Ironman World Championship - St. George, Utah. May 7, 2022

 

Race Morning

Talk about perfect conditions.  The air temps were in the mid 60’s with a light breeze.  I loaded the bus when instructed to do so and was at Sand Hollow at 5am (for a 7:20 start, ugh).  T1 was logistically simple and low stress.  Things ran smoothly enough that we lined up early and got in the water 10 minutes early.  Haley Chura and Lisa Norden were getting out of the water as we were lining up to go in the water and I got to see them up close in action.  Cool.

The Swim

And cool is exactly what the water was.  The organizers said the water was 64 degrees but my Garmin said it was closer to 63 degrees.  In reality the water felt great.  Especially when compared to the practice swim a few days earlier which was significantly colder.  I wore a neoprene swim cap and it was very comfortable.  As I approached the start chute I saw Mindi Gerritsen, my wife’s cousin, who was volunteering there.  I gave her a big hug and she wished me luck.  As I came to the start line the volunteer controlling the start was R. Adam Lee from my tri club (Salt Lake Tri Club)!  It was great to start getting encouragement from familiar faces.  The start bell beeped and Adam said “Go” and into the water I went with 10 other guys.  Here we go!

I started with an easy breaststroke for the first 75 yards or so and then I settled into an easy freestyle stroke.  About 300 yards into it my goggles started fogging up.  With the sun in front of me and the goggles fogged up I couldn’t see a thing.  I was literally swimming blind.  I continued like that until the first turn buoy.  I then decided I couldn’t continue with my goggles like that so I swam to the side, stopped, lifted my goggles off my face and dunked my head in the lake.  I then put the goggles back on and the difference was amazing.  I could see!  The swim was awesome and uneventful after that.  A little bit of chop and cold in spots but overall an extremely enjoyable swim.  With about 400 yards to go I suddenly realized I had made a rookie mistake.  I forgot to turn on my bike computer!!!  Idiot!  Anyway, I wanted a 1:30 - 1:35 swim and I achieved 1:30.  I ran like a bat out of hell to transition.

T1 

This took longer than expected mostly because I had to mess around with my bike computer and wait to calibrate my power meter.  Aaargh… what a waste of time.  So, instead of 9 minutes it took me 13 minutes.  Oh well, on to the bike.

The Bike

I started the bike with a very elevated heart rate and I immediately tried to calm down.  I put on throw away gloves and pretty soon realized these were unnecessary.  The other thing that was annoying is that there was something in my bike bag that smeared on my visor and I could not see very well at all.  The bike was not starting well for me.  I spent most of the first 15 miles cleaning my visor and then getting my gloves off and focusing on taking my nutrition.  I also realized, after Nemesis Hill, that I really needed to pull it back a notch.  My body was telling me early on that I was going to have to take this one a bit easier than what I had originally planned.  An interesting thing was that I had already seen two bike crashes, in the first 15 miles!  One thing that the elevation profile doesn’t make clear to those who have not raced on this course is that the first half of this course is not “rolling”, this sucker is full of hard bona fide hills!  I actually saw a couple of people I knew from my tri club, including Andy Wade who I had swum with just a few days before.  This was a nice distraction from the grind of the hills.

The wind and heat started to become a factor and my thought was “man, just the first 56 miles would be a very challenging 70.3 bike course”.  My family started meeting me at different spots starting at Maverick Hill at mile 35 and this was incredibly motivating to me.  I made my way to the out and back going into Washington.  The wind was picking up by the minute and it was starting to make the ride very uncomfortable.  Where you were supposed to get relief on the downhills instead you got wind on your face that slows everything down.  The crazy part was when I got to the down hills at the start of Red Hills Parkway.  I am usually flying down these hills in the 70.3.  I was having to pedal just to keep moving.  I couldn’t believe how windy it was getting.

My family met me at the Mile 55 aid station and it was nice to talk to them for a while and recover a bit.  It’s always so refreshing to see them, especially when I saw that Charlee was having a great time being out on the course cheering the athletes on.  I refilled everything and tried to eat a Cliff Bar but could only get half of it in before I couldn’t stand it.  I said my goodbyes and rode on to tackle the Gunlock loop.

The stretch of road in Gunlock leading up to the Wall was actually better than expected, however the heat was definitely a factor now.  It was horribly hot and I found myself stopping at many of the aid stations to get some Coke, refill, and douse myself in ice water.  The volunteers in this area were very helpful and one of them even helped me clean my visor.  I gave him the white volunteer wristband that I had been saving.  Then, the Wall at mile 75.  Holy crap, I could see the Wall about two miles out and I made sure to get myself ready for the challenge.  I simply went on my lowest gear and went up nice and slow.  Luckily, the wind was more of a crosswind at this point and not directly in front of us.  It was a slog.  Many people were walking their bikes.  Once we finally made it to the Veyo Pies aid station I witnessed my third crash of the day.  An elderly gentleman was so tired that he could not unclip and he went down hard right at the aid station.  Many, many people were stopped at this aid station.  I picked up some water on the go and moved on.  As soon as I turned south to go back to St. George, a blast of wind hit me hard.  This headwind would not dissipate until I was back to the entrance of Snow Canyon.  However, things would soon get even more interesting for me.

I spent a lot of energy just trying to stay upright.  The wind gusts were insane (it was reported they were about 30 MPH) and they were throwing me all over the place.  I was going 40+ miles per hour but I had to slow down because it was so difficult to keep the bike under control.  This wore me out so bad that I totally missed the turn to Snow Canyon Parkway and ended up heading to Diagonal Street.  I could not believe I had made that mistake!  I was so tired that all I could think of was that Snow Canyon was right of where I was at the moment so when the fork in the road came along I read the signs but they did not process and I took a right.  Aaaarghhh… It kills me because I had done so much recon on this course and I knew this detail but I was just too tired and the mind failed me.  The volunteers I talked to at the corner of Snow Canyon and Bluff tried to make me feel better by saying that many had made the same mistake.  I then had to weave my way through cones back up to Snow Canyon Parkway.  The whole process took me about 10 minutes because stopping and getting back on the bike caused me to cramp horrendously and I had to stop and take my final salt tablet (of five already consumed).  It was then that I witnessed a terrible crash.  A cyclist on his way to the finish miscalculated the cones and crashed right into a couple of them.  He went flying right over his handlebars and crashed hard on the ground.  It was terrible.  Immediately volunteers rushed to his aid.  I said a silent prayer for the guy and hoped that he was ok.  I eventually made it back up to Snow Canyon Parkway and back to the cross winds.  I then made it to… Snow Canyon.

Snow Canyon is what everybody has dreaded about this race since the course was announced.  Snow Canyon comes at mile 100 of the bike.  The route is not the steepest of the course but it includes some 19% grades that are challenging even without the 100 miles of accumulated fatigue that I already had.  Having done Snow Canyon many times, I decided to focus on the positives: no headwind, beautiful scenery, and I currently wasn’t cramping.  All my training had been focused on this moment.  Eat right, train hard, be patient on the rest of the course, be strong in later miles so that I don’t cramp.  The variable that was hard to prepare for was the unbearable radiant heat that was in full force.  The temps were in the low 90’s and the heat was punishing us as we tried to make it up those hills.  There were TONS of people walking their bikes at this point.  I was so exhausted that for a while I didn’t even notice I wasn’t in my lowest gear!  My plan was to do a 7 hour bike ride, at this point it became clear that I would be well above that.  I put all notions of time out of my mind at that point.  I just focused on doing the work in front of me.  There was soooo much suffering going on right there.  Many people’s races were being destroyed right there and then.

Soon enough I made it to the top.  I then prepared myself mentally for the sketchy descent back to St. George and the finish of the bike.  It became very clear that something was not right with me.  I was bonking hard and I was starting to cramp up.  I had been doing well with my nutrition plan but the heat had thrown a wrench into the whole thing.  I knew I needed more electrolytes.  I was out of salt tabs and the Gatorade and my sports drink were not enough.  I felt so horrible that I decided to stop at the Ledges Parkway Aid Station.  By the time I made it there I was in some real distress.  I asked the volunteer helping if I could get me and my bike under the shade of the pop-up tent.  She said it was fine.  Once I made it there I rested on my aero bars and I passed out!

Luckily the volunteer was right next to me and caught me.  I woke up as soon as she grabbed me but I could not stand on my own.  They took my bike and helped me to sit down next to a cooler.  I then started cramping horribly.  They called a medic and they gave me more Gatorade Endurance to drink.  Unbelievably they had no salt tabs!  I downed the Gatorade Endurance and asked the medic to massage my legs, which turned out to be incredibly painful.  I was there long enough to get my strength back and to witness other people stop and puke and receive attention like I was getting.  After a bit I decided to get up to walk around.  In situations like these you do not want to sit down or lay down for a long period of time or your race could be over.  I was still a bit queasy but I decided I felt good enough to finish the last 7 miles.  I loaded up on electrolytes and got out of there.

