 |
| The ridge behind us was the first six miles of a beautiful course Photo credit Rob Finley |
Wyoming is one of the last states bordering Colorado that I needed
to run on my way to running a marathon in all 50 states. Perhaps it was being around
enough of Boulder’s ultra trail-running crowd or my wife’s encouragement, but I
decided that my Wyoming “marathon” would be a trail ultra. While Alita actually
found the Bighorn races, my decision to go for this one was solidified by some
glowing reviews of the race by fellow Boulder runners.
Training
Since I felt I knew marathon training reasonably well and a
50k was only five miles longer, I decided to follow my usual marathon training
approach of 50 – 70 miles a week with long runs starting around 1h 45m and progressing
to 2h 30m – 3hrs. I started the long runs in February and was able
to get in one 20-miler. I would have preferred to do one or two more (20
milers) but the Bolder Boulder and Army drills precluded that. I also got in 3
– 4 decent speedworks with the Boulder Track Club most months. Once the trails
were clear and somewhat dry I added two to three hour-long runs per weeks featuring
about a 1,000 feet of elevation gain. My favorite loop for this is the SkunkCanyon – Mesa Trail – Bear Canyon Loop. This was actually a pretty reasonable
approximation of course conditions to boot.
Lodging & Packet
Pick-up
The packet pick-up was efficient and the staff there was
very helpful. Aside from the usual fliers for other races I was pleased to see
a nice cotton t-shirt and some electrolyte tablets. My friend and I went into
town to pick up our free water bottle and then went to get dinner.
Sheridan is the nearest town of appreciable size and has
plenty of good lodging options if you are not up for camping. When I was
planning the race we were still thinking of taking the family and so we opted
to stay at the Holiday Lodge Motel. A nice bonus of this place was that it was within walking
distance of the pre-race official pasta dinner – a decent $12 all-you-could eat
pasta and pizza buffet at Ole Pizza.
From our hotel there was a nice bikepath along the river. My
friend and I used this for a short shakedown run to loosen our legs after the
six-hour drive from Boulder. There was a massive mayfly hatch happening which
kinda made we wish I had brought a rod.
Race-day logistics
I would recommend getting a bus ticket from the Dayton
Community Center. Since I was either going solo or not going to make my family
share my wee-hours-of-the-morning fun this was a good deal for me. We drove to
the community center in Dayton (about 30 min from Sheridan) and got on the
buses with about 5 – 10 minutes to spare. The drive to the start at Dry Fork
was a beautiful winding uphill road that forecasted the quad-pounding downhills
that we would be enduring.
Strategy
It was around 60 °F at the start but the forecast was
calling for things to crack 90 °F. My train-up constraints (and personal
preferences) had put most of my training in the morning and I was worried about
the heat. I decided to go against conventional wisdom and try some electrolyte
tablets that came in the race packet for the first time on race-day (which
turned out to be a good call). From having run in Colorado I knew the high
desert summer could make it hard to appreciate how much you had sweated and
lost in salts.
The 50k course started
with a 500-ft / mile climb which I planned to take easy. I would push on the
ridgeline and then try to survive the descent back into the valley. From there
I hoped to use my strength in hill climbing after the dry fork aid station.
Then I would once again try to survive the even longer downhill. The last 5
miles were on a comparably level dirt road which I planned to reserve enough
energy to make a hard push on. I had trained with Gu gels which happened to be
what they stocked at aid stations. I planned to have a gel at each and then
maybe some salty foods in the second half. It was never more than six miles
between aid stations so I decided to go with one 12-oz hand-held water bottle.
 |
| Elevation Profile from Strava |
I managed to stick fairly closely to my race
strategy. The climb up to the ridgeline was non-trivial but it was early in the
race and we all took things fairly easy. I was in fourth place by the time we
made the top and held site of 2nd and 3rd as we went
along the ridgeline. There were nice alternating patches of open meadows with
beautiful views and welcomed patches of shady trees.
 |
| Photo courtesy of Rob Finley |
 |
| Some typical service roads Photo courtesy of Rob Finley |
After a slow but steady uphill I made it back to the 50k
(and 30k) start at Dry Fork. By this point I had caught up to three of the
runners that passed me on the downhill. After some Gu, water, Gu-water and two
of the four electrolyte tablets, I started on the slow ascent up the second
ridge.
On the way here I got to know Dan and Monty – two of the
runners who passed me on the downhill. We walked one of the steeper inclines
and then Dan and Monty starting pulling away. I kept plodding along and
eventually saw Dan off to the side working on a cramp. I gave him my last two
electrolyte tablets and some encouragement before going on my way.
At this point I started running into some of the 30k
runners. We were in the high meadows and, as promised in the course description,
there were wildflowers everywhere. Somewhere around mile 18 I got the feeling
that I was going to make this and maybe even finish in good form.
After the meadows we began our descent into the canyon. The
day was bringing its full heat to bear. Perhaps all the good downhill runners
who were going to pass me had already done so or maybe the previous 20 miles
had taken their toll on everyone, but no one passed me the rest of the race as
I made my way down the canyon. Occasionally I was able to mentally step back
from the pain in my quads and appreciate what a beautiful site the canyon was.
 |
| The much promised meadows of wildflowers |
 |
| Starting the descent Photo credit: Rob Finley |
 |
| The iconic rock arch Photo credit: Rob Finley |
My feet and lips were buzzing after I finished and I sat for
about a half-hour recovering. The volunteers brought me various fluids and wet
towels. The home stretch parallels a beautiful river and I joined several other
runners in sitting down in it. It was the perfect depth and temperature.
Aid stations
 |
| Aid Station Distances and Elevation Gain from my watch & Garmin Connect |
The aid station volunteers and aid stations themselves were
great. All of the volunteers were encouraging and imparted great energy to all
the runners as they went through. The aid stations that were near the river had
pitchers of river water that they would dump on you (fortunately they were held
by volunteers or I probably would have accidentally filled my water bottle with
one of them). While I went for the Gu, Gu-drink and salty chips there was a
nice assortment of fruit (grapes, water mellon and oranges) as well as sweets.
For the course rules I had been worried about missing a
check-in, but the volunteers were great about catching your number as you went through.
Finish
There was a nice standard fare of picnic food with
hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, cole slaw, water mellon, oranges and chips.
I took my food and found a good spot in the shade to watch for my friend and
the other runners. It was inspiring to see the range of 100 milers and 30k
runners who competed on this hot and beautiful course.
When my friend finished we took the race shuttle back to our
vehicles at the community center. It was still open and we were able to use the
showers before getting on the road. Definitely bring some shower gear.
Parting Thoughts
It was a challenging and beautiful course and one that I
would recommend to anyone looking to do their first ultra. A marathon training
program prepared me well although a bit more training on technical descents
would have served me well.
16 states down, 34 to go.
