As I've noted in previous posts, I had the honor to crew and pace Scott during this years Leadville 100 race. This was Scott's first attempt at the 100 mile distance.
It was just before 9am as I pulled into the Twin Lakes. The temps were slowly warming up to a day that turned out just perfect weather wise. 20 minutes past 9 Anton flew thru. 30 or so minutes later Duncan followed.
(2010 Winner Duncan Callahan Leaving TL Aidstation)
Over the next few hours many more folks cruised on thru the 38 mile marker of the race. Some looked great. Others looked horrible. Sharron, Scott's wife, and I waited patiently.
Shortly before noon Scott came rolling thru. A bit behind his goal time, he looked great and showed no signs of falling apart. Got Scott what he needed and off he went to Winfield. The drive to Winfield sucks and it was a fucking zoo. Dusty, hot, crowded, washboarded roads is what greets the runners as they approach mile 47. Amazingly, things only got worse as they approached the turn around. Sharron and I waited over an hour for Scott. During that time, I just made sure I was 100% ready to pace Scott over to Fish.
(Winfield hot and busy)
3:30pm was about the time Scott rolled into Winfield. Still a bit behind his goals but knowing he's always been a strong second half runner, there was still hope that he'd get that 25 hour goal of his.
Scott and I were out of Winfield as quickly as he got in. There just wasn't any need or desire to stick around any longer. He had weighted in, gotten the food and liquid he needed and was out. Our pace to the base of Hope Pass was purely aided by gravity as the road is pretty much downhill over the 2+ mile stretch. Scott was in awesome spirits but obviously starting to get a bit tired and the heat for the first time was starting to be felt by many folks out.
Hope Pass from Winfield is a bitch. On fresh legs, completely runnable. On 50 mile legs, I'm guessing it humbled most folks that day. And how were we greeted as we made the turn onto the ascent of Hope you ask? With some female runner giving us a full beaver shot as she prepared to go number 1 maybe 12 inches away from the trail itself. Absolutely unavoidable to view this as she was right there!
The ascent started out great with conversation light and many runners descending giving out positive vibes. Fellow runners and pacers on the ascent were even more supportive. As the elevation of 12,526 (Hope Pass) approached, the mood and pace of many slowed drastically. Right at treeline, I saw Brandon and his pacer JP. Never had meet either one before but have followed both their blogs for some time now. I introduced myself to the both of them, offered up some encourage as it was obvious Brandon was bonking, and refocused on getting Scott up and over this beast of a climb. Scott to his credit never stopped till there was one switchback left before the pass. Scott, the man with an iron stomach, was about to yak. He spent a good minute hunched over but nothing happened. He just looked at me confused and all I could do was offer up a Tums and told him the quicker we get off the pass, the better he'll feel.
(Big Ass Llamas)
We quickly rolled into Hopeless where Scott took his first real sit down break of the race. I got him some crackers with PB and got him going as quickly as possible. What started out as a walk down hill turned into a shuffle then a run that lead us to passing many folks. Whatever stomach issues Scott was having were pretty much gone and he was feeling it. We cruised the flats west of Twin Lakes and enjoyed the numerous refreshing creek crossings of Lake Creek.
Entering Twin Lakes was awesome. Crowds compared to early were huge. Everyone just cheering all the runners along. I ran ahead to alert Sharron we had arrived, reloaded Scott's hydration pack and got him some food. A change of shoes and socks and we were quickly on our way. About 1/4 of a mile away from Twin Lakes, it dawned on me to ask Scott if he had his headlamp. SHIT!!!! Sharron forgot to put it into his bag. What resulted was a mad dash back to TL and to Hwy 82 where I luckily found Sharron walking back to her car. Now back to retracing my steps were I caught up to Scott a good 10+ minutes later. Guess pacers are good to have around.
The stretch between TL to Half Moon has some moderate climbs and stunning single track. We ran when Scott could and walked when he couldn't. The speed of sunset was exaggerated with the already dark forest of pines we were in.
