Western States 2014: in through volunteering, crewing and pacing,

I still owe you a second post about Running in Malta, then of course, a belated (1 week already!) race report of last weekend's PCTR Summer Solstice, my very first 24-hour event and 100th ultra race. But, for now, let's keep the pace with another amazing weekend, the legendary and mythical Western States 100.

I wasn't supposed to be in California in June, but Europe, so I didn't even try to make it through the lottery. With three runs (2007, 2009 and 2010), I already feel on the lucky side anyway, given the hundreds of runners who can't get in every year. Of course I'd like to get back on that amazing course, where the weather creates a unique version of the event each year. But there are other ways to be "in" Western States, and equally essential to the success of the event. First, through volunteering at one of the numerous and sometimes remote aid stations. Second, pacing one of the runners between Foresthill (mile 62) and Auburn (mile 100.2). Third, crewing for a runner which, given the remoteness of certain aid stations, not to mention the heat, is a sport in itself. Fourth, of course, spectating, either along the course or on the net thanks to UltraLive.net's live webcast or the various Facebook updates.

I had the privilege to get pacers for each of my runs, and I know this makes a huge difference. So much that Karl Meltzer, who won more than 35 100-milers in his career and still counting, is a big advocate of a rule which would prevent the elite to place if they have a pacer. I heard that, among these elites, Rob Krar and Max King ran without a pacer, and they may be others too. Anyway, for me, I took advantage of this great support and I still have found memories of my pacers:

• 2007: Rob Evans (last 38 miles)
• 2009: my son Max (16 miles from Forresthill down to the river, Rucky Chucky) and Adam Blum (river to finish)
• 2010: my son Max (also from Forresthill down to the river) then Pierre-Yves Couteau

It took 4 years for Pierre-Yves to get picked in the lottery, 2014 was his year and, since I was in town finally, I was thrilled to return his favor (Pierre-Yves actually also paced me at my failed attempt at Rio del Lago 100-mile in 2011).

But, before meeting Pierre-Yves at Foresthill, I had time to volunteer in the morning. I have been the Aid Station Captain of Last Chance, a station which has been manned by my Cupertino Stevens Creek Striders club for more than 35 years at mile 43, but this year I decided to answer to the call of my other running club, the Quicksilver Running Club of San Jose, which has been operating the Duncan Canyon aid station for a few decades as well.

I needed a driver to move the car around while I was pacing Pierre-Yves and Greg was nice enough to make the trip again to the Western States trail. We slept in Auburn on Friday night instead of dry camping at Duncan Canyon, left Auburn by 5 am and were at the station by 6:45 am. As we arrived, the volunteers who camped were getting their breakfast. Greg was assigned to the fluids table.

Aid station Captain, Kristina Irvin, delivered her briefing before the opening of the station at 8 am, along with Co-captain, David Roberts.

Kristina has run (and finished!) Western States 10 times already, and the infamous Hard Rock, 8 times, so she is an expert at ultra running and this is a way for her to give back to the ultra community from which she has received, and we all do as well, so much from. A big thank to her for the huge effort that leading such an endeavor takes!

Because the 400 runners or so come through the aid station in about 3 hours, we operate this station with more than 50 volunteers, a large number which provides a dedicated helper for each incoming running for instance, to attend to the runner's need.

Our Master of Ceremony and announcer was of course our Club President, Gregg Lanctot.

Greg also picked the theme's of this year's costumes, the Far West. Here I am with Sachin:

I worked the check-out job with David Foote and we picked the time of all the runners going through except a handful of the elites who all flew by together and whom we missed. Hopefully all these numbers help runners and race officials.

I look forward to seeing all the pictures that station Chief Photographer Officer, Tonya Perme, took all morning. I managed to get a video of the leaders, Max King for the men and Stephanie Howe for the women, and legendary and Western States Endurance Run founder, Gordy Ainslegh, but that was it, the rest was just crunching numbers for 3.5 hours. Except a brief interruption to attend to Pierre-Yves' needs when he arrived into the station.

Unfortunately, Pierre-Yves had another of his bad days, not much so because of the heat which he doesn't like, but it wasn't so hot this weekend, in the 80s, but because of GI issues which started around mile 6. With that, he was in 245th position, certainly not in his usual spot, and it promised to be a long night for us.

We dismantled the aid station by 1 pm and Greg and I drove back to Auburn so I could take a nap before meeting Pierre-Yves at Michigan Bluff. I was encouraged to see Pierre-Yves gaining 42 spots at Last Chance but unfortunately he lost all of them in the subsequent canyons, back to square 1.

We met Pierre-Yves at Michigan Bluff indeed, just after 7 pm. While he was smiling, his intestine was really giving him some trouble and he eventually puked just before leaving the station.

I was not sure he'd made it to Foresthill by dusk on such an empty and painful stomach, I gave him my headlamp in case.

Thankfully, he not only hold on in the next canyon but managed to pass 20 runners, making him 217 at Foresthill School. More soup, more ensure, more watermelon, and it was time to move and go down to the river together.

We had a lot of fun going down for a few miles and started passing quite a few other runners faltering as we were approaching midnight. We had left Foresthill (mile 62, with 38 miles to go) around 9 pm and I set the goal to get to the river crossing by 1 am. At most of the subsequent aid stations, there were runners on chairs or cots. Without keeping a precise count, I could see we were gaining quite a few spots as the hours passed.

Our stop at the river crossing was sub optimally long with Pierre-Yves having to answer questions for the medical study, him spending some time in the porta potty, and the much needed refueling. We traded a few places which we actually regained in the 2-mile uphill to Green Gate on the other side of the river. By the way, it was the first time I crossed the river at night and I was certainly not suffering from heat myself to enjoy the coolness of the water. But I was so impressed with the courage of the volunteers who spend hours in the water to hold the cable for us and indicate us the path across and above the immersed boulders. Kudos to you guys!

