From owner-ius-l@AMERICAN.EDU  Mon Apr 29 20:39:49 1996
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 19:06:57 -0700
From: combs@broadvision.com (Dave Combs)
To: ius-l@american.edu
Subject: Cal 50 report (long blow by blow, as usual)
Cc: combs@galaxy.broadvision.com

Hi, all!

A report from WAY at the back of the pack at Saturday's Cal 50 in
Santa Rosa...

List member Lauren Lechner and I drove up Friday night, and ended up
staying at a hotel on the road to Annadel State Park, site of the run.
Luckily we were only 15 minutes away, so could wake up at the 'reasonable'
hour of 4:30 or so to make the 5:30 checkin for the 6:00 start.

When we arrived at just after 5:30 Saturday morning, there were maybe
100 people around in the parking lot at the start, but it was hard to
recognize anybody in the dark.  We checked in with about 15 minutes
to spare, but Tom Crawford started walking everybody a couple
hundred yards down a road for the start about 5 minutes later, so
I was madly splashing sunblock over my shoulders and then dashing back for
my water bottle that I'd forgotten in the rush to avoid being late.
After a few pre-race instructions and warnings about the heat (expected
to be in the 90's) and rocks (there were LOTS of them, EVERYWHERE) we were off.

Lauren and I had planned to run the race together--her first 50,
and mine as a Western States training run.  Privately I was guessing that
with Lauren's great heat tolerance and my lack of good training the last 3
weeks or so, I'd be lucky to last one lap of the 25 mile course before
sending her on her way ahead.  I wasn't too far off.

We took off slowly up a dirt road hill, letting others go ahead, until we
were near the back.  No point in pushing the pace yet.  We crested the hill
and jogged down the other side, looking at the nice meadow on the right
as we got to the bottom.  Hey, an outhouse!  Time for a quick pitstop for
each of us.  In the two or three minutes that took, most of the rest of
the field passed us by, so we had a little catching up to do.

We started up the first trail hill--lots of rocks to climb over, around,
and on top of.  We passed Helen Klein and a couple others.
Then more hills, up and down.  We met up with Pat Wellington maybe 3 miles
into the run.  Pat and Lauren started talking as we jogged slowly along.
I started to worry a bit about the time, so I tried to drag them ahead just
a bit faster, in case we were going too slow.  We were enjoying ourselves,
especially since it was still cool, but when we finally reached
the 5.9 mile aid station, we were at 1:30.  Yow!  Too slow!  At that rate
we wouldn't make the mandatory 5:30 cutoff for the first 25 mile loop.

Lauren and I bid farewell to Pat on the next hill, and set out for the
10.6 mile station.  There are several hills on this section, with lots
of climbing up rock gullies, and a bunch of runnable sections as well.
Lauren and I were worrying, so we pushed the pace a little more than
we had wanted to, just to gain back some time.  Finally we came down a short
hill and there out in the middle of a field was the second aid station.
2:30.  Better.  Not great, but better.  We visited with the great people
at the station for a couple minutes, tanked up on fluids and salt, and
took off for the next station 7 miles away.

After an easy hill and downhill, there is a BIG, SLOW uphill for about 1/2 mile.
You gain a few hundred feet of elevation all at once.  Everything is
exposed, on a fairly easy trail that looks like a jeep road (but with
extra rocks added just for good measure! :-)  We ran to the base of the
uphill, then trudged up, gaining on those ahead of us.  The view from
here is great--a big bowl-shaped valley, lots of grass, etc.  Passing the top
several minutes later, we started to catch Ron Kovacs (another Bay Area
runner.)  Finally we got to the top of another hill, and started down a
long (more than a mile) dirt road.  More rocks on the road, but compared
to earlier, not too bad.  Maybe 1/4 mile from the bottom, we came across
a group of people I know.  One of them, Joan Szarfinski, had fallen and
dislocated her shoulder.  Someone else had come along and popped it back
into place, but she wasn't doing too well and was getting chilled (this
section was almost entirely under trees.)  Others had gone down ahead of
us to get a car from the aid station, and we took the same message down,
meeting the car about 1/4 mile below.  It couldn't make it up the hill.
Various people were heading up the hill with extra clothes and to help
bring Joan down.  As there wasn't anything Lauren or I could do to help, we
continued out the half mile or so to the aid station.  We arrived about
3:40.  It seemed a bit short for 7 miles, and we were told we were at
16.9.  Not great, but still possible to make 5:30.

We trudged up another long mostly rocky hill for 1/2 to 3/4 mile, then got to
run through some woods awhile.  It was really quite pleasant, if you
weren't under the gun to make a cutoff.  Lauren was doing really well,
and I was at least doing tolerably.  I could walk fast, but running was
a little slow.  After a bunch more of this we crested a hill and started
down a nice easy dirt road.  Lauren ghosted ahead as only she can, and
I followed a ways behind.  We were coming down the right side of a large
(1/2 mile wide?) bowl.  On the left side of the bowl at the bottom was
the next aid station!  We got there just about 4:30, quickly got supplies
and took off.  It looked like we'd make the 5:30 cutoff, and Ron had told
us a bit earlier that he figured we would easily, but I was still nervous.

