This'll be long, but here's my "Pace Report" for Jun's running of the Laramie 100.
When Jun told me he was going to be running a hundred miler, I just pretty much planned on trying to find a way to go and be a part of it. I told him I'd pace as little or as much as needed, that I would be just fine filling bottles and shoveling food into him for the whole race if that's what it took. Lucky for me, there ended up being plenty of time for some running! I did make sure that Craig read Bryce's Bighorn report before the race, in case I needed to reference it or Davys Bighorn report. Luckily, I never really had to break out the big guns! :)
Craig picked me up from work Friday afternoon, and after picking up his son Tyler and a few other essentials, we were off. We had hoped to get there with a little light left, but that wasn't to be. I guess we should have known when an overhead sign said "Crash ahead - 50 miles - road closed, expect delays". We just thought "50 miles? Surely they'll have it cleaned up by then!" Apparently we also forgot that we were in the middle of nowhereyoming, when a short time later we were greeted by standstill traffic. We took the time to bust out the football, eat some snacks and play some games on our phones. We even saw a dude on a bike in full on gear go cycling back an forth - might as well get a ride in I guess. After about an hour and a half we were back on our way, driving past what was left of a semi cab that had been melted to the ground - a motor, frame and wheels were the only clues to what it had been. Finally making it to Laramie, we stopped off for a quick bite at the local Pizza Hut, and also got our first taste of what would become our constant companions, and really, the one downside of the trip - the pesky, swarming, mosquitoes. The course was just off the Laramie summit exit, and we were able to find a spot to quickly set up camp and get to sleep. Craig was sawing logs all night, which woke me a few times, but I was glad to hear - I figured that must mean he's getting some good rest, which should bode well for all of us. Crewing
We were up bright and early race morning, and with a 9AM start time, found ourselves (and most everyone else) just sitting around waiting for the race to begin. Finally the countdown began, with Tyler and I moving ahead on the course a little ways so we could get a little video of the start. Once all the initial hoopla was over Tyler and I went about setting up our own little aid table, right near where the runners would come in to check in for their laps. The setup of the course was such that we overlooked a little meadow where you could see the trail from both directions, giving you a good view, and good notice of when runners were coming in. Since you change direction on each loop (running back the way you just came), it only took a few hours before people were coming in from both directions. I brought my big ol' cowbell, so Tyler and I took it upon ourselves to ring it anytime a runner appeared out of the trees from either side. While I'm sure there are some cowbell haters out there, we got a lot of smiles and thanks from runners as they were coming in. Plus, "You gotta have more cowbell!!" At around 45 minutes, the first two relay runners appeared neck and neck to finish the first 5.6. Then, only 5 minutes later, we see Craig burst out into the light in 1st place. Our first few exchanges were quick and painless. He'd toss his empty water bottle as he ran to the tent to check in, then we'd hand him a fresh bottle with a gel in the pocket on his way out. The 2nd place 100 guy (Jeremy) came in only minutes later. As Craig ran his second lap, Tyler and I hiked a little ways backwards on the course so we could get a little video and check out the course. The trail was cool, and the mosquitoes were, as always, horrendous. We were shocked as we waited to see runners when one of the relay guys came blazing by us, to finish the lap in 30 minutes! Craig came by about 20 minutes later, just cruising along. We let him run on ahead as we hiked our way back into the start (don't worry, we had left a full bottle/gel on the table waiting for him, though it was probably a little warm). The laps just seemed to cruise by (for us anyway!!), Craig was running very consistently, with his first 5 laps under an hour each, and the next several just minutes over. Tyler and I spent our time hiking around, playing catch with the football, building a fire (seemed to help with the mosquitoes) and just hanging out ringin' the cowbell. I was totally impressed with this 13 year old kid. Willing to help out however and whenever asked and didn't complain ONCE. How many 13 year old can you say that about?! From about the 3rd or 4th lap, Craig kept saying his legs were tired, but the way he looked and the time he was taking to click through these laps sure didn't seem to correspond! We seemed to be fielding "Are you guys with the guy in the orange shirt - who is he?" questions all afternoon. We still tried to keep his aid stops brief, about 3-4 minutes for laps 4-7. We wrote down when he came in and when he left, so that we'd have a good idea of when he'd be coming back. I kept trying to get him to eat some real food - I offered him a PB&J about 5 times before he finally said "I am NEVER going to want that sandwich". Of course, I still continued to offer it, mostly just to mess with him, but it did indeed go uneaten. Jeremy (#2) continued to stay close, but the lead was growing, from only a few minutes to start, to 10 then 15, then 20...I think one of the biggest things at the beginning stages is that our aid stops were much quicker which added more minutes to the ones Craig was already picking up out on the course. By the time lap 10 came around, we could tell that he was eager to have someone to run with, so while he was out on the 10th lap, Tyler and I got changed and