Latest Trail Runs in Harriman & FiveFingers - VIDEO & PICS

Its been sometime since I have been on the trails running and to be doing so again has given me a certain energy that running trails can only bring. As the legs get stronger, the adventures go deeper, it becomes addicting. My adventurous curiosity has taken me many places and wanting to know what lies around each bend pushes me to explore farther then before.

My MTB and Road cycling season is over in which I have been able to rest a bit the last 5-6 weeks. I still kept moving during this time, which is needed, by mountain biking and hiking. I feel rested, strong and focused so on the Vibram FiveFingers go. I headed out to the trails a few times on my own to get use to the feel of the VFF's, begin the adaptation, build a base, and begin to understand what I would be capable of in the VFF's before I was going to join Elizabeth on a run.

Leading up to my first run in the FiveFingers I spent a lot of time conditioning and strengthening my ability to dynamically stabilize movement, produce and reduce force, by performing movements, such as single leg reaches, squats, glute activation marches and bridges, along with many other movements and variations both unilaterally and bilaterally, to strengthen, stabilize and add mobility to where necessary within my foot, ankle, knee, pelvic and shoulder/neck complex's. It's training the body as a functional whole and returning it to its original state of being. Do to all of the sitting many are required to do, the body begins to demobilize and its functional freedom becomes limited.
If your interested in experiencing what it is like to run barefoot or in the VFF's, you should feel free to do so but be sure to do it in a progressive and adaptive approach. Your training will need to focus on the conditioning of your core and functional strength, which in time, will give you the foundation that is needed to safely negotiate your way about. Quickness & agility training will also be important components of your fitness. I am doing all the conditioning and training, barefoot or in the VFF's so as to harden the feet and better prepare them for the trails ahead.

I'm an advocate of natural movement in its purest form. Day to day I am usually in sandals, cycling shoes or barefoot, even in the colder times. I don't like to wear shoes because of the constricted, suffocating feel that I get from them. I was looking for something that gave me the same feel that I always liked since day one but for out on the trails, so I purchased a pair of Vibram FiveFinger FLOWS. Some say that they are not designed for the type of rugged trails that we mostly train within (Ramapo, Ringwood & Harriman State Park along with the Catskills and the ADK) but that just had me more intrigued. I figured as long as they had somewhat of a sole (2mm in the flows) and fit pretty snug without getting loose or sloppy as they got wet or stretched (Flows have a 1.2mm Neoprene lining, which is great for the colder outings), that they would be fine for any terrain. 

I started wearing the VFF Flows in October. To this date I have only ran in the VFF's about 25 times but I quickly was able to build up to 2 hour runs in Harriman State Park. The 2mm sole of the Flows is quite minimal and I would not recommend these to start off with, but they were the only one's I was able to get at the time. The lack of a thicker sole increases the sensitivity of each foot strike out on the trails. I was able to feel just about every rock, root, acorn, stick, etc...as I ran along and it didn't take me to long to become ever more aware of each step. I learned to make quick and decisive foot placements to avoid beating my feet up to much right from the start. However, I have found these to offer good traction on rocks, even when wet. I noticed this because as my feet got a bit tender toward the latter part of a run, I purposely began jumping from rock to rock to avoid small objects and I have ran mile long stretches without ever touching the ground.

Once the Vibram FiveFinger Treks became available, I placed an order from www.citysports.com and they came the next day. I used Vibrams sizing charts and they do fit a bit snug a first; mainly do to my big, big toe but after a few runs, they loosened up just enough and now fit perfectly. I may still pick up a pair a size bigger so that it can accommodate an injinji sock. This will give me a little more warmth going into the colder days ahead and also protect me from blisters in which I received my first one Sunday near the front of the arch on the medial side. The thicker 4mm sole and added traction and protection are a welcomed addition for the technical nature of the trails around here.  

Some of the things that I have enjoyed while running in the VFF's is that when I negotiate technical terrain my foot placement becomes quick and decisive and my hip flexion is increased to avoid stubbing my toes or getting tripped up on a rock or other. You learn to become light on your feet... As my time spent in the VFF Treks on the trails grows, I less often make a mistake and can now comfortably run with my eyes confidently moving from the ground up, which helps me to stay on the intended trail. I have been able to really push the pace on the trails and I am close to being able to run at my normal trail speed, as if I were wearing a pair of trail shoes, which is a solid feeling. Descending has been a little trickier, especially since its November and the leaves layer the trails. One note of caution, be careful when walking around on technical terrain, you will be better off running instead, as I have done most of my toe stubbing while casually moving along. I have grown very comfortable in the VFF's and have now included a few night trail runs while wearing them. I am beginning to feel just as confident in them as if I were wearing traditional trail shoes.

Elizabeth and I ran a solid loop of 8 miles around the Silvermine Lake area on 11/15/09. We started off on the yellow trail and headed South to the Appalachian and Ramapo-Dunderberg trail. Then we broke off to the AT alone heading NW. It was a beautiful day, with a strong fog atop the ridges. After about 1 & 1/2 miles we bushwhacked 1/4 mile to meet up with the Long Path to hippo rock and then down the yellow trail back to Silvermine Lake. We were out there for about 2:30 minutes with a run time of 2 hours. It was the strongest I have felt in years running and all the running I have been doing is in the VFF's. I have run a couple of times in my regular trail shoes and have notice a pleasant difference in my gait when I do so. I feel much stronger from the ground up and my feet feel like they are doing what they are suppose to be doing with the 33 joints that they have. 

Yesterday, the 21st of Nov. Elizabeth and I set out for a run into the night on the trails of Harriman. We started from the visitor center on the south side of the park and made our way along the stream on the orange trail. We started our climb up to Seven Hills by taking the new trail linking back up to the red just above the stream and about a mile in from the visitor center. We then made our way back onto orange and headed up to black. This is a solid climb from the stream to the top. We went north on black and made our way up and down to Pine Meadow Lake. There was a beautiful light the entire way as the sun was setting in the south. The skies colors caused for a few rock sitting moments as we made our way. We past a few hikers that were still pretty far out and we were a bit worried about them getting caught out in the dark. We checked that they were prepared for the night and knew where they were going, reassuring them that they will enjoy the next couple of hours, as they were originally planning to. As we ran along Pine Meadow lake the sun was set and the moon was now very present. We finished off the run, circling back to the red and after about 2:20 we slowed our pace to a walk and just slowly made our way to the road.

I'm restless and can wait to get out there again, all I want to do is run but I am being smart and training right. I am building up a solid base and understanding just what it takes both physically and mentally to be able to adapt and embrace the idea of running the trails barefoot. Today we will ride but who knows what the night will bring, perhaps another night trail run?

Always adventure...

Mountain Peak Fitness

joe & elizabeth

2009 Grindstone 100 Mile Recap

In December when I began to put my ultra-running race calendar together, The Grindstone 100 was on my list but so was The Badwater 135 and at the time I had know Idea if I would get in nor how I would feel if I finished such an epic event. Ever since I crossed the finish line of the Badwater 135, I wanted more. I really tried to rest and focus on other important things in life like taking care of my mother, who as some of you know is battling late stage lung cancer. I also wanted to support the rest of Joe’s mountain bike season but I couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling inside of me that craved more. It was only the end of July and my season couldn't be over... In between I did some mountain biking and lots of road running with my clients who I'm training for the NYC marathon so I knew I wasn’t completely rusty but was I Grindstone shiny? I decided to fully commit and register for this race 5 days before the start; yes I know a little last minute. Joe and I had to juggle our race schedules and other commitments to see if we could make this work and we did.

