2007 Grand Teton 100 Mile Ultramarathon Race Report

this was hands down one of the most amazing athletic experiences, and one i will cherish. i'll say it again, lisa, jay batchen and zach barnett put on a very special event in the teton mountains.

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short version: in my first 100 miler with 20,000 feet of gain i ran a 20:53, for 2nd place. andy jones-wilkens won the race in 19:35 and we both crushed the previous course record of 24:17. matthew noell and ty draney were my amazing crew.

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long version: if you read my previous post about this race then you know i was struggling a little bit with the mental side of things. sometimes a persons biggest suppressor to success can be their own ego looking for an excuse for possible failure.

the night before the race i slept a total of about 3 hours. in adventure racing we are usually up all night working on the maps and rarely sleep much before the race. so i try to not worry about it, i'd slept pretty well in the week prior. i actually woke up before the three alarm clocks set for 4:15am. i felt bad waking the boys, but it was 'go time'. i went over my gear with a groggy matthew noell while i ate my my pre-race meal of oatmeal and banana. the coffee, no matter how bad (i'm somewhat of a seattle coffee snob) always tastes so good after my self imposed week off prior to big races.

the course is 100 miles and 20,000 feet of elevation gain. it's four laps of a 25 mile clover leaf loop with three sections; a "fred's mountain" - big 2,000ft dirt road climb up to 10,000 feet and the top of the ski resort; b "mill creek trail" - the southern section of the course including some awesome single track, massive down and subsequent uphill, 3.3 miles of steep pavement, and c "rick's basin" - the final 5.3 miles, smooth fast singletrack with a couple of moderate climbs. more course descriptoin here. 6am start: it was still dark. i went back and forth with ty about whether or not to take a headlamp. in the end i did not. i can't even recall the countdown, if there was a gun or not. i was lined up front when i heard "1 minute to start". olga gave me some good advise and next thing i knew we started running uphill. it was dirt road all the way up section a. i had run/hiked this section on thursday. it was steep. andy pulled out in front and was leading. i was content just keeping him in sight. we were all running too fast for a 100 miler anyway. something ty said to me the night before was replaying in my head "go slow. if you think you are going too slow, slow down". i had so many friends, who are also top ultrarunners give me the same advice... "don't go out too hard". i heard it so often in fact that if i blew up in the early stages from going too hard i would have to hide in a hole for a month after this race.. embarrassed (it almost happened too).

andy, and mass guy darren worts and i traded positions just 10-40 feet back. tom got to the top of fred's first, then andy and me just 3 feet behind him. the downhill is where we really spread out. andy just disappeared. i can run downhill pretty well i think. when he disappeared i didn't care, i wasn't going to blow up my quads on the first lap. at the bottom we were a minute behind each other, andy, then me (tom somehow got lost for a bit). we were now 5.6 miles into 100 miler.

i felt really good. in the excitement i was running harder than i should have. i stayed a few minutes behind andy. the course was awesome, with great views and super smooth singletrack. i watch my heartrate and convinced myself if i kept it under 160 i'd be fine. the first 25 miles and 5,000 feet i ran in 4:15 and andy ran a 4:08. just three more laps right..? nothing.

the second lap was my worst. honestly this was very unexpected. i mean, i can run 50 miles pretty easily at this point. so i assumed laps one and two would be super easy, then lap three would suck and lap four i'd have ty to take me home no matter how much it hurt. as i started up big climb to 10,000 feet for a second time i was feeling awful. my mind started to wonder why. "was that first lap too hard?". "it's the elevation, damn seattle for being at sea level!". "maybe i can't run at the front of a 100 miler after all."

i suffered the most on my second climb to 10,000ft

the doubts that flooded my mind were quickly washed away by the fun of running downhill. once through the aid station again i was feeling much better. after another loop of b i sat dwn to apply some sunblock. lisa gave my legs a massage which was great.. i mean how many races can you attend and get a massage from the race director (i bet some you would rather not =).

i was so spoiled!

at some point i started getting that oh too familiar heal blister on my right foot. rod bien and sean meissner had stressed to me to slow down and take care of my issues. that was sound advice as i would have just run with this blister for a while. now i was obsessed with fixing it. the picture below shows the mad scramble to fix it. no one knew how the blister pads went on bc i've never used them. so i rubbed some hydropel on the heal and left again.

my awesome crew working on me.

