Category: running

It was a race of the century for me, I probably need a lot of time separation to capture all that happened.  I have done a few 100s and am doing the grand slam series, so I can’t say if Old Dominion is better or the C&O, or any ones of my hundos.  This one definitely takes the cake. First, we devoted so much energy, in training, in marshalling support and crew.  Second, the attention!  Mentioning just Western States, there is no race like this. So to be able to finish it, was utterly amazing.

First off, I finished, coming in at 29:13:29.  I am relieved. Mission accomplished.

The whole TL;DR is I struggled earlier on running behind my expected pace, and it seemed at times imposible for me to finish, because once you are behind the 30 hour cutoff it is very hard to claw your way back in. My troop and crew rallied with me through the night. I was able to cross the finish line the next day. It was an incredible feeling to experience the victory and to have lived the whole process to tell about it.

It was an interesting experience. It was definitely worth the raves and attention from around the world. The course was beautiful. We could overlooked some of it flaws like being dusty and at times double track jeep trails.

I am deeply grateful to be there, to make friends, to spend couple days with my crew and pacers. It was incredible and unbelievable. Maybe also to have made a difference in someone’s life.

As for training: Having an active training schedule helps.  I did a bunch of hard races and training runs before this. I ran a lot of hills.  My legs were ready.  People warned me of quad failure and death march.  My legs stayed strong until the end. During halfway, especially going up on Devil’s Thumb, I was cramping on my left shin.  Once, I had some salt in me, the cramp went away and I could continue with the race.

Doing some of 100 mile races early in the year helped. It might not be a formula for other people to follow, but for me, I think it built up the endurance and leg muscles I needed.  It was almost not enough. I did many 100s before, but this year, I truly dial in the formula that was right for me. You developed the sense of pacing, timing, and the efficiency of going through an aid station.  So you can bring your best to the Western States.

I was able to dial in the crewing, pacing, and drop bags, etc.  The support cast was a miracle.  They were handpicked but they were also completely out of my control on race day. I did not know them well enough beforehand, yet they were there for me during my race, and did beyond what I asked for. I was lucky in a sense, we did not rehearse on crewing or pacing, and they just fell into place.  More on this later.

  Heat.  I tried to train for the heat but I realized it was not enough.  We were blessed that this year was one of the average temperature years (in 90s but not 100s).  I had heat related issues but survived.  I could have used an ice bandana and taken more ice water dumps.  In the end, there was only so much you can do.  It was way hotter out west  than in the east and there was almost no way to totally train for it. Now, when I am back home in the east, the heat here, feels as if nothing.

Ideally, if I had more vacation time, I would arrive at the race a week or so beforehand and stay a week after to get the full experience. I had  only a limited amount of paid time off, so I did not have the luxury of a long break.  We flew in and ran and left as quickly as we arrived, like many other runners.

Due to limited time available, I arrived Thursday night in Sacramento.  Friday was all blocked off for pre-race events, mainly bib pick up, drop bag delivery, and the race briefing.

At the bib pickup, I met couple running friends, Lisa and Keshia and Paul Jacob. There were 375 runners checking in, and out of these I ran into couple people that I know.  There were a couple people from my home state or nearby states, but everyone was in a hurry to do their final preparation, so we did not have a little get together.  We did take a photo together before the race start, even then, it was not complete.

I enjoyed the bib pickup. We were handed our bib and had the wrist band on.  We had our picture taken. Then swags were given out, and there were a lot! There was also a shop to buy more swags. It was a buzz of activities. Because I signed up for the grand slam (running four classic 100 races (no Leadville for me, but all other races), I was recognized by the grand slam’s admin as he was handing me the race bracelet (sorry, I kept forgetting his name). I was a bit shock, like out of 375 runners, I was remembered and recognized.

