Huckleberry Hundred–Plan B turns out A-okay!
I wasn’t planning on running 50 miles around Eastern Washington’s Mount Spokane State Park on July 25th. I had my heart set on running the Oregon Cascades 100 mile (OC 100) race on that weekend. It was to be my second 100 mile race and I’d been training for it since January. I had my crew picked and one of the best pacers any runner could ask for. I was packed up and ready to head to Bend—when sadly, but not surprisingly the race directors canceled the event. It was the second year in a row they had to make this hard decision. This year was proving to be the worst on record for fires in Oregon. Since late spring, smoke and flames were disrupting much of the state.
Nine day before race day, a fire broke out just outside of the community of Sisters. A few days later it was threatening the small town prompting evacuation orders. The last thing Sisters (where the race’s finish was located) needed were hundreds of runners and their support teams being evacuated off of the course. I was deeply disappointed over the whole scenario—but it was the right call. And in perspective, I merely missed out running a race; other folks were fighting to save their livelihoods
There were around 250 of us planning to run the 100 mile and another 250 signed up for the 50 mile. The race drew folks from all over the country—and unfortunately many had already flown in and were on their way to Bend when the cancellation occurred. Fortunately, the directors of two other Northwest ultras planned for that weekend; Rainshadow Running’s White River 50 near Mount Rainier and Freedom Ultra Runners’ Huckleberry Hundred at Mount Spokane State Park opened up last minute registration for OC 100 runners.
Instead of hanging around the house being depressed I decided to register for the Huckleberry Hundred. About 30 of us from the OC 100 went for Huckleberry. And almost all of them opted for the 100 mile race. I decided on the 50 mile. The100 mile course consisted of four loops. I prefer a single point to point or one loop. But I mainly opted for the shorter distance because my pacer and crew couldn’t attend. Running a 100 without them would be tough at this race. And because this race was brand new and was only expecting a small field, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Fortunately race director Travis went out of his way to make sure that we were well accommodated. His team made last minute food, water, and ice purchases to take care of this unexpected wave of runners.
As I drove across the state I started worrying about air quality as much of Central Washington was blanketed in smoke from fires burning in both Washington and Oregon. It was particularly thick in Grant County, which happens to be the potato growing center of Washington and the highest potato yielding county in the country. And all that smoke and bad air is not only detrimental to us runners, but also to the farmers and agricultural workers. And incessant smoke can affect crop yields and quality as well. These fires can have wide ranging impacts beyond just the areas immediately affected.
I was much relieved upon reaching Spokane where the sky was a little hazy, but the air quality was good. I kept checking my air quality app up until race start. Thankfully air quality remained good. The race started high on Mount Spokane from the Selkirk Lodge which made for a great race center. I was not only excited to get a great run in—but also explore more of Mount Spokane State Park. It’s Washington’s largest state park containing over 12,000 acres and more than 100 miles of trails. And I was excited too to meet some new friends. I absolutely love the ultra-running community which is so accepting and supporting. This race had an interesting mix of local ultra-runners from the Spokane area and of what I dubbed OC100 refugees—many from the Midwest and Rocky Mountain states and first time visitors to Spokane.
It was warm at the start which is never ideal as I like to have a few hours of cooler temperatures to start off with. But we did have a long downhill start. It was followed by a long uphill—followed by a long downhill and then a very long sustained uphill. The course was very runnable on good smooth single track and old woods roads that doubled as ski trails in the winter. But there was over 9,000 cumulative feet of elevation gain on my 50 mile run. The OC 100 had 11,000 cumulative feet of elevation—so this race would be quite challenging. It was primarily forested which was a big plus—for it did get into the 80s.
I ran a solid first loop of 25 miles in just over 6 hours and with a great group of fellow runners both seasoned and newbies. But not thinking I began the second loop without icing my neck and head. I started suffering as my body core was getting warmer. I stayed hydrated and never cramped. But I was having a hard time cooling down. I dipped my hat and bandana at every creek I crossed—but I was still overheating. I was also slowing down. At around mile 35 some rustling in the brush helped elevate my heartrate. Just a few feet off of the trail was a large cow moose with twin calves. They were too close for comfort and I quickly moved away sacrificing a good photo opt for safety. I grew up in moose country and I know better than to be anywhere near these big beasties especially when they are with their young.
Shorty after my moose encounter I reached a much needed aid station. I spent a considerable amount of time there rehydrating and applying ice to lower my body temperature. I then slowly continued on and began to feel good and once again able to push a little harder. I was hoping to finish this race before sundown, but the 7 am start and my overheating meant I would be in the dark for some of it. No worries, I had my waist-lamp. Sunset was beautiful, but moon rise was spectacular. Wildfire smoke can make a moon appear to be on fire. It was a red moon rising.
The race director did a good job with this initial run, but one area that could have been improved was the course marking (which I know will be better next year upon talking with him afterward) Unfortunately for me that while running in the dark and alone, I was having a hard time following my track (I should have never left my glasses in my rig) and went off course at around mile 48. I was supposed to traverse a ski slope and ended up at the bottom of it. It was pretty dark and I wasn’t quite sure how to get back on course. Fortunately for me a trail angel by the name of Alex soon appeared. I saw her headlamp crossing the slope above me. I yelled out that I was lost and if she could help guide me back to the course—which she did and I was so ever grateful.
We ran together for the next two miles. She then continued on her 100—and I crossed the finish line relieved. My misstep along with a shorter one I took earlier had me clocking 52.4 miles. The extra distance and heat difficulties made this my slowest 50 mile race ever—but I was happy. Happy to finish another challenging run. Happy to test my mind and body once more to see what I’m capable of accomplishing. Happy to salvage what could have been a really depressing weekend. And happy to meet new friends and be surrounded by such a great community.
The next day I felt good and I returned to Mount Spokane where I did some hiking and cheered on several of the 100 milers that I ran with the previous day. It was a great weekend and unbeknownst to all of us, was that within a few days, Spokane would be hit with a disastrous fire disrupting so many lives and inflicting so many hardships. This has been a tough summer in the Northwest and rain can’t return soon enough. And as far as doing that second 100 mile run—I will be heading to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia in October for that redemption—and another opportunity to hang with some of the best folks around
Big Thanks to the Washington State Potato Commission for sponsoring me. I’m proud to be a member of Team Potato and to showcase the nutritional value and performance enhancement of potatoes as I train for my second 100 mile run—and continue to run a marathon or ultra-marathon in all 50 states! I’ve got many miles and places yet to go—and lots of potatoes to consume to power me along the way.