i knew this was a temporary fix and it wasn't working that well. the blister was still growing. olga raced down from the top of fred's to meet me. she did some kind of magic trick. that blister never came back the rest of the race... thanks olga!

before my section c on the second lap i was offered a quick massage. i looked at ty and said, "is this stupid?". "no" was his response. i didn't need a massage per se, but it never hurts. so as i laid there we discussed the plan while i drank a balanced. i had been in and out so fast it was a good chance to catch up with my crew, who were by all accounts the greatest crew in the history of the world. matthew had mentioned to me in seattle that he might want to pace me some of the course, maybe the hike up to fred's. because i was assuming this third trip up to fred's would hurt the worst i asked him if he'd join me, but let him think about it as i ran section c to finish the second lap.

my third lap i started to catch fire a bit. matthew was ready to run when i returned and we headed up the dirt road to the top of fred's for a third time. we chatted and breathed heavy. matthew was awesome and kept my spirits high with complements about how i was running and how impressed he was. we made it up this time i think in 53 minutes. 3 minutes faster than my sufferfest on the second loop.

at the bottom i dropped off matthew and picked up the ipod. wow, i was feeling great and the tunes were really making me happy. i was high on this lap, flat out, laughing and smiling and singing out loud! section b lead to my crew at the opening of teton canyon and then the dreaded road. but i was feeling so good i didn't care. at the top of the road where the course turns back onto the trail my crew told me i'd just picked up 15 minutes on andy, and was now just 34 minutes back. whoa, sweet. i didn't react really. i didn't want to ruin the feeling i had. matthew said, "did you hear us?!". i replied "yes but i am feeling good and i can't worry about andy" as i ran off into the woods. i tried not to let that new information make me run too fast.

after section b i came through still rocking. ty had decided to run an extra 5 miles with me and joined me for this section as well as the last loop - this was great! (the video shows this).

ty is an amazing pacer. from start to finish he had me running well. he monitored my walk breaks and made me run tons of sections i might not have have. i was able to talk a little bit at first and we discussed many things including our mutual admiration for ultrarunner roch horton. we climbed fred's for my last time in 56 or something, i was happy with that. we hit section b knowing that an under 22 hour time was possible. i kept reminding the guys to keep and eye on third. i've been surprised before late in a 24hr mtn bike race and i wanted to make sure that wasn't going to happen.. paranoia was setting in.

we strapped the petzl headlamps on, tikka plus on my head and the myo xp around my waist, and headed out for the last 20 miles! this is when ty really put me to work. he was talking and the best i could do was groan in response if i wanted to keep up with him. i still feel bad that i couldn't chat with him more. my general feeling is that as we started out i was having trouble keeping up to what he wanted. then as we decended section b i felt like i was running before he would look back and expect me to. my confidence started to increase and i was feeling good.

as we got back on trail ty and i discussed breaking 22 hours. it seemed doable. as we got closer i was really "on the rivet". pushing myself to make it in under 22 hours. at some point i started to do the math. as we approached the climb i thought if i can get up here in 19:45 i can make the run down in 15 minutes... leaving me an hour to break 21 hours! i pushed up that hill, ty stopped for water and i knew i was moving well because it took him a while to catch up. we got to the top of the climb in 15 minutes. i was going to do this, but i had to work for it. we ran down ty let me know he was stopping for a bathroom break. he was going to run ahead tell matthew what i need and he'd catch me later.

as i approached the downhill i knew i was at 20 hours even. in the light i could see matthew standing without a bottle. so i decided to just keep running. i ran into the aid station doing nothing but dropping my water bottle.. i was on a mission now. i caused a stir, i could here someone say "there he goes!". matthew and ty were like.. "huh?". i had to get under 21 hours and i didn't care if that meant i ran alone or without water. someone said "hope you can catch him ty, he's moving". ty caught me and said by the time he looked up my headlamp was already gone. ty was excited at my desire to run hard and he pulled me along that last section. i got tingles when he was yelling at me near the last few miles. he gave me a few time updates that seemed a bit off, later found out was on purpose to make run faster... it worked. we must have been pushing 6-7 min/miles at the end.

after the smoke cleared i ran a 20:53, estatic to be finished with my first 100 miler... now i am an ultrarunner.

nuun and leader board

my plaque and 100 mile belt buckle!

the podium

my gear:
shoes: montrail continental divides
socks: teko ecopoly
packs/bottles: nathan hpl #020 and one nathan quickdraw plus
fuel: clif shot (3 per hour) & clif bloks
electrolytes: nuun
recovery: recover-ease

