This post was provided by Jerry R:
A wise man told me that if redemption could be found for only $225 , I should grab it. After a failed attempt at Leadville, this seemed to be good advice. So I wrote the check and sent it off to the Rio del Lag 100 miler held Sept 27/28 held outside of Auburn CA.
It is a small race with mainly local runners. The RD Norm Klein ( and wife Helen) are legends in their own right, so this should be well staged. And with an elevation gain/loss of only 9,000 feet up and 9,000 feet down, this should be an easy 100.
I would meet my friend and local Ultrarunner Billy Still and his wife Ann at the hotel outside race headquarters. Bill was running and Ann and my wife Cathy would crew for us both. Neither of us had a pacer. After all, this would be an easy 100.
The morning of the race we arrived at the start and proceeded to walk up a hill to the official start. ( The course had been slightly rerouted due to some construction and was now the RDL 101.8). At 6:00 we started out.
My plan was to run strong for 50 miles and then see what happened. The daily temps had been increasing from low 80’s to a predicted 90 on race day. No problem for some Tucson natives.
My first meeting with Cathy and Ann would be at Auburn Dam overlook at 23 miles.
I figured 4 hours would be enough. After climbing Cardiac hill ( good name) I pulled in at 3:50 feeling fresh and strong. The trail now dropped and climbed to Robie point and back down to No hands bridge. We were now on the WS100 course in reverse. Instead of the gentle uphill to Cool, the course diverted a trail labeled ‘Steep Training Trail’ and called K2 ( another appropriate name.). By the time I started this climb, the day was warming up and I was feeling it. Topping out the trail gently dropped out to a lollipop loop from the Cool aid station. Any shade was now gone and the sun was beating down.
I walked and ran the 7 mile loop ( mostly walked) in the blazing sun. By the time I got back to Cool , I was done. My head was pounding and I was starting to feel cold. At the aid station I weighed in 8 pounds low and was told to sit a while ( I’m only 150 lbs soaking wet). I drank and refused the doctor and the offered ride back to the start.
After about ½ hour ( maybe longer) I decided to head out. This was only 37 miles.
The official temp was 98.
I met Cathy and Ann shortly at No Hands and sucked down a cold Frappacino.
They said I looked terrible. They were probably right.
After a long slow climb back to Auburn Overlook ( 44 miles ) I was feeling pretty bad again. I decided to wait and eat and drink ( still down 8 lbs) and decide if this was
worth it to continue on. . A friend of mile pulled in looking wasted by the heat and was contemplating dropping. We decided to leave together , along with another suffering soul. The plan was to get healthy when the day cooled off.
When we got back to Cardiac Hill I decided to try my legs. I started out and felt pretty good. So I kept going for another 7 miles or so. It was getting dark about now.but I was on a dirt road and it was no problem following. I climbed and climbed a long hill that seemed unfamiliar from the morning out. But there was a pink flag so I must be OK.
When the road dead ended at a locked gate, I know I had been exploring. I better go back down to find the trail. At the ribbon I turned left up another long steep hill . Another dead end. So I headed back again. Then I saw a flicker of a headlamp off the road and into the woods. Backtracking I found the cutoff I missed and was off again.
I met Cathy and Ann at Rattlesnake Bar ( 55 miles). They were worried as my friends had come by long ago .They guessd I was lost . A quick drink and I was off again. Next stop was Cavitt school
( 68 miles) and the start of the second loop of the course. This stretch was rocky, hilly, and mainly uphill. I was feeling bad again and wondering why I should do this and promising myself never, ever to do another 100 mile race again.
I struggled into the school and collapsed into a chair. I was finished.
Sitting with Cathy and Ann were my two friends eating In-Out Burgers and fully dressed.
They had given up somewhere around 57 miles.
Just to prod me along they said I was the last man standing and they were counting on me to finish. I was also threatened with a speech ny Norm Klein , famous for his ability to ‘ motivate’.
Of course, I didn’t care. I just wanted to sleep. So I closed my eyes for a fer minutes. That turned out to be closer to an hour. When I regained consciousness I had to decide.
A warm bed in the hotel or a 32 mile hike in the dark . After checking my time ( I had 11 hours left ) I decided to go hiking.
The remaining trail was a mix of road, bike path , and single track 16 miles out and back.
I put on my IPOD and tried to follew some locals whe knew the course. I could not afford to get lost again. The trip to the turnaround was hilly but uneventful. I even started joggin the down hills.
At the turnaround I caugt up to a runner and his pacer who insisted I join them on the way back. They felt bad I was running solo.
We had some good conversation ( this was the runner’s first 100). It was then we noticed
we might not make the cutoff for the next aid. As we turned a corner on the road we saw the aid station a few hundred yards away. We had 2 minutes. Somehow we all took off and sprinted into the station with 30 seconds to spare. They told us they would not cut anyone who came in the next 15 minutes or so anyway. That was for the big races.
Here I was facing cutoffs. I had never had to do this before and I didn’t like it one bit. I now had 1 ½ hours to get to the next aid 5 miles away( mile 90). Under any other circumstances, this would be easy. This night I was worried.
( RDL has a rule I wish other races would adopt. If you reach mile 90 before the cutoff,
you can finish after 30 hours and still be counted as an official finisher. Good Karma.)
As we headed out I decided that this cutoff thing was not going to work for me. So I said goodbye to my friends and started jogging. Then running. I was feeling OK again. Go figure.
As I pulled into the 90 mile aid ( ½ hour ahead of the cutoff) I was greeted by Billy Still.
He was timed out the day before ( through no fault of his own- another story). After a good night sleep, he wanted to pace me the remaining 10 miles. I was quite happy to see him and welcomed the company.
We jogged and ran through the remaining 2 aid stations. Somehow on the last leg we missed a turn and climbed another extra hill. After some good directions from a local cyclist we backtracked and found the trail again and headed for the final stretch.
As any runner will tell, crossing the finish line and sitting down ( this time for as long as I wanted) never felt so good. Final time -29:11. My personal worst. Weight was down 10 lbs.
Epilogue: Even though this was more of a death march than a run, this was possibly my most satisfying finish. I felt really bad several times, got lost twice, and for some reason went on.
I suppose this is the point. Overcome adversity and ignore your inner demons.
I had to remind myself that I was not injured and had not been pulled from the course, so keep moving. I swore that I would never put myself through this again , and meant it.
And I won’t , until I find another easy 100.