Then, I dropped off my two drop bags.  I plan to be crewless.  So I placed a drop bag for the aid station at mile 62.  I placed a drop bag at mile 78, for a shoe change after crossing the Rucky Chucky. Ideally, this race is better to have crew at various points on the course, but most locations are remote and is incovenience to get to, drop bags are preferred.  As for me, because, I was behind pace, there was no time to stop at all.  If you have to have a highly trained and efficient crew, you could pull it off, but then likely you would not be running from behind pace.

The pre-race briefing took place soon afterward. We filled up the whole plaza at Palisades Tahoe. I did not remember much of what was said. There was the introduction of the elite runners. It was what most people came to see.  There were top 20 females and top 20 male runners.  Any one of those had a good chance of getting first, though the favorites were as predicted to be Jim Walmsley and Katie Shide. I was not too in tune with the whos who.  I recognized a few names. I did not know Sally McRae’s fans were making a big splash this year.  “We are here for the Women’s Race” was one of the shirts I saw.  It was where honor should be given to where honor is due.  The elites ran a truly amazing race.  Later, rewatching the livefeed, it was a gripping race.  First place for men or female, were never in doubt but it was a close one for the top 2nd-5th position. As there were 375 runners, there were 375 stories.  I love to read them all. I ran a couple of them already. 

As a participant in the race, we were not aware how the race turn out at the front.  I was totally oblivious even of the forest fire nearby.  I was trying to run my own race.

The race meeting concluded in the early afternoon.  Only thing left was to go bed early.  Good thing for me was because I was from the East Coast, I could sleep at 5 pm local time and it would be like 8 pm back home. 

My crew and I ate at our hotel (we stayed at a Casino) since I was too tired to drive into town, which was only 10 minutes from Reno. Originally, I wanted to explore a bit and have fun, but I was feeling tired by 5 pm. We had a good meal, the traditional pasta dinner for me.  Thank you to my crew for taking me out! My success for the following day was likely due to the hearty dinner.

As with any races, I could not quite sleep much.  By midnight local time, I was wide awake.  So, I kept myself occupied until time to get up.  Our hotel to the start line was about an hour away. By 3 am, we were on our way to the race since the race starts at 5 am, and I wanted to be on site by 4 am.

Staying far from the race site was not too big an issue, ideally we could stay at the Palisades, but I was not willing to pay 4-5x the price. Hotel goes up to thousand dollars. There was an Air-bnb within 10 minutes, still available during the week before the race, but it looks questionable.  It was bunk bed, etc, a full house, price was reasonable, I was not willing to take the risk. Seems sus, when no one wants it. Note, I did not look for hotels until the final week.  They say early birds get the worm. Personally, I think staying in Auburn would have been the best. Camping seemed to be an option, I, of course, did not want to camp. If by myself, sure, I would do so, but I wanted my crew too to have a good sleep. Lake Tahoe, about an hour away had inexpensive hotels, this could have been a good option, I did not choose it because, I prefer driving on interstate hwy in the early wee hours than over mountainous roads from Tahoe.

The atmosphere was alive when we arrived. Originally, I wanted to sleep in the car a bit since the walk from the parking lot to the start line was not too far.  I figured I could snooze for 45-50 minutes before the start.  But everyone was up and about. It was too tempting for me to go out and see what they were doing. I had a brief breakfast provided by the race.  Muffins and coffee were on the menu. I brought my own breakfast (milkshake and croissant) but at the time, I did not had the appetite. Later, I regretted a bit of drinking down the shake. The sun soon started to rise, there was the faint morning predawn glow. It was as every bit seen from YouTube livefeed. 

I remembered this exact moment last year when I was tuning into the Western States 100 start on YouTube.  In a million years, I would not have dreamed I would be toeing the start.  It felt surreal, here just a year later.  The exact emotion at the time, was mixed.  People said I am calm. My friend, and crew chief was with me. I wanted to feel the excitement like I usually do for other races, but here at Western States, I felt anticlimatic. OK, I was thinking to myself. It was a beautiful morning.  The idea of me racing had not registered yet.  After six months of training here I am. There were no more doubts if I was ready. Ready or not, I would have to do the race regardless how I feel. The start clock slowly counted down to 5 am. 

