THE DREAM-WRECKER 1999 ANGELES CREST 100 I always have an agenda going into big races, some sort of self motivation that I use to push myself. This year was no different, I went into the race as the Dream-wrecker. It wasn't until the last day of our Labor-Day training weekend that I arrived at this conclusion. It was Kevin Sawchuck saying to me, "The only way I can win an award this year, is to finish ahead of you". This is where the Dream-wrecker was born. I only told a few close friends that this was my focus going into the race. I had three dreams to wreck in the process of achieving mine, which was to break 19 hours, and pull off a win this year. There was Scott Jurek, winning Western States, and looking to cash in on the Grizzly Award for winning WS and AC in the same year. Ian Torrence, who wanted to cap off an amazing ten wins this year, with a win at AC. Kevin Sawchuck, coming off seventh place at WS, wanted to finish ahead of me and cash in on the Cougar. Even with the overall favorite, Ben Hian not attending this year, I had my work cut out for me. All three of these runners were running very well coming into AC this year, as well as four or five others that I knew could step up to the plate on race day. Although these three runners were all running well, I sensed that they were all going to push themselves too hard and pay a price for doing so. Especially if it was hot, which I was praying for. Coming into AC this year, for me, was not much different than previous years. I had the confidence in myself that I could win this race if I kept myself close to the leader going into Chantry. I felt that if I were twenty minutes or less behind the leader, and had another strong finish, I could pull it off. I have also lowered my finishing time for three consecutive years. So my plan was to start out the same as last year, push a little harder in the middle sections of the course, and get to Chantry inside my twenty minute window. On race morning, I was a little nervous, but in a positive way. There were a lot of people truly pulling for me this year, this really fueled my confidence. When Jeff Hines told me that it was 50 degrees outside, that this was really warm for race morning, I felt that my prayers for heat had indeed been answered. It was time to go to work. The starting line at big races is usually filled with nerves, anxiety, stress, expectation, etc... I have found a way to somehow relax and enjoy this time, because once the race starts, you put on your game face, and you go to work. I started out relaxed, settling into seventh place going up Acorn trail. My prediction of the three dream teamers was playing out to perfection. They were all ahead of me, and all were running every step up the hill. I walked every step to the top of Acorn, then hit the downhill moderately. I was right on time to Inspiration. Along the way I passed a runner from Arizona, it was his first 100 miler. He was looking to break 20 hours. I think he finished in 27 hours, pretty close. It always amazes me how many people underestimate this course. I arrived at Vincent Gap 1 minute behind schedule, I could already feel the heat coming on. I felt great going up Baden-Powell, again walking every step of the way. I passed one of the Tarahumara's along the way, and was right on schedule to the top in 1:03. I pushed a little on the downhill to stretch the legs, where I caught up to Kevin and Ian. They run a little slower on the downhills than I do, so I pushed ahead. I caught up to the other Tarahumara just before Islip, he didn't want to let me by. Every time I tried to pass, he would speed up, so I cruised into Islip. I lost 5 minutes on my splits, but felt comfortable in the heat. Ian and Kevin passed me going up Williamson, and the Indian started to fade. So I am sitting in 4th place thinking to myself, things are going just as I planned. Scott Jurek is 15 minutes ahead of me, and Kevin and Ian are starting to test each other on the uphills. Walking every step up Williamson, I get to the top right on schedule, 28 minutes. I push the downhill into Eagles Roost, passing Kevin along the way. At Eagles Roost I am only 8 minutes off my splits (19:03:00 - projected), with Scott now 20 minutes ahead of me. This next section from Eagles Roost to Cloudburst has always been one of my toughest, it owns me. I have never hit my projected split here, including this year. I lost 6 more minutes going into Cloudburst, but I thought to myself, I lost 12 minutes here last year. It was hot in Cooper Canyon, as always, and I fell about a mile short on fluids. All day my crew was keeping me posted on Scott's progress, his time and how he was looking. Jeff Hines kept telling me Scott was looking great, but he would not be able to keep up the pace he was running. Scott was not gaining any more time on me either. Maybe my plan was starting to come into play. At Cloudburst, I would receive the best piece of information of the day on Scott. My crew told me that Scott