September 11, 2017 – My Wasatch100 miler Journey

September 11, 2017 – My Wasatch100 miler Journey

Since I am taking the time off today to help with the healing of the many blisters I acquired at the race over the weekend, I decided to jot down a few thoughts about my experience with my first Wasatch100 miler, something I have never done about my races. I believe there are so many ultrarunners doing amazing things out there, and I am simply this newbie who used to hate running when growing up, and for some reason decided to attempt new challenges. The date today also is actually very appropriate since it tremendously influenced my running journey.

Photo by Jade Mangus

Looking back 16 years ago, I was sitting in one of my graduate classes at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, and I overheard a noise in the hallway with all the TV sets at loud speakers. My professor stopped his lecture and walked outside to check what was going on, and slowly, my classmates and I all walked towards the tv monitors in the hallway. The images on tv were indescribable and as I was watched the twin towers in NYC start falling I was in awe. I couldn’t believe that such thing could happen to humanity.

Images for september 11 public available

For many, that day changed their lives in various aspects. There were so many losses of lives and the domino effect in the world’s economy impacted many others.

A year after this tragedy, I was done with graduate school and 2/3 of my class could not find employment due to the sour economy. We did what we could to survive during that time and we were thankful for the support of family and friends.

Tired of the many rejections and uncertainty, stress grew high, and the only thing that helped me to get a break was to get out the house and walk around the park where we lived. Growing up, I never really enjoyed running. My dad played professional soccer for my state in Brazil, and since I never really enjoyed the sport, I followed my sister’s hobby of playing volleyball. I not only played volleyball for High School, but also got to play at college level and still enjoy the sport to this day. One day, after submitting many job applications, I decided to lace up and go for a run. It was not a long run, probably just a few blocks, and it was painful and not too fun. As the process of looking for employment was taking longer than I projected, my short runs turned into 5ks and 10ks. Nothing official, like an organized race (I couldn’t afford it), but time on my feet.

Years past and in 2013, while living in Los Angeles, I decided to sign up for my first marathon, road running. I started to follow runners’ groups and trends and noticed that my current training distance would help me accomplish my goal to finish the race. My first race was in Salt Lake City, and a good friend of mine, Robert Merriman, helped me understand what I needed to do to overcome the elevation. It was a brutal race since it rained and snowed. It was also cold, and I ran the entire 26.2 miles without stopping, which, for me, was a huge accomplishment. Those who follow me know that I am not a fast runner, but I am stubborn enough to keep going and finishing what I started. The speed is always concerning to me since many of the ultraraces have rigorous cutoff times.

Robert Merriman, the Canadian, and I training for BuffalorRun100 at the Antelope Island

When I signed up for Wasatch100, I had no idea the level of the challenge I was up to. The only 100s I had completed so far were Bear100 in the Fall of last year and the BuffaloRun100 in March this year. As far as for the Bear100, that was the year of “Bearmageddon”, when the weather turned sour. Since I had no experience with Hundos before, the 11 hours of snow, 10 hours of rain, mud up to our calves and hypothermia I went through last year, was just part of the challenge. I had no concept of what a good nor a bad ultra is. I simply got the best pacers I could ever have, and they guided me through the process. My pacers Joel Draxler and Robert Boyden saved my life at the Bear. With 4 minutes of spare time, a total run time of 35hrs 54 min 21 secs, I completed Bear. I will leave the details out of that race for another write up, since it is not my focus here.

I am a huge advocate of following a training plan, and found the plans on Bryan Powel’s book entitled “Relentless Forward Progress” working well for me.

I also incorporated a few races as part of my training plan this year, such as Kat’Cina Mosa100k and SpeedGoat50k. These two races are quite technical and mirror a little of the type of race, terrain, and elevation of Wasatch100.

3 weeks before the race, I also ran the first section of Wasatch, from Kaysville to Big Mountain, with Tim Shupe. Tim killed the course this year, and he was an amazing pacer for me during our training. Then, one week later, I ran from Big Mountain to Brighton with Joshua Landvatter and Laura Western, two amazing ultrarunners and good friends who provided me with incredible encouragement for this race.

Tim Shupe, a volunteer checking the Sessions Aid Station prior to the race and I. 

He gave us water when we were training. He saved our lives : )

Laura Western, Joshua Landvatter and I at Dog Lake

I wasn’t as concerned about training on the last section of the course, from Brighton to Soldier Hollow, since I had paced a friend from California, Lina Mccain, who finished the race last year. She was instrumental in teaching me how to survive the last 32.39 miles.

