Reborn in the Rockies - The 7th Stage

The following is a copy of the first trip report I posted on the Trail Headz message board after arriving home... It is customary for a club member to write up a brief description of their activity after completing a significant run, be it a race or running adventure. The Transrockies certainly falls into both catagories!

To do justice to this event I would have to write seven different reports for the six day race (which I will post on my blog - which I did). The description of each days stage could easily take a dozen page views. The seventh report is the one I’m posting today. It has nothing but everything to do with the magnificent course, the outrageously beautiful scenery, the thin air, the perfect weather, and the tremendous camaraderie exhibited by our fellow competitors. This report is about my running partner Doug Malwicki. Doug recruited me to be his partner for the race. Other than beating me in a Winter Trail Series race a few years ago, he really had no idea of my running history. I was the long-haired fat guy who wore the straw hat with feathers.

He confessed after recruiting me that he thought I was at least as old as him… I’m old okay but not quite as old as dirt, but my running portfolio is extensive. I was one of the original OC ultrarunners, and at one time I was fairly decent, having logged a 20 hour 100, and a 2:50 Marathon. But, time and bad habits caught up with me – I was satisfied jogging a few miles – just enough to allow myself the illusion that I was still a runner – and then Doug extended the invitation to join him on the Transrockies. My immediate response was, “Thanks, but no thanks.” The idea of running 118 miles at altitude is daunting enough. Doing it in pathetic running shape is crazy. Annie and a few other ‘old friends’ called me an idiot for turning down the opportunity, and after a few beers I called Doug and asked if he still needed a partner? His response was ‘Absolutely’. In the five months between Doug’s invitation and race day I managed to lose about 30 pounds and up my weekly mileage to over 40 per week and to everyone's surprise, I cut my hair. Segue to Buena Vista, Colorado.

Doug had arrived a week early to get what he called his Mountain MoJo on (read acclimatize). I arrived the day before the race start. Doug was concerned how I would perform at altitude with no opportunity to adapt. “Don’t worry”, I responded. “I have drugs.” On Monday we reviewed our race strategy – “Not be last”. Strategy review ended!

The first stage was more an introduction to altitude than a trail race – at least for those of us at the back of the pack. The winners were out of sight before we turned the first corner. Doug and I jogged along, enjoying the scenery, passing a few other teams, flirting with the cute corn fed girls from Nebraska. A camera appeared; we picked up the pace and gave one of our soon to be repeated Old Goat “Baaaaas” which made the race highlights. See Transrockies.com and watch the videos. I found myself loping along easily – Doug labored a little. I asked Doug what his pulse rate was. “142”, he responded. Ooops, I thought - time to slow down to a power walk. Doug started running again when his pulse hit 124. For the remainder of the stage (and the race) we walked when his pulse rate was over 134 and ran when it returned to 124. We had a new strategy… which allowed us to pass ten teams that first day – seventeen by the end of the race. Out of curiosity I timed the duration from the moment his pulse rate peaked to when it returned to normal. 90 seconds… A twenty year old should have his heart!

On the second day, we began our first climb. Doug asked if hiking poles really helped. I handed him one of my hiking poles… I think I made a convert. The poles reduce the perceived effort of climb by almost 10%. Doug returned the pole at the end of the last stage… Doug improved every day only faltering slightly during the dual climbs on the fifth and sixth stages. He struggled to those summits without complaining though the effort was beginning to show... About a mile before the finish of the last stage, I stopped and hugged Doug… He may not have been aware but he gave me a gift I can never repay. He inspired me to return to the high country, he showed that being old doesn’t mean BEING old. Doug is a remarkable man with a remarkable future. He has signed up to run the Old Goat Fifty on his 70th birthday and is adding an additional twenty miles the following day… any of you kids want to try it?