Dick Collins' Firetrails 50 Miler

October 13, 2007

With Flames

Just 3 weeks has passed since completing my first 100 mile endurance run and I was at the starting line of the DC Firetrails 50 Miler. Takeing place mainly on the East Bay Skyline National Trail, it begins at Chabot Lake and continues on to the hills above Berkeley. It had rained the day before leaving parts of the course extremely muddy while others parts were hard and rocky. The morning of the run was slightly chilling so I lined up wearing shorts, a short sleeved tech shirt with a long sleeved tech overtop and a pair of gloves. I was sporting a brand buff with flames. I decided to run alongside Brad Niess for the duration of the run. In addition to also running his first 100 miles 3 weeks ago, Brad was also running on a twisted ankle.

Our goal at the starting line was to finish in less than 12 hours. We are both signed up for Whiskeytown the end of October that being the last ultra for the year. I’ve just began running ultras in January of this year. I started the year with an injury, and I’m looking forward to taking a few weeks off at the end of the year to recharge.

Get Set, Go!

At 6:30AM, we started out very conservatively running with a flashlight as it was still dark for another 45 minutes or so. For the first 10 miles we found ourselves way ahead of our projected 12 hour finish. In fact we arrived at Skyline Gate (mile 15) in 3 hours. At this pace we would finish in 10 hours. Unfortunately sometime after Skyline my energy went south. I had done the Skyline 50k back in August and I was familiar with the trail up to Skyline Gate. As we continued towards the turnaround, it seemed like a the climb upward would never end. I was trying to visualize the elevation chart from the literature and was certain that the trail would begin to descend. The frontrunners began passing us just before Steam Trains and the trail was still going up. It was now around 11 AM. The morning clouds had cleared up and temperature was getting warm. My outer shirt was now around my waist. We started our descent to Lone Oak and it seemed like when the trail finally flattened out it was a still a long way until the turnaround.

Lone Oak Turnaround

Brad and I arrived at Lone Oak 5 hours and 25 minutes after the start. I changed shoes and filled my water bottles. When I sat down I really wasn’t feeling well, but that means nothing. Brad was ready to go not relying on a drop bag. I checked my watch and got up. We were still on pace for our original goal but had lost some time since Skyline. I got up and my calves were cramping really bad. Another runner was leaving the AS at the same time as Brad and I. He asked if I had taken a salt tablet and I replied that I had. He asked if I had drunk any water recently and I replied that I had. At this point Brad asked if I was just agreeing with everything. I learned later that Brad was concerned that I was not going to finish. That never entered my mind. I decided to take another SCap and more water. A man crossed our path on a horse and asked us a question. I tried to speak but what came out of my mouth was not English. I was obviously slurring my speech so I took another SCap and drank more water. It was probably ½ mile past the turnaround when I started to feel better.

We began the long climb back to Tilden Regional Park. Brad and I noticed that although we were walking we were not going slowly. In fact, we managed to pass several others on the way up the hill. Eventually we were running again. I was relieved. By the time we got back to Skyline Gate, at the 8 hour mark, there was new life in my stride. The best part was discovering they had grilled cheese sandwiches at Skyline! Brad and I each grabbed a quarter of a sandwich. We were 13 miles from the finish and were contemplating changing goals. Barring a major meltdown, we could easily finish in under 12 hours but a sub 11 hour finish was within our reach.

Chasing a Rabbit

Feeling good, we managed to run the majority of the way to McDonald Gate. Once past this AS we had one last climb. At the top of the climb we are about 8 miles to the finish. The trail at this point was not muddy but rather sun baked and hard. We passed one runner on the side of the trail puking which prompted me to take another SCap. We arrived at Bort Meadows and I checked my watch. We are 9 hours and 40 minutes into the run with 5.8 miles left. We leave the AS running at a pretty good pace and contemplated whether we could make the finish in under 11 hours. We reached the final AS and made the decision to just fill up our water bottles and run the rest of the way. My legs are feeling great as we are running about a 10/min pace, though after 11 hours I’m getting winded easily. Brad on the other hand is like a greyhound chasing a rabbit; it’s difficult to hold him back. In fact Brad is pacing me to the finish. He’s keeping a pace right in front of me feeding me words of encouragement. He’s mapped out the final couple of miles, telling me when hills are coming up. He’s never too far in front of me yet he doesn’t slow down for fear that I might slow down. With the finish in sight I told him to take it as he can easily out run me. Instead he insists that we cross together. We crossed the finish in 10 hours and 54 minutes and a few seconds. Thanks to RD’s Ann & Carl, and the absolutely wonderful volunteers (people that managed traffic on the highways, aid station personnel, cooks after the run, people that do everything else.)