Video choices: MPF Gallery / Vimeo / YouTube

We left New Jersey 6:00am on Friday morning for a 6:00 PM start in Virginia, yes a 6:00 PM start. The Grindstone 100 is one of a few races that starts at night. Starting at night adds a whole new dimension to the 100 mile adventure. We made it just in time for the race meeting where we found out the course had changed, guess what they made it longer, lol... We now had to go 1 mile past last years turn around point. After the meeting we were left with 3 hours to burn so Joe set up the tent and we napped until about an hour before the start. The moment I woke up I started feeling very nervous and a little scared, its a weird anxious feeling, like when you are sitting on a roller coaster and your about to crest the first drop, tick, tick, tick and then the scream follows...

10 minutes to go! I said hi to a couple of familiar faces. I gave Donna Utakis a hug and chatted about who was going to scare the bears away first. I wished her well and we were off. Here we go, we were first greeted with a couple of miles or so of rolling terrain before our first summit approach to Elliott's knob. Oh Elliott's knob how I love thee... The beautiful green wooded areas were quickly being lost to the darkness of night; where is my headlamp? Oh yeah its on my head, lol. A relentless grade began and all nervous chatter quickly ended. The incline kicked straight up, seriously no switch backs here. I look ahead to see if I can catch someone coming down from the summit, nope. nobody. Then I look behind to see if anyone is behind me, nope, nobody, WHY does this always seem to happen? I often find this weird pace where I'm left alone. I continued to press on one slow foot step at a time staring down at my feet. I took a moment to look up and noticed that fog moved in and became so dense, visibility could not have been more than 2FT! I couldn't see lights from headlamps, trail markers nothing plus I knew I had to some how find an orienteering punch at the top of this mountain in order to punch my number to prove I made it to the top. Five minutes or so went by I decided to stop to wait to see if people were behind me to make sure I was on the right track. Finally I saw other runners coming from the summit they were yelling out directions, "its up there, go left through the high grass"! OK, great relieved not to be lost. I stumbled around for a bit trying to gain a sense of direction and then found the puncher, by then a train of people caught up and we were headed down. We ran down for about a half a mile or so until we hooked a quick left onto a tight technical single track trail full of loose rocks. Its tricky enough negotiating this terrain during the day but to do it at night takes a whole new set of skills. You have to really trust your technique and know and be comfortable with the fact that you are going to fall. By this point I'm still awake but looking forward to the first crewed aid station at around mile 23. I was running with a group of people but decided to pull away and ended catching up to a women by the name of Francesca, we spoke briefly but we were a little too distracted by the trail to engage in full conversation. I pulled into the aid station just long enough to replenish my sport gel and fluids. I quickly moved through this aid station knowing that as much as I would love to hang out and chat, unneeded time at aid stations can quickly add up. I had to keep it moving.

Climbing, climbing, did I say climbing! Its time to turn my music on! I also want to take this time to apologize to anyone I annoyed by my terrible loud singing. The trail continued to climb up and each climb was followed by descents that were just as long. I thought to myself I can’t wait to see what this all looks like again on the way back. We finally were on somewhat of a dirt road and I was able to open up my legs which felt so wonderful! Made it to mile 44 guess who was on his way back already, Karl Meltzer! We stopped at the aid station at the same time, I said out loud, "that’s just sick, crazy, very impressive"! He emptied out his trash which included an ensure for those of you seeking his secret tricks.

I’m still feeling good heading into the turn around. Where is the sun? This whole section was very familiar from last year, I knew I had to summit Reddish Knob and find another orienteering punch. Wow, its getting a bit chilly, time to put on my long sleeve shirt. As I was heading up, Horton told me the 2nd place women was right ahead of me so I thought, hmm that’s interesting. As I was getting to the top, there she was on her way down, "who is that, oh its Francesca". I said hi and told her how cold I was, we were just making small talk... I found the puncher and took a moment to look at the amazing view. I headed down looking forward to seeing Joe and making my way back to the start. Wow this is the longest night ever! I made it to what I thought was the turn around point, I saw Joe and he said nope (he pointed) you have to continue up 1 mile, I said "are you kidding me, another climb"! He smiled at me and said it will be about 30 minutes or so, he took my bladder and handed me a single bottle which was awesome!

Finally time to make my way back! I’m still feeling good but I know what extreme challenges lie ahead. I sure am looking forward to the daylight! Joe came with me for a bit here, we chatted about the race and who was where, etc... A pacer can join you here but not for me, which is fine as long as I have my music. I left knowing I wouldn’t be seeing him for another 14 miles. Finally the SUN so beautiful! I haven’t been on top of a mountain at peak fall foliage to watch the sunrise in a while. Wow, just glorious at this moment, I feel so lucky to be able to physically do something like this. This part of the race is fun, you get to see many of the other racers, it keeps you entertained for a while. Aid station # 10, Little Bald Knob at mile 59.9 is coming up and I know I have to load up here because what lies ahead can end your race and send you home with your tail in between your legs. The climbing that lies ahead is just ridiculous, that’s the only way to describe it. I know that just because I'm feeling good now it can all quickly change and it did! Mile 72, my fantastic feelings turned too, are you kidding me! My legs turned to rubber (bambi legs) I almost couldn’t bare to go down hill, it got to the point where I craved an uphill; which is crazy for those of you who know me. I tried some aroma therapy at this aid station, I'm still not sure if that’s what took me down but at that point I would have tried anything. I crawled along dragging my feet like a child, even having a tantrum until I saw Joe riding his bike towards me. I knew I must be close to the 80 mile mark or maybe not? knowing Joe, he rode over several mountains and I was no where near an aid station. I heard a couple of voices behind me. "Is that a women's voice", I said to Joe, he said, "yup sounds like it, let me check"... He returned to say indeed it was Kim Gimenez but she’s not doing so well. I thought I better make up my mind if I'm staying in this thing and start picking up the pace or go home. I got to the aid station and decided to keep moving, I said to myself one aid station at a time, just make it to Dry Branch Gap, aid station #14 at mile 88, so that’s what I did. The climb out of this aid station is one of the worst! I pressed on moving at a snails pace. I just didn’t have any energy, maybe a pacer would have worked well here, maybe next year? I never felt nauseous or sick, my feet were also in fantastic condition, probably due to the fact my toenails never grew back from Badwater. At this point last year my feet were in so much pain I would find myself sitting on a rock and contemplating chopping them off. My energy level was just gone and the mind movies were taken over (One of the best lines from on of my favorite movies; Tropic Thunder).

I met up with a fellow runner on this part the course, he filled me in on Kim’s status and encouraged me to shuffle so I did but I didn’t only shuffle, I turned it on! I took off until I reached the Elliott's knob section and that part just killed my quads, I again inched my way down the trail hoping I wouldn’t be caught. Man, 100 miles is a long way! I thought to myself, why do I always seem to forget this? I made it down from the never ending dirt hill feeling pretty good, a bit sleepy but good until my fancy footwork landed me face down on the side of the mountain. I literally fell off the side of the trail, this wasn’t my first fall but it definitely was my worst. I laid there for a moment wondering what had happened and hoped I was OK? My wrist started throbbing immediately and I looked around just to realize I was being held from falling any further by a bush. I snapped out of it, crawled back up to the trail, brought my self back up to my feet, stood there looking down to where I fell and then looked behind me to see if anyone was coming. I laughed out loud, switched back on my tunes and made my way to the last aid station.

5.4 or so left to go till the finish! Joe hiked in from the aid station to bring me in, I always make the mistake of asking him how many miles to the aid station? He always, always says, "oh like a 100 yards", when several times its been 2 or 3 miles, he does it purposefully and it drives me crazy but he seems to get a kick out of it. The sun was beginning to go bye, bye for the second time. I was hoping to finish before the sun went down but you never know what’s going to happen during these wonderful adventures through the woods. Yes, I can’t believe I am going to finish this great race again. I am feeling exhausted, the sun has set and my feet were slowly jogging along. This is when I started having hallucinations of bears and of Joe coming toward me. I started screaming hello, hello who’s there? What I thought were eyes ended up being reflective tape, lol.. There are a couple of small climbs leaving the aid station and even some sandy sections that I remember pretty vividly from last year where I walked and whined about my pain to David Snipes the whole way to the finish but not this year! I’m feeling good! I start to hear cheering and clapping in the distance, Yes I’m almost there! I pick up my pace around the lake and ran it in. Smiling big because again I beat the demons who tried to take me and I finished more than 1 hour better than last year.

