Crown King Scramble (Race Recap)

Crown King, AZ

Saturday, March 25

Weather - Cooler than "normal"

I had initially planned on getting up around 4:00 for our 4:30 departure, but ended up being earlier when I heard people moving around at 3:45. I seem to never remember that it literally ALWAYS takes me longer to get out the door than I think.

I had time to heat up my Trader Joe's burrito and make some coffee, and somehow, even with a big group, we got out the door right on time. I have to give Megan a HUGE shout out for doing the driving! 

Our bnb was about 40 minutes from the start line, and she got us there with plenty of time for us all to use the bathroom (some of us, multiple times) and drop off our drop bags. I was only planning on a finish line bag, and even then, was only using that for a battery pack and my jacket. Unfortunately, I didn't realize until about 15 minutes before the start that due to all the recent rain/flooding, a normally dry course was going to have somewhere around 20 water crossings. Fun.

I circulated through the bathroom a few times and saw fellow Roost teammate, Stella, in line as well. 

Heading into the start, I was definitely apprehensive about being the slowest in our group and having everyone wait on me at the finish. 

It wasn't nearly as dark as this picture would have you believe

Start to Cow Creek (0 - 8.5 miles)

We had been told that headlamps were suggested for the start, but I honestly should have just skipped it altogether, because I never did need it. I started out in the back, like always. I settled into an easy, relaxed pace and tried to not be bothered by all the people passing me. Just have to hope that I have a good strategy!

I really had not read anything about the race and quickly realized that I should screenshot the list of aid stations and elevation profile before losing service. It was nice and cool, and we were running on the road, which I actually didn't mind at all. I turned around a few times to try to catch the sunrise over the lake - and was not disappointed by the view:

After a mile or two, we moved off the pavement and onto dirt road, which was also fine:

I believe I got this photo from Megan

I had already lost sight of our group, except I thought I saw Michele ahead of me, and I tried to keep her within eyesight. We finally came to a turn, and I thought we would be moving off the road and onto trail, but we continued on. Jenny was there taking pictures! 

Photo Cred: Jenny Thorsen

I was starting to wonder if I was overdressed, as it was sunny and warming up a bit. (Spoiler: I did not overdress). I was REALLY happy that the early miles were ticking by so fast - especially since the early aid stations were pretty far apart. I honestly hadn't expected to be running much at all, so this was a pleasant surprise. We finally hit some climbing, and my initial recollection of the elevation profile had me thinking this was going to be it for running for a while. Nope, it was a "little" hill and then on we went. I finally took  my headlamp off my head on this climb and shoved it in my pack. 

Hadn't hit the first aid station yet, but I could see that we were going to have another steady climb.

I don't remember anything about the first aid station, other than I topped off my bottles (which I hadn't drank much out of thanks to running more and it being chilly). I think I maybe grabbed a little snack, but I don't remember being hungry.

Cow Creek to French Creek (8.5-15.34 miles)

Headed back out, and still could kinda see Michele, maybe a tenth of a mile in front of me. There was a photographer around mile 9, but I still haven't found this pictures, I'll add if/when I come across it.

Photo Cred: Aravaipa

Thanks to the "trail" being a really wide dirt road, I was able to run on the far right and keep my headphones in. I was starting to wonder where the water crossings were going to be as we hadn't come across anything yet. AND... this was when I realized I saw Megan in front of me! I passed her in this section.

It was "funny" to start seeing signs for Crown King and the lack of services, but about mile 11, I knew we had 20 miles to go. 

I don't remember anything too exciting in this section, other than I did pass Michele at some point maybe a mile after I passed Megan. 

It had warmed up in this segment and I was looking forward to the next aid station, and really hoping they had a bathroom, since my stomach wasn't feeling great. Arrived at the aid station - and saw Steph and Rich there! Steph says "how did you catch me?" and they headed out. I really couldn't believe I had caught up to them! Unfortunately there was no bathroom, so I hurried out and looked for a cacti that could shelter me from everyone on the trail.