The next 5 miles were the most dangerous and horrible of the whole race.  I knew this would be sketchy and I literally verbalized out loud a prayer for safety (sounds dramatic but, trust me, you would have done the same).  As soon as I went over the last little hill before the course turned sharply downhill a wicked crosswind hit me hard and moved me all the way across the lane.  This scared the crap out of me and made me tense up which immediately sent cramps shooting up my left leg.  I was going so freaking fast all I could really do is just try to move my legs and hope the cramp went away then another monster wind gust hit.  All I could do was hold on for dear life.  Then my left leg started cramping as well.  The pain was horrendous and there was nothing I could do.  I hate admitting to this but all I could do at that point was scream at the top of my lungs.  Luckily I didn’t have people close to me or it would have been so embarrassing but it was out of my control.  The pain was horrible and I didn’t think I could safely stop and unclip with my legs cramping as they were, so all I could do was scream and do my best to move my legs.  The wind, the cramps, the cursing and the screaming continued all the way to Diagonal Street at which point the winds subsided and the cramps finally started to go away.  All I could do now was hold on to finish the last 1.5 miles to the finish.  

I almost cried when I saw the dismount line.  I quickly unclipped, stopped my Garmin, saved my ride and gave the bike to the volunteer and told her (or him) “please take this thing the hell away from me, thank you!”  I was so happy to be free of that bike.  My final bike time was 7:39, ugh, but at least I didn’t push beyond my limits, I survived, and I actually felt optimistic about the marathon.  On to the change tent.  

T2 

I remembered exactly where my bag was and I was able to execute a fairly fast transition of about 8 minutes.  The best part of the transition was that I wasn’t the only person who had a shell locked look on their face.  Misery loves company.  I did hear from a volunteer that Kristian Blumenfelt and Daniela Ryf won the race.  These were my top picks (after Gustav Iden dropped out with illness) so it felt good to have picked the winners.  On to the run…

The Run 

There was an aid station in the chute leading out to the run course.  I loaded up on some Gatorade Endurance, put on my race belt and started jogging out to the first of many hills on this brutal marathon.  As soon as I got to the M-dot roundabout the course went steep up toward Diagonal Street.  I decided to walk to make sure I could reset my body and assess the challenge ahead of me.  To my surprise, I did not feel totally destroyed.  This meant that although I did not handle the heat properly I definitely pulled back enough and was fit enough to have some strength left for this run.  I was extremely encouraged by how I felt.  I committed to stick to my original strategy for the run: keep running as long as I can hold my form, do not push it on the uphills, do all I can to push it on the downhills, walk every aid station, fuel at every aid station, and pour ice water on myself at every aid station.

Before I knew it I was at the roundabout to Diagonal.  Being on a slightly flatter section of the course felt so good.  I had visualized being at this very spot so many times.  Also having run here soooo many times, I felt at home.  I have done the 70.3 race here 4 times and the St. George Marathon, which has its last miles on Diagonal, three times.  Also, my home stay (my wife’s aunt Marsha), lives right off Diagonal, so yes, I was home.  I found that my running legs were coming back to me and I started executing my run/walk strategy.  Soon enough I got to Marsha’s street and sure enough there she was cheering me on!  She’s awesome.  Seeing her lifted my spirits and I got a boost of energy.

I made my way up to Snow Canyon Parkway and was really feeling the heat taking its toll on me.  I was excited to get to the top of the hill on the corner of Bluff and Snow Canyon Parkway but when I turned to go downhill the wind was blasting directly at me.  I just turned my cap around and focused on my strategy: run the downhills!  I’m a pretty good downhill runner and I just let gravity take its course.  I only walked the aid stations going all the way to Mile 5 where I finally saw my family cheering for me.  They surprised me!  I thought they would be at the turnaround at Mathis Park but no, here they were at the side of the road.  I decided to make a stop and get some love.  It was awesome to see everybody, especially my grandbaby Charlee who looked like she was having an awesome time.  I told Jolynne all about my adventure in the last 10 miles of the bike and she was horrified.  The Ironman Tracker lost track of me and for an hour they all thought I had DNF’ed somehow.  They were very relieved when they saw the tracker pick me back up when I got on the run.  I said my goodbyes and made my way to Mathis Park and the turnaround of the first loop.

The heat of the day at 6pm was still at its peak of 92 degrees, scorching.  It had been this hot ever since Snow Canyon a couple of hours back.  So, coming into some shade at Mathis Park was a really welcome relief.  I love this part of the course, shady green and protected from the wind.  The interesting thing was that I saw a ton of people in distress at this point.  People laying down on the grass, at least two people puking and one receiving medical attention.  It was bizarre.  I had seen a few people in distress on my way here but nothing like this.  It seemed like the comfort of Mathis Park was leading some people’s minds and bodies to finally give in.  I could not blame them.  This was such a brutal experience for average age groupers like the majority of us out on the course.  Interestingly enough this is where my Ultrarunning background came into play.  In that world, the more comfy the aid station the greater the risk for you to drop out.  I was having none of that, I put in a bit of a surge and got the heck out of there.

On my way back I started to get an upset stomach.  This was both good and bad.  Good because I wasn’t feeling nausea or terrible distress, I just needed to unload at a port-a-pottie, which was great because it meant my digestive system caught up and was back to working.  It was bad because I knew it would further eat up time.  At the next aid station I stopped and went to the bathroom.  It did take some time for my body to do its business but wow did I feel so much better afterwards.  As soon as I came out of the port-a-pottie I saw my family who were, again, frantically looking for me.  They gave me a boost of encouragement and energy and I went on my way.  

Other than the heat, the up-hill trip back up to Snow Canyon was on plan for me.  The crazy thing was that I realized that I was running with a bike inner tube still in my jersey pocket!  I dropped that sucker off at the next aid station in hopes somebody would benefit from my stupid mistake.  I hated doing that (so wasteful) but I was only at mile 8.5 of 26.2 and special needs wasn’t for another 4.5 miles with a lot of those miles uphill.  Besides, I did not want to stop at special needs if I didn’t have to.  So off I went to make my way to the Snow Canyon climb.  That climb was brutal to do in the heat of the sun but I was able to stick to my run/walk strategy even there.

Before I knew it I was back at Diagonal Street and running my way down into town.  I passed the Salt Lake Tri Club’s tent and they gave a brother member some cheers and some love.  Those guys were having an awesome time.  It was awesome to see the energy close to the finish line but it was also gutting to see the finish line and know that I still had one more loop to do.  The out and back on Tabernacle Street close to the finish line was wayyyy longer than what I expected.  I did feel good enough that I skipped the Special Needs aid station.  I fed off the energy of the crowd and made my way back to the 2nd loop.  It was approximately 7:20 (over 12 hours from the start!) and the sun was finally lower in the sky and conditions felt cooler.  It felt much more pleasant to be out on the course and that gave me hope and energy.  I started feeling that a good run performance and definitely a finish were within reach.  As evidence of that I started passing people that had been ahead of me for a very long time and then I kept passing people.  I wasn’t racing, I was saving that for after Mathis Park.  Once again I passed Marsha’s street and  she was still there!  She gave me a cheer and I gave her a cheer back, so awesome.  

The next couple of miles were pretty uneventful and I found myself making good forward progress.  It was interesting to see and pass people who I thought were on their last lap.  It was motivating to see that there were many others that were with me who still had a lap to go.  The temps were now getting much more comfortable and the sun was slowly going down.  I was still seeing people in distress on the course.  Some by themselves lying on the ground and trying to recover and others receiving medical attention.  I did converse with a few people and the consensus was “this course is absolutely insane”.  Many veterans of Ironman, like myself, unequivocally agreed that this was the hardest course they had ever done, and the race wasn’t even done!

Pretty soon I found myself at the corner going to Mathis Park again and my family was there again.  It was so good to see them there and I was surprised to still see Charlee there.  It was 8:15 pm by then, which was bedtime for her (she’s 3 years old) but there she was having a grand old time cheering the runners on and bringing a smile to my face.  Here’s a funny Charlee story from the race:  Nikki and Kevin kept telling Charlee to cheer on the runners and she kept telling people “Go you green guy!” or “Go you red girl!” depending on the color of the kit the athlete was wearing. Charlee’s favorite color is pink and an athlete came walking by wearing a pink kit.  Nikki told Charlee to tell the athlete “Pink makes you go fast!”.  Well, what came out was “Hey pink go fast!”.  The poor woman who was clearly suffering turned to Charlee and with a very sad face said “I’m trying!”.  Poor Nikki ended up having to rephrase Charlee’s cheer to the suffering woman.  LOL.  All spectators and volunteers actually looked like they were having a great time.  This course was definitely spectator friendly.  It was very much like the Boston Marathon in that sense.  There were lots of families having a great time cheering us on and it was awesome to have their support. 

I got back to the Church aid station, which was the 5 miles to go mark, and I decided to run through the aid station and only walk on the uphill out and back.  As I got to the aid station I heard they were offering broth.  It was now dark and it definitely wasn’t cold yet but the thought of broth sounded like a great idea.  I took some of the broth and it was such a great change of taste and went down really well.  I finally got to the hill and I ended up talking with an athlete from Minnesota.  The guy, like many others on the course, was shell shocked at how difficult this course was.  He had participated in Kona before and he said Kona was child’s play compared to this course.  I hung out with him for a while until the turn-around.  At that point I said goodbye and I ran down the hill as fast as gravity would take me.

