The venue: Squaw Valley Resort through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the American River canyon and into Auburn California
The racer: Michael Arnstein
The crew: Michael Oliva, Richard Gambino, Shawn Leonard
The journey began in North Bend Washington - 30 miles east of Seattle - early Tuesday June 22nd. The first stop was in Seattle to pick up passenger #2, Seth. Total miles driven - 34. After that, we headed south to get Richard in Eugene Oregon. We load up Richard and his stuff about 11:00 am. Total miles driven - 327. Next, we're off to get the produce for the week. Richard gets his produce from an organic distributor in Eugene.
It fits!
After loading 1000 lbs of produce, we're off to somewhere north of Squaw Valley USA, California. After crossing the Oregon/California border, we're stopped at an agriculture checkpoint. California had a huge fruit fly problem in the past. Instituting some controls on the produce coming into the state has gotten the the fruit fly problem under control. The agent asks me if we have any produce that we're bringing into the state, "yes, a lot", I answer. Luckily, we have the invoice so they are able to quickly check the items that they need to.
We went for a little run in the morning,
Here's the video after unpacking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU7KBUzXlqM
Joining the Arnstein crew were Jamil and Nick Coury from Tempe Arizona. Jamil was racing and Nick would pace Jamil for the final 38 miles. If you're evern in the Phoenix/Tempe area and looking for a race, check out http://aravaiparunning.com/aravaiparunning/page.php?2 This is Jamil and Nick!
Now it was time to knock some rust off the legs. We headed up the start of the Western States Run. 4+ miles later, we get to Emigrant Pass.
Unbelievable scenery here!
Wednesday video;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9PxO4iks3g
And, Thursday;
Friday was was pretty relaxing - just taking care of final preparations. We did have to pack up and load the remaining produce since we wouldn't be coming back to Squaw Valley. While there was a lot of food left at this point and it took 5 hours to pack it on ice and load it, we would end up getting home in a few days with less than 1 cooler full. The biggest event on Friday was the prerace meeting and the introduction of all of the runners who are returning top 10 from the 2009 race and those who won their way into the Western States at one to the qualifer races. This caught Mike a bit by surprise, since none of us realized that this would happen. With his 2nd place finish last fall at the JFK 50, Mike had won an entry slot into Western States. Here's a shot of the stage;
Mike is in the middle with the plaid shirt and brown hat
When we finally finish loading, we get off to sleep at 10:30 - the 4:00 alarm is coming soon. While in Squaw Valley, I rolled at a small bed out onto the deck of the lodge and slept there each night.
The race check-in and the starting area were buzzing when we got there. It was chilly - probably 42 degrees fahrenheit. But, that would soon change as the racers make their way through the canyons to Auburn California.
Nick and I left Squaw Valley, drove to the finish line at Placer High School to leave Nick and Jamil's car there. Then we headed to Robinson Flat, the 29.7 mile check point. We get there in plenty of time to stake out our spot and look for the leaders. Here they come;
Tony Krupicka-
Jamil comes in about 20 minutes after Mike;
Then, Oz just 9 minutes after Jamil;
Finally, some splits roll in;
Millers Defeat, 34 miles, 47th place 60 minutes behind the leaders
Dusty Corners 38 miles, 53rd place 73 minutes behind the leaders
Last Chance 43.8 miles, 48th place 79 minutes behind the leaders
Devils Thumb 47.8 miles, 55th place 107 minutes begind the leaders
the leaders pulled away by 20 minutes on this section, but considering how severe this uphill was, maybe not surprising?
El Dorado Creek 52.9 miles, 68th place 2 hours 24 minutes behind the leaders. Lost 37 minutes over 5 miles. Something is definitely going wrong. Hoping that Mike just got lost for a couple of miles. When Jamil gets to Michigan Bluff, he tells Nick that Mike is having a problem with his hamstring. Mike comes into Michigan Bluff 15 minutes after Nick. Oliva and Rich are there with Mike. His hamstring cramped and is completely seized. Now, the plan is to keep moving and hope that the muscle releases. Oliva and Rich get back to Foresthill a few minutes later. Oz passes by at 4:45 pm and looks great. Jamil comes into Foresthill just before 5pm - he indicates that he's struggling a bit at this point. Nick Joins him and off they go to the finish. I'll see them next after Jamil crosses the finish line at 2:41 am for a total time of 21 hours 41 minutes.
