Brutal High Desert Trail Run 2012 Experience with Happy Endings and Suggestions

 

As runners conversed after the High Desert Trail Run 2012, words like “brutal” or “what did I get myself into?” were constantly heard. The 10K course, which I and my daughter ran, had nary a flat section.  The description of “rolling hills” is only accurate for giants or antelope.  The hills were long and steep.  The second half of the half-marathon course, which my husband (The Machine) ran, was 3.5 miles down which was brutal according to The Machine himself, especially when turning around meant going back up!  It was 90 degrees by this time.  Emphasis on the “high desert,” there was not a tree in sight to shade the road.  As best we can determine, the turn around for the 10K was just after the edge of the hill that can be seen near the far right horizon in the picture.

I am rather amazed I survived this race. Many racers around me succumbed to the hills and walked. One lady walked the hills and still managed to cross the finish line before me.  That was irritating!  🙂  I knew that if I gave in to walking I might as well plan on walking the whole way.  My legs have a history of tightening up too much to begin to run again, so I did what I did for the 2011 Boise YMCA Christmas Run.  I leaned forward, tried to relax, and just kept putting one foot in front of the other, rarely looking at the top of the hill I was climbing. Again, I know that wearing my Moc3 running moccasins allowed me to do this more efficiently than other runners.

For the first half of the race, I ran close to my dear daughter (she in her Vibrams).  But after the turn around, my pace resulted in me pulling ahead.  I knew she wasn’t going to be happy with this, but I needed to keep my pace in order to persevere.  She was doing very well for her first race in 6 years, and longest race ever, but really didn’t like her mother being in front, so stayed fairly close behind.  She says that as one 35ish year old man passed her on the last hill, he asked how she was doing and she responded with a sigh, “I’m just trying to catch up with my mother!”  He asked, “Is that her up there?”  When she said yes, he said, “I’m trying to catch up with her, too!” You never know what is going on behind your back at a race!  🙂

It is best to always assume there will be one more hill, but the last two hills just about did me in.  I think it was simply weathered old stubbornness that kept me going!  This is an advantage of age in a race.  🙂  The two youngest daughters were taking photographs just at the rise of the last hill and this is what I looked like –

Then I was told to smile and I managed to look like I was having a pleasant stroll in the desert –

Fortunately, the last 100 feet or so of the race was down hill, so racers could cross the finish line in a blaze of glory… or with speed due to pent up frustration at the course…  Somehow, this 51 year old woman placed 13th out of 53 (mostly younger) runners, 5th of all women, and first in my very small age group.

This is the first year for this race on this course. If you are thinking about running it next year, I have a few suggestions for you:

• Don’t have this be the first race for whatever distance you are running if that is the longest race you have ever run.  You will not want to run that distance again!
• Don’t do it barefoot unless you have very tough feet.  The road was covered in sharp rocks.
• Do a lot of hill work for preparation.  The whole race was either uphill or down hill.  When I was going down, I reminded myself to run lightly and let gravity work for me in a controlled way.  I think this is really only possible with bare feet or very minimalist footwear.
• Carry your own fluids.  Even though there were a couple of aid stations, I never stopped at them.  I passed people who stopped at them and never seemed to get up steam again.  I had my new Nathan Sports Trail Hydration Pack with Two 10-Ounce Nutrition Flasks.  One bottle had water, the other was filled with my ReaLemon mix of lemonade.  I had frozen about 2 inches of water in them the night before.  These bottles are very easy to drink from, making it simple for me to drink while running.  The aid stations would not have been sufficient, either.  During the second half of the race I needed my lemonade! My  Jelly Belly Sport Beans were in my hip bag, but it was too hot for anything other than fluids.  The race directors say they plan on beginning the race earlier in the day next year, but it was still 80 degrees by 9AM, so be prepared.
  
• Run at least part of the course once before the race, but try to verify the starting point first. We looked at the course map and elevation map prior to the race, but it doesn’t seem to match up with the actual race.  Race directors feel free to help me out here, but the map showed the race beginning where the 10K turn around point ended up being.  This seems to coincide with the elevation chart, and Greg’s experience running that section of road.
• Take lawn chairs AND some sort of shade while waiting for other racers, awards, or door prizes after the race.  The sun was miserably hot and, as you saw in the first picture, there was a dearth of trees.

There were great snacks and plenty of water or sport drinks available for after the race.  The race staff was great, the other racers were fun to be around, there were fun prizes.  The race shirt logo and trophies are unique, but very appropriate to a desert race. If you can handle the heat and are ready for a challenge, you might want to give this race a try!