Subject: My long Wasatch report. Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 10:36:44 -0600 From: "Kevin Dickerson" 2000 Wasatch 100 Mile Endurance Run Three days ago, I completed a goal that I have been working on for over 10 years ... running, and completing the Wasatch 100. The following is the story of how I learned about the Wasatch and how I prepared for, and then finally completed this event. MY INTRODUCTION TO THE WASATCH: I first heard of this event over the radio waves. I've been a ham radio operator for many years and 10 or so years ago I heard of a group of people helping with this extreme even called the Wasatch 100. I spent a cold and rainy night at the Big Water aid station on the radio checking racers in and out. That was the year of all the rain and even snow at higher elevations. I was in awe of these runners that could muster the strength and toughness to walk out of a "camp" fully stocked with food and warmth to continue another 40 miles of dark/cold/wet conditions. I had to do this thing someday. TRAINING FOR THE WASATCH: I have a triathlon/marathon (2:59 pr) history. I haven't raced for 10 years though. I have been doing some trail running for the past 3 or 4 years but nothing serious because of time limits (school teacher, coach, county search and rescue member, varsity scout leader, family, etc.) and minor injuries . Two years ago I did a 7 hour round trip run of Mt. Whitney and felt great. I did the Squaw Peak 50 miler (my first) last year in 13 hours on just a couple training runs. 13 miles had been my longest that year prior to Squaw Peak. I was registered for Wasatch last year but I never got around for preparing (lots of other fun trips) so I withdrew in time to get my $$'s back. This past 12 months had gone better. I had minor back problems along with a bit of hamstring pain in the middle of the winter that took 3 months or so of running away from me. Starting in the spring, things started going better injury wise. I started slowly and by the mid summer I was putting in consistent weekly runs in the hills and then a shorter "stretch-out" run of 5 or so miles in the middle of the week. That's a total of 2 runs/week. With 2 months to go, I started increasing my longer mountain runs working along the Wasatch course. I ran Mt. Timpanogas twice during the summer with a time to the summit just under 2 hours. I did several longer runs up in the foothills of Pleasant Grove above my house. I ran the following sections: Pole Line to Alpine Loop Crest: Once Big Water to Brighton: Twice Brighton to Sundance: Once Big Water to Lambs: Once Let me make it clear that I never had a week over 30 miles of running. I guess teaching school, coaching, search and rescue and my EMT job (which are "on my feet" type of work) paid off for training sessions. THE BIG WEEKEND FINALLY ARRIVES: Friday afternoon we all met at Sugarhouse Park for the pre-race meeting. I first met Joan Moellmer at the scales for weigh-in's. 171 was where I spun the dial. Then, over to John Moellmer (you'll hear a lot about him later) who was handing out our bags which had our shirts. About this time, John Grobben (the race director) started with official business. After a short meeting it was over and we went home. I grabbed a couple hours of sleep Friday night before the alarm went off at 2:30 am. We (me, my wife Danelle and my Dad David) were to drive to the start together. Danelle and Dad did the driving/navigating through all the detours and got me to the start at 4:15. I tried to sleep along the way with no success. We arrived 45 minutes early so I crawled into the back of the truck thinking I would grab another half hour of sleep ... WRONG!! After 15 minutes or so, I crawled out and just wandered around for awhile before seriously preparing (not seriously enough) for the start. With 15 or so minutes to go it was finally time to get started gathering up a few things for this adventure. I had a long sleeve t-shirt on but took it off because of the warm morning. I was wearing gloves. I also had a small flashlight for the last couple hours of darkness of the morning. It was about this time that I made the most serious mistake of the whole race that seriously hurt my performance. I had 2 water bottles filled with water and 5 hard tack candies and that was it for the first 18 miles until Francis Peak, the first aid station with any sort of nutrition. What was I thinking?? My wife even asked me several times about at least carrying Gatorade or a granola bar or something, but I kept turning her down. I guess I was just thinking that there would be nutrition in just a few miles. I knew that wasn't the case from reading the pre-race packet description of aid station locations so I'm not sure what I was thinking. I made another mistake at this point. That was taking off my long sleeve t-shirt and throwing it back in the truck. I should have at least tied it around my waist. I shivered a lot along the high ridges when the wind blew later in the morning. I'm sure that what ever calories I had left over from my 18 miles of running was burnt up in keeping warm. THE RACE BEGINS: John counted down the last 10 seconds, yelled go, and then said, "see you at Sundance!!" and we were off. I didn't even know which direction we were leaving the parking lot. I assumed we would run up the road. Instead we went north on a little