Well, it's time for another 100 mile race!! This is the second in the grand slam series that Gilles was supposed to be doing this year. We all know what happened to Western States. So, instead he will continue with the other grand slam races and a few others for good measure.
Today, we went to package pick up and had a great drive in the country. It is absolutely beautiful. The trails run mostly on nice forest roads (at least from what we saw today).I can't wait to go meet up with him at various locations. Tomorrow, Gilles' brother, sister, mother, & niece will join me in crewing.
The weather is scheduled to be hot and humid. Just sitting around at the race briefing was brutal. They also call for thunderstorms which unlike what we are used to in Vancouver, will not bring relief to the runners.
I will update this post as wi-fi becomes available during the day or evening.
Comments
Grand Slam 2009???
So does this mean you'll be running the grand slam in 2009 with me? Now I am looking forward to the VT 100 next year.
My first 100 was Sulphur Springs and I really had to remind myself to check my pace and not go too hard which is so easy to do on the courses that are rolling and non technical. Even still, I walked the last 18 miles.
Congratulations
Race report
We finnaly made our way to my mom's in Quebec City so that I can have some time on the "ordinateur" to post my race report. Of course today we had to spend some time in Old Quebec. The city is looking pretty nifty for it's 400th anniversary.
First I have to tell you that I really, really like the Vermont 100. The maple and oak trees forest, the lush farmlands, the rock fences, the old houses, the quaint villages, the horses, the happy mud, all that crap, just a beautiful course and so different from everything else I've done so far including the fact that water crossing are facilitated by way of covered bridges.
There's lot to like about New England and more so about the state of Vermont. It's a place, just like Vancouver where people are very much involved in local politics and their communities, and it shows in many ways. For example there are no bilboards along the highways here. It's not something you notice at first until someone points it out to you and then you think, how civilized. Also their historic buildings and houses are extremely well preserved and they're very keen about preserving the overall authenticity of it all. In the little town of Woodstock for example there are no McDonald, Starbucks of this world and don't even think about a Mall Wart.
OK, the race itself. Well my time of 26:28 is not as good as it should have been. With ultrarunning it's not so much the final results that counts as much as the journey. Mine started at 4 am on Saturday, yes it's early but then who sleeps the night before an ultra anyway. It was already warm and muggy but I was feeling very good and took off on a good pace. The course is rolling without anything steep or technical so one has to remind oneself to walk early and often. I may have not done that well. It was also foggy/cloudy until late morning so I didn't feel the heat and humidity so much until the sun came out and then it got really hot and humid. In mid afternoon I thought I came close to a heat stroke. Thanks to ice and violent thunder storms I was able to cool off a bit.
Anyway, I started way too fast, I was well into 24 hours territory and because I was doing so well, I kept pushing during the heat of the day to maintain my pace. Needless to say I paid for my rookie mistake and so did many other runners. Horses didn't fare much better under this oppressive heat and humidity and most had to be pulled out of the race. Mind you they are a lot more strict with horses than humans. They figure we have judgement, ya right...
Still, I was really enjoying myself out here in The Green Mountain State. My crew made of Lucinda, mother, sister, brother, sister in law, niece, missed me at the first few AS they went to but finaly caught up at mile 70 and it was a hoot. I haven't seen them in more that 3 years and to meet everybody out there in the field with "Team Gilly Bean" t-shirts and "Run Gilles Run" slogans was a really cool experience. I spent almost 30 minutes with them and it was pretty much sillyness and stupid jokes from the first to last minute.
Of course what I didn't know then is that my race was over. I was done. I pretty much walk the last 30 miles with even a short stop to sleep under a tree. Still I enjoyed myself very much, the night was really warm and the heavy fog was just out of this world. It got pretty lonely during the night but I didn't mind. Then you come out of the wood into an open field and you're done. Being a couple hours behind schedule, I was surprised to see Lucinda and my sister still faithfully waiting for me. Immediately the journalist from the Valley News started to interview me and I had to ask her if it was ok if we could sit down. Went back to the hotel for some sleep and reconvened with the family for brunch and beer at a neet pub in Woodstock.
Vermont 100 is something that I registered for because of the Grand Slam. I didn't think much of it beyond that and didn't think I would ever come back. Well I can tell you now that I'll come back as often as possible and I really recommend it to anybody, specially Westerners. It's different and it really makes a beautifull destination for vacation. We're already making plans to come back next year and make it a vacation with Lucinda's follks who live in Virginia near Washington D.C. She just spoke to them about the idea and the possibility to visit Quebec. We are all excited and can't wait for next July. Stay tune for Vermont 100, 2009 race report. Until them don't forget to walk early and walk often.
Gilles was interviewed for the Valley News
Barbeau, an investment adviser from Vancouver, British Columbia, finished the race in a little more than 26 hours. “At one point, I was so tired I did stop under a tree for five to 10 minutes,” he conceded.
It was the bandana-clad Canadian's first time in the Vermont 100, and he said he'd probably do it again next year.
For the full article, click on the link
Congrats Gilles!!
Must have been a tough one
Congrats
Hey Gilles,
Glad this one went off without a hitch, look forward to hearing about the run. Enjoy the time with your family and see you when you get back.
Chad
Congratulations!!
Finished!! Woohoooo
And he's off