Congratulations to everyone who chose to be a part of this great weekend. Thank You to the wonderful race staff and all the volunteers for creating this well organized adventure and of course to Joe who gave up his own racing plans to crew me and always greeted me with a smile followed with words of inspiration. For those of you who want a wonderful challenge in a beautiful park organized by wonderful people come out and test your limits at the mighty Grindstone 100! I know they will see me again next year! I have a personal relationship with this race due to the fact that I hate when a race beats me up and spits me out, it makes me angry! I will get you grindstone and when I do you won’t know what hit you!

EC

Grindstone 100, Blue Mtn. Chain Stretcher & The Rumble in the Jungle!

Another adventurous weekend coming up! Elizabeth and I are heading down to Virginia where she will be racing in the Grindstone 100 Mile Endurance run through the George Washington National Forest. This is an epic race with 23,000 feet of elevation gain through out the course. The race starts at Camp Shenandoah at 6pm on Friday October 2nd and has the runners running 12+ hours in the dark to start off. Right from the gun they will be heading up a 2,400 foot climb! If all goes well, we will be heading back up north Sunday morning so that I can compete in my final race of the season, The Ringwood Fall Classic Mountain Bike race. This will be my 21st race of the season, which started back in March. Here are recaps of my last two mountain bike races that were part of the H2H series.

September 13th race was the Blue Mountain chain stretcher. This is a hard, fast, technical course, that if you slip up once, your off the back and chasing the rest of the day. I say this because this is exactly how my race went. Right from the start we sprinted down the parking lot area and dove into a tight single track. We bombed down and approached the 1st slightly technical section, in which about 20 yards before it my front tire went right out from under me and I was now off the bike. I had to wait until everyone passed until I could remount and start chasing. It took me the rest of the 1st lap to get back up to 4th position but the front runners already had a pretty good gap on me of about 3 minutes. Instead of playing it safe I decided to try to bridge up to them and in doing so I was taking some chances along the way. I was starting to close the gap and could see them every so often as some of the tight, twisty single track wrapped around near one another. Each time I put in a bigger effort, but as the laps ticked by and my energy starting to drain, I started to get a bit sloppy as well. Just when I was about to reach them, I became unclipped and got slowed up by some of the technical stuff and would lose ground again. In the end I put one last big effort going up the final climb but my legs would have none of it and I just road my way calmly to the finish, crossing in 5th place.
September 27th race was the Rumble in the Jungle mountain bike race in Jungle Habitat. This area is reclaimed land that use to be a Warner Bros theme park with a drive through safari. You can still see a lot of the reminisce of the park as you ride through the trails. Thanks to JORBA and the many mountain bikers who volunteered to clean up the park, remove all the garbage and carve in some great single track, we now can enjoy it as it should be. The trails are very tight and twisty, with long rock gardens that really tests a riders technical ability.

The Pro field didn't start until about 1pm, so with the night before seeing significant rain fall and the morning of the rain still being present, the course was going to really test our ability to endure, especially since the trails were now a deep mix of mud and rocks. The 1st lap trail conditions were actually pretty good surprisingly, since a few 100 riders already completed hundreds of laps on the course. I was feeling good going into the beginning climb and was running 3rd. About half way through the lap I narrowly got around a rider in front who was bounced off the trail. Just after I passed him, I was riding a difficult line of choice and ran right into a tree, causing my handle bars to twist around. Not knowing this until I quickly regained my position, did I look down and see that they were twisted. I dove off the trail to get out of everyones way and realigned my bars. So once again I was off the back and chasing the pack. I caught back up and found my rhythm again. Going into the end of the 2nd lap, I started to notice the trails really becoming slick and my bike starting to take on some mud but everything was still good. About mid way through the 3rd lap, my bike was taking on some serious mud that caused me several times to get off and remove huge chunks of it from between my frame and wheel. This in turn, caused me to muddy up my gloves which then made it very difficult to work my sram twist shifters. From here on out, the goal was to get to the finish line safely and hopefully without any really damage to the bike. Making my way on my 4th and final lap, I was starting to get a few cramps and was in need for a fresh water bottle from Elizabeth who was supporting me. I was using a lot of my fluids to clean off my gloves and shifters as I was riding. Unfortunately Elizabeth was told that the Pro field was only doing 3 laps instead of 4 and was aware of my need so I finished my 4th lap pretty dehydrated but still with a smile on my face and crossed the line once again in 5th place.

Lastly, A big congratulations to MPF Athlete Joey Wyckoff, who raced his first XC mountain bike race. He raced in the Rumble in the Jungle Mtb Race and took 1st place! At only 16 years of age he has developed into a very strong and technically skilled rider. Watch out for him in the future!

Elizabeths 2009 Badwater 135 Mile Ultramarathon race recap

Wow it’s really hard to put this whole experience into words, but I will try...

The Badwater 135 is billed as one of the toughest ultramarathons in the world and after completing it I would have to agree. The Badwater 135 Mile Ultramarathon is a race that pits the runner against one of the most hostel environments in the world, Death Valley. First of all it’s a huge accomplishment just to be invited to the event, each runner has to a have a serious athletic background to get in. Along with having an outstanding ultra running, mountaineering or adventure racing resume you have to write an essay of why you want to compete in the Badwater 135 as well and if that’s not enough, crewing before competing is definitely encouraged. I have ran 100 miles in -20 degrees below zero through the snow in Alaska while towing a 30lb sled; I’ve attempted to climb the highest peak, Denali or Mount McKinley in the United States only to get stuck for weeks in a tent. I have completed several mid winter adventure races in Alaska that have tested my abilities to endure but I have to say that I have never been challenged on so many levels at once than during this race. Most people travel through Death Valley in an air conditioned vehicle only getting out long enough to take a couple of photos and then quickly return to the car to be rescued by the cool air. Not us, we were choosing to put ourselves out in the sweltering heat where the daytime temperatures rose to 130 degrees F.

The Badwater Ultramarathon for those of you who don’t know is a team event. Each one of the 85 runners has a wonderful crew who voluntarily follow them the entire distance. It’s mandatory for runners to have a crew of at least 2 people during the race and some will have crews with up to 6. I kept it small and true to the ultra running experience with just 2 crew members but then one joined in at the last minute. The crew pretty much keeps you alive the entire distance by giving you water, sports drink, electrolyte tabs, sport gels, food, ice, all at the appropriate times. The crew must be knowledgeable in many areas including sports nutrition, heat stroke, hyponatremia, blister care, dehydration, etc.

My crew was comprised of Joe, (crew leader) his knowledge of sports nutrition, human movement and most of all me, was crucial to my success. Joe has been crewing me for the last three years so he knows what I need before I do. He kept our crew in check and made the right decisions at the right time. Our other crew mate was one of our ultra running clients Allison Newell. I chose Allison for many reasons and I knew this would be a huge learning experience that would benefit her greatly during her future ultra running career. I love her personality and also knew that even in my lowest moments she would always be a positive light. Phil Rosenstein joined our team at the last minute at the pre race meeting. He left another participants crew of 5 to join my crew of 2. Since I crewed for him last year he felt obligated to return the favor. Joe and I discussed it briefly and thought, “sure, another runner wouldn’t hurt,” so we said yes but only if it was okay with the other runner and her crew. I would have been fine either way, in hindsight I should have kept the team as two.