   2016 Wasatch100 - pacing Lina Mccain, a friend from California, from Brigton to Soldier Hollow

Race day inevitably came. I was up at 3 am to begin my drive to the start at East Mountain Wilderness Park. When I arrived, I lined up with a huge group of amazing ultrarunners. Wasatch100 race includes climbing over 24,000 feet over 100 miles. 337 people started the race and 113 did not finish (DNF) this year.

The race was early in the morning, I was still half asleep, and I somehow felt intimidated by my abilities amongst the crowd. At the same time, however, I was pumped by at least knowing a little about the course.

The ascent at Bair Canyon was marvelous. Since I was in the mid-pack, the 4-mile power hike was slow ascending since there were too many runners on the narrow trails of that section of the course. I had a chance to meet new people, catch up with old friends, take a few pictures, avoid the killer bees that stung most of the runners, and enjoy the surroundings. At that point, I had my hydration pack half-filled and a bottle with some electrolytes drink. I drank most of my water and Gatorade, counting on the first aid station.

Traffic Jam at the "small" climb at Bair Canyon

When I reached to the top of the canyon, though, I stopped at the first aid station and they were completely dry. There was no water, and the next aid station was 5 miles from there. At that point, I was already getting hot, extremely thirsty, and felt defeated from the beginning. I am not certain what happened. The aid station had a huge water container on the back to the truck, and it is possible they underestimated the need and filled it just half of the capacity. Anyway, I had a piece of chewing gum in my pocket, and that at least helped me to keep my mouth not too dry, something I learned from a friend last year while running without water for 15 miles at the Oquirrh Mountains.

I am mentioning this only so you can have an idea my state of mind and how I was feeling at that point of the race. Contrary to what occurred at that aid station, every single aid station I came across to in the remaining of the race were very well prepared, stocked with everything we needed and some of them went beyond expectations. I am truly thankful for the army of volunteers who were there to support us.

A few Volunteers (Aid Stations): Top: Line Pass; Bottom: Sessions

Moving forward, when I arrived at Upper Bigger Water, Mile 53.54, my pacer Mike Taylor, an experienced Wasatch100 who joined me at Lamb’s, previous aid station, helped me quickly with my needs (water, chicken noodle soup and some coke). My stomach at that point was already extremely upset, something I never felt before. I also experienced something I read about it from experienced runners of that course, but for some reason I didn’t understand the severity of my bad decision. I sat for a short break and to eat, and even though I was at that aid station for only 7 minutes, my body temperature dropped drastically and I started shaking. I walked towards some volunteers and a lady helped me suggesting I should seat near the lights/warmers to get my temperature under control. I knew I could not stay in that location longer and simply took off heading towards the hills that would lead me to Desolation Lake.

As I started moving, I stopped shaking and I felt I was on track again. Mike was extremely helpful. He shared so many stories about his ultra-adventures. He also mentioned that he knows pretty much 95% of all trails in the Wasatch, and he did that with a few of good running friends he had typically on weekday evening after work. He encouraged me and reminded me times when I could work a little harder, but for some reason, my brain would say it contrary.

We arrived at Brighton at 4:28 am, and lost some time while I had to have one of the medical teams check on my blisters. Ben, the medical staff member, was extremely helpful. He took care of all my blisters and even fixed the back of one of my shoes that was causing friction and creating a blister on the back of my feet. I didn’t get to leave there until 5:16 am, more time than any other station, but I truly believed that the time lost taking care of my feet would be time gained later on in the race.

Pacers: Mike Taylor and Jade Mangus - 

I guess Jade was already tired from the start of his duty. Haha

At Brighton, I also switched pacers, and Jade Mangus, a good friend of mine, joined me for the remainder of the race. We met through social media, he runs the Oquirrh Dirt Runners group in Herriman Utah and he is an amazing photographer as well. We ran together on the Antelope Island earlier this year, while I was training for the BuffaloRun100 back in March. We connected, felt good about our paces, and he was kind enough to pace me.

The next 32.39 miles were some of the most slow, painful, and stressful for me. I knew I was running so close to the cutoffs, and even though my blisters were taken care of, it was still painful to run over trails with rocks. Something I learned about ultraraces is that we simply have to put up with certain types of pain. I should not ignore issues that can affect my health and well-being, but blister pain is not priority for me when deciding to pull the plug.

