| IMPACT Online Exclusive: Six Days Running |
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A race report on the 2009 GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run. "There is an advantage in wisdom won from pain." -- Aeschylus The race brought together some of the top trail and mountain runners from North America for a fully supported, fantastically run event in beautiful scenery. It also includes many recreational athletes looking to enjoy common experiences and to test their bodies in stunning surroundings. The production behind the event is world class. The 300-plus participants all stayed together in a moving tent city. The point-to-point races would leave the "village" every morning to tackle the single-track and mountain roads between Buena Vista & Beaver Creek, through the heart of the White River and San Isabel National Forests, with nearly 25,000 feet of elevation gain, reaching altitudes of more than 12,500 feet. While the athletes were out tackling the trails, the event team cleared camp and rebuilt the village from the night before at the finishing location. With gear bags, tents, showers, and food waiting, the racers could spend the rest of the afternoon and evening trading stories, healing wounds, and recovering in preparation for the next day's run. There is something a little strange about camping with 300 other athletes. Other than the lack of personal space and connection with nature, the cacophony of tent zippers as well-hydrated athletes tried to PCPO "pee clear, pee often" became almost comical at night. It just adds to the unique nature of the event. Choosing a teammate whose temperament and skill set is similar to yours is critical. As the race unfolded and fatigue levels mounted, it was interesting to watch some teams begin to implode. With minor issues quickly escalating into full-blown trail tantrums. Teammates who started the week laughing and seemingly joined at the hip moved further and further apart, trying to put as much space as possible between themselves in the meal tent every night. This whole racing together concept is quite novel to almost all of us runners. 
Finish line at the 2009 Gore-Tex TransRockies Run.
As August 23rd approached, I moved down to Colorado to begin acclimating and Aaron moved up to Silverstar Mountain. We both knew that we were fit and ready to roll. When we finally met up in Buena Vista, Colorado, I knew almost instantly that our personalities would be a fine fit. We shared very similar running goals, both wanting to explore our personal limits and seemed to share similar life views and outside interests as well.
Race ReportDay 1: 20 miles, 2700 feet of climbingDay 1 was hot, and although I was excited to race, there were still a lot of unanswered questions. How would I react to six days of racing? How would Aaron's and my fitness mesh? We agreed to start conservatively but to try and stay in contact with the leaders. Unfortunately, as with most plans, this quickly came unravelled, as disaster struck. By midway through the stage, Aaron was suffering from full system shutdown, with massive cramping, a very elevated heart rate, and erratic breathing. It was a bit embarrassing and hard to watch teams (and the race) run away from us. However, I was more concerned for Aaron's health than anything. He was not in a good way at all. We had to walk the last four miles of the race, but he toughed it out, and we used the time to get to know each other a bit better. We finished fifteenth overall. More than thirty minutes down from third place and close to an hour off of first. Day 2: 10 miles, 3,000 feet of climbing up and over Hope PassWith his system replenished, Aaron and I agreed once again to try and follow the leaders but to be cautious regarding his health. Luckily, within the first thirty minutes of the race, Aaron's breathing was good and he had more bounce in his step. When he told me he felt good, all I could say was "Welcome back!" I was stoked to have him in the hunt, and I knew that the week would go well. We climbed well that day up to 12,600 feet and slid into second place as we descended on the other side of Hope Pass. However, the race had more to throw at us. About three-quarters of the way down, along a technical section of trail, as we chased a couple of other Canucks down the trail, I heard a nasty thud behind me. Aaron had taken a nasty spill, falling face first into a rock. As I helped him up, I was horrified to see his face covered in blood. He just said "Let's f***ing run!" and took off like a wild banshee. He was riding an adrenaline surge, and I just latched on to the back, barely hanging on. This surge led to a strong final push and a stage win. Aaron spent the rest of the afternoon in a dentist chair getting a root canal, stitches in his lip and having a tooth glued on. Day 3: 24 miles, 3,000 feet of climbingThis was the longest day. After getting on the podium the previous day, we decided to see how much time we could gain on the five teams that were ahead of us in the overall standings. We made a really concerted effort to stay on top of our nutrition, electrolytes, and fluids and even though we finished second on the day, we both came out feeling relatively good, considering what we put our bodies through over the last three days. We also put a good dent in the miles of the many teams who were ahead of us in the overall standings and slid into fourth place overall. We had an absolute blast running together this day. We realized just how well matched we both were, and our confidence grew significantly as we rolled along the beautiful single track, knowing that Day 2 was not just a fluke and that we could still be a factor in the race. Day 4: 14 miles, 3,000 feet of climbingA short and steep day. Based off the previous two stages, we knew that we were going very well on steep terrain, both up and down and decided to push the pace a bit. We moved into the lead about halfway up the climb and had a beautiful view of the surrounding peaks. About halfway down the descent, we started entertaining thoughts of another stage win, but just then the two top teams overall came barrelling down on us. It turned into a full-speed sprint finish. We were bested by the top team again (by only a few seconds) but managed another second-place stage finish, putting us just fifty seconds back from third place overall. Day 5: 23 miles, 4,400 feet of climbingThis was arguably the hardest day. Sliding it in as the fifth stage made it epic. We were all battered and bruised from four hard days of racing and we still had almost 10,000 feet of climbing and forty-four miles of racing in front of us. There was frost at the start, and we were all frozen as we ran through the early miles, shaded by the canyon walls. Once we hit the climb, four days of suffering was showing, and we all found the climb long and relentless. The descent was jarring and eventually numbing. Again, we willed our legs forward as we went out with the top three teams and pushed the hill hard. We slid into our usual second place near the top of the climb and maintained that position until the finish. This effort put us into third overall. Day 6: 21 miles, 4,600 feet of climbingI had asked Aaron how he was feeling the night before, and I was monitoring him the morning of the race as we warmed up. He looked like he was in good shape, and I knew how tough he was. I was feeling strong and really wanted to finish the race with a bang. I figured the only way to make other teams falter was to take the pace out hard and see who was still willing to suffer at the end. I went out on a bit of a "death or glory" mission, and Aaron basically just put his head down and followed. We ran almost silently for three hours, minus the odd warning about rocks and roots. Neither of us really took the time to enjoy the beautiful scenery as much as we should have, we simply poured three months of training into that one effort, pushing ourselves as hard as we possibly could. We both thoroughly enjoyed every step!
A little something for the stats geeks out there:Stage 1: Buena Vista to Railroad Bridge (new for 2009, shuttle to camp) The route of the 2009 GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run took place at elevations between 7,400 and 12,600 feet above sea level. The percent of distance at various elevations is as follows: Approximate breakdown of surfaces: Total running time for team: 8 TWO JOES Adam Campbell CAN, Aaron Heidt Overall (3rd): 15:54:28 Sample training for the race: June 8-June 14 June 14-June 21 June 22-June 28 June 29th-July 3 July 13-20 July 20-26 July 27-Aug 2 About the AuthorsA former track star, Aaron Heidt, of Vernon, B.C., has been tearing up the West Coast ultra scene this year, winning and setting the course record at the Knee Knacker 50km and winning the Chuckanut 50km in Washington and several other podiums over the year. A second year law student at the University of Victoria, Adam Campbell splits his time running marathons and hitting mountains trails.He finished second at the 2009 BMO Vancouver Marathon and won several trail races.
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