My Western States Story

Photo Credit: Stephanie Deveau

Wow......it's finally starting to sink in that I won Western States. 

Running the last mile with my crew and finishing on the track in Auburn was one the greatest feelings ever. I was overcome with so many emotions: excitement, astonishment, gratitude, exhaustion..... 

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

That feeling of floating around the track, under the lights, is something I will remember for years to come. It still brings a smile to my face. 

To hear more about how my race unfolded, read my Western States Race Report.

Other cool interviews:

• iRunFar Pre-race Interview
• iRunFar Post-race Interview
• Finish-line Interview 
• Ultra Sports Live Post-race Interview      
• Runners-recap-Western-States-100-Mile-Endurance-Run

Photo credit: Stephanie Deveau

I really can't put into words what this day meant to me. So in the words of Zach, who ran with me for 38 miles and put up with me for weeks leading up to the race...

The Western States Story, according to Zach

The months leading up to the race were difficult. Steph was training a lot, I was traveling for work and we rarely saw each other. We did a few key training runs together (40 miles back to back on the Rogue river and the Memorial Day Western States training camp) so I knew she was in shape and almost as importantly, I was in good enough shape to keep up.

Pre-race hiking in Tahoe Donner

Steph headed down to Tahoe-Donner on Monday before the race to relax. I had to work and wasn’t able to leave until Thursday. Each day I’d get a text or email from Steph asking me to bring something she forgot, such as her hydration bladder and vest (yes she forgot this at home), a specific pair of socks that were in the laundry,  some extra flasks, etc. By Thursday I had a big bag of forgotten gear to take with me as I drove down with Ken & Denise. 

The days leading up to the race Steph was mostly calm and collected, but had a couple  nervous freak-outs. The night before the race I was out to dinner with friends while Steph stayed home to relax and organize her things for the morning. Around 7:30 I received a call from Steph asking me to come home. She was getting nervous and totally overthinking things [Author's Note- yes, I had a night-before-the-race freak out. I was totally fine until my Dad called to wish me good luck. Then I lost it. And I needed Zach to be there...sorry to cut your dinner short!] We went to bed at 8p on Friday night ready for an early morning.

The countdown is on!

Saturday Morning we got up at 3:20am and all the nervous jitters were gone. Steph was in race mode. She seemed well rested and ready to go. She got checked in, and we milled around waiting for the start. Steph promised one more time not to be the first woman to the escarpment, I said good luck and she lined up to start.  

Race Morning- Double D's!

Next thing I knew they were off and running (walking?) up the climb to the Escarpment. I didn't see Steph during those first few seconds but I was confident that should would be smart and race as well as she knows how to race.

Pre-race

Starting Line

We watched the little heads floating up the hill and then packed up the hotel room and drove to Auburn. We met the rest of the crew and my family and dropped cars so we could carpool from there. We then drove up to Robinson Flat for the first crewing station. 

Keeping her promise up to the Escarpment
Photo Credit: Tanner Johnson

Nearing the top
Photo Credit: Luis Escobar

Somewhere over the next 30 miles in the high country......

High Country
Photo Credit: Ultra Sports Live

Photo Credit: Ultra Sports Live

We were checking Twitter and Ultralive and getting good updates. Steph was in 2^nd and about 6min behind Emily. At Robinson we got to watch the men go flying by with our own Max King out front. It was exciting and got us all fired up for Steph.  In fact it might have got me too fired up, from that point on I was the nervous one that couldn’t sit still.

Coming into Robinson Flat
Photo Credit: Nick Cifuentes

Photo Credit: Allen Lucas

Steph came in to Robinson Flat only a few minutes behind Emily and was looking very fresh. She was in and out of the aid station quickly and was in good spirits. We reminded her to stay calm and that we’d see her in a few hours. She was gone and then we were off to Michigan Bluff.

Cruising the downhills
Photo Credit: Glenn Tachiyama

We got to Michigan Bluff by 11:00am, then realized that she wouldn’t be there until 2:30p. With my energy and nervous excitement this was not going to be a good stretch and I learned that I am not a good crew person. I killed the fully charged battery in my phone while checking updates on iRunFar’s twitter and Ultralive. Max as still leading and Steph had taken the lead about 7min ahead of Emily. Then Steph was further ahead, but we didn’t know how much ahead. It was so exciting but updates were slow to come as they dropped in to the canyons. Next thing you know most of our cell phones died for checking them too often… We had to start playing the waiting game.