Joe and I arrived in Las Vegas a couple of days ahead of schedule to prepare for the race. Badwater requires you to provide pretty much everything to make it to the finish line, ice, water, sports drink, food, towels, sponges, water sprayers, SPF, Advil, several coolers, ice, ice, ice and more ice. In total we went through about 24 bags of ice and 40 gallons of water, yes 40 gallons of water. After a little R&R poolside and some mountain biking for Joe, then before we knew it we were on our way to Death Valley for the pre-race meeting in Furnace creek.

The pre-race meeting is a special time, it seems to be a re-union of veterans with a few rookies like myself who just sit there in awe. Allison, Joe and I watched and stared as if we were watching rock stars, “oh look,” we would whisper to each other there is Pam Reed and Jorge Pacheco… Only to a small few would these names mean anything. It was funny sneaking photos as if we were paparazzi. I picked up my number which was 33 and sat to listen to the rules of this year’s race. We then watched the very motivating badwater video from last years race. This meeting offered such comedic entertainment by the race director, park ranger and volunteers, that even if you were not part of the race you would have found yourself laughing out loud.

Getting Ready to start - There are three different start times for the race, 6:00, 8:00 & 10:00 am. I was fortunate to get selected to be in the 10am start, yeahhh! This meant that I could take my time in the morning but on the other hand, starting later in the day meant we were going to be thrown into the furnace right from the gun. After a great night of sleep, I awoke with high motivation and energy. I put on some music and started my warm-up (foam rolling & active stretching). I ate, put on my number and we were on our way to the Badwater Basin at -282 feet below sea level, the place where the journey would begin. As we were driving along with the race already in progress, we cheered on the other runners and observed all the interesting outfits choices. I thought to myself hmm..., maybe I should have wore that or look he’s wearing those, then Joe said, "well you have 135 miles to change outfits", we laughed and continued on our way. WE ARRIVED! First up, bathroom, then pictures, national anthem and on to the start line with the count down beginning; 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... After years of thinking about this race and only a couple of months preparing for it; which is all I had time to, I was finally on my way running along Badwater Road (Rt. 178).

Badwater Basin to Furnace Creek - Mile 17.4 - Jeez it’s hot! All of a sudden a very intense feeling came over me knowing that I have 135 miles of this... I strategically started out pretty slow in fear of blowing up physically and literally from the heat like spontaneous combustion. During the first 17.4 miles your on your own and cannot have anyone from your team make forward progress with you. I have to say the first 17.4 miles were some of the hardest miles for me. It takes a while to figure out what I was going to need in this hot adventure in unfamiliar territory. Our water sprayer broke early on, which was really sad because I found great relief from the mist. I ate way to many gu’s (sport gels) which placed me in a state of bloat and fog but I didn’t throw up or get nauseous, just a bit uncomfortable and irritated. Usually later on during a 100 miler is when I zone out and tend to lose track of my gu intake. When this happens, I count how many empty packages I have but in this case my crew were removing the empty packages so it got a little confusing. I was following behind a two-person team who seemed to be getting crewed every half a mile or so, their crew even started spraying me out of worry, LOL. I began to think what is my crew up too? I’m dying out here, when I saw them I said that I need to see them sooner. In the beginning miles I stayed with, who I now know as the kiwis from New Zealand. They seemed to be going at a pretty good clip, I felt it may have been a little too fast. Sure enough, as we were heading closer to furnace creek I saw each of them head to the van for some serious attention, even some puking within the first 17 miles. Wow, after that I remembered back to last year where Phil, who I crewed for last year, developed heat stroke within the first 12 miles. So I began to control my pace and my crew figured out what was working best for me. We stayed with a crew stop every mile where I exchanged out my hat for one freshly soaked, my scarf for one that was fully loaded with ice, new ice cold water bottles with whatever Joe felt was best for me at the moment and then I got sprayed down with our backup sprayers... We found our grove!!!

Furnace Creek - Made it to mile 17. 4, Phil joined me as I fought through my discomfort and laid off the sports gels for a bit. I made steady progress as my body got back to normal. I was a little upset and actually screamed out loud because we should have communicated a little better in how I was feeling. Joe and the crew realized this and from there on it was flawless, other then the time when I thought they made a wrong turn and got lost but we will save that for later...

Stovepipe Wells 41.9 - Stove Pipe wells, is a tiny town which has a general store, gas station, restaurant and motel. It was the section from Furnace creek to stove pipe wells where I realized just what I was doing... I’m here in amidst this amazing beauty, with all these wonderful people, placing one foot in front of the other, embarking on one hell of an adventure. I became overcome with the emotion and the power of it all. I was still battling through my rough patch but making much better time now. I found myself running off to the shoulder on the dirt, trying to convince myself I was on a trail somewhere in the woods; some how that always seems to get my legs to move quicker. At each crew stop, I would stand or walk while Allison changed my ice scarf and gave me my food of choice for the moment, Phil would renew my hat with an ice cold one while placing ice in my moeben sleeves and all of this was going on as Joe sprayed me down carefully to avoid my feet getting wet and then handed me my new water bottles. It was amazing to see my crew get all of this done in less then 2 minutes over 135 times. I can’t thank them enough!

Townes Pass to Panamint Springs 72.3 - Oh boy, the first major climb has come and its about 18 miles long, followed then by 12 straight miles into Panamint Springs resort. It was here that I yelled out that there was something in my shoe. I only shouted because I was in between singing in which I did for a large part of the race mixed in with a little dancing; it’s a fun way to pass the time. For those of you who have experienced a blister before know that a good sign of one developing is when you feel like there is a rock in your shoe. I continued to run even though I knew the blister war had started. Before the race they warn you to remove all calluses from your feet or any rough spots. Calluses in the heat can separate from your foot and blister underneath at which the entire callus can come off completely, leaving the foot raw underneath. I felt that I did an okay job leading up to the race with my calluses but okay was not going to be good enough out here. My rough skin mixed with the dirt that got in my shoes from running the first 40 or so miles on the side of the road was causing a bit to much friction. Along with a few of my toenails having a sharp edge to them causing the sock to catch and jam the toenail into the skin; I was all set for the making of some solid blisters. My blistered feet had nothing to do with my Drymax socks, which I do love or my shoes. Wonderful! I now don’t only have to run in the heat for endless miles but I also have to endure the pain accompanied with blisters in every footstep I take and there is no one to thank for this but myself. During the next 65 miles I will soon find out what my okay job of foot care has caused. I pressed on letting Joe know what was going on and he suggested that we have a quick look. "I’m coming to the van" I shouted "get the chair ready"! I sat down took my shoes off and my feet looked like they were run over by a truck. Whose feet are those I said to myself? Joe lanced some of the blisters and taped my feet in certain areas. I changed my socks put a different pair of shoes on and slowly walked away from the van. After you stop moving it’s hard to get going again. You feel like a stiff corpse getting up from the grave. My feet were so painful I had to run/walk on the outside of my feet for the next 65 miles. However during the next hour my foot pain subsided as my mind and my spirit became transfixed by the stunning desert gold sunset. Traveling by foot for such a long time is so powerful, you hear, see, and feel everything for so long that the energy of the environment seems to become a part of you.

The first night in Death Valley is about to begin. When nightfall embarks its as if another race is about to start. Everything changes, your sight becomes accustomed to the light of a headlamp, the sound of the speeding cars that have been flying by you all day have slowed or are non existent. The desert becomes awakened by 40 mph winds and the sounds of rattlesnakes. I was smart enough to know there would be no relief just because the sun was down. Between the sustained hot winds pushing you back and the temps that were still in the high 90’s, the challenge of this race was just beginning. The flicker of break lights and headlamps painted the road for as far as the eye could see, carving out the winding mountainous road ahead and the road behind. It was like I was part of a night time desert parade.

