Fun and Sleep Deprivation at Locust Point

You know that thing that you used to do on those extra tired days back in school? That thing where you would be violently jerked back to the land of the living after slowly drifting off to La-La land? Usually this would be followed by a slow wipe across your mouth and darting eyes to check if anyone just saw your tell tell sign of exhaustion. Well, sunken deep into the camp chair, 2:45am emitting from my watch, I experienced this once again at the Locust Point Aid Station during the Grand Canyon Ultras event.

I have always heard that once you get into trail races (or preferably before your first actual ultra) you should volunteer as an aid station worker. This gives you a first hand account of exactly what you will be going through. You will see those that are in the middle of a hyper "up" and those who seem like they just got out of a bar-room brawl after being locked in solitary for a year. And if you have participated in an ultra race, it is also a way to give back to the community that held you on their gel laden, broth brewing backs!

So, which race would be my aid station debut? I was pretty much fresh off of my first ultra, Mesquite Canyon 50K (...still have yet to do that blog post, sorry). Looking through ultrasignup for my next race, I came across the Bryce Canyon race that is put on by Ultra Adventures. I have yet to visit Bryce and what better way to do so then a nice 31 mile jaunt around the Park? While I looked deeper into the race I noticed that they were also putting on their first Grand Canyon event. Now, me and the wife are pretty much addicted to The Canyon and since I was interested in the Bryce, well, let's make this the one. A weekend on the North Rim while helping runners achieve a bucket list event? Heeeeeell ya!

The race was held on the Rainbow Rim Trail. If any of you are mountain bikers in Northern AZ, or Southern Utah, you probably know this rim runner. It traverses from lookout point to look out point along a single-track that is actually on National Forest land. A thing of beauty and I'm sure a nugget of pride for race director Matt Gunn. This event is actually called Grand Canyon Ultras, plural, as in 50K, 50 mile and 100 mile. The 50 K and 50 mile are a single loop course, with a little out and back to a place called Monument Point (sick huh?). The 100 mile is a double loop and being so, some got to see the Canyon at both Sunset and Sunrise light. Me, Amanda, and Pongo were to be placed at the Locust Point Aid station at mile 25 and 75 and at the end of a finger between Locust and Timp Canyon (sick again!).

We decided that we would make a weekend of it and took off right after work on Friday. Good thing we did, as it was quite the miles on dirt forest roads to get out there. Isolation...check! Peace...check! Beautiful high desert forest...check! We pulled up to the point and pulled into our sleeping bag with the moon just beginning to blare down at us. Waking up to the dry 8000 ft air, we got the coffee percolating and scouted out the best placement for our future station. Rick came cruisin into the point loaded to the brim with our supplies just around 8:00am and got us newbies all set up (Rick, you rock man!). As this was our first ultra aid setup, we looked anxiously over the materials. Shade tent, double burner, two 5 gallon tuns, utensils, pancake mix, coffee, Nutella, soda, blah, more blah, and even more blah! Holy cow, this is a kush set-up. We got everything ready and awaited our first runner

We didn't have to wait very long. The first place 100 miler came knocking at our door (mile 24.5) before 10:00. He was sporting a  mustache that reminded me too much of the Lorax. Awesome! I wish I had paid more attention to what he grabbed but I was too busy proudly filling his bottles and writing down his bib and time. Before we knew it, he was out again. Aww,crap, forgot to ring the cowbell. Bummer.

Runner after runner came in through the day and the thermometer just seemed to keep on elevating. Salt started increasing in want and ice increased in need. We saw so many different clothing strategies and one of the coolest things we got from the runners were the various hydration systems. Vests were a must and there were some new little 20 oz bladder things in place of hard plastic bottles. Some wanted the chair ("beware the chair") while some just grabbed and blasted back off. The day cruised on and more stories, suggestions and needs continued pouring through. Eventually, the majority of 100's and 50's had passed through and the sun began to make its drop behind the cliffs.