looked a little overheated, but still moving well. Then out of the crowd someone yells to me, about Scott, "He sure ain't hootin and hollerin any more". This was just what I needed to hear, the first sign of a chink in Scott's armor. I was excited to hear this, but I was still trying to get through my own tough sections of this race. I was now 12 minutes behind my splits, and I still had another tough section for me, (Three Points to Hillyer), which also owned me. I hit my split to Three Points, and thought if I could hit my split to Hillyer, mentally this would charge me up. I lost 5 minutes going to Hillyer, then another 4 going into Chilao. Even though I lost this much time, I didn't let it get me down. I had three bathroom stops in these two sections, and figured that's where I lost all the time. I arrived at Chilao, 28 minutes behind Scott, and 11 minutes behind Ian. I felt that Kevin was falling off my pace, and I was concentrating on Scott and Ian. I wanted to get through Chilao fast, but I had to get some solid food down. I walked out eating a turkey and cheese sandwich. This gave my pacer, Oscar Diago time to catch me, since he just arrived when I was walking out of the aid- station. After downing the sandwich, it was time to get back on track. Oscar is always upbeat and loves to talk, this is why we are so compatible on the trail. Oscar is also very competitive, and really looks forward to pacing me every year. We usually get to Chantry before we have finished all of our stories. Today was not the case. I lost another 5 minutes on my splits going to Shortcut, but only lost 3 minutes to Scott. I was now 31 minutes behind Scott, and 15 behind Ian. This stretch from Shortcut to Newcombs Saddle has usually been great to me. I can push the downhill hard, and see if my walking the uphills all day is going to pay off. My calves were tight, and starting to cramp up a little. My energy level was low, and all those tiny flat spots on this downhill were kicking my butt. I found myself walking these flat spots for the first time ever in my 6 AC starts. I was very quiet, which is very unusual for me, and mentally I was struggling. I felt like the race was slipping away from me, and Scott and Ian were putting me out of range. This would turn out to be my PR of gut-check's, my toughest mental battle in my running career. It would last for 1:40, all the way to Newcombs. This was the closest, by far, that I came to dropping out of this race, without being sick or injured. In my mind, I was going over the best pages in Rob McNair's famous injury rolodex, choosing the one I would use. Oscar, in the meantime was respecting my space, and letting me battle it out with myself. The negative thoughts were consuming me, I needed to reverse them. All the advice I had given runners in the past, about how you need to get the negative thoughts out of your head, was coming back to haunt me. We hardly said a word to each other for almost an hour, other than "dude, I'm hurtin". Oscar would later tell me that he had never seen me struggle this much in any race. When we finally got to the bottom, I thought maybe this uphill walk will start to bring my legs back. The walk felt nice, but my calves were still cramping. I remembered last year, when I was going up to Chantry, feeling similar, it was the soup at Chantry that started the process of coming back. So our plan was to get to Newcombs, get some soup, and some Kool & Fit for my calves. This was a small spark of hope, the only positive moment on this entire section. But I was still walking the tightrope between dropping out and finishing. The spark grew at Newcombs. Oscar checked the leaderboard, and through that nightmare section, we lost only 9 minutes on my splits, and nothing to Scott. Wow, I could not believe this!!!! I figured Scott must be struggling himself. I downed 3 cups of soup, but they didn't have any Kool & Fit for my legs. The soup started working, but my legs were still a little tight. This next section of downhill was always good to me, I have always hit my splits here. It brought back memories of 1996, where I would put Ian away on this very section. Things were starting to look up. It was gut-check time again, this time in a positive way. Without giving away any time to Scott, through my worst section, I thought it was time to gamble. Where I had just come from mentally, I had absolutely nothing to lose. This gamble, in my mind, was necessary. I felt I had to go for it, to turn the tables. I would hammer this downhill section, and if I came up short, I would refer back to Rob McNair's rolodex. But if it worked, I could get back into the race, and with another strong finish, I would have a shot at the win. The gamble paid off, I knocked 7 minutes off my splits, and started feeling like I was coming back to life. I arrived at Chantry only 20 minutes behind Scott, and 8 behind Ian. This meant that I gained 11 minutes on both Scott and Ian. My crew told me that both of them spent