I have always felt pretty good running at night and this was no exception. I felt a pretty good bump of energy and I was able to power down that hill.  The crazy thing was that for a long time now almost everybody on the course was walking.  I have done 4 other Ironman races (and seen many others on Facebook) and I have never seen so many people almost exclusively walking.  This was something that after the race Jolynne and my family commented on, that after about 7pm pretty much everyone was walking.  This meant that I basically was passing everyone.  Every once in a while I would get into a leap-frogging series with somebody but I ended up passing them.  One thing that was super useful in this race that I have never seen (or noticed) before were the lit up course markers from Hoka.  These markers were about six foot tall, light blue, inflatable balloons with the Hoka logo that marked the distance of the course.  At night these tubes were lit up and made for awesome targets for breaking up the run.

I would see one of these Hoka markers in the distance and use it as a target for when to take my walk breaks.  I would then pick some other random marker until I got to the next Hoka marker.  It was very motivating and a good way to break up the course, especially the uphills.  There were parts of the course on the trail that were very dark and I was loving it.  I like it when the senses are dulled and all I have to do is focus on moving forward.  Pretty soon I got back to Snow Canyon Parkway, the last (and steepest) hill on the marathon.  By that point I was determined to finish this sucker as soon as possible.  It was slightly after 9pm and I had over 4 miles to go.  I had no idea how long I had actually been out on the course but I did not want to cross the line after 10pm.  There was no reason for this other than the fact that 10pm just sounded ridiculously late and I needed a target to motivate me.  I decided I would not stop at any more aid stations and that after I got to the top of Snow Canyon Parkway I would not walk at all until I got to the final out and back on Tabernacle right before the finish line.

This was the funnest part of the whole day.  I was hurting and beyond tired but I knew I would finish and I knew I had enough energy in me for a strong push.  I started passing everyone.  Mind you I wasn’t moving fast but faster than everybody else up that hill.  Once I made it up to Bluff it was all downhill from there.  I gritted my teeth and started to run.  I was actually jogging fairly slowly down that hill but it felt like I was flying.  I passed many people that had been well ahead of me for most of the marathon and that gave me even more energy.  However, there was something that really was heartbreaking.  There were many people who were just making their way up to Snow Canyon Parkway who I was pretty sure were not going to finish.  They were pushing with all their might but moving so slowly that it would take a small miracle for them to finish on time.  I  have felt that feeling of desperation before and I said a prayer in my heart for them, that if a miracle was an option that it would be granted to them.

The Finish

Going down Diagonal was horrendously painful on my feet and quads.  I was trashing my legs but by that point I did not care.  I was finishing this race.  Between the 70.3 and the St. George Marathon I had been in this same spot at least 7 times before as I closed out epic races, and this was no exception.  Diagonal is where you put it all out there and commit to finishing strong come what may.

I couldn’t believe it but I came up on a guy from my tri club that had been way ahead of me that I thought was definitely done by now.  As I passed him I could tell that he was going to try to stay with me.  This was great because it gave me some competition leading to the finish to help keep me motivated.  I finally got to the Dragon roundabout and then the course went sharply downhill towards the finish line.  My legs were like jelly by now but the crowds were now thick on both sides of the course and this gave me strength to keep up the pace.  I could clearly hear Mike Reilley at the finish line but this cruel course had one more test in the out and back on Tabernacle.  I made the left turn on Tabernacle and the course flattened out and with it my momentum.  However, I kept jogging.  I could feel the wind had really picked up significantly and it was currently at my back so I decided not to walk until after I had made the turnaround at which point all that wind would be right on my face.  The guy from my tri club ( I later learned his name is Jim Cory, super nice guy) passed me at this point.  For all I knew he was already minutes ahead of me since I didn’t know what age group he was in and had no clue when he went into the water.  But none of that mattered; he was the motivation I chose to keep me moving.  I tried to stay with him and closed the gap.  We got to the turnaround and the wind just hit me like a wall.  Another cruel reminder of the brutal nature of this course all the way to the finish.  I started walking and so did Jim up ahead of me.  I took a minute to collect myself and muster up all the energy I had left.  NO MORE WALKING!  It was all running from now on all the way to the finish.  I caught up to Jim and passed him.  People on the sidelines were cheering us runners like crazy and I could see the M-dot turnaround and the hot corner.  I heard my name being called at the hot corner.  I then took a left turn and onto the red carpet.  I raised my hands and clapped a few outstretched hands.  I could hear Sofia and Jolynne cheering for me but I couldn’t see where they were in the crowd.  The carpet then went up to the finishing arch and I heard Mike Reilley say “Jose Jimenez, from Herriman, Utah.  You are an Ironman!!!”  I did it!!!  Other than my 100 mile ultramarathon I have never been so close to a DNF but screw that, I did it.  I finished Ironman St. George!

The volunteers at the finish line were the happiest people I had seen all day.  Everyone was so kind and congratulatory.  The crazy thing was that the volunteer that led me away from the finishing arch was the same volunteer that sent me into the water at the start of the day: R. Adam Lee from our tri club!  Man, it was good to see a familiar face there.  Then another volunteer placed a massive medal around my neck.  I was super happy to get the medal but I also discovered that my neck was horrendously sunburned.  Wearing that medal hurt!  It was such an appropriate way to finish an Ironman in St. George.  

The Finish Line Area Experience

After getting my medal I got a nice Ironman Gatorade towel, my race shirt and my race hat.  I immediately put on that race hat and then went to get my finish line picture.  The finish line area had great food but not great choices for drink.  All they had to drink was water, Coke, Gatorade and Athletic Brewing Beer.  I had been drinking Coke, Gatorade and water for hours and I just couldn’t stomach a non-alcoholic brew right at that moment (although it sounds awesome as I write this).  So I did the sensible thing and got a Gatorade but what I really wanted was some juice, any juice!  They had pizza and Chick-fil-A to eat but I just couldn’t stomach it.  So, after sitting for a while I hobbled my way to get my bags and then made it out to the family meet-up area.

I finally was with my family!  They were so nice to me.  I really couldn’t walk all that much so we hung out in front of the giant screen where they were showing the finishers coming in and I just laid on the ground where Charlee covered me with a towel and with some shirts that were laying around.  Laying there on the soft grass debriefing the race with my family was such an awesome way to finish the day.  

Emotions really came rushing in at that point.  I remember the horrible feeling of disappointment I felt when they canceled the original Ironman St. George series after the crazy 2012 race.  I was devastated because I had the opportunity to race but I just didn’t feel ready and then the full Ironman was … gone.  That really had been a horrible disappointment for me for many years until they announced in 2019 that the full Ironman would be back in 2020 and then every three years thereafter.  I signed up immediately.  And then … COVID.  IM St. George was postponed and then it was canceled and then I was moved to IM Texas and then that was canceled twice.  And then finally I made it back on the entry list to IM St. George 2022.  And then, a nice reward for 10 years of waiting, IM St. George was turned into the 2021 Ironman World Championship and I was signed up for it.  I have to say that the way I felt at that finish line, celebrating with my family, was worth all the waiting, disappointment, training and suffering.  I love this sport and I am so thankful I had the opportunity to do it in a place I love, with people I love and on the biggest stage imaginable.

Bear Lake Brawl Full Triathlon - Race Report

Leading up to The Race

The week before the race I started feeling a cold coming on and I started having aches in my hips and Achilles tendon. Taper madness was strong that week. I was so anxious to race.  After having all my races cancelled and going through the emotional roller coaster of having Ironman St. George cancelled (twice) I just wanted to race! I was so excited for race day and then I started getting very anxious about racing a full Ironman in just a few days.  The weather forecast didn’t help since it just kept getting worse every day leading up to the race. Little did I know how bad the weather would get or how epically difficult race day would be.

I finally decided that I would only worry about what I could control and go into the race with a positive attitude. I also accepted that the race would be cold and wet. So, I adjusted some of my expectations and made sure that I stopped focusing so much on finishing time and focused more on execution to allow me to finish. Cold temperatures almost forced my first DNF at the Bear 100 Ultramarathon in 2017, which takes place in the mountains on the west side of Bear Lake. I had never contemplated a DNF before but I made a mistake and underestimated how the cold would affect me in the night portion of that race and it almost cost me the finish. If it wasn’t for my family support I would have DNF’d on that race. So, knowing how cold affects me I planned for a long T1 transition to make sure I put on dry and waterproof clothes for the bike. I also accepted that I had to survive biking in a cold rainstorm, something I had never done before. According to the forecast the rain would go away around 11am and it would get windy between 2pm and 4pm but then the winds would die down and things would totally dry up.

My race plan was specifically geared toward that terrible weather forecast. I also accepted that my chances of a sub 13-hour time were low because of the energy suck of the cold and wind. So, my focus was on a decent finish and a decent performance under bad conditions.  In the last two days before the race I started feeling great and feeling energy coming into me, so the taper was working and my body was getting race ready.  I was still apprehensive about biking in the rain but I did a few things to make sure my bike was ready to go. I changed the tires to Continental Gator Skins, which are slow tires but they are all-weather and do a great job at gripping the ground.  I also fine tuned the bike and my set-up for the day.

