Part 2 of this journey starts with the travel. Getting to Mammoth shouldnt normally be a problem, but after my struggles using airplanes getting to the team camp in August, I decided to drive the 900 miles from Olympia to Mammoth. I split the drive up into to two days, one big one, driving from Olympia to a rest stop south of Susanville, and the second leg and easy push from that rest stop to Mammoth. Night 1, just south of Alturus I met a wolf…. a wolf with no tracking collar on in the middle of the road. I stopped…it stopped…. I stared at it…it stared back…..I got out of the van….it watched me, moved right and then left, stared at me again, then walked off into the sage…….I took this as a sign…wasnt sure if it was a good sign, or a bad sign…but a sign. I got back in the van and pushed on into the harvest moon lit night. My mind drifted as I drove on, but time distorted and before I knew it I was south of Susanville, passing a rest stop and really too tired to drive any longer. It was a great time to stop for a snooze. Parked, window shades up, sleeping pad inflated, sleeping bag thrown down, brush teeth, ear plugs in, 11pm and sleep.
Around 4 am i was woken up by that rumble of an idiling diesel rig…this signaled to me that it was time to hit the road. I fired up the jet boil and made some coffee and got on with it. About 4 hours later, I exited hwy 395 and drove up to Mammoth Lakes. Being that it was just past 8 am, i stopped at Stellar Brew and cafe for a burrito and coffee, they do a damn good job. After eating, I texted the team and told them I had arrived!
I was really happy to be there, the vibes were high but tense with a splash of levity at Roxannes. I could feel all the emotions and I was really trying to keep mine in check. Personally I was quite happy that I wasnt feeling the 8000ft elevation of Mammoth Lakes and was looking forward to a shakeout run to confirm to myself that the 30 days in the altitude tent were worth it. Next order of business, go to the team house. This is where the pacers and crew would be operating out of during the event. Pacers would come and go out to the course being shuttled by Sara, Louie and sometimes Markham all hours of the day. Pacers were able to get back and eat, shower and sleep in between their shifts. It worked quite well, even though as a pacer watching the SPOT tracker of Roxy’s location, always left me feeling like I was going to be late….which was never remotely the case lol. So let me break down the team:
Sara and Louie are the Mammoth Locals and dear friends of Roxanne. They where legends! Driving us all over the mono basin all hours of the day, sourcing unattainable pizza, bringing hot or cold drinks…I dont know when they slept, but they were incredible. Next was Markham, he drove the Mothership Sprinter around. This was the mobile basecamp for the team, but most importantly for Roxanne. She could change clothes / shoes. Eat, refill bottles and nutrition, get pizza, get slurpies etc. Pacers could change and take care of themselves and head out, or change clothes and tap out. Amy, crew chief ran all the things from the sprinter, coordinating where the van needed to be, who needed to be there and when they needed to be there and if that wasnt enough, she paced the last 20 miles to the finish. Kinda a big job if I am being honest. Next would be the pacers. Myself, I ran 3 sections with Roxy, Serena ran 2 sections, Kate ran 2 sections and Amy ran the final. I will quote Roxanne who described our team as follows:
First up, @mcgoverncycles took 3 legs of more technical or downhill terrain, his specialty. Chris can operate on little sleep and he’s an experienced trail runner who moves efficiently in the mountains.
Two really long overnight legs went to @serenabg – she’s an accomplished endurance cyclist who calmly problem solves and maintains focus when the miles get monotonous.
@kate.gaffney brought a chill, uplifting vibe during 2 daytime sections where I wanted to maintain position with steady progress. She knew when to play music and when to break out the sour patch kids, both big mood boosters.
Last, @_akcameron_ tackled the final 21 miles to bring me home. Deep in the race, my legs tired and pace slowing, she knew when to push me and how to handle my vulnerable mindset and occasional sassy outbursts 😂
CREW
For most of the race, Amy managed a spreadsheet with infinite tabs open and occasionally triaged my feet, among other important duties. @markhamconnolly was captain of the sprinter van. He drove everywhere and packed and repacked after every stop. @pinocchiojeans and @thatsmr.toyou transported pacers to/from their aid stations and brought much needed food and coffee for the crew at all hours. And Kyle was the master of vibes, showing up at random places on the course and making me smile every single time. ❤️
Nick and Tracy would be following along and shooting video and snapping pics. Also very talented and very cool folks to have on your team. Some of these photos (probably the good ones) were taken by them
And a side note on Kyle….Kyle was the omnipresent phantom of stoke. He would show up to cheer on Roxanne in the wildest places at the craziest time of day… and if you were watching the livestream, you may have seen him as the guy sun bathing everywhere on course. I am not sure if the chat arrived on an official name for Kyle, but “sun tan dude is back” was stated multiple times in the livestream. Side notes, Kyle hooked us up with Oakley eyewear and he is the King of Slurpietown! High 5s my dude
Number picked up, team meeting completed, mission explained….it is go time! As a team we walked down the village start area to send everyone off. Final “good lucks” and “see ya soon” were passed on to Roxy…there was an excitement in the air as the runners left the village and headed up to +11,000 feet to kick off the 218 mile journey.