Joe Jumped out of the car to pace me up part of the climb, he said this is really hard to believe regarding the wind. It was like a giant blow dryer blowing towards us on high. My lips and nose began to bleed my eyes began to dry out. I was happy I had my clear lens sunglasses on, if it weren’t for them I would have had to walk / run with my eyes shut. That’s another interesting little tid bit, I wore sunglasses for 35 hours straight. Joe actually took them off of me at a point to clean them and I yelled at him to hurry because I needed them for every second of the race. We continued to press on! It was probably about 9:00 p.m or 10:00 p.m, I really had know idea. I guessed most of the way without a clue of pace or time but I knew I wanted to make it up Father Crawly before sunrise and this was a strategy of ours to avoid time splits. I also knew that the climb would suck the life out of me if I stuck around to do it in the heat of the day.

72.3 Panamint springs was our next major time station and “town”. The town was made up of a hotel, restaurant and gas station, a great place for the crew to fill up on gas, ice and other small items. We were now at 1,920 feet and I had to make it up to 5000 feet in 6 or 7 hours so I picked up my pace to make sure I reached the 5,000 ft elevation sign at mile 87 before sunrise. Allison joined me for a good chunk of this climb; we talked girly stuff and watched the darkness turn to light. Joe jumped in just as the first hour of sunlight of another day broke through, which was perfect timing. I said “time to brush my teeth”, lol... Yep, this was my reward for making it to the top. I brushed and walked quickly because before long the sun was going to start beating me into the pavement again. Phil was now joining me for an awesome section of downhill. We were moving along at a nice pace, walking 2 posts (reflective post on the side of the road) then ran 3, it was a nice rhythm we developed. Before you know it, we were at the 100 mile mark, whoo hooo! This is my first time over 100 miles on foot, now I am totally moving into uncharted territory. At this point we started to see Mount Whitney in all its glory in the distance. Come on Lone Pine, are we ever going to get there? Time for some oatmeal or maybe instant mash potatoes, yummy… This is how it would work if I wanted something, I would tell whoever was pacing me to tell the crew what I needed and they would have it ready by the time I saw them again, which at this point the distances varied from a mile and half to every half a mile depending on how I was feeling. I walked and ate my oatmeal with a banana, it was like the best thing ever. Great time to run again, feeling great at mile 110! At this point I was actually running a 8:00 min pace, that was until I became over heated. Now it was time to dunk my head in some ice water and get covered with ice towels to bring my core temperature down. I can’t even begin to describe how great this felt, in about 5 minutes I was back up, moving forward and feeling good.

Lone Pine was getting closer and closer... I decided to walk / run at this point in fear of heat stroke. My mind was starting to wonder why for the last 20 miles my crew kept asking me not to swallow when I was drinking but to just rinse my mouth and spit it out? I knew part of the reason was the fear of over hydration and by also placing cold water in my mouth I was helping my body to keep cool. Joe being so smart to know what was going on with me and he knew that in an environment such as this, even a little can go a long way. I was feeling strong so I just listened and kept moving forward! Here I come, mile 122! Lone pine is a gateway town to the wonderful finish line of this race. From this point, a 13 mile climb remained up to Mt Whitney portal. I was so sick of the sun and it was really starting to piss me off. I had thought magically that when I started the last climb I would find some relief but instead the sun was still brightly throwing its hot rays through my body. We past Dow Villa hotel; the race headquarters and I saw our van pass, by I wondered where they were going? I noticed I was out of fluid starting this climb, I began to scream toward them raising my arms! I thought they were lost. Phil and I continued on, I asked him do you think there lost. I started to panic then I started to scream, screaming led to crying hysterically because I felt abandoned, without water or food. At this point in the race one feels so bare, exhausted, anxious, etc. Finally they came back Phil got into the car Joe came out to get me through my tantrum, my pace slowed terribly, my legs began to wobble, I could barely hold my head up. The hill was steep, I couldn’t believe I had 13 more miles of this in the blaring sun. Other race vans were starting to appear so I knew racers were pretty close behind me. Joe fed me some red bull and Ensure and decided to stay with me for the entire climb. Oh look he said Alisa springmans crew that’s the women Phil was supposed to crew for, "oh really that’s nice". At this point I didn’t care who was around, that was until the red bull kicked in, Yahoooo!!! My pace picked up just in time for the endless switchbacks that I have been watching from a distance for the last 8 miles. Little did I know my fellow teammate Phil was conversing with Alisa Springmans team and actually telling them that Alisa could catch me because I wasn’t doing well; like I said earlier, I should have kept the team to two... Good thing I found out after the race. Joe and I were now walking, sipping coconut water and watching our second breathtaking sunset.

We were in disbelief that in 2 miles or less this would be the end of one of the most visually stunning and all inspiring human experiences one could ever have. Allison Joined us for the last bit, at this point I knew the finish line could be around the corner. Yes, there it is, the finish line hidden by the entrance of a campground. I could hear loud applause and see lights flicker, "this is it", I thought to myself. I just couldn’t believe we made it. I am now a Badwater finisher!

I feel Badwater encompasses all of the aspects of what drives us to run ultras. The mental game to push forward, to embrace the physical and mental/ spiritual journey, the challenge of the environment and the science behind keeping ourselves alive by making the right nutritional and hydration choices at the right time. For me this is the ultimate challenge in sports.

Thank You to my Mother Norma, Joe, Allison, Phil and my sponsors, Drymax, Road Runner Sports and to everyone who supported me along the way. I couldn’t have done this with out you! I hope I inspire you to push harder and to endure more than you ever thought possible. The gift that awaits you at the end can never be explained but it's yours, yours to cherish and to grow upon!

As for the weeks after, I felt some pain in my left hip for about 2 weeks and that was mainly do to my running gait being impaired by my blisters and from the uneven road service. My feet, till this day, which happens to be a full 5 weeks later, are still peeling and I lost all but one toenail. I’m still on a high though and asking myself, what’s next?

Thanks again!

Elizabeth

A quick view of an MPF Athletes training session

Here is a quick video of one of our athletes training sessions. Dan is training for hockey and is an outstanding goal tender. He also is slowly picking up the love for running and endurance sports and may be out on the trails competing in some of these events in the near future. So for now, we are conditioning him on all fronts, ensuring that he has proper stability needed for the demands of running and the reflexes to stop a 90+ mph puck.

Vermont 6 Gaps Road Ride training recap...

Miles - 131

6 Major Climbs with 12,000* feet of elevation gain

Max grades range from 18% to 24%

Saddle time - 7 hours 55 minutes

Total time out there - 8 hours 35 minutes

Max Heart Rate - 191

Average Heart Rate - 144

Average mph - 16.5

Top Speed - 56 mph

Easiest gearing option - 39 / 27

Toughest section - Lincoln Gap Climb!

Easiest section - Getting on the bike...

I was planning on racing in the Wilderness 101 mile mountain bike race this past weekend but instead another ride caught my attention. Having raced in the Green Mountain Stage Race (GMSR) the last couple of years I knew that the roads in Vermont offered some great climbing opportunities & beautiful scenery but had no idea about the 6 Gaps Ride, until my friend Brian shared some of the info about it with me. I knew the Appalachian Gap pretty well and was familiar with its final pitch of around a 20% grade to the summit. I had raced up Middlebury Gap in a past GMSR as well and really enjoyed this stretch of road but I kept hearing about Lincoln Gap and about some of the others with their dirt sections and steep grades. I was deeply interested, as I needed to see and feel what the suffering was all about.