a long time in the aid-station, and both looked like they were slowing down. I thanked Oscar for being there for me, and pulling me through an incredibly tough time. We had a good feeling about this last 25 miles. My crew blew me through Chantry in under 4 minutes. They rubbed my calves with Kool & Fit, stuffed me full of food, and loaded me up with fluids and 2 more cups of soup. It reminded me of a finely tuned Indy 500 pit crew. I now was in the hands of pacer extraordinaire, Dana Taylor. Who last year, handed me a PR of 5:44 from Chantry to the Finish. At this time, I was 3 minutes behind last years time, but felt if I could match last years splits, or close to it, I could win this race. This was very exciting, as only an hour before this, I was contemplating a DNF. We walked the pavement very fast to the trailhead, where we started a nice comfortable run all the way to Winter Creek Trail. With all the solid food consumed at Chantry, I started feeling pretty good. Dana is starting to pump me full of confidence, letting me know that I am looking and running much better than last year. We were engaged in serious conversation, talking about life, work, passing Ian and Scott, splits, and breaking 19 hours. By the way I was talking and running, I knew at this point, I was back!. We caught Ian on the new section of trail on Manzanita Ridge, he said "I could hear you coming just outside of Chantry, but I couldn't stop you". I took this as a compliment, seeing as Ian was breathing pretty hard, and probably couldn't keep up with my yakking. Now Dana and I had our sights on Scott. This same section we were on, I gained 15 minutes on Scott last year. I was hoping to do the same this year. The adrenaline was starting to rush through my body, I felt now for the first time, this is it, no second place this year. We are going to catch Scott, then push it all the way to the finish. We got to the top of Wilson a 5 minutes ahead of schedule, I am really looking forward to the downhill stretch to Idlehour. It seems like no matter how tired I am near the end of my 100 milers, I am still able to maintain a very fast power-walk. It looks like all those training run/walks on Cowles Mountain are once again paying dividends. We are looking for lights all the way down to Idlehour, but we don't see any. My plan with Dana is to get in/out of aid-stations in under 1 minute. Dana takes care of drop bag contents, while I down another cup of soup, fill my bottles, then take off, with or without him. We arrive at Idlehour 5 minutes ahead of schedule. We are so focused in the aid-station, that neither of us notices our little surprise. After drinking soup and taking meds, I am filling my bottles and something catches my attention. I look over my shoulder, and there is Scott and his pacer, walking out of the aid-station. I do a double take, then Scott looks back and also does a double take. I think he is surprised to see that it is me, instead of Ian. I am thinking to myself, how in the hell did Dana and I not notice them. Then I'm thinking, I just made up 20 minutes in 9 miles. Yeah, baby!!. I was right where I wanted to be. All my years of hard work on this course, came down to this one moment. It was time to see if I had what it takes to win this race. I watched Scott leave the aid-station, his head is down, he is moving slow, and he doesn't seem too concerned about me. I make my decision right there, pass him right now and don't let up until the finish. I whisper to Dana and point in Scott's direction, he is as surprised as I was. He motions for me to go ahead without him. My whole body is electric. My calves are no longer sore, I am feeling fresh, and I feel confident enough to give Dana everything I have left in the tank. I fly out of the aid-station feeling pumped up, figuring Dana will be right behind me. I want Dana to share this with me, so I slow down, look back, Dana is still in the aid-station. So I start running after Scott again, easily closing the gap on him and his pacer. I look back, still no Dana. I get impatient and can't wait any longer. I push the small uphill out of Idlehour, figuring to close the gap enough to hammer them on the downhill. At this time, I am so focused on Scott and his pacer, that I lose track of Dana. At the top of the uphill climb, I catch my breath and start hammering the downhill. My legs feel great, my stride is sharp, and I am feeling like I can hold this pace to the finish (or at least until the wheels fall off !!). I catch up to Scott and his pacer just about 2 minutes into the downhill. I am right on his heels, and their pace is causing me to brake. I hear Scott's pacer say "should we let him pass". They pull off trail and let me by, I ask Scott how he is feeling?, he says he is feeling the heat from earlier, but he feels like he is coming around. Now I'm thinking to myself, Scott is a great runner, and a solid finisher, don't let him hang around and comeback. On the other hand, I am so pumped up, that