Pine To Palm 100 Mile Endurance Run

In this distorted, niche community of ultra running that I sometimes get lost in, people have started to say things like, "100 miles is not that far." Well it is. And although you can have a very rewarding time running (and walking) 100 miles, and although #type2fun is still mostly fun (thanks to the human brain's amazing ability to selectively save the good stuff while discarding much of the bad), for most people it takes (lots of) training, support, and a few years to get it right. I'm here to tell you that I am most people. I ran the Pine To Palm 100 Mile Endurance Run for the first time in 2016 and did not have a great day. I've wanted to come back and get it right ever since. #doneanddone


[Photo credit Ben McKinley.]

Thanks to Hal Koerner and Rogue Valley Runners for putting on an epic event.


First and foremost, thanks to Shelley. She drove most of the eight hours down to this race, supported me from start to finish (while getting exactly as much sleep as I did), and then drove ALL THE WAY BACK HOME so I could relax. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thanks also to Lucca (for once this post is not just about me). As we led our separate lives after college we had unintentionally grown apart for some time. I like to tell the story of me emailing her and my father six years ago after completing my first ultra all excited and proud. Lucca replied, "Oh yeah, that's a cool race, I've done it."  Boom! I had no idea she was into running, much less ultras. Fast forward to now after running four editions of the Seattle Marathon together, one 50k together and traveling to Switzerland for an amazing race together and wouldn't you know it, running has helped us get to know each other again. How cool is that?

And I can't forget to thank Bil (Lucca's husband) and Danielle (Lucca's pacer). And my accidental pacer.

Sometimes you just get lucky. It happened to me once when I ran the Cascade Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run and then happened AGAIN at this race... Huge thanks to Ben McKinley for being proactive and seeking out a runner to pace after his buddy had to drop. And Ben was a super pacer! We talked about tons of stuff (kids, football, skiing, being tall), not much if it related to running. Which is just how Martin likes it.

ASIDE - so there I am running up the dirt road to Dutchman Peak when this car pulls up next to me and the driver rolls down the window. "Hey, do you want a pacer?" Uh, yes please. We introduced ourselves and agreed to meet at the aid station. When I got there Ben was nowhere to be seen but this guy has quantities of team spirit. Once he did get there and discovered I had already left, he freaking ran me down! It was on a section of the PCT about five miles later and I could tell a headlamp was gaining on me. I decided to pull over and let them by and the runner said. "Martin...?" That made my day. Or night as it were.

Let me jump right in with the knowledge nuggets. I try to learn something every time I run an ultra. I can only do so many of these things and at this point, I'm not getting any faster so I figure I should at least "enjoy" each one a little more.

• Nutrition during a 100 is tough. I've absolutely nailed it all year long but all the other races were 50k or 50 miles. I tried to apply the same formula here and I stumbled, figuratively. This is a work in progress for sure.
• Although I'm not a faster runner than when I started this adventure in 2012, I am smarter and that's worth a ton. I was just reading a quote from Karl Meltzer (the winningest 100-mile runner ON EARTH) who said that he is much more efficient than he used to be and that this is the main thing which keeps him competitive. I concur. I keep spending less time at aid stations, being smarter about what goes in which drop bag, tweaking and tuning my gear and nutrition, getting better at pacing myself, and it's paid off big. Usually (read: hopefully) it's me passing others at the end of an ultra and not the other way round.
• Having a crew and pacer is fantastic. I have never started a 100-mile race intending to have a pacer but happened into one twice. And having Shelley support me at two of these has also helped a bunch. All that no-trekking-poles and loving-the-solitude-of-the-woods stuff only goes so far. For me.
• Speaking of which, trekking poles rule. Hey, not everyone uses them or even likes them but wow do they work for me. I have a herniated disc in my lower back and anything I can do to keep my spine aligned is a godsend as the day wears on. Now my legs/fitness are the weakest link which is the way it should be. Not some dumb, old injury.
• I have never listened to music during an ultra prior to this race. I took along an iPod Shuffle and turned it on around mile 60. Wow! That was nice.
• Changing shoes and socks is also nice. I changed both (and washed my feet!) at mile 43.5 and then socks only at mile 67.
• It takes time for a body (especially my body) to adjust to this kind of distance. I know, right? When I started running I had loads of fitness from bicycle racing and ramped up my miles way too fast and consequently had various injuries that I could have avoided. It's just been the last two years that I have finished ultras and only felt tired and sore instead of destroyed or hurt. And you know what? I like this feeling better.
• Trekking pole quivers are cool. More about that later.
• Shoes matter! OMG do they matter... I continue to be blown away by how comfy my Topo shoes are. Unless I stub my toe or similar, I have not had a single foot issue all year long. No blisters, no bruised toenails, no problems in other words. That's pure gold.

