Todd Yerkes’ Rio Del Lago 100 Mile Race Report

November 4-5^th, 2017

In 2002 a change of jobs and business travel turned me from a three times a week, basketball junkie to reluctant runner. I was drawn into running because of the sport’s inherent objectivity, the fitness benefits, and discipline. Over the years running has become a bigger and bigger part of how I define myself. I evolved from a fitness runner to a marathoner to an ultra-marathoner. I was not a natural. My entire athletic training was geared towards explosive, fast twitched movements which are critical to basketball. This did not translate into distance running. For years, I struggled to finish the 26.2 distance in under 4 hours. In 2005, I finally accomplished my sub 4 hour goal. I was getting hooked. In 2006, my dad inspired me to try the 50 mile distance and I ran the JFK50 in Maryland with him. In 2012, I finally qualified for the Boston Marathon. What was my next running fix? I decided to attempt the 100 mile distance. In 2015 and 2016, I completed the challenging Tahoe Rim Trail 100 mile ultra-marathon, but in a disappointing time of roughly 34 hours both years. My next challenge was a running 100 miles in one day. I signed up my local race, the Rio Del Lago 100. This race has over 16K feet of vertical change and is 85% on single track, dirt trail. This race starts and end 15 minutes from my doorstep. My goal was sub 24!

Beal’s Point 0.0 miles, roughly 400 runners.

                                                                                                    

For two weeks leading up to the race, weather.com had been predicting severe rains during two days of the race. The forecasters said that we should expect many hours of steady rainfall and up to an inch of rain. All runners were optimistic on Saturday morning because the rain had not yet started. Since Thursday night our local forecasts were flat out wrong and this trend was continuing to our good fortune. At 5 AM, roughly 400 runners were off on the paved biking trails from Beal’s Point towards and around Lake Natoma. At around 6 AM the rains started. My first portion of the race on the paved bike trails was fairly uneventful other than meeting up with my friend, Ray Mullenax. I paced Ray at Western States two years ago. Ray was feeling good so I let him run ahead of me after a couple of easy miles with him. I was feeling good but I was committed to getting out too fast and to staying on my disciplined pace. I enjoyed the moment and listened to both some music and a Mitch Rapp novel.

At mile 14, I met Rebecca and made an equipment change. I gave her my old running vest and she handed me two handheld bottles. She was ready to help me make other wardrobe changes but there was no need given how good I was feeling. I was soaked but dry clothing would not stop the rain. The important thing was that I was warm in spite of being wet. The temps were in the high 50s. I was wearing a light weight, long sleeved, Smartwool branded, merino wool running shirt. During this first leg of my run I was borderline obsessed with my heart rate. I wanted to keep it under 140 bpm. This meant that I was walking when I didn’t feel tired at all but to lower my HR. I wanted to preserve energy for later.

Beal’s Point 18.5 miles, 180^th place, 3:37 time, 11:46 OA pace, 11:46 section pace.

At mile 18.5 I met Janet and Todd Zimmerman and Doug Kelley. They were excitedly waiting for me at the Beal’s Point aid station. Support from family and friends is a nice benefit of a local race. This aid station was about a mile from the Zimmerman’s and five miles from the Kelley’s. Their enthusiasm really lifted my spirits. I took a quick bathroom break and continued on towards Auburn. Shortly after Beal’s, I tried to listen/watch the Penn State football game. Yes, I actually tried to hold my phone up and watch the game as I ran technical trails. It didn’t work so I just listened instead. Given the rainy weather and less than reliable internet connection, it was mostly frustrating even just listening. I fell into a pattern of running during commercials and power walking during the game action. Then, my diversion went away because there was a 3 1/2 hour delay during the second quarter because of lightning in Michigan. (Short aside: Penn State lost to Michigan State on a field goal as time expired. It was another weird game because of the lengthy delay.)

Horseshoe Bar 32.5 miles, 130^th place, 6:16 time, 11:34 OA pace, 11:19 section pace.