I want Scott to come around and battle it out to the finish. I am also wondering what message I am sending Scott, passing him without Dana. I say my good-byes, and keep pushing the downhill. I am really thinking to myself, there is no way Scott will catch me. I am catching air off the drainage steps, flying around the corners, and getting more and more confidence with every stride. I run every step of the canyon until I reach the switchbacks going up to Sam Merrill. I finally see a light coming from behind, I call for Dana, it's him. He is complaining to me, how long and hard he had to push to catch me. I am just smiling, enjoying this moment. I tell Dana, if Scott is going to push hard up this hill to Sam Merrill, I will not get into a footrace up the hill with him. I am running the downhills strong, and there are two major downhills to this one uphill. I can't believe that we knock 11 minutes off my splits into Sam Merrill. We cover this stretch in 1:21, walking almost every step of the way. Once again, thank you Cowles Mt. I drink more soup at the aid-station, and get out quickly. Dana hangs back at the aid-station for 4 minutes, looking down the trail for lights. No sign of Scott. Dana catches back up with me just before the downhill. We talk about my possibility of still breaking 19 hours, if we keep up this pace, we have a good shot. I don't want to count Scott out, but I feel like this race is in my hands now. We are still flying down the hills, we are trying to beat all my splits to the finish. When we get to the paved road, just before Sunset trail, Scott is just coming on the front side of Sam Merrill trail. Dana informs me that he is 18 - 20 minutes behind. We have 7.5 miles left, mostly downhill. I tell Dana, lets keep pushing. One of my goals is to put a substantial distance between Scott and me. As we approach Millard, we feel we have enough fluids, and the lights are good enough to push right through. We knock another 10 minutes off my splits. I can't believe how relaxed I am running, considering my pace. I look at my watch just after Millard, it reads 18:22 elapsed time. I jokingly tell Dana, "dude, we only need to run this last section in 38 minutes to break 19". He kind of laughs and smiles. But his look tells me that he is going to try and hit that mark. He has gotten me here, in this time, why not make a run for it. I have had the luxury of having great pacers for WS (Jeff Hines), and AC (Dana and Oscar). Pacers who are just as focused on my race as me, just as competitive as me. I put all my trust, and my race, into their hands. I will give to them, whatever they ask of me. This trust in my pacers, I feel, has definitely been the reason I have been able to finish strong in these races. Dana and I run all the rolling hills to the El Prieto trailhead. I feel that sub 19 is not going to happen, but I want to get as close as I can. There is still Scott's 1998 time of 19:15, and Ben's 19:05 hanging out there. We want to run everything to the finish. As we approach Johnson field, Scott's wife Leah is jumping up and down screaming. She is under the impression that I am Scott, when she finds out that it's me, she says "oh hi ... where is Scott ?" Dana answers her, "he is way back there". This was a reply that sounded great to me, that our work was done, with conviction. When we reached the parking lot, I let out a "soooooooweeeeee", this was the call for my crew, and The Bad Rats call sign. Apparently nobody at the finish was expecting me, the last report they had was that Scott was ahead of me leaving Idlehour. My crew had just awoken, and heard the call, and were pretty excited. I couldn't believe what I saw next. Hal Winton was actually jumping up and down, totally excited that it was me. I crossed the line in 19:07:50, 19 minutes faster than last year. This was all done in the last 25 miles. Dana informed me that we covered the last 25 miles in 5:27. I was amazed. I gave Dana a big manly hug, and he told me that "this was the most exciting time he ever had running Ultras". This meant so much to me, for him to give up his time and effort to run with me through the night. His support and inspiration, helped me accomplish this win. For this, I was truly thankful. The support I received out on the course was overwhelming, from the aid-station volunteers, to all the friends and families. And most important, everyone who supported me going into the race, and there were a lot of you. Thank you all!! This gave me a lot of confidence going into the race, knowing that I had so many people pulling for me. I hope all these people enjoy this in some way. I hope this story somehow inspires all of you, to keep pushing yourself, whatever your race day goals are. Because when I think back to that stretch from Shortcut to Newcombs, where I almost called it quits, how I will use this in all my races in the future. Thanks again to all who believed that this would happen, I am truly inspired by all of you. Tom Nielsen 10/7/99