Category: 100-mile

September 13-14, 2008

“Wow, you are fast!  Are you in some sort of marathon?” – Comment from a motorcyclist at the top of Tyee Ridge. 

Plain 100 is a very unique, tough 100-mile race held on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountain Range in Washington.   I would rank it among the top-three toughest 100-mile races in the U.S.   What makes it so tough and unique?   1. The race is actually about 107 miles.  2. There are no course markings!  Racers must use maps, directions, and navigation skills. 3. There are no aid stations.  No pacers are allowed.  It is a self-supported race.  You must haul enough food for at least 60 miles before stocking up again and must obtain water in passing streams.  4. The trail conditions can be very challenging because of dust that permeates shoes and socks.  5. There are three massive climbs (and descents) of nearly 5,000 feet and a total of 21,000 feet elevation gain. 6. The race has a very low finish rate despite a generous 36-hour cutoff.  There have been only 32 finishes in the first ten years of the race – 21% success.

July 19-20, 2008

I made a return trip to run the Tahoe Rim Trail 100.   Back in 2006, this was my 4th 100-mile finish.  This year I had my sights set higher, hoping for my 18th 100-mile finish and to do it in less than 25 hours.

This beautiful course is laid out on state park and state forest land, climbing ridges overlooking beautiful Lake Tahoe and various reservoirs.  The surface is mostly very runnable, soft single track.  There is about 19,500 feet of climbs, aided by many switchbacks.  Most of the course runs between 7,000-9,000 feet elevation.   The race website says, “This event is run in some of the high elevation alpine and sub-alpine regions of the magnificent Sierra Nevada Mountains. It begins and ends at the Spooner Lake State Park, which is at 7,000 feet. The highest point on both courses is just below the 9,214 foot Snow Valley Peak (which also provides one of the best views on the course). The low point on both courses is at the bottom of the now “infamous” Red House Loop (A Taste of Hell) at approximately 6800 feet.”

March 29-30, 2008

I ran in the Moab 100.  I chose this race because it is only a few hours drive from my home and I knew I couldn’t go wrong with a race near scenic Moab, Utah.   The race is put on by Gemini Adventures, the same group that does the Laramie and Boulder events, both 24-hour races, and 100-mile races.  

October 26-27, 2007 

“You guys are craaaaaazy!  100 miles!”

– what a guy yelled at us from a truck at mile 33

Back on December 29-30, 2006, I hosted the first running of the Pony Express Trail 100.  Three of us completed a 100-mile run on the historic trail in western Utah, competing against frigid winter temperatures.  I completed that initial run in 25:29.  In March 2007, three of us tried it again.  I was the only finisher in 23:26.   The Pony Express would run yet again!   Eight brave souls showed up to test their endurance against the remote, desolate, lonely west desert in Utah.   Our 2007 course started on the historic Pony Express Trail about two miles west of the tiny town of Faust (just a few ranches).  After a short six miles of pavement, we would run west on dirt roads for a total of 100 miles and end up north of the remote town of Callao, near the Nevada/Utah border.

 September 8-9, 2007

When the luck of the Wasatch 100 lottery rejected me, friend Tom Jackson from Washington suggested that we run in the very tough Plain 100 in the Cascade Mountains, near Plain, Washington.   I was bummed out that my local race (Wasatch) rejected me, but I felt up to the challenge and quickly signed up for Plain.   The Plain 100 is one of the toughest 100-mile races in the country.   I believe it is tougher than Wasatch 100 for these reasons:   1. The race is actually about 106 miles.  2. There are no course markings.  Racers must use maps, directions, and navigation skills. 3. There are no aid stations, it is a self-supported race.  4. The trail conditions can be very challenging because of dust that permeates shoes and socks.  5. Three massive climbs (and descents) of nearly 5,000 feet and a total of 21,000 feet elevation gain. 6. The very high DNF rate (only 18 finishes in the first nine years of the race – 15% success).

July 21-22, 2007

“Should we check his pulse?”

Comment from a runner or pacer seeing me laying on the trail at mile 93

During my first ultrarunning year, I ran in the 2005 Vermont 100.   It was my third 100-mile race attempt.  I was trying to do too much, too fast.  After a hot and humid day, I quit the race around mile 80 at 2 a.m.  My recovery was very tough and I was sick for a week.  I knew that one of these years I would return for revenge.   2007 was the year to get revenge.