I slept like a rock last night. This year's Grand Teton 100 Mile Race was once again a fantastic event, put on by world class race directors. It was also a drastically more challenging event then it was last year. Of the 40 runners that started the race, nearly half (18) did not finish, almost double from the 2007 event. Runners not only had to contend with the 20,000 feet of climbing, but the weather became a factor. The race started in 40 degree temps, but quickly moved to the heat of the 80's as the day went on. After the heat came the cold, and worse, the winds, sleet, hail, and heavy rain. Yes - sleet and hail. On my 4th trip up Fred's Mountain I was pelted by heavy rain and sleet, and pushed around by the wind. It was so cold that I was shaking big time.
The short skinny on my race is that I'm thrilled with my performance. Two nights before the race I learned that my pacer was injured, but that she was lining up another fantastic runner to pace me. The morning of the race (literally, at race check-in) I learned that my second pacer had opted to run the 50-mile race (she finished 10th in the 50), leaving me pacer-less. After a very strong first 25-mile loop (5:38 - 30 minutes faster then last year), stomach cramping got the better of my nutrition and I was able to eat very little (I think I had only 4 cups of soup and a gel during a 14 hour period). I kept my last 3 loops were fairly consistent, and I finished in 31:46:20, over an hour and a half better then last year. I also placed quite well - 15th overall and 3rd in my age group.
The race had only 2 sub-24 finishers. Full results and splits are HERE.
I'll get a full race report up soon.
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