First River Crossing (aka Swinging Bridge)
Photo Credit: Michelle Siniard

A bit later Max came in still in good spirits and still leading. The entire Bend crew got even more excited! By this point I was fully pacing back and forth looking at the clock. 45min to go, 30min, 20min, 10min… Then we heard “First Woman!” from up the trail. 

The crew at work

Maybe you know this, but Steph is a type A personality (type AAA according to her mom), so she had a very specific plan as to what we should have at each aid station for her to eat. At Michigan Bluff she was supposed to grab a flask mixture with gels, which she planned to take for the next several hours. As she eyed the flask, she stated "Those aren't working for me". What? Wasn't that your plan? "Bloks, I only want bloks," was her solution. Ok, Clif shot bloks it was. The real question was what were we going to do at Foresthill on, since Steph had planned to take about 6 gel flasks for to get her through the rest of the race.

Photo credit: Stephen Ingalls

Cruising through some miles early on
Photo Credit: Stephanie Deveau

Next stop was Foresthill. We decided that my brother, Phil, would wait at bath road and run to the aid station with Steph to find out what she needed. Meanwhile I’d help Steph through the aid station and then start pacing. Phil reported back to the rest of the crew that Steph only wanted bloks and soda for the rest of the race. We were able to get what she wanted quickly and get her in and out of Foresthill with less than a minute. Ok only 38 miles to go and she won’t be alone.

Cooling off at Foresthill
Photo Credit: Luis Escobar

We made it 100 yrds out of Foresthill before Steph stopped and started rubbing her knee. Huh? When did this happen, she is 20min in the lead and can’t have a bum knee!! She starting running again, with a little bit of a limp, but within 2-3 min her stride started to lengthen back out and we were rolling. 

I’ll be honest, Steph wasn’t in the best of places at this point in the day. Her stomach wasn’t allowing the food she wanted, her knee just suddenly started bothering her, and she was afraid she wouldn't be able to make it to the finish. I just kept saying to relax and that we were still putting in great miles. We were doing sub-10 min miles down Cal street and there was no need for concern.  I did have some concern, but just tried to stay positive for her. 

Starting down Cal Street

We ate away the miles and got to Cal 1 with a very solid average pace. We stopped to grab fuel and water and when we started again Steph was hobbling again. Not good! She said every time she stopped it hurt. So new plan, no more stopping.  She would walk through aid stations without stopping from now on. I’ll fill waters and we’ll just keep moving. The plan was to do the next 33 miles without her stopping except to get weighed.

Getting in and out of the aid stations fast
Photo Credit: Nick Ciefuntes

This plan seemed to be working. While she walked I’d fill her pack with water and get her Sprite in her small bottle (since that was almost all her stomach was allowing). We kept a very solid pace and got to the river with no more problems.

Cruising down Cal Street
Photo Credit: iRunFar/Gretchen Brugman

We choose to take the hill to up Green Gate at a very conservative pace to ensure that Steph could run the rest. Our crew met us there with news that we were now 24min in the lead. More Clif shot bloks, sprite, and water and we were on our way.  Only 22 miles to go. I think Steph finally realized that she could win this thing. The plan was just to maintain from there on out. Others would have to drastically speed up to catch, we would just keep a smooth steady pace. We kept rolling from there on with the only mistake being that I forgot to fill my own water at the Auburn Lakes Trail aid station. Darn it! I had to go the next 5 miles without water. 

River Crossing
Photo Credit: iRunFar/Bryon Powell

Browns bar couldn’t have come soon enough. With the Ashland party going on it was so much fun I almost forgot to fill up my water again. 

After Browns it got dark and we finally got the headlamps out. We kept rolling and Steph’s knee was responding to the plan. No pain and we were still putting in solid mile splits. We hit the climb to Hwy 49 and relaxed into it. We were still passing some of the men’s field and Steph was energized with the realization she could win it. We pushed through the climb and next thing you know we are at 49. Only 7 miles to go and she was still moving well. We grabbed more sprite, water & blocks and kept moving.

