So, last night was the Pemberton 50K out in the McDowell Mountain Regional park, in Fountain Hills, Arizona. The McDowell Mountain Regional park is a beautiful area that I know more by sight out of a car window than by my feet and actually experiencing the trail. The highway that leads up to my family's cabin cuts right through the McDowell mountain region, and it's always been a favorite part of my drive. Well, now I can safely say that I've seen an even more gorgeous side of it. There were pieces of the run that made me wish I had some sort of camera to carry with me and snap pictures as I go along...I may have to look into that in the future. For now, my photo documenting is reliant upon my cell phone pictures from before the race, and whatever random pictures other people I run into happen to snap. I suppose you'll just have to believe me when I describe to you the breathtaking nature of the sun setting on the Mountains, the brightness of the stars increasing as the night progressed and overall beauty of this run.
Since the race was in the general Phoenix area, I had invited my family out to see me at the start, then realized it would be a pretty long trek for not much excitement, so I ended up kind of talking them all out of making the drive out there. That the race was going to be at night added further complication, as it was a little tricky to find in the daytime, so it would have been even harder for them to find at night, in order to be there for the halfway mark, based on my estimated run time. But...more of that later.
Back to the beginning. I managed to have the forethought to take a few pictures before the race began:
Orange is my favorite color, and once upon a time I found this amazing orange bandanna at a thrift store with the words 'LUCKY KID' sewn into it. I think that about sums it up.
Here is my race bib, and a little tip 'o the hat to Lia Bernstein and her awesomeness. She gave me this handheld water bottle after our Cinderella Trail Run last summer. So Lia, I'm still taking you out on the trails with me, even if you can't be here!
This is the main Pemberton Trail Sign, we ignored the 'Trails Close At Sunset' part.
Milling about at the check-in Ramada.
Race Start and Finish Tent. Also the half-way point.
I got out to the Mountain Park with plenty of time before the race. My dad had let me borrow his Jeep, which was great. I listened to lots of country music on my way out there, and 'turned it on, turned it up, and sang along...' as Brad Paisely would have wanted me to. Then I switched to some race preparation music (basically, the songs I won't mind having stuck in my head over the course of many hours). Yesterday, perhaps due to my recent experiment with countrified Madonna, I was feeling the '80s. A-Ha's 'Take on Me.' David Bowie's 'Let's Dance' and 'Changes'- which, admittedly, is from the 70's. Blondie's 'One Way or Another' (also from the 70's.) I can't remember what else...but there were a few others.
So, I had changed into my race gear and was back sitting in the Jeep when I heard the folks in the truck next to me say the names 'Renee and Dallas.'
'Hey, sorry to interrupt, but are y'all from Tucson? I just heard you say '
Renee and
Dallas.'
'Yup, we run with them with TTR (Tucson Trail Runners)'
I won't attempt to continue with an accurate account of the remaining awkward dialog, needless to say, I met Sarah and Mike (? I think it was Mike? I'm trying really hard to be better with names, sorry if I botched this one.) Anyways, they were both super nice, and looked fast. I enjoyed talking with them and was not surprised to find their truck gone when I finished the race. Someday...someday...slowly but surely, I'll get faster. The point though, really, is that this is just one aspect of Ultras that I constantly come back to: 90+% of the people involved in them are awesome, personable, and easy to talk to.
The race was set to start at 5pm, and I'm pretty sure it started right on time. We headed south on the Pemberton Trail into the sun. The cold weather that we'd had in the last week was nowhere to be found, I think it was about 72degrees at the start. As is par for the course with Ultra's, I spent the first few miles running with a handful of folks, asking the usual questions: Where are you from, What brought you here, What's your name, Have you run lots of ultras, What's your favorite race? In that process I met Michelle
from New York city. We joked about the differences of what we see on our daily runs. I told her of the deer, coyotes, jackrabbits, quail and javelina that I often see on my commute into work. She told me about how she sees rats, and bigger rats, and well, rats. I think this run may have converted her, she's put in 11 years of NYC living, and the desert was trying hard to enchant her. Before we hit the first aid station I could tell she'd end up maintaining a pace a bit faster than my plan, so I said 'Have a good race and I'll see you out there.'
I hit the first aid station somewhere around an hour. I grabbed a couple orange slices, drank some of the HEED they had out on course to try and keep my electrolyte balance, and quickly got back on the trail. This second section was a lot of rolling hills, with some pretty decent little downhills. The sun was going down, the air was cooling off, and the colors on the surrounding mountains was incredible. I really do wish I had had a camera, maybe next time. Needless to say, the sunset was amazing. I ran through the dusk without my headlamp. The trail was getting darker, but between the random glow sticks out on the trail and the lights of other runners in my general vicinity, I really enjoyed easing into the dark without the immediate aid of a headlamp.
