Race Report - 2023 Black Canyon 100K

The Black Canyon 100K has been on my bucket list for a couple of years now, so I decided to go for it. This would be my first ultra in Arizona and since it takes place in February, I would avoid that challenging desert heat...or so I thought. I arrived at the Rock Springs Cafe in Black Canyon City, AZ on Friday morning. The cafe was the location of the race packet pickup and race expo. If you prefer a race video, please heads on over to my YouTube channel for a full video race recap.

My good buddy Nick and his friend Ted from Atlanta had also signed up for this event, which is one of the largest ultras in the country. The 100K distance features three waves with 300+ runners each for a total of nearly 1000 starters. While it is a net downhill point to point course, it is by no means an easy race. It's not the just over 6000' of elevation gain that challenge runners, but rather the technical terrain and fully exposed course for the entire 62 miles that makes this course deceivingly difficult. Thankfully, I had no time goals other than to enjoy the journey and earn another bucket list race finish.

Race packet pickup was a fairly efficient process and though the lines were long, runners were moved through very quickly, so there was plenty of time for me to explore the expo and spend a few bucks on Black Canyon race swag. After a quick stop at the famous pie shop, Nick, Ted and I parted ways and while they headed to a hotel in Phoenix, I drove to the Bumble Bee Ranch that along with hosting one of the major Black Canyon Ultra aid stations also offered runners very cheap camping for race weekend. It was still the afternoon when I arrived at my campsite at the ranch, so plenty of time to freshen up, lay out my race kit and fix a quick and simple pre-race dinner.

Although runners had to utilize a race shuttle to be taken to the race start, I was still able to "sleep in". My alarm went off at 4;30AM and shortly after 5AM I was on the road to the the race shuttle pickup location at a large outlet mall just north of Phoenix. From here, runners would be taken to the race start at Mayer High School in Spring Valley for the three wave race start at 7AM, 7:30AM and 8AM, respectively.

Nick, Ted and I managed to board the same shuttle as we also happened to be in the same wave 2. After some slight delays, we finally made it to the race start location. We had just 2 minutes after arriving and dropping off our finish line drop bags before the start signal for wave 2 was given. It was a beautiful but crisp morning in Arizona with race start temperatures even lower than in Phoenix proper due to Spring Valley's higher altitude location at around 4,000 feet. Our wave started on time and while some runners struggled to make it to the start line on time, none of them were at a disadvantage as both the start and finish times for each runner relied on chip times rather than gun time.

Nick, Ted and I lined up somewhere in the middle of our wave and I settled into a very easy pace once we took off. I had finally come off yet another bout with COVID just a week prior to the race and new to finish was to win. My goal was to conserve energy for the later and more challenging stage of this race. The Black Canyon race course is very fast for the first 25 miles with the most challenging terrain featured on the second half of the course. 

Full disclosure, one drawback of an ultra with nearly 1000 runners on mostly single track trail is the extensive conga lines that would form in the process. Of course, this is only a factor for runners like myself, who didn't take off in a full sprint from the start:-) Nick and I would run together for much of the early miles before I would eventually lose track of him. Ted had taken off at a faster pace than both of us and I would not see him again until mile 20 at Bumble Bee Aid station. We would see each other a couple more times before i lost track of him again.

I felt great for the first 20 miles, moving well and not having any issues whatsoever. I rolled through the first aid station Antelope Mesa at mile 8 without stopping as I carried enough fluids and nutrition for the early miles. 13 mile in, at the Hidden Treasure aid station I finally refilled my bottles and ate some watermelon. I continued to roll as we still had some nice downhill sections ahead before making it to mile 20 at Bumble Bee Ranch. I arrived at Bumble Bee still feeling great. However, as soon as I left the aid station, my stomach turned south. 

Initially, I suspected it was something I drank at the aid station, but I realized that it would be impossible for my system to be affected that quickly. I'm still not sure what caused it, but it was the first time in more than 10 years that I had to deal with any severe stomach issues. Unfortunately, this issue did not resolve itself and by the time I arrived at the Black Canyon City aid station at mile 37, I required a stop at the portajohn. While the medical staff at this aid station did not have any Imodium to help me remedy my "situation", a fellow runner and good samaritan was kind enough to help me out. 

