Western States Endurance Run
100 brutal miles through the Mountains in 40+°C heat
Saturday/Sunday June 25/26, 2009
If you like running - you'll love the Western States Endurance Run. If you like seeing people in pain and dispair - this is the place to be.
It's hard to believe that anybody would want to run 100 miles in one day (cut off is actually 30 hours). They have to ration the slots by lottery! People train for years and talk about it for even longer. 100 miles of brutal endurance through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It starts in the ski resort at Squaw Valley at 5am on Saturday and they run over the top through snow. The high country is followed by 4 massive canyons where the temperature is about 110F/43C. Over the 100 miles, the route climbs 18,000 feet and drops 23,000. The heat of the canyons gives way to the challenge of running all night and includes crossing a 100 yard wide river which is about 3 feet deep. As a final insult the trail climbs almost 1000 feet in the last 4 miles to finish in the Stadium at Placer HS, Auburn. Tough? I'd say brutal !!
And this year, I did a little running in the event. Last year, I was Station Captain at Last Chance (mile 43) and the event was cancelled because of forest fires in the Sierras. This year my running buddy (and boss) Dennis ran and I paced him over 7 good miles in moonlight from Michigan Bluff (mile 55) to Foresthill (mile 62).
I am unbelievably proud of Dennis. We always knew it was close to his limit to finish this event - and 40% of the runners did "drop". However Dennis finished successfully within the 30hour time limit. YES HE DID! Fantastic Job. This is an AWESOME achievement.
We also saw lots of our chums. Other friends in the event were were Jean, Charles, Tamika, Captain Kirk, Linda, Chris and Eileen. And all of them finished within the cut off - except for Eileen to whom I'd like to say "Well, you still did incredibly well to complete 85.2 miles".
And I must mention chums who helped with Aid Stations, Crewing and Pacing. Agnes, Max, Greg, Carol, Donnie, Andrew, Penny, Winnie, Lee, Christina, Anil, Patty, Larry, Jan, Tom (both of you), Angus, Lizzie, Rob, Melany, Mike (both of you), Mike's sister and Jerry. Good to see you all this weekend. (apologies if I've missed somebody).
A final word about this amazing achievement must be for Dennis' family who crewed for him. Wife Terri, daughters Lizzie and Felicity and friend Teresa. The crew does a lots of standing around waiting - however the motivation for the runner is huge. This weekend will be discussed forever by the Connor family. Ali and I are proud to have been involved. Good Job!
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