The Day I Cheated.......

.....my way to the finish line of an ultramarathon.


The Arcata to Willow Creek 40 Miler is run along a hilly and winding stretch of Hwy 299. It is the longest continuously run ultramarathon on the US West Coast (second longest in the entire US, to the JFK 50). With as few as three racers, it has kept going. It goes directly inland from our home on the coast, crests two summits of over 2,200 ft. before dipping down to the small community of Willow Creek. This highway always has too many people driving faster than they should. The shoulder is often narrow and banked to the ditches. You can sort of see why I didn't want to run the entire 40 miles, right? When I asked club members about the race, here's what some said:

"Don't run it if you have even the slightest bit of an IT Band problem."
"You should do it. Haha, everyone should run it once. It's an experience."
"Have you driven that highway yet?"

We had to check it out for ourselves. Definitely. So for not entirely selfless reasons, Matt and I agreed to drive a support car for his racing friend, Danny. Each racer was required to provide their own support crew. We drove out about twelve miles before we caught Danny powering up to Lord Ellis Summit (2,263 ft.). He looked fantastic and was in the lead! "About time you guys come to join the party!" Danny shouted out as he ran by. Matt joined him and they set off down the hill. I made several stops in the car to catch their photos as they descended down to Redwood Creek. I never had to wait long for them to catch me.

Since Matt is more Danny's pace, I figured that the best chance I'd have to keep up with him would be after he got good and tired.

You know the hill is going to be steep when it has a "Chains Required" sign at the beginning.

Nearing mile 23 and about 25% of the way up to Berry Summit (2,803 ft.), one of the other support cars pulled up behind me. "If you're thinking of running with Danny, you should probably take over here. He looks like he's struggling a little bit."

Oh crap, you mean I have to actually run in these shoes? They are enjoying relaxing on a highway guardrail.
Spectating (v.) : All the excitement of racing without the lactic acid buildup. I should do this more often!!

Matt and I quickly swapped watches as Danny refueled and we were off.

Photo Credit : Y. Kim

Sure enough, I caught him mid-bonk. Completely fresh, I must have been annoying him by talking as much as I did. I usually got no response. I tried to joke, "Matt says he likes running so much because it doesn't require just one ball like basketball and soccer do." No reply. After a few minutes, he mentioned that his stomach wasn't feeling so good. "So, when you have to dig deep, do you want me to distract you or just keep my mouth shut?" He said it depends on the instance. Sounded like the latter to me, so we just ran.

The weather was perfect. Climbing up to the treeless Berry Summit, I could see for miles. Sunshine during what was historically the wettest part of the year.
We alternated walking and running to reach the summit. It wasn't fast, but I was surprised that we were still moving at an 11:00/mi up the steady, seven mile long incline.

Used to running with such strong runners and being the person to slow them down, I was always caught off guard by the short walking breaks. Eventually Danny started talking again. "One marathon down, one HALF marathon to go," I said, he sounded relieved to hear that. The second runner, Bob, caught up to us. They chatted for a few minutes, "Can you believe that this is ONLY 2,800 ft? Feels like more." As we approached the race photographer, I mentioned that I wanted to drop back a little bit to get out of the photos and I would catch up on the way down. They both insisted that I run with them. "But I feel like I'm cheating and not running the whole thing," I argued.

At mile 30, the course went downhill. Starting the day as strangers, Danny and I chatted comfortably as if we were old friends. The miles ticked by, still continuing on downhill. The shoulder narrowed. We found ourselves dropping off to the gravel roadside when fast cars came out of nowhere. Now early afternoon, the traffic picked up significantly from when I first started running. We stopped a few times to get a water and some GU at the car. I rifled through my duffle bag looking for my gloves. "I'll catch up with you, go on ahead." We were moving at about an 8:30/mi, I could catch him again, especially on a downhill, I thought. I struggled to pull on my gloves. In the end, Matt helped me pull them on, but even with assistance, it took a few minutes.

Danny and Bob were just about to dip out of sight when I took off again. I ran over a mile without catching up. I passed Matt at another car pullout spot. "Want some help?" he offered. "Sure!" I dashed off into the bushes to pee before hopping in the car. (If I get poison oak from this run, I'll know for sure that it comes from my ultra potty stops.)

As we sped along the highway, I pumped my arms as if I were running. "Wow, this feels effortless!! I should run this race next year, it feels so easy!!" When I caught up to Danny, I said, "I told you I'd catch up." At least I paused my Garmin for the car ride, so I wasn't a total cheat. It registered at a 1:35/mi. :)

By mile 38, I started to get tired. After Danny lost me, he caught a second wind and was going about an 7:30/mi, something I can't sustain for very long, even on a downhill. We caught up with Matt and he took over running. I headed to the finish to scout out my photo spot. As I drove away, Vic, the 3rd runner, was close behind Danny and Bob.

Waiting for the finish in Willow Creek, I stood with several other support teams. Three out of the four runners were going to finish within a minute of each other. As they came down the hill into town, they sprinted. I remembered something I had said to Danny on our approach to Berry Summit, "You didn't come this far to give up now." From the looks of it, he was thinking that right at this very moment. He and Bob were sprinting to the finish line. After nearly 40 miles, we were watching a 5:30/mi pace sprint to the finish. The closest competition this race has ever seen. With just a couple hundred yards to go, Danny broke away from Bob and Vic. By one second and crossing the finish line in 6:06, he became the winner of his first ultramarathon.


I believe that being a pacer gave me the All Access Pass to ultramarathoning, minus all the pain, bonking, and dizzying fatigue. Can I run all the ultras this way?

Photo Credit: Y. Kim

The pacer details:

Matt ran just under 10 miles, I ran just over that. Together we ran slightly more than the second half of the race.

The pavement wasn't as bad as I though it would be. However, I did have some IT Band tightness on both knees after we drove home. Something that surely would be much worse had I run more than just 25% of the race.

Berry Summit was incredibly easy. I was at the very beginning of my run, focusing on Danny, and walking a lot. Had I run from the start and already covering a marathon (and Lord Ellis Summit), I'm sure I would have felt differently. Probably crying on the roadside in a heap of sweat and dirt.

After spending the summer climbing gravel roads much steeper than this paved one, it made me wonder, "How would my pace differ in this (paved) race from my trail stuff?" Downhills were all runnable and I never had to slow to keep my footing.

The support for this race was great. For all the spectators, there were at least 5 people to each racer. The one bad vibe I got from the club might make me hesitate from signing up for the race. As we were waiting for the final runner to come in, one club member voiced his disgust at having to wait on the final runner. The last guy came finished at just under eight hours, averaging an 11:48/mi. To me, this isn't annoyingly slow. In fact, I'd expect myself to come in at about that same pace. As there is always more to this story, we learned that final racer showed up to the start without any support vehicle and heavily relied on the race directors to provide aid (which it clearly states that this race does NOT provide) and a 40-mile ride back to Arcata. He just assumed people would take care of him. So I don't know if there's a sour attitude to this guy in general or just slower people overall. I don't want to run this race if they are going to make me feel like an eight hour finish is a hassle.

The biggest question I'm sure you're all asking:

Will I run this race in its entirety next year?

My answer has changed from “HELL NO” to “maybe”. It's not out of the question. The traffic really wasn't bad until the final 10 miles. We'll see how my IT Bands do in 2012. I'm just reaching my 6 month recovery period from my last bout of those problems. If I make it to next November without any nagging pains, I might give it a go.