We made it to Garden City around 3:30 pm on Friday and had plenty of time to check in and set everything up for the race. I was able to relax with my family in a cozy house right on the bike course. If nothing else Bear Lake is a great venue for a vacation.

Race Day

The Swim

I woke up at 4am after a really good night's sleep. I felt pretty calm, which is an achievement since morning jitters are typical for me. I got ready and Kevin, my son-in-law, drove me to the start.  The start line was pretty chaotic. There were cars everywhere and the wind was blowing like crazy so there was dust everywhere and the mild temperatures began to get colder and colder. Kevin helped me get set up in transition which took a lot longer than I anticipated. The wind kept getting stronger and stronger and then it was time to head down to the beach. I was really hoping that we would have an organized start but the scene before me was a bit of a disaster. The race organizers were late to set up the table with the timing chips, which then forced a long line of people.  The three buoys that were set out on the lake marked a course that seemed way too long for a 4-lap course and then the race director said that there was an additional buoy that had blown off course that marked another edge of the course that made it even longer.  The race start was delayed until they could get the buoy back into position.  Meanwhile the wind kept getting stronger and the waves out on the lake kept getting bigger and bigger.  We were all afraid that the swim would be cancelled.  They had a jet ski out there trying to drag the buoy back into position but the wind was so strong that the jet ski itself was having issues making progress.

Most people were asking Joe, the race director, to forget about the buoy and simply adjust the course.  I was starting to shiver uncontrollably because it was so freaking cold out there.  Poor Kevin was feeling bad for me and he kept sending status updates to the family about what was going on.  Joe finally decided to adjust the course and announced that the athletes doing the full would do three laps around the three buoys already out there.  We then lined up according to expected swim time so I lined up with those expecting to swim 1:30, which is my longest IM swim.  

We went into the water time-trial style about 5 seconds apart.  The course between the first two buoys was very shallow and you essentially had to walk for a good portion of it.  The water actually felt good but the combination of the water and the wind made the overall feeling very cold.  Once it finally became deep enough to swim it became apparent that even breast stroking would be a challenge since the waves would just roll right over my head and I could not breathe.  I tried to freestyle but had the same problem.  So I had to do a combination of freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke to make it to the first buoy.  It was so cold and the effort was so hard that I was spent by the time that I got to the first buoy.  However, I then focused on getting myself to the orange buoy deeper into the lake.  The swimming in that direction was much easier because it was more with the wind but it was still hard not to breathe in water because the water was so choppy.  

Once I made it to the orange buoy I knew that I was in real trouble.  I now had the waves on my left side, which is the side where I prefer to breathe.  I tried to bi-lateral breathe but the effort was too hard and I was still breathing in water.  So I was relegated to breast stroking all the way back to the first buoy.  In the middle of that effort I had to call a kayak over so that I could take a break.  The kayak took forever to get to me and he threw me a life saving noodle to hold on to.  I instead waited until he got closer to me and then held on for a minute. He then told me that it was too dangerous for him to be out there!  I thought “too dangerous for you, what about me?!”  He said a kayak had flipped over and they were changing the course to go in loops between the first and second buoys, however when I asked him how many laps we had to do he said he didn’t know. Ugh. I made it to the first buoy and then made a couple of loops to the first buoy.  I then found other people doing the Full and asked if they knew how many loops we needed to do.  They said they decided to only go as far as their predicted time and then get out.  Well, I was already more than there.  I had been in the water for over one hour and thirty minutes.  So I decided to go back to the first buoy and then get out.  

As I was making my way to the first buoy and then to the exit my body started to get extremely cold.  This had never happened to me in a triathlon before.  Even in very cold water my body has been able to acclimate to the water temperature when I’m wearing a wetsuit.  However, I had been out there way longer than I ever have in any triathlon and the 62 degree water temperature was just too cold.  Combined with the air temperature, which was in the 40’s, it made for a very dangerous situation.  As I was getting out I was shivering uncontrollably and it was hard to move.  I eventually found my sandals and I made my way quickly to transition.  My final swim time was 1:41 and I have no clue how much ground I covered.  I was just happy I lived through it. 

T1

Now came the really hard part.  I knew for a fact that I needed to change into dry and warmer clothes.  However, there were many complications to achieve this.  First, I could not feel my extremities and I was shivering uncontrollably.  Second, the wind was still a bit crazy and it started to rain, which made getting to my stuff logistically more difficult.  Third, there were no changing tents in this race so I would have to use a poncho so as to not moon everybody.  Well, I knew that the change of clothes would take forever but I decided to take it one step at a time.  Using the poncho to be modest was a great idea but when you can’t feel your extremities it makes it near impossible.  The result was that I lost my balance and fell hard on my side thus mooning everybody anyway.  It was so painful that I didn’t even think about the embarrassment of my situation.  

I finished my change of clothes by adding tights and a running rain jacket.  I also had a skull cap under my helmet.  I then noticed that my bike was caked in sand.  All I could hope for is that the gears would work.  Getting out of transition everything creaked and I had to spend some time kicking sand out of the chain and out of the rim brakes before getting on my way.  The whole transition took over 18 minutes.  This is absolutely my worst transition time but I had to do all I did to ensure survival on the bike in the middle of a cold rainstorm.

The Bike

I got going and actually felt fortunate to have even made it to the bike course.  Immediately I was happy for my choice of tires.  The road was wet and waterlogged but my bike felt secure on the road.  The east side of the lake is all ups and downs so it was difficult to get into a rhythm.  However, the tail wind helped to control some of the effort.  This was great because I was using a LOT of energy dealing with the wet and the cold.  The rain was coming down steadily and I was thankful to have a rain jacket on, so at least I was mostly dry but it was definitely cold.  I could not believe there were people out there just in their tri kit.  Even if you were only doing the Olympic or the Half it was so cold that being out there in a tri kit only would be awful.  I actually saw a few people doing the Sprint or the Olympic that kept their wetsuit on for the bike leg.  Smart.

I decided to focus on execution at this point.  I made sure to start taking in my calories and I kept track of my power to make sure I wasn’t overcooking myself since I was already burning many calories just trying to stay warm.  I did feel the toll that the cold swim and transition had taken on me.  There was quite a bit of aqua jogging on one of the sections of the swim that I ended up doing about 3 or 4 times.  This took quite a bit out of me in the 1:41 swim and I could feel it now. I knew that in order to finish energy conservation would be key.  Controlling power and perceived exertion became super important for me.  If I was going to make a mistake I would rather be conservative than put me at risk of not finishing.  Who the heck knew what the rest of the day had in store.

The entire 20 miles on the east side had sustained rain and then the rain started to taper off somewhat but stuck around.  Around 11:30 I rode by where we were staying at Garden City and it was soooo great to see my whole family outside the house cheering for me.  My granddaughter Charlee looked very confused as to what everyone was cheering for.  It was very cute.  

I was very happily surprised to feel that the wind I expected on the west side did not materialize and I could sustain a pretty good pace and power.  I got back to Idaho and started feeling like I needed to pee. When I got to the aid station at St. Charles I stopped and peed and then kept going on the north side of the lake.  The headwinds here were absolutely brutal and my speed was cut to 14 to 16 MPH.  I was able to see the pros racing the Half Ironman suffering out on the run course but I had no energy to cheer them on.  This leg of the course was a total energy suck.  By the time I got back to transition I decided to stop and refill my bottles with my supplies in the special needs bag.  I then went out for the 5 mile loop to complete the first 56 miles.

This is where the race got very, very hard.  The headwinds were strong on the east side hills and making any progress was difficult.  I was glad to turn around but knew that the 2nd 56 mile lap would be brutal.  The 2nd 20 mile stretch on the east side hills was absolutely brutal.  The rain had gone but the cold and wind were in full force.  It was soooo hard to get through those miles.  The fatigue of the day had accumulated and the headwinds and hills did not allow me to sustain any rhythm or power.  I lost about half an hour of speed in these miles.  I am happy that I didn’t push it too much though and was very happy to make it to the south of the lake.  I finally was able to start getting into a rhythm but just as I was settled in a huge semi came by at top speed and the wind it carried with it almost made me crash.  I cursed out loud but then was thankful that I didn’t crash.  At that point someone passed me.  That gave me some motivation to stay close to that person and see if I could pass him back.

Once I started going on the west side the wind was at my back and I felt much better.  I passed the guy I was tracking down decisively shortly before I made it back to Garden City.  I made it back to the house in Garden City about 2:30 and this time only Jolynne and Kevin were waiting for me.  Thankfully they had a Coke bottle for me!  It felt great to stop and talk to them for a while and get some caffeine in my body.  I then started the trip to finish up the last 26 miles of the bike course.  I once again stopped at the aid station at St. Charles but it was mostly to quickly refuel.  Luckily the north side of the lake was not very windy this time and I was able to make pretty good progress.  The east side 5 mile loop was less painful the 2nd time but I was soooo ready to be done.  I finished the bike at 6:33, which was about 18 minutes longer than what I wanted but actually better than expected given the day’s conditions.  All in all I was very happy with my bike performance and my Giant Trinity bike performed excellently.  I was also very happy with my discipline at sticking to my fueling plan throughout the whole bike.  I was trashed but I did not feel hungry or nauseous.  On to the run!