Pierre-Yves had set his mind on walking up to Green Gate but I managed to run/jog/shuffle part of it, to his own astonishment. In the process, we passed a runner paced by living legend Ann Trason (Ann won this race 14 times over 15 years!). And, from now on, nobody was going to pass us again! Every light ahead became a target which we were happily hunting, keeping moving between stations at a great 13 to 14 minute/mile pace. We still spend the required time at the aid station for Pierre-Yves to refuel and eat, but the stops were getting shorter and shorter as we were progressing.

Unfortunately, at the exit of ALT by mile 85, I experienced a bad fall, stupidly tripping on a small rock which I missed. I fell on my side, hip and elbow, and, in the process tripped into Pierre-Yves' legs as I was following him closely. Fortunately, Pierre-Yves didn't fall himself and kept going. I was so much in pain that it took me a few minutes to catch him up and I even considered quitting at this point, each left stride becoming painful. It was a good pacing lesson and I decided to not mention any issue to Pierre-Yves, making sure we focused on his progression.

With that, I was happy with the 14 minute/mile pace myself, but I kept on pushing Pierre-Yves to shuffle the uphills and came up with the concept of virtual walking poles for driving an efficient power walking on the hills he couldn't run (walking/running poles are very common in Europe but forbidden on most of the races in the US so it doesn't damage the trails in National and State Parks, at least I believe that's the official reason).

I had seen Hal Koerner (2-time champion, 2007 and 2009) and Tia Bodington (Miwok Race Director) in the afternoon at the hotel Pierre-Yves had booked a room at, and it was uplifting to see them again at the rocking (as in Rock 'n Roll) Brown's Bar aid station (mile 90). It is always a delight to be helped by some of these high figures in our sport, like if James Lebron was giving you a ball on a basketball court in your neighborhood.

Keeping passing more runners, we had fun counting the remaining miles: a half marathon, phew! Then a 10K, then a 5K... All in all, Pierre-Yves gained 67 spots after Foresthill and we covered the 38 miles in 9.5 hours, that is just below 15 minute/mile. I was particularly proud of Pierre-Yves and how he was finally enjoying and having fun running again. And, for me, it was a great tune-up for night running for Tahoe Rim Trail 100-mile, in 3 weeks (I did run through the night at the 24-hour race last weekend, but the course was so flat and smooth, it barely required a light).

Pierre-Yves crossed the finish line in 25:39:56, taking 150. His first goal this weekend was to stay alive and avoid any incident like what happened to him at Ohlone 50K in May 2012 (helicopter evacuation and a few days in ICU). Checked! His second goal was to finish that mythical race, meaning finishing within the cut-off time. Checked! Third was the sub-24-hour of course. Unfortunately he wasn't that far but the initial struggle of the day killed this possibility. A Bronze Buckle will have to do it then, and, this Sunday morning, Pierre-Yves was barely realizing what happened yesterday and through the night, having had serious doubts after struggling so much for the first 62 miles (100K).

Not expecting us so soon based on Saturday's progress, Greg #4 (Pommier) was still sleeping when we arrived at 6:40 am but, thankfully, the "other" Greg (#2, Lanctot), with his amazing dedication and support to our running club in general and our ultra racing team in particular, was up again all night this weekend again and captured this nice shot at the finish:

While I was waiting for Pierre-Yves at Foresthill earlier Saturday afternoon, I saw quite a few known faces from our local ultra running community. Among them, Scott Dunlap who had paced Brendan Davies of Australia, down to the river. With two cars to handle at Foresthill, Scott was now waiting for someone to drop and request a ride back to Auburn. I also spend some time chatting and catching-up with Brian Robinson who was on the wait list, having offered to any runner in need of a pacer at the last minute. Brian did wait for some time and I was to see him just before No-hands Bridge as we passed his runner.

Western States undoubtedly remains the most sought-after 100-mile race, being the "mother" of all 100-mile races in the US and around the World. Although, 2012 and 2013 champ, Tim Olson, wasn't present to defend his title, there were at least 20 elite men who came and had the potential to win this race or at least place top 3. In the midst of this tough competition, Rob Krar passed Max King after Foresthill (which is the place, at the 100K point, where elites say the race begins...). Rob took first overall in 14:53, the second fastest time ever and one of the three sub-15-hour marks in the 41 editions of this event. Unfortunately, albeit still quite an amazing performance for his first 100-mile, Max got passed by two other runners: Seth Swanson, 2nd in 15:19, and Dylan Bowman in 15:36 (I chatted with Dylan at the hotel breakfast on Sunday morning, he was certainly delighted with the outcome).

In these perfect conditions (no snow, dry trail, top temperatures in the 80s), 129 runners managed to get a Silver Buckle, finishing under 24 hours. Quite a high number but not quite yet the 148 of 2012.

As for our team, Ian Sharman (M4) took 6 this year, Gary Gellin 16th with a time of 17:47 and 3rd Masters. Clare finished 28 minutes ahead of Pierre-Yves, good for 21st in the women division. Sandra Campos in 27:36, Loren Lewis, 28:53, Paul Ng, 29:42. Unfortunately John Nguyen dropped at El Dorado Creek (mile 52) and Jim Magill at Brown's Bar, mile 90. Jim finished his 10th Western States in 2004, he was going for his 11th at age 67 this year. He'll be back...

And back I hope to be in the coming years too, in any capacity. Indeed, there are many ways to be "in" Western States!

