Pigtails 100 Race Report

(June 3, 2023)

Well into its second decade, the Pigtails Challenge is a local ultra-running event held over Memorial Day weekend at Lake Youngs near Maple Valley. The distances range from 50k to 200 miles and all take place on a 9.4 mile loop around the lake – which strangely enough is almost completely hidden from view. I have bounced between the 100k and 100 mile and wanted to get some night running in this year so opted again for the 100 mile.

There are many benefits to loop courses. First, it gives you a chance to make quick adjustments from stuff you bring in the back of your car – specific foods, drinks, medical supplies. It removes the pressure of what to put in a drop bag. Secondly, it allows for multiple pacer interactions if you so desire. With each loop taking 1.5 – 3 hours, it is possible to schedule in friends to come run a loop, or more. I used both of these to my advantage during the race and indeed it is one of the reasons I return back to Lake Youngs as I see the race as part social event and part laboratory experiment to try new approaches.

We had an almost perfect day for running throughout – temps starting in the 50s and only reaching the low 60s with cloud cover most of the day. The 100 milers and 100k runners started together at 6:00am and both went out for a shorter 3 mile out and back (total 6 miles + 10 Loops x 9.4 miles = 100 miles) before the “real” loops began. It’s mainly a shakeout start where you try not to speed out too fast and instead chat with other runners, catching up and sharing goals. I ran most of this with Rachel, a trail friend, and we finished right around 1:05. After grabbing my water bottle and picking up her son Nate, a high school runner, we set out for the first full loop. As we shared stories, we tackled the first two in casual but reasonably brisk loops of about 2 hours each – not super fast as we walked all of the “hills” (900 feet vertical climb per loop).

Then it was my son Carter’s turn to help out as we headed out with a clockwise loop – directions are switched after each loop (odd are clockwise, even are counterclockwise). We talked a bit as I reminded him of the layout of the trail. Again, we hit right about 2 hours as I came in at 7:04 total time to meet up with a work buddy from the past, Scott. I was trying some new liquid calories after each loop – Ensure chocolate 8 oz bottles. I was also introducing Skratch electrolyte drink in one of my bottles. It tastes better than many of the other brands. My goal was to slow a bit during Loops 4 -7 and I did this, coming in at around 9:30 total time (3:30pm) and set up for another pacer exchange, with Wei from my Mountain Conditioning Class. I hadn’t prepared Wei that Loop 5 has traditionally been the hardest loop for me.

Carter and I on Loop 3

And so the struggles began. Things started fine as Wei and I shared some notes about our respective adventures and I explained the race format to him. But I could tell my body was being depleted of calories, like a slow drip. I had munched on potato chips, watermelon, bananas and a few protein bars but at some point food just stops being appetizing. We ambled along with a few bursts of running here and there but I clocked in closer to 12:25 total time and said my goodbyes to Wei. I had told my last pacer, Jens to wait until Loop 7 and reset expectations on the timing there. I tried eating pizza but really only had about 3 bites before heading out at 6:45 pm (12:45 running clock). Loop 6 was a strugglefest – I was slowing considerably and losing some willpower. It’s a strange phenomenon and is a bit like a light switch in that things can change good or bad quickly. But the demons were entering my head and I just couldn’t shake them as I made my way up a series of 6 small climbs to finish the loop. It was closer to 9:20 as I crossed the timing mat. I saw Rachel on my right – she had just finished her 100k in decent time. Instead of congratulating her on a job well done I suddenly had a mild meltdown, cursing myself and my weak abilities. An experienced ultrarunner, Rachel took it in stride. I found the chair by my car and had a 5-10 min pity party while Jens was tracking us down. Rachel filled him in on the situation. I was contemplating pulling out but didn’t want to – I just couldn’t see my way to “the other side” where running loops was enjoyable.

Jens immediately took charge, filled one water bottle with water, one with coke, and finally after much indecision, I growled “Let’s go” and we headed out. A bit more about Jens – he is a Strategic Planner for Adidas, an accomplished ultarunner and adventurer who is more active than me, certainly taking on more daring things. But perhaps more importantly, Jens served in the Army Rangers – a part of him I had not met before, but would soon learn to love/hate. To be absolutely clear, this is EXACTLY what I needed at this low, dark moment.

We would walk for a section and then run 100 paces, with Jens counting every 10. Then he would bark out “1 sip coke”, “1 sip water”, “1 bit Payday” – ah yes, the introduction of Payday bars into the race. Apparently, I’ve missed out on this salty, savory, nutty jewel. It tasted as good as anything and a simple nibble was all he asked for. We moved our way around the clockwise Loop 7 one section at a time. We talked about other things but Jens was absolutely in Director mode, scripting out my recovery, one slow mile after another.

And it worked. Eventually. We finished about 1:15am (roughly 19 1/4 hours total time) and he set me down with some broth. I drank some of it and then tried to take a salt pill, which I had skipped given the temps. It immediately came back up and I dry heaved for a good 3-5 mins (not a fun experience). After watching me in full convulsion mode, Jens gave me the option of a) running Loop 8 with me or b) coming back in the morning for Loop 10. I chose B, slowly swallowed the remainder of the broth, and headed out.

Loops 8-9 were about as slow as I had planned (3 hours) but I could feel my body coming back to life. I downed another Payday bar, one nibble at a time, mimicking our actions in the prior loop. After Loop 8, I had some grilled cheese and Butternut Squash soup, favorites of mine. The aid station at the middle of the loop had pulled out blackberries and – get this – strawberries. These helped tremendously. I finished off Loop 9 at about 7:55. Jens and I had agreed that I would shoot for 8:00am (26 total hours) to start Loop 10. As I came in and looked around, he was nowhere to be found.

I checked my phone and he had texted 40 mins earlier to see how I was doing. He had every right to question my ability to meet the scheduled time. I texted back that I was ready to finish it off. He lived reasonably close by and told me to head off without him and he would catch me. I started off on the final loop. In these long races, adrenaline can kick back in once you start smelling the end. This began to happen after the first few miles and I was running more. I set a goal to reach the halfway mark (Aid station) before Jens caught me. Completed. I pushed up the small climb with a purpose and started plowing through my final Z section when he came upon me, both physically spent and I believe a bit thrilled at the rapid recovery that he had set in motion. We chatted more as I ran intervals of a minute or two, getting stronger as we went. I was even able to tackle some of the hills at the end with gusto and completely the last loop in about 2:30, a clear 30 mins faster than the previous 4 loops! I finished up in 28:35, which ironically was the exact time from a year ago.

So despite a mediocre recorded time, I am counting this race as a success given some lessons learned about fortitude, positive mental attitude, and of course the need to continue eating, even when your body rejects the idea. A future Pigtails? Not sure, but certainly an option.