Nick had caught up to me again on the last climb leading into the Black Canyon City aid station and he was kind enough to wait on me while i addressed my issues. We headed back out together, refocussed and determined to get our finisher awards. At this point, Nock had far more energy than I did, so I was happy to have him lead the way. He kept us moving at a solid pace that I would otherwise not have maintained. By mile 50, darkness had fallen and as we arrived at the Table Mesa aid station, we finally saw Ted again. He had had his own struggles with his stomach and nausea. After we filled our bellies to get ready for the longest stretch between aid stations, we left Table Mesa together to tackle the final half marathon distance.

We continued to make good progress as Nick continues tos et the pace. In fact, Ted and I had to call him back a few times as he was more than capable of dropping us at this point. Nick kept us honest and we even managed to pass more than just a few people over these final miles. Rolling into Doe Spring aid station at mile 59, I finally felt much better. Great timing, too, as Nick was finally starting the fade a little bit. It was finally time for me to set the pace for a bit to take us hoke for the last 5k. Ted took some extra time here to let his stomach settle, while Nick and I continued in an effort not to get too cold from standing still in the cool evening air. 

I could hear the noise of the finish line in the distance and I had to hold Nick back from an all out sprint to get done. When I finally crossed the finish line of the Black Canyon 100K, I was both relieved and excited to have finished this deceivingly difficult 100K. It wasn't one of my better performances by any means, but i certainly enjoyed it much more than some other faster events of mine.

My sincere thanks to the entire Aravaipa crew, from the race director to the team of volunteers, for making this such a memorable, scenic and well organized experience for all runners. I can't wait to toe the line at another Aravaipa event.

Race Report - 2023 Forgotten Florida 100 Mile Run

The Forgotten Florida 100. I was registered to run this race last year, but then I got injured. The resulting lack of training had me drop to the 40 mile distance. Further thought had me withdraw from the event entirely to try another year. Enter 2023 and I was ready to give it a go, not well prepared, but well enough to finish, or so I hoped. Please click here for a full race video along with comments on gear and nutrition I used.

After short flight to Orlando, Florida and a struggle to pick up my rental car at the airport, I finally arrived at the Tosohatchee WMA to pick up my race packet with time to spare. The race packet included a cool trucker hat, a commemorative pint glass and a race sticker. Hey, I'm a sucker for a good race sticker;-) Runners also received free pre race bib photos. I posed for my free pic and jumped into my rental car to make the 45 minute drive to Orlando to find my AirBnB before getting a proper preface meal.

After dinner at a local plant based restaurant I headed back to my AirBnB before packing my race pack and laying out my running kit for the next day. It would be an early morning with a race shuttle to the start and I wanted to get as much sleep as possible.

My alarm was scheduled to go off at 4AM, but by 3:30AM I was up and getting ready to go with enough time to stop for a cup of coffee along the way. RD Sean Blanton had arranged for 3 travel coaches to pick us up at the 100/50 mile finish line and to shuttle us to the race start at a trailhead at Little Big Econ State Forest.

Runners gathered at a large clearing at the trailhead and RD Sean shared last minute instructions before sending us off with a short countdown and leading us across the field and onto single track trail. The race had officially begun.

On the shuttle ride to the start, I sat next to Jason Brock and we reminisced about the Shippey 100 Miler in Missouri we had just run 3 weeks earlier. We both didn't quite have the performances we had wished for, so we decided to take it easy early on in the Forgotten Florida 100 to ensure we'd have some legs left for a push later in the race. The Forgotten Florida 100 is a nearly pancake flat course, so it is imperative to insert regular walk breaks to preserve your energy. Jason and I ended up running and suffering the entire race together. This was only the second time ever I had managed to run an entire 100 mile distance with another runner. The first time was the 2011 Rocky Raccoon 100, my first 100 mile finish, where my buddy Richard Trice was nice enough top drag my battered body around the remaining two 20 mile loops after a furious first 60 miles. I would eventually learn to start slower, well, sometimes anyway.

