Sun Mountain 1/10/25/50k - Winthrop, WA

I was awakened Saturday morning by the sound of light snoring and a beam of sunlight in my face. I lay there groggily, wondering why the hell my ass was so cold, and it hit me: I'm camping with 7 other people in a stranger's backyard in the middle of Methow Valley. Allow me to explain:

About two months ago, we (the TechnoRunner crowd) ran the Orcas Island Fat Ass 25k/50k directed by James Varner. This race could not have been more beautiful or fun; sunny skies, a varied and heavily forested trail, and an amazing post-race bash with food, beer, and live music. Needless to say, I jumped on the opportunity to register for Varner's newest race in Wintrhop, WA--the Sun Mountain 1k/10/25k/50k--when I heard about it, knowing that it would not dissappoint. By the time I registered for the 25k, a few of our other trail running friends had also registered, and it was only a matter of time before the whole crew signed up together. In the end, we had 7 runners registered for the 25k and 1 for the 50k.

True to college-student fashion, we managed to completely procrastinate on finding accommodations in Winthop until the week before, leaving us scrounging for a place to stay in Wenatchee, a 2 hour drive from the start line. We finally opted to camp 20 minutes away from Winthrop instead and avoid the drive from Wenatchee on Saturday. Lucky for us, our last minute decision to camp somewhere in Winthrop worked out, as Varner himself heard of our predicament and offered us a space in his yard to pitch a tent (or three!)...thanks!!! The night was a drafty one, to say the least, but race-day morning arrived with sunshine and clear skies. After fueling up on bagels, peanut butter, pop tarts, and nutella, we piled into our cars and headed over to the start.

The 25k and 50k were slated to start at 8am, right after the 1k kids' dash (we suspect that the winner of that race had been doping....ha ha....), and we stood in the starting queue awaiting our directions. Few of us knew what route we'd be running; last minute changes had been made due to the residual snow on the mountain. We were told that we'd be running a figure-8 course, with 50k-ers running it 3x, and 25k-ers doing 1.5x. As the race began and the runners plowed onto the narrow trails, I sent a silent thanks to the trail volunteers who cleared the first parts of the trail for us, as there were portions of the ice/snow-compact that were at least 6 inches thick.

The terrain and landscape of the course was beautiful, with a lot of low shrubs and a desert-y feel. Many of the trails were horse trails, and there were some barbed wire fences and dusty horse corrals along the way. Overall, the hills on the course were not incredibly difficult --mostly short hills--barring one behemoth around mile 6. This course ended up feeling much more painful to me than Orcas, despite the faster time. I blame my choice of shoes (Asics GT 2120 trail), which were too small and caused my toes to cramp up. The others did much better, with Camper getting a second wind about 3 miles from the finish and rocking her way to the end.

All of us runners were pretty much tired out after the race (accolades and accomplishments among our number include a 1st and 6th 25k finish, 5 25k PRs, and 1 "take-it easy" (his words, not mine) 50k at 4:48:30), so we loafed about and munched on pizza and gummy candies for the rest of the day. The 5 hour drive back to Seattle was cramped, but entertaining. There is nothing quite as fun as skippin' town to go trail running with your friends...now I just want to know, when's our next one?!?


Keep hittin' the trails,
Phylly