T2

This transition was smooth.  I took time to take off all those warm clothes since now the sun had come out and the winds were dying down.  I put on my shoes, race belt, hat and sunglasses, grabbed my water bottle and got out of there.  My T2 time was a little over 4 minutes.

The Run

I started walking because it was very difficult to get my legs to respond well enough to run.  The strength effort of the day that I used to push the legs in the water and to push on the bike made my legs very achy.  So, I took it easy for the first quarter mile and then I started a slow jog.  The weather was perfect at this point.  It was still cloudy but the sun would come through the clouds every once in a while.  I progressively felt better and was able to sustain a pace between 9:30 and 10:30 in between mile markers.  I would take a walking break at every mile marker and aid station.  I really felt this run would come together really well and my outlook was positive.

Shortly before getting to the turnaround point at St. Charles I saw my family on the side of the road cheering me on.  However, I immediately knew there was something wrong with my granddaughter Charlee.  She looked sad and her nose was totally red!  By the time I got to her I noticed that her little nose was red with a bloody road rash and she had a couple of scratches on her forehead.  They told me that shortly before I got there she decided to get out of the stroller by herself and she fell flat on her face on the gravel!  I felt so bad for her.  I gave her a kiss and a hug and she seemed happy to see that I had come out of nowhere.  But then after I kept going I heard her crying because I had left.  Poor baby!

I made my way to the turnaround aid station and I guess I was looking like I was hurting because one of the guys at the aid station felt like he needed to cheer me up.  He said “Hey how are you feeling?”, I said “I’m hanging in there.”, then he said “Well, at least it could be worse.  It could be raining!”  I cringed when he said that because I felt like he had just jinxed me with all the possible bad luck that 2020 could throw out at me.  I guess the woman standing next to him did not appreciate the comment either because she slapped him on the shoulder and said “Don’t say that!  Don’t you realize it was raining cats and dogs this morning?!”  I smiled at that and started my long 6.55 miles back to transition.  Little did I know how powerful that jinx would prove out to be.

I soon made it back to where my family was spectating and I spent some more time talking to them and giving hugs to poor Charlee who had a very red nose.  I then said goodbye and went on my way.  Immediately I could feel that the light tailwind was picking up big time.  I also noticed that the sky was getting darker.  I could not believe it!  Seriously?!  It looked like another rainstorm was coming.  The forecast had been wrong all day long and it seemed to be wrong again.  The rain this morning that was only supposed to last through 11am lasted through 1pm.  The winds that were supposed to be from the west in the morning came from the north and then in the afternoon changed to headwinds from the southeast!  Things were supposed to clear up and stay clear through the rest of the weekend after the morning rain but here we were with what looked like impending rain and ever growing winds from the west.  I just can’t win.

The only benefit was that the tailwind was helping me keep pace.  However, the temperature started dropping dramatically and the winds were getting crazy strong.  I didn’t have a jacket on because I didn’t think I would need it.  Then I started feeling rain slapping my back.  Ugh…  I started getting very cold and with that my body started shutting down.  Luckily my family did not abandon me.  There was very little support out on the road with only 4 aid stations on the entire run course.  My daughters came by and brought me a Coke, which I desperately needed and asked if I needed a jacket.  I said I had one in my special needs bag but it wasn’t waterproof.  I had the running rain jacket that I used on the bike but that was inaccessible in the transition area.  My daughter Nikki said that her husband Kevin had a waterproof jacket with a hoodie that I could use.  That was a lifesaver because it kept me dry and allowed me to move forward taking advantage of the tailwind.

But then I noticed the one thing that I am irrationally afraid of: Lightning!  The first time I noticed it I was taking a walking break and talking to my daughters who had brought me more Coke.  I asked them “Was that lightning?!” and they flat out lied to my face and said “What lightning?”  I just shook my head, thanked them for the Coke and kept moving forward.  I felt so blessed to have my daughters Sofia and Nikki out there who were doing their best to keep me out on the course.  They know how deadly afraid of lightning I am and they started fearing that I would pull the plug when I got back to transition.  I tried to keep the lightning out of my mind.  I also tried to not think about the possibility that they would cancel the race because of the crazy weather.  The rain started stinging my calves and I could tell that this was freezing rain.  The 2nd loop would be total torture.

By the time I got to transition I was very cold.  I got to my special needs bag and got some gloves, a head lamp, and put away my sunglasses.  Then Nikki offered me her own rainproof jacket to wear over Kevin’s.  I immediately put it on as I knew it was only going to get colder.  Nikki then told me that my son Alex and my son-in-law Kevin were coming to run the rest of the marathon with me.  I was thankful for that.  She also told me that the weather forecast called for this weather to remain windy and rainy for the rest of the night.  That news hit me like a ton of bricks but I started mentally preparing for a sufferfest.  I then turned around and started the 2nd loop. 

The wind and freezing rain were absolutely ridiculous.  I could hardly move forward and my bare  legs were burning with the pelting of the freezing rain.  All I could do was put my head down and walk.  I was so miserable.  I started saying a prayer.  I said “Heavenly Father, I realize we need rain out here in the West but if it be thy will would thou please help me out here.  I’m freezing, scared to death and determined to finish this race.  Would thou please make the rain go away.  I would really appreciate it.”  I probably repeated that prayer five times.  I finally decided I needed to speed up.  I put my hands in my pockets and I started jogging very slowly.  I made it to mile 14 and then 15.  Then, miraculously, the rain stopped.  Then the wind died down a little bit.  Then, incredibly, the sun came out and even a rainbow came out!  By mile 16 it was still very, very cold but at least it was not raining and the wind was not violent.  I was so thankful.  I immediately thanked Heavenly Father for giving me a tender mercy that was wholly unexpected.  I guess He felt I had enough for today.  I picked up my pace.

Around mile 16 I saw my family waiting for me at the side of the road.  Alex and Kevin were ready to run with me.  I was very happy to see Jolynne and see the boys (they are really men but they will always be boys to me).  Alex, who is a cadet in BYU’s ROTC, was wearing his combat boots for rucking practice.  Kevin was wearing shorts.  So, they came ready to suffer with me.  It was nice to have the company.  Their mission was to make sure that I didn’t quit but I had already committed to finish no matter how long it took.  They provided me encouragement to lengthen time running versus time walking.  This was good because the cold had done massive damage to my energy reserves and I was having a hard time moving at all.  My feet, quads, and hips were killing me but my energy was also spent.  It helped to have the boys with me because it made me want to save face and show them that I still had some fight left in me.

By the time we made it to the turnaround at mile 19.75 the sun had gone down.  Thankfully, I had been moving pretty well and the cold was, for the most part, controlled.  However, the cold was still in my bones and the only thing keeping me from shivering was moving.  At one of those points where I was feeling that cold in my bones we were approached by a car and the driver asked if I wanted hot broth.  It took me a minute to process what he had just offered and Kevin immediately said “Yes!”.  When it finally registered I yelled out “Yes! Oh my gosh that would be awesome.”  And sure enough he had a cooler full of hot broth which was delicious and warmed my body and my soul.  I was so thankful for that.  About an hour later he came back and gave me more.  I later learned that this was Chris White from the Salt Lake Tri Club.  Thanks Chris!  

One thing that I appreciated was that Joe Coles drove the course the whole day to check on how we were doing.  He also would send out people to check on the participants.  It was funny because a regular Ironman race probably would have stopped or postponed the race when the lightning came.  Joe instead sent people out in trucks to ask participants if they were good to go in the lightning.  If they said “yes” like, unbelievably, I did then you were good to continue.  He also went around handing out garbage bags to participants for them to protect themselves from the wind and rain.  This was not ideal but at least it was something.

People out on the course were suffering big time.  I asked Joe if I was one of the last ones and he said that far from it there were still quite a few people on their first loop!  I was glad to have the company of Alex and Kevin.  Alex’s commentary on the race, the day, sports, and everything under the sun kept my mind occupied which was great.  Alex also did a good job at keeping track on my pace for each mile.  Once we passed mile 21 Kevin and Alex challenged me to time my walks and my run segments.  So I would walk for a while and they would give me a 30 second advance notice and then I would run for three minutes.  This allowed me to start moving much faster and we started passing people.  At one point we passed a couple of guys at an aid station and we quickly found that they were moving at a similar pace as I was.  Alex and Kevin decided that this was the competitive motivation that I needed.  

They kept telling me how close behind me the guy was and it motivated me to run faster during my running segments and to extend the time I would spend running.  At one point a car that was shadowing the guy behind me got pretty close to us, which told me the guy was close behind.  However, the guy in the car made a critical mistake.  He was playing loud music and the song he had on at the moment was “Tom Sawyer” by Rush.  I absolutely LOVE that song and it gave me a rush of energy.  I told the guys I was ready to run and I put the hammer down.  This 3-4 minute segment of running finally dropped the guy behind me but the boys kept telling me he could come back at any minute so I should keep pushing it.  I felt better after that competitive “win” and I moved faster.  As we approached the “1 mile to go” sign the guys challenged me to run the rest of the way once I hit the sign.  I was also pretty stressed about getting done before 9:30.  Anything above that and I would go above 14 hours.  My “A” goal was to go sub 13 hours.  My “B” goal, in case of crazy conditions, was to keep it below 14 hours.  And my “C” goal was to just finish.  I desperately wanted to achieve that “B” goal.

