Vermont 500 - a recap of our journey - part 2 of 2

After getting a decent night's sleep in the barn on my cot I tried to focus on the massive task at hand. Time seemed to drag on in the morning and I made my final preparations and then decided that i had better get ready (dressed) and then try to take one final nap in the mid-afternoon. As I laid there and tried to sleep I kept thinking about what I was going to do...running wise. Coming into the race I had come up with a few different strategies and had asked some of my ultra friends how they would handle things. Now, just hours before the race I didn't have a clue as to what I was going to do. But what I did know was that I had packed my stubborn with me and that I was going to give it everything that I had. I also knew that it was going to be an interesting race to say the least in regards to weather as it had rained pretty good yesterday and more rain was expected overnight and over the next few days and that worried me just a little bit as many people have said that their Hokas did not perform well in muddy conditions. And with me having placed all of my eggs into one basket (having only brought Hokas because that is all I own) I was going to have to prove them all wrong and show the world that Hokas could handle even the muddiest of terrains!

After finally getting a little bit of a nap in, I was all set to go! At 5:45pm we had a brief pre-race meeting. We were told that the course was well marked, easy to follow and that we should do our best and have a blast. And at 6pm on the nose we were off! It was nice to be starting the first loop in the daylight so that we could see what treasures were laid out for us to stumble over.

The course itself included a little 1/2 mile jaunt down to the river followed by a 9 mile loop (which wasn't actually a loop - more of a roundabout way of getting back to the original starting point) and then a return trip on the 1/2 mile trail from the river to the barn. Here are a few photos of the 1/2 down to the river...









Easy enough right? Right!!!! lol. Here is a copy of the course 10 mile loop that I didn't get to see until after the race and in reality I am glad that I hadn't seen it before hand! As one of my best friends and running mates (Billy Gebhart) stated, "Somehow the word "Loop" just doesn't do it justice!!"



Yeah...after the little 1/2 mile trip to the river we ended up facing 9 miles which included over 2,400ft of elevation gain or a total of 120,000 ft of gain over the entire 500 miles!

As I had stated before, Hurricane Irene had ripped through this area. One of the things that it had done was to wipe out the bridge (Fuster's Bridge) which spanned the river between us and the 9 mile loop on the Green Mountain Trails. So Mighty Pete, who I think owns or runs Amee Farms created a temporary bridge for us to use in the race. This bridge was a bit scary looking at first but just seemed to blend in with the rest of the horrors of the course as we went along.







As fellow runner/friend and the ultimate winner and first time finisher of the race Willy Natureboy Syndram would go on to say, "It consisted of steel I-beams, 2X4′s, 2X10′s, various other sizes of lumber, a couple chunks of firewood, straps of all kinds to hold it all together, and 300 pounds of rocks to keep it from floating away. I found myself questioning the bridges integrity, but as the days and nights wore on I came to realize it was indeed a sound and sturdy bridge worthy of a 500 mile race, a bridge that the Gods themselves would have been honored to use !! Climbing up the river bank from the bridge was evil and just plain mean, but I would soon realize that it was just par for the course."

So, now that we are 1/2 mile into the race, it is all downhill from here right?? Hell no...this is a  Peak Races/McNaughton races, sponsors/creators of such races called "the death race" and besides, I already showed you guys the loop map...so...bring on the uphill and boy did they. You know it is going to be bad when the first trail name that you come to is called "The Stairs"



this section of the loop, while pretty as first glance....


led to a steady amount of climbing via McNaughton style switchbacks (rocky, steep, and could turn into a muddy river bed in a heartbeat!).









In reality though i enjoyed this section of the course as it was very runnable and could offer some good fast power hiking spots as fatigue set in later on in the race.

Next up was the Crazy Mazie section of the course which weaved around and of course up - some very steep ups.



As you can see by the picture we were also starting to get into some of the thicker wooded sections of the course...it wasn't called the "green mountain trails" for nothing. It was fun to run through the woods at times, and scary (yes I said scary) at others - but I will get into that a bit later.



Up and up and up we went as we got deeper and deeper and deeper into the scary woods (dang there is that word again!).







At points we were literally climbing across the face of the mountain on trails that didn't even exist as they were being created right under our feet by Matt (sorry I forgot his last name). As Matt seriously blazed sections of the trail each day during the race - using only a pick axe, a shovel, and his own willpower. It was nice to see the progress that he would make just on each loop that went by!





this new path eventually circled its way around and around the mountain in a spiral pattern (well an almost spiral pattern) until it finally reached the summit of the mountain and the little cabin on top which would serve as our one and only aid station (other than the start finish line) and place of refuge (which again I will get into in just a bit).









The cabin was a welcome site on each loop and meant that we had covered approximately 4.4 miles of the 10 miles in total.

Next up were the fun times on the Rolita's Way/Roland's Run and Warman trails on our way to the Labyrinth!!!



I always got a kick out of these signs that denoted that they were for experts only as I immediately wondered where my path was then...but alas the pink ribbons led the way...

Wooohoo....some down hill!!!



