| I finished. I know, terrible way to start a story with the end,but it was 100 miles. It’s not about the end,it’s about the journey;the adventure;the struggle;the pulling-it-together;the highs;the lows;the sunset and sunrise,and the beauty of the course that brings both tears of joy and tears of pain. My fourth attempt and the first one I actually started with a healthy body and mind. Damn I wanted The Finish. It was set up to be an awesome weekend no matter what. A slew of friends were either running or pacing or crewing:Brett (my crew,pacer and love of my life),Devon,Nathan,Randy,Walter,Jonathan,Krissy,Rick,Jason,Sarah,Steven,Kim,Topher,Lisa,John,the infamous and tirelessly positive Ken Michal and a ton of others I met along the way. Randy found an awesome little cabin for a bunch of us about 3 miles from the start. Unfortunately Randy came down with a stomach virus or food poisoning literally the day before the race. This was a terrible set of circumstances since he had no appetite on a day that he should be eating upwards of 4,000 calories before the race. To be honest,I’m not sure how he toed the line that morning feeling like he did,let alone to grind through 44 miles well into the heat of the day. He estimates he held down ~500 calories,though who knows as he was puking as soon as 10 miles into the race. I’ve got some really tough friends… Continue reading San Diego 100 In Words I spent the weekend of June 10-12 in the Mount Laguna Recreation Area for the San Diego 100. Scott Mills puts on a top notch race on some amazing trails and I was fortunate to have time to snap a few photographs while crewing for Larissa and before I hopped on to pace her for miles 72-100. More photos are after the jump and the full gallery is available Here. Race results can be found at UltraSignup.  Early charges shortly after the start. L-R:Dylan Bowman,Yassine Diboun,Ben Hian,Jonathan Gunderson,Rod Bien,Topher Gaylord Continue reading San Diego 100 In Photos  Working for a 50 Mile PR - Quicksilver 2011 Saturday,April 30th I headed down to the hills outside of San Jose,CA to lace up a new pair of Wildcats for the Quicksilver 50 Mile race at the Almaden Quicksilver County Park. With 6 weeks left until my first 100 mile race in San Diego,this was meant to be a training run,but I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t enter with a few goals. I had hoped to:1) Finish in under 8:30,and 2) Beat my friend and training partner Rick Gaston. My previous 50-mile PR was 9:48 at the North Face Endurance Challenge –San Francisco,but with 2,000+/- feet less climbing than North Face,I figured 8:30 would be challenging but doable if I put together a good race. Beating Rick would be a wildcard. I know that he is much faster than me on fresh legs,but after running over 30 miles the previous Saturday and keeping his heavy weekly training schedule with his focus on Western States,I figured he might just be tired enough for me to come out ahead. My pacer,Chris Wolff,and I talked lots of trash to Rick heading into the race to make it interesting,and Rick returned the favor. By 6AM we were off just as the sun was coming out. Like the amateur that I am,I got sucked into going out too fast from a combination of adrenaline,50K runners setting the pace,and conversation with some friends. By mile 4,I was already getting concerned because my calves were tight and my IT band started to say hello. Luckily,my buddy Walter Edwards pulled up beside me and helped to take my mind off my legs and to focus on the beautiful scenery and good conversation. By this time,we had finished climbing and settled into some rolling single track,so I was finally settling into my race pace. We blasted through the first aid station at mile 6.4 because I was more concerned about making a pit-stop than working on hydration at the moment. I told Walter I would catch up and proceeded to water a tree. A 50K runner had the same idea and we hopped back on the trail around the same time. Jorge Medina was running his first 50K race and we fell into a nice pace and conversation as we made our way back up to Walter. We caught him a little over a mile before our first of three passes through the Dam Overlook aid station (mile 9.7) and Jorge wished us good luck and took off. He opened up a 1-2 minute gap on us before the aid station,but I think he learned a lesson that Rick had taught me at North Face a few years ago…nothing good comes out of taking your time at aid stations (Rick beat me at the North Face 50 miler in 2009 by just over one minute after passing me at an aid station). I blasted through without stopping and made up the entire gap on Jorge. We ran together for the next five miles and Jorge quizzed me on training,racing strategy and managing nutrition. I always enjoy good conversation with strangers on the trail however I found it humorous that I could be considered the expert when I play 20 questions with Rick and Larissa Polischuk just about every Saturday during our training runs. Continue reading Working for a PR at the Quicksilver 50 Mile By Gary Gellin  Sharing some stories post-race with overall winner Geoff Roes Exhaustion. That’s what I was thinking about today on my very easy and very short recovery run while taking a break midway to check out the view of the snow-capped Mt. Hamilton across the San Francisco Bay. Admittedly,having 7 days to recover between races is a lot better