Kevin told me that I was cutting it close but that it was possible to make it by 9:30.  I then gritted my teeth and prepared myself for the last mile.

The Finish

I hit the “1 mile to go” marker and took off.  Alex was cheering me on and giving me words of encouragement like “Let’s go boy!”  I dug deep and after a little while I could see the lights at the finish line.  I asked Kevin if I was on schedule to make it and he said yes but that I was right on the line.  I gritted my teeth and pushed harder.  I found some energy reserve I didn’t know I had and I pushed the pace.  Kevin yelled “You’re going to make it!  Then Alex said “Just one more curve and that’s it!”  He was right, I had one more bend in the road and then all I had to do was take a right into transition and straight to the finish line.  I then heard Jolynne cheering me on and I picked up the pace.  I took the right on to transition and then straight to the finish line.  I. Was. Done.

A volunteer came out to get my timing chip and Kevin came in to support me where I stood.  The first thing I asked was “When did I cross the finish line?” and Kevin said the words I wanted to hear “9:28.”  My official time was 13:54.  Not my fastest time but not my worst by a long shot.  I was so happy to be done.

The Aftermath

As I expected the finish line was a very Spartan situation.  All they had was a dingy aluminum tubing arch with a timing mat.  There was no music and hardly any people there.  Joe had to go back into the building to get my medal and a bag with some food in it.  I didn’t even take a look at the medal as my wife put it on me.  I kept asking “Did I break 14 hours?”, which is funny because on a day like that one finish time probably mattered very little.  Jolynne assured me that I had broken 14 hours as I limped my way to the car.  I was so excited to get back to the house at Garden City and re-fuel and spend time with my family.  I think this was the best part of the day.  To be finally done and be with my family, eating junk food, and enjoying trading the war stories from the day was perfect.

Incredibly the day after the race was sunny and absolutely picture perfect.  The day before the race and the day after the race were picture perfect but, of course, it’s 2020 so the day of the race we got apocalyptic weather.  And you know what?  Bring it on.  If I was going to have only one race in 2020 it might as well be epic and if Bear Lake Brawl 2020 was anything it was epic.

The Bear 100, 2017

If At First You Don't Succeed...

 You know those moments when you think to yourself "what did I just do?!" That was me sometime around November 2016. I finally realized what a rookie impulse move it was to sign up for a 100 miler. My first. And for my first, The Bear 100 Endurance Run! One of the hardest 100's in the country. The word "moron" kept running through my head and it was very appropriate. So why would I do such a moronic thing? I have never been all that allured by the 100 mile distance. I respect those who run it and I enjoy hearing the stories of the complete brutalization of their bodies but I really had never been seriously tempted to sign up for one. So why would I do such a thing?

Well, it all started in 2013 when one of my good buddies, Scott, asked me to be one of his pacers for The Bear. I had never paced an Ultra before and thought "cool, let's do it." Scott had done several ultras before and he is a super tough dude and a very strong runner. I thought this would be an epic experience and I was glad I would part of a huge accomplishment for him. Well, the Bear had other things in mind. My job was to pace him from mile 51 to mile 75. By the time he got to me at the Tony Grove Aid Station he was a complete mess. He was about two hours late and he was hobbling. His feet were bloody with blisters. We took him to the van so he could warm up and so that we could treat the blisters. I was concerned but I really didn't know if the shape he was in for a 100-miler was par for the course or if he was in real trouble. He slept for about 20 minutes and then we took off.

As always he was in high spirits and put on a brave face throughout the night. His feet hurt so bad that it was very slow going. Around mile 63 we encountered really steep downhill and ice, lots of ice. Scott's legs and feet hurt so bad that he had to take baby steps to make any progress. He didn't think he would need trekking poles so the going was very slow. By the time that we got to the mile 76 Beaver Lodge Aid Station he was walking like a zombie. It had taken us over 14 hours to go about 25 miles! When the medical staff checked him out his big toe was the size of a light bulb. While the medical staff lanced his blisters he just sat there with a blank stare on his face. I soon realized that he was sleeping with his eyes open, while they were lancing monster blisters on his feet! Well, Scott is one tough dude and he opted to continue but by the mile 85 aid station he had run out of time and had to DNF.

I was shocked at the brutality of the whole thing. I swore to myself that I would never attempt such a stupid thing. Then two days after the DNF Scott informed me that he was signing up again for next year and if I would pace him again. I was dumbfounded but, whatever, he's my bro and I would support him. So fast forward to 2014 and one of the most challenging conditions in the history of the Bear. Heavy, oh so heavy rainstorms as soon as the sun went down. Scott had a good first 50 miles but the sun had taken a toll on him. The day had been bright sunshine and hot. He did not adjust his plan for this and by the time he got to Tony Grove (mile 51) he was pretty wrecked but blister free after a change to better footwear. he was also using trekking poles which helped a ton. However, when the rains came it turned everything to a muddy slip and slide. Around mile 63, again, Scott started having severe GI issues and he started cramping uncontrollably.

I was so concerned about Scott's condition that a mile later I had him take a nap even though it was pouring down steady rain on us. I let him sleep for about 30 minutes and then we kept going. Those 30 minutes were pretty sketchy. Aside from the lightning that was starting to increase in intensity the night was pitch dark. To make matters worse there were two runners that came by and they literally looked like zombies. I said hi to them and all they responded with was "Agghh, ugh, ya". One of those guys was even walking like Frankenstein. It was unnerving. Then the lightning started to hit a crescendo. The lightning was indescribable. I am terrified of lightning so at least Scott had some comedy relief every time I cursed when it would flash all around us. I seriously thought we were going to die up there. We hunkered down in the middle of the trail and waited for the lightning to pass. When things calmed down a bit we tried to keep going but Scott got to a point where he was unable to move. His legs were totally cramped and he could not hold down any food. Around mile 67 he decided to throw in the towel. I ran ahead and went to the mile 69 aid station (Logan River) and got medical help to come pick him up. In the way to get him we picked up the two zombies who decided to drop as well. When we got to Scott he was trying to move but was just shuffling. We got him into the car and the DNF was official.

Scott Taking a Nap 

I thought, for sure he is never attempting that crazy thing again. Well, sure enough a couple of months later Scott comes to my house with a gift card to Barnes & Noble and a Thank You card and he asked me to pace again in 2015. I couldn't believe it! I asked him if he had a psychological condition that needed to be diagnosed. He said he could not live with the unfinished business. Aaarrrghhhh...ok, here we go again.

Scott's Revenge

September, The Bear, again, what's the definition of insanity? Well, truth be told the ramp up to The Bear 2015 felt very different. We did everything we could to put all lessons learned to good use. Scott stopped running crazy 100+ mile weeks. He dialed in his nutrition and we did research on all we could do to battle GI issues. He got the best gear he could find to control the cold overnight. We also settled on a sock and shoe rotation approach to make sure to avoid blisters. But the best thing that Scott did that year was to overhaul his pacing strategy. When the day finally came we couldn't have asked for better weather. The sun was out but it wasn't too hot. Scott took it very slow in the first 51 miles up to Tony Grove. So slow that I thought he was having troubles. But then when I saw him at Tony Grove I knew he was in a really good place. He looked good and was in great spirits. More than anything he looked totally in control. The overnight portion was, dare I say it, easy. The weather was clear and not too cold. Scott was running very strong, so strong in fact that I was having a hard time keeping up. As soon as he started having any stomach distress he took Tums which did the trick beautifully. He kept his salt intake in check and he didn't spend too much time at the aid stations. I massaged his feet on most of the aid stations and we made sure he always ran with clean socks and comfortable shoes. In the end he did it! He conquered The Bear and did it in under 34 hours. I was so happy for him. He didn't give up and achieved what seemed impossible.

A year later when September rolled around I was actually bummed that I wasn't out there with the racers. I really missed the whole challenge. So then those thoughts turned to the inspiration I felt from Scott's finish the year before and before you knew it I decided that I would run the 2017 Bear. When registration opened in November I signed up and Scott and Kelli agreed to be my pacers. A month later all I could think was "what have I done?" Which started the slight panic attacks that persisted for most of 2017. The Bear was the first event in a long time that I really was not sure I could finish. I have never DNF'd but there was a real possibility that this could be my first DNF. I was also keenly aware of the brutality that I was about to impose on my body and I had to work really hard on not letting that overwhelm me. The one saving grace I had was the fact that I had an A-team recruited to be my crew. My wife agreed to be the main driver and she was also the logistics expert. My wife is the smartest and most efficient person I know and I knew that at least logistically things would be flawless. Then of course Scott and Kelli, both veterans of 100-mile races and some of the most awesome people in the universe. I can spend many hours with these guys and never get tired of listening to their stories. Finally there was a wild card that I felt really good betting on. My son-in-law Kevin was my last pacer. He had never run anything longer than about 10 miles but he is young, athletic, and grew up doing all sorts of stuff in the outdoors. I felt he was a pretty safe bet to be a good pacer. In any case I really like the kid so at a minimum the company would be great.

