Volunteering at a 100 miler!

[nadra's babydaddy]

nadra & I are volunteering at the Wasatch 100 tomorrow and are super pumped!  At least I'm super pumped, she may be neutral.  Share your best ultra volunteering stories as well as your biggest cravings at ~mile 52 of a hundo!

Reports/pics to follow!

[merigayle]

I have never volunteered at a 100 miler, but have volunteered at shorter ultras. 52 miles in people won't be too beat up and delirious, however, many people may feel overwhelmed that they are only half way thru, esp since it is one of the hardest 100 milers out there. People may have feet or tummy issues at that point in the race, or chaffing elsewhere. As far as food, that is really individual. As night falls, soups are always good and one of the things I turn to if there is an option that I can eat. A cup of Coke is always a good pick me up for someone who is struggling a bit. Ultrarunning is a bunch of peaks and valleys and it is hard to remember that while you are in the race itself. You will hit the wall, but then it almost always gets better. I usually hit a wall around the marathon mark, sometimes halfway, it really can vary. I usually suffer in the middle of the night, esp if it gets cold (and cold and wet are my nemesis). Just being friendly, helping people unscrew their water bottles, and doing the little things seems to help.

[JBM]

My friend Roy is running that tomorrow! He's done it several times. He's very tall with a big frame, but thin - he will likely be wearing a shirt with the letters GAC on it. He's a vegan who usually has his own food supply at drop stations, but I don't know what he does on the course.

[merigayle]

I usually bring my own food too, but will have potato chips or something i know i can eat along the way. I have checked PRIOR to the race if the soups are veg and gluten free. I had a lentil soup earlier this year at a 100 miler that was fine to eat. I am collecting food issues unfortunately and seem to have to bring most of my own stuff, but i am ok with that. The race I am running in a few weeks (  ) is cupless, which will be my first cupless 100 mile race. I plan on using a hydration pack but i ordered a collapsable cup to take in case i need soda in the middle of the night.

[nadra's babydaddy]

Thanks, Wasatch is pretty adventurous since you're more or less either running up a mountain or down a mountain the whole way 

I know the stretch from the previous major aid station at mile 39 is pretty tough, especially on a hot day.  Last year it sounds like there was major carnage at the aid station.  Fortunately the weather seems to be in the runners' favor this year. 

I'm always surprised this race doesn't get more big names with it's notoriety, but I recognize very few entrants this year (partially due to my own ignorance I'm sure).   On the mens side, only one person who finished top 10 in the past two years is running.  I don't know anybody else, but it looks like there are a couple of studs from Colorado with decent times (I'm sure that sentence is quite a cliche at most ultras).   The womens races looks like it will be the more competitive one, with last years' top two returning, along with a badass who recently FKTd (for women) the Tahoe Rim Trail.   Because it's a hundo and it's Wasatch, there are sure to be a few randoms who mean business as well! 

GOGOGO!!! 

[nadra's babydaddy]

My friend Roy is running that tomorrow! He's done it several times. He's very tall with a big frame, but thin - he will likely be wearing a shirt with the letters GAC on it. He's a vegan who usually has his own food supply at drop stations, but I don't know what he does on the course.

GOGOGO!!!!  I will give a big "O HAI ROY!!!" to anybody I see who fits that description. 

[nadra's babydaddy]

I know we'll have copious amounts of water/ice/soda/energy gel type stuff, along with some yummy salty snacks and other specialty items!

[merigayle]

Wasatch is late in the season, lots of big races already happened this year. UTMB was last week and there is a big new race this weekend, a 200 miler, maybe in Tahoe? that a lot of badasses will be at. Wastach is special because the Grand Slammers are there!

I have a goal race for next year, though i have to qualify for the lottery, my back up plan, if i can manage the funds, is to do the Yellowstone race

[nadra's babydaddy]

Wasatch is more better than them.  I think it was a bit bigger deal last year because of Sharman and Clark (sort of  ) doing the Grand Slam and their rivalry up front.   It will still be fun.  And the chicks will roll! 

[nadra's babydaddy]

WHEEEEEEEE!

A small sample of the Lambs Canyon cafe options....




The leader materializes from the wild abyss.....



Just your basic late afternoon chaos...



Wasatch course record holder and former Western States course record holder Geoff Roes getting ready to pace, his runner beside him trying to conceal his dread....



Just your basic night time chaos...



Back of the pack heading out into the darkness...

[merigayle]

Very nice! Looks like all my friends finished the race as well

[JBM]

Did you see my friend Roy? I need to check in on him.

[nadra's babydaddy]

I didn't see anyone on the entrants list named Roy - does he go by an assumed name? 

[JBM]

I was pretty sure he was there. I will follow up

[nadra's babydaddy]

So what can I say about working an aid station?  Well being a major aid station at a relatively major 100 miler, there was definitely a steady flow of activity and a wide spectrum of emotions covered over the entire day (I was there from 1 to midnight).

