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Flash - Foolish Plunge 100 Mile

23 May 2009 10:00
Location: 
Powerhouse Aid Station, Squamish, BC

 

What: Seven loops of the Powerhouse section on the STORMY/Bonkfest course plus 1.3 miles of out and back. 

Why:  Because some Fools have short memories.  A few beers and a short nap after running the Bonkfest 100M will erase all memory of what it felt like and they will want to do it again.

Where:  Meet at Powerhouse Aid Station on Mamquam Road, Squamish, BC.  See link to directions and course map under Route below. 

When:  Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 10:00

Route:  Start at the Powerhouse Aid Station.  Each loop is 14.1 miles, thus seven loops is 98.7 miles, requiring an out and back trip totalling 1.3 miles to complete the full 100 miles.  You may do the loops in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction.  For a change of scenery (or if you find yourself getting dizzy) you might want to consider alternating directions.

The course map from the STORMY site (thanks Wendy):

http://homepage.mac.com/designr2/stormy/STORMY-Map-18Jun07.pdf

Course description - counter-clockwise direction  (thanks Baldwin):

From the Powerhouse aid station head back along the gravel road by which you arrived.  At the first intersection go left.  This is the start of 9-Mile hill.  This is a long, mainly uphill slog.  Stay on the main Mamquam Forest Service Road, ignoring secondary routes.  This is an active forest road: traffic should be light but take care.  At no point on this section should you be on a single track.

As the Mamquam glacier captivates you, look out for a large bridge.  Cross the bridge, then go left onto the first trail (marked by a blue painted boulder) in ~250m.  This is the climb up lava flow hill.

After a short flat section at the top of the hill, turn left onto single track.  This is the Ring Creek Rip, a long, long downhill on an old road.   Pass 2 wreaked cars.  When you finally come to a major fork, turn left at sign for Powerhouse Plunge (ignore right fork, signed Ring Creek Crossing)

Stay on flat trail for ~1.5km.   At fork, go right onto the zigzags of the “powerhouse plunge.”  Cross a wide gravel road.   Go back onto single track to your left for a few hundred yards, exiting at the Powerhouse water station/info board and broad trail where you turn left.

Continue on main trail and down steep black-stoned rough road. Cross the Powerhouse Bridge and go uphill to a yellow gate.   Just past the gate is the Powerhouse Aid Station where you started.

Aid:  The name "Powerhouse Aid Station" is used very loosely.  There ain't no aid, so be prepared to be self-sufficient.  Karl's van will be parked at the start.  If you want to use it for your own supplies please contact him beforehand to make arrangements.  We might stash a few jugs of water somewhere on Nine Mile hill.

Results:  Fill in the results sheet on the windshield of Karl's Silver Dodge Caravan, 280 LCT, or email your distance and time to Karl through the email link at the bottom of this event site.

Motto: Nothing is foolproof to a talented Fool.

Entry: There is no fee and you don't need to be a member of Club Fat Ass to participate in a Flash event, however whining is not allowed. No registration is required but please indicate your participation via the comment form below. You are responsible for your own well being and safety and should be self sufficient. Please read the Release of All Claims. By participating in this event you agree to the terms of the Release of All Claims.

Contacts: Gilles Barbeau and Karl Jensen

Comments

Foolish Plunge Results

 

Thanks to Tony and Shawn’s participation the Foolish Plunge became an international event.  It’s always nice to see our American friends, eh.  Shawn suffered a bad ankle sprain going down the Plunge on her fifth loop and had to call it a day.  At last report the ankle has considerable swelling and is being agressively iced.  Tony had serious stomach issues during the night, but after some recovery time in his vehicle came out again to finish the full 100 miles.  It takes character to come back out after being in as bad a condition as we saw him.  Well done Tony!   Shawn and Tony are not strangers to suffering, having completed the McNaughton 150 mile race in April under very difficult wet and muddy conditions.
Lorie and Barry managed to find the start this time so Lorie bagged another 50 miler in her quest to complete 50 50-milers in 50 weeks.  It has something to do with a certain chronological event occurring this year for Lorie.  Don’t sweat it Lorie, it gets worse, much worse.
Kirsten and Chad ran with me through the first loop in a ridiculously quick time of 2:45.  This was way too fast for me, given my plan to do the full 100 miles.  I have to confess to being the author of my own discomfort, having set the pace most of the way.  At the end of my fourth loop I ran out to meet Gilles.  We had agreed that neither of us should run the night section alone.  Janet, John and Gilles were not too far from finishing their fourth loop when I met them.  I continued on for a bit, but decided that the best thing to do was to just wait for Gilles to finish his loop and catch up.  The sun was getting low and it was cooling down.  I started to get chilled and therefore decided that it would be best to just run back to the aid station and consider the three mile round trip as bonus miles.  After some food and drink Gilles and I set out on our fifth loop.  As the night wore on our pace slowed significantly, especially going down the technical section of the Plunge.  When daylight arrived we parted company to complete the remaining distance on our own.  Without the distraction of conversation the mind was free to wander.  I saw a Saint Bernard dog that was just a rock and some shadows, a flatbed truck that was some trees laying across the trail and a cool brontosaurus that turned into two tree trunks and some shadows.  Deducting the 53 minutes it took for the bonus miles and its aid station stop my 100-mile time was 24:43.  I’m satisfied with that given the foolish pace I set at the beginning.  You’d think I would know better by now.
Glad to see that the calf injury John suffered last week was only temporary. At the time it looked like the end of the season for him.
 
