Flying In Circles
Rather than discuss my training leading into the race (which I felt was good), I’d like to hop right into the trip itself. Dana and I were flying out to Oregon for Gorge Waterfalls 100k, and were set to arrive in Portland at 8:45PM Eastern Time on Thursday. I was already a bit concerned about this, but told myself I would be fine if I was in bed by 10PM. What actually occurred on the trip out could only be described as comical. Without boring everyone with extensive details, our trip involved: leaving Baltimore late because they forgot to put enough fuel in the plane (lol), sprinting to our connecting flight in Chicago Midway only to board a plane that couldn’t de-ice so we flew in circles for over an hour before landing at Chicago O’Hare. After that, they made us deplane and re-board 3 times, sent us to Denver, made us get off the plane again for no reason, then finally flew us to Portland (a total of 6 different airports in less than a day!). When we finally got to sleep, it was 7AM Eastern Time and I was set to race in 25 hours… this is ideal, right? RIGHT?! Anyway, I was super negative thinking this would derail all of my work put into this race, but Dana correctly put me in my place, told me to shut up and if I wanted to give myself an excuse now, I would definitely use it on race day*. After that, I tried to put the less than ideal lead up from my mind and ultimately got some decent sleep leading into the race.
*After the race, Dana said she internally was saying, “Well, he’s screwed” due to the travel fiasco.
Goals
A Goal – Win the race. I mean, it may be unlikely, but why not try?!
B Goal – Podium. There are a few people in the race I haven’t beaten, and I’ve lost to Ben in our last 2 ultras. This isn’t counting other amazing runners who I have not raced before.
C Goal – Top 5. This felt like I could consider it a solid, if unspectacular, run.
Enough of that – on to the race!
Race Day!
I got to Cascade Locks about 30 minutes early, and then moseyed over to the Start and positioned myself around the 3rd row or so. I knew I wanted to run with the lead pack, but had no intention of leading the way. The early miles on the pavement were actually more tame than I expected – certainly a more relaxed start than JFK ever is, and a net downhill. Once we hit singletrack, things spread out and our lead pack was reduced to 8 headlamps blazing along the trail in the early morning darkness. I was running in the back, letting the pace be dictated for me. About 45 minutes in, we arrived at Wahclella Aid Station, I gave Dana my heavier headlamp, and continued on with my smaller one as the sun was already beginning to rise. So far, so good.
Not long after, there was a flat road section where our group was pared down to 5 of us – Brandon Miller, Ryan Sullivan, Adam Loomis, “Beast Coast” Ben Linne, and myself. We enjoyed these easier miles, chatting it up a bit to keep the pace casual. We had some common ground, as all of us but Adam had done JFK before (Ryan got 3rd last year in an amazing time!). Next, we hopped back on singletrack, did some easy climbing before plunging downwards towards the famous Multnomah Falls. I knew we were nearing the largest climb of the day, so I was not ready to attempt any sort of move yet. Just beyond the 3rd aid station (Wahkeena 18.2 miles), we began the climb that would take us above the falls and loop us back to the section we had already run (the course essentially contains two out and backs).
At the foot of the climb, I said to Adam Loomis that I thought this was the over 1000′ climb, and he nodded that it was. At this point, Brandon Miller was setting the pace and had made a strong break from our pack, and I had now found myself the lead of the nearby chase pack. Early in the climb, I was running it, still feeling good, but about halfway I felt my heartrate begin to spike in a way that I did not like considering we were only a third of the way through the race. My biggest climbs in training are only half that amount of vert, and experience told me it’d be wise for me to simply weather the storm as to not literally burst into flames later in the race. Subsequently, I broke into a power hike with easy running sprinkled in, and just had to accept it as Brandon, Adam, Ryan, and Ben all ran out of sight up the climb. Even taking the climb pretty easy still resulted in what one may call a “micro-bonk” and I stuffed my face with gels and energy gummies to work my way out of it. Success! I hit the ridgeline and the downhill feeling rejuvenated, though the leaders were completely gone from sight.
I pushed the ensuing downhill with dual purpose. Downhills are my strength and I really didn’t want to be caught in no man’s land. By the end of the descent I had Ben within sight, which was a boost. In these more competitive races you can never be sure that you will ever see the leaders again when you let them go. Before long, I fell into step behind Ben and then offered to pull him for a bit since he pulled me on the downhill. He agreed and we continued on. This section was terrain we had covered on the way out, and it was really runnable, gently rolling singletrack. I told Ben if my pace was too slow to please pass me, but he admitted he was just hanging onto me, and before long I was alone again. Knowing how strong Adam, Brandon, and Ryan all are, I resolved to continue to push on, and was surprised to quickly catch Ryan who mentioned he was experiencing GI distress (way to fight through it Ryan – that can make a race miserable).
I came into Ainsworth 2 Aid Station (Mile 25.8) in 3rd, Ryan right behind me. Leaving this aid station, we had the 2 mile road section from earlier, in reverse. I was feeling a bit worn on this section, but forced myself to maintain a respectable pace, knowing that Ryan possesses high end speed. You don’t run JFK in 5:40 without it. Fortunately, I held him off and was able to create a bit of a gap once I was back on the singletrack, with my mood bolstered by the appearance of Dylan Bowman (co-RD and someone I have admired in the sport since my beginnings in 2013). I told him his Freetrail podcast helped keep me going on our ridiculous travels out to Oregon. However, I was definitely starting to feel a little rough at this point, but suppressed the negative thoughts and kept my position into Wahclella 2 (33 Miles).