French Creek to Silver Mountain (15.34 - 19.15 miles)

I was feeling better and REALLY surprised at how good I was feeling. I wasn't mad at the trail, I wasn't mad at anything - and that's pretty rare for me, haha. I couldn't believe I was halfway done and I had done SO much running - and I hadn't even pulled out my poles yet. This is about when things started to get a bit interesting though. I probably waited 20 minutes to get my poles out, and then I was moving REALLY well. Like how did I ever climb without them? I actually caught up to Steph and Rich. There were fun areas where there was a "choose your own adventure" - longer/less steep or steeper trail to get to where we were going. I did a mix of both.

At some point, I think mile 18ish, I went ahead, and that's also when I finally saw (and passed Stella). I could NOT believe it.

The trail DEFINITELY was getting steep, and I was really happy with my pace and how I was feeling.

Silver Mountain to Fort Misery (19.15 - 21.38 miles)

I stayed with Steph and Rich for a bit, but I lost them at some point before arriving at Fort Misery. I really don't remember this section, other than it was SO SHORT - AND it was our first interaction with mud and a water crossing. The mud was completely unavoidable, and I really hoped that we wouldn't have much more of that. I HATE MUD. The water crossing was actually nice, it cleaned off my shoes :) 

Arrived and barely needed anything, but they did have beer, so I had a few shots of that, and headed out right as Steph and Rich were coming in.

Fort Misery to Oro Belle (21.38 - 26.96 miles)

Immediately upon leaving the aid station, we arrived at this mine/construction zone? This section cracked me - like "danger, you will die" and then the race markings are like, no really, just go this way.

Photo: Megan

And from here, it was water crossing and millions of ATVs. (I should mention that they had been out for miles already, but the initial "trail" was very wide and we hadn't hit any of the steep and/or "technical" sections yet, so it was very easy to share the road). Thankfully we weren't in the construction zone long, and we started to cross the wider and deeper water crossings.

I did actually stop briefly after this one, as I got some tiny pebbles/silt in my shoes and I figured I just need to get rid of it while I could. 

Photo: Megan (and not actually sure where this was on course, but probably in this section)

So this is a series of pictures from  my "favorite" water crossing. This is actually the trail for a bit:

Can you see the flag hanging on the tree? This is literally the trail.

Once the clouds really rolled in, it was actually a bit chilly. And with the CONSTANT water crossings, my feet were cold and therefore, the rest of me was cold. I was actually surprised that I was going to keep my long sleeves on this whole race! 

I think my strategy of starting out slow was really starting to pay off. I was actually passing a decent amount of people - many of them being people that passed me HOURS ago. I don't think I actually got passed by a single person in the back half.

This section seemed really long, mainly because for ME, it wasn't runnable, and it was slower miles of hiking. I didn't mind though. I finally got some decent distance between me and the line of ATVs, which was REALLY nice, mainly because there were starting to be more mud pits, and it was harder to step off the trail when we really started to climb. The clouds were actually starting to look a bit nasty, and I was really hoping it wasn't going to rain!

There were numerous memorials along the trail from what I assume was ATV accidents?

And what I would consider the longest and most rocky climb into the VERY LAST aid station!

Oro Belle to Finios (26.96 - 30.98ish miles)

I wasn't sure if there was going to be another aid station or not, so I filled up one bottle (knowing it wasn't very far to the finish) and grabbed a pickle or something. Thanked the volunteers and then headed out! I was REALLY surprised to turn a corner and see Jenny! She got a great series of pictures of me!

She assured me I was "almost there" - and I believed her! After what seemed like an eternity - I could finally see trees instead of just cacti.

We had a small false summit - where there the "summit" timing mat was, the start of the "screaming" downhill. And boy, was that great. I had the BIGGEST smile on my face running down that! I did pull out my phone for this photo - I was definitely going faster than 5 mph here, which amused me.

There were actually a lot of people in "town" cheering, and it was a fun finish line. I kicked my A goal's ass and finished in under 8 hours, which ironically, is in my top 30% of 50k times - even with nearly 7,000' of climbing. 

