****

Amy Pieper, reports that her husband Robin, and Vince and Martin had a "good but hard ride," but by all accounts so far still a fun time! Most amazingly, the cyclists 10 hour finish also included 1 1/2 hours of break time. Vince reports that there a "couple of minor mechanicals and one small crash (in that silly little snow drift at Lake Keechelus!)." I hear they had a fun time camping in Vantage Saturday night too. Also, Vince Haag, who deciding he'd not had enough on Saturday, caught a car ride to Cle Elum on Sunday morning, but then rode his bike home 90 miles!! Nice work!

Also, here is Martin Criminale's race report. I highly recommend you read it; it is highly comedic and their experience was not much different from the runners. http://www.criminale.com/martin/cycling/training_2007_05_26.asp

So, back to the start line, Brock, Ryan and I started right at 6:30 a.m. at an easy pace. We mused over whether we'd finish or not. I listened to Ryan and Brock talk about their white water rafting trips. We came to the first 4.5 mile "aid station" at Twin Falls in under an hour where my mom and Jay met us with water and drop bags and our headlamps to get us through the next 16 miles where we would run through the Snoqualmie Tunnel and reach Hyak.

Brock soon pulled ahead of Ryan and I after leaving Twin Falls. Ryan and I were full of energy, but still taking it slow stopping to take pictures and admire the views at the bridges. It was nice to finally arrive at the Snoqualmie Tunnel, but just as nice to come out on other side. My mom had all our supplies layed out on a picnic table for us. It was about 10:30 a.m. at that point and Brock had already passed through about an hour earlier. We took our time there to take care of our feet and eat, so by the time we left Brock had an hour and a half on us! We knew that there was going to be some tough times ensuring front runners and back-of-pack runners had aid, but didn't anticipate it happening so quickly. So Ryan and I gave Jay all the food and water supplies that my mom would have given us at Easton (18 miles away), so that Jay could meet us at Easton and my mom would be able to drive ahead and meet Brock in Cle Elum.

The next stretch was long...some parts very shady and lush, some very dry and rocky. Ryan's insoles were shot and his feet were hurting pretty bad. I had been having a knee issue for the past two months and was leary of running too hard and so we both took it really easy....trying to run for 20 minutes then walking for a while, or really just running as much as we could. When we were still about 8 miles out from Easton, Jay came riding back on his bike and reported that Brock was nearly 3 hours (I believe) ahead of us and was closing in on Cle Elum already! We kept walking while that information set in. I called Tony (who was running on Tiger Mountain) and checked in with him, see how he was doing and get an ETA from him; I was sort of stalling trying to figure out how to make this work. Tony had started around 6:30 this morning and was also just past 30 miles into his 50 mile "training" run for Western States. Finally we had to make a decision - we wouldn't make to Cle Elum in time to meet my mom so that she could still meet Brock at Thorpe. Since Jay was carrying our Easton supplies, I decided that Ryan and I would have to get those supplies and top off our water right now - so basically we each had about 100-120 oz. of water to get us the next 26 miles! Then Jay would ride ahead on his bike and meet my mom at Cle Elum and getting Brock's supplies, riding to Thorpe to meet Brock. My mom would wait at Cle Elum for us. This took about 20 minutes of sort of standing around while Jay and I were on the phone with my mom figuring this all out. Finally Jay hauled out of there speeding away to meet my mom and then Brock.

Ryan and I were still pretty up beat, but I think we ran most of the next 6 miles in silence, wondering what would happen next. I was starting to feel really low and sleepy. I finally decided that I needed to wake up my body, and having gone about 30 miles without any knee pain I'd gained confidence in being able to pick up the pace. Ryan said it was okay for me to go ahead and that he would be okay. It seemed like we must have had only a couple miles until Easton, but we must have been farther away than it seemed - although this section was nice, soft with pine needles and tree shade and you passed over the Yakima river at least 3 times which helped to break it up.

