Running With The Devil 50 Mile Ultra Marathon

There are 3 autographs on my race bib:

• Joyce Forier (RaceDirector) www.calicoracing.com,
  
• Marc Sanderson (2006 Badwater Ultra Marathon finisher and Ultra Grand Slam finisher), and
  
• Akos Konya (2nd place overall finisher at Badwater 2006 and possible 2007 winner)

Okay... I know how most of you want to see pictures rather than read a long story about what happened at Lake Mead during this desert ultra marathon....so, I'll keep all the writing short and to the point for each picture.

This was the list of athletes for the two different start times. Notice that me, Marc and Shaun started with the late group which included the woman's winner, Anita Fromm, and the men's winner (the guy who took 2nd place at Badwater 2006 breaking 26 hours for the 135 miles across Death Valley) Akos Konya...he's from Hungary but lives in Cali.

This is the course profile or elevation map...totals about 4,300 ft of overall elevation gain. Not much, but there was NO flat parts on the course EVER....either you were running uphill or downhill.


Here's where the route took us around the Northwest side of Lake Mead and back. The other two races, a marathon and half marathon, were on the same course but with closer turn around points. All the Aid Stations were 3 - 4 miles apart.


Here's what most of the courses looks like. Now imagine 116 degrees of heat and 50 miles of this road!!!



This is the Hotel/Casino we stayed at in Boulder City, NV. It's located right by the Lake.



Shaun Christian weighing in at registration. Later Shaun would lose 17lbs and require medical attention from my sister Alaina (Fire Fighter/Paramedic) who gave him 2 liters of IV fluids and Fenogren for nausea. Jed Millar is in the back ground. Jed went on to take 3rd place overall on the Marathon course.



That's me weighing in and Joyce (Race Director) laughing at me....I think she thought it was funny that I had no idea what I was getting myself into....Thanks for a GREAT RACE Joyce! I will be back and with a vengence :)




This is just a silly picture of all my race stuff the night before. Notice you don't see the bottle of Sodium capsules which I regretted later in the race. It was my downfall :(



Lake Mead the morning of the race.




Joyce (RD) and her crew of volunteer race supporters. Hot Devil chicks....hahaha, but still not worth the torture we were about to put ourselves through. Joyce even started the race with us while running with a Devil's pitchfork in hand.



The three Desert Stooges!!! Funny how we're all smiling before the race :) (Side note: Marc Sanderson, the guy in the middle....he's a Badwater Ultra Marathon veteran. He completed the Badwater race last summer in under 48 hours and got the prized Badwater Belt Buckle)


Just the ten of us or so getting ready for the 8am start time. 20 other ultra runners started two hours before we did.


Ready....set....GO!! Call the EMT's now or in 8 hours? lol


Despite leaving the start two hours behind the other runners, Shaun, Marc and myself caught most of them by 25 - 30 miles into the race!



FACTOID: Only 13 of the thirty something runners finished the 50 mile course!






Me in the middle, Akos Konya (won with a time of 6:38:00...wow!), Joyce (RD).

Are you wondering what is on my chest and left arm? Well, to make a long story short, by mile 36 I was done for....sick, nauseated, dizzy and found myself laying on the side of the road in a tiny patch of shade behind a road sign. Needless to say I required a ride in an ambulance, IV and EKG tests. Within an hour of recieving an IV I felt great again. I love IV's now, but I'd much rather finish the race :)





Here's Jed coming into the finish of the 26.2 mile courses. He took 2nd overall in the Men's division and 3rd overall. Yes, that means a woman won the marathon race :) The marathoners all had to wait until 12:00 noon to start their run....so temps were already over 110+ degrees.



Jed trying to find a place to sit down and puke...hahahaha. Way to go man!!!



After lots of puking himself, Marc recieved his 3rd place overall plaque from Joyce for finishing the 50 miles in 9:25:00. Dang! Marc kicks butt in the heat.



Here's Jed after weighing in to a shocking 11 lbs less then he did at the start of the marathon.



Okay....Here's Shuan's story: This idiot, stubborn as a rock, kept on going when he was as bad as I was after 35+ miles....but he made to 47.5 miles (WHAT?....yep, just 2 1/2 miles from the finish) and was puking his guts out, fainting and in really bad shape.


After he got a ride back to the finish line he refused EMT assistance, hoping that rest and relaxation in the hotel room would fix him. After hours of leg cramping pain and vomitting all night and for 6 hours driving home while throwing up in plastic bags he finally agreed that he wasn't going to get better until getting some fluid directly in his veins.


If you haven't seen the June issue of Salt Lake magazine than you missed seen what Shaun looks like on a good day....hahahaha.



After taking 2 liters of IV his voice finally came back (he was hoarse for 24 hours)...then he passed out and slept for a few hours on the couch. He says he doesn't remember much about his ride home with my brother that night either.

JT