Ashley Nordell's 3 Days of Syllamo Race Report

the first thing i ever heard about nuun ultrarunner ashley nordell is that she was "the girl who won angeles crest 100 miler". we were in sisters, oregon for the colonel's 100 mile boot camp. just two weeks ago she won the 3 days of syllamo for the second year in a row... and she was nice enough to provide a race report!

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Ashely Nordell's
3 Days of Syllamo Race Report

Three Days of Syllamo

If any runner keeps a list of “must do” races, Syllamo should be at the top. Steve Kirk and his family put on a tremendous, well organized, three day event. Last year I went out to Arkansas by myself to give this race a try. I was intrigued by the idea of a stage race and the pictures from the website looked incredible. I was not disappointed. I had such a blast, I decided I had to return. This year my husband, Josh, was not going to let me have all the fun, so he came too. We arrived at Blanchard Campground around 8:00 at night on Thursday to a thunder and lightning storm. We both sat in the car thinking maybe it would stop. As the rains came down harder, we even contemplated going to a hotel, but it was getting late and we were pretty far from town. We finally just dashed out into the storm and set up the tent. I had to put our beach towels on the tent floor before our sleeping pads because it was so wet!

The first stage of the race is a 50k. Day one and two of this year’s race would be different from the previous year, so I had no idea what to expect. I looked forward to the first day because its more like a training run, with most people saving some legs for the next two days. At check-in we saw my friend Matt Hart, who I did a crazy three day training camp with last summer ( I guess we only meet up for triple day runs), and was introduced to Ty Draney and Corena and Kevin, from Wyoming. There were several runners from the year before, so it was like a mini running reunion. My favorite part of these races is the people, and this race seems like it has the nicest group of runners. At 9:00 we were off. The course had many creek crossing and scattering of debris from the winter tornadoes. I ran much of the race with a guy named Andy from Missouri. We managed to get off course a couple times, so when a local runner passed by us, we decided we better keep up with him. It was a blast. I took a few gels, drank some tri-berry nuun, and never hit any low worse than “ I feel ready to be done soon.” Before I knew it, we were on the home stretch. For good measure, Andy and I got off course one last time and had to bushwack through thorn bushes to get back to the trail. We finished together with bloody legs.

Day two is a 50 miler, which rumor had was going to have 16,000 feet of elevation gain. I was skeptical, but when it took me over five hours to reach the turn-around, I was hoping that statistic was true. I ran much of this day with Andy from the 50k and another Andy, also from Missouri (at least I could not mix up their names). I had to conserve gels because I miscalculated how many I would need, so around mile 35 I was feeling a bit hungry. When I reached the unmanned aid station, I discovered a bin under the table that was filled with treats. I ate a few cookies, which tasted like the best thing in the world- for about 5 minutes. Then I remembered why I can never eat food during races, especially several cookies. I had a low point for a while regretting the cookies, but even then, I was still enjoying the day. With nine to go, I saw Kevin and Corena, and they were so encouraging, I started to re-energize. Andy #2 was right behind me and was dealing with some cramps, so we gave him a nuun for his bottle and the two of us took off together for the final leg. Everyone hung out again at the finish eating and cheering in runners well into the dark. No matter how long they had been out there, how bloody their knees were, every runner seemed to manage a smile at the end.

The final stage is a 20k, but we all know it is really more like 14 miles. I ran a bit with some runners I had met last year. At one point I had to get over a big log, so I stepped up onto it and waited for gravity pull me down the other side. Another runner, Stuart, was behind me and from his perspective he thought I hurdled the thing. I had to laugh because there was definitely no hurdling going on in my stiff and sore hobble. The 20k course is very scenic. It winds through mountain bike trails, over bluffs, and along creeks. It is a perfect course to complete the fantastic weekend. When we crossed a gravel road I knew the finish was close, and I could not stop smiling. It feels like such an accomplishment to cross through the finish on the third day. That night, while hanging out with Josh, Matt, Ty, Corena, and Kevin, we began making plans for our trip to Arkansas next year for another three-day adventure.

the overall winners of the 3 days!.. the nordells!

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congrats again ashley ~ awesome effort out there!

