Wasatch 100 - Mark

I will post videos and pictures as I get them but thought that I would get my race report out as soon as possible while it is fresh on my mind.

To start off, I FINISHED! My time was 34:36:57. I could not have done what I did without the help of my amazing crew and pacers. Let's start with my crew which was led by my wife Sarah. She was amazing! She took charge and made sure that everyone knew their part. She made sure that the pacers were at their spots and that everything went smooth. My sisters Cathy and Suzy made t-shirts that everyone wore that said "Bulldog's Crew 100 miles of UnMarked territory". They treated blisters, fetched food and water, set up my chair, laid out all my gear and most importantly fed me the most positive vibes I could get. Thank you to Sarah, Cathy, Suzy, Greg (he hiked to Desolation Aid Station in the middle of the night just to say hi), Riley (my daughter who was so organized in the layout of my gear that people were taking pictures) Emmie, Grace, Gordon, Britt, Shane, Cooper and Carla.

My pacers could not have been better. A major thank you to Matt Bennett who kept me laughing the entire evening. Craig Hall who was as attentive as they come and Brian Robbins who pushed me hard at the end. Thank you to them as well!

Now for my review...

Suzy and Cathy gave Luke and I a ride to the start on Friday morning. We left our house at 4 AM and arrived at 4:40 ish. Luke and I checked in and took a couple of pictures then lined up to start. I was grateful that Luke and I could start together as we have been together for the majority of the year. 10 seconds of countdown and we were on the trail. The race, as expected, was congested at the start. I ran in two or three different packs all the way to the start of the climb up Chinscraper. The early race was mostly uneventful but I kept telling myself "you are running the Wasatch 100!" The Chinscraper climb started and I got caught in the "conga line". No real passing was to be done so I settled in and made my way up the hill.

One of the other runners kept taking my picture. At first I was annoyed by this but later found this runner to have a contagious positive attitude and ended up being a great guy! He has run several ultras and really was enjoying the journey. I topped off with water at Cool and Landis Springs and again at Groben's corner. As I crested Chinscraper I was taken back by the view. It was amazing. I also thought that it was fitting that as I was literally summitting the song "How you like me now" by The Heavy came on.

At mile 12 I hit a bad spot. I was majorly bummed that negative thoughts had hit me so early. I started to doubt my ability and could not find a rhythm. I fought this for about two miles. After that I would be fine the rest of the way. Looking back, I am thrilled that I got it out of the way.

I hit the Francis Peak AS (aid station) and was fully rejuvenated. I felt good en route to the Bountiful B but was surprised by the climb to the AS. It reminded me of an elk hunting area down on the Skyline Drive. Steep! I had good climbing legs though and mad it to Bountiful B AS strong. At this AS they had lemon infused hand towels. It felt like the Ritz. I had a ham sandwich and some ice cold coke. It was awesome. Off to Sessions.

I was excited for the next stretch as I was very familiar with the course from here on out. I ran hard to Sessions and quite frankly it snuck up on me. As I rolled in I asked the volunteers for ice. Tons of ice. I wanted tons of ice as I knew I was headed into the hottest part of the course for me. Heat absolutely zaps me. The kind volunteer said "we're out of ice". I was majorly deflated. I filled up with warm water and was on my way. The climb up Sessions and beyond was good but I felt my guts starting to go. I was struggling to eat solids and was relying more on gu. Not my favorite, especially this early on. I was simultaneously starting to over heat. Swallow Rocks, the next AS seemed to be farther than ever before. I finally made it in but was in a foul mood. I was able to have a couple of Popsicles. I had ice in my bottles again. My mood started to change.

I made great time getting into Big Mountain and was blown away when I got there. Big Mountain is the first AS where crew is aloud. It sits at mile 39. As I saw the crew I was overwhelmed and for the first time of the day I felt emotion.  They were great and worked much like a NASCAR pit crew getting their driver back on the road. Here is where I picked up my first pacer, Matt Bennett.

Matt was flat out amazing. He let my entire family write messages to me on his legs. This turned into arms and neck etc. It was really anywhere that there was open skin. They were all words of encouragement, it was great. As Matt and I pulled out of Big Mtn., my family had placed signs along the trail. More words of encouragement  My personal favorite was from my 9 year old son Cooper which read, "Dad, go the extra inch". What a character! Matt and I ran good. There was one climb that kicked my butt and baugh bearing hill was no joke but all in all we did well. Matt told me many jokes and really kept me laughing. We made it in to Lambs and Matt passed me off to Craig Hall. Matt then went and rode on a bike relay team from Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, WY (LOTOJA). Matt's team took first place. He is a ROCKSTAR!!

