible work hours).  That tweet got retweeted by Devon Crosby-Helms – who has a bazillion followers – and the rate starting picking up again.  Seemed like a bit of a frenzy at the end as the last spots were gobbled up.

From an RD’s perspective this is fantastic.  We know exactly how many people and what their sizes are six months before the race.  Makes it much easier to order supplies many months in advance, instead of waiting until close to the race, at which point there are many other details that need tending to. It makes you feel good because you have a product that is in demand.  Whether that demand is due to the growth of the sport as a whole or not, we take it as a sign of success.  That we must be doing some things right. But, the unfortunate consequence is that many people will not be able to run the race.  That is not a good feeling, and while we have left a little wiggle room, there are already many disappointed people.  Guess it’s probably good training for my next job.

Several times yesterday I found myself reflecting.  Remembering the early years when entries were delivered by the snail-mailman. We would go days and sometimes weeks without an entry.  When we’d finally get one we’d be so excited and I’d immediately tell Curt and Laurie who it was.  I also thought about how many years we didn’t even come close to selling out.  The first five years we averaged about 50 starters and we knew we had a good thing going.  “Where are the runners?” we often asked ourselves.  I thought about the first year when we did trail workout without chainsaws because we hadn’t gone through the certification process.

The first Waldo trail work party - Summer of 2002

2002 trail work party. Enjoying a cold one.

I thought about all the people who have been involved in making Waldo what it is.  Those who stuck with us when others expressed concern that the race was too labor intensive.  Nine aid stations, including three fully-stocked remote aid stations, for 50 runners?  “You gotta change the course and make it easier,” we were told on more than occasion by people we respect.  Of course, we didn’t listen.  Yesterday I got – like nOrm Klein often did -  emotional about all the volunteers who have been involved with Waldo.  Those who believed as we did that what we had going was good and worth keeping.  I often thought nOrm got it a little backwards at times when he would go on and on about the volunteers who had helped him.  I remember thinking at Sunmart 50 miler a long time ago when he was up crying at the pre-race meeting as he introduced a friend who had helped him for many years, “nOrm, the race is about us, the runners, not the volunteers.”  I still think the race is about the runners.  We put the race on for runners not so volunteers have something to do.  But, looking back at these ten years, it’s hard not to get a little emotional.  I think I get what was going on with nOrm those years ago.

If you want to take a stroll down memory lane, check out the history of Waldo 100K, from our website.  Below is an excerpt from the first year, 2002.

The inaugural event was not without incident. Thirty-seven bold solo runners showed up ready to test the course. At 3:30 a.m., the early starters were off. Craig attempted to radio the course marshals stationed along the way to the first aid station, but didn’t get a response. When two locals, Ken Sinclair and Bill Montgomery, both 5 a.m. relay runners, got to the Gold Lake aid station (#1), they informed race personnel that four runners had been sent off course! Familiar with the course, Bill and Ken educated the misinforming marshal so no one else would be led astray, but the damage to the first four was significant and resulted in DNFs.

Up near the Fuji Mountain aid station (#2), Craig encountered some (gasp!) hunters?!? Turns out it was opening day of deer hunting season. Fortunately, no one was shot at. It was also fortunate that Craig, having listened to his wife this time, decided not to give out an award to the first runner to finish the course wearing antlers.

Regardless of the reasons for filling up so quickly yesterday, I like what Greg Soderlund, my mentor told me yesterday, “The sport is in full stride and we’re lucky to be along for the ride.” Right you are, Greg.

Continue reading ‘Zooming In and Zooming Out’ »]]> I wrote an article for a ski patrol newsletter recently.  It was specific to patrolling but I think the idea can be applied to ultrarunning, race directing, and life in general.  I’ve modified it slightly to make it appropriate for this blog.

In my previous life I used to be a rock climber. I enjoyed all kinds of climbing from bouldering, to multi-pitch cracks, to big walls, to sport climbing. Climbing, like most sports, requires attention. It is different from the other sports I’ve done or do in that it could consistently focus my attention without much effort on my part. Tie in, start climbing, and I could be right in the moment immediately, not thinking about what I was going to have for dinner or issues at work. This is generally a good thing as climbing is a serious activity that requires one to control emotions while also executing athletically, with potentially serious consequences for errors.

