2006 Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Miler

My alarm went off at 3:30 AM Saturday, October 7th, and I was out of the 
house by 3:45 with coffee and munchies in hand for the 2-hour drive to 
Oakland and Lake Chabot for the start of the 2006 DC Firetrails 50 miler.  
Relatively new to the sport of ultrarunning, this would be my 8th ultra 
run, but more importantly, my 3rd attempt to meet the qualifying standard 
for the Western States 100.  My first two attempts met with failure, the 
first in November 2004 at the Helen Klein 50 when I ran a 9:33 and missed 
qualifying by an agonizing 3 minutes.  My second attempt was earlier this 
year at the relatively flat and fast American River 50, when needing to 
run under 11-hours, I was over weight, over confident, and under trained 
as I completely unraveled over the last half of the race, plodding to an 
11:15 finish.

Frustrated and discouraged after the AR50, I was more determined then ever 
to meet the WS qualifying standard.  I soon focused on October's DC 
Firetrails 50 as my next goal, a much tougher test then the AR50, figuring 
that if I couldn't get under 11-hours there, I probably didn't deserve to 
run WS anyway.  I increased my mileage over the summer, which I continued 
to compliment with 2-days of cycling to work each week (52 miles round 
trip) and yoga.  I also chose to throw in several tough 50K's to test my 
progress and help get my legs race worthy, including the Mt. Diablo 50K (a 
quad-buster if there ever was one, with over 10,00 feet of elevation 
gain/loss according to my GPS), the Tahoe Rim Trail 50K, and the Redwood 
Park 50K, which would introduce me to some of the trails run at 
Firetrails.  I also fortified my training with an alpine accent of Mt. 
Shasta in June (14,163 feet), and paced a British chap during his first 
visit to the U.S. and his first 100-miler at WS.  I was pretty happy with 
my preparation. 


If you're not familiar with Firetrails, it's an out and back course that 
starts and ends at Lake Chabot, elevation about 200 feet.  The turnaround 
is at 26 miles, with the return trip only 24 miles due to a short cut that 
takes runners back to the finish on the west side of the lake.  The course 
only hits a high point of about 1,900 feet, but it's all up and down; 
nothing flat about it (with the exception of the first 1.5 miles).  The 
course profile boasts a total of 7,800 feet of elevation gain and loss.  
One thing to like about Firetrails, besides its majestic views of the San 
Francisco Bay, is that the first half is tougher then the second half.  A 
second thing to like is the plethora of well stocked aid stations, 15 in 
all.  Spaced between 2.0 and 4.6 miles apart, they are never far away, and 
this would allow me to hand carry just one water bottle and little else 
during the run.  For previous runners of Firetrails, it's worth noting 
that the course was altered slightly this year due to some trail work 
being done in Redwood Park, which would change the historical turnaround 
from Lone Oak to Quarry Picnic.

As I toed the line that morning and fiddled with my watch,  I was filled 
with a feeling of optimism, but not outright confidence.  I had been 
humbled before.  At a little over 6 feet tall and 195 pounds, I'm 
(unfortunately) built more like a lumberjack then a runner.  While not 
ideal body weight by any stretch of the imagination, I seem to carry it 
fairly well, and at least I was 16 pounds lighter than in April at the 
AR50.  That, in and of itself, was encouraging.

It was dark at the start, and would be for the first few miles of the 
race; a few runners even carried lights and head lamps.  Like the majority 
of runners, I was fine without one, helped in part by a spectacular full 
moon that was just setting over the hills west of Lake Chabot and into the 
bay.  The temperature was perfect as we all listened to final race 
instructions, and no doubt everyone was encouraged by the days forecast, 
which called for sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 70's.  The 
forecast wouldn't disappoint.  And before I knew it, we were off, right on 
time, at 6:30 AM.

As mentioned earlier, the opening mile is flat, and is run on a paved 
surface.  The 162 starters (150 would finish) shuffled off into the 
darkness along the east side of the lake.  I couldn't help but notice the 
full moon setting just over the hills to the west of the lake, and this 
beautiful sight help calm me for the long day ahead.