trail. My plan was to be familiar with the last 60 miles and then stay with people the first 40 miles so I didn't get lost. That worked great for me ... never got lost! We pretty much stayed at the same elevation for four miles or so traveling north along the foothills. I found myself in the back half of the pack enjoying the discussion of fellow runners talking about the past few times they've done this race or all the other 100's they had ran in the past. I could tell I was running with an elite group of people and felt honored to be considered one of them. I was hoping things would go well and I would still be "one of them" when we arrived in Sundance. I buddied up with a guy named Wade (from Ohio as I remember). This was also his first attempt at Wasatch. Wade was in front of me and another local guy whose name I can't remember was running behind me did quite a bit of talking during these first 4 miles or so. The guy behind me told stories of him dropping at Scotts Peak last year because of blisters on his feet. He said he thought he had edema of the feet from electrolyte problems. He was trying "e-caps" this year and offered me a few. Same thing with Wade. I figured since I made the big mistake of leaving the start with only water I better give them a try. I think they probably must have helped since I made the first 18 miles with no cramps or other problems related to electrolyte depletion. The lights of the city were pretty and were slowly getting smaller and smaller as we were gaining altitude. At about 5 or 6 miles we turned our back to the city and aimed at the mountain. It was about here where we met up with the Great Western Trail. The next 3 miles were moderately uphill through brush. People were bunching up here. The trail was narrow enough for only 1 runner at a time so it was pretty much just a group hike for the next couple miles. We could look uphill to the South and see a large bowl. I was told from a veteran that the "peak" at the top of the bowl was "Chinscraper". The trail leveled out for a mile or so heading towards the bowl and Chinscraper. We went through an old camp in the middle of the bowl and then headed to the ledges. I was doing good in the climbs so far and enjoyed the "scramble" up the ledges. I was about halfway up the ledges when I heard some yelling from above. I looked up and noticed a basketball sized boulder tumbling towards us. I hurried along the trail and another runner paused to let it go by. That event provided a great shot of adrenaline to crest the top. Near the top, there was about 20 feet or so that I had to use my hands to climb with. By the way, it was now light enough that I could put my light away. I was greeted with a cool breeze at the top of this ridge that made me wish I had my long sleeve. We were now on a south course headed for Grobben's Corner which was about another 5 miles away. This was a pretty level section and my main problem was keeping warm. Every once in a while we would come to a section where we would drop over to the east side of the ridge and get a little burst of sunlight and that would help. Grobbens Corner came and he filled our bottles up. I had really hoped for something more than water because of my poor planning but no such luck. We were told there were about 5 more miles to the Francis Peak aid station. This is where my crew would meet me and I could refuel and try to undo some of the damage done. The next 5 miles were done on a dirt road mostly downhill. Gravity did a lot of the work for me here and I shuffled along aiming for some good food from Francis Peak. Finally I came around a corner and had the aid station in sight. Another 10 minutes or so of running brought me within sight of my truck and Danelle (my wife) and my Dad waiting with a chair, basin to wash my feet, a change of socks, and most importantly ... food. I was really whimpering about being so low on energy because of my mistake of running on empty. I got bagels, banana bread, cookies, fruits, etc. shoved into my mouth by Danelle while Dad tended to my feet. They did a great job getting me back out in the road in just a few minutes. My mouth, hands, and fanny pack were all full of food. My plan was to take it a bit easier for a while so I could get some food down (and keep it down) for the next few miles, and then get back to moving a bit quicker. It worked. My belly got filled up, it felt good, and it didn't take more than about 10 minutes and I felt like a complete turnaround had occurred. It's amazing what food can do for you. We ran along a 4wd road for a few miles until we crossed over a small stream that lead us onto a pretty rough, thickly vegetated, hilly trail. It was along this section where I met up with Peyton from Virginia. It seems that he said this was about his 4th Wasatch. I asked him about his success and he said he did pretty well except for last year. He said he went 36 hours and 11 seconds. I remembered that run because I was there at the finish when he came through. I vividly remember everyone's tears and the heartbreak when John put his arm around him and said he was sorry that he didn't make it. Tough day!! Anyways, Peyton and I ran together for another few miles until we were to about crest the hill before crossing onto the west side of the ridge and into Bountiful B aid station. What a great group of people. Every aid station would