Mt Washington: Mile By Mile

Mile 1: It was pretty steep and the crowds were heavy so I had to work to keep a pace of 11:00 to 12:00. Some good folks were quickly hurting here and breathing hard. I was not. I will say however that the incline was an unexpected steady 18% which was much more than I expected at the start.

Mile 2: It was pretty steep (that’ll be a theme here!) and the crowds were finally thinning out to where I could run unencumbered. I didn’t run any faster however, my pace was my pace and I wasn’t about to blow out my legs at the bottom. Breathing was still fine too but the incline was still well above the 11.5% average with stretches of 18% still... very hard on the legs.

Mile 3: It was pretty steep and my legs were tiring, I had started out feeling that I could last at least until mile 6 before I did some power walking but this was where I had to make a change to save my legs for the top. I walked for about .1 miles and then went back to running again for another mile. At 3.8 miles I was exactly half way. I’m not sure whose dumb idea it was, but they had music blaring at the half-way point… no it wasn't Eye of the Tiger or Chariots of Fire or Run Like the Wind, it wasn't an up tempo get-your-blood-flowing rock mix, instead it was terrible, horrible, dull Christmas music. As I passed I heard Hark the Herald Angels Sing playing and I couldn’t believe my ears!

Mile 4: It was pretty steep but I was past half way! We were now at what I’ll call the “rubber banding” phase. Those of us at the same approximate time would pass one another while running and be passed again while power walking only to repeat it again and again so a group of us started to hook up and synchronize to pull one another along. I met a guy named Marc from Rhode Island who was a great buddy the rest of the way and we ran with a number of other men and women nearly in a pack for the rest of the way. I knew now that I wouldn’t make my stretch goal of breaking 1:30 but I couldn’t allow myself to finish slower than 1:45 because that would be a huge blow to my Pike’s Peak confidence.

Mile 5: The trees were very scrubby now, and my legs were very fatigued (I won’t bother to say it was pretty steep anymore, that goes without saying). A guy I had met the night before said that the first half was much worse than the second. He lied! The second half was starting out to be mental torture. It felt just as steep (really wasn't), and with little to no tree cover now I could see up a few switchbacks to where other runners were. It looked so close but was SO HARD to get to! I have to say there were some nasty switchbacks and hills in here that took anything you had left in your tank. My cardio was great, I wasn't breathing hard at all yet, but my legs were tiring fast and my left hip flexor was getting sore but my oft gimpy Achilles tendons were GREAT so I felt confident all the same.

Mile 6: Seeing this sign was such a relief! I was now only 1.6 miles from the summit! I was now above the tree line and it was only rocks and moss around. At one point I looked down and could see the starting area WAY down below and I could also see probably 2 miles back down to a switch back where there still quite a few people and I felt good that I wasn't still down there. That actually gave me some extra push. Unfortunately right about there was where my right calf decided to knot up. Whenever it would knot up I would walk in a funky way to try and stretch it without stopping then start running again. The funky walking however led to my left quadriceps knotting up so I was then in a pinch. When my calf would cramp up I’d walk for a bit to loosen it and then my quad would knot up so I’d go back to running. It would continue this way to the end unfortunately.

Mile 7: We could kind of see the summit up there a few twists and turns ahead. I had a little bit left in the tank to give it that last kick because I had been alternating walking a running quite a bit for the last mile with cramps but because of those cramps there would be no sprint to the finish for me. The last 100-200 meters is a 30 degree incline. You may look at your handy-dandy compass and say “that ain’t so bad” but let me tell you, IT IS! Especially at 6,200 feet and after 7.5 miles and 4,600 feet of hill climbing before that. And on that last hill the race photographers are perched ready to catch us at our best slogging it up to the finish line. I’m sure mine is quite pathetic but we’ll see when the pictures are posted online.

The Finish Line: Yes! As I approached the finish line I heard the announcer say “and here comes Scott Redfern from Monroe, CT!” and it felt great to be there with quite a big crowd cheering for all of us! You know what? I all of a sudden had a ton of energy! I bounced around the flat finish area like I had just been on a short jaunt, I was looking for my ride down and my family but could find neither. I had only met Jim and Kim Whitehouse the night before for about 5 minutes to give Kim (the car driver) my bag of dry warm clothes for the summit and I thought I remembered what she looked like and what she said she’d be wearing. I had seen Jim at mile 4 and lost him so I wasn't sure where or if he had finished. 10 minutes later still no family and still no Jim or Kim. 15 minutes later, I heard the finish line announcer call out “Jim Whitehouse from NH” and I turned and ran for the finish line so I wouldn’t lose Jim as well. We soon found Kim looking quite like a pack mule with 5 bags on her back shoulders and arms for the 5 runners she would cart down the hill later. I had been looking for Kim in the wrong colored jacket so I probably looked right past her numerous times. I saw the “King of the Mountains” man finish just under 2 hours as he had planned and looking quite spent… great run King! I got my obligatory pictures taken at the top and we prepared to head back down the mountain to the food tent and celebration at the base once the road opened 3:02 after the race started.