Easton was having a street fair and I saw a horse carriage with a pirate theme giving a bunch of kids a ride and passed by some yard sales. At the trailhead I used the restroom and then walked out downing a Coca-cola to wake up and eating food from the drop bag I'd packed for this "aid station." I passed a family of 5 and they asked if I was with the group running to Vantage. (They'd met my mom earlier it turns out.) They were pretty impressed and that was pretty cool and perked me up a bit. I told them there was another guy behind me hoping if they ran into Ryan it would up his mood too. Leaving Easton a trail marker said Cle Elum was 13.5 miles away not 11.5 like I thought - I still don't know which it is - but that was a bit of a downer. Also, it turns out, and I never noticed, that there was a water spout at the Easton trailhead. There was a lot of things that could have gone better; thinking back, since my mom now did not need to meet Brock in Thorpe I should have asked her to drive back to Easton to meet Ryan. Also, like I said, we didn't know until after the fact that there was a water spout in Easton - things to know for "next time."

From Easton to Cle Elum I took the opportunity to kneel in most of the streams I came to (maybe 4) and that, along with the nice "warm up" to this point would come to prove very beneficial to my knee. Just before Cle Elum, the bathrooms having become scarce now, I decided to jump in the bushes to take care of business. I was just taking one last look around before getting to it and saw a biker coming. Dang it! I scrambled back up on the trail and kept trudging on - soon to find out it was my mom riding back to meet me on my bike! She said I was less than 2 miles to Cle Elum! Yeah - relief - it had been 30 miles now since a real sit down and rest...and rest I would! I came into Cle Elum around 6 p.m. and would not leave until an hour later. I fixed up my feet really nicely, sat and ate, helped my mom repack the car a bit, packed some food in my camelbak. Earlier when my mom had met me on the trail Tony had called us and said he and Arthur were on their way! They were going to meet us at Cle Elum where Arthur would run with me and then Tony and my mom would split crew duties. They arrived earlier than expected (with Arthur driving) and by 6:45 p.m. Arthur was packing his Camelbak and getting Shela ready to go (Shela is his trail doggie and was quite the fashionista - in her new red REI booties). We decide Tony will wait for Ryan at Cle Elum and my mom will drive ahead to Thorp. I remember that I was very distracted and tired and kept going to to car to get something here and then would forget and start socializing again, but finally we moved all of Ryan's supplies and some other extra supplies into Tony's car and Arthur and I were ready to hit the trail again around 7:05 p.m. We head off. Shela as usual is tripping me a lot (although I did finally get in a good stomp - accidently of course - which made her squeal). About 2 miles in, Arthur realized Shela is missing a bootie and he runs back to find it. He must have run at least 1 - 2 miles back because after a while I couldn't see him at all. I walked and ran, trying not to get too far ahead. But during this time, I realize that in my distraction at Cle Elum the one thing I'd forgotten was to fill my Camelbak! I try to blame it on my mom ;-), but Arthur quickly pointed out it was my own stupid fault. Okay, so my thirst for the next 15 miles to Thorp would be quenched by gummi bears and a sip off Arthur's perpetum every hour or so. I wasn't dehydrated so I was fine, just dry mouth from all the wind and sand. Plus at least the heat of the day was gone. From here we had some welcome inclines to run. And I think there a couple more short tunnels in this section. Arthur's hip was bugging him a bit, so thankfully we were both going at the same pace. Well, actually when don't we run the same pace? We saw a herd (or as Arthur would say, a heard) of elk across a river at one point. Then we finally got to the straight and boring stretch into Thorp which must have been, and I have confirmed, was even more boring in the daylight for the cyclists! The trail here gets very rocky and the shoes I was running in were serving me very well (I'd just gotten them free at a race the previous week), except that now I really noticed the rocks poking my feet and I wished for my sturdier (but more blister prone) trail shoes. We saw a couple more pairs in of eyes in the dark, probably raccoons, possum?

