Calico Ghost Town 30K and 50K Trail Races - January 18th 2009

Eight members of the Glendora Ridge Runners met at Calico, three ran the 30K and five ran the 50K. We all met up along with several family members on Saturday night for a pre-race carbo meal. It was good fun, with good friends.

The Sunday morning started early, each of us converging on the start line before dawn.
I felt good and really full of energy at the start, the first couple of miles on the road made me confident. We turned off towards the hills and I found myself on the soft sand, it seemed ok at first but it soon felt really tiring and my legs were aching.

I ran with Eric for a while and then dropped back shadowing him a few yards behind for a few miles. The runners soon spread out and it seemed as though I was running on my own. The desert was beautiful, the sun was warm but not too hot, life seemed good. The aid-stations were packed with great things and I took full advantage of them!

The course was difficult to follow at times, it seemed that they had used all the pink and yellow ribbons on the easy parts and were conserving the chalk. The arrows weren't always easy to spot and I spent a lot of time looking around making sure I stayed on course.

I arrived at a steep rocky canyon - I had seen the video on the website and was already losing sleep the night before the race because of this descent. I was side stepping and going really slowly. I was frightened and almost falling. I finally made it to the bottom, my Garmin said my current "pace" was 45 mins per mile!! That was very disheartening!

I continued and there was a section where I could run fast, it began to feel great again. Then my legs began to cramp up, I began to hobble along, walking and jogging for quite a while. At the next aid station I sat down to empty the rocks from my shoes and both legs, thighs and calves cramped up so badly that I screamed out in pain. I couldn't move. Eventually I managed to pull myself to the goodie table and I asked another runner for his advice. He said that I needed salt and guided me to the potato slices and salt. I ate 3 or 4 slices and immediately felt a lot better, it was amazing how fast it worked. The same runner stayed with me and offered me a salt "tablet". This turned out to be a huge white capsule which I washed down with a sports drink. This guy was really helpful. I felt better and continued.

Around about this time I started to encounter the off-roaders. There were a group of three ATV's blocking the trail, just sitting there chatting and this made me angry as I had to scramble off to the side to get around them. Then there were several motorbikes who came up behind me one after the other and didn't seem to understand that I was in an event, I had to step aside for them and struggle though the dust in their wake. The small shiny gravel covered hills were the worst part of the course for me. I was very scared as I slithered down these and I felt as though I was trying to run on ice. One of them, at the beginning of this section, was very steep and the descent was longer than the others. A guy could see how worried I was and he offered to help. "I'm solid", he said, "and my shoes have a great grip, hold my hand and we'll work our way down together, you won't pull me over, I'll hold you up." I was thankful and almost tearful, we climbed down together and neither of us fell. I thanked him and he went on his way, I picked my way very cautiously for the remaining hills. I could hear ATV's all around and met one head on at the top of one of those hills, closely followed by another, it was very scary and I had to stand to the side as they passed and the first one nearly barreled into another runner just behind me.

I turned onto the last section, where the trail went out and doubled back to the RV campground, and saw Cheryl making her way down to the campers. This part was easier and faster, at last I felt like I was running, not hiking. A woman on the trail, not a competitor, begged me for water so I gave her some, knowing we were near the finish.

The parking lot was a welcome sight, but the steep climb up to the town found me walking slowly. Turning into the town I ran down to the finish line, very pleased to be at the end. The other club members cheered me in and I felt good about my accomplishment.

Now I've had a couple of days to get over it, it doesn't seem so bad! The main problem for me was that I was really scared on those steep downward slopes, I felt paralyzed and it took a lot of will power to continue.

I would do another trail race, definitely, but not Calico. The area is beautiful, but this course is just not for me, I wouldn't be able to sleep for a month before, just remembering how I felt this time.

My first 50K was a learning experience, and now as I look back on it I can see a few changes I could make to help myself. I feel stronger mentally having finished an Ultra race, and pleased that I had the courage to attempt it. The next one? Well maybe in the Summer I'll try one of the Pacific Coast Trail Runs, this stuff in addicting!!