Crewing the "Big One"

Skip and I throwing some 'shoes

We headed up to Tahoe on Thursday afternoon. My uncle Dirk was gracious enough to let us use his cabin for the weekend, which was perfectly situated on Tahoe Donner Golf Course, a mere 15-ish minutes from the race start at Squaw Valley. The house is really cool, sleeps 10+ comfortably, has a hot tub, horseshoe pit, and a nice deck to take in the mountain vibe. With Landon, Michaela’s Mom Rachael, Aunt Becky, and Dad Skip in tow, we quickly got settled and headed out for dinner with friends in Truckee (including Elke and Barb who both ran and finished WS100). After dinner Landon was itching to go explore a street fair in Truckee so he and I cruised by all the local vendors. One vendor had a particularly “Rasta” thing working and taught Landon the “hang loose” hand sign, as well as to say “hang loose brudda!”….which was pretty funny.

This way to the Western States Store!

On Friday we left for Squaw Valley for all the pre-race festivities. Michaela had to sign a bunch of stuff, take her pre-race vitals (weight, blood pressure, etc.), and listen to the Race Director’s speech. It was really fun seeing a ton of our friends out there, with a palpable excitement in the air. Speaking of the air, did I mention it was freaking windy? The wind was an ominous sign as the flags whipped through the air, and just looking up the mountain to the top where the runners would be heading in a mere few hours had everyone questioning their gear. We picked up the remaining two members of our crew at Squaw (Kirk and Jenny) and headed back to the cabin for some laughs and drinks, a “last meal”, and whatever sleep we could muster (which wasn’t much).

Michaela's "last meal" with her family and crew

Race-Day morning came not-so-bright and early, as our alarms went off at an ungodly 3:15am. After a few quick cups of coffee, Michaela and her crew (Me, Skip, Kirk, and Jenny) headed to the start line to see her off. By the time we hit Squaw Valley it was evident that it was going to be cold, windy, and possibly rainy at the beginning of the race. Most years everyone is concerned with the scorching heat for this race so very few people come prepared for cold rain. We were in that majority and Michaela did the best she could to layer up with a shell and some gloves, but we knew she’d be cold. As the crowd congregated at the start we snapped some quick pictures, gave some last-minute high fives and watched as the mass of runners and headlamps made their way up the 4-mile Escarpment to the top of the mountain. It was a pretty cool sight, but after the crazy build up to the race start we all looked around at each other with “now what?” looks on our faces as we wouldn’t be seeing her again for like 6 hours.

Me with my honey "pre-race"

Turns out there really isn’t a place to get a cup of coffee in Truckee before 5:30am so we waited out a Starbucks and just so happened to beat the rush for our caffeine. After that we headed back to the cabin, got packed up, and hit the road as we had to drive all the way back to Forresthill (60 miles away), leave Kirk’s truck in a good spot, then head back up the mountain to meet Michaela at our first designated spot.

We should have read the signs early and realized that today was going to be a long, hard, cluster f*ck for us crew members, but we didn’t. When we pulled into the parking area at Robinson's Flat (mile 29) it was evident that nobody had a clue what the hell they were doing. There were cars EVERYWHERE and the geniuses that were assisting with parking were having cars park on rocks, up trees, in bushes, whatever. Obviously they were volunteers so we’ll just say “thank you” and move on. However, with the long lines waiting for the shuttle buses (we couldn’t drive all the way to the aid station), and the fact that they packed the bus so full with people that we ended up standing in the middle of the aisle right in front where we’d be the first one’s thrown the windshield should she hit the brakes on the very windy road…it was not a fun experience getting there. But get there we did, not knowing that the smarter move for us probably would have been to stay in the bus.

Kirk and Jenny freezing their asses off at Robinson's Flat

When we got to Robinson’s Flat it was about 40 degrees and raining hard. We found a good spot to set up so we’d see Michaela coming through, then did our best to cheer on runners as they came flying by. At one point the rain turned into sleet and hail, which was totally awesome. Kirk, being the gentleman that he is, let a friend borrow his jacket so she wouldn’t freeze to death and we continued to try and keep as warm and dry as we could. Eventually Michaela came through and it was clear that she was in a really good place mentally and physically, with the only concerning thing being her hands were a bit swollen (and by a bit, I mean it looked as if a swarm of bees had stung each finger several times). She discussed a few things with Kirk and was gone in a flash. She literally didn’t take anything from us (which is why I say we’d have been better off getting back in the bus). But I only say that jokingly as I know that just knowing we were out there to support her probably helped more than anything we could have given her to eat/drink. After she left it was another long wait for the shuttle, then back to the car to thaw out.

