I had the opportunity to run the Frozen Sasquatch 50K at the Kanawha State Forest, on Saturday, January 8, 2011. . I survived and got a friend of mine through his first 50K Ultra.
I left Altoona on Friday afternoon around lunch, picked up Jeff in
Cumberland, and then headed to Charleston, WV. The drive to Charleston is
rather fast, 4 1/2 hours, but at one point I needed to stop and get gas. I
should have listened to Dusty and not stopped on I79 for gas. You know it is
going to be bad when the guy at the gas station says "Yup, Just had the last of
my teeth pulled this morning" as he talks to a 10 year old kid that is spitting
chew in a cup. Anyways ...... we got gas and left.
We got to Charleston and checked in at the Holiday Inn Express and headed to
the State Forest to pick up our race packets. It was about a 20 minute drive,
but wow did the scenery change. Typical backwoods WV by the park.
We got there and met Mike Dolin(RD) and Dan (head of WV Trail Runners) and
had a nice talk about the race. The packet pick up was very simple and easy.
Lots of free SWAG. Mike and Dan said that there was about a 1/2 inch of snow
on the trails and they were only expecting a dusting over night. We were good
with that and went to get dinner and back to the hotel.
At about 3:40 am, I was rudley woken up by snow plows. I chose not to look
out the window. Then the alarm went off at 530am. I looked out the window
and there was about 4 inches on the ground. So I did my morning routine,
loaded up the car, and told Jeff that it wasnt that cold out. It was 23
degrees.
We arrived at the race site at about 720 and there was snow everywhere. So
much for a dusting. We got ready to run and the race was off at about 810.
There were some late racers so they postponed the race a few. The late races
crashed their cars on the mountain road headed into the race site.
The race starts out with a 1/4 mile run up a paved/snow covered road and
then makes a sharp right onto a 1/2 mile single track climb. Needless to say,
it became bottlenecked and it was a long, slow climb. Once at the top, there
was a lot of rolling trails and fire roads. Really nice running. Then you
make a sharp left and go straight down the mountain on single track. This
downhill was a blast. There were switchbacks and drop offs and the turns were
slick, but it was fast. Once at the bottom was the first aid station. They
had the usual stuff at the aid station for ultras, but no PB&J. (but I packed my
own).
From there, you go through some pines and several stream crossings on some
nice singletrack. This section was a little more technical and somewhat slow
going. Then you hit another climb.
On this climb, there is a awesome cave system. I was planning on taking a
picture, but my camera died from the cold.
At the top of this climb is more fireroads and single track that winds down
to some campgrounds. This downhill was pretty nasty, rocky, and slick. Once
in the campgrounds, you get to run on a fire road for about 2 miles, turn onto
the hard road and run on it for about a 1/4 mile. Then there was aid station
2. This was in a pavillioin with a big fire, hot chicken noodle soup, and lots
of food. But no PB&J (but I packed my own.) From here starts the longest
climb of the course. This climb is about 1.25 miles long and is winding trails
up about 800 feet of gain. Once at the top, it is more single track and fire
roads into aid station 3. From AS3, you are back on single track to the
transition area. But, there is a 1/2 mile section of switchbacks that come
from the top of the mountain back to the start finish area. This was steep and
very technical.
We hit the start finish area in 2:55. We went to the cars, filled up on
water, changed clothes and headed back out again.
We started running again and I lost all feeling in my thumb, pointer, and
middle finger on both hands. I couldn't move my right fingers at all and hand
warmers were not cutting it. I told Jeff that if I couldn't feel my fingers by
the first Aid Station, I was dropping. During this section, there was an older
guy that had his dog with him for this section of the run. The dog was running
with us and really took my mind off of my hands. Great inspiration and a lot of
fun.
Miraculously, about 1/4 mile from the AS, I got all of my feeling back in my
fingers, and it was on again.
We headed out and were holding a pretty good pace. Jeff was actually
getting a little frustrated with the pace and was starting to feel the effects
of the distance. Then the really bad happened.
As we headed down the switchbacks to AS2, I hit a rock and rolled my left
ankle completely over. I think I felt my tib and fib in the left let hit the
ground next to my ankle. I stopped, yelled a few choice words, and continued
on. The more I ran, the more it hurt and I could feel something moving in my
ankle.
While we were on the road through the campgrounds at a slow pace, the
winning female came up on us. She asked if we were alright (she heard me
yelling) and I told here what happened. She gave me some happy pills and I
hobbled into AS2. When I checked in, I sat down and worked my ankle and things
were really loose and sore and I could feel tendons and stuff slipping. The
girl at the AS asked if I was going to drop, I said - "NO- I am 7.5 miles from
the finish and this is his first Ultra."
I struggled up the last climb and then started to zone out. I focused all
of the pain away and picked up the pace again.
We hit the finish line slower than we had hoped, but we still finished. I
finished 21st overall, and Jeff was 22nd. Our times were 6:36 and 6:38. Not
sure on exact times yet.
Now, at the start, it was 23 degrees. At the finish it was around 15
degress with high winds.
The Frozen Sasquatch lives up to its name. It is Frozen. The course was
very well marked, very well organized, and beautiful trails.
The cool thing is, you get an original finishers award. It is a slice of a
log with the race name, date, and a sasquatch on it.
The drive home took over 7 hours due to some pretty bad snow storms in WV.
I would definately recommend this race to anyone. They have a 25k or a 50K
option. Each lap is 15.8 miles, so it is a little longer than a 25k or 50k. WV
trail runners does an entire race series throughout the year of all different
lengths. I may be going back to WV for more.
So now, I am sitting at home, nursing an ankle, and debating on going for a
run. Legs feel great, and I am ready for more.