For a change, it wasn't just me taking pictures at this race, it was everyone else! Here are some highlights/lowlights in chronological order.

Here I am warming up outside of the Applegate River Lodge (where we stayed the previous night) before heading out to the start. I recommend this place by the way. Quaint building and gas/food/beer/wine across the street. Also, lots of blackberries around and no one appears to want them.

[Photo credit Shelley Criminale.]

The start. And you can see me on the right in the red shirt 18 seconds in.


[Photo credit Shelley Criminale.]

I don't have a photo or movie (or soundtrack) of this but the crew at the Steamboat Ranch aid station (mile 21.5) were playing all Mac Miller all day long. They were young and male, go figure. It was kind of touching actually.

Pulling into the Seattle Bar/Applegate River aid station at mile 28.5. If you listen closely you can hear Shelley comment that I am ahead of schedule...


[Photo credit Shelley Criminale.]

Someone else's support crew, doing yoga while they wait...


[Photo credit Shelley Criminale.]

Someone who looks a lot fresher than me.


[Photo credit Lucca Criminale.]

Leaving the Squaw Lakes aid stations at mile 43.5.


[Photo credit Danielle Micheletti.]

One of my favorite sections of trail around mile 50. Turns out Lucca thought so too.


[Photo credit Lucca Criminale.]

The Squaw Peak fire lookout. This is at the top of the first out-and-back which you need to run after arriving at the Hanley Gap aid station (mile 52).


[Photo credit Lucca Criminale.]

The Siskiyou Gap (mile 73.5) aid station. The night was an ocean of DARK and every aid station was an oasis of light. It was super cool.


[Photo credit Ben McKinley.]

How Shelley felt after having this guy park behind her with his headlights on for two hours.


[Photo credit Shelley Criminale.]

Shelley helping me at the Grouse Gap (mile 80) aid station.


[Photo credit Ben McKinley.]

Bil helping Lucca at the Grouse Gap aid station. Lucca discovered that plain yogurt was working for her. I am taking notes.


[Photo credit Danielle Micheletti.]

Lucca sumitting Wagner Butte at mile 86. That's right, still looking fresher than me.


[Photo credit Danielle Micheletti.]

Danielle and Lucca on top of Wagner Butte.


[Photo credit Lucca Criminale.]

Lucca finishing her second 100-mile race!



This race was a new experience for me. Cascade Crest starts later in the morning so unless you are pretty speedy you will finish in daylight. And the last time I ran this race I also finished in daylight. Finishing in the dark was not so bad!

I usually save maths for the very end of a race but this time I started working things out way too soon. Prior to the start, I had the brilliant idea of having Shelley write splits on my forearm so that I would have a gauge for my pace.



I used splits from Phil Kochik (owner of Seven Hills Running Shop) who was the slowest sub-24 time in 2016 (he finished in 23:30). The numbers wore off in a hurry (turns out a Sharpie is no match for 100-mile sweat) so I kept asking Shelley how I was doing compared to the splits. And she kept telling me I was ahead! I think it was 30 minutes the first time I saw her at mile 28.5 and it crept up to FIFTY MINUTES by mile 80. Of course, it didn't take long for my mind to race (way) ahead of my body and soon I started to fantasize about a sub-23 hour time.

Was I having an inspired day or was I going to pay the proverbial Pied Piper? Turns out a little of both.

When you get to the Squaw Lakes aid station at mile 41 you need to run a 2.5-mile lap around the lake. It's pretty darn flat but I had to walk a couple of times. This is what happened to me in 2016 so I was getting worried.

But when I left the Squaw Creek Gap aid station at mile 59.5 and started marching up the road, I felt much better than I did in 2016. Two years ago I was about ready to throw in the towel here and this time I was looking forward to meeting Shelley and to the lights and music this aid station is known for.

By the time I got to Dutchman Peak (mile 66) in 2016 I had thrown in the towel big time. It still amazes me how I finished that race. This time I got out of my wet clothes stat, drank some broth and started right back down to the parking lot where Shelley was waiting for me. I was cold, but not defeated.

ASIDE - this course is super scenic and the aid stations and volunteers are awesome but the actual course marking is not so hot... I got confused once heading up to Stein Butte around mile 37. The trail I was on went straight ahead but there was also a trail that went up to the Stein Butte Lookout on the right. Where was the ribbon located? On a bush right in the middle of the intersection. C'mon... The two guys I was with at the time spent at least five minutes exploring the lookout trail until I convinced them (and myself) that we needed to continue straight. Thank goodness I was right. Another time I was on the PCT and suddenly the trail dumped you out onto a four-way dirt road intersection. For the life of me, I could not find a ribbon. I walked at least 50' down each road looking and letting my headlamp linger. I eventually found the ONLY ribbon marking the trail and was able to continue.

