Race Report: Boulder Field 100K, September 17, 2016

I had Ultrasignup loaded up on the iPad and ready to go. My friend, Helen, was PMing me on my cell phone. The plan was to press enter at the same time, 50K for her (her second) and the 100K for me (my first).  And just like that we were registered. I had made my plans to attempt my first 100K, which I had been talking about for months, a reality. (I swear, the hardest part of racing is the registering.)

I had completed 3 of Stephan Weiss’s ultra events (Uberendurancesports.com), Blues Cruise 50K, Naked Bavarian 40 miler and Dirty German 50 miler, which were all well established races.  Boulder Field 50K/100K was new addition to Stephan’s race portfolio and I loved the idea of being part of an inaugural event.  Even cooler was the free two nights camping at Hickory Run State Park in White Haven, PA. With a 5am start time for the 100K, I reveled in the idea of being able to just roll out of my tent and be (pretty much) at the starting line.  Helen was totally down with camping too – her first time ever. Yeah! My idea of a great girls’ weekend getaway! Camping and ultra running!!!!

We decided it would be best if I drove as Helen’s family planned on coming up on race day. She would leave shortly after finishing her race to head to see relatives close by.  I certainly had NO INTENTIONS of breaking down the campsite (in the dark) after completing 62 miles. My plan was to lie in the tent with a beer and a book and enjoy one more night in the woods.  Win-win.

I spent all of Friday morning gathering everything I’d need for the race and for camping. I also did some last minute mental training. I watched Western Time about 6 times. It’s about ultra runner Sally McRae’s journey to get to and complete Western States 100, a must-see for any runner of any level. (By the way, Sally is my new girl crush!)

I picked Helen up and we were on our way! Plan was to make it to the park before dark to set up the tent  - we had practiced in my backyard so we had total set up time down to about 5 minutes. We would then meet up with two friends, Brandon and Royce, for a pre-race dinner.

Holy crap! About 1 hour into our ride to PA we almost died! I don’t think that’s an exaggeration either. We were finally out of traffic and cruising along on I-80 when out of nowhere a huge object (not sure what it was) completely smashed the passenger side of my windshield, almost going through it! I can’t even begin to explain what went through my mind! What if it went through? What if I swerved after the impact and collided with another car or the divider? But we were ok. It was just a shattered windshield that could be fixed. It could have been a lot worse.

The rest of the evening went smooth. Brandon and Royce met us at packet pick-up and helped us with the tent so we could get to dinner faster. Great place, Powerhouse Eatery (we were soooo underdressed!), great food, great friends! Definitely helped to turn the mood around for Helen and I after the ride up.

5:00am would be here in no time so off to sleeping bag I was!

I woke up at 3:30 ready to go…..well, sort of like that. I lay in my sleeping bag for about 30 minutes while listening to the orchestra of zippers being opened and closed from the surrounding tents. Finally got dressed, grabbed my bag and headed to the car. Helen woke up (I felt soooo bad) She insisted on walking me out to the car. I swear she was sleepwalking.

The start/finish was pretty much pitch-black, lit by the 50 or so headlamps of the 100K runners who were mulling around and the red numbers of the clock counting down the time to the start in the background. I found my trail friend, Beth, who I met at Dirty German and Brandon. Beth introduced me to her friend Libby. Yeah! Another trail friend! We lined up together at the start, sort of listened to the last minute instructions from Stephan and then 4….3…2…1…we were off! IN THE MOST UNEVENTFUL START TO A RACE EVER!! LOL!!! Yup, not much fanfare at 5:00am in the middle of nowhere. Shit just got real!

The course was set up in a figure eight: a 12 mile loop and a 19 mile loop. The figure eight would be completed once for the 50K and twice for the 100K. You come back to the start/finish in between each loop, so at miles 12, 31 and 43.

The trails were well marked with pink ribbon and reflective ribbons, but in the early stages of a race like that I just followed the other runners. The 12 mile loop was full of short steep climbs. I think this was the more difficult of the two loops. And it had the most beautiful vistas. Along Skyline Trail if you looked left you could see the last bit of the harvest moon shining bright, illuminating the mist in the tree lines and the river that split the mountain in two. Man, those 50Kers don’t know what they were missing! I fell somewhere during that loop and landed on the left knee (the good one). The impact bruised not only my knee but my left forearm and knocked my hat and headlamp off! Certainly I am no stranger to falling on the trails, so I got back up with the help of my friends, brushed myself off, re-adjusted a few things and I was on my way.

