Rucky Chucky river crossing

We met Alex & Cat down at the river crossing at 4:15am and marched up the hill to Green Gate together. Got in right at 30-hour pace time on the clock and sent them off into the final 20 miles with lots of positive vibes. Here's to a strong finish!

Foresthill reunion with crew

After a full day of hanging out at Foresthill (mile 62), Cat, my mom, and I met Alex at the Bath Rd aid station and walked him up a tree-covered hill onto a soft dirt path into the Foresthill aid station - greeted partway by cheerful Maddie and Bill. Made it into the aid station @9pm and after a full pit stop, complete with a magical cooling towel, pineapple juice, clean, dry socks, a full leg massage by Dr Bill (it's always a good idea to travel with 2 veterinarians!), and lots of hugs and well wishes, we sent him off with his faithful friend and supportive (also notoriously tough) pacer Cat into the darkness and down to the Rucky Chucky river crossing. 75 degrees at 9:25pm. Still quite balmy, but a welcome reprieve from the high temp of 102 today. Alex said the bottom of the valley felt like a sauna, so guess we can't complain. My dad and I are off to Green Gate and hoping to walk them up from the river in pre-dawn. Will update again then... Please keep Alex in your thoughts - we are going to get him on that track by the 30-hour cutoff.

Maddie cooling off...

Robinson Flat Aid Station

We met Alex at Robinson Flat aid station at Mile 30 at 11:30am. Right around 24 hour pace and he looked good. He was happy to have a wet towel draped over his neck & head. We are now hanging out at Foresthill where Cat will join as Alex's pacer at Mile 62, seeking shade and reveling in any slight breeze as it's currently 93 degrees. You can always check Alex's status on the course at the Live Webcast on http://www.wser.org/. Runner #274.

Here are a few pics from the past few hours:

WS100 - And he's off!

3am wake-up call. Arrived at Squaw ski area in 50 degree weather - perfect running weather. 3:45am breakfast at Squaw with Cat & Nora and chatted with a guy from PA who is out for his 1st 100 and Cat & Alex dispensed veteran advice. Rest of crew: Joan & Donald from Laguna Beach, CA, Bill & Ann from Anacortes, WA, and Maddie May from Fort Collins, CO (the most seasoned crew member here) joined us for the start. And Alex took off with ~380 fellow runners up the first 3 miles to High Camp and beyond..

Next stop: Robinson Flat @ mile 30. He runs; we drive all the way around for 3 hours. Ah, the life of a crew member. 

Off to California

We're packing up the car and leaving tomorrow morning to drive through Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and on to Lake Tahoe, California for the Western States 100 which starts at 5:00 am PDT on Saturday morning.  I may not be quite as well trained as I'd like, but I'm fit, healthy, rested and ready to experience the race I've been dreaming about for over 20 years.  I've got a great crew that includes my wonderful daughter Maddie who has been with me at all three of my previous successful 100s; my dedicated mom, Joan, also an experienced 100 mile crew member and pacer; my adventurous step-dad, Donald, ready for his first 100 mile experience; Bill and Ann Testerman, who just returned from their own ultra adventure walking the entire Camino de Santiago in Spain, are driving down from the San Juan Islands in Washington to support and crew; the Amazing Cat Speights, who less than three weeks ago finished 2nd in the Bryce 100 in Utah will be pacing me from Forest Hill (mile 62) to the finish; and my partner, best-friend and true love, Nora Lee Testerman who I met one year ago at this race starting a new and wonderful chapter in my life.
There is live tracking of the race at http://www.ultralive.net/ws100/webcast.php and I am #274.  My goal is to finish before 5:00 am Sunday for the sub 24 hour silver belt buckle.  Nora will be posting here throughout the race, so you can check back for updates.  Thanks to all of you for the support and encouragement over the past few months.  Here we go.