Luckily for us, we had fairly useful live tracking and livestream coverage from Mountain Outpost. And the team set off in different directions to begin our support of this effort! The pacers went back to the house and Amy and Markham took the mothership out to support. Back at the house, I made a ridiculous amount of food so I wouldnt have to cook in between my shifts and I went through my gear and clothing over and over again. I finally decided I had better nap, as shift 1 would be starting at the 52 mile mark around sunset. My first leg would be run in the dark, 15+ miles from Crowley Lake to Watterson Summit. The Schedule had predicted me picking Rox up about 9:30 pm, but based on her progress in the first few hours, it was clear I would need to be ready much much earlier. There was a buzz around the house, “she’s so far ahead of schedule” ” we need to be there sooner” things got anxious and serious quickly! At this point Serena decided that she would head out with me, because the prospect of Sara and Louie getting back and forth to deliver her on time seemed really stressful…so we loaded up and headed to Crowley Lake Park. At the park I had to go sign in and have a gear check. No one checked my gear and I just signed a waiver. But, I got to catch up with my bud Gus Gibbs for a couple minutes and that was rad! Gus was running one of the cameras for Mountain Outpost. After my check in, I went back to the van to get sorted. As I decided what to wear, make sure my lights were working (again) and packed my nutrition, Amy came up and said, “you need to slow her down but keep her steady” No one wants to blow up early in a long race like this and being crew chief means she is calling the shots. No problem by me. We will move efficiently, take good care of ourselves and keep the stoke high. We had run this section at our training camp, so I knew excatly what we were headed into. Nothing left to do, except be warmed up and ready.
Way ahead of schedule Roxy came in 3rd women. She seemed pretty happy and didnt look like she had just run 52 miles. Markham and Amy got down to business taking care of her and I stayed out of the way at the ready. Like an F1 team, Rox was ready to go. She said, “you ready dude?” I replied “yes Ma’am!” and off we went, headed towards the section named, “the killing fields”. Lights on we ran out of the aid and disappeared down a kitty litter double track into the darkness as the sun set. Right away Roxy checked in with me to see how I was doing…. I found this comical and I turned the 3.5 hours into a mission of keeping Roxy, laughing, moving well and eating and drinking. Apparently Gels had already started to revolt with her, So I would offer her what I had for calories, but her carb drink was working well, so that was the main source of fuel for her. Somewhere in the night inbetween me babbling she said, ” I want some pizza and a shoe change!” I got my phone out and texted Amy and Markham and reported the request. The rest of our time in this leg we reminisced about the things we saw or did the last time we ran through here… pinecone art giving me turn by turn directions and scary dudes in truck campers asking us to hang out…… As we approached Watterson Summit, I thanked Roxanne for including me in this team and I expressed how proud of her I was. A moment later we got to the van, Amy and Markham swept in. Guess what, they had pizza and shoes ready. I touched base with Serena and off they went into the night, (Watterson Summit to Taylor Canyon, 28.3 miles was on deck.) I honestly dont recall how I got back to the house, but when I did, I was so happy, so full. I heated up some food, ate, showered, and went to bed. here is the file of that section https://www.strava.com/activities/2042806714
The miles flew by from my perspective and I was napping and eating.. Serena had a big ol night time pull of 28 miles from Matterson Summit to Taylor Canyon. More time picked up ahead of our schedule led to Kate having to run the sunrise shift from Taylor Canyon to Crater Mountain, another 28 mile leg. Where I would tag back in. On the original chart I was supposed to be starting later around 4-5 pm, but I would be taking off right around 1pm instead. When Roxy and Kate showed up, you could see the wear starting to settle in with Rox. As her needs were attended to by Amy and Markham, I checked in with Kate. “how was it?” I asked. “Oh it was good, we cruised!” Kate replied. “Nice nice, how is the eating? How is the mood?” I asked. “All good, I gave her some sour patch kids, but I got a candy corn stuck in my nose…. oh and Rox kept seeing people in the woods when they werent there…” Kate stated “what? Candy corns… why do you have candy corns, that is the most divisive candy on earth…. wait wait, Roxy is hallucinating?!” I said… “Ya, but she was cruising” kate