Sometime along this stretch Arthur gets a call from Tony. Ryan has decided to call it a day at Cle Elum - he ran out of water without anything to refill in Easton, and Brock who had been on pace to finish in around 20 hours had not had enough salt and had drank too much water and was out at Thorp. He had been vomiting excessively for about an hour and was in bad shape. Tony was actually calling from North Bend where he'd just dropped off Brock at his car. After checking in with Brock post-run, he says he "really had a metabolic break down. Never experienced that before. Thanks so much to your mom brother and family for taking care of me. I was not doing well at all. I felt great and then all of a sudden in a matter of minutes I began to get sick. I vomited until about 1 in the morning and lost about 9 pounds. Should have gone a bit slower and I forgot Salt Tablets for 18 miles of on the 3rd leg of the run!! (18 mile stretch) I think my body fell way behind in salt and I continued to drink too much water which caused some complications. Lessons learned. It was too bad because my legs felt great. I remember thinking - hey I am going to be done in no time - this is sweet. Then things turned that quickly. It is a good lesson to know for the future...Tony C is the Man for sure. He was a huge help - especially when I realized that I was not going to get better and be able to finish the run. " (Thanks to Brock for the report! You did really well and you know I am so glad you were in good hands and made it home safely.)

Mixed feelings now. I was really happy for Ryan who had completed his first 50 miler of the year and glad that Brock had gotten in his long training run, and we were all very grateful to Tony for being able to take Brock home -- everyone was now in good hands. But now what? Tony said he was going to drive back and meet us and I just didn't see the point and thanked him and said he should go get some sleep it had been a long day for him and now it was after midnight at least. I remember Arthur and I discussing whether to keep going at Thorp or to just be done with this whole "silly, stupid run" (which is how I would refer to it from here on out). Well, we never really came to a decision.

Finally, after a bunch of roads crossing the trail (and each time I would think that was really Thorp this time), climbing over fences blocking the trail, and me saying for at least an hour that we were really close, we finally get to Thorp!! Party central it turns out! We were greeted there by my mom, Heidi, Frann, Troy, Ryan, and Jay. Now, today was Jay's birthday (happy 26th Jay!) and once he got to Thorpe, he decided to start partying it up with the Lawson/Hendrickson crew (which is what we do best!) So, Jay was actually passed out in the car intermittently vomiting. Very nice. This was the most uncanny aid station ever! Here sit Arthur and I as usual acting like it's a normal aid station, and then we've got Jay being sick, my mom being a very good sport about it all, then Heidi and Frann, taking control as usual (thank god really) tending to us and cooking us soup. (Heidi and Frann at an aid station at a 100 miler - how weird? They're here, and I'm here, so what's up? where's my beer?) It was just sort of strange having my family there - very, very cool though! I soon learn that Heidi, in her usual take-control manner had decided to call Tony and tell him to come back. I was sort of miffed at first ;-) because I felt bad that Tony had to drive back (but it would all turn out ok). Frann brought me a blankie while we sat waiting for the water to heat up for the cup o' noodle - I tried to refuse because I didn't want to get comfy, but she insisted and it really was nice to sit in that camping chair with a nice warm blankie eating soup. I remember asking Troy how his bike ride was and he said it was really tough and he was glad to be done. Ryan was also feeling better now - I jokingly asked if he wanted a ride to Army West so he could run the last 20 miles and he "politely" said no thanks! (Later I would realize would have been a stupid idea - no one should be allowed to run that last 20 miles alone!) I think we were there for a good half hour before we finally left. There really was no discussion about whether or not to call it quits here - it was like everyone just assumed we would keep going and so we did. Although it felt, again, so silly and stupid, that everyone was now here just for me. I know that I kept complaining that this was supposed to be a big group effort (which, it was and would be), but at the same time, well, if we want to make this a second annual run, then someone has to finish.