Jade was also very encouraging. He shared an experience of a pacer acting like a Nazi as a way to encourage the runner and asked me what would work best for me. I always ask for my pacers to go ahead of me, but not too fast. They would not only encourage me, but they would know also when I need to get my gear in check and run faster when I need to, even if my brain is telling me the opposite thing. He would go ahead of me at the checkpoints and prepare my nutrition, so I would not waste any more time than needed, and that was extremely helpful.

I understand the idea of runners going solo the entire journey, but for me, having a friend tagging with me is essential, particularly during times when I get discouraged and feel like giving up.

On our way to the last cut off aid station, Staton, Jade and I ran together with my good friend Keith Carter and his pacer Coby Hock. Ha, that was a fun section of the course! Keith also had some blisters and he was going through a similar experience I was having. His pacer Coby was amazing. He lived in Brazil and he would sing the National Anthem and popular Brazilian songs very loud. He was excited I was nearby and he wouldn’t stop talking. I told him how awesome he was and for not being friendly and talkative I normally am, just because… Thanks Coby, you saved our lives with your cheerful and happy attitude.

Keith Carter and I at the Pre-race Meeting - Sugar House Park

At that point, a lady passed us on a 4-wheeler and she said we were just a mile away from Staton. I was a little skeptical, as I had never seen the station in the distance. As I was checking the time on my phone, Jade suggested we start to run so we wouldn’t miss the cutoff. It was painful, since there were so many rocks on the road, but the thought of having run all those miles and miss the cutoff by a few minutes was not a fun idea. So, I ran and walked as fast as I could. We checked in into the aid station at 13:35 and left at 13:40. The cutoff for that location was 14:00. My friends Teri and Jake were assisting with that aid station. They were also at the last aid station at Kat’Cina Mosa100k that I ran a few months ago. They always encourage me and they are not only amazing athletes and ultrarunners themselves, but also incredible friends. Once again Teri brought her homemade nutrition bars with chocolate chips to cheer me up, and I had to pack a few to go. I had to eat that after the race, since at my stomach was a mess throughout the entire course.

As far as nutrition, I ran this course on water, Gatorade, a few pieces of watermelon, 1 small baked potato with salt, ¼ of a cheese sandwich, and 2 cups of chicken noodle soup. I also drank ginger ale and coke (with ice of course) at every aid station. My stomach wasn’t holding anything down, and even sips of water at times would give me the feeling of barfing. This race, I decided to not take salt pills, since it used to upset my stomach on previous races. I relied on sodium from natural foods and lots of prayers so I wouldn’t cramp.

After Staton, we had one more aid station to go through, at Decker Canyon, mile 93.58, and just like last year, a lady was volunteering with her University of Utah red sweatshirt. I always get into the aid station screaming “Go Blue”. What a fun group of volunteers we have at Wasatch. Some of the aid stations were celebrating 29 years that they are around. They are so creative, and they are lifesavers for us.

Jade, Keith, Coby and I joined a few other runners as we were heading to the road around the lake and at that point I had already ignored the pain on my feet and couldn’t wait to get to the finish line. I enjoyed the view of the lake and the boaters were having a great time. The Heber Valley Railroad train passed us a couple of times and we waved at the passengers. They probably thought we were crazy, and they probably got that right, but we were having a great time. On the last mile and a half, Jade and I decided to catch up on a faster pace on the downhills, so we would not miss the 17:00 race cutoff time.

As we approached the Wasatch Mountain State Park, in Midway, the crowd was cheering for us, and it was a really exciting moment. I was very happy to see my daughter Camilla and my wife Rachel at the finish line among the crowd. My thoughts went to all the amazing runners who also worked so hard to attain their personal goals but for personal circumstances they were unable to cross the finish line. It could have happened to me as I was running so close to the cutoffs. I admire them, for trying and for all their dedication. Running ultras have not been an easy journey for me and I can sympathize with some of the struggles other runners go through.

I truly enjoyed this journey. I did not enjoy all the stress chasing the cutoffs. I enjoyed the people (staff, volunteers, runners, family and friends…). I enjoyed the views. The Wasatch is breathtaking and one cannot understand it by not being there and experiencing it. I enjoyed the friendship and the support for those who were not there but followed our progress/journey online from the start to the finish. They brought some tears to my eyes thinking that there are people out there in other states and even other nationalities who care about what you do.

9/11/2001 was a sad time in the history of humanity. I hope 2017 will help us move forward and that we will continue strengthening relationships. Thank you for your friendship and support! Love you all.

35:44'

 The Glorious Wasatch in the early Fall

 Photos by Jade Mangus