Bighorn 100 ~ Epic Adventure Had By All!

Hannah (11) ~ Ben (8) ~ Sophia (6)

Where do I begin? We had such an amazing family vacation & 100 mile run all wrapped up into one.

We loaded up the kids and headed out on a drive to Dayton, Wyoming. We travelled down through Boise and up into the Teton National Forest and into Yellowstone, through Cody to Dayton, Wy.

We camped our first night in Glenns Ferry, Id. We were treated w/ high winds all night making sleep next to impossible. Sophia (6) was scared of the wind..snuggled up to daddy and then suggested that we get a motel. Daddy comforted her and she finally fell asleep. The following day was Hannah's Birthday (11), we treated her with a snuggly blanket she wanted & of course a movie (Bedtime Stories). As we travelled on through the Tetons we were treated with heavy rains...just as we saw the Tetons the rain stopped and the clouds somewhat lifted. It was enough time for us to get some pictures w/o getting too drenched! We drove through Yellowstone and it was so beautiful at every turn. We felt like you could have stopped every 15 min. and been mesmerized at the beauty. We saw buffalo, elk, pronghorn, beaver and GRIZZLY bear! ~ that wasn't too comforting the day before the race.

We made it into Dayton, Wy. Checked into our motel and then headed to the sign in location to pick up my packet and drop off drop bags and then head to dinner.




At dinner we met up with the Corvallis group of runners. All I can say is wow!, one great group of encouraging runners! They had so many positive things to say. Gary was sure to get pictures ~ he makes sure I have photo's for the memory books.





Race Day:

Picture perfect weather. The first climb came in approx. 3 miles ~ it was a major climb for about 6+ miles. Making my way to Upper Sheep & then Dry Fork ~ I just took it nice and easy remembering it was going to be a long day.


Dry Fork:

Gary & the kids were there, I made a quick exchange of bottles & gels and said hi to the kids and headed out. From Dry Fork to Cow Camp was probably my least favorite, just because it was on a rutted out ATV road. The views were still incredible so, I didn't have much to complain about!


Cow Camp:

Making it to Cow Camp was nice...seeing single track up ahead sounded nice. Although, the single track was "tight" single track w/ sage brush that banged against your legs at every step. Once again, the views were spectacular it was right out of National Geographic!! Meadows & Aspen trees & Many, many mountains!!


Bear Camp:

Making it to Bear Camp I knew my downhill section was coming soon that would drop into Footbridge. It was a pretty section w/ wonderful views of wildflowers & canyon walls.


Footbridge:

Coming into Footbridge ~ that was a busy Aidstation. I gathered my stuff and was weighted & headed out to Narrows.


Narrows:

3+ miles to Narrows came quick & sweet. All I can say about the volunteers was that they were so incredibly nice and I loved all of the real cowboys on the back end of the course! Nothing like mountain men/women of Wyoming!


Spring Marsh:

Running from Narrows to Spring Marsh was beautiful as well. You expected to see wildlife at every turn. I could hear some Elk blowing their trumpets as the sun was beginning to set.


Elk:

From Spring Marsh to Elk seemed to take forever. Spring Marsh AS said it was about 3.5 miles but, it was more like 6+ miles! There was one section that had the largest Aspen trees ever! It was a total swamp through that grove of trees.


Porcupine:

From Elk to Porcupine section, that was the muddiest, slipperiest, wettest mess ever! The meadows of shin deep cold wetness was very slow going. Finally dropping down into Porcupine AS was a relief.

At this point my hands were beyond frozen! Getting into the cabin and getting some warm broth & hand warmers & standing by the propane heater was good. I didn't want to stay too long. Grabbing a jacket and heading out, I was a little nervous going out alone into the freezing cold temperatures w/ no one to talk to or distract my mind. I focused on getting to lower elevations and that seemed to work just fine.

As I passed through Elk and then Spring Marsh ~ that's when my better judgement went out the window. My stomach was getting tired of eating gels and I started to eat more real food at Aidstations...then I'd skip a gel....and that would continue for too long. By the time I made it into Footbridge ~ my stomach was revolting and I wasn't feeling too good. I ate more food & used the porta potty and the Corvallis group encouraged me to leave w/ them. Once again ~ They had kind words to share and they would pull me through the rest of the race!

Making the climb out of Footbridge wasn't too bad. As I entered Bear Camp ~ I shouted "The Lone Ranger"! They were very good to me and encouraging as well.

From Bear Camp to the finish it was a painful walk w/ an occasional sluggish jog. I just kept going, putting one foot in front of the other. The last 13 miles from Upper Sheep to the finish was a painful one. I had intense pain on the bottoms of my feet and my stomach would cramp every time I ran.

Once I hit the road I met a gentleman by the name of Jake from Missouri ~ He was an angel! He walked the last 5 miles w/ me. He had already ran the 100 and had came out again to stretch his legs (crazy huh?) ~ I really needed a buddy at this point. I was hoping Gary would pop around a corner to run home w/ me, but he was sitting at the finish with the kids.

Finally making it to the bridge & then hitting the park was such a relief. I mustered up enough to run through the park to the finish line.




31:25 ~ I did it and am glad that I didn't quit or miss the cutoff's




The race was amazing and the volunteers were incredible and the scenery was the most beautiful I have ever seen!