2012 Rainer to Ruston 50 Mile Ultramarathon

I hit a wall in January.  Fishing was slow, the weather was dreadful and my running was stagnant.  I needed a goal.  The answer came to me while surfing the web for some local races.  I came across the "2012 Rainier to Ruston Rail Trail Relay and 50 mile Ultramarathon" or "R2R".  I decided it was time for a goal - and a challenging one at that - I chose to race in the 50 mile solo ultramarathon.

Approaching Stage 2 of the R2R 50 Mile Ultramarathon

According to the website http://www.rainiertoruston.com/raceinfo_50M.html, the abandoned Northern Pacific Railroad line from Mt. Rainier to Commencement Bay (Puget Sound) now hosts the annual Rainier to Ruston Rail-Trail Relay and Ultra, challenging teams of runners, walkers, and ultras to descend the historic railroad grade in a 50-mile race to the sea. 

While the route is relatively new as a trail relay (this was the 10th year of the race), it has seen its share of history. The Northern Pacific Railroad emerged from Abraham Lincoln's 1864 passage of the Northern Railroad Charter, part of his aggressive wartime campaign to "conquer space" in the Western frontier.

As they follow the same route that once shuttled passengers between the Great Lakes and Tacoma, the Rainier to Ruston runners pass through towns that grew up alongside the railroad. Carbonado's public school dates back to 1878, a year after rails went down. Wilkeson's Old Washington Hotel began serving railroad workers in the 1880's. As part of the Buckley line, Orting hosted trainloads of timber on a daily basis.

The conversion from railroad to public trail has been a long time coming. In 1984 the railroad, by then the Burlington Northern, attracted the attention of Buckley's Dr. Douglas Tait. Tait envisioned a Rails-to-Trails project that would convert the old grade into a non-motorized thoroughfare. In 1985 the Burlington Northern took up the tracks, clearing the way for a trail.

This challenge really began for me in January when I paid the $65.00 entry fee and found this ultramarathon training plan http://www.scrunners.org/ultrasch.php?month=6&day=2&year=2012&dow=6&schedule=50m&submit=Draw+Schedule.  

The primary difference between marathon training and ultramarathon training is the addition of a second "long run" during the weekend...plus an additional two, 25-plus mile training runs.  I was able to complete every long run during the training though I missed the second long run on several weeks due to injury or the physical impact from building cinder block raised garden beds.

Cinder block raised garden bed project 2012

My R2R experience began the day before the race when my support team (J and the girls...) traveled with me to Tacoma.  We took advantage of a discount offered to runners at the Buckley, WA. Econolodge which proved to be a big mistake that I'll explain later.  Wanting to get acquainted with the race trail and stage locations, we traveled to the starting area of the race on Mount Rainier and began the drive west to Puget Sound.   

Much of the first three stages of the R2R parallels the Carbon River

The start location is near the entrance to the Mount Rainier National Forest - An incredibly beautiful location containing old growth timber and steep terrain which is separated by the  Carbon River.  The race is divided into a dozen stages where relay teams exchange runners or where ultra runners are able to replenish water bottles and food supplies.  About the first 1/3 of the race is on unpaved trails. This first section of the course is considered "technical trail" and proved to be the most challenging.

On the morning of the race we woke after only getting a few hours rest.  The motel's leaky toilet and paper-thin walls made for a frustrating evening of listening to loud voices and snoring from the room next door.  I had pre-arranged my running gear so we were out the door and headed to the start at about 5:00 a.m.  

I chose the 6:00 a.m. "early start" option for this race because I didn't know how I would finish, or honestly, if I could finish.  I didn't want to leave race officials waiting around for me to finish so the early start would benefit them as well.  

For the start, J and the girls stood by while me and twenty or so other runners headed west along the Carbon River....not knowing what the day would hold.  Had I known the outcome, I would have started with the rest of the pack at 7:00 a.m.  The weather was perfect - about 50 degrees and overcast. For most of the race, I enjoyed 60 degree weather with some drizzle and cloudy skies.  

Mentally, I broke the race into thirds.  I knew that I could run at least 34 miles without much of a break...but any mileage beyond that was uncharted territory.   I ran the first stage relatively slow, about a 10 minute pace to ensure my glycogen stores were in tact for the hard miles to follow.  After arriving at Stage 2 (technical trail), I enjoyed maneuvering down the muddy, rocky and partially obstructed (trees/limbs) trail.  I hadn't spent much time training on trails so several miles into the race I could feel some burn in my thighs.  My feet were soaked causing the start of a blister on my left foot.

At approximately mile 25 I met J and the girls at Stage 6.  There, I changed clothes, shoes and socks which helped with the blistering.  

Stage 6 - South Prairie

I knew that I was going to have a good day when, at mile 34, my legs felt moderately strong and I was (hopefully) only 2 1/2 hours to the end....then came the 5 mile stretch of sandy trail.  The earlier trails had worn on my legs, but the following miles came and went as planned.  What I hadn't planned for was running on sand.  This section of trail was bordered by a cement drainage wall to the north and heavy brush to the south...no room to escape.  

This section of trail reminded me of running at the Oregon Coast and the sense of frustration grew from the slowing of my pace and the drain on my leg muscles.  As I exited the sandy trail I knew that I could finish...but also realized that my legs were starting to give-in to fatigue.  With about 9 miles to go my pace wavered from around 10-10:30 minutes per mile to likely around 13 minutes per mile.  It became ugly...a dark place mentally - Yet, I was thrilled to be meeting my goal of breaking 11 hours for the race.

Nike Pegasus Shoes 

Entering the final leg was both exciting and extremely painful.  It's an amazing feeling when mentally you think you can run, but physically, your body just wants to rest.  During this past stretch I had met a fellow first-time ultramarathoner.  We had leap-frogged each other on the previous sandy stretch and with only a mile to the finish line...he met and then passed my location.  I set a personal goal to beat this younger runner but when he passed me this last time I decided to let him bask in the victory that was now certainly his to enjoy in less than a mile. Then, it happened...he started walking.  I could see that he was struggling at about the same time I could hear the sounds of the crowd at the finish line.  I thought to myself that  this may be the last opportunity to finish strong in an ultramarathon - and it was time to settle this sidebar race and beat this younger runner.

With an eye for glory and a painful gimp, I let loose and began sprinting.  As I passed this other runner I could see that he immediately looked up at me and tried to kick-start his run once more.  After taking only a few steps I could hear him exhale with a painful moan which led to him settling into a slow walk once more - leaving me an open lane to the finish line.  

It was great to be greeted by J and the girls at the "Ruston Way" finish line.  My primary goal of the race was to show my daughters what it meant to set and reach a challenging goal (the very next day they went for a run!).  My finishing time was 9:23:46....I was amazed when the announcer called my name as the Third Place Winner in the Master's Division (time yet to be confirmed).  I walked away with a bronze colored third place rail road spike as well as a black colored rail road spike for finishing.

R2R Finisher's Medal and RR Spikes

I'm glad that, back in January, I decided to set the goal of running an ultramarathon.  After logging hundreds of miles of training runs, dialing in my nutrition and reading as much as possible about ultramarathons - I was able to reach my goal.  I surprised myself a bit with my finishing time.  When I completed two previous Portland Marathons, I told myself at the end of the race that I would never run another - and told myself the same thing at the end of the R2R.  However, it's now easy to reflect on the overall joy and satisfaction that I experienced with this race and I can't help but to think that there's another ultramarathon in my future.