Pemberton Trails 50K - February 9, 2019

Preparations

Emaad and I fly to Phoenix on Thursday evening for Saturday's Pemberton Trail 50K/25K. Our flight is delayed about an hour and it is a bit of a bumpy ride, but not too bad - although one passenger seems disturbed enough by it that there is a request for a "doctor on board" by the flight attendants.  Things calm down enough that there is no need to divert for a medical emergency.

We go to pick up our rental car, and upon walking to the assigned parking spot, find our intermediate car already occupied and getting ready to be driven away. Back at the counter the clerk asks us if a Camaro would be OK. Like dogs offered a bone we say yes before she can change her mind. Getting to the car is a bonus - it's a convertible! On the down side, there is next to no trunk space and the rear seats are seats in name only.

On the Dixie Mine Trail

Friday morning we go for a run on the Dixie Mine Trail in McDowell Mountain Regional Park, the same area we will run on Saturday, but an entirely different trail. To get to the trailhead, we park in a parking area outside a gated community of $1.2 million+ houses, and follow the signs ("visitors, stay on the sidewalk") to the beginning of the trail.  It's rolling hills with fine views and only a few users.

Friday afternoon we wander about Old Town Scottsdale, ending up in the Goldwater Brewing Company.The beer is good and the patrons and staff friendly. We head to Sara's house to meet her and her friend Corina so we can head out for food and libations. She assures us that Corina is not an imaginary friend, as she frequently has promised to introduce us to her, but Corina was never available.

This time, though, Corina is there and we pile into Sara's car (the Camaro lacking space) and go to Loco Patron Brewery in time (barely) for happy hour. We share a number of appetizers: braised cauliflower, nachos, a giant pretzel and a couple of others.  Emaad and Sara share a pitcher (or two) of beer. I share a pitcher of margaritas with Corina. That's pretty good pre-race loading! After eating and drinking our fill we drop Corina off, return to Sara's for a brief visit, and return to our hotel in Fountain Hills.

Heroic pose at the start from the three friends

Race Day - First Loop
Both races start at the same time and place in McDowell Mountain Regional Park. It's only about a 20 minute drive from our hotel to the race start, and since it is a small event (about 130 runners total) everyone gets to park within 100 yards of the start/finish line.  We get our bibs, return to the car for last minute preparations and then meet up with Sara.

Sara checks Emaad's (hydration system ) nipples

The temperature is in the mid to upper 30s at the 0700 start, so I decide to go with long and short sleeve shirts, a buff for my neck, gloves and a hat but shorts. Since I'll be running two loops I'll get back to my drop bag halfway through and can jettison anything that I no longer need.

Sara and Emaad and doing the one loop for the 25K but we all plan to run together, unless someone feels speedy or slow.

The race starts on time and we are off on the wide Pemberton Trail.  It is popular with mountain bikers and is mostly wide enough for bikes to pass in each direction, although there are some short stretches of single track.

By the end of the first mile we are greeting with a beautiful sunrise that drenches the mountains and desert in a golden hue. And as the sun rises so does the temperature and it isn't long before the gloves and buff come off. The sky stays a bit overcast so throughout the day temperatures don't get out of the low 60s, making for pleasant running conditions.

Sunrise at Mile 1
(Photo by E. Burki)

The three of us enjoy the day, stopping to take pictures,  chatting about all sorts of things, and running a comfortable pace.  For some reason I have to stop four times to use the bushes, of which there are not many.  The course is gently rolling, with a gradual uphill the first third, mostly next flat the second third, and gently downhill the final third of what is a long loop in the part.  There are two aid stations, at about mile 5 and mile 11 of the 15.5 mile loop.  There is a sign announcing that the second aid station is "just ahead" but we start to wonder if we have gone off course when we don't get to it.  Finally we see it, refuel and run the rest of the loop to the start finish.

Around mile 4

Loop Two
We finish the first 15.5ish mile loop (it is a trail run; if you want precise distance, go run on roads) in 3:13. I bid goodbye to Emaad and Sara, dispose of my long sleeve shirt and gloves in my drop bag and discover that I have lost my buff (from the 2015 Madrid Marathon). I figure I may find it on the second loop.

On my own now, it's time for me to find some runners to join and chat with.  Within the first couple of miles I come upon Becky and Lexie. They are local runners  running their second Pemberton Trails 50K. When they look back to see me I repeat one of my favorite lines from Satchel Paige, "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you."

A beat passes. "You don't know who Satchel Paige is, do you?" I ask.

The 32- and 28-year old pair reply in the negative.

