STORMY 100

11:36am: Call my crew, Rob Ruff and discreetly inquire to his whereabouts as we are less than 25 minutes away from the start of Stormy (Squamish Test Of Running Mettle, Yeah!) 100 miler and he is nowhere to be found. 11:54am: All my bottles of gatorade, electrolyte water, flat Pepsi, hydration packs and everything that I'm going to need to get me through the next 27-30 hours of trails are sitting into a plastic milk crate in front of my car. 11:59am: I can sorta feel the sun through my big floppy hat, KK shirt and shorts, I only have 1 water bottle, because I've already preloaded with some yummy lemon-lime Nuun.

Good to see mostly everybody from CFA: John, Karl, Gilles, Chad, Dan, Bill, Jess, Paul, Rick, Sylvie,  Wade, Gary, Carlos, Glenn, and Ryan. Mark from California, Chris and Shirlee from the Okanagan...3...2...1...go! Pace is good at the start which was revised ever so slightly as the original course would take us into incoming traffic on the highway due to construction, over the bridge and into the golf course trail. Uh-oh, too much nuun...duck into the woods for a pit stop and rejoin the group. Get called out by Jess. Oops. This part of the trail was nice as it was really shady and offered a brief rest from the heat. Unfortunately it was too brief and back towards Hwy 99 we go! Crossed Mamquam Road onto a gravel trail and see Rob in the parking lot! He assures me he got all my drinks and is ready to go for crewing. Yes! Cross a little urban section and step into the relatively cool Coho Park, don't think I'm going too fast here and immediately start walking on the first hill of the day. I catch up to John, Gilles and Sylvie on this section who are also walking. Make small talk as Gilles keeps bringing up the fact that we have a virgin amongst us and that he's gonna be sticking with her all day and night. Okay, then.

Up the slightly technical trail that is Lumberjack and out to Perth Aid #1. It's about an hour into the run, I grab three cookies and gulp down some water and head out onto Jack's trail. Down a slightly rocky bit here and back towards Alice Lake. This section is exposed but my big hat is protecting me from the sun, although it's not really that bright as there is some cloud cover, but it is getting warm. Into the woods and onto some nice singletrack, and make it to Alice Lake which looks really cool and tempting, but I got a race to run first. Take the gravel road out to the parking lot and onto the road (ugh) but I am wearing road shoes for the first 29 miles so it's not that big of a deal. Had to tell Karl and another guy we have to turn left down the road as they look up from consulting the course description. Down a little trail which turns into a steep downhill and flattens out somewhat back to Alice Lake Rd. Meet Rob (1:48pm) at this section who is helping out other runners while waiting for me. He hands me my Nathan 2L pk and I exchange my handheld and vest. Grab some more cookies and make my way up the road, it's runnable but it's too early and too warm to be running uphill. Karl doesn't think so and steadily climb. I do too and make my way towards a trio of runners, Glenn, Dan and Paul. We're all walking at this point, but I can feel a pebble in my left shoe and rush ahead to take care of it, the three pass me as I'm adjusting and make their way up the dirt road, I'm not trying to catch them (really!) but I feel good in the shade. Rejoin the group and Paul relates the funny story on how through a misunderstanding in the local paper led Wendy declaring Paul not her favorite ultra runner but her favorite to win it all. So whaddya doing slumming with us?!?