Going into the Vermont 6 Gaps ride, I was just starting to get my legs back under me. I have been training pretty hard but at the same time I have been chasing Elizabeth around as well. As you may already know, she has raced several ultramarathons this year, including the Badwater 135 Mile Foot Race across Death Valley, where I ran about 50 + miles while pacing her and countless others required from my crewing duties (Her race report & my crew report are coming soon!). So now it was time for me to focus a bit more on my riding and just keep the runs to around 30 minutes in length in my Five Fingers; I enjoy it to much not to run...

Everything we do lately involves camping and for good reasons; you stay relaxed and your not distracted by anything, its just a peaceful way to spend the time... So we headed to Gifford Woods State Park and camped just off of Rt 100; which was 17 miles south of Rt. 73 and the Rt. 100 junction. This is where the 6 Gaps loop starts and ends. There is a little parking lot off of Rt. 100 which we did not use because we did not know about it until the end of the ride. After a couple of beers the night before and some good eats from our campground kitchen, we went to sleep at about 11pm and awoke around 9 am. The tranquil sounds of nature and the stream that was just outside our tent kept me too relaxed to rush out of the tent, especially when we wake up each morning at 4:45 am... I was planning on getting on the bike by 10:30 am, which is pretty late to start such a ride but I knew we had a nice day ahead of us and the daylight would stay with us close to 8 pm. I recommend starting around 6:30 am if not earlier. I found that towards the end of the ride I was pushing the pace a bit in the valley to make sure that my ride would not end early because of darkness and not my legs. However, I had plenty of time and the valley always seems a bit darker later in the day because of the sun setting...

Now on to the ride! In just a few miles I was heading up Brandon Gap which is a perfect start to the day. Its fairly easy and has no real steep sections so it allows you a nice warm-up going into Middlebury Gap that starts at around mile 27. After heading down Rt. 53, which is more of a back road that passes Lake Dunmore, I continued on to Rt. 7 which then brought me to Rt. 125, the home of Middlebury Gap. I was excited to ride this climb again because it has not been a part of the GMSR since it has become a bit dangerous for a group of riders to pass over do to the cracked up sections of the road caused from the weather. This is still a beautiful stretch of road though. The climb does have its steep grades and it lets off in the middle a bit before the steep grades come again. I felt great going up and over it and I finally felt like my legs were starting to loosen up.

Heading down Middlebury Gap, all I could think of was Lincoln Gap, which was to come next. This is the climb that everyone talks about. Many battles have been fought along this climb and many riders have lost, resorting to walking their bikes or just stopping to gather themselves in hopes of remounting and finishing what they started. But, before I could take on the challenge, I had to climb a 500 foot section of road called the Granville Gulf, which I did not pay much attention to because I was so focused on the Gaps. I found my pace to be pretty fast going up this section of road until I finally realized that this climb was going to last for a bit and I backed off a little so that to conserve myself going into Lincoln Gap. I almost road into a guard rail as I was making my way because I noticed to the left an abundant amount of water pouring from the mountain side, it was simply beautiful. This was the Moss Glens Falls and I really felt like stopping to get a better view but that would have to wait, I was on my way to Lincoln.

One of the nice things about having Elizabeth follow me in our truck is that I would have something to look forward to every 20km and just seeing her every so often kept me in a nice rhythm. As I approached her once again, the intensity started to rise as I knew that she was right by the Lincoln Gap Road turnoff, mile 56.6! As I turned left, I knew that I had some time to sit in and fully recover before the climbing began. I kept waiting for the grades to go up but when they did slightly, they would just go right back down. Then finally the dirt road section was under my tires and I knew that shortly the real climbing would begin. As the road turned back to pavement the 20% grades began. I tried to stay seated and actually thought that I could finish this climb entirely in the saddle but within just a few short km, I was out of the saddle mashing the pedals with everything I had. Holy sh#t this is steep! I approached the steepest sections of the climb which did not let up until you reached the summit. I have never felt my body sweat like I did when I was climbing this section. It felt like my pores were fully opened and just draining the fluids from my body, it was a true and intense feeling. On this particular day, the climb was pretty hot and humid, more so since you are completely canopied by the trees all the way to the top on this narrow road. I looked at my HR a few times and I was hovering around 187 from bottom to top. About 2/3rds up I noticed Elizabeth had found a place to park along the steep grades and had the video camera in hand. It seemed like a long time to get to her and beyond. I never felt that I had to stop, just that I wish I was a few pounds lighter and had another gear choice. Just when you think that the end is near, its not and around the next bend is another bend. Finally I saw a bit more daylight ahead and knew that the top parking lot was nearing. I was completely spent at the top and had never pushed as hard as I did during this climb. To hold on to such a high intensity effort for as long as I did opened the doors for me to push even harder if and when I had to. It was a tremendous feeling and now I was only half way done with the 6 Gaps Ride!

The descent of Lincoln Gap was fast, a bit technical and it had some rough patches but not to much of a problem. I was flying down the climb as I was looking forward to being on the Appalachian Gap once again, which was up next! Also I tend to be more aggressive on difficult terrain because of my mountain biking background.

At mile 70 is when the road starts to turn upward as you begin your approach to Baby Gap. My legs felt great as I began the climb and I paced myself pretty well to the top. After a quick descent I was now on the steeper grades of the Appalachian Gap. As you make your way up to the top of App. Gap you can see were the road turns up and the steeper grades begin. There is a parking lot at the top and it is a gathering place for many to check out the views, watch riders suffer or make their way out onto the Long Trail which traverses some of the gaps, so you can see where you need to get too. Its either an exciting feeling or a feeling of oh @%$#. I had the solid feeling and hit the steep grades pretty hard. The climb to the summit of the Appalachian Gap does not seem as steep as Lincoln Gap, which it’s not but it still offers a great challenge. The road is pretty open and wide which can give the impression as being a bit easier because you can see where you need to go which is not the case on the narrow, tree lined road of Lincoln Gap. I made my way to the top without much difficulty and just blazed on to the descent reaching speeds of 55 mph in sections; its nice when your familiar with a particular stretch of road.

Onto Roxbury Gap, mile 94! After about 5 miles or so on Rt. 100, which takes you past Sugarbush Ski area; a place where many stay during the GMSR, you make your way to the town of Warren. Once in Warren you bare left onto Brook Road which is the road that the 2008 GMSR time trial took place. It was nice to be back on this road, since the last time I was flying up the climb like the TT was a mountain top finish and suffering the rest of the way to the TT finish which was several km away. However this is a nice quiet section of road; which most of the ride is and just before the climb to the summit, I took a little break of about 7 minutes to prepare myself mentally for the final stretch. I was sure not to get ahead of myself thinking that the hard climbing was over because I knew that the two remaining climbs would have something to offer. I remounted the bike and pressed on with an even bigger smile on my face because I was feeling pretty damn good for riding 94 miles over 4 major climbs not including the Granville climb.

As I began my climb on to Roxbury Gap, the road turned to dirt and a nice dirt section it was. I was impressed with how smooth the road was, especially towards the summit. This is around a 2.5 mile climb of a consistent grade and it was one of my favorites to climb. Once I reached the summit, I ignored the temptation to stop and look back to see where i’ve been. I just pushed on and started my descent. The road down was a bit rough and it was the most challenging descent out of them all, mainly because of the washboard bumps. After the descent I made my way onto Rt 12A which is around a 20 mile stretch of road before you can begin the climb up the final gap! Its a fast section but riding it solo and not being able to draft off of anyone, I had to dig a bit deeper to make good time on this section and the wind was blowing pretty strong that day.