On the way up to Wagner Butte (around mile 83), I got "stuck" behind two other racers and their pacers and I didn't have the zip to pass them. We did eventually scoot by on a descent but as soon as we established a gap I promptly had a moment of indecision about the route. Suddenly the trail went down pretty steeply and I vaguely recalled that once the trail got steep, you were on the final descent to Road 2016 and the Weasel Creek aid station at mile 90. I did NOT want to miss the out-and-back to Wagner Butte so told Ben to stop. We spent at least 10-15 minutes dorking around with his iPhone trying to get enough of a signal to see where the heck the trail to Wagner Butte was. Without success. While we were standing there, the four runners behind us caught up. My indecision was enough to make them pause too so now we all stood there for a bit until we finally decided that since none of us had seen a sign for Wagner Butte, straight must be the correct way to go. It was, whew.

On this four-mile out-and-back I definitely started to fade. Twice while scrambling to the final summit of Wagner Butte I put my foot down, put weight on it, and felt myself start to tip backward. Yikes! I was tired.

When we got to the Weasel Creek aid station all I could do was stumble over to the support crew truck, lean against it and pee into the woods. Ben was nice enough to grab my pin flag from my pack while I was peeing and handed it to the race staff. And then I had to sit down in a chair. Ouch. I managed to yank myself out of my stupor and get moving in fairly short order but for all my planning of running these last 10 miles they started out at a walking pace.

Eventually, I managed to break into a jog but it didn't last long. I had one sustained stretch of jogging (not even five minutes I suspect) so it was walk/jog for the next eight miles. Finally, after we had been on the MTB trail for a bit, I started to speed up.

Just after the last aid station at mile 95 we stopped one more time unsure of the direction to go. There had been a mountain bike trail sign on the right that was causing Ben to hesitate but we double checked the route description (since my brain was shot at this point) and quickly realized we just needed to continue down the road. I guess running at night does sometimes have disadvantages.

Just before this dirt trail turns to pavement Ben's headlamp died. Luckily he had a replacement so he told me to run ahead while he switched lights. I felt a little bad leaving him but did as I was told. One mile to go!

And then it happened. As I hit the pavement I had a vague, uneasy feeling in my guts. Within the span of perhaps 60 seconds that vague feeling became extremely specific - I was going to shit my pants.

ASIDE - I've had to poop in the woods before, most people that hike or run do. But not during many races. In fact, only during two. The first time I got saved by an outhouse at the Badger Mountain Challange 50 Mile earlier this year. This was the other race. Usually, I'm good to go if I can attend to my business prior to the start, these ultras tend to shut my system down... not so much today.

As I ran along clenching my butt cheeks tighter and tighter it became patently obvious there was no way in hell I was making it to the finish without really embarrassing myself. What to do...? Here I was running through some expensive homes in suburban Ashland and there were streetlights along the road.

Desperate times call for desperate measures and finally, I had to do something. In this case, "something" meant hopping off the side of the road that wasn't lit, sliding down a hill covered in dry leaves, grabbing a tree to arrest my slide, turning off my headlamp and dropping trow.

Oh man, how do you spell relief? Never mind, you get the idea.

As I was crouched in the leaves I saw Ben's light approaching. "Hey Ben, wait a sec... I had to take a nature break!" I scrambled back up to the road (not an easy task, those dry leaves were slippery!) and managed to rejoin my pacer.

There was no time to be gained here and I could finally smell the barn (olfactory reference intended) so we just ran it in.

To sum up this maths distraction, if I had not hesitated at intersections and made the correct navigational choices I could have gone sub-23. Oh well. As Ben kept telling me (I must have been lamenting my lost minutes), my time was awesome and in short order I was in full agreement with him. Plus, navigating is part of these events! My only goals going in were sub-24 and winning my age group. I had accomplished both (by a big margin!) so shut up already.

Here are some more stats from this run.

• Garmin Connect claims I burned almost 12,000 calories. I think I agree. I weighed myself Thursday morning and was 190. Two days after the race and after eating this on Monday (I'm writing this post on Tuesday) I am still at 180 lb.

• Apparently, my stomach is not as "iron" as it used to be. After finishing I could barely eat or drink anything. After a shower and a nap, I went back to the finish to cheer on Lucca. On the way, I found Standing Stone Brewing Company and could only manage this sampler size glass of beer.