From there it was simply keep trucking. We rolled down to No Hands Bridge and Steph was sooo extremely excited to see Rebecca and Keith Bell (friends from Bend) at the aid station. Only one more massive climb and it would all be over. What was amazing is that we jogged most of that climb. Steph still had legs as we trotted up it only walking the steepest sections. The climb went by faster than expected and we hit pavement only to be reminded that the climb wasn’t done. 

Chris, Elisa, and Phil joined us and we started the final mile to the track.  They said it was 25+ min to the next woman. Steph was finally comfortable, waving and really savoring the moment. She was gong to win Western States in her first 100 miler! 

Photo Credit: Allen Lucas

We entered the track and there was so much energy. It was powerful to experience as a pacer, so I couldn’t imagine how Steph felt as the one that ran the whole thing.

Photo Credit: Allen Lucas

Steph crossed the line in 18:01:42 with the 4^th fastest women’s time ever. Only Ellie Greenwood and Ann Trason being faster. What an amazing accomplishment! I expect to see that belt buckle worn often and the Cougar to be the centerpiece of living room.

Photo Credit: Stephanie Deveau

Photo credit: Stephen Ingalls

Finish line interview with John Trent
Photo credit: Stephen Ingalls

Photo Credit: Stephanie Deveau

Thanks so much to my amazing crew: Chris & Elisa Cheng, Phil Violett, and Zach Violett who stayed up all night taking care of me! I couldn't have done it without you guys!! Elisa gets bonus points because she braided my hair the day before too :)

Also big thanks to my coach, Ian Torrence, who helped me get to the starting line fit, healthy, and confident!

Coach Ian and I

Rob and I showing off our belt buckles

Double for The North Face

Maybe the best surprise of the whole weekend.....

Thanks to my great friends!

And to Footzone and the running community of Bend- you guys are amazing! I have never felt so loved!!

Celebrating at Footzone

1 town, 4 belt buckles

And what am I up to now? A lot of nothing :)

Recovering. Poolside.

Hiking with my favorites

Admiring my Cougar :)

Lake Sonoma 50 Mile

Lake Sonoma is one of my favorite races ever. Not only is it a beautiful, challenging course; but the atmosphere that Tropical John creates and the buzz surrounding the pre- and post-race events really make a great weekend! Lake Sonoma was also my first 50 mile race a couple years ago, so I was excited to come back and see if I could run it a little faster (and I did...by 40 minutes :)

Video: JourneyFilm- Lake Sonoma 50 mile

Clif Bar Media Summit
A couple days before the race I had the opportunity to spend some time at Clif bar HQ for their media summit. Ian Sharman, Linsey Corbin, and I spent Thursday doing some fun interviews and discussed our race day gear and quirks with the media. It was a lot of fun! One of the highlights was interviewing with Mitzi Dulan, one of the most well-know registered dietitians in the country!

Clif Athletes with RD Mitzi Dulan

Lake Sonoma 50 mile
I drove up to Healdsburg Thursday night after playing at Clif bar so I could have at least a day to relax. I've been traveling a lot in the last month, so a day to relax and recover was exactly what I needed. And what better place to do than in wine country!

The day before the race I parked myself at a coffee shop to get some work done. Turns out a few other familiar faces had the same idea :) I was a great way to relax AND be social.

Pre-race interview

Later that night I was trying to get both myself and my gear ready and I realized I was a little fuzzy on the details. "How many gels do I need? Should I have a drop bag? Oh yeah....I should get some coffee ready for the morning." Needless to say I was a little scattered. I made a rookie mistake that night as I ate brown rice and Indian curry with some kale. Kale? Really? You ate kale and Indian food the night before a 50 miler? Ooops. Yep, I had some stomach issues in the first half of the race. Next time I'm eating white rice and salmon!

Race morning I woke up to some drizzly, foggy weather. Not a problem for me. I don't like to be cold, but I love crappy conditions. I planned to arrive at the course by 6:10 for a 6:30 start. For some reason (I did this last time too) I arrived just minutes before the start. I grabbed my number and pinned it on just in time to hear "Two minutes until the start" I ran back to my car to get my pack and jogged to the start line with less than a minute to spare. Guess I wasn't going to have a drop bag :) I actually didn't mind cutting it close. Less time to sit around and get nervous.