ready to run. Since Craig would be coming in at mile 56 here, I was planning on Tyler running a lap or two with him alone, and then me picking it up from there...I just didn't know if I had 45 in me! As it turned out we all just headed out together after his 10th lap, nearly 11 hours into his run. Pacing When we picked up Craig to pace he was a big old pile of grumpy (and rightfully so). He was 56 miles and 11 hours into this race, was getting stabbing cramps in his side and I could tell he just didn't want to think about anything. I pulled in front with Tyler behind me and Craig in the back (bad idea):). We chatted for a bit at first, stopping once in a while when the cramping became unbearable. Aside from the very brief cramping spells, he was still running at a decent pace. I knew as we continued on that the solution to the cramping and the grumpiness was some real food. So at the next aid I made him eat some pasta, and although he was only able to muster a few bites, the difference in his attitude was remarkable. We put Craig up front, leading with us pushing from behind, and that worked much better for him. I think it also helped that we were now running in the dark "with his boys" as we began up that second loop. This direction of running was much better, as you get all of the vert out in relative short order, while the other direction teases you with steep climbs, then drops, then more climbs, that just stretch for miles. Craig was now joking and talking again, much more in line with his usual demeanor. We'd holler out to headlights coming our way (and would all night) and would get especially noisy at the mid loop aid station. As we were heading down, Tyler - who at this point was looking at 11 miles of running, almost twice what he had ever done before - mentioned that he thought he'd like to try and get 20 miles in, by running the last two laps with us! What a stud - and this was even after he had taken a little spill on the trail. We dropped Tyler off after lap 12, and began our quest to "Own the night". We talked about how things usually slow way down at night, and that we had been running in the dark all winter so there was no reason to back off now. Off we went - I was shocked at how much of the course we were still running, and power hiking the hills with gusto (yep). It was also around this time that we pulled into the aid to find #2 sitting in a chair eating some food - we had lapped our closest competitor - which represented about an hour and half lead. I think that gave Craig a bit of a moral boost - as much as you might say you don't think about winning and just try to run your own race, when you're in first place it's hard not to think about everyone trying to run you down! At mile 65 Craig asked me if he could sit down in a real chair at the next aid, and I decided that Craig had earned it (so long as we kept it brief and kept moving) so at these aid stops he would sit while I refilled bottles and got food for him to eat. I also found they had grilled cheese sandwiches ready and waiting, which would become my steady diet for the rest of the night (paired with boiled potatoes and the usual gels). I was pretty much ravenous the entire night, eating one after each loop, and getting hungry again about halfway through! I probably ate 8 grilled cheese sandwiches, 4 cups of potatoes, and countless gels. Craig mostly stuck with potatoes, bananas, gels and the occasional sandwich. The entire race we had been planning on, and been told that we would be running 17 laps, it was, however about this time that they informed us the course was shorter than they thought, and that we would have to add a full extra lap for a total of 18 laps (100.8 miles). A little kick in the gut, but Craig took it in stride without complaint, and we just trucked on ahead. We began counting down miles in race lengths - "What a 50K left? Thats cake!" It was a little daunting to think about 6 laps left, but they just started to fly by as we went from end to end to end, passing the few lights coming toward us that were out in the night - the 12 hour racers had finished, and the rest were slowing down considerably. The night then began to get cold, particularly down in at the start/finish aid, where there was lots of water around to cool the air. There were a couple of longer (for us anyway) aid stops that saw us shivering as we headed back out. There was one point where we were leaving and Craig paused and looked at a fire just by our aid table, started to lean that way and then he just shook his head and hit the trail. You'll heat up just as well moving! Might as well cover some ground while you're at it. For several of the aids we decided to make them quicker, "grab and go" stops, where we would carry our food with us and eat it on the move, since we were hiking the hills anyway. On top of the course the breeze was warm and nice. We would often turn off our lights (usually during a pee break) and look up at the sky, which was exploding with an abundance of stars. We wished the moon had been brighter so we could run by its light for some of it (and try and sneak up on people). Craig was still moving really well, I couldn't believe how he just kept pushing. The part I liked about pacing was that I didn't really focus on how far I had gone, or would be going. I just new we had to get Craig to the finish. I certainly had my own usual thoughts of pain and discomfort - "Oh, I could just let Tyler run with him during the final two laps and I can take a break...that's still a good 34 miles" but its kind of hard to let those thoughts linger when you're running behind someone who has 55 more miles than you on the day! I finally just told myself I would get him to the finish, and I was going to get there too, and that was the end of it. Interestingly, I never got sleepy tired at all during the night, that would just come later!
