Red Rock Fat Ass 50k

On January 6, 2007, I ran my first ultramarathon, the Red Rock Fat Ass 50k. The “Fat Ass” series of races is a series of low key ultramarathons. They're usually put on by local ultrarunners who want to be able to race, but don't want to go through the hassle of organizing a big race. Generally speaking, they have no advertising, little or no aid, no entrance fee and no prizes. In this race we kept track of our own time, there were two aid stations which we passed 3 and 4 times and it was run in the Red Rock National Recreational Area. One advantage of these races is they can often be run in areas where it would be impossible to get permits for an official race. There were 18 runners this year. The race's website is found at http://www.ultrarunner.net/redrockfa50k.html.

The course is a sort of out and back with a bit of a twist that allowed us to pass the two aid stations as often as we did. The course can be divided into three parts.

1.

The run from the fee station parking area to the White Rock Trailhead. This is about 6.5 miles and is substantially uphill although it contains ups and downs. The earliest part of this leg is the rockiest and most technical portion of the trail. This goes along what's called the calico hills trail. It's a very popular area for rock climbers as it traverses the base of a set of sandstone cliffs. There were rock cairns along this portion of the run to help keep us on the right track as there are many trails cutting through here going to various climbing walls. The first aid station was at the White Rock trailhead.
2.

The run from White Rock to the Willow Springs Trailhead on Rocky Gap Road. This is the lower half of the White Rock Willow Springs Loop. This leg is about 3 miles long and starts with a fairly substantial downhill portion that was a wonderfully pleasant break after the first leg. This is followed by a short uphill and another short downhill into the Willow Springs Picnic Area. After about a quarter mile of flat pleasant running through the picnic area, there's about ¾ of a mile of steady climbing up Rocky Gap Road to get to the Willow Springs trailhead and second aid station. This leg is around 3 miles long.
3.

The upper portion of the White Rock Willow Springs Loop from Willow Springs back to White Rock. This was the most grueling climb of the run taking us to the highest altitudes we would reach during the race. The gut busting climb was followed by a steep and rapid descent back to the White Rock aid station. This leg is about 3.5 miles long.

The order of running these legs is as follows, an “R” following the leg number indicates the leg is run in reverse. 1-2-3-2-2R-3R-2R-1R. By my estimated mileages above, this adds up to 32 miles. The online race desription puts the course at 31.1 or 50 kilometers with 5400 vertical feet of both climbing and descent, so I figure my estimates are pretty close. You can see that we run everything in reverse after having run it once, making the course an out and back, but the loop which is run two full times with two extra runs along the lower portion allows us to pass the White Rock Aid Station four times and the Willow Springs station thrice.

I started out a bit faster than I should have and for the first two miles or so kept the leader, Ian Torrance, in sight. Ian is a world class ultrarunner who's won this race every year he's run it and who at one point held the record for the Grand Slam of ultrarunning. Luckily, after about two miles, I realized I was working too hard and should back off that pace in order to finish the race. I felt great and ran through the first aid station. I still had plenty of drink in my bottles and didn't need any food, so I didn't bother to stop. I was feeling a bit warm, but I'd sent my drop bag to Willow Springs, so there was nothing to be done at that point. At Willow Springs, I stopped and dropped off my gloves and my hat (which I hadn't been wearing for a while) and changed out of my polartec shirt into a long sleeved thin polyester shirt. I also ate a few pretzels and refilled my bottles and went on my way. The first time up the grueling climb of leg 3, I felt good and ran the whole way, but questioned the wisdom of leaving my gloves as my hands were getting cold at the higher altitudes. I dropped down to White Rock feeling good. I didn't need any water, but ate a few tortilla chips to just keep taking on calories. By the time i made the picnic area again, I was starting to feel the need to use the restroom, but I figured I'd be coming back through here shortly as the turn around was at the Willow Springs aid station. On my way up Rocky Gap Road, I noticed a fellow runner catching up to me. I tried to hold him off, but realized that I wasn't really gaining any ground on him, despite the fact that I was running up the hill and he was just hiking it. I slowed to a hike and he and I chatted until we reached the aid station, after which he lost me. I hit the Willow Springs station and stayed a little while nibbling on cookies and refilling my water bottles. I decided that on the loop with both aid stations, there was no need to carry both bottles, so I left on at Willow Springs. I added a Nuun electrolyte tablet to both bottles and headed out carrying one bottle and leaving the other to pick up later. Having one hand free encouraged me to reach for my honey flask more often, which I felt was a good way to keep taking on calories. I stopped in the picninc area and used the outhouses. I felt a little better after that, but didn't feel like I'd really gotten everything out. My second time around the loop, I was definitely more tired and I walked more often on the big uphills, but I still felt like my energy levels were good. I had a lot of gas and my stomach hurt, but I was keeping my food down, so I figured I was doing OK. According to the aid station volunterr, there were runners having problems with vomiting. I had a banana and an Oreo cookie at White Rock. I finished my second loop and picked up my second bottle glad to be on the way back. I ate some pumpkin cookies at the aid station and then stopped again at the picnic area toilets to see if I could solve my bowel troubles. Again, I felt a bit better, but knew I was going to continue to have problems. I was pretty slow back to White Rock, where I ate some peanut butter filled pretzels and a plantain pocket one of the ladies at the aid station had cooked. The plantain pocket was really good and I left feeling tired but pretty good. I only had 6.5 miles to go when I left White Rock the last time and I intended to speed up for a good finish, but I was finding it difficult to motivate myself until about four miles from the finish when I noticed another runner catching me. I sped up and managed to hold him off until the trails got more confusing. The Rock Cairns had been easier to follow on the way out than on the way back. Luckily it turned out the runner catching me was Ed Furtaw, the former race director and designer of the course. Ed and I ran together for a while. He showed me the correct route and we chatted about running. I told him that this was my first ultramarathon and that two years ago I had weighed nearly 300 pounds, but had gotten things on track and was able to do this sort of thing now. He seemed genuinely impressed with what I'd done and told me I'd saved my own life. After we got past the most confusing portion of the trail and were about 2 miles from the finish I told Ed I'd had fun running with him, but I was going to try to beat him now. He wished me luck and I went on my way. A couple of times I nearly got off the trail, but Ed was close enough to shout directions and I made it in in 6 hours and 54 minutes.

Ian Torrance had won the race with 4:53, his slowest time on the course. I told him that was pretty pathetic and he looked ashamed. Ed came in right behind me at 6:55. I had a wonderful time and hope to return next year. I definitely think that trail ultrarunning is something I enjoy and I hope to try a 50 miler within the next year or two. The people I met were all very pleasant, and I was very impressed with the aid station volunteers and the work of the current race director, Jim Rapp. I think it's very kind of all of them to put on such a nice race for us.

As we were sitting around chatting after the race, Ian Torrance delivered what I thought was the quote of the day. I won't get it exactly right, but it went something like this and I'll end with this thought.

“When ever I'm having issues, I'm out there and I'm not having a good time, I think, well what else would I be doing, sitting home watching TV? Then I feel better and I keep on going.”