always add their own flair. As I came into Bountiful B, the "Rocky" theme song started up. I was the only one around so it was kind of cool thinking this whole thing was just for me. I was still pretty hungry by then so I loaded up pretty heavily and was off again headed down the road. This section was pretty much all 4wd road. I don't know where everyone went but I was alone this entire section. I spent a lot of my energy worrying I was off course. I tell you those markers never came often enough along that section. There was no where to go wrong and it wasn't hard finding my way down the road, but I was just a bit nervous when I didn't see anyone for so long. Next aid station was Sessions Mountain. This was probably the most peaceful/mellow aid station. As I remember there were about 4 people who where just happy to do whatever they could for you. I did the usual banana, fig newton, liquid refill thing and headed west into the woods. There was a group of 4 or 5 runners that I caught up with just before this aid station and I left just after them. They pulled off the trail just after the aid station to "take care of some business" so I never got a chance to run with them. Alone again, I headed up the trail. Lots of switch-backs along this section heading back up the mountain. Really a pretty trail through pine trees. Two screaming dirt bikes accompanied me along this section. As I came to Sessions Pass, I could see another 3 or 4 runners ahead of me. Finally, I had others that could do the route finding and I could just worry about getting along the trail. I had a great time for the next 4 miles or so. The trail during this section had some minor climbs and downhills. Nothing serious. I caught a few people on the uphills and then went pretty conservative on the downhills to protect the knees and hips. The trail gently rolled into the Swallow Rocks aid station. It was here I met my friend and ultra mentor ... John Moellmer. He was volunteering at the aid station there (along with his wife Joan), and would later pace me for my Big Water to Brighton section. Other than little aches and pains that would "travel" from different areas of my lower body, I felt pretty good. I was still hungry and had a great turkey sandwich that Joan fixed for me. Again, I stuffed my face, filled the bottles, and was off headed for Big Mountain where I would again see my crew and pick up my first pacer. It was only 5 miles to Big Mountain along 4wd road and pretty easy trail. There was a little climb thrown in here and there and then the last mile or so wound its way down into the canyon to the sound of cow bells and flamingos. My crew and family saw me coming out of the trees and yelled for me. I was happily surprised with the number of family members and friends who had come to see me. We had to weigh in here. I was 171 the day before and went 165 now. I got the ok from the officials and then headed to my crew area where I would get my feet checked again. I started feeling a couple hot spots that I had Dad tape up for me. Danelle did a great job feeding me again. I was starting to lose a bit of my eating desires but still did ok. Lynelle Williams was the pacer for this section. She is a good friend who is the "swim mom" for the team I coach. She has been marathoning for several years and is preparing for the Logan Marathon in a couple weeks. We had ran this section together 2 weeks prior so I was confident in her abilities in getting me through this section. My stomach was getting a bit hot and this caused me to slow down quite a bit. Lynelle did a great job encouraging me (and making me laugh) and even got me running the last few miles. I had four goals for this race. They were: #1 Finish. #2 Don't get lost. #3 Don't trip and fall. #4. Don't puke. So far so good but there were times I had to back off a bit once in awhile so I could still achieve goal #4. I ended up having Lynelle (and the rest of my pacers) lead me so all I had to worry about was to just watch their feet. This made it so much easier to have them worry about finding the route and best foot placement. Great Pacers!! Back to the race. Lynelle and I worked our way up to Bald Mountain which was about 3 miles from where we started. We had gone mostly uphill passing another couple people and being passed by a couple. I tried to run a bit to Pence Point where you turn into some scrub oak and go downhill into Alexander Spring aid station. Lynelle thought this area looked like a scene from Alice in Wonderland. The downhill was a little concern in this area. It is steep and very loose rock here. The view looking over Mountain Dell Reservoir to our right was great (not that I took my eyes off of Lynelle's feet much). We went into Alexander Springs and I was eating ok. I guess I got the hint that my welcome was worn when the volunteers started humming the jeopardy theme song. Lynelle kinda lost her appetite when she saw how I tore into those cold baked potatoes and slammed it into the bowl of salt. We did some running into the springs and then walked most of the way to Rogers Saddle which is the halfway point. The sun was about another hour from setting so I figured we were on a good pace. I wanted to finish this section in the light. Once we hit the railroad grade road, we pretty much ran the rest of the way into Lambs Canyon "Halfway House" which is the