The Bryce 100

The Bryce 100

on the way to Pink Cliffs

Over the weekend I ran the Bryce 100. It was the inaugural race and also first time that I have run a 100 miler before September. Leading up to the race I didn’t really get the same excitement and nervousness that I usually do for races. I was worried that this would affect my motivation to put in a good effort and at times it did. The race started off on an interesting note riding in the back of a U-Haul for 2 miles to the start line. Then the briefing by the race director was short and to the point. He went over the course markings, aid stations, etc. and in the next breath before anyone could get prepared he casually said “go.” The first half of the race went by rather smoothly except for dirt building up in my shoes. This dirt build up would lead to foot problems later in the race. I had the privilege of running with some of my regular running partners Ryan and Harrison and also with some that I don’t get to run with much outside of races. Harrison, Ryan and I ran together for the first 15 miles or so.

Jeff Bertot and Harrison Fluman

 

 Then after that Harrison and I stuck together until mile 80. The scenery is definitely amazing in Bryce! This was the first time I have ever been to Bryce and I was blown away. It seems like I was stopping to take pictures at every turn. The miles seemed to go by pretty easily until mile 50. At most aid stations Sami and Lindsey were there waiting for us to come through. We also had Britta, Nick, Jim, Pam, Cammie, Debbie and Breein out and about to cheer us on. Sami did a great job taking care of me at every aid station she could get to. As soon as I would come in she was getting me anything I needed and even doing a little foot cleaning at times. She is best crew I could have out there with me and she does a great job of keeping me moving. I really enjoyed the course except for the fine gritty dirt. It worked its way into my shoes and then once it was there it got in between my socks and feet. No bueno. There wasn’t any way to stop it from happening so I just had to deal with it. Eventually I developed some blisters between my toes and toe bottoms of my feet became really raw and painful. This cost me a lot of time later in the race. So at mile 50 Sami worked her magic on my feet, popped some blisters and taped up my toes a bit. It seemed to do the trick for now.

 

 One of my favorite parts of the race was when Harrison and I saw my uncle Forrest just before he reached the Pink Cliffs aid station for the first time. He looked like he was having a great time and really enjoying himself. When Harrison and I got back to the Straight Canyon aid station at mile 61 I was not feeling so great. I didn’t want to eat, my legs were tired and I just didn’t want to do anything but sit for a while. Sami and Harrison weren’t having any of that so we were back on the trail. We hiked slowly up the canyon as I tried to get down a tortilla with nutella. There were delicious but nothing sounded good at this point. I was walking really slowly and Harrison pulled away a bit trying to get me to speed up. This was a bad low spot for me. I had a few thoughts about heading back to the aid station and dropping out. But something kept me moving and eventually I started feeling better after the tortilla settled. At the next aid station Harrison was picking up his pacer Britta. Sami helped me fix my feet once again and Britta gave Harrison and me some bling (glow in the dark bracelets, oh yeah!) then we were off. Britta did a great job pacing us. She would start running the flatter sections, then Harrison would start running and then I would follow. I really didn’t feel like running much but I didn’t feel like being on the course by myself more. The section before the Proctor aid station at mile 80 was brutal. It consisted of mostly steep uphill or steep downhill with very little runnable sections. This section destroyed my feet some more and when we got to Proctor I had to do some major work. I told Britta and Harrison to go on without me. I didn’t want them standing around waiting on me to be ready to go again and I also knew I would slow them down if I left with them. They didn’t want to leave me behind but they eventually headed off into the darkness. It took about 15 minutes more for my feet to be all bandaged up and ready to go again. From Proctor to the finish I had a horrible race. My feet hurt so much that I had told myself I would drop when I got to the next aid station. I was walking a lot of the downhill parts which is the most frustrating thing. The rest of my body was feeling pretty good but the bottoms of my feet were killing my spirit. I finally made my way to the last aid station where Sami was waiting for me once again. She could tell that I was in bad shape and let me stay longer than she normally will. I couldn’t seem to get warm so we crawled into the car and turned up the heat. I begged her to let me take a 10 minute nap but she told me I had to get moving. I changed into some warmer clothes and an hour after getting into the aid station I was finally heading out. The last section was my lowest part of the race. A one point I was sleep walking off and on for about half an hour. Every step was a struggle and I was moving extremely slow. But I kept moving forward.  I was passed by many runners over the last 13 miles but I didn’t care. I just wanted to be done so badly. I was getting extremely frustrated and cranky. Eventually I called Sami and asked her to start walking up the road to meet me so she could walk me into the finish. After what seemed like days I finally saw Sami coming down the trail towards me and I started to cry. It’s crazy how these races can work your emotions. She did her best to encourage me to move faster but I was locked into my bad attitude. We were moving very slowly but she kept me moving and after what felt like a year of walking the finish was finally in view. I managed a halfhearted jog down the final stretch and then I was DONE! I finished in 27:05. This wasn’t the hardest race that I have been in but it was one of my toughest mentally. Not being able to run any of the last 15 or so miles destroyed me mentally. In the end I am glad to have completed the race and not given up. There were many points over the last 40 that I wanted to DNF but there was always something or someone (Sami) telling me to keep going. I would recommend this race to anyone looking for a quality early 100 miler and I may even be back myself next year to try and exact some revenge.