I'm proud of how easily I got my Salomon Custom Quiver to work with my older, not-designed-to-work-with-the-custom-quiver pack. I found some existing loops, attached the quiver, wrapped tape around the hooks to prevent them from sliding off and ditched the elastic "4D Trekking Pole holder". Then I ran the synch cord through another existing loop at the bottom of the pack and used the same tape to reduce the size of that opening. It worked great. I am SO MacGyver.





What an experience. Thanks to everyone that helped make it happen. There will be more.

Turns our Ben McKinley made a video of his pacing experience.



And Lucca also wrote a fantastic race report.

Here are all the pictures and videos.

Results

• 1st - Men 50-59
• 25th - Overall
• official results

Nutrition (before)

• cold brew coffee, no cream or sugar

Nutrition (during)

• 6 large bottles each with 1.5 scoops Perpetuem, .5 scoops Fully Charged, 1.5 scoops Endurolytes Extreme Powder, 1 Race Caps Supreme, 1 Endurance BCAA+ Cap, 1 Anti-Fatigue Cap
• 8(?) large bottles each with 2 Enduolytes Fizz tablets (I like Grapefruit and Cola)
• lots of grapes, watermelon, oranges
• 3 quarters of a PB&J
• 3(?) cups of soup/broth
• coconut water, yogurt smoothie, fruit smoothie, coffee drink
• plain water
• string cheese

Nutrition (after)

• 3 scoops Recoverite
• 3 Tissue Rejuvenator Caps
• 2 50mg Floyd's of Leadville CBD Isolate Softgels

Gear

• Topo Athletic Ultrafly 2 shoes
• Stance socks
• Patagonia Strider Pro shorts 7"
• Hammer Nutrition Short Sleeve Running Shirt
• Hammer Nutrition Visor
• Craft undershirt
• Topo Athletic Arm Sleeves
• OR wool liner gloves
• Anker battery pack & Garmin charging cable
• Garmin Fenix 3
• Salomon ADV Skin 5 Set
• Salomon Custom Quiver
• Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z Trekking Poles
• Black Diamond Iota Rechargeable Headlamp (at the start)
• Black Diamond Icon Headlamp (through the night)

pacing Dave VanMiller at the Cascade Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run

Sometimes (read: usually) it's not about me.

This weekend I had the chance to pace my friend Dave VanMiller at the Cascade Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run and it was awesome! More to the point, Dave was awesome!



Pacing and volunteering have got to be the best ways to give back to this sport of trail running. Pacing and being paced has also been some of the best experiences I have had running.

For the past several years I have been running with my sister Lucca at the Seattle Marathon. Some years it's just been for fun and some years she was really going for it and I believe her Marathon PR was set on this course one of the years we ran together. It's become somewhat of an annual tradition. We have also run all of the Sun Mountain 50k together.

I had the good fortune to happen onto a pacer myself when I ran Cascade Crest and it was a fantastic experience. So when Dave said he was looking for a pacer and my weekend was free I jumped at the opportunity.

Cascade Crest lets you pick up your pacer at about the halfway point. Dave's wife Gretchen was going to run with him from mile 54-69 and I was going to take him from 69 to the finish. Since I wasn't going to start running until about 11:00 PM and since there isn't much you can do prior to running except for relaxing, I opted to drive to the halfway point (the Hyak aid station) early to meet Gretchen and Dave.

It was a little surreal sitting there in the John Wayne Trail waiting for runners to show up knowing what they had just covered... One thing that always impresses me is how comfy I am running in these relatively mild temperatures but how freaking cold I get just sitting around in them. Glad I planned for this and packed some layers.



And it was comforting to see that not everyone else was immune to the relative cold.



I met tons of friends that were also pacing. It felt like half of my ultra running friends had either gotten into this race or were helping out. So cool!

Gretchen and I connected, discussed logistics, and then there was nothing ot do but chill until Dave showed up.

Watching the leaders come and go was impressive. The first runner had a 50-minute gap on 2nd place! I was told this guy has won this race twice and was going for a course record. When he took off with just his wet t-shirt and two handheld bottles into the cold night and the higher elevation sections of this course I had my doubts... turns out he did win but didn't beat the record.

Dave arrived a little ahead of schedule and looked like he was having a super day! We gave him his pitstop and I managed to snap a quick picture.



After Dave and Gretchen left, I just cleaned up Dave's drop bag, put everything in Gretchen's car, locked it up and drove myself to the next transition.

And had absolutely. Nothing. To do.

This is the tough part for pacers (or a support crew). You show up early to ensure you don't miss your runner and then you wait.