The night aid station atmosphere starts off uniquely inspiring but slowly creeps into a world of sit, wait, heat water. Sit, wait, heat water. By 11:30, I told Amanda that she should go get some sleep. The runners at this point were far between and I could handle all the quesadilla needs that they might have. Then came the post 1:00am station. There was just enough of a lull in runners (say, 30 minutes to an hour and a half) that the infamous head bob began. Then, I would catch the glimpse of a headlamp bobbing along. Jump up, turn knob, light burner, ring cowbell, pour noodles, ask for needs, encourage zombies, fall back into chair...repeat.

By the time 6am came along I was quite delirious but full of new ideas, information, and experiences that I was anxious to process during a well earned Sunday sleep. Aid station volunteering for ultras, I feel, is a must. You will learn much about the long run, experience so many different attitudes and appreciate the tireless volunteers that help you achieve some of your most memorable life goals. I believe that this will make my Bryce Canyon run that much more special as I pull from this smile inducing experience.

==Props to Matt, Rick and the Ultra Adventures crew! They put on a great race that pushed most to their very limits and gave some their first taste of the greatest Wonder of the World.==

SP Crater Marathon, or, A Few Firsts

Remember Nick, this is just a training run. When that horn is blown, find your rhythm, relax and do NOT follow the pack! At the beginning of most races, I tend to get a little too psyched up. This leads me to gun out of the start with a huge smile on my face but also a huge deficit of energy in my legs. As I looked out toward the beautifully sculpted SP Crater on the horizon, I needed this time to be different.

This would be the first time I have experienced running consistently for over 20 miles and I was considering it a last effort long run before the Mesquite Canyon 50K on the 22nd. I had my pace in mind and planned on not caring where I placed after it was all said and done. And, if you know me at all, that is hard to do! The competitiveness that has been bred into me needs to be tamed occasionally and I think that age and wisdom (and a dose of humility living here in Flagstaff) have tempered some of that drive.

Rewind: I started the morning not quite knowing what to plan for. What would the weather be like? I heard that there might be 20 mph winds! Which shoes am I gonna want? I don't know the style of the forest road yet. Do I have the right nutrition? I think I have the aid station miles memorized. I grabbed everything extra for just in cases and headed out the door.

The drive through town provided an absolutely stellar sunrise. A blast of color and clouds that had me staring dangerously long. I threw on a running podcast for some last minute inspiration and drove the 20 some odd miles out of the pines and into the vast open high desert grasslands. Seeing the bright green sign on a box in the distance I found my turn and immediately experienced what was soon to come. "Crap, -thud - thud - thud - I hope these washboards -thud - thud - thud - aren't on the road WE will be running". I careened through them and parked along the road, getting my first glimpse of the North side of the Peaks. I had my back to them during the drive and now had a view of what else was to come...the wind!

Dome shaped clouds covering the San Francisco peaks are a tell-tell sign that the days winds' are on their way and I took heed by throwing on a pair of sunglasses and a long sleeve. I also observed the condition of the forest road course and decided that there was going to be a really good chance that one of the gravel cinders would get excited, take a leap at my ankles, and snuggle up cozily between my sock and my shoes. Crap, I still haven't picked up any gaiters. So I rummaged through my truck and grabbed the socks that I had previously cut to become my arm sleeves for runs (see: cheap Scottish heritage). Hmmm, these might just work as some homemade gaiters... worth a try! I put them in place, secured them to my shoelace with a safety pin, and then looked around for anyone to see my awesome new gear! I was, and am still proud of this MacGyver moment because they did not budge the entire race!

A few quick pictures, one more port-o-potty visit, and we were toeing the line. All 10 of us. Wait, 10? I thought there were 11. Does this mean I am guaranteed a top ten finish in my first marathon? Hell ya!
Ian Torrence: "He's here, he's checked in, and he's not worried"
Me: "Guarantee gone"

Ian Torrence/Emily Harrison

Ludo blew the horn and 10 seconds later, I knew I was going to be running this alone. Flagstaff always amazes me with its prowess of athletes. This made it oh so easy to relax my pace and watch these crazy Flagstafarians cruise away through the wide open grasses toward the cinder cones. As I got into my groove, I occasionally looked back to see if and when I would have company from the late runner, but I couldn't keep my eyes off the road for very long or one of these washboards was gonna reach up, smack my toe, and send me into an unplanned for somersault. It was quite the little video game trying to hop left and dart right, finding the little spaces of flat ground. Not long after I passed a tall cylinder water tank with the words "BEER CAN" painted on it, I heard the footsteps.