replied. That leg must have been so fun! Cameras were rolling on Roxanne here and she was all smiles, Rule #1 LOOK GOOD! . Similar to my last section, this one too started with “you ready dude?” and we were off. We started to gain elevation pretty much right away in very loose deep sandy decomposed granite, exposed to the sun, there was no shade. As soon as we were out of sight, we started to walk and Roxy told me she wasnt climbing very well and we needed to take it easy. Now, climbing is usually her strong suit, so I took this seriously and wanted to try to get her to not worry about it and to just keep moving. Poles deployed, Bucket hat on and she was following rule #1, Looking good. It was tough going on the Crater Mountain section, energy sucking footing and total exposure to that high altitude sun. Doubling down on hydration was now on my mind for the both of us. There was no aid until Lee Vining 15 miles from where we started. As we got over the top and started to get a run on, Rox asked me for tylenol. I dug out the tube and deployed 3 tablets. Did I forget to mention that Rox is dealing with a partially detached hamstring…… oh ya that….I cant begin to describe how strong and resilient she is…no words. As we continued down to the shores of Mono lake baking in the sun, I tried to keep things light and positive and I continued to encourage her to eat and drink. I had sour swimmers in my vest, and she was getting these down pretty regular. But the heat and the fatigue were catching up and Rox was starting to show some emotion, other than being a straight assassin. I am not sure if there was a tear or two, but there was a pout.
The pouting didnt last long as we got into this groove of “try and try some more” Run a bit, walk a bit, repeat. Again, I cant really describe the grit. I have resigned myself to just walking so many times, to watch her just “try and try some more” over and over again was incredible. It was quiet for a bit as she locked in on this rhythm. I would run by her side, switching which side I was on always yielding the best line and maximum shade when there was some. The grind was real… As we approached a road crossing, we saw a dude in red shirt from way off….”that’s Kyle!” Rox said…. I thought to myself, is she hallucinating again? She cant see that far, and how could Kyle know where we would be……..? Unless he just posted up and waited. Sure enough, as we approached, I could soon see it was Kyle. I checked the road for traffic and made sure crossing was safe and got a high 5 from Kyle…Pretty sure Rox got a hug and some big encouragement and we ran away. All of a sudden, Rox was happier and smiling. We were still grinding, but the vibe was on another level. Nice Work Kyle aka “sun tanning guy”. We were both running out of water but there was a creek crossing coming up. Our desert surroundings yielded to a grove of birch trees, so I knew the creek must be close. “Finish your flasks and give them to me, ” I said as I dug out my 2liter bladder and filter. “take a dip, get wet, get cool, I will filter and top us off, but lets keep moving” Creek was great, mid thigh deep, cool water, birch leaves rustling in the wind… we were headed into shade and up to Lee Vining. Earlier before the creek Rox and I were talking about what sounded good at that time. Rox had declared she wanted a slurpee. haha. Again, I busted out the phone and text the team. As we hit the climb up to Lee Vining Rox started charging and I said, ” lets gooooooo slurpeetown.!” She drilled that climb and as we topped out and low and behold….. Kyle, Sara and Louie were there cheering us on, we had a little further to go to get to the sprinter but the cheers were awesome. I just remember Kyle saying, Slurpees ahead……When we got there, Roxy went right into the van. I thought she was going to get cleaned up, eat and sleep… but I guess that slurpee changed things. Amy dealt with some foot issues, they got the night kit on and Serena and Rox headed off for another long section into the night. Lee Vining to Grant Lake, 23.5 miles. I reported the undulation of mood and that I was surprised she wasnt going to sleep now and that Serena should be prepared for a trailside nap. Slurpee fueled, they took off for Grant Lake. I loved every step of that leg, just in awe of how tough Roxanne is. here is the file of my 2nd section: https://www.strava.com/activities/20440326549
Serena and Roxanne ran away from Lee Vining with cheers from the folks at the aid station, she was 2nd female and 3rd overall at this point. Was the race on? Not yet I hoped. Amy and Markham looked tired, and we quickly packed up and drove back to Mammoth for some rest. I was up again very soon, I would be Tagging in at Grant Lake some time in the middle of the night. But first, some food, a shower and some sleep….for all of us.