all-you-can-eat-buffett (for only $150). Here I was met by another great reception of family and friends. How could I ever be down when greeted by such a great crowd. I had a complete change of clothing here. I put on the tights and longsleeve shirt, and carried the shell in my pack. I gave Lynelle a hug goodbye and was greeted by my next pacer, Colby Atkinson. Colby was one of my 11 year old scouts several years ago. Even then Colby was a tough kid. He is now about 22 and even tougher. He just came back from a tough trip to the summit of the Grand Teton just a week prior so I knew he was in great shape. It took him about 4 miles to tell of his Teton trip so he had my attention on his great adventure and let my mind kinda forget mine for awhile. Darkness settled in on us by the time we met the trail off of the pavement (about a mile and a half up the Lambs Canyon road), it was flashlight time. This section was pretty straight forward (along w/ a bit uphill). Nice trail to be on. I think the worst part of it was once we hit the road at Elbow Fork going up Millcreek Canyon on the road. It was only 3 miles but it seemed forever getting up there. Lots of vehicles going up and down the road. At this point my right hip had a bit of pain that would shoot "electricity" type pain down into my foot. At one point I tried walking backwards up the road to try and relieve the pain. I had had several minor aches and pains that kind of traveled through my lower body, but nothing ever hung around long enough to be of concern. I was hoping this was the same thing. Finally, we could see the lights from the aid station reflecting off the canyon walls and we walked into the Big Water aid station. I was met by my crew and asked my Mom for a cup of super salty soup. I thought that my hip problem might be a cramp and an extra dose of sodium might help. I ate well again (spaghetti, soup, hot chocolate, and my favorite ... rice/custard pudding made by Mom). I was changing my socks and taping a spot on my feet when John Moellmer, my next pacer, came over to take over my needs for the next few hours needed to get us to Brighton. Without any questions, John is the best pacer anyone could have. John has run many of these races. He knows what runners need. He is a great coach and motivator. He is a true outdoorsmen. You'll hear more about this later. I told John about the hip pain and he promptly ignored my concerns and just said "hurry up, let's go!!". He checked on my equipment (clothing, flashlight, fluids, etc.), and when he was convinced I was prepared, he pulled the chair out from underneath me and we headed into the dark forest on our way to Dog Lake. We walked all the way to Dog Lake at a pace that John kept describing as "really motoring". We passed several people (one kind of wandering around mumbling, and another flat on his back under a tree that said "I'm just gonna rest here for a minute"). The moon was really putting on quite a show now. I have to admit, my eyes stayed on the trail most of the night, but John pointed out several things during the night that caused me to break my concentration and enjoy the surroundings. He pointed out several beautiful sights that the moon had caused, a howling coyote, a hooting owl, and several star talks. It was sure helpful having a pacer that was very familiar with the area. John knew just how many more steps it would be until the next landmark. As we crested over the hill to Dog Lake there was a group of kids with a real riproaring fire. We wished them well and headed around the lake on our way to Desolation Lake. The night was beautiful. By now I had removed most of the warm clothing I had piled on in the Big Water aid station. I ran the night in my tights, long sleeve shirt, and then wore my wool cap, gloves, and shell when needed. By now John had us running every once in a while and it was feeling great. I still held back thinking of the remaining 30 plus miles that still remained. We passed another 8 or 10 runners, and after 5 miles from leaving Big Water, we arrived at the Desolation Lake aid station. This is a camp at a high elevation lake where volunteers packed in supplies. There were probably 8 or 10 runners sitting there in chairs not looking to excited about climbing the next section to get onto the Wasatch Ridge. John gave me 3 or 4 minutes here to get some noodle soup, fill up the bottles and we were off. He took come cookies in his hand that he continued to pass back to me every 10 minutes or so. John was great at pushing the fluids. Every story he would tell me would have something to do with drinking, hydration, fluids, or something like that and then he would say, "get the hint?" and out the water bottle would come and the fluids would go down. John got me up the steep climb leading out of Desolation Lake by telling me that when we crested the top he would give me a 30 second rest to just stand there and do nothing. Small things were all that was needed to motivate me at that point and up the climb we went. I was starting to notice that I was huffing a bit more now than the past couple hours. We were probably 3,000 feet higher now than when we started. This climb put us around 10,000 feet so I guess a little extra breathing was to be expected. It was here, during our 30 second break, when we heard the coyote howling in the bowl below us. We climbed the rugged rocks of Red