Subject: Zane Grey, Report from the Really Rear (XXL bandwidth warning) Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 12:52:11 -0600 From: "Laurie Staton" Hi all, Disclaimer #1) Okay. So (like Geri K) I'm still rearranging my brain cells, but I thought I'd better take advantage of the fact that there's a full dozen of them up & operational right now. Disclaimer #2) Okay. I'm not going to mention anything about my training, except for the fact that I don't recommend my winter training routine to anyone in his or her right mind. Disclaimer #3) Okay. Someone else will probably write some really accurate, articulate & coherent post about the race which will include exact points where major climbs, stream crossings, major descents, salient course features, etc, etc, & the like. Nothing like that in this post. Upon checking in on Friday night, we were issued a cattle tag/race number (numerous cattle fence "crossings," nice pun), lighter & a whistle. Also, I kept remembering what co-RDs Geri K & Linda VanT had put on the entry form..."It's long. It's hard. And you're gonna get wet." It's also rocky, exposed, remote, beautiful. Although the entry form lists the course elevation mostly between 5500' & 7000,' of course a lot can happen in 1500.' Mostly 50' climbs, 100' foot climbs, 500' climbs, numerous stream crossings...I can't even come close to remembering them all. Since my running buddy Ian Rothfels (my husband) & I figured we'd be flirting with cut-offs, we tried to move as quickly as possible while still taking in the scenery. We did our usual...jogging the flats & downhills, power walking the hills. The first part of the course wound its way through pine forests, where the trail was cushioned by pine needles. Once out in the relative openness of the Manzanita, we could see dark grey clouds hanging over the red cliff-tops. We reached the first aid station at ~7 miles with 23 minutes to spare. Ten miles later, at aid station #2, we had a half-hour to spare. The sun peeked through the clouds & the temperature rose a few degrees & we stripped down to cool-max t-shirts & singlets. The air temperature was (fortunately) on the cool side...but out of the wind, the sun was warm. We never really got hot. We arrived at the ~24-mile aid station feeling great...so, I boldly asked how much time we had (ahead of the cut-off) to spare. A volunteer said we had 1.5 hours!! One of the volunteers asked if we'd changed, apparently referring to how tidy we looked at that point. "No," I replied. "We're the same persons we started out with." Boy, was I on a roll or what. Somehow, between ~24 & ~33 miles, all but 10 minutes of our cushion evaporated...that section took us a full hour & a half longer than we expected. I ran out of Clip (incredibly enough, because we were wearing our UD Nimbuses), so we "buddied-up" on the remainder left in Ian's, continued our 2/hour S! caps. Leaving the ~33 mile aid station, we were 2 minutes behind the cut-off. The next section went quite quickly...though there is one long climb to negotiate at about 38 or 40 miles (I think. See?? Those brain cells have taken the day off...). We were in the midst of this relentless uphill slog when I heard voices ahead of us. The next thing I knew, two mountain bikers, coming toward us going downhill, slammed on the brakes, stopping about 10 yards in front of us. "Are you guys racing?" they asked. "Well, I know it doesn't really look like it, but yeah, we're racing..." I replied. "You're totally awesome!!" they said to which I replied, "Oh, Okay. Sure. Thanks." "No, really!!," they insisted. "You're awesome!!" Incredible. I'm used to diving off the trail in an act of survival anytime I see a mountain biker coming downhill. As we were approaching the ~44-mile aid station, we discussed our strategy, as we couldn't recall whether the cut-off time was 6 PM or 6:30 PM. We decided that we would politely ask if we could continue due to the fact that we had our usual Wasatch training supplies with us...first aid kit, 3 flashlights + extra batteries, lighter/matches, food, clothing, blah, blah, etc, etc, but we would graciously acquiesce to whatever the aid station captain's decision was & call it a great day on the trail. As we rolled in, we got the thumbs up *if* we left immediately. We filled our packs & headed out, with sweep right behind us. We pulled out all of our extra clothes. The wind died down & the moon was bright...we had a marvelous day. When we finally reached the finish line campfire, there was chili & one quesadilla left. What a great way to start the year! So, now we're going to start training. Thanks to Geri, Linda, the Search & Rescue operation & the radio people for a great race. Cheers, Laurie Staton l-staton@wcslc.edu