Beth, Libby and I stayed together until about the mile 10 aid station. Unless discussed prior, it’s totally ok and expected that you will eventually go your separate ways. The last-ish mile of the 12 mile loop is through a trail called Shades of Death. I would compare this to the Escarpment trail(see prior blog post). Full of roots, rocks, steep drops and steep climbs. This part was actually really fun!

I returned to the start/finish at 7:28am putting my first 12 loop at roughly 2:28. I changed my socks (trying new socks the day of the race is a BAD idea). My fingers resembled that of breakfast sausage links so it took a few minutes to get changed. I grabbed a Mama Chia squeeze and headed out on the 19 mile loop.

Despite being 7 miles longer, it was easier. Lots of flat, well groomed path to really open up and bank some time. But it also had the part of the Boulder Field run that made it Boulder Field. Yup, the boulder field (how did you guess???) The Boulder Field trail leading up the field was the most technical of the course. About 2 miles of jagged rocks along a narrowly cut path through the vegetation. I decided to power walk most of it as I didn’t want to risk a turned ankle or other injury. Right before reaching the field the trail becomes deceivingly nice. About ¼ mile on a pillowy soft pine needle floor.     

The Boulder Field….200 meters across varying size boulders. Some were loose and some were sturdy but you didn’t know which were which. I took my time. Again, rather take a few minutes to be careful then to risk injury that would make the remaining 40 miles either completely miserable or impossible. I found that stepping on the smaller rocks were a better strategy for me. There was an aid station right at the end of the 200 meters. Grabbed some Mountain Dew, a few Girls Scout cookies, some potatoes and salt, and I was on my way.

                                                                                                              

Around mile 26ish, my daughter FaceTimed me. She had a belly ache. “Are you still running, mommy??”  “Yup, I am babydoll and I’m coming up on an aid station, do you want to see it??” The volunteer thought it was funny that my daughter was FaceTiming me in the middle of a race. He said hello to her as he offered me some pierogi and bacon fresh off the griddle! I said good bye to my daughter and thank you to the volunteer and I gone.   

The rest of the 19 mile loop was smooth sailing. There was pavement. Ugh. But it was ok.  Again, great way to bank some time going into the next 50K.  I saw two more friends right before the start/finish. Kim and Bill. Listening to their bodies, they decided to call it at the 12 mile loop.They offered hugs and well wishes (which were much needed). 

I entered the start/finish for the second time at the completion of the 50K at 11:43am. This meant my first 50K was 6:43, the 19 mile loop taking me 4 hours 15 minutes. Quick fill of the CamelBack, another Mama Chia and I was on my way again. 

The second 12 miles loop was tough. The climbs seemed steeper, as did the downhills. And did they move the aid stations further apart?????? I did my best to get through the loop but my legs were tired! Lots of walking on this loop. I knew I could get to 50 miles as I had done it before. So I just kept going. “Keep moving”  “Forward progress.” “Keep fucking moving.”  

At some point Helen texted me that she was done! She had a blast! And she PRd!!! Yeah Helen!!! So happy for her. She was waiting for me at the start/finish. I so wanted to see her and give her a quick sweaty stinky yeti-smelling hug.

At about mile 40 I saw two kids and one had pink ribbons tied around his head like Rambo:

“Dude! Don’t take those pink ribbons down! There’s a race going on. Those are marking the trail. They are our lifeline!” 

“I didn’t, these were on the ground” he responded.

“It doesn’t matter I told him. They would still tell us we are on the right path.”

 “Just keep running and shut up. There are plenty of ribbons” the little shit said to me.

Are you kidding me???? “You are being totally disrespectful” I said to him. “We are out here after months of training not to have you screw it up for us!”

“YOU are being disrespectful,” he said.

Ugh. This was going nowhere. I had a race to run and I had already wasted enough time. Ok, head back in the game, head back in the game.         

