Somehow I let Jeremy talk me into registering for this year's El Vaquero Loco 25K. For those of you not versed in metric, this was a ~15.5 mile trail run through the mountains above Afton, WY. It also boasts something like 4,000+ feet of elevation gain... simply ridiculous. Even more ridiculous, there are some fools who run the 50K version (out and back). Once across was plenty for me, thanks!
We decided to make a weekend out of it and camp at the Cottonwood Lake campground (conveniently located at the finish line). Our neighbors, and good friends, Rain and Kim joined us for the adventure. Somehow Jeremy talked Rain into running also... he's a convincing little bugger. As it turns out, after dragging us all into this madness, poor Jeremy sprained his ankle and wasn't able to race. My skeptical side says it was all a plot to torture me, but in reality I know it is killing him to have missed this race two years in a row (DNS 2011 due to food poisoning). We made a last minute decision to drive up after work on Thursday, rather than Friday morning as originally planned. Although we didn't end up rolling into the campground until after midnight, this turned out to be a great decision as we scored the best campsite in the whole place. Side note: it's always fun to choose a campsite by headlamp and wake up in the morning to see what you really got yourself into.
Home sweet home
Pretty dang good isn't it?
I spent most of the day on Friday lounging around in our hammock (thanks, Gleason's!!), while Jeremy took Ruby out on a hike to explore the trails around the campground. I think I made it about 5 minutes before I fell asleep while attempting to read. The mosquitos made quick work of me once I feel asleep and I awoke with some pretty serious welts, including one doozy on my forehead the size of a golf ball... awesome.
Jeremy in our hammock's maiden voyage
This is my cozy face!
After heading down to Afton for packet pickup and dinner, we enjoyed some campfire fun with our race friends from South Dakota, Ryan and Chris. I love how you get to know people over the years because you see them at the same races! Kim and Rain drove up that evening and managed to get in just before a pretty serious rainstorm started dumping on us. There's something about falling asleep in a tent listening to the rain that makes me sleep like a baby.
The next morning, we awoke to perfect racing weather! Clear skies with just a hint of cool in the air. I was pretty nervous going into the race knowing that, as has become my norm, my training just wasn't up to par. Rain on the other hand was cool as a cucumber. I suppose it was just his fighter pilot nature showing through, but his calmness was impressive given that this was his first ever trail race!
Me and Mr. Cool
The race started at Intermittent Springs (up Swift Creek Canyon) and it was a pretty idyllic spot. Literally 2 minutes after we started we came around a corner to this view...
A quarter of a mile into the race, the pain started. We made a quick switchback to head up a stupid steep climb of loose dirt. It was on this hill that Rain took off, never to be seen again. That guy is an animal! With the exception of a few spots, we pretty much kept up this ridiculous climb for 8 miles. I power-hiked most of it and distracted myself by taking pictures of the breathtaking scenery.
Part way up the first climb, a nice woman took my photo while we caught our breath.
Our friend Ryan lapping me (he was already over 1/2 way through the 50K)
Creek crossing #3, I think
The wildflowers were spectacular!
Yet another amazing creek crossing
Pack horses at the first aid station
I put this last photo in to remind me to talk about the aid stations. There were three of them, and the fabulous folks working them either backpacked or rode in on horseback and camped overnight in a rainstorm to give us food and water during the race. Three cheers for them! There was something pretty awesome about running up to an aid station to find horses and cowboys. Literally, I got my water refills from vaqueros at El Vaquero Loco... cool! After this first aid station (around mile 5) we kept climbing for another 3ish miles. Just when I thought the climbing would never end, we popped out onto a saddle overlooking a glacial lake.
Not the best self-portrait, but I like that my shirt matches the wildflowers
Still climbing
Almost to the saddle
Lake #1
Super fun, technical descent
Looking back up at the saddle
After climbing up the other side of lake #1 (and when I thought the scenery couldn't get any better) we popped over a second saddle to view lake #2. The descent down to this lake through knee high wildflowers was my favorite trail running experience to date. Even better, aid station #2 greeted us along the bank of lake #2.
Unbelievable!
Looking back up the trail about halfway down
Running along the shoreline, looking back at Aid Station #2
I paused on a rock to fix my shoe and couldn't resist this shot
From here, there were some runnable sections (yay!) as we made our way towards the third aid station and the last climb of the race. Somewhere along here I decided that I have to get my parents out here for this race next year. They would LOVE it (hint, hint).
Our other South Dakota friend, Chris, lapping me... notice the trend : )
This dog had the right idea! Aid station #3 had a whole herd of dogs there to greet us.
Aid station #3 was a bit of a double-edged sword. I knew it was only 4.5 from there to the finish, so it was a welcome sight. What I didn't know was that the first half mile after the aid station was basically straight up the side of a mountain. Ugh! As I trudged up it, a 50K runner came up behind me and prodded me the whole way to the top. I wanted to kill him at the time, but in hindsight I'm glad he forced me to run the whole damn thing.
Happy to be at the top! Photo credit: hilarious search and rescue guy
The view from the top. That tiny speck above the snow field is Aid Station #3!
From this point it was screaming downhill on double-track all the way to the finish. I didn't take any pictures of this section of the course. Partly because I was having fun running, and partly because I thought I might go hurling head first down the trail if I actually tried to stop. I ended up crossing the finish line in 5:35, a somewhat ridiculous time for a 25k, but hey, I got my money's worth! Rain finished in a very respectable 4 hours and seemed to really enjoy his first trail race experience. The finish area featured burgers and local huckleberry soda, which was just as amazing as I hoped it would be. After a quick dip in the ICE COLD lake, it was back to the campsite for chili cheese dogs and s'mores, the post-race meal of champions! All in all, a great trip and a great race. We'll be back, I'm sure.
Ruby looking for chili dog handouts!
It was a good weekend for the dog... dirt, swimming, and chipmunks to chase. She was whooped!
Marshmallow toaster extraordinaire... 4 at once!
The perfect end to a brutal race!