Some very STEEP and muddy downhill!!!!!



the trail weaved its way up and down around a single track path for about 1/2 a mile until it intersected with the Warman trail (I love the name of that trail as every time I saw it or say it I just want to pump both fists into the air and let out a battle cry, roar, or grunt if you will - yes I am a dork...so what!).



Once on the Warman (ROAR!!!!!!) trail we began to climb once again on the single track trail until we arrived at the entrance to hell! otherwise known as the Labyrinth.



the Labyrinth was a .4 mile maze of trees that you had to work your way through in order to come out the other side - sort of like a rat and cheese maze! It was fun the first time - as it was still day light and we had never experienced it before, but at night and as we continued to grow more tired as the race progressed the paths seemed to change right before your eyes and speaking of eyes...you sure could see alot of them glowing in the darkness amongst the trees - SPOOKY!!!!!









there were signs all over the place, tree roots jumping up out of the middle of nowhere, slick rocks, and lots of mud in the Labyrinth as well.



And just when you thought that you were done with it, the maze opened up into another section of twists and turns and it threw you back into the madness! I do not know how many times I got turned around in this mess and how many times I recall praying for the Lord to "just get me out of this section" as it was a bit freaky and intimidating at times.

Finally after having our prayers answered by making it out of the maze we made our way to the da-da-da-da-da I'm "luvin it" trail (i don't know how many times I sang that little McDonald's jingle and craved a Large Sugar Free Vanilla Iced Coffee when I made it to this point - atleast 50 I would say!).



this short section of the trail was fun, very runnable, and full of zig zagging switchbacks and whereas the last section was dark and ominous, this section of the trail was bright and colorful (even to a colorblind person such as myself).





After about 1/2 a mile or less there was a "connector" to the Fuster's Trail which led us to the infamous Fuster's trail (which I know I changed the name of to another f-word many a times).



this connector was a little rocky path that climbed its way back up the mountain for a little bit before dropping us off out onto the the longest trail of the course.



Fusters was a gorgeous beast! It had it all... long runnable sections, some steep climbs and descents, rocks, mud pits, downed trees, waterfalls, creek crossings, bushwhacking through pickers and a few technical portions. It was an obnoxiously long zig zag down the mountainside that we loved to hate and hated to love.











 Fuster's was, for a lack of a better description, a cruel joke from Andy the race director - in that he want to see just how close he could get us to the end of the loop/bridge section before tossing us back up the road for another mile or so of fun. And then, after all of that, he gave us the river section....



this river section was like an obstacle course or a shorter version of the infamous Barkley's 100 miler. Your best bet was to just follow the pink ribbons and plow your way through the madness, all while trying not to fall in the river 50 million times.











What a rush! I will never forget the fun I had with Luis A. Ramirez (on left in photo below) and his two pacers (Jerome Scaturro - middle, Billy Curtin - right) as we plowed through this river section like a frickin' freight train!!



And then, at the end of this madness we found ourselves back at Mighty Peter's Funhouse Bridge and balance beam river crossing and the final 1/2 mile trip back up to the start/finish line.

well, there you have it... you all just took a 10 mile jaunt around the course with me, which means that we now only have to do this 49 more times!!! Ok, ready!!! Oh...OK, I won't take you through that 49 more times, instead I want to share just a few of the adventures that I incurred along the way.

the weather...

I must start of by saying that the weather was absolutely perfect... if you were a flipping duck! And even then I would think that the ducks would start to get sick of it. You see, during the 10 days of the race I think that the sun was actually only out for 1 1/2 to 2 days at most. this is not an exaggeration by any means as I think that we actually started to get excited when the forecast changed from a 100% chance of Thunderstorms to a 100% chance of showers!!!! In other words, instead of torrential down pours we would still get soaked to the bone but only in a slower time frame!!!

The weather played a huge impact on many aspects of the race: the way we dressed, the way we ran, the shoes we wore (even me.. as I had taken 6 pairs of Hokas - 4 old school Stinsons and 2 new Stinson Evos) and even when we ran.

I knew going in that I had to be prepared for anything so I packed a bunch of long sleeve shirts (10), short sleeve shirts (15), light running jackets and ponchos (5), long johns, a winter coat, a bunch of gloves, beanies, baseball caps, 30 pairs of socks (drymax, wright socks, toe socks, wool sock, etc.) and a bunch of other odds and ends (gaiters, ski mask, tights, compression calf sleeves, etc.) and boy was i glad that I had done so.

the rain was bad...there is no other way to put it...it was wet (yeah sounds like a no brainer) and it was cold! What I mean by this is that sometimes when it rains it is just that annoying rain that just spits at you and barely gets you wet at all, well that was not the case here as all of the toilets in Heaven were overflowing onto Pittsfield and someone didn't bother turning off the shutoff valve. I felt as if I were Charlie Brown at a baseball game and the rain cloud was just sticking right over the top of our heads.

I got soaked to the bone so many times it wasn't funny... I literally rain out of dry clothes a couple of times and honestly had to start looking at my used clothes in terms of levels of dryness in order to figure out what I could put on again to go out and run in. The worst part was when i had to do this for my socks as I had to try to wear two pairs at once most times in order to try to help prevent blisters as much as possible. there is nothing worse then putting on clammy, muddy, cold, wet socks after you have taken the time to dry off your feet and protect them. Wet gloves is a close second...

