Elkhorn 100 km Clancy, Montana July 13, 2002 Results are at http://rimrunners.org/results/elkhorn.html On Thursday at 3 a.m. MDT I got in a taxi at the Novotel Manaus (Brazil) for the trip home. I arrived at my home in Boulder, Colorado, after 11 p.m., a 20 hour travel day with stops in Caracas and Miami. The next morning Stephanie and I loaded up the car and departed at 8:30 for the 11 hour drive to Helena. The drive was brutally hot, peaking at 107 degrees in Billings, an all-time record high. The forecast for Saturday was 108. Our car has no air conditioning, and we arrived thoroughly dehydrated. This is probably not the best pre-race routine. The race began in darkness at 5 a.m. No light was needed as the run is on roads for the first 2.5 hours or so. We climbed gradually and almost continuously. The leaders took off at quite a pace, and I was running in about 15th place on most of the road section. Things felt stiff, I figured it would take some time for my body to warm up after the previous two days. Once we were on the trail the climbing began in earnest. The ascent was gradual at first, then steeper. I passed Tom Hayes and he informed me that this was the longest climb of the race, though not the steepest. We ran on pleasant single track through a dense forest of short pine trees growing in an old burn. We were in the shade, and the temperature was still agreeable. At the top of the climb the aid station people informed me that I was at the 26 mile mark, but later I figured out that this must have been only 23 miles. As usual aid station people don't have a clue what's going on. But, they were friendly and helpful, which is their main job. Since I was completely ignorant of the course I would ask at each station how far to the next one in order to know if I need to refill my Camelbak. After 3 miles of mostly down-hill single track we reached another aid station at the start of a 10 mile loop section on rolling, rocky jeep road. The horse flies were very active and kept me motivated to move along. After a while I passed the lead woman, Pam Reed. By this time I had moved up to 6th place, I think. After completing the loop we ran back up the 23/39 mile aid station, still in the woods which afforded very welcome shade. I passed a couple of runners and figured I was doing great until I realized that they were in the 50 km event. After 39 miles the 50 km runners turned off and we intrepid 100 km's were on our own for the most difficult part of the course. I caught another runner, John Hallsten, who was complaining of leg cramps. We ran way, way down a rocky single track through a burned-out forest in very hot conditions (no more shade). At this point it occurred to me that you can cover a heck of a lot of territory in a 100 km run! We turned up another drainage and followed a creek to a remote aid station manned by two gentlemen who were relaxing and reading. Another runner was leaving the aid station just as John and I arrived, so I felt a sense of urgency. "Do you have any water?" I asked. "No, but we have a pump." "How far to the next aid station." "Hmmm, I don't know, maybe ask that other fella, he's run this a few times." They did have about 30 oz of warm Gatorade, which John and I split, and I quickly left the aid station. This was a mistake, I should have filled up with cold water from the creek. We climbed up steep switchbacks on a grassy, exposed slope. Very very hot, but also very beautiful in an alpine way with lovely wild flowers and expansive views of the surrounding country. I was struggling, and feeling some cramping in calves and quads. At the top of the climb we traversed a fairly long section of very rocky trail in another burn. Though the trail was pretty flat it was difficult to run with tired legs because of the rocks. The descent off the ridge was extremely steep on grassy slopes without much of a trail. We just aimed for a blue tarp that had been set up as a beacon at the bottom of the slope. The steep slope was aggravating the cramping in my calves, and my right calf seized up when I slipped about halfway down. John pulled well ahead while I massaged the calf and then picked my way down. At the bottom of the slope were a few water jugs and a nice stream to splash in. I refilled my Camelbak. The going became easier again and I could see I was making headway against John. The next aid station was at the end of an out & back section, and I saw John and another runner coming back up just before I reached the station. "Where am I?" "This is mile 50," was the disappointing answer. It seemed like the 39-to-50 mile section took forever! We had descended a long way, and the heat was now almost unbearable. But, now the running was easier again, and I was able to run much of the gradual climb, which was the same section of short, dense pine trees that we had done earlier. I caught John again after a bit, but the other runner had taken off. We reached the end of the single track at an aid station 8 miles from the finish. The aid people had set up a nice cold shower, very refreshing. I felt we still had a chance to catch some other runners on the easy road to the finish. But, it quickly became apparent that this was not going to happen. Both John & I were simply trashed from the heat and effort. My quads were extremely sore and I was not able to run downhill well. We alternated running and walking, and eventually reached the finish line together at 11:33:40, tied for 4th place. It was a disappointing finish, but it was enough to just cross the line. At the finish line the attentive medical staff took our pulse and blood pressure. I hung around the finish area for a while rehydrating and eating fried chicken. The 25 and 50 km runners had more or less decimated the finish line supplies, so there was not a lot to choose from. But, there were plenty of fluids, lots of shade, a nice stream to sit in, and a nice group of folks to chat with. Runners trickled in slowly, all looking pretty worked, and several were barely able to stumble into the aid tent for an IV. Pam Reed finished first woman about an hour after John and me, and she wondered aload if she really wanted to do Badwater in just 10 days, which of course will be much hotter. I just love racing like this. You show up at some little local event that you don't know anything about and just run. You won't get your best time this way, but every step brings new adventure. Elkhorn was great. The course was very well marked, and the aid stations were generally adequate. The day was exceptionally hot, but there were many streams along the course to cool off in, and I'm sure most of the streams were drinkable. The medical support was just outstanding for a small local event like this. As usual I'm just amazed at the amount of work and heart and love that the race directors and volunteers put in so that the rest of us can have a great day in the mountains! NAME TIME 1. Mark Tarr 11:02:51 2. Mark Lesack 11:06:45 3. Mark Heaphy 11:22:53 4. Peter Bakwin 11:33:40 5. John Hallsten 11:33:40 6. Greg Peters 12:26:46 7. Pam Reed 12:37:42 8. Wade Jarvis 13:25:39 9. Lou Pals 13:29:07 10. Tom Hayes 13:38:18 11. Les Mignery 13:54:00 12. Nick Bassett 14:07:00 13. Herb Norton 14:07:00 14. Kevin O'Grady 14:17:30 15. Gord Hobbins 14:29:29 16. Franklin Coles 14:33:30 17. Dennis Aslett 14:36:17 18. Dan Tranel 14:42:40 19. Ted Schuster 14:49:06 20. Ed Mignery 14:49:24 21. Martin Miller 15:03:52 22. Ian Hutchenson 15:05:05 23. Mark Marcelli 15:05:05 24. Charles Charman 15:07:37 25. Fred Robinson 15:12:33 26. Dave Dutton 15:13:25 26. Brad Bennett 15:13:25 27. Gary Thomas 15:14:56 28. Cyle Wold 15:19:19 29. Paul Ralyea 15:22:22 30. Mark Hlady 15:25:12 31. Mike Casey 15:36:49 32. Jackie Van Dyke 15:37:20 33. Jim O'Neil 15:52:25 34. Kris Franqui 15:52:25 35. LeRoy Dahke 16:05:59 36. Tammie Englebrecht 16:11:16 37. Jake Elkins 16:58:59 38. Cindie McKenna 16:59:50 39. Jim Ballard 16:59:50 40. Patty Bellin 17:02:40 41. Margaret Heaphy 17:03:00 42. Allie Wood 17:03:00 43. Hammie Farrokhi 17:09:34 44. Bob Johnson 17:40:22 45. Charles Steele 17:53:45 46. Elin Holvik 19:07:35 *66 Starters