{"id":58837502,"date":"2011-06-28T05:56:00","date_gmt":"2011-06-28T05:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.mikehedman.com\/desert-rats-2011"},"modified":"2013-12-01T04:12:14","modified_gmt":"2013-12-01T04:12:14","slug":"desert-rats-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikehedman.com\/blog\/desert-rats-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"Desert R.A.T.S 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Back in November of 2010, I read a short race report about a six day, stage running race – 148 miles across the Colorado and Utah desert on foot. \u00a0My imagination was hooked, and eight months later I found myself on a bus with 31 other racers, driving away from Moab, UT, on our way to the starting line nearly 150 miles away. \u00a0The bus stopped at a trailhead, we got out, and after some brief encouragement from the race director, we began our trek back to Moab, along the Kokopelli trail.<\/p>\n

Day 1 was actually one of the shorter days, “only” 20 miles. \u00a0But starting in the midafternoon meant that we experienced the heat and wind of the day. \u00a0I was struck by the beauty<\/span> majesty of the surroundings. \u00a0I’m used to trees and flowers, so it was hard for me to see the beauty that first day, where rocks, scrub brush, rocks, and more rocks were our steady diet for hours. \u00a0But the majesty of the canyons and buttes is plain to see – and everywhere in this part of the desert. \u00a0My run went well on that first day, but I grossly underestimated my fluid needs. \u00a0I ended the day severely dehydrated, and after finishing spent upwards of half an hour on my back with my feet elevated trying to get my blood pressure stabilized and my fluid levels settled.<\/p>\n

During this time I was watched over by an outstanding medical team. \u00a0There were four docs who travelled with us – some were ER docs, some with military combat medicine experience, and all of them visibly committed to making our run a success. \u00a0Each night, the medical team would set up a “blister clinic”, and treat all comers – draining blisters, and taping feet and toes for the next stage. \u00a0I’m glad that on the whole, their week was uneventful. \u00a0But they were a great asset to the race, made us feel more secure, and were great guys as well.<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Glen Delman<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Blister Clinic<\/p>\n

Before the race, I considered Day 2 the most difficult, and it did not disappoint. \u00a0Since we started Day 1 so late in the day, we didn’t have much recovery time between these stages. \u00a0It also traditionally was the warmest stage. \u00a0Due to recent flooding of the Colorado River, our planned camping area at the end of Day 2 had to be moved, so our mileage for the day was shorter than planned, around 35 miles. \u00a0I spent much of this day (and many of the others) running with Kurt and Shelley Egli. \u00a0They had run RATS twice before, and were a wealth of knowledge and experience. \u00a0Kurt was my “desert whisperer” – throughout the week he would quietly inform me of some nugget of info about the heat, the course for the day, or the week ahead. \u00a0Shelley taught me that I have a whole other gear with which I can climb hills!<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Glen Delman<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Kurt and Shelley Egli<\/p>\n

Somewhere near the middle of the day we met up with Jason McGinniss – who had been way out in front of us up until then. \u00a0Jason had taken a wrong turn, and had burned a fair bit of time and energy before getting back on the course. \u00a0The four of us ran\/walked for what seemed like hours.<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Glen Delman<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Jason, Shelley, Kurt and me<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Much of the second half of the day was on one LONG, relatively straight “road”, so someone would pick a landmark (typically a telephone pole), and we’d run to that. \u00a0Then walk to the next pole, and then we would run to the next landmark. Repeat. And again. Do that 30 more times. \u00a0And that was Day 2 in the books. \u00a0I spent much more mental effort on drinking a LOT of fluid, and keeping my electrolytes topped off – so thankfully I had no hydration\/energy\/GI problems at all.<\/p>\n

Each day the wonderful camp crew would tear down camp as we ran, and when we arrived at the day’s finish line, miraculously we arrived at a fully assembled camp. \u00a0Food was plentiful and very tasty. \u00a0And I’m not sure how many watermelons gave their lives during the week, but I’m guessing it was somewhere north of 100.<\/p>\n

