Hardrock 100 2009 Engineer to Ouray

Mile 48.6 to mile 56.5
Arrived 3:17 am
2:49 from Engineer, 52 minutes in the aid station (ouch!) (1:45 total in aid stations)

-“45 in, with pacer”
-I didn’t even realize that the friendly person welcoming us to the aid station was Stu Gleman! He said he would be on the course, maybe even volunteering at an aid station, but I had no idea he would help these fine folks hump in supplies and then hump them back out after the race (and after being up all night!)
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-Mark Heaphy caught us here. Last year he caught me at Telluride (he usually stays with his wife Margaret for the first few miles and then they part company) He must have been taking it easy since I was not breaking any speed records here…
-Had some Ramen noodles – they were hot but I asked for some cold water to top off the cup with. It really hit the spot. I knew we were taking too much time but surprisingly it wasn’t that cold (I made sure not to get too close to the fire or I wouldn’t want to leave)

-Had some stream crossings – expected for this section - but kept the feet mostly dry
-While climbing Bear Creek trail last year, I completely missed Yellow Jacket mine; this year I saw it and had an easy shuffle down the trail from there; only a couple of creek/drainage crossings and then a lot of dry drainages to negotiate. We crossed over the trail work we completed a week before (a little over a quarter mile uphill from the Grizzly Bear mine ruins) and it didn’t look as scary; of course I warned Chip about the re-bar, but it didn’t seem like as much of an issue now as it did in the daylight.
-we saw lights ahead of us and eventually caught up to them, it was Bur and his pacer. I don’t know how I caught up to him again (he was climbing well and I was downhilling well I guess)
-We finally arrived at the top of the switchbacks – the ones with slate all over, that sound like you are walking on dinner plates. I counted the switchbacks on the way down to stay focused; Rick Trujillo had told us there were 13…I counted them on the way down after our trail work but must have missed one or counted twice – during the race, however, I counted them exactly, finding the sign-in box at the bottom right on schedule.
-We crossed over the 550 tunnel and finally made it down to the road. I had covered this section twice before, in this direction two years ago as well as in the other direction last year. During the race it seemed to go on forever. A few days before the race, Mike Dobies, Bob Combs and I did a recon trip (Lori and Olga and Larry went with us part of the way) Just like knowing how many switchbacks to cover, it was nice to know that there were 4 downhills and 4 climbs (I think it was 4, maybe it was 5 ;^) In any case, I knew what we were in for and eventually we were on the road that went past the box canyon park and into town. Turned left at the Best Western and down a few blocks to the park.