First of all I have to say that I'm glad I'm not a badass like Ryan (yet). I say this because as I got the opportunity to be a pacer for Ryan at the Cascade Crest 100, I'm by no means an Ultra-runner and this meant that the duty of pacer over the last 47 miles was shared between an incredible group of people, and not just on me as some pacers were responsible for the entire home stretch. Because this duty was shared, I got to experience the mental hop-skotch involved with being a crew member, the rewards of being a pacer who succesfully manages a chunk of the Cascade wilderness for a guy running on one good ankle, and the beauty of a group of friends coming together to tackle a true, marvelous endeavor.
I will first off say, again and always, my hat is off to my lifelong friend who did something so incredible that you just kind of have to be present to understand the magnitude. If you ever drive over Snoqualmie pass... Look around and imagine someone humping 100 miles of that terrain, through the day, night, heat, cold, hunger, fatigue, and intestinal distress and you will start to get an idea of what this accomplishment really was.... But really, you gotta be there.
As I said, I got to be a part of the crew team and I need not explain what this was like... Check out Ryan's blog as Laura gives an inside look at what crewing is really like. Spot on.
Pacer, Psychologist, Friend -
Somewhere in the neighborhood of the 75 mile mark the sun came up over the Evergreen covered Cascade Mountains as we waited for our dude to come trucking up the Trail From Hell (or something like that). With no real idea of when he would be rolling in I started to stress out a little because I didn't know what type of shape he would be in. I wanted to be stretched, ready, alert, and conscious of the state of my runner as to be the best durn pacer I could be. However, time started rolling by and I hadn't slept in close to 30 hrs, so I hopped into Rob's truck and caught a few winks next to him as he "sawed his logs."
Suddenly, commotion, he's climbed out of 'hell' and its time for us to tackle the last marathon... That just seems unfair... 75-ish miles of treachery and I have to look at my guy with a smile, be supportive and find some words of encouragement that wouldn't hit home if I was Knute Rockne in the flesh. Well regardless of the words exchanged we both new that the biggest challenge was still ahead of us. And the next 25 miles would turn out to be the greatest running experience of my life.
As a pacer, it may seem that your job is simple. Keep your runner moving and motivated with proper hydration and nutrition. Now, this is my first experience as a pacer but I have an understanding of the task as I've gotten into reading about crazy people like Ryno and the things they may or may not encounter when pushing their body to this extreme. I was mentally ready to handle more than was put on me on this day which is a true testament to the preparation and conditioning of our Cascade Crest participant (gender neutral term we began using for runner's in the night).
The Long Haul-
After coming out of 'hell' it would have been nice to have been rewarded to a nice causal jog to enjoy the sunrise and the smell of the freshest air you could treat to your olfactory. No such luck. The first five of my pacing miles cranked us up 3K vertical feet which we basically power hiked. It was on a nice service road so Ryan and I got a chance to chat about his previous 21 hours of trail science instead of staring down at our feet and planning each careful step (that would come later). He seemed in good spirits but informed me that his shin splints were killing him on his right side but really only when going downhill. When we crested that portion of the climb it was time to test out the bad wheel on some very gradual decline while still on the service road. Ryan took about 8-10 jogging steps and realized it wasn't in the cards. I really felt bad for him here because from an energy standpoint he had plenty of gas in the tank to do some light jogging and enjoy the open gravel road. However, most of completing a 100 mile race is about being smart. I didn't take much convincing on my part to stick with the power hike and when/if he really felt we could open it up a little, we would discuss it. But with 20 miles to go, one foot in front of the other was the only thing we had to worry about.
Most of this last portion was either uphill or downhill, not much level ground and this was the case heading into Thorpe aide station around mile 84. It was quite an uphill technical section to get to Thorpe and just when you feel good about hitting another milestone, you have to turn 90 degrees and go a 1/4 mile straight up to a fire lookout (the name escapes me). At this point, the thought of a 1/4 mile of straight up switch backs is enough to break a runner but you are rewarded with one of the rarest views of Mt Rainier. The sky was clear, visibility perfect, and the snow covered peak perhaps made the ridiculous up and back worthwhile. I hiked up with Ryan and then ran back down to fill both of our packs so that when he trudged back in we would be ready to go.
