Jason was registered to do the San Juan Solstice 50 miler run on Sat June 23 in Lake City, Colorado. Early last week we were not quite sure if we would go or not. Jason's right knee has been an issue recently and overall we've all been feeling quite tired. Also, it's been extremely hot around here which has made for sleepless nights and fires all over the state.
But, after experimenting with some tape jobs, we decided to go for it. Thurs night after work we drove from Boulder to Breckenridge and stayed with our wonderful friend Angela and her two dogs Porter and Skye. Rachel repeated 'Porter! Skye! Angela! Yeah!' over and over again for the 2 hour drive up. She had a bit of a cold but we managed to sleep pretty well, enjoying the cooler mountain temperatures.
I apologize ahead of time for the inaccuracies in times and distances during the run description below. For a more detailed account of the race, Jason will have to write his own blog later. Also, Jason Schlarb and Maggie Schlarb have their own blogs with other details if you'd like to search them.
Friday we drove from Breckenridge to Lake City, stopping in Gunnison for lunch and a playground stop. We arrived mid-afternoon to set up our tent and find our friends before checking in for the race dinner.
We met our 'Doppelganger' family in town. Jason Schlarb, an elite ultra runner, American, aged 34 and his wife Maggie Schlarb, 29 year old Canadian, and their 18 month old son Felix. Maggie and I met at a Mommy group in Boulder and have been close friends. However, in May they moved out of Boulder and started a year long family trip around North America (and later New Zealand) in a camper van (and later biking). So Maggie, Meggan, Jason, Jason, Felix, and Rachel all had dinner together. Later that evening, Jason Schlarb's friend Tony (aka Bird Dog) joined us at the campsite. He was a dedicated cheering fan, and had an alligator costume ready to bring a smile to runners' faces during the run.
Jason Schlarb's goal of the day was to win the race and set a new course record of 7:58. Jason Oliver's goals were to 1) finish 2) have a good time and 3) finish under 12 hours. My goal for Jason was to be safe. This would be Jason's most difficult race to date, with huge climbs, big elevation, technical descents, and unpredictable weather. Concerns included heat, possible lightning, snow (previous years have included major white out blizzards on the ridge), bears, getting lost, and mountain lions. Never mind exhaustion from running so far and a sore knee.
We decided the Dads (Jason and Jason) would leave in their own car at 4am for the race start at 5am. We would wait at the first viewing aid station - our campground - at mile 17. It was expected that Jason Schlarb would be near the lead, and Maggie had to make sure to meet him and give him the appropriate water bottles and clothes before he left. He came through in a close 3rd place at about 7:45am, approximately 15 min later than expected, and starting to get hot in the sun. Jason Oliver came through with the rest of the pack also about 15 min after their expected time.
We packed up our stuff and jumped in the car with the kids and headed to the next view point. Unfortunately, we wouldn't see runners again until mile 40, at a place called Slumgullion. We parked and played with the kids and waited for Jason Schlarb to show up. I hiked up the trail with Rachel a while so she could fall asleep, and enjoyed the crazy rocky steep trail and the beautiful Aspen and views around.
Jason came through just after 11:30am, about 15 min behind the course record pace, in the lead by at least 40 min! He was very focused and looking strong, but needed to really zoom through the last 10 miles if he was going to beat the record. It seemed the win was in the bag.
We went into town to watch Jason Schlarb finish and let the kids play, knowing we'd have lots of time before Jason Oliver made it to mile 40. In town, the kids played in a bouncy castle and at the playground and we waited for news on the Dads. Jason Schlarb ended up winning the race by a landslide, finishing in 8:13:00, tying for the second fastest time ever. He looked great at the end and had work to do with reporters, sponsors and interviews while Maggie and I played with the kids and had lunch.
Looking up at the ride from town, we couldn't see anything. Smoke now covered everything in sight and all of town was starting to become covered in ashes. Another large fire erupted overnight near Durango, and the smoke was blowing all through the valley. The race headquarters kept reporting drop outs all over the place as people struggled in the heat and smoke. Jason Oliver had hoped to be at mile 30 by about 12noon, but had not checked in by 12:30pm. That was not too surprising, given the events of the day. We stayed in town at the playground and enjoyed watching people finish. He still had not checked in at 1:30pm, which became concerning.
Being the wife and supporter of an ultra-runner is challenging in many ways. The hardest thing is to wonder where in the bush your husband may be when he is not on schedule. Was he hurt? Lost? In pain? Suffering? In danger? I was scared. As I was voicing my concern to Maggie and getting all teary, Rachel decided to go down a slide head first and slam into the ground with her face. Comforting her brought me back to my senses, and I realized that Jason was very likely safe but just not having a great race.
This particular race was designed so that runners had a huge amount of climbing between mile 17, up to mile 30, and then down toward mile 40. This section goes up along the Continental Divide and along the CDT and Colorado Trail. There are aid stations but no easy way in and out. This means nowhere for spectators to watch and not many options for runners who drop out to get out. Runners dropping out at mile 30 must wait for ATV rides to get out or walk out, sometimes taking several hours.
I felt much better when I checked again at 2:30pm and learned that Jason had checked in at mile 30 at 1:48pm. He had not dropped out and was continuing forward. So we drove out to Slumgullion at mile 40 and assumed we would be lucky to be there before 4:15pm. I prepared myself to see him limping or sick or bleeding since I knew he was struggling. He came in at 4:10pm, looking ok, but hugged me and said he was done.
I hate to describe his race for him, but I will say that he was heart broken. His knee was sore. He couldn't eat and felt sick. He felt tired. He said it was time to stop because he was not having any fun, and he knew that if he continued it would take a long time and he would likely injure his knee and ruin his summer. I know he was really disappointed, and needed some taking care of... but I was really just glad to see him and glad that he was ok. We both knew his training has not been great, and that this race was perhaps a bit more than he was prepared for this time. I'm sure he could have completed the race with an official time, but it might have cost him.
We still have plenty of adventuring left to do this summer! And he plans to do another 50 miler in September, so he wants to get strong for that. He will have to do this race again another year, so we will enjoy going down to this gorgeous part of the state another time.
Sat night we had dinner with our friends, fell asleep in our tent. I woke with a sore throat and headache. We packed up the car, attended the awards breakfast, and drove away. We went through Leadville and East on I-70, which was packed with cars. Several other roads in the state are closed due to wild fires, and there were accidents and construction on the interstate that slowed us down for a few extra hours.
Click here for pictures
Finally we made it home, bathed and cleaned up, did laundry, and tried to sleep in our little sauna of a house. Now it's time to work and pack up for our next great adventure... perhaps our most challenging family experience to date! It will involve mountains, backpacking, car rides, and hopefully check off at least 4 goals published in Oliver family blogs this year... stay tuned!!!
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