I made a point to start drinking coffee at Foresthill. The plan was to change shoes and socks at Foresthill. I had worn my Montrail Hurricane Ridge Shoes from the start because of the snow sections and mud (which turned out to be minimal) between Escarpment and Lyon Ridge, and also because the shoes have a tall and long toe box for the long descents. But because the shoes are gortex, when water gets inside of them, they can stay wet for a long time. In preparation for the river crossing I changed into my Vitesse Shoes. That was so I could cross the river and immediately start the climb up to Green Gate. I did not want to risk sitting down at Rucky Chucky Far Side to change shoes, and start stiffening up before the climb. I knew I had a blister problem on the right foot, but since it had not been bothering me the past 30miles we all felt it was best to leave the socks on and only change the shoes. That turned out to be a wise decision. I also decided to leave one bottle at Foresthill; one water bottle seemed adequate for the night section. ( If this turned out to be a poor choice, I had extra bottles at both ALT and Hwy 49). Doug and I said goodbye to Gigi and Katie, we would see them again at Hwy 49 Crossing.
The 28:30 schedule indicated 5 hours would be needed to cover the 15.5 miles from Foresthill to Rucky Chucky(RC) . This seemed long to me. In the training run and in Rucky Chuckly Roundabout, I had covered this stretch in 3 hours. Having 62miles on one’s legs and the night darkness, I would expect some slow down but not two hours worth. I looked at splits for other runners over previous years who left Foresthill around 9pm to 9:30, and their spilts from Foresthill to RC ranged from 4:50 to 5:45. This data told me that the slowdown factor from leg fatigue and nighttime was significant and real. Still I wanted to try to beat 5 hours. I told Doug that it would make me very happy to break 5 hours, even if the split turned out to be 4:59. He said we would break 5 hours. It helped to have some day light remaining when we departed Foresthill.
Doug and I left Foresthill like bandits on the run. I wanted to use the remaining daylight to get beyond that first downhill stretch. This was one of my most favorite sections of the race. I felt as if I had new legs again and we seemed to fly down the single track , passing many runners and pacers in this section. As dusk approached , we stopped briefly for me to get the headlamp out of the zippered fanny pack compartment. I decided not to use my flashlight, so that I could carry the waterbottle in my hand (instead of in my pack). When I keep a water bottle in my hand, then I tend to drink more frequently.
Darkness set in, and I settled into the darkness. With the illumination provided by my headlamp and Doug's flashlight, we continued to run in the dark but at a slower pace . We reached Daradanelles in less than an hour. The sections between Daradanelles and Peachstone and Peachstone to Fords Bar are blurry in my memory; although three things stand out. First, I tripped and fell in one of these sections. I hit the lower front corner of my right knee on a rock. Fortunately the brace I was wearing minimized the abrasion from the rock, but there was still some broken skin. When I tried to stand up, my calf muscles cramped. Doug had to help me up. After about 30 strides the lingering pain from the fall dissipated into the background …Second, we had to come to a complete stop at one point because a safety/medical check volunteer on horseback was helping a runner off the trail . It was a narrow section of trail bounded by a rock wall on one side and a cliff/drop-off to the American River on the other side. Scooting around the backside of a horse always makes me nervous. With patience on everyone's part, we managed to navigate around and continue on. The third thing I remember is entering either Peachstone or Fords Bar and seeing Gordy again. When we left, Doug said that Gordy was enjoying a beer. I was taking a drink of coffee whenever it was available. I was hoping to avoid the drowsiness that had paralyzed me to a slow crawl during the wee morning hours at RDL100.
I reached RC Near Side at 1am in the morning, an hour and ten minutes ahead of my plan. We had managed to cover the 15.5 miles from Foresthill in 4.5 hours, well under the 5hours predicted by the schedule. After being weighed, a volunteer armed with a flashlight led Doug and me down the rocky path to the river’s edge. I had removed my knee brace, and fanny pack and slung them all over my shoulder, freeing up my hands for holding on to the cable. Underwater glowsticks marked the sharp dropoffs and deep points. The water was chilly (in the 40’s) and became waist deep near the midpoint of the river.
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