Official Time: 7:54:38

Garmin Time: 7:54:24

Average Pace: 15:12

Garmin Distance - 31.19 miles

Elevation Gain - 6,925'

Overall Place - 145/230

Gender Place - 40/73

Miles 1-10 - 12:24, 12:27, 13:07, 12:08, 13:32, 12:55, 12:47, 14:02, 15:35, 12:04

Miles 11-20 - 13:34, 12:55, 14:05, 12:47, 13:59, 17:38, 17:15, 19:36, 17:02, 18:43

Miles 21-End - 18:43, 16:13, 16:02, 17:23, 18:04, 19:34, 20:51, 17:20, 11:56, 10:55, 9:32 (pace)

I immediately headed inside with my new pint glass to get a beer. (Thankfully, they took Apple Pay, since I hadn't thought to bring my wallet). Sadly, I had to buy my own beer :(

Initially I found it uncomfortably hot inside, but once I went outside and sat at the finish line for a bit, I got REALLY cold. It was at least another half hour before Steph and Rich finished. They asked if I could watch their stuff, then they went off to change, and were gone a long time. Stella came to sit with me for a bit. I was finally hungry, so I went to get food and of course that's when Michele finished, so I didn't get to see her :(

Steph was tracking Megan, so we were able to get outside in time to see her finish. Overall, this was SUCH a fun experience. Expensive as HELL, but fun. We had booked the shuttle to get back to the start line. The before picture, before we knew what we were getting into:

And.... this is a special picture Jenny took while we were running. I'm sorry, but this is literally the cutest picture in the entire world. I desperately want a baby donkey. SO ADORABLE.

Thoughts:

• It kinda sucks that this race is the weekend it is. The flights were absolutely OUTRAGEOUS to get to Phoenix. I'm fairly sure that this is the most I have EVER spent for a domestic flight. Since I had to check a bag, I flew SW since they are the most flexible - but it was almost $600!!! I checked literally DAILY to see if flights would get cheaper - and they never did.
• Race itself, also expensive. $192.62 for the entry, plus another $50 on top of that for the shuttle back to our vehicle.
• I like shirt, and the pint glass is ok, but I'm a little sad to not get a medal (I know, I know, I have a zillion of them, but still.)
• The post race food was really good - BBQ with chips and a cookie. But again, I had to buy my own beer and that was sad.
• Overall, this was a really great race though, so I'm not mad at the expenses, just be aware that they are there if you run this race.
• Of note - normally this course is dry, or maybe ONE water crossing. We did, indeed, have close to 20 and they were all relatively deep and unavoidable. (Deep to me is knee or above).
• The weather was not what I wanted (I was hoping for heat for Coco training), but it was lovely and probably led to me as happy and finishing as well as I did because it was cooler.
• There are no bathrooms on course, so bring your own TP and a bag to pack stuff out.
• Aid stations were fine, volunteers were amazing.
• No cell service for probably 75% of the race. 
• Important gear for me - long sleeve sun shirt, sunscreen, Leki poles for the back half. Gear worn - Boco hat, Goodr shades, Coco "finisher" shirt from last year, Rabbit short sleeve high country plaid, INKnBURN skirt, Zensah socks, Topo Ultraventure 2's. Salomon vest, headlamp I never used. Literally nothing else. I did actually eat some of the snacks I brought, used my LMNT electrolytes, but other than water, my pack didn't need to do much. EXCEPT THE CHAPSTICK. Never forget to use chapstick in Arizona!!
• Also unsuccessful in replicating ANY of the weird foot issues I had at Coco with rocks, etc, 
• I love  you Arizona, see ya next month!

West Line Winder 50K (Race Recap)

Buena Vista, CO

Saturday, September 25 (our wedding anniversary!)

Ultra Marathon - #36 (?)

Weather - Chilly at the start, sunny and hot at the finish

I started getting ads in my Facebook for an inaugural 50K in Buena Vista. Normally, I don't get too excited about that distance, but this one caught my eye because the race was going to be on our one year wedding anniversary! Signed up on February 25, and figured it would be a beautiful fall race.

