On 03/12/18 18:30, rms wrote:
Entered two more races for 2019, a 65K trail/hill ultra in
February and a 43 mile trail ultra in August.
I'm not sure what my situation will be next year, so I'm leery about signing up to anything. I sort of want to put into the LT100 lottery,
just to have a goal to point at.
rms
My memories may help to motivate you.
1. I felt completely shattered by the time I got to Fish Hatcheries
(Before the serious climbing had eve started)
2. Every time I put an anorak on the rain stopped. Every time I took it
off the rain resumed. To make matters worse my pack wasn't really large
enough for the kit that I was carrying so packing my anorak into it was
not a trivial task.
3. Going up Hope Pass a number of runners lying about. They didn't
appear to be just pausing for rest, they had that look about them that suggested they were going to be thee for a long time. First Aid teams
rushing up to them. There but for the grace of God..
4. Approaching the top there is only one thing that any one is thinking
about. Can I make the top before passing the race leader coming the
other way? I'm getting close, keep moving, I can do this. But then the
naked runner comes storming past. I call out "good job" and then in an undertone "bastard". More runners coming, two, three, four, five, six,
oh forget it.
5. At last, the ghost town checkpoint. Technically, I can still get a
sub 25, but only if I do a near even split, which I know I won't.
6. Going back along the road. That's funny, it was uphill coming in. Why
is it uphill again coming out. I'd swear that as I came in I was walking
and the runners coming the other way were walking. Why am I walking
coming out, and the runners coming in are running.
7. The return up to Hope Past (not so far to climb on the way back).
Those runners coming the other way are going strong. It won't be long
before they overtake me.
A bit further up. Those runners coming the other way are doing all
right. I bet they overtake me before I get to the top of this.
A bit further up. They will probably overtake me eventually, but I
reckon I can get to the top first.
A bit further up. Those runners are cutting it a bit fine for the half
way cut off. I hope they are going to be all right.
A bit further up. Those runners definitely need to get a move on or
they've missed it.
And finally: They've missed the dead line. I know it and I can see from
the expressions on their faces that they know it. Nevertheless, they are generous spirited enough to call out "good job" (translates into English
as "well done") to those of us on the way up, and it is difficult to
know what to say back that won't sound supercilious.
8. Getting to the top and looking down on a sea of tents and llamas (the
aid station is 150 ft below the summit). It is the most beautiful sight
in the world. I know at least that I can definitely finish (not
necessarily in time)
9. Hope Pass is easier on the way back but Sugarloaf is harder. You
know that what you can see is not the top. Not that you can see anything
much in the dark anyway. Just as well.
10. Bottom of Sugarloaf, it's all easy running from here. But there is a problem. I've shot my quads and I can't run.
11. It's downhill, an easy gravel track, but I'm having to walk.
Everyone overtaking me.
12. At last the finish, a dead straight road, I can see the finish half
about a mile ahead. I manage to walk fast enough to overtake somebody
running. I feel guilty about it as I sneaked up on him while he was
talking to his wife who had gone out to meet him.
13. Suddenly, it is all over. It finishes ti the town so I don't have to
drive a vehicle with my eyelids propped up with matchsticks.
Its a good race, well worth doing, but fairly hard in my opinion for the
number of hours to finish in, so I wouldn't recommend it as a first
hundred. In any case there are many other hundreds that don't have a
lottery, though possibly not having as much razzmatazz as Leadville.
--
Ken
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