Name Distance Time
Karl Jensen 103 M 25:36
Gilles Barbeau 100 M 26:22
Tony Covarrubias 100 M 27:32
Shawn McTaggart 73 M 21:20
John Machray 57 M 13:40
Lorie Alexander 50 M 10:14
Kirsten Ramage 44 M 9:09
Chad Hyson 44 M 9:09
Janet Rosenfeld 44 M 10:11
Barry Hopkins 50 K 6:41
Phil Waters 45 K 5:45
Arthur CHat Gee 16 K 3:18
Paul Young 16 K 3:18

Karl and Gilles, thanks for

Karl and Gilles, thanks for putting on an excellent race! I appreciate having sun for so many hours ... I did have to dodge the shade in some areas on the climb up the FS road but managed to get the sweat flowing quite nicely. The stomach issue was due to eating some bad leftover pizza - it tasted good but I think it got rancid in the car during the day. Once I got the bile out and rested my stomach, it wasn't that bad getting back out there and continuing. Unfortunately Shawn's issue was not that simple. We just hope that it's not as bad as it looks ... swelling is down when she stays on top of the icing. We'll be up to Mt Blanchard next weekend so we'll know better by then. See you soon. I want to find out more about the Stormy course. 

- Tony

Sibylle's picture

What formidable Fools you all are...

What formidable Fools you all are... and who needs drugs if you can run 100 miles and see a Brontosaurus and a St Bernard in the same day ;-)

Congrats to all!

run100widow's picture

2 Fools finish, one to go

Karl was greeted by Lovely Lorraine as he finished the Foolish plunge. He was looking good and in good spirits. After recounting a bit of the event, Karl relaxed with a nice cold beer as we waited for Gilles.

Before long. He too arrived and chatted a bit.

Last but not least, TC (Tony) was expected to finish at 1:30. Karl will be posting results a bit later.

 

for more pics click here

Arthur CHat Gee's picture

Foolish Plunge 100 Mile

Hi Karl and Gilles,

We were there in the neighbourhood at 0645 but we did not get going until 0759 just getting to the right spot and getting our bearings.  Just finding the entranceway to Smoke Bluffs was not easy.  Getting lost there and back-tracking we eventually made our way to 3 Virgins then finding our way back with more "off the route" paths we returned with 15.76 Km in 3:18.  Paul had an appointment and we needed to leave.  Sorry we missed your start.  I was hoping to get back in time for your start.

We could not find your truck in the Brennan Park Rec Centre, hence I am emailing your our results.

Was the route the "Horizontal part of the Stormy"?

Cheers,

Arthur CHat Gee and Paul Young

Sibylle's picture

Sounds like you had an

Sounds like you had an interesting time finding your way ;-)  Sorry, I wasn't there to guide your way - not sure how much of a pathfinder I would have been, though...

