Run Rabbit Run Race Report

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

-Thomas Edison

Ridge Trail

Another 100 mile attempt. Another failure. It's taken two weeks for me to finally pull the words out of my soul and put them here. This DNF was not entirely unexpected, but it ended far earlier than I hoped. I felt great all day and my Achilles was doing fine as I power hiked the climbs and trotted along the flats and descents. The weather was perfect -- started around 30 degrees as we headed up the ski hill and hovered in the low 70's all day. I enjoyed sharing the trails with Gina from Golden and Joe from New Hampshire. It was wonderful to cheer the front runners as they passed me just before Cow Creek (Mile 29). The beauty of running along Fish Creek Falls and up the Beall trail will forever be etched in my memory.

Samantha and I at the start

Climbing Mt Werner (Photo: P Nelson)

Mountain View Trail

Fish Creek Falls Trail

Coming into Olympian (mi 41) for the second time just after 9pm, I was starting to have some stomach trouble, despite drinking 40oz of water between aid stations. Dehydration has been the primary reason for my stomach problems in the past, so I was being very conscious of making sure I was drinking enough. I was able to have some soup and eat a couple of Justin's peanut butter cups as well as drink a Starbucks doubleshot for the caffeine boost. I knew that I had a four-mile easy road climb and hoped that I could get my stomach fixed before the real work began going up the tough 6-mile climb back up the Fish Creek Falls trail to Long Lake.

Beall Trail

While at Olympian, I saw Billy Yang who was waiting for Sally McRae to arrive and chatted briefly with Chris Vargo who was going to pace her through town and up to Fish Creek Falls. What a nice couple of fellas -- they encouraged me as I get myself ready and offered to help as they were waiting for Sally. When Sally came in, she was looking pretty rough as she was pushing through some pain in her back. Saw Sheila's husband John and her pacer as they were waiting for her to arrive as well. It makes things better to have friendly faces at the aid stations to help take my mind off of my race worries.

As I power hiked up the road, I found that my stomach wasn't getting any better so I tried to empty it. Eventually, at the top of the climb I was able to do so and hoped that would be sufficient for the 6 miles ahead. Unfortunately, it wasn't. As I began the steep climb up Fish Creek Falls, I kept having to stop and try to empty my stomach again and again. I probably went about a mile in the next hour and being as it was below freezing temps, couldn't keep my body temp up. With 5 miles of climbing left and moving at a snails pace, I had to make the painful decision to head back to the trailhead and drop just after 1 am. I was concerned about hypothermia since I couldn't reset my stomach. It was a huge disappointment to be stopped by my stomach when my Achilles was doing fine and I felt I had the legs to keep climbing. Thankfully, a couple who were waiting for their son to arrive (who also dropped) were kind enough to give me a ride back to my hotel so I wasn't stuck out in the cold.

After a little bit of sleep, I went out to the finish line to cheer the front runners coming in. As with TNF 50 last year, it was exciting and heartbreaking to congratulate those that were able to complete the distance and I mourned my own inability to do so. I wanted to experience the whole course as they did, but could momentarily imagine the thrill of having done so and be happy for them. Chatted with this year's winner, Rob Krar, and was happy that he had a great day of running and was proud of his triple-crown wins at Western, Leadville and RRR this year. He's not only a smart and talented runner but a super nice dude to boot.

Clarkie and son coming in to the finish

Saw Sally later on and gave her a hug as she ended up dropping at the top of the 6 mile Fish Creek Falls climb at Long Lake. From comments on Facebook, I didn't realize that she had passed me on the trail after one of my heaving sessions and offered encouragement. It was good to be able to offer each other condolences and feel a bond of shared suffering during the race and disappointment in how our races ultimately ended.

Looking back, I think that my altered training simply slowed me down so in order to keep up a 36-hour pace, I had to work harder than I would have otherwise. I was able to successfully keep my Achilles pain away, but the intensity of power hiking was enough to mess up my stomach, despite hydrating plenty. So, in my case, I needed more long runs and speed sessions to be able to keep myself at the pace to get to the finish without it feeling too intense.

This weekend was the running of The Bear 100. Every time I saw mention of it on Facebook, I felt a pang in my stomach. I loved my time there last year, despite its disappointing end at mile 85. I wanted to run it this year, but chose to stay closer to home in order to keep costs down and have my family join me at the finish line. If I have the fitness and the opportunity to do another mountain 100, I will most certainly be lining up at The Bear again. That race holds a special place in my heart and I ache to go back if I can.

Now that I'm resting and letting my Achilles heal, my racing calendar remains uncertain. I don't know when I can start running again and now that I'm job-hunting, unsure how much time I will have to train. Additionally, my husband and kids need more time with me and I want to be there for them. As much as I love trail running and ultra races, I don't want to look back and regret all the lost time with my family. My husband has been an ultra widower for the past year and a half and has been very supportive of me and my running, but I realized that having a great marriage is better than having great races. I hope to have both, but won't sacrifice one for the other. I want a legacy of being a good wife and mother even more than being a 100 miler. I also want to develop closer relationships with my friends here in the Springs. I know running will always be a part of my life, but I need to find a way to work it around these other priorities that I have.

That being said, I'm going to take a break from blogging and social media in general as I revamp and reorder my life. If you are among those that follow this blog, I encourage you to click any of the buttons on the above right that allow you to be notified when I return to blogging and racing. I've got some early season races on my radar (Red Hot 55, Salida Marathon, Rockin' K), so if I can heal up the Achilles and get back to training, I'm hopeful that the break won't be for long.

Happy Trails,

Shelby