It was too cold to hang out in just my running clothes so I put layers on over the top, got all my shit ready, reclined my car seat and tried to relax/nap.

Except you can't really nap or you'll miss your runner. I was parked in a turn on a dirt road and the runners would come by me pretty quick. I could only see each one for perhaps 10 seconds and then they were past my car and heading up the road to the aid station. I was really hoping I didn't screw it up.

Luckily I saw Dave and Gretchen approaching. Thank goodness most people have a unique running style which I can recognize immediately. As they ran past I got out and proceeded to grab my gear. Funny how you think you have everything laid out and ready and then it takes WAY longer to actually shed your outer layers, put on your vest, your headlamp, grab your trekking poles, lock the car, reassure yourself that you really locked the car, run through the mental checklist, and jog up to the aid station.

"Dave! Dave, are you here?"

But it worked. I found my runner, found Gretchen, gave her the car keys, told her where it was, and then Dave and I disappeared into the night. And onto the most technical trail of this race - the "trail from hell".

Dave had told me before the start that his goal was 22-24 hours. Gretchen had told me he was having a great day but didn't mention any specifics. I figured if we just didn't slow down much it would be a super finish. The next aid station - Mineral Creek at mile 75 - was not far away in terms of distance but because the trail is so tricky and because it's always up or down, it takes most people about 1.5 hours to get there. Dave is a pretty good trail runner and didn't slow down at all here. I ran in front so I would occasionally turn around and shine my headlamp on the more technical sections to help Dave descend without tripping. There is one creek crossing just before you get to the aid station and you had to rock hop across. I made it over dry but Dave dipped the toe of one shoe in the water. He didn't seem worried so I wasn't either.

We arrived at the aid station and Dave was Mr. Efficient so we were moving again in no time.

From Mineral Creek (mile 75) to No Name Ridge (mile 82) is one big dirt road climb. The one time I ran this race I walked most of it. Not Dave. He kept breaking into a jog. Even when we were walking Dave was moving. On this road we slowly caught another runner, I think he was a great carrot.

Up on the ridge it was colder for sure. Dave was in and out of the aid station again but I grabbed some soup to warm up and had to catch up.

This section of the race takes you along the "Cardiac Needles" so named because the elevation profile looks like an EKG. Our carrot was really strong and it was a challenge to stay in touch. I checked in a couple of times to see if the pace was okay and each time Dave said it was. Dave was really impressing me up here. This is not fast terrain, especially after 80+miles, but Dave was moving really well.

The cherry on the top of the Needles is the Thorp Mt fire lookout. To get here you need to do an out-and-back from the aid station at mile 86 and climb to the high point of this race. Dave (as do most people) opted to skip the aid station on the way up. To prove you ran this section there was a book attached to the lookout and you had to grab the page that corresponded to your bib number. Dave was all business and so we arrived at the aid station again in a hurry. Dave grabbed some food, I filled his bottles, and we were gone.

Suddenly Dave said, "I forgot my poles!" Damn, I had failed one of my pacer duties and let Dave leave equipment behind. I was just about to tell Dave I could run back and get them when he said, "Forget about it. I have a friend at the aid station and can pick them up from him later." Turns out this was a prescient decision.

Dave was still pushing hard. I was SO impressed with his ability to move. Our carrot was still around too, I was starting to worry about Dave blowing up but this guy has loads of experience so I just tried to help and encourage him along.

Dave is the most appreciative and humble runner I know. Every time I told him, "Good job!" or, "You're doing great!" he would say thanks. He even apologized for the occasional grunts he was uttering from the effort. I was like, "Grunt away Dave, you are killing this!" A few minutes after leaving the Thorp aid station Dave slowed just a bit and grunted. I stopped, turned around and he had thrown up. Now this is not a super rare occurrence in ultra running, especially when you are pushing hard (which Dave was!), but people take varying amounts of time to recover from it. Dave took about 10 seconds. I've never puked while running but I imagine it can actually feel good depending on the circumstances... We didn't stop to discuss this topic as Dave was already moving again. What focus!

The climb to the Thorp fire lookout is not the last "needle" and on the next climb, Dave suddenly asked for my trekking poles. No problem! Glad to help. My poles are longer than Daves but the difference is not extreme. At the top of the climb, he just handed them back. Nice! This is how we rolled over the next couple of hills.

Dave was still doing okay when we got to French Cabin (mile 89) although he had slowed a bit on the climbs. Our carrot kept pulling away on the ascents and we would catch him back up on the descents. I filled another bottle here for Dave and we were off.