We pass Karl (who may have had rumblings of a sub 24) at this point who remarks that he's been beaten by slower runners than us. Dan and I feel good so we break from the mini pack with Karl on our heels. We discuss the actual favorites and we throw out Bill and Mark Tanaka, Ryan may have a good shot as like Bill, he'd have local knowledge of the trail (I can't believe I forgot to talk about Gary in this convo, HE'S FROM FREAKING SQUAMISH!!!!). The trail conditions are great, shaded and not too hot, but this changes as soon as we hit the corners (Rob's and Cliff's). It gets warm quickly and I take a brief pause and Karl takes my spot just like that. Crap, I've been Karl'd! Well, I unwisely take off in pursuit and thank god, it's mostly downhill so it doesnt feel like I'm expending too much effort. Make my way down rocky Mashiter and starting on the Tracks from Hell, a nice sidetrip on some mountain back slats. Hit Edith Lake (16mi) and welcome Kim T who's laid out a nice picnic spread of ultra goodies. The potatoes were quite yummy. It's here that I catch up to Karl, Carlos and Brad (Dan has powered ahead and I wouldn't see him again until ironically the next time I hit Edith Lake, more on that later) The next section of trail was fairly technical, but as long as I stayed patient and present it wasn't too bad, Entrail and Marc my word were fine and having done that section at night made me really appreciate the day. Came out of Rollercoaster having passed Brad and Carlos but not singing the Juicy Fruit jingle as I recalled the carnage the last time I sang that. Rob had both packs waiting for me at Perth (4:10pm) which was a good thing as mine was dry. Opted for the waist pack with one handheld and made my way down to the Blvd but not before scarfing down 4 slices of watermelon. Carlos and Brad are behind me and I'm trying to stay ahead of them only because I wasnt in a talkative or listening mood. Cross the bridge and down some more rocky trail, and onto the dreaded barkmulch section before making the left hand turn up towards University. Notice a swimsuit (two piece) just lying on a rock, not that I'm gonna go look for the owner, but I'm just saying... Begin yet another climb to the Aid station and I see Darren then Mark come down the road. Wow. They're already 5 miles ahead of me. Bill goes hammering down the hill so hard, his water bottle ejects from its holster! Go get 'em Bill! Make it to University Aid (21 mi) and top off my bottle and start climbing again, I take my hat off and stuff it in a pouch. During the climb, it must have fallen out and I'm stuck with turning around and looking for it or continue up without adequate protection. Fortunately Paul just happens to turn the corner and selflessly got my hat for me. I did run down a little bit to get the hat back from Paul and chalk it up to good karma. It was nice to have someone to run with briefly but soon we hit Ring Creek FSR and Paul powered up the hill. Finally it was starting to get cool as I made my way up to Pseudo Tseuga.

Passed by the tree where I saw the bear two weeks ago, may have run a little harder on this section for some reason. Descended down lower Psuedo and crossed to Phil and Cam's, caught up to Carlos and Brad who may have took it a little hard on the uphills as he was grabbing his quads, all of a sudden Ryan came down the trail. Turns out he missed the Ring Creek turnoff and kept running up Garibaldi Park rd for 10 miles. Ouch. Make it back to the Univ Aid Station and it's still warm but a little overcast.
Add a visor to my head and make my way to Powerhouse. Zip down the road and onto Ring Creek Falls Trail, definitely feeling the sodium depletion as I'm nearing the Falls so I call Rob up and ask if he can make me some spicy pot noodles in a cup. Rob will try and that's all I can ask for. Carlos and Brad power up the hill and I arrive at Powerhouse (29 mi) and am greeted by Neil and Carolyn who are running the 50 mi tomorrow (6:25pm). I settle into the chair and change shoes, and gratefully accept a cup of spicy noodles much to the amusement of Jackie and Wade who dropped out earlier in the day. I linger just for a few minutes more then it's on to tackle Nine mile Hill! I ask for a large iced coffee from SBucks and another noodle when I see Rob again. As I get out of the chair I see Gary finish his loop and head out to Crumpit Woods (in my confusion, I thought maybe he got lost too and was headed to use the porta-john. But the reality is: Gary is now THIRTEEN miles ahead of me!)  Start the flat section as I adjust my bandana as a makeshift dust mask,but fortunately all outgoing vehicles respectfully travel less than 5kph as Jackie and Wade and Rob all head out to civilization. The next pickup to approach me belongs to Michelle, Jess' pacer. Mitch tells me Jess is coming, guess I better pick up the pace, if I don't wanna get chicked! I've already been Karl'd and that's no fun. I know that Carlos and Brad are ahead of me and the Fools (Gilles/John) and Sylvie are behind. Begin walking, I suppose I could run, but I'll save that on the Ring Creek Rip section.  Make it to the 4.5 mile mark of the Hill and have an impromptu shower. Th-a-ttt water's c- cc-ol--lddd! But I am refreshed and start climbing with renewed vigor for about 10 minutes, then it's a quick dash to the side of the road to avoid two motorbikes and an ATV. There's no water midway up Nine mile, but I know I can refill at the top and keep going. Go down the hill to 6.25 (I really hate this section) and turn the corner and see Carlos standing to the side and Brad is lying face down in the grass (experiencing a very bad bonk)