"Mornin'"... "Mornin'". He found a pace right with me and I was surprised not to have him just keep on crusin'. Most of my long runs are solo so this next hour or so was a great experience. Meeting fellow runners and being able to share experiences on the trail is refreshing and something that I will remember most about this run. Chris was from San Antonio but working for several weeks at Grand Canyon. His first question to me was, "Do you know anything about the geology of this area?". Oh do I.

WARNING: Science teacher geek out opportunity:

Being an Earth Science teacher in town, each year we spend at least a couple of days talking about the San Francisco Volcanic Field. This year, I opened the volcanism unit with a picture of SP Crater and explained to the students how I was going to run around it in a few weeks. SP is really a great example of one of the coolest things to happen with a cinder cone volcano. With its' high gas content, it will spray little globs of lava into the air much like a Mentos/soda experience. This forms the beautiful symmetrical cone but what can, and did, happen after makes for some great features. After the volcano loses its' fizz, it might still have some magma left to contribute to the surface of the planet. If so, a flow of lava will find its way out of, not the top, but the bottom of the cone. Crazy! It kinda oozes out of a weakness at the bottom of the cone and flows where topography demands. This happened at this particular spot in a beautifully dramatic way. As you look from the air at SP, you see the solidified flow moving North from the cone. This view gives you a great visual of why this particular crater was aptly named Sh*t Pot crater. haha, awesome! This race brought us right through this chunky basaltic story and you couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I jogged into and out of the Earths' molten innards.

NASA.gov

After a few miles and great conversation, I told Chris that I would be slowing my pace a bit and he could take off if he wanted to. So he did, and I was left to my endurance training pace once again and that weird 11th place finishing number.


The rest of the race I was treated to massive lava pile-ups, cows giving bewildered looks from the distance, strong wind tunnels trying to toss my visor and me, into the distance, a herd of sheep traversing a fence line, several Pinacate beetles scuttling across the road and expansive views in every direction.

Photo: Amanda Manville

Near mile 20 I came upon where the half-marathon joined and noticed two people coming in from the right. They were about 100 yards in front of me, halfers, tall, and what appeared to be walking. I thought to myself, I'll catch these guys pretty quickly and say hello. Cut scene to 30 minutes later... I still hadn't caught them and they appeared to still be walking. Is this one of those hallucinatory experiences people speak of on the trail? I don't think so, I've only gone 21 miles. These guys gave me quite the rabbit to catch! As I finally came upon them I noticed that they were some of the fastest "walkers" I had ever seen...and I told them that causing them to laugh and tell me that they were purposefully giving me a target to hit. Hilarious! That was one of the most memorable parts of the race as well. Thanks guys (forgot the names).

At this point, my body was getting pretty spent and I could see the Start/Finish line. Unfortunately, after you reach the "finish line", the full distance still needs to do a last 5K loop. So I tried my hardest to tell my body this was NOT the end and don't start shutting down yet. The visualization of a finish, with the tent, spectators and food, tends to make the legs start to slow down. But as I approached a big smile smacked itself onto my face when I saw my very own cheering section; my wife and my dog! They were a few yards from the end and I stopped for a quick hello. Pongo was wearing a t-shirt that said TEAM NICK and it helped me push a little more gas into my legs for the final loop.

Photo: Amanda Manville

Crossing the line, Mark yelled "way to go Nick" thinking I was done when I still had 3.1 miles to go. I laughed as I pasted and he said "oh, he still has a 5K left?" I did but I felt good and wanted to calmly finish these last miles. But then... I saw it! The neon green shirt of Chris was in the somewhat near distance. Could I catch up with him and have a 10th place tie finish? I think I actually could! I picked up the pace, fighting a little groin cramp after hurdling a rock (don't hurdle a rock at mile 24.5!). Yep, I'm definitely gonna catch...wait...shoot, it's not him. It was a halfer with the same color top on. OK, slow down, no keep going. Finish strong. Teach your body to finish strong. I cruised into the finish area at 5:08:52 and just before crossing I yelled,"D...F...L..." and jump/stomped the finish chalk.