But, sometimes that focus can be a detriment. One of the mental techniques I used to employ, thanks to author and climber Dale Goddard, was the concept of zooming in and zooming out. When doing a difficult move that required complete concentration and focus I needed to zoom in, ignoring everything else. All of my attention would be focused on the tiny edges of rock my feet and hands were on. But spending all my energy executing single moves could have resulted in missing good rest opportunities or not knowing where I needed to clip the protection. Should I climb above the pro, clip, and then come back down and rest? This type of attention, while equally important, required zooming out, or changing the focal point of my lens to a perspective a little farther away from the tiny edges I was standing and holding onto. Finding that perfect combination of zooming in and zooming out is when I would climb my best and what I always strived for.

I pulled out this climbing reference last weekend at a senior patrol medical training session where the emphasis is on managing medical scenarios with multiple patients and/or distracting bystanders.  Not sure I did a good job articulating it, but I wanted to get the point across to the candidates that this technique could be used when leading multi-patient scenarios. Zooming in for their assessments, when listening to patients, or splinting a broken bone. Really paying attention and focusing. But they can’t stay zoomed in indefinitely as they have other things going on which also require their attention. Zooming out to make sure they have a plan for the whole scenario, and evaluating if it is working or not. Is the other patient crashing? Do all their helpers have a job, and are they working efficiently? I suggested that they needed to be able to zoom in and zoom out many times during their 20-minute scenario. It’s finding the right combination of the two that is the tricky part.

Can this same technique be applied to ultrarunning, either training or racing?  How about race directing?  Or life in general?  Are you good at plugging away at the day to day minutia without paying attention to the bigger picture?  Or perhaps you can’t zoom in and focus long enough to concentrate on the now?

What do you think?  Who’s zooming who? Or is that whom?  Should I leave this philosophical stuff to AJW?

Continue reading ‘Thankful’ »]]> With the announcement this week that I will be the next race director of Western States 100 starting with the 2014 race, I’m feeling incredibly humbled, honored, anxious, excited, but most of all thankful.

Thankful for my wife of 25 years who is fully supportive of this big change in our lives.  She not only has put up with my obsession with Western States for 25 years, but she has also listened, counseled, and encouraged me in all my endeavors.  I’m sure there are several clichés I could use right now, but suffice to say I wouldn’t be here without her.  No doubt in my mind.

Thankful for all the people who made Waldo the special event that it has become.  To Curt Ringstad who was my co-RD for the first ten years and also the co-founder of the race.  To all the volunteers who believed in the event and stuck with us through the early years when we didn’t have many runners.  Nobody in their right mind would create an event with three remote hike-in aid stations.  1.5, 2.5 and 3.0 mile hike-ins to setup full service aid stations?  That’s crazy.  To all the runners who have come and run the race and made all our efforts worthwhile.  To the other Oregon Trail Series RDs who have been instrumental in the success of this event from day one.

Thankful for the Willamette Pass Ski Patrol and the Oregon Region of NSP.  To all the instructors who spent time teaching me skills in the specific disciplines the last 13 years.  To my fellow patrollers who I’ve learned so much from and who trusted me and believed in me to be their leader.

Thankful for my training group and Team Sunsweet.  I get just as much out of watching my training partners succeed as I do myself.  Maybe it’s because I’m old and can’t run fast [anymore].  When the book gets written, no doubt there will be a chapter on the Wednesday workouts, the Tuesday night hunts, and the weekend runs that always begin at my house at noon.  Oh, and the secret “Barkley Training” we’ve been doing lately.

Thankful for my family.  If we didn’t move to Cool or camp down in the canyon that hot June 1978 night the obsession might not have ever been born.  You can’t make up stories better than that.

Thankful for all my friends who make my life fun and fulfilling.