PS: a few more pictures. With ultra photography vizir, Glen Tachiyama:

Glen and Greg:

The cooling (sponge) station:

The check-in post:

Jennifer Bena, JB Bena's wife, and their JourneyFilm crew:

iRunFar.com's live cast coverage with satellite connection:

The medical crew:

The club runners and a special mention for Darcy Fick who abruptly passed away 2 weeks ago and was a mother for our club, being the chef with her husband Paul Fick of the renowned QuickSilver 50K/100K BBQ.

Western States 2010: more detailed coverage every year

Because of some difficulties getting online while touring France with the family for vacation, here are some belated post-race thoughts...

I remember my first 100 miler (Western States 2007) as really a huge thing. An adventure which haunted me months and weeks before the race. And an event which nourished many conversations with family members, friends and colleagues after wards for the next 6 months or so. This year was my 4th 100-miler and 3rd Western States and, apart from the two days spent in Squaw with the family, one brief mention of the run during a working lunch the following Tuesday, and a couple of emails noting that I have been slower than usual (yikes!), the race seemed to be nothing more important than a half-marathon or one of the many 50Ks I'm now running every year.

I had so much to do at work right after the race that I rushed to update my blog and post my race report by Sunday night. After my first 100-miler, I was able to have a few long nights and did not run for an entire week to accelerate recovery. This year, not only did I have a few nights under 5 hours of sleep with late and early conference calls, but I went back to the track to meet with Bob on Thursday. 6 miles, then 13 on Friday, 20 hilly ones on Saturday and 11 on Sunday before getting on the plane for Paris, that made a 50-mile running week. A nice way to "ramp back."

Anyway, I would not say that Western States was a non-event for me as it is so exciting to be part of this legendary event, but the real action and buzz was evidently elsewhere: at the front of the race and the numerous individual feats and heroic acts such as the two amputees running Western States for the first time, one completing the run in 27 hours which is amazing given the snow, the rocks, the slippery creeks, the steep up and down hills. Or Gordy who reached Robbie Point (mile 99) after 30 hours of running to get pulled out of the race (cut-off). Sounds so unfair to me, but he is actually the one I believe set the 30-hour cut-off rule, or at least this goal of finishing under 24 hours, something he did numerous time himself.

Across the blogosphere, online newspapers and magazines, newsgroups, mailing lists or Facebook, the coverage of Western States is reaching new heights this year. Like long-time ultra runner Mike Palmer put it: "We didn't have this when I started doing ultras."

Here are a few links highlighting facets of this amazing event.

1. Glenn Tachiyama's wonderful pictures (here at the exit of Duncan Canyon, see also the two pictures below)
2. An amazing journalistic coverage of the event by Bryon Powell on his iRunFar.com website, with interviews, podcasts, links to race reports of the top runners, feeds, etc.
3. 25 Breath taking pictures from Carl Costas of the Sacramento Bee newspaper
4. A tiny selection of 8 pictures from famous ultra photographer Luis Escobar, for Runner's World
5. An article on Amy Palmiero-Winters who became the first amputee to finish the Western States race (in an incredible time of 27 hours and 43 minutes). Wow...! By the way, she did make it to the 2010 "Best Female with Disability" ESPN award!!!

As for me, I found out the week after the race that I made it to number 6 of the Montrail Cup. Not as good as when I made number 2 in 2008 (mostly because it wasn't as popular at the time), but not bad given the amazing competition this year (I was not even in the top 10 before entering Western States). Of course, the main challenge of this cup is not only to do well in ultra competitive ultra events, but, equally important and as challenging, you need to pass the various lotteries of these coveted events (e.g. Miwok, Way Too Cool and of course, Western States). The entire and final 2010 standings can be found on Gary Wang's RealEndurance.com website. Victor Ballesteros won the Cup last year but was 5th this year and Eric Skaden won in 2008 and was 4th this year. Congratulations to the 2010 champions, Glen Redpath and Meghan Arbogast, two Masters actually, respectively 44 and 49!

Western States 2010: a very fast snow year

For those who don't have time to go through the report or prefer pictures to English prose, you can visit my Picasa photo album. Beware, though, there are 385 pix covering the 4-day weekend. With some comments. Enjoy!

You saw it on my two previous posts (Sunday and Friday), we had an official snow year in 2010. Usually it means slower times because of the added difficulty. However, this year, first the snow was not that bad in quantity. Second, it was actually very good quality, soft like it was fresh Spring snow. But, more importantly, the new section we used instead of running the ridge between Escarpment and Duncan Canyon, through Lyon Ridge and Red Star, was so much easier: from the very runnable down hill to French Meadows, to the flat section along the lake before the uphill through the devastated Duncan Canyon. With that, the start was incredibly fast and the from runners did beat all the aid stations expected times. Of course, being in the back, I missed the action but was told that it was amazing to see this pack of elite runners flying in, and actually flying through the stations in the quest for a new course record and for figuring out who was the best among them. Through the afternoon the reports from my crew was that it was going to end between a sprint between my two best bets, the "unknown" Killian Jornet, from Spain, and Tony Krupicka. As you figured out if you followed the webcast, Geoff Roes actually closed on them after the river to win the coveted cougar and setting a new course record. Geoff was named ultrarunner of the year in 2009 for a reason: he won the 6 100-milers he entered in and set course records most of the time (if not all the time). Bingo, same at Western Sates among such a competitive field! And Geoff continues the tradition of the North American winners at States, a tradition I thought Killian had a shot to break.

Getting the top 10 automatic entrant privilege was so challenging this year that I want to salute Andy Jones-Wilkins for having done it again despite this amazing competition. Right after the top 10 occurred the classic and friendly yet fierce competition among the local North California runners: Erik Skaden had sworn that he would not let Rob Evans pass him and, indeed, finished in 11th, against 12th for Rob, with a 31' gap. Rob did an amazing race, passed me in the hill up to Robinson Flat and confessed to have experienced only two downs during the day. He gain 40 positions in the overall ranking throughout the day! Karl Hoagland and Mark Lantz both made the top 20, finishing under 19 hours.