I reached the second aid station (they were all roughly 5 miles apart), grabbed another orange slice, added some HEED to my water bottle, and went back to the trail. Unlike Ghost Town, I had told myself that my aid station visits on this race would be quick and efficient. No real stopping unless absolutely necessary, with the exception of the third aid station at the start/finish line where I planned to take stock of things, ditch my hat and change into a long sleeve shirt. I switched on my headlamp and got moving. My legs and feet were feeling good, and I love running in the desert, so I was really getting into my groove. My brain was on a pretty random shuffle so far as the music floating around up there. Typically, in any race, I sing in my head a lot. I had been stuck on an Alabama medley for about half a mile...'Born Country,' 'Take Me Down,' and 'Roll On.' This kept getting mixed up with 'Borderline,' but my new country version of it, so that was pretty hilarious. I kept it moving and started to see what I thought were the lights of the halfway point. I had decided to not pay any attention to the Garmin on my wrist. It was there to look at after the race. One way or the other I would continue with my tactic of putting one foot in front of the other and getting to where I was going once I got there. However, as I knew I was getting closer to the halfway point, I was definitely excited to see how my time was, and if I would be on track for meeting my goal, which was to finish in 6 and a half hours.
The awesome volunteers saw my headlight approaching and cheered as I reached the end of the trail and came into the halfway point.
'Number 394, Scout?'
'Yup. That's me.'
'How's it going?'
'Great!'
I headed over to the tree where I had left my drop bag to start changing. I would change, get some food, and head back out. I came into the aid station at 2:44, I couldn't believe it! And then from across the trail I hear:
'Scout?!'
I turned to look and see who it was, it didn't sound like the first volunteer who had checked me in, I thought perhaps it was another runner. And then I saw them walking towards me from across the trail.
'Scout! You look great! How is it going?'
It was my parents! I couldn't believe it. My already big goofy grin that was the result of my halfway time got plastered across my entire face. It was such an incredible surprise to see them out there. They support me in so many ways, and they always listen to me tell them about my races, but now they were actually there, and I was in complete disbelief.
My dad shot a photo of me standing by the clock with his spiffy new iTouch, but it didn't have a flash, so it is fantastically blurred, which I think gives a better impression of a night race.
My parents rock. That is all I have to say. They gave me hugs, told me my cheeks were salty when they kissed me, and couldn't believe how great I looked after running 15+miles. I chatted with them as I ate a couple boiled potatoes with salt, drank a little more HEED, changed into my long sleeve shirt, ditched the hat, put on a bandanna and my headlamp, switched water bottles, gave them more hugs and headed back out into the night.
Now it was dark, no question. The sky was a blanket of stars with a half moon and it was incredible. I was riding on the high of my parents surprise appearance and moving along pretty well. Some of the more technical rocky/hilly areas I slowed down to a walk, partly to conserve energy, and mostly to avoid faceplanting into a cholla. I knew I was slowing down a bit due to the significantly decreased visibility, so I more or less abandoned the hope of a negative split time...I'll save that one for a day race.
Before I knew it I was at the first aid station and feeling great. I had told myself that, since I hadn't gotten much more than 3 hours of sleep, that I would try drinking some of the coke they had (which I never do) and see how my stomach felt. I grabbed a piece of banana, drank a small bit of soda, thanked the volunteers for being awesome, and hit the trail. I continued more of the run/walking on this section, as it was a bit technical for the first mile or two past the aid station. After that, and my legs getting a bit of rest, I went back to running, and couldn't believe how amazing I felt. I decided that the soda was a great idea, and that if I didn't crash before I got to the next aid station, that I would do the same fueling at the next one, to carry me into a strong finish.
I reached the next aid station feeling great. I grabbed some soda, a piece of banana and an orange. I got back on the trail, started running, and then made the decision that I would not walk any more unless I absolutely could not continue to run. There were certainly some moments that were a much slower 'run' than others, particularly so that I wouldn't fall on my face, or into the aforementioned cholla. Running in the dark was challenging, but I was loving every minute of it.
If nothing else, my stubbornness carried me to the finish. I ran, I even passed a couple folks, and I finished strong. My official time was 6:22.31. I was 57th overall, out of 82 finishers and I think about 120 starters, I'm not sure. My parents said quite a few people dropped out at the halfway point as they were waiting for me to come through.
The race was well organized, the RD and volunteers were spectacular, and the desert did not disappoint. I look forward to running this again in the daytime.
Almost forgot the last picture, race swag!!!
We all got a sweet hat, which is perfect, since running in my beanie is less than ideal and sometimes the baseball-style running hat is a little chilly in the mornings.