Lovers Ridge we went and then the fun began. Rolling, easy to move along type of trail. John suggested we run a bit now for awhile and we probably passed another 8 people through this pretty area. Other than crossing the finish, this was probably the funnest section of the race. I had no aches, had really been moving well, great company, perfect weather, etc. etc. etc. You name it, it was going well. About 3 miles of ridge running brought us to the Scotts Peak aid station. None of their food was looking very good right now. I got part of some noodle soup but couldn't finish it. John made me feel a bit less guilty about dumping it in the bushes and trying another selection. Broth did better for me along with a piece of fruit and a cookie. Brighton was only about 5 miles of mostly downhill so I only filled the bottles about halfway and we were off. By the way, I need to tell you how terrible PowerAde was tasting by now. It always went down and never caused me stomach problems, but it was sure a welcome sight to see a new flavor at these stations. These next couple miles got a bit chilly and my coat, hat, and gloves came in handy. This is the only part I got a bit sleepy. We were walking on the paved Guardsman Pass Road and turned our lights out for a mile or so. The road was smooth and looking into the black road caused a phenomena that caused us to think we weren't even moving. I would have to look into the trees to detect any movement. It was during this section that I considered dozing off for awhile while moving along. About this time I spotted a hole in the road and hopped over it just in time and I didn't feel like sleeping any longer. We turned onto the canyon road and it wasn't long and we were met by a volunteer at the start of the loop that directed us to the left and up to the lodge we went. I was about 2 hours ahead of my schedule so my crew was asleep in the parking lot. My Dad did spot us coming in and he was with Carl Brailsford who would be my pacer for the next 18 miles or so. I went into the lodge and was greeted with an applause and directed to the scales. I was back up to 171 which was my starting weight. I made a stop in the bathroom and then sat down to tend to the toes. John said he wasn't going to leave me until I was back out on the trail with Carl. He said that would be in less than 20 minutes from arriving. I was still feeling pretty strong at this point. My confidence of a successful finish was starting build. I managed a grin aimed at my Mom and said "75 miles and still having fun". She gave me a hug and said to keep it up. We tended to a couple rough spots on the feet, ate a bit, and then just kinda sat for a minute longer until John picked me up and shoved me out the door calling out to the volunteers "#155 out" (17 minutes indoors) with Carl leading the way. I had only met Carl once before this night. We met on the track in town (we are both from Pleasant Grove) a couple nights before the race. He had run the section from Brighton to Sundance several times so I took him up on his invitation to pace this section. I told him of my plans of having him lead and me follow his footsteps. We had been gone for 10 minutes or so and I got a bit nervous with Carl's navigation skills since we were still in the dark (it was about 3:45am or so). I asked him again about his confidence of finding his way in the dark and he again reassured me he would get us up over Catherine's Pass just fine. I trusted him and sure enough, we passed several landmarks I was familiar with (the dam on Lake Mary for example) that rested my worries so I could just go into following mode up over the pass. Carl and I passed another couple people up this steep and highest point along the course at 10,400 feet (Point Supreme). I told Carl I needed a 30 second rest once we got to the top before descending into Dry Fork to Ant Knolls aid station. I felt fine going up and over the pass, but the first couple steps going down the steep trail down the other side changed how my Sunday morning was going. My left foot seemed to have terrible shin splint type of pain, and my right foot had 2 toenails that felt like they were catching in my shoe as we took the steep downhill steps. We came upon a group of 4 guys that had the same opinion as I. One of them just kept saying ... "this isn't fair". There was a steep downhill for 2 miles into the Ant Knolls aid station. I was starting to feel a bit concerned here about how slow I had came down the mountain and was getting worries about finishing again. I was setting my sights on just getting to Ant Knolls because I knew that the next section, the Grunt, was a section of about a mile where you get back up onto the ridgeline again. I was looking forward to the uphill. We arrived at the aid station and not much eating was done. I took a couple cookies and nibbled them for the next couple miles. The Grunt went well. I felt strong and crested in no time. I was really hoping for improving conditions with my shin splint problem so I could run along this easy going trail section to Pole Line Pass but no go. The pounding from running was to much. I was now looking on my time splits between the past few stations figuring my mph pace. I was a bit nervous about my leg slowing me down that my time that had been built up wouldn't be enough to get me in by 5 pm. A little over 3 miles later