The women race was no less impressive with the top 5 in the same hour, finishing from midnight to 1 AM. Canadian Tracy Garneau took the pole position. Caren Spore repeated her top-5 finish like last year after a great come back. She passed me at Last Chance. Fueled by Vespa, she looked really determined and in great shape before the canyons.

Anyway, apart from the snow at the start and the freezing creeks we had to run though, it was a perfect day for great performances and many took advantage of it. Although I was really not into competing for a high rank spot in such a competitive field, my goal was to improve my 2007 time (20:24) and hopefully break 20 hours. With the fast start, I passed through Duncan Canyon much ahead of my previous runs. Later, Pierre-Yves told my I was actually on the initial leader schedule from past years, but it was not taking into account the much faster section along French Meadows. Duncan Canyon is manned by my Quicksilver running club and I got great and personal care from my teammate Pierre-Yves who will pace me through the night. Feeling that I started a bit fast although I had many people ahead of me (43 according to the webcast), I slowed down and walked all the uphill to Robinson Flat, getting passed by quite a few runners. I did not change shoes as I had planned to because there was actually another mile of snow after the station (and uphill to make it more interesting!). At Robinson Flat I had two volunteers helping out and staying with me the whole time while I was picking food and drinks. Despite this great care and attention, I ended up with the Raspberry GU2O which I cannot bear in my water bottle so I didn't drink any water for the next 5 miles in the very exposed section down to Miller's Defeat. Caren Spore caught up with me at Miller's Defeat but it's only at Last Chance which she will passed me as I stopped there for a while to recharge before the canyons and to take advantage of the special care of my other clubmates manning this station, the Stevens Creek Striders. Just before getting to Last Chance, I passed Chikara Omine who was in bad shape and that really affected my mental. I told him to stop at the aid station for a while and that we "ressuscited" more than one runners at Last Chance (what an ironic name). I was really happy to see him at Michigan Bluff where I stayed for 15 minutes, and even happier to see him as a finisher in the results, under 20 hours! Not a great time for such an elite runner but what a way to tough it out through the night (in the picture below, with his pacer Jason Reed at Rocky Chucky).

I didn't want to repeat last year's mistake where I faded in the El Dorado canyon and had to wait for 20' at Michigan Bluff to work on my fluids and weight, then through all the night. Unlike last year when I ran a large part of the switchbacks, I walked all the way to Devil Thumb. While easing off the pace, I kept thinking of the saying "the race really starts at Foresthill" (mile 62, km 100), but it was actually more tireness which was imposing my slowing down. I cruised down El Dorado, trading places with some other runners, and walked all the way to Michigan Bluff (only 2.8 miles but it takes for ever when you walk in a race). At this point, I was completely out of energy. I felt so depleted that, for 10 seconds, I did think of quitting/dropping at this point, how comfortable that would have been, but how much I would have regretted it later since I was still moving. Once I reset my sub-20-hour goal to sub 24 hours (silver buckle), I felt less pressure and shame of walking all the uphills.

My time into Michigan Bluff was not too far off my previous runs and I stayed in the station less than last year, so I was comfortable for a sub-24hr pace. I walked much of the trail up to the top of Volcano Canyon but was able to run the down hills and part of the uphill to Bath Road and Foresthill Road. My pacers Max and Pierre-Yves ran the last half-mile before the Foresthill aid station where I met my crew for the second time, as well as many known faces at this popular place. After the emotional boost going through the encouraging crowd, I had great couple of miles going down to Dardanelles, before experiencing another low leading to quite some walking and slow miles. The aid stations provided great support in this section which I covered in 3hr32', trading places with some runners, oscillating between the 66th and 61st position (quite a few runners passing me calling me by my name or mentioning my blog, comments which were very encouraging as I was experiencing my own downs).

After this nice run with my son, I changed pacer at Rucky Chucky, Pierre-Yves covering the "night shift." You can actually see Pierre-Yves in the recently-released DVD "100 miles to 40" which stars the Western States experience of Michelle in 2009, paced by Pierre-Yves. With this experience and other local runs, Pierre-Yves has been a great guide through the night, knowing all the various mileages between the aid stations, all the turns and canyons and depicting me what I could not see while focusing on the single track trail. This year, the current of the North Fork of the American River was so strong that we crossed by boat which was a first to me. The crossing was so well organized that there was no wait and we barely made it without getting our feet wet which saved another change of shoes.

We walked all the way up to Green Gate, in the dark before the full moon rise. I tried to recharge batteries at Green Gate by my legs were soared and I had a few slow miles in the next 5 miles to the Auburn Lake Trail (ALT) aid station, losing yet other positions, down to 66th again. Weight was still right on target and we kept going after drinking a cup of Coke and soup and eating some fresh fruits. Realizing that we "just" had 15 miles left, I had a physical and mental boost for the next 4 miles to Brown's Bar and passed quite a few runners. Pierre-Yves was super excited by the famous colorful and noisy fiesta going on there, and even got a beer, but I must admit I was eager to keep going.

I was able to maintain a reasonable pace in the next 2.7-mile section to Highway 49 Crossing which is the last medical checkpoint and 6.7 miles before the finish. We passed another runner before No Hands Bridge, then one on the way up to Robbie Point, despite an amazing push again in the last hill (that's become a specialty of mine, showing that I still have physical energy at the end, if I was not listening so much to the weakest part of my mental...).

Pierre-Yves was getting really excited with this strong finish and, with his encouragements, I kept pushing to pass 4 or 5 other runners in the last mile to cross the line in 52th overall, 16th in the M40-49 category (yikes, if doesn't help to age, but some do it better than others... ;-).

