Never Summer Recap

Never Summer was quite the success.  This was my first real crewing attempt and it was not only a fun experience but one of learning as well.  Melissa and I started our journey to Never Summer Thursday evening before the race.  After work that day we hit the road, destination Fort Collins, to meet up with a friend Colin Gilliam who would also be running.  Colin is from Canada and is a college golfing friend of Joe Saliba's.  Some time ago, although I'm not sure exactly when, Colin made a transition into ultra-running.  Last August when I ran the Squamish 50 it was mainly due to Colin's suggestion to Melissa that she do the race.  Melissa didn't need to ask me twice if I wanted to run in Canada...because...it's Canada.

Friday we all headed to the little town of Walden that would be our home base for the next few days.  We passed the race course and packet pickup area on the way to Walden.  It wasn't yet time to pick up packets or drop the bags so we would need to make one trip back before race morning.  Once in Walden we checked into all the rooms/the Rock House that Melissa had reserved.  I was living large with an entire motel room and a kitchen to myself.  I immediately laid out all of the gear I would need as crew and gathered a few items to give to the pacers later.  Later in the afternoon the pacers, Ted and Brandon, arrived and we all headed back to the start/finish/packet pickup area.  It was pretty low key as the race only had participants in the mid-300's total.  After returning to Walden we convened for dinner and to go over any final race preparation.  Then we all tried to hit the bed and sleep as much as we could.

My alarm went off at 0400 Saturday morning and I rolled out of bed to make coffee.  20-min later I was out the door and headed to the Rock House to meet everyone.  15-min later we were on the road for the 30-min drive to the start line.  I had the Jeep loaded with everything I'd need to crew for the entirety of the race.  It was cold at the start so I gave Melissa my best puffy jacket to wear until just before the race got going.

Soon enough they were off and myself and Ted headed toward the first accessible aid station (Diamond Aid 17.2 miles) towards the Lake Agnes trailhead.  We parked in a small lot and sat for awhile.  My Jeep was right next to the aid station but I had wanted to walk up about 2.25 miles to see the racers pass Lake Agnes (plus I heard the lake was beautiful).  When Ted and I finally left the vehicle to hike up to the lake, I thought we might be a little behind schedule and miss our runners.  We made it to the lake and sat for awhile watching runners come through until it began looking more sparse and some of the slower, older runners were trickling through.  I thought, surely Colin and Melissa are ahead of these folks (this was 9-10 miles in the race and it had been almost 3-hours already).  So Ted and I turned around and went back down to the original aid station so we wouldn't miss Colin and Melissa.  Later I realized that Colin and Melissa still hadn't come by Lake Agnes when I had assumed they already did.  I think Ted and I just barely missed them.

Pacemaker owner & CEO Melissa Saliba with her pacer Brandon.

Down by the Diamond Aid station (17.2) Ted and I waited for Colin and Melissa came through.  When e saw them they were 15-min ahead of schedule and looking great.  They both needed very little at the aid station so very soon they were off again.

The next spot I would meet them would be the Ruby Jewel aid station around mile 29.  I headed straight there after a quick stop at the mini-mart to buy chips and beef jerky.  I'd packed food for the day but had already plowed through a bean and cheese burrito and it was already starving again.  Who knew waiting around could make a person so hungry?  Ted rode with me and Brandon followed to park near the 2nd crew-accessible aid station.  From where we parked we had to walk about 1 mile into the Ruby Jewel aid station.  Brandon would be pacing Melissa later but throughout the day he was making stops on the course to check in and then running back to the house in Walden to let the dogs out (his dog Charlie and Melissa's dog Chica).  Just down the road from Ruby Jewel we all sat in and around the vehicles for a couple hours having lunch, chatting, attempting to nap (I never did), and trying to stay out of the road dust.