My race strategy was fairly simple; get to the turnaround at 26 miles in 
5:12, a 12 minute per mile pace, and hang on to the finish.  I felt I 
could accomplish this by conserving my energy power walking all the 
uphills, and running the flats and downhills.  I wanted to stay as relaxed 
as possible on the way out and hope that I had enough in me to make it 
back within 11-hours.  I felt strongly that this conservative strategy was 
the only way I wouldn't wilt the second half of the race.  But it also 
wouldn't leave much margin for error.  I fully expected that at best, I 
might be able to manage a time of 10:30, but likely, I would be very close 
to 11 hours.  I prepared myself for this fact, and was sure I would have 
to maintain focus the whole way back and not make any mistakes.

The first few miles saw us bunched together and allowed me to eavesdrop on 
other conversations.  My only pre-race mistake was leaving my sunglasses 
in my car, but when a runner beside me said (with some distress) that he 
had forgotten his water bottle, I didn't feel so bad.  There was only one 
other runner in the race I knew personally, a coworker of mine by the name 
of Christine Flaherty.  She was nowhere to be seen at the start, but as an 
accomplished ultrarunner, including age group wins this year at AR50, 
Skyline, and Tahoe Rim Trail, she was surely up ahead.  She told me before 
the race that her strategy was to go out slow, but I knew my "slow" was a 
lot slower then her "slow", so I would look for her as I approached the 
turnaround.

Before I knew it, it was light, and I was at the first aid station at 3.3 
miles.  After refilling my bottle with GU2O and snacking on a piece of 
Cliff Bar, I was off to Bort Meadow (7.9 miles).  As would be the case all 
day, I was greeted by the most cheerful, helpful aid station volunteers 
imaginable.  Before I could say a thing, they had my water bottle out of 
my hands and refilled so that I could graze at the feeding trough 
unencumbered.  I'm not very scientific about what I eat during races;  I 
pretty much grab what looks good at the time and eat as much as seems 
sensible.  Here, I spied some of Firetrails famous brownies and popped one 
in my mouth along with some banana (a great combo, by the way).  I also 
grabbed a succeed cap (1 per hour was the plan), washed it down with some 
more GU2O and Sprite, and was off to Big Bear (10.5 miles) right on 
schedule.  I would get my first real check of my pace here.  I arrived at 
2 hours exactly, about 6 minutes ahead of schedule, and after more 
brownies and banana, was off again.  Firetrails earns its name for being 
run predominantly on, you guessed it, fire trails, but the next two miles 
would take me onto some great single track, a welcome change of pace.  
Fern Dell (12.5 miles),  was added this year due to the course change, and 
I left there still slightly ahead of schedule.

Back on fire trails, this 4.2 mile section includes over 1,000 feet of 
elevation gain, taking runners through the center of Redwood Park.  There 
is nothing like running through the cool shade of a redwood forest, and I 
arrived at Skyline Gate (16.7 miles) in 3:16, still on schedule.  The next 
section of the course from Skyline to Steam Trains (23.4 miles) are it's 
toughest in my opinion, including over 1,300 feet of additional climbing, 
although it also included the best single track of the day.  I kept up a 
steady pace here, but the terrain was becoming more exposed, and with the 
temperatures rising, I felt my pace slowing.  Before long, I could hear 
the loud whistles of the actual steam trains, and I soon lumbered into the 
aid station.  By now, my stomach was feeling a little sketchy (too many 
brownies??), and this fact had me a little discouraged, happening so early 
in the run.  I filled my bottle and turned my attention to some cantaloupe 
and watermelon, which I chased down with a couple of Tum's and some coke.  
Shuffling out of Steam Trains, the course soon reached its highest point 
before plunging down to the turnaround at Quarry Picnic.  Before long, I 
would finally see my friend Christine heading back from the turnaround and 
we exchanged hello's.  Chris looked comfortable and focused, and she would 
finish in a very respectable time of 10:12, 62nd overall and first in her 
age group (again).  But I still had some more run to the turnaround, and 
this seemed to be dragging on and on.  Finally, Quarry Picnic came, 
although I was somewhat distressed at my time of 5:20, a full 8 minutes 
behind schedule.  I knew I had slowed, but this was a little worse then I 
had thought.  Also, my stomach still didn't feel good; nothing looked 
worth eating at the aid station.  I did have a can of triple espresso in 
my drop bag which I drank (this tasted great).  Needing to eat something, 
I grabbed a handful of Pringles and was off, heading towards home now and 
the long hill back to Steam Trains.  Power walking up the hill, I began to 
take stock of my situation.  I was 10 minutes behind schedule, not 
critical, but not what I had wanted either.  I kept trying to do the math 
in my head to figure out what pace I would have to average on the way back 
to make it under 11-hours.  I thought 4.5 miles per hour would do it, but 
I was getting confused, so I just decided I wouldn't worry about it until 
I got back to Steam Trains.  My stomach wasn't great either, and I had 
slowed the last 8-10 miles.  I decided I would just try to stay calm, keep 
up a good pace, and most of all keep a positive attitude.  I also thought 
of my kids for the first time that day and how much they were pulling for 
me to bag 11-hours.  I wasn't looking forward to telling them daddy didn't 
make it AGAIN.  If I didn't make it for some reason, it wasn't going to be 
because I didn't give 100% and fight the whole way.

