Quad Rock 25

2012 Quad Rock 50

On Saturday May 11, I ran the Quad Rock 25, a killer (both in its levels of awesomeness and its tendency to literally kill your quads) trail race in the foothills of Fort Collins, put on by Gnar Runners, with a 25 mile and 50 mile option. I freaking love this race. Last year, the race's inaugural year, I ran the 50 miler for my first ever 50. And blew up pretty badly. I ran a 13:36 with a 5:50 first half. It took nearly a week before I could walk normally again and months before I could even fathom wanting to run anything more than a couple of miles again. But the trails that day were magical. Ethereal in beauty, with a light frost hanging on the leaves of the trees and a mist pervading the trails, our trails were transformed that day. If I was ever to have a long rough day on the trails, it was at least a great day to be on the trails.

This year, I decided to run the 25 mile option. I set some pretty lofty time goals for the race, with a hard C goal cut-off of running under 5 hours. Mostly though, I just wanted to run as hard as I could, not blow up, and have a great time. Lindsay and I got to the race start right around 4:50AM, got our bibs,  stashed our drop bags for the finish line, and generally milled around waiting for the 5:30 start.

2013 Race Start
Photo by: Michael Hodges

This year's course started 30 minutes later than last year, in the early dawn hours of the morning as the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. We took off in a big group down the Lory Park road towards Arthur's Rock Trailhead, a minor reroute this year after the March 2013 wildfire destroyed some of the bridges along the valley trail. I settled into a fairly easy pace, keeping my eyes peeled for THE Kristel Liddle. We turned on to Sawmill and began our first ascent of the day up towards Towers Rd. As we turned onto Stout, I found Cat and ran with her part of the way up Towers. I pulled on ahead, having a much shorter day than she did, and trying to run a bit harder on the ups than I normally do.

Coming in to Horsetooth Aid, I saw Rob Erskine straight off, being basically completely awesome in his role as aid station captain. Even more awesome, though, was the cooler parked on the bench next to him, marked "Liddle/Wilburn" and filled with bite-sized snickers bars, icy cans of coke and coconut water. I snagged a handful of snickers and stuffed them in my pack, downed a few mouthfuls of a coke and took off again, up the 2 mile climb to the Westridge junction.

Mile 19 or so, heading up Howard. Photo by Erin Bibeau

I was moving a bit slower than I wanted on the climb up Horsetooth, but I knew Mill Creek would come soon enough, and with it, some solid downhill sections. A huge shout out to Chris Hinds as well, for his lovely aid station at the Towers Road/Mill Creek/Spring Creek junction. Last year, he had some delicious and reviving ramen noodle soup going on his camp stove. But this year was even better - mounds of fresh-cooked and greasy bacon. I grabbed a huge handful and stuffed it into my pack. For the last 12 miles, whenever I started to feel a bit hungry or weak, I'd just alternate between munching on slices of bacon and chomping down mini snickers.

Cruising down Mill Creek, I caught up with, and passed, a couple of runners I knew. Kristel caught up behind me, and shouted forward that I'd better stay ahead of her. I found another gear and picked up the pace a bit. Crossing one of the gushing springs that had popped up after weeks of rain and snow, I passed by two men who were limping along pretty badly, waiting for some crew to come and help them out of the course. The course crosses over from Horsetooth Open Space into Lory State Park and turned down the Mill Creek Link towards the Arthur's trailhead, and I approached the Arthur's AS at mile 18 or so to find Mindy hiking up to help the guys I'd passed. It was so wonderful to see her, and to hear her encouragement that I was in a "really really good place, keep running hard!"

Running down Mill Creek towards Arthur's AS.
Photo by: Michael Hodges

I really don't think that Howard Trail is that brutal of a climb, but since I only ever seem to run it mid-way through Quad Rock or during a training run on the course it always seem much worse than it is. A few switchbacks before the Arthur's Rock turnoff, a woman running the 25-miler passed me by. We'd been going back and forth all day and as much time as she'd ever managed to get on the uphills, I'd always been able to catch her pretty fast once the course turned downhill again. So I let her go, feeling comfortable that I could bomb down Timber fast and hard enough to pass her before the finish. That didn't happen. I guess she found another gear, because she crossed the line a little over 2.5 minutes ahead of me. After doing my best to make a dramatic finish (er totally missed that whole crazy finish line thingy), I ended the race in 4:59:59. Sub 5 hours. I will take it. 7th woman, 44th overall. Not too shabby, I suppose.