Carlos will stick with Brad for the time being, having gone through a similar experience at Miwok, I know what the combo of high exertion and low electrolyte levels will do to you. I did take an extra long pull on my Nathan pk and made a mental note to brief Cheryl and Rhonda at the aid station. Got to the top of Nine mile (37 mi) without further incident and tell Cheryl what happened to Brad. Sit down and rest while getting my dropbox out. Change shirts, drink some Mountain Dew and grab my headlamp. Rhonda covers me in a blanket as the bugs are out in full force. Top off my pk and grab some jerky and soup. During this time, Gilles, Sylvie, Carlos and Nathan have caught up. Gilles asks how I'm doing, fine, I reply. No major aches or pains, no cramping has set in, the electrolytes are working great (nuun or saltstick cap) In retrospect, I should probably not have been sitting down as much as I was wasting time at each station and it was progressively harder to get going out of that chair.
On that note,time to go up Lava Flow hill! The sun was starting to set during this section and while I didn't have to turn the headlamp on, it was a good idea to put it on. Ring Creek rip was a little treacherous as it was narrow, rocky, downhill single track, but I managed it with only one ankle roll, as I walked it off I could sorta see some headlights bobbing off in the distance (Sylvie and Nate). Finally some flatter sections and I decided to pick up the pace a wee bit. I'm feeling good and since no one is around and I don't have my mp3 on me, decide to start shuffling the playlist in my head which consists mainly of the Best of George Michael and Finger Eleven.  I'm feeling great, I can see Sylvie and Nate's lights just ahead on the section before the Plunge and that's when I trip. Thump! Oof! Cramp! My left calf seizes as my left foot caught a rock or something. The meaty part of my left hand makes first contact with the ground, then the right forearm and then the right knee. I roll onto my back and sit up massaging the knot out of the calf and managed to get to my feet. Fortunately it's night and I don't owe anybody any beers. Sylvie wants to walk this section because she's going according to plan. Nathan is following her lead, I have a tight calf and the trail is fairly easy going, but this will change as we hit the Plunge. The night section is supposed to have glowsticks but there were none to be found on this section, reflective ribbons a plenty though so as long we stayed on trail we were fine. I actually took point on this part as I had the most hours on this part (Bonkfest), but all those hours just happened to be in the daylight, so Sylvie and Nate graciously let me lead and threatening me if I didn't make her time goals. It was a fast shuffle down the technical parts, Sylvie was worried because she wanted to be 2nd woman in the run (there were only 4 on course) Shirlee was obviously ahead of us, so she was thinking about Jess and Teresa (california). I recalled Jess saying she had 3 pacers starting at Mile 30 which was supposed to last her until dawn, for some reason this started to spur Sylvie on and as we hit the last part of the Plunge we were really starting to pick it up. Came out back on the road, Nate and Sylvie started to descend, I spent a few precious seconds taking a cold shower by the water tap, rinsing off some of the accumulated dust and sweat over the past 10 hours. Run past Sylvie as we get to the Falls, her BF Mike is there wondering what took us so long (well, she is a virgin, ya know...). Me and Nate hoof it to the aid station (43.6 mi) where Rob has the chair out for me with a pot noodle in one hand and an iced coffee in the other(10:30pm).

