Leadville 100 Part 3 ~ Final Miles

[continued from previous posts: Part 1 and Part 2]

As I stood near Ryan's gear in Winfield I counted the runners coming by - desperately searching for Ryan's dark green shirt.  One of the race officials was making her rounds to various crews informing them that the cut off was in just a couple minutes.   I kept thinking "don't come tell me, he's going to make it, he will".  The very nice woman did make her way to me and she said that if Ryan came in to the aid station in the next 10 minutes he could cross the timing mat and skip the medical tent and continue in the race!  Whew!!!  Now, we need Ryan to get here - and fast!!!!

I started running down the road in search of Ryan when I finally spotted him!  He was moving rather slowly and Guillaume was by his side.  I ran up to them and let him know all he had to do was to cross that timing mat in the next two minutes and (if he wanted to) he could continue with the race.  He was in a lot of pain - I could see it in his limp and on his face but he looked at me and smiled and said, "I'm not stopping, I'm going to go for it".  That's my Ryan!!! 

I handed Ryan a few baggies full of fruit and other food and gave final instructions to Guillaume as we walked down the road.

Ryan heading down the road with Guillaume and me about to head off to the trail that leads back up and over Hope Pass

 

And they're off

Jen and Mike were life savers for me.  There's no way I could have done the crewing by myself!

 It was going to take a miracle for Ryan to make the next cut off at the 60 mile mark in Twin Lakes.  It took him over 4 hours to go from Twin Lakes, up and over Hope Pass and into Winfield.  Now he had to do the same thing in reverse in under 3 and 1/2 hours.

We drove back to Twin Lakes and secured a parking place in plenty of time for us to rest before Ryan would be back.  Jen and Mike took great care of me forcing me to rest while they went on a dinner run.  Even without any caffeine, somehow I was up and fully energized for 27 hours thus far, and didn't want to stop.  But, I eventually caved to the pressure and curled up in the back of the car for a few minutes.  My mind raced as I sent good vibes to Ryan and prepared myself for the very likely fact that he wouldn't make it to the aid station by the 9:45pm cut off time.

As I nearly dozed my phone woke me up with the text message alert.  Guillaume said they'd made it to the top of Hope Pass.  Again, the butterflies kicked in... if Ryan hustled he just might make it in time!  Realizing that there was no way I'd sleep, I headed into town and met up with friends who had made the trip to support Ryan in his journey.  Ryan's co-worker and good friend, Josh and his fiancee Jamie were so great to see.  Ryan's boss Dane and his wife also made the trek which was so wonderful.  I learned that although we didn't see them in Winfield, Dane was able to cheer for Ryan as he came off the trail about 2 miles from the aid station.  A very welcome surprise for Ryan indeed!!

Garett also joined us in Twin Lakes.  To see him was such a wonderful sight.  Garett had coached Ryan for the last couple years.  He has been a terrific friend and running partner for Ryan and being that he's an experienced Leadville 100 finisher his expertise was much needed!!  I caught him up on Ryan's race so far and he let me know that the fact that Ryan didn't give up in Winfield when he was clearly in pain and barely made the cut off time, was a great indication of what kind of race he'd have.  He'd seen people struggle for the first 50 miles only to have everything work out and have a terrific second half and finish strong.  Oh, how I hoped Ryan would fall into that category!

The sun set in the tiny town and runners and spectators donned their headlamps.  Cheers could be heard throughout the streets as runners came through.  We decided that Garett would look out for Ryan outside of town and text me when he was coming so we could be ready at the aid station.  Fresh water, new socks and shoes, and plenty of food were laid out waiting for Ryan's arrival.

Again, the cut-off time was quickly approaching and as the minutes passed my fear of Ryan's race coming to an early end crept in again.  I pushed them out of my head and sent good thoughts to Ryan and Guillaume and kept a smile on my face.

Our crew getting all the gear ready for Ryan

 I checked the watch again, 9:40 and no Ryan.  Ugh.  Could this be the end?  Then the phone dinged and I saw Garett's text "Here comes the stud now, he's still in this".  YES!!!  I jumpped up and down and let the others know he was approaching.  The same race official that spoke to me in Winfield was again telling people that the cut-off was near.  I ran down the street to catch Ryan, Garett, and Guillaume and was so pleased when the woman announced to Ryan, "your race isn't over you're still in it"!!  Ryan made the cut-off by 2 minutes.  Again!  Man, was he giving all of us mini heart attacks!!