From Thorp, Arthur decided to ride my bike because of his hip. I think at first it was harder for him to bike than run because being on the bike, in the dark, in the middle of the night, made you really sleepy when you were only going 4 mph! My mom would follow Heidi in their cars and meet at Ellensburg 8.6 miles away where then Tony would take over and keep my mom company during the night. I lost track of what time it was at this point, but I know we got to Ellensburg right at our expected time. I didn't want to run on pavement, so when we got to the Central campus, where the trail ends (and then restarts at the other end of campus) I got on the bike and Arthur ran the next 1.6 miles at a blistering 8.5 min pace! (I swerved around on the bike through the campus like a drunk person, trying to stay awake.) We get to the Ellensburg fairgrounds and find my mom and Tony fast asleep. My mom was sleeping in Tony's Subaru because, well, frankly, by now my Subaru stank like ... vomit, stinky socks, too ripe bananas - you name it! It's about 1 a.m. and we fill up food and water and drink some espresso drinks and say we'll be at Kittitas, 6 miles away, around 3 a.m. I don't really remember much here, but this stretch went pretty fast, although I know by this point I was wondering where the heck my knee problems had gone!? I'd never imagined getting this far, and the plan all along had been for me to bike the rest of the way as soon as my knee started giving me trouble. Silly, stupid run. We get to Kittitas right on time, 3 a.m., 15 min pace. Here, I change socks for about the 8th time, these shoes really take in a lot of sand and gravel and I don't have gaitors. But, I have no blisters and decide to stick with them instead of switching shoes. Arthur decides to run the next 6 miles to Army West. We drink more espressos, reload the bike on the car (at this point a bungy cord has broke and we're down to one bungy cord, and a really crooked bike rack holding two bikes). Then we're off - just a marathon left. The trail follows the road almost exactly, and after 2 or 3 miles you come to a point where you have to stay on the road until Army West because the tressel crossing I-90 is closed. So now we're on the road. I'm whining. Arthur is trying to push me - I'm resisting. Trying not to cry. Suggesting we call it quits at Army West/mile 88. There are some downhills here, which got us running at a better pace. The sun came up, so I perked up a little. Surprisingly, I'd not gotten that tired yet to the point I was falling asleep on my feet. We pull into Army West, greeted by the aromatic smell of rotting animals. There was some pretty nasty, horror-movie-type carcasses on the side of the trailhead - pretty much colored my perception of the entire last 20 miles - horrible. Here Tony and Arthur decide for me that I will keep going, but now Tony is going to pace (Tony was feeling left out!) while Arthur catches a nap. Also my brother was awake again so I said hi to him before Tony and I headed out. It was 5 a.m. and our ETA in Vantage was 10 a.m. just 20.6 more miles. Mom followed Arthur to Army East at Vantage - she said Arthur drives a lot faster than Tony, which everyone already knows! Later Tony and I would find out that Arthur hit a coyote with Tony's Subaru! And then later my mom would comment that she saw a dead coyote on the side of the road, and I would nonchalantly reply "oh yeah, Arthur hit it."