Race Day

Alarm went off at 4:15. I had barely slept, so I was NOT happy. I got all my stuff ready to go and we were ready to get out the door just after 5:15 am. I had heated up my breakfast, but wasn't feeling hungry, so I brought it with me to eat in the car on the hour and twenty minute drive. Unfortunately, the longer we drove, the sicker I felt. I normally have a stomach of steel, and for whatever reason, I felt awful. I barely got a few bites of food down before I started feeling very nauseous and my stomach felt very off. We stopped at the gas station just outside of town and got some gum and Tums, and I hoped I'd be able to get through the race. In addition to just feeling sick, there is no way that barely eating was going to help me out.

I had opted to take the early start and we arrived with just under a half hour to go. Picking up our packets was easy, and I briefly chatted with Michael, who was going to be volunteering. By the time I grabbed my pack and used the bathroom again, it was about time to start. I noted at the start line that only me and one other guy had poles. I felt more out of place than I even do at a 200 mile race.

We started right at 7, and we were going to have a nice, flat run through town to get to the trail system. I was surprised to see Victor and Laura in this wave - they are both so fast, there is no reason why they were there! They were gone and out of sight before we even hit a mile, even though they were running "super easy" for the day. Sigh.

I managed to make it to the trail before I started taking walk breaks. Before I knew it, I was where I usually am in race, the VERY BACK. 

I took my poles out of my pack right when we started climbing and tried to climb as best as I could. I've been doing so well in training that I really thought this would go better. The temperatures were nice and cool and the climbing wasn't even that outrageous, and yet I was still struggling to even maintain my pace and not get passed. Thankfully, the air was clear (it's been SO LONG since we had good air quality), and the views were amazing!

I was able to run a bit here and there, but I still was struggling to "keep up" with the back of the pack. Never ceases to amaze me how hard running always seems, and how I'm constantly fighting just to finish these events. There were sections where the trail was wide enough that I felt like I could have one earbud in, and for the first time in a LONG time in a trail race, I listened to music. I wasn't around anyone, and it helped my mood a bit. I was in and out of the first aid station pretty quickly, the biggest delay was putting on sunscreen since I had forgotten to put it on before I started.

I was wondering how long it would be before the 8:00 starters would catch me. I knew that Courtney Dauwalter was running, so I knew she would be the person who would pass me first. I was right! I *almost* made it to 9 miles before she blazed by me. She was very friendly and told me I was doing great. She's really an awesome person. (By the way, she was not out of breath at all and was moving extremely quickly, haha).

I was happy that the next section of climbing was really a long fire road. I hiked the entire thing, it was steep enough that I didn't feel like running. I really thought that Ben would catch up to me before the second aid station, but I got in and out without seeing him. By this point I was wondering why there hadn't been nearly as much climbing in the first 12 miles as the elevation profile showed. I got to the top of the hill out of the aid station and took of my pack so I could stash my poles. I was REALLY pleased to find the next few miles were on a dirt road and not technical at all. So I got lots of running done in this section.

I was with a group of a few other runners, and we headed off the road and back onto the single track.

There were a few areas where I was able to run and the couple that was in front of me stepped off the trail for a picture and I was able to pass them for good.

This section was actually fairly nice and I made up some time here. I was able to see the next aid station and headed in. I knew I really needed to eat something at this point since I had barely consumed any calories. My stomach still didn't feel great and NOTHING sounded good. I can't even remember what I grabbed, maybe some tater tots, but I did not stay long - I was still kind of confused about the cutoff times. I was also starting to wonder why Ben hadn't caught me yet. The next section was the longest stretch without aid at just over 7 miles. We actually had quite a bit of flat and not incredibly technical here, so I did a decent amount of running. It was getting really hot out and I was definitely ready to be done with this race.

I honestly don't remember much else about this section. It was hot and exposed. The aid station had moved about a tenth of a mile further because of a double booking with the race and a wedding party. I spent a couple minutes putting on sunscreen and grabbing a pierogi for the walk out of the aid station. I finally saw Ben coming in as I was leaving. I told him I was slowing down and that he would be able to catch up. There was a slight downhill after the aid station, so I ran that. Supposedly it was only 4 miles to the last "aid" which was water only. I figured Ben would catch me with in 10-15 minutes. Somehow, the miles ticked by, and he still hadn't shown up. The markings were a lot more sparse in this section and I pulled out my map a few times to make sure that we were on the right course. All of a sudden, I was going up following the markings and came across Ben and another gal. I don't know how we ended up at the same place coming from opposite directions. Another guy came from behind them and he insisted he knew which way to go (back the way I had just come). Thankfully, he was right, and we found some additional markings.