And with rain comes mud...and this was not just any ordinary mud, this was a McNaughton/Peak Races specialty ordered mud that sucked! I mean it literally sucked the shoes right off of your feet at times.





At other times it just caused you to slip and slide all over the place...yeah the Hokas were a bit tricky to get use to running in in the mud at first, but once you got use to it and learned how to attack the course (smash right through the mud puddles) they were amazing. I will say that I was surprised to see that I was better off in my old school Stinsons instead of the new Evos when it came to running in the mud...but the new Evos really rocked the rest of the course!



Another issue with the shoes, even though i had 6 pairs was trying to dry them out in between using them. we made use of a large industrial sized fan to try to speed dry them as much as possible. Again it came down to having to pick shoes with a level of dryness a couple of times as some days I ended up having to change shoes 2 or 3 times just to make it through.

I must say a great big thank you and give a shout out to Willy's crew/Pacing expert Philip Sustar (on right in photo below) as he was not only an amazing asset to Willy but to so many others including myself as well. Philip, who I am now proud to call a friend, took care of Willy (on left in photo below) first and foremost and then, in his downtime, when he could have been resting, went out of his way to see what I needed help with. Philip strung some clothes lines in the barn and bought some hangers to try to assist in the drying process of all of our clothes. He even convinced the residents of the third floor of the barn to allow each of us to wash and dry one small load of clothes and then he even did the laundry for us. He always asked what he could get for me whenever I came in from a loop and even went to pick up all of our food for supper a few times when Andy was busy with other race duties. Nothing but love and respect for that man! thank you Philip.



Another factor that the weather brought into play, that also had to do with the mud was the fact that for the first time in any race I had to use poles. I had, by choice, never used them before, but there was honestly no getting around it in this race and I must say that, although they took a bit to get use they were a big, big help in regard to balance. thank you so much to Willy for talking me into trying a pair and in fact lending me a pair of his to use.



the wild...

Being from Phoenix the only coyotes I know about are scrawny, toothless ghouls that play ice hockey or atleast try to (sorry Trent I had to put that jab in there)...actually, the animal version of the phoenix coyotes are not very fierce looking at all. But on the contrary, Vermont Coyotes are frickin' huge!!! As a matter of fact I honestly thought that they were wolves and I was scared shitless!

I mean come on...look at this picture above and the description below from the Vermont fish and wildlife website:

"Coyotes are wild canines, with dog or wolf-like features. Weights are slightly heavier for males, with average weights in the western states of about 30 pounds for males versus 25 pounds for females. A coyote immigration has impacted eastern states since the early 1950's and the eastern coyote is now recognized as a true breeding subspecies of coyote. The eastern coyotes do attain larger body weights than western coyotes, and this may reflect hereditary traits as a result of cross breeding between northern coyotes and eastern timber wolves. Weights of over 60 pounds have been recorded for some eastern coyote males, although the majority weigh between 30-35 pounds."
I was, no lie, stalked by three coyotes that were huge! I honestly thought that I was a goner as I had these 3 bad boys darting up along side of me, crossing in front of me, and howling repeatedly as they chased me up the mountain side toward the summit cabin. I was scared out of my mind as I freaked out and flailed in the mud as I tried to rush my pace and get away from them. I fell a few times, screamed like a girl, and damn near crapped my pants until I finally reached my way to the cabin and locked myself inside until the sun came up (about 45 minutes later) as I was not about to go back out there and into the labyrinth area in the dark with them out there. And yes, I was not the only one to see and hear them and yes it did happen again on another occasion, but I didn't freak out as must the second time as I realized that I did have carbon steel tipped poles with me that I could use as a weapon if needed. but nonetheless I did say a few extra prayers along the way and quickened my pace up quite a bit.

Also, being from Phoenix, the only moose I know of is Bullwinkle! Well that all changed in Vermont too as I also had a staredown with a moose...a frickin' big ass moose!!!!


this run in occured by the "Luvin it' trail and the thing just stood there, lifted its head up high and stared at me as if to say "What the hell is your scrawny butt doing out here in my woods boy?" - I was not sticking around to give him (or her) an answer. I high tailed it out of there as fast as I could, which really was interesting because this section of the trail was an area of short switchbacks so I was actually just running back and forth in front of the moose for a bit - it was almost to comical to think that even though I was running away fast all the moose had to do was to charge straight down the middle of the switchbacks and he (or she) could have been on top of me in a second. in this instance my little poles wouldn't have even made a dent in this giant!

And as if the frickin' coyotes and moose were not enough I met up with a porcupine in the Labyrinth that just would not get the hell out of my way! Granted the little thing was cute as a button and it waddled around so comically, but it flaired up its quills quite a few times at me when I got too close and I felt that it was better to be stuck behind it then to be stuck by it! So needless to say I shuffled along behind it until it finally decided to get off of my path and out of my way!

