From owner-ultra@caligari.Dartmouth.EDU Wed Jul 2 14:50:39 1997 Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997 14:47:49 -0700 From: stanj (Stan Jensen) To: ius-l@american.edu, ultra@caligari.dartmouth.edu Subject: A WS pacer's (long) report (XP) (Disclaimer: I like WS, for many reasons, and have applied for '98.) I drove up to Squaw Valley last Thursday, checked into the Lodge, and listened to a message from my good friend, Joan Risse, who unfortunately had to DNS, due to family and work problems, even after waiting three years to get in on the lottery. So, I wandered over to the crew briefing, where I located a runner who Bob Boeder had asked me to pace if Joan wasn't running. When I introduced myself to her, (Sarah Lowell from No. Carolina - see 3/97 UR, pages 48-49 (she's the one with the staple in her head :-)), she was obviously relieved to know that she'd have a pacer and one who knew the course. Her crew/companion, Kim, was also glad to have someone who knew how to get to the aid stations. I got up at 4 on Saturday, brewed some coffee, got a jacket and went to the starting line. There's so much excitement in the pre-dawn, with 370 runners and an equal number of crews, etc. They took off promptly at 5am, ran about 50 yards, and then started the long 4+ mile climb to the summit, 2500' above. I went back to my room, checked out by 5:30, and drove to Michigan Bluff (stopping for gas, food and drinks), arriving by 8:30 without any speeding tickets. This was the first year I'd been there as a spectator and it was strange to remember what it was like coming in as a runner last year. I set up by chair and chatted with friends as we waited for the first runner. Little Mike Morton came blazing through around 9:30, followed by Tim Twietmeyer and Scott St. John. Sarah showed up around 11:45, looking OK, and saying she felt fine. I was a little worried at this point, because I'd learned that: she and Bob thought she could break 24 hours (she holds the Umstead 100 CR of 21:48), she was tough enough to finish the Coldfoot 100 (Alaska in late October!), and she likes to "go out slow and then pick off people at the end". I figured that if she arrived in Michigan Bluff on pace and looking good, I'd bee in for a short, fast evening. I waited another hour for some friends to come through, then left Robinson Flat at 1:00 and drove to Michigan Bluff by 2:00. When the bus dropped me off at the bottom, I was told that Mike Morton had just gone through and was 30 minutes ahead of Tim at Devil's Thumb. No problem, I thought, because when Tim came through (now about 35 minutes behind Mike), he looked as strong as ever and I was sure that Mike would fade after the river, as many had done before. Kim and I waited patiently until 5:30, the 24hr pace and then started to get nervous as the clock ticked, runners came through (looking kinda ragged), and Sarah didn't show. Around 6:30 she appeared and told us that she'd been held for weight loss at Devil's Thumb and had to stay there for about 30 minutes until she regained enough weight to satisfy the medical staff. We told her everything was OK, and that she had two more aid stations until Foresthill, where we'd be waiting for her. She headed down the dirt road and we took the shuttle back to the cars. At Foresthill we met Sarah's father, sister and some friends. They had signs and balloons and when she came in and saw them, you could see what a boost it gave her. I think all the runners get encouraged by the support of their friends, family and even the spectators. Sarah got her flashlight and we headed down California Street, turning onto the trail behind Gordy Ainsleigh. She was doing OK, running a little, walking quickly, drinking and peeing, but she said her stomach was still bothering her. At Cal 1 we tried to take some soup, but she couldn't handle it. She was trying to get by on a bottle of plain water, electrolyte pills, and very little food. At Cal 2, a volunteer gave her a sample bottle of Gaviscon, which seemed to help settle her stomach for a while, but the food at Cal 3 set it off again. Same thing at Cal 4, so as we walked along the river toward Rucky Chucky, I said the words that most men say to a pretty woman as they walk along the river under a starry night on their first date: "If you were a real hardass, you'd stick your finger down your throat and clear your stomach and if you won't do it, I will." Well, after giving me a look that made me even colder than I was, she said "wait here", went off in the bushes, made some memorable sounds, and came back in a few minutes, saying "wow, you should have seen how much stuff was in there." We arrived at the river crossing, she ate some plain bread and a banana, and then we waded through the REALLY cold river to the other side, where her crew was waiting in the new spectator area. We elected not to change shoes there, but walked up to Green Gate, where Sarah changed into dry socks and shoes while I got hugged and kissed by one of the volunteers (OK, so she's my girlfriend). I was also pleasantly surprised to see Tropical John Medinger in a chair, possibly his first time on the south side of the river. He looked like he did last year at his first Wasatch finish (i.e. determined) and I knew he'd make it this time, too. Sarah ate a little more food and we headed out around 2:50, still walking. I could tell that it really bothered her to be passed by so many people and be unable to do anything about it. We arrived at Auburn Lake Trails just before 5am and, despite the temptation of the roaring campfire, headed out quickly. I'd told her what to expect at the next aid station and the Buffalo Chips didn't let me down. As we approached Brown's Ravine, we heard the blaring rock'n'roll, saw the neon Coors sign, and were greeted by an overweight character in a red devil's costume, with a pitchfork, who said "Welcome to Hell". The rubber snakes and bottle of Jack Daniels on the table were also appreciated. Leaving there around 6:20, we soon turned off our flashlights, went down to the river, walked along the river road, and climbed that long hill past the quarry to the Hwy 49 aid station, where Kim met us again and Sarah passed her last weight check. I made the mistake of telling her that we weren't going to make it under 28 hours, but we only had about 6 more miles to go. Apparently, that's all it took, because no sooner had we crossed the road than she started running for the first time in about 10 hours and chose a hill for her starting point! We slowly passed people up the hill, across the meadow, and just shouted "runner 253" as we went by the Pointed Rocks aid station. She slowed a bit over the rough spots, but on the smoother sections of downhill I got to see what she looks like running a 7:40 50-miler and I was starting to think that I would soon be one of those pacers who couldn't keep up with their runner. Funny, she didn't act like she'd just run 94 miles in 26 hours. We flew down to No Hands Bridge and once again she went running by, not even stopping to talk to Kim. On the other side of the bridge we walked briefly on some of the steeper stretches, but she continued to push the pace, running wherever possible and, sure enough, pick off runners at the end. We ran past Robie Point aid station at the top, ran whenever possible on the streets, and even passed one last runner just before the stadium. We turned the last corner and saw the clock ... 28:00:12 ... and knew that we'd waited too long to start the sprint. 28:00:26 for 157th overall, 20th female. Maybe not what she'd expected, but better than a DNF and I think the last stretch made up for some tough times during the night. Team Lowell (Sarah, Stan & Kim) had a good time this year at Western States, although nowhere near as good as Mike Morton's! If you can put up with some hype and trinkets and (insert your derogatory selection here), then come enjoy several days of friendship, great scenery and fun! Stan P.S. If you think this is a long report, just imagine what I'll write after spending 24 hours with Suzi T. P.P.S. Yes, I will be taking pictures :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stan Jensen, Systems Engineer for "SGI Direct" stanj@sgi.com Silicon Graphics Inc., M/S 120 Phone:(415)933-5822 P.O. Box 7311, 1401 No. Shoreline Blvd. FAX: (415)932-5822 Mt. View, CA 94039-7311 "I (heart) Tonks" "http://www.sgi.com" "http://reality.sgi.com/stanj" ------------------------------------------------------------------------