10:45pm and I could hear, “Chris….Chris….wake up, you have 15 minutes….” Amy, crew chief extraordinaire woke me and got me moving. I had oats with blueberries in the fridge, all I needed to do was get dressed, eat, make a coffee, brush teeth and get in the van with all my shit. Check! We had kind of a comical drive to Grant Lake, but we made it with plenty of time in hand. As we waited, Amy made fresh bottles and got Roxannes fuel ready for the next leg…I think a text had been received that she would sleep here upon arrival. Markham got set up and I stayed out of the way and stayed warm.
The sky was dark and the temps were dropping. It was quiet out there, not much going on. The aid station provided a fire and warm food, both of which I took advantage of as we waited for the arrival of Roxy and Serena. Not long after finishing some ramen noodles, I saw 2 headlamps approaching, this should be our duo. Sure enough it was…and sure enough Roxanne was going to sleep. Serena and I sat down by the fire and she got me up to speed on how that section went, while sitting there she fell asleep, this is tiring for everyone! I sat there, in the quiet by the fire and enjoyed the calm. I had run most of my next section before and I was looking forward to guiding Roxanne through the night. Moments before the van door opened and Roxy emerged, I watched the moon rise….I would also see the sunrise on this leg, I think that is a first for me. Grant lake to 395 junction, 24 miles. here we go
At this point, Roxanne had covered about 124 miles, she had just slept about 30-40 min and we were about to move through the night. Her energy was a little different. Not panicked, but there was concern about who was behind her and how far. As we hiked up the double track from grant Lake, I just tried assured her that who and where people were, didnt matter. If someone was closing in on her, that would be a big energy cost to them, and that she would need her energy to race in the closing miles, but if we got caught now…. who cares. and if that person holds it to the finish, respect! Rox wasnt as sharp, rightfully so, but we kept moving, I was picking the line, trying to keep the camber to a minimum, and just smooth climbing under foot. Hike, eat, drink, reboot the message was my play sheet. But again, we got quiet. Our pace dropped off but our grind kept grinding. I started to hear distant voices, casually I looked back, hoping that Roxy would just look ahead and keep moving. The voices I heard, were not hallucinations on my part, they were people, I could see 2 sets of headlamps within 300-500 ft of us. Keep moving, whatever the pace was. Move, eat, drink, be positive. I dont think Roxanne knew how close these folks were and that I was happy about. The track we were on topped out on a false summit, I knew we were approaching a turn from having been here before, but also from the track on my watch, but I couldnt see any trail, or any markings. As I looked around, the headlamps got closer. I made a decision to follow my gut and follow the watch track off trail and up a hill. ” lets go!” I said and we marched on off trail. Within Minutes, Roxanne said, “I don think this is right.” with false confidence, I committed to it being the correct direction. I could no longer see headlamps or hear voices, my guess was that they were also having some navigation challenges. I was committed to going this way and 20 minutes passed and still no flagging. “dude, this looks wrong, where is the flagging?” ” We are good.” I would reply. this happened several times. In my head I was stressing, did I have the most current version of the GPX file? shit…….. I was starting to be concerned, but concealing it. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Soon things started to feel familar to me, even though I had only been here in the daylight, I would say to myself, “I remember this, there is like a clearing up here on the right…” and there would be, this bolstered my confidence……and then finally we saw a course marker…. ” there you go, see we are good.” OMG, sigh of relief. Can you imagine if I had navigated her off course by an hour when the race was tightening up………we never saw the headlamps or people again
Onward, we kept gaining elevation and finally we rolled over the high point, you could start to see lights of a campground near June Lake. As we started to descend, there were ironically course markings like every 6 ft…on the only route possible…. like what? This bit became technical singletrack, and we made the decision that Roxy would go first…I didnt want my pace to pressure her and if she fell or tripped in front, I would be right there to assist her. She was great, we got a roll on and we got down that section to the campground safely. From here, we were uncertain of the exact route, because of a re route. We had done one version of a re route at training camp, and it was a gnarly downhill bushwhack, with some no fall sections. Dark, over 130 miles in, it would be challenging. As we approached were we needed to deviate I prepared myself to get us through… and wouldnt you know it, there was a new detour, a simple one, right down to the road. Once down on the road we motored 4 miles or so up to the June Lake Ski Resort where we were reunited with Amy and Markham. I am not sure what Roxanne did here, I was just relieved that we went the right way, after topping off my flasks, I heard, “dude, you ready?” and off we went, headed