Other than these three animals I did see a few snakes, squirrels, and tons of birds. Heck I even heard a few screach owls in the night! It was certainly an adventure that I will never forget. Now had there been any evil cows there too... I might have just packed it in!!! lol.

the weary...
during the race one of the additional big factors that I had to contend with was fatigue and figuring out when to keep pushing it or when to shut it down for a break and/or a nap. In reality, what it all came down to was that I had to listen to my body and let it do what it needed to do and then it seemed to respond better for me in the end. there were times when i could have pushed it longer and tried to complete one more loop but then my body would have taken longer to recover as the slower lap would have actually meant more wear and tear and breakdown of my already expended muscles. And then there were times when I found that I was able to push myself further and harder without it having a negative effect on me because I was mentally in the game at that point in time and I felt good about myself and how things were going - alot of which had to do with the out pouring of love and support that I felt from what i started to call my cyber crew (all of you - my family and friends, the jester nation, friends of family and friends of friends). You all were so amazing and helpful to me and I cannot thank you all enough - I love you all! Michael - you unbonked me (even though you were sleeping); Casey and Bridget - you guys inspired me; tammy and tammy - you too kept the encouragement coming and information being posted; Kaylee your messages/videos were cute; Petra your high fives helped again!; Ian you mentored me; Ed you frickin called me while you were running in a 100 miler!!! and rallyed the Jester Nation lol!!! And there were so so many more and I feel bad for not mentioning you all...but I do appreciate everything that you did - this was for all of us!!!!!

going right along with being tired was the fact that I was in a little bit of a battle with Willy, although I knew that he was the better man, I wanted to do my best and put up a little bit of a fight - and I think I did for a little while anyways. willy was a frickin' machine out there and he was pretty sneaky too...yes he was wise in the mind games and he played me like a fiddle...sneaking out when I thought he was sleeping and down for the night...he was the master! But it was his sheer strength and determination that made him the better man those 10 days as he pushed his way through pain and agony beyond what I was facing (especially with his feet issues) and he deserved to win. I told him flat out that it was an honor to finish behind him in this race and that I was honored to witness his pure conquring of the course. I am proud to call him a friend and in awe of what he did out there. He is a professional ultrarunner and a professional gentleman.

Overall I would have to say that the first 220 to 240 miles felt good and were easy on my body (so watch out ATY 2012 72hr run!!! lol - yeah right the course is too flat for this mountain goat!) and I think that this is a really good sign for things to come as I continue to pump out the hundred milers and now look to seek out a couple more long runs like this distance of 500 miles or more... (I could see it happening again soon). Nick "the enabler" Coury has already told me of a few...lol.
Well folks, thats about it, I guess that I could have went into more of a day by day blow of things but it would have just entailed me telling you...day 1 it rained, day 2 it rained some more, day 5 - guess what...it rained some more!!!!

OH CRAP!!! speaking of rain... I did forget the part about how we got so much frickin' rain that the bridge flooded over and parts got wiped out and that we evacuate the island for a bit! I ended up in the chest high waters of the river and damn near froze my butt off!



I could not stop shivering but i could not stop in the race either so i had to keep motoring on onto the new course that they temporarily set up for us - a paved 10 mile loop that hurt so bad! Here Andy is giving me the directions to the new loop (which I am glad that I only had to do three times!).


A notice from Andy and Peter  the next morning was a welcome sign to return to the mountain once the bridge was resecured!

Well...that is it folks! I hope you all enjoyed the ride and I hope we all do it again soon!!! And he is to hoping that Andy puts on a 1000 miler next year because Willy my friend...it is on!!! lol.

Vermont 500 - a recap of our journey - part 1 of 2

After finishing the December 2011 Across the Years 72hr run with 202.6 miles I cried. I could not believe how far we had come in such a short time...I mean it was only 14 months (October 2010) since we had taken our first 100 mile journey together and now...BAM! that achievement was doubled.

Shortly thereafter I received an email from Andy Weinberg with a link to race...something called the Vermont 500 - a 10 day, 500 mile run which consisted of 50 10 mile loops in the mountains of Vermont. My curiosity was peaked and I took a look - even though I just shook my head and laughed at the thought of even attempting such a feat. Nonetheless I looked. The next day I looked again. And the day after that...I looked again. I was already hooked but i didn't even realize it myself yet at that point. But then...out of the blue I received a facebook posting from a fellow crazy Danny Messex and it contained a posting of the same exact race's website. I am sure Danny was just joking around about the race but I don't think he realized just how crazy I was! And when he told me that no one had ever completed the race before I knew that I had to give it a shot.

Did I realize what I was getting myself into? probably not. Did I care? yes, and no. You see I live for shit like this - a chance to test myself, a chance to go against the odds, a chance to make myself feel as if I am good at something, a chance to venture out into the unknown and to take all of my fellow inspirations (friends) with me on an unforgettable journey. This race offered all of that and more. Yeah I was game...I was hooked...I was willing to put everything on the line to take in the epic enjoyment that this race had to offer. I was going to do my best and that is all that mattered. But first I needed to let someone know, and so I responded to danny's post with a "cool, i think I will sign up" or something like that...but I really don't think he believed me so I waited until I officially signed up and replied again..."yep, I signed up." And so it was done. I now had 4 1/2 months to convince myself that I could do it and get ready to go!