3 Days of Syllamo Day 3 - 20km

with about 91 miles on our legs from the last two days of racing in the ozark mountains of arkansas, we lined up nice and late for the 20km race. this was day three of 3 days of syllamo. there were even more grumblings on this day about "having to race". i didn't feel like it either to be honest. after looking at the leader board for the overall times it was clear that the best i could do was 3rd place overall for the three days. i needed to beat this guy by 3 minutes to get it. ty needed 13 minutes to get 4th overall.

ty draney, steve kirk and overall winner josh nordell

ty pointed the guy out we both needed to beat. i figured i'd play a bit of cat and mouse easing into the race. shorter races and my anaerobic threshold scare me. the guy in grey that i needed to beat blasted off the start running 6 min miles on the road. forced to respond, ty and i picked it up and followed close behind.

once we hit the singletrack john muir, who hadn't run the 50 miler the day before was gone. josh nordell yelled out "goodbye john!". i repeated the sentiment. grey shirt got me fired up with his aggressive start! so ty and i made a move and passed him. i felt like screaming "you called down the thunder, well now you got it!". now i was racing! we steadily pulled away from the field. ty slowed slightly on a hill and since i was right on his heals i slipped by, catching an elbow in the ribs.

i focused on maintaining this 'around anaerobic threshold' pace. knowing i was probably over it on this climb i tried not to look at my heart rate monitor. focusing on my breath and my new 'run tall' form i started to pull away. i was really racing now as i passed a ribbon on a creek. after 15 more minutes i had yet to see another ribbon. "oh no, not again. 15 minutes is too long to go without a ribbon. i must have missed it - again!!" i had this wave of dread wash over me. i stopped and yelled across the draw. "ty! i think i missed a turn". he had his ipod on and just responded with "yeeow!". i kept running and decided if i was off course that was it. i wasn't running back, or finishing 35th. i'm pissed... and then, there it was! a ribbon! i jumped with joy and picked back up where i had left off. after the 7 mile aid i noticed someone other than ty was on my tail. i yelled "great job, nice running!". then figured i had to put it out there right now.

"sippin' nuun and feeling great" i started to recognize the trail, which mean i was close. time to blaze. i ended up finishing 2nd overall to mr. muir, being the first 3 day racer to cross the finishline on the 3rd day. i had also beaten grey shirt by about 27 minutes and solidified my 3rd place overall at the 3 days of syllamo with a 1:52 (8:10/mile pace). ty managed to easily take 4th overall too!

i loved this race. steve kirk put on an amazing 3 days event. there is such a nice community feel to being there for three days of suffering! so, i highly recommend this race.. and i'll most likely be returning in 2009.

the overall winners of the 3 days!.. the nordells!

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my gear:
shoes: montrail odyssey with teko ecopoly socks (ok 1 lil blister after 106 miles! not bad)
electrolytes: nuun lemon lime
fuel: clif shots and clif bloks
general health day to day: i kept my immune system strong with my amazing grass

3 Days of Syllamo Day 2 - 50 Miles

Day 2 - 50 Miles with 16,000 feet of gain (i say more like 12,000ft)

often after a race i cannot sleep that night. this happened on friday after the 50km day 1 race (3 days of syllamo). thanks to ty, kevin and corena i had a great comfy bed and it didn't help. i just laid there. i think i probably got 45mins of sleep. of course i don't like not getting much sleep but my days as an adventure racer i think have prepared me to at least not stress over it. and for this race i did not.

sore muscles and a bit colder temps met us at the start line. i couldn't have been any more confident in lining up on this day. i like 50km races... i love 50 mile races. i figured i did well at a lower distance the day before and now we were going to really run a nice long one. in my mind i figured this was my race. ah, not so much.

we started at 6am in the pitch dark. ty and i had planned once again to run together as long as it made sense and to be honest i really enjoyed this. we headed out to the first climb with headlamps blazing into the cold air. up the first climb ty and i started to pull away. we weren't runnig hard, but just slightly faster than most on the climb. the other lights, started to get further and further away every time i checked. since we weren't even really putting much effort in yet i let my mind get ahead of me and started thinking we "had this one".

but a lot can happen in 50 miles of trail. and it did. as ty and i ran through aid station 2 at around mile 10 or so we dumped out headlamps. ty's friends kevin and corena were crewing us. with the crowd cheering we got a lot of energy coming through the aid station. ty noticeably picked up the pace. through the aid, over the bridge and up the dirt road we went. i put my head down and followed as he "surged" (my new nickname for ty). it was here that we lost the race and the overall.

i didn't even see the ribbon with my head down. ty said he saw it but thought it was indicating we were on the right track, running up the road. we spent another 35 mins running uphill a couple thousand extra feet. by the time we decided to turn around we had come quite a distance and it was now hailing on us. a low for sure.

we finally made the call and charged back to the aid station 2. before the bridge was the now very obvious trail marking to the course. i gave ty my pep talk on how "this is what we do. we are absolutely going to catch up!". we then hit the trail and in my mind tried to make it all up right there - on that first climb! i held on for dear life! passing lots of runners it was obvious the damage was grave. we were now deep in the middle pack and had a ton of work to make up. we figured it was an hour or so of lost time, plus extra miles and vert we added to our legs.

