At Mile 48 of this 60-mile mud fest I met the man
himself, Sean O’Brien – a super nice guy and a legend in the ultra-community. His namesake is a brutal course of over
12,500 feet of elevation gain in the Santa Monica Mountains. Fortunately, due to the heavy rains that’s
plagued the area for weeks, the race director was forced to shorten the course
from just over 62 miles to 60 miles by re-routing the course away from the Zuma
Loop. The Zuma Loop is a 1.5 mile climb
from the 31-mile mark to the top of the ridge some 1,500 feet above. Not going to lie, when I heard that news at
the pre-race meeting, I was happy. The day
was definitely going to be easier.
Sean O’Brien was my first race of 2017 and the first
since the Leadville 100 Mile in August.
My training since Leadville was on point and I felt ready for the
challenge. There’s always a sense of
doubt before any race especially a 100k ultra.
The doubts are always the same. “Did
I train enough?” Yes, so check that
off. “Can I handle the climbing?” Yes, I’ve done it before. “Am I patient enough to withstand 11-12 hours
in the mountains?” Yes, I’ve done that
and then some. “Is that missed workout
from 2 weeks ago going to haunt me?” Don’t
think so but I did miss it and a few others along the way. Etc., etc., etc. Races are funny that way but once the gun
goes off (or the race director simply counts down from 10 as is the case in
ultras) the doubt is gone and the running starts.
It was unusually warm on race morning. My buddies (Darrell, Sean, and Ken) and I
arrived at 4:40 am for the 5 am start.
Normally, it’s frigid at the Malibu Creek State Park, site of the start
and finish. However, this year it was
mid-50’s which in my opinion is just right.
I hate the cold weather and don’t mind a bit of heat. The race started right on time and I quickly
eased into a nice rhythm. My race plan
was to start easy and then speed up throughout the day. My goal was 11 hours which meant a finish
time of 4 pm. I would later learn that
starting out too conservatively was not my brightest idea.
At mile 2 and still in the pitch black of the pre-dawn
hours, the “normally tiny” creek crossing was more like a “raging” river with a
safety rope to hold onto. If you didn’t
hold the rope, there was no way of getting across without finding yourself some
50’ down and totally submerged. The
water level was to my thighs which isn’t saying much on my 5’6” frame but was
moving quickly.
The early miles always seem to take longer in the dark
but once the sun rises, the miles start moving.
The rain had made the trail stunning and the views of the ocean were awe
inspiring. I dislike running in the dark
but I’m always happy when the sun rises while I’m on top of a mountain. It was gorgeous. I remember thanking God in that moment for
the chance to be running and the chance to be in such a beautiful place. Before I knew it, I was at mile 10, then at
mile 20. It’s hard to explain but the
hours go like minutes.
By mid-morning, the trail gave way to mud and lots of it. It was the kind of mud that grabbed ahold of
your shoes on every footfall. I was able
to keep my shoes on but had numerous close calls. Obviously, the running was slow going when
the mud was present and it was present often.
Just before the halfway point, the trail goes straight
down a fire road to Zuma. I love
downhill sections and this one was 5-6 miles long. I passed probably 10-15 runners on the way
down which was part of my plan to start slowly.
Just before the turn around I saw Darrell and he was looking great. He was probably a mile ahead of me and would extend
that distance a bit more to the finish.
It was great to see him and a boost to my energy level. It was about 10:45 am and just under 6 hours
into the race. So far so good.
From the turn around, the trail historically traverses up
the Zuma Loop but as I mentioned previously, it was closed. As a result, the trail headed back the same
way which meant a 5-6 mile climb. It was
slow going at first due to the mud then was just slow going due to the
grade. Over the course of the climb, I most
likely saw every runner doing the 100k race as well as some of the 50 milers (they
started an hour after us). I saw Sean a
few miles from the turn around and then Ken (50 miler) near the top of the
climb. As was the case when I saw
Darrell, it was great to see Sean and Ken.
I’ve run many miles with them and sharing a race day experience is special. They were both doing well. From my estimation, I was probably in 30-35th
place out of the 200 or so runners.