As we covered the first few miles of the race, I was struck by the unusual terrain. Palm trees and lush green forests all around us. Lots of palm trees...and weeping willows. It was magical. Being used to do mostly mountain ultras, this was an entirely new experience. 

But it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine. There were some water crossings and mud, lots of shoe sucking mud. Aptly named sections like "Devil's Swamp" made progress particularly slow and difficult in some places. For the most part, however, the terrain was both stunning and runnable. 

The first 50 miles consisted of a point to point course that did feature a couple of loops and an out & back section before taking runners to the halfway point and finish line for the 50 milers. The second half of the course was an out & back with a small lollipop loop on the out section.

Jason and I stuck to our plan to start slow. This definitely preserved my energy levels, but unfortunately, it did not prevent my "demise". While Jason struggled a bit with the unexpected heat of the day, I fared a bit better, until nightfall, that is. My feet had begun to deteriorate after mile 40, causing me to make a shoe, sock and gaiter change at mile 50. While that alleviated the issues, it did not eliminate them. After a couple more water crossings, the trench foot caused by my constantly wet feet had created severe hotspots under both feet. In fact, they were so bad I was certain they were full blown blisters. This caused me to walk a lot more than intended, a whole lot more. Unfortunately, these excessive walk stretches caused other issues. Eventually, I came to the realization that running hurt less than walking, so when the new day finally broke, I had some renewed energy to finish out this adventure.  

The expected sub 24 hour finish had long gone out the window, but Jason and I agreed that we should at least attempt to limit our time "out there" as much as possible. So we decided to get to the finish in under 27 hours. We had over 80 miles under our belt and after barely running what was clearly runnable terrain during the night, it was time for me to get my @$$ moving. The night section contained a very runnable 15 mile section where I could barely muster a shuffle. When I say runnable, I mean a packed down dirt road that was so even and flat in fact that we were able to turn off our headlamps and run my the full moonlight alone.

As Jason and I covered the final 15 miles to the finish, it became clear that we would make it. The stoke level was high, but the energy levels were low:-) One final turn off the single track trail and onto the double track WMA dirt road and we had just a short 1.5 miles to go, giving us time to reminisce about the race that was. We crossed the finish line in 26 hours 47 minutes and 57 seconds. After a couple of high fives and collecting my buckle, it as time to leave for a hot shower and a nap. 

Thanks to RD Sean for creating such a scenic course and thanks to the crew of volunteers that provided all the support a runner could wish for, especially us solo runners without crew. Thank you!

Race Report - 2022 Fall Creek 100 Miler

 

Check out the full race video on my YouTube channel here. This adventure came unexpected and unplanned. My better half figured we should do one more ultra before the end of the year, so we started searching online for an event that looked interesting to both of us. I wasn't interested in short loops and she wasn't interested in a ton of vertical gain. It also had to offer multiple distances as my wife wanted a 50K and I wanted to try for one more 100 mile buckle to close out the year. 

After narrowing down our search, we both agreed that Fall Creek 100 fit the bill. A new event that was cancelled in its first year last year, it takes places at the Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee. It also was only a short 2 hour drive from our home with reasonable registrations fees for the various race distances (33M, 50M, 100M). Along with plenty of campsites inside the park, they also offered free camping for race weekend at the race start/finish area (large group campsite). Having been to this park earlier in the year for the Frozen Falls 50K put on by a local Huntsville crew, I knew some of the trails already and I really liked the start/finish setup with free camping.

Anya and I left our house in our camper van on Friday afternoon. Even though packet pickup wouldn't happen until race morning Saturday, we booked one of the campsites inside the park, so we could "sleep in" until 4AM with time for coffee and a small breakfast prior to the 5:30AM packet pickup time. We got  a campfire going, had a past dinner and a couple of beers, got our race kits ready and went to sleep at a reasonable hour. 