         

As I was coming up the road to the start/finish at mile 43 I was met by one of the race volunteers. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this but you didn’t make the time cut off. I’m sorry, I’m going to have to pull you.”

WTF????? How???? How did this happen?? I had banked 47 minutes on the first 50K not including the built-in hour Stephan had allotted for the second 50K in the 16 hour cut off. And what cut off at mile 43??? He said there was a hard cut off at 2:50pm and it was 2:53pm (it had taken me 3 hours and 10 minutes to complete this loop). He repeated how sorry he was but there were to be no exceptions. I dropped to my knees and start crying. This was it. My journey was over. Someone else has decided this was the end of the road for me.

After a few seconds I stood up and said “No! I’m not done! Let me run! Let me go! I came here to finish!” He just kept saying I’m sorry there are to be no exceptions. He and the volunteer who was recording the numbers decided they would try to reach Stephan by cell.  The volunteer who told me I was cut off asked Stephan’s son to get his dad on the phone. He told Stephan that I had missed cut off my 4 minutes. “3 minutes!!” I shouted in the background. He handed the phone to me. “Let me go!! I know I can do this!! Let me finish!!!” I yelled into the phone. Stephan said, ok, but he would be monitoring me closely and I had to reach all the other aid stations in time. “Thank you!!!” And I threw the phone back.

“Helen, they are letting me go!” Helen grabbed my CamelBack which was now empty and went over to the water table. I asked the volunteer to fill it. She said no. WHAT??? She had her hand on a gallon of water. “This is all the water I have left,” she said to me. “But I’m a runner!!!” I yelled. “This is all I have left,” she repeated. I think Helen must have shot her the look of death so the woman put about a mouthful of water into my pack. Fuck it, I had to get out of there and there was another aid station in a few miles. Helen helped me get the bladder back in the pack. I started booking for this last 19 mile loop. I knew I could run most of it but now I was being watched closely. I was not going to get pulled I was going to finish come hell or high water! Helen ran with me across the field shouting “Go Janna!!!” and ringing the cowbell.

Then I was on my own again……

Omg, I had to finish! I had to!!! 19 miles is a long way to run and to run hard, especially with 43 miles already under my belt. But I didn’t have a choice.

As I came up on the part where I passed our campsite I realized that I didn’t have my headlamp! Shit! I could be finishing in the dark and I didn’t have a headlamp! I called Helen and said, “I forgot my headlamp. Get my headlamp to an aid station. I don’t care which one or how you do it. Just get it there!” “I’m on it,” she said and then hung up. After all that and I totally fucked it up for myself.

Then I saw a guy getting stuff out of his car.  Ok, plan B. Always good to have a plan B. “Hi, are you camping and staying tonight too?” I asked. “Yes,” he responded. “Good, I just left the last station and I forgot my headlamp and I’m screwed. Can I borrow yours?”  “Oh, you are one of those 100K people. Sure.”  After searching his car he found it and gave it to me. “Hi. I’m Janna. I’m in the big white tent. Can’t miss it.”  “Hi, I’m Jim.” I thanked him and left.

Over the next 2 miles I would pass 3 men. They too could not believe the cut off. They barely made it and had a 6:15 50K they said. No time to chat. I’m on a mission. I was gone.

(Sometime after that Helen called saying that she was waiting at the Boulder Field aid station with my headlamp. Phew.)

Right before mile 41 I caught up with another female runner who I had remembered seeing earlier. I thought she was well ahead of me. I ran a few miles with her. We talk about the ridiculous cut off. I told her that I actually had missed it by 3 minutes. I asked her if she was ok with them letting me continue on. Of course! She said.  Phew. Didn’t need any more drama. She told me that the 3^rd place female was just a little bit ahead of her. I said I was totally fine with my pace. At this point, I just wanted the finish and was going to run my own race. She gave me some of her water after I told her that I had been without for about 5 miles.

We continued to run together for a little bit. When got to Boulder Field trail she went ahead as she was more daring with navigating the terrain on tired legs.  I quickly lost sight of her. But just a few minutes later I heard voices. It was her and another woman. The 3^rd place female! Holy shit, not only did I pass 3 men, but I caught the 3^rd place female. We all power hiked together up to the Boulder Field. I told her too what happened with the cut off. She then said, “That was you??” Her husband had called her and told her about the RD trying to cut off a runner. Apparently after that scene is when they realized that the cut off should have been 3:50pm and not 2:50pm! UGH!!!!!!!

