The Pike's Peak Ascent - Race Day

It's race day at 5:15 pm in Manitou Springs, CO. It is raining as it has all day in the historic town at the base of Pike's Peak and the Pike's Peak Ascent is now history but let me back up 13 hours.

I got up at 4:30am after a VERY restless night's sleep. I could hear the rain pouring down outside all night a that meant that there was snow on the hallowed mountain up in the alpine regions. I had fretted all day yesterday and all night about what I would wear, what I would carry, and would it be the right combination. It was very difficult deciding what to wear. Many hardcore runners swore all that was needed were shorts, a long-sleeve technical shirt and a wind/rain shell. I chose to use my Scouting experience and survival knowledge to help me decide.

The weather was scheduled for 52 degrees in Manitou Springs at race time (7am) and steady rain while the summit would be in the 30s and snowy until 10am and then turn over to rain with 25MPH winds. I decided to wear my winter tights, my underarmor cold gear shirt and my sleeveless race shirt over that and when needed put on my waterproof/breathable rain shell. I forgot to pack my gloves and ski hat back in good ol' Monroe, so I had to go out and buy them. Since it is normally quite hot in this region, gloves and winter hats were almost impossible to find. I bought some hunting cammoflaged fleece gloves and a totally ugly ski hat that was about the only one I could find. I also decided to wear my micro-pack which I often use for trail running so that I could hold my rain jacket, my ski hat, my gloves, some toilet paper (for emergencies) and my sports nutrition gels.

I ate breakfast by 5am, checked the weather forecast one more time (it really didn't change), and my support team (A.K.A. family) and I were headed for the starting line for a 6:30 drop off.

At race time the rain picked up and it was a steady rain as me and 2,000 of my closest running buddies took off for the summit! Wahoo! It was great to get going after all the stress of the last few days waiting for it to finally come! Since the rain was hard, I started the race with my rain jacket on and never removed it.

I saw my family at the turn from the road we started on to Ruxton Avenue towards the Barr trail and gave a HUGE wave before disappearing up the mountain. From here it was a relative blur for a while... in the early stages of the Barr trail it was like a cattle corral, especially at the switchbacks. Running and passing in these areas was very hard but I was keeping up a good pace that was actually faster than my goal pace. I had hoped, way back when, to finish in 3 hours and 50 minutes but with the nasty weather predictions I had completely given hope for that time and was just hoping to get up to the summit before the cutoff time since if you miss the cutoff you don't even get your race shirt since it says "Pike's Peak Ascent Finisher."

I took my time and ran comfortably in the "W's" which is a 3-mile series of steep switchbacks that is nortorious for crushing overly-eager runners who later bonk in the high altitudes above the treeline.

At the virtual half-way point, Barr Camp, (it's virtual because its not the half-way point in distance but half-way in effort) I was actually about 15 minutes ahead of my split for my goal of 3:50. They say "smart runners know that the race really starts at Barr Camp and really smart runners know that the race starts at the treeline" so I was off to the start of the real race from the treeline at 12,000 feet and then on to the summit. When I neared the treeline, the CO Search and Rescue teams told us that it was pellet sized sleet above us and I decided to switch from my bandana to my ugly ski hat and to get my gloves on. The weather changed fast! It was wicked and the original forecast had changed... instead of changing to rain by 10am, it had actually gotten colder and hail, pellet-sized sleet and thunder snow driven by 25MPH steady winds greeted us.

Some fools were out in shorts, long-sleeved shirts/nylon shells and trash bags pulled over them and they were in real danger. Many were running in shoes meant for road racing and were slipping and falling on the snow and ice. I was never so happy to have listened to my inner voice and prepared. I was wet and chilly but I was also as prepared as anyone, hydrating, eating my gels and in good shape.

The clouds were close in around us and you could only see a few hundred feet away so I guess that was good since I couldn't see how far away the summit still was above me. I hit the 3 miles to go sign and felt good. One guy was in real trouble since he had not brought nourishment and was bonking... since I felt fine I gave him 2 of my GUs to help him out and kept going. I hit the 2 miles to go sign and was getting very cold... my hands were numb and my legs were getting rubbery but I was still making decent time. The ice and snow made it hard to pass people and many were in trances from the cold and could not even respond to your requests to move out of the way. The thunder snow over our heads provided a good motivation to get the heck out of there!

I got to the "16 Golden Steps" which was about 1/3 of a mile from the finish... these 16 steps are actually 32 rocky, steep, nasty switchbacks just before the summit and they break many people. I was pushing forward but I had a line of frozen bodies in front of me moving at a glacially slow pace and it was nearly impossible to pass with steep rocky slopes both above and below the trail so I had to instead resort to motivating the guys to go faster in front of me so I could go faster too. Some appreciated it, some didn't because they were dead men walking. I managed to get by a few of the dead men walking and came across the finish line in 3 hours and 45 minutes! Wow, I never imagined that was possible given the conditions!

I got my finisher medal and my shirt (it's REALLY nice!) and found Jan, Derek and Erica in the fog and sleet. When I got inside I realized that I too was bordeline hypothermic and had started to shake, had no fine motor control in my hands but was just pumped from the experience! Then I was treated to a really cool show of love and support from Jan, Derek and Erica who held up 3 placards which said on one side (when held up together) "Go Dad Go" and "We Are SO Proud" on the other side which really choked me up. They have been SO very supportive in this journey and really propped me up at the end when my confidence was faltering. I am the luckiest Dad and Husband in the world!

I put on my heavy jacket and headed outside to take my obligatory pictures at the summit. I can't vouch for the quality of the pictures however because I was shking so much the signs are probaly blurred and the sleet probably messed up the camera lens but I will post those pictures on the web site in the next few days. You'll notice the PP summit sign is crusted with snow and ice in mid-August.

The van ride down from the summit was an adventure as well! We were stuck for a while until snow plows could clear the ice from the road and I had to split up from my family to get the vans filled to capacity before they could head down. It was slow going and one plow had skidded off the road which held the vans up. Our car was parked at "Devil's Playground" which was 4 miles below the summit. They call it Devil's playground becaused of the way the lightning dances from rock to rock in that area during storms... yikes!

Epilogue...
It turned out that they closed the course and started turning all people back at the treeline about an hour after I passed through that area due to the dangerous conditions up top. 2,000 runners checked in, some bailed out due to the weather and did not even start the race, and only about 750 actually finished the race. I came in 297th, not bad.

I do feel bad, those that were turned back at the treeline (almost 9 miles up the trail) do not get shirts or medals because they did not finish. But we all knew the rules before we started.