Awesome combo! Powerhouse is now bustling with activity and I sit back and revel in the chaos, then the caffeine kicks in and I'm reminded it's not even close to being over yet. I lurch out of my chair and head out to Crumpit Woods. John and Nate are behind me, Sylvie has her pacer in tow. The first part of CW is Fartherside and it's uphill so I settle for a walk. John and Nate soon catch up and we play leapfrog for a while. The combined coffee and other fluids soon force me for a brief pit stop and Sylvie passes me here. They are barely visible and seem to be way out in front, but I catch up as everyone is taking it slow on this section. I actually fall on my ass as I misjudge the trail and step into seemingly nothing. I re-pass Sylvie and make it past S&M connector without further incident. Arrive at the next station,briefly consider the PBJ rollup but they're too dry to choke down. Go up the trail, 3 virgins, and 7 stitches,it's here that I lose sight of John and Nate as the lack of calories is taking it's toll. I run when I can and after a nice downhill section, followed by a brief up and down bit, notice the flour arrow going up the steps to the Climber's wall. Get to the top and am helped by the glowsticks thru Smoke Bluffs. Up a staircase and then carefully down a very ast switchback to more stairs, take the time to eat some shot bloks, and finally hit the gravel road down to the Climber's parking lot. I make up a little time on this section, but just before I hit the gate, I step on some jagged rocks and really feel my left forefoot being ripped. I do a system check and the foot is tender but serviceable. I find my rhythm and cross the road, no cars out on Logger's Lane,I guess it's not Last call quite yet. I jog thru the park, cross Finch, and make my way to Brennan Rec Centre. I turn off my lights, the trail is partially visible and I ease my way thru the parking lot. I see Tim and Maureen by the car and then Bill?!? who dropped after 11 hours at Perth.

I'm shocked and barely have time to register this before hitting the 50 mile mark at 12:30am! I'm ushered into a chair and Rob gets out of his jeep and helps me with my gear. Since no one saw me fall on the trail, I felt honorbound to have a beer(big mistake) and have another pot noodle. I'm not eating nearly enough, but I am getting in calories and sodium (1200 mg per pk!) through the noodles and nuun. Outside of the brief cramp I had when I fell before the plunge, I didn't experience the debilitating cramps at Miwok on this run.I retrieved my MP3 player (no pacer) but I didn't use this until much later. My feet were starting to get a little sore, the hot spots I had were starting to develop into full on blisters despite the tape job I had done before. I knew I had a fresh change of shoes which were 1/2 size up,but they were at Perth. I also hoped that Lucinda would still be at Perth as she is very knowledgeable about blister care.

I make my way out of the aid station telling Rob I'd be slowing down in this section. Didn't get to eat much and the beer was starting to take effect. It was a very slow run through the golf course and I lost sight of Sylvie et al, but regained my focus as soon I hit the Highway trail and listened briefly to a lover's spat in the Canadian Tire parking lot. I would've offered a shoulder for the lady to cry on, but dammit, I had a race to run! Caught up to John before we hit Coho Park. Settled back into the group on the uphill, refused a caffeine pill (another mistake) from Sylvie and it showed as they left me in the (saw)dust.

Caught up again, near the end of Lumberjack and we hit Perth. I need to sit down and change shoes 'cause they're one size up and my feet are really hurting. When the shoes are off, I know why. Big blood blister on the inside of left heel, big blister on inside of right heel. Oh, Lucinda.... While Lucinda works on my feet, the following occur: Jess and her pacer have reached Perth. Sylvie perks up and needs to go. John and Nate are ready to go.

Meanwhile, over at Alice Lake aid station, my crew Rob is wondering where I am (according to my pace chart) and has the chair ready, a runner comes in and Rob offers him to take a seat while he aids him. This runner offers some sage advice on sitting in chairs during ultras...DON'T! Because it will come back and bite you in the ass! The runner gets what he needs and gets out of there in a hurry. About 5 minutes later, another runner comes in and asks Rob where the previous runner is. "You just missed him about 5 minutes ago." The other runner looks dejected and says that the other runner is his nemesis. He's never been able to beat him on a run. Then he notices the empty chair. The same chair that the first runner avoided. Sits down and tells trail stories for 10 minutes to Rob who's thinking "Well, that's why!" Interlude over, let's rejoin our hero at the picnic table.