after ty's push we hit an unmanned aid station where i filled my nathan bottle quickly, dropped a lemon-lime nuun tab in and started to put in my work. ty hung for a while but i was feeling good and he slowly started to fall back. around one of the creek draws i tried to get ty fired up with "put it down for a-town!". ty's from afton, wy and it rhymed. it didn't work, however and i was soon alone, but feeling great. i started to hit aid stations and hear how far back from now first place josh nordell. 35 minutes, 25 minutes, 20 minutes.. then finally "you are about 15 mintues back from 1st place". wow! that was great and motivating, but the effort had taken a toll on me. i started to feel really tired and upset that i hadn't slept better. i just didn't feel normal.

now i'll abreviate bc this is getting long.. basically we "mailed it in". our drive was gone. i hit the 25 mile 1/2 way mark in 5hr 20min. with an out and back course i did the math and josh now had 34 minutes on me again. after the turn around ty had made up some good time too and i had probably just 13 minutes on him now. i then got confused following the blazes and did a bit of bushwhacking! pretty embarrassing. i found the trail and started running the wrong way. i could tell from the slope, but went with it anyway as i figured "if i run into ty we can run together. if i don't i'm going the right way". and there was ty. the next 25 miles went like this.... ty led, i followed. i had massive issues with my stomach. i dropped trow 4 times before the finish. these weren't normal stops. they were often "if i don't drop this second my montrail/mountain hardwear shorts are going to be soiled" stops.

in the last 5 miles we even got passes and it didn't elicite much of a response. we just looked at each other and shrugged. finished our 58 miles together in 10:49. our overall aspirations were now gone.

matt clay won in 9:30:02 with josh nordell coming in 2nd in 9:40:54. nuun ultrarunner ashley nordell made it two for two winning the woman's race in 10:23:14. great running guys! -results

50 mile winner matt clay (this photo is actually from the next day, but i bet it looked similar)

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my gear:
shoes: montrail odysseywith teko ecopoly socks (no blisters)
electrolytes: nuun lemon lime
fuel: clif shots and clif bloks
general health between the 3 races: i could not have done it without my amazing grass!

THANKS - 3 Days of Syllamo

i got ahead of myself posting a day one race report. i have major thanks to give. first to steve kirk who puts the 3 days of syllamo race on. awesome job man, you should be proud of the race, because it's an ass kicker for real! thanks for letting me and nuun share in this wonderful event. if it's any indication i am planning on coming back next year. i have some unfinished business to take care of. i hate adding to my redemption list (it now includes 4 events). if you are an ultra runner and it sounds like too much too early come on out and use it as a great weekend "training camp". the ozark singletrack will blow your mind. it blew mine.

special thanks to ty's personal sponsors the ricks (owners of the jackson hole ripley's believe it or not - go check it out!). kevin and corena you guys are amazing. your generosity was limitless. i'm lucky to have met you. on that note also thanks to ashley and josh nordell and the entire arkansas ultra scene who made it such a great 3 days of running.

most of all i think i have to thank ty draney for the invite and all that you did for me at the race. it didn't end up the way we planned, but it's just the start to many more adventures buddy!

3 Days of Syllamo Day 1 - 50km

updated!
i was lucky enough to be in the ozark mountains for steve kirk's multi day ultra, the 3 days of syllamo which started on march 14th, 2008. ty draney had invited me to join him as a two person team for a 3 day ultra in mountain view, arkansas.

Day 1 - 50km (measured 32.8 miles)
Day 2 - 50 Miles (about 58 miles for ty and i)
Day 3 - 12km (measured 13.8 miles)

at check-in they informed ty and i we were the only registered team. with no point in winning the team division we figured we would run together as long as it made sense and see what happened. we both hoped that we would be able to run hard together and win the races. it was not to be.


Day 1 – 50km (32.8 miles actually) with 8,000+ feet of elevation gain (i'd say more like 6,000)

here is the rub. we were running 3 days, but anyone could show up and just run 1 day. meaning they didn't have to save anything for the 50 mile "killer" the following day.

as we started out it was ty and I running behind ponytail, a local guy we found out was 2nd at the long running syllamo 50km and camo, last year’s winner from kansas (named for his camo shorts). Just behind us was ashley nordell’s ironman husband josh nordell. i felt very relaxed and contrasted it to the starting pace at the orcas island 50km i had run just a month earlier, which seemed almost frantic by comparison. this was good, since we still had a 50 mile and 20km race.

camo dropped off pace pretty quickly and after about two hours josh let us get a few minutes up on him. following ponytail john muir was great because he knew the trail and we were certain not to get lost. i'd say the trail was sufficiently marked, but not overly marked. after a couple hours i asked ty “when do you want to put it down and hammer?”. with the course being a nice loop we discussed maybe the half way aid station. well on one of the next climbs ty decided to go. john was very pleasant and stepped to the side of the trail as we ran past him up hill.

