TRT 100-Mile Stalking Guide

Months of training, days of obsessing over drop bags, and the big day is fast approaching: my first 100-mile trail race at the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) Endurance Runs is this Saturday, July 19, 2014! My body feels good, my mind feels taper-kooky, and I’ve got the A-team pacing and crewing me.

I know that many of you want to follow this zany adventure from afar, but need a little guidance on what the numbers mean. Let’s start with the basics. The course is two laps of 50 miles each, starting at Spooner Lake, passing through Tunnel Creek on several occasions, once through Diamond Peak, then returning to Spooner Lake via Snow Valley Peak.

Click here for TRT Live Tracking. I am bib #48.

Tracking mats will be in place at the following locations: Tunnel Creek, Diamond Peak Lodge, Snow Valley Peak, 50-Mile Lap and at the Finish. Keep in mind that some of these locations (Tunnel Creek and Snow Valley Peak in particular) are not exactly on-the-grid and sometimes communications go down.

How do you know if your runner is doing well? To start, if your runner is still on-course, that’s pretty great! If your runner previously ran TRT, you can do a little internet stalking for more guidance. Start with last year’s tracking and splits at UltraLive.net. Click on that bib number for your runner’s splits. (50-mile splits from last year are here and 50k splits are here.)

Are you really into the numbers? Go to UltraSplits.com’s Pace Analysis, which is an insanely cool free tool for estimating splits. Stalk your runner on UltraSignup.com to get a ballpark idea of your runner’s finish time (make sure you are looking at the entrant list for the correct distance.)

If numbers aren’t your thing, there is a simpler way… just keep an eye on your runner’s relative place in the field. Is your runner’s place staying consistent from one aid station to the next? Is she or he moving up in the field or falling behind? This gives you an idea of how things are going out on the course relative to other runners.

Now, following yours truly will be much simpler. I have put together a pace plan and we’ll see how close I can get. Being my first 100-miler, the second lap is the big wildcard, obviously. I am planning for a leisurely 13-hour first lap followed by a (probably grueling) 15-hour second lap.

Location         Mile     Target
Start               0     5:00am
Tunnel Creek 1     11     7:30am
Tunnel Creek 2   17.3     9:00am
Diamond Peak 1   30.3     11:30am
Tunnel Creek 3   35.3     1:25pm
Snow Valley 1    43.1     4:10pm
50-Mile Lap      50.2     6:00pm
Tunnel Creek 4   61.2     8:45pm
Tunnel Creek 5   67.5     10:45pm
Diamond Peak 2   80.5     1:30am
Tunnel Creek 6   85.5     3:40am
Snow Valley 2    93.3     6:50am
Finish           100.4    8:55am

If I get too far ahead of pace on the first lap, that is no bueno. I want to have legs and lungs for the second lap, where I’m looking to stay on task. Don’t give up free speed. Don’t linger at aid stations. Continual forward progress.

And just in case you still need to know even more about how my day (and night and day) are going, I will be carrying my DeLorme InReach Satellite Messenger. Click here to see my GPS tracks, updated every 10 minutes. Enter password: helenisagoat (Yes, it may think I am still in Silverton, Colorado, until the race.)

Let me close with these lyrics by my friend Tom:

Every breath you take
Every relentless forward move you make
Every hill crest you break
Every aching step you take
I’ll be tracking you

Every moment of the day
Every sound your body may “say”
Every mental game you play
Through the night I’ll stay
I’ll be tracking you

O, I may not see
When you stop to pee
But how my poor heart aches when a belching vomit you’ll take

Every relentless forward move you make
Every vow you make and break
Every smile you fake
When people say, “You look great!”
I’ll be tracking you

Since you’ve gone I’ve seen you slow down through this race
I dream you’re going to pick up your pace
I look for you but can’t find your bib number any place
I feel so sad and I long for your name to appear some place
I keep crying baby, baby please…get there….

Every time you trip on root or rock and scrape
Every drop of blood your dirty knees will make
As the skies above you thunder and shake
Please, no bones shall you ever break…
I’ll be tracking you

Every relentless forward move you make
Every vow you make and break
Every smile you fake
When people say, “You look great!”
I’ll be tracking you