Lucinda has drained, bandaged and taped both blisters. Glenn has graciously taken pictures of the procedure. Linda has gotten me a blanket and Thomas'gf has gotten me two cups of soup. I'm flashing back to Tunnel creek in Tahoe last year where I had a similar event, but the difference was that the great vollies at Perth had helped me with the efficiency of a pit crew on the Indy 500! I was outta there in 35 minutes! Said thanks and alternated shuffle/walk for the next three miles as I'm trying to adjust my taped feet in my shoes, but I'm running again by the time I hit Alice Lake (4:30am). Fortunately they told Rob about my blister situation and he was able to grab some sleep. Got another noodle and Gatorade this time, had a few swallows of amp and refilled my 2l with 4 tabs of nuun. I tell Rob that I'm looking at just to finish now and to adjust my times accordingly.

Make the slow climb up Alice Lake, trying to fight off the drowsiness and briefly notice it's not as dark as it was before and feel a brief rain drops on my head. Oh, right...Get back onto the fireroad and do a little sleepshuffling,almost falling off the trail at times.  Turned at Fawn ridge and determined that I should take a 15 min nap sitting on a rock, reasoned that my pace while I was stumbling on a technical trail while nightrunning would be the same if I was sleeping.

Zzzz. Zzzz. Zzzz. Ding!

My automatic body clock wakes up, I'm refreshed and I do my best Forrest Gump impersonation and I just RUN. Before I know it,I'm at Edith Lake and see Bruce Grant talking to somebody in a parka. It's Dan! As Bruce refills my pk and adds more nuun, I grab some food and pop and try to talk to Dan. But I don't think I'm getting through to him and I need to leave now. I start running again with Maroon 5 as my soundtrack but I am a little more careful on the technical downhill sections. Blast down to Mashiter and catch Thomas, decked out in neon yellow and carrying trekking poles. I tell him he can turn off his headlamp now and scoot ahead to Rollercoaster. Woohoo! I really enjoy this rolling section and spot the long downhill. Now I get the Juicy Fruit theme song going on and speed down and help and when I get to the part,"...the taste is gonna move ya!" I time it with jumping out of the trail and landing in the air at Perth aid station! (7:30am) Thomas's gf and Rob are there with Paul Cubbon sitting at the picnic table. I get some chicken soup this time and refill my pack. Grab some cookies and  Paul notes I've rebounded and full of energy, but he's done and he drops here. Wow. I tell Rob to meet me at University as I make my way down Perth.

It's now starting to rain. A lot. There's a 1/4 bar of power left on my MP3 and I play a game to see if I can get to University before it runs out. Rob passes me down Perth and turns left on Blvd to get to the Univ. I follow and just before I turn right, after the bridge, Rob comes speeding down with a sheepish look on his face, that road doesn't go anywhere!

The rain is quite pleasant even though I'm getting soaked, but it is cooling my core temp and easing my legs. There's no course marshall on the turn up the road after the sawdust trail. There is nobody on this road at all. It's kinda eerie but I soldier on in the rain. Hit the hill and briefly walk backwards up the hill, but turn around on the dirt portion. I walk on this section with the song lyrics "...out on your corner in the pouring rain. Look for the girl with the broken smile. Ask her if she wants to stay awhile." echoing in my head. I see the volunteer and break into a run. Bill's sitting down and recording time. I get a dry jacket, down an amp and head up the trail but the rain is really coming down now. I can't generate enough heat at the pace I'm going so I look for a dry section on the uphill and try to stay out of the rain. This is a fruitless endeavor and I move on after 10 minutes. Brad, whom I had written off back at the top of Bonk hill, is really moving up the hill. This deflates my will to run and I want to sit down again, but I suck it up and I keep walking. Finally crest the top of the service road and starting heading towards Pseudo. I can hear footsteps behind me and wonder if it's the solo or relay 50 miler on my tail. It's the solo, Hassan, who has words of encouragement for me. More solo and relay runners are coming and passing me. I use their energy and make my way down. It's narrow and steep single track and I have to move out of the way as I remember what it was like to go down that fast about 15 hours earlier. As I pop out back to the aid station, I'm amazed by the difference at the level of activity here. It was completely chaotic and it was just en masse. Man, I gotta sit down. Got another noodle soup, Peter watson came over to offer encouragement and hold my pack as I changed out of my wet gear into a dry white sleeveless and green moeben arm warmers. Drank some more amp'd and got out of there with renewed purpose. Ran down the fire road and turned left back towards Powerhouse, saw more friends as they were making their way up the hill. Hit powerhouse and no Rob, no big deal. Grabbed my drop bag and got the remaining food. Stayed away from the chair and shuffled towards the hill. Halfway thru the flat section, Rob comes driving down and asks if I need anything. Grabbed bodyglide and got an egg mcmuffin that's still gloriously warm. I was running out of energy and every calorie counts at this point.