Thank You!

before i can even consider a race report i have to thank the awesome friends that made my first 100 mile ultramarathon possible.

dreamchaser events: lisa smith-batchen, jay batchen and zach barnett- thank you! from the moment i arrived i felt as though i was part of the family. their kindness and generosity this weekend has been endless.. i've been truly blown away, and they have made this whole experience one i will cherish and never forget. you guys are awesome!

jay, me and lisa after my finish in 20:53! good enough for 2nd place

my crew: matthew noell and ty draney were both crew and pacers. they worked as a well oiled machine to get me in and out of the aid stations most often without even stopping. have a look at my times actually in the aid stations.. perfect. i really can't thank them enough for the effort. being that they are busy family men i'd like to thank their wives for letting them play in the woods with me!

the calm before the grand storm

i have an internet connection and nothing but time on my hands before the 6am start.. so one last post.

van with a view

i have to thank matthew noell, justin angle and everyone who has wished me luck through email and blog posts - thank you! you have collectively brought me out of the doubt cave i was in yesterday. i have a sports hernia, there i said it - it's not a hip/ab/groin injury.. it's a hernia. i've had it since last october, i've run well with it. it doesn't hurt that bad usually. yesterday i let that tailspin me into the sea of doubt, second guessing myself and whether this was smart or not. my guess is it would have happened with any injury or issue, but the hernia happens to be my biggest issue at the moment so it got all the attention. i've run fast with this injury (i got it at the ron herzog 50k last october), it's had 2.5 weeks to heal up during my taper and won't be a big deal unless i make it one. i'll see the dr. when i get home.

this is part of the course the dirt road on section b, before the 3.3 miles of pavement per loop... ugh.

i just got done with check in, and weigh in. i was happy to be 142 lbs after this taper i feel like i'm 242 (i still think the scale is 5 lbs low however). there was a pam reed sighting involved.. you might remember her from this 2005 outside article where her and dean karnazes fist fight. that sighting was followed by an olga sighting, nice to see her out here to support the race even though she can't run the 100 as planned.

the weather looks to be partly cloudy with highs of 88 and lows of 51. thundershowers are probable for both saturday and sunday. it rained for hours today... let's hope if it rains it passes quickly and happens at the hottest time of day.

#16 is ready to "rip one" as karl meltzer likes to say

there is lots of talk about who will win. smart money says andy jones-wilkens (2006 usatf national 100 mile champion, 1st at vermont 100, 4th at western states). i'm happy to be mentioned in the same sentence honestly. i have been told darren worts from chatham, mass is another one to watch, as well as local stud damian stoy who won the grand teton 50 miler last year - in 8:52.

ty draney and matthew noell show up late tonight. i will hopefully be asleep but that doesn't usually happen the night before a big one. i'll only have a few minutes in the morning to quickly go over my gear with them.. compared to 24hr mtn bike racing this will be easy for matthew (who used to be my mechanic/crew for those races).

numbers are pinned, drop bags are filled, baggies of pills and nuun are ready.. now if i can just go to sleep!- ok i'm out.. follow along live on gt100 website!

self explanatory

I Made It

well i've arrived. what seemed so far away earlier this season is finally just two days away. yesterday morning i started my drive from seattle to alta, wy.. home of my first 100 mile ultramarathon race course at grand targhee ski resort. i took my time, taking naps when i got tired and simply marveling in the scenery of idaho and montana - so beautiful.

today i met up with race director and fellow montrail-nathan teammate lisa smith-batchen and colleen wood from her crew. nuun is supplying some pretty cool prizes - the male and female winners of the 100 mile race get nuun free for a year! that is sweet. nuun will also be available on the course in your standard 5 gallon jugs so you can refill on the go.

the terrain here is amazing. i ran the first section of the course today, 5.6 miles. it's a 2.8 mile and 1,840 foot ascent to the top of freds mtn at 10,000 feet... then back down the same dirt road to start/finish area. i could feel the altitude while i was running/hiking (it's steep!), but i feel pretty good. pacing jamie proved my knees are feeling good, but my sports hernia is not. it didn't hurt on the short run today but kind of did after. we'll see - part of this is in my mind i'm sure. every big race (for me) i do i go into with certain doubts and concerns - this one is no different.

oh yeah you can follow the race live here!! we start saturday morning at 6am!