There was a brief final race briefing beforehand but I could not make out what was said.  I said, I plan to watch the livestream once I finished the race to hear what was said. John Trent told a story of a watch with no hands, meaning we should not worry about our cutoffs, or pacing, but instead enjoy our run at the moment, but unfortunately his tip was lost on me until afterward. He mentioned the two friends from North Carolina (whom I glat to also have met, Lisa and Keshia), to take care of each other.  This too, would have been hard for me to do.  I was too focus of saving myself out there.  I regretted a bit I did not pace with some slower runners as I normally would (including Emily Clay, my personal hero in this race). I did help on two occasions when someone went off trail to call them back.

Then we were off once the clock reached zero.  I started from the rear. As mentioned, I did not felt it was my race yet. I did not go out with urgency as many did.  The course did not seem too crowded by the time I crossed it.  We had a long 4 miles (3.5-3.7 miles according to some) climb up to the escarpment. It was truly remarkable up there.  It was a slow process for me and others around my pace. I passed Keshia and Wael early on. Wael stayed with me a bit. My pace was not fast. Eventually, I got to the top, kind of behind pace I believed, but I wqs not worried. The split is available on the internet. Indeed, it was slower than I would like.  I was behind pace but that was to be expected.  I was hoping once I get into a running pace, I could make up time before the first aid station at Lyon Ridge.

Looking back, the trail was not any harder than what I had done before.  About a group of dozen people passed me once we were on the single track trail.  It was beautiful up on the ridge.  I did not mind people passing me early on.  Well, I was a bit irritable or snuffed by that because I believed I was moving at a good pace.   People are like in traffic will sneak into every available space. You kind of had to smile to them, yes please go ahead.  We were in bumper to bumper, so I think it is foolish to fight for position.  I was willing to let my pace drifted a bit.  Those who passed by seemed did not get very far.

So I stayed with them from behind the pack until we got to Lyon Ridge.  I used the opportunity to get out the station as quickly as possible.  I gained a bit of ground but the runners who stayed a bit longer caught back up not long later.  I knew I was behind pace, but I felt also low in energy so I could not really pick up my feet and push and stayed in the back with some other runners.  This was the high country. Normally, this was not me, but I had not run for in a while, so it took a bit of time to get my trail legs back.  I did stumble quite a bit.

The Second aid station came by, Red Star Ridge.  My pace slowed down more than I would like.  I am now near an hour behind pace.  The split is available online.  I just have no desire to look at them again, because they were too embarrasingly slow.  Again I got out the station first, but others caught back up to me later on.

There was a nice descent to Duncan Canyon.  Wael sped up and ran down hill and so did many others. At least I thought they sped up, but in actuality, it was my body slowing down.  I knew I had to reach Duncan Canyon by 12:30, since that was our first official cutoff. My plan was to reach it before 11 am. That plan was not possible with the pace I was going. I knew I would have to push a bit or my race would be in trouble.

The sun was hot, now past noon.  As I arrived at the Duncan Canyon aid station, the lady in front of me was experiencing some heat issue.  They sent a medical staff on the trail, and he was asking her how she feel.  She said she is having dizziness. She did not seem to do so well.  I made note, and kept that in the back of my head. Got to watch out for the heat. Now I still had double layer on.  People back home were saying, what is up with that!  I was still heat training, mygoodness.  I was not feeling good myself either. I had a bit of lightheadedness.  My arrival time at the station was far off than I wanted.  My time slipped further from my desired pace.  I did some mental math that I might be at the cutoff by the time I get to Robinson Flat.

