2002 HURT 100 Paul Lindauer 2 February 2002 A'ole Makou E Ho ohikivvale Kela! Wet, cold rain was cascading down all around me, pelting me continuously while I struggled through the mud, roots, and rocks down Nuuanu Nightmare. I tripped, slid, and fell again, shoes, pants, shirt, and hands muddied yet one more time. Ignoring the pain in my knees and legs, I quickly scrambled back up and ran/fell down the treacherous path to the Jackass Ginger aid station. "This is fun," I kept thinking to myself. And I pushed onward. Ever on. I was participating in the HURT(Hawaiian Ultra Running Team) II 100, a 100 mile 'run' through variegated forests and mountains on the island of Oahu. A series of 5 20-mile loops, with 3 awesome aid stations, was the order of the day(and night). My journey as an Ultrarunner had begun here in Hawaii. Never a 'big' runner before, I had finished 5 marathons (with average times) over the last 6 years and was only recently(last 15 months or so) running on these trails every few Saturdays or Sundays with akabill and several other members of the HURT team; I had only run 40 miles once in November(11 ˝ hours with akabill). I had a disastrous Honolulu Marathon December 9, 2001; my legs were incredibly sore and I literally walked in the last 9 miles. William Webb and I had run for about 6 hours the week before, but I was somewhat shaken – dying at 17 miles?! I had 83 more to go in January! Akabill and other wonderful members of the HURT team talked to me about the difference between roads and trails, and that I obviously didn't taper for the Marathon and would do ok at the HURT II 100. As race day drew nearer, I became more excited and somewhat confident that I could 'run' the full 100 miles. I slept well and rested the whole week before THE RUN. The pre- race meeting on Friday, 18 Jan 02, went well and I was truly inspired by seeing and conversing with great runners of all ages, races, and speeds. I packed 'gobs' of stuff for the aid stations, not knowing then how most of it would get soaked and that I wouldn't use hardly any of it anyway. Woke up Saturday shortly after 4:00am. My fantastic wife Ann drove me to the start line at the Nature Center, a wonderful Hawaiian ceremony and a torchlit trail. We all proceeded up 'roots and rocks' at different speeds, full of energy and attuned to the beauty of Nature all around us. I had wanted to run at a pace with either William Webb or Bob Murphy, superb individuals who I often trained with. However, maybe it was DESTINY or the cool, soothing rains of the day…we were together often but clipped along the first 20 mile loop right near 5 hours. I learned a lot by observing other ultrarunners and after sitting down at the Paradise Park aid station, watched Monica Scholz move expediently through and head back up the trail. I vowed then and there to only come in for some fruit at future aid stations, refill with Gatorade and water, and grab a luscious peanut butter and jelly sandwich, hamburger or pizza to walk quickly back up the trail. I realized that even 100 mile ultrarun transitions should be treated somewhat like Ironman Triathlon transitions – GREAT people and volunteers, but let me get back on the TRAIL and 'keep pushin' on!' On the 2nd loop, I was pulling away from good friends William and Bob. At times, Mike Garcia and Richard China and others were before me or after me; rain was intermittently falling and I had started to fall more often(always 'fun' and easy into the mud – thankfully, never off the narrow cliff trails into the treacherous valley depths below). I had changed my short sleeve shirt back at the Nature Center into a thin long-sleeved one; I also had changed my white socks. This would be the last time I ever changed! Crazy, you say? Well, somehow I was driven with my 'second-hand' shoes(yes, my wife Ann is still mad I never put on my new trail shoes, but what good would they have done in that crazy weather and mud?!) to press on no matter what. I just kept forging forward, repeating positive 'phrases' in my mind and briefly looking around to enjoy the lush beauty of Hawaii. Even when I fell I laughed and said to myself that this was a blast! It was a great adventure, like the Star Wars or Lord of the Rings movies I always enjoyed watching; only now, I was making my own epic adventure with the help of family and friends. I caught fleeting glimpses of the gazelles(Ian Torrance, Jeff Huff, Luis Escobar et al) and my mentor, akabill; seeing their jaunty strides and receiving the warmth and diligent attention from great aid station people like Greg Cuadra and John Salmonson and their respective entourages was as refreshing as the rain that continually cascaded upon us that fantastic weekend! I would not let myself, my wife and kids, or them down – I would push onward, ever on… I reached mile 40 at the Nature Center Saturday evening around 5:15pm. Just as I was about to leave to go boldly farther than I ever had before, FATE intervened – driving up right in front of me was Ann, her parents Don and Marva visiting from the mainland, and my super kids Noelle and Luke. Brief 'distant' hugs and words were exchanged; I thanked them for coming and told Ann that I hoped to see her sometime Sunday afternoon if all went well. I had never run through the black of night before – what would happen? As loop three progressed, I began getting wetter yet more confident and comfortable using lights. I was now falling down more often, but LIFE WAS GOOD IN THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRAIL as akabill tells us on our trail runs. At times I desperately wanted to catch up to other runners for some companionship, but often they would drop off pace. One great person who catapulted me through this section was Richard China; he moved nimbly and we chatted briefly at times through much of this loop. He was excellent, and though I kept falling and getting muddier, I was tremendously enjoying the experience and our travels enabled me to gain more confidence and cautiously yet expediently press on. Again, super words of encouragement from the HURT team runners and aid station helpers bolstered my spirits. I began to think of the RUN as going from one aid station to the next, and time was passing quickly. Finally, somewhere on the 4th loop, I caught up to akabill. We would finish the 100 miler together. The last two loops were tough on the downhills as a slight pain was affecting my left leg/knee area; conversely, I enjoyed moving faster on the uphills as my calves and hamstrings seemed to enjoy these last 40 miles more than the first 60. Akabill and I stopped a little more often on the final loop to take pleasure in the moment of our existence. We would gaze at the mountains, trees, ocean, flowers, sky, and then press on. I started to worry about the time and wanted to go faster, but akabill was wiser and knew we would finish under the 36 hour time limit. Greg Cuadra met us near the end and, as his daughter Crystal had sternly told us back at the last aid station(Nuuanu), herded us down the final few section of 'Center' trail to run in to the finish. RUN! Light of spirit and beaming smiles, akabill and I RAN gently and easily down the sunlit trail towards the finish line. People were cheering us like elite athletes as we paused, clasped hands, and put our hands and permanent imprint on the finish tape of one of the most momentous weekends of my life. We turned around, and everywhere faces were smiling, people were talking, and I could not THANK akabill and EVERYONE involved with this event enough for helping me achieve GLORY!!! 100 miles!!! 35 hours, 29 minutes!!! An ULTRARUNNER!!! How did I do it? I didn't physically train as well or as much as I could have trained. A SPIRIT, an ATTITUDE, and a FELLOWSHIP of ULTRARUNNERS converged January 19th and 20th on Oahu as I, running crazily, laughing madly, and plodding merrily through rain and rocks and mud and bruises and sun and dirt and darkness, emerged EMERGED EMERGED!!! into the LIGHT of 100 miles as an ULTRARUNNER… We Wouldn't Want It To Be Easy!