I immediately began to tell more of my friends about the race and the responses were mixed. Alot of people thought I was joking, some wished me luck, others laughed and called me an idiot (one person did so directly to my face). I knew that the majority of my friends would support me even if they didn't think that I could complete such a task, but I also knew that there were some out there that hoped I failed miserably and laughed at me. Regardless of it all I knew that I had to give it a shot and that no matter what happened I would be able to accept it so long as I never gave up. and so I approached the race with a "do what you can and leave it all out there" type mentality - a.k.a. I knew that I would have to get my stubborn on!

Time quickly passed - alot faster than I would have liked I must admit - and I found myself staring at the calendar thinking...OMG it is less then a month away....and then OMG it is less than two weeks away...until finally it got to the point were I said...Holy Shit...I fly out in two days and I am not even packed yet! I was totally lost in that here I was...getting ready to take on a 500 mile 10 day adventure - and I had no clue what to pack. 10 days is a hell of a long time for any trip, let alone the trip be for an ultra run in which the weather was to be the unknown. As a result of this I basically had to pack for every conceivable weather event that could possibly happen and just hope that I guessed right or at least got a bit lucky. I think I actually packed and repacked my luggage 3 or 4 times in those 2 days. But then finally I just said the hell with it and prayed that what I had packed would be enough to get me through. And so, with two stuffed to the max suitcases (both at about the maximum weight limit) I headed to the airport and began our journey.

After arriving in Burlington, Vermont, which included a quick stop in Newark, New Jersey (which drove me absolutely nuts with all of the Jersey Shore wannabes and Mobster wannabes) I thought that my trip was meant to be doomed as Budget rental cars wouldn't take my Visa debit/credit card for payment. I was so screwed if I couldn't drive to the race and drive to all of the stores that I needed to to get my food and supplies! But things quickly began to look up as the clerk at the National Rental Car agency told me to come on over and they would see what they could do for me. They were amazing! Not only did they get me set, but they got me in a bigger car for less money! I was so relieved and thankful!



With that now taken care of I packed up the car and took off. One of the things with this race was the fact that we were responsible for providing all of our own food and supplies for the 10 days, except for one hot meal per day. Knowing this going into the race was a good thing because it allowed me to mentally plan for everything that I might need to get at the stores upon my arrival so that I didn't waster a whole lot of time once I got there. And so, with my list in hand I headed to the nearest Walmart and proceeded to buy $212.00 worth of food, munchies, supplies, an ice chest, 2 pillows, and a ton of batteries. then I headed to a regular grocery store to buy a bunch of fresh fruit, because even though I had been at a Super Walmart...they didn't carry any fresh fruit...which I thought was a bit weird. Anyways, after getting all of my stuff I began the 2hr drive to Pittsfield.

along the way I stopped at a neat diner for what turned out to be the world's best bowl of chilli! I am always amazed at how the littlest of holes in the wall can be such good choices for food...little hidden gems!


Stuffed to the brim I continued down the road and ultimately reached my destination...



this sign welcomed us into the far edge of town, just west of the Amee Farm Stand/Barn location which was to be my home for the next 12 days or so. After about 2 minutes later I arrived at the Barn and met Andy, the race director, for the first time.



Andy quickly showed me around and led me into the barn area so that I could set up camp and get ready to roll. I was as ready as I could be, yet as nervous as I had ever been. I kept telling myself that even though I had never had a DNF before (212 races prior to the Vermont 500) that if it did happen that this was the race for it to happen in as this was set to be the most epic race of my little attempt at an ultra running career - ha ha! In other words, I know that I am not invincible. I know that I am not amazing. I know that I am not anything special. I am just an average joe out there trying to have fun and share whatever happens with my family and friends along the way and enjoy the ride for as long as I/we can. Sure it would be great to have a sponsor like Hokas to help me to pay for my shoes but I know that as my motto goes "i complete, not compete" and therefore not being a big time athlete (or even a small time one) big companies don't give you a second of consideration...so I make do with what i can and with what I have and enjoy it all the more because the more of your own blood, sweat, and tears goes into your effort the more epic it is for everyone involved (but that all aside I would sign with Hokas in a heartbeat....lol).

speaking of Hokas (you can see them all lined up under my cot - sorry one shameless plug), I finally got my little battle area set up and I was ready to roll!



Next up...a trip to McDonald's for a Large Sugar Free Vanilla Iced Coffee!!!! Only 17 miles away! I honestly had plans on making this trip a few times as little rewards so that I had something to look forward too each day. But that plan quickly went out the window on this my first trip to the land of the Golden Arches...because what i witnessed next really tore at my heartstrings and made it not feel right to spend my money anywhere else but in this little town. You see, not to long ago, when Hurricane Irene tore its way up the Eastern seaboard this little town was literally almost wiped off of the map as the river flooded and tore houses right off of their foundations and left a swath of carnage and destruction in its path. It was so sad to see...







Life somehow finds a way to go on though and the little town is in the process of rebuilding - which was an awesome site to see! Part of the town that was spared was the General Store and the little "downtown" area, as seen below, this spot turned out to be the supplier of our nightly warm meals (nachos!, mac & cheese, chicken parm, and the best banana smoothies!!!!)




