I See Crouching People
Western States 100M – A Pacer’s Story
June 25, 2005

Moving along in the darkness on the single track trail leading to Rucky Chucky River Crossing at mile 78- Kim mentions, "I keep seeing trail helpers in khaki pants crouching next to the trail.’
I ask her ‘Do they have on white shirts and a tie?’
She replies ‘no.’ but does not elaborate any further. She’s tired and I’m just glad that she associates the ‘trail helpers’ as just that…and not ‘trail demons’…that would not be a good thing.

Kim arrived at Michigan Bluff (55.7m) after 8PM and this is where I started by WS100 pacing adventure. She was glad to see me and I was glad to see her in good spirits and still on the move. Her splits had not been updated since Dusty Corners (mile 38) and we had no idea how she was doing or if she was even still on the course.
She had stayed consistently at least 1 hour ahead of the cut off all day. The plan was to keep it that way and get her to the finish line at Placer High in Auburn, CA safe and sound.

We arrived at Forest Hill (62m) and she took a few minutes to change clothes, eat, restock supplies, loose a bottle and gain a flashlight. We left at exactly 10:30PM.
We moved along great to Dardanelles (65.7m) but Peachstone (70.7m) and Ford’s Bar (73m) were a bit slower. It just seemed like we would never get there, but soon enough we would hear the generators and know that we were getting closer! We maintained our one hour cushion through these last 11 miles and we were still moving so I was not too worried.

‘I just saw a garden hose.’ Kim mentions as we shuffle down the trail.
I had to laugh, why was she seeing garden hoses??
‘At least nothing has gotten in the way…except for those lawn chairs that keep popping up in the middle of the trail.’ she continues to mention, mostly talking to herself.

The 5-mile trek to Rucky Chucky (78m) was a bit faster than the last 8 miles that we had completed and arrived at the near side of the river crossing at around 3:45am.
We grabbed some food and proceeded to wait in line along with about another dozen or so runners and pacers for the raft ride across the river. Once on the other side we changed shoes and headed off into the darkness. Our 1 hour cushion had just been chipped away to 50-minutes. I mentioned this to Kim and hoped we would make up some time between the river and Auburn Lake Trails (85.2m). Our pace picked up, but not enough…the cut-offs were getting tighter and by the time we got to ALT we had lost another 10 minutes.

‘Look there’s a couple of people in lawn chairs.’
‘Yea…right, OK. Just ignore them, we’re almost there’.
Well what do you know….there were two kids in lawn chairs. We just arrived in ALT.

We hear the Beatles in the distance….no, it’s not another hallucination, it’s Brown’s Bar (89.9m). I tell Kim to shuffle to the beat of the music…her pace picks up.
We grab some food quickly. We’re still ahead of the cut off but now we only have 85 minutes to travel 3.6 miles to make the cut-off at Highway 49 (93.5m).

‘I’m sooooo tired. I can’t do this.’
‘You are NOT tied…say it…I am not tired!’
‘I am not tired…maybe a little.’
‘You are NOT tired…now keep moving!’

I’m pushing the pace, pushing all the buttons that I can to keep her focused on moving as quickly as she can. I mention her kids and family, co-workers, running partners. I massage her ego and remind her that raising her children was/is harder work than what she is going through now. It all works, we travel quickly through the downhill section after leaving Brown’s Bar, but it’s an up-hill grind to Highway 49.

‘Are we there yet?’
‘ Five more minutes.’
‘Five MORE minutes??!!!...uuughhhh’

We arrive at Hwy 49 with 15 minutes to spare on the cut-off…whew…that was close!!!

‘6.5 miles Kim…a little over 2 laps around Memorial Park. You can do it!!’

We now have 85 minutes to travel 3.3 miles to No Hand’s Bridge (96.8m).
There’s an initial climb out of Hwy 49, but after that it is a nice gradual downhill.
Only 6.5 miles to the finish line and Kim is picking up her pace she runs/shuffles all the way from the top of the climb to No Hands Bridge!

‘OK Kim…you’re going to have to dig deep for this one. Only 3.4 miles to go, but it’s almost all up-hill. You can do it!’
‘I can do this…I’m soooo tired.’
‘You are NOT tired, now focus!’

After grabbing some banana slices, a coke and refilling water bottles we start making our way up to Robbie Point (98.9m). We have a total of 67 minutes to cover the next 3.4 miles to make it to the finish line by 11AM.
We start to climb slowly…too slowly actually. The trail is fairly wide at this point and I have Kim take my hand. We start swinging our arms like a couple of little girls walking along happily and her climbing pace starts to pick up.

‘Kim, can you tell how much faster you are walking right now? This really works.’
"Yea, it works with little kids too when you want them to walk faster.’
‘Well, let’s go, where almost there!’
‘You always say that.’
This time it was true…we had just walked by a sign that said ‘You are almost there.’

We reach Robbie Point and wave at the aid station as we continue up the asphalt pavement. More up hill, but now we have one mile to go. She’s smelling the barn and as soon as we crest the hill(s) Kim starts running. People are cheering us on…they know we are close to the cut-off and are wishing us well.
We hit the high school track.

‘Where do we go from here?’ Kim asks.
‘Kim the finish line is on the other side…do you think you can handle running to the other side of the track in at least 7 minutes??’ I joke with her.

We’re about 20 yards from the finish and Kim starts to sprint it in. I’m thinking…where was all that energy 15 miles ago??
She did it!
She finished in 29:53 and was the 3rd to last person to make the 11am cut-off.
Congratulations Kimmy on your first 100-mile finish!