I took the humble pill that maybe this race was not for me.  This was my first realization.  They say to finish a 100 mile you should have to know your Why, the reason why you want to finish.  Wael told me he wanted to fly his flag at the finish.  I said, I wanted to arrive to see his flag.  In my mind he was ahead of me and I promise to catch him (reel him in).  I must have passed him at Duncan Canyon but to me Wael was still way in the front. This was my original goal.  Later, it was changed to I would like a fast run with my pacers to Auburn.

The first three aid stations, were mostly on the down hill, now it was a climb.  It was past noon.  I just cross a creek.  My eyes were getting dark so I sat down on a rock by the side of the trail.  5-6 runners passed me and asked if I needed help.  I motioned to them I was alright.  I was trying to remove a layer, so I could breath better.

Then there was a runner, unfortunately, I don’t remember his name or bib, but I was behind him most of the day.  So he passed me and I said, I needed him again to pace me to Robinson Flat.  It is kind of a joke because no one would be willing to really pace someone.  I latched on his pace and we kind of arrived to at next station together.  I had a stronger uphill strength by now.  So I did eventually left him. He was floundering like I was.

When I was near Robinson Flat, I heard horn blasts.  This race has a system of three horn blast means 20 minutes before closing, 2 blasts for 10 minutes, 1 blast means time up — something like that. As I entered the station, the volunteer told me I had 10 minutes before the station closes. Ideally, we should not be hearing them at all, because it means we were really in trouble if we do hear it.

I really did not feel good at the time.  I think looking back I had some heat exhaustion issue. I felt someone had punched me in the chest and stomach. I had trouble breathing (my breathing was shallow).  I could not eat much. I felt I wanted to throw up (It did not happen for another 4 hours, so it stuck in between the whole time). I think at Miller’s Defeat, they offerred me Tums and that helped relieved the pressure a bit.

They filled up my water bladder with ice and water.  I was sprayed with water.  I packed away some food to go. Actually, I wanted to quit and asked if my crew chief could drive me back home or where ever, but I got a quick answer no.  Her logic makes sense. I still have time on the clock, and I should run until I was pulled from the race. She will have my pacer to meet me at Michigan Bluff instead of Foresthill as originally planned. It seemed unlikely I would arrive before 8 pm. We could only have a pacer at Michigan Bluff if it is after 8 pm. Because, time was short, I did not have time to think about it.  It was either stay or go.  I felt, I could still take another step, so I went out. The words that really got me going was “they (Susan and Christy) were waiting for me down there (bottom of the Canyon, at Rucky Chucky)”.  I did not want to fail them. Note, it would take another 14 hours for me to get there.

I was not even thinking that far at the time. My job was to make before the cut at the next station. I kind of had a strong feeling that finishing the race was impossible by now. Some commented on my tenacity or resilience, no, I don’t think I had any of that. I just did not want to disappoint my teammates.  We spent so much energy to get here and there was still a fighting chance. I shouldn’t go out without a fight.

It was 2 pm.  I started to feel a bit better once I left the station. This next 100k is the section I have done the training on during the Memorial Weekend. It is mostly downhill.  My pace was a much better then and soon I caught up to people ahead of me. There were a dozen or so runners. I kept with them pretty much for next 6-7 hours. Not that I did not want to pass them, but they were equally as resilient.

We arrived to at Miller’s Defeat.  I did the same as previous station, trying to be quick. Getting water if necessary and to move out once done.  I was gaining back some time on the clock, minute by minute, going from 10 minutes from the cutoff to 15 minutes.

Dusty Corners was next.  I did not pace with any one but sometimes I surged ahead and only to be passed by others when they regained their strength. Looking back, I wish I have taken down names of people I was with.  We felt equally same of being in the same boat of chasing our cutoffs.

After Dusty Corners was Last Chance.  I pretty much outran the people I was with to be here.  I gained an extra 20 minutes, about 25 minutes ahead of the station cutoff but maybe 40 minutes behind the 30 hour cutoff.  I was not thinking about the 30 hour cutoff like how would I catch back up, because, the station cutoff was more the immediate concern.