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It takes a lot of eggs to feed a bunch of hungry RATS!<\/div>\n
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Starting on Day 2, each of our camps was close enough to the Colorado river to allow us to soak our legs, and take a QUICK dip – the water was very recent snow melt, and was probably in the mid 50s. \u00a0But it felt soooooooooo good on the legs, and it was nice to get at least the top layer or two of dirt off.<\/p>\n

For Day 3, we ran a little longer than expected, to make up for some of the lost distance the prior day, the consensus was that it was around 11.5 or so. \u00a0The joke around camp was that: “It’s an unusual group of people who consider an 11 mile run a ‘rest’ day”. \u00a0I ran with the Egli’s again, and Doone and Tim Watson – a delightful couple (of fearsome runners!) from Canada. \u00a0Well, I ran with that crowd until the mud. \u00a0We had been warned about the mud that the receding river had left on the trail – and nobody had any trouble…except me. \u00a0My very first step into the mud resulted in my shoe and gaitor being sucked right off my foot!! \u00a0I was glad there was a big rock there, so I sat down and put myself back together again. \u00a0And tied my shoes a little tighter this time. \u00a0Maybe too tight…<\/p>\n

Day 4 – the Expedition Stage – 52 miles, up and over a mountain range, and back down the other side.<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Glen Delman<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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All through the morning we could see our destination –<\/div>\n
the saddle between the right two peaks in the distance<\/div>\n

One of the challenges of Desert RATS is staying on the right trail. \u00a0During this stage, at least two people got off course long enough to end their race. \u00a0I felt so bad for those folks. \u00a0And I was very nearly one of them myself. \u00a0I was running with the Watsons through a nice area, and had drifted ahead on a long downhill section. \u00a0Cruising through a trail intersection, I realized I hadn’t looked carefully for a trail marker, and went back. \u00a0I found the marker, but in my haste I looked at it from the wrong side (so no matter what, I wasn’t seeing the correct arrow), and then I must have not even read the marker correctly, and started off on the side trail, uphill, full speed ahead. \u00a0Doone and Tim arrived at the crossing shortly afterwards and saw me blundering up the wrong trail, and called me back. \u00a0A minute later and I would have crested the hill, and they wouldn’t have seen me…and I have no idea what would have happened. \u00a0I was very low on water at that stage, and we were literally, out in the outskirts of nowhere’s-ville. \u00a0I told them that when I get home I was going to have another set of twins, just so I could name them “Tim” and “Doone”.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, most of the rest of the Expedition Stage went off without a hitch. \u00a0I was very disciplined to take a shot of nutrition – Infinit concentrate – each 15 minutes, an S-Cap each 20 minutes, and to wash them down with lots and lots of water. \u00a0I was pee-ing about every hour and a half, and had no bloating. \u00a0In one particularly long segment (11-12 miles) I drained my main Camelbak bladder (100oz) and my reserve bladder (35oz). \u00a0I was NEVER so thankful to see a water drop!!!<\/p>\n