At Lambs I fixed up some blisters, put on some warm clothes, grabbed my head lamps, drank some soup and off we went. The crew at Lamb's was awesome! Craig Hall (A real Ironman) was great. He was the perfect mix of fun and support. We climbed over over Lambs and into Millcreek Canyon. The Lambs climb hurts me everytime and this was no exception. It hurt! We passed another runner who was literally being carried of the hill by his pacer. They were headed back to the Lambs AS. The runner looked like he was in BAD shape. I have thought a lot about him and pray that he is alright. It was a huge wake up call to see just how bad this can get.

The descent into Millcreek was fun. Once there we hiked up the canyon road. I had to chase a porcupine off of the road. It was a good laugh. The Upper Big Water AS was FREEZING COLD. I was shivering out of control. I was finally able to eat solids again in the form of hot bread. It was so good. I ate some noodles and soup and felt good to go. That AS looked like a morgue! It was probably 1AM at this point and depleted bodies seemed to be scattered everywhere. As if I needed it, here was another reminder of the gravity of this race. I killed the climb up to Dog Lake but struggled my way to Desolation. Greg was at Deso and helped me get packed up and back on the trail. Before I left I made my way to the tree line to do my business. This was a relief and made me feel tons better! I know that may be over sharing but it really helped a lot!

We made good time on the crest trail to Scott's AS. That AS went by quick. I should have had more coke as I was wearing down. For the next several miles I zombie walked. At one point I even held Craig's arm and "rested my eyes" as we made our way down the road. Into Brighton we went at about 6:20 AM. We had made it through the night but I was fighting to stay awake. At Brighton the crew took major care of my feet as they were blistered badly. I drank hot cocoa and soup. Ate some bacon and eggs and really felt fully refreshed. Brian and I were on the trail with 10 hours to cover 25 miles.

Brian set a good pace and I fought to stay with him. I had my best Katherine's Pass climb ever. The descent to Ant Knolls was strong. We were passing people right and left and even had one runner say " I wish I felt that good". Something in my right shin popped and put me in pain management the rest of the way. As I type this my shin is swollen and black and blue. A medic at Ant Knolls tried to tape it but within a few miles that tape was off. Oh well, if I didn't feel some pain, it wouldn't be the Wasatch :)

The climb out of Ant Knolls was robust but short and I felt we did well there. We ran the rest of the way to Poll Line. At Poll Line I started to do finish math and realized for the first time that I probably had the finish in the bag. We made up more time en route to Rock Springs. Rock Springs was my least favorite AS. It was covered in wasps and all the water was warm. Oh well I was almost there!

The stretch from Rock Springs to Pot Bottom is just under 6 miles but runs like 12. It has two steep descents! They are known as the plunge and the dive. They are tricky on fresh legs but on tired legs they are down right not nice. None the less we kept moving and made it in to Pot Bottom. This AS has sentimental value as this is where I volunteered a year earlier. I said hello to the volunteers. A few of which I had worked  with a year prior. It was nice.

From Pot Bottom to the finish was mostly uneventful. Brian kept me on good pace and we ran strong down the stretch. As we came off trail we had a mile of road to the finish. We ran into my bro-in-law Rob. He was riding his bike and began filming me. He mentioned that we had a huge crew at the finish. I started to get emotional. As we rolled over the top of the hill I saw my new friend Quinton Barney (QB). Quinton has several 100 finishes and has helped me a lot this year in prep and understanding. He is a mentor. When he saw me he started jumping up and down, fist pumping and showing a lot of excitement. When I saw this, I LOST IT! I was crying quite hard and ran to QB. We shared a hug. It was a special moment. He pointed me to the finish line and said "20 yards left, go enjoy it, go enjoy it!".

As I ran on the grass negotiating the last 20 yards I saw familiar face after familiar face. Family and friends many with tears in there eyes. It was amazing! I crossed the line and began hugging whoever was in front of me. It was special. I later received my buckle and plaque but they would be a distant second to the realization of what I have in my family and friends. With them, we finished the Wasatch.