Devils Gulch 50 Miler
Dad and I made the journey to Wenatchee on Friday afternoon and arrived in the city in time to pick up my race bib and walk around the Columbia River. We crossed the Clark Pipeline Bridge that was originally designed to carry water from the Highland Canal to adjacent desert land. It was completed in 1908 and was the first bridge to cross the Columbia River. I found it ironic that a bridge was needed to carry water across a river, but sometimes human decisions do not make sense… much like my decision to run 50 miles on Saturday.
We arrived at the race starting area and the temperatures dropped from 103 in the valley to 85 at Mission Ridge Ski Resort. We set up our tents and I ran to Marion Lake as a nice warm up. It was a beautiful trail, excellent views of a lake with a small island and a rock strewn hillside in the background. My legs felt very good and I was well tapered but the biggest unknown was how my stomach would react to the heat on Saturday.
The race got underway at 0555 and for the first few miles I was in a small group of Jace Hinsley and Bronson Fiore (who was running the 100 miler). We took things fairly easy and I snapped several pictures. The route was mostly forest service road (Liberty Beehive Road) through this stretch which made the running nice and easy. After just a few miles the group was whittled down to Jace and I. The views were spectacular, there were rock spires in the foreground while snowcapped peaks were visible in the distance. We tagged the Mount Lillian summit (6100 feet) at about mile 10.6.
Then we dropped to the first aid station at the junction with Upper Naneum trail (11.2 miles 1:57). The Mount Lillian Aid Station was staffed by Elizabeth and Scott Sowle and Brian Kearney; it was nice to see some friendly faces. We refilled some bottles and descended the single track Tronson Ridge trail and stopped at the junction with Red Hill trail to refill bottles again (mile 14.9 2:38). The name of the game was hydration as the temperatures climbed and the tree cover was few and far between. Jace and I continued conversation which made the miles pass by quickly. We hit the Red Hill Spur junction to begin the little loop at mile 18.7 (3:15).
At mile 23.3 (4:01) we reached the Mission Creek Aid Station. I drank lots of water and packed my arm sleeves with ice while dad refilled my hydration bladder and threw an ice blanket over me. I still felt great leaving the aid station and the canyon was fairly cool. The tree cover and Mission Creek seemed to keep the temperatures under control. However, as we climbed on the Red Devil trail, my body began to heat up and I struggled a little to keep a good pace. At mile 28.8, the Red Devil trail transitioned back to the Red Hill trail and we climbed from 1700 feet to 3600 feet. The heat combined with the climb pushed my body past a comfortable level and I had a difficult time taking in calories. Jace and I managed our way back to the Mission Creek Aid Station (mile 37.6 6:55) where I immediately dove into the creek to cool off. I drank some ginger ale and elevated my legs while I draped the ice blanket over my core.
Jace and I left together about 25 minutes later, but after only a few steps away from the aid station I threw up everything I had just taken in. I looked at Jace and said: well, what can you do. We continued down the trail but it was clear that my day was over. This was very similar to how I felt after mile 40 at Fat Dog last year. It was heat exhaustion and I was not able to hold in calories or even water without throwing it up. I told Jace to press on and I would try my best to finish.
It was unfortunate because my legs felt great, but that is ultra running. Some days you can maximize your potential and some days you cannot. I knew that I would be lucky to cross the finish line because of my condition. From the Mission Creek Aid Station, my objective was to climb the Devils Gulch trail up and out of the canyon to Mission Ridge. Fortunately, Devils Gulch trail crossed several tributaries and even Mission Creek itself a few times. I took full advantage of every crossing, dunking in the stream and soaking my whole body. I sipped water as best I could but still was unable to hold down calories.
After 3100 feet of climbing and 12 miles I finally reached the last aid station at the junction with Liberty Beehive Road (mile 50.2 11:17). This means it took me over 4.3 hours to cover only 12 miles, but at least I knew I was almost done and by some miracle, going to hold on for second place. Keith Laverty was at the aid station and got me some ice to cool off one final time. Then I speed walked the Pipeline trail and tried my best to run down the Squilchuck trail. I crossed the line in a time of 12:02:04 (53.25 miles).
Overall it was a beautiful course. I thought the race director and volunteers did excellent work and I really appreciate their efforts. Thanks to dad for driving and helping me out at Mission Creek aid station, your support was invaluable. Thanks to Jace for sharing many miles. Hopefully, my stomach will respond a little better to the heat in British Columbia next month.
53.25 miles. 10,915 vertical feet. 12:02:04.
