Hardrock 100 2009 Ouray to Governor’s Basin

Mile 56.5 to mile 64.4
Arrived 7:16 am
3:07 from Ouray, 16 minutes in the aid station (ouch!) (2:01 total in aid stations)

-maybe I was getting tired (it was around 3:30 am) but I seem to have lost focus at the aid station. Sue Norwood was there to greet me and fill my water bottles (Thanks Sue!) and I walked over to the tent. There were a couple of folks in sleeping bags on the ground inside the tent so I tried to be quiet (which may have made me more sleepy…) I sat down on an open cot with my drop bag. I dumped the contents out and started to repack my pack with batteries, calories and more maltodextrin mix. At the same time I decided to leave my main headlamp in this drop bag since it would be getting light soon and all we had to negotiate would be roads, basically.
-while I was sitting there, somebody asked if I would vacate the cot since another runner was feeling bad (I think it was Mark Blenden) and needed to lay down. I grabbed my stuff and moved over to the picnic table, since the folks in sleeping bags (couldn’t tell who they were because even their heads were buried in the bag) were under the table and I certainly did not want to kick them. I noticed Mark Weineke fixing Patty Bryant’s feet (Mark crewed and paced Patty last year but she had some really bad foot issues which slowed her down; I hoped Mark could keep her going this year so she could finish.) I also noticed Beth and Larry getting ready to leave (It was a surprise to see them still there until Larry told me after the race that he can’t see as well at night, so he was depending a little more on Beth.)


-I finally got done eating, drinking, repacking my bag and changing socks, then had to use the restroom. As I was using the facilities, a line started to form (that seems to happen often, not just in restrooms...)



Chip asked if I was ready to go and I told him as soon as I get my stuff back in my drop bag, then it would be time to boogie. I made a quick check of my supplies, to make sure that I not only had what I needed but I didn't take anything I didn't. We were about to start the longest climb of the race, after all...



We headed out of the aid station, I thanked all of the volunteers as I usually do and made the two left turns and headed out the road past the RV/Trailer park. I was glad that I had covered this section a couple of times since last year so I wouldn't be totally lost. The suprising thing to me was the fact that it was still dark, and the sky was not quite to getting light yet - that was a nice suprise. We passed by some more houses and made the turn onto _____. Of course, being in the dark and having 50+ miles on my legs, it went a bit more slowly than the recon trip a few days ago...but we reached the turnoff for ____ and then the left turn at the trailhead. Up the steep steps and finally to the tunnel entrance. Last year, going in the other direction, Joe Prusaitis and I encountered a bat in the tunnel, this year there didn't seem to be any (or I was just too tired to notice...) As we exited the tunnel I didn’t bang my head on the tunnel or the gate at the end of the tunnel (like when we scouted it out a couple of days before…) so that was nice. After a short bit of trail we made the right turn on to Camp Bird road for the Long Slow climb to Governor's Basin.



-Lori Bantekas and her pacer were the first to catch up to us, as Chip tried to keep me on task. If I am focussed, I can keep up a moderate pace (except for the climb up Engineer a few hours before when I was just plain out of breath) but the sleepies hit me and I found it difficult to concentrate. Of course, when this happens, it's a vicious cycle...you get more frustrated that you are not moving well and move even more slowly...Fortunately, I decided to just go with whatever pace I could keep up, knowing that once the sun came up I would return to the world of the conscious...



We kept up with Lori and her pacer for quite a while, but I think she had to pull over to the side of the trail. We also caught up to Rick Hodges, being paced by his wife Liz, who had apparently just gotten out of the outhouse. I talked with them for a while until Rick started to pull away - he is an awesome climber. Chip stayed with Rick and Liz for a bit (we are all past C4P participants) then finally decided to get back with me. Eventually the sky lightened and as I looked up I saw the sun shining on the peaks higher up...it made it so that I was a bit more awake, but I was frustrated because I wasn't moving any faster. Not long after this, I heard the tick, tick, tick, tick of someone using trekking poles coming up behind me. I decided that was going to be my test, to see how long I could stay ahead of that person. I wasn't trying to be personal about it, so I didn't even look back to see who it was, I just started pumping my arms and walking faster. I noticed that Chip, who was the one leading, was now the one starting to try and keep up. I don't know how long I stayed ahead, but I would like to think it was the better part of a mile or maybe more. Finally, I saw in my periferal vison that they were pulling alongside me. I saw Lori and her pacer go by and I wanted to say 'good morning' or 'good job' or some other nice greeting but all I could concentrate on was keeping my breathing and my pace. They walked past and all I could manage was a grunt (I felt bad, I don't like being mean to anyone and I know that what may be in the runner's mind at any given point may not translate well to those around them...) I later apologized (after the finish) but it seems she didn't even realize or remember it. We passed some college-age looking people with their car on the side of the road. How they got that particular car up this far I couldn't guess, but Chip and I were sure that they wouldn't go any farther with it. Chip stopped to talk to them and helped them decide their route up to Sneffels. They wisely decided to hike the rest of the way up the road to Yankee Boy basin - while we continued up the road to Governor's Basin, the next aid station. Chip pointed out the tailings and ruins across the valley toward the upper end of the valley and gave me a detailed description of what type of mining it was and....I was truly interested but can't remember anything of what he told me...


-Murray Schart caught up to us just before the aid station…it turns out that he was the one sleeping in the bag at Ouray