Thankful for the ultrarunning community.  To the readers of this blog.  To AJW for giving me something to write about all these years.  To all the guest posters and people who contributed to the conversation here.

Thankful for those who wrote letters or otherwise supported my candidacy for the job.  You know who you are.

Thankful for the opportunity to truly live my passion.  To the Western States board for trusting me to take the reins of this incredible event.  To the WS community that we are about to immerse ourselves in.  To current RD Greg Soderlund for creating a plan to ensure a smooth transition and for showing me the ropes.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I am thankful for Black Suede.  “It smells like chest hair and gold chains with just a touch of Aqua Velva.”  It’s the secret to interview success.

Black Suede

Continue reading ‘Why Oregon?’ »]]> AJW has a poll on his new Keep It Simple AJW blog: What state is America’s Ultrarunning capital?

Final Result of Poll

While there have only been 55 votes cast so far, probably because his huge fan base doesn’t know about his new blog yet, Oregon is leading with 42% followed by Colorado at 28%, California at 21%, and Virginia at 8%.  No other states are listed in his poll.  I’ve been known to poke a little fun at AJW once in awhile, and his polls are something I’ve mocked in the past.  But, I find this question interesting.  No, this isn’t a scientific poll by any means, and it is possible that a couple of tweets by Oregonians yesterday have swayed the results in favor of the Beaver State (as a Duck it is hard to write that).  That said, perhaps it’s worth exploring what makes a state a strong ultrarunning state?  Is it the total number of ultrarunners?  Number of fast ultrarunners?  Number of races?  History? Access to trails?  Climate?  Or is it something that is not quantifiable like community or passion or panache or chutzpah?  I doubt any of the people who voted thought about it much before casting their vote.  It was probably more of a visceral reaction.  I’ll admit that I went there and immediately voted (guess how I cast my vote?)

With the history and populations of California and Virginia one might think that hands down they would be leading, but they aren’t.  I wrote a post titled Oregon Ultra Domination a couple of years ago where I listed all the fast runners in three different regions of the state (Willamette Valley, Southern Oregon, Central Oregon). In addition to the fast runners, I listed the championship races and the Oregon Trail Series.  In the comments I sparred with a pesky Californian about why California was losing its edge.  Perhaps this question shouldn’t even be asked?  It’s not like there is anything to be gained by “winning” the first poll on AJW’s new blog.  That said, I will attempt to make a few generalizations about Oregonians:  We are passionate.  We don’t take ourselves too seriously.  We have fun.  We just get the job done.

The Big Guy reenacting his Mt Blanc adventure

Continue reading ‘End of AJW’s Blog and Our WS Obsession’ »]]> With the announcement yesterday that AJW is putting his personal blog down in a few days I went over there and found the guest post I wrote on May 6, 2008 so that it wouldn’t disappear forever.  For context, this was written after a 10 day training camp in Michigan Bluff.  AJW had joined us for the final weekend when we ran Twiet’s infamous Ice Cream Sandwich Run.  After harassing him pretty much non-stop about his blog he turned the keys over to me (literally, he gave me his password).  A few months after this guest post I started my own blog.   AJW’s blog has been a great source of entertainment for four and a half years and I will miss it.  Thanks, man.  I look forward to reading your regular column at AJW’s TapRoom on iRunFar.  OK, here’s the post.

Obsession with Western States 100

This is not AJW here, but rather LB, one of the “anonymous” Oregonians who has been friends with AJW for quite a few years. Last weekend I suggested he let me guest blog, and I was surprised when today he gave me the password and said have at it. Really? Should I write a post in third person pretending to be him? That could be fun. Should I tell you about the AJW that I know? Nah, we’ll just all keep our own view of the guy. Who knows, maybe when you’re around him he’s a quiet, shy, unassuming, selfless, muscular, fearful, self-effacing, weak-willed, athletic, self-sacrificing, following, modest, giver. Or maybe not.

