There's a saying that time flies when you're having fun. That was true of my experience running the Cumby 25 for the first time May 11th. Maybe it was the quickly changing scenery as we ascended the winding mountain trails, or the cheerful volunteers offering lemonade at the top of Slick Rock trail where it turned onto Steam Donkey, or the sound of huffing and puffing and polite runners saying, "passing to your left" as we power hiked up the steep Truffle Shuffle, that made time fly. Suddenly I found myself at the top of Upper Vanilla trail forty-four minutes into the Cumby 25.
I continued on alone, it seemed, enjoying the descent running over the roots and rocks along the trail, through the shadows of a fir tree forest, shafts of morning light would fall upon me, here, and there, until I reached aid station one, situated on a logging road, beside a wide open section of descending trail with switchbacks that led down a steep incline. I felt the heat of the day for the first time there while exposed to the sun and was glad to be back under the shade of the trees again after reaching Even Lower Vanilla. There, I met up with some other runners as we slowed, coming to a narrow wooden bridge over a swamp, and a steep embankment. We climbed this, and after scrambling across a section of rocky, gently, rolling hills, we came to a straight logging road. I checked my Garmin watch and saw that I was moving at a pace about six-to-eight minutes ahead of what I had anticipated. This cheered me up as I was about to head into a section of trail I had never run before, Swamp Monster, and Rug Burn.
It was near the end of Swamp Monster that I had my first fall. I tripped on a rock and went flipping head over heels onto the edge of the trail. When I attempted to stand, a shooting pain pulsed through my right calf muscle. It felt like a micro tear. A fellow racer stopped to help me up. He offered me some pickle juice he had in small plastic bottle, but I declined, telling him that I had an electrolyte mixture of my own. It was hot out on the exposed rocks of Swamp Monster, and approaching an hour-and-a-half into the race, I limped along, slowly, hoping that the calf cramp would go away as I drank mouthfuls of fluid from my hydration pack. The runner who helped me up ran with me for the next kilometer, making sure that I would be okay. With aid station two in sight my helper left, running ahead at the end of Lower Crafty Butcher. The aid station had a good selection of drinks ready to go. I took two, and dumped one cup of cold water over my head, leaving with a chocolate GU Gel in hand to sip on as I made my way up a steep incline near the start of the Two Flats trail. I encouraged myself that this was near the halfway mark, according to my Garmin watch. My right calf was still bothering me though, and every now and then I could feel a shooting pain as I descended the first part of the Rapture trail. Would I be able to carry on this way? I wondered. I stopped to walk and re-hydrate when I got to Ark trail, where it turned onto a straight section of logging road. A passing runner saw I was struggling and offered me an electrolyte jelly cube. I gladly took it, and jogged on toward Rapture cliff. It loomed ahead of me in the distance - majestic in the midday sun. I enjoyed the climb, taking in the views, slowly making my way to the top.
A refreshing breeze hit me there as I crossed the summit heading to the Kamikaze Downhill that would take me back to Rapture. I felt somewhat revived. A volunteer at the trail junction there said we had about ten more kilometers to go. I shuffled down Kamikaze taking a quick left onto Rapture and hustled along the rolling trail. I was able to keep a steady pace and was making up time, until I had my second fall. Heels over head is how I would describe it. This time when I landed I skinned my left knee and my left calf muscle cramped up. I was alone, so I had to struggle to get to my feet on my own. The cramp was bad. I could only manage to limp on to aid station three, which was fortunately close by, within 120 meters. When I arrived there, I felt like giving up. I spent about six minutes re-hydrating, pouring water over my head, refilling my hydration pouch with water. I also took two Eload Zone caps and Advils. Several runners arrived at the aid station while I was there, looking just as disheveled as I was. I figured I would continue on with six kilometers to go and see if I could work out my cramped calf muscles. If I could get back on to pace I was still within range of reaching my goal time of three-and-a-half hours. The day before I had told my wife, Olivia, to expect me at the finish line around that time. She said she would be there to cheer for me as I arrived. I continued on. I caught up with another couple of runners and was able to keep pace with them for the next four kilometers. With around two kilometers to go we came to a long downhill leading to the last section of trail. I had fifteen minutes left to get to the finish. Thankfully, I made it one minute before my three-and-a-half hour goal time. My wife was there. I gave her a high-five as I ran past her into the roped off finish area. Time sure does fly when you're having fun.
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