Overall, I used "Digging deep" as the title of my 2009 WS race report and I had to dig even deeper this year. I tend to do better in the heat but was not so acclimated this year. It wasn't super hot either which benefited others. I did ok in the snow and, despite making sure not to be caught in the upfront competition, started fast on this new course. Between the thinner and dry air and the dust, I felt short of breath for the major part of the run after Duncan Canyon but was able to keep the asthma under control with a slower pace. For what it is worth, the thing which I am the most proud of is to have kept my weight under control, right on target at +/- half a pound through the 9 medical checks! With all the fluid and food intake and quite a few pouches of Vespa thanks to Peter being on the course (Duncan Canyon, Dusty Corner, Foresthill) plus my drop bags, I don't really explain my lack of form and energy. It was great conditions to perform well and set quite a few records: 426 starters (with the limit set by the National Forest authority, it's going to become even tougher to make it though the lottery next year...), 326 finishers, 123 of us getting a silver buckle! Of course, I'm disappointed with the ones who didn't finish such as teammate Adam Blum (Michigan Bluff) or Bill Dodson who, at 75, was going for the oldest finisher record but was pulled out at ALT at 7:20 for missing the cut-off time of 7 AM.

I have another busy week at work starting tomorrow, so not much time to rest but I wanted to post this timely report. See also more than 350 pictures in my Picasa WS2010 photo album, thanks in particular to the coverage of my crew (Agnès, Alex, Greg). And see you again on this legendary course, either as a runner, pacer, spectator or volunteer (or any combination of the above...)!

Western States 2010: H - 12 news

This has been an interesting couple of days up here in Squaw Valley and Tahoe City: overcast, chilly temperatures, and even rain, quite an unusual setting at least for me for the end of June in Northern California. With that, who is still going to believe in global warming and that we have to act so urgently to protect our Blue Planet...

Just a short post to give you some news before tomorrow's race. Actually, I need to get prepared so I mostly invite you to look at my Picasa photo album which covers a few pre-race events:

1. The Flag Raising
2. The runner check-in on Friday morning
3. The race briefing (pre-run meeting) of Friday afternoon

Flag Raising

Not quite at Emigrant Pass because of the snow up there. Yes, there is quite some snow and the organizers have declared the run as a Snow Year, although it's nothing compared to 1995 or 1998 from what a few veterans were saying. For instance, in 1998, the top of the Watson Monument was 6 feet under snow while there is barely 2 feet at the bottom of the monument this year. But enough snow for us to switch to the snow year route, going down to French Meadows before Lyon Ridge. I don't know the route but it is said as being much faster and, with the amazingly competitive field toeing up the start line this year, it's likely that Scott Jurek's course record will fall, and maybe the 15-hour mark too.

Anyway, it was great to get back in the Western States Endurance Run mood, spirit and history with this official ceremony whose main goal is to pay tribute to the ones close to the race who left us during the year. Starfire, a horse who spent his 25-year life on the trail and has been the first non-human to get the Friend of the Trail award for all his work carrying equipment for trail maintenance. Among others we also remembered Dan Moores, the founder of the Auburn Running Company, who died the day before the run last year. In my 2009 race report, I told you how much Dan helped me digging deeper and it is certain that he will be with all of us again this year, on a trail he loved so much.

I'd like to take the opportunity to dedicate my race again to Tom Kaisersatt who is battling cancer with the same energy he put into running marathons and ultras for many years and inspiring hundreds of runners in the Bay Area to run a marathon or more. Tom will be at Last Chance again this year, preparing grilled cheese sandwiches! I can't wait to get through Last Chance, the station managed by my fellow Striders, and get the thrill which has allowed me to make it through Devil Thumb twice already.

Runner Check-in

I was the first in line around 7:45 this morning after driving up from Tahoe City. It is so great to see so many known faces both on the volunteers and runners side. Around 8:30, I saw Killian Jornet coming back from a run on the course and I asked Simon, his Salomon teammate, to introduce me.

While we were chatting and I was letting Kilian I put my bets on him, the check-in opened and Simon and I caught-up with the line which was actually not too bad and going through really smoothly though the various steps (waiver, picking great goodies, leaving emergency contacts and finishing up with the medical check.

Pre-run Meeting

With the meeting of the canceled 2008 run, that was my 4th meeting and I must say the most unusual setting. The past three years, everybody was competing for the shade but, today, the whole Olympic Plaza was filled. It seemed like we were three times as many as usual!

The protocol of the meeting was not changed and a nice way to pay tribute to our spouses, our crew members, the more than 1,500 volunteers, all the ones who gave hundreds of hours to maintain the trail. At the head of this huge human adventure, on behalf of the Board of Trustees led by Tim Twietmeyer, Greg Soderlund has been directing the race for the past 10 years, after taking over Norm Klein. To commemorate this occasion, Tim gave Greg his first silver 1,000-mile Race Director belt buckle!

The meeting ended up with the presentation by (Tropical) John Medinger of the amazing top runners who cam this year. Overall we, the lucky ones making it to the start line tomorrow, come from 20 foreign countries and 40 US States (plus Texas! ;-).

Tomorrow should be an amazing race to watch online in case you were not able to join the Big Dance live, this weekend. It is really hard to make a prognosis. I really believe Killian can hammer this course if only he stay with some experience runners up front. My second favorite is Tony Krupicka. But, overall, there are more than 10 runners who can go for a win this year. Many stars who have never lost, who have set numerous course records. In particular, it should be amazing to see the elite runners arrive at Rucky Chucky to jump on the boat since we are taking the boat to cross the river this year. You can follow the race on the Western States Endurance Run webcast. After wearing the bib 99 in 2007, 44 and 45 in 2008 and 2009, I will be #46 this year.