Getting our "crew duty" on at Forresthill

Forresthill (mile 62) was actually a pretty awesome experience for us. We basically just hung out there for 8+ hours watching all of the runners come through (including the leaders that went on to break course records). At some point Landon and Rachael and Becky met up with us and Landon had a blast cheering on the runners, constantly screaming “Let’s go! Good job Runner! You got this!”…it was very cute. Michaela came through around 8:45pm, the sun literally went down while she was at the aid station so we have some pics in the light and some in the dark. As she was getting closer my anal-retentive nature really started to kick in and I think I checked our supply setup about 50 times (our friend Larry who stopped by to help her out even mentioned to me that nothing had changed since the last 5 times I checked everything). I suppose he was right, but to be fair, we did have a little snack-elf (aka Landon) that kept sneaking over to steal goodies. Michaela came through in good spirits and changed out everything that she needed, with the exception of her contact lenses which I’m sure she’ll mention later. After a few hugs and cheers she was back on the trail, this time with Kirk who would run with her for the next 32-ish miles.

Jenny, Skip, and I packed everything up, waited at Forresthill to cheer on a few more of our friends, and then headed to Auburn for the home stretch. After dropping off the truck near the finish we headed over to Taco Tree for my first experience with the Auburn dining staple (delicious tacos, especially at 10pm when you’re starving!). Next stop was a church in Cool, CA where we’d wait in another line to hop on yet another shuttle to the Green Gate aid station. As we got on this shuttle it was clear we were in trouble as the driver announced to us he didn’t know where he was going. This bus was packed so full of people that we felt like we were in a clown car. Every bump in the road we hit was accompanied by a scraping noise as it sounded like we were bottoming out. It was fairly terrifying, along with the fact that the lady standing in front of us was getting sick and looked like she was one turn away from projectile-vomitting on the first three rows.

Hiking out of Rucky Chucky

The driver ended up trying to get us lost but was overruled by Jenny and several other passengers and we eventually made it to the aid station drop-off point. From here it was a nice 1.5 mile hike down to the aid station where we left Skip with our supplies as Jenny and I headed another 2 miles down to the River Crossing at Rucky Chucky. Keep in mind it was around midnight at this point so it was a cool hike down there with just our headlamps and about a million stars to guide us. Every so often we’d pass a runner and their pacer going the opposite direction. Most of them were freezing from the river but all in good spirits knowing how close they were to the end. Jenny and I probably spent half an hour at the river cheering on the runners and the volunteers (who were literally standing in cold, waist-deep water at midnight). The river was a pretty cool experience and one of my favorite parts of the race.

Waiting for a shuttle to get the hell out of Green Gate

Michaela and Kirk crossed the river around 12:30am and we immediately started the hike back up. The four of us shared some stories and the 2 miles clicked by quickly. Skip was excited to see her come through when we finally arrived and after a shoe change she and Kirk were back on their way. Jenny, Skip, and I then managed the last 1.5 mile hike back up to where we’d be picked up (I don’t think Skip knew that he signed up for a pretty hilly hike at 1am but he was a total rock star). At this point we had worked up a bit of a sweat as we’d just covered 7 miles downhill and then back up. However, we barely missed making the shuttle (they were down to 1 bus at this point) and we had to wait a solid hour in the cold and dark, literally feeling the sweat freeze on us. At one point I think Jenny fell asleep on the road but it was too dark to tell.

A hug for Kirk before the last stretch

The final stop for me was the Highway 49 Aid station (mile 92.5ish), which was a really quick shuttle trip (thank god) from Cool, CA. At this point I had changed into my running gear and was ready to get out on the course with Michaela for some fun. As we sat there taking in some coffee and cheering on all the half-dead-looking runners the delicious smell of bacon and other tasty breakfast items from the aid station invaded our nostrils. Now that was total torture! As the sun started to rise we saw Michaela and Kirk make their way towards us. Kirk gave me a quick status update, Michaela gave him a well-deserved hug of gratitude, and then we were off again (the girl was not messing around).

The last few miles of the run were very enjoyable for me and I’ll just leave it at that as I don’t want to spoil anything that may come up on her report.

Post-run smile (pic by Landon)

The post-run activities were a little crazy as well. Especially when the race’s effort finally took its toll on Michaela and she needed my help getting to the Medical Tent and later when I supported her to the car. The ride home was somewhat comical as we had been up for well over 30 hours at that point and I kept half-dozing off. I wasn’t driving but I kept having to snap up and tell Skip where to turn (I have no idea why he was even driving at that point as he’d been up just as long…I’m beginning to think he may not be human). After some clean up Michaela took a quick cat-nap and then we headed back to Auburn so she could get her belt buckle. At this point Skip and I were ready for some beers so that’s what we did while we watched the ceremony.

The day winded down with us relaxing at the house. After a few beers, some sun, and about 40 hours with no sleep (and two previous nights with terrible sleep), I was officially D-U-N. I grabbed a sleeping bag from the garage and laid in the grass in the front yard with a beer in my hand while watching Landon ride his bike. The next thing I know it’s an hour later, my beer is still “somewhat” in my hand, and I’m just waking up from a nap (I don’t nap!). That was a good enough sign for me…. I think I went to bed before 7pm and slept for like 13 hours…and I didn’t even run 100 miles! 

Now that the dust has finally settled, I'd just like to say thank you to Kirk, Jenny, Skip, Rachael, Becky, Landon, and everyone else that helped us during this past weekend or the days leading up to it. But more than anything, I want to say thank you to Michaela for letting me play a part in her amazing journey. It was a great experience for me, I learned a ton, and made some memories that will last a lifetime.