(Just before sunset looking over
Twin Lakes)
As darkness set in, the headlamps came on for all. Never had I run in the dark like this before. Yeah there were midnight runs around Wash Park but that doesn't count. This was full on darkness in the wilderness. The pace slows down but a sense of ones surroundings shoots thru the roof. I loved every second of this. Conversation between Scott and I was fantastic. He was moving at such a solid pace. Before we knew it we were heading into HM. I got way amped for this as I knew it was one aid station closer to Scott's finish. I made sure Scott sat here for a few minutes as I reloaded his water and got him more food to take in.
We spent 5 minutes here at most and were off to Fish. Looking at the clock and knowing how many miles were left, I honestly thought Scott still had a great shot at finishing under 25. What I failed to consider was ones pace at night slows down. Ones pace after 70 miles of running slows down. Ones pace after not taking in enough calories slows down. I made every effort to alert him of the 15 minutes had gone by since his last water intake. His hydration intake for the most part was stealer. His calorie intake since Winfield wasn't. I made sure he ate something at the aid stations. I didn't make sure he ate something as were were running. Big mistake on my part.
The next couple of miles to Treeline were slow and steady. Never getting passed but just not moving fast. Arriving to Treeline was weird. I felt like I had stumbled upon some college kegger party in the woods. No aid station here. Just a place for crew to meet up with the runners for the first time since TL. We had no plans of meeting Sharron here and Scott was fine with actually running as quick as possible thru this 1/3 of mile stretch as the loud music and huge crowds were completely unmotivating.
Shortly after Treeline we hit Halfmoon Rd. A hardpacked dusty road that slowly descends the Arkansas valley. This road was straight and long. Oh and boring. Scott was still moving good but the walking brakes were starting to increase. Running in the dark on single track is fun. On a wide open road is boring. And it seemed like everyone felt like this. It's like the road just sucked the energy out of everyone here.
A quick left hand turn took us onto a paved road. Another left hand turn led to another paved road shooting us straight to Fish. Next aid station was about 2 miles away and the whole stretch was uphill. Also in view were Mt. Elbert and Mt Massive just glowing in the moonlight. The views were honestly stunning and this got me amped. I did my best to relay this energy to Scott and started a cheesy running game to get him to pick up the pace to at least Fish. Running along the side of the road was a power line and every 400 meters or so was the powerline pole. I got Scott to run each section and then walk a section. Then I'd ask him to step it up and run two sections and walk one. This went on for the next two miles and I probably talked non-stop this whole time. Reminding him to drink, to soak in the views and to tell him how awesome he was doing.
Before we knew it we were heading up the steep road into Fish at 11:20pm. Sharron was waiting to take over pacing duties. Scott got inside the aid station and took a seat and right then and there I knew his chance at 25 hours was over with. 25 minutes later Scott and Sharron were off to Mayqueen.
I stuck around Fish for a good 15 minutes just to unwind from the 28 miles, 8 hours and 5,000 plus feet of running I just finished. I felt great the whole time and if needed, I could have easily completed the whole 50 miles. Thankfully there was no need to do that as Sharron was there and that is exactly what Scott needed to cross the finish line. Those two make an amazing couple.
I drank a few beers at Fish provided to me by some friendly folks and then it hit me. It was freaking cold. I had spent the past 8 hours running in shorts and a short sleeved shirt and the temps over the past few hours were around the 40 degrees. I quickly bundled up and headed over to Mayqueen.
2:30am and the two rolled in. Not much was needed by either. Just some soup and an extra layer and off they went some 20 minutes later. Just before 6:44am I could see Sharron and Scott walking up the last few blocks to the finish line. The sun rays still hadn't hit town yet but had been warming up Massive for a good hour. Stunning mountain morning. With maybe 20 yards to go, Scott and Sharron decided the only way to finish was to run it in ending his epic journey together. The smile on Sharron's face said it all for the both of them as Scott himself was to tired to show much emotion. We all embraced each other shortly after the finish line crossing, snapped a few pics and I was off to Denver shortly after.
Scott had asked that I stick around for the awards ceremony at noon. While tempting, I opted out and told him that I'd attend the ceremonies only after I completed the race myself. He fully understood and said he'd be more then happy to return the favor of pacing and crewing. Scott, there's a solid chance I'll be taking you up on that offer soon. Unless of course you decide to make another attempt at that 25 hour marker.
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