Yet another hill and more rocks.  I had to take yet another quick pee
break, and Lauren coasted ahead.  We reached the top of what was supposedly
the longest, rockiest downhill of the course, and I didn't see her anymore
as she cruised easily through, while I was having a bit harder go at it.
Finally, after a few thousand more rocks, the bottom of the hill.  A quick
charge to the right and into the woods.  The guy behind me came up and
passed, and I just tagged along behind him toward the start/finish area.
He was an interesting guy--Jim Butera, the founder of the Leadville 100
(my only previous 100 finish, in 1988.)

It turned out that the last stretch was only 3 miles, not 4, and I arrived
at 5:08.  Lauren had arrived 4 minutes earlier.  After about 10 minutes
I was ready to head out again (I think Lauren was ready about 30 seconds
after she arrived, she seemed to be having such a good time.)

We jogged out, then walked up the hill.  I wasn't feeling great, but not
too bad.  Lauren looked like she felt incredible.  I can't understand how
anybody can really enjoy running over rocks, but she does.

We had 6:42 left for lap #2.  We walked most of the first dirt hill, then
down the other side, past the outhouse (no pitstop this time) and up the
first rocky trail.  Noon passed.  The exposed areas of the trail were
getting pretty warm (high 80's, probably), though there was a lot under
shade as well.  After about an hour, my stomach started complaining that
I was forcing too much stuff into it.  With that and the heat, I was
feeling a bit nauseous and light-headed and slowing down.  I finally told
Lauren that she should go ahead, and that I'd come along behind, or drop
out if things got really bad.  She was worried and wondered if I should
go back to the previous station, then reluctantly took off.  I followed
behind for a bit, then lost sight of her on one short rocky uphill.

I started thinking about how much time I could go over our original lap
time and still make 12 hours.  I finally wandered into the 5.9 aid station
at 1:40 (lost 10 minutes over the first lap.)  I got a bunch of water,
Coke, salt, but little actual food as my stomach was just queasy.
I left feeling better but not great.

The trip to the 10.6 station took a LONG time.  I just hiked a lot of it,
running the downhills and a few of the flats slowly.  I was hoping to get
there by 2:40 of lap #2 (~8:00 overall).  I didn't get there until almost
2:55 (8:15).  More cushion lost.  I gave up thinking about comparing against
the lap #1 times, and just started thinking about how close I was to the
12:00 race cutoff.

The trip to the 16.9 (or whatever) station actually went quite well.  Not
REAL fast, but not too bad.  I was able to run slowly down the entire long
hill where we'd seen Joan Szarfinski on lap #1, and start out to the station
from there.  Along the way I noticed a guy at the side of the trail ahead.
There was a big horse trough there, full of water, that I'd missed on lap #1.
Saved!  We both got thoroughly wet and cooled down a bit, then headed out
for the station a few minutes away.  I arrived a little before 10:00.
At the station I met Tom Crawford and Gard Leighton (who was aiding this
day instead of running.)  They were nice enough to douse me head to
foot with cold water from a jug, then I got more salt and was on my way.
7 miles left, around 2 hours to do it, stomach feeling lousy but everything
else basically okay but SLOW.

One more time through the long rocky climb from there, through the fields,
and (finally) into the bowl with the last aid station at the bottom.  I
was a lot slower this time than last, but it was great to get there.
The two guys in the station asked how I was doing, heard that I was really
out of it, and came up with "well, we ran out of porn video tapes a while
back, and don't have any interesting magazines.  I guess you'll have to
go to the finish instead of hanging around here where it's dull."  On that
funny note, I headed out, at around 11:00.

I knew I'd make the 12:00, but not by how much.  Another trip up the last
of the big hills, a last wandering through a few more fields and down the
last rocky gully.  One last right turn, a slow and easy trip through the
really pleasant and cool woods before the finish, one last quick uphill
and downhill and I was there, with Stan Jensen telling me I could stop
now (I didn't see any finish line.)  11:43:08.  Not a good "race", but at
least I got the great sweatshirt reserved for finishers (that was really
my only goal most of the second half of the run.)  It was really great
to see Stan, and Norm Klein was dishing out hotdogs and great soup.
Thanks, nOrm!

I found Lauren at the car.  She'd done REALLY well, meeting up with Ron
Kovacs after she'd left me.  The two of them ran the last 15 or so miles
together, finishing in 11:14:54.

After something to eat and a little waiting around to see Wini Jebian
(next after me, in 12:05, also her first 50 (?)) and Pat Wellington (12:19)
come in, we took off for home.  I barely made it to my door before
falling asleep. :-)

Next up--Quicksilver 50 miler on 5/11.  Who else is there?

Cheers,
Dave

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Dave Combs                                 Senior Staff Engineer
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W (415)943-3682                            333 Distel Circle
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