With 7.5 miles to go, I hit the last aid station and was\u00a0feeling very good. \u00a0I realized that I would not be making my 12 hour goal for the day, which I really needed to hit in order to reach my 30 hour goal for the week. \u00a0But the last 6 miles was downhill on pavement, so I was anticipating making up a bit of time. \u00a0I got a refill on water, and had my mandatory equipment check. \u00a0Each aid station, the crew would ask for one piece of mandatory gear – the knife, strobe light, mirror, etc., and mark it off in our expedition book, as well as recording our time. \u00a0We exchanged well wishes, I took a step, and my knee exploded in pain. \u00a0I could instantaneously tell that my IT band had siezed while I was standing there, and each step brought me to new levels of pain. \u00a0I hobbled off, not wanting to get corralled by the med guys at the aid station, and got my pain induced hyperventilating under control. \u00a0By walking with my leg straight, it didn’t hurt too bad, so I kept moving, and rubbing the outside of my leg to try to soften up the spasming tendon. \u00a0After a while, my peg leg started to bend a bit, then a few test steps jogging, then I was back into it. \u00a0Then, like a moron, I stopped to pee. \u00a0I hadn’t pee’ed before the last aid station in case they were goint to weigh me (if I had lost too much weight, they could pull me off the course). \u00a0Well, now it was time, so I went to the side of the road, and went. \u00a0First step, and HELLO KNEE!!! \u00a0Crap. \u00a0Let’s try this again. \u00a0Peg leg walking, massaging as much as I could, and it softened up enough to get going again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I started the day by cruising the first 10 miles, and enjoyed some brilliant scenery and good company. \u00a0But at hour 2, I really started to “race” in pursuit of the 12 hour goal, and my body and mind paid for it. \u00a0I have never before focused so intently, and for so long, on moving forward. \u00a0Working hard to tackle the uphills without losing too much time, and really pushing on the downhills – of which there were many, and many of them were quite technical. \u00a0I got two new blisters this day to complement the little guy on my pinkie toe. \u00a0I finished in 12:18, and was very happy with that result.<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Glen Delman<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0A very happy Mike at the finish of the Expedition Stage (note the salt line on my shorts!)<\/div>\n

Day 5 was a real rest day, no running, just soaking in the river, and eating. \u00a0One of the best lines of the week was delivered this morning…from one of the tents I hear: “I feel like I got hit by the ugly truck. Then it backed up, and hit me again.” \u00a0So true. \u00a0We were all pretty beat up, and filthy, and I can’t imagine what the scent was like downwind. \u00a0I got my feet taped up, and ready to go for the marathon on Saturday.<\/p>\n

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We also enjoyed a slide show of photos that Glen Delman had taken through the week (and he graciously allowed me to use some of them here). \u00a0It was an emotional night, as we realized the magnitude of the adventure we had shared together, and the beauty we had started to see in the desert – and in our fellow racers and the crew.<\/p>\n

Day 6 – let’s run a marathon! \u00a0This stage starts with a monster up, and then a huge downhill, with a little slice of technical trail running on a 5 mile out and back spur.<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Glen Delman<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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The view from the climb<\/p>\n

Well, it WOULD have been only a marathon if I wasn’t a doofus. \u00a0Going into the first aid station at the top of the huge hill, I let my companions drift ahead so that I could go into the station a bit slower, but spend less time there. \u00a0I was very concerned that my knee would flare up again, so I wasn’t taking any chances. \u00a0I left the aid station and crested the hill, and my companions were already long gone – so I took off running down the hill at a really good pace…until the car came up next to me. \u00a0One of the runners saw that I went right past the trailhead and screamed and whistled for me, but I never heard him. \u00a0He got the attention of the aid station folks, and they sent a car after me. \u00a0I was about .4 miles down the road when he told me I needed to turn around (and walk back up the hill – grrrrrrrrr).<\/p>\n

With that, all hopes of a 30 hour final time evaporated, and I turned my attention to just running hard and doing the best I could. \u00a0The technical out and back on Porcupine Rim was really hard for me – since it was out and back I was able to see how far ahead the other runners in my morning group were, but I just couldn’t summon the juice to close the gap. \u00a0To my credit, I got “lost” again, but only got 3 yards down the trail and realized that I was maybe on the wrong trail. \u00a0I started looking for tracks, and seeing none went back to the last “Y” and saw a bunch of tracks on the other trail. \u00a0It only took 6 days, but I finally learned how to stay on the trail!!<\/p>\n

The finish line was a raucus celebration. \u00a0All the finishers clapped, shouted, and whistled for each runner as they rounded the last turn.<\/p>\n