Start trudging up Bonk hill for the final time. It's all I can do to keep awake at this point, I feel dead on my feet, but I know I'm just waiting for the calories to kick in. I continue on and am now being passed by quite a few 50 milers as they all make their way up. Neil comes as I hit the 5 mile mark and remarks that I'm not the last 100 miler out here. Dan was at Powerhouse but he doesn't look good. I don't buy it, Dan has finished HARDROCK and he's coming back from the dead to take me down. I start hoofing it to make it to mile 9, along the way Mike and Sukhi and Jurgen come up to greet me. They also relay the news that Dan is on his way up but he looks like a "zombie". I immediately start to panic and keep going, I flashback to a line from Terminator,"It doesn't feel pain, it doesn't feel pity or remorse, it just keeps coming!"

Yes, I do need to seek professional help.             

Finally, made it to the aid station and wouldn't you know it, it starts raining! Kim and her husband are manning this particular aid station under a tarp. Kim's husband is fumbling with a 2l bottle of coke but it keeps fizzing on him. I try to take as many calories as I can. I start hammering down to Ring Creek Rip and my pace is better now. I'm somewhat protected from the rain, although I did roll up my sleeves. It's all downhill now and I take advantage of it. I slow down a few times, but I get right back on pace. Turn the left towards the Plunge, yay, I didn't fall! Hit the plunge and the fast switchbacks, get passed a LOT on this section. Everybody else has fresher legs than me at this point and I'm starting to get pissed off,it's completely irrational but I use it to push myself further. Hell, at this point I'd even resort to using walking pol...I mean, other "accesories".

Make it down to the road leading to the bridge, but first go to the faucet, dump the last of the nuun out and replace it with fresh water. I've got a full supply of saltstick tabs and I make it to Powerhouse (93 mi) at 3:10pm. More runners are coming and going and I could care less. I sit down and Andy Nicol, the AS captain is reminding me every minute that I should be getting out of that chair and heading back on the trail. Yeah, let me eat my pot noodle first. I was just feeling drained and tired, but the 2000 mgs of sodium soon starts working its magic on me. I had a 2l flat Pepsi bottle on ice waiting for me and at no time did I think of drinking from it. I completely forgot that I had it and Rob, being a first time crew, didn't know if I wanted it. I had about 2.5 hours to run seven miles, that was doable,

Andy figured it would take me about 2 hours and as it turned out, he was right. Rob asked if he needed to meet me at the Climbers parking lot, but I assured him I'd be okay. I thanked him again and headed out on the trail. Even though I was reluctant to leave the aid stations and was sitting WAY too much, I never once considered dropping out of this race. This is really for two reasons: as someone once told me, in Ultras, I'm mentally very tough, I can endure a lot, suck it up and continue. The other reason is that Rob has my car keys, cell phone and wallet and if I even VOICED the POSSIBILITY of dropping out, I know that Rob would drive back home but not before throwing my keys, cell phone and wallet out the window somewhere along the Sea to Sky highway.