Our biggest concern for race day were the expected temperatures. We had been following the weather forecast for the last 10 days and it did not look promising. I may not be a fan of hot weather races (see my last race report about our Mexican UTMB race), but low 20s to low 40s seemed a little too cold, especially considering the night time temps. I went back and forth on what layers to wear or not to wear, but I ultimately opted for one of my favorite Compressport hooded LS shirt coupled with my trusty old Patagonia Houdini windbreaker. I used an old pair of UD running gloves and a rolled up buff to cover most of my head and ears while still allowing excess heat to escape at the top of my head. For my lower body, I went with a pair of Path Projects shorts and one of their baseliners. I wore a pair of Altra Time 4 and a pair of my favorite Merino wool CEP socks. 

We would have access to one drop back at the Gilbert Gaul AS, which we would visit a total of 4 times during the race. Runners were also allowed a drop bag at the start/finish, which 100 milers would only access at the 50 mile mark...and at the finish, of course. Speaking of the course, the 100 mile course consisted of two 50 mile "loops" that contained a couple of smaller loops. The total vertical elevation gain was advertised as 8000', but I recorded nearly 12,000', which still isn't too bad at all and still presents as a fairly runnable course, overall. However, the leaf cover made the course much more challenging than the elevation profile would suggest.

Since I was able to access my single drop bag at Gilbert Gaul AS 4 times, I only had to carry enough nutrition to get me to and from this aid station. I chose my UltrAspire Legacy 2.0 race vest as it provided the storage needed for my bottles, Spring Energy gels, drink mix powders as well as additional layers, phone, GoPro and batteries. Speaking of GoPro batteries, the extreme temps were too much even for the batteries GoPro touts as cold weather batteries. I've already done some research to confirm an idea that I had during the race and it seems the hand warmers I used all day and all night are just the ticket to keep camera batteries warm when conditions require it. During my post race research, I also found a solution for annoying waterspots that create blurry GoPro footage. I will be putting both of these solutions to the test soon and hopefully do a blog or video about it, but back to the race.

As this was the first time this race actually took place, the race field across all distances was rather small, but there were still more than 100 runners lined up to tackle one of the 3 distances on offer. All races started together at 6:30AM. Anya and I stayed in our toasty warm van for as long as possible before making the short 2 min walk to the race start. We made it just in time for the countdown. 

My race strategy was simple. Keep moving forward until I cross the finish line. Since I had not really trained specifically for this event other than trying to keep a weekly average of 50-60 miles, I could not really have any ambitions other than hoping to finish. Now I am believer in having a lofty A goal along with a B or minimum goal, so I decided to plan the nutrition to carry and use based on a 24 hour plan. I figured a sub 24 finish could be a possibility, if all things came together just so. However, once the race started, I never looked at the pace chart. I did check my time at the turnaround point, which I realized post race was actually to the minute on pace for my sub 24 hour finish schedule. However, since my wife misinterpreted my actual pace and told me that I was 40 minuted behind at mile 50, I decided to take extra time to reset before getting back out there for the second half of the race, but more about this later.

The first 5 miles were pretty uneventful, but in a good way. I was feeling good and slowly warming up enough to have feeling in all of my extremities by the time I rolled into the first Fire Tower aid station at mile. If I remember correctly, the next section was quite challenging. There was heavy leaf cover and the course marking was rather sparse. At times, this section felt more like an orienteering race than an ultra, especially at some of the confusing intersetions and it had me worried for the night, when we had to cover this section again, but in total darkness aside from our own light sources.

While this section felt more difficult, I was still moving well. My pace felt steady and on track. I was running entirely by feel, so I really didn't know my actual pace. After 9.50 miles I arrived at the second aid station, Nature Center, which I recognized from running a 50K here I ran earlier in the year. Next up would be a section with some ups and downs, but that just gave me a reason to walk some after doing a lot of running. Next up would be the Piney Falls AS, which we would visit for the first of four times at mile 13.9. This AS was on the smaller "loop" we'd run twice during each 50 mile loop. I mostly relied on my Spring Energy gels along with my drink mix, but I would supplement at some of the aid stations with a piece of banana and coke and later on with mashed potatoes and broth. 

