Old Goat's 50 Mile Trail Race

Ben Hian shatters the course record at the Old Goat 50 Mile Trail Race

Ben Hian (40) is back on the trails in Southern California and he announced his return with authority at the Old Goat 50 Mile Trail Race. Ben ran a 7:51:14 on what is arguably the most arduous course in California, taking twenty-seven minutes off the course record set by Akos Konya in 2008. Tracy Moore who finished second to Hian also came in ten minutes under the record. Both Ben and Tracy are members of the San Diego Bad Rats. The Rats took the first four places.

Ben was on the return from the mountain top turn-around when he saw Tracy only minutes behind. Ben later said when he saw Tracy he thought “Why did it have to be him? “– Of anyone in the field, Ben knew Tracy, a fellow San Diego Rat, was capable of blistering the last fifteen down-hill miles. With aid stations every two and a half miles on the return route both men discarded their extra gear at Gary and Pam’s Hilliard’s Aid station and put the hammer down. The last three miles of the Goat drop a 1000’ and many races have been lost after a tumble on the rocky truck trail… Tracy claimed he put everything he had on the line but couldn’t close the gap… He didn’t catch Ben but he leaped across the line overjoyed at also beating the course record. One hour later two more Rats finished. Scott Mills (57) and Jonas Hansen (32) tied in 9:16:09, but because this race respects old age, Scott took third and Jonas had to settle for the first ‘Kids’ award.

The women’s field was left wide open when Keira Henninger decided to forgo another Old Goat and Maria Petzold blew out a knee two weeks before at a 50K. That left Michelle Barton 9:58:26 with little competition – she enjoyed a wide lead over the second woman Theresa Apodaca. The third place woman Gretchen Evaul is now the only woman who has completed all of the Old Goat 50’s - only two more to go for the Old Goat belt buckle!

Oh my – I’ve died and gone to heaven. That’s what most of the 107 runners who started the Old Goat’s 50 Mile Trail Race were thinking when they arrived at the 35 mile Aid Station atop Santiago Peak. Members of the So Cal Trail Headz running club were dressed in wings and halos, and dispensed aid while Jean Ho, another Headz, played a concert harp. A far cry from the Hendrix riffs being blasted out at miles 21 and 47.

The runners had another reason to believe they were near the pearly gates – they had just completed a 4000’ continuous climb over the previous 7.5 miles. The Old Goat has earned its reputation for being one of the hardest… but, what is considered a ‘problem’ in any other venue is looked on as an opportunity by ultrarunners. The Goat gives them that opportunity to run what Ambrose Fisher described in his thank you e-mail as an “awesomely miserable” course. He is returning in 2010.

Another difference in this year's Old Goat was the addition of two full aid stations out in the wilderness. Shelli Sexton, a veteran Tevis Cup rider packed her horses with enough aid for two hundred runners and started out into the darkness at 5:00am. She was later joined by two volunteers who ran and marked the course in front of the early starters. Instead of one aid station in the first twenty miles there were three.

Michelle, Molly, and Alexa - Three members of the Headz cool their Bottoms on the last remaining snow on Santiago Peak!

Eighty-eight runners crossed the finish line and received their goat medals and membership into the exclusive Society of Old Goats (previously reserved only for runners over 50 who had completed a 50 Miler). The oldest goat inducted this year was 70 on race day and the youngest had to show ID to partake in the post race refreshments.

2009 Death Valley Trail Marathon

Titus Canyon in the Death Valley Marathon is spectacular… but when it’s raining Titus Canyon becomes Titus Rapids so the Forest Service closed the 2009 Death Valley Trail Marathon course. Dave Horning always alerts those entering the Death Valley Trail Marathon that the course may have to be rerouted if there is unfavorable weather. On race day this year it was the 2nd worst storm in memory so we ran Dave’s alternate course instead – an out and back on West Side Drive.

Don’t let the name deceive you though. West Side Drive sound like a street you would find on the west side of any metropolis, large or small… In Death Valley however, the West Side drive is a dirt road that meanders through the Devil’s golf course, the corn fields, salt flats, and the entire length is below sea level. In the summer the temperatures are routinely above 130 degrees. This year the mountains flanking the course were clothed in a blanket of new snow, and it was raining in the valley.

When Dave announced the venue change there were sighs of disappointment as many of the competitors came to Death Valley to get away from icy freezing rains. Those of us who had run previous Death Valley Trail Marathons had mixed emotions. Yes it was unfortunate that we couldn’t run Titus but the prospect of a ‘different’ course was exciting… especially a course unrunnable any other time of year.

My personal preference for a trail course is one that climbs several thousand feet and has numerous stream crossings. On this marathon the elevation difference was between 75 and 325 feet below sea level. It was twenty-six point two miles of puddles and mud, though the mud was never more than an inch deep. In one place the entire road was a sheet of shallow water which gave the impression we were walking on water or, at a minimum, running on a mirror.

The weather worsened for those of us near the back of the pack. It began raining in earnest and Dave’s Limo Service drove by offering free rides. He had few takers. The flats along side the road became large vernal ponds. With two miles to go we could see the busses and a few cars parked at the finish line – the ever receding finish line. Hah, I thought – before the rain started the front runners could see the finish from four miles away. We only had to suffer for two.

Annie, my wife and running partner, and I crossed the finish line, received our shirts and medals, and immediately got into a friend’s car for the short drive back to Furnace Creek Lodge. We were warned that there was a possibility of flash floods and we encountered several as we creeped back to the resort. In places the water, mud, and rocks rushed over the road. We managed to slowly drive through them without incident, though shortly after we passed the floods, another vehicle hydroplaned and flipped over… fortunately, the passengers only sustained minor injuries.

Dave later reported the forest service locked the gate onto West Side Drive immediately after the last finisher, and Cal Trans soon closed all of the roads leading out of Death Valley. Employees at the resort filled sandbags and constructed dikes around the ground floor rooms… At dinner Dave announced one eastbound road would be open for about an hour and the highway patrol would lead a caravan out. I looked around – no one appeared to ask for their check.

We finished eating and headed to the crowded saloon for the awards ceremony. I only overheard one negative comment. I couldn’t help but respond – “Are you kidding. For the next twenty years of Death Valley Trail Marathons people will brag about their run down Titus Canyon and you’ll say – But you should have been here in 2009.” Titus Canyon will be there for future runs but there will likely never be another West Side Drive in the rain!