Finally, I was back at Steam Trains (28.6 miles) with 21.4 miles to go and 
just under 5 hours to make my goal.  This was going to closer then I 
wanted, but I told myself that there was now more downhill running left 
then uphill, and I was running the downhills well.  I also knew I needed 
more nutrition, but what to eat?  I chased some cantaloupe down with some 
ruffles, and for some odd reason this tasted great!  More coke and I was 
off.  I made it through Sibley Park (31.9 miles) and headed off for 
Skyline Gate (35.3 miles), where runners would be picking up pacers for 
the push home.  My stomach was feeling better now, and this was my 
strongest section of the day.  I was pushing the downhill sections hard, 
even managing to pass a few runners, and I entered Skyline at about 2 PM.  
I had 14.6 miles left and just under 3.5 hours to run it in.  

Optimism was setting in now and I pushed on.  The trail plunges down 1,000 
feet after Skyline towards the redwood forest, and with my quads feeling 
good here, I felt like I was flying.  It hit Bort Meadows (44.1 miles) at 
4 PM, 5.9 miles left and 90 minutes to go.  I listened as an aid station 
volunteer shouted to a friend of his who entered just behind me "Western 
States is in the bag", and my spirits lifted.  I hit the last aid station 
with 3 miles to go and 52 minutes to run it in, and I began to relax for 
the first time since the turnaround.  I ran around the west side of Lake 
Chabot, knowing I had achieved my goal, and all I could think of was 
making that call to home and filling out the WS application!  I would 
cross the finish line in a time of 10:45:01, 98th overall.  And I couldn't 
have been happier!!

Many thanks to the RD's, including ultra legend Ann Trason, who was there 
to greet me at the finish.  What a great race!  As I said earlier, I've 
never experienced a better group of volunteers anywhere, from the aid 
stations to the traffic control volunteers, who escorted us all across the 
many road crossings without incident.  And the post race spread was hands-
down the best I've ever encountered, from burgers (beef, turkey, salmon, 
veggie), to salads, and ice cream....even a kegger.  This is a race that 
opens its arms to first time 50 milers, even offering the Dick (local 
ultra legend) Collins Award to the fastest male and female first time 
finishers.  It's a race that should be on everyone's calendars at least 
once.

I also want to thank my training partner, Ron Benavidez, who taught me 
what trail running is all about and continues to push me today.  I give 
special thanks to my 3 wonderful children, Patrick, Clayton, and Hallie, 
who inspire ME everyday with their dedication to their school, their 
sports, and their music.  And finally, to my wife of almost 20 years, Kim, 
the foundation of our family, the glue that holds us all together, for her 
unwavering support.  I couldn't have done it without you.

Tim Daly, 47
Folsom, CA