Chasing Nadia … or … Racing with Madonna … or … 3rd Time, and STILL not charming by Forrest

Hi there BSers. Forrest here, been taking a little break from writing, um, “lately” 😉 Now that I am taking a little break from running, maybe I will retry the writing thing! Well I suppose I should get around to telling you this is my Dam Wakely race report. This is my 3rd year in a row running it. There are VERY few races, other than Mr. Bimble’s, that I have run 3 times. ‘Nuff said about that.

It became apparent in the weeks leading up to the race that Nadia was harboring some trepidation about the potential for getting lost during this epic race. It is also true that people have gotten lost on this trail, only to be found MUCH later, and much “thinner”. The phrase “skin and bones” comes to mind, except, forget the skin. ‘Nuff said about that.

 

Now, Nadia has helped me through one of my biggest phobias, namely heights. So I was only too happy to accept her request to be her running companion during the race, since I, but more importantly, SHE,  was confident I would not get lost.

 

Ultra and I and Chase met Nadia and Whisperer and Cosmo at the night-before check-in and dinner at the Piseco Airport. As we were leaving the very enjoyable gathering, headed to our respective lodgings, we encountered Kim Battipaglia and Mike Guilford, arriving “just in time”.

 

Ultra and I did our preps in the village of Speculator, while Nadia and Whisperer settled down in Indian Lake, and Kim and Mike stayed right in Piseco. The 3:30 alarm to catch the 4:30 bus came WAY too soon. In fact, it came at 3:30. ‘Nuff said about that!

 

We arrived, by bus (for the crewless) and car (for the fortunate) at Wakely Dam, too early, as expected. It was actually cool. Not “cool for July”. More like cool-why-the-heck didn’t-I-bring-a-jacket? cool. This race, run impeccably by Doug and Kim Gardner, is really low key, so when Doug realized everyone was checked-in, he said “how about we start now?”, and we did. Nevermind that many runners were not quite prepared (ie, they were off on side trails, etc…). I like that approach, a lot!

 

Nadia and I stuck together, and settled into a good, but quick pace, as we entered the single track after about a mile of dirt road. I “led” from behind 🙂

 

My plan, as executed last year, and not the year before, was to stop once per hour, and deal with all “aid station” type stuff. Oh, for those not in-the-know, there is only one aid station at Wakely, but they call it “The Finish Line”.

 

As hour 1 approached, I was experiencing multiple issues. I really needed a side trail, my hydration pack was having some serious strap failure problem (which I mostly expected), and I had not been eating or drinking. I announced to Nadia that it was time for my 1 hour stop. She replied that we were close to a stream at 7.1 miles, and we should go a bit further so she could resupply water. Well, I didn’t need any water (because I wasn’t drinking) but I DID need the side trail, right away. I told Nadia I would “take care of business” and catch up with her at the stream. 7 miles, give or take, in the first hour. Yup, you guessed it, I never saw Nadia again.

 

My stop took too long, and I still had pack problems. It was starting to really chafe my back. I ran to the stream, failed to find Nadia. I stopped anyway, finally properly fixed my pack, and set in to “Chasing Nadia”. This meant no stopping for food/fluids. Good thing it was a mild day.

 

I caught and passed several runners who spoke of a “concerned” or possibly “confused” woman on the trail, who was alternately running in BOTH directions, looking for some “Forrest”. One gentleman thought that anyone having trouble finding Forest in the midst of 30+ miles of total wilderness was clearly “troubled”. He then went on to advise me that she was at least 20 minutes ahead. That was wonderfully liberating news!

 

Shortly thereafter, I came across Kim, who gave me the whole story. Nadia wasn’t sure whether I was ahead or behind, thinking I might have passed her while SHE was on a side trail. I continued to play leapfrog with Kim for several hours, which was a nice diversion. It gets pretty lonely out there! During this time, I came upon campers at a lean-to offering water and candy bars. WOOHOO! Trail Magic!

 

It was a tough day. Wakely always is. After I pulled away from Kim, with no hope of catching Nadia, it started getting pretty quiet, and I was feeling a little isolated. It was at just this point, as it always is, that I started thonking about “our” strategy”, and how “we” would get through this tough stretch. My back was very sore, I was dehydrated, and I needed some company. That is. of course, when Madonna appeared.

 

After several miles, she ran away ahead of me, but I did not know why. She had smelled, seen, or heard Cosmo on the trail. Sure enough, ahead, out on the middle of nowhere, Whisperer was cheering runners along, with Cosmo at her side. SHe had driven a dozen or more miles down a barely passable dirt road, then ran/walked several more miles down an access trail, to cheer on the runners, assumedly with a slight bias for Nadia 😉

Unfortunately, she had two BAD pieces of news for me. She did not realize how bad they were. First, she happily informed me that I only had about 9 more miles to go. Nice, but I thought there was maybe 2, 3 at most 🙁 Then she told me Nadia was only a few minutes ahead. Darn! That meant I really shouldn’t slack my way to the finish. I thanked her for her cheering, and went on my way.

 

The rest of the race actually did go better, and I moved along better than I had feared I might. Finally, I broke out of the forest, and onto the runway at the airport. I could see the finish line, but you have to run around the runway. I crossed under the (former) Bimblers Bluff arch (fabricated by Ultra) and fell to the grass, where I stayed, immobile for 20 minutes. Nadia was in a similar state, right next to me. She had finished 2 minutes ahead of me! 2nd woman overall, I might add!

 

We finally, both with assistance from Whisperer, managed to stumble to where the food/beer were. We spent the next several hours soaking up the sun, and the “vibe”, that wonderful collegial, relaxed, thankful state that permeates the finish area at all GREAT ultras.

 

Kim came in, taking 3rd place for the women, and Mike a little later. Ultra and Chase came in right around when I had hoped/expected. They both looked pretty darn good, and both fell to the grass, just like the rest of us.

 

Nadia was already talking of returning and running with Cosmo. No doubt a better plan than running with me 😉 ‘Nuff said about that 🙂

 

I, on the other hand, for the first time in a LONG time, swore to never run another ultra. I will get over it… The Bluff is coming 😉

I have had the good fortune of running Dam Wakely with good friends 3 years in a row. It is a tough 50K. Kim proclaimed it “the toughest”. Mike labelled it “relentless”. Look at the finish times. The course records are extremely slow. It is a very special race. Maybe 3 times is enough. Maybe not…