It all started last year when I headed up to California to pace my friend Kelly (aka K1) at the Western States 100 miler. Earlier that year I had 'chickened-out' and not sent in my application...now I was watching runners come into the aid stations and wishing that I was one of them. That day I decided I would send in my entry for the following year - 2004. December 2003 arrived and the day of the lottery drawing was upon us. I didn't have high hopes on getting in and was very surprised when I did! Now the training had to begin! There's only one event worth mentioning between January and June 2004. My Rocky Raccoon 100 mile attempt. I called it a day at mile 73 after experiencing the most horrendous mental anguish imaginable. The thought of enduring 27 more miles just made me sick. Needless to say it left me pretty downtrodden for my future WS100 attempt and that night I had decided to cancel my reservations and not go to California. My friends were very supportive and I received encouragement and words of wisdom from many folk with far more experience than I. I decided to attend the WS100 Training Camp and decide at that point if I would compete in the event itself. The Training Camp was a great experience. Running the last 70 miles of the course left me with a feeling of accomplishment and course familiarity. After all the horror stories I had heard about the ascent up Devil's Thumb I was pleasantly surprised to find it quite manageable. My spirits were lifted and I was ready for the WS100.

Fast forward to race morning. We are all lined up in front of the Start Banner, the clock is counting down and the gun goes off! Now we had a nice 5-mile warm-up hike up to the Escarpment. I had previously decided to take it easy during the section called 'the high country'. This section consisted of the first 28 miles of the course. Once we reached mile 28 (Little Bald Mnt) the next 70 miles I had run during the training camp. I would love to have some stories about how horrible I felt and struggled to keep going, but I don't. My only memorable low spot was just before Robinson Flat (~24m). I was feeling a bit 'weak'. Once I got to the aid station and my drop bag I consumed an Ensure, refilled my supplements and stretched. As I ascended up Baldy Mnt I felt better and better. The next 34 miles to Foresthill aid station were fairly uneventful. I think it was Dusty Corners where I stopped for a few minutes and a spectator was kind enough to put sun block on my shoulders and back. Only at an event like this would a complete stranger be rubbing sun block on a hot sweaty, dusty runner...haha By the time I got to Last Chance I was experiencing the start of a hot-spot on my left foot. Melanie, the most wonderful volunteer catered to me hand and foot! She helped with the bandaging, drop bag, and had me back on my feet and heading down the trail with happy feet. Thank you Melanie!! Up to Devil's Thumb was a pleasant hike and I took a few minutes once I got there to relax and have some food. I spoke with a volunteer that remembered me from the training camp...he called me 'Houston' but I could not (and still can not) recall his name. He escorted me as I left the aid station so he could take my trash from me once I finished. Thanks for being there to help!! I recall passing 12 runners on the way down to El Dorado Creek and passing another 6 on the way up to Michigan Bluff. One has to pass the time somehow, and counting runners is always entertaining. At Michigan Bluff I had a session with the Podiatrist. I wanted him to re-do my patch job on my foot. Dr. Jay was his name and he was of great help! I picked up my headlamp here and was pleased to see I was ahead of schedule. I still had plenty of daylight to get through the treacherous descent down Volcano Canyon. I reach Foresthill High School at 62 miles. Kelly was there ready with all my gear. At this point I knew I would finish, there was no doubt in my mind! I changed some clothing, put on clean socks, ate 1/2 a turkey sandwich, refilled my supplement, gel, Ensure mix and water bottles and was ready to go. We ran/walked all the way down to Peachstone, passing many runners. I had stopped counting at this point since it was dark and had other things to concentrate on...such as not falling on my face in the dark! Somewhere between Peachstone and Rucky Chucky Near my right ITB started acting up. I did most of my walking between these aid stations. Once I got to Rucky Chucky Near I stopped at a massage table to have the ITB worked on. It helped and so did the 50-degree waist high water we had to cross to get to the other side. Once again, I stopped to see the podiatrist. By this point I had 2 blistered toes and the original hot spot from earlier in the run was holding steady and not getting any worse. After a change of shoes/socks and blister maintenance we were back on the trail heading up to Green Gate and then out to Auburn Lakes Trail. My feet were doing well and I noticed that the ITB felt better if I kept it in motion so I ran as much as I could between up-hill sections. It felt as if I ran a lot between Green Gate and Brown's Bar and in this section I recall passing my fellow Houstonian German and his pacer Dave. Kelly being the taskmaster forced me to keep going with barely a 'Que paso, que paso' exchange between the 4 of us. It was now daylight and Brown's Bar was behind us...onward to Highway 49.

There was a nice steep downhill section my ITB was not very happy about here...but the uphills did not hurt and I tried to crank those out as steady as possible. Hwy 49 was a welcomed site!! Only 6.5 miles to go! Once we climbed out of Hwy 49 onto the field it was non-stop running. I waved hello to the volunteers at No Hands Bridge and blew past the aidstation across the bridge and started the ascent to Robbie Point. By now I REALLY knew I would finish...and just by thinking about it I started to hyperventilate. Kelly calmed me down and I took the lead on the climb. I was determined to get there as quickly as possible with only 1/2 mile to the pavement. We hit Robbie Point station and I was surprised about the steep road we still had to climb...I did not recall it being so long or steep....uuughhh! We crest the top of the hill and Kelly starts to push me to power walk faster, the walk turns into a shuffle and the shuffle turns into a jog...I'm actually still running!!! WOW. As I enter the track I start getting that hyperventilating feeling again and I'm telling myself to relax. I crossed the finish line in 27:01:37 and 143/278 finishers. I had registered for the medical study. After having blood drawn and forced to answer a questionnaire I started feeling a tad ill. I found the closest garbage can and proceeded to empty what little I had in my stomach. I was made to lay down on a cot with my feet elevated and covered in a blanket for a while. I watched as runners finished and plopped around me groaning in pain and anguish. Wow, what a great experience!!