The G Running Diary

Diablo on a Good Day: 4/16/04

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Sarah, Don, and I set out just after 6:00 am Saturday (4/10/04) to run the Diablo 50 Mile course. Wendell and Aaron were crewing, meeting us at the aid station locations used for the official run, which would be one week later. This way of running the course was nicer, in a way, because there was no time pressure, and Wendell's aid stations had special extras for us.

This course has almost 14,000 feet of climbing. That's a lot. But I wasn't thinking about that when we started. I was just wondering if we'd be done before midnight. And would it still be warm? The weather was so nice--clear blue skies and the temperature was warm enough that we could start off without jackets. Well, Sarah and I could. Don still wore his til about noon.

We chatted away as we climbed the first peak. We were going slow enough that I could still talk, but I started to get a little winded during one of my longer stories. Before we knew it, we were meeting Wendell and Aaron. We got Pringles and water and I stared at the M&Ms until I had to open them.

We laughed about the difference between the conditions for this run and the same time last year when we ran Jim Winne's Diablo 50 Miler. Last year the rain was really bad, which we eventually got used to, but by the end of the run we were struggling through so much mud that it took us hours to finish. This year was beautiful. It was only windy right at the summit. Maybe it was a little hot, but that didn't matter either because Wendell had a whole cooler full of ice.

Wendell and Aaron joined us for the little section up to the summit. What great views. Then we were off down to Burma road. The downhill was nice until we got to the steep downhill. My knees already felt worn down. This steep downhill was a killer. But in a fun way. In the next part we were chugging down the fireroad when Sarah paused for a snake in the road. She didn't realize it at first, but Don saw right away that it was a rattle snake. It looked like it was digesting its lunch, sleeping in the trail. Don got the sleepy picture then threw a stick at it to get an action shot. I made sure to stay way back. Yikes. It stayed in the grass at the side of the trail, rattling.

Not long after that section, we got lunch. Wendell brought us lots of Taco Bell soft tacos and a few bean burritos. Maybe I should have stayed away from the beans, but it was all really good. Our next stop was Live Oak. We needed to load up with liquids because the next section was 13 miles with no water. Don and Sarah got some chocolate milk. I still am not willing to try that on a run. I got an empty chocolate milk bottle filled with water, and a bottle of coke. I used CLIP in one of my main bottles and water in the other. Don was using Amino. It all went down fine.

We went down the single-track trail that eventually leads out to Finley Road. I thought I was being kind of noisy on the trail, and then I realized, Aaron and Wendell were running behind me. Wendell had the measuring wheel--he was measuring a short out and back for the official marathon course. We all ran through the poison oak, and I felt like we were moving fast since it was downhill. Soon Wendell and Aaron had to turn around and we continued down the trail. We'd see them back at Live Oak in under four hours. Don was lingering at the back, taking pictures. Sarah was up front. I thought she was crashing around, but then she yelled, "a pig" and I saw this big black thing running away through the bushes and trees.

We made it back to Live Oak quicker than I thought we would. It was before 7:00 pm. We had 12 miles to go. At this point we thought it would be a good idea to use a little Tecnu and hose off, because we had run through lots of poison oak. Lots. I stood around eating handfuls of bunny mix M&Ms and Pringles (yes, together). I don't know why, but that tasted really good. Last year we had stopped at this point, with some excuse like being cold and having to go to work the next day. This time there was no thought of stopping, and off we went.

In the dark, things slow down a little. You feel like you're flying along, but even with the best flashlight in the world, it's just slower. But none of us minded. We were just happy to be there. It stayed warm too, which was really great. I didn't need the jacket I'd brought along. Sarah said she was too warm in her vest. It was so much nicer than being too cold at night.

We came to a steep trail that headed down. Sarah had mentioned it, and that Wendell and co. had worked on the trail themselves. But it was still steep, and slippery in some parts. First I slipped. Then Don. Then Sarah. Then I slipped again. I didn't feel all that confident on those trails. It would level out, and then we'd get some more slippery stuff. I started to grumble a little. Don just wanted to take more pictures. Sarah kept saying we were almost done. Things sure looked different in the dark though, and I was convinced we were way up the mountain somewhere. It didn't feel like we were near Mitchell Canyon at all. But suddenly, things flattened out, we moved along fast, and then we were done. It almost seemed too bad that it had to end, but I was feeling sleepy. So that was fine. I trotted over to the bathroom and then we went out the gate of the park to Wendell's minivan.

Our adventure was over. Back in Palo Alto, we stopped for Jack in the Box tacos and egg rolls--the perfect late night snack. We had managed to take all day and half a night to do our run: 17 and a half hours. I think we made the most of that one.