At the completion of the first stage at Transrockies the competitors were shuttled back down the road to a campground which was located only five minutes from the Buena Vista (pronounced Buwena Vista in Colorado – go figure) start line and even closer to the motel Annie and I stayed in the previous night. We perused the tent city and elected instead to return to the motel – one less night sleeping in a tent seemed like a good idea since my idea of roughing it is when room service doesn’t deliver after mid-night. This was the first incidence when I discovered the advantage afforded those who had crew.
I had an SUV loaded to the roof with a wide assortment of clothes, chairs, mattresses, back packs, and other assorted sundries. Those without personal transportation were required to load ALL of their equipment into one 36” X 18” bag. No problem you might be thinking – wrong - that included their sleeping bags and pads.
Doug and I discussed which color shirt we would wear to that nights award ceremony and the again in the morning during stage two – Blue was decided upon. The dinner took place in a huge tent and wasn’t the ‘usual’ ultra pre-race faire, but there was a sufficient enough choice to satisfy the palate of all but the rabid lacto-vegetarian (there were a few). Most of the competitors dug into the meat as if carbohydrates were only an afterthought. I reminded Doug to stock up on Gu in the morning. The awards ceremony was lengthy and frankly quite tedious as basically the same three teams in six categories were recognized – over and over for the next five nights… Maybe we wouldn’t have been as disinterested if it were Doug and I on the podium. A slide show took place after the awards and we, like every other competitor, hoped our faces would be included. The first recognizable face was Annie’s. The slides were followed by a video http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/?p=91 which included, Doug and I doing our Old Goats mating call and his comment concerning the blonde’s asses – there – I said it and I’m not sorry!
Doug retired to his tent and Annie and I retired to a queen bed and DNC convention coverage on the tube. We knew breakfast would be served at 6 am and this allowed us to actually sleep longer than our usual 4:45. So far I liked the race. After sleeping in, we drove back to the campground and our first race breakfast which consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, pan cakes, bagels, and all the fixings… I suspected I wouldn’t be losing weight on this run.
Because the actual start line was located about 20 miles from the camp the organizers arranged to bus us to the foot of Hope Mountain. Soon after alighting from the busses, the call to race music played and we all migrated towards the starting chute where we were queried about having the mandatory equipment for the stage. The mandatory equipment included, long pants, warm hat, gloves, rain gear, a trail map and ID. And, each team also had to carry a first aid kit and an emergency blanket. Any though of traveling light was dispelled.
Today we were going over Hope Pass and although the day’s stage was only ten miles, it included climbing four miles and 
descending six. Doug and I assumed our usual post near the back of the pack, but by the time we started up the hill, found ourselves passing the same folks we had passed the previous day. Back in the Mesozoic era I ran over Hope Pass twice during the Leadville 100, so I had an inkling of what to expect. Doug just put his head down, stuck in his pole, and 
continued up the single-track switchbacks up the mountain and up above the tree-line. Do you get the impression that the trail goes up? Once clear of the trees we could see a line of competitors trudging their way to the pass.
When we arrived at the pass at 12,561’ Doug reached into his pack and pulled out a small American Flag. It was a great moment to be in the Transrockies as we stood in the pass braving 40 knot winds at near freezing temperatures - which when described later to one of the race sponsors, earned us very nice Windstopper jackets.
We didn’t linger and soon began our descent down the East side of the pass and towards Twin Lakes in the distance. The alpine like trail was soon replaced by a steep muddy and root filled single-track. Doug, who never liked roots, picked his way down the path, using his pole for balance. This was one of the few times I would surge ahead and then wait for him to catch up. After clearing the tree line at the bottom we followed the path into a stream bed. We could see Annie waiting on the other side. We plunged into the icy water and emerged with less than a mile to go to the finish line.
Soon after finishing I explained to Annie that I was hungry – “You came to the right place.” She walked me across the road to a café where I ordered a half rack of ribs and a Fat Tire. After eating we went back to the finish line in time to see our ‘arch rivals’ the knuckleheads finish. They beat us by ten minutes during the previous stage but we beat them by over an hour over Hope Pass. The fact that one of their members was ill shall be ignored in all further discussions.
That nights award ceremony was held in the Leadville gym. The last time I had been there was when I received my buckle for finishing the Leadville 100. The awards ceremony was an echo of the first nights, but we discovered that we had bonded with other teams and was glad to see them represented in the photos and video. Annie and I retired to our tent… I suspected it was going to be a long night!
1 comment:
Michelle Barton is a red hair bitch!
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