Once the race started I quickly found Emily Harrison and Jodee Adams-Moore. We chit chatted a little for the first couple hours. It was nice to have some company! We took turns leading but were never more than a few seconds apart.

Jodee and I early on

The first 11 miles of Lake Sonoma consists of rollers, with a net downhill. It's so easy to run too fast- I made that mistake last time. My goal during the first part of the race was to relax and be patient. I think I accomplished my goal because I felt great (besides the stomach issues) and was smiling quite a bit.

Somewhere around mile 15 or 16,  I had to stop yet again and Emily got away. And I never saw her again. The gap between us stayed pretty consistent, but I was never able to chip away at it.

My favorite part of the course is the long grinder hills (3 of them) near the half-way point of the race. I struggled a bit with the short rollers, because I couldn't get into a groove. The long hills were great though! I surprised myself by running the whole time. I usually like to hike, but the running was feeling good, so I went with it.

I was greeted at the turnaround by a lot of great energy at the aid station. Among the spectators, Jorge and DBo were especially enthusiastic and encouraging, which motivated me to keep up the happy demeanor (seriously, how can you not smile around Jorge?!)

After leaving the halfway point, I realized that I was pretty much running alone. Which I was ok with. I was just in my own little world, enjoying the day. I felt great from mile 25-40, which is not normal for me. This is usually where I have a little rough patch or low energy section of a 50 miler. Not today though! I was really on top of my nutrition (every 15 minutes!) and my energy levels were great. Woohoo! I was actually having a lot of fun.

Since I was running solo I may have gotten too comfortable and slowed down a little bit. I was enjoying myself, but at 45 miles to go you have to do a little out and back section. Here I got a split that I was about 12 minutes behind Emily. Yikes! Welp, guess it was time to run a little faster. So the next 5 miles I picked it up a notch. (NOTE: not sure if that split was actually correct, but it motivated me to get my butt moving!)

The last mile is always hard. It's uphill and there are a few little rocky patches. I made it 49.5 miles without falling, and then in the last half mile, just before you cross the road to the finish, I took a digger. Figures. I tend to fall when I get tired because I don't pick up my feet enough! Ha. I was still in a good mood though, so I laughed out loud at myself.

Still smiling! Photo credit: iRunfar.com

Emily and I post-race

Crossing the finish line is always such a great feeling. I finished in 7:33, which was under the previous course record. Success! Emily set new a new blazing CR of 7:26. Wow!

I was especially excited because I knew there were tamales at the finish :) Mexican food is my absolute favorite after a race!! I also love the energy at the Lake Sonoma finish line. Most runners stick around and shoot the shit afterwards. I met quite a few new runners and worked on my tan (tan lines?) a little bit :)

Post-race interview

Overall I was very please with the weekend. This winter/spring I've been conservative with running. I've been trying to get back into shape while staying healthy and only running 3-5 days per week. In fact, my mileage was around 50 miles a week going into LS! So to run 50 miles in one sitting and feel great the whole day was very positive for me! I'm excited to start preparing for Western States next. Oh boy......

Good day for 2nd place finishes for TNF athletes!

Easter
Easter weekend Zach and I have a tradition of doing some crazy adventure and making cioppino for dinner. And this year was no exception. Well, this adventure was a little tame for us, but to my credit I was still recovering!

On Saturday we did a run in Sisters and then on Sunday we went out to Prineville and did a 23 mile loop in the Mill Creek wilderness. It was a beautiful day and we only ran into a little bit of snow :)

Homemade Easter bunny treats :)

Next up: lots of travel and running. I'm looking forward to it!

Mesquite Canyon 50k and Other Recent Ramblings

The desert is HOT. Especially for a northern dweller who hasn’t run in shorts yet this year. Yes, I was that runner who was glowing white amongst all the bronzed legs of more ‘acclimatized runners’. So what was I doing in the desert? Well, a last-minute decision to pull out of Chuckanut and a need to get a race under my belt sent me packing my bags to Phoenix for the Mesquite Canyon 50k. What? Yeah, and it was awesome!

