[pct-l] Fwd: The story of a race on the PCT (long)

[brick@fastpack.com (Brick Robbins)]

Here is a post from another list about a race on the PCT near the Mexican 
border on 15 Dec.

The original course was (more or less)  from the border to Pioneer Mail and 
back, all on the PCT except for a detour up to the locked gate in Hauser 
Canyon.

The "Smuggler's 50" course referenced in the message runs (more or less) 
from the border to Boulder Oaks and back.

------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 19 Dec 2001 16:27:06 -0800
From:    "Schmidt, Paul"
Subject: San Diego 100 long version from RD

My wife, Kathleen, decided that we should put on a 100-mile race in San
Diego. She also thought that it would be a great way to celebrate my 50th
birthday. So what the heck, it couldn't be that hard? Da!

On Friday, I drove up to the top end of the racecourse with Stan Jensen and
Monica Scholz. The wind was blowing furiously, it was snowing, and
visibility was almost zero. The gates for access to the two upper aid
stations were locked. I got stuck in the snow at the Todd's cabin. Todd's
was to supposed serve as our easy access/Oasis station for the top of the
course.

Monica was enjoying the weather, while I was convinced that we must
change the course for the safety of both the runners and aid station
volunteers. My original plan for an alternate course was to run the lower
section of the course twice, a double Smugglers 50. Unfortunately, due to
aid station access difficulties and having the Border Patrol on high alert
this was not possible.

You have all heard it many times before that
volunteers are the core of every race, but the SD 100 volunteers were much
more. They became the heart and soul of this race. When they realized my
dilemma, they jumped to my rescue. Larry Pustinger called me with a
fantastic solution; we would run the center section of the original course
twice. This would give the runners aid stations every 6-7 miles at sites
that were easily accessible for crew. This also meant that Larry and his pal
Drew Pallette would have to set up camp in a windy, cold, miserable area
named Cibetts Flat Campground. The runners would have to down and up a steep
.8 mile dirt road from the PCT to the aid station.

We then marked part of the course that winds under the supports a concrete
bridge. When we got back up on the bridge, we ran into Larry. He had just
finished marking the Hauser Canyon aid section of the course with flour.
This is probably the most confusing part of the course because the runners
must go off of the Pacific Crest Trail for about a mile to get aid. It was
cold, windy, and raining.  Larry graciously took this task on despite the
nasty weather. He was focused on doing what needed to be done, a little bad
weather would not deter him.

We then went to the Lake Morena Campground to check in at the ranger station
for our campsites. The sites would serve as the start/finish area and race
headquarters. After marking a one-mile out and back, needed to make the race
100 miles due to the course change, we headed to the race meeting and
birthday party dinner. It was my best plan yet! I put on a 100-mile race to
entice some 15 old friends into coming to my 50th birthday party!  The
dinner party was more fun than the normal gathering of nervous runners
before a 100 miler. It was more like a holiday gathering, as the restaurant
was decorated with twinkling lights, garland, and a Christmas tree. Our
runners were very experienced one hundred miler runners and old friends. I
spent a few minutes explaining the course changes and everyone accepted the
new course without reservation. Next, I got to hear some of my pals give
their best version of the happy birthday song. Additionally, Ken McIntyre
provided me with a cane and humorous poem to help me enter in to a new
decade.

  I wanted to be at the race site early in the morning to check in runners
and answer any questions about the course changes, so after dinner, I
returned to the campground. I was planning on spending a night in my tent.
It was raining and cold. Maureen Moran, the aid station captain for Lake
Morena came by with a trailer and I was able to avoid getting soaked by the
rain. We setup some of basic structures for the aid station and called it a
day. At 5:15 a.m., Steve Harris, a runner from the LA area, knocked on the
trailer door to check in for the race. Maureen made us a breakfast of Irish
Oatmeal and strong coffee. The runners began filtering in and by 6:15
fourteen runners had check in. Jay Grobenson, who had attended the evening
meeting, was mysteriously missing. I learned later that Jay had a bad
encounter with some icy roads on the way to the start.  The weather had
cleared and it had even warmed up a little from the cold night. At 6:30
sharp we set off on our 100-mile adventure. Pam Reed, from Tucson, Steve
Harris, and three of our local San Diego Bad Rats took the early lead. They
soon  went off course at a cross trail where some local yokel had moved our
trail marker. Bah Humbug!!  I was in the second pack and corrected the
course markings.