After Last Chance is the swinging bridge.  It is 1.5 mile down and then many miles up to Devils Thumb. Maybe like 4-5 miles. I handled the down hill pretty well and passed maybe 10 or so more people. You could say I went all out. I might have the idea, I could catch back onto the 30 hour pace. I might have pushed a bit too hard.

Then came the climb up to Devil’s Thumb. Many asked me about the heat in the Canyon.  Yes, it was hot but I arrived there around 6 pm where the worst already passed. I was lucky in that respect. If I arrived at 3-4 pm, it might have been a different story. Now the climb, and it was one of most wicked climb other than the escarpment at the beginning.

  I walked ten or so steps and I felt lightheaded. Note, I did the training here, and climbed well during my training. Now it was a different me. The guy in front of me was same.  He sat down at one of the switchbacks.  I too was trying to find a rock to sit.  It was slow going.  After a few steps I had to stop and take a break. I never felt this tiring.  I was out of breath. My chest was pressing in. My stomach was turning, ten times worse than before at Robinson Flat. This time, I felt the stuff was about to explode out and I was trying to contain it.  Also, I wanted to poop badly. I blamed the protein shake I had before the race!

Because of my slow pace, many runners were passing me.  I normally take pride of my strong climbing ability but not today. 

Soon I went to the side of the trail and started puking. Everything I ate before came out. They were mostly fluid.  My mouth did not have the bitter aftertaste, and I think they were the energy drink I had.  I like the sweet flavor. Everything seemed to be just water and a few pieces of water mellon. I soon felt much better once I threw up.  I got my energy back.  It felt very good.  It was a great reset.  I was not sure where the energy came from.  It got me up to the aid station. I no longer felt bloated.

I hear the horn blast, not sure it was three or two, likely two.  Basically I had about 10 minutes left.  I told a volunteer I wanted to quit.  I did not even go to the food station but sat on one of the chairs they had for probably spectators.  A few people came to attend to me.  They said let us fill up your water.  The guy asked if I wanted to change shoes/socks.  I said sure.  They cleaned my feet.  Got my water filled. They put some ice. They basically ignored that I wanted to quit and prepared me for going back out.   An older guy was telling me some stories, basically to persevere.  The younger guy cut in and said there is no time for me to listen to that, but that they hope see me at Placer High the next day.

They were so positive that I would finish.  So they rushed me out the station. I forgot all about pooping. If it got worse, then, I’d poop on the trail or in my pants and we would deal with it at the next station. I know if I’ve gone to the porta johns, I might not make out of the aid station before the cutoff here.  I was glad, my body recovered just when I really needed it.  Actually, we met a guy on my way out, who left the station earlier  and then came back. We asked, are you giving up!  We tried to convince him, he had three hours left (to get to Michigan Bluff).

There were five or six other runners leaving with me. So I had some company.  I tried to keep their pace.  Soon though we were all spreaded apart. The trail became easier down to Eldorado Creek.  I love the down hill.  I caught up to some earlier people.  I saved a lady here from going off trail.  This time, I tried to reign in my pace and not go too hot like before the Devil’s Thumb climb.

This part was actually fun to run, except I was chasing time again.  I made it to Eldorado Creek.  I filled up and took some gummies and food I felt I could eat.  I don’t remember much but was told that 9:20 was the station closing time.  I mistakenly believed that the next station would be closed at 9:20. I left at 8:00 pm.  So I had only 1:20 to get up to the top.  I told myself I needed to get myself up there by 9 pm. This is a big climb up to Michigan Bluff. It was almost as worse as Devil’s Thumb.

However, I felt strong.  I could not run but I could power hike.  I caught up many people, maybe about a dozen people who previously passed me on Devil’s Thumb.  I knew I had no time to play around. Many were surprised to see because couple hours before, I was half dead on the trail. I might have passed Amy D from NC here or at Devil’s Thumb, but at the time I misidentified her at Kathy Webb. They of course knew who I am.

