Sun Mountain 50K

 On Friday night, our family went to see Micah star as Percy Jackson in The Lightning Thief at Eckstein Middle School (which was amazing!), and then Anna and I hopped in the car with a crew heading over to the Methow Valley arriving there at 1:30 am.  Elise, Wayne, Della, Maegan, Elizabeth, and I then woke up bright and early to go run in the Sun Mountain 50K on Saturday morning. 

Ann, Anna, Elizabeth, Emily & Erica hopping in the car at 9:45 p.m. 

at the start line with Wayne, Della, Maegan, Elizabeth, and Elise on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. 

Running a 50K was one of the things I had put on my list of things to do to celebrate turning 50 this year. While the Sun Mountain 50K certainly was perhaps the most beautiful course I have ever run, I will also say that it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done too. (And I was grateful that I was not the only one--- multiple runners said this was one of the toughest courses they’ve been on.) The temperatures got into the high 80’s at midday, and one person posted on their Strava that they were “running on the surface of the sun” to describe the race. After the race, we overheard someone talking who said that he was going to make sure for the next race that he chose that it would not have the name “mountain” in the name of the race. Yup- with an elevation gain of 5600 feet logged in this race, I think this is a wise choice to keep in mind for the future.

50K -- Saturday May 20

Elevation Gain: 5600ft

Elevation Loss: 5600ft

Number of Aid Stations: 3+

a superbloom of sunflowers 

I started running with Elizabeth and Elise, and our first 17 miles felt strong and consistent. Elise had planned to stop at 17, and after we left her at that aid station, we did not know that we were about to head into what seemed like Mordor (the volcanic mountain in Lord of the Rings).  The next section was at the heat of the day, and I started experiencing some signs of heat exhaustion. At one point, another runner offered me a packet of soy sauce, and it was a game changer to get some salt in my system. We were doing a mix of walking and running at this point, and Elizabeth stuck with me and was putting her hand on my back for support as we were gutting our way to the top of another mountain. I really don’t know a better picture of friendship than this. 

feeling strong at mile 17 

heading into Mordor 

The next game changer was when Anna met us at mile 21 and then ran the last 10 miles with us. She gave us a burst of energy that we needed, being the best encourager that anyone could ask for as she happily distracted us with stories and music along the way so that we were not focusing on the muscle cramps, aches, and mosquito bites we were experiencing in the last stretch. She also strapped on my backpack to take a load off of me and put her arm around me for support to help me dig deep and find my way to the finish line.  

sight for sore eyes at mile 21 

at the water station at mile 21 

necklace I wore in the race that Elizabeth had given to me 

when I went to run in the Boston Marathon in 2016 

only 10K to go around this point.... 

happiest finish line of my life! 

  

"In ultramarathons, more than in any other sporting events, a finish is a win!" 

-Outside Magazine 

Michael Sandrock, author of Running with the Legends, said, 

"ultrarunning is all about the experience, not the result." -Outside Magazine 

Needless to say, I cried some happy tears with Anna and Elizabeth at the end as I was so filled with gratitude for being able to finish this race and for their amazing love shown to me on that mountain.  

  

cover of the cards I wrote this morning to my support team from the weekend...