Masters Win at the Flagline 50k/USATF 50k Trail Championships

This Saturday, I had the great pleasure of joining 100 ultrarunners for the inaugural Flagline 50k in Bend, OR, which was the 2010 USATF 50k Trail National Championship. Thanks to perfect weather, a wonderful course, and great support from volunteers and other runners, I managed to come back from a low point and pick up my first Masters National Championship. As excited as I am for this result, it does not compare to the pride I felt for being a part of the ultrarunner community after witnessing the camaraderie and honor among the front runners at the finish line when dealing with a race mishap. Now THAT will be a story I will tell for years to come.

The Race

The 7:30am morning sun barely cut into the 40-degree mountain air as we all made our way to the starting line just outside of the Mt. Bachelor Main Lodge entrance. It was predicted to be in the low 80's by the afternoon, but pre-sunrise the nip in the air is mountain crisp. A perfect day for racing…let’s get going!

Max King hitches a ride to the start

I was stoked to catch up with a couple of Inov-8 teammates at the starting line, two of many last minute entries from wicked fast trail runners. Yassine Diboun, who has been ripping it up all over the Pacific Northwest this year, took a break from his new 1-month old daughter to bring his amazing descending skills to the race. David James, the 14-hour 100-miler, also came up all the way from school in the Caribbean to get a taste of trails at 6,000 feet. All of us shared congrats and good-lucks with other potential front runners, including 2009 100k National Champion Eric Skaggs, Jen Shelton, 2x Western States 100 champion Hal Koerner (fresh off his RD duties at the weather-beaten Pine to Palm 100), Max King (double victory at the XTerra Nationals and Bigfoot 10k last weekend), 50k and 100k world champion Kami Semick, Tahoe Rim Trail 50k multiple winner Julie Young, Super Master William Emerson, Derek Schultz (from PA!), 70+ superstar Don Hildebrand, and the usual gang of ridiculously fit Oregonians. At 8am, Race Director Super Dave and USATF guru Richard Bolt sent us off to chase the sun.

Yassine Diboun is all smiles

70+ Racer Don Hildebrand going the full 50k today

Jen Shelton, Eric Skaggs, Max King, and David James

Derek Schultz and Me

The pace was slow at first, which gave me the rare chance to run just behind Skaggs, King, Diboun, James, Koerner, and a handful of others. Their strides were effortless, taking advantage of the slight downhill on the fire roads to leap in unison like a pack of deer. It was quite a site! Let’s face it – the raw talent of these guys puts them in a league of their own. When we hit the single track, Skaggs kicked into high gear and they all put on the chase and disappeared into the pines.

And we're off! Photo courtesy of Bend Bulletin

I ran with Derek (in his day-glow Brooks jersey), who was pulling us along at a fast 6:30 min/mile clip, not a whole lot slower than what we ran at the 14-mile XTerra Nationals the week before. Derek shared that he only began running 50k’s this year, and was still figuring out how to “race” them rather than “run” them. But he looked comfortable and was still aerobic in his effort, so even this fast pace looked right on. We refueled at the first aid station (mile 8), and headed up the first long climb of the race.

Derek pulls a line of runners

Following Derek through the pines

The trails were super-fast, and Derek and I felt all alone for miles romping through pockets of warm sun and 40-degree shade. Before too long we caught up with another Brooks runner (also in a day-glow jersey), and I smiled at how much the two outfits stood out among the miles of green and brown of mountain pines. Guess what, mountain critter residents, humans coming through!

Derek and I catch up to Headphone Guy

About two-thirds the way up (mile 12), local Jason Moyer went by us while Derek pulled over saying his rhythm wasn’t feeling right. I wished Derek well, knowing I would see him again before too long. I caught up to the other Brooks runner and asked if I could pass, but he was wearing headphones and wasn’t budging. Headphones? Guess that’s both good news and bad news. Headphone Guy appeared to be the only other “grey hair” in the front 10, so I knew I had to keep him in sight. But headphones are also illegal in USATF Championship races, so this guy wasn’t going to be a contender for the national title. I had seen this before – folks that like to just run the race their way, and not caring much for USATF stuff, cruising with tunes and fine with having an “open class” non-Championship finish. When we crested the hill, he turned and saw me and plunged the downhill with incredible speed. I cheered loudly for him (not that he heard it), applauding his prowess at the single track descent. Phew! I’m glad I don’t have to try and keep up with that.

Jason Moyer knows how to stay cool

The next aid station (mile 17) was swarming with angels in cowboy hats, who helped me locate my drop bag to shed my gloves and glasses and get a few extra gels. While I refilled the water bottle, Kami Semick went by with two other runners. The scenery was gorgeous here, with blogworthy rolling fire roads heading towards the creek beds. I leaned into the grade for about two miles, slowly reeling her in, but then started feeling a bit nauseous. It took less than 20 seconds for the light-headedness to bring me to a complete stop, where I promptly upchucked my breakfast.

The cowgirl angels take care of us

Hmmm…what’s this all about? Vomiting on the downhill? That is definitely a new one. I was on top of my hydration and electrolytes, and it wasn’t quite hot enough for heat-induced GI issues. My food was my usual food…all my usual excuses were coming up donuts. I started running again, but if felt like I was stuck in 3rd gear. Altitude, maybe? Overtrained from all the Ironman two-a-days the last month? Not that it mattered at this point. Best to just take another salt tab and keep moving.

