Saturday, June 20th

Some insane times and some great running this past weekend with the heat were having at the Colon Run, Hatfield McCoy Marathon and the Jackal Marathon Weekend event! Congrats to everyone involved in all of these!

Good Luck this weekend to those heading to the Laufenfest 5k, remember, run first then beer garden, and to those heading to Henderson for the Run for a Purpose, and marathons everywhere!

This Saturday we will preview the Evansville 1/2 Marathon course, feel free to peel off as needed along the way to shorten it up, the course will have some support thanks to the Southern Indiana Tri Team, they are starting at 7:00 from Four Freedoms Monument so the first few stops may not be covered yet for those starting at 6:00 to beat the heat. If you get a chance join the event on Facebook.

See you Saturday!



Non Running Events:

Water Stops:

Third & Mulberry - 3 mi.

Entrance to Garvin Park-6 mi.

Grove St. & Louisiana -9 mi.

Four Freedoms Monument - 6:00 am

·         Start at Four Freedoms Monument

·         L on Shawnee (turns into Adams)

·         L on Judson

·         R on Washington

·         L on Kentucky

·         L on E. Powell

·         R on S. Bedford

·         L on Bayard Park

·         R on S. Morton

·         L on Bellemeade (turns into Mulberry)

·         R on Third

**Aid Station at 3^rd and Mulberry** about 3.5 miles

·         R on Main

·         L on MLK

·         R on Vine (turns into N. Main)

·         Follow N. Main into Garvin Park

·         Veer right at fountain and follow outer loop of Garvin Park

**Aid Station inside park** about 6.3 miles

·         Enter on Greenway at back of park near restrooms

·         L (west) on Greenway to Ohio St.

**Aid Station at Grove & Louisiana near Fliegeltaub** about 9 miles

·         Proceed thru RR turnstile at Ohio St.

·         L on Greenway at Ohio St.

·         R on Fulton/Riverside

·         L on Court

·         R on Third

**Aid Station at 3^rd and Mulberry** about 11.5 miles

·         R on Chandler

·         L on Riverside

·         R right on Adams/Shawnee

·         Cross Veterans to Greenway

·         Finish at Vine

Link to Map:  Evansville 1/2 Route

Western States Crew/Pacing report. Race Day Part Two:

by Craig Luebke




 
After seeing Dave off at the 5am start, the support team of Bob, Don and I made our way back to Tahoe City where we captured a brief and final bit of rest before checking out and heading to our first scheduled aid station visit at Robinson Flat. While Robinson Flat is located at mile 29.7 on the race course, by road it is actually about 100 miles, as you have to drive to Auburn (site of the finish line and about 75-80 miles southwest of the start in Squaw Valley) on I-80 before traversing ever narrowing roads as you head northeast up the spine of the course to the aid station. I’ll mention that the final dozen miles or so are barely two cars wide and cling precariously to the mountainside. Great views, but this flatlander was visibly uncomfortable with the neighboring drop-offs.  Area veteran Bob ribbed me just a little as Don prudently kept his focus on the road, surely keeping us from plummeting to a fiery death. First crew points of the day to Don.
 
As the first widely available aid station, Robinson Flat is packed with support teams as the morning wears on.  Everybody kills a bit of time after the start, but eventually you need to get on with it, so you may as well reach your first destination.  This results in nearly everyone being on site at Robinson from mid-morning until their runner comes through.  Anticipating Dave’s arrival sometime around noon, we made sure to be there well in advance (10ish am), allowing us to see some of the faster runners pass through, though we missed the true elites for both the men’s and women’s field here.
 
Observations from Robinson:

·       My, that northern California drought is no joke. Dust resembling talc was inches deep in the area. Zero moisture to speak of.

·       The race volunteers and medical staff really are on top of things for the runners.

·       Which leads me to: The runners really were in a tough spot coming in. Duncan Canyon precedes the station and the climb out of it brings genuinely taxed runners into Robinson Flat.  This is apparent on their faces and in general demeanor. Distress is perhaps the rule rather than the exception, varying only in degree. I observed struggling runners sat down by medical staff with orders not to leave until cleared, discussions of dropping out, and buckets of gritty determination. Seeing this didn’t exactly set big brother Don’s worries as ease.

 
As teams waited out their runner’s arrival, we enjoyed checking in with one another, sharing background stories, running errata and plans for the day. I spoke to a two man crew from Greenville, South Carolina. Their runner had similar time goals to Dave and we correctly predicted we would run into each other again as the day wore on. As runners in assorted conditions (most marginal) passed by, a face familiar from the online community at Runner’s World came into view. Bearing her distinctive wavy tresses, and a determined look shared by many of her fellow competitors, RW blogs contributor with the online moniker Mild Sauce made her way through the station on the way to a solid finish at what turns out was her first 100 mile race. I congratulated a much less lucid version of Sauce Sunday afternoon at Placer High.
 
Dave’s race plan predicted an arrival around noon. As that time approached, we grew anxious to see what condition he would present in. We set up near the end of the station with all the supplies to address his needs, erring on the side of better to have it and not need it than the reverse. The station spreads out over more than 100 yards, so I had planted myself mid-station to direct Dave where to go.  After 45 minutes of expecting him at any moment, Dave rolled in at 12:24. A bit behind our tentative schedule, but well within pace for an official 30-hour finish. It was clear he had been challenged by the first blow of the course, but the crew agreed he seemed in reasonably good condition. Dave later confessed he was in more distress at Robinson than he let on, preferring to show us a strong front than to expose the degree to which the course had taken its toll already. His ploy likely deposited some confidence in the team that we would draw down as the race continued. Runner points to Dave.
 
The race record shows that Dave’s crew stop was sixteen minutes, with Dave exiting the station at 12:40. With the time, he was able to set down and gather himself, drop off some gear, top off supplies and check in with familiar faces. Familiar faces wouldn’t be around again until Dave made his way to Michigan Bluff at mile 55.7. 
 
After seeing Dave make his way out of Robinson, and not scheduled to arrive at Michigan Bluff until roughly 7:30 that evening, the afternoon was ours to take in the scene at the front.  We headed to the town of Foresthill @ mile 62 and right in the heart of the action as the midway hub of the race.
 
Stay tuned for Part 3 as we see amazing things…