Finishing. Photo by: Shannon Price

I spent the rest of the day gorging on the delicious food at the post-race barbecue, and drinking Mountain Lightning. I finally made my way over to the Arthur's Aid Station around 3PM to help out, just in time to see most of my favorite Fort Collins and Boulder runners finishing up the 50 miler! It was great to have a chance to cheer people on and bask in the race atmosphere without still running. I know quite a few of them didn't have the races they'd hoped for, but despite that, they all were moving well and looking strong (despite a few good-natured flip-offs at the news that they were still 2.5 miles to the finish).

A huge thanks needs to go to Pete and Nick for putting on such a great event, as well as one to all of the incredible volunteers out on the course and in the shadows for helping things to go so smoothly. And with that, bring on the next few months of training for my first 100!

That one time we lost Alan in the Grand Canyon

THE Kristel 'I'm Kind of a Big Deal' Liddle sent me a text: "Want to go run in the Grand Canyon in 2 weeks?" Well, um, of course I do! And like many other great FCTR plans before, Kristel and I were on a plane headed to Phoenix, AZ to meet up with Alan Smith and run Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim in the Grand Canyon on April 13 2013.

"Mother Nature's Buttcrack" ~Nikki Gallant 

A mile or so down Bright Angel Trail

Kristel and I ran R2R2R both ways along the Bright Angel Trail, with some bonus miles while waiting at Phantom Ranch for a respective estimate of 53 and 50 miles. Alan ran the Bright Angel Trail in the north direction and finished his day on the South Kaibab Trail, clocking in roughly 44 miles? The day was absolutely beautiful, with temperatures peaking somewhere in the 80s and just enough cloud cover that we didn't fry in the sun nor overheat too badly on the 14 mile section with no chance for a water refill, aside from the limited snow at the top of the north rim.

I could wax poetic for hours about how amazing the Grand Canyon is but it would just be a much repeated drone of "omg this is the most incredible thing I've ever seen." Instead...

1. The Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen or been in my life. Every twist and turn of the trail brought me face to face with truly breathtaking views. From the nearly tropical environment around Indian Gardens Campground to the desert landscape between Phantom Ranch and the final push to the North Rim to the rushing Colorado River, slicing the canyon in two, to the forested upper reaches of the North Kaibab Trail, heavily scented with fragrant spicy pine needle, I soaked up each and every bit and wanted more. My favorites parts were hands down the mini-oasis at Indian Gardens and the forest-like climate approaching the top of the North Rim.

2. The lemonade at Phantom Ranch is incredibly delicious. Thank you to whoever the Texan was who bought glasses for me and Kristel. This man thought we were absolutely hilarious and crazy people for running ultra distances, and self-reportedly didn't even like to drive 100 miles. But he took our crazy in great humor and asserted himself in true Texas fashion to procure 2 lemonades, even though the canteen was technically closed. The 3 cans of coke that Kristel and I brought into the canyon were worth every extra ounce of weight to carry as well. Very little, minus maybe the lemonade at Phantom Ranch, ever tasted as delicious. I think I enjoyed those cokes and that lemonade more than any piece of cake, kale, broccoli, pizza, cheeseburger, or $100 a plate meal that I have ever consumed.

Coming through Phantom Ranch on the way to the North Rim

3. Clearly communicated plans are pretty damn critical, especially with no means for instantaneous communication. Kristel and I were separated from Alan at Phantom Ranch on the return trip at around mile 37. We ended up spending around 3 hours, first patiently and then increasingly anxiously, awaiting his arrival. Finally, as the sun began to set, we made the judgment call that we needed to head for the south rim, hoping we'd catch up to Alan along the way or find him at the top waiting for us. We did, thankfully, get in touch with Alan (already at the top of the South Rim) with about 3 miles to go and found him pretty immediately upon returning to the car.

Repping some VFuel tats

4. Always always always always always (have I stressed that enough?? maybe add in 30 more "always") pack a headlamp. Even if you're planning on running entirely in the daylight. Kristel and I covered the last 11 miles or so in utter darkness, with only one headlamp between the two of us. Lemme tell ya, technical uphill with one headlamp is not the greatest. We were literally running up the trail holding hands to stay even on the trail and be able to see the obstacles on the trail in front of us. It made for one hell of an adventure though.

5. I freaking love running downhill. And running. And seeing amazing sights. And running in beautiful places.

Running down North Kaibab Trail back to Phantom Ranch

6. Bring way more food than necessary on a self-supported 50. I think I had maybe 2000 calories in my pack, and not nearly enough of it was solid. That snickers bar that I passed up buying in the grocery store out of fear that it would get too melty haunted me the whole way. And the two extra mini-fruit & nut bars I packed on a whim were saviors. Though I had a sufficient amount of food for 12-14 hours on the trails, hitting the 16 hour mark was over the line for me. I can't remember ever being so ravenously hungry in my life.

Bridge across the Colorado River to the South Kaibab Trail