And this is when I started getting shooting pains in the left knee…the good knee that I fell on earlier. Damn it! The pain was so bad that I thought this was it. I pulled out the knee brace that I had with me just in case my arthritic knee starting giving out and put it on the good knee. I figured I needed to stabilize it to cross the field.

Now all three of us were spread out on the field. Helen was on the other side of the field yelling my name!!! WHOO HOO!!! I was saved!!!  I passed the first girl I had met up with. She said her legs were tired. Now the 3^rd place female remain ahead.  

At the aid station (mile 51) Helen gave me my headlamp, a hug and lots and lots of words of encouragement. She ran a few yards with me out of the parking lot where the aid station was set up until I was back on the trail. I was alone again.

I spent the next 12 miles focused on getting to the finish before sunset (plan A) and before the 9:00pm final cut off (plan B).

At about mile 55 Stephan called me. “Where are you?” Ugh, now what, I thought. “I’m at the intersection of Bear Trail and Fourth Run Trail,” I told him. “Did you get through the field yet?” he asked. “Yes," I said, "I did about an hour or so ago.”  “Oh,” he said. “They didn’t record your number.” FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!! Was I going to be DQd for missing an aid station?? Luckily Helen took pics and video of me at that aid station. I was covered.   

I came up to the final aid station at mile 57 and more stinky hugs for the volunteers. The one remembered my daughter and told me to tell her hello! I ate a pickle, had some Gator Aide and was off. “It’s 5:50pm, you have 5 miles to go, you are going to do it,” he said.   Yes, I am. I was going to do it. And if I kept fucking moving I could do it before sunset.  5 miles in 1 hour. Totally doable.

I was probably about 1.5 miles from the finish and lost sight of the pink ribbons. FUCK!!! Again, did I totally screw up this race? I could see nothing ahead. Did I miss a turn? Damn it!! I turned around and sprinted back to the last pink ribbon I saw. Nope, there it was about .5 miles back indicating to keep going straight. Great, just great. Wasted time. So I sprinted back to regain the ground I had lost. Had I just kept going a few more feet I would have seen the next pink ribbon. 

Then I saw it. The turn onto the dirt road signaling the last mile of the loop. I was done! Holy crap!! I just ran 100K!!! 62 miles!!!! And I was going to finish before dark.

There were very few people left at the start/finish. As I was coming through the parking lot a family got out of their car to cheer me on. I finished!!! There was a Madonna song playing at the finish line but I don’t remember which one. Brandon and Royce were there too!! OMG!! They waited for me! Stinky hugs all around!!!

Then the RD and the 2 volunteers looked at me. “We are soooo sorry” they said pretty much in unison. And another stinky hug, this time for the RD!  “It’s ok,” I said. It actually worked out for the better. Had it not gone down the way it did, I would not have raced that last loop like I did. I would not have passed those three men. I would not have passed that woman. As it turned out, the woman I passed had been the first place female 40-49. I now had won my AG!

My final time was 14:06:19.  If my math is correct, I finished the final 19 mile loop in 4 hours 13 minutes which included the time spent figuring out if I could continue or not. I ran the second 19 mile loop faster than the first 19 mile loop!

From the shatter windshield, to being told I was cut off, to forgetting my headlamp and no water ….all thing that could have mentally derailed me. But they didn’t. I used those events to my advantage.

The windshield….It was just a windshield (that is being replace in my driveway as I type this), could have been worse. I was thankful.

No water….Well, I knew there was another aid station ahead. Just had to suck it up for a few miles. I could do it.

Forgetting my headlamp….With a little help from old and new friends I got that covered.

But the biggest thing I learned about myself that day came when I was told I was cut off….. I learned to not let others decide my fate. I could have easily accepted that my time had come to an end. But I knew what I was capable of doing. I knew I could finish before 9:00pm. I stood up for myself and didn’t back down.  

I would not have changed anything that happened before or during the race because it all came together at the end. It was because of those challenges that I won my AG… that I finished before sunset... that I completed the 100K.