My Turn to Suffer

September 2017, The Bear, again. I tried to use all the lessons learned from all my previous experiences in preparation for the Bear. I had good gear, good nutrition, a good crew, and pretty good preparation. I may have gone a bit light on the mileage but all I could do was a maximum of 70 miles in one week. However, I felt strong. The only worries I had were that my right knee kept having a nagging pain whenever I would run faster than 8 minute pace and that I was feeling a cold coming on. I would not be going faster than 8 minute pace anywhere in The Bear so I wasn't too concerned about it. The cold was more of a concern although it felt like the cold coming on would not be too severe. However, in a 100-mile race little problems can become huge problems and there may be nothing you can do about it. I decided I wouldn't worry about that since these were things I could not control.

We went up to Logan on the 28th and headed straight for Merlin Olson Park where we would pick up our race packets and listened to the race briefing. Afterwards we went to Olive Garden and had a very enjoyable dinner with Scott and Kelli. Then we went to the Hampton Inn and had a logistics pow wow. I organized all my morning gear and went to bed.

The start is set up in the parking lot of an LDS Church in the foothills of Logan. The sky was clear and it was cold but not overly so. It looked like the weather for the first day would be pretty ideal, sunny with highs in the low 60's. However, on the 2nd day there was a strong chance of rain starting around 10am with that rain turning to snow in the higher elevations. Fully knowing what rain does to those trails I mentally prepared myself for a slow mud fest. About two minutes from the start I went to turn my headlamp on and it didn't turn on! Panic. I started freaking out because while I had a backup lamp it was a really crappy lamp. I calmed down and started troubleshooting the issue and found that the lamp had disconnected from the battery pack. I had to thread the power cable back in the elastic sleeve and connect the lamp. The race started as I was doing this and the entire field was running by me while Jolynne and I tried to figure out the lamp. I finally figured out the lamp and it turned on. I kissed Jolynne goodbye and went running to catch up to the group. Not a good start.

Putting my headlamp on after fixing it. 

The First Half

I ran fast to catch up and get myself in the middle of the pack. The first mile or so was on a road before reaching the mountain trail. I wanted to be in the middle of the pack because I knew we would soon be on a single-track trail that went up about 11 miles and 3,000 feet. I did not want to be in the back of the pack going up that trail. The pace the pack was keeping was just right and I felt pretty good. Despite all the trees and foliage there was quite a bit of wind and it was pretty chilly. It only got colder as we climbed. Then we hit snow and it turned pretty muddy. I got quite frustrated because there were some people that were going ridiculously slow and passing them was a real feat. Eventually I found some open trail and was able to pick up the pace a bit. The Logan Peak Aid Station (Mile 10.5) was nothing more than 4 tables with food and a truck with water all on the side of a narrow road. I refilled my water, took some salt and ate some chips. I was there probably 5 minutes. I thought the road would go straight downhill from here but it was actually rolling for a couple of miles. Many of the parts were really muddy and it was here that I made my first big mistake of the race. In order to avoid a muddy puddle I decided to jump a big old log. Well, my back leg didn't quite clear it and it hit hard right below the knee. Lesson learned: getting feet muddy is better than risking injury. It hurt like a mother and I had blood running down my leg. I decided it wasn't bad enough to do anything about it since nothing was broken and the pain had just been temporary. It looked worse than what it was.

The trail then started going steeply downhill. I picked up the pace and made some time. The scary thing was that I was starting to feel a bit tired. I hadn't even gone 20 miles and I was experiencing some fatigue. I decided to slow down, which was a good thing because the trail got very rocky and it was difficult to keep my footing. I got to the Leatham Hollow Aid Station (Mile 20) feeling great to see the crew and to sit down for a while. I cleaned up the wound and refueled with a protein shake and some salt potatoes. I got some good advice from Scott, shed some layers of clothes, got my trekking poles and got on my way.

Running into Leatham Hollow Aid Station.

Scott giving me some coaching. 

The next aid station, Richard's Hollow (Mile 22.5) was close and the road was essentially flat. I stopped to eat some potatoes and then it was up about 1,200 feet up to the Cowley Canyon Aid Station (Mile 30). I actually felt pretty good for this section of the race. It was weird how fast some people were going. I was getting passed a lot but I did my best not to go with them. This section of the course was beautiful. The trees were turning and a lot of the trail is next to water. It was just absolutely stunning. Cowley Canyon was a great Aid Station. They had tons of food, lots of places to sit and port-a-potties. I stayed here probably about 10 minutes getting my bearings and then I continued.

The road to the Right-hand Fork Aid Station (Mile 36) had some monster rollers before heading downhill. I ran about half of that distance with another runner before he dropped me. I was highly motivated to get to Right-hand Fork because this was the first aid station where you could pick up a pacer. Kelli would be my first pacer and it would be nice to have someone to share suffering with. I got to Right-hand Fork and those guys had everything ready for me. They even had a slushy ready for me. I changed clothes and took off with Kelli. The nice thing about Kelli is that she is very social and knows a whole bunch of runners. To go out of Right-hand Fork you go out the way you came. So on the way out Kelli was talking to all sorts of people and we even made a friend from San Francisco who ran with us for quite a while. The trail to Temple Fork Aid Station (Mile 45) was rolling to flat but like everything in this race had all sorts of terrain: dirt roads, single-track, grass, water crossings, you name it. It was also very scenic. I started getting myself ready for what came ahead after Temple Fork, which was the 2,200 feet climb to the Tony Grove Aid Station (Mile 51).

Kelli and I leaving Right-hand Fork.

On the road to Temple Fork.

Kelli and I arriving at Temple Fork. 

Temple Fork was a great Aid Station with lots of support and lots of people. My whole crew was there and it was nice to spend time with them, especially Jolynne. I changed clothes again and put on gloves and a jacket. I also put my headlamp on since it would be dark by the time I got to Tony Grove. I was at Temple Fork for about 15 minutes and then Kelli and I took off. We crossed the road and started the climb. We hooked up with a firefighter who was racing The Bear for the 3rd time and he was great company. The climb was pretty steep but I was feeling great. The crazy thing was that about 1.5 miles from Tony Grove we ran into a guy that I had helped when I had volunteered at the Wasatch 100 a few weeks prior. Kyle Quist had passed out cold on the trail at the Wasatch 100. I went to get him and helped him make it to the aid station. Miraculously he was able to continue but he eventually had to drop at mile 46. It was great to see him at The Bear and he was running strong. We made it to Tony Grove around 8pm and I changed into warmer clothes. I started getting really cold but I thought it was because I was taking too long at the aid station and I was losing my body heat. I thought once I got moving I would warm up. Boy was I wrong.

Scott and I ready to leave Tony Grove. 

The Second Half

Scott was my pacer for the night portion and I was pretty excited about this. Our roles were now reversed and it would be fun to things from his perspective. What I wasn't expecting was how cold the night would get. The trail from Tony Grove to Franklin Basin Aid Station (Mile 61.5) went somewhat downhill and mostly next to water. The night got frigid cold and I could not get warm. I tried pumping my arms more and even picking up the pace but I still couldn't get warm. I started shivering and I started getting worried that I would get hypothermia. Luckily it never got serious but one thing the cold and the shivering did was send my stomach into disarray. I started getting all sorts of gas and uncontrollable hiccups. It was horrible and it slowed my pace. I would go a half hour with hiccups and a half hour just feeling sick. I got to a point where it became critical for me to get to the aid station. I needed to warm up. When I finally did I got into the car and cranked up the heater. It took a full 40 minutes for me to stop shivering. It was awful. I had to almost do a full change of clothes and I added layers. The sad thing is that my stop at that aid station ate up one whole hour of my race. I then had to mentally prepare for one of the steepest climbs in the race on the way to the Logan River Aid Station (Mile 69).

Trying to thaw out in the car at Franklin Basin.

I had to put a heat pack in my beanie to stay warm. 

Unfortunately being in the runner's shoes in this part of the course is not as fun as being a pacer. Scott was having a grand old time and was trying to cheer me up but my stomach issues and downright fatigue were preventing me from joining in the revelry. It was slow and painful going. I think sleep deprivation also started to play a part. I remembered each part of the course well and was thankful that conditions were dry. We got to Logan River Aid Station (this is where Scott dropped the second time he ran The Bear) and I took about 15 minutes to recover. Just knowing what was ahead was torture to my brain. We left the aid station and proceeded to cross the Logan River. I had seen a video from a past participant on the best way to do this and we followed it exactly. We crossed the river without any issues and started making our way to Beaver Mtn. Lodge (Mile 76).

Beaver Mountain Lodge - Where Runners Go To Die

I was originally hoping that I could make it to Beaver Mountain Lodge by 5am. Well, even with Scott's expert help, cheerfulness and outright crazy behavior I was still not able to make up any of the pace. We ended up getting to Beaver Mtn. Lodge at 8am and I was a complete wreck. I was hiccuping now almost non-stop and my feet were in complete agony. It had taken me 11 hours to go 25 miles! I knew there and then that I needed to drop. It was a mathematical impossibility for me to make it by the cutoff. I only had 9 hours to go 25 miles and ahead was one of the toughest stretches of the race with steep changes in elevation. To make matters worse it had started raining which meant that I would have to deal with muddy slip n' slides. No, it was clear I had to drop and not make Kevin suffer through trying to get me to the finish when it was clear that I would run out of time. I announced to the crew that my day had come to an end.