The final Gap, Rochester Gap, mile 120! At this point I was in a state of mind that made me feel that I could continue to ride indefinitely but first I had to get up and over the final gap. The road starts out tame for the first 4 miles of the climb but then picks up quite a bit; at least it felt that way. I reached a point where you may think the climb ends but its a false summit and soon enough it kicks up again for about a mile until you reach the true summit of Rochester Gap. As I made my way up, I was glad that the climb was as long and difficult as it was. I didn’t want it to end either, I had such an amazing feeling all day on the bike and I didn’t want to lose it. As I made my way over the gap, you fall into a small descent that then kicks up steeply for about 100 yards. I had enough speed so I just kept it in the big ring and sprinted my way up, letting out a strong yell of accomplishment. It was all rollers from here and with a couple of turns, I was back at the parking lot contemplating if I should continue on riding back to the campground that was 17 miles away. I chose to stop and just take in what I just did. It was pretty amusing rolling through the final town of Rochester, it felt like a ghost town. It was so quiet and not one movement in sight. A bit strange for someone who races often and is always greeted by cheers and yells as I cross the finish line. It was actually very pleasing to have just ridden the Epic Vermont 6 Gaps ride and to share it with Elizabeth alone, it was a powerful feeling and one that I will cherish.

As much as I like climbing, some would say that I am more of a flat lander and should focus more on my strengths but after this day I felt like a climber and I will be in search of ever more grades to ascend and I will enjoy every second of every pedal stroke. I am looking forward to heading back and probably will be heading soon. This is truly a great ride and its a must for every cyclist. Set the goal, explore your limits, train smart and enjoy the ride!

Here is more information about the Vermont 6 Gaps Road Ride. This is the information that I used to make it happen. The cue sheet is right on and the explanations of the climbs gives you what you need to know. Thanks for reading!

• www.northeastcycling.com
• Map & Cue sheet
• Video from my ride - MPFGallery / YouTube / VIMEO
• Photos from my ride - MPFGallery

2009 BADWATER Pictures!

Anxious runners await the start of the 10am wave, tremendous energy was felt from the onlookers including myself. It was powerful to see some of the best athletes in the world about to embark on amazing journey across some of the toughest challenges ever placed before them...

Elizabeth wearing #33 and at 33 years old, finds this number a bit more special then the others.

Making her way to sea level which was several miles from the Badwater Basin at -282 feet below.

The road was not just a flat stretch, it had many rollers along the way with a couple of climbs that were over 10 miles in length. To Mt. Whitney Portal alone it was a 13 mile climb!

This was us heading up Father Crowley Point. It was morning so Elizabeth is brushing her teeth, it makes you feel pretty good after a day full of gu's...

That should be Mt Whitney in the distance, standing at 14,494 feet and thats where Elizabeth is heading and this is the road that she is on...

Making her way up Portal Road, a 13 mile climb to the finish! You can see the switch backs off in the distance.

Another beautiful sunset we were able to experience. It was an amazing journey, with so many stories to share. From my crewing experience in one of the most demanding races on the planet, to the dynamics of the crew and to each foot step Elizabeth placed a story can be told. Check back soon for those stories to unfold.

Thanks to everyone who followed and sent their best wishes along the way.

Click here for the final results

Click here for more Pictures from the 2009 Badwater Ultramarathon

Check back soon for Elizabeth's race recap...

Badwater, just hours away!

Yes, I am going to be one of those people dressed in white at the starting line of one of the worlds toughest foot races, The BADWATER 135 MILE ULTRAMARATHON! I will stand there bare boned, with my heart and mind all on display. Am I prepared for the 120+ degree temperatures, possible heat stroke, dehydration, blisters and so on? The answer is no but my mind, heart and body are more then ready to be put through the ultimate test that Badwater has to offer.

The Badwater 135 comprises of strategy as well as the willingness to place one foot in front of the other, at all costs; its an extreme test of endurance. That’s why I’m here, to lay it all out there. To test my knowledge of hydration, electrolyte & energy balance and most of all, myself! Joe, Allison, and I will become a team! A team that will help get me from the Badwater Basin at -282 feet to the finish line 135 miles away at the top of Mount Whitney Portal at 8360 feet in one piece, with hopefully a renewed soul looking forward to another journey or possibly another Badwater...

Why do I choose to compete in such an extreme race? Some people choose to live life by dwelling on their excuses of why they can't exercise. With todays demanding lifestyle, exercise may sit on the back burner for many but if we can just find a way to make exercise & movement a priority again, we will fend off many of the diseases & supposed disorders that plague our society. We as humans are designed to move, we need to move, we must move freely and unbounded by the limitations we place on ourselves.

I will be standing on the line with 89 others of various ages, most of them several years older than I, to prove our bodies are made to adventure, that we are designed to move and that we need to experience life through pushing the limits beyond what is conceivable. The power of the mind and the heart will be displayed and the true human spirit will prevail…

You may not want to run a 135 miles and you don’t have to but I do hope you find the time and inspiration to get up and move like you have never done before!

Elizabeth

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You will be able to follow the action on TWITTER, YouTube, Photo Gallery and our Blog. I will try to keep everyone updated during the race by using TWITTER. This is an easy way for me to pass along our progress before, during and after the race. You can find all of these links by going to our website and click on the BADWATER ULTRAMARTHON link or just click here!

If we are not able to get the word out during the race, then you can be sure that we will have plenty of pictures, videos and stories to share when its all over.

Its going to be epic!

Joe

Laurel Highlands 70.5 Trail Ultra Race Recap!

After my DNF (did not finish) in the Massanutten 100 Mile trail ultra, do to an injury that could have ended my season if I continued, it was time to begin the healing process. In short, I began a rest, Ice, compression regimen and foam rolled (SMR) as well as strengthened the injured area that happened during the MMT 100 when I rolled my ankle. Within a few weeks I was feeling great and had no pain or residual effects. I was extremely happy I did not do any long-term damage, it was a good thing that I stopped when I did...

On to the Laurel Highlands 70 Mile Endurance Run!

Since my recovery, my training continued to move along nicely; my goals for badwater were coming to light. My training plan was to do either several consecutive long training days and then taper or one long run with moderate effort and then taper.

On June 10^th I spoke to my friend Lisa, who was planning on going to PA for a 70.5mile endurance race that Saturday. As soon as I heard this, it sparked a serious interest. I checked out the website and thought to myself that this would workout nicely; it would have been perfect if it was in a warm weather climate. I asked Lisa if it was ok for me to tag along and so we left on Friday at 3:00p.m.

Lisa met me at Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital where I was visiting my mother who has been battling cancer and then we were off on a girls gone wild ultra running adventure but instead of taking off our tops and filling our bottles with alcohol we were putting sports bras on, filling our bottles with sports drinks and deciding which flavors of gels we were in the mood for.

Again I knew nothing about the course, not even the aid stations splits… We arrived in Johnstown, PA at 10:00pm, just enough time to get at least 3 hours of sleep before we had to get up to meet a group of very unique individuals for a school bus trip to the start line. I wish there was some way to capture the energy of a bunch of people with hydration devices and compression socks all hopped up on caffeine eagerly awaiting the start to their adventure. It was very intense ride but yet a sense of calmness was felt during the 1.5 hour drive to Ophyle PA.

We arrived Ophyle PA; home of the Youghiogheny river which was rushing beautifully beside us. It must have been 4:30 or close to 5am when we emptied the school bus and milled around for 45 minutes until the start. I picked up my number and placed my drop bags in the appropriate locations. Wow, yes I’m using drop bags, its been years since I have used a drop bag and it was strange. I then looked around and there were no flashes of the camera, I thought to myself where is Joe? That’s right, I forgot, I’m doing this thing solo. No paparazzi, no suppo

rt, no one to say, “do you have this, make sure you do that, smile for the camera, now get moving”, etc… Weird!!

All morning I had this nagging pain in my stomach that was telling me I might have made a mistake. The night before I was asking Lisa, since she did the race last year if I should take my lovely Nathan hydration pack or a single bottle and she said that I would be fine with just a single bottle. Even though I should know by now that more is always better. It doesn’t matter how many times you do these things, every race feels like the first time. Lesson numero uno go with your gut!

