Pemberton Trail 50k

I’ve heard about the Pemberton Trail for years. It is the site of a 100 mile desert race known as the Javalina Jundred in October. There also happens to be a 50k held on the same trail in February. Since I was planning on being in Arizona anyway and running the Lost Dutchman Marathon, I decided to make it a double weekend and do the Pemberton Trail 50k the day before. It seemed like a good way to preview the trail should I ever decide to do the Javalina Jundred, and I want to do more doubles in 2009, this was the perfect opportunity.

Ric and I went up to McDowell Mountain Park on Thursday with the intention of running a few miles on the trails to better prepare for Saturday. Through a series of unfortunate events (basically I lost my car keys), I had to leave my suitcase in Seattle with most of my running stuff. A 7 mile run on the trails confirmed that I needed to wear my trail shoes, carry a water bottle, find a hat and some gaiters if possible. Ric was surprised at how difficult trail running can be….. I wasn’t, I’ve done enough to know that a course can vary from easy bike paths to hand-over-fist mountain scrabbles. During our preview run we encountered deep sand washes, jagged and loose “rock gardens” and beautifully packed sandy trails. Ric asked me how long I thought it would take to run 31 miles on this course. I answered “6 hours” he replied “I’ll give you 6 and a half” and we left it at that.

Saturday morning I was up at 4:30, fueled up with a banana muffin and a cup of coffee, then headed for the race. When I arrived I was greeted by a nice camp fire and the sound of coyotes in the very near darkness. 200 hundred runners were milling around getting ready to race, nearly half were women (unusual for the male dominated sport of ultra-running) . I found a few of my friends from Across the Years and had a quick catch-up conversation. At 7:00, a little before dawn, we were sent off down the trail to complete the first of 2 laps. The first mile rolled lazily up and down, through soft washes. Then we started to climb. The climbing was difficult… not because it was steep, but because the loose, sharp rocks threatened to turn the ankles of the unaware. The climbing continued, interrupted by little rolling downhills every once in awhile. We hit the first aid-station at mile 5, I grabbed a few pretzels, thought about emptying the rocks out of my shoes, but instead just continued down the trail. After the aid station we continued to climb until mile 7, then rode a series of rolling hills along the ridge overlooking the green desert below. Mile 8 opened up onto a jeep road that was smooth and flat until we hit the next aid station at mile 10. From then on to the start/finish/halfway point the trail slowly descended and tired legs found renewed energy. I hit the half way point in 2:45, found my drop bag, stashed my long sleeve shirt and slathered on more sunscreen. A deep breath and I was headed down the trail again for loop two.

By now the sun was out and I noticed how exposed the course was. No shade anywhere. This time, as I approached the rock garden climb, I decided to walk and not risk turning an ankle. Most people seemed to employ the same strategy. Once I hit the ridge I became aware of a stiff, cool breeze hitting me in the face. It was cold enough that I was encouraged to keep up a good pace in an effort to stay warm, but it also made for very pleasant running. Right then and there I decided that the Javalina Jundred would not be on my race schedule: running in winter with a cool breeze through the exposed desert is one thing… having to do this same course in October with temps in the high 80’s or 90’s would not be so fun.

I continued to move forward, sometimes walking, mostly running, through the final aid station at mile 25 and on to the finish. I was a little tired at the end, but generally feeling great. I grabbed a few cookies, found Ric and some Maniac’s and just soaked in the wonderful feeling of a nice, challenging run among good friends. On the way back to the hotel, I did a mental tally of how I did: finish time of 6:06… would have been faster if I hadn’t wasted so much time at the half way point so I need to get more efficient at the aid stations. Consumed one pack of sports beans and one gel, a handful of pretzels and a few potato chips: not much in the way of calories but I felt like I had plenty of energy. I may pay the price later for not staying sufficiently fueled. Sore ankles, but everything else felt good. An ice bath followed by plenty of food and sleep should set me up well for tomorrow.