After a few hours we headed up to the Ruby Jewel aid station with the aid bag full of gear.  I didn't think Melissa would need much here as it was still mid-day and she would have already hit another aid station for food without us.  She didn't really give me much in the way of food to carry, mostly extra clothes/shoes/hats, headlamps, Nuun tabs, a towel, sunscreen, extra poles...stuff like that. The shade at Ruby Jewel was a nice change of pace compared to waiting at the vehicles.  We had a few sprinkles of rain while we were there but mostly we listened and watch as storm clouds began to slowly build up.  Colin and Melissa arrived at the aid station just ahead of schedule and didn't stick around long before starting the most grueling part of the course.  They had already hit lightning and a hail storm on Diamond Peak and after a brief lapse in storms they were about to hit the worst.

Waiting at the Ruby Jewel Aid Station

Colin and Melissa arriving @RJAS

After Ruby Jewel I stopped taking pictures because storms rolled in and later it was cold and dark and I didn't have the wherewithal to pull out my phone.  Heading out of Ruby Jewel Colin and Melissa would have about 10-miles before the Clear Lake aid station where I would see them again.  The Clear Lake station was a 5-mile hike in and only allowed spectators but to me it would be worth it to be there for my runners.  Also it was 2:30pm and I'd already eaten both burritos.

So I took a drive north and parked at the furthest point from the start/finish line I'd been all day.  It was here that I would begin my trek to Clear Lake and later I would stop by the Jeep again to get supplies to pack only 1-mile away to the Canadian Aid Station at mile 50.  It would be at the 50-mile mark that Colin and Melissa could pick up their pacers.  At this time Brandon was making a run to let the dogs outside for awhile and Ted was doing his own short hiking adventure.  So I put on my American Romper and began getting my own vest ready for the 10-mile roundtrip to Clear Lake.  Then it began to storm.  I sat in the Jeep and debated if and when I should head to Clear Lake.  I still had time but I didn't want to leave too late and miss Colin and Melissa.  I waited 15-min and the thunder and rain slacked.  I went for it.

As I hiked and jogged I knew that I would get caught in another storm.  I'd seen from the north a cloud-to-ground bolt of lightning but it was still a ways off and I was hoping the worst of the storm might track parallel to me.  At about 1.5 miles into the run/hike out it began to rain again.  At about 3 miles it was a full-fledged storm and I took cover in a row of trees.  I thought it unlikely I'd be struck by lightning but I was still quite uncomfortable and cold as I crouched down to wait out the worst of the storm.  Keeping an eye on my watch I knew I still had enough time to make the aid station so I figured if this part of the storm blew over I'd be okay.  After about 15-min I was able to continue my trek to the aid station.  I intersected the runner's course for the final 1.5 miles to the aid station but didn't see Colin or Melissa just yet along the route.  At the Clear Lake aid station I waited about 30-min before Colin and Mellisa came through.  They'd been caught at Kelly Lake along with a large group of runners in a severe lightning/hail storm and had to wait out the storm for about 15-min before continuing.  Even so they were perfectly on time to the aid station.  Melissa said that the climb up to Kelly Lake was much more difficult than climbing up to Diamond Peak (which was the notorious climb on the course).  Both Colin and Melissa looked good, no big falls, energy and legs were still okay, they were just happy to be out of the storm.

From here they had to hike up to Clear Lake and then turn around and come right back to the Clear Lake aid station.  This section of the course would compromise miles 39.4 through 43.9 of the course.  Instead of waiting for them to come back at mile 43.9 I set out on my 5-mile route back to the Jeep.  Once there I changed into dry clothes and preped the aid bag for mile 50.  I'd also gotten in touch with both Ted and Brandon so they would know that Colin and Melissa were still on pace and to be ready soon.  Joe Saliba was out fishing during the day and would also meet us at the Canadian aid station at mile 50 to follow us to the finish.  Everything went smoothly as the weather appeared to be clearing for the evening and we all convened and waited alongside Justin Trudeau.  The only iffy event was that Brandon gave the keys to his parked Honda Element to a volunteer at the aid station with the promise that they would later drive it to the start/finish area.  I looked at Brandon skeptically when he said he'd left his wallet in the car as well...