Over the course of the last big climb and the next few miles, our carrot slowly pulled ahead. Suddenly he was going faster on the climbs and descents. Dave didn't get rattled and we just continued on as best we could.

I thought we were in no man's land so when a headlamp started to approach us from behind I tried to stay calm. When it came time for them to pass, they said hi, it was our carrot! He had taken a break to fertilize the trees and was just catching up. Dave took it all in stride but we couldn't hang with him as he ran past and slowly, very slowly, his light disappeared up the trail again. On the upside, no one had caught us. :)

As we approached the Silver Creek aid station (mile 96) Dave had the presence of mind to ask me if I would fill a bottle for him as he ran straight through. Yes! It only took me about 60 seconds and then I was chasing Dave down.

I'm no maths wiz and my watch was not displaying the time of day so it was hard for me to give Dave any sort of ETA or time goal to shoot for. Luckily Dave was content to, and able to,  just go as hard as he could. As we hit the pavement, we closed just a little on our carrot but we couldn't catch him. When we finally started running along the train tracks toward the fire station, Dave looked at the finish line with the giant clock and said, "It's not 22 hours yet!"

Oh man, if you can sprint after running 99+ miles then that is what Dave did. Wow!



This guy is amazing! I only hope I can channel this much focus during my next 100-mile race.

Kudos to you Dave!

Pacific Crest Trail - Section J (Stevens to Snoqualmie)

I have had Section J (Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass) of the Pacific Crest Trail on my long list for years. Funny how things can suddenly come together.

Turns out my friend Bryan Estes has wanted to run this too. Bryan has hiked this section, and various portions of it, numerous times but he has never done it in one push. We had been talking about this since we both ran the Seattle Stairway Foot Tour in June so when his calendar opened up a few days ago, and I was free too, I jumped at the chance. Did it fit in perfectly with my training and racing calendar? No, but when opportunities come along you need to grab them. You also need to keep your racing in perspective - I do this for fun and fun is exactly what I hoped this run would be about. Fun and adventure.




Warning: this blog post contains pictures of bloody knees. :) Nothing too gross hopefully but just so you know.

We did not plan much! Bryan is a very experienced ultra runner, backpacker, and outdoor enthusiast, I could not have picked a better partner. My only decisions were how much of what types of food to carry. Ironically, I made some bad ones in this category. But other good decisions helped me through.

Transportation also was a dream. I was able to drop a car at Snoqualmie Pass Friday evening with Bryan's help and Saturday morning Bryan's in-laws just happened to be driving to Lake Chelan over Stevens Pass and offered to give us a ride. Nice!

At 11:00 AM we were ready to head out from Stevens Pass.



Let me just say that the PCT is amazing! In WA there are so many lakes, views, spectacular trails; we were taking pictures ALL THE TIME.

One of the first treats was running (pun intended) into my sister Lucca. Turns out she was running from the end of Icicle Creek Road to Stevens Pass and we met about 2.5 miles from her finish/our start.



I'm still blown away by how much trail running has helped us reconnect, so grateful for this sport.

The PCT is really well signed. At about 90% of all the intersections, you see this.



And if there isn't any sign it's obvious which way to go. You just follow the natural flow of the trail and avoid the path that is not "natural" or deviates from the obvious line.

Bryan and I both brought along four 500+ ml containers for water but never needed more than two at a time. There are tons of lakes and streams this time of year and we only got low on water twice but each occurrence was not a crisis and I was able to catch up on my hydration eventually. Something to keep in mind is that we were "running" and a hiker would need more time (and water) to cover the same distance. I put running in quotes as any trail runner knows, running usually includes some hiking. And it can include a LOT of hiking when you go this far.

I seem to have a reputation for falling down while trail running and on this trip I, unfortunately, kept my streak alive. :( The first tumble looked spectacular but once I got myself cleaned up it was no big deal.

Here is the "I just fell down" picture.



And here is me a few miles after washing my legs in the creek above.



Magic, right?

The second fall was a bummer. It happened less than 8 miles from the finish and as usual, it was because I was getting tired and not lifting my feet high enough. This one was a little worse.



Most of the rock around here is granite and when I landed I scraped my right thigh across a wedge of it. But again, looks can be deceiving and after a warm shower, I looked much better.



This second fall managed to put a significant gouge in the Gorilla Glass of my watch!



Okay, no more gross stuff, I promise. And rest assured I was super conscious of lifting my feet those last few miles... I think on longer runs I get into this mode of trying to maximize my efficiency and lifting your feet less is more efficient than if you lift them more. Until you trip.