And so, with iced coffee in hand, I headed back to the barn for a few final preparations and a good nights sleep as the race was set to began in less than 24hrs.

imogene - 9/10/11 - burke drinks the koolaid! part three

burke didnt eat too much..but i enjoyed the pasta while burke ate my brownies...lol. it was nice to see some familiar faces..Ron and Glen from Phoenix! the pre-race meeting was just as comical as last year and the slide show brought some gasps from the crowd. experiencing this for a second time was fun as i could see all of the newbies gettin all worried and pale..as to say "what the hell did i get myself into??" but not burke..he looked calm, cool and collected. i think that he was having some fun with it too as whenpeople would ask if he had ever done the ace efore he would say..welll sort of..and just snicker. and then he would defer their questions too me...the seasoned vet...lol...for this race...having finished it makes you just that...a seasoned veteran.  after getting our fill and hearing all over the tales and pre race deails we headed out. oh wait how can i foret...the weather report...one of the best gaaspers of the night...you see when we did the packet pick up there was a lady sitting there updating the current forecast at the summit and it was causing quite a stir as the whieoard was showing freezing temps with high wind gusts and a 70% chance of snow.perect whiteout conditions for the race and something else just to make it a little more fun, a little more epic if you will. that is the one thing that i really love about this race...while it is only 17.1 miles and has a little bit of a climb..the weather is the big x factor that you never know what you are going to get....sort of an element of surprise.
ok..getting back to the post meeting..burke and i walked around town for a bit and loked at somemore of the old buildins and then even stopped for an iced coffee for dessert..it was mcdonald's but it hit the spot.

the morning of the race came in an instant, no sooner after we had settled in for the night. a quick peek ouside showed signs of possible bd weather as he clouds were jusst packed in overhead and boy was it cold!after getting ready burke and I made our way out to Main Stret aand the staarting line area..after a few photos and some well wishing b burke and i found our spots in the growd and disappearred from each others sight. in the crow i was able to see another great friend of mine from the Mountain Milers of PRESCOTT...STEVE - O!! Steve and i became close friends in prescott as we aare both crazy runners and i have alot of respect for all that he has accomplished!
when the gun sounded it was 50 degrees and only 10 mile per hour wind gusts in town..not too bad...and with that we were off!i was cruising along having fun..not going too fast, and not going too slow...but yet slow enough to take it all in once aain. i annot stop from getting goosebumps when thinking about the course even when i am typing this......it iß haven. before i knew it I was making my way from lower bird camp to the upper bird camp area...a section of the course that burke had not seen yet. i kept thinking to myself and hoping and praying thatthat burke would be ok and would be able to make the cutoffs. i know that he had the heart to get it donne.just then i felt a sudden drop in temperature as my finers sarted to go numb...i had taken my gloves off shortly after the sart of the race as i had warmed up quickly and didnt want to end up overheating. as i started the final climb to the summit...1800 feet in a short 2 mile period, i was shivering like crazy and i could not feel my fingers anymore. slowly i climbed, one foot in front of the other untilfinally reaching the top...where is was flurrying , 30 degrees and there were 40 mph wind gusts. i literally had to have someone unzzip my coat pockes just so i could get my gloves out and put on. i drank a ton of soup...stripped down to my iRun t.shirt...because i promised my friend Mark Cosmos a picture in the shirt at the summit and then i got dressed in a hury and took off down the sttp downhill section of the race. i was liteally flying in my hokas! god i love those shoes! and then...efore i knew it i waas crossing the finish line in a respectable 4 hours and 3 minutes...about an hour faster than the previous year.. 40 minues aser actually i think. i was happy! i quickly grabbed my finisher's pin and retreated to a porta potty and then over to the finish line goodies for a snack. i then went back over to the finish line area and had a blast watching people come in across the finish...i was happy to see Steve, Glen and Ron all make it and then thins sarted to slowly turn to a feeling more of hope and praying as i so wanted burke to make it. i honestly had no clue where he was and how he was doing. we had each aken our phones with us...but coverage on the Pass is spotty t best.i sent burke a message to let him know i was done aand to check in on him...t fist i didnt et an answer...time was quickly pasing and still no word or sign of him.i prayed harder and harder to help burke make and and just then i got a message that burke had reahed the ssummit...had missd the cutoff but was allowed to continue. i was glad to hear from him, yet sad to hear that he had mised the cutoff and confused that he had been allowed to continue...i wasnt sure if that meant hat he was still officially in the race or not. no matter..he was good and that was all that matered..and he he been to the mountain top..something so special that it will change your life forever. about an hour later i got another message that burke was in pain and having issues and he wasnt sure how far he was from the next aid stion...i knew that he had to be close to the archway aid station whcih wwas around mile  13. so this meant that he was still about an hour or so awy from the finish line at a minimum...the only problem was that the final cuttoff was looming and the final bus backto ouay was etting ready to leave. i didnt know what else to do but to take the buse back to town 50 minutes there and 50 minutes ack to the finish area via my car. had i not done so we would have had to try to find a ride because there was no taxi service between the to towns.. and so i hopeed on the bus and left burke a message. i felt so bad. i wanted to be able to see him crossing the fiish. i nwanted to get a picture of him to commemerate this eepic journey..but it was all that i could do. i felt even worse when it started to rain as we drove back on the bus. when we got about 10 minutes outside of ouray i finally got  a message from burke..he had made it...it was after the final cutoff time..but he had made it! i was so proud! after get to my r I flew back to Teluride and picked up the conquering hero and  we started back to the hotel. burke was smiling ear to ear again. his firstnwordsnwere... " thank you so much Mark..next year i will make the cutoffs." i was so proud of him and i knew that he too had asted the koolaid and liked it! i gave burke my finisher's pin because no mater what the clock said...burke had finished! i look forward to doing it again with burke next year...he is now a seasoned vet too! i wonder who else we can share it with next year....hmmmm....any tackes???