up to the ridgeline of the ski station. We were definitely picking up the “try and try some more” spirit again as the sun started to rise. WOW, I wish I had taken some pictures, the pink cast of the rising sun dancing across the surface of June Lake in front of me was unreal and as we turned west that same pink alpenglow blanketed a cathedral of granite walls at the end of the canyon…. The eastern sierra has beauty like no where else. Lost in this beauty, we climbed. Not sure how much time went by in that moment of the sun coming up, but I realized that it was time to stash the poles, stash the lights and go down. When Roxy took her headlamp off she said, “how is my hair?” I knew the sun was recharging her. Having just been the sheppard so far I was surprised when Roxanne told me to lead the descent and to let it rip. Not really sure what that meant in our current state, I headed down and tested the waters of what pace we could go. We got down pretty quick and without any issues and we were dumped out down lower in the town of June Lake. From here to 395 junction the course seemed a little convoluted, but we kept moving. I could tell Roxanne was struggling with her hamstring. On a few occasions I would hear a gasp followed by, “that was a zinger.” In awe of how tough she is, I was also starting to get concerned that she might be doing real damage to her hamstring. Knowing what she has been through, I really didnt want to say anything, but knowing what she has accomplished in her life through grit and determination, I was thinking I should bring up the topic, Is this worth it? I never did. Try and Try some more. Roxanne has been in real life threatening situations on Mount Everest, she can manage her tolerance of her injury. I said nothing and kept the rhythm up. I started to lead now and she would follow, when it got too much, she would tell me… I would wait for her to instigate some pace, and I would lead again, repeat all the way to 395 junction. Again as we approached the team I told her thank you and how proud I was of her. This was my finish, I was a little overwhelmed if I am being honest, because at one point I didnt think I belonged on the team…It was really awesome to see Roxanne and her strength, a gift I will keep forever. About 2 miles before we finished Roxanne asked me how my body was….. “I quickly replied, I am fine. Really good in fact.” I then went on to try and describe that pacing her was like a duty or a higher calling than just running for myself…she gave me a weird look. haha. I still dont really understand what I was trying to say, but it is a thing. I was serving a higher purpose. My “self” didnt really factor in. I tapped into my skills, fitness and knowledge of traveling in the mountains to help her with this journey…and that was an absolute honor. Kate would now tap in and run 395 junction to Upper Deadman, a 13 mile section. I changed into some dry clothes, Serena handed me a coffee, I got into a car with Louie and that was it…..for me. I spent the next several hours kind of lost in thought or trying to process the experience perhaps. I would snap out of it to check the tracker and livestream to see how Rox was doing. I got cleaned up and wandered down to the finish area to see first place finish. 51 hours and change, Gabe Joyce. It was interesting watching him finish, surrounded by his team, wondering what their journey was like….Still in a daze, I went back to the house and texted Kyle to see if I could catch a ride to Upper Deadman, to see Roxy come in and hear the story of that leg from Kate and watch Amy, crew chief take her dear friend Roxanne to the finish . here is the route of m leg #3 https://www.strava.com/activities/20449972337
Kyle did indeed pick me up, because he is a legend and he shared his tales of getting around the course to support and cheer, I wondered how long he had been up with no sleep. It wasnt long before we saw Kate and Rox rolling in. You could tell Rox was ready to be done and you could tell Amy was going to keep her foot on the gas. It was going to be an exciting final leg. One more time up to 11000+ feet before descending down to the the finish in the village. Quietly, the team, minus Amy and Roxanne drove back to the house. Quiet from reflection? Quiet from Fatigue? Probably both. There was a triumphant joy vibe even though the race wasnt over, everyone had shared in this thing and this thing was so damn cool. Back at the house I was energized. I had my computer out and I was working on the final training plan and pacing strategy for Serena’s Javelina 100 coming up next, (where our team will assemble again). A few hours passed and the team headed down to the finish to watch our Roxanne finish off this wonderful loop, this big challenge.
She did it. 2nd woman and 3rd overall. I am starting to think that wolf I saw south of Alturus was a sign, a sign of good fortune and a sign that a good journey was about to commence. I am beyond blessed to have been part of this team and I will never forget a single second of this trip. If you read this far, remember this is only my side of the journey…I hope that Kate, Serena, Amy, Markham, Sara, Louie, Kyle and Roxanne share their versions.
After meandering back to Olympia, I treated myself to a giant burrito and got back to normal life and continued the prep for pacing Serena at her first 100 miler Halloween weekend.
Thanks to anyone who read this… it felt good for me to write it.