Speaking of the aid stations, they really stepped up their game throughout the day, providing warm food choices as the day turned darker and colder. The mashed potatoes coupled with the vegetable broth were absolutely amazing in the middle of the night. Next up would be the Gilbert Gaul AS, where I would access my drop bag for the first time. Along with 4 zip lock bags with various nutrition choices, my drop bag also contains an extra pair of shoes (Altra Olympus 4.0) along with various long and warm layers and my main light source for the night, The UltrAspire Lumen 600 3.0.

I was now 20 miles into the race and still moving well, but I had already taken a couple of tumbles catching roots hidden under the thin leaf cover. I had also rolled my ankle a few times even with the preventative tape job I had done prior to the race as I had all year. Thankfully, none of these issues ended my race prematurely, but they did have a major affect on my performance and ability to keep moving quickly later on in the race.

We would repeat some of this last section on the smaller loop before continuing on the larger loop. When I made it back to my drop bag at the Gilbert gaul AS for the second time, I had covered 50K and had to pick up my primary light for the night as I knew I wouldn't be back here until mile 70 much later in the night. I was still feeling great and moving well, but the next section along the lake was much more technical and way colder than any other section before. Lots of exposed roots made running impossible for me as I had to protect my left ankle. The cold air blowing from across the lake added to the challenge as I now pulled up both of my hoods to stay warm during this slower section.

When I arrived at the Bridge AS at mile 39 having covered the last 8 miles rather slow, I was ready to pick up the pace again. I was motivated to make it back to the mile 50 turnaround at the start/finish before it got dark, but first I had to cover the biggest climb on the course before it would level out again for some more runnable terrain. By the time I made it to the Fire Tower AS for the second time, this time coming back from the other direction, I had slowed again. It was here that I joined up with fellow 100 mile runner Rob, who was running much better than me at this point. As he caught up to me, I latched on to try to keep up with him until mile 50. With 2 miles to go to the turnaround, I finally had to let him go. I decided too slow to a more comfortable pace and to hit the reset button at the halfway point to revive my race.

I arrived at mile 50 in 11 hours 15 minutes, well on sub 24 hour pace. However, due to a misinterpretation of my pace by my wife AND my desire to take a longer break to change into warmer and dryer clothes and to sit down for some food, a sub 24 hour finish was no longer on my mind. Just finishing was now the plan.

Refreshed and ready to tackle the second half of the course to earn that buckle, I bundled up in some warm clothes and got back out there. Miraculously, I actually had my best 20 miles from miles 50-70. I was moving well again and clocking some fastish miles. In fact, sub 24 started creeping into my mind again, which isn't a bad thing when you are trying to keep moving through the night. I even overcame the sleepies with the help of some caffeine.

However, around mile 73 or so, I was stopped dead oil my tracks. I guess my left knee/leg finally decided to lock up completely. It may just have been too many falls that ultimately tweaked my left knee and inflamed my IT band. I barely made it limping into the Gilbert Gaul AS. I had to sit down, change into some warm/dry clothes from my drop bag and ask the AS crew for some Ibuprofen. I have never ever taken any kind of pain medication during an ultra for obvious reasons, but I knew I needed the left knee to release, if I didn't want my race to be over right here and now. I sat at that AS for a while to warm up and to eat some more mashed potatoes and broth before deciding that it was time to try rot keep moving.

The next 8-10 miles were as slow and ugly as I expected, but I was happy to start feeling better by the time daylight returned. I didn't get the proverbial second wind, but I was able to move. I was ready to be done at whatever pace my body would allow me to go. I was excited when I finally spotted the final aid station before the finish, Fire Tower AS. One more hole punch at the base of the fire tower and it was time to make my way to the finish, but not until the awesome AS volunteer handed me a couple of freshly made hasbrowns. I made quick FT call to my wife, who was happy to see me moving still, to let her know that I was less than 6 miles from the finish. As is often the case, the final miles in a 100 miler always feel the longest and this rare was no different. I was so happy when I finally spotted my wife at the end of a long first service road section that would take me into the finish. A "short" 25 hours and 49 minutes later, I crossed the finish line, elated to be informed that I finished 3rd Overall along with earning that sweet handmade Fall Creek 100 Mile buckle.

I encourage you to check out my race video at YouTube for a more immersive race experience and for a reveal of the beautiful buckle.