Crown King 50 report

Crown King 50K Report by Gareth Edmondsen

A bad day for me. If anyone has any thoughts on my downfall feel free to
share.
Also got to add a big thank you to RD Gary Culver and the hearty band of
volunteers. I heard there was 75 volunteers for 200 ish runners.

The Crown King Scramble is a 50K trail race starting by Lake Pleasant, near
Phoenix, Arizona. It winds up the hill to the old mining town of Crown
King. Net elevation gain is about 5500 feet.

The race started on time at 6:30am. Ahead of me I could see a long line of
runners heading up the trail just as dawn was breaking. There was a 3:30 cut
off at the mile 16 (actually 16.5) aid station that I was anxious to make. I
had been mulling over taking the early start ever since I signed up for the
race. This would have given me an extra hour to meet the cut off. In the
end, I stuck with the regular start time.

I started out nice and easy. The course was generally flat with a few rises
in the first 8 miles. I am a lot stronger going down than going up so I knew
that the first half of the course would be where I would make up the most
time. Just after mile, 2 I noticed that I had just passed Pam Reed! Now I’m
only just finding my place in the ultrarunning world and I am sure that I am
a long way behind Pam. I backed off a little more and settled in to a nice
easy pace. Forecast highs were in the high 90’s which is hot for March. I
popped an S Cap every 30 minutes the whole day. I also had a Gu every 45
minutes unless I was at an aid station where I would eat orange slices and
potato chips. The first 8 miles passed without incident. Some breathtaking
scenery along the way. The light hitting the canyon walls as the sun rose
reminded me why I love being out here. Nature in all her glory.

My 8 mile split was 1:21. At this pace I thought I should make the cut off
with no problem. A quick refill of my 70 oz Camelbak, some salty potatoes
and I was on my way. That’s when things started to go wrong. After the 8
mile aid station the terrain had a lot more steep climbs. I was running the
flats and downs and power walking the ups. Another 4 miles in and I could
tell it would be a long day. With every step I took I was beginning to feel
pain around my kidneys. I backed off the pace a little but it didn’t seem to
help. I kept on drinking water but this didn’t help either. The sun was
getting higher in the sky and it was getting a lot hotter. I did manage to
pee around this time, and it was nice and clear which I thought was a good
sign.

By the mile 16 aid station I was reduced to walking only. My heart rate
wouldn’t settle down and I couldn’t cool down. By this time, not only was I
feeling the pain with every step but also with every breath. I soaked my
bandana round my neck, threw some ice in my hat and sat in the shade for a
while. I felt a little better and headed out at 3:13.

From miles 16 to 20 the terrain is a roller coaster: steep ups followed by
steep downs. I couldn’t even run the downs without the kidney pain any more
and when I did run I was reduced to a slow shuffle. The mile 20 aid station
finally came into view. Between me and the salvation it offered, however,
was a huge down followed by an even bigger up. Oh well, head down and drive
on. I was half way up the hill and dragging badly. A lady came past me and
started talking with me, giving me encouragement. I never learnt her name
but her help to get up that hill stopped me from dropping there and then. A
big thank you to her once more! A motley crew of us hid in the shade at Mile
20. This was supposed to be a water-only aid station but Rodger and Jimmy
Wrublik were there and provided Heed too and a refreshing water spray. While
I was here news came over the radio that the winners had just finished. Oh
how far away that seemed now.

I decided that the sun wasn’t going to get any cooler and I knew that there
was shade in a couple of miles so off I trundled. A few more ups and downs
before I finally entered the Prescott National forest. All the while we
were on the trail there were literally hundreds of ATV’s driving along the
same road, kicking up huge dust clouds as they went past. Maybe I was
imagining it but I swear the ATVs kicked out more revs just as they passed
me. I was coated in a thick layer of dust, salt and sweat. The trail through
the forest offered a little protection from the sun but not much. I was
still reduced to walking with the occasional shuffle. The pain was getting
worse and worse despite taking on as much water as possible, and taking the
S Caps like candy. I pretty much drained the 70oz bladder between each aid
station. Every step hurt. Every breath hurt. I couldn’t control my heart
rate so just went as fast as I could while trying to control the pain. I
have experimented with Tylenol in the past but it always cramps my stomach
so I don’t use it any more.

The Mile 24 aid station, Fort Misery, was anything but. This station was run
by the Phoenix Hash House Harriers. Beer was on offer but I politely
declined. I drank some water and some coke and ate a few orange slices. I
got a quick spray down from a nice volunteer who asked if I had any pain?
Huh? Then I went and found some shade for 10 minutes. I knew about the big
climb ahead and wanted to steel myself. On my way out I got another spray
down and felt the best I had done for maybe the last 3 hours.