We checked off all the distances "A marathon left?...easy peasy", "20 miles? Thats a nice weekend run", "16? You run that on a Wednesday!" We did become curious as we hadn't seen #2 Jeremy in quite some time. It was no time at all before the sky started to lighten, and we knew we headed to pick up Tyler for the FINAL TWO LAPS! Oh yeah. I went and woke up Tyler from his brief catnap in the car - he had hung out most of the night at the race tent chatting and helping out when we came in - and he hopped right up and was ready to run. Two laps to go meant only one more time traveling each direction. Luckily (I thought so anyway) we got the crappy direction out of the way first. We told the mid-aid station guys, we'd be back one more time for good and blasted our way down the hill. Coming back from the last aid stop, Jeremy appeared, looking strong and refreshed. We decided he must have retired to his tent for a bit to regroup, and he was looking good. He still had a good hold on 2nd place, now he just had to finish. We pushed hard up those hills, spent a minute at the aid station thanking the awesome crew for a job well done, and then continued on for the final 4 or so miles of mostly downhill. Craig was killing me- before the race we had talked about pacers complaining about being dropped by their runner at mile 95 - and I swear that's what he was trying to do. I think he also knew that I wasn't going to let that happen, which pushed us both to keep the pace up. Tyler hung on like a champ right behind me, never uttering a word of complaint. We were all hurting at this point, but the thought of finishing (and winning) just spurred us on. When we came to the final half mile or so, I ran ahead so that I could grab the camera and film the finish, and run I did. It still amazes me how the body is able to respond to what you ask of it, even after putting it through so much - it does help when it knows its about done! I got to the finish a few minutes ahead, there were a few people hanging around - the relayers asked me where Craig was. I said "Well, he said since I had only run 45 miles, I had to run ahead and get the camera!" I got a little chuckle out of them - it is hard to argue with someone who has just run 100 miles! I yelled "Craigs coming in!" and looked over to the finish tent to see the two people there attending to who knows what, not seeming to pay much mind. It was a little weird, but that was certainly out shined when Craig and T appeared from the trees and made the final run through the meadow and across the finish line! Finishing the Laramie 100 in 23:21!! We sat for a few minutes after, resting, eating (yes I had another grilled cheese), and chatting it up with the runners from the other races, many of whom were full of questions about our Altras, especially since neither of us had any foot problems or needed to change shoes at all during the race. We then quickly packed up camp, Craig was able to cheer on a few of the remaining runners as they completed a lap, and then we headed on out. It was almost unbelievable to think that, for much of our drive home, there were still people out there running the course! 2nd place would finish 3 and a half hours later, with others coming in 4 and half and over 5 hours later! I have a lot of respect for those guys who pushed though some serious low points and just stuck with it to the end. That would take a lot of guts to sit out for a while and then get right back at it! If you made it this far, congratulations! :) This was a most incredible experience well worth being a part of. Craig was an absolute machine that just kept on pushing and giving it everything he had. Having run with him all year, I certainly never doubted his ability and just tried to do my part to help him get there and not hold him back. Tyler made the perfect crewing team mate, and we got our runner to the finish with the win! Quite a sight to see such a fantastic group of people from all walks of life out there laying themselves on the line to see what they are made of. Some excelling, and some falling short of their goals, but all of them learning and gaining something from their experiences. To those that say this sport is "bad for you", I say this world would be far better off if we spent more time challenging our bodies and our minds than we do sitting on the couch eating chips and drinking a soda, criticizing the amazing things that others do, that we, by our own choices are unable to.
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