imogene - 9/10/11 - burke drinks the koolaid! part two

burke and I really didnt know each other too well outside of racing so the trip was a nice chance to get to know each other, to share war stories and to take in the amazing scenery around us. as we drove along i told burke tales of how a beaver had fell a tree in the road on my last trip to imogene and the joint effort that it took for some of us drivers to get it off of the road, minutes later we passed through that area without incident. i also told him of the motorcycle driver that had layed his bike over at a scenic pulloff and myself and a few others had to help him up, again moments later was arrived at that location and had no similar occurances - thank god. at that site however burke got his first look at the mountains that we would be playing in shortly...he looked nervous, yet so excited! He was like a kid at a candy store that knew he already had to go to the dentist later that day.after taking some photos we continued on to ouray and checked into our hotel. Burke was eager to get a look at the town so we unpacked our things and then walked around a bit. It felt so good to be back in ouray...I love that town!the backdrop is so amazing, the old buildings the mountains surrounding the town, the crisp smell of fall in the air...it is a little slice of heaven tucked away from the rest of the world. Burke was amazed as well, he had been here many years ago and remembered the hot springs and not much else so it was like he was discovering it again for the first time.after grabbing so Mexican food for supper we packed it up for the night and eagerly awaited the breaking dawn of the next day so that we could begin our walk-thru. as the morning came so to did the clouds as they blanketed the sky and kept the cold crisp air in place for us. after showing burke where the starting line was - by the Antler hotel, we head done Main Street and started our trip. before we evn got to the end of main street we came across a doe and two fawn grazing in the front yard of one of the houses. burke and i both love nature so the cameras popped out and our photo journals began. after a few minutes of following them from house to house we continued around toward the Million Dollar Highway. immediately the course popped back into my head like a had just run it yesterday...even turn, every structure, every waterfall. i could feel the goosebumps covering my entire body as the excitement and lve for this rac and course came rushing back into  my body. after rounding the huge bend on the highway we made our way over to box canyon...which is just spectacular. burke immediately fell in love with it..he was expressing his lov for the beauty that he was seeing and snapping photos left and right. i couldnt help but to smile and chuckle as i had been the same exact way last year and just getting to see it in him made it all the more special. all of this and we hadnt evn gone a mile yet...i knew that he would be suffering from scensory overload before the day was through. after leaving the box canyon area we made our way to the old powder shed..just an amazing structure! after going aound the backside of the shed we started our climb up onto the frest service road and back into the mountains. i told burke to let me know when we had gone fa enough for the day as we still have to retrace our steps back to town and i didnt want to wear him out for the raçe the next day.  we continued on and easily made it back to the first aid station of the race, as denoted by the people that were out there setting things up. burke and I continued to talk and share tales as we slowly climbed the rolling sections etwen miles 2 and 3. we continued onward and stopped at each waterfall and rock formation, snapping pictures along the way so many in fact that burke's camera filled up before we reached mile 4. burke was smiling ear to ear and bubbling with excitement..he was so happy that he had finally made it to the ce that he had wanted to do. he was also hapy that we had decided to do the walk thru as he wasnt sure exactly how the elevation would affect him and he was sure how much he would be able to run as he was woried a bit about the cutoff times. miles 4 through 6 really gave burke a good idea of some of the steep climbs and some of the very runnable areas...they also gave him an idea of just how high we were going and how high we had already climbed as he both got a look at just how small and far off Ouray now was and also he was able to get his first look head on with what he had yet to face....Imogene Pass and the road to get to it.steeper and steeper we climbed as we made our way past ynakee boy basin and to the lower bird camp. burke loved the old foreman houses and mining area. we also got a kick out of the small motorcycle gang that was afraid to venture back in to the mountains behind the lower bird camp as they didnt want to tresspass and get into trouble..while in the meantime hear come little ol burke and myself as we go jogging right past them into the forbidden zone. this point on in the race begins the major four wheel drive portion of the race in that other than by foot you arent getting in or out of this section if you dont have one. also by this point in the race we are now just about even with the tree line and huge vast mountains surround us in every direction...one side in particular is a huge rock slide area...it is so beautiful!yet it is so technical as well. it was at this point that i noticed burke begin to slow down a bit. i could tell tht he waned to go on, nor only for imself as he was having a blast but for me as well, as he stted that he didnt wnt to let me down on the walk through as he knew i loved the mounains and would hve just coupntinued on throughout the rest of the course if i so desired...but i told him i was just so happy to et a chnce to share this with him that he would never let me down in anyway..especially since this was for him and his benefit. at tht point about 7 miles into tht walk through, we turned around and strted our way back...just as it strted to rain, it was as if the heavans knew tht we were on a mission and that it had waited just long enough for us to complete it. along the way back into town we talked some more, saw some more new sights that we had missed on the way up and took a ton more photos along the way. by the way, all of the photos from this trip can be seen on my facebook page. after geting sck into town we had lunch at the mexican restausnt again and then went back to the hotel to et thins around for the next day and then got eady to go to the packet pickup and pasta dinner-race breifing. stay tuned for part three for the rest of the story...