Horseshoe Bar snuck up on me. I knew an aid station was coming up kind-of soon but I had confused Horseshoe with Rattlesnake. It was a pleasant surprise in that I was almost out of water. There was a 9 mile gap from Granite Bay Beach to Horseshoe Bar. 

The next section is known as the “meat grinder”. It is a series of short but steep up-and-downs. It is particularly tough because of all the rocks and deep step-ups that make it hard to run with any rhythm or pace. Although I still felt good I was concerned about my HR as it was more and more challenging to keep low. I fell slightly behind the pacing chart for my aggressive “A” goal of a 23 hour finish. I sent a text to Doug and Clint, my pacers, and Rebecca letting them know I was off my “A” goal. Not to worry because my “B” goal was still within reach. I want to clarify that my “B” goal was my BIG goal! I had been training hard all year to break the magically 24 hour barrier.

Running the short but steep downhill hill at mile 36 to Rattlesnake aid station, I saw Ray leaving. He was about five minutes ahead of me. Then I saw my friend Deirdre Greenholtz. She is extremely positive and a great ambassador to our sport. We first met at The Canyons 100K in 2014. Our mutual suffering at Tahoe Rim Trail 100 miler in 2015 made us buds. (She beat me at TRT.) Bubbly and bouncy Deirdre lifted my spirits and refueled my body with a Boost nutrition shake. Around mile 39, I caught up with Ray again. I enjoyed his company for the next five miles.

Overlook Park 44.5 miles, 108^th place, 9:03 time, 12:12 OA pace, 13:56 section pace.

Ray and I entered the biggest aid station of the race, Overlook Park, mile 44.5. Clint led me to our little camp. Ray headed in a different direction with his support team. My team smartly set up close to the bathroom which I was able to use. For the non-runners reading this, let me explain that this is not an insignificant detail and a small but important detail. Clint, Rebecca and Lauren did a fantastic job giving me a great rest but in an extremely efficient manner. It really felt like a NASCAR pit stop. Rebecca had all the gear laid out. She had set up the chair with a couple towels on it. On other beach towels she laid out my gear. This lay out enabled me to see everything instead of fumbling through my duffle bags to see what I had and then I what wanted. As I requested, she had a subway Italian BMT sandwich as well as boost protein shake. I ate a hearty lunch.

                                                 

During this rest I became aware of the health scare of my second pacer, Doug Kelley. Doug was in the emergency room with a severe infection. He obviously was not going to be able to pace me later in the evening as planned from the Overlook Park to the finish line in Granite Bay. He felt awful. I felt awful that Doug was even considering my situation when he was the one in the emergency room and I was “recreating”. I was not sure at this point of the race if I would have someone to run those super tough final 25 miles with me.

My pit stop crew got me into a dry, short-sleeved, merino wool, T-shirt. I was most grateful for the help they gave in cleaning my feet and changing my shoes and socks. I grabbed my new running vest, left my handheld bottles behind and headed down the trail to “No Hands” bridge. All said, I estimate that I was at the Overlook Park for 15 minutes.

I headed out exactly at the same time as Ray. We spent a few more easy downhill miles together. I took this section particularly easy because I wanted to give my food a chance to digest.

No Hands Bridge 48.5 miles, 120^th place, 10:14 time, 12:39 OA pace, 17:36 section pace.

At No Hands Bridge, mile 48, Clint Cramer started pacing me. This stuff was old hat for us. We had run parts of this section of trail probably 40 times together.

Clint and I started up the trail in towards the Highway 49 crossing at Quarry Road. It took me a long time to chew the food that I grabbed at the aid station. The half of grilled cheese sandwich was tough. We ended up walking for about five minutes as I felt like I was masticating rubber. Then, after I had finished eating, it was game on! I felt really good. It was a nice emotional boost having a pacer but my conservative race plan was paying dividends. I felt really strong. I had mostly given up on my heart rate at this point. I was now running by feel. Sub 23 hours was out of the picture, my Big “B” goal of a sub 24 hour finish was still very achievable.

For the next 15 miles we ran on mostly smooth and relatively flat trails. Even though the trails were smooth they were not in a good condition because of all the rain. The rain made them a bit slippery but the big factor was that my feet were wet for so many hours. I was nursing a nice blister on my right heel.