Foolish Plunge Schedule

Here is the general plan for the Foolish Plunge on Saturday/Sunday:
- Meet at 9 AM Saturday at the McDonald's in Squamish.  This is the McDonald's on the left that you come to where you make the left turn if going into Squamish town centre, not the McD's at Wal-Mart further north.
- We will then proceed to Powerhouse Road in time for the 10 AM start.
- The 1.5 mile out and back will be run first.
- After that we will do the first loop in a clockwise direction and alternate directions on subsequent loops.  This is a tentative schedule for Gilles and Karl.  It's probably a bit aggressive, but what the heck.  The loop times include the aid station stops at the end of each loop.
- Please remember: you provide your own aid.
Loop Finish     Time  Direction
Start 10:00 AM     
O&B 10:15 AM  0:15  O&B
  1  1:15 PM  3:20  CW
  2   5:00 PM  3:25  CCW
  3  8:25 PM  3:25  CW
  4 12:05 AM  3:40  CCW
  5 3:35 AM  3:30  CW
  6 7:05 AM  3:30  CCW
  7 10:30 AM  3:25  CW
- Last weekend there was a lot of shooting going on.  At one point we could hear bullets whizzing overhead.  It would be wise to wear something that makes you noticeable.  Brown would not be a good choice.  We should be OK at night when we have our lights on.
- If you will be going directly to the start here are the directions:
Take Highway 99 north towards Squamish.  A bit after passing Murrin Lake you will start a downhill section with the Stawamus Chief cliff on the right.  At the bottom of the hill you will see a traffic light.  This is Valley Drive, just across a short concrete bridge.  Do not cross the bridge.  Go right just a few feet before the bridge.  There is construction here, but you will be able to see the Mamquam Forest Service Road to your right where the Stawamus Chief Cliff ends.  It may not be signed.  You will have to find your way onto it through the orange construction markers.  Follow the MFSR for just under three miles.  There is a road heading off to the left.  This is the Powerhouse Road.  If you get to a building on the right that has Chlorine warning signs on it, or a white sign the says 3 miles, you have gone a few feet past the left turn.  Go to the end of Powerhouse Road and park on the left off the road.  Don't go down through the yellow gate, 
Hope to see you on Saturday.
 

 

Baldwin Lee's picture

You might have more company than you think

I forgot to add this to Bonkfest, but the reason I chose to run 1 week earlier for 2009 was that MOMAR was taking place this weekend. Now I can't say with 100% certainty that the Mtn bike/running/orienteering section will take place in the vicinity of the Foolish Plunge, especially any maps relating to said sections will be only available on race day. But you might want to keep that in mind if you have more bikers and racers than normal. The Howe Sound Pub might be more busy than normal.

Company

I'm hoping we don't that much company.  Last weekend there were surprisingly few riders, given that it was a long weekend.  Anyway, if the run proves too much of a challenge its nice to know that there may be bikes available for hijacking.

Arthur CHat Gee's picture

Foolish Plunge 100 Mile

Hi Karl and Gilles,

Nice to see Gilles in the BMO VIM.  Paul Young and CHat would like to do one lap, just to back to the swing of things but we would like to finish about the time that you would be starting at 10:00 am

We would not be "up to speed" at all so what time would we need to take off to finish by 10:00   Need to do this to finish early. 

Cheers,

Arthuir

Time estimate

Have a look at the results for the Bonkfest.  That gives you the times for a number of people you know.  You should be able to estimate your own time from that.

Make sure you print out the map and written instructions which are both available on the Stormy website.  There are a few spots where it could be easy to take a wrong turn.  This is not like Pacific Spirit Park with lots of trail markers and people to ask if you need help.

Have a great run.

early start

Hey guys Phil waters here.I will be joining you on Saturday.But I might start early7am that way I will join you on my second loop at 10am.Look out for the big white van .Hopefully I will see you on saturday.Cheers phil

Start

It will be great to have some more company Phil.  We're going to start the run at 10 AM by doing the 1.5 mile out and back to loosen up.  That should take about 15 minutes, so we'll begin the first loop at 10:15 AM.

I'll post a schedule shortly.

Monty Watts's picture

Haven't I been here before

Excuse me gents.  Isn't running this 7 days later just déjà vu all over again?  Haven't I been here before?  Is this lap 4 or 5 or is it 6?  Is it Saturday or Sunday?  Is that a bear or a log?  Am I supposed to turn around here?  Is it 8 am or 8 pm? 

All of the forementioned questions might be ones that enter the mind this weekend.  Have a great time and it looks like the weather will be good.  I would've, most likely, possibly, in all foolishness, joined you again but I'll be on the Sunshine Coast running and biking in Mt. Elphinstone Provincial Park.

Qualifications

We've searched the Ultrarunning Rule Book and nowhere is the word intelligence.   "Short memory" is mentioned several times though, so we're good to go.

We'll let you know later whether or not this was a good idea.

 

 

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