Lush pines that go on for miles

The grind back up the hill was slower than I would have liked, but I was running most of it. The slow down did give me a chance to look around and see more of this gorgeous Oregon backcountry that seemed to know no bounds in any direction. I felt lost, but not scared. A true escape!

Stephanie Howe crushes the single track

I was soon caught by local Nordic superstar Stephanie Howe, who was also struggling with stomach issues. This was her first 50k, so she was doing her best to pace herself. Everyone we passed from the early start group were also complaining of wooziness, so I figured it was altitude-related and everyone was dealing with it. Weird how that actually gave me some comfort. Stephanie and I worked together up the hill, walking a few short climbs, and got back to the aid station (mile 22). We drank as much water and flat Coke as we could take in, and Stephanie rocketed off ahead of me.

Just point towards Mt. Bachelor and go!

It was getting warm at this point, but the fast fire roads made it easy to keep a steady pace (despite some heavy camper traffic). The Inov-8 X-Talons were definitely the right call, and I was able to turn over my legs quickly. I caught Stephanie as she was getting through another tough spot, but she was soon on my tail again. We entered the last aid station (mile 26) together, and I was feeling almost 90%. I gave myself permission to push hard again and jumped on the last section of single track.

About a mile up the trail they were re-marking the course, so I gave a quick “thanks for doing a great job with the trail markings”. They stared back at me with blank looks (I would later find out why), and I joined a chain of friendly mountain bikers to charge up the last climb. They let me know I was about a minute behind the next dude, and I wondered if it was Headphone Guy. I picked up the pace, but it wasn’t enough to hold off a charging Derek Schwartz who was back from the dead and running 6:30 min/miles again. By the time I hit the road (mile 30), Derek was a day-glow spot in the distance. I was so excited for his comeback! I watched him pick off one more runner on his way to the finish.

Derek zooms by

Last mile!

I passed Hal Koerner, who was walking in and he let me know that many of the front-runners had been directed off-course by a volunteer. “Get moving…you may have moved up eight places,” he said with his trademark smile. Oh, no! That’s not the way to have a top finish. I cruised into the finish chute in 4:28:38 in 11th place, and was immediately congratulated on being the Masters winner. Super Master William Emerson finished just a few minutes behind me, with Stephanie Howe (2nd woman) and Jen Shelton (3rd) right behind him.

Squeezing in just under 4:30

My excitement for the win was soon replaced with awe when I heard what happened ahead of us.

The Finish

Apparently, the course markings had been vandalized around mile 28 (where I had seen them re-marking the course), and the volunteers who reset the markings mistakenly sent the front-runners down the wrong trail. Eric Skaggs went first, with Max King following but realizing he was off course and taking a detour back. Unfortunately, the following six runners also went the wrong way and soon found themselves prematurely out on the road section after cutting through a confused horse camp. Max ended up out front all by himself.

What Max did next was extraordinary. Approaching the finish, he slowed to a stop and asked what happened. Upon learning of the situation, he waited 50 feet from the finish until the others caught up. They then agreed to cross the finish line as a group in the order they were at the moment the wrong turn was taken – Eric Skaggs (for the win), Max King (voluntarily taking second), Yassine Diboun, David James, Jeremy Tolman, Jason Moyer, Zach Violett, and Kami Semick (1st Woman). It turns out that Josh Nordell (10th), Derek Schultz (9th), and me were the first to approach the turn correctly marked.

Can you believe it? Stopping at the finish to get the right order? That’s an honor code right out of the Tour de France. Simply amazing. It’s hard not to gush with pride to be in a sport with champions like these.

One beer-soaked mug, one check, one Masters National Championship - a damn good haul!

As I sat with the others in the sun, sipping beer and cheering the other finishers, I saw the day-glow shirt of Headphone Guy come across the finish about an hour after my finish. After a short conversation with the RD’s, Headphone Guy (aka, Tim Monaco) explained he had also been sent off course and wanted to be “moved up” in the rankings ahead of me to claim the Masters Championship. I explained that I didn’t have a problem with examining his finishing place (although it is a bit weird to have a made-up finish time, unlike the others who accepted their actual finish times), but that running with headphones is clearly against the USATF rules for National Championships. A compromise was suggested to put Tim Monaco‘s name in 9th place (with a fictitious time), but that it wouldn’t be counted towards the USATF Championship due to the headphone infraction. In the spirit of camaraderie shown this day, it felt like a good solution.

I gave an extra pat on the back to Derek Schwartz, and congratulated him on overcoming his low spot to finish strong. Sometimes that’s the greatest gift of an ultra – getting into trouble, and then getting back out so clean you fly to the finish. It doesn't feel good when it happens, but you feel like a superhero at the finish! Had Headphone Guy been in sight, Derek would have reeled him in too. In my heart, that 9th place finish belongs to Derek. But 10th at a USATF Championship race ain’t so bad either.

I caught Max King on the way out and asked him what went through his head near the finish. He said “it was simple, really…Eric was crushing it all day, and it was not my best day. Eric was in a league of his own, and there is no question among any of us that he deserved the win today.”

Well Max, I think this may be your best finish ever. ;-)

Thanks to Super Dave and his awesome crew for putting on a great inaugural race. It took a lot of work for these guys to get a brand new race going, and get the 50k Trail Championship back on the USATF schedule. You did a great job! If you like a fast course in a beautiful place, I would highly suggest putting the Flagline 50k on your calendar for next year (rumored to be the 50k Trail Championship again). Just don’t expect Max to be waiting for you before the finish in 2011.

- SD