imogene - 9/10/11 - burke drinks the koolaid! part one

Last year I got my first taste of the Imogene Pass Run and I knew that this was one race I would need to do year in and year out. In other words, I had drank the Koolaid and it tasted good! It was an experience that I will need forget and I think that alot of my friends will need forget either because I kept talking about how amazing it was. In the year that passed since its last running I tried to convince alot of those same friends into taking a sip this year but the takers were not making themselves visible..all exceptf for one that is....Burke Painter. Burke, a good friend of Phil and Karen Davis, had spoken with me breifly at Tuesday night track and at other events, such as my first dance at the 2010 Javelina 100. I had always heard great and amazing stories of him and his accomplishments, both in running and in biking so I was glad to discover his interest in the race. As it turns out Burke had actually signed up for the race many times in the past but for one reason or another had been unable to make it to the starting line. This year however Burke had his mind set on making it there and so our little adventure was born!

I had told Burke that in the previous year I had driven up two days before the race so that I could have the day before the race to do a partial walkthru of the course so that I could get an idea for exactly what I had gotten myself into and that I was greatful that I had because it not only helped me out in knowing the course but it also helped me to enjoy the beauty of the amazing country that I would be running in at a much more relaxed pace and take plenty of photos along the WY...something I wouldn't have take to do during the race. Burke and I agreed that this would be the best course of action for our trip as well. And so, on Thursday, september 8 burke and i headed out early in the morning for the start of our journey

triple threat weekend minus one????

last year i had been able to partake in the triple threat weekend over the Memorial day weekend which consisted of the CHINO VALLEY 10K, the Jerome Hill Climb and the Saugaro National Park 8 miler...this year however...coming off  of the Lean Horse 100 I wasnt sure if I was going to be in any shape to run all three races...well as it turns out I was but the 8 miler had sold out so i would miss my chance at tit again this year.

Disappointed in myself for missing out on signing up in time didnt stop me from enjoying the two other races however I guarantee you that.

first up was the CV 10k which meant that i got to head up north to see my friends in the Mountain Milers (Dan, Julie, Ken, Rob, and Steve-O, just to name a few). It also meant that I got to hang out with my buddy Billy Gebhart as this wekend is one of his traditions as well. The race is a nice small town street race that consists of a one mile stretch followed by a 4 mile square and a return trip to the start/finish area on the previously run one mile stretch. the race is deceivingly tough as it has a downhill start which makes most runners (including myself) go out way too fast. the race then turns evil as there are some nice rolling portions around mile 2.5 and then just turns into a nice wicked long drawn out climb through mile 5 and into the finish. It is realy fun and one that i love to do over and over again. ;this year, despite just coming off of the 100 miler I was able to PR in the race, PR overall in all of my past 10 k efforts and win my age group! I can't wait to do it again next year!

The next day brought along race number two - another one of my favorite races....the Jerome Hill Climb! This ace is 4.6 miles of beautiful hell! I love it! Again I get to run this race with all of my Mountain Miler friends and all of those from the valley to as this is an ARR sponsored race. This year my friend Pat Reichart missed out on the ace due to an injury...she was greatly missed. This race, as I said is beautiful yet it is HELL. The scenery provides the beauty as we run through the town of Jerome, past a ghost town/mine and then up, up, up to the finish line atop of Jerome's Hill. Despite all of the though mountain races that I have done...this little 4.6 miler provides a really challenge each year as you try to go as fast as you can up this beast just so you can walk back down when you are done. This is my kind of ace as I love to climb and it actually sort of levels the playing field as I can actually bat some of my super fast street racing friends to the top or at least give then a run for their money! I was still a bit jacked up from my first sub 24 at Lean horse and the 10k PR the day before but I was still a bit tired too and to make matters worse I was late getting started in the race as I was the last one in the bathroom line since I had helped out with registration and got delayed in walking down to the starting line. After making are of business I started the race a few minutes after the gun went off and I immediately stared to tear up the first climb up into town. I quickly caught up to the rear of the pack and started to weave my way in an out of the cattle traffic jam. Yelling hello to many familiar aces along the way the first hill came to a close as I rounded my way through town and to the registration/parking area. After this quick little break from the first climb...climb number two and the power climb portion of the race began...this was a brutal little climb that covered about 1/4 to 1/2 mile and was fairly steep. This was then followed by the last climb which zi-zagged its way up out of town and into the canyon walls and cactus blooms - he beautiful part of the race...although you don't really notice it during the race. Finally after working my way to the top and crossing with yet another race PR for the
weekend I relaxed a bit and watched some of my friends cross the finish line as well. Shortly thereafter I began the walk/job back down to the parking area..this time making sure to take in the beauty of the surroundings.