Beyond Limits Ultra, BLU
April 5, 2024
Mountain Center, CA
100 miles, 29:46:41
Elevation 4800 feet
What an adventure?
An adventure of surviving the snow, wind, sun, hail, and cold, while also completing a hundred miles.
We knew this race was going be a challenge and almost considered not going but I’m stubborn and have a difficult time not completing something I sign up for. So we packed all the clothes and I brought four pairs of shoes for a 100. I rarely change shoes anymore during a hundred so bringing a lot of shoes felt weird. I did use three pairs of shoes due to wet muddy conditions. Off we go for a “weather adventure.”
It was cold at the start so I had full length tights and shirts, a fleece and a vest on. It had snowed the night before and I was ready with multiple changes of clothes, socks and shoes ready to go. The great thing about BLU is that the course is at a summer camp for kids and there are bunk houses along the 2 mile loop course. So you get a bunk the night before your race and this also allows you to keep gear inside and real bathrooms to change or take a shower.
BLU is a family affair with lots of games and adventures. They set up a hot tub and tried to give us sno cones during the race, i passé on that on. The aid station had lots of great food options, I especially indulged in pie, both pumpkin and apple. The aid station and support crew are quite fantastic. The last time I was here I did archery during the race and canoed before the race. It’s was also 70s and 80s for weather. This would be a different BLU experience.
Off we went and about five minutes into the race it started snowing. When you are moving well like at the beginning of the race, snow is no big deal. It was a wet snow so I got wet but was able to keep warm. The course has a sandy section and when dry it is deep sand, no fun. But for this day the sand was wet and packed down and no big deal. Other sections of the course got muddy and icky and sloppy. Race directors had to put straw out in a couple of places of mud pits. It helped a little.
I spent about two hours off course changing clothes and socks and shoes. This is not my usual as I like to be on course all the time. I hate wasting time but to keep my feet in check and adjust to the weather it was necessary. I also had a little whiny time when I just hated the weather and needed a break so I laid down in my bunk for 30 minutes getting my attitude adjusted. The weather was schizophrenic. It would snow, then sun, then wind, then snow or hail, then sun, wind, etc. All. Day. Long. People were predicting the worst of the weather to be done by 6 pm. Then the prediction was 7 pm, then 9 pm, then 11 pm. Then I stopped believing it would ever get better. It hailed quite a bit after dark and the wind would blow it sideways into your face. Thank gosh for buffs. I would pull it up over my nose and duck my head so the hail wouldn’t hit my eyes. Keeping my head down to avoid the wind and the hail would later give me a low back ache. Finally, I think the last of the hail stopped between 2 and 3 am. Now it was just wind until daylight. My trusty ShowersPass raincoat got me through the worst of the weather. I told myself I love this raincoat because it worked so well. Never thought I would love a piece of clothing.
When the sun came up the smiles came out. I think a few people took naps in the bunk houses to ride out the storm. Some of these people were still trying the finish when we were leaving. They had wished they were not off course so long as they were ready to be done. Live and learn.
We met three rookies the night before the race at the campfire where people made s’mores. They asked Jess and I a lot of questions and we were happy to share our experiences. It was quite fun. Of course we watched their progress all day and night. All three were doing well. One rookie, his name was DK hit the pain cave at mile 80 and was in bad shape during my last 10 miles. We chatted walked and jogged. The night before the race I told him and the others I’d make sure to support them if they needed anything. Problem solving during a race is so important. Well he came up alongside me and asked for help. We talked about smiling and keeping a positive attitude and what his mantra might be. He went with the word courage. His feet were hurting and I suggested he sit for a timed five minute break with his feet up and eat something. He did and off he went. I imagine he did this a few times and later we saw in the results that he finished. What a great young father accomplishing a tough feat. It was a lot of fun encouraging and helping the rookies.
I am so grateful I get to do these silly challenges. I managed my feet well, no maceration from being wet, no blisters, and I did need three pair of shoes as the mud and wet were icky. I didn’t use all the clothes but was glad to have enough to do three clothing changes. I might not have eaten enough and will need to do that better in my upcoming six day race. I really enjoyed seeing old friends and making new running friends, especially the rookies, all three finished their hundred and they were smiling every time I saw them. Miles of smiles for the win.
P.S. weirdest hallucination. I have had night time hallucinations but often I also have them during the day after being up all night. This one happened during the day in the sun. Each loop, when I ran under this one particular tree I felt like hail was coming down from the tree hitting my face. Maybe too much hail from the night before and I was reliving it? Weird.
PSS. Books
I listened to two books this race. The first one was Good For A Girl by Lauren Fleshman.
I appreciated all the learnings that she shared about her career as an athlete. It’s a good one if you haven’t read or listened to it.
Also, the Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister. I listened to her other book , No Two Persons and wanted to listen to something else by this author. I thought it was good and a unique story.