Our running group, Boise Run Walk, has been working on this training session for 14 weeks. We have run up hills and we have run down. We have crawled up hills and crawled down some. We have sweated, we have frozen, we have bled, some have cried, but some have just disappeared.
This weekend it all came due at the bottom of the Robie Creek Half Marathon Hill with over 2400 other people. Everyone had trained at 35 to 60 degree weather in wind, rain, and snow. No one was ready for what was to happen when the Rocky Mountain Sail Toads said "Go" for the start of the 35th Annual Race to Robie Creek. This year's theme was Samurai Sail Toad-Honor the Pain.
At the start of the race, standing at 2756 feet above sea level, there were 2461 runners ready to become friends with the mountain. Mother Nature was ready with an unrelenting blast furnace to keep those Samurai true to their word. The temperature at race time was 76 degrees and not a whiff of wind.
The first two miles climbed the asphalt very sharply as it passed through well to do subdivisions and twisting curves. The home owners were out with their hoses to spray and to cool, salute their favorite runners, and to others make fools. The neighborhood "Cujo" gave us his favorite loud woof to greet us all, I'm sure.
Once over "Potty Hill", the first portable outhouse was on top of the first hill, then it was a straight and long downhill to the first cattle crossing. I was pleasantly surprised to see plywood covering the wide open grill. When you passed the cattle crossing you had a mile plus to the end of the pavement at 3.5 miles into the race. From this point on you will have a gravel, hard packed dirt road under your feet.(Not really, the road gods just graded the road and there are good sized rocks everywhere).
The road will pass through a tight rock canyon that reflects heat like a mirror. Then onto a flat that is just a slight tease as the road heads upwards again. Onward and Upward are key words for this side of the mountain.
Mile three and four will finish winding through Rocky Canyon and open up onto a flatter area that sports no shade and no whisp of air today. Then the road begins to really steepen. At mile five, runners will cross over the second cattle guard; again covered by plywood. Thank the road gods for this; as this guard swallows runners whole.
From the cattle guard, the climb intensifies in its steep ascent. There may be patches of flat road but they are there to lure you into a false sense of relief. As you do take that deep breath, mile six approaches quickly and a hill that steepens the intensity of your convictions or the depths of your faults appears. A good adage here is to run what you can on the hills but run all of the flatlands if possible. It is your only side of relief. But the heat from the sun is unrelenting this day. You may just have to settle for the "run when you feel better" theme.
You have hit the magical mile seven, only one and one half miles to the top of Aldape Summit. These last miles to the summit turn runners into pure walkers, with their hands on their thighs pushing out every bit of energy. With every strand of skeletal muscle, and what strength you have left you push on to the summit. Some have stopped here and now can't move. The mountain has won. For others the struggle between the mental and physical continues. A roadside sign says it all "Don't stop, Just keep moving".
When you finally reach the summit, which is at 4791 feet above sea level, you are full of emotional jubilee until it dawns on you that you have three and one half miles of sharp turns, steep downhill, slick mud areas, and contoured embankments to go down 1000 feet; and then you still have a 1.1 mile of flat ground to cover after that to the finish line.
As the runners crest the summit and start down the backside of the mountain they are met with a cooling shade that lasts from one and one half to two miles. This temporarily will cool the runner's heat a few degrees while they manage the hairpin corners of the challenging route.
At mile 10 you come out of the God's gift of shade and hit the wall of heat set up by the sun. From here to the finish line the hot 84 to 87 degrees will be your running partner. Your calf muscles are screaming at you and the muscles on the front of your leg would like to run away from home. Every high step you take your hamstring muscles on the back of your legs threaten to double up in knots to bring you to the ground.
This flat, short run to the finish line seems more like you are climbing a hill again because of what your muscles have encountered on the downhill segment of the race. Most runners have very little energy left in the energy tanks at this level.
I myself had to plead and grovel to get my body to react on empty to finish the last five minutes of the race strong so that I may break the three hour mark on my first try at the infamous Robie Creek Half Marathon, the "Toughest Half Marathon in the North West".
Have you hydrated enough? Does your body tell you it is salt encrusted from the work you have done? As you reel in the last mile, you can hear the loud cheers of the crowds of well- wishers. You are hoping you have enough left in your tank to cross the finish line in good form for the cameras, show that you were ready for this race, and that you kicked it's mighty sail toad tail.
It is a super exhilarating feeling to cross that finish line and hear those words, "Well Done". But then shortly after that come the words "Are you okay?" from a worried official.
Runners from the past years know to go get their water, get their t-shirt, pick up their garment bag, and go sit down in the ice cold creek. After a while in the creek, your body has recovered enough to be able to get some food, a beverage or two, and recuperate before you have to go stand in the super long bus line back to your car.
"Newbies", like me, don't know these rules and will learn by mistake, learn by asking a veteran or a well- informed race official, or by just following the crowd. This year especially Mother Nature has thrown her handy work into the "Toughest Half Marathon in The North West" by adding temperature and no wind. The temperature at the starting line was 75 degrees. Climbing up the mountain was supposed to help but the temperature at the summit was 77 degrees with a short mouthful of a breeze. The sun was blazing down on all of the runners for the full 8.5 miles on the front side and 2.6 miles on the back side. The backside temperature to the finish line was 81 to 84 degrees.
Many runners were dehydrated; some had to be hydrated medically. Many runners were treated by a wondrous medical staff for blisters, twisted ankles, dehydration, road rash, torn Achilles tendons. Mother Nature had worked her magic withering heat and no wind to a science.
All I can say is I am glad we ran this race on Saturday and not on Sunday this year. The temperature difference was 10-12 degrees.
As a personal note from a first time Robie Creek participant, I trained well, I hydrated at every water station, I even used the liquid I carried on my hydration belt and I still came down with severe dehydration and on the edge of Heat Stroke. I have never experienced being so hot and then having chills until today. I had never experienced a racing heartbeat and caramel colored urine until today. I learned some very valuable lessons today! One must be able to read your own body and be prepared for anything. That is where good preparation is invaluable. Thanks Boise Run Walk Coaches for our preparations for this race!
After the race, I was asked if I would run the Robie Creek race again next year? My first reply was "I doubt it". But I was then reminded by the same person that the pain from this race was like "labor pains during child birth-One soon forgets". By the next morning, I was feeling better and started thinking about where I had errored in my strategic plan.
Next time I will be even more prepared to Honor the Mountain and Honor the Pain.
Great Job Robie Creek Rocky Canyon Sail Toads and Volunteers--Super, Super, Super Job!!