We sat Ryan down in a chair to change his shoes and Garett looked at me and said, "what do you have for blisters, we need to do something about these now".  Yeah, we didn't have a plan, so we rolled with it.  Garett borrowed a lighter from a nearby crew and I handed him a safety pin for him to lance the very large blisters that covered nearly all of the back of Ryan's feet.  (OUCH)  Not to mention, the bottoms of his feet were covered in blisters too.  Eight river crossings had sure done a number on his feet.

Even though he was clearly in a lot of pain he was full of smiles and he said he felt great.  (Great?  How is that even possible?)  He and Guillaume had run very quickly down from Hope Pass covering over 6 miles in a short amount of time which enabled him to make the cut off - albeit barely.  He said his knee was holding up and he was ready to set off again!  With duct taped feet, fresh shoes and socks and plenty of food and water Ryan headed up another mountain this time with Josh by his side.  The race continues!

It was now after 10:00pm and everyone was tired and growing weary.  We got to Half Moon and decided it was time to try to catch some sleep.  It was hard for me to settle down enough to sleep, the adrenaline was pumping through me and my mind was racing.  Ryan seemed to be doing better, but would it last?  Would he be able to pick up the pace to stay ahead of the cut-off times?

I did actually fall asleep for couple minutes and was woken by a text from Josh letting me know that Ryan was having a really tough time and although Josh was doing all he could, Ryan was unable to move very quickly.  Both of his knees were killing him now and the blisters on the bottom of his feet made it nearly impossible to put weight on them.  So, with each painful step Ryan continued in the dark and cold.

My turn to run with Ryan was approaching. We both looked forward to the small 5 mile stretch that we could run/walk together.  I decided that although the timing wasn't looking good I would get ready for the run and put out the good thoughts.  The cut off at this aid station was 1:15am and knowing that our crew was set up a couple miles past the aid station when 1:00am rolled around I started to feel the reality that he may not make it in time.

Sure enough we heard the race officials as they walked around with megaphones searching for runner's crews...."crew for runner 578" etc... echoed through the air.  I kept the positive thoughts but couldn't help but feel a little sad when I heard "crew for runner 824".  I looked at Mike and we knew it was time to go pick up our runner, he was done.  Shortly after the announcement, my cell phone rang and it was Josh - I answered to hear Ryan's voice.  He was choked up... "I'm done" he said softly.

Mike drove up the narrow jeep trail and as I sat in the passenger seat watching a couple runners come by I couldn't help but feel so sad for Ryan. He'd worked so hard for this and he wouldn't see his dream become a reality.  He wouldn't finish the Leadville Trail 100.  The 4 mile drive felt like it took forever, but we finally approached the aid station and Ryan and Josh got in the car.  Ryan was really bummed, but he knew that there was no physical way for him to continue in the race.  His body just wouldn't keep up with his strong mind.  He knew he left every ounce of himself on that course and it just wasn't his day.

We drove back to Leadville and entered our hotel room.   Jen and Mike decided it was time to head back to Denver and Ryan hopped in the bathtub.  He was sore and his feet were a complete mess.  After cleaning up and getting lots of ice for his feet he settled into bed and crashed.  The next morning came in just a few short hours.  Ryan was still disappointed, but proud.

He ran 71 miles in just over 21 hours 10,000ft above sea level in The Race Across The Sky.  No, he didn't get the coveted belt buckle all finishers receive, but he gave it one hell of an effort and went farther than my mind can conceive.

The following days brought a trip to urgent care to check a swollen foot and lots of ice and rest.  Aside from his feet however, Ryan recovered very quickly and his spirits were high.

We are all so proud of him and know that although he didn't get that finish, he gave everything he possessed.

Ryan is already registered for the 2012 Leadville Trail 100 on August 18-19. He is already training and logging some great miles and yes, he will have a blister prevention plan, and is working on his IT Band.  He's already so excited for the next adventure!

We are so proud of you Ryan!!!