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| The McDowell Mountains at Sunset. They look innocent enough. |
Recently I ran a trail race, at night, in the pitch black, up a mountain, and through the desert hinterlands. Why would I do such a silly, crazy, challenging, some might say-stupid, thing; simple, because I can. And why is that, we'll figure that out in a minute.
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| Now's not the time to think about running up these mountains, just soak in the view. |
Now that I am back in Arizona, I am back to running my weekly Wednesday night trail run with my friend Gregg. He loves running the trails and although I am more of a road runner, I do like mixing it up a bit once a week and doing a trail run. It is much different, your footing is much more challenging as you have to look for rocks with every step and the pathways are often twisty and formidable, unlike running on the road where you can get into a rhythm and just lock in and not have to worry about your surroundings or trying to follow a path and just burn through the miles. The Wednesday night group runs are put on by the
Aravaipa Running group, which is essentially two brothers who are into Ultra running, meaning extreme distance races like 50 or 100 miles. But the group runs are for people at all levels, just a way to get more people into trail running and we'll get anywhere from 15-50 people to show up any given Wednesday. Aravaipa puts on races all year round and in the summer they do them overnight to try and beat the heat. Gregg has done a few of their races before and was encouraging me to sign up with him to do the
Adrenaline Night Run at
McDowell Mountain Park in Fountain Hills.
Having limited trail running experience and no trail race experience, while really still preferring road running, I thought it might be a fun challenge to try and run in the dark with a headlamp through the McDowell Mountains. The Adrenaline race had three levels, a 64K, 27K and a 10K. I opted for the 10K which is 6.2 miles. I know I can run and race longer distances, but being my first trail race, I thought the 10K was they way to go and Gregg was on board as well as two other friends, Deb and Angela.
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| Pre-Race, we all look so happy and excited! Deb, Gregg, Angela and myself. |
The race was to start at 8 p.m. and we all got there early, while it was still sunny and hot, in the mid 90's at least. Since people running the 64K and 27K would be running literally through the night, there were tents set up and people all over. It was a very festive atmosphere as we all prepared for our 8:00 p.m. start time. I decided to wear a bandanna so that my headlamp wasn't directly on my head, as the light can emit some heat, and it was already hot enough outside, I didn't need anything extra. I also planned to carry my water bottle filled with a Gatorade/Water mix and I had put it in my freezer that morning, figuring it would easily thaw while I was running, if not before and thereby not be so warm to drink.
Side note: I have a Survivor bandanna, from the TV show, it was a gift. I rarely wear it, but when I do, when anyone asks me if I was on Survivor I tell them that I was, Season Two in Australia and got voted off early due to politics and people's fear that I would be too tough to beat in challenges. I also throw in that I went on one date with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who was a contestant that season as well. No one has ever doubted my story before, harmless fun on my end. Sadly, no one asked me about it that night, I guess it was too dark to notice what was on my bandanna. Moving on...
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| Headlamp, check. Neon shirt, check. Survivor Bandanna, check. My brother Jeff asked if I was trying look like Bret Michaels, that would be an emphatic "No". However Bret is a Scottsdale resident and neighbor... |
As it got close to the start and we started lining up, I was ready to go. When I run a race, any race, I go all out. I figure I can run for free every day, so if I am going to pay to do a race, I am going to give it everything I have. Everyone runs for their own reason; for fun, just to try and finish, whatever, but that's my motive. So not having run in the dark before and trail running being much more difficult due to the elevation climbs and footing challenges, I figured I would be running about 2-3 minutes per mile slower than if I was on the road. In talking with some long time runners I know they said to figure about 1:30-2:00 minutes slower per mile. So with that in mind and knowing on the roads I can do a 10K in about 42 minutes, I figured if I can break 1 hour or 55 minutes, that I would be happy with the result. As the gun went off we all immediately got into a single file as the trail wasn't wide enough for anything more. Passing people would also be a challenge because there were cactus everywhere and darkness and the trail, in daylight, is really only wide enough for one person, so passing means going off into the rough stuff and hoping you don't potentially hurt yourself. Or fall off the mountain. Sound fun yet?
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| Near the start. Certainly doesn't look imposing. Good thing it was about to be dark so you couldn't see the challenges that lie ahead. |
Knowing that after the first 1/4 mile or so, as the picture shows above, we would literally start climbing up a mountain for the next 2 miles, I prepared for the challenge ahead. I was behind a guy that I certainly knew I was faster than, but held back, one because it was tough to pass and more so because I figured I better hold back some energy going up the mountain. The sun was set completely and as we started up the mountain on the switchbacks, when you looked below you it was pretty cool just seeing everyone's headlights bouncing up and down in the darkness. My adrenaline was really pumping and going up the mountain didn't seem nearly as bad as I imagined. Although I live on the other side of the McDowell's and run up them regularly, so I suppose that helped. As we got to the summit, I went past the guy in front of me and sped up. The only negative to that, was that we had really started to splinter off and space off from each other, meaning in the dark, I was all alone with only my headlamp for sight. Being behind someone else with both our lights shining ahead, it wasn't too bad for sight lines. Going into the race I was most concerned that I would step on a rock or something and either fall down or twist an ankle. Even with a headlamp you can't see everything. But I soldiered on and felt good.