Nadra and I were helping to work the food table, which meant lots and lots of sandwich making and keeping the bowls with sugary & salty treats fully stocked.  Once everything was set up, there was the anticipatory window of tracking the top runners online, waiting for the frontrunners to arrive, and seeing what had transpired from the last aid station.  The leader finally came through at ~2:45 to the usual round of applause and cowbells, sparking an early trickle of runners at 1 every 5-10 minutes or so.  Naturally, most of these early runners had crews with them and were well taken care of, so our role was mostly moral support and informational; letting them know how far ahead the next guys were and where the next aid station was. 

Action started to pick up around 4, as the 24 hour hopefuls were starting to stream in.  We kept a good amount of sandwiches ready to go, with a whole bunch bagged to keep them fresh and rotating them out onto plates at about 8-12 'quarters' per plate.  We kept things pretty well organized into sections for fruity stuff, salty stuff, sugary stuff, and sandwiches.   Hopefully this made it easier for the overwhelmed runner on sensory overload.  Inventory-wise, I thought we made out pretty well.  We ended up with just about the exact right amount of gu (one of the last 5 runners to depart cleaned it out), which was pretty impressive.  The only thing we ran out of was potatoes, but were able to get a refill pretty quickly (apologies to anyone who showed up in between batches!).  The only real trick was churning out the sandwiches fast enough to keep up with the demand - we did have a person or two come up and snag an entire plate at once, which was pretty epic.  The other main challenge was fending off the little beggars who would hover in front of the sugary stuff and look up at us with big eyes.  We may or may not have given in a few times 

It was so interesting to see the wide ranges of stories and personalities present.  There were those up front, shooting for a certain place or time goal, many of whom were seasoned veterans or young studs with exceptional talent (or both!).  There were the hopefuls who were simply trying to get to the finish line.  There were the regulars, who had participated in the race several times and seemed to know everybody.  And dearest to my heart, there were those bringing up the rear, who were flirting with the absolute cutoff, but were nonetheless determined to carry on for as long as they'd be able to, even with the knowledge that they would almost certainly run out of time. 

Crews were another interesting element.  Some people had large entourages with them to offer support, complete with signs, cowbells, shirts, and everything else you could imagine, which definitely kept things fun.  Fortunately the aid station was large and had a sizable seating area, which kept it from being overcrowded for the most part, but it was amazing at times to see how much it would clear out after just one runner departed.  At the other end of the spectrum, there were also those with little to no outside support, whom we tried to be as attentive to as we could, even if it was simply holding onto stuff for them and giving them a bowl to put things in, or unscrewing some caps for them.   Regardless of the mass of humanity we encountered though, the one big constant was that most everyone was extremely thankful and nice, sometimes even able to laugh at their own ridiculous predicament. 

Things probably hit their peak as darkness fell and the 30 hour time window came and went, with the meaty part of the pack descending on us.  After around 10:00 or so, things started to dwindle, leaving us with the true Wasatch grit; those who were in for the ~36 hour long haul.   This is the part that is always emotional for me.  Over the course of the day, you develop a unique bond with this athletes to whom you're providing aid and naturally, I just wanted everyone to make it to the end.  But by the laws of nature and variance, that's just not going to happen in an event like the Wasatch where so much can go wrong.  Many of the back-of-the-packers have been racing against the clock all day - at Lambs, this race ends when the clock strikes midnight.  To maintain 36 hour pace, the runner must leave by 11:30, but the reality is that most runners who depart past 11 likely aren't going to make it to the end.  Yet this didn't stop people from doggedly pressing on within minutes of the midnight cutoff.  The most powerful part of the day for me was watching these people who had been in motion for 18+ hours, spending more time out on the course in between aid stations because of their slower progress, and obviously quite worn down from the day's toils.  They probably knew they didn't have a realistic chance of making it to the end and could have easily called it a day at Lambs and departed for some rest, yet they chose to continue back out into the darkness for as long as they'd be permitted to.  I only wish I had half their guts.    As I was checking my phone for updates later, it really tugged at my heart strings upon seeing that some of these last people we checked out had been pulled from the course - some of them having timed out only one or two checkpoints (6-13 miles) from the finish.  I really hope they felt as though they gave it all they could've on the day and leave with pride in their effort.

For the second straight year, I came back to the finish line to photograph the finishers in the closing hours of the race to capture more of the Wasatch grit.  It's definitely an inspiring and uplifting experience to see so many people having finally achieved their objective.  As with the aid station, many of these late finishers had large entourages with them - literally running and filming beside them as they ran down the final stretch.  But some had only one or two supporters, if that.  Not knowing each finisher's story and what the experience means to them, I wanted to make sure I could capture the moment for as many folks as possible, even if it's with a poor quality iphone camera 

Definitely plan on being back next year.  I suppose I actually need to buck up and do this race at some point 

[JBM]

My friend finished in 34:10:59. He's an animal! He did 100 in July in VT and this, I can't remember if he did one already earlier this year. Nuts.

[nadra's babydaddy]

Got it!  I don't know why his info didn't come up when I put 'Roy' into the search.

I think I captured finisher pics of just about all the 34-36hr. finishers.  Is this him?.....

[JBM]

Sure is and his friend Jose behind him. I didn't realize he went with him to pace.

I knew he would be wearing that shirt. I think he has a white one as well, but always the GAC.