Cascade Crest 100

I finished 48th of 93 starters. 26 didn’t make the cut offs or pulled out voluntarily. My time was 29 hours 37 minutes. Even though this took almost three hours longer than Western States, I ran a much better race. Where WS-100 winning times range between 15 and 16 hours, Cascade Crest has only once been completed in under 20 with few ever coming in under 21 hours. Most of the runners were from Mountain states and Canada. Germany and Venezuela were also represented.

The race manual says “Cascade Crest has a reputation for being one of the toughest and most scenic 100s in the country”. They weren’t kidding! It was tough to the extreme and stunningly beautiful. The last 25 miles is the toughest. 95% of the race is up and down very steep rocky mountains with some nice old growth forest mixed in. There is a section so steep that you need ropes to come down it. There is also a 2.5 mile, abandoned railroad tunnel which was actually nice because it allowed me to get out of the cold rain for a time.

There is a magnificent chunk where we literally run the “crest” of the mountain. This is made up of giant rock faces offering outstanding views if it wasn’t for the rain clouds. There were few water crossings but it didn’t matter since it rained for much of the race anyway. Much of the trail was overgrown with heavy vegetation which managed to keep you wet even when it wasn’t raining. There is a chunk referred to as “the trail from hell” or “The evil forest” for good reason. This is a 6 mile embankment along the edge of a beautiful lake. There were dozens of huge fallen trees that you either climb over or crawl under while trying not to slide down the rocks into the lake. Did I mention is was also raining and wet? This little stretch hits you at around 80 miles and it takes two hours to get through! Rough.

I saw a black bear in a power line clearing which was kind of cool. A couple people were taken away in ambulances. They served homemade pirogis at two aid stations and they were awesome! I also had a wonderful avocado and potato wrap with lots of salt. Had no significant stomach problems or any problems for that matter. Just a couple blisters. Good race. Toughest thing, by far, I have ever done.

Start - Easton Firehouse 70-miles west of Seatle.Rick is 60 and still running 100s. Leatha is a fellow vegetarian and 18 time 100-miler. She is only a few years younger than Rick.

Along with my heavy duty belt buckle, I was given a finishers print. This is a linoleum stamp, hand carved and printed by Leah Jurek. Scott and Leah Jurek volunteer a great deal of time to this race. Unfortunately I didn’t get to meet them because he was racing in the Tour Du Mount-Blanc in France.

I got to run with Krissy Moehl for a few miles. She set the female course record at the Hard Rock 100 this year. Hard Rock is the baddest mother of them all. It has a 48 hour cut off. She was like poetry to watch and super nice. Also ran a 5 mile technical downhill, at roughly mile 90, with Hans Dieter Weisshaar from Germany. This was Hans’s 103rd 100 mile race and he is 67 years old! He went on to beat me by 5 minutes.

Ben Holmes, my pacer from Western States, and I started together. Unfortunately, he has been putting in so much time directing races and working that we wasn’t fully prepared for this race. He bailed at mile 60 after losing his equilibrium and falling down and catching himself in a ravine. Vicki, Ben’s wife, was an awesome crew person. At each accessible aid station she was right there the moment I popped out of the woods. She has done this so many times that she just knows what is needed. Awesome lady, very supportive. Ben is lucky.

I wasn’t sure what shape I would be in eight weeks after finishing Western States 100. I ran less weekly miles and did more strength training to prepare for the mountains. It paid off. I was much stronger on the climbs.

Life is good.