I walked up the road to meet Mike before he gets into the Foresthill check point. What I saw, wasn't good. Mike was dragging his left leg along as if it were sack of potatoes attached to his hip. His left foot never really came off the ground for the next 18 miles. After passing through the check point for the mandatory weigh in, we continue to out own spot where Mike sits for a bit as we gather the gear we'll need as we go into darkness. For 16 miles we descend from 3225 feet to 645 feet with just a few short uphill sections. Along the way, we talk a lot. Due to Mike's leg, our effort level is pretty low, so talking is easy. I hope that by keeping his mind focused on something other than his seized hamstring, the hamstring will eventually release. Occasionally, I see a little bit more flex in his knee joint indicating that the hamstring is beginning to work again. But, as if on queue, his toes would catch a rock protruding from the ground and he'd nearly fall down. That would immediately tighten everything right back up. We continue to pass through the aid stations, taking on water and eating all of the fruit that they have laid out. As darkness comes, we decide that attempting to run is not worth the risk. Since Mike can't really lift his foot off the ground, he has to navigate his way through the rocks to avoid tripping. At night, even with headlamps, that sort of navigation is impossible. 30 minutes later, we reach the Rucky Chucky river crossing. We made that 16 mile section from Foresthill in just under 4 hours. For a 100 mile race, this is a pretty good pace. The next 1.7 miles up to Green Gate is a punishing uphill, and it really has an effect on us. It takes 41 minutes to cross the river and walk up 1.7 miles.
Oliva and Rich meet us there. Mike sits for a while, and Oliva convinces him to give it a go. If they can walk at just 3 miles per hour, they'll finish at 5:00 am. Rich and I head to the finish line to see Oz and Jamil finish. We get to the finish line around midnight. I check on the positions of Oz and Jamil. We have about an hour before Oz comes in, and a couple more before we see Jamil. After that, we'll head back to the last check point on the race at 93 miles. Since the massage therapists weren't busy, Rich and I got a bit of relaxing massage. As I was finishing, I hear the announcer say "Oz Pearlman from New York city...." and I look up to see Oz crusing through the finish in 19 hours 53 minutes. Here's a little vide clip I took - a bit dark and unsteady;
Within 30 minutes, I get a call from Mike Oliva. It's almost 1:30 am, and they have covered 5 miles in more than 3 hours. At that pace, Mike wasn't going to finish before the time cutoff. It was time to call it a day. They arranged for a ride out of the Auburn Lake Trails check point (mile 85.2) to traffic light town of Cool. We picked them up there and headed back to the finish area. Mike was beat. He gave it all in hopes that his hamstring would come around. It never did. I can't imagine running/walking for 50 miles on a leg in that condition. Mike will comment more on his recovery at some time, but I do know that he was back to running on Tuesday, and "it was good enough to run pretty fast on" in Mike's words.
Oliva and Rich took Mike to the hotel and I went in to watch the finishers. Jamil finished at 2:41 am for a 21 hour 51 minute finish.
By 3:30am, I had set up my sleeping back in the turf in the middle of the track. I managed to sleep until 6:00 am. Finishers were still rolling in. Seth finished just before 8:00 am.
With that, it became time to begin packing up and start the 800+ mile trek back to the Pacific Northwest.
Mike Oliva caught a ride with us back to Eugene Oregon where he spent the week exploring the area. His trip culminated in a chance meeting with Ryan and Sarah Hall at the Eugene Airport;
Seth and I left Eugene early Monday morning and made our way to Seattle by 1:00 pm.
7 days - 2000 miles of driving - lots of running in the mountains and canyons - great food, great friends and a lifetime of memories - Western States 2010 Endurance Run
Geoff Roes showed why he was voted Ultra Marathon runner of the year for 2009. Winning in a course record time of 15 hours 7 minutes.