The race continued the same trail till mile 43 at the
Corral Canyon Aid Station. I first saw
Corral Canyon at mile 7 earlier in the day.
From that point, it was an out and back course. Mile 43 is an interesting spot. It’s a fork in the road if you will. Turn right to the 50-mile finish and turn left
to continue the 100k route. I would say
many runners contemplate their decision here.
It’s easy to head right and get a 50-mile finish and much harder to turn
left. Knowing I would be really
disappointed with myself, I veered left and continued on. I would see Corral Canyon again but not after
running straight down the infamous Bulldog Trail and then turning around and
climbing back up. It’s a 12 mile suffer
fest. It really is somewhat demoralizing
running straight down for 6 miles knowing that you have to turn around and come
straight back up. It’s also demoralizing
seeing the eventual race winner passing you just as you begin the section. How on earth can he be 12 miles ahead of
me?? I don’t know how anyone can run
that quick up and down mountains but there are quite a few that can. His average mile time was 8:08. That’s 60 miles of 8 minute splits with
12,500 feet of climbing!! What??! It’s impressive.
The section down the Bulldog is a neat part of the
course. It goes past the “M.A.S.H.”
site and over streams and meadows. With
the beautiful weather also brought the beautiful people of Los Angeles. It seemed the entire City was out for a
hike. No joke, I was weaving in and out
of people for miles.
I finally made the Bulldog aid station and mile 48. It was cool to see Sean O’Brien volunteering
and was cool to talk with him for a bit.
As was the case with every aid station all day, I didn’t stay long. I bet my average time in a station was less
than 2 minutes. Fill the bottles, throw
away wrappers and trash, graze on chips and potatoes, then grab a few PB&J
sandwiches and hit the trail. Staying
too long in any aid station is never good.
It’s best to get going quickly.
The trail back up Bulldog is brutal. Not much running once the elevation starts. I again saw Darrell just before I entered the aid station and then saw Sean near the top of the climb. I knew I would see them both at the finish which isn’t always a given at ultras. Most ultras have less than a 55% finish rate. I’m not sure what Sean O’Brien ended up, but with DNF’s and those dropping to the 50-mile length, the rate probably held suit.
After what seemed an eternity, I finally made it back to
Corral Canyon and mile 54. It was great
to see my buddy, Raul, volunteering as well as some other familiar faces. After an abnormal pit stop at the porta-potty
(my stomach was not right for much of the day), I was off to the finish. I had 6 miles to go which mostly consisted of
downhill running with a few steep climbs mixed in. About 2 miles after the aid station, I saw
Ken. I ran with him for a bit before
taking off down the trail.
As I mentioned, my conservative approach to the start
wasn’t the smartest decision. After 56
miles of up and down, I still had a lot left.
Normally, I’m completely spent by this time but not this year. I basically ran from Corral Canyon to the
finish. Running hard on the downhills
and hiking/jogging the uphill. In fact, I
clocked a 7:30 mile at mile 57.
The river I crossed in the dark earlier in the day was
even higher now. I was all alone and the
river was still moving rapidly. It felt
great to wash off all the mud from the day and felt great knowing I had only 2
miles left for my 11th ultra-finish.
At mile 59.5, I saw Rob on the trail cheering me on. Rob volunteered at the start and at the
finish. He’s a really good friend and
one that I love running with.
At 4:30 pm I crossed the finish line in 11:30:24 good for
33rd place. I didn’t quite
meet my goal but super happy to be able to finish another ultra on a challenging
course. Darrell had a great race and
finished well ahead of me for his first ultra-finish and now is qualified for the Angeles Crest 100 miler this summer (a race I'm running as well). Ken finished the 50 miler, his first ultra, in
a great time and also qualified to run his first 100 miler at Angeles Crest.
Sean followed and finished strong for his second longest trail race. Running and finishing an ultra is always a
huge accomplishment but running a race with friends is even sweeter.
Next up for me is the Coyote Backbone Trail 68 miler in
March, a grueling point to point race on the rugged Backbone Trail. With only 4 weeks to go, no time to
rest. Training starts in 3, 2, 1…
(Photo creds - Sean Maher and Rob Dell Angelo)