Out of Wahclella 2 I did my best ultra shuffle up the sizable climb when… uh oh! Elliot Cardin blasts by me! He looked so good, and doubts started creeping into my mind. “You’re off the podium… you don’t feel good… you’re not catching anyone… in fact, you’re more likely to be caught…” Ultras are certainly more mental than physical, as long as you had put in the training to achieve the requisite physical fitness. Time to flip the script. “You’re only halfway there… lots of race left… other people feel bad too, it’s not just you… you’re in a beautiful place and you put in the work for this moment…” Shaking off negative feelings is not always easy, but it’s an absolute necessity. Once again, a calorie dump and a downhill raised my spirits and I rolled into Cascade Locks Aid Station (Mile 38.6) where the effervescent ultrarunning legend, Yassine Diboun informed me (and the livestream) I was now in 3rd ahead of Brandon Miller. I responded with disbelief, as I had not passed Brandon on the trail, but learned later he was recuperating in the aid station (good work gutting out that finish, Brandon). Yassine gave Pennsylvania a shout out and I set forth, feeling reinvigorated.
I wish I could say that reinvigoration gave me a more sustained kick in the pants. Instead the climbs on the outbound leg of the PCT provided me with a firm kick in the face. There was steep descent followed by a steep 800′ climb which felt never ending in the moment. It’s never a good sign when it takes you a few minutes to put hikers out of sight up a climb. I was rotating between hiking and shuffling upwards. I’d like to say it was a “power” hike but that would be a lie. I was devoid of power at the moment. Finally I got to a more flowy section of trail, where I celebrated my return to actual running by promptly falling flat on my face and ripping my bib so only 2 pins were attached. Thankfully, I fell in an area with no rocks and was able to pop up and run some quality downhill miles into the turnaround at Wyeth (Mile 48.7) where Dana and another volunteer patched up my bib. I will say, having Freetrail’s Ryan Thrower running alongside me in and out of Wyeth was really nice, as he was a relentlessly positive force while filming.
I forced myself to run the climb out of Wyeth, which was long and, quite frankly, horrible. As it was an out and back, I wanted to get as high up the climb as possible and feign strength when the next runner(s) came by. I didn’t get too far up the climb before I passed Ryan and Beast Coast Ben tearing down the hill towards Wyeth. Anxiety level… threat level midnight! Time to move! This section was honestly brutal, but I wanted that podium spot badly. I moved well when I could, which wasn’t much, mostly just downhills. Having a steady stream of runners coming towards me was probably helpful for my morale, though sometimes I like to be alone with my thoughts in moments of suffering. Somehow, some way, I galumphed into Cascade Locks 2 (Mile 58.8) still in 3rd with basically a 5k to go. The stress of holding off 4th was taking it’s toll, but reminded myself I got passed in the last mile of JFK and never want to experience that feeling again. In the aid, I asked Dana for more liquid nutrition, which she promptly denied as some random guy at Wyeth told her he didn’t think it would be necessary (haha – what?!). Anyway, I forced a gel down instead and set forth, feeling every single steep micro-climb.
After about a mile, I saw the railroad tunnel which signified that I would be on smoother pavement the rest of the way. A true sight for sore eyes. I struggled up the paved climb, periodically checking over my shoulder for any chasers. Nothing was there, but I was having trouble believing that. I had been going too slow for too long to not get caught, right? Evidently not. Keep going. I crested the hill onto the main street of Cascade Locks and the cheers from different people on the street and the rooftop bar galvanized me. The livestream confirmed I peaked over my shoulder a few times, barely daring to believe that I was actually going to finish 3rd after a pretty average second half of the race.
Shortly thereafter, I went through the second tunnel and into the park and the Finish Line. I was spent. Evidently, visibly so, as the commentator on the livestream said, “Oh, he looks tired” when he saw my face as I approached the end. Astute observation. Pretty finishes really aren’t something I’ve mastered! Dana would later mock me because Dylan Bowman allegedly tried to hug me when I finished and I just awkwardly shook his hand or something. Who knows? I was essentially in outer space. I finished in 9:42 which was far slower than I anticipated running, but I didn’t care because I held off the chase pack to keep the podium spot.
After the race, I gave what I’m sure was a borderline incoherent interview for the livestream. I felt foggy and out of breath the entire time. Luckily I got a brief break from the interview to watch Ben’s sprint finish for 5th place, outkicking women’s winner, Lotti Brinks (who ran a spectacular race), and finishing not too far behind Ryan Sullivan who finished a gutsy 4th place. I will say, the amount of support I received from Pennsylvania after the race made me fairly emotional which, for those who know me, is not my default demeanor. I never have thought of my running as something that would mean anything to anyone else, but I’m honored to make the PA community proud. We have as good of a community as anywhere. I am incredibly PA, and specifically York, PA proud.
I want to close by thanking all those who pour their time into Gorge Waterfalls. You can tell that they are a group, from the RD’s down to the volunteers on the course, that truly cares about the event. I didn’t take anything other than water from any aid station, but the good vibes were felt and appreciated. I also am thankful to run for Flying Feet, our local York running shoe store, who have given Ben and me unwavering support. I am told they were following the livestream in the store all day – that’s awesome. That’s a wrap!
Next Race: Old Dominion 100 Mile – June 1st
Running Padawan 