During this time with Clint I tried to make arrangements for a replacement pacer for Doug who was in the hospital. My first text was to James Player. He had a church commitment and was not available.  I don’t blame him for not wanting to run with me overnight, listen to me complain and moan rather than sleep in his own bed. My next choice was Deirdre. Leading up to the race she told me she was going to be at the Overlook when I passed through. She would be cheering and then pacing her friend for the last 25 miles. When I saw her at the aid station at mile 36. She told me that her runner had dropped out of the race. I texted her to see if she would be willing to pace me to the finish. She was not able to but she was able to work the phones on my behalf. She found a friend (complete stranger to me) to help me with the most demanding, overnight portion to the finish. Deirdre arranged for her friend Wayne Dowd, a super tough retired Navy Seal, to meet me at the Overlook Park. What a huge blessing this would turn out to be!

At roughly mile 60, we started some real difficult terrain. It was now dark which meant a couple of things. First, it’s harder to navigate the technical terrain. We put on our headlamps. I used my Petzl Nao at a dimmer setting to ensure that I would have enough light with my three batteries. The dark also meant that I could start using caffeine. I had weaned my body of the stimulant for ten days in hope that it would have a more powerful energy lift. It worked! Clint and I climbed a couple of long and steep trails. The worst climb was at the beginning of Goat Hill. We were literally on all fours slipping on the mud trying to find a way up a ridiculously steep and slippery trail. It was only a short portion that required this “Tough Mudder” or “Spartan” obstacle type of scrambling but the slick conditions in this section easily added 15 minutes to my finish time.

Clint and I worked our way over the Highway 49 crossing at Cool and climbed up to meadow section of Cool. The beautiful thing about this race is that I have run every single inch of the course. Clint and I were now at one of our favorite downhill, fast running spots. We typically run this section at a 7-8 minute per mile pace. Fortunately with roughly 68 miles on my legs I was still able to run fast but about 10 minute mile fast. The dirt trail was slower and somewhat slippery but not horrible. The rain had taken a toll but not a huge one. The slick conditions certainly slowed down our pace. Also, I was having some chafing issues down there.

No Hands Bridge 70.5 miles, 85^th place, 15:45 time, 13:24 OA pace, 15:04 section pace.

Clint was a great pacer! He successfully accomplished his mission. He let me go at the bottom of the no hands bridge. I lightly jogged and walked up from the bridge to the station at the Overlook. I enjoyed the company of a couple of former Harvard roommates who were a couple of years older than me. David, the other one, was an emergency room doctor in San Francisco and the other was cardiologist in Eugene, OR. We had nice conversations. David happed to know one of my tire customers in Salem, OR. I also chatted with Joey Tajan from Lincoln. Joey was having a great day! I had passed ahead of him at the ALT aid station. He was chugging up this long climb. Joey went on to a PR and a 22 hour finish.

Overlook Park 74.5 miles, 78^th place, 16:58 time, 13:40 OA pace, 18:11 section pace.

This is where I met Wayne and Deirdre. They were phenomenal cheerleaders as I summited the last climb up to the park. I ate a few grilled cheese squares, refilled my bottles and grabbed some nasty energy gels and was off and running with Wayne.

Wayne was not just a tough as nails retired Navy seal, he also holds the world record for the fastest team relay across the US on bicycle. He is an interested man. Wayne was wonderful! He was very positive, he occupied my brain with his chatter, and was also compassionate to the situation that I was in.

The Overlook Park is roughly 75 miles into the race. The next 3 1/2 miles were mostly on paved roads and runable. What this means is under normal circumstances one would expect to run this section at a fast pace or in my case about seven minute miles. However with so many miles on my legs my quads were toast. I had to force myself to hit even a 12 minute mile.