See all of you on the trails or roads, and hope everyone had a happy new
year. I know mine started out the right way. And congrats to my racing
partner, Jeff Gunter - MD, for finishing his first ultra.
I left Altoona on Friday afternoon around lunch, picked up Jeff in
Cumberland, and then headed to Charleston, WV. The drive to Charleston is
rather fast, 4 1/2 hours, but at one point I needed to stop and get gas. I
should have listened to Dusty and not stopped on I79 for gas. You know it is
going to be bad when the guy at the gas station says "Yup, Just had the last of
my teeth pulled this morning" as he talks to a 10 year old kid that is spitting
chew in a cup. Anyways ...... we got gas and left.
We got to Charleston and checked in at the Holiday Inn Express and headed to
the State Forest to pick up our race packets. It was about a 20 minute drive,
but wow did the scenery change. Typical backwoods WV by the park.
We got there and met Mike Dolin(RD) and Dan (head of WV Trail Runners) and
had a nice talk about the race. The packet pick up was very simple and easy.
Lots of free SWAG. Mike and Dan said that there was about a 1/2 inch of snow
on the trails and they were only expecting a dusting over night. We were good
with that and went to get dinner and back to the hotel.
At about 3:40 am, I was rudley woken up by snow plows. I chose not to look
out the window. Then the alarm went off at 530am. I looked out the window
and there was about 4 inches on the ground. So I did my morning routine,
loaded up the car, and told Jeff that it wasnt that cold out. It was 23
degrees.
We arrived at the race site at about 720 and there was snow everywhere. So
much for a dusting. We got ready to run and the race was off at about 810.
There were some late racers so they postponed the race a few. The late races
crashed their cars on the mountain road headed into the race site.
The race starts out with a 1/4 mile run up a paved/snow covered road and
then makes a sharp right onto a 1/2 mile single track climb. Needless to say,
it became bottlenecked and it was a long, slow climb. Once at the top, there
was a lot of rolling trails and fire roads. Really nice running. Then you
make a sharp left and go straight down the mountain on single track. This
downhill was a blast. There were switchbacks and drop offs and the turns were
slick, but it was fast. Once at the bottom was the first aid station. They
had the usual stuff at the aid station for ultras, but no PB&J. (but I packed my
own).
From there, you go through some pines and several stream crossings on some
nice singletrack. This section was a little more technical and somewhat slow
going. Then you hit another climb.
On this climb, there is a awesome cave system. I was planning on taking a
picture, but my camera died from the cold.
At the top of this climb is more fireroads and single track that winds down
to some campgrounds. This downhill was pretty nasty, rocky, and slick. Once
in the campgrounds, you get to run on a fire road for about 2 miles, turn onto
the hard road and run on it for about a 1/4 mile. Then there was aid station
2. This was in a pavillioin with a big fire, hot chicken noodle soup, and lots
of food. But no PB&J (but I packed my own.) From here starts the longest
climb of the course. This climb is about 1.25 miles long and is winding trails
up about 800 feet of gain. Once at the top, it is more single track and fire
roads into aid station 3. From AS3, you are back on single track to the
transition area. But, there is a 1/2 mile section of switchbacks that come
from the top of the mountain back to the start finish area. This was steep and
very technical.
We hit the start finish area in 2:55. We went to the cars, filled up on
water, changed clothes and headed back out again.
We started running again and I lost all feeling in my thumb, pointer, and
middle finger on both hands. I couldn't move my right fingers at all and hand
warmers were not cutting it. I told Jeff that if I couldn't feel my fingers by
the first Aid Station, I was dropping. During this section, there was an older
guy that had his dog with him for this section of the run. The dog was running
with us and really took my mind off of my hands. Great inspiration and a lot of
fun.
Miraculously, about 1/4 mile from the AS, I got all of my feeling back in my
fingers, and it was on again.
We headed out and were holding a pretty good pace. Jeff was actually
getting a little frustrated with the pace and was starting to feel the effects
of the distance. Then the really bad happened.
As we headed down the switchbacks to AS2, I hit a rock and rolled my left
ankle completely over. I think I felt my tib and fib in the left let hit the
ground next to my ankle. I stopped, yelled a few choice words, and continued
on. The more I ran, the more it hurt and I could feel something moving in my
ankle.
While we were on the road through the campgrounds at a slow pace, the
winning female came up on us. She asked if we were alright (she heard me
yelling) and I told here what happened. She gave me some happy pills and I
hobbled into AS2. When I checked in, I sat down and worked my ankle and things
were really loose and sore and I could feel tendons and stuff slipping. The
girl at the AS asked if I was going to drop, I said - "NO- I am 7.5 miles from
the finish and this is his first Ultra."
I struggled up the last climb and then started to zone out. I focused all
of the pain away and picked up the pace again.
We hit the finish line slower than we had hoped, but we still finished. I
finished 21st overall, and Jeff was 22nd. Our times were 6:36 and 6:38. Not
sure on exact times yet.
Now, at the start, it was 23 degrees. At the finish it was around 15
degress with high winds.
The Frozen Sasquatch lives up to its name. It is Frozen. The course was
very well marked, very well organized, and beautiful trails.
The cool thing is, you get an original finishers award. It is a slice of a
log with the race name, date, and a sasquatch on it.
The drive home took over 7 hours due to some pretty bad snow storms in WV.
I would definately recommend this race to anyone. They have a 25k or a 50K
option. Each lap is 15.8 miles, so it is a little longer than a 25k or 50k. WV
trail runners does an entire race series throughout the year of all different
lengths. I may be going back to WV for more.
So now, I am sitting at home, nursing an ankle, and debating on going for a
run. Legs feel great, and I am ready for more.
See all of you on the trails or roads, and hope everyone had a happy new
year. I know mine started out the right way. And congrats to my racing
partner, Jeff Gunter - MD, for finishing his first ultra.
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