MIWOK 100K - A RUN BEYOND EXPECTATION

This article is going to be on the Miwok 100K. How could I not write 
about Miwok? I ran one of my best races all categories, and it was one 
of the most beautiful courses I've ever run. What is that if not an 
unbeatable combination?

At 3:20 am I'm already past the most difficult bit ... getting out of 
bed. It's all downhill from here ... well, except for some 10,000 feet of 
ascent, that is! I'm not a morning person, but standing there at the 
ocean just at daybreak together with a couple of hundred like-minded 
people, only just seeing but definitely hearing the waves, is something 
special. When we start the initial steep climb, the views get even 
better. We continue to ascend a bit, but what goes up must come down, 
and, boy, do I enjoy this first long downhill, steep enough to give you 
some good speed, but not so steep that you wear out your brake pads at 
this early stage. The following uphill (what goes down must come up) I 
tackle by altering jogging and walking. The fog is still reigning (but 
it's not so thick that you don't get a good view of the beautiful 
Golden Gate Bridge) and the morning wind is (way too) cool and damp, so 
my Tyvek jacket comes to good use. At Tennessee Valley, aid station 
captain Stan is on the phone, saying that five women have checked in so 
far, but no Ann Trason. Well, I know I've had a good run for these 
first 11 miles, but to expect to be ahead of Ann is simply to expect 
too much, so I realize that something must have happened. (It turns out 
that she got lost and decided to drop, so now I can say that I've run 
in the same race as Ann Trason and she didn't beat me!)

The climb at around 20 miles looks steep on the course profile, but 
again, I find that a mix of running and walking gets me to the top 
fairly unscratched, and when I come out on the meadow I get my reward. 
"Wow", I say loudly, because although the trail is narrow and sometimes 
leaning quite steeply to one side and thus does not give you an easy 
run, the views are stunning! This is a word that I feel is frequently 
being overused, but seldom has it had a stronger right to be used than 
in connection with this trail! The sun has all of a sudden broken 
through, and even the shock pink ribbons, that are strategically 
positioned wherever we need direction or simply a reassurance that we 
are on the right trail, find it difficult to compete with the purple-
blue lupines and the ubiquitous poppies. Way down below us lies the 
ocean, and there, the mist clouds are still lingering, adding an air of 
mystique to the colourful display of flowers and grass. What a 
privilege to be out here, to be fit enough to do something like this 
and to be able to appreciate the beauty even when running in a race.

The out-and-back stretch that starts at mile 27 and turns around at 
mile 35 is admittedly a bit of a contrast. But I'm running well, and 
thus still enjoying it, and the cool of the redwood forests with the 
sun only just managing to gaze through is certainly spectacular enough. 
To this can be added the support you get from your fellow runners 
coming the other way. There is always a "way to go", "great job", 
"looking strong" or something similar, and even the leaders return my 
greeting as we pass each other. This is very much what ultra-running is 
all about ... we respect each other, because we know what it takes to be 
out there. Covering the course in the shortest time certainly is worth 
admiration, but so is being out on the trail for almost twice the time 
it takes for the leaders to reach the finish. The last finishers have 
to run on sometimes very uneven trails in the dark and they are 
certainly not aided by the fog and the cold and damp wind that 
increases in strength the later the evening gets.

This course layout has another advantage: I can see where I stand 
compared to my female competitors. I am very encouraged when I spot the 
leader on her return from the aid station at the turnaround, just a 
minute before I spot the aid station itself a bit further down. I'm 
fifth woman, I'm less than 10 minutes behind the leader, and I'm still 
feeling strong. Thus, my stop at Olema becomes a very brief one, just 
enough time to have my bottle refilled for the long way back and to 
gulp down some of the many goodies that are on offer. I run as much as 
I can on the way back towards Bolinas Ridge, but I find that walking up 
even the shorter hills gives my muscles a welcome change. It has been 
said that a change is as good as a rest, and it sure is true for me 
right now. On my way I pass one of the woman runners that were ahead of 
me. I'm now fourth, a fact that I excitedly repeat to myself, and 
indeed it gives me strength to keep moving on at a good pace. It's also 
nice to exchange greetings with my fellow Striders and PARC runners as 
I encounter them on my way back, and not least to see that Steve, my 
husband, is doing well too.

When I reach Pan Toll at 50 miles, I have passed yet another lady 
runner, and I'm now third! A guy at the aid station tells me that I 
have the best legs of the women that have passed through so far, and 
his female colleague says "Believe me, he's checking!" This is just an 
example of the extremely friendly attitude of the people at the aid 
stations. And they're very efficient too ... as soon as I enter a station 
someone is taking my bottle for a refill, and someone else is asking if 
there's anything more that I need (Vaseline and a cold sponge bath are 
among the things that I appreciate). I don't have to linger a second 
longer than I want to, and time is quite valuable to me right now. The 
downhill from Pan Toll goes well, but the climb up to Highway 1 proves 
to be the toughest part of the race for me. I find myself walking up 
most of that hill, and when attempting to run sections that look 
reasonably easy, I quickly revert to walking again. It's a relief to 
get to the Highway aid station, not only because the hill is over, but 
also because I realize that I have run one mile further than I thought. 
But my sense of relief is brief, because just as I'm about to leave, I 
see the girl that I passed some miles ago, now on her way in. I say a 
quick "thanks guys, better hurry", and off I am. The knowledge of her 
being on my heels enables me to push myself into power walking (well, 
sort of) even that steep and rocky hill just after the aid station, and 
to run wherever there is a chance. It's getting quite cold and damp 
now, with the wind bringing the fog back from the ocean, but that's not 
important at this moment. I turn around a few times, but I see no 
followers, and despite my feet being somewhat beaten up by now, the 
descent into Tennessee Valley goes fairly swiftly.

During my hours on the trail I have composed a song: "I was running / 
In the Miwok / Down to Tenn-Tenn-Tennessee Valley / When my friend Stan 
I happened to see", and I was planning to sing it as I entered the last 
aid station. But Stan is, unknown to himself, saved from my serenade by 
the fact that I'm in a hurry. I grab a Coke and a handful of chips and 
run straight out again, pondering over Stan's 10 second description of 
the last 4 miles ... 3 miles uphill and 1 mile downhill! It's not all 
uphill though. Some is flat, most of the hills are runnable, and I'm 
still feeling strong. Gone is the bad patch just before Highway 1. If 
anything, it's the final downhill stretch towards the beach that makes 
my feet and knees quietly beg for mercy. But that's not difficult to 
ignore. They'll get their well-earned rest sooner than they know, and 
I'm thoroughly enjoying flying down the serpentine hill, taking the 
bends in my stride. Life is good! It's with a shout of joy and a big 
smile on my face that I cross the line, in 10.49.26, as third woman! 
Not knowing the course but having seen the profile, my pre-race 
prediction was around 12 hours and perhaps in the top ten. Maybe I've 
got a future in weather forecasting! As it turns out, I'm only two 
minutes behind Rena in second place and a mere five behind Jana who won 
the women's race. I have gained five minutes since the turnaround at 
35. It's not quite enough for victory, and it's not that I didn't try, 
but I simply cannot be disappointed, despite my competitive nature! I'm 
thrilled with my run. I had a very good start of the race and I had the 
strength to keep going at a decent pace when the going was getting 
tough. And not least, I had the privilege to share this experience with 
all these wonderful people, fellow runners as well as aid station 
workers, marshals and finish line volunteers, and I had the privilege 
to run through a scenery that was among the most spectacular I've ever 
seen. What more can an ultra runner ask for?

Cecilia Reagan
May 7, 2002