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I was SOOOOOO happy to see the flags of the finish line, and to hear the screaming and banging of water jugs. \u00a0I had finished Desert R.A.T.S., and the smile didn’t leave my face for four days. \u00a0My final time was 30:18, which placed me as the 4th male, 5th overall. \u00a0That one female was Suzanna Bon – a delightfully humble runner who demolished the women’s course record by five hours. \u00a0We ran together for a while on Day 1, and after a while she politely said something like “I think I’m going to go on ahead” as I walked up a hill, and she ran it like a mountain goat.<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Glen Delman<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

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Epilogue – This race was something special. \u00a0It was much more of an “event” than a running race. \u00a0Reid Delman, the Race Director, and his crew, were incredibly generous with their time, efforts, and themselves, and made it possible for us to focus on running. In the days following the race, it became clear to me that the race had made a big impact on me. \u00a0Here’s an excerpt from an email exchange I had with Jason McGinnis:<\/p>\n

Me: I am having a A LOT of trouble getting focused and back to work this week – just feels like I should be somewhere else…<\/p>\n

Jason: \u00a0Yes, getting back to reality has been really tough for us too. The emails, the calls, work, traffic, rude people…it all sucks. The Tulsa crew has been calling it “post rats depression”. It makes me wonder if people might have been much happier hundreds and thousands of years ago. I think we lived for a brief while somewhat like nomadic native americans. A small tribe of ultrarunners, who instead of going out every morning and hunting for food, we went out and ran. Then we came back to camp and ate, relaxed, and slept. No bills, no taxes, no tv, no phones, no shopping malls, no government, just new relationships and a beautiful landscape. We washed our clothes by hand and bathed in sandy cold water. And somehow that is more satisfying to me than what we all go home too. I think through industrialization and technology the western world has lost something special very special. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is we have lost, but I think RATS gives us a glimpse of what life could be like. To me simpler is better. Also being surrounded by endurance athletes is awesome. Everyone there has tested themselves and pushed their bodies to extreme levels at some point in their lives. Everyone of us has experienced suffering and persevered through it and whether we talk about it or not it makes us different kinds of people than the rest of the modern world.<\/p>\n

Me: I always think it funny when we “discover” a new tribe out in the middle of the Amazon or something, and we feel so happy that we can bring “civilization” to them – to free them from their horrible life in sync with the earth and their environment…but with out Nintendo (oh the terror!!)<\/p>\n

I’m thinking that something we all experienced was “accepting” our environment. It was hot, and the hot wasn’t going to go away by bitching about it – so we didn’t bitch, and accepted the heat. And the climbs weren’t going away – they were something to be accepted and experienced, until they were gone, and a new challenge presented itself. For me, I didn’t fight the desert, and I think that greatly helped my race and my attitude. And it helped that camp wasn’t full of a bunch of drama queens\/kings.<\/p>\n

The first time I paced someone (very early in my ultra running career) the guy taught me “you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.” And maybe that’s the glue that joins RATS together – we’ve all made that adjustment to life, that discomfort isn’t something that MUST BE ELIMINATED at all costs, but rather, can be accepted, and maybe even enjoyed a bit.<\/p>\n

Dang, awful philosophical for a Friday morning!!!<\/p>\n

Jason: I think its nearly impossible to do something as awesome and challenging as RATS and not get philosophical or come away with a different perspective on life. And trying to explain all this to friends and family…forget about it.<\/p>\n

Medical Epilogue – Remember when I pulled my shoe out of the mud and tied it real tight? Well, I’m thinking I did something bad to my foot that day. \u00a0When I woke up the morning of the 52 mile stage, the top of one of my feet (right under where the knot was) was very sore – and it stayed sore throughout the day, and through the rest of the race. \u00a0It’s a little over a week gone by now, and it still hurts. I’ve had it x-rayed, but nothing showed. \u00a0I’ll go back again in a couple of days since stress fractures often don’t show up right way.<\/p>\n

Another thing that happened in my first week back – I was VERY lethargic. \u00a0After a couple of days I stepped on a scale, and saw that I was 5 pounds lighter than when I started the race. \u00a0I then began “recovery eating” in earnest, and my energy returned very quickly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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