Me, Molly, and Alexa find a patch of snow to cool our bums on the way to Santiago Peak!This year I volunteered and paced at the Old Goats 50 Mile race. Last year I ran the 50K, but this year there was no 50K option, and since I am not in shape to be running 50 miles, I was more than happy to volunteer! A lot of my friends were running this race, and a lot were volunteering. I love seeing all my running friends, and the only time we get so many of us together is at a big race like this one! That's why it's like a big party! For the local trail running community, it was the place to see and be seen!
Steve Harvey, our amazing race director, giving instructions to the volunteers after the runners started. All the volunteers stepped up to make this race one to remember!
I was at the Bear Springs aid station--mile 34 and 40. I waited up there until Molly came through. This was her 1st 50 mile race, so a few weeks ago, I asked her if she would like someone to run with her for the last part of the race, and she accepted my offer! So I went up and helped set up the aid station and helped the runners as they came through until Molly arrived.The first runner to arrive at the aid station. Volunteers Pam and Joe.
But before any runners passed through, we had a couple of "race crashers." Okay, they weren't really crashing the race. It was Doug (a.k.a. iDad) and Kirk. It was Doug's birthday and he was turning 70 years young! So for his 70th birthday, he decided he wanted to celebrate by running 70 miles, split up over 3 days! 20 miles on Friday, 30 miles on Saturday, and 20 miles on Sunday. In this picture, Doug is holding up "2" for day 2. I hope I am as young as he is when I turn 70!And the running gene runs in this family because a short while later, and the first female runner arrived at our aid station, Michelle Barton (Doug's daughter).
As the day went on, the aid station got busier. I saw so many of my good friends and runners who I look up to. There were so many amazing athletes and quality people!
When Greg arrived, he was a tad bit grumpy! A few rocks got the best of him on the rocky stretch between Trabuco and Holy Jim. But hey, just be glad you can still run strong! Bruised and broken ribs heal, buddy! And he just kept running. . .
Yeah, baby, wear it with pride!
LT was there too! He runs ultras just for training. Look for this guy along with Robo and dog, Brandi at the Ragnar Los Angeles relay. They are the only 2-man team running 187 miles from Santa Barbara to Dana Point. They will be raising money for a pet rescue organization. Check out their website and donate today!http://www.ultrabeasts.com
Lorraine was also there. She's a phenomenal runner. I remember seeing her at races before I ever met her. Instead of running shoes, she wears Crocs! She has a problem with her left Achilles tendon, but found that she could run in a pair of Crocs pain-free!
Finally I saw Molly making the final climb up Holy Jim. It was now time for me to leave my aid station and start running!
As we made the 3 mile climb (1,600') from Bear Springs to the summit, we came across some signs placed along the side of the trail, with interesting sayings like, "Stairway to heaven," and "Your prayers will be answered." This one says, "Angels await you."
In the picture is Alexa and Molly.
Sure enough, at the summit, were E-Rod, Skip, Jenn G., Tracie, and Jean, all dressed in their TrailHeadz shirts and angel wings and halos! I'm sure this was a very welcome sight for many of the runners. Basically, they ran a marathon, and then climbed 4,000' over 8 miles to Santiago Peak (5,687') which is the tallest point on the course and the tallest peak in Orange County. This was the mile 37 aid station and from here, it was a bunch of rolling hills with some "little" peaks the rest of the way down the mountain to the Start/Finish.
And of course, what's an angel without a harp! Jean Ho is amazing! She actually brought a HARP to the peak! And then proceeded to play it all afternoon to provide some serenity to the very tired runners once they made it to the peak. I wonder how many runners thought, "Oh crap! I'm hallucinating! Does anyone else see a girl playing a harp?"
Heading back down the mountain, Molly and I ran into someone we like to call rePete! rePete was also doing his first 50 miler! Gotta love the Dawn Patrol! BTW, Steve Harvey likes matching your bib number to your age. Molly is 38 and Pete is 27. iDad Doug wore number 70, of course!
And so from there, Molly and I had a long 13 mile run back down to the finish line. She is such a trooper. She pulled a quad muscle back at mile 9! And she kept on moving forward. As the race went on, and especially as we ran downhill, the pain in her leg continued to get worse. I did my best to encourage her along, although we spent much of that last stretch walking. We bummed some ibuprofen off another runner. At times, Molly just wanted to listen to her music so we hiked along in silence. There was never a doubt in my mind that she wouldn't finish the race. She was determined! Since we were doing so much walking, the sun began to set and we knew we would be finishing the race in the dark. Thankfully I had my headlamp with me, which I brought just in case. Pretty soon, E-Rod ran up next to us. He was there volunteering at the peak and was going to run with Alexa to the finish, but due to a change in circumstances, he was running on his own. By the time we reached the Trabuco trailhead, it was completely dark. Of the 3 of us, I was the only one with a working headlamp! We had 3 miles to the finish line and it was all rocky fireroad, going down the Main Divide.Because it was so dark, and the ground was so rocky with only one headlamp to light our way, the three of us found ourselves linked hand in hand, stumbling our way down the Main Divide! We felt like Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz saying, "Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!"
I was so excited for Molly to finish the race, just shy of the cutoff. But who really cares about time? When you say you ran 50 miles, no one says, "Well what was your time?" Who cares??? You ran 50 miles! How many people can even say they ran a marathon? Molly was eager to finish the race since she had her husband and kids and some other family members waiting there for her. One of my favorite moments was when we were coming out of the trees about 100 feet away from the finish line, and I heard a little kid say, "Mommy!" It was sooooo cute! I was so proud of her finishing the race, despite being in so much pain.
Volunteering at a race is always fun. First of all, I love giving back to a sport that is such a big part of my life. If it weren't for the amazing people I run with, I would not be the runner I am today--not that I'm an amazing runner 0r anything. I have so much room to improve. And hopefully before the year 2009 ends, I would like to run my first 50 miler. When you volunteer at a race, you see how challenging it is and when you see so many other people doing it, you realize that with the proper training, it is something you can do too!