Scott and I coming into Beaver Lodge.

Scott tending to my feet at Beaver Lodge. 

 Jolynne about had a conniption. She said there was no way I could drop. Kevin said that he thought we had time and that he could get me to the finish in nine hours. Scott and Kelli strongly felt that I should continue. I told them they were not thinking rationally and they told me I was the one not thinking and that I should continue. I saw a lady who I had been going back and forth with the whole race sitting dejectedly in her chair and I asked her what she was doing. She said she was dropping, that it was impossible to make up the time. I agreed with her profusely but my crew would not listen to me! I then thought "these people have taken time out of their lives to help you and at a minimum you owe them your best effort. If Kevin is willing to waste his time on me then I should give it my very best try." So, I told them I would continue and got ready to leave. I was not happy to be going and the light rain falling outside did not help things any. But off we went to Gibson Basin Aid Station (Mile 84). I would have to go down 1,000 feet and then come up 1,000 feet in about 8 miles.

Kevin and I leaving Beaver Lodge. 

The going was slow but Kevin was keeping track of my nutrition and most importantly of the pace we needed to maintain. I made it very clear to him that I could not run but that I would try to keep the walking place required. I did my best to keep with him and to run whenever I fell behind. It was torture but I tried to take it all one step at a time and just focus on the now and let Kevin do all the thinking. Rain started to fall pretty steadily and the trails were pure mud slops. It made finding footing difficult but Kevin did a good job of finding the best tracks and I just followed his lead. When we finally got to Gibson Basin I couldn't sit down because all the chairs were full of water but at least they had a roaring fire and I was able to get a bit warm as I stood there in the rain. We only stayed there for 5 minutes and then kept going on to Beaver Creek Aid Station (Mile 85.5). This part under nice weather would have been downright enjoyable. It was a wide open trail and mostly flat, however the rain had done a nasty number on the trail and it was hard to stay upright. Kevin did his best to find good footing on the edges of the trail but it was slow going. It was in this section that we passed a man from Alabama and his pacer. The poor runner was sitting on a log in terrible pain and asking for some ibuprofen. Kevin happened to have some ibuprofen and gave it to him. Passing this runner reminded me the large percentage of people that DNF this race. The Bear on average has a 30% DNF rate, which is almost 100 runners out of the 300 that started. I was pretty sure at that point that I would probably be one of those statistics but I was determined to give it my very best.

The road to Gibson Basin. 

As we approached the aid station I saw that there was a cruel obstacle right before the aid station. There was a creek (Beaver Creek, duh) that we had to cross but there was no clear place in which to do so that would not require quite a bit of jumping. I was in no condition to jump anything so we looked really hard for a place where we could jump rocks without too much effort. We found a spot and while it was very tricky I was able to do it. Jolynne and the crew were very excited to see me and that I was willing to keep going. We got under the tent and I was able to sit down. The aid station had grilled turkey sandwiches and even though I was still having stomach issues I decided to give it a try. It was delicious and actually felt no worse than anything else I had been eating. I took some fluids and then the crew sent us on our way.

Kevin and I arriving at Beaver Creek.

Kevin and I ready to leave Beaver Creek.

Scott sleeping off the overnight pacing duties. 

The road from here to the finish would be horrendously difficult. The next aid station, Ranger Dip (Mile 92) was 7 miles and 800 feet of elevation away. The roads were especially rough in this portion and it was very difficult to find proper footing. Kevin kept leading the way and finding good spots to step on and kept me on pace. Many times the road would be so muddy that we had to bushwhack it on the sides, which was not fun. Every step was met with resistance from bushes. I also started seeing things. One time I was sure I saw a moose on the side of the road and it freaked me out, it was a tree. We had some funny times too. Someone wrote in the snow in big letters: RUNNING SUCKS! That made me laugh.

 We had a little over 2 hours to make the final 4pm cutoff at Ranger Dip. It was going to be very close. Quite frankly this was one of the more challenging sections because of the rain, mud, incline, the fatigue and the fact that we felt lost. We kept thinking that we should be able to see the aid station right around the corner but it never came. It was extremely frustrating and it felt like time was slipping away from us. We saw several desperate souls who were in a very similar situation as ours and were just as frustrated. Finally, I couldn't take the uncertainty and I asked Kevin to run ahead and find just how far we really were from the aid station. He pretty quickly found some people that told him we were about half a mile away. I had 15 minutes to make the cutoff. I picked it up significantly and did all I could to make it. Then I saw Kelli and my spirits rose because it meant I was close. She then told me that the actual cutoff was 4:15, not 4:00 as I originally thought. While this gave me some relief I knew that I still had the better part of 8 miles to the finish and only two hours to do it in.

Coming into Ranger Dip.

Trails were muddy messes.

Kevin and I leaving Ranger Dip. 8 miles to go!! 

Decision Time

Scott and Kelli told me I had to make a decision because the next section was really difficult. Did I want to call it a day and be proud of my effort thus far or did I want to miss the cutoff at the end but at least say I had done the whole 100 miles? It was funny because roles were now reversed where I originally thought this was impossible and they absolutely felt I could do it I now thought I had a real chance of making it and they thought I was done. I told them I would keep going. They then sent me and Kevin on our way. The mountain was covered in snow and we needed to be careful with our footing. Then I was faced with the most horrible thing I saw in the entire race. The incline we were facing was the steepest we had seen all day. Some spots would require both hands and feet to climb. It was awful and the map showed it lasted for most of one mile. It really would take a miracle to finish on time. My thoughts turned to a wristband that I wore the whole race. The wristband says "Team Madi". Madi is my niece who is battling brain cancer. Madi's and her parent's courage through their trial literally lifted my spirits and I felt so much stronger.

Well, with Kevin's encouragement, telling me to pump my arms and dig those trekking poles in, I somehow was able to keep pace all the way to the top. We even passed a couple of people who would end up not finishing. Once I made it to the top I knew that the last seven miles were 90% downhill. I thought to myself it's now or never. I gave my trekking poles to Kevin and I bombed downed the mountain. If there is something I am good at it is downhill running and I just let gravity take me and I did my best to keep my footing in the mud. The road conditions were so bad that things could have gone terribly wrong at any moment. I was jumping logs, jumping rocks and running at completely unsafe speeds for my condition. Somehow the adrenaline kicked in and I was able to keep running. The road seemed interminable I kept thinking that we would come off the mountain at any time but the end of the mountain road never came. I could see Bear Lake and we could see Fish Heaven but we could not see the end of the road. Finally there it was. The end of the road. But we saw a runner coming back up the road! She said that the flags that were supposed to be at the trail-head were not there. We got to the trail-head parking lot and sure enough we had no clue as to where to go. Kevin broke out his phone and opened up google maps in order to get his bearings. While he did this I shed some layers of clothes and packed them away. Finally Kevin found the way to get there and all three of us got out of there like a bat out of hell.

The Finish...Finally! 

We only had 40 minutes to make it to the finish and 2 miles to cover. Thankfully most of the way was downhill and we were running in desperation and clocking sub 8 minute pace in some spots. We then got to a point where according to the GPS we were only half a mile away and still had 25 minutes to get there. The realization hit us "We are going to make it!" Kevin was so happy and I was speechless. I couldn't believe that we were actually going to pull that off. We then saw the trail on the side of the road that went in front of the park where the finish is at. I started to run on the trail and that's when Scott saw me. The look on his face was one of disbelief and happiness all at once. He and I crossed the road together and then I ran the final stretch in the park to the finish. Jolynne saw me when I came into the park and she started screaming my name. She was so happy. A whole bunch of people had been tracking my progress and they were amazed to see me finish. But no one was as amazed as I was. I was 3rd to last in the race with a time of 35 hours, 47 minutes, and 30 seconds. I had made the cutoff of 36 hours by only 12.5 minutes!

The run to the finish. (Kevin right behind me)

Done!!! 

I was in absolute disbelief and a gave Kevin a big hug.  This kid paced like someone who had been doing that type of thing for decades. How he ever got me to that finish line I will never fully understand but it was a neat experience for both of us. When I asked him what was his favorite moment of the race he said that it was when we had two miles to go and I took off like a bat out of hell. He could not believe the speeds we were hitting. Pure adrenaline and a lot of blessings.

Face-full of emotion and thankfulness. 

I want to thank my incredible crew/pacers Jolynne Jimenez, Scott Stephenson, Kelli Stephenson, and my wonderful son-in-law Kevin Muncey who led me to the finish line. I thank Madi Knight, Kurt Knight and Jennifer Rockwood Knight for being inspirations to me. I also thank my Heavenly Father for having a tender mercy for me on something important to me but really insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Would I do it again? Please don't ask me that right now...

Me and my star pacing team.

Kevin, me, and Jolynne