came Pole Line Pass and the famous breakfast buffet. They had sausage, eggs, even cobbler but all that interested me were a few grapes and another cookie and away we went. The next section had another long steep climb going out of Forest Lake area. This climb is called "Point of Contention". I didn't mind it at all because no one ever passed me on the up hills and I was still feeling strong. It was the smooth, wide, downhills that I wished I could have been running on that got me a bit down as people went by me. The worst part of this whole trip was approaching quickly. I was dreading the rocky, steep downhill, 2 mile section into Mill Canyon aid station. Because of the remote location, I told my crew not to go to Pole Line but asked them to met me here at Mill Canyon. That ended up being a great plan because I needed some patching up here. They were the only crew there and my crew had a fun time helping the volunteers with other runners. I had Carl run on ahead of me and get some tape ready for my leg problem, blister stuff, and other general crew type stuff ready. He did so and I probably arrived a good 10 minutes after he arrived. This section of downhill about brought tears to my eyes. I can remember about every step down this section. Much of it was walking sideways so my right foot wouldn't bump the end of my shoe. Carl did a great job helping with the tape job and wrapping my ankle. We put a bit more tape around my toenails also. I ate a bit more here (more of Mom's pudding, my wife's banana nut bread, some V8 splash, etc.). I asked again about the pace I was keeping the past 10 miles and everyone assured me that I would make the cut-off with hours to spare. I took a couple Tylenol (3rd dose for the race)and a Vioxx (2nd one for 2 days) here. That was all the meds for the trip. Didn't even take any caffeine. Up out of the chair and we were off for Alpine Loop Crest Aid station which was 5 miles down the road. Beautiful trail for running, but not today. I would try every hour or so but the result was always the same. We were totally alone for about 2 hours here. No one in front or behind us that we knew of. We did pass two bull moose at Mud Springs that we stopped to look at. Carl started heading their direction for a better look and I told him I would meet him up the trail. We met my Dad 100 yards or so from crossing the road going into Alpine Crest aid station and he came in with us. I was starting to relax a bit now about finishing my first Wasatch. I wasn't confident enough to sit down here though. Even though I had over 6 hours to do the last 7 miles, I wasn't taking any chances so off we went. I picked up my favorite pacer here. He wasn't the most experienced but he was just what I needed at that point. My pacer was Darren my 13 year old son. What a great job he did leading me along the way. I could tell he wanted to speed us up a bit but was very patient with my sore ankle. I reminded him that he had the biggest responsibility of all the pacers. If he didn't get me to the finish line, all the 93 miles prior would be for nothing, and there would be another 4 pacers that would kick his butt for not getting me to the finish line. The pressure was on!! We worked our way through the beautiful "fern forest" area and then to the Aspen Grove area. We took a minute dowsing our heads under the water spigot it the bottom of the Aspen Grove Trail. Up out of Aspen Grove, around the water tank, around the knoll into the Stewart Falls area. We could see Sundance from here. Darren and I ran this section a few weeks prior and had some navigation problems but the section was well marked today. A mile or so and we crossed the last landmark I knew of before the finish. We crossed the road and went up the last little section of pine trees before coming out onto the ski run where you can look down to the finish line. Out we came and I had a my crew spot me quickly. I was about halfway down the run when a chorus of "Happy Birthday To You" rang out. It was my 37th Birthday. I had a banner made for me and a cake waiting for me as I cruised (of course I managed to run this last 100 yards) to the finish banner where John Grobben the race director met me. My finish time was 32 hours 37 minutes. Next came a great congratulations from lots of family and friends. I visited for a few minutes and was directed to the massage table for a great rub down. Other than a few blisters and a sore ankle, things were great. John Grobben fed everyone a great buffet and then came the awards ceremony. I got an awesome plaque and my finishers belt buckle. I did go to work the next day (teach school, coach swimming, and had a night shift on the ambulance) and did fine. My ankles had a bit of swelling and I might lose a toenail or two but other than that no problems. Will I do it again? "Probably" has been my reply. Not next year though. I plan on helping where I can next year to try to give back to the race. I would like to try it again and do it right. I would begin a weight training program to see if that could take care of the little aches and pains I experienced. Equipment used: Nike Terra Grande shoes Thorlo socks Duraflex fanny pack AK4 AA flashlight. This is a handheld that fireman clip on their helmets. REI supplex/mesh cap. Mom's custard & rice pudding 2 Week Update: The only remains of the race is a toenail trying to fall off.