With that, again, see my Picasa photo album to get more of the pre-race ambiance! And, to all, happy dreams before our early start tomorrow.

Western States training: alea jacta est!

The die has been cast, training is over for the Big Dance of next week! So long for the heat training, barely sweat this year despite a few runs with three black layers of long sleeves on, more than what I use for my winter runs... And no training at all in the snow, which we should have several miles of in the first 20 miles according to the latest news posted on the Western States website in the June 11 update:

Lots of talk about the snow:

Over the last month we've been asked numerous times about the possibility of course changes due to the late snow melt in the Sierras. We have a plan "B" if snow conditions dictate a route change. This decision will be made on Sunday, Jun 20th, after a report from the aid station captains whose aid stations are most impeded by snow drifts. If the Lyon Ridge and Red Star aid stations are accessible, we'll use the standard course published in the WS program and Participant Guide.
If either of these aid station locations is inaccessible, the course will be changed as follows:

After exiting Granite Chief Wilderness Area, the normal route descends a gravel road and T's into Road 96 at approximately mile nine. Rather than turning right and following Road 96 to Lyon Ridge for 1.5 miles, the snow course will turn LEFT onto Road 96 and descend on this road to French Meadows. This is a dirt and gravel road that descends gradually for ten miles before becoming pavement when reaching the French Meadows camp area.
On reaching the camp area, the snow route will turn off the pavement and join the Poppy Trail, following the north shore of French Meadows, and then climbing northwest behind the dam tender's house and rejoining the standard course at the Duncan Canyon aid station.
The mileage is identical on both courses. Rather than having aid stations at Lyon Ridge (mile 10.5) and Red Star Ridge (mile 16), there will be aid stations at Talbot Creek (~ mile 13) and French Meadows (~mile 19).
There will be no other changes to the course and no changes to crew access. Duncan Canyon will remain the only crew accessible aid station before Robinson Flat.

A course decision will be posted on the WS website on Sunday evening, June 20th. The plan "B" course map can be found here.

Oh well, I feel already so lucky to have the opportunity to toe the start line for the 3rd time, I will be happy with any conditions we get. I usually do better in the heat, so I'm mentally prepared. If it's cool, then it will be easier for everybody and that's great too. As far as the snow, this will provide a good excuse for starting slower, although I've heard that it is really taxing and tiring to run in the snow, if not dangerous for the ankles. But better having a snow year than wildfires as in 2008!

After my 57-mile day "to" the beach two weeks ago, I ran 97 miles the following week for some decent mileage. Then, last weekend, I did a 3-peat tour of Rancho, starting twice with the hilly PG&E and once via Rogue (the Rancho San Antonio insiders will understand). At last the thermometer reached 88F and my two layers made up for a few more degrees to make me feel like in some familiar canyons. I covered the 28 miles and 5,000 feet of vertical in 4 hours and 55 minutes, some good time on my feet. The day before, I had done a reasonable fast round trip to the top of Black Mountain from my house in 3:09 (23 miles and 3,300 vertical feet).

I did my last run with two colleagues from IBM at Rancho this past Friday.

Completely missing the heat training again with temperatures in the low 70s, but it was an opportunity to get Max back on the trail for the 9.3-mile loop before he paces me from Foresthill down to the river next Saturday.

Alea jacta est for the training, I now need to work on the drop bags and the luggage for our trip to Tahoe. It's actually not completely over. I'm doing a carbless diet for a few days to renew the carbs in my blood/muscles (the Nordic or dissociated diet) and still some core and strength training. And Pierre-Yves and I should join other Striders on Tuesday night for a short run to test our lights and pacing strategy.

With this year's training, I'm ready to say "Veni, Vedi" as we prepare to get up to Squaw Valley in the middle of the week, but not "Veci" yet. No pressure, let's wait for next Sunday and see...

Western States 2009: digging deep

I spent the whole day and evening with Dan Moores in my mind. As you might have read in my previous post (Western States: H -9), John Trent had shared with us three pieces of wisdom and requests, during the tribute he paid to Dan during the race briefing:

1. Run with an open heart, to give some room to Dan;
2. Smile at Bath Road, the aid station manned by the Auburn Running Company, Dan's store;
3. Run smart, especially to handle the heat

Regarding the second point, I'm not sure how the smile came up after 60 miles, but I did thank the volunteers and stopped by to sign the board which was then moved to the finish line. It reads "Dan, you'll Always Be Running With Us."
I did pretty well on item number 1, at least I believe. Every other mile or so, I actually kept asking Dan how I could run smarter. I did not have any specific plan for this year's run except to make it an enjoyable experience in case this was my last Western States as it had became so difficult to get in through the lottery. Like in 2007, my second goal was to finish (with a 50 to 60% finisher rate, it is certainly not a given!) and my third goal was to finish under 24 hours (for a second silver buckle). Then, of course, with my Farther Faster mantra, I was hoping to improve my 2007 time of 20:24, depending on the circumstances, and possibly breaking 20 hours, based on my shape this season. To some, I also said that, with such a deep and extremely competitive field, I would be very happy to place in the top 20 again (bookmaker Karl Meltzer had 22 names in his short list). After hearing John's speech about Dan, I added one last minute goal: to honor the race. Which is an ambiguous one, because it may take many forms, from giving it all with the risk of burning out and dropping, to running a smart race to have a good finish, and finish alive!
With all that, my overall goal was not to stress as I believe this may be the major factor triggering my exercise-induced asthma in important races (this has not been confirmed by anyone from the medical field, at least not to me, but I am out of ideas in terms of correlations, having had crisis in any season and any weather). On purpose or because I am not a rookie anymore after 4 years competing in ultra running (although I still consider myself as a newbie especially when joining the Western States Endurance Run crowd), I was not overly excited. With about 18 races a year including 12 ultras, I probably race too much to maintain the excitement even within my crew, i.e. my family... Yet, Western States is unique for its very long history, being a prime event in North America in particular and in the World as you will see in the top 3 ranking. So, excitement there was on the starting line this Saturday at 5 am in Squaw Valley. So much excitement that, after one switch back on the road up to Escarpment, we missed a turn. I was following Dean Karnazes when, suddenly he turns and start running down. I thought he had forgotten his sun glasses but then, him and others started shooting "wrong way." Interestingly, I had done the same mistake on Thursday morning for our trek to the flag raising... Back on the right track, the elites had to come back to the front, so it was nice to review who was there finally (several key names where missing because of injury). I wished good luck to Scott (Jurek) and he replied with a "Bonne course!" (have a good race). Exchanged a few words with Benoit Laval, David James, Jasper Halekas, Victor Ballesteros, Marco Olmo, Beverly Anderson-Abbs, Caren Spore, Graham Cooper, some I would see again during the race, some I won't.