Back on the trail, I'm walking the hills and it's going pretty slowly, but then I hit the flats and I'm able to run those reasonably well. I just want this to be over and am counting down the miles. The trail is cool but I can see sunlight poking here and there and I know the last few miles are gonna be warm. I hit the wooden planks and hear cowbells, yee-ha I know who's coming next! Betty, Jackie and Carrie are manning this aid station. I grab what I can and head up the trail to get to 7 stitches. A little over 3.5 miles to go and I am smelling the barn. Make it to the Smoke Bluffs without incident and go up then down the tight switchbacks before descending to the parking lot. Got down and saw Pat who was the marshal here making sure traffic was clear on Loggers lane before letting me pass. Unfortunately it was the pickup truck behind me who should've got the warning as I miss getting clipped by the left turning truck by a foot! As Pat tried to explain why she was there, the driver simply shrugged and went on his way. I shared a look with Pat and told her that I could essentially walk it in as the time was 5:15pm and I have only 1.25 miles to go.

I alternate running in the shade and walking in the sun. I'm really enjoying this last stretch, crossed Finch and was running past the baseball diamond, popped out of the trail and soon enough the Brennan parking lot is in sight. I can hear the familiar voice of Enzo Federico as he's announcing my finish. I sprint for it as I can see the digital clock and I have a shot at a sub 29:30 time...29:29:59!

Boo-rah! I immediately take off my nathan pack as it's been a part of me for the last 15 hours. Nothing's hurting or cramping but I just want to sit down, I can do that now. Rob's there and gets me a V-8, extra spicy (of course). I see most of the starters but I don't know how many are actual finishers. I think I was announced as the last finisher so obviously I'm curious to what everybody's time were. There's a huge buffet of Memphis Blues BBQ with huge platters of ribs, chicken, beans, brisket, and pulled pork. I want to eat,but I'm not really that hungry. I'm feeling cold and I borrow a sweatshirt from Rob. I get congrats from various runners and I offer congrats as the last finisher to Gary, the first finisher (17:39:03!). Someone mentions that I won a draw prize - a free entry to Frosty 50km at Manning Park in mid-September. Oh, wait, what's that date again Sep 20? Uh, I'm gonna be in WA that weekend, but I know someone who might wanna do it...I finally tuck into a plate of chicken, ribs and brisket. Very tasty. Wendy, the RD announces the awards for the 100 miler, there's a special one for the 100 mile finishers...buckles! As the last guy I get my finisher award first, then I'm seeing everybody else get there awards and I'm thinking you're missing someone, what about Jess? She's clean, looks fresh and smiling. WTF? Rob discreetly tells me she dropped at University, an hour before I showed up from Perth. Bummer. Rob hands me my keys, cell and wallet and says he's outta there. Hands me all my unused liquids including the pepsi. I thank Rob again and I'll see him at the next Hash.

After talking to Gottfried and getting the OK, I transferred my Frosty entry to Rob as a personal thank you. I offered to crew Rob if he needs it, but I'm thinking he'll start with the 50 miler first.

I catch a whiff of myself and was reminded that I really needed a shower and more importantly I really needed to see the condition of my feet after taking off my shoes. Welllll,the tape job held up and the blisters were decent sized but manageable. I got back to the finish line and was shocked to see it was mostly dismantled and most of the participants were gone. Most importantly there was one platter left on the buffet table!

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I think I ran faster to that platter from the other side of the parking lot than I did when I finished! There was only tender beef brisket left and economy sized ziploc bags. I shoveled about 3 pounds worth in there. I gave my thanks to Wendy and still feeling euphoric, decided to have a pint with the PRR crew. Ellie was 1st female and 2nd overall for the 50 miler. On the drive home I was starting to nod off on HWY 99, not a good thing, so I decided to pull over the side of the road and take a little nap...and woke up 5 HOURS later. The rest of the drive home was uneventful.

So that's my story, I finished my second 100 miler and by virtue of my finish, I PR'd my time by 4 hours, 39 minutes and 57 seconds!  Next time, I'm gonna see how well I do if I actually beware the chair! Thanks go out to Rob Ruff, who did an awesome job on his first time crew. Lucinda Barbeau, for the master blister care and tape job. All the fine volunteers, crew and entrants who doubled as volunteers when they dropped (hey,you're there anyways, you might as well help out) Thanks to Wendy Montgomery for putting on such a fine event and getting us buckles! (I'm getting mine engraved!) Next up...Portland and Golden Hills Marathons. One road. One trail. One week apart.

There must be some sort of support group for people like us, right?