Stay on Pemberton. Dixie Mine Trail was so yesterday.

 I tell them the story of the fabled Negro League pitcher who finally got to pitch in the Major Leagues in 1948 and who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971.

We run along together for awhile but I start to lag behind and then stop to take pictures. I can see them ahead, but it is pretty clear to me that I won't be catching them.

Shortly thereafter, before getting to the first aid station, I get passed first by one, then by a second, and finally a third, runner, going at a blistering pace.  A little ways ahead they slow to a walk and I catch up with them.

Looking east from the Pemberton Trail.

Rob, Carter and Grant are cross-fit athletes running their first ultra. The latter two are in their early 20s while Rob is the 38-year old owner of a gym.  They are executing a run a half-mile, walk a quarter mile plan.  The two younger runners are fast and walk slowly while waiting for Rob to catch up. In the meantime, my steady plodding pace allows me to catch them during their walks.  I joke that I'm the tortoise to their hares.

Once they find out that I've run ultras before they start to ask questions, particularly what to eat at aid stations. As I take each item, I tell them, "Some Pringles, a couple of chocolate chip cookies and some M&Ms. Take them and go."

Jackass Junction

They linger a bit, but soon enough jet past me, and we resume our leapfrogging, but it seems that they are gradually getting ahead on each cycle.

I pause at Jackass Junction, a shelter with a bicycle tool repair station. A friendly rider agrees to take my picture.

A bit further along I come across a runner whose stopped by the side of the trail.  I ask and he tells me that he is cramping up and not doing well.  I offer him salt capsules and he takes two.

Brittlebrush

By then I'm thinking that I can finish in under 7 hours.  It's my stretch goal, with a 7:15 -7:30 finish my base goal. But having run the first loop in 3:13 has me well positioned. I am only six minutes slower the second time on the stretch between the start line and the first aid station. Now I'm looking for the sign for the second aid station. But it is nowhere in sight.  I'm feeling that I'm losing a lot of time in the second section to the second aid station. Finally I spot the sign and shortly thereafter the aid station. Someone had moved the sign closer to the aid station.

Broad trail easily shared with mountain bikers.

At the aid station I catch up to Rob, Carter and Grant. I'm getting excited about finishing in under 7. I'm only 8 minutes slower the second time over the segment between the first and second aid station, and I know that the final segment to the finish is gently downhill and eminently runnable.

"Horse smells the barn!" I say as I pass Carter and Grant on one of our leapfrogging cycles.  "What's that mean?" they ask. I explain.

In another cycle I get to repeat the Satchel Paige line, and then give the Satchel Paige history lesson.

Lupine?

I'm feeling pretty good. After all, if a marathon is just a 10K following a 20-mile warm-up, then a 50K is just a 5-miler following a marathon warm-up. I'm even thinking I can negative split the final segment.

A male runner goes by in the opposite direction wearing a pink knit pussy hat.  One of my trio of leap-frogging trail friends notes it but in a way that clearly indicates he has no idea of its backstory.  Neither do the others. They want to know the meaning, but it presents a delicate moment. Politics is often a topic best left off the trail, especially with new-found friends, particularly ones who you don't know their beliefs. I explain the derivation of the hat as factually and as neutrally as I can. The instructional moment over, all of us get back to running.

With less than a mile to go, I realize that sub-7 hours is assured and I back off a bit. And maybe I'm getting a bit tired. Grant and Carter slow down until Rob catches up with them and they take off  in another of their tempo splits.

Finish and Results

At the finish

I cross the line in 6:41:05, good for 57 of 69 overall; 34 of 40 male; and 4 of 5 in my age group.  I'm the oldest finisher (by four years!). Rob, Carter and Grant finish two minutes ahead of me, with Becky and Lexie 30 seconds behind them.  I'm five seconds short of negative splitting the last segment, but that's not significant. The race director hands me the finishers' award - a first - a pen.

I get the next-to-last slice of - now cold - pizza. I pass on having a Bud Light. The cramping runner finises and thanks me for the salt tablets. He gets the last slice of cold pizza. Emaad returns to pick me up and after a shower we go to a near-by sports bar for a beer. After the beer, he gets a cup of coffee.  I celebrate my finish by adding a shot of Southern Comfort.

It's a good day for women runners. Canadian Ailsa Macdonald wins the race outright, setting a new woman's course record by nearly six minutes, while beating last year's winner and the first male, Justin Lutick, by 17 minutes. Women take eight of the top 13 places overall. Seven women finish under five hours; only five men do.

Swag: Shirt, bib, finisher's pen and
 piece of quartz from the trail.