than running two 50k’s in one weekend,such as a handful of people have done with the Silver State/Ohlone Wilderness combo. However,the cumulative effects of multiple,maximal efforts can’t be denied. Recovery from Way Tool Cool went well,with just a couple road bike rides,and a super easy run around Green Lake in Seattle two days before Chuckanut. I felt good enough on Thursday evening to drop in on a yoga class in downtown Seattle which was attended coincidentally by Menno Van Wyck,the former CEO of the Montrail shoe company. Menno noticed my Inov-8 shoes and we chatted enthusiastically for a while about the trail running world. My main goal for the Chuckanut 50k was to win the Masters competition. I knew that there would be a tough and experienced competitor in Scott Jaime from Colorado who I had battled for most of the whole 50 miles at the San Juan Solstice race last summer. My secondary goal was a high overall finish,but with the incredible depth of the field this year –elite ultrarunners Goeff Roess,Erik Skaggs,Joe Grant,Tim Olson,and many more –I’d be happy to crack the top ten. The event grows every year and sold out within 2 hours. Adding to the draw for elite runners,and new to both Chuckanut 50k and the ultra world in general,were cash prizes for top 3 men and women overall finishers and for top Masters. A $500 course record bonus was also up for grabs. Continue reading Part 2 of the Way Too Cool 50k/Chuckanut 50k Double,by Gary Gellin By Gary Gellin  Nearing the finish at the 2011 Way Too Cool 50k It may be just a coincidence that two of the most competitive trail 50k’s in the U.S. are a week apart. Both events sell out the day registration opens,and only a very small number of people attempt to do both. I couldn’t pick just one. After a 4th place finish and an enjoyable time at Way Too Cool in 2010,I had to come back this year. The Chuckanut 50k in Washington is a lot further from my home in California,but I’d heard good things about it,am a fan of RD Krissy Moehl,and I’d also have a chance to visit family in Seattle. It would also be an experiment in recovery,with the goal being a high finish at both events. Way Too Cool always attracts a very competitive field,with a number of runners traveling from afar. It would be a bit different than last year,as the top three finishers from 2010 were absent due to injury (Pantilat) or different race plans (King and Roess). The strong favorite was U.S. National 100k Team member Todd Braje,but after that,the registration list looked like at least a 10-way race for 2nd place –Ian Sharman,Hal Koerner,Tim Olson,Rod Bien,Mike Wolfe,Peter Fain,Josh Wheeler,Lewis Taylor,Jacob Rydman,and okay,me,among others. RD Julie Fingar of NorCalUltras does a great job improving the event year after year. The biggest change was to the route which now eliminated a long and narrow stretch of two-way traffic ,but also had a bit less climbing,and more opportunities for flat and fast running. The last ten miles of the course,with its short,steep climbs towards the finish remained the same. What never changes is mud and wet feet. Continue reading Part 1 of the Way Too Cool 50k/Chuckanut 50k Double,by Gary Gellin
 Running through a wooded section of course near Muir Woods After last year’s North Face Endurance Challenge,I had no intention of signing up for another ultra-marathon,but when two of your good friends are Brett Rivers and Larissa Polischuk,its harder than one might think to stay away from the trails. I was somewhat removed from the running scene until July when I crewed for Brett at the Tahoe Rim 100 Miler….I guess you could say that I was inspired. The following Monday I again signed up for The North Face Endurance Challenge. The catch is that I did not want to commit to training for the 50 mile race,so I registered for the 50K instead. I sent the confirmation email to Larissa expecting to get a response with excitement,but I should have seen it coming. Her reply was 1 word. WIMP. Sure enough,come December 4th,I was toeing the start line for the 50 mile race. Shortly after 5AM,the group was off and I settled into a slow warm up jog with Jamie Walker and Trimble Spitzer to our first climb of the day up Bobcat. Jamie and I both agreed that it felt like we were floating,which was a good thing since I was going to need my legs big time come the last few miles. A short way into Bobcat,I took off by myself to catch Larissa who had run out ahead with Bradley Fenner. I caught them by the top of the hill and my body felt great during this first climb,but my stomach was surprisingly giving me some issues….probably a combination of my nervous energy and coffee that I made too strong that morning. I settled into a comfortable pace with Larissa and Bradley for the next 3-4 miles along Alta and then down Rodeo Valley. It was still pitch black,so we had to take it easy since the trail had some really rough patches due to the rain. When we turned onto Miwok for the second climb of the day,I turned to say something to Larissa,but she was gone. Last year,I walked up a large portion of Miwok,but having run up this trail most Thursday mornings over the past few months,I found the climb rather easy. Larissa later said that once we hit the hill,I took off….It wouldn’t be the last time. Continue reading North Face Endurance Challenge 2010,My Race That Almost Wasn’t | |
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