So, Tony and I are running or walking or something like that. Tony and I were talking and in good spirits because the sun was up, we were almost done, and the scenery was still beautiful - it was a fun time talking about running, etc. Tony looked really fresh, like he hadn't just run 50 miles, and was running upright and picking up his feet. Not a complaint from him at all. I was feeling pretty good for an hour, the terrain was dusty, but soft and not too rocky. The sun coming up was really pretty on all the rocks and there was still a lot of greenery. Somewhere along the line I get really tired. Now, when I walk it's like 3 or 4 steps and I'm wandering off the trail asleep. I know that Tony must have thought me a big whiner by now, because I was constantly needing to stop and empty my shoes of phantom gravel, or take a phantom bathroom break ... and it was just slow. The trail became really rocky, I guess golf ball to baseball sized rocks covering the trail in a lot of sections and my feet hurt. I would want to walk, but couldn't for long because I'd then fall asleep. Tony spotted some animals (telling us later it was definitely some coyotes), and I jumped over a snake (I swear it was a snake and not a stick). There were so many false crests where you think you're going to be able to cross and then see the Colombia River, but it would just be more twists and turns. We passed through a tunnel and there were a bunch of mean vampire bats (dammit! I'd left my garlic clove necklace in the car!), or were they pigeons? Anyway, I was sort of skittish and jumpy and Tony said to grab his arm (I think so I would walk faster). It got sort of rough from here. We never knew how far we'd gone only what time it was...and although there were sections where the wind must have pushed us to run at maybe 9 min pace, I'm sure with all the breaks and slow walking it didn't improve the overall pace by that much. At some point, it seemed like we were sprinting forever and that we just had to be on pace to finish by 9 a.m. We know that when we come to a check-in kiosk that we only have 3 miles to go. Around 8 a.m. or so Tony and I start seeing these billboards that look like kiosks from a distance and so we'd run up and find it was only some informational board about the history of the SILLY, STUPID John Wayne Trail!! Who cares?! Just tell us how much friggin' longer we have to go!! So now I'm really upset. Tony has been really patient and is a very good pacer - talking when necessary, running and walking whenever I do. Not as pushy as Arthur :) Tony had kept saying how good I look physically and at least I'm not doing the death march, but now I'm doing the death march. I tell Tony, or maybe he just knew, that he needed to go ahead and leave me alone for a bit. I break down and cry (more so because I've had a lump in the back of my throat like I needed to cry ever since leaving Kittitas and I need to get rid of it so I can just breathe and relax!!), then I just scream as loud as I can...felt really good! (It was really windy and I figured Tony couldn't hear me anyway - turns out he could. Oh well.) From here I'm literally grunting to get to the finish. At times the wind was so strong it nearly blew us off the trail - thank god for my heavy Camelbak and my pony keg of a belly which weighed me down! (Tony commented that this is how windy and sandy it was for him and fellow ultra-runner Van Phan at the WSU 100k this year and I was so glad I wasn't there!) I think we come to one more bend in the trail and Tony got excited and ran ahead to see what was around the corner...I think it was more of nothing. Finally, finally, finally we come to the kiosk - which was ~100 feet off the trail - can they make this any harder? We dump our little sign-in slips into the slot (all Tony wrote down was our names, we never bothered to fill out our phone numbers and addresses and other important information, necessary should we have been found as vulture food out there). Here we could either take a right to "John Wayne Trail Parking Lot - 2.5 miles" or go straight on the actual "John Wayne Trail." I think it seemed safer to stay on the trail, so we went straight. Before starting off, Tony made a phone call to either my mom or Arthur to say we were close. I sat down to empty my shoes of gravel for the umpteenth time (you were good to me new shoes, but like Tony said, it's all yard work for you now!). I remember falling asleep momentarily (only seconds I'm sure), then waking up to Tony finishing up the phone conversation before we headed off to finish the last 2 - 3 miles. It was 9:15 a.m. I think we only took 2 more walking breaks. I kept expecting to see my mom, Jay, Arthur and Shela heading up the trail, but we didn't, so all of a sudden there we were, done!! (9:46 a.m. / 27 hours 16 minutes). We see the cars about 100 feet away and run to them, Tony is whooping and trying to wake them up (we assume they're asleep in the cars). It turns out, that where I thought the trail exited into Vantage was that other trail to the parking area, so Mom, Jay and Arthur had gone up the trail to meet us - but on the wrong trail (my fault). Tony called my mom and said we were done and explained the confusion about the two trails. Soon we see my mom racing down the hill and shortly after my brother trudging down. We don't see Arthur. So maybe 5 minutes after Tony called my mom, he called Arthur and told him he needed to come back. I think Arthur made it all the way up to the kiosk where you could have gone straight or right. Shela was behind Arthur and she was pooped out too! Even though Tony and I had no way to get into the cars while we were waiting, we were happy to sit down...although it was so windy, no matter what side of the car I tried to sit on, the wind was still whipping around! It was sort of anti-climactic, because I'd been envisioning us all coming into Vantage greeted by Heidi, Frann and Troy (who had originally planned to do camp overnight to greet the runners) and then we'd all recount the past days' events over mimosas! But even so I couldn't have asked for better company. It was a good time. It's melodramatic I know, but it doesn't seem like I ran that far, more like I was carried along, somehow, by my amazing crew and family! As I said at the top of this extremely long post, the one thing I've come away with is the amazing support of my family and friends (new and old) who came together to make this happen and saw it through to the end...they did not have to, there was no rational reason to ensure that I got to the finish, but we did it. It was great!

We ate Subway on the way home, regaled in what we had done, and looked forward to coming home to our families. I, like Lawsons do best, got home and cracked open a beer.