Pikes Peak Double 2004

I’m Dreaming of a White…..August?

Race report by Ricky Scott, rickyvt@earthlink.net

There’s something about this 14,115 foot high mountain named Pikes Peak that makes me keep coming back. Is it the challenge? Is it the beauty? Is it the pain? Maybe it’s the prospective on life that I get by trying the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon. It’s all of that. There is an immense feeling of accomplishment that redefines my running even though I usually walk most of this event. Even when I feel beaten by this mountain, if I can find the strength to keep going and finish, well you just have to do it for yourself to understand.

Before I did my first Pikes Peak Marathon, I read about others experiencing snow during the events. I thought that would be neat. I had not seen the first sign of snow in my first two times to Pikes Peak, but that was about to change. The night before we flew out to Colorado, I checked the weather forecast as I normally do and decided to also check the webcams from the top of Pikes Peak. I could not believe my eyes. It was snowing. I was excited. Would it be there on Saturday when I did the Ascent? Probably not, but who knows.

Ricky Scott and Bill Hollihan at the Friday nite Pasta Dinner

Map showing where all the crazy people live

The Ascent

Saturday morning I arose to temps in the upper 40’s. Glancing out the window at the Peak you could clearly see that there was a lot of white on top. Alright! I’m gonna play in the snow today. (I really figured it would all be melted by the time I got there.) As Sharon and I were headed up to the start line to meet Bill Hollihan, I thought it odd that so many of the first wave Ascenter’s were heading back away from the starting line. Something’s up but what? When we finally got close enough to the start area, we heard the announcer saying that the start would be delayed by 30 minutes because it had snowed 6 inches on top during the night. Rather than walk back to the hotel, I just found a place to sit and wait. It was not long before we spotted Bill. Bill was ready to roll and as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. (Bill is 70 something young). We were both looking forward to a good day.

At 7:30 the first wave finally started so Bill and I knew then we could count on starting at 8:00. This being my second double attempt and Bill’s third, we both were rather relaxed. Today was just a warm up for the marathon tomorrow. Just get up the hill and then rest until tomorrow. Last year I had a lot of problems with the Ascent, I really did not want to experience that again.

Bang! Off we go. I had decided that I was going to push the pace today. I wanted to see if I could break a 5:30 ascent time. My plan was to get to Barr Camp in 2:30 and the A-Frame in 3:30. That would give me two hours to get to the top and set a new PR.

I ran most of the way to the COG station, losing Bill quickly in the crowd. When I reached Hydro Street, I switched to a fast walk. From here the trail gets narrow and steep for the next couple of miles. Back and forth on the W’s I went, glancing back and down on occasion to see if I could see Bill, but there were so many people, I could not spot him. The sun was so bright that it was tough to even look in that direction. By the time I topped the W’s, I was doing very well and feeling good. I felt great as I made my way over to French Creek and the aid station manned by the Arkansas runners. (note for Ron: no hula girls this year) From French Creek to Barr Camp has become my favorite part of this event (other than the finish). You get some great views of the peak and the trail opens up somewhat.

Before you get to Barr Camp there is a sign that says Barr Camp .5 mile. I never saw the sign, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the Welcome to Barr Camp sign. A quick check of my watch and I was 9 minutes faster than I had planned. I still felt good and felt a PR was going to happen today.

After Barr Camp, the terrain changes, a lot of roots and rocks. Somewhere between Barr Camp and the A-Frame, I went from feeling pretty good to sluggish. Still, I pushed through and continued on. No headache, no about to pass out feeling like last year but I was sweating big time. (I had two shirts on.) Then there it was….. my first glimpse of some white stuff. It was not much, but there it was. I had finally saw snow in August. I took the opportunity to touch some and found it not to be snow, but ice. Ice pellets. Okay, my search for snow would have to continue.

I had been able to hear the people at the A-Frame aid stop for what seemed like forever, I could not tell what was being said, but I could definitely hear their voices. So when I finally got there, I had reason for alarm. One of the volunteers there was saying “you need to get on up the hill, there is a storm coming”. Hey man! I’m going as fast as I can already. Actually, I passed the A-Frame sign at 3:36. This is another of my favorite places. If you look up here, distance and perspective take a back seat to everything. You see people stretched out forever and know that it’ll take you a long time to get to the top. One thing about the Ascent is that there are a lot of people. I had been either just behind or in front of someone all day. It reminded me of driving on the interstate at rush hour. Everyone rides someone else’s bumper.

Snow!

Finally there it was snow, real snow! Coming up above tree line, I could see plenty of it. I touched it, no ice this time. I thought about making a snowball but fought the urge. I decided to just take a couple of pictures. Since my buddy Ron was not here, I had to take my own pictures of myself playing in the snow.

Self-portrait in the snow

I still felt pretty good, but I had no energy. Unlike last year, I did not have that I’m going to pass out at any moment feeling, but I did find myself having to take breaks. I’d sit for a minute and then I could continue on like I had all day. Only problem was I had to repeat it over and over. I was even cramping even though I had been taking salt. The further I went up the mountain the more I hated the snow. What I had wished for now had become my nightmare. The snow had made the trail terrible. There were puddles on it and the rocks were slippery.

Finally reaching the 1 mile to summit sign, I had 35 minutes to break 5:30. I struggled, almost falling off one rock and down the hill. Still pushing on, I found it extremely hard to navigate. What am I doing here? I really am crazy. Not only could I hear the announcer at the finish line, I could almost reach out and touch it. Then it happened, one of those things that happen that you don’t expect. As I got to the 16 Golden Steps sign, I saw a picture of Bill, Ron and me from last year. My first thought was that everyone today had seen this picture. It was attached to a red bag sitting on the rocks. I turned to the Rescue worker and said, “hey, that’s me!” He said, “I’ve got a copy for you. My wife wanted you guys to have a copy!” Seems she was in California this year and could not be there. I told him that as bad as I felt, this made my day. I thanked him and told him to thank his wife. Now, I had to figure out how to get me and that picture up the 16 Golden Steps.

L: If you look closely at the red pack on the left, you'll see the picture.
R: Closeup of the picture at the pack

I dared not look up as I made the last few switch backs. There would be no PR today, but as I crossed under the finish line (5:40), I took great pleasure that I felt much better than last year. I looked back down the mountain for Bill, but everyone looked like ants. I could not find him. It was cold and muddy at the top so I decided to get off the mountain and even that took a while. Bill finished in 6:09 a personal worst according to Bill. We had to this again tomorrow, so after Bill, Sharon and I ate supper, I went to bed somewhat eagerly wanting to get the marathon started.

Sharon with the rental Caddy - she always has Class