  A few minutes later, we saw the race leaders floundering around at the
bottom of a canyon below the course.  We got their attention and got them
back on course. In a few minutes, Pam passed us with the Bad Rats just
minutes behind her.  At every aid station, I was told that Pam was
increasing her lead and looking great. Tom Knutson and Jim Benike from
Minnesota ran together in a second pack with Akabill, from Hawaii, who was
accompanied for the first 46 miles by his pal Greg Pirkil. I ran with my
pal, Monica Scholz, on her quest to complete her personal goal of completing
23 one-hundred mile races in a calendar year.

   We had a lovely morning. The sun came out and it was a pleasant
temperature for running. At around noon, the entire sky clouded over and I
began thinking that we were going to get real wet. I was worried about
runners getting hypothermic, but my sage cloud reader, Trent Smail, at the
Hauser Mountain aid station, predicted all would be well.  He was correct!
The clouds rolled away as fast as they rolled in and not a drop of rain
fell!

When we reached the Lake Morena aid station, at 46 miles, we learned that
despite Pam's large lead she had retired from the race due worsening of a
cold that she had contracted before the race.  Tracy Moore, who had suffered
a badly sprained ankle only a few weeks before the race, had retired at 58
miles. Mike Rouse, whose difficult travel schedule had restricted his
training, retired at 50 miles. Now it was Jeff Hines and Steve Harris
running in tandem at the front. Next came the boys from Minnesota; they were
running a very strong and consistent race. Akabill, now paced by Mary Lou
Lackey, came next and Monica and I followed close behind.  Richard Hayes,
who has run with Monica in several 100 milers, joined us at Boulder Oaks and
kept us company for the next 50 miles. Stan Jensen provided us with TLC all
day and night all along the course. Paul Cates went out on the course to get
in a 56-mile run and serve as safety patrol. This was our initial race, so
we didn't setup any cutoff times.  We had something better; we had Todd
Leigh. Todd, a very experienced local runner, agreed to be our Grim Sweeper!
He would run a consistent race and pull down markings as he passed. I wanted
to get him a shirt that said, "if you can read this you are out of the
race", but time didn't permit.

The sun went down at about 5 p.m. and it got real cold, real fast. Now it
was the aid station volunteers who became the stars of this show. We would
spend the rest of the night running up and down the lower portion of the
Laguna Mountains between the Lake Morena and Cibetts Flat Campgrounds
passing through the Boulder Oaks campground located in the middle.  At
Cibetts, Larry, Willie, and Drew, had constructed an enclosure and warmed it
up with a propane heater. Drew stood in the cold with his light serving as
beacon runners could follow to the aid station. Larry cooked up some egg and
potato burritos that warmed and nourished the runners. Willie did everything
from filling bottles, dressing runners, to providing muscle and back
massages. Back at Boulder Oaks Jim Hamilton, Ruben Cantu, and Mary Barry did
a great job taking over aid station duties on the night shift. At Lake
Morena, Jennifer Janis took over for Maureen Moran who went out to pace
Todd.

Jen brought some great homemade soup and cooked up some tasty egg and cheese
burritos. We were treated like royalty throughout the night. It got cold.
Then it got colder. The core group of eight runners continued running
through the cold star studded night. I again enjoyed the pleasure of running
with my pal Monica Scholz. She was, as usual, very cheerful and grateful to
the aid station volunteers. Richard and Monica engaged in light
conversation, while I listened to music and belted out a few off key songs.
The night passed quickly. As we left the Cibetts Flat aid station for the
final time the sun came up. We were headed home on our last 13.5- mile
section toward the finish. For Monica, it was more than another race finish;
it was the close of a record-breaking year and incredible experience. With a
surge of adrenalin, Monica flew down over a very rocky section of the
course! Richard stayed close behind as I kept my steady pace, fearing
further damage of an old patellar tendon injury. We passed Akabill, who ran
a strong and steady race all day and night.  With about one-mile left, I
pushed ahead hoping to alert the finish line folks to prepare for Monica and
Richard's arrival. We crossed the finish line together with big smiles and a
lot of cheers. Next came Akabill finishing with a strong effort.

Our attentions then turned to Todd, the last runner on the course.  The
first reports of Todd were that he had some difficulties in the night and
that he would not finish before his goal of 30 hours. Then Bridget Barnett,
the Boulder Oaks aid station captain, came by and told us in that Todd had
made a fantastic recovery and had a good chance of reaching his goal. We
nervously began breaking down camp as Larry and Mary Lou went out on the
trail looking for Todd. The time was ticking down! Then all of the sudden,
there he was! He did it, finishing in 29:43. Man, what a birthday party!

SD 100
Jeff Hines              23:09
Steve Harris            23:09
Jim Benike              25:40
Tom Knutson             25:40
Monica Scholz           25:51
Paul Schmidt            25:51
akabill                 26:55
Todd Leigh              29:43

12 starters 8 finishers
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Brick Robbins                       mailto:brick@fastpack.com