Night came.  I had my headlamp on. Some runners did not carry them.  I heard the sound of people ahead.  I rushed down the trail yelling, Susan, I am coming, let’s go. I truly believed 9:20 was the closing time, and I came in just at the nick of time.

Susan, my pacer, was ready.  There we set off.  We all knew we are behind the 30 hours cutoff by a lot. I think maybe closer to an hour.  Lisa McF was setting out too.  I thought I would have her as company but her pace was a bit too slow.  Susan pace was springy and fast. We called her Susan the Swift as she glided up and down the trails. I tried to keep up with Susan. If anyone I would like to be on Placer highschool track, it would have been Lisa and her two friends. I really thought at the time, she would make it under the 30 hour cutoff. I was more worry about myself would not make it. It was hurtful but also inspiring that she did step on to Placer’s Highschool track the next day after the clock expired.

Susan took me to Forresthill.  It is about 7-8 miles away, but the time seemed short.  We arrived exactly at 11 pm.  I was very happy to see Susan and all.  We have planned for this race six months, and this is like the first time we get to run together.  There were a lot of other people on the trail.  We passed 27 of them. Her pace was exactly how I envisioned, brisk and fast.  She, of course could have run many times faster since she is a Boston BQ. We were probably doing a 15 min pace while she could easily run a 9 min pace.  I was honored to be paced by her and I was just trying to hang on to her pace.

Foresthill was a happy reunion site for everyone. My other pacer was there.  A volunteer helped me changed out my wet socks to dry ones. I had food and all.  Susan got me coffee, broth, plus enchilada. I thought I couldn’t eat, but while holding it in my hand, somehow I did not know when I stuffed all the food in my mouth.

We paced like before from Foresthill down Cal-1, Cal-2, Cal-3, and to Rucky Chucky. They called this the Cal street.  They have names (Dardanelles, Peachstone, and Ford Bar), but we call them, Cal 1-2-3. We gained little bit of time back each time we entered an aid station.  When we left Forresthill we were 25 minutes behind the 30 hour pace.  By the time we arrived at Rucky Chucky, we were 15 minutes ahead of the 30 hour pace. We gained 40 minutes. My pacer was great! They got me back into the game. We need to maintain a 30 hour pace in order to be reach the finish on time and be considered as an official Western States 100 finisher. I was getting excited, that I now had a chance. 

The night was really good.  Susan would set target and we would chase down the next runner. We would repeat.  Earlier on there were a lot of runners to chase, but by Cal-2 and Cal-3, there were less.  We only passed 2 or 3 more people. She kept on reminding me, we are not out of the woods yet, and she did not want me to take my foot off the accelerator.

Rucky Chucky crossing was fun.  There, my other pacer was ready to pace with me.  Christie switched off with Susan.  Caroline cheered me as I went off. Crossing the river is not what I like to do but it was a must.  So I sucked it up and stepped in the cold water.  Volunteers were helpful in guiding me where to step.  We were told to hold onto the rope.  Sure, I lost some time there.  There was a time I slipped and my whole body went under.  The cold water actual made my body feel good.  I had been sweating the whole night and the chilled water felt so good.

On our way to Green Gate, we passed more people.  Christie is a strong hiker and I had a bit of hard time keeping up.  I liked that.  It made me push harder to make up time. 

I was served at Green Gate. Avinash, Susan’s friend, was there. He and other friend, Karen, came to cheer me later on.

Next few station was uneventful.  The ALT, Auburn Lake Trail, though quite nice, but long.  I was sleepy.  My pace slowed down some.  Soon people started passing me back.  There seemed to be quite many stronger runners.  Everyone was running at a very fast pace.

The sun was up as we made our way to Quarry Road and then Highway 49.  Christie and I recognized a lot of landmarks we passed by during our training run.  We ran when we could.  Christie was a much gentler pacer than Susan.  The pace totally depended on me.  If I go fast, she would go fast, if I stop, she would stop.  She never hustled me except to repeat Susan’s word that I promised to stay on 17 min-mile pace.