Technology is fun! Of course, you should not rely on it 100% when out in the wilderness but having a GPS tracker along that let me send people progress reports and which let the recipients of these reports reply (great motivation!) was really cool. It was also fun to be able to check our progress on our phones with a mapping app and to have the ability to take all these pictures! Remember giant SLRs? And disposable cameras? Hahaha... We did have a printed map for backup.

I was amazed by all the through-hikers we saw. The PCT is freaking popular! I guess this is the time of year most folks are finishing their north-bound journey. There were also loads of other hikers and backpackers. Don't go here this time of year if you want solitude. :)

I'd like to apologize to those campsites we walked through in the middle of the night with our headlamps on... Normally it would make perfect sense to camp really close to the trail or even right in the trail, right? I mean who's going to show up on a trail at night? One tent was literally in the middle of the trail and it was right at a river crossing so Bryan and I walked around this spot multiple times to be sure we were headed in the correct direction. Finally, the guy in the tent mumbled, "Go down to the water..." I suspect he really meant, "Get the eff out of here NOW!" Sorry guy. Did I mention I love my new headlamp? It's super bright and lasts all night long.

Lately, Seattle has been inundated with smoke from various forest fires and we saw it and felt it on this adventure. Sunday evening it hurt a little to eat and I can still feel my throat Monday but I wouldn't say it's terrible. This trip was so worth it and my throat is already 90% again.

We still had super views but they were not the "I can see for miles and miles" kind. Cases in point.







We didn't have an agenda or time goal but ended up covering ground faster than anticipated. I was hoping to run the last 30 or so miles in daylight as that scenery is some of the most spectacular but we ended up there in the dark and really only had light again for the last 10-12 miles? Rats. But a very contextual rats, this was a freaking awesome trip.

Movies really are the new pictures so here are a few fun snippets of video.

Leaving a lake after filtering water.



Smoke.



Running along the PCT.



There was plenty of water and various cool "bridges" across it.



Climbing at night.



The weather was perfect! It never got too hot and we never needed to put anything on at night! Bryan and I spent the entire time in the same outfit. In fact, during the night we commented numerous times how warm it was, the few cool breezes we did get were very much appreciated.

At night all the smoke was unfortunate. I was hoping for an amazing night sky with zero light pollution. Instead we got a blood orange half moon amidst total blackness. Pretty cool, but not what I was hoping for.

My nutrition was not perfect, Or rather, I need to figure out some alternative fuels for adventures when I'm not racing or when there are no aid stations. I experienced my most dramatic case of "sweet fatigue" and within perhaps 10 miles I was already sick of food bars and within 20 miles the mere thought of a food bar or gel was enough to almost make me throw up. Thank goodness I had brought along alternative fuels! Even so, there were stretches where I was running on fumes more than I wanted to. Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem and Endurolytes Fizz turned out to be lifesavers! The mild flavor of Perpetuem was something I could stomach start to finish and Endurolytes Fizz was always delicious and the electrolytes in them helped drain the water from my gut in a way I have never experienced. There were a few times when we guzzled plain water and each time I felt bloated and like the water was sloshing around in my stomach. That was never the case when I drank water + Endurolytes Fizz. Both of us packed way too many food bars (better safe than sorry I guess) but the number of bars I brought along was laughable. I think it was 20? I ate two and choked down the third. Ditto for the gel. On the upside, we were SO ready to help anyone on the trail that had run out of food... :)

Retelling the entire journey step-by-tedious-step would be just that, boring! I'll try to just provide highlights.

Getting shit ready. And by "shit" I mean nutrition. Everything else (technology, shoes, gear) is pretty much on autopilot these days.



Turns out both Bryan and I like to take pictures, but I think Bryan won that contest on our adventure. Here he is documenting the PCT logo at the trailhead sign at Stevens Pass. I think it was the 10th picture he had taken and we hadn't even started running yet.



Climbing the very first hill through the Stevens Pass resort. There were wildflowers start to finish!



I hear that equestrians use the PCT a lot. We only saw horses once, it was on this same first climb. The riders were really friendly and the horses were very well behaved.



We encountered almost every type of terrain you would expect in the Pacific Northwest. Flowing singletrack, switchbacks, rocky shale (is that redundant?) and water crossings. Sections of this trail were AMAZING, other sections were amazingly resistant to efficient forward motion. :)



At 54 years old I still like to pose next to big rocks. I also like to jump and touch low hanging signs while walking down the sidewalk, see how far I can make it down a beach while only stepping on driftwood and not on the sand and balancing on parking lot dividers as I walk from my car to the mall/hospital/store. Sue me.