the course was awesome 99.9% singletrack. the weather was probably in the 60’s for most of the race and there was no sun.. yet. so we “put it down”. putting time on the whole race. i was running the finishing scenarios. it would be a glorious scene as ty and I would cross the finishline together. i thought holding hands would be weird so i'd stick my nathan bottle out and he'd hold that – team nuun victorious.

we had run about 25 miles i'd say when the sun came out to shine on us. this made me smile, and made my lemon lime nuun taste that much better. it felt like a glorious 70 degrees and i was in heaven as we ran the amazing trails of the ozarks. we were about 3hrs into the race and ty started to slow down a bit. his stomach had stopped digesting what he was consuming. we slowed our roll as he dry heaved. we would walk a bit, he'd try to throw up, then we'd try to run, he'd try to throw up, we'd walk again. this went on for a while until he finally emptied the contents of his stomach on the trail. buckets of water and gels spewed out on the ozark trail. i comforted him the best i could, asked if he needed anything and tried to get him running again. he of course apologized perfusely. i said “don’t worry about it, we’ll still winning”. that didn’t last much longer as 3rd place john muir soon caught and passed us. i coaxed ty along trying to run slow, but he disappeared around the corner so I stopped.

now the logic going through both our heads is this. staying a team means nothing since there is no other teams racing. if we can’t win together, then i figured one of us should go for it.
“ty what do you think? are you going to come out of this and be able to run again? or are you done? i'll wait if you can pull out of this.” these were tormenting questions for sure, but with john looking good they had to answered immedietally. i thought, "if ty can pull out of this it would be cool to chase 1st place with him. if he can't i need to go now or i will run out of trail to catch the guy." after some agonizing internal debate on both of our parts we were caught by josh nordell. ugh.

ty could feel my angst and finally said "just go!". i sped away intent on catching john. which i did after a few minutes. i sped past thanking him for letting me by and picked up the pace. he hung tough and closed on me a few times. i held him off and hit the road a bit confused as to where i was or which direction to go. before hitting the field to the finishline i checked over my shoulder and didn't see him. i ran a wide route following the flower markings on the field to make sure no one would claim i cut the course. people near the finish started to cheering as i ran towards the finishline thinking my race was over. then it seemed like they were cheering really excited. like something was happening. i checked over my shoulder and ten feet behind me in a full sprint was john muir! without thought i ran as though i was running from the cops and made it across the finish about 2 seconds before john. what a terrible way to finsih 50km. i had no idea how he closed all that distance so i asked "did you cut the course?". it really seemed like the only way he could have come from nowhere. i mean i checked a couple times.. on straight sections too. then a little bit beside myself with his move at the end i said "you tried to skunk me at the end!" john claimed "i wouldn't have done that".

my time was 4:22:59 (results) and i don't think it's a stretch to say that had i raced from start to finish, i could have run sub-4hrs. and thus started the "redemption list" for the 3 days of syllamo... it gets longer, trust me. coming soon ~ the day 2 - 50 mile race report.

nuun ultragoddess ashley nordell won day 1 for the woman in 4:59:45. she's fast! congrats ashley.

** disclaimer: after the race i hung out with john. he seemed like a great guy.

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my gear:
shoes: montrail odyssey with teko ecopoly socks (no blisters)
electrolytes: nuun lemon lime
fuel: clif shots and clif bloks
general health between the 3 races: i could not have done it without my amazing grass!

Hot and Excited

this is why i'm excited ~ because 2008 is going to be HUGE (and i rarely bother with capitol letters)

• 3 Days of Syllamo - my first race of the season march 14, 15, 16. it's a 3 day staged ultra in the ozark mountains.
  day 1 - 50 km
  day 2 - 50 miles
  day 3 - 25 km
  
  this one seemed like a dream a few months ago when ultrarunner and bad ass ty draney asked me to race with him. ty paced me at my first 100 miler, the grand teton 100 in september. we became fast friends on the trail. some things worked out and i just booked my flight march 13 to rock little rock! ty and i will run each day together as a team, no further than 100 feet apart. i wonder if we can use tow ropes adventure racing style?
  
  
• hardrock 100 entry is in the mail. enough said on that one.
  


• appalachian trail record - fellow new hampshire native karl meltzer is going to try and break the 47 days, 13 hours, 31 minute record from maine to georgia (2175 miles). i will be running the 281 miles of rough appalachian trail that runs through maine with karl starting around august 5th. that means 47 miles a day for 6 days. karl said "you'll get to run home to new hampshire with me!". sweet... this will be an unreal experience.

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this is why, this is why, this is why i'm hot ~ quite possibly the worst rap lyrics ever written

because of my new montrail highlanders - tell me these aren't hot?! this is my '08 race shoe.