Race start! Weather is a little chilly but I know that will end soon. Lisa and I started together and talked for a bit until silence fell upon us as we maneuvered our way up the trail. The beginning of the race was a little slow because of the single track which made it hard to pass other runners. The trail started to climb up, as I thought to myself; “here we go, I wonder how long this climb is”? We started passing a bunch of people and then Lisa with other runners decided to pass me on the climb as well. I gave them the okay to move on ahead, knowing for sure that I would see them shortly. I kept her in my sights while we bombed down these awesome downhill sections. The trail weaved through the forest so elegantly it was as if the trail was made for running. Little footbridges ended each decent marking the start of another climb. After about 7 or 8 miles I learned from other people on the trail that this was pretty much it for the steady climbing and from then on it was a rolling running fest.

The forest was beautiful, thanks to all of the rain the area has seen recently which has really brought out many different shades of green you wouldn’t get a chance to see other wise.

Man oh man, I thought to myself where is the aid station we have gone 7miles already and I’m way out of fluids! And how do I know this because there are mile markers EVERY MILE! I started to look around for a stream or a person and then I noticed another runner in front of me... “hmm I wonder who that is”? As I got closer I noticed it was Donna Utakis so I decided to strike up conversation, “hey what’s going on Donna”? I had no idea she had won this race in the past and she had no idea who I was. She told me that the first aid station is at mile 11, “ohhhhhhh, okay then, well I see a rushing stream so I’m heading over, see ya”! Yes I took the chance and filled my water bottle more than once with rushing stream water. I quickly filled my bottle then headed down the trail. I got to the first aid station thirsty but feeling good! The energy felt at the aid stations was super; you see there was a relay race going on at the same time as ours so each team was really rallied up! Their energy offered great motivation to those of us going solo. I ended up catching up to Donna again and we ran together chatting for about 20 miles, she was a very nice women. I look forward to seeing her at the escarpment race. I felt pretty strong that day so I took the lead and kept it.

The aid stations were pretty far apart offering plenty of mileage to get lost in the beauty and spirit of it all. There were moments when I felt lost in the canopy of the trees. The fern and laurel grew besides the trail as if purposely there to swallow you whole, the beauty was endless! I’ve never seen so many ferns of various sizes, some were even as tall as me. My feet flowed effortlessly down the wonderful single track lurking for the next hill or rock scramble. Miles would click by; and to be honest, those mile markers were really getting to me towards the end. I would purposely run with my head pointed slightly to the left so that to try and avoid seeing them, LOL..

Mile 57.5 a major aid station came and I had no idea what place I was in. I think people were trying to tell me but I was tuned out to my music. I think I heard I was in 2^nd but I knew who was in front and I knew who was behind me so I just enjoyed and kept my pace. I even stopped a couple times when there was a brief clearing to look into the valleys that was nearly 750 feet below. I was still feeling good even though I battled through a little nausea at one point but I cured that quickly.

“Awesome”!, 3 miles to go and the last 3 happen to be all down hill, whooohooo … I opened the legs up and sprinted, thinking to myself, “maybe Joe snuck down to watch my finish”, I ran across the line Looked around...., “nope no one here, guess I have to take care of myself, it was a good thing I still felt great!” I headed straight for the soup and then to the car to clean myself up, then I went back to the finish line to cheer on all the other runners coming to the line. I anxiously waited for Lisa, hoping she beat her time from last year. Yes she did, awesome! I held on to second but I have to say, I could have pushed a bit harder so until next year, I look forward to seeing this beautiful trail again and tilting my head slightly to the left...

This race reminded me of why I love trail running events so much! Ultrarunning races on trails offers us a glimpse of what once was, you know before development & traffic... Please visit and support our nations lovely parks you won’t regret it. I would have never known the laurel highlands trail existed if it weren’t for ultrarunning and the wonderful race directors who choose to organize this event and of course my friend Lisa, thanks again for sharing such a beautiful race with me!

MMT 100 Race recap!

Okay, a little late on The MMT 100 report but here it is...

May 14^th Joe and I headed to Virginia to run/adventure in the beautiful Shenandoah Mountains. We were there for The Massunuttan Mountain 100 Mile Endurance Run that started at 5:00 am that Saturday. 200 people or so toed the line for the start of the MMT 100, which is billed as one of the hardest if not the rockiest 100 milers in the nation, which included 18,000 feet of elevation gain along the way.

After spending the week prior at Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital by my mother’s bedside and after participating in the North Face Challenge 50 mile Endurance Run the weekend before, I began to question myself and my motives for racing in the MMT. This was until my mother told me to do it for her and everyone else here at the hospital. “Do what makes you happy and be thankful that you can”, she said. With those words I chose to leave with her energy and with out guilt to pursue our next adventure.

We showed up to the MMT with out any real expectations. I started the race thinking I would make it to the first aid station and then spend the rest of the day cycling around with Joe on skyline drive. The humidity that day must had been 100%, the forecast called for passing thunderstorms with a high of 85. We were fortunate to have a couple of miles in the beginning to run on the road to wake us up before we dove into the woods. Most ultras love to start on an uphill. Giving my current situation, I was thankful for the couple of miles on the road. I didn’t look at the course in detail before the start due to the reputation this race carries as being one of the hardest and rockiest 100-mile races in the nation, so with that known, who needs to see a profile of the pain to come.

I started pretty slowly not knowing what to expect from my body. The last time I put my body and my mind to the test like this was in 07 when I ran Western States 100 and then 30 days later I did the Vermont 100. As we dove into the woods to start one of our many ascents the course would bring through out the day, the sun began to rise. An orange glow painted the sky, sweeping clouds drifted on top of the knife-edge ridge we found ourselves running on. The beginning of this course offered us endless views of the magnificent Shenandoah Valley, it really was jaw dropping. I couldn’t help but slow my pace to stare. Wow I thought to myself, this is going to be a stunning race I was eager to see what was around the next corner. Boy, was it humid out!

I chatted with a couple of people I knew from other races along the way, then boom the first aid station came, wow that was fast! So I said to myself, I feel okay, so lets get to the next aid station and go from there. During this race, aid stations were mostly followed by a 45 min. climb or longer; how fun... Over the next couple of miles I started to relax and my pace started to pick up. My mind started to go into a nice ultra runners meditative state and I was feeling good! A couple of aid stations went by and I was really feeling great. That was until I rolled my left ankle on a technical downhill section, DAM!!! From that moment on my ankle and calf area really started to tighten up. With the long climbs and the endless technical downhill sections, I began to worry a bit knowing that these weren’t going to help. I continued to push on knowing the next aid station was coming up and I would drop in fear of doing long term damage. I came into the aid station at mile 42 or so and told Joe I really should drop now, but one of my friends who knew the course said it was pretty much a hike until the next aid station, for some reason I decided to keep going. While climbing up the next beautiful mountain, thunder started and half way up I almost turned around. Little did I know this was going to be one of the many storms that would shroud the course the entire 100 miles.

When I got to the top of the climb the heavy rain and the lightening started, I said to myself I’m all alone on top of a ridge with lightening bolts striking in front of me and my ankle is killing me,...great! With every step my foot slid into awful positions. This was just like the Escarpment Trail Run last year when it became a race for your life. I caught up and ran with this gentlemen by the name of Dan, he and his wife have been traveling and running these events for what seemed to be most of my life. They were running before I even new or thought about running. Danimal, his nickname was and with his stories, drove me to my final aid station with a smile on my face and a reminder of one of the reasons why we do these things... To inspire each other and offer inspiration and motivation! Whether you are building up to a 30 min run or 300 miles we all need inspiration!

Like I always say, I love technical trail running so it was pretty disappointing to drop. But it was the smart thing to do! Listen to your body and keep your priorities straight some times you have to lose sight of a finish line to reach the one that’s around the corner.