That's my nickname for the Pine to Palm 100 miler, Hal Koerner's race showcasing the arid Siskiyou Mountains of Southern Oregon with
over 20,000 feet of gain/loss. Pine to
Palm did not go as planned and I was disappointed to pull the plug at mile 59.
It was a day of long, exposed climbs with record high temps in an area I was
unfamiliar with. I joined a few other
VHTRC members for what would prove a daunting task to all.
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| VHTRC members at the race briefing. |
When we started at 6:00 am from the staging area near
Williams, the weather was cool and dry with some runners even wearing jackets;
this made it all too easy to start out fast heading up Grayback Mountain. Bee stings only a couple hours in added
unnecessary stress and discomfort. After the first major Aid Station at mile 28
came the hottest climb of the day where things started to deteriorate. Mentally
I dropped at mile 42, but continued to death march to aid stations at miles 50
and 52 trying to rally. The only warm food
available at this point was ramen noodles and hash browns. After trying
somewhat successfully to resolve stomach, dehydration, and nausea issues (which
included jumping in a lake), I was left with unrepairable muscle soreness from
cramping throughout my body. After over
an hour at the Hanley Gap AS where I debated dropping I decided to hobble
forward in a true act of self-loathing.
7 Miles later at Squaw Gap I had nothing left to give, physically or
emotionally, and the choice was clear to drop.
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| The view off Grayback Mountain. |
Excuses aside, I am already realizing some mistakes I made
in the race that provide valuable lessons learned. While the pace seemed comfortable at the
time, in hindsight I disobeyed some of the tried and true strategies for 100
milers, namely to start slow and then slow down even more. I got caught up in a
pack of fast guys, some attempting their first 100. I should have been running my own race and
remembered that the race doesn't start until the 100 km mark. I would have been wise to pack more
"real" food in my drop bags; orange slices and gels can only carry
you so far. Eating extra early on here
would be extremely valuable, since trying to get food down in the heat of the
day can be daunting. Also important to
remember is that muscle cramping is mostly the result of over exertion, not
necessarily dehydration like was once thought.
This helps remind me that while it would be easier to blame the hot
weather entirely, a more conservative start may have helped me maintain my
composure. Running point to point in an
entirely new area presented a huge unknown.
Bottom line is that I went out too hard and couldn't get it done.
Pine to Palm is a challenging race on a tough course run
point to point with a 58% finish rate according to the live tracking site. The winner was Ryan Ghelfi of Ashland, in an
unfathomable time of 18:28, 90 minutes ahead of 2nd place. These mountains reminded me more of the
rugged landscape of Northern California than the lush forests typically
associated with the Pacific Northwest.
This amounted to long steep climbs, exposed ridge running, and eventual
descents. While the ASs were adequate,
they are of no comparison to the mobile buffets that VHTRC has a habit of
featuring back east. The trails
themselves were not very technical and I recall about half of it being on
gravel roads (similar to MMTR). Perhaps
the last third features more singletrack.
All the turns were well marked, though a lack of confidence ribbons
often had me questioning if I was headed in the correct direction.
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| Dry, arid conditions that reminded me of California. |
I met plenty of other runners, some who finished strong and
others that I commiserated with during our defeats. The majority were from out west but there
were plenty of east coasters and, in particular, a strong contingent of
Tennesseans. While the volunteers here
were great, the biggest human element highlights of this race were the
incredible generosity I experienced from spectators and other runners' crew
members. At one point, a woman there to support her son jogged with me around
Squaw Lake to try and help me clear my head.
After, her son's friend helped facilitate me jumping into said lake to
try and cool off. I met a gal from
Nashville running who said her crew would be more than happy to feed me pizza,
to which I stupidly declined. Much later,
after I dropped I was transported to a remote crew parking lot by Dutchman Peak
to wait outside in windy, 40 degree weather.
A couple here who had been crewing for a friend that had already dropped
were hanging out enjoying the party and offered me a spare sleeping bag to warm
up in. Then 20 minutes later proceeded
to drive me the 90 minutes required back to my hotel in Medford, which they
said was on their way home.
The race could work as a weekend trip, or be built into a
longer vacation with potential side trips to the Oregon Coast, Portland, or
northern California. I opted to build in
one extra day to side trip to the spectacular Crater Lake, about 2 very remote
hours east from Ashland.
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| Wizard Island in Crater Lake from the Watchman lookout tower. |
Pine to Palm was a humbling experience to say the
least. My first DNF in a goal race
really hurt, but I'm trying to remind myself that by staying conservative I
should have a lifetime of finishes to look forward to. Knowing these lessons and the logistics of
the area will do me well when I eventually return to finish what I started.
Full race information and maps are on the Pine to Palm website.