The next few hours were unbelievably painful, mentally torturous and spiritually draining. I so badly wanted to hit my sub 24 hour goal but I was in excruciating pain. I had these internal conversations with myself about how tough I was or was not. I was in these stupid mind battles. I knew that if I pushed it hard enough I could get 24 but not without killing myself during these final sections. Wayne was cognizant of my predicament. So for the next five hours we danced the death march with light jogging mangled in. He kept saying, “We will trot the trottable and power walk the rest”. And that’s what we did.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I was in a dark place during the section. It helped that I was not overly comfortable on a personal level with Wayne. He pushed all the right buttons but during the heat of the battle I wanted to push back and challenge him on a few of his comments. Again, he did all the right things and it was a huge blessing but it was a grind physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually.

We saw Deirdre at the aid station at mile 83.8 I reluctantly changed into a dry pair of lightweight Adidas road shoes. I drank four cups of chicken broth. I drank a bottle of boost and refilled my stocks. Because of sitting and stopping longer than I usually do at aid stations, my body temp cooled significantly. Thirty seconds after leaving the chair, I started shaking uncontrollably with the chills. The temps were in the low 50s. Wayne and Deirdre got my hat gloves and my light weight Patagonia running jacket. I was good to go again. It was crazy just how fast my core temperature dropped when I was sitting.

Horseshoe Bar 86.5 miles, 68^th place, 20:08 time, 13:58 OA pace, 15:49 section pace.

The next 15 miles were somewhat of a blur. My energy level was decent given the time of day and how many miles I had run. I just wanted it to end. I really focused on Wayne’s mantra of “We trot the trottable and we power walk the rest”.

We now entered the toughest portion of the race. We were doing our return trip through the “meat grinder”. Under normal circumstances this is tricky technical terrain. Given where I was at in the race with so many miles, it was torturous. I am very surprised that I did not have one fall because there were so many obstacles that I was dancing around. I fought so hard to not be negative and to fight off all my stinking thinking. I cursed Julie Fingar’s (RD) name a few times.

We finally finished this section and hit the last aid station at the Granite Bay Beach at 96 miles. The aid stations volunteers informed us that 24 hour finish was a lock if we could just fast walk the remaining easy portion of the course. I tried to run as much as possible because I did not want to miss it by a few measly minutes or, even worse, seconds. I grinded to the very end. Wayne would not let me walk even the last easy third of a mile on the dyke. I left it all on the course. I cruised in and hit my goal. Wayne, Deirdre and I celebrated the moment!

Beal’s Point 100.5 miles, 70^th place, 23:39 time, 14:07 OA pace, 15:05 section pace.

I have such a grateful heart for all the people who made my goal their goal. I’m sure I’ll leave many people off the list but the list needs to start with Rebecca. She sacrifices a lot for this silly hobby of mine. She was also excellent at the two aid stations where I needed her. Clint and Doug for all the miles in training and the pacing although it didn’t pan out for Doug. James Player for his motivation, mentoring and training miles. Deirdre and Wayne for getting me a sub 24 instead of a 25 hour finish.

 

Parting Thoughts

·         Gear was spot on! I supported Continental and rode on our rubber which comes on many adidas running shoes. I started with my pretty white adidas Energy Cloud and used them for 45 miles. I then used my adidas Super Nova ST which is a plush cushioned ride. I finished using my lightweight adidas, adizero adios 3.

·         I love merino wool. I used injinji wool toes socks. I also used Smartwool brand zipper long sleeved running top that kept me comfortable especially when wet. I also used REI merino wool T shirt for the second half of the race.

·         I liked switching from my vest, to handheld and back to my other vest.

·         I messed up a tendon or muscle in my right hand. I think that was from carrying, using, or texting on my phone.

·         After using the bathroom at mile 45 I should have completely cleaned off the old body glide and reapplied. I believe my chafing came after this bathroom break.

·         I like the longer length Nike running shorts. No changes needed.

·         The real food at mile 45 was big. The subway sandwich had no negative. I would try to add more real food next time. I probably downed 25 Gu packs which I hate but they are easy and effective.

·         My soreness was the worse ever.

·         I either did serious soft tissues damage to my right shin or possibly a stress fracture. It is CRAZY what you can accomplish on guts and adrenaline.