We expected to be coming up on the aid station soon, but we also hadn't seen the "one mile until aid" sign that had preceded every other aid station. Maybe there wouldn't be a sign for this one because it was an unmanned water drop only? Either way, by looking at the map, it sure seemed like we wouldn't be there at 4 miles like the course had suggested. Turns out I was right. By the time we finally got there, it was over 6 miles! Ben and I had both run out of water. There was still water in the jugs, but they had been baking in the sun all day and the water was NOT cool. 

From here, we weren't sure if we could trust that it was "just 3" miles to the finish. Initially, the course was actually going to be just short of a 50K, but at that rate, we should only have been about a mile from the finish, which we knew we weren't.

There was still some fairly technical trails in this section and we were both DONE, so there was not a lot of running here, although I tried to when I felt like I could.

Finally, we saw the bridge that we had crossed in the first mile.

There was a volunteer at the end of the bridge who informed us we were going the opposite direction from where we had been at the first mile. Yay! We stupidly thought that meant it would be less than a mile to the finish line. Unfortunately, it was actually longer this way. Finally, we saw Main Street. We could hear people cheering and we knew that we were almost there. We got passed by a woman on this stretch, but I didn't care. Finally, with just a few blocks to go, we decided to run it in. SO HAPPY TO BE DONE.

Somehow, I don't think I realized that there was a medal, and the volunteer had to chase us down to give it to us - along with our bottle of whiskey. 

We both took a much-needed seat under the canopy and Ben got us some otter pops and small cups of coke. Ben recognized a friend that he used to work with and we chatted a bit before getting a picture at the finish line.

Since I took the one hour early start, Ben finished an hour before me. I have to say, I'm pretty excited that it took him 27 miles to catch me during the race, and it was actually pleasant to hang out together for the last miles. My tracking info is below - I'm pretty proud of the fact that I never "lost" position on the course, I was steady and continued to "move up" past people in the overall rankings. A bit disappointed at how slow I was, and how hard of an effort this was, but considering I was barely able to eat, I guess I did fine.

Garmin Time - 8:44:52

Garmin Distance - 32.16 miles

Garmin Pace - 16:20

Elevation Gain - 3,808'

Miles 1-5 - 12:13, 18:33, 16:01, 16:33, 13:44

Miles 6-10 - 15:06, 15:08, 14:21, 15:06, 15:00

Miles 11-15 - 16:38, 19:06, 18:14, 11:33, 11:52

Miles 16-20 - 13:30, 16:30, 13:17, 16:04, 14:46

Miles 21-25 - 17:46, 19:11, 18:36, 14:32, 17:51

Miles 26-30 - 19:22, 18:28, 20:54, 18:30, 20:36

Miles 31-32.16 - 17:21, 16:41, 12:00

Thoughts:

• Pretty good for an inaugural race! 
• Aid stations were really good. I wasn't expecting so many food options, but there was even hot food at most aid stations - definitely something you don't expect at "just" a 50K
• Early markings were really good, but in the more technical sections towards the end there was definitely significantly less.
• The app we were told to use for the course was "ok," but it only showed you where you were on the map, not what direction you were going or any further detail. I much prefer loading a route into Gaia and being able to tell better where I am.
• The section from the last full aid to the water drop was WAY longer than it should have been. Had I known it was going to be so much longer, I definitely would have taken more water with me, and probably forced myself to eat more.
• Cute race shirt, that was optional to get.
• Unexpected medal, which I liked!
• Amazing and FREE race pictures. I got four times as many pictures in this race than I did in all 4.5 days of Bigfoot. Crazy.
• I just didn't love the course. I don't know what I was expecting, but I really thought we would be in the woods or something. This was definitely more of a "desert" environment, and a lot of it was on mountain bike trails. There were a number of bikes out as well, which wasn't a ton of fun.