I just wanted to thank those that were there to support me, all the volunteers at the aid stations and my amazing one woman crew Sami! Thanks for always believing in me and keeping me going even when I feel like giving up!

Moab Red Hot 55k 2013

    My race season started a little early this year...like a month and a half too early. Normally the Buffalo Run out on Antelope Island is the first race of the year for me and for good reason. In the winter I like to dial back the miles and recover a bit before I get back to normal running usually in February and early March. I didn’t get in nearly enough training miles, mostly due to the fact that the weather was very cold most of January and early February and I found it hard to motivate myself to get out and run. During the months on November and December I worked out at Bomber Athlete with Joel Hatch doing strength training and conditioning. I know without this training I would have been hurting far worse during this race. I wanted to focus on running more miles at the beginning of the year so I stopped going to Bomber, but the running didn’t quite turn out how I had hoped.
    My girlfriend Sami and I headed down to Moab the Friday morning before the race. She would be running the 33k, her longest race so far. The drive seemed to go by quickly and before we knew it we pulled into Moab around 5 pm. We explored the town a bit then headed into Eddie McStiff’s to pick up our race packets. Then we headed to dinner with friends and family that had journeyed down to race or to cheer on the racers. We made it to the condo we were staying at by 8 and started preparing for the next day and we were in bed by 10:30.
    Race Day. I had mixed emotions as I got up. Not super excited knowing that my fitness level wasn’t where it should be and this race would be more of a long training run. On the other hand I was super excited because this would be the first race for the HUMR Ultra team that I am lucky enough to be a part of. I also had a brand spanking new UltraSpire race vest, some sweet Smith glasses and PI clothes that I have been looking forward to using. We gathered up our gear and headed to the start area.

 Race Start - Photo by Forrest Stuart

    Time to run. I started the race near the front of the pack standing next to Shane Martin and Harrison Fluman. That was the last time I would be close to those two until the finish line. I started out running a decent pace but wasn’t trying to push it. My plan for the day was to just run how my body was feeling. The race starts out heading up a jeep road for a little over a mile then drops us down the back for 2.5 miles of  cruising downhill. I settled into a comfortable pace as I watched Harrison and Shane disappear off into the distance. Jared Clark caught up to me and we ran together for a while. The road splits sending us to the right to run the 12 mile loop the 55k’ers run before heading back to the split and towards the finish. This loop was by far the best part of the race for me. I felt like I was moving at a decent pace and not expending too much effort. My legs were feeling pretty good at this point but my left ankle was getting cranky from the uneven terrain. It's something that happens most races so I've grown to expect it. There was a HUMR support group consisting of my aunt Pam Stuart, Lane Farka and Steve Montano on this loop to cheer us on. It’s always a mental boost to see some familiar faces out there.

Almost half way - photo by Joel Schenk

 
    I don’t really remember the next section very well. I just got in a zone and kept moving forward until I got to the last big climb of the day. Looking at the elevation profile from my garmin the climb really isn’t that bad. It felt a lot harder than it was. I’m more out of shape than I thought. My quads were starting to rebel. As I was grinding away climbing up the slick rock I looked back and noticed Ryan Lauck, another member of the HUMR Ultra Team, climbing strongly up the hill. He caught up to me and we hiked up to the aid station at the top of the hill together. He left the aid station before me and I didn’t see him again until the end.
    At the aid station Bryce Warren caught up to me and we would spend the rest of the race leap frogging each other. From the aid station it was mostly downhill with a few small climbs thrown in. The only problem was that it was almost entirely on slick rock. Not good for my tired feet and legs. The flagging through here was hard to find at times and I spent a little extra time looking for the correct route. My quads were hurting pretty bad at this point so I had to put on some Trampled by Turtles to take my mind off the pain. The music worked and I started moving a little faster.
    I refilled my water at the last aid station and had a couple orange slices then it was back to work. A little after the aid station I caught up to Sami. Her hips were hurting her a lot and she wasn’t able to run the last part of the course. She's too stubborn to give up so she kept moving forward the best she could. I walked with her for a little while. During that time Bryce passed me and I knew that I wanted to catch him. Sami gave me a kiss for good luck then I was back on my way. More jeep roads and more slick rock. I knew the end was getting close so I pushed as much as I could. I caught up to Bryce and passed him a couple miles from the finish. I cruised into the finish with my friends and family cheering me in. I finished the race in 5:34:59. My goal was to finish somewhere around 5:30:00 so I was happy with my time.
    I had a great adventure with some great friends and some wonderful family. I was able to see where my fitness level is and what I need to work on before the next race. The thing that I love to most about these races is that I get to test myself and see what I am able to accomplish when I set my mind to it. I may not have had my best race but I got to enjoy some sunshine and some dirt in the middle of February. I’m proud to be a part of the HUMR Ultra Team and excited to see how the year unfolds for us. I had a lot of fun and can’t wait for the next HUMR adventure…