The next section would be another up and down escapade called Cardiac Needles... Just like a jumping EKG reading this bitch of a section either had us looking straight up a peak or straight down one. Aside from the views atop the lookout however, this section was the most scenic and breathtaking of the entire final push. At the time, Ryan was very focused and driven but I made him pick his head up at several points along this section to take in the view. Who knows if we will every step foot on that chunk of land again and it would be a shame to not take in some the sights nature provided us that morning.
After leveling off of the needles, Ryan knocked down a tylenol that started to ease those "shin splints" enough to where we got to jog through a few meadow areas which was really nice. All the while I'm harping on him to drink water and take a GU while he is asking me every 5-10 minutes if we are gonna make the cut-off. (he would have had to sit down for 2 hrs to even come close to the cut off). After some light jogging there was a short but nasty decent into French Cabin aide station where they had fresh bacon.... I don't know who was eating bacon but it sounded gross to us. Ryan loaded up on his usual, I grubbed on a quesadilla and an assortment of M&M's, gummy bears, and Starburst and off we went.
Eight miles stood between Ryan and Laura who awaited us at mile 96 to finish the race. Few words were more motivating then reminding him how close he was to getting to see her and be with her for the final push to the finish. These 8 miles, however, would prove to be the most grueling and mentally taxing of them all and probably the only place where I really had to do my duty as a pacer. In talking, we decided that perhaps what he was experiencing wasn't shin splints and maybe was a high ankle sprain, and the more we discussed it, the more that seemed plausible. Whatever it was, it was making its presence known as the majority of this section seemd to be straight downhill on nothing but loose dirt, and rocky single track. A few times in this section things flattened out and we broke into what I kept calling the truffle shuffle (not really like on Goonies) but it was a slow steady movement that felt nice as the sun came up overhead and starting baking in some of the nicest, high mountain meadows you could imagine.
Ryan really toughed out this downhill portion and shoot, it was tough on me so I could only imagine how rough it was on a guy who was over 90 miles into a 100 mile race, on a badly sprained ankle. The most agonizing thing that took place was seeing a couple hikers come up the opposite direction. I was so happy to see them and asked how far until the last aide station which they would have had to pass by. They told us it was very close (something like a quarter mile) which raised our spirits. We weren't close. Every corner we turned only to see another 1/4 mile of open trail started to really get us down (and we could see that far with as steep as this section was). With a lot of gimping and only a few minor mental breakdowns, we began to hear voices and I knew we had survived the brutal downhill stretch. All that was left was around 4 miles of flat ground and paved road to the finish. It sure was great to see friends after such a long haul and I'm happy I had a small hand in getting Ryan back to his wife, and ultimately to the finish.
Laura's blogs describes the final 4 miles which I mostly hung back from the two of them, in my own little zone as I was starting to get pretty tight and ready to be off my feet as well. Cruising into the finish with a light jog was really cool and the scene at the end will be etched in my memory for as long as I have one.
This was truly one of the greatest experiences and challenges of my life. Going into it with no pacing experience, very little trail running experience, and a modest running base may have seemed like a bad recipe to most. But if you were gonna send me off into the mountains with someone for any distance, under any circumstances, there is no one else I'd rather be with. We have shared just about every life experience over nearly a quarter century already, and its only fitting that we got to pound out about a mile for every year of our friendship. It keeps coming up that it was a sacrifice for us to help out and be a part of this event but I think I speak for everyone in the group, from family to crew, that it was an honor to be a part of this. Not a sacrifice.
Pacing may be looked at as a selfless act and I'm sure that every participant in Cascade Crest was happy to have their pacer(s) there for them. However, the way I see it... I was fortunate enough to spend 8 hours in some of the most beautiful country in the world with my best friend. You may thank me and everyone else that helped you on that weekend, but honestly dude, I thank you.
What's Next???
Shirtless Guy
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