Photo: Amanda Manville

My first Marathon race completed and I couldn't be happier. I did exactly what I wanted to do; keep my endurance pace, get the miles, and HAVE A BLAST! After a few pretzels and a couple of swigs from the keg, I thanked Ian and Ludo for a great race and headed off to Lumberyard for a mac n' cheese/bacon/sriracha sandwich...drool.


**BIG THANKS TO THE VOLUNTEERS THAT ALLOWED ME TO FINISH THIS GOAL**

For a quick little race report see the podcast I am trying to put together here: Elevated Trail

Podcast test pt II

Podcast test

Stagecoach 100 Relay - A Day/Night/Day to remember

"Too many trees!" It is very seldom that I find myself complaining about the presence of trees. They are inspiring organisms that have given me places to play, air to breath, food to eat, shade to rest and homes to creatures I adore. They are vital to our global climate and imperative to most soils. They are even a future adornment to my body in the form of tattoo. But right now, there are just too many damn trees!

I am in the middle of my 13 mile relay leg of the new ultra-marathon race, officially called the "Flagstaff to Grand Canyon 100 Mile Stagecoach Line Ultra & Relay". You can't wipe the smile off of my face but the reason that I would willingly cast away these looming Junipers, if only for a while, is that somewhere out there in the sky just behind my right shoulder is a giant gorgeous high desert full moon. Oddly enough, this is coming from a guy who loves and respects the hell out of the juniperus genus.

Juniperus osteosperma

Their stubbornness to survive on the most crumbling of erosive cliff faces. Their bounty of food, fiber and materials that sustained the hardy indigenous peoples of the Southwest. The shade and talking points that they give me as I lead my group tour of foreign visitors along the South Kaibab trail. Their "no way I'm growing in a straight line" attitude that always seems to frustrate me when an axe is above my head. And the warmth I feel and smell each Flagstaff winter night as the wood stove crackles and radiates the remaining embers from their bark. Yep, the Juniper has a place in my heart, but for now they are merely casting stubborn shadows along my path.

 I'm not sure what is it about me that seems to draw in night runs but here I am again, running along a dirt path, headlamp bobbing along and my mind trying not to remember the large variations of carnivores out here. To say I am alone on this section is an understatement. From the time that the snap bracelet hit my wrist, there has not been a single peep in the woods, light on the horizon or voice in the distance. In fact, there will not be a soul to count until I make it to the Moqui aid station...and none after till the next exchange. I am not sure if this adds to the experience but at least it is something that I am used to. I am experienced in running alone in the dark in everything from the Ragnar relay in the middle of Sonoran desert nowhere to 13 mile Grand Canyon loops. So... I am happy.

GC at night

This is the race's inaugural year and I have no doubts that success will soon be this events pacer. Ian Torrence has taken on this long time goal and put together a course that not only has beauty in it's physical surroundings but an aura of AZ history that intrigues runners both before and after the event. It follows a section of the Arizona Trail from just Northwest of the city of Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon Park entrance town of Tusayan. This route is nothing new though. It is at the same time the path chosen for the brave tourists that dawned stagecoaches on a bumpy, usually multi-day, romp from Flag to The Canyon. Although I am on just a 13 mile piece of the path, 26 brave Ultra-maniacs had the entire course to finish (of which I believe 17 actually did in the 30 hour time frame).

Relay Teams Getting Set!

Eventually I finished my leg with a smile on my face and dreams already of next year. My teammate David was off like a bolt and I hobbled into a truck and drove around to the finish where I passed out in said truck for a couple hours of sleep. I was awoken by the last of our team, Charlie, who had just finished (can't believe I missed it) and we had won the men's relay division! Although like Neil said, "We only had ourselves to beat". None the less, we celebrated our victory and celebrated runners as they came across the line. It was a great race, a beautiful run and an experience that injected me with a little bit of Ultra fever.

The Author Getting A Fan Shot With Ian Torrence

** A HUGE thank you to all of the 100 braver than the runners volunteers for enduring their own ultra challenge of below freezing temperatures! Your night was many factors harder than mine and you made the event a complete enjoyment and success.

* Thanks to Kristin Wilson for the great pictures