I never wear a watch and since we were out in the far reaches of the desert mountains, there were no course markings to tell you what mile you were at let alone spectators or any time markings. It was a very unique experience, but I felt really strong and it seemed like I was keeping a good pace. I had to maintain strict focus, watching every step I took and for the twists and turns in the trail. In the dark you really had no idea which way you were heading at any moment. On the roads you can clearly see where you are, up ahead and you can sort of just zone out and run, but not here. Around Mile 4 there was to be a water stop, so I knew I would have that as a reference point. I was carrying my water bottle although normally I would never need anything for such a short run, but in the heat I felt I would take precaution. However, I had put it in the freezer that morning and somehow it was still frozen, so when I tried to drink from it, I was getting nothing. I wasn't in dire need of fluids really, but I was getting a real cottonmouth and I just needed something to clear it out. As I got closer to the water stop I passed about 3 more people and then one guy actually passed me. The nerve! But I could see a faint light in the distance and as I got closer it was indeed the water stop with only one lonely volunteer deep in the desert mountain with cups of water on a table. I ran through grabbed one and kept going, took a drink and it was awful, as it had been sitting out, thus really, really warm, but it did the trick for me and I kept going.
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| It was much darker than this, but you can see the trail and the rough terrain surrounding it. |
As I got near the end, I knew that I would come to a fork and I was supposed to go right. The course was lined with reflectors for you to follow. Although they weren't always prominent or helpful and since there were also the 64K and 27K races at the same time, there were different color reflectors for each race. When I got to the fork I thought I was to go right, but it seemed like my color reflector was on the left, so I went left for 100 yards or so and soon realized I was going back up the mountain and the wrong way, so I turned around went back to the fork and went to the right. My fault, I just got confused in the dark after running full speed up and down a mountain, I guess that could happen. Anyways, I knew at the fork that I had about a mile to go, so I held firm and kept looking for ambient light to see the finish. Sadly, I never really did see it and then all of a sudden it popped up as I rounded a corner. I burned it in and finished in 47:36 and in 12th place overall, much faster than I had hoped, so I was pleased. Gregg, Angela and Deb soon finished behind me and we all enjoyed the post race food and drink that was off the charts! I've done a lot of races and I've never seen such an elaborate spread, it was fantastic and tasty. They created a short video that gives you a sense of what it was like to run the race. If you look closely you can see me in my neon yellow shirt in a few shots.
Adrenaline Night Run Video
It was around 10 p.m. when we left, which felt odd to me as I usually run early in the morning and races are usually in the mornings as well. After most races, I need about 15 minutes to recalibrate, than I am wired and wound up. I got back home and I was anything but sleepy and I was starving. Even though I ate some post race food, which was more snacks, I wanted something substantial and since I don't really cook and it was late, the closest option nearby was McDonald's. So after cleaning up and such, around midnight I went to
McDonald's and got some stuff to go. It tasted really good, shocking since I almost never eat fast food, but whatever, it served it's purpose.
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| After the race. Half the people in this photo have fought for our freedom. Thank you! |
In the end, it was a great time and a new experience with good friends and I look forward to doing the next Aravaipa run in July,
Vertigo, in the White Tank Mountains. But before the race I also learned that Gregg is going to Afghanistan later this year. He serves in the
Air National Guard for the US Air Force and has for nearly 20 years. Seems he was drafted for a 6 month tour. He went to Iraq a few years ago and did a spell at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba as well. Being in the Guard is much more than one weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer. Soldiers like him get pulled out of their lives to help keep our country safe and free and to continue to allow all of us to be able to do silly things like run in the mountains in the dark for fun and go to McDonald's in the blink of an eye because there is one on every corner and we are hungry. He has seen more and sacrificed more than most as has Deb, who is also in the Guard and has done a tour in Iraq as well, but thankfully wasn't chosen to go back this year. So far, anyways. If you're like me you thought the bulk of the war was over, that we were pulling troops out. Well we are but we also keep sending more and thousands of soldiers like Gregg will have their lives disrupted once again, be pulled away from their kids and their jobs all under the guise of protecting our freedoms. It doesn't matter if you are for the war, against it, Democrat or Republican, every day our soldiers are out there protecting our freedoms. Knowing Gregg personally, this really hit home for me. Listen, he's not seeking any sympathy, he chose to be in the Guard, he's ready to go, it's his mission and he'll serve it, just like he has for years and he'd tell you that. But the next time you see a soldier or if you know of someone that did serve, be sure to thank them again. Because the rest of us every day can get up, go to work, go to the beach, go out to eat, the movies, sleep in, speak freely, watch tv, run up a mountain in the dark, whatever, and the reason we can is because of them and people like Gregg and Deb who help to continue to make the United States the greatest country in the world. Thank you to you both and to all the other soldiers, I respect you immensely and appreciate all you have done and continue to do and I hope you all come back safely.
Gregg's tour will end next summer, which is great because it will be just in time for us to do this
silly race again and maybe we can even hit McDonald's too. Why, because we can and let's
never forgot why that is.
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| Gregg and I kayaking the Salt River. I look forward to doing this again when you get back my friend! |