To back up as to how I ended up in Arizona, running through cacti, this is what happened:

Data collection for my dissertation

I was planning to race Chuckanut this year and was psyched because in the past couple years I’d missed the registration and it was full. But, my body had slightly other plans. What was wrong? Well good question. A couple weeks before the race I came down with the crud. Ugh. I felt like I was hit with a brick wall. I would be out for a run and it felt like every step was so much effort that I was just dragging my body around the trails. NOT a good feeling. So I did what any runner would do…..I totally freaked out and called my coach! After talking me through that this wasn’t the end of the world, I was told to rest. And I did. Physically anyway. It actually wasn’t hard; the thought of running was totally overwhelming. I did squeeze in a few walks that exhausted me way more than they should of. Hmm. As the days went on and race week approached I wasn’t feeling any better. What the %^*? I saw my Dr. only to find out that everything was normal. I was healthy. But I didn’t feel good! I made the decision to pull out of Chuckanut a few days before the race. So frustrating! But I was still just feeling shitty. I could hardly jog a couple miles without having to walk.

So what was the problem then? Well, as probably most people know I’m working on my dissertation study right now. I’m actually in the data collection phase- which means lots of long hours at the lab and worrying about every little thing despite it being out of my control. I was a mess. For a detailed account, consult Zach: he’s had to put up with a zombie-like, freaking out, stress case, otherwise known as Stephanie for the past few months. It was not good. (NOTE: at the time I’m writing this I’m done with 99% of my data collection) So when your mom told you not to worry so much or you’d make yourself sick……she was right J

Pre-race. Ready to go!

ANYWAY, on to happier things. Mesquite Canyon 50k. What a great race! I was feeling better the following week so decided to try my luck racing a 50k in the heat. The course was just outside of Phoenix at the White Tank regional park. It had it all- long climbs, technical sections, and some great smooth, single track. I had a great time racing and was humbled by the challenging course. The 50k started at 7:30am, and I showed up wearing arm warmers. I’m pretty sure people were giggling at me and I jogged around before the start. I wised up shortly before the race started and ditched them. At 7:30 it was a very pleasant temperature. I wasn’t cold…..that never happens.

The first couple miles were pretty flat, rolling through cacti studded sand. It was a nice warm-up. From there we began a 7-8ish mile climb up 1,500 ft to the top of the hills. The uphill actually wasn’t as steep as I was expecting and I was able to get in a good rhythm and
make good time up the hill. At the top of the climb we took a sharp right hand turn and descended down a very rocky, technical section for 2-3 miles. It was rough. The heat was also just starting to become apparent, adding to the difficulty. I didn’t move very fast down this section. In fact, I was passed by a few men, whizzing by me like billy goats. Oh well. I was trying to stay within myself because I wasn’t sure how my body was going to handle 31 miles.

Start of the Mesquite Canyon 50k

At the bottom of the hill was an aid station and the turnaround point. Yep, we were heading right back up that hill. I actually enjoyed the 3 miles uphill much more than the downhill. Sure it was tough and I was sweating balls, but it was fun J At the top of the hill we took a slightly different way back, which was nice, smooth single track for the next several miles. I felt good and was having fun cruising down the trail. My hydration and nutrition were going pretty well too (yeah Clif shot gels!). Just a few more miles to go!

Somewhere around mile 25 though the wheels came off. I was no longer feeling good and I was really hot and tired. Even though I was suffering greatly, I was present. There is something about being on that edge that makes me feel alive, and I embrace it. The last 5 miles descended through another canyon with yet more technical sections and some fun ‘sandy bottoms’ running. I didn’t really run very well here. I still wasn’t feeling 100% healthy and it was apparent. Nothing to do but keep running though.

Finally I saw the glorious site of the last aid station at mile 29. Not much further to go! I put on my happy face and braced myself for the last few minutes of pain. Honestly, the last two miles were a wonderful way to finish a race. The trail was pretty flat and fast. It was nice to run after the last few miles of 15+ min miles. I breezed on by and passed my sister on the side of the trail just before the finish. That made me smile! I knew she was coming to watch (she lives in Tucson), but I hadn’t seen her for months.

As I ran across the finish line I smiled. What a tough 50k! It wasn’t expecting that much of a kick in the butt. I have some tough, hot races on the horizon though, so this was great practice! PLUS, I was greeted by delicious food AND a skull trophy at the finish. Does it get any better than that?!

Skulls!

Thanks to Jamil Coury for putting on a great race and giving me the opportunity to race last minute! I’ll be back!

My sister and I.

Shorts!