It really was cool to be able to communicate with friends and family while out on the trail. Here I am typing an update into my phone (which was connected to my GPS tracker via Bluetooth) while walking. Barely. I almost tripped a couple of times while doing this but we didn't stop moving! :)



I couldn't get enough of all the water! It helped me clean up, was delicious, and even sounded awesome as you approached it.



We were able to stay dry for all but one water crossing.



The one where we had to get wet was about 20 miles from the finish, right where we woke up that camper in his tent. It was the middle of the night and perhaps there had been an alternative route but we didn't feel like searching. And the water felt REALLY GOOD. In retrospect, I should have stood in it a little longer and cleaned up my legs.

Water from that wet river crossing was the only issue I had the entire trip. My feet stayed wet the rest of the way and 20 miles at our pace was a long time so I had some peeling skin on my heels and the balls of my feet at the finish. But it cleared up within 24 hours so no biggie.

I guess even filtering water can be a blast!



The Kendall Katwalk never fails to impress. Even if it is socked in, just knowing about the exposure and potential views makes it awesome.



Here I am sending another update from the south end of the Kendall Katwalk. This shot captures a lot, some epic scenery, a small person next to big mountains, the smoke, what a day!



Our shoes at the finish.



Two happy guys at the finish after spending 21 hours together.



I learned a lot doing this.

• Nutrition - it's not (thank god) just about bars and gels. Next time I plan on packing some things like cheese curd (Lucca gets credit for that suggestion), potatoes with olive oil and salt, smashed up avocados in a ziplock bag, you get the idea. All of these things should keep fairly well.
• Good friends are, well, good. Turns out Bryan and I were very compatible fitness-wise on this adventure and neither of us complained which is a HUGE BONUS. We also love talking about things besides running. That is so refreshing to me.
• Good gear, especially shoes, are so, so, SO important.
• The pack I wore was too big. Sure, it's nice to have the room but even if I had needed all of my clothing (I was carrying a wind shirt, raincoat, undershirt, buff and light gloves) it would have fit in a smaller pack. What I wore had a 22-liter capacity, what Bryan wore had a 15-liter capacity and even he had his pack synched way down to minimize the bounce. That 10-15 liter size seems to be the ticket for most outings.
• My favorite pack has almost everything in the front. That includes TWO bottles, trekking poles, your phone/camera, food, lip balm, etc. The main compartment in the back should really just be for extra clothing or larger items that you won't need very often. I have not found my ideal pack yet but I'm still looking... the Ultimate Direction BP Adventure Vest 3.0 (not the 4.0) comes really darn close. The pack I wore today (because I ripped my Adventure Vest and have not replaced it yet) was comfy on my back but is going straight to eBay. Don't get me wrong, it's freaking well made and freaking technical, it's just not for me and it's too large (in terms of fit, not in terms of capacity necessarily).

When I ran the White River 50 Mile Endurance Run I chose the Topo Athletic Ultrafly 2. Officially this is a road shoe but in my day-to-day training, it's been so darn comfy that I figured why not run an ultra in them? Boom. I have a new favorite ultra shoe. The Terraventure is normally my go-to trail shoe (and it still is), it has a rock plate and lugged sole but if traction will not be a big concern and the course is not especially rocky, the extra cushion of the Ultrafly pretty much compensates and it just protects your body that much more.

Here are all of Bryan's and my pictures. And there are a lot...

Nutrition (before)

• Water
• A smoothie around 7:00 AM

Nutrition (during)

• 8 large bottles each with 1.5 scoops Perpetuem, 2 scoops Endurolytes Extreme Powder, .5 scoops Fully Charged, 1 Race Caps Supreme, 1 Anti-Fatigue Cap, 1 Endurance BCAA+ Cap
• 3 Hammer Bars
• 2 Hammer Gels
• 8(?) large bottles of Endurolytes Fizz (two tablets per bottle)
• 3(?) large bottles of plain water
• 2 Perpetuem Solids

Nutrition (after)

• Large bottle with 3 scoops Recoverite
• 3 Tissue Rejuvenator Caps
• 2 Floyd's of Leadville CBD Softgels

Gear (that I used, I carried a lot more)

• Stance socks
• Topo Athletic Ultrafly 2 shoes
• Patagonia Men's Strider Pro shorts 7"
• Hammer Nutrition Sleeveless Running Shirt
• Topo Athletic Trucker Hat
• Salomon 22-liter pack
• Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z Trekking Poles
• Black Diamond Icon Headlamp (this thing lasted all night on the high power setting no problem)
• Garmin Fenix 3
• Garmin inReach SE
• Mobile phone
• Squirrel's Nut Butter Anti-Chafe Salve
• MSR Water Filter Pump (not the smallest but it has worked for years and it's fast)