Race Day
I woke up early and drove up to Blue Jay campground for the start. The drive was a bittersweet one, knowing that this would likely be the last time I run in the Saddleback Mountains for quite some time. When I got to the start I saw several runners I’d come to know over the years, including my friend Pablo.
Before I knew it, Carlos had us off and my dance with The Beast had begun.
The beast is brutal, gaining somewhere between 6-9,000+ feet over the 50K distance (reports vary). The first 12 miles are a long, steady descent to Lazy W aid station. Knowing my legs had very few miles on them, I opted to take it easy and enjoy the descent. I arrived at Lazy W, refueled and then took off for the crux of the course: The Los Pinos Trail.
Today was forecast to be warm, so I made sure I was fueled before I headed up into The Beast. As I started climbing, I begin to come upon runners who were already feeling the effects of the LP trail. I promptly joined them, and we started slogging away together. Up. Down. Up. Down. Summit? Nope. Up. Down. Summit? Nope. Up. Down. Up. Down.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
After what seemed like an eternity, I made it to the Black Hole aid station. Black Hole is set up on the middle of the trail, and all supplies are hiked in by some of the most generous and fun volunteers I had ever come across. And boy was I glad to come across them. I was completely out of water. After I few minutes at Black Hole, I continued on…finally reaching the end of the trail several hours later.
I arrived at Trabuco Aid Station battered and beat down…but I had made it. All that was left was a another descent, then the 1,000-foot climb up Horesthief, another pass through Trabuco, and a few miles to the finish! I can handle that.
Or so I thought.
As I started up Horsethief I realized that climb was going to be tougher than I had given it credit for on paper. After what seemed like ages, I finally got to (what I thought was the halfway point) and realized I was running out of gas. Between the heat, the climb and my nutrition waning, I was tapped out.
So what did I do?
I literally laid down on the side of the trail under the shade of some bushes, put my pack under my head and laid there. Just. Laid there. I was crushed.
I’m not sure how long I was there, but it was awhile – 10-15 minutes, maybe, before another runner came up and convinced me to keep going. It was at this point I realized just how demanding this course is. It had, literally, knocked me off my feet!
After sitting up, getting refocused and fueled on what little water/nutrition I had left, I got to my feet and kept going. But man, It was a slow slog out of Horsethief. Even so, I emerged with a huge grin on my face. I can’t help it- even when things go sideways, there’s few other places I’d rather be than out on the trail.
Trabuco To The Finish
The final few miles were uneventful compared to the day’s events. At 10:56:20 I crossed the finish line and was greeted by my friends Carlos and Pablo. It wasn’t my best race. Far from it, actually. But it was certainly a memorable one.
As I started the drive home, descending out of the mountains, I was happy to have conquered The Beast, but sad to know that I wouldn’t be running out here again anytime soon.
Our plan is to leave for Des Moines at the end of September. While I will certainly continue to run in the Midwest, I will miss the beautiful and plentiful places to train in SoCal.
Our time in San Diego has been amazing. Life-changing, actually, in so many ways. The friends we have made will be friends for a lifetime, and the experiences we had will live within us forever.
Thanks, SoCal. Hopefully we’ll see you again someday.
Life Through the Miles 