Here started the long climb to the 28 mile Aid station. Thanks to the way
the course is laid out you can see the next aid station from about 3 miles
and 2500 vertical feet away. Ugh, do I really have to get up there? Decision
time. Do I keep pushing up the hill knowing that I am hurting like I haven’t
in a long time, or do I turn back to 24? I decided to push on.

I was pushing up the trail when I heard some ATV’s behind me, again. I moved
over to the right side of the trail to let them pass. The first one came
past and I saw it was driven by a small boy, no older than 10. As he went
past me he took off from a rock, went sideways and off the trail down a
steep embankment. What the hell?? I ran (as well as I could) up to where he
went off the trail and the two adults with him soon followed. We found the
child hanging from some roots with his vehicle still revving away down
below. One of the guys jumped down to help him and passed him up to me as I
dragged him back on to the trail. A female racer who was maybe 20 yards
ahead of me came back to help too. The kid was obviously shook up. After a
couple of minutes we headed on our way.

The lady who came back to help was Cris from Austin. She was here for the
race because her sister had persuaded her to do it. We were together for
another mile or so before our paces changed and I headed forward up the
hill. I turned round about a quarter mile forward and Cris was nowhere to be
seen. Here started the long steady climb up to Mile 28. It was a slow
climb, all the while trying not to look up to the aid station. I was caught
by another racer who had run out of water. I gave her what I could spare and
carried on. About a quarter mile out Cris came racing past me looking
strong! Great job. This spurred me on and for the second time that day I
tagged on the back of someone to get in to the aid station. Here there was a
St Patricks day theme. All the guys had painted their beards green and there
was Irish music blasting out. I took on more water and sat in the shade for
another 5 minutes hoping to cool down. My heart rate hadn’t settle down for
hours despite my best efforts. I was still taking S Caps every 30 minutes
but nothing helped. I looked at my watch. I had 40 minutes to make the 2
miles to the next cut off. It was 2 miles uphill to the cut off and then 2
miles downhill to the finish. I told Cris this and we decided to head out.
About 5 minutes out of the aid station I knew the wheels were finally going
to come off. I sent Cris ahead and leaned against a rock. Then there it was.
Almost all the water I had taken in that day suddenly made a very rapid
re-appearance. Just when I thought I couldn’t have drunk that much, more
appeared. Out of nowhere, two aid station workers appeared. They had run up
the hill with some water and to check on me. An ATV driver had apparently
seen me and alerted them. I sat with them for 5 minutes and they asked what
I wanted to do. Well, the finish was less than 4 miles away. I can go 4
miles right? It’s only 4 miles. Who drops with 4 miles to go? So I headed
towards the finish. Big mistake. Another two minutes and I was done. I
couldn’t take another step uphill. After the re-appearance of what I thought
surely must be the last of the water in my stomach, I headed back down the
hill.

I passed a few people on the way down who tried to make me go in with them.
There was no way I could do it. I barely made it down to 28 before finding
shade and collapsing in a heap. I couldn’t sip any water. I could only
enjoy the shade and try to cool myself off. The aid station folks took care
of me as well as the last few who were coming through. When the station was
closed and the sweep vehicles started coming through I got a ride back to
the finish line. It is a bumpy trail and they gave me a trash bag just in
case. I was fine until we hit the smooth road and sped up a bit. We pulled
over for a couple of minutes, and this time my stomach really did have
nothing left! Soon we were pulling in to Crown King and the finish line.
There waiting for me was my wife Lindsay. She had been expecting me a few
hours earlier. On a good day I should have finished this course in around 7
hours. She was helping out at the finish line and heard I was DNF but was
still anxiously awaiting my return. I let her know I was OK and found a
seat. I saw Cris who finished just after the cut offs. Way to go Cris! I
managed to sip some soda and eventually eat a little. By the time we got
home I was feeling a lot better and had replaced a lot of the fluids I had
lost. By Sunday evening I was pretty much back to normal.

I have never experienced this before and usually my stomach causes no
problems at all. Why was this day different? The heat? Everyone else dealt
with it. Too much water or too much electrolytes? I didn’t change my
routine from previous runs so why the reaction today? The only thing
different to normal is that I will also drink diluted Gatorade which I
didn’t have this day. Would it have made a difference, who knows. I’m
going to chalk this one up to experience.

Next up: KM100K. Smaller hills and cooler weather, I hope!