Pine to Palm 100 is a 100-mile point to point trail race in Southern Oregon. With a start in Williams, OR, the course traverses the Siskiyou mountain range and ends in Ashland, OR. The total elevation gain is about 20,000ft.
This was only my 3rd 100-miler. I was also a little nervous because I wasn’t sure if I had properly recovered from Fat Dog 120. Volcanic 50 last weekend indicated I did indeed, but what is 50km compared to 161km (100mi)…
The race started at 6am in the dark. I started off conservatively and ran with a group that was slower than my usual pace. After the first climb, I ended up alone and pretty much ran alone for the remainder of the race. That’s actually what I like. I’m not usually into chatting and prefer to simply enjoy the experience (i.e., the pain, ha!) at my own pace.
I had no pacer or crew lined up this time. In past races I realized that I tend to spend more time in aid stations with a crew. You more easily sit down and once you sit, the minutes start to tick quickly. Without a crew, I simply refilled my water (or an awesome aid station volunteer did), grabbed some watermelons and bananas, and was on the move again. It takes 30 seconds if all goes well. For the first time, aid station crews were actually commenting on my quick turnarounds. Of course there is still room for improvement, but it felt good to be fast and efficient.
Prior to the race I made a detailed pace table for a 24h finish. I thought that would be a nice and realistic goal. I didn’t quite make it. My finish time was 24:37:15, which was good for a 24th place.
After analyzing my splits, I realized that I was ahead by almost 30min of my expected times until very late in the race. I lost most of the time on the last 10 miles. So I believe I could have made it under 24h, had I checked my splits carefully during the race. Instead, I never actually looked at my watch. I often do that because for me, time goes by quicker if I don’t know the hour. I never wear a watch except when running. If you don’t know what time it is, it also helps you not do the math. Thoughts like “I still need to run 18h!” can be very destructive to your mind. The key is to be in the moment and to execute on your mission. If you start to worry about the future, you’ll end up in a potentially destructive mental downward spiral.
The race had some amazing sections, but also some terrible ones. I despised the many gravel roads (20-25mi probably), especially those where crew cars were kicking up dust.
Here is how my feet looked at the finish line:
Last but not least, here’s an article that covers the race: http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20140914/NEWS/140919794. Note that the women’s winner used poles. I often hear runners say that poles slow you down. In my experience, if used properly, poles can be a great help in both climbing and descending. I get really sore arms after long races with poles. That’s at least an indicator that they are useful and help to support my legs. They also greatly help for balance in difficult terrain. I used mine on most sections after mile 26.
Some GoPro pictures from the course