We reached Pointed Rock at 8:30 am.  It was a glorious field.  Everyone was there.  Avinash and Karen came off from their aid station shift.  I met Keshia too.  She dropped from the race earlier and now waiting for her friend Lisa. There were many runners here.  I just passed Emily Clay not long ago.  She and her husband are runners I would imitate.  I was very happy to see them.  It was like running with celebrities.

From here on, I knew the race was in the bag.  There were still 8 miles to the finish and we had 2.5 hours to get there. To me, it was about 10K and we have two hours! I could be walking and still finish (though, I did not dare to try). There is one big climb up to Robie Point and I plan to use 30-40 minutes for that climb. So I had about 2 hours to cover 7 miles. 

Everyone was running at this point.  Everyone’s pace was quite strong.  I told Christie to let them go ahead and we would follow from behind and when they are exhausted, we would pass them. We did more or less like that.

Not long afterward, we arrived at the No Hands Bridge.  There are maybe 3 miles left in the race.

From this point on, it was just a march to the end. I didn’t mind the death march. Runners were doing the same all around us. They had drones up and out, so I was sure people back home could see us.

The sun was hot and so everyone was hiking.  Christie and I still had our hiking legs and so we could hike at a decent pace and passed a few people.  In theory, I could still run, but there did not seem to be a point to do so because the finish was all but certain.  I don’t remember much. The climb up was not as hard as I imagined it would be.

Once we arrived at Robie, all my friends were there.  It was a big celebration.  There was aid tables after tables of food and drinks.  Free food and drinks offerred from many of the neighbors. The street was lined with people.  There were camera/video people. Students and volunteers were running on the street, pacing people in.  I think this is the best part of Western States, the homecoming. Some with go-pro were videotaping.  It was a big parade march to the Placer High School’s track. Even though the distance was a mile long (1.3), it seemed like quarter mile to me.  We knew our every step was being filmed or livestreamed over the internet.  People back home were watching us. They reminded us not to littered.

I was so relieved.  The finish was guaranteed by now.  Everything from this point on was merely a ceremony and formality, for me to step across the finish.  We got on the track.  There are multiple footages of how I ran the track to the finish and with my iconic stuning pose with lifted hand to the sky, thanking the Almighty.

I am grateful for the experience.  Also, this might be my first time in a race where I came back from falling behind and redeeming it.  I had an incredible team who believed in me.  I had the strength given from above.  Christie and others believe in God and they were constantly praying for me during the day before.  I felt their prayers were answered and I loved being the cause of it.  I felt the race could have ended at many different points along the course, but it was kept alive and I was able to cross the finish line in relatively healthy body. 

We stayed to watch the rest of the race.  We saw Will B. crossed the finish line.  It was emotional.  Then Lisa, my friend also came in.  Wael came and took a picture with me.  I was glad to have met him and others during the training run.  Almost all the people, it seemed were arranged to be perfectly positioned in my life so that I could do well at this event.  I met both of my pacers accidentally.  They formed such a great team.  The whole team were devoted to this one cause to get me through.

There is a lot to think about.  I need a much more time separation.  This is indeed a race of a lifetime.  I run not just to run.  I like to reflect when I run and draw some life lessons. This race is just the friendship and really precious time we could spend together.

They say Western States is not the prettiest course nor the hardest course.  It is an iconic course. It is historic course, started as a horse race and still is a horse race (the Tevis Cup).  It is the oldest 100 mile in the country (and in the world I think).  I run not to win the first place or even top 10 or top 100.  I came in 240th place.  I might not do any better if I run it again.  The value, I guess was to be able to share the experience with others. 

The following day, we went back on the trail.  We encountered other runners and some horse riders and as well the local residents. We were able to soak in what it meant to walk on the Western States trail. After all the lime light, the thing we enjoy the most is to be on the trail and those around us.