Instead, I decided I’d write about something that he and I share in common: an obsession with Western States. Last weekend before the ICS run we were sitting in Michigan Bluff talking about the race when a guy we call Tapeworm, a skinny 2:26 marathoner who raced his way into States at Way Too Cool by outkicking Jurek in the last 1/4 mile, said reluctantly, “There is more to life than Western States…” The room went silent (which is a very difficult accomplishment when AJW, Monkeyboy, and I are together), and we all just stared at him. What? What planet do you live on? It’s May 2nd, the day before the ICS run, the 9th day of our 10 day training camp in Michigan Bluff, and less than 60 days before the race. What else could there possibly be?

AJW and me

My obsession dates back to 1978 or 79 when I was a wee bit of a lad growing up in Cool, California. I found myself inadvertently camping at about the 85 mile mark of the WS course. These guys kept coming by all tired and dirty asking us where the aid station was. I was just a high school mile and two-mile runner back then, but the allure of the event had captured me. For the next 20 years I found myself working at Dusty Corners, crewing, pacing, and sometimes just watching. Even before I ran the race for the first time in 2001, I would camp at Devil’s Thumb or Michigan Bluff or Driver’s Flat, and go for runs on the trail. When I would come home to visit my mom in Cool, I’d almost always include a run to Auburn from ALT. This year I’m going to attempt my 6th States, and at 44 years old I’m just as excited about the race as I was as a 16 year old.

So why does this race have such a hold on me, and why would I want to share this?

I’ve thought about the first question a lot over the years because I’m often asked it. The course is definitely a big part of it. The history of the miners and the booming towns is fascinating. Running through Deadwood and into Michigan Bluff it is easy to imagine the life of the miners who gave up easy lives elsewhere in the hopes of striking it rich in California. Some might see the greed of those miners, but I see the adventurous spirit. A willingness to put it all on the line to make a better life for their family. Look at the headstones at the Masonic Cemetery in Michigan Bluff sometime.

Headstone at Michigan Bluff

Then there is the high country … the river canyons … the oak and pine trees … the bears, cougars, ticks, foxes and rattlesnakes … the trail is an authentic path through the Sierras. Start in Squaw; go to Auburn. Sure there are some other 100 mile courses that are point-to-point, but none that follow a less-contrived path. Yes, I love the course.

The training is also a huge part of the reason for my obsession. My wife and I have taken a 10 day vacation in Michigan Bluff for each of the last five years. Before that I used to camp in the area alone. For what? To train for WS. Classic group training runs such as the ICS (Cal2 to Swinging Bridge and back) and the Peace Run (Robinson to the River). Solo runs around ALT, Browns Bar, and No Hands. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve run Cal St. The camaraderie of the group we had for ICS last weekend was pretty cool. There were nine of us. We all ran our own pace, but we frequently regrouped at agreed upon places: Foresthill, MB, Pump, Swinging Bridge, Pump, MB, Foresthill store, the car. The faster folks had to wait for the slower folks, but nobody complained. There is also a group of runners in Eugene who train together each year for States. We meet regularly on Wednesdays for workouts. Each year we have one or two new folks, but there is always a core training for that race in California at the end of June. Yes, I love to train for States.

But the race is also a big part of the obsession. 1300 volunteers, many of whom are not, never have been, and never will be runners. The competitive field. The number of runners who peak for this race. The pre-race hype which is often too much. It’s exciting to watch the first timers, whether they are 19 hour runners or 29 hour runners. I enjoy racing with the veterans. Twietmeyer, Terry, Nielsen, Fitzpatrick, Trason, DK, and AJW … If you’re running the race this year, take some time to recognize how many people are out there to help you get through. Pacers, crew, aid station workers, etc. It is a staggering number at the river crossing alone. For me, this is the race that matters most.

So why did I choose to share this instead of doing the other 100 things waiting for me in my Inbox after a 10 day vacation? Especially when the race is getting harder and harder to get into, and as the field gets more competitive it gets more and more difficult for me to get into the race? Hmmmm, maybe I shouldn’t have shared that. Because, as AJW has told me, I’m a connector, and look forward to sharing the trail with you on June 28. Thanks, AJW, for letting me post.