Between the leaders who were relentlessly running despite the steep slope and the back of the pack walking, the 400 starters stretched over a mile on the illuminated ski track. I reached Escarpment in 53 minutes and got on the single track on the other side of the mountain, followed by Eric Skaden. The pace was quite fast so there was really no need to pass, which is one main cause of injuries early in the race when runners try passing and trip down. Around mile 5 I caught up with Brian Robinson. Brian is known for being the first person to get the Triple Crown in one year (hiking the three cross-country trails in the US). More recently, Brian was the 8th runner to complete the crazy Barkley 100-miler. Brian and I ran together to Robinson Flat in 2007 and I owe Brian big time for setting a reasonable pace back then. Brian said that, because of the missed turn at the start, he was surprised to get in the lead for a short while. We ran together for a couple of miles, and with Nikki too. Going faster in downhills (Brian is so good at power hiking up hills), I caught up with Brian Morrison (first to reach the Auburn track in 2006 before collapsing) and Erik Skaden (2nd overall in 2006 and 2007). The pace seemed right although I was surprised and worried to be running with these fast guys. I finally lost them after the Red Star Ridge aid station (mile 16), thinking that I had better settling for a slower pace. In 2007, I started the race in 70th position and finished 18th. This year, the splits give me in 26th which, based on an exceptional deep and competitive field, was probably too fast of a pace for me.

Andy Jones-Wilkins passed me around mile 18 (he was fourth in 2007 and a favorite for the Masters division). I then ran solo to Duncan Canyon (mile 24). The aid station is manned by my other running club, the Quicksilver of San Jose, and it was a lot of excitement to see familiar faces. In particular, my teammates Pierre-Yves Couteau and Jim Magill, with Pierre-Yves putting some sun screen on my shoulders, arms and legs. It was also great to see Peter Defty who had several runners using Vespa on the race. Peter handed me a pouch which I quickly swallowed before the tortuous exit of the stations (short but steep and rocky down hill).

At the bottom of Duncan Canyon I could not find the trail on the other side of the creek and had to wait for two runners to come through. One of them was Michael Wardian, whom I knew from pacing him at the North Face 50-miler last December. Michael just flew back from Europe where he placed 6th at the World Championship of road 100K, quite an intense long run to prepare for Western States instead of tapering! Anyway, like in December, Michael got out of fluid and I was also getting out of gas, just one mile before getting into Robinson Flat (almost 30 miles). I decided to change shoes and, fortunately, Chuck Wilson gave me a hand. He was there crewing for Christine Miller. Despite the help, about 15 runners passed through the station and I retrograded to 40th. A tough setback from a mental perspective. That was my first physical and mental low point of the day. Fortunately, the next 13 miles were mostly downhill, including my favorite aid stations manned by friends (Dusty Corner) and club mates of the Stevens Creek Striders (Last Chance, where I served as the aid station captain for several years before getting the Western States virus...).

As Dan (Moores) was still in my mind, I was so thrilled to see Tom and Mike at Last Chance, two long-time volunteers battling cancer. I gave them a hug, before getting assisted by one of my work colleagues, Michael. I enjoyed the buffet and the "car wash" from Dick, who received the Friend of the WS Trail award in 2007 for many years of service to the runners at Last Chance. I had caught-up and passed Brian (Robinson) before Last Chance but, with all the time I spent enjoying the Striders' company, he left the station ahead of me. On the way down to swinging bridge (Deadwood Canyon), I passed Benoit Laval who was walking, before dropping at Michigan Bluff. Benoit told me Marco (Olmo) was 5 minutes ahead of me, but Marco also dropped at Michigan Bluff, after the "deadly" canyons.

I felt good going down Deadwood Canyon, like in 2007, and passed Brian again. I felt so good that I power walked the 37 tortuous switchbacks up to the infamous Devil's Thumb. On the way, I passed Kriss (Moehl) and Brian Morrison, which might have an indication I was still going too fast. Up at Devil's Thumb aid station, the third medical checkpoint, my weight was still right on 130 pounds, which was perfect after 48 miles in the heat and almost 9 hours of running. Again, Brian (Robinson) flew through the aid station and passed me. I lost him just before going down El Dorado Creek, the third canyon. I even had to walk in this long downhill section as I was out of gas for the second time, and short breath as well. The 3 miles up to Michigan Bluff, from the bottom of the canyon, seemed really long with the heat and mostly walking. Finally, I found the family waiting for me at the station and, like in 2007, the medical staff asked me to stop for a while to work on my fluids and salt. I was down to 125 pounds and stopped for 19 minutes. Since my power hike to Devil's Thumb, I felt thirsty and that would last for hours after the race, despite drinking ounces of water, Gu2O, soup and Coke. Looking at the picture, I just realize that the medical staff T-shirt of this year had the following inscription: "Tell me where it hurts." Well, my joints (knees, ankles, hips) hurt and I was wondering if that could be linked to dehydration. When I left Michigan Bluff, I was still ahead of my 2007 time chart, but down to 13 minutes as opposed to 33 minutes at Robinson Flat. It was 4 pm and hot, although I did not feel too bad about the heat thanks to the handkerchief I was wearing around the neck, filled with ice cubes. Gordy Ainsleigh certainly did not have this luxury when running this course more than 35 years ago, 1,500 volunteers, tons of ice, drinks, water, food. Here is a quote from this Sunday's Auburn Journal edition:

"In that first race, it was so hot I couldn't even focus on the road. There was a lot of convection currents, and my brain was baking. I made the decision to keep putting one foot in front of the other until I could not put one foot in front of the other. That was the last time I considered quitting."

Indeed, when you cannot run anymore, you still have the option to walk. As long as your vitals are ok, hence the 12 medical checkpoints along the course. The reporter added that Gordy, now 62, had competed in 23 editions of WSER, with 22 finishes. Unfortunately, Gordy dropped at Miller's Defeat this year. Anyway, back to my race report, I did a lot of walking before feeling better in Volcano Canyon (I definitely have good quads!), thinking even more of Dan as I was approaching the Bath Road aid station. My third high of the day was to meet with the family again at Foresthill (mile 62, or km 100), especially Max who was going to pace me from Foresthill down to the river. We had great running sections but overall more walking than in 2007 when Rob Evans paced me. I was back on the same schedule as 2007 at Foresthill and lost 12 minutes on the 16-mile section down to the river. Max had never run more than 10 miles and really enjoyed the experience. He was amazed by the beauty of the trail and the views, as well as the kindness of all the volunteers. 3 miles before the river, we caught up with Brian (Robinson) again, who was now paced by his wife, Sophia Lewis (7th woman at Western States 2003).
By the river (Rucky Chucky) my weight was up a little, around 126-127, good enough for the medical staff to let me continue. My second pacer, Adam Blum, who paced me at Rio del Lago last September, and the sponsor of our rhoquick running team, was waiting for me on the other side of the river. I was so tired and it was almost the end of daylight, I got really cold in the river and was shivering when reaching the other side, where I changed shoes for the second time (the Cascadias 5, the 2010 model Scott Jurek was running in at the start). Nikki passed me at the bottom of the uphill to Green Gate, she is so fast hiking up the hills. I would keep seeing her from time to time in the next 22 miles to finish just a minute behind her. But that was definitely not the Nikki we know, she really had a bad day, yet she tought out a 4th place (disappointing for her who is used to overall wins, but at least she can come back next year with an automatic entry!).

The 10 miles between Green Gate and Brown's Bar felt really strange as Adam and I felt we were doing well, yet we did not see any runner. I was in 30th positiong and it seemed like a big gap formed with the front runners. Finally, we passed three runners as we quickly went through Brown's Bar (nice potatoe soup, and super cool station staff there!) and a few more as I started sprinting up to Highway 49. Agnès and Alex were there, my weight right back on 130 (phew!), and we left in a hurry when I hear Simon getting in the station. Simon has been a top 10 finisher at Western States and I took that as a sign that he would finish strong. I was then in 25 th position, with 6.7 miles to go. We passed a few runners before the illuminated and legendary No Hands Bridge and literally sprinted the way up to Robbie Point (I'm anxious to see the splits). We had 14 minutes to finish under 21 hours when we hit the road, with 1.4 miles to go including some steep uphills. Seeing the clock in the last 100 yards showing 20:56 was a relief: my final time was 20:56:49, 32 minutes more than in 2007. 22 nd overall versus 18th, 18 th man versus 15th, and 7th Master instead of 4th in 2007. Overall, not farther (this was my 3rd 100-miler), not faster, but definitely tougher that what I ever experienced in running. Yes, I told you, I am still a newbie! Still running with my (open) heart, based on my feelings, and maybe not smart enough from time to time. But smart enough this weekend to finish in one piece!
I got cold on the finish line but not bad enough to get a bed in the medical tent (several runners were getting an IV...). Graham (suffering from shin splints) and Simon arrived together, 12 minutes after me. Agnès, Alex, Adam and I left the stadium around 2:45 and I was in bed by 3:30 am, 25 hours after getting up on Saturday morning, for 6 hours of sleep before getting back to the Auburn High School for the award ceremony. Which, with temperatures still above 100F and many heroes to celebrate, was turning to another ultra experience. Here are the top 10 men of this competitive 2009 run, with three continent represented in the top 3 (America, Asia, Europe):
I am thankful for so many things and people on this Sunday night: having been part of this legendary Western States tradition, having done everything I had to get to the finish line under 21 hours, the relentless work of 1,500 volunteers who make this race possible, the associated logistic and hard work of race director, Greg Soderlund and the WSER board, all the people involved in maintaing the Western State trail (and hopefully making it am historic National trail for further generations to enjoy), the crews and my loving one in particular, the blast of running 16 miles with Max, the support of Adam, all my fellow runners whom, as Tony said, I competed with, not against, and even the challenging weather conditions without which Western States would not be what it is.

See my Picasa album for more pictures of this long day (200+ commented pictures, and a few short videos). And see you on the trails or the blogsphere soon. My next races are in August and I will spend three weeks in France in July, so I will enjoy the well deserved break. Hope you have a nice summer break as well!

PS: ahh, blogging on Sunday when the race ended less than 24 hours ago is ultra blogging, please excuse the typos, I will correct them later, time to go to bed... Sorry too for the long post. This is also ultra blogging, yet, a short recount of a long day...