All day Melissa and Colin had run together but on the descent from Clear Lake back into the Clear Lake Aid Station, Colin took the lead.  Colin is a great downhill runner even on very technical terrain, so he had a little lead on Melissa coming into the 50-mile aid station.  Still Melissa was perfectly on her predicted pace as she came into the 50.  Once there she just needed fresh shoes and her bottles refilled...all easy tasks.  She grabbed some food and headed out with Brandon for a 5.8 mile section through low land with water crossings.  Joe Saliba and I were the only ones left not running so we headed over the the next aid station (Brockman at mile 55.8) to wait for Colin and Melissa.

Celeb selfie...can I get dual-citizenship please???

Thankfully the Brockman aid station was easy to find in the dark.  Joe and I waited there and I snacked on beef jerky just to stay warm...I had on my biggest puffy jacket and body warmers and I was still shivering.  I was losing track of time but eventually Colin and Ted came through.  We checked in but Colin didn't really need anything.  Ted looked alert and seemed to be doing very well helping to guide a tired yet coherent Colin along the course.  Melissa came through a short time after having made up 15-min on Colin during the flatter section.  Here she just wanted to brush her teeth and eat a little food before continuing onward.

After Brockman Joe and I headed to the finish line.  I would be able to backtrack the final two miles of the course and wait at Ranger Lakes for Colin and Melissa to come through.  The Never Summer 100k organizers allow anyone to run the final 2-miles with their runner and Melissa had given me the green light if I wanted to do so. Not only would this get me 4 additional miles of running but it would help keep me awake and warm.  Parking near the finish and finding the trail to Ranger Lakes was easy so I set off and left Joe Saliba with a walkie talkie.  I would radio in when Melissa was almost to the finish.  I purposefully jogged slow to Ranger Lakes so I wouldn't sweat too much and I'd hoped that I wouldn't have to wait there too long in the cold.  I think I waited at least 30-min for Colin and maybe 45-min for Melissa and Brandon to hit Ranger Lakes.  Still at mile 62 Melissa looked great and was able to jog the entire final 2 miles without any walking.  She finished in 19 hours and 32 minutes (and change) which was well under her 20-hr goal.  I suspect that without having to wait out the storm near Kelly Lake she could have easily hit 19-hrs on this course.  I was a proud mama.

Much of the crew had to depart after the awards ceremony on Sunday morning but Brandon and I were able to stick around with Melissa until Monday.  Fortunately Brandon got his car and his wallet returned as the woman at the Canadian Aid Station had promised.  Brandon did a nice run over part of the course Sunday morning/afternoon and on Monday we all did a short hike to Lake Agnes...which did include a little time in the lake shivering.  As I always feel on these adventures, it was hard to head back home and see it end.  But Melissa and I made the return trip in the best possible way with lots of 90's music.  And I drank coffee the whole way.

Later on Sunday I realized I was dressed like Kenny McCormick from South Park.  Walden, CO is part of "North Park" Colorado so I felt the need to document this momentous occasion.

Lake Agnes, Monday, July 30, 2018

Lake Agnes, Monday, July 30, 2018

Lake Agnes, Monday, July 30, 2018

Melissa thinks eventually I should run Never Summer because the course is so beautiful.  It's definitely a possibility.  For now I have to finish the Leadwoman series and I've spent the last week getting reoriented with my mountain bike.  Yesterday I rode with my friend Tim McNamara on part of the course for almost 50-miles...so now I've ridden all but one of the critical areas I wanted to ride.  Won't have time to ride the rest but I'm definitely feeling more confident on the bike than I was a week ago when I fell on a super easy section of trail in Bear Creek Park.  I have one final moderate-distance run today up to Barr Camp and back and then I'll take it easy through the rest of the series.  Can't believe it's almost here!